Jmare007

Yup, can't wait to see what's in store for him next.

I knew superkix would love it as much as I did. Nomura is TWENTY FUCKING FOUR YEARS OLD, and he sold out Korakuen Hall in his first title challenge. This is another "Bati Bati meets Strong BJ" type match the young kid has had this year - the other one being the MOTYC against Abe, who is at ring side supporting the prodigy - and what's most impressive is that, in a promotion that has deathmatch wrestling as (at the very least) half of it's main attraction, the crowd KNOWS what match they are gonna get. Every hold might be the finish, and every strike counts. Takuya had a sold out Korakuen going crazy as he, the 22 year old punk, made Hideki Suzuki, the most dominant wrestler the promotion has had in the last two years, look beatable. The ending might be a little underwhelming but I thought it was fucking genius, not gonna spoil it though. Nomura's 2018 is fucking insane, this match doesn't have the work or intensity as the Abe one, but it has the stakes, the story and fucking Korakuen.

Another fantastic D-Bry interview. Talks about his return, how people shouldn't be too hopeful for a Mania match against Miz because of how WWE booking works - I love how he doesn't give a single fuck about this kind of stuff -, the (then) ongoing feud with Cass and how his fans ask for too much sometimes Seems he's still working on his new deal, hopefully they do give him less dates and stop acting like they can overwork him like nothing ever happened.

This was amazing. Harley's selling was a mixed of weird and just plain bad, but Boesch's commentary made it make sense (sorta) so I wasn't too bothered with it, that and the 3 minute of lost footage are the only negatives I can muster about this 40 minute match. Terry was amazing as always, awesome selling, mat work, hope spots and strikes. I agree with shoe, this was a game of human chess. Loved Harley getting pissed in the 2nd fall, rushing into Funk and getting caught for a powerslam to a huge pop, and then just using a desperate headbutt to shut everyone up. Third fall was great drama all around. By the way, Harley spent more time working the head than Funk working the arm.

Unless the feud/match goes past Extreme Rules and into Summerlsam, I see nothing wrong with the Team Hell No reunion. They gotta burn time until August. And tagging with Kane (and specially the anger management skits) is what got Bryan over with everyone - kids, women and casuals - which he wasn't even during his heel WHC run bullying sweet little AJ and the start of the YES thing. It also lead to him feuding with the Shield and figuring out the hot tag that made him the hottest wrestler in the company. I see no revisionist history there, I thought everyone knew this.

Such a talented dude in the ring, no question one of the to ever do it. He had been sick for a long time it seems, rest in peace.

Bryan is the king of Gauntlet matches. He's had 3 so far in WWE with amazing performances and 2 others that were very good too.

Agreed, I just think it's completely random. Sanity costing him the match, just because, and Bryan helping the Usos for a trios match at Extreme Rules would've been cool too. Him and Harper better not try the same shit they were doing before D-Bry retired though, no need for sleeper suplexes and head droppy stuff.

HOLY SHIT RUSEV WON!!!! Can't fucking wait for AJ vs Rusev, I'm so happy right now.

Not sure a filler feud with the Bludgeon Brothers is what's hot in these streets, but that win by Miz was perfect.

I need this fucking match in full. WWE better upload it on youtube or something

Yup, left me wanting to see more singles Big E. He had great chemistry with Bryan.

Give me Usos & Joe vs Sanity ASAP.

Bryan starting the Gauntlet, another iron man performance?

Yeah, I'm not sure in what way has Bryan cooled off. Just right now he got by far the biggest pop out of the people in the gauntlet. He's been more protected than during any other time in his career - except the month before he got the Cena match at Summerslam, during the "weak link" angle -, got a new finisher and has constantly main evented over the WWE title program, something people LOVE to bitch about when it's any other guy besides D-Bry he's the face of SD as much or even more than AJ at this point. Anyways, can't wait for the Gauntlet knowing there's not gonna be any Big Cass fuckery.

How do we know he didn't? A sudden release like this, with no "we wish you the best of luck" attached to it, doesn't happen unless he screwed up royally. Considering Bryan has a concussion test after every match he has, I'm sure we would by now if something happened on Sunday.

