Official ♦♚♦ The GENeral Puroresu Discussion Thread ♦♚♦

[Generation.Now]

in this thread!

thanks kento for that great introduction! as the ace of the Official Puroresu Discussion Thread i was nominated to usher in a new era for the pwb, and post the next puroresu discussion thread. this will be the place to discuss all japanese professional wrestling.

-our current triple crown heavyweight champion: kento miyahara.

 

[TrailBlazerDude]

First! It's pretty fitting that the board's biggest puro fan gets the first post.

 

[Generation.Now]

day 2 of the noah global league aired a few days ago.

here's the card:

-akitoshi saito, chang jian feng, & kotaro suzuki vs hayata, lin dong xuan, & quiet storm
-cody hall vs daisuke harada vs hajime ohara vs hi69 vs hitoshi kumano vs junta miyawaki vs kazma sakamoto vs masao inoue vs maybach taniguchi vs minoru tanaka vs tadasuke vs yo-hey vs yoshiki inamura vs yoshinari ogawa (14 man battle royal)
-atsushi kotoge vs mohammed yone
-masa kitamiya vs mitsuya nagai
-go shiozaki vs kazusada higuchi
-kaito kyomiya vs takashi sugiura
-katsuhiko nakajima vs kohei sato
-kenoh vs naomichi marufuji

all the singles matches are league matches. again, here are the full blocks:

a block

akitoshi saito
katsuhiko nakajima
kenoh
kohei sato (zero one)
masa kitamiya
mitsuya nagai
naomichi marufuji
quiet storm


b block

atsushi kotoge
cody hall
go shiozaki
kaito kiyomiya
kazusada higuchi (ddt)
maybach taniguchi
mohammed yone
takashi sugiura (current ghc heavyweight champion)


https://www.bilibili.com/video/av35589761

 

[Generation.Now]

bjw's big sumo hall show happened last weekend as well.

-akira hyodo & akiyori takizawa vs takuho kato & yuji ishikawa
-koju takeda & shinobu vs fuminori abe & takuya nomura
-okami (daichi hashimoto & hideyoshi kamitani) vs kazumi kikuta & yoshihisa uto
-brahman kei, brahman shu, great kojika, & shiro koshinaka vs speed of sounds (banana senga & tsutomu oosugi), kota sekifuda, & tatsuhiko yoshino
-kankuro hoshino, minoru fujita, & ryuichi sekine vs kyu mogami, takumi tsukamoto, & yuko miyamoto (barbed wire board death match)
-ryuichi kawakami vs yuji okabayashi
-bjw tag team championship: ryota hama & yasufumi nakanoue(c) vs takayuki ueki & toshiyuki sakuda (table crash match)
-bjw junior championship: kazuki hashimoto(c) vs yuya aoki
-abdullah kobayashi & ryuji ito vs jaki numazawa & jun kasai (madness massacre returns battle of killing weapons death match)
-bjw strong world heavyweight championship: hideki suzuki(c) vs daisuke sekimoto
-bjw death match heavyweight championship: masashi takeda(c) vs masaya takahashi (ryogoku barricade of death double board & double barricade & alpha death match)

i can't say all of that is worth watching lol. depends on how you feel about death match wrestling i guess, but yuji okabayashi's return was highly anticipated in japan, and the strong heavyweight championship match features two of the best wrestlers in japan facing off in japan's manliest division.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av35797866

 

[Sawyerson]

In

 

[Vega-0021]

First.

 

[That90sguy]

What no poll? 4/10.

 

[AliRock]

IKUZE!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[AWSMan]

Miyanadahara?

