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King of Sports: New Japan Pro-Wrestling Discussion Thread


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If they end up doing Okada/Tanahashi AGAIN theyre going to shoot themselves in the foot. They have a chance for something fresh. I for one do not want to see Okada/Tanahashi anymore. They had a great series of matches but should not headline the dome again

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Sports Illustrated has a Q&A with brothers Tanga Roa, f.k.a. Camacho in WWE, and Tama Tonga, who form the Guerrillas of Destiny in New Japan. Below are a couple of highlights from Roa:

 

Watching his father, Haku, at WrestleMania 6, where he teamed with Andre the Giant to face Demolition:

"I remember the match with my dad and Andre the Giant against Demolition at WrestleMania VI. We sat really high, away from everybody, and got to watch the match. They lost, but I remember they rolled out in those little rings during their entrance. Andre filled up the entire ring–I don't know how my dad and Bobby [Heenan] even got in there. We were so young then that we couldn't really appreciate it like we do now.

 

"When your father is a professional wrestler, we don't want to fill his shoes, but we want to represent him and the rest of our family to the best of our ability. We may look like him, and we emulate some of his moves and movements, but the drive we had–especially among the two of us as brothers–always drove us."

 

Transitioning from WWE to NJPW:

 

"I am bigger than most of the talents in Japan, but in WWE, I'm the same size as the other wrestlers, so I didn't look as big and I didn't work 'big.' Now I need to work like a giant, and that's the only transition I've had to adapt to in Japan. They want me to move like a giant in Japan, while I could move a lot faster in WWE.

 

"I'm proudest to be working with my brother. That was our goal from the very beginning in the summer of 2004. I was still in college playing ball, and he was in the Air Force, and I call him in the middle of the night and told him we were going to become professional wrestlers. And he said, 'You promise?' and I said yes. We're here together, working for a great company in New Japan and we have this opportunity to work alongside Ring of Honor, and that's what I'm proud of. I have nothing to prove to WWE. I appreciated the time I had over there and I learned from it. I learned from it, make your weaknesses your strengths, and our goal is to keep kicking ass.

 

"I take great pride when I step in the ring with him knowing where we've been, what we've done, and what we are now trying to accomplish."

 

Rao and Tonga also discussed teaming together in NJPW, getting the idea for their face paint from Luke Gallows, Haku's toughness, their goals and more. You can read the full interview by clicking here.

 

http://www.wrestlinginc.com/wi/news/2016/0814/615494/njpw-star-talks-transitioning-from-wwe-to-njpw/

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We have been told that WWE officials are very high on NJPW wrestler Kenny Omega. Triple H has apparently been pushing for his signing and they hope to reach something by mid-2017. New Japan Pro Wrestling is aware of the interest and said to be concerned.

 

It’s also worth noting that Omega recently appeared on The Ross Report, and expressed interest in the company and said that if WWE offered him a deal, he would consider it.

 

http://www.ringsidenews.com/wwe-news/wwe-hoping-to-sign-kenny-omega/

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Way, way, way behind on the G1. Does anyone have some suggestions for matches to see? Would be great if you could include which day it was on. No spoilers please. :P

Ishii vs Okada - Day 13 (or 12...not sure)

 

Also;

SANADA vs. Tanahashi (Night 1)

Marufuji vs. Okada (Night 1)

Omega vs. Naito (Night 18? Last one before the final)

 

And ones I have no idea on the day;

Elgin vs. Omega

Naito vs. Shibata

Tanahashi vs. Marufuji

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Omega

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2016 New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Climax winner Kenny Omega recently spoke with Justin Barrasso of Sports Illustrateds Extra Mustard and below are some interview highlights:

 

On whether or not talents like John Cena, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns or Dean Ambrose could excel in the G1 Climax tournament:

 

Absolutely not, said Omega. Thats not even me speaking in characterthats just them not being on my level, at all, physically or mentally. Im not taking anything away from themtheyre fantastic, great performers, great people. But what we do here is completely different from what they do there.

 

Do I think John Cena could come here and do what I do? asked Omega. No. Do I think anyone else could? No, not even close. That may come across as sounding egotistical, but its just the reality of the situation. We have a very physical style, and the physical demand for what they do is different.

 

If they asked the same question oppositely, could I do John Cenas schedule with all of the charity events he does? Hes always on the movecould I do that as well as John Cena? Definitely not. Its apples and oranges, you cant really compare. All the same, I respect what they do, and I do believe that respect is mutual and goes both ways.

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/742599-kenny-omega-says-guys-like-cena-rollins-are-not-on-his-level-explains-why-they-couldnt-excel-in-the-grueling-g1-climax-tournament

 

Full interview: http://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2016/08/17/ufc-wwe-conor-mcgregor-kenny-omega-g1-climax-interview

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Full card for the Super J Cup has been revealed.

