King of Sports: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Discussion Thread

[Rozay.]

I'm tired of predcting Shibata. I'll still root for him, but I'm tired of predicting it. Keep in mind that the G1 winner gets the title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. My feeling is that NJPW will want to do IngoberNaito vs. Okada III there. There's many ways to get there of course, but I would say the most likely scenario now is that either Okada wins G1 again, or he beats the winner on one of those G1 title shot defenses they have towards the Road to Wrestle Kingdom. Or maybe Naito loses the title at Dominion and then, same scenario but for him instead of Okada. But those two winning are the most likely, I would say.

 

Tana not being in that ladder match just sucks. It loses like 80% of it's appeal with Elgin there instead, as I'm also not the greatest Omega fan (I like him, just has yet to stand out with the Heavyweights IMO)

 

Meanwhile Ibushi really out there getting slapped by Inoki and working for Wrestle-1 smh

[classiq.]

[Crowley]

Finally WWE official has announced that Japanese Golden Star Kota Ibushi will join upcoming WWE Cruiser weight classic.

Ibushi has revealed on Tokyo Sports who contacted him for the tournament.

He said it is “Finn Balor”.

Finn made a phone call to Ibushi on last February. He said “WWE wants to contact you”.

Ibushi said Finn is the only foreign guy who he knows the phone number.

And he said the story at backstage of NXT Takeover Dallas. When he went to the backstage, he did “High five” to a big man. The big man was “Vince Mcmahon”. Ibushi didn’t know who he is. So the staff of WWE were really upset.

At that time, WWE made a offer him. But he refused it.

Then WWE kept offering him and he finally accepted it.

Ibushi doesn’t speak English at all. So he wants to bring someone living in Singapore for this tour.

Tokyo Sports reported that Ibushi has signed only for CWC yet. He said “I have something left which I have to do here in Japan.

- Enuhito

http://enuhito.com/eng/?p=467

He didn't even know who Vince McMahon was. That's the best thing I've ever heard. And it sounds like he's probably going right back to Japan after he's done with CWC. Kota is god.

[AssaultDriver720]

Marufuji and Kakajima are in the G1.

[classiq.]

 

 

 

New Japan has announced all 20 participants for this year’s highly anticipated G1 Climax tournament, as well as both blocks and several of the key matches taking place between July 18th and August 14th.

 

There are a few pieces of news coming out of the G1 announcement. First off, after being written off the Best of Super Juniors tour and removed from Dominion with an injury, Hiroshi Tanahashi will compete in this year’s tournament after all. Secondly, to fill in some of the gaps left by big New Japan names such as AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Kota Ibushi, who have all left the promotion since last year’s tournament, both Naomichi Marufuji and Katsuhiko Nakajima are on loan from Pro Wrestling NOAH.

 

Here’s the breakdown:

 

 

A BLOCK

Togi Makabe
Satoshi Kojima
Tomohiro Ishii
Hirooki Goto
Bad Luck Fale
Naomichi Marufuji
Tama Tonga
SANADA
Kazuchika Okada
Hiroshi Tanahashi

 

B BLOCK

Katuyori Shibata
Yuji Nagata
Tomoaki Honma
Michael Elgin
Toru Yano
EVIL
Tetsuya Naito
Kenny Omega
Katsuhiko Nakajima
Yoshi-Hashi

 

 

Note: We will be putting together a deep, comprehensive Beginner’s Guide to the G1 for all those interested in following along with this year’s tournament, which is consistently the best annual series in pro wrestling, bar none. Our guide will break down the history of the G1, each of the participants, and the basic Who, What, Where, When and Why’s for all our readers looking to dive into the world of New Japan. Look for that some time in the next few days.

 

While we will have a full tournament match listing in the weeks leading into this year’s tournament, New Japan has provided several of the key matches to hype many of the major shows.

