March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838212 IMO, the matches in 2018 NJPW have not been very good so far. I did love Sabre’s run through the Cup, though. Yeah, my urge to watch 2018 New Japan lasted about 4 hours. Already bored and done with them. I guess I'll keep NJPW World until I'm done digging out the classics.
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838213 IMO, the matches in 2018 NJPW have not been very good so far. I did love Sabre’s run through the Cup, though. Minoru Suzuki has been my favorite guy on their roster this year
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838219 IMO, the matches in 2018 NJPW have not been very good so far. I did love Sabre’s run through the Cup, though. Minoru Suzuki has been my favorite guy on their roster this year Yeah, the Tanahashi match was pretty fun.
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838221 I know this is the New Japan thread but it sounds to me some of you guys need a little Strong BJ ( ) in your lives, if you want fun and short matches that's were it has been for years ps: I thought JR's commentary was fucking awful, kept making mistakes and dude sounded bored out of his mind 90% of the time. I had to switch to the japanese commentary for the last 2 matches.
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838224 I enjoyed JR calling the Long Beach show a lot more than I did Kelly over the years, especially since he's been on "5 stars matches" bullshit mode. JR's laid back, it's quite refreshing compared to the overexcited bots we hear everywhere. I've always preferred listening to the Japanese commentary anyway (I don't speak a lick of Japanese, btw), but I'm all about commentators from yesteryear who were prone to over-excitement or hyperbole making a comeback in 2018 by just chilling and calling the action straight. Tony Schiavone was on the MLW show I watched recently and I had no idea he was doing pro-wrestling commentary these days, but there was something about him being there that just felt RIGHT. I'll absolutely check out more MLW this year and it honestly has a lot to do with Schiavone calling things. Well, you're gonna be happy because Tony Schiavone is sticking around with MLW. He'll be on commentary for their new TV series with beIN Sports starting in a couple of weeks.
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838317 I know this is the New Japan thread but it sounds to me some of you guys need a little Strong BJ ( ) in your lives, if you want fun and short matches that's were it has been for years ps: I thought JR's commentary was fucking awful, kept making mistakes and dude sounded bored out of his mind 90% of the time. I had to switch to the japanese commentary for the last 2 matches. The JR/Barnett duo is atrocious. Kelly/Callis are pretty bad but if you want to watch with English commentary, they are the only option.
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838321 Yeah, I knew I should've looked for a Japanese commentary version of the Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks. I think that was the first I heard of the JR and Barnett team and they left me cold
March 30, 20187 yr comment_5838328 Watched a lot of the matches ShittyLittleBoots posted about and am less than thrilled with the majority of them. Glad he enjoyed them, but they're not my thing. And even though I'll most likely continue some new NJPW stuff, I'm not sure how long I'll stick around if a lot of those matches I watched are their best stuff. I still haven't watched anything from the Dome show, however. Suzuki vs. Tanahashi was the best out of the bunch from the ones I've seen and even then that was good at best, but way to long. I'm a big fan of Ishii, but I'm not thrilled about watching a close to 30 minute match with Elgin who's pretty terrible from what I've seen. I think watching last year's G1 might be a good idea. I'm someone who isn't into modern New Japan and isn't a regular watcher, but I like the G1 generally. Matches are more compact (which is crucial) and you get a good idea of what guys you'd like to see more of outside the tournament. It's good for context. You tend to get quite a few matches that divert from the main-event formula too, which makes it more diverse and enjoyable. You get the good and the bad. I don't think watching just the pimped matches from this year (especially from just one person whose taste you've established is different to yours) would be a good intro. I would regularly subscribe to NJPW World if they had more older stuff. It's a paltry collection they host and yet they've taken down a ton of the good stuff from Youtube over the last few years that isn't on their service, and probably had something to do with the RealHero drive going as well. Bastards.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838354 Yeah, I knew I should've looked for a Japanese commentary version of the Golden Lovers vs Young Bucks. I think that was the first I heard of the JR and Barnett team and they left me cold I'd highly recommend always sticking to the Japanese commentary. It absolutely enhances my enjoyment of the shows.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838356 I usually always go with the Japanese commentary but took the easy route this time. Never again
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838358 I find Ross more palatable even at his worst to Kevin Kelly screeching about fucking star ratings.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838380 I find Ross more palatable even at his worst to Kevin Kelly screeching about fucking star ratings. Oh yeah, that is terrible. Kelly does really do his homework and try to do a great job, though. Japanese commentary is always the correct choice.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838381 Well, maybe the Japanese commentary is actually atrocious and we don't know.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838385 Well, maybe the Japanese commentary is actually atrocious and we don't know. That would be great.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838386 Well, maybe the Japanese commentary is actually atrocious and we don't know. Shinpei Nogami just constantly talks about teriyaki sauce and the judo team at his former University. Shinji Yoshino doesn't know the names of any moves, he just shouts out "What a maneuver!" when something big happens in the ring. Both of them keep saying "Will you stop!" to Milano Collection A.T. and talking about how the wrestler hurt his external occipital protuberance... It's a nightmare.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838389 But hey, when you don't understand a word of it they really sound like they know what they're talking about!