 

[Sawyerson]

Mayu Iwatani vs. Utami Hayashishita in the 5 Star Grand Prix finals is worth a watch

 

[RKO-Cutter]

So apparently they're moving Goto/Ibushi to the World Tag League Finals

We might get Ibushi/Ospreay at Wrestle Kingdom after all

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

I caught up on the NJPW World Tag League, and figured I'd post some quick thoughts on the tournament matches so far. Night one:

• David Finlay & Juice Robinson vs. Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida was a solid match. Finlay and Robinson work well together, and the Young Lions got in a surprising amount of strong offense. I've been impressed by Umino for quite some time, but Yoshida showed a lot of potential, too.
• Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima was fine. Tencozy looked better than I expected, but the match was largely flat. And the 12 minute run time felt like 20, which is never a good thing.
• Adam Page & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Trent & Chuckie T was one of the most average matches that I've ever seen. It was kind of amazing in that respect.
• Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. Toa Henare & Togi Makabe kind of sucked. Henare worked incredibly hard, and looked like a legitimate stud, but Makabe couldn't be bothered to do anything. And Jado, who accompanied the Tonga and Loa, was an unwelcome distraction. Ugh.

Night two:

• Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer was bad. Very bad. Suzuki was the only one who appeared to give a shit, and even he wasn't all that invested outside of some fun strike exchanges. Ugh, again.
• ZSJ & Taichi vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano was on-pace to be another shit show, but it hit its stride a few minutes in and turned into a genuinely solid match. It's nothing to write home about, and it shouldn't have been 16-plus minutes - but it was worth watching.
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Jeff Cobb & Michael Elgin very good - easily the MOTN, and the match of the tournament through two nights. It was basically a hoss fight with Cobb and Elgin taking turns with EVIL, and SANADA coming in to add some speed and flash to the affair. And it worked wonderfully.

Night three:

• Makabe & Henare vs. Nakanishi & Nagata was another average match, which feels like a step-up, all things considered. Henare looked great again.
• Cobb & Elgin vs. Smith & Archer was a straight-up hoss fight, and I dug it. I wouldn't call it great, or even very good, but they got 11 minutes to work with and did what they do best. I'd be interested in seeing this as a legit program.
• Suzuki & Iizuka vs. Ishii & Yano was really good when Suzuki and Ishii were in the ring together, and really bad when they weren't. I fucking hate Iizuka.
• Tonga & Loa vs. Robinson & Finlay was the MOTN, and a contender for the best match so far. All four guys worked hard and bumped their asses off, and Jado's bullshit was way more tolerable when the wrestlers are actually invested.

Night four:

• Tenzan & Kojima vs. Umino & Yoshida was pretty good. I dug the old men vs. the Young Lions angle, and all four guys played it to perfection. Yoshida continues to impress, too.
• Trent & Chuckie T vs. ZSJ & Taichi was my MOTN. Taichi played his shtick perfectly, which is easy with Trent and Chuckie doing their thing, and ZSJ was great at playing the cocky heel from bell to bell. Chuckie T still feels like a weird fit in NJPW, but I love this tag team.
• Page & Takahashi vs. EVIL & SANADA was another good match to wrap-up the card. It was one of those matches that lacked in drama, as the outcome was never really in doubt, but they did enough to distract from that fact and entertain.

Night five:

• Yoshida & Umino vs. Chuckie T & Trent was a lot of fun. It was worked with a fast pace, and Taylor and Trent bumped hard for the Young Lions - which really helps bolster their legitimacy as contenders in this thing.
• Suzuki & Iizuka vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was the worst match thus far. Next.
• Robinson & Finlay vs. Cobb & Elgin was the MOTN. Robinson and Finlay continue to be a rock-solid tag team, and Cobb and Elgin added a bit more teamwork this time around, which could lead to better matches from them down the line.
• EVIL & SANADA vs. Henare & Makabe was plagued by Makabe giving no fucks. I actually feel bad for Henare. This was a good match whenever he was in the ring, and a straight-up snooze-fest when he was on the apron. it's a real shame.

Night six:

• Page & Takahashi vs. ZSJ & Taichi was fine. It was a bit too long and it never really hit a high gear. It very much felt like a throwaway match ... which is kind of par the course for the WTL. I don't know why I'm doing this to myself.
• Tonga & Loa vs. Tenzan & Kojima was solid, and probably the MOTN - but that's not saying much. I'm really impressed by Tencozy, though. They really seem to care.
• Smith & Archer vs. Ishii & Yano was another boring match. Yano was given way too much to do, which is all that I really need to say ... right?

