Rone Rivendale Posted January 5, 2018 Share Posted January 5, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Poputt" data-cite="Poputt" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What the hell was up with that awful cosplay crap Omega was wearing at the beginning of his match with Jericho? They were building this as some serious old school feud and then he comes out dressed like... a BDSM furry? With a nerf gun? I don't get it. At least the match was good.<p> </p><p> Also: <strong>MAN</strong> Naito is over. This guy is the real ace of the company.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Omega's dress was very much in character for him. He's the type that can be goofy and serious at the same time, and pulls it off masterfully.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milamber Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 I fast-forwarded half the matches because I just wasn't interested. What I watched I really liked. Young Bucks vs Roppongi 3K - *** 1/2 Ibushi vs Cody - *** 3/4 Scurll vs KUSHIDA vs Ospreay vs Takahashi - **** Tanahashi vs White - *** 1/2 Omega vs Jericho - **** 1/2 Naito vs Okada - **** 1/4 Booking decisions and thoughts: - I know Cody gets some stick for his performances but he held up his end of the bargain in this matche. It helps that Ibushi sells neck damage like a boss. - Scurll looked the odd man out in the Fatal Fourway but he still impressed. KUSHIDA took a few good bumps. I thought Takahashi should have won but Ospreay was booked strong in the match. - White was better than I thought he would be. The only way forward now with the loss is for him to become more unhinged. I'm not really familiar with the guy but from the couple of promos I've seen he doesn't have the acting skills and line delivery to make the character interesting so this could flop. - Omega and Jericho went to battle and lived up to the hype - I would have preferred a Naito win instead of delaying it another year but they did a good job of making it look like the match could go either way. Both guys are young so I guess there's no hurry to crown a new ace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poputt Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 Omega's dress was very much in character for him. He's the type that can be goofy and serious at the same time, and pulls it off masterfully. He should ditch that character then. Everyone in the room was laughing at him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Final Countdown Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Poputt" data-cite="Poputt" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>What the hell was up with that awful cosplay crap Omega was wearing at the beginning of his match with Jericho? They were building this as some serious old school feud and then he comes out dressed like... a BDSM furry? With a nerf gun? I don't get it. At least the match was good.</div></blockquote><p> Yeah, if I were to make any complaint about the match, this would be it. At any other time I would've had no problem with it, including last year's Dome match against Okada, but it looked woefully out of place after the build. I seriously wanted Jericho to yank the fake gun out of his hands and bash him in the head with it. (That would've been awesome, actually.)</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fleisch Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 It was a great show. I enjoyed Jericho v. Omega but have to say that Naito v. Okada was a better match overall (IMO). I watched the entire 6(ish) hours (if you include the 20 man Rumble that started at 7am in the UK) and didn't get bored at all. Usually I can't even manage a 3 hour PPV event so that says how engaging this show was for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 I'm probably going to rewatch all of Wrestle Kingdom next week when I get the chance.. I enjoyed the entire show, nothing was a dud though I would say that not everything fully lived up to expectations. But rather than focus on the bad, I just want to say.... Suzuki vs Goto was awesome. I think Suzuki has become my favourite wrestler in the world over the last year. I can't say enough good things about him and his amazing character work. Goto is also awesome, his entrance music immediately makes me think things are going to be awesome while his look in general is great. Their match was fantastic, telling a crazy story and the match aftermath was fantastic too. I'm surprised more people are talking about how great this was, for me it was match of the night, slightly edging the main event, the Junior title and Omega/Jericho... all of which were great. New Year's Dash was also a lot of fun.. check it out if you can, I'm not going to spoiler anything here for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecoolestjedi12 Posted January 6, 2018 Share Posted January 6, 2018 The growth and progress of SANADA over the past few months has been a wonder to behold, I'm hoping they have serious long term plans for the guy because he and EVIL are probably the only reason I still watch most of The Heavyweight tag stuff. I'm guessing New Years Dash is gonna answer my hopes <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mootinie Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 <p>I watched the major matches this morning so here's some snowflakes.</p><p> </p><p> Jr. Heavyweight Four Way - ***1/2</p><p> Relatively light-hearted and plenty of fun, which was a change of pace from the more recent Junior matches at the Dome that have been more personal and more story-driven. Takahashi was given scraps here and showed in basically just a minute why he's a special, special talent.