 

 

7/18

Tanahashi vs Sanada

Okada vs Marufuji

 

7/22

Nagata vs Naito

Shibata vs Honma

 

7/23

Tanahashi vs Honma

Okada vs Sanada

 

7/24

Shibata vs Nakajima

Honma vs Yoshi-Hashi

 

7/25

Makabe vs Sanada

Okada vs Goto

 

7/27

Yano vs Naito

Shibata vs Elgin

 

7/28

Ishii vs Marufuji

Goto vs Sanada

 

7/30

Elgin vs Omega

Shibata vs Naito

 

7/31

Makabe vs Marufuji

Tanahashi vs Goto

 

8/1

Yoshi-Hashi vs Nakajima

Honma vs Naito

 

8/3

Tanahashi vs Ishii

Makabe vs Okada

 

8/4

Nakajima vs Naito

Omega vs Shibata

 

8/6

Tanahashi vs Marufuji

Okada vs Ishii

 

8/7

Omega vs Nagata

Naito vs Evil

 

8/8

Ishii vs Sanada

Tanahashi vs Kojima

 

8/10

Honma vs Elgin

Shibata vs Nagata

 

8/12

Goto vs Marufuji

Tanahashi vs Okada

 

8/13

Shibata vs Evil

Naito vs Omega

 

 

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/722797-njpw-g1-climax-26-participants-blocks

[AgeofSandow]

 

Sanada is going to be awesome at the G1. Kinda hoped he would face Shibata but thats cool. More than enough promise in the matches there. That said, I am disappointed with spots being wasted on guys like Fale. But it always happens..

 

[.ZEN]

 

The participants are hit and miss tbh. I kinda feel they should scale back on the number of participants as they don't have the depth to run a tournament this big anymore as EVIL, Yoshi-Hashi, Fale and Tonga just don't add much. Outside of Ishii's matches and Tana vs Okada I'm not that interested in Block A. But Block B has alot of promise especially with the inclusion of Nakajima as he should be awesome against everyone except EVIL, Yoshi-Hashi and Omega (unless Nak kicks his goofy face in).

 

[Rozay.]

 

This tournament is how they build depth though. EVIL, Yoshi-Hashi and Tonga will certainly get strong showings that will give them more of a rapport with the audience. The G1 is the perfect place to get a guy over. Ask AJ Styles.

 

[.ZEN]

I hope I'm proven wrong and they justify their inclusions by delivering strong showings but none of them have really stood out so far as anything special. I'm being a bit hard on Yoshi-Hashi and Fale as both can be entertaining but EVIL and Tonga are both just dull. And yes the G1 has always been used to elevate and highlight talent but do any of those guys really seem like they have the potential to go anywhere? Its not like Naito in 2010 and 2011 where he really showed his potential or AJ where it was used as a showcase to build him up but NJPW just had to let him do his thing and he'd get over just like he has in WWE or ROH or TNA because hes that good.

 

I know I'm sounding super negative but I want NJPW to suceed and I feel they would be better to have the tournament over a shorter period like 2 weeks like they used to and give plenty of time and focus to guys like Elgin, Sanada and Nakajima who could be viable at the top of the card rather than have these really big drawn out tournaments with guys who just seem to be making up the numbers.

[classiq.]

 

 

New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Will Ospreay was recently a guest on The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast. Among other things, 'The Aerial Assassin' talked about his current run with the company, his stint with TNA, and leaving the indies in 2017.

 

Ospreay claimed to be enjoying his time with NJPW, as he is learning a lot and he is able to preserve his body.

"I'm loving it. Loads of people have said, like, 'once you get signed to New Japan, you just learn straightaway'," Ospreay continued, "I've gone there. I've slowed down. Like, I don't even know if anyone notices, but I hardly ever use the top rope, so, like, I'm saving my body [from] a lot more damage. And the best thing is where you learn, you're doing, like, big eight-man [and] six-man tags and ten-man tags all the time, so you're, like, constantly learning on the spot, like, how to work with an audience along those lines and you're working these, like, massive stars who've held the f--king IWGP Heavyweight Championship, who've held the Junior Heavyweight Championship, so they've been there [and] they've done it."

 

Ospreay indicated that he got his NJPW gig because Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and AJ Styles put in a good word for him with NJPW brass. Ospreay went on to say that Styles is his hero and the sole reason he decided to become a professional wrestler.

