The Puroresu (Japanese Wrestling) thread

RollieFingers · 11-09-2020 3:26pm

Ibushi vs Okada and Naito vs Tanahashi announced for the first two nights to hopefully kick both blocks off with a bang.

The White Wolf · 11-09-2020 8:49pm

RollieFingers wrote: »

Ibushi vs Okada and Naito vs Tanahashi announced for the first two nights to hopefully kick both blocks off with a bang.

Ibushi surely coming out of that round as the big headliner.

RollieFingers · 19-09-2020 11:18am

Cracking start to the G1, the condensed show of just the young lions match and then the G1 matches is an excellent format, easily digestible.

Ishii/Suzuki was excellent, can't beat a bit of ultra-violence on a Saturday morning! Was surprised Ibushi won but was another fantastic match, Shingo/White was good but they need to relax on the Red Shoes bumps, happens way too often. Was delighted Taichi won and good to have Ospreay back too, nice little return match with Yujiro.

raven136 · 19-09-2020 12:51pm

White is the perfect heel, plays it so well

Really excellent start to the G1

Neil3030 · 19-09-2020 1:32pm

Enjoy the G1 folks, not a hope I can keep up with it this year, so will be dipping in and out of NJPW world as I can find time; hopefully catch up by the Tokyo Dome in Jan

LineOfBeauty · 20-09-2020 8:56am

Loved it yesterday morning. It really felt like big time wrestling was back. Lowest I went on any match yesterday was 3.25. The show flew by, effort level all around super high too. Some interesting stories being told with Ospreay and Okada too. Nothing beats G1 season.

RollieFingers · 20-09-2020 12:24pm

Big time wrestling is back! Today's main event was brilliant, it was the Naito and Tanahashi of old going to war, Tana even bringing back the High Fly Flow to the outside.

Juice/YOSHI-HASHI turned out really good too, and a great reaction to ZSJ getting the win. Yet again another Red Shoes bump though!

Naito/ZSJ, Ishii/Ospreay and Suzuki/Taichi to look forward to during the week.

LineOfBeauty · 20-09-2020 4:06pm

I wanna do some takes on today's show later but I just want to say it was a great show and I've got Naito / Tana in my top 5 matches of the year.

LineOfBeauty · 22-09-2020 1:23pm

Just finished Night 1 of NOAH's N1. Very enjoyable I thought. Had no tournament matches below 3 stars and went 4 stars on the Nakajima/Kenou main event.

Kiyomiya/Mochizuki was solid, though my gripe was that after the extended leg work Kaito just didn't sell it nearly enough. I'm pretty laid back on limb selling but like if the entire match is built around leg work (and really great leg work on top of that from Mochizuki) then you've got to sell it. If anything, he should be hobbling to the ring for the next match!

With Shiozaki/Soya you saw a more experienced pro selling the limb (Shiozaki's arm in this case) without it limiting his offence, it added to the match and ultimately to the finish. Shiozaki starts the tournament strong and, if you have enjoyed at least 1 of his out of the ordinary GHC Title defences then he's got to be in your top 10 wrestlers of the year so far.

I'm a mark for stiff matches and Nakajima and Kenou walloping each other absolutely did it for me.

RollieFingers · 22-09-2020 3:30pm

Man Japan is killing it at the minute, I still need to catch up on the N1. I believe the first night is free to watch on DDT Universe?

Finished the 5 Star and caught Dangerous Gate over the weekend. The 5 Star was the usual STARDOM greatness, looks like they're strapping the rocket to Utami.

She is great but I still think DDM are the best thing in the promotion at the minute. Giulia is the total package, Syuri is an OG killer and there's huge potential in Maika and Himeka.

Dangerous Gate was really good too, Doi/Kzy, Ishida/Maria and the Twin Gate mathes were all fantastic. The cage match was the usual madness, was convinced EITA was getting the boot, delighted he hung on. Poor Big R!

Seems the Champion Carnival is getting slightly lost in the shuffle, haven't watched any and have barely heard about it online.

LineOfBeauty · 22-09-2020 5:23pm

RollieFingers wrote: »

Man Japan is killing it at the minute, I still need to catch up on the N1. I believe the first night is free to watch on DDT Universe?

Finished the 5 Star and caught Dangerous Gate over the weekend. The 5 Star was the usual STARDOM greatness, looks like they're strapping the rocket to Utami.

