Jmare007

Two things. -Drew is injured -There will be more War Games, can't wait till better wrestlers get to be a part of one. Hopefully in a reguar 2 team format.

Colin Delaney also lasted more than a year right?

~ Yuji Okabayashi was announced to be undergoing shoulder surgery in December and will be out of action for at least a year. I'm legit sad about this. Yuji is one of the most entertaining performers in the world right now and him losing a year AGAIN is devastating

Not as good as their first match, of course it didn't have the same heat as less people were in the building this time but even still, they didn't do as good a job building momentum and drama. Story is Kamitani not being able to get control from the start like last time and having to deal with Suzuki toying with him with different holds, once the young bull gets some offense in this gets a little more intense but it felt kinda disjointed. There were a couple of cool moments, Hideki does a great job as the asshole champ/invader and it's short enough to not bother anyone but it lacked drama I loved from Suzuki's past defenses. Post match was another heated exchange with Daichi which is getting a rematch at Death Vegas I guess (he's facing Kamitani at the end of the month at Korakuen and then Okami is facing Suzuki & Uto in a tag match three days later, perfect for a build up to Yokohama in December.) I thought the Daichi/Kikuta/Kawakami vs Sekimoto/Sato/Nomura six man from the same show was better, one of those typical harmless and short six mans the Strong Division can give to you.

No clue. To my knowledge the only people being able to attend a Meet & Greet were part of WWE's "Street Team" - something they created in the 00's as a way to get feedback from fans - who got free tickets (if available, most were for the second show) and a chance to hang out before the show with a couple wrestlers, none were big stars. I think this year it was Carmella and Tye Dillinger.

I'm not justifying WWE's crazy prices but those are not much different from the shows here in Chile. The first one sold out pretty quickly and ringside and "platinum" (guardrail and floor seats) were $270. Second night didn't sell out but it still got a good number. Seems WWE thought they could get away with it in India too.

Not sure how it's a 20% increase when last year it was $32 million in revenue, but this are great news. I wish I wasn't so bored by the booking but it's working so I should just keep watching Kento Miyahara matches and Big Japan's Strong Division to satisfy my puro needs.

Dave should just say fuck it and go full Skip Bayless

The KO/Zayn stuff is the type of shit that made The Shield so consistently well booked. Those 3 veto'd whatever they didn't feel like doing and would "damage" their characters. I have a hard time believing a Triple H darling like Owens, after having a huge fucking push working with Shane, got into this kind of trouble over not showing ass during a segment. Either it's a work or something much more serious is going on

I fail to understand why creating buzz in the US and social media is better than booking a bigger match for the Japanese audience (Omega vs Ibushi). And it's not like NJPW needs a lot of buzz to draw in the US right now, they could book a regular show with their current roster - with 1 important singles match, say Naito vs Omega for the IWGP belt - and sell out the Long Beach show in minutes. I get the excitement over Jericho working at the Dome. It's a novelty and a legit surprise, but the match that it's replacing was a bigger draw (it already got 12k in Budokan Hall 5 years ago when both didn't have the level of stardom they have now) and cock blocks a guy that should be getting a big push - regardless if he can't commit long term - and freshen things up in the heavy division. This kinda like Punk having to wait 2 years and cutting the pipe bomb promo before getting the push he needed because WWE had booked Rock as a ref for WM 27 and wrestling at 28. And it's even worse because Jericho doesn't mean 1/100th to New Japan to what Rock means to WWE, and Ibushi is a proven draw unlike Punk was. I'm not saying having Jericho is a disaster or a huge mistake, I get why New Japan did it. But I don't buy it being a better decision than just booking Omega vs Ibushi.

I'd be shocked if Jericho negotiated this without WWE knowing about it. Wouldn't surprise me if this is a sort of deal that leads to Omega working Rumble/Mania or even signing for Vince.

It does seem that way, I'm not sure I like it.

Ibushi vs Omega is bigger for the japanese audience...

