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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2019 19:48:55 GMT -5
- I can only wish Ibushi all the best in his recovery from injury and I hope it’s nowhere near as serious as Shibata. It's unclear if it's kayfabe or not, but on Twitter they said he just has a concussion.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Jan 4, 2019 19:49:47 GMT -5
- I can only wish Ibushi all the best in his recovery from injury and I hope it’s nowhere near as serious as Shibata. It's unclear if it's kayfabe or not, but on Twitter they said he just has a concussion. Not a shock at all considering. Hope he takes his time coming back just in case.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Jan 4, 2019 19:50:49 GMT -5
Also, Will Osprey. What a goober Yeah, I was really disappointed in him. It's not like he's a favorite of mine, but I warmed up to him, and enjoyed him doing stuff like the Vader match he had. Then, he shows up here looking roided and injured Ibushi by just being a sloppy f***. I genuinely expected better out of him than this. On the subject of contenders, I'm thinking Ishii put over ZSJ to clear him up to go after the US or IC title. Maybe US if the IC one would be a good avenue for Jay White, who probably would be down to have that on his resume, and while he's got a lot of fire, it certainly wouldn't hurt to build up his credibility that much more before considering him for the top title.
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Post by Feargus McReddit on Jan 4, 2019 19:51:01 GMT -5
Oh, almost forgot. KUSHIDA/Ishimori was damn good and if this is one of his last before going to the ‘E, KUSHIDA left on a high in the Dome.
Also, that entrance is the best of 2019 and nothing’ll top it. It’s impossible.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Jan 4, 2019 20:00:16 GMT -5
I think the only real negativity was me bitching about my stream and even then the quality leveled out before the end of the preshow. Towards the end some folks started getting into “WrestleMania sucks!” stuff, but everything about WK was pretty glowingly positive. I think to be fair that did come in part from EOE trying to understand the difference in reception between WK and Mania rather than "YEAH HEY GUYS f*** WWE THIS IS REAL WRESTLING THAT'S RIGHT I SAID WRESTLING" that forms the caricature of what New Japan fans are like.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2019 20:01:04 GMT -5
Replay's on AXS
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Jan 4, 2019 20:03:25 GMT -5
Towards the end some folks started getting into “WrestleMania sucks!” stuff, but everything about WK was pretty glowingly positive. I think to be fair that did come in part from EOE trying to understand the difference in reception between WK and Mania rather than "YEAH HEY GUYS f*** WWE THIS IS REAL WRESTLING THAT'S RIGHT I SAID WRESTLING" that forms the caricature of what New Japan fans are like. Yeah, I was following the thread the whole way, and minus like one snotty comment, there wasn't really any dunking on WWE, other than just saying this flowed faster, which is probably pretty hard to argue against even for a WWE die-hard. Show's shorter, with not really any in-between segments dotting the show.
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Post by Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED! on Jan 4, 2019 20:04:45 GMT -5
I'll say this though, the Okada thin was a risky move. Although I think having the old Okada back just to lose was dumb as hell, I think this'll be a wait and see situation. They're on a tight rope here, and they have to be very careful where they move Okada next. Obviously they want to keep the belt off him for a while, but they need something to keep him occupied while he waits. And I think this clearly leads to Dominion where Okada FINALLY beats Jay White.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2019 20:07:00 GMT -5
Look at Brandi
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Post by AwamoriRock on Jan 4, 2019 20:14:30 GMT -5
I’m not a fan of Willy as a wrestler or dude, but him being never champ and taking on all styles of wrestlers would do loads to rebuild that belt and consequently the jr division.
Also interesting to note, unless they did away with it (they probably did and I forgot) NJPW cup winner can challenge for any belt.
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Post by Final Countdown Jones on Jan 4, 2019 20:22:46 GMT -5
I'll say this though, the Okada thin was a risky move. Although I think having the old Okada back just to lose was dumb as hell, I think this'll be a wait and see situation. They're on a tight rope here, and they have to be very careful where they move Okada next. Obviously they want to keep the belt off him for a while, but they need something to keep him occupied while he waits. And I think this clearly leads to Dominion where Okada FINALLY beats Jay White. I think the big move is sort of setting up the next beat of his redemption arc; Okada got all weird through 2017 and it cost him, but it was a bit clumsy and not fully developed yet until he came up short against Tanahashi. Him dropping the balloons and disco pants to once more become Okada, only to find that it's still not enough, feels like a way to give him a stronger direction in terms of feeling out his fall from grace, because it's not just the pageantry that makes him Okada.