She is great but I still think DDM are the best thing in the promotion at the minute. Giulia is the total package, Syuri is an OG killer and there's huge potential in Maika and Himeka.

Dangerous Gate was really good too, Doi/Kzy, Ishida/Maria and the Twin Gate mathes were all fantastic. The cage match was the usual madness, was convinced EITA was getting the boot, delighted he hung on. Poor Big R!

Seems the Champion Carnival is getting slightly lost in the shuffle, haven't watched any and have barely heard about it online.

Tried to get through Night 1 of Champions Carnival, couldn't do it. Compared to G1 and N1 it seemed very plodding and basic, low effort all round. I will try again I'm sure.

LineOfBeauty · 23-09-2020 1:01pm

Right some hot off the press takes from the G1 Night 3 show that just finished.

Shingo 0-2 is a bit disappointing but it looks like he's pegged in that Ishii 5-4 or 4-5 role at the moment. Never thought he'd win it but I'd like to see him get a W against one of the big heavyweights in the block. All action match against Cobb. Cobb isn't always a lock for strong performances but 2 matches so far and both really good. ***1/2

Okada's match followed the story of the last match against Ibushi and of his summer. The man is all over the shop. Yujiro must have had like 70% of the match, Okada never attempted the Rainmaker. Outclassed by Ibushi and pushed to the edge by Yujiro, Okada will have his redemption as the tournament goes on. The action was OK, but I like the story so a bit of a generous ***

Taichi getting a clean as a sheet win over Suzuki is pretty cool and lined him up for a NEVER Title shot down the line. ***1/2

Loved Ospreay/Ishii. That finish was mental, the work was super crisp. I can see why maybe the complaint about the match was not enough selling in between spots but it didn't bother me here, the work was just too good and the Ospreay evolution into a heel was well underway here. I went big here with ****1/2

Not that many shenanigans in the White/Ibushi match. Really good work, White was always a lock to go deep in this tournament (he's my pick to win it) and I liked this a lot more than the numerous ref bumps we usually see. Given the Okada story atm, would love to see White beat him clean in the main event of the next A block show. ****

RollieFingers · 23-09-2020 9:31pm

For me Ibushi/White was a better match than last year's final, great stuff, Jay is one of the best heels around. I think it could be the J1 when all is said and done too.

Loved Suzuki/Taichi as well, Suzuki-gun are usually kept apart in tournaments so was very interesting to see. Taichi was fairly relentless and got a convincing win over the King, wouldn't surprise me if we are on the road to Taichi-gun.

LineOfBeauty · 25-09-2020 1:48pm

Jay White really stepping up here. Absense has made the heart grow fonder and with less shenanigans in his matches it's far easier to warm to him. He's got star presence, wrestles like a main event guy and carries himself as such. That Ibushi main event from Night 3 is a must see banger.

Night 4 was probably the weakest show yet. I'm seeing mixed reviews for the last 2 matches but I enjoyed Yoshi Hashi /EVIL. Certainly not to the same extent as White/Ibushi (it's nearly impossible not to compare the White matches to EVIL matches) but it got the crowd hooked, the work was good. Not sure about Yoshi pushing EVIL to the limit, but given that they played off the NJ Cup squash in the story of the match I can give that a pass. Went 4 stars flat.

The main divided opinion but I really enjoyed it. Zack makes you wrestle his match and it was only at the 25 minute mark (I think) when Zack has to up the pace to get the win that he loses control of the match which allows Naito to win. Nice little story, I don't think it's the best match these 2 have had against each other but again I went 4 stars on this too.

Sunday's Block A show has all the makings of an absolute banger!!

RollieFingers · 27-09-2020 12:38pm

That Ospreay/Shingo match was incredible, two of the best in the world without a doubt. Ospreay was heeling it up in the build up saying he would beat Shingo in the Dragon Gate stronghold of Kobe,and continued that with the overly cocky performance in the match, delighted Shingo caught him slipping.

Ibushi and Ishii beating the sh*t out of each other was brilliant too, of course. Probably the best night of the G1 so far for me.

sky88 · 29-09-2020 10:16am

Harold is out wonder could that mean more cooperation between aew

https://twitter.com/RossWBermanIV/status/1310838491476119552?s=20

LineOfBeauty · 29-09-2020 4:28pm

The last A Block show rocked and now I have Shingo/Ospreay as my current match of the tournament. Ishii/Ibushi is at 3rd (Tana/Naito dropping to 2nd) and Jay White is great. Maybe it's because he was gone for a while, maybe it's because the EVIL version of his act comes across really low rent in comparison, but my Jay White appreciation has never been higher. He's the best heel around.