 

"Obviously, everyone knows that I've faced Okada for Revolution Pro for the Global Wars UK, which was ridiculous. And I came backstage and Okada was like, 'we need to get you onboard' and then, I had the CEO say, 'yeah, we're going to bring you in for Super Juniors'. And then, obivously, the incident where [WWE] signed AJ, The Bullet Club, [shinsuke] Nakamara, so they literally just stole, like, four of the main players for New Japan, so, like, [NJPW] wanted to just bring me in, like, permanently. I found out it was Okada who put me over, Tanahashi that put me over, and the winning person that I still can't say enough good things [about and I am] literally humbled that he'd done it, but AJ was the person that said, like, 'you need to sign this guy now', which I was like, so blessed. Like, AJ's my hero. AJ's the sole reason I got into a wrestling ring."

 

Apparently, Ospreay only went to TNA so he could perform in Wembley Arena.

 

"I can't say, like, anything bad about TNA because of the pure fact of, like, I refuse to bury a company. I'm too nice." Ospreay added, "I didn't fit. I mean, I was welcomed with open arms. The guys there were fantastic, but I'd just done it for the pure, simple fact that I wanted to wrestle in Wembley Arena. Like, if everyone wants me to be brutally honest, I'd done it just to wrestle in Wembley."

 

Moreover, Ospreay insinuated that TNA's management issues have resulted in high profile departures from the company.

 

"The way it all went down, which was like, they didn't do their research. Like, they thought I wasn't signed. Like, to be fair, I was lying out of my ass. Like, I said to them, 'I'm signing with New Japan'. I was lying, like, through my teeth. I just did not want to be with TNA because for me, personally, especially with the recent, video that the Hardys released. It's not me shooting, but I just don't like it. I think it was so bad." Ospreay admitted, "I've been a fan of TNA from the start, especially with guys like AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe. They have made those guys and they were the backbone, but if they've left, there's a reason why. Personally, I don't see any point of me going down there and, like, when I had New Japan lined up around the corner, I didn't want to sign anything. I'd rather apply my trade in New Japan because I know what's hot these days. I mean, think about it. A guy like [Finn Bálor] has gone over there. AJ has gone over there. They've all gone over there and they've all made such a good name in WWE. I'm not saying I want to go to WWE anytime soon, but I'm really, really happy with Japan and I'm happy there. I'm happy I got the opportunity with TNA to perform in Wembley Arena and to perform in Manchester and Birmingham Arena, so on that note, I'm happy I'd done it."

 

According to Ospreay, he will be leaving the indy scene next year, as his body cannot take the punishment.

 

"By 2017, I'm going to start leaving the independents because my body can physically not take it anymore, so I'll probably be wrestling for five promotions in Britain altogether and sticking with New Japan just because my body has started giving up on me."

 

To check out the show, click here. If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit The Wrestling Compadres Slamcast with an H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.

 

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0702/613228/will-ospreay-on-why-he-didnt-want-to-be-with-tna/

[TNFNS]

especially with the recent, video that the Hardys released. It's not me shooting, but I just don't like it. I think it was so bad.

Vader needs to shoot on this man in the ring.

[Rozay.]

I hope I'm proven wrong and they justify their inclusions by delivering strong showings but none of them have really stood out so far as anything special. I'm being a bit hard on Yoshi-Hashi and Fale as both can be entertaining but EVIL and Tonga are both just dull. And yes the G1 has always been used to elevate and highlight talent but do any of those guys really seem like they have the potential to go anywhere? Its not like Naito in 2010 and 2011 where he really showed his potential or AJ where it was used as a showcase to build him up but NJPW just had to let him do his thing and he'd get over just like he has in WWE or ROH or TNA because hes that good.

 

I know I'm sounding super negative but I want NJPW to suceed and I feel they would be better to have the tournament over a shorter period like 2 weeks like they used to and give plenty of time and focus to guys like Elgin, Sanada and Nakajima who could be viable at the top of the card rather than have these really big drawn out tournaments with guys who just seem to be making up the numbers.

 

Well, not every thing is about main eventers. These guys will establish different levels of credibility, I think. EVIL in my opinion is a nice midcarder, and doesn't have much more upside than that, but the G1 will make him more credible of a threat and consolidate him. Yoshi-Hashi is going from perennial jobber to upset win guy, now with his SANADA story. Maybe they double down on that on G1 having him escape with a win or two. Fale is estabilished already, he's the monster that can beat anyone on any given night.

