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Post by Captain Stud Muffin (BLM) on Nov 7, 2020 10:51:31 GMT -5
If I had to make a bet on one upset from last night, I promise you White beating Ibushi would NOT have been the one I would have put down the money for. I sense serious shenanigans at the dome, still. Yea, the story isn't over with both Ibushi and White coming out to confront Naito after he won Looks like this is Gedo way of getting the title defended the two nights Maybe my prediction from way earlier this year about Naito picking Ibushi as a challenger may come true which I thought was going to happen at Dominion if this year went normally
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Post by The Trashman on Nov 7, 2020 13:05:14 GMT -5
It feels like Jay White was going to be the one to win the New Japan Cup and take the belts from Naito and they had to change things up because of the pandemic.
EVIL was probably still turning on LIJ but got a short title run since White wasn't available.
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Convoy
El Dandy
Rusev admits to being a sex addict to large applause.
Posts: 7,517
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Post by Convoy on Nov 7, 2020 13:08:52 GMT -5
Tama obviously knows everything already, but it's clear that they needed to wait until this show was over to announce teams. Though I was expecting the Good Brothers to make some kind of appearance. Now EVIL and Ibushi are "free" to be in tag teams, since neither has a clear path/purpose at WK. Perhaps Golden Ace reunites and we see EVIL/Yujiro team?
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JoDaNa1281
Crow T. Robot
Jackie Daytona, Regular Human Bartender. #BLM
Posts: 40,133
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Post by JoDaNa1281 on Nov 7, 2020 15:22:40 GMT -5
Card for Super J-Cup - 12/12/20
1. Super J-Cup - 1st Round Match: Chris Bey(IMPACT Wrestling) vs. Clark Connors(NJPW/US Dojo)
2. Super J-Cup - 1st Round Match: ACH(Freelance) vs. TJP(Freelance)
3. Super J-Cup - 1st Round Match: Rey Horus(ROH) vs. Blake Christian(GCW)
4. Super J-Cup - 1st Round Match: El Phantasmo(NJPW/Bullet Club) vs. Lio Rush(Freelance)
5. Super J-Cup - Semifinal Match: Bey/Connors winner vs. ACH/TJP winner
6. Super J-Cup - Semifinal Match: Horus/Christian winner vs. ELP/Rush winner
7. Tag Team Match: Bullet Club(KENTA & Hikuleo) vs. Karl Fredericks & Ren Narita
8. Super J-Cup - Final Match
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
Posts: 84,591
Member is Online
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Post by chrom on Nov 7, 2020 15:29:26 GMT -5
Naito said that today was his last match of the year
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Nov 8, 2020 7:51:27 GMT -5
NJPW Power Struggle November 7th, 2020 | Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 2,834
I always find Power Struggle to be one of NJPW’s “B” shows. However, this one feels a bit more important since they had to shorten the calendar and are backloading things.
KOPW Trophy: Toru Yano [c] vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Never forget that the only true King of Pro Wrestling is Toru Yano. The stipulation is that none of the corners will have pads. Commentary announced that the trophy resets in 2021, so this might be Yano’s last defense. When it comes to this match, it kind of depends on how you feel about Yano in general. They had some fun with the stipulation and that allowed it to feel different from the rest of a traditional NJPW card. I’m always appreciative of that. When it wasn’t about the antics, Sabre Jr. had the obvious upper hand. Of course, they don’t call Yano the Sublime Master Thief for nothing. While locked in a submission on the guardrail, Yano tied Sabre Jr.’s shoelaces together. He couldn’t free himself from the guardrail and Yano slid back in to win via countout in 12:11. That was mild fun. Yano is a genius. [**½]
NEVER Openweight Championship: Minoru Suzuki [c] vs. Shingo Takagi This is what I like in a show. Variety. We go from something goofy to two dudes who are going to beat the shit out of each other. This was about on par with their previous two matches this year, which got **** and ***¾ from me. They held nothing back and wailed on each other at times. To be fair, when you do a series of matches like this three times in a few months, there are diminishing returns. There’s only so many times that I can see the same guys fire up and stiff each other. It’s fun but it loses a bit with each go around. Unless you’re special and change up the formula a bit like Ishii and Shibata used to. The closing stretch was the usual greatness and Shingo scored the win with Last of the Dragon to regain the title after 18:56. Man, for someone who is praised for making the Heavyweight Title feel important, Gedo really doesn’t care about other belts. What was the point of the Suzuki reign? It accomplished nothing like so many other reigns out there. [***¾]
The Great-O-Khan vs. Kazuchika Okada THE MOMENT YOU’VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! THE SINGLES DEBUT OF GREAT-O-KHAN. He was out with notorious bad human Will Ospreay in a suit. I’m glad they’re most likely doing Ospreay/Okada in the Dome. Get two guys I don’t care to see out of the way in one match. First time I’m going for Okada at WK since 2017. Look, this was dull as hell. O-Khan jumped him before the bell but his offense never really worked. When you consider his new standing with the company and Okada’s status at the top, you never bought into this upset. Even SANADA had a better chance in 2016. Anyway, Okada beat him with the Money Clip in 12:58. It existed. [**]
Post-match, Willy entered to confront Okada. He said that he used him to get popular and can’t become the “best in the world” by standing side by side with Okada. He wants to end his career and they basically confirmed a match at Wrestle Kingdom. I’m sure people will wet themselves about this but their matches have never quite worked for me.