</p><p> </p><p> Tanahashi vs. White - ****</p><p> Very sound, very solid, very psychological. The jury is still out on "Switchblade" Jay White, he was asked to sink or swim here and I thought he did nothing wrong despite the live crowd not being receptive. He still needs to develop the persona forward, establish his moves and get more comfortable with the character he needs to get across but I have no doubts that will come with time. Whilst this match did lack urgency, it was nice that it didn't run long and was worked more from a narrative, story-telling point of view instead of being balls to wall exciting.</p><p> </p><p> Omega vs. Jericho - ***1/2</p><p> Omega's entrance outfit was awful, that struck a false note with me given the relative personal nature of the rivalry. He came out like a goof, struggling to keep his headgear in place, desperately trying to look anything but completely silly in whatever this get up was supposed to be. Jericho was pretty great here, a real pro, he worked this match from a safety-first perspective which I felt did take away from the match and its stipulation. It was No DQ but they never really got that sense of danger across to me. Everything else was pretty neat and given the grandiosity of the build, I came away from this match perfectly satisfied. Did anybody else pick up that Jericho was really enjoying himself in this match?</p><p> </p><p> Okada vs. Naito - ***1/2</p><p> This was every Okada match I've seen in the last 24 to 36 months, perfectly smooth and slick with some neat little counters but I'm afraid I may have forgotten this match by next weekend. Okada and Naito both come from fairly similar schools of teaching. Whilst they have dramatic wrestling matches with twists and turns, neither have a particularly great handle on telling a story that isn't rooted simply in the back and forth. This is why they were bumped from the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8, because Nakamura and Tanahashi are/were captivating characters that built a far more compelling wrestling match on paper. This had heightened drama and no glaring technical flaws but for the most part, it was quite unmemorable for the biggest match of the year.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullMETAL Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I'm probably going to rewatch all of Wrestle Kingdom next week when I get the chance.. I enjoyed the entire show, nothing was a dud though I would say that not everything fully lived up to expectations. But rather than focus on the bad, I just want to say....<p> </p><p> Suzuki vs Goto was awesome.</p><p> </p><p> I think Suzuki has become my favourite wrestler in the world over the last year. I can't say enough good things about him and his amazing character work. Goto is also awesome, his entrance music immediately makes me think things are going to be awesome while his look in general is great. Their match was fantastic, telling a crazy story and the match aftermath was fantastic too.</p><p> </p><p> ...</p><p> </p><p> New Year's Dash was also a lot of fun.. check it out if you can, I'm not going to spoiler anything here for now. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I started watching last night, managed to get all the way through to the end of the Jr.Heavyweight 4-Way.</p><p> Gonna finish the last 3 matches tonight. <img alt=":)" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/smile.png.142cfa0a1cd2925c0463c1d00f499df2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> I agree that Suzuki/Goto was pretty awesome (hence the quoting), especially from a story-telling perspective.</p><p> I was genuinely surprised at the finish, given that I was actually expecting a kick-out and some final last-ditch efforts from both guys before the "real" finish; and to that point, HOLY CRAP, I was impressed at how sudden that finish was!</p><p> Goto is legitimately one of my favorite "story" workers from the last 5-6 years, and nothing exemplifies that more than his 7-match must-see series against Shibata (I have repeatedly on multiple forums referred to that series and any related vignettes/video packages as "required watching for Wrestling Storytelling 101").</p><p> I seriously hope he can end his career with at least one IWGP Heavyweight Title reign under his belt before the "time" has passed him by, you know?</p><p> </p><p> Also, HOLY CRAP that Jr.Heavyweight match!</p><p> As it built and built and built, all I could think to myself was "this is f-ing awesome, but there's no way it's gonna be match of the night with 3 more high-profile matches left after this".</p><p> I'm so ashamed at how jaded I've become. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milamber Posted January 9, 2018 Share Posted January 9, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mootinie Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 Yeah, Suzuki vs. Goto was my match of the night. I can't say enough about how much I loved pretty much everything about it haha. It had story, nuance, drama, execution. Everything. It was brilliant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullMETAL Posted January 10, 2018 Share Posted January 10, 2018 <p>Finally finished it last night, and now I can safely say that the Jr.Heavy 4-Way was indeed my favorite match of the night.</p><p> </p><p> Tanahashi/White felt a bit by-the-numbers with not enough of a build for me.</p><p> I liked Jerichomega, but I didn't love it. I thought it was great for what it felt like: a WWE pay-per-view grudge match that was *near* the main event of the card, but not quite there.</p><p> Naitokada, I'll get to in a second.