October 4, 20159 yr comment_5702163 He got it being less shitty than other WWE commentators but he's only been good in Lucha Underground.
October 4, 20159 yr comment_5702164 I don't even think he's good in Lucha Underground. He only comes across as competent because Vampiro is the drizzling shits.
October 4, 20159 yr comment_5702168 I'd rather hear Striker + Kelly than Corino + Kelly. Those 2 have no real report and Corino's shtick is infuriating once you've watched ROH for 3 weeks straight. Kelly's random silences probably won't be fun though, I'll stick with Japanese commentary. Maybe they're shit too but they sound good at least
October 4, 20159 yr comment_5702241 I would rather have a non-wrestling fan just translate what the Japanese commentators say. Striker is horrible. Kelly is too. I mean, when we're comparing the shit at the bottom of the barrel, does it matter what pecking order they're in? Cole, Striker, Kelly, Corino, Tenay, Saxton, Lawler, Graves, etc. None of them are any good.
October 5, 20159 yr comment_5702311 Yes, at the bottom there's Corino + current TNA team, and then there's everybody else Corino could be fine as the Don West-esque (you might laugh, but I think he was vital to a lot of TNA's success back then) hype-mark for the company if he had more than 3 jokes
October 5, 20159 yr comment_5702317 I can't fault anyone for at least assuming that Corino would be a decent color commentator. The guy comes across as really enthusiastic and entertaining in conversation. I've always enjoyed him on podcasts and in interview form. But that just doesn't translate to his announcing. At some point, it should've been recognized and rectified by now. Striker's redeemed himself enough with me. I won't hold the atrocious AAA show against him. He's been a lot of fun as the super fan who occasionally marks out (bro) in Lucha Underground. And, unlike some, I didn't really find anything awful in his job with New Japan and JR last year. Call me crazy, but I've heard MUCH worse in the past year. Ultimately, I don't mind calling Striker a "good" commentator. Not great, but good. He can hit key points, fill in blind spots for unfamiliar fans, rattle off names left and right (to a fault at times), and provide historical context. He covers the bases well. One thing I don't mind giving him points for is his enthusiasm and excitement at ringside. I realize some people enjoy bashing him for that stuff, but nah. Not my thing. I'd much rather have a guide that gets genuinely invested and excited about what's going on than one who just hits the basic notes, recites information, and moves on. Striker's far from the first or finest choice, but when you consider who's out there and openly available - he isn't far off. I don't think I'd ever care for a pairing of him with Kelly though, which is why this decision just sounds so absurd. Now Striker with Ranallo or Striker with JR again? Sure. I think it'd offer a better balance. There's just no appeal in the Striker and Kelly combo though.
October 5, 20159 yr comment_5702345 I would rather have a non-wrestling fan just translate what the Japanese commentators say. I don't think this would work. You'll just have a macho business donkey wrestler talk about his super karate monkey death car.
October 5, 20159 yr comment_5702354 I would rather have a non-wrestling fan just translate what the Japanese commentators say. I don't think this would work. You'll just have a macho business donkey wrestler talk about his super karate monkey death car. It's more descriptive than Kelly at least
October 5, 20159 yr comment_5702360 I would rather have a non-wrestling fan just translate what the Japanese commentators say. I don't think this would work. You'll just have a macho business donkey wrestler talk about his super karate monkey death car. Beautiful reference.
October 6, 20159 yr comment_5702466 Striker was not the worst for WK9. He has a bad habit of breaking kayfabe for absolutely no reason though, but he used to be worse for it
October 12, 20159 yr Author comment_5704167 I thought it was a very meh show. Okada/AJ I thought was maybe the worst of their matches, though everyone else is going nuts for it and their matches do tend to grow on me on rewatch so I might be out to lunch on that one. Tanahashi/Naito was underwhelming. This gimmick is such an improvement for Naito, but I'm not sure he's really figured out how to work it in a way that produces entertaining matches yet. The angle was very fun though. Neither of the junior title matches did anything for me. I would rather have seen reDragon/RPG Vice work a spotfest sprint because I don't get the impression either team can work a regular match in a way that is particularly compelling. The heat segment was zzzz. As for the singles title match, Kenny Omega in this gimmick is absolutely wretched. Sydal did some cool moves. Crowd was DEAD for both matches. The constant gaijin vs. gaijin matches are killing interest in the division. Makes the decision to take the belt off KUSHIDA even more puzzling.
October 13, 20159 yr comment_5704215 I really agree about how the juniors (and both tag divisions) have been so oversaturated by non-natives in the last couple of years. I looked it up a few weeks ago; just for 2015, there's been nine teams to challenge for either tag title. Six all-gaijin, one mixed, and two all-native. Zero all-native matches since those two teams were Goto/Shibata & TenKoji. Two years for the HWs (Iizuka/Yano-TenKoji), three years for the juniors (Taichi/TAKA-Liger/TM).
October 13, 20159 yr comment_5704354 Man this was a mediocre show. I had 3 matches at 3* or better. 1. Opening 10 man at 3* 2. Sydal vs Omega 3 3/4* 3. Okada vs Styles 4* I dug the angle with Naito. I'm not a fan of Ishii/Makabe video game wrestling. The rest of the card was mediocre.
October 13, 20159 yr Author comment_5704429 Gedo has done well by the company for a few years, but it feels like all his faults as a booker were on display on that show - repetition of matchups, minimal attention paid to Juniors and tag division, overuse of foreigners, etc. Was the first time an IWGP Heavyweight title match didn't sell out since the disastrous AJ vs. Okada Yokohama show last year too. Korakuen attendance has been down also. Will be interesting to see how this trend develops from here.
October 14, 20159 yr comment_5704650 That's really not true. He drew great as champion. The novelty of New Japan's resurgence has worn off, the quality of the product has dropped and the booking is the worst it's been since Lesnar was champion probably.
October 23, 20159 yr comment_5706369 People should check out the Taiwan show on NJPW World. The ran a skeleton crew so we got no 6 man tags, and 2 jr singles matches that delivered. It felt fresh for a change. The Jay White/Taguchi match was really great in the 3 3/4* range. White's selling of his hammy was incredible. Kushida/Finley was pretty great too at 3 1/2*. If you don't put selling at a premium I can see people preferring this match. Their were also other good matches on this show.
October 23, 20159 yr comment_5706568 Does anyone know what the attendance was in Taiwan? And did they hold two events or just one?
October 25, 20159 yr comment_5706844 Does anyone know what the attendance was in Taiwan? And did they hold two events or just one? One event. 1200 paid.
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