NJPW Thread

[187_Joeism]

I think Omega was perfect, he will save the jr. division, what do you not like about him?

[ROHFan25]

Omega is fantastic. He will save the Jr division because he's going to keep developing his character and that will help faces like KUSHIDA and Shelley get over more an add heat to their matches.

He was also fantastic tonight. But Taguchi is the definition of boring. And I can't go higher than *** for a match with a obvious finish and only one believable near fall. It was fine for what it was.

That being said, I can't wait for the Omega face run whenever that happens. Omega is lied in Japan so when he finally turns it's going to be a huge deal. He'll be the most over gaijin in the company just like that...and I can't wait for him to cut promos in Japanese

[ROHFan25]

Also I forgot to add Suzuki/Sakuraba won't b e everyone's cup of tea but it was really fucking good. Amazing catch fight Match

[MHDogg]

Nakamura vs Ibushi was the match of the night for me. I was a little disappointed there weren't a few more decadent entrances outside of Nakamuras. It felt like he was a superstar when he came out. I think he was more over with the audience live than anyone else.

[PeoplesChampion]

When Okada cried i felt like crying too.

[DXvsNWO1994]

So was this the first show in a long time (maybe in history) that had two legitimate ***** matches? I know Voices of Wrestling gave both Nakamura/Ibushi & Tanahashi/Okada ***** in their review.

[jordidebaas]

And I can't go higher than *** for a match with a obvious finish and only one believable near fall.

Ishii vs. Makabe had 0 believable nearfalls, but you rated that match ****

[DirtyDave]

When Okada cried i felt like crying too.

crazy drama there. shows how much he cares that for sure. good to see

[Fawrules]

Was going to order it on PPV, but DirecTV doesn't have a replay listed until the 8th. *Sad Panda*

[DXvsNWO1994]

Was going to order it on PPV, but DirecTV doesn't have a replay listed until the 8th. *Sad Panda*

There's always New Japan World (unless you want to hear the English Commentary)...

[ROHFan25]

And I can't go higher than *** for a match with a obvious finish and only one believable near fall.

Ishii vs. Makabe had 0 believable nearfalls, but you rated that match ****

A) it did
B) they beat the fuck out of each other the entire match
C) finish was a shock to me

[jordidebaas]

And I can't go higher than *** for a match with a obvious finish and only one believable near fall.

Ishii vs. Makabe had 0 believable nearfalls, but you rated that match ****

A) it did
B) they beat the fuck out of each other the entire match
C) finish was a shock to me

Maybe it did to you, to me it was just another boring Ishii match. Finish was pretty unexpected to me too, but I guess when you don't care about the match, that doesn't really matter

[boourns]

I thought the show started off slow but really liked everything from the Omega match on. Those last two matches were phenomenal. I think I loved the story of Tanahashi so much that'd Id give the edge to the main event.

[ROHFan25]

Yep...the match definitely won't appeal to everyone. Love or hate Ishii, you have to respect the fuck out of that guy. Taking the punishment he takes at age 39 is insane...hope he takes a few months off now though. He's too old to be killing himself like that in every single match.

[187_Joeism]

Just watched the US version and did nothing for me, i think Striker was good but JR was off until the AJ-Naito match.

PD= Not sure if everyone know but they are having another show tonight, they only have one match announced thus far.

NJPW "NEW YEAR DASH!!", 05.01.2015 (Samurai! TV/NJPW World)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. NWA World Jr. Heavyweigt Title: Jushin Thunder Liger (c) vs. El Desperado

[donkitrk99]

I thought Ross and Striker were pretty awful up until the IWGP tag match. But for the last 4 matches (less so the Styles/Naito match, that got a bit awkward) they were fantastic. Striker got into the action, stopped desperately trying to share prior knowledge and, most of all, stopped stepping on JR's toes. None of that would have matter though, except that it seemed JR knew way way more about the guys in the last 4 matches than all the previous ones combined. Can't blame the guy given the notice he was given to call the show I suppose. I was going to switch to Japanese commentary before the aforementioned tag but figured if any match was up JR's alley it was that one - glad I didn't.
Thought about penalizing Nakamura/Ibushi a 1/4* for a bit of an abrupt ending, but the rest of the match deserved 10 stars so in the end I agreed with VoW and gave all the stars to each of the last two matches. Slight edge to the main event, though. The High Fly Flow to the outside always amazes me, and that had to be the best one yet.

Also, anyone else cringe at the ridiculous bump Naito took delivering the dropkick to AJ on the outside? For a spot (IIRC) fairly early in the match, especially, he really ate it.

[187_Joeism]

The Young Bucks ‏@NickJacksonYB 2 min
“@LionheartUK: You're welcome... Not sure how long it'll stay up but very worth the watch
This doesn't help njpw in anyway.

Indytaker giving the tombstone

[PeoplesChampion]

Shibata and Goto finally winning some gold was good
Makabe was a shocker but good(his first title since 2010)
I am really starting to hate tanahashi.first aj had tons of momentum but it stopped after tana became champion(he even defeated him in a non title match before)okada lost to aj twice so when he won g1 it was obvious that he is gonna beat aj at a grand stage but behold hashi tana.and then he goes on to defeat okada(2nd time)at thier biggest show.

[donkitrk99]

Shibata and Goto finally winning some gold was good
Makabe was a shocker but good(his first title since 2010)
I am really starting to hate tanahashi.first aj had tons of momentum but it stopped after tana became champion(he even defeated him in a non title match before)okada lost to aj twice so when he won g1 it was obvious that he is gonna beat aj at a grand stage but behold hashi tana.and then he goes on to defeat okada(2nd time)at thier biggest show.

I expected Okada to win but didn't mind Tanahashi winning. Avoids a short title reign, for one thing. Was pretty disappointed with Tana beating AJ though - Okada going over AJ was the right move for The Dome.

[Northwoods_Nightmare]

Wow, great show this year. The undercard wasn't anything amazing, but it was all at the very least "good" and the show built really nicely throughout until the amazing final two matches. I think that's got to be the greatest double main event I've ever seen. I can't pick one over the other.
I enjoyed the english commentary in the final main events and thought they did a nice job there. The rest of the show was a bit annoying listening to Striker go on, and on, and on about everyone's past history that wasn't relevant to the show. I also thought they undersold a lot of moments when I'm sure the Japanese commentators were practically screaming with excitement. I wanted to switch to the Japanese, but couldn't figure out how.

Suzuki vs Sakuraba was better than I was expecting. The rest of the matches pretty much met my expectations. I would have liked Naito vs Styles more if Naito would have sold the leg in the last half of the match.
Wrestler of the night for me was Ibushi. I've been a pretty big Ibushi fan for quite a while, but he showed a whole new level tonight. The vicious intensity between him and Nakamura was something else. Ibushi looked like a real serious heavyweight star.

Tanahashi vs Okada was just what I was hoping for. The fact that Okada is only 27 is mind blowing, and also very exciting. I love that these two don't rely so much on huge spots or super stiff he-man type stuff, but on very traditional hold/counterhold/reversal pro-wrestling style and are better than anything else out there.

We're less than a week into the year, but this is certainly an early contender for show of the year.