Who's the worst guy on Smackdown now? Orton? that roster is crazy even with the dead weight, you take that out and holy shit.

I'm bummed they didn't give Henare a shot.

G1 CLIMAX 28 First day at Korakuen looks dope, same as the 1st night in Osaka, all from Block B of course. Really interested in what they draw for night 1 at Budokan. How much people can Tanahashi vs Okada keep drawing? It's the only real option they had in that block too. Night 2 at Budokan is very solid. Kenny vs Ibushi and Naito vs Sabre fighting for a spot in the finals. The more predictable outcome is Okada vs Ibushi with Okada winning, with Nato beating Kenny on night 1 of their block, securing a title shot for Sep. or Oct. Is Gedo really gonna do the Tana/Okada storyline again (this time for Naito/Okada) just 3 years after he originally booked it? We'll see..

I hope the Bryan/Big E/Miz/Rusev/Joe gauntlet match for tomorrow is an indication that plans did change.

Yup, Okada vs Ibushi in the finals with Okada vs Tana (or MiSu) main eventing night 1 at Budokan and Omega vs Ibushi main eventing Budokan again for night 2 (or maybe they go Ibushi vs Naito as a de facto semi). I guess Naito pins Kenny in the tourney to get a title shot, and finally gets the belt again in September or October.

Man, the Champion's Carnival had a more exciting lineup than the G-1. With 8 shows taking place in Korakuen, Osaka and Budokan I still expected a good number of great shows/matches but the participants are so safe and uninspiring. Why not let someone like Henare get a shot and see what he has? I thought the Ishii match this year was awesome and established Henare as someone who belongs. Oh well, it's gonna be really great seeing a sold out Budokan again for something that isn't a retirement or special interpromotional show, Finals should be rocking no matter who are the two guys facing each other (Naito vs Ibushi or Okada vs Ibushi would be my picks if the three don't end up in the same block).

When and why did the "New Japan should book women" argument start?

In my experience, 90% or more of the conversations I have about wrestling (online and in real life) are about WWE and mainstream US wrestling. The people I can talk about Misawa/Kawada are the same that would have no issue checking for Tamura if I asked about him or recommended to watch some of his matches. And that number has gotten bigger in the last few years as it gets easier and easier to go into deep dives into anything that interest people. I understand your larger point though. Specially because we now have wrestlers that try to cater to Dave's tastes to get a big rating, maybe more than ever. I guess I just struggle with the thought of Dave and his views being so important because besides this board, I've found way more people that either laugh about his ratings, don't take it so seriously or understand he just loves New Japan and the Young Bucks. This is an interesting point. Because even though it's true the last fall was as minimalistic (sp?) as a New Japan main event has been in the last 7 years or so, the first two falls, and specially the first one, had a TON of excess of moves and kickouts. The match probably isn't seen as the best ever without that initial dose of "tons of moves and nearfalls" that lasted longer than the simple finishing stretch it had. I guess it could be seen as the best of both worlds? I tuned out for most of the first two falls because it isn't what I like but I can totally understand were people are coming from with the praise the match got. Might be risking going off topic now, but I can't agree with this 100%. There were tons of moves but comparatively few pin attempts during the first two falls, mostly because they were selling the damage it took executing them on each other. On a quick rewatch I counted maybe 13 pin attempts with maybe half being what I'd call actual dramatic nearfalls, and that didn't seem too excessive in the context of trying to score the all important first fall. In the second fall I counted 3(!) pin attempts included the OWA for the fall. A lot more time was spent out of the ring, in the cobra clutch, both guys down etc.So it really built in a logically way where they were so almost too worn down to capitalize until one guy was completely dead. Good post, didn't feel like that at first watch.

Who seeks or understands wrestling this way? If someone is a fan of tag team wrestling and starts looking for Steiners or Road Warriors matches, will they NOT watch the Starrcade match "because it only got 3 stars from Meltzer" or they'll watch it anyway because they were curious enough to find the info they had a match against each other?