Yep. Way too much White stuff thrown in my face, really...

 

He's terrible. He has the distinct honor of being in the worst PWG match I have ever seen. They also didn't invite him back after a single match there.

Jay White is terrible. Hangman Page is terrible. Evil isn't any good. Yano isn't any good. They can't all be great.

I want a Suzuki/Ishii match out of this.

I'd bet the house they are in the same block

Jay White is terrible. Hangman Page is terrible. Evil isn't any good. Yano isn't any good. They can't all be great.

 

Yano is the best.

I also like the "bullshit" guys being included. It mixes things up and practically forces matches to become more diverse or die trying.

 

Yano isn't ever a terrible pick for that role, but somebody different would've been nice anyhow.

 

And yes. Beer City Bruiser in this thing could've been the bee's sleeves.

Perhaps its crazy, but Yano seems vital in the G1. He's an easy opportunity for everyone in his block to essentially get an extra off night working a shorter comedy match without the need to kill themselves. Not every match clicks, but he's usually good for a few fun outings every year and rarely goes long enough to be actively bad.

Man, the Champion's Carnival had a more exciting lineup than the G-1. With 8 shows taking place in Korakuen, Osaka and Budokan I still expected a good number of great shows/matches but the participants are so safe and uninspiring. Why not let someone like Henare get a shot and see what he has? I thought the Ishii match this year was awesome and established Henare as someone who belongs.

 

Oh well, it's gonna be really great seeing a sold out Budokan again for something that isn't a retirement or special interpromotional show, Finals should be rocking no matter who are the two guys facing each other (Naito vs Ibushi or Okada vs Ibushi would be my picks if the three don't end up in the same block).

Blocks announced. LOTS going on in the B Block:

 

A Block

 

Okada

Tanahashi

Elgin

EVIL

Fale

Makabe

White

Page

Suzuki

YOSHI-HASHI

 

B Block

 

Naito

Ibushi

Kenny

Ishii

SANADA

ZSJ

Yano

Tonga

Goto

Juice

 

Think this kind of confirms Okada wins the tournament.

Ibushi to the final ? Please ?

Ibushi to the final ? Please ?

 

It's looking like an Okada-Ibushi final to me.

Yup, Okada vs Ibushi in the finals with Okada vs Tana (or MiSu) main eventing night 1 at Budokan and Omega vs Ibushi main eventing Budokan again for night 2 (or maybe they go Ibushi vs Naito as a de facto semi).

 

I guess Naito pins Kenny in the tourney to get a title shot, and finally gets the belt again in September or October.

My first guess would be Okada vs. Ibushi in the finals, with ibushi winning. This could set up a really interesting story with the Lovers pitted against eacht other at WK. Assuming Kenny keepts the title 'til then, which I DO assume.

Okada wins and Okada/Omega again at the dome. Gedos booking is generally safe and Okada is still THE guy. Be shocked if he doesnt main event the Dome and there isnt really a non title match for him thats big enough on paper. Maybe Omega drops the title to Naito between then but they usually do a better job of giving someone in that spot more momentum than Naito has. Gedo booking would also point to Naito/Omega at KOPW and Naito getting his win back over Jericho at WK.

 

If it was going to be Omega/Ibushi I doubt theyd give it away during G1 with being such a fresh matchup. Butcha never know.

I was thinking they do Omega/Naito for Wrestle Kingdom and Okada/Jericho.

I'd have loved to see a wild surprise outsider in the fold, but its still a stellar lineup with big matches up and down the field. A few thoughts on potential finals/winners:

 

-- Ibushi/Omega feels like an absolute lock to go to a draw. It leaves open a big match singles outing down the road, title or no title. Its also easy to see Omgea dropping two matches along the way -- Naito on night 1 is probably a given, along with perhaps Sabre, Goto or Ishii to set up another fall title defense -- while Ibushi only drops one (including avenging last year's G1 loss to Naito) and thus advances on the draw.

 

-- Jay White is definitely upsetting Okada on night 1. If I could get odds on it I would. Whatever you think of White, they're invested in the guy and he's going to have a big tourney.

 

-- So big, in fact, that I could even be tempted to have him coming out of the block ahead of Tanahashi and Okada. Is a White/Ibushi final with Ibushi setting up the Golden Lovers title match at WK that inconceivable?

 

-- To answer my own question, yes. This is Okada's promotion. If he's not involved in the top program in the company on their biggest show of the year, what's he doing instead? I don't have a very good answer to that question, which leaves me with him going over Ibushi in the finals en route to Wrestle Kingdom 13. Naito over Omega at KOPW to set up a rematch at WK seems logical and a more than distinct possibility, but I wouldn't lock it in just yet. I could see a Naito/Jericho rematch on that show leaving us with Okada/Omega V, especially since they're kept apart here.