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Post by 2coldMack is even more baffled on Jan 4, 2019 20:25:01 GMT -5
I will say, this is the first time since it started that I've bought into the "Okada Slump". Will be interesting to see where they push that from here.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2019 20:47:32 GMT -5
Pac-Man was a sponsor for WK
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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Jan 4, 2019 20:48:14 GMT -5
I also just wanna mention that, like, I think this was probably the most consistently positive live thread for any show on here I've ever seen. I know this is obviously a heavily reduced crew compared to what a WWE PPV would get as far as live thread people, but I just want so badly to show this thread as a whole to people when they say this place is just people looking to be upset and negative all the time about everything. Positivity throughout about the show, praising it, getting into the matches and letting them happen, nobody posting any super weird hot takes that make everyone stop for a sec and go "Um what, dude?" and even when there's jokes happening like the mini Kushida stuff it's not because the show has lost people it's because everyone is feeling good. Just goes to show that when a show is great it's really something special. It’s the WWE section that is the most downer. Impact has gotten that way as well when it was fun to just make fun of the show but people take it overboard Nothing but positive vibes today from the show and the 5 hours I’ve spent watching wrestling in a long time
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Post by Tea & Crumpets on Jan 4, 2019 20:56:42 GMT -5
Man oh man. What a show.
As good top to bottom as WK12? No. WK11? Probably not, either. But man, the 3 top card matches, holy crap the emotion and storytelling. I don't know where to begin so I'm just gonna post the thoughts I had as I went (Spoilers obviously, for anyone who hasn't seen):
Commentary: -Instantly like this 3 man booth. Callis is characterful without dominating, and they feel so much more co-operative than WWE's commentary. Chris Charlton was VERY quiet early on, especially in the Jr Tag when Kevin was feeding him and he didn't respond, but grew in confidence as it went, made some flubs but again, nerves will do that, plus he had some very good taglines & soundbite-calls. I also love Don's general persona of a technical analyst who has his favourites, and then has his super-favourites who he abandons all impartiality for. It's a good dynamic, and Kevin calls him out on it enough for it to feel fun.
Ospreay/Ibushi
-I was feeling like Ospreay had improved a fair bit, cut down on the AHH OHHH OAHHHH Lex Luger school of selling and tightened up his storytelling, but then he somehow concussed the f*** out of Ibuhi. I honestly didn't even get what even hurt him- the post, the elbow, what? f***'s sake Will, I was just starting to turn the corner on liking you. -I wanted a crazy but safe match, worried it would be crazy but get someone hurt. Instead we got underwhelming AND hurt. - Only silver lining to the injury- I INSTANTLY thought "Oh holy crap this could play into the main event, Omega's off his game cause Ibushi is hurt and he's worried Tana could do it!". When that got brought up later I was very happy, and even thought the injury was a work until I saw the dirtsheets.
Jr Tag Match:
-Someone really should have called Don out on the "Rocky tries to get himself over" line, I even feel like he was setting himself up for it. -This is my first time seeing Shingo in full, I kind of slipped off the NJPW train during the Tag League. -BUSHI looked amazing in his entrance and instantly I wanted him strapped up, called it, and wasn't disappointed. -Suzukigun only defending the belts 4 times in such a long reign is really disappointing. -This match was purely to get Shingo and to a lesser degree Sho over, but it worked. Shingo impressed me but his tights are so generic. However, I'd kind of love him to team with Sho. Or Goto. Or just fight Goto.