Man, I really wanted Omega vs Ibushi and I actually think it would've drawn better at the Dome than Jericho. This is still gonna be the biggest January 4th show in more than a decade most likely (in terms of legit paid attendance) and certainly the one with the most US exposure to date. Jay White being groomed to be their next big gaijin star makes sense and I Iike his work so can't hate on that. But why not give the IC title to Ibushi and book White vs Tanahashi as just a singles "return" match?. I'm baffled Gedo doesn't give a proven draw like Kota a green light push given how they need a new star for the heavy division. Even if he can't commit long term, you just gave fucking Jericho a huge match, why not try to make the most money out of Ibushi while you can? It's all about Naito's coronation though, It's fucking due.

They fucked us over in Chile for SD's house show by taking out AJ Styles. I was his first time here ever. Guess our money doesn't matter as much Update: Owens is also out so HHH hopped on a plain and is working at least 1 of the 2 shows. I could care less about him but most fans here love him so I stand corrected. WWE did their best to fix 2 very different shows. Kudos.

They fucked us over in Chile for SD's house show by taking out AJ Styles. I was his first time here ever. Guess our money doesn't matter as much

Been reading this in a few places, from Pro Wrestling Sheet

He was great at everything he did in wrestling. I'm happy he was able to live into his 90's with a sharp mind. RIP Lance.

Yeah, Kamitani getting a rematch on November 1st at Korakuen. Wouldn't shock me if he takes the belt.

Both teams agreed to a rematch in the future and I need that shit yesterday because this was fun as fuck. For the most part, it felt like an exhibition more than a bout for points in a tournament, and the length time hurt it, pacing was a little off and the final few minutes felt like overkill as it normally happens with these kind of matches. So a more condensed version of this should be fucking spectacular. Still, all in all, this had TONS to love. I dare anyone not to have fun watching this. I almost spit my drink laughing when 5 minutes in, Yuji just stiffed the fuck outta Daisuke for no particular reason Shingo felt like he belonged right away, as expected - though he needs to fucking chill with those headbutts - I loved how Okabayashi wanted to join him in every single thing, it's amazing how he can be goofy/clumsy/menacing at the same cotdamn time. Sato tends to go under the radar but he always brings it and this wasn't the exception. Another sequence I really liked was when Sekimoto and Sato did the body slams spot - a Strong BJ staple - while Daisuke was looking straight at Yuji like "yeah I'm doing this shit against your ass". Korakuen was rocking and had a blast wathing these 4 guys going all out and I can't blame them.

Why couldn't we get THIS Daichi for his title match against Suzuki?? As always with the Strong BJ division, the story for this is pretty damn simple: the two young guys show a fuck ton of heart and go all out to get the W against the champ and his outsider buddy. At first we get Daichi trying to prove a point and one up Hideki, but he pays his disrespect dearly as Suzuki fucking destroys his leg in quick fashion. From then on it's all about Kamitani holding the fort and Hashimoto doing an outstanding job at selling and showing babyface fire when needed - fucking LOVED how it looked like it hurt his soul every time he used his damaged leg - I can't get enough of how this division forces people to earn every single thing they do, and this match had plenty of that. Finishing sequence wasn't flashy but it made sense in the context of the story they were telling. Still, even with all the praise I just gave it, this isn't a home run of a match, but it was a really good tag that's worth a look. Post match was great with Daichi wanting to kill the champ for the damage he caused, Kamitani asking for another title shot and Hideki being pissed and throwing the middle finger. It looked like Kamitani will get the shot anyways, I think the young bull has a very good chance at getting the belt back.

This.

Wasn't Akiyama the booker during NOAH's peak and downfall?

Vince is such a great promoter he's the only one that was able to suck as a booker on numerous occasions - botching big angles, wasting potential superstars and creating a good amount of garbage - and not pay the biggest consequences for his mistakes (like pretty much everyone else did). He's so good at promoting that he will always give himself the chance to book something that works no matter how many misses he has.