Wrestling: last night, my 8 yr old watched Bayley get the shit beat out of her at Extreme Rulez. She lost her shit. I trolled her by asking if she thought Bliss was amazing and she started yelling at me.
I know damn well someone in booking has a night where they boil it down to : "Let's make children cry". First Jinder, now this.
I like all the crossover stuff in fighting games lately, but I need Chun-Li in like all of them. Namco, SNK, Koei Tecmo, and ASW need to get to work on that.
For whatever reason I was thinking Manio 30 was in 2015. But it just dawned on me that it's in 2014. The chrono-journey just got 10 feet higher one year shorter!
According to Kurt Angle's book, Vince McMahon once (jokingly) jumped him backstage and took him down. In typical Vince fashion, he reminded Kurt every chance he got that he was the only one backstage to ever take Angle down.
On a plane ride, Angle decided to get his revenge and took Vince down in the aisle. McMahon then became obsessed with continuing this little feud and attempted to shoot on Angle every chance he got.
During one of the scuffles, their noise woke up a sleeping Undertaker. Taker obviously did not realize McMahon and Angle were just fooling around, so he grabbed Kurt from behind and promptly choked him out.
I understand that in WWE, being a submission specialist means you have a submission for a finisher. But I would really like to see Joe work over Brock's limbs and try to ground him. Even if Brock wins, if he had to hobble up the ramp after going through hell, it would do a lot to sell Joe as a legit threat.
I understand that in WWE, being a submission specialist means you have a submission for a finisher. But I would really like to see Joe work over Brock's limbs and try to ground him. Even if Brock wins, if he had to hobble up the ramp after going through hell, it would do a lot to sell Joe as a legit threat.
I understand that in WWE, being a submission specialist means you have a submission for a finisher. But I would really like to see Joe work over Brock's limbs and try to ground him. Even if Brock wins, if he had to hobble up the ramp after going through hell, it would do a lot to sell Joe as a legit threat.
They wanted to protect Seth so badly that they couldn't have Joe go over strong after he killed it with his promo segment. I think there's little to no chance of Joe/Brock not being a squash at this point.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (c) vs. Bullet Club vs. Chaos vs. Suzuki-gun vs. Taguchi Japan Gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
Fun fact, the NEVER 6 man titles have gone through 13 different reigns since their introduction in 2015, with the Fire Pro random select team of David Finlay, Ricochet and Satoshi Kojima being the longest reigning team.
The IWGP IC title has had 15 reigns since its introduction in 2011.
The 6 man titles have been bounced around a lot, with LIJ kind of being the lynchpins of the title. But the matches and "feuds" are inconsequential enough not to give the title the gravitas of say, the Triangle Gate title in Dragon Gate. At its best, it's a fun undercard match with some cool spots, at it's worst its a meaninglessly hot-shotted title that stinks of "get everyone on the card".
Which is exactly what this match is. Get every possible warm body on this card. While the WK11 match was actually pretty entertaining and the first one to get that dome crowd going (thank you based Kojima), I'm having a hard time getting any sort of excitement for this iteration of the gauntlet match.
My heart wants LIJ to retain to get some semblance of order around this whole scene but Gedo's Wild Ride demands that Suzuki-Gun get their turn to hold the NJPW Unit Participation Award.
Hype level: 2 stars.
Roppongi Vice (c) vs. The Young Bucks IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
On a card filled with rematches, this one feels the absolutely least justified. I'm almost positive I could copy paste from any NJPW big card preview for the Jr. Tag title matches going back many years and it would still make sense for this. Thus, I'm not even going to give it the time of day.
Until these much abused, hotshotted and completely meaningless titles are merged with the heavyweight ones or the booking takes a massive turn, this is a firm skip or watch while reading Twitter.
Hype level: -2 stars.
War Machine (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny IWGP Tag Team Championship
Much of the criticism of the Jr. tag titles goes for this match as well. Although I'm pretty sure this is a somewhat fresh match, Gedo's recent obsession with tag title three ways means it already feels overdone. And without the storyline intrigue or mouthwatering dream match qualities of the top card bouts, this is another firmly mediocre prospect in my book.
Hype level: 1 star.
Cody vs. Michael Elgin Singles match
Cody as an Andre or Bruiser Brody esque special attraction, getting one off bookings in featured singles matches now and again is a fairly large overestimation of his actual abilities and strengths. To be fair to the man, I found him more than tolerable, and even a welcome addition to the Bullet Club multimans. However, big match Cody doesn't really exist and Big Mike has his work cut out for him here.
The irregularity of Cody's appearances in NJPW keeps me safe in the knowledge that he won't be pushed to the top of the card but a win over Elgin here would be a worrying precedent, given Mike's stature in the company. Hopefully Cody lays down for the 123 here.