Night seven:

• Page & Takahashi vs. Umino & Yoshida was a damn good opener, worked with a hell of a lot of urgency. I am falling in love with Yoshida (and Umino), and I know they're going to break my heart.
• Ishii & Yano vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was fine. Ishii worked surprisingly hard here; he's not a guy that often takes matches off, but you could see that he cared a little bit more tonight than he did the previous night.
• Cobb & Elgin vs. Tenzan & Kojima was fucked over by a horrific botch and some serious pacing issues. It was otherwise a great hoss fight, with both teams working hard, but they just couldn't get their mojo back after the botch.
• Robinson & Finlay vs. Henare & Makabe was good. Makabe actually did stuff, and Henare continued to shine. I really like the Robinson and Finlay team.
• Tonga & Loa vs. Suzuki & Iizuka is the new worst match of the tournament.
• Smith & Archer vs. Chuckie T & Trent was very good. It had some call backs to their previous matches, and was just generally a well-paced, fun match.
• EVIL & SANADA vs. ZSJ & Taichi was - wait for it ... keep waiting ... holy shit, you guys, this was actually a great match. It played into the EVIL/ZSJ storyline wonderfully, and there was just a ton of energy from bell to bell. And the closing stretch was awesome, with a legit near fall or two. It's easily the match of the tournament through seven nights.

 

[Generation.Now]

noah's global league has been so disappointing lmao. not because the matches have been bad (both days 1 & 2 had at least 2 great matches on them each, imo), and not because of who's winning or losing, but they've only aired 3 of the first 10 days on tv lol. and its not like new japan and their streaming service, where you can watch the road shows too, there's just wasn't anything to see for 2 full weeks.

well anyway, here's day 10.

https://www.bilibili.com/video/av36836508

-cody hall & masao inoue vs hitoshi kumano & kaito kiyomiya
-hi69, kotaro suzuki, minoru tanaka, tsuyoshi kikuchi, & yoshinari ogawa vs ratel's (daisuke harada, hayata, tadasuke, & yo-hey) & junta miyawaki
-akitoshi saito vs quiet storm
-kazusada higuchi vs maybach taniguchi
-atsushi kotoge & go shiozaki vs mohammed yone & takashi sugiura
-kenou vs mitsuya nagai
-kohei sato vs naomichi marufuji
-katsuhiko nakajima vs masa kitamiya

all the singles matches are league matches.

 

[makoncrayley]

 

[AliRock]

Oh my God
Yes, I might actually listen to English commentary now

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[AWSMan]

That's awesome. Did that stem from All In?

English commentary hasn't been too bad lately. Kevin and Rocky actually have decent chemistry, at least as much as Kevin has with anyone, and they thankfully haven't brought back the guy who stole Morty's voice.

 

[zr-tts]

But will someone win with a Falcon Arrow?

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

Hayabusa would have been 50-years-old today. It's kind of amazing how young he was when he was forced into retirement, and how young he would still be if he hadn't died so ... well ... young. And this video still gives me chills:

 

[Sawyerson]

Here's a cool joshi match from August. Command Bolshoi vs. Arisa Nakajima in PURE-J. I had never heard of these two before but both their mat wrestling was super impressive.

 

[WorkerBeez]

Glad this thread is here.

So I can stay in the.

K-Noah.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

I caught back up on the NJPW WTL.

Night 8:

ZSJ & Taichi vs. Umino & Yoshida was a solid match. My only real issue with it is that the Young Lions team has had the most formulaic matches so far, and it is making for diminishing returns.

KES vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was kind of flat. It wasn't bad, necessarily, but it might be the least memorable match so far.

Makabe & Henare vs. Page & Takahashi was surprisingly good. It was my MOTN, and I was particularly impressed with the work rate when Henare and Page squared off. This would have been great if Makabe was a bit more invested.

Suzuki & Iizuka vs. Beretta & Taylor was a letdown. I'm a fan of the Best Friends, and Suzuki had been good enough to cover for some of Iizuka's awfulness ... but Suzuki wasn't invested at all this time around. It's another match that wasn't bad, but that's the best you can say.

Night 9:

EVIL & SANADA vs. Umino & Yoshida was a good, fast paced opener. LIJ gave the lions a lot to work with.