 

That's more than enough intrigue at the very top of the tourney to make things super interesting, and is also without even discussing Tanahashi or the plethora of likely incredible matches we'll get over the month. Really looking forward to it, as always.

Does anyone know if this weekend's Rev Pro shows will be posted on NJ World, and if so in full or only select matches?

I'm pretty sure the whole show will be, but might be split up by each match. Okada-Sabre and Suzuki-Ishii sounded really good.

Where the heck is the Okada/Suzuki downpour match? 

Was it even filmed for release?

Is there anyone more familiar with The Elite saga stuff that can explain to me why the IWGP Title match from the Cow Palace turned out that way? The ladder seemed entirely unnecessary and killed the whole flow of the match.

I have seen on twitter that people are saying that Hiromu takahashi collapsed backstage after his match and the prevailing rumour is that he broke his neck. The gif of it I saw looked horrific it was a phoenix suplex where he was released instead of still being held by dragon lee as the spot usually would play out.

 

 

Yeah, I saw that too. Honestly, that was horrifying. It's a miracle that Hiromu wasn't paralyzed on the spot.

Horrifying. One of the most uncomfortable spots I've seen. Hope he can have a fast, healthy recovery.

I don't have AXS, so I had to wait for NJPW World to put up the Cow Palace show. Since it was late, I cherry-picked only three matches to watch. I don't know if I'll ever have time to watch the entire show, but please LMK if I missed anything awesome. I'm a new NJPW Subscriber, so this is my first show other than watching Jericho-Omega and Ibushi-Cody on YouTube a few months ago, along with other random matches on NJPW World and elsewhere.

Young Bucks vs. Sanada and Evil: This was my first Bucks match, and I was pleasantly surprised. I think their offense is very creative. I can understand why people would get tired of the constant superkick spots, but it made me smile. We'll see if I still feel that way 20 Bucks matches from now. Sanada and Evil were okay but felt like the type of disposable wrestlers that would've been jobbers on Monday Nitro. I thought it was an entertaining match overall. I wouldn't call it a classic or anything, but I had fun. What was up with the finish though? Either the Bucks botched it or it looks like shit. One of the Bucks held onto a wrestler while the other Buck jumped and...did nothing. It was weird. Other than that, I liked what I saw of the Bucks.

Jay White vs. Juice Robinson: Jay White's serial killer look and utter lack of charisma haunted my dreams, but I thought this was fantastic overall. The entire match was about selling Juice Robinson's broken hand, which is such a refreshing change from the spotty bullshit that permeates so much of WWE and even NXT. Juice was the star in this match IMO, and this was a star-making match for him, but I do have to credit White (who I can't bring myself to like, despite an obviously stellar performance) for getting him there. What was up with J.R. bitching about the barricade spots, and Josh Barnett jumping into the ring? I know he's a former MMA fighter, but he looked like a goofy accountant or H.R. guy in his dress clothes. Other than that weirdness, I loved this match.

Omega vs. Cody: NJPW World told me there were only 13 minutes left in the show, which seemed weird to me. Obviously, this whole thing was a lot longer than 13 minutes, so the app's timer is more botched than that Bucks finish. To be honest, I had somewhat low expectations going in. But Omega and Cody delivered the good and gave me the best match of the three I watched (although Jay White-Juice Robinson was very close). From his reputation of having 20-star matches or whatever the hell it is, Omega has proven he can deliver in a main event setting. I wasn't sure about Cody. But this was his coming out party IMO. He showed he could hang with Omega and deliver the goods. A thrilling match. Edit: That table spot was scary though.  I can't imagine Cody was meant to land at the angle he did.

And that post-match? Holy shit!!! I kinda hope Haku's useless son Tama Tonga and the other guy are used as stooges to give us what we all really want (but didn't realize we did until now): Omega vs. Haku. I know that won't happen though. The only "plot hole" was one of the Tongans handing Cody a chair, only to later act like he was tired of both Omega and Cody because "we're all equals" (something that would be a race angle in the U.S. but wasn't here). I know Cody walloped them with the chair, but he seemed ready to cast his lot with Cody before that. I guess this is one area where scripted promos are better. Other than that nitpick and one other I'll get to, I thought this was one hell of an angle. My second nitpick is that it should have ended with Cody, Omega, Bucks, and the Bullet Club b-teamers laid out cold with Haku and his goons standing tall, instead of the extended sequence we got of the Bullet Club getting up and hobbling to the back. Still, I can't criticize this too much, because it was AWESOME!

 

The main event was a terrible, heatless slog. The ladder had no place in the match, and the narrative of Kenny's emotions toward Cody came off really garbled. The crowd did not buy Cody as a real threat, and they did nothing to change that with the work. They worked extremely hard to little effect.

Juice and White blew them away, with a legit face-heel dynamic and aura of violence. Best thing on the show by far.