Jul 30, 2018 where you at? these last two Ibushi matches have been absolutely f---ing insane Shout-out to these two phenomenal Kenny/Juice post match promos From this morning Hangman/Switchblade - 4.25 Tanahashi/Yoshi-hashi - 4 Okada/Elgin - 4.5
Jul 30, 2018 I got like three shows behind, caught up today to the one from this morning-- ill probably watch it tomorrow Ibushi/SANADA was incredible and IMO felt like a true pre-coronation for SANADA becoming a main event talent. I felt they kind of stagnated at the end so I'll call it a 4.5. Great match Ibushi vs Ishii...f---ing incredible. I thought I had seen the hardest hitting match ever in Goto/Ishii and then this happens. 4.75 Kenny's match w/ Juice was kind of disappointing. The non-G1 match last year was a lot better and I thought they would hit somehwere in that ballpark, but didn't. Omega vs Sanada was good, I can tell ever so slightly that Kenny is working w/ that injury he mentioned on BTE (and Kelley mentioned on commentary), and again it's a phenomenal SANADA match that sort of fails to homerun because of the end. I guess it's because Kenny hardly wrestles SANADA so they have some miscommunication...I remember they had a good but sloppy match in last years G1 and this one was FAR better. 4.5 Kenny is still a f---ing machine and as I was watching this I was reminded that the workrate of these new japan guys is out of this world right now. Goto/Naito was same ol same ol tried and true. Solid match. I really loved SANADA vs ZSJ (thought it could've been special given longer time) and Ishii/ZSJ. Zack is great and that promo Kenny did on him was scorching. Can't wait for that. Ishii is by far my G1 MVP as of right now...dude is just killing it and his matches have all been very unique too My top G1 matches so far IN ORDER Goto vs Ishii 5 Omega vs Naito 5 Ibushi vs Ishii 4.75 Ibushi vs ZSJ 4.75 Omega vs Goto 4.75 Ibushi vs SANADA 4.5 Omega vs SANADA 4.5 Naito vs Ishii 4.5 ZSJ vs Ishii 4.25 White vs Okada 4.25 Okada vs Adam Page 4.25 I'm eating my words from earlier this year when I said 2017 was better because, overall match quality I believe when it's said and done this year (the G1 at least) will be superior in match quality than last year. But I do hold onto my statement that 2017 has higher highs at the top level of matches. It's splitting hairs at this point because 2018 is just another f---ing great year of wrestling for NJPW.
Jul 30, 2018 Also @NJPWBros just a quick survey cause I thought of it when watching earlier.....you have to choose one of these guys to main event your show with a top level talent, and you want the best match possible. Who are you picking? Hangman Page Cody Rhodes EVIL Juice Robinson Jay White
Jul 30, 2018 Night 5 has been the weakest showing imo Kazuchika Okada vs. Hangman Page 3.25 Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale 3.25 Togi Makabe vs. EVIL 4.25 Minoru Suzuki vs. YOSHI-HASHI 3.5 Michael Elgin vs. Jay White 4 Never thought I'd see a weak okada match. Jay white and njpw are going to the well too many times with these ref bumps. This one in particular was horribly executed. Suzuki looked his age tonight. Bc ogs are boring
Jul 30, 2018 Drinking right now but f--- yeah I'd pick Page or Switchblade depending on the guy. Cody's a top level talent for me. @Raziel what didn't you like about the Page match? I thought it was fantastic and slightly better than the Page match with Omega and the Okada/Ospreay match 3.25 is way too harsh
Jul 30, 2018 Okada mostly. I just feel hes maybe trying too hard not to care or whatever angle they're pushing. I feel bad that page is getting this okada and not the rain maker from before. Honestly I'd probably rate it higher but the majority of the a block is meh to me that I find it hard to engage
Jul 30, 2018 Night 6 Tomohiro Ishii vs. Hirooki Goto 4.75 Kenny Omega vs. Tama Tonga 3.25 Tetsuya Naito vs. Juice Robinson 4.25 Zack Sabre Jr. vs. SANADA 4.5 Kota Ibushi vs. Yano 3.75 I'm enjoying yano so much this year, kota over acted in some spots but nothing too bad I'd rate zsj/sanada a 5 if it was longer. Ended too abruptly Naito and juice was very enjoyable but fumbled at the end I feel. Enjoyed naitos descent and d--- near abandoning his tranquilo persona. Tama Tonga is garbage. His schtick is so forced and lacking. He doesnt have the skills needed to make me care Jesus christ. Ishii and goto def did the d--- thing. I've been on the fence with goto but hes definitely winning me over this year. I want ishii out of the underdog role, hes so much better than upper miscard status. I'd probably rate this a 5