 

But of all these entrants, the guy I'm really anticipating is Tama Tonga, who I find highly entertaining. Granted, that tag title run left a sour taste in my mouth, but I'm still not out yet on him. I like his overall potential and think he can be an upper mid carder for years for NJPW. I think they realized the tag team with his less than average brother wasn't doing Tonga any favors, which is why they pulled the plug on it so quickly, and why they included only him on the field. I look forward to see him try to regain his mojo on the G1.

[FrostOutside]

same

[LEGION]

[classiq.]

The Elite's entrance from Kizuna Road: https://m.facebook.com/SmarkDownOficial/videos/620710134758008/

[Bushy.]

So I just finished watching Dominion. Why hasn't there been any discussion on it yet? But anyways, the ladder match was one of the best one on one ladder matches I've seen in recent memory. I really was not looking forward to seeing Elgin take Tana's place in the match, but it exceeded my expectations by a lot and I was glad he was in it after watching. I'm not a fan of his, and I'm bummed my favorite wrestler on the planet right now in Omega lost, but it was a great match so that's all I can ask for.

 

My second favorite on the planet has to be Naito. And he lost too. Bummer. But at least it means we won't have to watch Okada win the G1 again for another redemption storyline going into WK.

 

All in all, great show. I skipped some matches, but the NEVER openweight was great and so was the Jr. Heavyweight title match. I'm a huge Ospreay fan now and KUSHIDA always delivers. One of the best wrestlers in the world. Top 10 easily.

[classiq.]

 

 

– New Japan’s Takaaki Kidani recently spoke with Weekly Pro Wrestling magazine (via The Wrestling Observer Newsletter), and said that while they are happy with their partnership with ROH, that they still want to do standalone shows in the US. They would like to set up shows in 3,000 to 4,000 seat venues, and have made some “specific plans” to do so.

 

Kidani also spoke about bringing Shinya Aoki to the Dominion event. He said that he would love to book Aoki, noting matches like Aoki vs. Kyle O’Reilly or Aoki & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. O’Reilly & Bobby Fish as things he wants to see. Kidani wants to make sure that NJPW has a variety of styles, including an MMA/grappling style.

 

http://411mania.com/wrestling/njpw-hopes-to-run-standalone-us-shows/

[FrostOutside]

Even though it's probably the financially smart choice...I really don't want to see Tanahashi win the G1 and go on to face Okada at WK. Again.

[LEGION]

Even though it's probably the financially smart choice...I really don't want to see Tanahashi win the G1 and go on to face Okada at WK. Again.

Nobody wants that.

I've heard from enough japanese fans that they're happy that this story ended the way it did and that Okada finally got over.

[FrostOutside]

 

Even though it's probably the financially smart choice...I really don't want to see Tanahashi win the G1 and go on to face Okada at WK. Again.

Nobody wants that.

I've heard from enough japanese fans that they're happy that this story ended the way it did and that Okada finally got over.

 

I was just saying that cause I just got done reading Meltzer's Twitter where he was discussing it. He was personally open to it, but eh..I don't wan tit. I hope it is done, but you never know really.

 

I'm going to go ahead and say Tanahashi and Naito for the finals. Either that or Naito and Shibata.

 

By https://twitter.com/D_TaPla

 

[classiq.]

 

 

Kenny Omega recently spoke with Justin Barrasso for Sports Illustrated Extra Mustard, talking about making challenges to WWE’s The New Day, what he wants to achieve in Japan with The Elite, and much more. You can read some highlights below:

 

Kenny Omega comments on The New Day, challenging groups in other promotions:

 

“New Day rocks. I can’t lie. What would it do and what would it prove if they sucked? We’re The Elite, so we have to challenge the top act on the planet. You don’t see us challenging some other three man unit–we’re trying to make history, and we’re challenging the best–New Day rocks.”

 

“The New Day can respond to us–everyone can respond. But can they respond without getting in trouble? Could we have issued that challenge and not gotten in trouble? No, of course not. We got in trouble–but we don’t care. We’re trying to change the business. Everyone [in the WWE] is walking on eggshells, they’re so scared. They’re afraid to live their lives and be themselves. Of course they want to respond–I know they want to. The fans want them to respond and they want the company to let them respond. They want the match too–and I know that whether they say it or not–but it’s the corporate forces behind it stopping them.”