Today's show was pretty good. Yano being the semi main meant all other matches had a few extra minutes that their slots wouldn't normally allow for. My favourite match of the night was ZSJ/Kenta which I genuinely think was a banger. They worked it nice and stiff, some cool reversal spots and that GTS was brutal! ****

Juice/Tana a bit disappointing, probably around ***1/4 and the finish wasn't the slickest.

Naito has the working boots on this tournament. His main event here against Goto was very good ***3/4 and afterwards him saying that he dispatched Goto easier than his previous 2 opponents was a cool touch. The champion right now is on fire, that's the story. But next up it's Sanada in his home prefecture and it could all change very quickly for Naito.

RollieFingers · 29-09-2020 8:43pm

Loved KENTA/ZSJ too, cracker. SANADA getting beat by YOSHI-HASHI is certainly something, was expecting more from Cold Skull. Looking forward to Ospreay/White and Ishii/Shingo tomorrow.

LineOfBeauty · 30-09-2020 9:54am

RollieFingers wrote: »

Loved KENTA/ZSJ too, cracker. SANADA getting beat by YOSHI-HASHI is certainly something, was expecting more from Cold Skull. Looking forward to Ospreay/White and Ishii/Shingo tomorrow.

Ospreay/White particularly has me excited. They've great chemistry together, they, along with Ibushi and Ishii, are probably the tournament stand outs so far.

RollieFingers · 30-09-2020 8:54pm

A Block is wide open now after Ospreay's victory, was hoping the Switchblade would win, really good match though. The main was good but for me something was missing to make it great. Impressive performances from Cobb and Taichi in particular against Okada today I thought.

raven136 · 10-10-2020 11:37am

The G1 is just great.
Love NJPW so much

RollieFingers · 10-10-2020 12:22pm

I think today's show was the best so far, Ibushi/Suzuki and Okada/Shingo were both brilliant. Four way tie at the top of A Block now with two matches to go!

raven136 · 10-10-2020 12:31pm

RollieFingers wrote: »

I think today's show was the best so far, Ibushi/Suzuki and Okada/Shingo were both brilliant. Four way tie at the top of A Block now with two matches to go!

Great show today and great booking

RollieFingers · 17-10-2020 12:12pm

Two good nights from the final round of block matches. Ibushi/Taichi is up there for match of the tournament for me, fantastic match with a really unique structure. Not much more can be said about how good Ibushi is but Taichi has had a really solid G1 too, and has the NEVER shot against Suzuki in the bag.

The Ospreay heel turn is fascinating, him turning on Okada is huge. Had a feeling he might finally get the win against him but never thought it would involve Bea and the Great-O-Khan! Khan looked great, wonder is this the beginning of a new unit? The match itself was a cracker too.

Ishii/White and KENTA/Naito were very good too, I enjoyed EVIL/SANADA but there was way too much interference throughout.

Overall I thought it was a really good, borderline great G1, but as said had a tad too much WWE-trope sh*te involved, mostly from BC, to make it really great. Thankfully Ibushi/SANADA will give the final the great wrestling match it deserves.

LineOfBeauty · 28-10-2020 12:37pm

Wrote a big long thing about the G1 final week, near the end my laptop decided to do an automatic restart so not doing that again!

A few takes though, Sanada was so mediocre throughout it's crazy. He has a strong crowd connection, his post match stuff looks great. He looks like a guy you'd build your company around. The problem is his in ring isn't capable of reaching the highs of other NJPW headliners and he just doesn't radiate star presence most of the time. NJPW believe in him, but I think they've got the wrong guy.

Jay White on the other hand is the right guy. He's great, he's never been better than he was in this tournament. He has all the things NJPW look for in a headliner, and he has the in ring and star presence to go with it. He's the best heel in wrestling right now without doubt, but when the switch happens he'll be a monster face for them.

Really excited to see where the Ospreay stuff goes. Another great tournament for a great pro wrestler, the company believe in him, he's gotten his own faction and a match with Okada at the Dome awaits. The Ospreay push has well and truly begun.

