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I'll go to bat for Chase as a fun prelim guy but Yujiro just stinks
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Jan 7, 2020 04:03
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 21:56 |
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I put up with a lot of weird takes in this thread but I'll be damned if y'all start up a Fale Is Actually Good train
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Jan 7, 2020 06:58
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At least Nagata and Kojima can still go. Nakanishi has been washed for at least 4 years and Tenzan is looking pretty rough these days. It's time for them commit to their cushy office jobs full-time.
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Jan 7, 2020 07:54
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Kenny drew 9,000 for KOPW with a three-way match involving Cody that everyone claimed was a horrible idea that would kill the company. His title reign was extremely successful, despite what the Twitter concern trolls would have you believe.
Benne fucked around with this message at 21:04 on Jan 8, 2020 |
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Jan 8, 2020 21:02
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Cody has become one of my favorite wrestlers in the world and I still have zero desire to see him in an NJPW ring again
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Jan 8, 2020 22:56
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Barnett worked himself into a shoot so hard he started running actual worked-shoot shows
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Jan 9, 2020 00:34
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Pieter is way too cool for Yujiro
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Jan 10, 2020 00:47
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https://twitter.com/willh94/status/1215758603421913088 FinJuice is a draw brother
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Jan 10, 2020 23:34
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FinJuice are such hot draws they crashed the website
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Jan 10, 2020 23:49
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https://twitter.com/reasonjp/status/1218713774158299136
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Jan 19, 2020 03:01
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*taps forehead* Can't fail a brain exam if there's no brain
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Jan 19, 2020 03:15
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Even he can't believe there are people who want to hang around him
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Jan 26, 2020 23:22
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In fairness I would look like that too if I had to be in Tampa and Nashville on a weekend
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Jan 27, 2020 00:24
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https://twitter.com/realchaseowens/status/1223477422412259333 What a worker 
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Feb 1, 2020 07:07
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MJeff posted:Also, uh. I kind of did feel like they sorta wasted the culmination of Tanahashi's really really great complete comeback storyline and Omega's farewell at WK13 by just having Tanahashi get his rear end whipped for a month straight and then lose clean. I still feel kind of strongly that he should've carried the belt to MSG. It doesn't bug me that much because having the belt and main eventing MSG gives Jay credibility as a top card guy that he otherwise would still kind of be searching for. But I just think the stuff that happened at the dome should stick for at least a little while, because it's supposed to be the culmination of everything from the past year. I gotta hard disagree here, Tana's story ended at the Dome. The entire point of his redemption arc was trying to show that he could crawl back to the top one last time, and he made it in the biggest spot, and now he has nothing left to prove. There was no reason to give him a long reign, because the story had already been told. Dropping the belt on the first defense was absolutely the right call, especially when the goal is to elevate White. E: Hell, this story is like a retro throwback to all the times Dusty Rhodes scrapped and crawled to the belt while fans were begging him along, and almost always peaked/ended with him winning the title. How many Dusty Rhodes title reigns do you remember? None, because the chase was the real story, and it was okay if he quickly dropped it back to Flair, because the character and fans got their satisfying payoff and that's what will stand the test of time. Tana's 2018 chase very much has the same energy, with pretty much the same ending. Benne fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Feb 2, 2020 |
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Feb 2, 2020 03:23
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Okada is already a living legend at age 31, and I keep telling people, we haven't even come close to the Grizzled Veteran Okada stage of his career, which will be loving glorious.
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Feb 2, 2020 03:43
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MJeff posted:I've never been a particularly strong believer in "the chase matters more than the reign", tbh. I'm not saying it's never true, but I love a good strong babyface reign, personally and for what is probably gonna be Tanahashi's last reign, I dunno, I would've liked at least one title defense. That's completely fair, and I'm totally with you in preferring long babyface title reigns, but for the circumstances of the time I thought they did a great job in juggling "beloved legend getting one last run at the top" and "getting over the next top gaijin heel" stories at the same time. White decisively beating Okada the same night as Tana's big win was low-key a brilliant move to set him up for his title run. Benne fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Feb 2, 2020 |
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Feb 2, 2020 04:42
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Low Desert Punk posted:during the archer/cobb match, archer brought cobb over the railing and into the crowd and people loving bailed and screamed like those old videos of people running away from bruiser brody. archer is really something special. Archer is one of the few modern gaijin wrestlers who truly gets the meaning, history, and implications of being a big scary American monster in Japan, and he leans into that for amazing effect. I think he'll do great in AEW, but that unique presence and the way he carries himself will be missed in NJPW. Benne fucked around with this message at 05:11 on Feb 2, 2020 |
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Feb 2, 2020 05:09
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IceAgeComing posted:I mean the Bucks were never really that over in Japan; how much of that was them and how much of that was the overall crowd feeling to tag teams is questionable but I'd not have given them a bigger push in Japan. The issues with the tag division is more complicated than "they should have pushed the Bucks". I mean, it's kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy -- New Japan doesn't push tag teams, so they don't push the Bucks, so the Bucks aren't draws in Japan and don't get the big paychecks they do in the US. Eventually the Bucks look at their paystubs and decide it's no longer worth the effort flying over and missing their families for weeks at a time to work like 3rd on the card, and then Tony comes along and promises them huge money to be top guys and EVPs of their own company. Why wouldn't they jump at the chance?