ZSJ vs Ishii
-This was a very predictable outcome, called it beforehand. -I didn't like the armbar struggle, maybe it's Inokiism/MMA conditioning but they should never fully extend without getting the win. -I rag on ZSJ a lot, and this match reminded me why. I was just coming round to thinking ZSJ is finally clicking then it went down the Bad ZSJ route- he was far too dominant and "get shit in"- he no-sold a freaking superplex and hit the most contrived Yoshi Tonic ever, and he abruptly went from being expressive by his standards in the ring, to selling like he was bored and had just gone for a light jog. Every time I think he's putting it togther all the little things fall apart, and I go from "love to hate" to "he's really not all that". The match just became boring and deteriorated into "ZSJ blankly cycles through moves, mostly-submissions, until he wins." Worst match of the night for me. -I had to chuckle at Kevin Kelly saying "Great Camerawork" as we got a lingering full frontal of Zack's Sabre Jr.
Heavyweight Tag -God SANADA's beard is trash. God EVIL's getup is so lame but somehow still awesome. How does he make a Satanic fidget spinner and Mystic Knights of Tir Nar Nog prop look cool. -Tama's mask is baller. Tanga's mask, not so much. And Jado, just...someone please stage an intervention for this man. -Young Bucks seemed to be going for that easy payday here, and I had them as eating the L from the off. They're so done. - Tama has such great in ring vocals and physical charisma, but just can't put it together work-wise. Combine his physical charisma and Lance Storm's work and you'd have the ultimate "He ACTUALLY IS gonna show what he can do this year" guy. - SANADA's feet clipping the post on a plancha made me think he almost did a tranquilo plancha and now I want that. Just rests his feet on the post and poses before dropping down.
Juice vs Cody -I love Juice's ridiculous clothing. I miss the beard. -Brandi looks more and more stunning every time she appears. Between her, the dog, and now AEW, Cody is living the dream. That said, Brandi's spear is terrible. -Juice takes great 2.9 counts. Okada took one as well that was equally close but Juice is very good at the nearfall. -Cody takes a great Crossrhodes, putting his own finisher over hard. However, he can't freaking do the Pulp Friction. Ouch. -That was a really weird finish, I guess to emphasize that Cody is done too and gone from NJPW.
Ishimori/Kushida -Before the bell I had this as the breakout MOTN. I also got the vibe that every belt might change hands. -Having read the thread, there's no arguing right that KUSHIDA just had the best wrestling entrance in history? The only way I'd have loved it even more is if this had been him in the Ospreay slot moving up to Heavy for the NEVER belt, and they blew up the child to symbolise the death of Jr KUSHIDA. Otherwise cannot ever be topped. -The finish was again a bit strange and anticlimatic, maybe it was just the finish but this match didn't live up to my hopes.
Okada/White
-As soon as the real Rainmaker theme kicked in I was like "Oh Jay is f***ed." Then he revealed the shorts and I was like "OH HE IS f***ED." -Callis talking about Gedo riding Okada like a Ferrari? Fanfic writers round the world just rejoiced. It's now canon. - The thing I loved about this match most was the finish. Not only a great, inventive countering sequence, but I want to highlight the Spinning Rainmaker. This is a move Okada only started doing in his Midlife Crisis Cokada phase, trying to compensate for not being the real Rainmaker. Okada did it here instead of hit the real Rainmaker and win. Then he went for the proper one, White had time to recover, and he lost. Remind anybody else of Naito posing for the crowd and going for a second Destino? Maybe I'm giving Gedo too much credit, but I really think that was an intentional callback to last year's main event, to symbolise that just like Naito wasn't quite the dude he needed to be then, Okada still isn't quite the Rainmaker again- he has the music, the gear, but something is missing. I'll discuss my hopes for the main event over the next year at the end.
Naito/Jericho -Great prematch promo that really made me think "Man, Jericho in NJPW would be great if he just ACTUALLY SHOWED UP. I also loved Naito's mindgames by almost tapping into Hiromu with his laid back, near-childish antagonising of Jericho. -Naito, as always looks cool AF. Jericho however looks like if Pinhead and Alex from a Clockwork Orange spit-roasted Alice Cooper. Although he was in WAY better shape than I expected. -That piledriver spot was disgusting. That DDT spot even moreso. Jericho can STILL do the Lionsault. The Destino-Walls counter was really cool. -The shot of the belt in the foreground, the chair, and Naito & Jericho in the background was gorgeous. Naito approaching the belt and doing his eye pose also was great. NJPW's production is genuinely cinematic at times. -Overall, this match was the showstealer for me. I don't know that it beats the main event, but this shocked me. I expected it to be the worst singles match on the card in all honesty, but it was my favourite of the night up to this point. Jericho, for all his issues regarding being out of shape or absent or a midlife crisis, can still bring it like crazy. And Callis' increasingly biased & heel commentary was great.
