Fun Lucharesu - Day 1

NJPW/CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016

(2016/01/17)

Kobe

Destruction 2015 in Kobe

(2015/09/27)

Okayama

Destruction 2015 in Okayama

(2015/09/23)

G1 Climax 25 - Final Day

G1 Climax 25

(2015/08/16)

G1 Climax 25 - Day 14 (from Korakuen, aka the REAAAAL G1 Begins!)

G1 Climax 25

(2015/08/09)

G1 Climax 25 - Day 2 (Lazy-Ass Edition)

G1 Climax 25

(2015/07/23)

Dominion

Dominion 2015

(2015/5/7)

Global Wars 2015 - Night 2 (Cherry-Picked)

ROH/NJPW Global Wars 2015

 (2015/5/16)

Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Good but barely. This needed to be way better considering the names involved and the fact it was the last show on the tour. I feel like they were too obviously trying to repeat the Ibushi/Nakamura magic, and it didn’t quite work. It had some captivating spots and moments, but overall the match suffered from Nakamura’s too contrived and far-fetched spot setups, also they rushed into things unnecessarily. I hope they did better in England.

***

Global Wars 2015 - Night 1

ROH/NJPW Global Wars 2015

(2015/5/15)

War of the Worlds 2015 - Night 2

ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds 2015

(2015/5/13)

War of the Worlds 2015 - Night 1

ROH/NJPW War of the Worlds 2015

(2015/5/12)

Wrestling Dontaku '15

Wrestling Dontaku 2015

(2015/5/3)

NJPW on AXS TV: Episode 13

New Japan Pro-Wrestling on AXS TV

Episode 13, April 10th 2015

This edition is dedicated to the Yokohama Arena show, NJPW’s first show in there since 2003 (I think). They aired the entire Suzuki & Benjamin vs. Yano & Iizuka angle where Iizuka turned on his tag team partner to join SZKG.

Okada talks about the upcoming rematch with Styles.

Back to Yokohama Arena

(2014/5/25)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada vs. AJ Styles ©

Very similar to their first match, only this one barely had anything good in it, unlike the Fukuoka meeting. Again, there was a lot of dead meat and unnecessary parts in there, and I’m saying this again – these two need to have sprints instead of epics, especially with the Bullet Club version of AJ, which is a strange and not so logical character. AJ’s always been the best as a stoic asskicking figure who bumps like a madman and does impressive offense sequences, so putting him in all these heel shenanigans modes takes away from his true being. The Bullet Club AJ is not a true AJ, not even close. AJ’s current role would’ve been perfect for Eddie Guerrero or Bryan Danielson, AJ is a different sort of badass, he’s not cut for cockiness and “dat swag”. It’s no coincidence his title matches underdelivered in New Japan, that’s because Gedo and Jado insist on something he can’t fulfill, plus all the American style interference bullshit, but if you give AJ the ball and let him run with it, miracles will happen. See G1 Climax 24.

**1/2

Backstage, Okada is fucking CRUSHED and Gedo is there for his client. Fantastic selling of a defeat.

Bullet Club celebrates inside the ring, Karl Anderson cuts another LAME slow-talking promo.

Okada reflects on the match, and like a true Jap he only blames himself, not the interferences. Says he’d like to face with AJ one more time, he’s impressed with his skills and super rich moveset.

NJPW on AXS TV: Episode 12

New Japan Pro-Wrestling on AXS TV

Episode 12, April 3rd 2015

This edition is dedicated to Wrestling Dontaku 2014. Both Junior Heavyweight championships were highlighted through heavily clipped matches, Hooligans vs. Bucks and Taguchi vs. Ibushi. Barnett hates the Bucks, lel.

Okada talks about the upcoming match with Styles, he says he was surprised when AJ attacked him, he remembers him declining in TNA. He says AJ’s Styles Clash feels different and more devastating than Tanahashi’s, probably because of different weight adjustment, which is such a fantastic little detail that tells so much.

Wrestling Dontaku 2014

(2014/5/3)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: AJ Styles vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

Good match but not great, and ultimately disappointing considering the names and potential involved. And it wasn’t all the Bullet Club interference angle fault, even before that last gang attack and Yujiro’s treason the match dragged at some parts, it really could’ve used some fat-trimming. The crowd took their time to get used to AJ’s presence, they only bought him as a serious threat later in the match. If this was a heated 15 min sprint, it would’ve been much better and more effective.

***

Backstage, Gedo is fucking FURIOUS!

Bullet Club celebrates inside the ring, Karl Anderson cuts a lame slow-talking promo.

Okada reflects on the match, says it feels very strange without the belt he was holding for over a year. He says AJ was his old self and is looking forward to face him in a title rematch.

Wrestling Hinokuni

Wrestling Hinokuni

(2015/4/29)

Road to Invasion Attack

Road to Invasion Attack 2015

(cherry-picked)

Invasion Attack

Invasion Attack 2015

(2015/4/5)

NJPW on AXS TV: Episode 9

New Japan Pro-Wrestling on AXS TV

Episode 9, March 13th 2015

There was an interesting story behind this match, Naito didn’t gain a lot of momentum following his G1 victory, Gedo & Jado did quite a number on him with the horrible booking giving him Tanaka and fucking Yujiro as a preparation for the Dome show. That’s just bad, lackluster booking right there. On top of that, the IC title match had Tanahashi and Nakamura. What New Japan did here was that they basically recognized the tone of the situation and let the fans vote between the two matches to close WK8. The fans picked Tanahashi/Nakamura.

One thing is fascinating here, in the interview reflecting on the match/situation, Okada didn’t blame Naito, he blamed himself considering he was the champion, he felt he wasn’t qualified enough as the champion. Very interesting to hear things from his POV.

Wrestle Kingdom 8

(2014/1/4)

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada ©

This was much, much better than remembered. Did Ranallo and Barnett on commentary provide some new sides, angles and soft eyes to the match? Possibly. These two have a captivating chemistry and while they’re never going to touch their Korakuen masterpiece from 2012, they still produce good-to-great matches every time they face off. As good as this one was, I kind of wish they did a G1 style sprint instead of an epic. But still, this was good enough, they kept the crowd engaged and it was easy to catch up with the rhythm set.

***3/4

Backstage, Okada is bragging. Naito is angry but promises to rise again.

Once again we see Okada reflecting on the match, he felt Naito wasn’t as tough as before, he also said he didn’t care nor watched the IC title main event. Dat smirk!

NJC '15 - Final Day

New Japan Cup 2015

(2015/3/15)

1.       Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi, Mascara Dorada vs. Jushin Liger, KUSHIDA, Jay White

***

2.       Yuji Nagata & Sho Tanaka vs. Satoshi Kojima & Yohei Komatsu

***1/4

3.       New Japan Cup 2015 – Semi-Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe

**3/4

4.       New Japan Cup 2015 – Semi-Final: Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito

***3/4

5.       Katsuyori Shibata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Tama Tonga & Cody Hall

***1/4

6.       Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Cpt. New Japan

***1/4

7.       CHAOS (Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi)

****

8.       New Japan Cup 2015 – FINAL: Kota Ibushi vs. Hirooki Goto

***1/2

Fun show, easy to sit through. There were no MOTYCs, though, and there was “only” one great match, but literally everything was good except Makabe/Goto. The BC/Chaos 8-man tag was great, the match of the night, full of twists and turns. Shibata and Honma are literally a perfect tag team. The Cup matches didn’t deliver the way it was expected and that’s why this show won’t be remembered as a must-see. But still, this was Kota’s night and a successful one.