ZSJ & Taichi vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was another forgettable match.

Best Friends vs. Tencozy was similarly forgettable.

Suzuki & Iizuka vs. Robinson & Finlay was ... well ... forgettable. I was hoping that Suzuki would be up for this, given how well he'd mesh with Robinson, but that simply wasn't the case.

Henare & Makabe vs. Elgin & Cobb was pretty good. It served primarily as a showcase for Henare, who seems poised for big things. I don't know that this is a venue for that sort of leap, but he's making the most of it.

Ishii & Yano vs. Page & Takahashi was also quite good. Ishii and Yano had some great teamwork sequences, and Page really shined throughout the match. I just wish he was working with pretty much anyone but Takahashi, who's definitely holding him back.

KES vs. GOD was the MOTN. It wasn't great, or even close to great, but it was a damn good tag match on the whole. It was a ferocious brawl with a nice bit of intensity. I wish this tournament had more of this sort of drama.

Night 10:

Elgin & Cobb vs. Umino & Yoshida was another thoroughly entertaining opener. There was nothing particularly special about it, but it worked perfectly well for what it set out to be.

Nagata & Nakanishi vs. Robinson & Finlay was forgettable. Robinson was the only one that really seemed to care.

KES vs. Tencozy was quite good. It's definitely the best Tencozy has looked so far, and KES gave them everything on this evening. It wasn't quite a vintage performance, but it's worth watching.

Best Friends vs. Henare & Makabe was also quite good. The ending alone makes it worth watching.

GOD vs. Page & Takahashi was very good, and would have been the MOTN on many of the other nights. It was briskly paced with a great amount of urgency, and I enjoyed how personal it felt. GOD is really bringing it now, and I'm hoping that continues.

Suzuki & Iizuka vs. ZSJ & Taichi was the MOTN, and probably the match of the tournament so far. Everything with Suzuki and ZSJ was straight fire, Iizuka actually served a purpose, and the closing stretch was fantastic. I couldn't ask for much more.

Ishii & Yano vs. EVIL & SANADA might just be the second best match of the tournament. It was well paced with a lot of urgency, and the outcome was very much up in the air until it was over. Good stuff.

Night 11:

Henare & Makabe vs. Umino & Yoshida was overly formulaic and forgettable.

Best Friends vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was kind of bad. But I'm enjoying the storyline that's brewing with the Best Friends, so I enjoyed it a bit more than I would have otherwise.

Tencozy vs. Robinson & Finlay was good. I enjoy Robinson and Finlay together, and they're meshing better and better with each match.

Page & Takahashi vs. Suzuki & Iizuka was forgettable. Ugh.

KES vs. ZSJ & Taichi was pretty good. ZSJ brought his A game, and I was strangely enamored with Taichi's performance. KES can be so good sometimes, but they're so damn inconsistent.

Elgin & Cobb vs. Ishii & Yano was the MOTN, and one of the three or four best matches of the tournament. I love Ishii working with the big lads more than life itself, and Yano put in some good work, too.

GOD vs. EVIL & SANADA was great, too. It wasn't too far off from MOTN and, if I wasn't so biased towards the big lads, I might have preferred this. I definitely recommend it.

 

[AWSMan]

Not that it matters since he sucks, but it's Iizuka, not Iikuza.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

Not that it matters since he sucks, but it's Iizuka, not Iikuza.

I have no idea why I always do that. Maybe it's because he's so bad that my brain subtly puts him down before I finish typing out anything else.

 

[AWSMan]

Not that it matters since he sucks, but it's Iizuka, not Iikuza.

I have no idea why I always do that. Maybe it's because he's so bad that my brain subtly puts him down before I finish typing out anything else.