 

Omega says he’s been offered a deal to come to NXT:

 

“I have spoken with the heads at NXT, and they’ve all said, ‘If you want to come down, let us know–the second your visa is in place, you’re on TV the next week.’ I thought that was really cool of them to say and I appreciate they recognize that I’d add some value to their product, so I always kept that in my mind as an option. But this is going back to my Deep South days–I still haven’t quite shown them what I can do on my own, and that’s what I think this year is going to do for me.”

 

Omega says not debuting Shinsuke Nakamura at Wrestlemania was a mistake:

 

“I certainly think it is. A lot of people heard the reaction that AJreceived when he came out of nowhere at the Royal Rumble–if Nakamura debuted at WrestleMania, knowing that fans in that crowd travel from around the globe for that weekend, Nakamura’s reaction would have dwarfed AJ’s. That’s not saying Nakamura is better than AJ, but that atmosphere is built for someone who eats it up like Nakamura.”

 

Omega explains the origins of “The Cleaner” character:

 

“When you hear ‘The Cleaner,’ and when Japanese fans hear it, you don’t think, ‘Oh, this guy is an assassin.’ They think I clean up stuff. I started to realize there was a little bit of a disconnect, and it was beginning to become difficult to say, ‘Don’t you get it? We’re the Bullet Club–there are ‘guns’ and ‘The Cleaner’ cleans up the crime scene afterward.’ I had to explain that so often, I felt it was easier just to take the literal form of it. Sure, I can look the part of the assassin, but what if instead of a sniper rifle, I’m carrying this huge broom? Every venue has a broom, so I don’t need to put a broom in my gear bag.

 

“The first time I used the broom, I was about to make my entrance and we had this huge, long ramp. I hate the boring long walk, and I wasn’t going to do the Ultimate Warrior sprint, but I wanted to make the entrance more interesting. I asked myself, ‘How am I going to make that element of Kenny Omega stand out?’ So I added the broom. There are so many things you can do with a broom–I’ve used it as a sweeper, a microphone, a guitar, I’ve put it on a headset. Those are just things I think of on the spot. Sometimes I’ll even sweep away [Kazuchika] Okada’s‘Rainmaker’ money because, if we’re going to be honest, I had seen Matt [Jackson] almost slip on the money–so I thought I should clean it up before someone else slipped on it.”

 

Comparing The Elite to Bullet Club:

 

“We were sort of forced into the role we were in with Bullet Club. I wanted to be in New Japan, the Young Bucks wanted to be in New Japan, and we showed up and they said we were in the Bullet Club. It had already sort of been a ‘Too Sweet,’ ‘Suck it’ parody of the NWO. I’d never done anything like that, but I was written into that storyline, so I had to do it. So especially now where our ranks have been really watered down, it is now–more than ever–left up to us to make it something new. It doesn’t have to be the forced ‘Too sweet’ or the forced ‘Suck it.’

 

“We want to make it less about that part of the Bullet Club and more about what The Elite is doing, which is what you see in everything that we do. No matter where the other guys show up, they’re not going to do what we do. They’re not even going to be able to do what we do–there are only three people on the planet that can do what we’re doing, and it’s us. When you say the Bullet Club has been doing some really cool stuff, people ask, ‘Which ones?’ If you hear, ‘The Elite was at Ring of Honor and tore the f—— house down,’ you won’t even need to ask–you’ll know it’s me, Nick, and Matt.”

 

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/728001-kenny-omega-talks-challenging-the-new-day-compares-the-elite-to-bullet-club-says-nakamura-should-have-debuted-at-wrestlemania

[CROSS-Out]

So, reading that, it sounds like Kenny does intend to end up in WWE eventually.

[FrostOutside]

Debuting Nakamura at WM would have been a great way to get as many international fans eyes on him as possible. Oh well.

[Bushy.]

He's my absolute favorite at the moment. I became a huge fan of his when I saw him make his entrance with the broom. It's the little things.

[Bronson]

Up at 2am my time watching the G1. Tanahashi vs. SANADA was really good.