NJPW (Discussion)

[rollup]

having been to Japan twice to watch live , i can say that the crowd really likes and responds to Yano's antics and shouting; the same goes for Taguchi.

AS for the Suzuki gun/bullet club kind of interference, generally it doesn't draw a bad reaction, it depends who does it. For example , Bushi has his legion of fans, so they are not going to groan when he does his mists. When suzuki does it , they have already accept he is a madman.

[suplexberry]

Did not watch all of Lions' Gate but did check out Yoshida vs Kojima. Really good, compact, fun singles match. Well worth checking out. I love this Ayato Yoshida, based on all the four matches I've seen him in. Very promising talent.

[Jacob's Bawks]

Well, NJPW agrees which is why they are having him headline the next Lion's Gate in the card they just announced. He's teaming with Kojima, no less.

1. Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. El Desperado

2. Hirai Kawato & Shota Umino vs. Gedo & Jado

3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask IV vs. Dinosaur Takuma [K-DOJO] & Takuya Nomura [BJW]

4. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Katsuya Kitamura

5. YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuma Aoyagi [AJPW]

6. Yuji Nagata & Tomoyuki Oka vs. Satoshi Kojima & Ayato Yoshida [K-DOJO]

It wouldn't be crazy to say NJPW might want him. Maybe TAKA's angling for him to get signed and move on to bigger things, but I don't know jack about K-DOJO so I'm not so sure about that assumption. Nomura in an NJPW ring is quite impressive, and Tenzan is fighting the Dinosaur again in the lowkey feud of the year

[King Of Indy Style]

Massive news from War of the Worlds

[Guilherme Jaeger]

Sincerely don't know what to make of this.

On one hand, it's a cool way to generate some interest and stakes for the cards in the USA, and will likely be intertwined with a more consistent approach to running U.S. shows. I reckon it will be defended on ROH a LOT.

Of course they haven't announced any details and I'm just guessing, but it kinda feels like WWE's UK Championship though. Which, if it is like that, is not a concept I particularly enjoy to be honest, as I'm not necessarily fond country-specific titles. Also, NJPW has A LOT of belts as is. Introducing one more feels like overkill. Unless they unify some belts, I don't know.

I guess we'll see, but I'm leaning negative towards this belts on the long run, even if I think it will make the G1 Special shows more interesting.

[Joe Lanza]

The plan all along was to open up a U.S. territory, i'm not sure why people are so surprised that they added a title to go along with it.

Meltzer reported this months ago. We did multiple shows on the topic. This isn't really surprising news.

[Grammarian]

Bullet Club is represented.



By Marty Scurll.

Ya called it.

[BackLash]

Bullet Club is represented.



By Marty Scurll.

Ya called it.

With Adam Cole literally being kicked out on the same night.

I'm excited about this United States Championship. The one thing New Japan Pro Wrestling is good at, along with doing this for their talent, is giving their titles purpose. While the right guys don't always win said titles, New Japan is very good about protecting their lineage. At the end of the tournament, you have to figure they also want to put the title on us very strong contender. I'm confident that this will not only be another feather in the cap of their full-time gaijins, but also bring in some top-tier talent from the United States and Canada into the company.

[Danwaka]

So are they calling their American sub-territory NJPW USA? I mean, USPW could probably work...

[PKThree]

Well. The award for ugliest title belt has been decided then

[Garuda]

Totally down with the idea, and unsurprised, but yeah the belt's a little garish. I guess I'll have to see it around a waist before I can evaluate, though.

Scurll in the Bullet Club is a little lame, but I get why they'd do it. Can't argue with it. But he has a gimmick that's way more potent than the Club already, and I feel like adding the BC stuff is going to dilute it a bit. Again, we'll see. May very well work out seamlessly.

[Jacob's Bawks]

My big fear is him integrating more comedy and goofy stuff into his shtick like Cole did when he joined. His shtick is a bit goofy as-is but I'd be disappointed if it started interfering with his matches if it hasn't already (I haven't watched a lot of Scurll lately.)

Gonna copy-paste my thoughts on the US Title from the RoH thread:

May be the wrong thread for this, but I feel the IWGP US Title will be defended more in RoH and maybe PWG than the main product until the offshoot promotion starts up. If they're going all-in with the touring brand, they'd best have their champ establish cred over here than in Japan where nobody can come to the American shows. If they do that though I have to wonder how that'll effect RoH because their roster isn't that deep and there's a lot of titles already.

Cody's the favorite to win, but I hope Lethal wins it. The dude's a great champion.

[rovert]

Cody's the favorite to win, but I hope Lethal wins it. The dude's a great champion.

As a rule I hate promotions crowning a Champion at their first show. Usually a red flag that the the promoter has his head the clouds. But for this project it is probably a good idea to have a title and Champion to bring into key business meetings. Crowning Cody Champion makes sense in that regard as he has been on US TV recently, son of a legend, professional and has that GQ type look. Omega looks like a rockstar but doesn't offer what Cody has.

[Joe Lanza]

Not enough attention being given to MIDNIGHT CANNONBALL ACH

What a name

[Danwaka]

I mean I bitch about WWE nicknames all the time, so these NJPW dubs aren't exactly flying high. Or is the Midnight Cannonball any better than the Big Dog?