Jasper Troy Bolton
Ozymandius
MAMMA MIA! CRUISERLICIOUS!
GIIIGIIIGIIIGIIIGIGI
Posts: 60,682
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Post by Jasper Troy Bolton on Jan 4, 2023 16:45:18 GMT -5
It is absolutely essential to avoid the English commentary at all costs if you wanna fully enjoy the show lmao Tried giving it a chance this year but was at the end of my rope with them by the end of the struggle Ronba and switched over. I will take a language barrier over Kevin Kelly and whatever minions are with him any day, f***. ahh okay glad to see that it isn't just me then...I felt like I was watching an edited version of StrangleMania or something lol My fav bit was when they heard bad rapping and knew it was Rocky Romero but at the same time weren't confident enough to rly Know so they tiptoed around saying his name until dude ran out like WOOOO
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Jasper Troy Bolton
Ozymandius
MAMMA MIA! CRUISERLICIOUS!
GIIIGIIIGIIIGIIIGIGI
Posts: 60,682
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Post by Jasper Troy Bolton on Jan 4, 2023 16:46:19 GMT -5
I have no idea what the Japanese commentary is saying outside of a few words here and there (shows how much I retained from 2 years of Japanese language study lol). But their pure enthusiasm breaks through language barriers. I don't know shit and yet I'm like 100% confident they're way more insightful than Gino Gambino.
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Convoy
El Dandy
Rusev admits to being a sex addict to large applause.
Posts: 7,618
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Post by Convoy on Jan 4, 2023 16:56:18 GMT -5
I started watching New Japan with only Japanese commentary available 23 years ago, so I’m perfectly fine doing so to this day.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 17:19:23 GMT -5
You're all mentioning the english commentary, and while it hasn't been mind-blowing but, I did get a chuckle when they were talking about the "altercation" backstage during the junior title match and Gino replied, "What's Kenny done now?"
That was good.
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lionheart21
Patti Mayonnaise
Once did a thing...
Posts: 31,573
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Post by lionheart21 on Jan 4, 2023 17:25:16 GMT -5
As a massive FF7 fan, Kenny’s entrance was one of the highlights of the night for me
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FinalGwen
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Particularly fond of muffins.
Posts: 16,524
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Post by FinalGwen on Jan 4, 2023 17:26:25 GMT -5
The only bit of English commentary I really remember was during the rumble where one of them said something about Hikuleo's 9 inches, our Discord call kinda stopped and said 'wait, what?'.
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Toates Madhackrviper
King Koopa
Is owed an Admin life-debt.
This avatar is so far out of date I might as well stick with it forever now.
Posts: 10,737
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Post by Toates Madhackrviper on Jan 4, 2023 17:52:40 GMT -5
I'm very original-definition-of-ambivalent on Sasha's hair.
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The Kevstaaa
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Heck of a wrestler, great technician, and a jam up guy.
Posts: 18,476
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Post by The Kevstaaa on Jan 4, 2023 18:05:29 GMT -5
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 January 4th, 2023 | Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 26,085
Although I’m not excited about this card overall, there are two matches that stand out for me and the appearance of Mercedes Varnado that has me intrigued. Plus, we’re back to things being one night instead of two or three, so that’s a positive. Also, we’ve got cheering crowds again!