All in all really enjoyed the G1. With the limitations in terms of travel (at least 2, probably 3 of the guys in the tournament would not have been in had the full roster been available) and the clap crowds they did their best and it really was all you could ask of them. As good as other G1's in recent times? No, but the mere fact that we had a G1 and that it was not a million miles off the quality of previous G1's in 2020 that must be considered a success.

RollieFingers · 02-11-2020 3:52pm

The participants in the BOSJ have been announced - Ishimori, El Desperado, Douki, Kanemaru, Hiromu, Taguchi,
Robbie Eagles, BUSHI, SHO and Wato.

Predictable enough lineup, but only one block instead of the usual two which is good. Hiromu or SHO have to be favourites you'd think.

They also announced the return of the Super J cup, running as a one-night tournament with the American roster.

ELP, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, ACH, Blake Christian, TJP, Chris Bey and Rey Horus will take part, so there is representation from Impact, GCW and ROH but interestingly nobody from AEW.

Should be a cracking week of Puro ahead with Power Struggle and the Gate of Destiny. For NJPW Ibushi and White stands out, for DG EITA/KZY and in particular Ishida/Okuda have the potential to be late MOTY contenders.

LineOfBeauty · 02-11-2020 6:12pm

RollieFingers wrote: »

The participants in the BOSJ have been announced - Ishimori, El Desperado, Douki, Kanemaru, Hiromu, Taguchi,
Robbie Eagles, BUSHI, SHO and Wato.

Predictable enough lineup, but only one block instead of the usual two which is good. Hiromu or SHO have to be favourites you'd think.

They also announced the return of the Super J cup, running as a one-night tournament with the American roster.

ELP, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, ACH, Blake Christian, TJP, Chris Bey and Rey Horus will take part, so there is representation from Impact, GCW and ROH but interestingly nobody from AEW.

Should be a cracking week of Puro ahead with Power Struggle and the Gate of Destiny. For NJPW Ibushi and White stands out, for DG EITA/KZY and in particular Ishida/Okuda have the potential to be late MOTY contenders.

Super J Cup lineup is definitely more newsworthy. Can't wait for that show. It's a great weekend of wrestling when you throw Full Gear into the mix too!

LineOfBeauty · 03-11-2020 5:01pm

Really enjoyed Gate of Destiny earlier, Okuda/Ishida was great stuff and the main event was fantastic. No spoilers but the post match was crazy too.

RollieFingers if you've got any recommendations on what to watch that's currently available on the Dragon Gate Network please do fire them my way!

RollieFingers · 04-11-2020 9:07am

Really enjoyed it too, Ishida/Okuda was class, I think it's been the feud of the year and that match was brilliant, hard-hitting and loved that it didn't go overly long in match length. Already looking forward to the rematch at Kobe World.

Thought the main was almost great until the end, that finish was BS though. Aside from that was one of the more violent KZY matches and a much needed defence for EITA. Some ending alright, Shun looked incredible.

And talk about strapping a rocket to Kento Kobune. Two submission victories and now a part of R.E.D along with a championship less than a year into your pro career is a very good nights work.

The DG network can be a bit random in terms of uploads, I'm not sure what's on there in the library really. You can't go wrong with DG though, it's the best and most entertaining Japanese promotion around at the minute for me.

LineOfBeauty · 05-11-2020 12:46pm

RollieFingers wrote: »

Really enjoyed it too, Ishida/Okuda was class, I think it's been the feud of the year and that match was brilliant, hard-hitting and loved that it didn't go overly long in match length. Already looking forward to the rematch at Kobe World.

Thought the main was almost great until the end, that finish was BS though. Aside from that was one of the more violent KZY matches and a much needed defence for EITA. Some ending alright, Shun looked incredible.

And talk about strapping a rocket to Kento Kobune. Two submission victories and now a part of R.E.D along with a championship less than a year into your pro career is a very good nights work.

The DG network can be a bit random in terms of uploads, I'm not sure what's on there in the library really. You can't go wrong with DG though, it's the best and most entertaining Japanese promotion around at the minute for me.

Shun looked jacked up!! And ye talk about rocket strapping a guy in one night, Kento Kobune arrived!

As ever, thanks Rollie. Their back catalogue is quite good, I thought it would be far more limited than it is given what I've heard about their OTT service. I've begun to run through shows from yesteryear.

The Puroresu (Japanese Wrestling) thread

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