http://www.ustream.tv/njpw
The card for tonight's show looks ridiculous.
Okada/Naito.. a rematch of the World Title match from the Tokyo Dome this year, also a rematch of the classic World Title match from 3/4/12 that hooked me on this promotion for good.
Nakamura/Honma.. can the ultimate underdog finally pull out a win, against the King of Strong Style no less? Crowd is going to be rabid for a Honma victory, despite taking on the most popular guy in the company.
Tanahashi/Fale.. not a match you would pencil in as a MOTYC, but Fale has proven his worth this year. He's wrestling the modern day HBK, the guy that has me convinced that Fritz had an illegitimate child in Japan back in '76, who grew up to have the discipline that Kerry didn't.
Styles/Goto.. a match I circled immediately when the blocks were announced. This should steal the show. Styles has been a complete beast so far, and Goto is a top-of-the-line MOTY-caliber guy. If this isn't the best match on the card, then Okada did it again~!
Undercard looks like nothing special and hopefully moves along quickly, but does include Shibata/Benjamin II. There is NOTHING like watching these live.
When is it?
ReplyDelete2:30am Pacific.. Less than 2 hours from now.. We got the coffee brewing, and the beer on ice..
ReplyDeleteA little behind on these shows. Just finished Night 1. The Ishii and Shibata matches were my personal favorites. Ishii's match told an easily story which helps with the language barrier, and it was just awesome watching Shibata kick the snot out of Nakamura. The Styles and Tanahashi matches were also good stuff.
ReplyDeleteJust one of the many things to like about New Japan, or purl in general, is that they only light the ring. It makes the matches actually seem important.
ReplyDeleteBtw, the Ishii/Gallows match was pretty great.
Best Gallows match that I can recall. Thumbs up...
ReplyDeleteOdd to see Ishii bump around like a Junior, but the dynamic really worked.
ReplyDeletewe popped hard getting Doc up for the brainbuster..
ReplyDeleteBest match of the first half. The rest were meh, although I really liked the closing sequence of Yano/Anderson.
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about watching this in the UK is that the shows start at 10:30am. Perfect if you're a part-time slob like me.
ReplyDeleteEven Dave Meltzer thinks that Dock Muraco likes Japanese Rasslin' just a tad too much.
ReplyDelete... and he would be right~!
ReplyDeleteI was able to snap a pic of Karl doing the Yano. Priceless~!
ReplyDeleteTwo great matches to start the 2nd half. When was the last time Shelty the X hit **** ???
ReplyDeleteGood to see him look motivated.
ReplyDeleteUpset! :O
ReplyDeleteShame about the end of the last match. Killed the heat at just the wrong time. Would've been **** for sure without the botch.
ReplyDeleteAnother upset! I'd go ****1/2 for that, it kicked into high gear at just the right time.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the japanese crowd always look like normal people, not the mouthbreathers you get at most WWE shows.
This is the best post-game show in recent memory..
ReplyDeleteDid Ishii become a victim of 50/50 booking for some big slug? Is Vince booking this?
ReplyDeleteThat's usually how some guys are booked in G1. Unfortunately he's too old for the NJPW management, they see him as a solid upper card guy, just that.
ReplyDeleteYeah, until we see otherwise, that NEVER Openweight Title reign was probably his big, glorious moment in the sun.
ReplyDeleteHe could win WOTY this year though. He's actually leading on most people's ballots, I'd assume. Ricochet's still out there, Okada's still out there, maybe Nakamura... But Ishii CARRIED the company on his back during the first half of the year. Without his matches, people would have lost faith in the company's direction during the whole Gracies era.
Most people get booked 50/50 through these tournaments though. They love the idea of half the guys being 5-4 on the last day with a chance to win and advance. ME personally, I really preferred the way they had Devitt go undefeated that one year. That was fucking great.
I'm a Ishii mark, I really hope they give him G1, the crowd will love to see that. That guy is strange bad-ass-underdog-heel. You're right, he carried the promotion this year, like Okada did last year. WOTY of the year award is definetely his, no one had a better matches than him.
ReplyDeleteStill finishing night 4, but I just need a forum to state how awesome AJ Styles trash talk is during the match with Naito. He's such a dick to the ref; I can't get enough of it.
ReplyDeleteStyles has been killing it in the tourney. another awesome match vs Goto, especially the finish.
ReplyDelete