Boltin Oleg vs. Ryohei Oiwa YOUNG LIONS! This has a three minute time limit and is an exhibition. The focus here is Oleg, who was touted as a big deal by Yuji Nagata a few months back. This was filled with amateur wrestling stuff but they threw in some bigger, traditional pro wrestling offense as we neared the time limit. We got our three minute draw and it was hard to rate this since it wasn’t much but you can see some potential in there. [NR]
New Japan RAMBO The RAMBO has been hit or miss over the years. The final four here compete for the KOPW trophy tomorrow on New Year Dash. SHO was out first against HIKULEO. EVIL hit the ring third to save his buddy and that put HIKULEO on the defensive. Ishii was #4 and it’s telling how many good people who I want on the main card are relegated here. Like, could you imagine how mad the internet would be if WWE kept one of their best wrestlers in this pre-show spot? I did pop for Ishii not backing down from HIKULEO though he ended up teaming with him. The RevPro Champion Great-O-Khan was #5 and this match is pretty loaded to be honest. DOUKI entering gave Gino Gambino a chance to get excited on commentary. EVIL was the first man eliminated which is hilarious. KENTA did his best Santino Marella power walk to the ring which I chuckled at. There were odd moments like Romero stopping Taguchi from getting a pin even though it’s an elimination match. TMDK got a solid little tag run during this and eliminated both Taguchi and Romero. Damn, even Taichi was in this? Imagine how much better this card could’ve been with some of the guys in here having prominent matches elsewhere. Commentary noted that Shingo wasn’t interested in the KOPW trophy only for him to show up anyway. What an absolute waste of Shingo, who was the top champion entering last year’s show. He was last in, reignited his feud with ELP, and tossed him (despite his buddies saving him) to leave us with our final four for tomorrow: Shingo, SHO, O-Khan, and Yano, who never even entered the fray. This went 30:37 and mostly flew by. [***]
Minoru Suzuki, Tatsumi Fujinami and Tiger Mask IV vs. Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata This is the Inoki Memorial match and New Japan paid to use “Immigrant Song,” at least for today. This is Nagata’s 30th January 4th Tokyo Dome appearance IN A ROW. Absurd. Also wild to see Fujinami in there. This was about what you’d expect with the New Japan dads beating on each other and bringing a bit more energy than usual because of the Inoki connection. You could tell they wanted to bring it for this moment. Makabe even took some bumps. They all got their shit in, including the crowd shouting with Kojima and this was decent fun until it fell apart late. Makabe landed on Tiger Mask IV after a botch and pinned him to win in 9:10. [**¼]
Onto the main show!
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Francesco Akira and TJP [c] vs. Lio Rush and YOH Their match in the Tag League last year was great (****). It’s really cool to see Lio in a spot like this. He’s really good and deserves this. Given all the trash that was talked coming into this, the challengers starting with dives before the bell made sense. That backfired though as Lio took a ROUGH alley-oop spot on the ramp that busted him open the hard way. That left YOH alone to take a beating which worked because he’s a very good sympathetic babyface. Seeing Lio get back in with the blood on his face made for a great visual and it actually added to the match. It even stopped him from hitting his signature move because he couldn’t see and that turned the tide. The resilience of the challengers was evident as they survived everything the champions threw at them. I loved the finish here as it played into their past match. When all the big moves didn’t end up, it took a TJP inside cradle to retain the titles after 10:29. A damn good opener that fits nicely alongside other Jr. Tag WK openers due to the fast pace and lots of action. [***¾]
IWGP Women's Championship: KAIRI [c] vs. Tam Nakano I’ve been a fan of KAIRI for a while and Tam has been someone who I’ve gravitated toward in Stardom. Her team with Natsupoi is great. Also, this is the match I’m most excited for on the card. So, the obvious point about the match is that it was kept ridiculous short and that is not a good sign for the IWGP Women’s Title. I don’t have high hopes for it anyway given Gedo’s track record but that’s a bad sign. The other thing to point out is that the talent is certainly there because these two made the most out of the short time. They packed it with a lot of action and threw in some character moments to really make it work. They threw big shots at each other and the wrestling portions were crisp. Nakano hit the sweet Screwdriver, which is one of my favorite moves ever, though it only got two here. That should always end a match. KAIRI laid in with strikes, knocking Tam down with a backfist and winning with the Insane Elbow in 5:47. As good a five minute match as you’ll see but the division will need more to survive. [***½]
