Gotta say, I had no interest in the match but if Jericho is gonna go full old school heel trying to beat up and bloody Omega instead of trying to go toe to toe with him in the spots department (and most likely failing), then this has my attention.

As great as Okada's run as champ has been in terms of quality matches, it hasn't been the most drama filled run for sure. I guess they kind of painted themselves in the corner, either Okada only has matches with guys at the very tippy top and becomes a Brock like character who's never around or he wrestles more frequently and has more matches with guys who don't have a real chance of winning.

 

If nothing else it makes the other guy look good having a top quality match with the champ, even in a losing effort. One thing the booking tends to be good at for them is the whole "make guys look good while losing" deal, which didn't used to be difficult but is a lost art these days.

 

I don't know, the Omega stuff was pretty dramatic - although I wasn't in the camp that predicted a 1/4 title change, I thought both their title matches were filled with drama. Shibata was another good one, but def agree that EVIL wasn't moving the needle.

 

Gotta say, I had no interest in the match but if Jericho is gonna go full old school heel trying to beat up and bloody Omega instead of trying to go toe to toe with him in the spots department (and most likely failing), then this has my attention.

Jericho's interview with Dave & Bryan last week made me more interested, too.

 

 

Gotta say, I had no interest in the match but if Jericho is gonna go full old school heel trying to beat up and bloody Omega instead of trying to go toe to toe with him in the spots department (and most likely failing), then this has my attention.

Jericho's interview with Dave & Bryan last week made me more interested, too.

 

 

Those six minutes were some of the best work Omega's done in the ring in his whole career because all he had to do was sell and make Jericho look like a madman. So simple. Wrestling can be so simple.

Jericho is looking old as hell but it's good to see him relishing really getting to be a proper heel. Both parts of this angle were really well done and even though I don't think the match will be great and I'm not a big Omega fan, I'm actually somewhat interested to see what happens now. Job done I guess.

The crowd really rallied behind Omega in this also. Listen to them react as he makes his brief comeback. Good stuff building to the dome.

The press conference brawl was also really good. Apart from Goto getting another shot at the NEVER title as opposed to Juice, really digging this WK card.

The press conference brawl was also really good. Apart from Goto getting another shot at the NEVER title as opposed to Juice, really digging this WK card.

 

Jericho throwing the table at Kenny had me dying this is really good stuff

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=XvWY3Ccn_Js

 

The press conference brawl was also really good. Apart from Goto getting another shot at the NEVER title as opposed to Juice, really digging this WK card.

 

Jericho throwing the table at Kenny had me dying this is really good stuff

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=13&v=XvWY3Ccn_Js

 

"What are you laughing at, fuckface?"

It blows my mind that NJPW World still doesn't have official Roku and PS3/4 support. When WrestleKingdom 12 under-performs because of it and Meltzer loses his mind, this will be why. "Casting" the site, pressing "translate" in Google Chrome, or hooking up an HDMI cable is not good enough - that's downright bush league stuff - I expect more from NJPW. I guess Jericho, Callis, and Omega aren't very tech-savvy or they would've been riding NJPW's ass for months on this. What a ridiculous oversight. This is dying days of WCW levels of incompetence. Yes, the hardcores here will cast and hook up cables, but I thought the whole point of Jericho-Omega was to lure in everyone else? Without proper app support, that won't happen. I certainly won't bother.

 

There is an Android and Amazon Fire TV app, but my experience with Fire TV wasn't exactly all that positive (granted, I have the first-generation Fire Stick - and first-gen anything is usually hot garbage). With that building block already established, I have no idea why NJPW World didn't continue with Roku and PS3/4 apps - especially ahead of WK12.

The Firestick app works pretty well.

The Firestick app works pretty well.

 

I edited my post to mention that.

 

I have a first-gen Fire Stick though, and it's hot garbage. Still, with that app already created, I have no idea why they didn't immediately start working on apps for the Roku and PS3/4. I realize it's not a simple port-job from a technical standpoint, but at least the translation work is already done.

I'm up to 6 people that I personally know that have signed up for New Japan World for Omega/Jericho. They weren't thrilled about lack of app support but their desire to see the match won out.

 

The Firestick app works pretty well.

 

I edited my post to mention that.

 

I have a first-gen Fire Stick though, and it's hot garbage. Still, with that app already created, I have no idea why they didn't immediately start working on apps for the Roku and PS3/4. I realize it's not a simple port-job from a technical standpoint, but at least the translation work is already done.

 

 

I wish they had a PS4 app, but I don't know that the North American numbers justify the development. Very much a chicken/egg situation though.

I got some kind of Android TV box from a friend for Christmas (I think it's this one: Bqeel AX9 Android 7.1 4K TV Box). Is there a way to get NJPW World on something like this? I've been down with a bad fever, so I haven't had the energy to set it up yet and play around with it. I'm familiar with mainstream boxes like the Roku, PS3/4, etc., but I don't know much about off-brand gadgets like this.

 

I'm up to 6 people that I personally know that have signed up for New Japan World for Omega/Jericho. They weren't thrilled about lack of app support but their desire to see the match won out.

 

But will they stay past their one-month membership, or even the one match they want to see? Jericho, Omega, a North American-friendly match... All of it is downright useless if NJPW doesn't cultivate new long-term fans outside its home country. That's why I've been so critical of NJPW's shortsighted bush league approach when it comes to the app.

I wish they had a PS4 app, but I don't know that the North American numbers justify the development. Very much a chicken/egg situation though.

 

Streaming is supposedly a dead issue in Japan, so they'd be doing it for the North American market regardless.

Why is streaming a dead issue in Japan?

Why is streaming a dead issue in Japan?

No one there really does it, or at least they don't do it for NJPW World - or so I've heard.

Streaming never caught on in Japan for whatever reason, at least not for subscription sites. The only video service I've ever heard mentioned in terms of Japan is NicoNico which is basically just their version of YouTube.

CD's are still going strong in Japan too. Totally different culture.

Some random questions I don't know or forgot answers to over the last few years: How did people watch NJ big shows before NJPW World? iPPV? PPV? TV? What is NJ's current TV situation? How do they promote stars and matches beyond the NJPW World platform? Is Weekly Pro Wrestling still relevant? What about coverage in daily newspaper sports sections?

Wrestling magazines were huge for a long time, newspapers cover it in the sports section (or at least they did) fairly regularly.

I believe NJ's very first PPVs were in the early 00's. Before that, it was all on the TV shows and tape releases.

I believe NJ's very first PPVs were in the early 00's. Before that, it was all on the TV shows and tape releases.

 

What's their current TV exposure?

Last I heard wrestling on TV in Japan got shunted to the late night/overnight hours.

Some random questions I don't know or forgot answers to over the last few years: How did people watch NJ big shows before NJPW World? iPPV? PPV? TV? What is NJ's current TV situation? How do they promote stars and matches beyond the NJPW World platform? Is Weekly Pro Wrestling still relevant? What about coverage in daily newspaper sports sections?

Speaking for myself, when I started watching it, I would just download the shows when cappers would post them up on XWT. Turnaround time was usually very fast, especially after Suzuki vs Tanahashi got five stars.