Probably, but I feel he should be properly credited for his badness. I have no idea if there are any wrestlers named Iikuza out there, but if so I assume they're better than Iizuka by default.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

Don't know the broadcasting deal with Dragon Gate but in case someone hasn't seen Fantastic Gate yet

Spoiler

That. . . is a thing that has happened

 

[Generation.Now]

this is also pretty interesting.


for those who aren't familiar, these two are among the wrestlers that left dragon gate with cima earlier this year (tho yamamura never actually wrestled anywhere else because hes been injured for the past year)

yamamura was considered one of the top prospects in dragon gate. they expected big things from him. hes been sidelined for a year with injury, and it was announced he was joining owe with the others during his time off, but owe hasnt actually held a show since may and iirc yamamura was still technically signed to dragon gate anyway. i think the owe project is kind of dead, so billing this as his return match would suggest that he's just back and not a member of cimas crew (which is a big win for the dg roster)

lindaman is a little more interesting because he has been actively wrestling with the rest of the strong.hearts guys. does this mean that he's back? they aren't really selling it that way. is it just a one off then? because that might suggest that cima & his guys are open to adding the occasional dragon gate shows to their freelance tour.

the implications here are a lot more interesting than the actual match announcement lol

 

[AliRock]

this is also pretty interesting.


for those who aren't familiar, these two are among the wrestlers that left dragon gate with cima earlier this year (tho yamamura never actually wrestled anywhere else because hes been injured for the past year)

yamamura was considered one of the top prospects in dragon gate. they expected big things from him. hes been sidelined for a year with injury, and it was announced he was joining owe with the others during his time off, but owe hasnt actually held a show since may and iirc yamamura was still technically signed to dragon gate anyway. i think the owe project is kind of dead, so billing this as his return match would suggest that he's just back and not a member of cimas crew (which is a big win for the dg roster)

lindaman is a little more interesting because he has been actively wrestling with the rest of the strong.hearts guys. does this mean that he's back? they aren't really selling it that way. is it just a one off then? because that might suggest that cima & his guys are open to adding the occasional dragon gate shows to their freelance tour.

the implications here are a lot more interesting than the actual match announcement lol

CIMA's coming home!

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[Generation.Now]

CIMA's coming home!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

imagine *spoiler* hogging the dream gate for the next 6 months. defending against some of the big faces in dragon gate, while cheating to win and generally playing dirty. there's never really been a heel dream gate champion in earnest*. the fans would loathe it, until a heroic cima returns home to save the day and take the title back.

or, someone like yamato (im just marking, it could be anyone really) triumphantly ends *spoilers* reign from hell. he stands tall at the end of dead or alive in may, until all of strong hearts storms the ring. cima is back, after having conquered wrestle-1 and ddt, he's returned to lay waste to dragon gate too. yamato vs cima headlines the kobe world show, after having not wrestled a singles match against each other since 2012.

*cima won as a heel a few years ago, but turned face immediately afterward. shingo would be the second heel champ, but he lost in his first defense.

 

[Vega-0021]

Cima's done training Shaolin monks the art of the wrestling?

 

[AWSMan]

Cima's done training Shaolin monks the art of the wrestling?

They all quit wrestling when someone showed them the Katie Vick storyline.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

Catching up on the WTL. Night 12:

KES vs. Umino & Yoshida was a squash match, and I was incredibly disappointed.

Nagata & Nakanishi vs. EVIL & SANADA was fine. It wasn't anything memorable or close to it, but it wasn't bad, either. Well, Nakanishi was terrible (and low-key has been this entire tournament), but Nagata still tries, and EVIL and SANADA are great.

Page & Takahashi vs. Robinson & Finlay might have been the MOTN ... and it was no better than a *** match, if that. This is by far the worst night of the tournament so far, and that's saying a hell of a lot. It was short and relatively well-paced, but both teams are capable of a hell of a lot more.

Henare & Makabe vs. Suzuki and Iizuka sucked. It didn't suck quite as much as the opener, but it sucked nonetheless. Even Henare seemed checked out, which was basically a reversal of everything we've seen from him so far. And when he's not on his game, his team with Makabe is more unwatchable than just about any team.

Elgin & Cobb vs. Beretta & Taylor is the other contender for the underwhelming MOTN, and I'd probably lean towards this if held at gunpoint. But that's largely because I love Cobb and the Best Friends, and not because this was a very good match. It toes the line between average and good, maybe leaning towards good if you like the stories of these teams.

Ishii & Yano vs. Tencozy was fine. It was incredibly formulaic and Tencozy seems to be out of steam, but it wasn't bad.