Hype level. 2 stars
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Kushida IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
I honestly think this is the most unpredictable match on the card. After a stellar BoSJ performance, delivering superb matches with Ospreay and Taguchi among others, Kushida comes storming back into the title picture after having been utterly destroyed by Himoru at Sakura Genesis.
Kushida is a fantastic wrestler and is part of many of my personal favorite matches ever. But as a character, he has definitely struggled. A pure babyface with love for Back to the Future, there isn't much more to Kushi other than the ability to be an excellent in ring performer. His new show closing ritual seems to be connecting with the crowd but whether it will give him the reaction the company wants for him is up in the air. He's always had this more vicious side to him, the matches against O'Reilly and most recent one vs Ospreay proving that but will he be able to unleash it against his arguable polar opposite, Himoru?
While Kushida brought a quiet, earnest energy to his BoSJ run, Himoru brought a big arts and crafts book. I love Himoru so much. He matches his totally unhinged inring style, the logical extreme of modern indie spotfests in many ways, with a totally unhinged, childlike obsessiveness out of the ring. He is Naito's totally manic younger brother, both of whom having odd relationships with their championships. Naito is out to destroy his and actively hates it, while Himoru stormed out of the press conference for Dominion bawling after being told he would have to face Kushida, worried sick that he will lose grip on Belt-kun.
This flies in the face of Himoru's approach his previous encounters with Kushida. At the Tokyo Dome, his win was assured. Kushida had no holds to oppose him and there was nothing Hirmoru wasn't prepared to do to win. At Sakura Genesis, Himoru told us that Kushida hadn't changed a bit and the result would be the same. Now Himoru is scared or at the very least, concerned and acting out. Perhaps the Kushida that won the the BoSJ has surpassed Himoru.
In my heart of hearts, I'm pretty sure I want Himoru to win here. While Kushida has been impressive, I haven't seen the transformation that I would like from a guy who lost in under three minutes. A new move and cheer does not maketh the man. I wouldn't be horribly upset at Kushi winning: the division is still very much about this clash of two naturally opposing forces in Kushida and Himoru. In many ways, it's may the best man win. And that's wrestling at it's best.
Hype level: 4.5 stars.
Minoru Suzuki (c) vs. Hirooki Goto Lumberjack deathmatch for the NEVER Openweight Championship
The stip here just about saves this match in my eyes, Another straight singles between these two would be a bridge too far. Goto is a transitional everything and no long reign with this belt will ever mean anything to me. Suzuki at least is an interesting matchup for whomever challenges next. I'm honestly struggling to find things to say about this: I'm sure it will be fine and I have no idea what a lumberjack match in NJPW looks like. Dreading the Goto win.
Hype level: 3.5 stars
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Intercontinental Championship
When Tanahashi raises the dented, ripped, filthy IWGP Intercontinental Championship over his head at the end of this match, as he does his "My back and knees are an utter ruin" bow legged walk up the ramp, air guitaring to GO ACE it won't feel like a victory, The IC title as it is now is forever Tetsuya Naito's. His physical abuse of the belt and his constant berating of it, it's place in his life, what it took from him and what it represents now means that until they replace the leather and metal completely, it will be his.
Fuck you, fuck your belt, your company, your fetishization of Okada, your crusade into the West. Naito has been ran over by the office, even having the concept of his title supplanted by something new and shiny, something to put around the waist of a foreigner, probably. He doesn't want it nor need it any longer. It's his but he doesn't have to keep it. Imagine his joy in making Tana go through hell, pushing that overworked, under-rested body to the absolute limits for a husk of a prize, for a pyrrhic victory.
He'll stride off into the sunset, gazing across at the sea of LIJ baseball caps and t-shirts, smile and start planning to take the only title that matters to him.
Hype level: 4.5 stars
Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Whatever your feelings on the match itself, Omega/Okada at WK11 is an important match. The buzz it received, the endless debate, the result and the aftermath, all combining to create something that will be talked about for a long while. I think they should have held off the rematch for at least a year. But with Kenny being a wrestler A) Has a pulse and B) People talk about it means that he is WWE bound sooner than later as the great black void of talent sucks people into it's event horizon. So going going back to it now is understandable.
Look grapple fans, Okada is winning. Visualize it, hold it in your mind, release. When Omega shows up at Takeover: Whatever early next year, it won't matter that he didn't get the win at Dominion 2017. What will matter is that Naito brought a historic reign to an end at WK12 after winning the G1.
The chance of a time limit draw is in play - I think that they are crazy enough to do one, as I said in an earlier post, if escalation is what they have in mind, that's one of the very few options they have to hand. I expect something different from these two performers in this match and given what they have done already, that is what entices me beyond Kenny Omega being IWGP Champion.
Not gonna lie that would be pretty fucking awesome
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Godspeed gentleman and give us the best version of #LOLOKADAWINS yet.