During intermission, they announced the BOSJ schedule. Some fun matches lined up, including another installment of Desperado/Hiromu, plus what I believe will be our first Hiromu/SHO match. The final night is headlined by SHO/Ishimori and Wato/Hiromu.
IWGP United States Heavyweight Title No. 1 Contender's Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. KENTA There’s potential here. They have good matches together and it’s a simple case of a great villain against a great hero. I liked the character moments like KENTA mocking the air guitar antics of Tanahashi. It really adds to him being a dick. However, KENTA’s early control portions didn’t quick click. He’s kind of an enigma these days. Anyway, the strike exchange marked a step in the right direction as it picked up and got rather intense for the final few minutes. KENTA’s double stomp looked grossly stiff as if Tanahashi will now have trouble digesting going forward. The finish was interesting as KENTA legitimately just won cleanly. No Bullet Club BS. He simply put on Game Over and wrenched it back enough for Tanahashi to tap out after 19:57. That was really good. It started a bit slow but picked up nicely down the stretch. [***½]
G1 Climax Briefcase: Kota Ibushi [c] vs. Jay White I didn’t like their Wrestle Kingdom meeting this year but their two G1 matches have been great. As usual, Jay White brought all of the heel tactics. There’s not a better jerk heel in wrestling right now (obviously, Roman Reigns is the best heel right now but he’s different type of villain). Contrary to the prior match, this had a much better pace. It was interesting from start to finish. It avoided the tropes of overly long heel control segments and babyface comebacks. Instead, this was a back and forth affair that was very well done. A lot of Jay’s stuff came off really well here in terms of snap and looking good. My favorite part had to be the finish, though. Other than Yano, we don’t get many flash pins in NJPW and especially not as many dirty ones. Jay used a backslide and an old school bit of putting his feet on the ropes to steal the briefcase in 18:47. Hell of a match that featured some really good back and forth. I’m intrigued by the swap as it proves that it can indeed happen. [****]
IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships: Tetsuya Naito [c] vs. EVIL They just keep running this match and it has been pretty disappointing every time out. I think the issue continues to be overbooking and trying to make EVIL have epics. The guy was perfect in the 10-15 world of NEVER matches and tag bouts. This lengthy main event style doesn’t work for him. Honestly, this was better than some of their other matches. It was just overly long and featured a lot of the stuff we’re used to. Slow paced, chair offense, and some shenanigans since EVIL is in the Bullet Club. Dick Togo got involved a fair amount following one of the Destino near falls we get so many of. Of course, Naito would eventually overcome that section and deliver Destino to come out on top after 33:08. Again, that’s way too long. I’m so happy this feud is done. [***¼]
Post-match, Jay White showed up to confront Naito and challenge him for January 5th, not the 4th. Kota Ibushi came out and chased him to the back. Naito told the fans this was his final match of 2020.
Overall: 7/10. I found this to be a good show. It didn’t feel like it dragged until that main event. Okada/O-Khan was lame but other than that, this featured quality matches, including three that I think are worthy of a recommendation.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,037
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Nov 8, 2020 19:20:38 GMT -5
Fascinating story from KENTA that shows just how much his confidence was on the floor in WWE.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,037
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Nov 8, 2020 19:21:57 GMT -5
Also, I'm so over Toru Yano. He's become an utter waste of space imo.
There's no reason he should be beating guys like Zack Sabre Jr. in 2020. None.
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Post by DerktheDerk on Nov 8, 2020 19:41:38 GMT -5
I have to agree with Bryan Alvarez's argument on this show. Having someone lose the briefcase and still get a title shot anyway is just dumb.
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Mozenrath
FANatic
Foppery and Whim
Speedy Speed Boy
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Post by Mozenrath on Nov 9, 2020 1:32:21 GMT -5
I have to agree with Bryan Alvarez's argument on this show. Having someone lose the briefcase and still get a title shot anyway is just dumb. Right. I can see the logic of it, and I get Meltzer's view on it, but I feel like it was a goofy idea, even if the "how" is probably not going to make a big difference at the end of the day.
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