GDT: New Japan/Stardom Thread - Life Post-Okada

[GKJ]

Sumie Sakai has announced she is retiring on January 11 at Battle in the Valley. She has asked Hiromu Takahashi to be her opponent in a mixed trios match(2 women, 1 man). Mayu Iwatani has been tweeting that she wants to make the trip for the match. Obviously others want a spot as well.



She was a woman alone in Ring of Honor for ages.

 

[GKJ]

Mayu coming to San Jose

 

[GKJ]

Stardom Dream Queendom, December 29:

Tam Nakano (c) vs. Saya Kamitani for the red belt

Natsupoi vs. Starlight Kid for the white belt

Thekla & Momo Watanabe vs. Hanan & Saya Iida for the goddess belts

Maika vs. Natsuko Tora, No DQ

Syuri vs. Konami, submission match

Should be a good show.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Dustin/Sammy vs. SHO/Kanemaru for the ROH tag titles at Wrestle Dynasty. HOT bollocks commence.

 

[Masked]

Dustin/Sammy vs. SHO/Kanemaru for the ROH tag titles at Wrestle Dynasty. HOT bollocks commence.

Wrestle Dynasty is looking like the worst big NJPW show in quite some time.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

ELP has beaten cancer and will be added to the TV title match to make it a 4 way <3

The KOPW title will be retired at WK.

Wrestle Dynasty is looking like the worst big NJPW show in quite some time.

It lacks star power. No Mox, no Swerve, no Hangman. Ospreay and Okada don't appear to be returning. There's a lot of fun matches on the card and I'm looking forward to it, but it could use a boost.

My biggest gripe with the NJPW/AEW partnership is the lack of juniors wrestling. no JR HW title matches or JR tag matches on any joint show has put a bit of a ceiling on what they could reach. A match like Hiromu/Darby or seeing Catch 2/2, Fujita/Eagles, Maloney/Connors take on a team like Top Flight could add a fun dynamic not to just this show but to future FDs.

 

[Masked]

It lacks star power. No Mox, no Swerve, no Hangman. Ospreay and Okada don't appear to be returning. There's a lot of fun matches on the card and I'm looking forward to it, but it could use a boost.

My biggest gripe with the NJPW/AEW partnership is the lack of juniors wrestling. no JR HW title matches or JR tag matches on any joint show has put a bit of a ceiling on what they could reach. A match like Hiromu/Darby or seeing Catch 2/2, Fujita/Eagles, Maloney/Connors take on a team like Top Flight could add a fun dynamic not to just this show but to future FDs.

Most of the AEW guys are just there, thrown into matches for no apparent reason. Omega/Kidd is the only real NJPW/AEW match with some excitement even though you know Omega is going over. You know that the only AEW guys going over have been EVPs at AEW.

I had hopes that with NJPW running things it would be a whole lot better than this year's crappy Forbidden Door. I'm not sure now.

.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

It appears that 4 way jr. tag title match will now be TLC

 

[GKJ]

 

[GKJ]

Most of the AEW guys are just there, thrown into matches for no apparent reason. Omega/Kidd is the only real NJPW/AEW match with some excitement even though you know Omega is going over. You know that the only AEW guys going over have been EVPs at AEW.

I had hopes that with NJPW running things it would be a whole lot better than this year's crappy Forbidden Door. I'm not sure now.

.

Honestly, other than the top few matches, that’s what a lot of New Japan shows are. What’s even the main event of this show?

 

[Masked]

Honestly, other than the top few matches, that’s what a lot of New Japan shows are. What’s even the main event of this show?

Maybe if you're including "Road to" shows but big NJPW shows are not like that at all.

My guess is the main event will be the match with whoever is defending the world championship.

 

[GKJ]

Maybe if you're including "Road to" shows but big NJPW shows are not like that at all.

My guess is the main event will be the match with whoever is defending the world championship.

They have their top matches but at the bottom they just throw everyone they didn’t know what to do with in tag matches, unless it’s Wrestle Kingdom, in which case it’s the New Japan Rumble.

 

[Masked]

They have their top matches but at the bottom they just throw everyone they didn’t know what to do with in tag matches, unless it’s Wrestle Kingdom, in which case it’s the New Japan Rumble.

That's not true at all. Do you even follow NJPW?

To go over their last four big shows:

Power Struggle - 4 title matches, a tournament final and a significant singles match.

King of Pro Wrestling - 7 title matches

Destruction in Kobe - 5 title matches and a no dq singles match

Dominion - 6 title matches and a tournament final

 

[GKJ]

That's not true at all. Do you even follow NJPW?

To go over their last four big shows:

Power Struggle - 4 title matches, a tournament final and a significant singles match.

King of Pro Wrestling - 7 title matches

Destruction in Kobe - 5 title matches and a no dq singles match

Dominion - 6 title matches and a tournament final

Yeah, their big matches have people in them. That's how it's supposed to work. And they have matches like Ren Narita, Jeff Cobb, and Yota Tsuji in a 3-way for the TV title, which is just three dudes in a title match because they needed to have one.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

I'd bet a good amount of money that the original TV title match plans got screwed up. I think they were gonna build to Yuya/Finlay at the dome for the global title and then do Tsuji/Oiwa/Narita for the TV title, but the injury to Yuya had them prop up Tsuji and then they put in Cobb as a substitute.

ELP fighting off cancer just makes for a feel good moment by adding him in to the 4 way.