The big moment came afterward, with the New Japan debut of the former Sasha Banks, now going by Mercedes Moné. She was presented as a star and carried herself like one, feeling like a BIG DEAL. She looked incredible. Mercedes and KAIRI had a face off and handshake before Mercedes pulled her in for a move. The idea looked good but the move came off poorly unfortunately. Mercedes cut a promo after, introducing herself as the blueprint/standard/CEO of this division. She ended with a new catchphrase, “You can bank on Moné” and she’ll apparently be facing KAIRI at Battle in the Valley in San Joe.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: FTR [c] vs. Bishamon FTR held three titles recently but are on a losing stretch and dropped the AAA and ROH straps. FTR/Aussie Open II was the way to go here but we’ve got this instead. Cash Wheeler only arrived at the Dome about half an hour before the show started. Bishamon got going with some quick tandem offense and commentary noted how Cash might want to get his stuff in early before fatigue sets in. He did bust out a tope suicida early. Tags got kind of tossed aside rather quickly and this ended up being all out action that included a Big Rig close call after just a few minutes. I typically want the traditional tag stuff from FTR since it’s when they’re at their best but this being a wild MEATY MEN SLAPPING MEAT match worked out wonderfully. It made HASHI and Goto more interesting and FTR can honestly work any style. They nearly retained several times but Bishamon kept breaking up pins to save each other. HASHI got one of the biggest pins of his career, beating Dax with Shoto in 10:10. Okay, commentary, Bishamon isn’t the best tag team in the world or even in the conversation. That said, this was way better than I expected and was just hard hitting action between two tough tandems. The best Tokyo Dome IWGP Tag Title match I’ve ever seen. [****]
NJPW Television Championship Tournament Finals: Ren Narita vs. Zack Sabre Jr. The #2 most exciting match on the card for me as Narita is like a mini-Shibata so far and ZSJ’s style is a favorite of mine. This is another championship I’m not confident in Gedo booking but that 15 minute time limit is like a dream. ZSJ is now blonde by the way. This was classic ZSJ as he confidently picked apart the arm and made Narita pay for every single one of his mistakes. To turn the tide, Narita did his best Shibata, even sitting cross-legged as he dared Sabre to hit him. ZSJ moved from the arm to the leg, throwing some vicious sounding kicks. Narita fought with everything he had but got caught in an armbar that he immediately tapped to, losing in 10:32. Oh, that was SO my shit. It was like the old NEVER Title matches but instead of being hard hitting, it was technical (with some hard hitting stuff thrown in). I loved that finish because Zack can win at any moment. Just wish ZSJ got a legitimately singles title run long before this. [****]
TMDK hit the ring afterward to offer congratulations to ZSJ. They offered him a spot in their stable since Bronson Reed went back to WWE. Zack accepted, likely due to their NOAH history, and he now has a new stable to seemingly lead. I like it.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Karl Anderson [c] vs. Tama Tonga This show has been a pleasant surprise so far but this is EASILY the least interesting thing booked. Tama was on the run of his career as a fiery babyface champion and having him drop the title to Karl was a mistake. Wild to see that this show has WWE and AEW guys involved. This wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected, with Karl bringing his working boots. He attacked with the belt before the bell and hit big moves outside, including the Bernard Driver on the ramp. Tama had to fight from beneath and as I’ve said, he’s become very good at that. Anderson’s offense wasn’t anything special but it didn’t offend me either. The crowd popped as Tama got going and his leaping Gun Stun from Bret’s Rope got a huge pop. Unfortunately, the crowd was FLAT as he hit another that Anderson sold poorly. Tama won in 9:36. This was fine, which was more than I was expecting. [**½]
BUSHI, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Keiji Mutoh and Shota Umino It’s Mutoh’s final match with New Japan and it involves guys like Tanahashi and SANADA, who have strong connections to him. Like the Inoki tag earlier, this was really just the guys getting their stuff in as match quality meant less than the Mutoh of it all. His exchanges with SANADA didn’t have to be good because they had some emotion to it. I laughed at Tanahashi stopping him from trying a moonsault. The most interesting thing was the finish though. After Mutoh hit Shining Wizard on BUSHI, he stepped aside and allowed Umino to beat him with Death Rider at the 9:20 mark, giving Umino a Dome victory. A fun little match here. [***]
