Imagine the reaction if WWE does a match similar to

[chrom]

Kazuyuki Fujita vs Go Shiozaki

During the shutdown, they had an empty arena match for The GHC Heavyweight Championship. The match lasts almost an hour, and it's not until the half hour mark that they finally do something.

That's right, for half an hour they did nothing but stare at one another. Occasionally they would blink, and the closest they would get to finally locking up during that period was when they walked past one another to a different corner of the ring and go right back to staring at each other. The full match is actually posted on Youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=izmqSd1uSY8

What would it be like if WWE ever did something like that?

[avenger]

Dave Meltzer would give it one fewer star.

[avenger]

Kevin Dunn will have cut away just before they locked up.

[Final Countdown Jones]

No this was awesome, if WWE put in the effort to build the story that this had behind it, it'd rule. It's a weird sort of match, not something you can just pull off all the time, but as a one-time experiment, it ruled. f***ing wish WWE would put on stuff this funky.

[XIII]

I mean if you want to get some “creative” chants going just have two dudes stare at each other for 30 minutes. I’m doubtful that it would ever work in the WWE environment.

[coleslaw]

This probably would've worked for Roman vs. Sami

Or even better in the Royal Rumble. Everyone that enters just joins the staring contest

[Friday Night SmackOwn]

Feb 26, 2023 18:57:21 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

No this was awesome, if WWE put in the effort to build the story that this had behind it, it'd rule. It's a weird sort of match, not something you can just pull off all the time, but as a one-time experiment, it ruled. f***ing wish WWE would put on stuff this funky.

Edge and Orton’s Greatest Wrestling Match Ever would’ve been even greater if they did this spot note for note.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Also just I guess to provide some context for what's going on here because I know most people here aren't watching NOAH; Go Shiozaki's entire being is that he is NOAH's ace, that he is the unquestioned best to carry the legacy of Misawa and that he has the record and the defenses to back that confidence up. Bit of a chip on his shoulder due to the way the Japanese scene shifted over the years and NOAH became a secondary company. Fujita, here, is the grizzled veteran of K1 and PRIDE fights, former IWPG champion, who came in and called his shot on Go's spot and confidence. The lead-up had mind games to try and break his confidence and under that strength to weaken him up for this match.

So the staredown is Go standing firm to say "You aren't in my head and I won't flinch". As it goes on, you can see a lot of the movement is on the part of Fujita, and ultimately when the announcer calls that thirty minutes have elapsed, Go is still standing firm and confident as can be, while Fujita's finally shown enough cracks to lock up and put an end to this, because the staredown didn't break Go. It's genuinely an interesting opening segment even if it's low on action, not something you can really watch over again and enjoy, but for the story being told it did a great job of setting the rest of the match on to the foot it needed to be on.

This isn't the kind of match you can run in frontof a crowd. Any crowd. No promotion's crowd would be able to handle thirty minutes of two dudes staring at each other. But this does have a deeper purpose and weight to it than some horrible idea any promotion would be tarred and feathered for doing. It's every big dramatic staredown start to a match distilled into a mental war.

[A Platypus Rave is Correct]

Feb 26, 2023 18:07:33 GMT -5 chrom said:

Kazuyuki Fujita vs Go Shiozaki

During the shutdown, they had an empty arena match for The GHC Heavyweight Championship. The match lasts almost an hour, and it's not until the half hour mark that they finally do something.

That's right, for half an hour they did nothing but stare at one another. Occasionally they would blink, and the closest they would get to finally locking up during that period was when they walked past one another to a different corner of the ring and go right back to staring at each other. The full match is actually posted on Youtube.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=izmqSd1uSY8

What would it be like if WWE ever did something like that?

I mean... that's what Brock vs. Goldberg at Mania 20 felt like... >_>

But as said no crowd would actually sit and watch this for 30 minutes... good story behind it or not.

[Schizo]

That sounds like torture to sit through or watch

[avenger]

Feb 26, 2023 20:32:58 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

No promotion's crowd would be able to handle thirty minutes of two dudes staring at each other.

Unless it was billed as a Dabba-Kato/Omos 30 minute iron man match, in which case, you'd get 30 minutes of "this is awesome" chants.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Feb 27, 2023 3:41:14 GMT -5 avenger said:

Feb 26, 2023 20:32:58 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

No promotion's crowd would be able to handle thirty minutes of two dudes staring at each other.

Unless it was billed as a Dabba-Kato/Omos 30 minute iron man match, in which case, you'd get 30 minutes of "this is awesome" chants.

I'll concede that this would be the best kind of match Dabba-Kato and Omos could have together.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

"Two ugly people looking at each other, that's fun." Bobby Heenan.