</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki/Goto and Naitokada are a pretty distance 2nd place for me in terms of my "favorite" matches of WK12.</p><p> Suzuki/Goto did have great storytelling and those 2 certainly put on a great match, but the build could've been a bit longer for it (to be fair, Goto/Shibata had a whole 6 matches from multiple years to build to their 7th last year).</p><p> </p><p> The main reason the Jr.Heavy was my favorite is largely due to Hiromu and Kushida's involvement in it -- I like Scurll a fair amount (though I will always block the screen during the finger-breaking spot because JEEZUS that grosses me out), but I'm meh on Ospreay other than super duper high-risk spots.</p><p> </p><p> Now for Naitokada (I also posted this elsewhere):</p><p> I *did* appreciate one major thing about the Okada match that I think most people might seem to miss: last year, his trilogy with Omega started as "oh, I'm still gonna beat this young upstart trying to take my belt and my spot" and became a story of Okada going from confident grap to becoming increasingly desperate to not-lose to Omega (though he eventually did), but still maintaining his air of "I'm still gonna wrestle a very wrestle-y match like I usually do".</p><p> Having learned his lesson, and with injuries (story or otherwise) starting to creep up, with Naito, he started right out of the gate delving into a bit more heel-ish tactics like those that his big bold bad boy Gedo would usually commit back during his more active days, THEN when he saw he was more in control over the course of the match and thought it was safe to do so, he went back to his main wrestle-y style.</p><p> And to be fair, throughout the whole course of the match, I found myself rooting more and more for Naito finally pull out that Powerball Destino and finally get his due; but of course, Okada still needs to finish breaking the records before *anybody* can actually take the belt off of him again.</p><p> </p><p> Fantastic psychology, and a great match for going over half an hour and stuff, but I don't think it's anywhere near his matches against Omega -- I would probably guess that's because of Meltzer Rating burnout ( <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/wink.png.686f06e511ee1fbf6bdc7d82f6831e53.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /> ).</p><p> Maybe another couple matches against Naito will escalate to that level, but it'll be a while before that can happen.</p><p> Easily a 4-star well-fought main-event match, but nothing like the chaos (pun intended) that saturated this past year in the Shin.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skummy Posted January 24, 2018 Share Posted January 24, 2018 <p>On Omega's entrance gear, I thought it was a sort of Megaman reference, as a bit of a throwback to his character being made up of video game references.</p><p> </p><p> But he explained on Jericho's podcast that it was meant to be part of a much grander entrance package, with the gear supposed to be armour designed to look like a sort of hybrid of ancient Egyptian and sci-fi, and it would all tie into him describing himself as a "God of Wrestling", as he didn't want to look like he had 100% turned babyface - but NJPW didn't get everything produced in time, so he was stuck with the armour and nothing else.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Starting watching the Fantastic Mania shows that got uploaded to NJ World and man, the good majority of these CMLL guys just suck. They're sloppy and make the Young Bucks look like they have a 90 in psychology. I don't like skipping shows, but man, if the CMLL guys don't start looking better I'm just waiting for the next set of shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncrewed Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Jaysin" data-cite="Jaysin" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Starting watching the Fantastic Mania shows that got uploaded to NJ World and man, the good majority of these CMLL guys just suck. They're sloppy and make the Young Bucks look like they have a 90 in psychology.<p> </p><p> I don't like skipping shows, but man, if the CMLL guys don't start looking better I'm just waiting for the next set of shows.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Yeah, Drone in particular looked absolutely terrible. It is kind of fun to see if one of these CMLL guys will be in the BOSJ this year.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Drone indeed was awful. Really enjoy Mistico, Rush, and Dragon Lee though...but I've seen them before so that's nothing new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 I was watching the first of those shows and I agree... the CMLL guys are not particularly good at all. I'm never sure if it's just that the lucha libre style doesn't work for me or if the talents of many of the CMLL and AAA rosters are just not that good. I have greatly enjoyed Lucha Underground though, and while it's obviously not traditional lucha I've enjoyed much of what I have seen there. That said... Mistico was so different than what I remember seeing in WWE. Dragon Lee continues to impress in his ongoing rivalry with LIJ's Takahashi and should be back for the BOSJ later in the year. Volador (I think) was good again and it's weird, but the guy with the bone in his hair seemed like he was pretty awesome too. I'm sure I've seen him before but he impressed me. I'll be checking out the other two nights too but I hope there are some far better matches on there. And much more Dragon Lee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Mistico is different because it’s not the Mistico that was signed to WWE. There’s also a ten year age difference. The current Mistico is the original