Tana/Omega -After the opening promo, while Omega was heel as crazy, I just felt like much like Jay/Okada, Omega was going to symbolically end an era. -Omega's theme f***ing sucked. Like seriusly. That was godawful noise that just didn't fit his character. Please go back to Devil's Sky. -As soon as they brought up Ibushi, I began to think the upset might happen. Horrible to say but that injury may actually be fortuitous story-wise, if Omega stays. -Omega is so much better as a pure heel here, or as a pure face with Ibushi, than the tweener character he's been doing. Naito is a phenomenal popular tweener, but Omega excels when it's a clear role, and he's a great heel here. I want him to go fully OTT going forward. -Omega is also one of the absolute slickest wrestles I've ever seen, one of the tightest, just. Yeah. He's been disappointing lately in terms of momentum, but my God he's still the absolute world's best. The speed of the guardrail moonsault is crazy. He sold the knee by taking the Twist & Shout awkwardly with 1 leg. I can buy him still V Trigger spamming as fighting through the pain because he does so many little and unique spins on sells and bumps. He's a joy to watch. - Tana with the table made me think he'd lost it. When he ignored the table he basically did the "Cena won't use a chair" spot better than Cena, but when he ate the wood, the story of the warring ideologies and both men getting drawn into trying to beat each other at their own game had me think he's losing. So compelling. -The Bucks are great cornermen, very vocal and picking up their chatter adds to the feel. They could be good managers when they retire. -I got so distracted by Tana's ass nearly falling out for so much of the match. I was just thinking "Oh god please don't win the IWGP title but have it overshadowed by flashing millions of people." -Finish was a bit abrupt- I had it needing 1 more finish, and Tana kicking out of the OWA, like others did, but the abruptness made it work for me. And my god, its interesting wondering where we go now. My hope is- Omega goes full supervillain, dumps the Bucks, blames Ibushi getting injured for his loss, ravages Tana to try take the title back, Naito ends up winning the title either from Omega, or from whoever else dethrones Tana, Okada gets his mojo back by winning the G1, Okada challenges Naito at WK14 but Naito FINALLY exorcises his past by beating Okada in the main event, meanwhile Omega finally faces Ibushi at the Dome, still blaming him for this year's loss, and Ibushi realises Kenny's gone full dark side and he has to stop him. Trouble is I don't know where Tana goes, unless he fights Jay in a rematch of last year and Jay gets another big win. All of this hinges on Omega sticking around of course, if he goes then Jay's the obvious guy to step into his spot even if I don't see him on that tier of main eventer yet. Overall, I'm intrigued for 2019,and just hoping Gedo doesn't screw it up. Also, give us more nightmarish KUSHIDA child-bombing time warp entrances, please.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2019 21:01:30 GMT -5
Tanahashi vs Omega is on
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Post by thetower52 on Jan 4, 2019 21:20:52 GMT -5
I thought all 3 main events delivered The rest felt very meh to me
Jericho vs naito was f***ing awesome
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salz4life
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Post by salz4life on Jan 4, 2019 21:25:46 GMT -5
Who is the 3rd guy on commentary for AXS with Kelly and Cyrus?
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2019 21:29:39 GMT -5
Who is the 3rd guy on commentary for AXS with Kelly and Cyrus? Chris Carlton
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2019 21:37:10 GMT -5
Only got to watch bits and pieces before work. Boy, did I need to see that main event after a rough day.
I think it's only fitting Kenny entered with the Undertale visage and "Hopes and Dreams" blaring, Sepiroth wing and everything. Much like some very special video games, New Japan is just beautiful art when it comes to matches like this (to say nothing less of the amazing athleticism). Kenny vs Tana really delivered on the story in the way it needed to, but I really wasn't expecting them to have that kind of synergy. Really heartwarming seeing the Ace win the big one on the biggest stage once more, even if a bit bittersweet due to the implications of a Kenny loss.
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