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Feb 2, 2020 05:55
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So who is everyone's favorite to win NJC? Feels like a wide-open field this year and I can't pin down an obvious winner, which is certainly a good thing from a fan perspective. Just handicapping the potential contenders off the top of my head. Okada: Won it last year and there's no reason to run Okada/Naito again this soon. You can never count out the company ace making a run, but there aren't many compelling reasons to give it to him this time. 20%. Tanahashi: The legend always needs respect, but I expect a repeat of his G1 run where he's clearly not a factor and mostly uses his run to put over younger talent. Whom he loses to will be more telling than whether he goes all the way. 5%. Jay White: He just beat SANADA so there's the proverbial "momentum" going into this. The company loves Jay, he's getting pushed as the top gaijin heel, and he currently doesn't have a belt, so it would not shock me if he at least gets to the final. The big question is whether another White/Naito match can draw at Sakura Genesis, but they've never been afraid to rocket-strap Jay at any moment, so don't get mad at me if he runs the table thanks to a little help from his BC friends. 70%. KENTA: He won't win since they just did KENTA/Naito, but the challenger helping to sell out Osaka-Jo Hall has to be a huge feather in his cap. I expect him to make a run and beat some fan faves along the way as the company continues rolling with him as one of its most hated villains. 30%. Ibushi: Currently in the tag title picture along with Tana, though I doubt that will factor into his NJC booking. I wasn't worried about Kota going 0-2 at the Dome because he's a beloved underdog who can get heated up at any time, and this is one of those spots where you can easily trust him to win the Cup and draw big for the title match. Ibushi/Naito is well-established as a heated feud with insane matches, so don't be surprised if they go back to that well. 70%. Jon Moxley: Would be a fun darkhorse pick if it wasn't for his stateside commitments. He's likely winning the AEW title on Feb. 29, and I doubt they'll be thrilled about their new champion immediately heading to Japan for a tournament he's probably not winning. Then again, Mox has a different deal with NJPW separate from AEW, so if he wants to work the NJC, they may not have much choice (other than just not putting the belt on him, which seems like the most leverage they have). Either way, if he's in this thing, then it'll be a great time no matter how early he goes out. 10%. Shingo: He was my clubhouse leader before winning the NEVER title, which lowers his odds just a little bit. Still, they're committed to pushing him and there's a built-in story of him facing his stable leader, so a run to the final would not be surprising. 50%. SANADA: They're now pushing the story that he hasn't won a singles match in 6 months, so the NJC feels like the perfect time for him to get off the skids and run up some wins when it counts. The problem is the same one as Shingo's -- do you want to run a major show with stablemates against each other when you just did that story with Naito/Hiromu at the Anniversary show? Either way, I'm very fascinated to see how SANADA's tourney goes, he's getting deep into poo poo-or-get-off-the-pot territory so either pull the trigger or don't. Even his most hardcore fans are tired of waiting around. 40%. Will Ospreay: The more I think about this, the more I'm talking myself into Will winning. His push into the heavyweight division has been more touch-and-go than expected -- he got a cup of coffee with the NEVER belt, won BOSJ, entered the G1 as junior champion before teaming with Robbie Eagles in the Super Junior Tag League, and finally dropped the junior belt to Hiromu at WK. Now he's feuding with ZSJ over the RevPro belt, which feels like a placeholder to me. If there was ever a time to fully commit to Heavyweight Will, it would be the NJC. We know he can deliver in tournaments so nobody's worried about match quality, this would be his first major accolade outside the junior division, and Will/Naito is both a fresh matchup and a great chance for Will to show he can draw on top in that company. Giving him the cup feels like a win/win for everyone involved, which means I'll be swerved out of my loving pants if it doesn't happen. 90%. Benne fucked around with this message at 07:44 on Feb 12, 2020 |
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Feb 12, 2020 07:38
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Does YOSHI-HASHI literally not know how to smile
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Feb 12, 2020 20:09
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Chris James 2 posted:3 years ago Me in 2016 vs. me in 2020
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Feb 13, 2020 18:24
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Does NJPW run Okinawa regularly? I can't remember the last time they had a show there.