 

 

(1) Opening 6 Man Tag Match: David Finlay, Yuma Aoyagi & Eita vs. BUSHI, Kaji Tomato & Gurukun Mask

(2) SJC Round 2: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi

(3) SJC Round 2: KUSHIDA vs. Kenoh

(4) SJC Round 2: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

(5) SJC Round 2: Will Ospreay vs. Matt Sydal

(6) Volador Jr., Caristico & Titan vs. Ultimo Guerrero, Euforia & Gran Guerrero

(7) SJC Semi-final: (Liger or Taichi) vs (KUSHIDA or Kenoh)

(8) SJC Semi-final: (Taguchi or Kanemaru) vs (Ospreay or Sydal)

(9) NOAH Sanctioned GHC Junior Tag Championship Match: Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge vs. Taiji Ishimori & ACH
~ 4th title defense.

(10) IWGP Junior Tag Championship Match: The Young Bucks vs. The Motor City Machine Guns
~ 1st title defense.

(11) SJC Final Match:

 


Plus a number of Stardom women will be in attendance.

http://www.njpw.co.jp/news/detail.php?nid=17116

 

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Is there a spoiler rule here? Not even sure if it constitutes as one, but figured I'd ask first.

Yes. But a spoiler rule is for spoilers. For things that haven't happened yet.

 

In that case

 

 

New Japan's ordered a new World Title, allegedly. This is supposedly a rejected design by NJPW.

 

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This was rejected as well, supposedly. The reason the last IC title looks like shit now is due to them just painting the white on, this has a legit white strap.

 

This is due to Naito breaking the title a few months ago. It's going to debut at WK 11 so I've read.

 

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Seven time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the ace of New Japan Pro Wrestling Hiroshi Tanahashi conducted an interview prior to Ring of Honor’s “Death Before Dishonor” pay-per-view in Las Vegas earlier this month, which was recently added to New Japan World. Tanahashi discussed New Japan’s role internationally, the company expanding with English commentary, what he looks for in talent when visiting the U.S., and who he thinks could be the future ace of Ring of Honor.

 

All translations are courtesy of Chris Charlton, who provides Japanese-to-English translations on Twitter and is the author of Lion’s Pride: The Turbulent History of New Japan Pro Wrestling.

 

On what he looks for during international tours, and ROH star Dalton Castle:

 

“I’m not young anymore so I really don’t go on these tours just for the thrill of travel. I look a lot at moves and different things guys do, think about whether they could work in Japan or how to make them work. And i look at wrestlers too, at who would be good in Japan, who we might want to bring over.

 

Right now, I’m really impressed by Dalton Castle. He’s come to Japan before, but he’s a guy that can really go far. He has this regal like character with his Boys, but you really watch him and everything he does is very crisp, he has a good look, has good facial expressions. He’s really on track to be the ace of ROH.”

 

On what sets NJPW apart from other promotions, and the use of English commentary on New Japan World as seen recently during the final three nights of the G1 Climax tournament:

 

“We don’t lose out on match quality. We have great guys going up against great guys and there’s rarely a gap in levels that lets match quality down.

 

I think English has been a hurdle. So we need to keep the English announcing thing going, like we did in Ryogoku. To an extent it transcends a language barrier, the action speaks for itself, the fans reactions speak for themselves, but we need to keep doing what we are doing and keep pushing it hard and find ways to push it hard to the audience, make sure everyone knows taht we have [New Japan] World, that it is accessible, that the action’s great and there is English announcing too. Just be really persistent about it.”

 

On Ring of Honor star Jay White wanting to wrestle him:

 

“I’m really happy to hear that, I am.. But, why me and not Okada? That’s my humility talking. Respect from fans is obviously a wonderful thing, but respect from your peers, your fellow wrestlers is the peak. When you have people saying they want to wrestle you, or team with you, it means so much. Being popular with fans is wonderful but that can come and go perhaps, but the respect of your peers is such a big thing.”

 

On New Japan’s role internationally:

 

“I want more of our roster to travel abroad and be seen by foreign fans, so that it isn’t just me or Okada or whomever. So I’d really like all of us to have an international tour, packaged as New Japan and not something else. It starts with people knowing what NJPW is. Knowing who our wrestlers are, what they do. People see a video or two and it makes matches so much more significant because they recognize people, moves, everything. That’s incredibly important work for [New Japan] World right now. It’s a natural direction to look more globally, and our talent to go through the dojo into our ring have a level of talent that makes them competitive on a global stage. So I really want us to broaden our horizons going forward.”

 

http://www.wrestlezone.com/news/749731-hiroshi-tanahashi-praises-dalton-castle-talks-jay-white-wanting-to-wrestle-him-english-in-njpw-expanding-internationally-more

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Katsuyori Shibata is off this week's New Japan Pro Wrestling house shows with an unspecified cervical spine injury.

 

No word on the severity of the injury and whether or not he will be cleared for his NEVER title defense against Bobby Fish on Saturday.

 

http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=104703

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