Wai Ting and I will be doing a bonus show Sunday afternoon with reviews of both New Beginning in Sapporo cards from Sat & Sun.
Leave us your feedback to either or both shows, who stood out, the best match on the shows etc.
This bonus show will be available to members of the POST Wrestling Café.
RATE NIGHT 1
0 voters
RATE NIGHT 2
0 voters
Jake from a frozen -20°F Chicago
It’s good getting back to the NJPW scene this weekend. Overall, night one was decent. I really thought EVIL and ZSJ really put up a banger of a match. Great exchanges, crisp wrestling, and wonderful storytelling in terms of the power vs. grappling.
The tag team main event was a bit long for what they were doing as a few minutes could’ve been shaved off the heat segment or closing stretch. Still, it was a well-paced match that utilized everyone involved properly and I like the dynamic between Okada and Tanahashi so far.
Quick Qs: What are some potential bouts do you have in mind for G1 Supercard in the NJPW side and will White-Tanahashi be the main program?
Another pair of great shows from New Japan though the second night was stronger.
The two tag title matches were awesome and surprisngly the shenanigans in the Taichi vs. Naito match actually helped to build it something really fun. Also it was hilarious to see Fire Pro Wrestling World clips in the Taichi vs. Naito hype video.
These shows were still great despite some of their foreign talent being in the U.S. and the Japanese talent expected on those shows kept off of the Sapporo shows.
There is still incredible depth on the roster despite the losses. And the loss of The Elite and others doesn’t look to have phased them.
Reports have said that Rush, Brody King and possibly Dragon Lee have been attracted to ROH because of their New Japan connection. So I expect the roster to get even better over the year.
However coming out of these shows, I think what will ultimately make or break New Japan in 2019 will be the booking, not who is or isn’t on the roster.
Mj-
Only leaving some general comments as I watched Night 1 but not Night 2 at this point.
It’s a shame we may not get The Dream Team vs Golden Lovers tag. I really enjoyed Okada and Tanahashi together and it felt more natural than pre-WK.
Jay White swears like a sailor in his matches and I think it helps define his heel character. I could see it going too far but as long as it’s kept to off the mic and just during action he’s fine.
I will not enjoy any scenario in which Taichi wins the Ic title or even remains relevant. I seriously don’t think he has any appeal whatsoever. He’s the heel Yoshi Hashi to me. Just stay away please.
Fun to see Fale pushed a bit and featured. When given a shot he’s always been decent as a big man and he seemed to work really hard in the Night 1 main event.