G.O.D. vs. ZSJ & Taichi was also fine. If you appreciate the hilarity of ZSJ and Taichi trying to work as faces, you might rate this a bit higher.

Night 13:

Suzuki & Iizuka vs. Umino & Yoshida was a solid opener. Surprisingly solid, given the previous night's action and the general approach of Suzuki and Iizuka so far. The high point of the match was Umino and Yoshida jumping the SG guys before the bell, which was a nice spin on what we usually see from Suzuki's crew.

G.O.D. vs. Nagata & Nakanishi was the worst match of the evening, which is not surprising.

Page & Takahashi vs. Tencozy was solid. The old men looked rejuvenated this time around, and Page was incredibly engaged; he really carried the match, and that's not nothing, considering that everyone else played their part, too.

Robinson & Finlay vs. KES was another solid match. It was sub-ten minutes, and it made good use of its time. The structure of the match was a bit weird, as it seemed to be unsure if it wanted to be a squash or a legit back and forth affair, but it wasn't bad.

ZSJ & Taichi vs. Elgin & Cobb was quite good, and it would've been far and away the best match the night before. Elgin and Cobb have really gelled this time around, and it's always fun watching ZSJ and Taichi sell for big lads (especially ZSJ - that's a big part of why his matches with WALTER have been so compelling). I recommend this one.

Ishii & Yano vs. Henare & Makabe was pretty good, too. And that's almost entirely because of the work when Ishii and Henare are squaring off. I'm convinced that Henare will be special when he gets a real run as a singles guy. I hope that's sooner rather than later.

And EVIL & SANADA vs. Best Friends was my MOTN. It was a well-rounded match with a fiery closing stretch, and both teams worked incredibly hard to get the crowd invested.

 

[AWSMan]

I also caught up on WTL last night at work. Nothing really to add to rock's comments, other than seconding this:

ZSJ & Taichi vs. Elgin & Cobb was quite good, and it would've been far and away the best match the night before. Elgin and Cobb have really gelled this time around, and it's always fun watching ZSJ and Taichi sell for big lads (especially ZSJ - that's a big part of why his matches with WALTER have been so compelling). I recommend this one.

I swear Cobb tossed ZSJ pretty much entirely across the ring on one deadlift throw.

 

[rocknrollsisyphus]

I couldn't sleep last night so, like the responsible adult that I am, I watched Fantastic Gate at around 2 in the morning, and then I finally fell asleep for about an hour after it was over. Good times. Anyways, my thoughts:

BxB Hunk, YAMATO, Kagetora, and Dragon Dia vs. Don Fujii, Ryo Saito, Super Shisa, and Gamma - this was basically a paint-by-numbers eight-man tag match. It was energetic and entertaining, but ultimately there wasn't all that much story told. That's not surprising, given that it was only about 8 minutes long, and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. It was a fine opener.

Naruki Doi, Jason Lee, Kaito Ishida, and Hiroshi Yamato vs. Mochizuki, Hyo Watanabe, Kota Minoura, and Yuki Yoshioka - add an extra five minutes to the opener and you have this match. There was a bit more story (mostly in the form of the Maximum guys bullying Yoshioka), which made this a bit better. The pacing was largely the same, though.

Shun Skywalker vs. U-T - this is where things got really freaking good. Skywalker and U-T looked like absolute stars (and gelled perfectly), and both guys worked their asses off to tell a basic story; that is, they both really wanted that win. The intensity and urgency was palpable, and it caught me completely off-guard. And it was great. I don't think this was too far off from MOTN.

Ben-K, Daga, and Eita vs. Dragon Kid, Bandido, and Flamita - is it possible to both enjoy a match, and be disappointed? Because that's how I felt here. This was a good match, possibly even very good, but there was way too much focus on Eita and Dragon Kid. That's not terribly surprising, considering that they are in the midst of a fairly important feud ... but I love Bandido and Flamita, and I don't think that they were used to their potential. Everyone did just enough to get their stuff in, but it left me wanting.

Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka, Genki Horiguchi, and YASSHI vs. Takashi Yoshida, Big R, Yasushi Kanda, and Kazma Sakamoto - this was the weakest match of the night. It was a nine minute schmozz that didn't do much of anything for me, other than set up R.E.D. as bullies.