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Feb 17, 2020 05:44
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Yeah if you grew up with an older brother then no drywall on the planet is safe Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything
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Feb 19, 2020 05:31
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extradite THIS! posted:https://twitter.com/njpwglobal/status/1231926752600936449?s=19 I'm convinced they're just ribbing him at this point
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Feb 24, 2020 20:06
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El Gallinero Gros posted:I wonder when Ospreay gets pushed to heavyweight He made it official after he won the British title from ZSJ
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Feb 25, 2020 00:13
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MJeff posted:Ospreay apologized for being a dope around the end of BoSJ and has been Good at the Tweets since then. Moving to Japan and getting away from the BritWres bubble seems to have done a lot to chill him out Anyway, Kelly and Charlton have been doing a cool little project where they do English commentary over classic NJPW matches. This one is well worth watching at only 10 minutes. https://twitter.com/njpwworld/status/1232148049037680640 Benne fucked around with this message at 05:04 on Feb 25, 2020 |
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Feb 25, 2020 04:58
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Kind of a weird way to announce it but here are some NJC 1st-round matchups so far Ospreay/Shingo Tana/Taichi Ibushi/ZSJ Finlay/Tanga Loa Tenzan/YOSHI Ishii/Henare Suzuki/Nagata (!!!!!) Pretty sure this is Tanga Loa's first singles match in at least 2 years
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Feb 25, 2020 05:28
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Pleasantly surprised to see LA boys in there, Fredericks/KENTA looks like a banger
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Feb 25, 2020 05:33
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Lance Archer is a ... noticeable absence
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Feb 25, 2020 05:39
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Looking over the cards now, Henare main-eventing Korakuen on Night 1 is quite the vote of confidence
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Feb 25, 2020 05:41
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MJeff posted:It's time to poo poo or get off the pot with the dude. I would've liked to see him get a bit more booking momentum before this cause I kinda wonder if that match on its own is enough to fill Korakuen, but if he gets the W, that gives him a bunch of credibility. I'm guessing they're banking on "Night 1" being enough to fill the building and using this spot to elevate Henare. Either way, Henare has quietly gotten really good, this is probably the biggest match of his career and Ishii is the perfect opponent for him, so I'm pretty confident that he'll kill it.
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Feb 25, 2020 05:58
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I expect Shingo to get his win back, if only to personally troll me after I stumped for Will to win the whole thing
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Feb 25, 2020 06:03
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Ospreay/Shingo II is a really tough one to call, especially with the winner probably going to the Final Four at minimum. At first glance you think Shingo's getting his win back and they push the NEVER champ over the RevPro champ, but Will just made his move to heavyweight official and maybe they want to give the new heavyweight a strong win out of the gate. But hell, if it's half as good as their BOSJ match then you're not worried about the loser losing his shine, so go tear the house down and the rest will sort itself out. Benne fucked around with this message at 06:38 on Feb 25, 2020 |
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Feb 25, 2020 06:33
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Mikey's best stuff is in tag teams, he's never been interesting as a singles guy
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Feb 25, 2020 20:58
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They did a Korakuen main event last year where everyone played their characters from My Dad Is A Heel Wrestler and Tana going full Saturday Morning Cartoon villain was loving incredible Speaking of which, did that movie ever get an English subtitle?
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Feb 27, 2020 07:55
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If they cant do live shows then boosting World content is a pretty good use of their time
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Feb 29, 2020 23:25
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Goto looks surprised and a little confused that he made the poster
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Mar 11, 2020 01:36
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Low-Ki and Austin Aries both have the same problem where they're way too committed to kayfabe and "making it real," but end up exposing it by making asses of themselves every time they have to do a job.
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Mar 16, 2020 07:00
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| # ¿ Apr 26, 2024 21:56 |
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Gedo did some crucially important work getting Okada over back when he was still growing into the role and trying to find his charisma. I don't know if the initial rocket push takes nearly as well without Gedo by his side.
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Mar 22, 2020 01:32
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