Backstage, LIJ was confronted by KONGO, a NOAH faction led by KENOH and Katsuhiko Nakajima. YES, please.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori [c] vs. El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato Talk about unexciting. This division is in a rut but you know these guys will give it all here. The intriguing aspect here was Wato as the other three are proven at the top of the division and this was Wato’s chance to shine. He took it and ran with it, giving what is probably his best performance so far. Wato more than hung tough with the top guys and even hit everyone with his finisher. The crowd was way more into him that I’ve ever seen before and with good reason. The action was fact and furious but I dug the story of Wato proving himself and I liked Ishimori doing heel stuff like baiting everyone outside and trying to steal this via countout. They made me bite on Wato near falls and it really felt like this would be his night. Even though I’m not his biggest fan, I would’ve liked that because this division needs a change. I also want to point to the Desperado/Hiromu exchanges as being great because those two just put on bangers. Wato came so close but fell to Time Bomb II as Hiromu is champion again after 16:43. That was really good, surprisingly fueled by Wato. As for the move, why isn’t Hiromu a heavyweight? What’s left for him in this division? [***½]
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay [c] vs. Kenny Omega Wrestling Twitter and Dave Meltzer had this penciled in at 6-7 stars once it was announced. As a guy who isn’t a huge fan of either (though I do like Kenny a lot more now), I’m intrigued to see if they can live up to the hype. I did see their PWG match from 2015 (***¾). Kenny’s entrance was an incredibly cool nod to Final Fantasy VII that you have to go out of your way to see. Ospreay brought back his old “Elevation” theme which a lot of people like but I actually never dug that music. I like his current one more. Say what you will but this had a big fight feel. Don Callis joined the booth. Will came out with a boot at the bell but Kenny calmly avoided it. Early on, Will had the upper hand through his athletic advantage so Kenny combated that with veteran knowhow and being aggressive. They played that up with Ospreay making the mistakes a young man will, like an apron Oscutter that failed and saw him land on his back. Things got taken up a notch when a table was brought into play and Kenny took a ROUGH bump onto the metal underside. Kenny targeted the neck and back but his main focus was on the kidney that nearly killed Willy earlier this year. Kenny’s DDT onto the exposed buckle (complete with kidney punches) was next level and busted Ospreay open. It was also a nod to the G1 Finals he had with Naito in 2017. Ospreay was basically done there and Kenny didn’t hold back. He hit stiff dropkicks, dropped him on his head, and beat the shit out of him. Omega DESTROYED him with V-Triggers and everything that he did. Dropping the man on the buckle again and hitting an avalanche German Suplex was just absurd. Will was basically dead but fought back with the Styles Clash (another nod to history) and threw Hidden Blade. That was basically his last hurrah though as Kenny weathered the storm and finished him. He did so with Kamigoye because Ibushi matters in this story, and then One Winged Angel after a grueling 34:38. I can’t believe I loved that as much as I did. I’ve always said I didn’t like “Best Bout Machine” Kenny because as a character, the gimmick of “I CAN DO COOL MOVES, GIVE ME THE MOST STARS, DAVE” makes no sense. Will follows the same template a lot of the time. Here, this wasn’t about that. Kenny came out to murder Will and they told a hell of a story in the process. I’m not going to be sympathetic toward William but this was easily his greatest performance and honestly, Kenny’s best Dome match, just besting the Tanahashi one. Yes, I’m even more shocked than you at this rating. [*****]
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jay White [c] vs. Kazuchika Okada Jay White holds a 4-1 record over Okada beating him in the G1 28 (***¾), Wrestle Kingdom 13 (****), G1 30 (***¼), Dominion 2022 (****¼) and but losing in an IWGP Title match at the G1 Supercard (***). So, they have an up and down history in terms of quality and this is a COLD main event that doesn’t feel like a big deal. Especially since everyone knows the outcome. I know I’ve said it before but that’s just what this was: Okada formula. The first 10 to 15 minutes didn’t really mean much and had me struggling to keep focus. I could’ve gone downstairs and eaten something and not missed anything of note. They really got cooking when they got to Okada’s favorite part of the match. The final act saw the big moves, the finisher trading, the counter sequences, etc. The best part was the callback to Jay’s meltdown against Ibushi in 2021. That’s the best match of Jay’s career and is likely to be something he has to overcome to really be at the top. Okada won with one of his Rainmakers after 33:03 in what was a good but far from great main event. [***½]
Post-match, Okada was challenged by Shingo so we’re running that back again. He then paid tribute to Inoki as the show ended.
My biggest problem with New Japan has been that the company feels beyond stale and I’m not alone in thinking that. This show ruled but that problem is still there. Look at the Jr. and Heavyweight champs. What’s left for Okada and Hiromu to accomplish in those divisions? They’ve done it all as champions, especially Okada who has every record. It’s the same thing over and over.
