NJPW (Discussion)

[rollup]

very good show overall , with several storylines advancing... but the only story-line i am interested in ... Tiger Mask W !

What is his agenda ? What is he fighting for ?

[Tigerkinney]

9,671 in attendance. But this was totally a weak card for Sumo Hall. Much weaker attendance than last ye-- OH WAIT.

There was an empty seat in front of me! I was sat rather conveniently next to the aisle way, so I could make a quick escape to the toilets whilst the Guerilla's of Diarrhea vs Briscoes match was on! I also popped to the merchandise area to pick up a LIJ Baseball Jersey for myself.

Next to me was a really boring guy who re-acted to nothing, there was this really loud Marufuji fan behind me and across the aisle way was an Okada fan girl. Anyway last three matches were all really good

Unfortunately I missed the Tiger Mask stuff , I didn't get to the venue until about 3.30 and was then greeted with a long queue of fans yet to get into the venue- I got into Tokyo around 2 pm after coming down from Sendai but had a nightmare trying to find my hotel in Asakusa.

[suplexberry]

Tiger Mask W has the presence and aptitude of a dedicated researcher. This guy has something.

Loved the show, definitely a show of the year contender. The last three matches were nuts, the LIJ vs NJPW multi-man had terrific energy as well (aside from KUSHIDA's injury, which hopefully doesn't put him out for more than a month or two), the jr tag was great, and while the tag bout was again just a match, I still have hope for the tag scene. Ishii for the tag scene was teased, and I'm hoping reDRagon starts in that scene as well, now that KOR was elevated by the hellacious NEVER match.

[Tigerkinney]

While the tag bout was again just a match, I still have hope for the tag scene. Ishii for the tag scene was teased, and I'm hoping reDRagon starts in that scene as well, now that KOR was elevated by the hellacious NEVER match.

I caught about the last three minutes of the tag title match, sounds like I didn't miss much whilst I went to the toilets and the merchandise stall.

KOR's performance in the NEVER title match was definitely a case of someone behind elevated with a strong losing effort.

[Jacob's Bawks]

Tiger Mask W has the presence and aptitude of a dedicated researcher. This guy has something.

Loved the show, definitely a show of the year contender. The last three matches were nuts, the LIJ vs NJPW multi-man had terrific energy as well (aside from KUSHIDA's injury, which hopefully doesn't put him out for more than a month or two), the jr tag was great, and while the tag bout was again just a match, I still have hope for the tag scene. Ishii for the tag scene was teased, and I'm hoping reDRagon starts in that scene as well, now that KOR was elevated by the hellacious NEVER match.

Wait, was KUSHIDA actually injured?! I didn't watch the show and can't until later but I've been checking here and Reddit and thought it was kayfabed. I hope he's alright :/

I'll watch tonight after homework. Glad that the show turned out so great. Also, I'd be happy with the timebomb being Ibushi if they can't get Suzuki.

[van Fair]

Tiger Mask W has the presence and aptitude of a dedicated researcher. This guy has something.

Loved the show, definitely a show of the year contender. The last three matches were nuts, the LIJ vs NJPW multi-man had terrific energy as well (aside from KUSHIDA's injury, which hopefully doesn't put him out for more than a month or two), the jr tag was great, and while the tag bout was again just a match, I still have hope for the tag scene. Ishii for the tag scene was teased, and I'm hoping reDRagon starts in that scene as well, now that KOR was elevated by the hellacious NEVER match.

Wait, was KUSHIDA actually injured?! I didn't watch the show and can't until later but I've been checking here and Reddit and thought it was kayfabed. I hope he's alright :/

I'll watch tonight after homework. Glad that the show turned out so great. Also, I'd be happy with the timebomb being Ibushi if they can't get Suzuki.

I don't think he was injured in the match. Rather he was already injured coming into it and the angle they ran afterwards immediately made me think that they will write him out for a couple of weeks so he can rest.

[Grammarian]

I loved King of Pro Wrestling. I thought the crowd was great. What a wacky year for Ibushi.

I know people's tastes are different, but I loved Goto/Omega and Okada/Marufuji. I thought GoD had their best performance yet, which admittedly isn't saying much. Shibata/KOR was really good. The Dads vs. NOAH had a lot of heat. Just a lot of great stuff on the show.

[jesse]

I underestimated New Japan fans giving a fuck about NOAH. Also it goes to show that in Tokyo they can run whatever they want and do fine. It's ok to admit when you were wrong believe it or not. The real shame is that as hot as all this NOAH vs New Japan stuff is I can't see it making a difference to helping NOAH at all. They still have massive issues. Shows like this and the one with Okada just paper over the cracks. Great for New Japan's business and it will pop some houses for NOAH but in the end they have to get New Japan fans to be NOAH fans and it doesn't exactly work like that over there.

[Danwaka]

I underestimated New Japan fans giving a fuck about NOAH. Also it goes to show that in Tokyo they can run whatever they want and do fine. It's ok to admit when you were wrong believe it or not. The real shame is that as hot as all this NOAH vs New Japan stuff is I can't see it making a difference to helping NOAH at all. They still have massive issues. Shows like this and the one with Okada just paper over the cracks. Great for New Japan's business and it will pop some houses for NOAH but in the end they have to get New Japan fans to be NOAH fans and it doesn't exactly work like that over there.

If they can send in New Japan guys every so often to face NOAH guys and put over some NOAH guys on NJPW shows then they'll pry over a few fans, if not many. At this point NOAH needs whatever fans they can get.

[jesse]

It's just a sad thing to me because guys like Shiozaki, Nakajima and Marufuji get these great reactions when they work New Japan but then when they go back to their home promotion it's like a ghost town. I wish it would translate over but I don't think it will. For NOAH the New Japan stuff is just like the SZKG stuff. It's still an invader force. It will draw better but ultimately I have a hard time seeing how it will make a significant difference in the long term health of the company.

Honestly it's very hard to get excited about the whole thing when you realize that NOAH is on life support. One of those times where it would be better if you didn't know the stuff you did.

I didn't watch anything after Shibata/O'Reilly cause I didn't care at all but the show was fun for what I saw. Nothing memorable outside of TIGER MASK W. How many people still think Suzuki is the time bomb after this show????????????????

[Rainmaker_F7]

"This is a very weak card for the Sumo Hall" - They do the best number ever for KOPW, by a wide margin.

"Kota Ibushi is not wrestling for NJPW anytime soon" - Kota Ibushi appears as a Tiger Mask at KOPW.

Alright, what is next?

[saviorofstrongstyle]

Shibata vs Kyle O'Reilly is a fucking masterpiece.

[throwstuff165]

Last three matches were all ****1/2+ in my eyes. Undercard was damn solid as well. Great show overall.

[Haya]

Shibata/O'Reilly was my match of the show, and Shibata keeps his position as my personal favourite worker this year. KOR looked really good too, he's just awesome. Great show indeed, and now I feel silly for skipping the intermission haha.

[Garuda]

Amazing show. Not only were those top three matches outstanding, the undercard was something special. Maybe it helped that I skipped the GoD and CHAOS vs. GBH/Fish/Taguchi match, but everything I saw was at least three stars.

The NOAH vs. 3rd Generation tag was borderline four, and although I think I'm on an island on this, I thought the Jr. Tag title match was legit four stars. Loved it.

Crazy card.