Dragon Lee. The current Dragon Lee is his brother. Rush is also their brother. Pierroth is their dad. Volador Jr vs Bárbaro Cavernario was great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Ah yeah, that all sounds familiar Jaysin. Lucha libre is a bizarre place at the best of times, so much weirdness when it comes to kayfabe-y things. I want more proper NJPW. The New Japan Cup is coming up soon, right? And Jericho is going to be doing something with Naito in the future too? Those are going to be some good times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-Nection Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Derek B" data-cite="Derek B" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Ah yeah, that all sounds familiar Jaysin. Lucha libre is a bizarre place at the best of times, so much weirdness when it comes to kayfabe-y things. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><p> </p><p> I want more proper NJPW. The New Japan Cup is coming up soon, right? And Jericho is going to be doing something with Naito in the future too? Those are going to be some good times <img alt=":D" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/biggrin.png.929299b4c121f473b0026f3d6e74d189.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> I think it is awesome that WWE is letting Jericho work with these New Japan guys. I know I'm going to get some flack from this but I never seen a Kenny Omega match until he faced Jericho *looks around for people to throw trash* but I have to say it was impressive.</p><p> </p><p> I think its especially impressive that Jericho can even still work like that at his age...guy has been guzzling from the fountain of youth.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Final Countdown Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 I want more proper NJPW. The New Japan Cup is coming up soon, right? And Jericho is going to be doing something with Naito in the future too? Those are going to be some good times The New Japan Cup is in March. The next 'big shows' are The New Beginning, which has been split into three shows this year. The first two are this Saturday and Sunday. Then there are a couple of smaller 'Road to' shows on February 5th and 6th, and the 3rd New Beginning show is on Saturday the 10th. I don't remember which matches are on which shows, but Okada/SANADA, Ospreay/Hiromu, Tanahashi/Suzuki, Omega/Jay White, Goto/EVIL, and Naito/YOSHI-HASHI are all in there somewhere. They haven't announced anything w/r/t Jericho and Naito, but I'm guessing it'll either happen at their show in Long Beach in March, or at Dominion in June. Those would make the most sense to me anyway. I think it is awesome that WWE is letting Jericho work with these New Japan guys. I know I'm going to get some flack from this but I never seen a Kenny Omega match until he faced Jericho *looks around for people to throw trash* but I have to say it was impressive. I think its especially impressive that Jericho can even still work like that at his age...guy has been guzzling from the fountain of youth. Eh, you won't get any flack from me. They booked that match with the express purpose of getting new eyeballs on their product, and it worked. I was really impressed by the match too. I honestly didn't know Jericho still had that in him. Jericho did let Vince know about it out of respect (before it was announced, but after everything was agreed to and finalized with NJPW), but it isn't really up to WWE. Jericho isn't under contract with WWE and can go wherever he wants. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 25, 2018 Share Posted January 25, 2018 Thanks for the info on some of the matches. I tend to watch the big shows and I'll be looking to watch as much of the BOSJ and G1 as possible again too. It's interesting to see Jericho showing up on RAW25 and NJPW shows in the same month too. With so many people tuning in to see Jericho vs Omega, which was a pretty awesome match too, it's interesting to see him legit appearing with both companies even if it is limited dates.. One of those rare times where people are actually independent contractors and treated as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Final Countdown Posted January 28, 2018 Share Posted January 28, 2018 I really enjoyed Tanahashi vs. Suzuki from Night 1 of The New Beginning. Fantastic finish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaysin Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="The Final Countdown" data-cite="The Final Countdown" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="40971" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>I really enjoyed Tanahashi vs. Suzuki from Night 1 of The New Beginning. Fantastic finish.</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Very good match. It’s a shame Minoru has garbage like Taichi affiliated with him.</p><p> </p><p> Then again I guess every Stable has at least one awful worker.</p><p> </p><p> Chaos has Yoshi Hashi </p><p> </p><p> Bullet Club has Chase and Fale.</p><p> </p><p> Then again LIJ and Taguchi Japan are both solid groups all around.</p><p> </p><p> Jay White vs Kenny Omega was great.</p><p> </p><p> Golden Elite vs Bullet Club should be fun. What’s weird is the Tongans don’t seem to be involved with the BC nearly as much as they normally are.</p> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mootinie Posted February 1, 2018 Share Posted February 1, 2018 Then again I guess every Stable has at least one god-tier awesome worker. Chaos has Yoshi Hashi Fixed that for you. Nobody throws shade at the Loose Explosion on my watch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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