Overall: 9/10. One hell of a show that would’ve sniffed a 10 with a better NEVER Title match and less predictable outcomes. The only match where the result felt unsure was Omega/Ospreay, which hurt the drama elsewhere. That said, we still got a lot of great wrestling here, three matches at ***½ or higher, two at ****, and one at *****.
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Post by The Trashman on Jan 4, 2023 18:12:41 GMT -5
I just have no idea why Okada is champion again. Its boring and tired booking. Same with Hiromu, as the crowd has actually come around on Wato and it was time.
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
Posts: 87,122
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2023 18:37:26 GMT -5
I realize that Sabre and TMDK do have history together, they were in Noah during the time before they went to WWE and Sabre went to New Japan.
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Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Jan 4, 2023 18:39:19 GMT -5
He might be my favorite full time wrestler currently but I am getting a bit Okadaed out with him closing every show as champion. New Japan went with him because he’s a stable draw and they obviously didn’t want a heel leaving the Tokyo Dome triumphant for the founder’s tribute show. I think they were looking back at the Giant Baba show AJPW had in 1999 with Misawa beating Vader and decided that was the story to tell, the top face beating the arrogant foreigner.
Next year it should be Ospreay defending against someone. Probably Naito, but I’d mark for Hiromu advancing to heavyweight too.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 18:44:23 GMT -5
I do wish they had gone with Wato. People have been doubting Wato's improvement for some time but, they can't now. He was the highlight of that match.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
HaHa U FaLL 4 LaVa TriK
Posts: 46,844
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Jan 4, 2023 18:44:44 GMT -5
I have no idea what the Japanese commentary is saying outside of a few words here and there (shows how much I retained from 2 years of Japanese language study lol). But their pure enthusiasm breaks through language barriers. I don't know shit and yet I'm like 100% confident they're way more insightful than Gino Gambino. I had to give up my NJPW World Sub a while back for money reasons, but I do _not_ miss hearing Gino Gambino at _all_.
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Post by BayleyTiffyCodyCenaJudyHopps on Jan 4, 2023 18:45:03 GMT -5
I have no idea what the Japanese commentary is saying outside of a few words here and there (shows how much I retained from 2 years of Japanese language study lol). But their pure enthusiasm breaks through language barriers. Even with the language barrier I can tell Liger’s a legit great color commentator. He gets pissed off at the heels and goes nuts when a match starts getting good. He’s like Booker T except, well, sane.
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
Posts: 87,122
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2023 18:46:29 GMT -5
I have no idea what the Japanese commentary is saying outside of a few words here and there (shows how much I retained from 2 years of Japanese language study lol). But their pure enthusiasm breaks through language barriers. Even with the language barrier I can tell Liger’s a legit great color commentator. He gets pissed off at the heels and goes nuts when a match starts getting good. He’s like Booker T except, well, sane.And likable.
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chrom
Backup Wench
Master of the rare undecuple post
Posts: 87,122
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Post by chrom on Jan 4, 2023 18:47:08 GMT -5
I do wish they had gone with Wato. People have been doubting Wato's improvement for some time but, they can't now. He was the highlight of that match. They made a lot of people feel that this was his night during the closing sequence.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 18:47:49 GMT -5
I have no idea what the Japanese commentary is saying outside of a few words here and there (shows how much I retained from 2 years of Japanese language study lol). But their pure enthusiasm breaks through language barriers. Even with the language barrier I can tell Liger’s a legit great color commentator. He gets pissed off at the heels and goes nuts when a match starts getting good. He’s like Booker T except, well, sane. That's true for him when he calls NOAH matches, as well. He was going crazy for some of the things guys like Ninja Mack, Junta Miyawaki, Amakusa, and other NOAH juniors were doing.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 18:48:05 GMT -5
Even with the language barrier I can tell Liger’s a legit great color commentator. He gets pissed off at the heels and goes nuts when a match starts getting good. He’s like Booker T except, well, sane.And likable. And with some dignity.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 18:49:13 GMT -5
Jay is in desperate need of a change of scenery. Either with WWE, AEW, or full-time on STRONG to help them build that brand.
He's hating wrestling in Japan and it's showing.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,153
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Jan 4, 2023 18:50:11 GMT -5
Honestly, Jay White under HHH would be something special.
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