Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Mar 19, 2023 23:08:21 GMT -5
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Mar 20, 2023 2:01:22 GMT -5
I have to wonder if the new faction, as loose as they are and presented as basically buddies, is still kind of based around TAKA. His promotion is Just Tap Out, one of his finishers is the Just Facelock, and now, it's Just Five Guys.
In an interview, Taichi joked their theme might be black hair, given SANADA's new haircut, and that backstage, they wanted to throw him out due to not recognizing him.
Not going to lie, I'm taking a liking to this group because everyone just seems to be having a good time.
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Post by Starshine on Mar 20, 2023 2:52:53 GMT -5
At least the champion at the end of Sakura Genesis won’t be Jake Lee. I know no one gives enough of a shit to make a thread over it, and honestly neither do I, but my god have they done Kiyomiya dirty. Also worth noting that on the same show Lee won the belt, he's still somehow completely outclassed by Miyahara once again. Dude just cannot escape his shadow.
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Post by ANuclearError on Mar 20, 2023 4:16:32 GMT -5
I have to wonder if the new faction, as loose as they are and presented as basically buddies, is still kind of based around TAKA. His promotion is Just Tap Out, one of his finishers is the Just Facelock, and now, it's Just Five Guys. In an interview, Taichi joked their theme might be black hair, given SANADA's new haircut, and that backstage, they wanted to throw him out due to not recognizing him. Not going to lie, I'm taking a liking to this group because everyone just seems to be having a good time. I still think a lot of people fall into the habit of the "faction == must take over company" or "faction == brotherhood" kinda mindsets, which I don't think is a mandatory approach. I think loose alliances like CHAOS and guys just being chill together is still useful. The factions in general are still primarily to allow easing the load on wrestlers by having multi-man undercards.
That said, I think we're overdue for a tournament that really leans into the factions. 15 show tour involving 6 teams made up of captain, two juniors and two heavyweight; each show in the tour is headlined b a 10 man tag between two teams, and two other teams' facing off in junior tag, heavyweight tag and captain vs captain. The remaining two teams do undercard versus dads/young lions. Probably a nightmare to book the results for the final day to mean something, but would be a fun experiment.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 20, 2023 6:46:05 GMT -5
Finals lineup
Taichi and Douki vs Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yuto Nakashima
Shota Umino and Ryohei Oiwa vs Zack Sabre Jr and Kosei Fujita
Kenta, Chase Owens and El Phantasmo vs Tama Tonga, Tomohiro Ishii and Tomoaki Honma
El Desperado, Ren Narita, Toru Yano and Ryusuke Taguchi vs House of Torture
Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi vs Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare
Kazuchika Okada and Bishamon vs Jeff Cobb and Aussie Open
IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi vs Lio Rush
New Japan Cup Finals: Sanada vs David Finlay
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clifford
King Koopa
Shingo Takagi stan
Posts: 10,683
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Post by clifford on Mar 20, 2023 10:25:54 GMT -5
SANADA looking like a million bucks now. Seriously, dude instantly feels like a main event player with that look. Stupid sexy bastard.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 20, 2023 13:01:25 GMT -5
SANADA looking like a million bucks now. Seriously, dude instantly feels like a main event player with that look. Stupid sexy bastard. This may have been what he finally needed.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,047
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Mar 20, 2023 16:31:10 GMT -5
At least the champion at the end of Sakura Genesis won’t be Jake Lee. I know no one gives enough of a shit to make a thread over it, and honestly neither do I, but my god have they done Kiyomiya dirty. Also worth noting that on the same show Lee won the belt, he's still somehow completely outclassed by Miyahara once again. Dude just cannot escape his shadow. Hot take: I never felt like Kiyomiya was ever ace material. He’s never been unique enough to stand out for that. If he wasn’t cosplaying Mutoh, he was cosplaying Misawa. Not that his booking has helped or that Jake Lee is a better choice by any stretch but, that’s how I’ve always felt about Kaito.
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ace
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Post by ace on Mar 20, 2023 18:19:31 GMT -5
At least the champion at the end of Sakura Genesis won’t be Jake Lee. I know no one gives enough of a shit to make a thread over it, and honestly neither do I, but my god have they done Kiyomiya dirty. Also worth noting that on the same show Lee won the belt, he's still somehow completely outclassed by Miyahara once again. Dude just cannot escape his shadow. Okada killed him dead and the next guy just pinned the pieces.
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Post by Starshine on Mar 20, 2023 18:43:58 GMT -5
I know no one gives enough of a shit to make a thread over it, and honestly neither do I, but my god have they done Kiyomiya dirty. Also worth noting that on the same show Lee won the belt, he's still somehow completely outclassed by Miyahara once again. Dude just cannot escape his shadow. Hot take: I never felt like Kiyomiya was ever ace material. He’s never been unique enough to stand out for that. If he wasn’t cosplaying Mutoh, he was cosplaying Misawa. Not that his booking has helped or that Jake Lee is a better choice by any stretch but, that’s how I’ve always felt about Kaito. My main rebuttal would be: who else is there?
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Mar 20, 2023 19:13:25 GMT -5
With Kiyomiya, it all feels very deliberate, like that maybe he is being humbled so he can mature to another level. It otherwise feels like it'd be odd for them to be THAT generous with the booking of that feud with Okada.
Like, not saying they're the same, but it's like how Stardust Genius Naito had to graduate to LIJ Naito to reach his potential.
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Post by Starshine on Mar 20, 2023 19:30:14 GMT -5
With Kiyomiya, it all feels very deliberate, like that maybe he is being humbled so he can mature to another level. It otherwise feels like it'd be odd for them to be THAT generous with the booking of that feud with Okada. Like, not saying they're the same, but it's like how Stardust Genius Naito had to graduate to LIJ Naito to reach his potential. They've already done that story, and it took ages. Mutoh humbled the kid so badly that he basically had to appropriate his gimmick to beat the old man. NOAH's booking is ass, that's the issue. They didn't have any leverage with New Japan, and those guys had no interest in helping them prop up their ace, and really, why should they? It's not their problem.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,047
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on Mar 20, 2023 19:34:24 GMT -5
Hot take: I never felt like Kiyomiya was ever ace material. He’s never been unique enough to stand out for that. If he wasn’t cosplaying Mutoh, he was cosplaying Misawa. Not that his booking has helped or that Jake Lee is a better choice by any stretch but, that’s how I’ve always felt about Kaito. My main rebuttal would be: who else is there? Kenoh as the temporary solution until you can find someone else.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 20, 2023 20:38:00 GMT -5
Sanada's DDT is better than Skull End which always looks like he's yanking on the opponent's hair.
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Post by AwamoriRock on Mar 21, 2023 3:26:29 GMT -5
El Desperado will face Daisuke Sasaki at DDT’s Wrestle Peter Pan on July 23rd.
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Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Mar 21, 2023 3:34:33 GMT -5
Sanada's DDT is better than Skull End which always looks like he's yanking on the opponent's hair. I get what he's going for with the Skull End, but also kind of just wonder why he doesn't just do a Dragon Sleeper.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 21, 2023 4:09:49 GMT -5
Umino challenged Sabre post match for the TV Title
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 21, 2023 4:36:03 GMT -5
Video package aired, for apparently someone coming in.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 21, 2023 4:37:22 GMT -5
Couldn't tell who it was for.
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chrom
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Post by chrom on Mar 21, 2023 4:41:42 GMT -5
Kyle and Mark have made challenges for the Tag Titles.
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