[Xxcjb01xX [PIECE OF: SH-]]

It's honestly amazing how many matches you could watch the entire way through before these two even f***ing did a lockup

It's not something you could probably do ever again, but it's actually crazy they went a full thirty minutes just staring at each other for a storyline beat, and then mind you, went almost ANOTHER 30 minutes of actual wrestling. Shit's wild lol

[deezy]

Feb 27, 2023 4:46:14 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

"Two ugly people looking at each other, that's fun." Bobby Heenan.

First thing I thought of when I fast forwarded through the stare down. 😂

[polarbearpete]

Feb 26, 2023 20:32:58 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

Also just I guess to provide some context for what's going on here because I know most people here aren't watching NOAH; Go Shiozaki's entire being is that he is NOAH's ace, that he is the unquestioned best to carry the legacy of Misawa and that he has the record and the defenses to back that confidence up. Bit of a chip on his shoulder due to the way the Japanese scene shifted over the years and NOAH became a secondary company. Fujita, here, is the grizzled veteran of K1 and PRIDE fights, former IWPG champion, who came in and called his shot on Go's spot and confidence. The lead-up had mind games to try and break his confidence and under that strength to weaken him up for this match.

So the staredown is Go standing firm to say "You aren't in my head and I won't flinch". As it goes on, you can see a lot of the movement is on the part of Fujita, and ultimately when the announcer calls that thirty minutes have elapsed, Go is still standing firm and confident as can be, while Fujita's finally shown enough cracks to lock up and put an end to this, because the staredown didn't break Go. It's genuinely an interesting opening segment even if it's low on action, not something you can really watch over again and enjoy, but for the story being told it did a great job of setting the rest of the match on to the foot it needed to be on.

This isn't the kind of match you can run in frontof a crowd. Any crowd. No promotion's crowd would be able to handle thirty minutes of two dudes staring at each other. But this does have a deeper purpose and weight to it than some horrible idea any promotion would be tarred and feathered for doing. It's every big dramatic staredown start to a match distilled into a mental war.

I appreciate the story behind it but could the same feeling and story have been conveyed with a 15 minute stare down instead of 30 would be my question.

[Push R Truth]

The first half of that match could have been an email.

[Final Countdown Jones]

Feb 27, 2023 10:30:19 GMT -5 polarbearpete said:

Feb 26, 2023 20:32:58 GMT -5 Final Countdown Jones said:

Also just I guess to provide some context for what's going on here because I know most people here aren't watching NOAH; Go Shiozaki's entire being is that he is NOAH's ace, that he is the unquestioned best to carry the legacy of Misawa and that he has the record and the defenses to back that confidence up. Bit of a chip on his shoulder due to the way the Japanese scene shifted over the years and NOAH became a secondary company. Fujita, here, is the grizzled veteran of K1 and PRIDE fights, former IWPG champion, who came in and called his shot on Go's spot and confidence. The lead-up had mind games to try and break his confidence and under that strength to weaken him up for this match.

So the staredown is Go standing firm to say "You aren't in my head and I won't flinch". As it goes on, you can see a lot of the movement is on the part of Fujita, and ultimately when the announcer calls that thirty minutes have elapsed, Go is still standing firm and confident as can be, while Fujita's finally shown enough cracks to lock up and put an end to this, because the staredown didn't break Go. It's genuinely an interesting opening segment even if it's low on action, not something you can really watch over again and enjoy, but for the story being told it did a great job of setting the rest of the match on to the foot it needed to be on.

This isn't the kind of match you can run in frontof a crowd. Any crowd. No promotion's crowd would be able to handle thirty minutes of two dudes staring at each other. But this does have a deeper purpose and weight to it than some horrible idea any promotion would be tarred and feathered for doing. It's every big dramatic staredown start to a match distilled into a mental war.

I appreciate the story behind it but could the same feeling and story have been conveyed with a 15 minute stare down instead of 30 would be my question.

It could have, and they do announce the 15 minute mark in NOAH too, but the 15 minute announcement is shortly followed in the match by Fujita starting toward the next corner, which is the first major sign of him starting to falter as Go holds fast. It could have been compressed, but there's something to be said for the use of the time announcements as markers that end up grinding further on Fujita, and integrating them in to the psychology of him cracking when he did. The feeling of "seven minutes have elapsed I should start clenching up" doesn't come across quite the same to the view as an announcer calling that a quarter or half the match has elapsed, and the pressure that that puts on one man but not on the other. That, itself, is something that holds more specifically to a puro promotion where they have somebody announce the time, and integrating it into the match.

[fg]

Feb 27, 2023 4:46:14 GMT -5 Cranjis McBasketball said:

"Two ugly people looking at each other, that's fun." Bobby Heenan.

I remember in the old game War Zone, if nothing was happening for a few minutes, you could hear this commentary.

JR: “I rather watch two old women slap each other.”