PAC vs. Yoshino - this was a great match, and it's my MOTN (though, again, Skywalker vs. U-T wasn't that far off). The crux of the match was that PAC and Yoshino had each other scouted, and they worked in counters and general avoidance of high-impact moves beautifully. It was right around 20 minutes, and it flowed so well that it didn't even feel like it took that long - but that didn't stop it from having a satisfying structure, and the closing stretch was damn good. This is the PAC we were hoping to see, folks.

 

[lildeew]

Only watched PAC/Yoshino and yeah it was great. I am so fucking glad PAC is not in WWE anymore and he can really work the lengthier epic matches he is accustomed to. His character work is even better now as well, loved how he attacked Yoshino during the Japan national anthem. lmao

 

[Generation.Now]

 

[AWSMan]

He misspelled whoa. Another Britt whose accent tricked me into thinking he was smart!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[makoncrayley]

He misspelled whoa. Another Britt whose accent tricked me into thinking he was smart!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh wow, the American education system really is utter garbage. They can't even teach proper grammar.

 

[That90sguy]

Is Taichi actually popular? I've never been able to stand that guy.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

Is Taichi actually popular? I've never been able to stand that guy.

I've only seen him recently but from what I understand he's more tolerable as a heavyweight

 

[RKO-Cutter]

So on this note here's the full card


Spoiler tag'd because it says who's going to the finals of the Tag League if anyone cares

Spoiler

• Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) vs. EVIL & SANADA in the World Tag League 2018 tournament finals
• NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto defending against Kota Ibushi
• Will Ospreay vs. Taichi in a NEVER Openweight Championship number one contender's match
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kenny Omega, The Young Bucks & Marty Scurll
• Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano & KUSHIDA vs. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale & Taiji Ishimori
• Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi vs. Hangman Page, Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens
• Tomohiro Ishii, SHO & YOH vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
• Michael Elgin, Jeff Cobb, Beretta & Chuckie T vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
• Togi Makabe, Toa Henare, Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi

 

[Generation.Now]

Is Taichi actually popular? I've never been able to stand that guy.

no lol.

the implication here isnt that taichi vs ospreay will be good, its that ospreay will win and face ibushi at wrestle kingdom.

 

[AliRock]

no lol.

the implication here isnt that taichi vs ospreay will be good, its that ospreay will win and face ibushi at wrestle kingdom.

It could still be good if Taichi goes full Kawada
Hopefully

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

 

[RKO-Cutter]

Is Taichi actually popular? I've never been able to stand that guy.

no lol.

the implication here isnt that taichi vs ospreay will be good, its that ospreay will win and face ibushi at wrestle kingdom.

TBF there's a legitimate curiosity of how good a match Ospreay can get out of him

 

[mitamaking]

It's a bummer Taichi is not better in the ring cause his character is good.

If he spoke English he could get quite over in WWE I think.

 

[Generation.Now]

It could still be good if Taichi goes full Kawada
Hopefully

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

lol if only. imagine ospreay selling that tho.

"OH GOD MY FACE. HE KICKED MY FACE OFF. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

 

[AliRock]

lol if only. imagine ospreay selling that tho.

"OH GOD MY FACE. HE KICKED MY FACE OFF. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Needs more swearing to be Ospreay
But you nailed the scream

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[lildeew]

lol if only. imagine ospreay selling that tho.

"OH GOD MY FACE. HE KICKED MY FACE OFF. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

and he will probably do a standing inverted 450 right into the kick for no fucking reason.

 

[lildeew]

Taichi/Ospreay was a snoozefest and the tag league finals dragged like hell.

Goto/Ibushi was great though.

 

[mitamaking]

Taichi/Ospreay was a snoozefest and the tag league finals dragged like hell.

Goto/Ibushi was great though.

I found Goto/Ibushi under whelming and liked Taichi/Osprey, you are right about the tag match though.

 

[RKO-Cutter]

Hard to tell where to lean here. Deew hates Ospreay with a passion, but mita's, well, mita



we still cool doe mita