January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997040 8 minutes ago, Dav'oh said: All six of my perfectly legal avenues for watching this show have been blocked. NJPW not normally this diligent. TV Asashi vs the Sasha stans gonna be the most violent match of the night
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997041 crowd looks pretty decent, announcers are saying 30,000 ish and that looks about right just eyeballing it.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997043 KAIRI wins a surprisingly quick match (just over 5 minutes) but what they did was good.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997044 Where there's a will there's a way...my first look at Tam Nakano and her...Star of David? Match was a bit short, for mine, but I always love a Steiner Scre- HERE SHE COMES!
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997049 Gotta admit it was kinda weird hearing FTR's Midnight Express theme playing in the dome.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997051 That was fast paced and hitting big stuff early so I figured they weren't going very long, but fun match. Would still like to see more FTR in Japan.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997054 I swear Zack Sabre Jr was conceived, born and weaned in a wrestling ring. It's all so natural to him. TMDK started in Perth (I believe) as the repugnantly-named Torture Murder Death Kill, and due to backlash went with The Mighty Don't Kneel. Kept the initials, though. Fuck 'em.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997056 Faaaaaaark that suplex onto the underside of the table must've sucked. My money's on Ospreay.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997058 Semi-serious question: should Mercedes Martinez change her ring name? Over the past few weeks, there have been several instances where I saw people talking about a female wrestler named Mercedes without initially realizing they were referring to Sasha.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997070 Watching the press conference post show and it seems they are gonna build to Ospray winning it all at next year's WK.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997073 The magic of pro wrestling, folks. I hate Omega. I really hate Ospreay. But that match was fucking amazing and a clear early MOTYC for me.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997079 4 hours ago, Jmare007 said: Watching the press conference post show and it seems they are gonna build to Ospray winning it all at next year's WK. Sort of hard to remember because it's all happened in the COVID era, but Ospreay already has two Wrestle Kingdom losses to Okada in pretty great matches. Him finally winning the big one next year would make a lot of sense, especially if he's signing long-term. It also really seemed like he got to a new place with fan engagement during this match that will serve him well.
January 4, 20232 yr comment_5997080 10 hours ago, NintendoLogic said: Semi-serious question: should Mercedes Martinez change her ring name? Over the past few weeks, there have been several instances where I saw people talking about a female wrestler named Mercedes without initially realizing they were referring to Sasha. Did Steve Blackman change his name when he was in the same company as Steve Austin? No. So, no. I realize Mercedes is a more unique name, but Martinez has been using it for 20+ years and it's Sasha's real name.
January 5, 20232 yr comment_5997081 Watched up to Anderson/Tama and the show has been hella underwhelming. Have to imagine the double main will pick up, but up to this point in the show its just as cold as 2020-2021 NJPW to me.
January 5, 20232 yr comment_5997171 Not a perfect show by any means but I had a blast watching it, which hasn't really been the case with Wrestle Kingdom for a few years now. The crowd involvement was a welcome return even if they're not as noisy as they were pre-pandemic. That will take some time I expect. One absolute classic in Ospreay/Omega. Ospreay's performance was incredible and really surprised me as I'm not always his biggest fan. His selling in the second half of the match was something else. Looked like Terry Funk at times. That final 10 minutes really helped to put over the big spots that had come earlier. That Croyt's Wrath off the top was disgusting. Kenny doing the Shining impression with the broken table. So good. GREAT entrances too. I was thrilled to hear the return of "Elevated". A handful of other really good matches and a couple which were just okay. I liked Narita/ZSJ and the tag title match a good deal. The Jr. tag opener was made more memorable by Rush's blood. Even Anderson/Tonga had that absolutely devastating looking piledriver on the ramp. That was nuts. I was fully behind Master Wato in the junior 4-way. He had some great near falls. But it wasn't to be. Sasha/Mercedes' big return/debut didn't quite land in the way some may have hoped but I thought she looked incredible. The delivery was just a bit off. Not to worry - I think the match with KAIRI in the US will deliver regardless.
January 5, 20232 yr comment_5997178 Finished the show and still felt quite underwhelmed. Ospreay/Omega was something. Certainly not the match I expected, but quite interesting. I do feel like I've seen this story a few times before, though. Same with Okada/White. Really just feels like a reset to right before the pandemic/AEW formation.
January 6, 20232 yr comment_5997229 Shocked and gladly surprised at the New Japan-NOAH show. They finally made a legit effort!
January 7, 20232 yr comment_5997294 Wait did Kenny really come out dressed as Sephiroth to the Sephiroth song
January 7, 20232 yr comment_5997298 On 1/4/2023 at 6:58 PM, C.S. said: Did Steve Blackman change his name when he was in the same company as Steve Austin? No. So, no. I realize Mercedes is a more unique name, but Martinez has been using it for 20+ years and it's Sasha's real name. Kind of odd to cite WWE as precedent when there are far more instances of wrestlers changing established names after joining that company (like, say, Steven Regal). The Steves who kept their names had distinctive nicknames that served as Homeric epithets (Dr. Death, The Lethal Weapon). It would behoove one or both Mercedes to do likewise. I'm sorry, but "The CEO" ain't it. Also, TAFKA Sasha needs to go back to the drawing board if she wants a new finisher because that Gory special DDT thing she did to Kairi looked like shit.
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