Aug 1, 2018 Night 7, 8, 9 Kazuchika Okada vs. Togi Makabe 4.5 Definitely a step up imo for okada. Hoping to see a more aggressive heel run from him Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hangman Page 4.25 I absolutely loved how playful these 2 were with one another. Hangman is proving himself quite nicely in these matches. Would love to see these 2 wrestle again Minoru Suzuki vs. Jay White 4.25 Was hoping for a longer, more brutal match considering who was in it but I enjoyed it for what it was. A teacher vs student kind of vibe EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale 3.75 I'd love to rate this higher bc evil is THAT impressive but more BC OG bs brings down yet another match. I really dont see the point of their antics. To me it serves no purpose Michael Elgin vs. YOSHI-HASHI 4.25 Alot better match than I ever could have imagined but I just cant accept YOSHI-HASHI as this legitimate threat that they're trying to push. I am more impressed with him though July 26 (Niigata, B Block) -- Kota Ibushi vs. SANADA 4.75 Man, if this isn't sanadas coming out party I dk what is. Huge step up from his work last year, whatever he was missing hes definitely finding his groove now. I'm also glad that hes more or less dropped that ridiculous paradise lock. Also, is it only me or is inushi booked oddly? I personally think hes more of a threat than hes being made out to be yet hes constantly coming up short. Kenny Omega vs. Juice Robinson 4.5 Great match up between these 2, juice might not always come out on the winning end but he sure does look d--- good losing when he does. Kinda reminds me of ishii in that regard. Those fuxking chops he hit omega with were fuxking brutal Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. 4.75 These guys are amazing together. I had a hard time not rating this a 5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Tama Tonga 4.25 This is one instance where I think the BC drama actually worked properly and Tama actually showed potential but I think alot of that was Naito's doing. Solid match Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano 3.75 Short and sweet. I was really anticipating this style of match for awhile now. Goto is quickly rising out of my least cared about wrestlers to someone I cant wait to see what he does next NIGHT 9 Kazuchika Okada vs. YOSHI-HASHI 4.75 this is the YOSHI-HASHI I can get behind. Loving the direction okada is going in Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe 4.5 Jay White vs. Bad Luck Fale 4 EVIL vs. Hangman Page 4.5 Minoru Suzuki vs. Michael Elgin 4.5 Solid showing from block a, I've been very negative about most of their offerings but either they're stepping it up in a major way or these pairings are just better.
Aug 2, 2018 @Raziel for years Ibushi never got much of a push because he was a free agent doing whatever he wanted to do for different promotions. He's exclusively been New Japan this year and he's definitely been booked in the top 4. Okada/Omega/Naito take priority over him right now, but he's definitely above Tanahashi. Most people tend to think he's in the top 5 or 10 in the world so he can afford to lose sometimes. It's all gonna come down to his match with Omega (IN JUST OVER A WEEK) anyway. He'll have a main event at the Dome for sure. Edit Oh yeah last night's show was great. Meh show tonight. Juice/Sanada - 4 Omega/ZSJ - 4.25 Ibushi/Goto - 4.5 Omega/Zack was like if these guys had a mid card PWG match in 2011, really weird. They went fast as h--- and Omega was pulling out all types of random moves. Thought they were right on the verge of having a special match when they had a quick finish. The next B block show is nuts. Ibushi/Naito, Omega/Ishii, and Juice/Zack. That main and semi might are probably gonna be two of the best of the tournament. We're spoiled af. Edit Lmao, apparently the Ibushi/Ishii match has caused some concern in Japan over being a bad example. That's awesome. f---in Ibushi.
Aug 2, 2018 @Pinhead do you see anyone beating omega? Outside of ibushi, and I really think that will be a draw, the only other person I feel like he has a chance is sanada
Aug 3, 2018 Yep, just like the last time you checked in. Don't read until you watch the Sanada and Zack matches Next three matches are Ishii, Yano, and Ibushi. Too high to work out the points, but I think he has to lose two of these matches for somebody else to win. It would be sooooo great if Ibushi beating Kenny causes him to lose the tournament to Naito. Then because he doesn't give a f---, Naito goes after Okada at the Dome instead without a title shot. That can open up Jericho/Tanahashi? Okada/Naito, Ibushi/Kenny. I had no idea how those six would play out but it fits now, for me at least.
Aug 3, 2018 Imagine saying wrestling is "fake" after we just got that Ishii/Ibushi match @Big Dangerous according to Dave that match has caused controversy in Japan over setting a bad example lmao. He had black eyes and looked awful going to the ring for the Tonga match. Also, Hiromu is expected to be out 9-12 months. Today was really s-----y.
Aug 3, 2018 Fixing to catch up on the last two events , will report back with my thoughts @Pinhead hate to hear that about Hiromu..what was the injury officially? I would say at least it'll make these guys slow down and not k--- themselves but history shows they won't give a s---. That stupid move Dragon Lee does is dumb and looks incredibly dangerous even when done correctly
Aug 3, 2018 Josh isn't terrible, but he's on the AXS team with Jim Ross and JR is at the point in his career where he's no good so Josh is always covering for him and correcting him so it makes for an awkward pairing