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838391 Well, maybe the Japanese commentary is actually atrocious and we don't know. Shinpei Nogami just constantly talks about teriyaki sauce and the judo team at his former University. Shinji Yoshino doesn't know the names of any moves, he just shouts out "What a maneuver!" when something big happens in the ring. Both of them keep saying "Will you stop!" to Milano Collection A.T. and talking about how the wrestler hurt his external occipital protuberance... It's a nightmare. holy shit, thank god I don't understand a lick of japanese. I already can't watch Lucha because of the abomination that is play-by-play and commentary, adding puro would be too much.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838394 Well, maybe the Japanese commentary is actually atrocious and we don't know. I've always considered that a distinct possibility. But between understanding calls of the big moves and an enthusiastic announcer who seems in tune with the flow of the match, its one hell of an experience -- and a vastly superior one -- even if for all I know he's reading the phone book. No doubt this has also impacted my tolerance for WWE announcing.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838405 Kevin and Don definitely get too "smart" at times talking about star ratings and such but I think they've actually evolved into a fine duo, especially for newer fans who may be checking out NJPW for the first time
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838439 Kevin and Don would actually be a really strong commentary team if they dropped the insider terms and star ratings. They actually care about the product and are fairly knowledgeable, which you can't say about JR (at this stage in his career) or Barnett.
March 31, 20187 yr comment_5838440 I can't see how Kevin mentioning star ratings a few times makes him worse than a whole show of JR clearly not knowing anything that's going on. I mean, Kevin and Don are doing English commentary on a Japan-based streaming service. It's not like they are misreading the room if they mention star ratings and inside terms. It's like if CMLL offered English commentary on their streams and the announcer mentioned thecubsfan. Someone seeking out a niche of a niche like that should probably expect it.
April 1, 20187 yr comment_5838468 I can't see how Kevin mentioning star ratings a few times makes him worse than a whole show of JR clearly not knowing anything that's going on. I mean, Kevin and Don are doing English commentary on a Japan-based streaming service. It's not like they are misreading the room if they mention star ratings and inside terms. It's like if CMLL offered English commentary on their streams and the announcer mentioned thecubsfan. Someone seeking out a niche of a niche like that should probably expect it. That's fair I just think talking about the ratings or, when they mention Jay White reading the poor reviews of his match with Tanahashi, it's too meta for my taste
April 1, 20187 yr comment_5838475 For those that usually skip the smaller shows, I'd recommend checking out yesterday's Road to Sakura Genesis show. Yagi vs. Narita was one of the better young lion matches in some time, with active, effective mat work, big chops and even a strong finishing stretch. Nagata vs. Umino wasn't quite at that level but again showed why Umino may have the highest ceiling of any young lion. The White/Goto/Ishii vs. Juice/Finlay/Henare six man was a hot, fun match that did an excellent job spotlighting three feuds that have been building which will hopefully lead to singles matches at the upcoming Dontaku shows. Similarly, the LIJ/Suzuki Gun 10 man built a couple other feuds, particularly Naito/Suzuki. That looks like a headliner for one Dontaku show and should be terrific. The Okada/ZSJ tag that headlined was arguably weaker than all of the above matches but still a nice teaser heading into tomorrow's main event. Not a must watch, as I'd check out all of the above matches before this one if you're pressed for time. And of course, stick with the Japanese commentary.
April 1, 20187 yr comment_5838481 I find Ross more palatable even at his worst to Kevin Kelly screeching about fucking star ratings. Ross is shit
April 1, 20187 yr comment_5838525 I find Ross more palatable even at his worst to Kevin Kelly screeching about fucking star ratings. Ross is shit lol I love how the "Japanese" guy has these really strong negative opinions about Jim Ross and Bill Apter.
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