The NJPW Thread

It’s been noted elsewhere but Don Callis was fantastic in the main event, from sounding completely dejected after Okada won the first fall to going crazy when Omega finally won, it really added to the match for me. It reminded me of the JR/Austin dynamic – they come across as friends/fans of the wrestler without it being overbearing.

For the G1 special – are they teasing another Naito/Okada singles match? Naito beating Okada to win the G1 before getting the big win at the Tokyo dome for the title would work for me.

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II had a sinking feeling seeing Kenny v Cody for the title. I could totally see Gedo flipping the title immediately off Kenny in his first defense after such a long run for Okada. And Cody is so over in Japan as a heel if he’s looking to have a change from a face champion. I know I’d be gutted to see Kenny lose it so quickly.
I know others will be bummed that’s the main event but I am now anxious over whether they will leave the belt on him. Or break everyone’s hearts and give it to the American Nightmare.

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IF Gedo decides to flip the title at the Cow Place it would continue to build toward a true Bullet Club / Elite split. Allows for possible re-match to take place at either “Destruction” (September), “King of Pro-Wrestling” (October), or “Power Struggle” (November) where both the IWGP Heavyweight Championship & G1 Climax winners Tokyo Dome contract are defended in this time.

I know fans sometimes want the instant payoff but just remember if we had Omega win at WrestleKingdom 11, we may not have had the amazing Okada 720 day reign, the almost 2-year build to Omega finally winning the championship, the amazing story of Tanahashi coming back from injury and challenging Okada in his record breaking defence, the reunion of the golden lovers, and so very many incredible matches. It’s a “Butterfly’s Wings” type scenario.

While I would appreciate a good length reign (or al least until WrestleKingdom 13) with Omega I trust NJPW & Gedo’s ability to book long term. It’s not schizophrenic, 50/50, wins mean nothing, last minuet swerves, like WWE & Vince McMahon.

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Vince would flip the belt to Cody in an effort to swerve and shock and toy with fans.

Gedo would flip the belt to Cody because the story of his chase, win, happiness, and sudden loss of it all would be too rich.

As much as it pains me to say - it may be the richer story to tell. The G1 would then feature Okada chasing the title for the first time in two years, Omega back to fighting for another shot, Ibushi who has a year long history with Cody could be in line for a title shot.

Plus how do the Bucks and OGs who haven’t been seen in many shows play into all of that? Wow - I’m going to be really sad when Kenny gets pinned in the Cow Palace.

Edit: I can’t see Cody holding the IWGP heading into All In and I also can’t see them hot shotting the belt so quick like this - tho after 2 years of Okada is that even unreasonable?
#IGWT
In Gedo We Trust

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Oh I completely forgot about “All In” in the calendar, it would go “G1 Special in USA” > “G1 Climax 28” > “All In” > “Destruction”. Unless you have Cody winning IWGP, ROH, & NWA Gold…triple “World” champion at “All In”?

But given Cody lost the ROH championship prior to “WrestleKingdom 12” I don’t know how likely this is to happen.

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Does Cody need to win ROH title then heading to All In?

Here’s a question: does Cody need to be a champion to remain strong?
I’d argue he’s been the best heel in wrestling for about 7 months. I say this because since he lost to Dalton he’s been on fire as a heel with no belt. Granted his stuff with the Golden Lovers helped but still - name a better heel?

To answer my own question: he needs to win ROH belt to maximize the matchup at All In but ultimately doesn’t need a belt to stay this hot in Japan as a heel. I would love to see him in the G1 for the purpose of continuing this heel persona and building future programs outside of his Kenny/Ibushi stuff in Japan

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I don’t think he does, now that the BTE story is coming unglued and the Bucks have aligned with Kenny, and Page with Cody with Scurll being the wildcard. I think Cody having a goon squad is enough to keep him strong. He doesn’t need a title, he is the American Nightmare. I think it would be cool to see him even have a program with Juice Robinson for the IWGP US Title assuming Juice comes out on top at the Cow Palace. Him chasing after Kenny’s legacy becoming more bitter would be brilliant.

I think he needs a little bit more exposure in Japan than what he is getting. I think it would be cool to see him announced as part of the G1 and have him paired up against Ibushi and he takes out his frustrations on Kota. Even going so far as being a dirtbag cheating heel even more than normal.

I think if he embraces the idea he doesn’t have friends and he has nothing to lose and just plays it, he could look come off as totally strong.

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Spot on about Don Callis. The way he was shouting “hook the leg!” even after the pinfall was so exciting and organic… it doesn’t sound like a planned tagline by an announcer, it’s just something somewhat nonsensical that somebody might do if their friend was about to win the IWGP Title.

Oddly enough, one of my favorite examples of this is from the much maligned Michael Cole at Wrestlemania 30. As Daniel Bryan gets Batista in the Yes Lock, he starts excitedly shouting “come on Bryan” and then abruptly switches to “come on Daniel” when he realizes he’s using DB’s real name and not his ring name (maybe I’m reading too much into that, but it still works in the moment). And then the way his voice cracks on “the Miracle on Bourbon Street!” line is perfect.

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I hate when announcers repeat what you have just seen over and over - an example of this would be “Spear by Roman, Spear by Roman”. or “F5! F5! F5!”. Cole uses this as a crutch in big spots where he is just yelling the exact thing you saw.

It is the little things - like “hook the leg” or “C’mon Bryan” that when they announcer keys in on it - it makes you feel the emotion of the moment. Evoking that emotion should be the goal of the call. JR did that so well in his heyday. I don’t need to be told what I just saw. I need to know how it feels to be there ringside.

Callis did that in such a great way, and the year long build of him being a schill for Kenny was so worth it to pay off in that manner.

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I feel as though that’s a conscious attempt to recreate the magic of JR yelling “Stone Cold! Stone Cold!”, with obviously diminishing returns.

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That’s a valid point, but given Don Callis has stated his friendship / biased on TV and been doing this with Kenny Omega since 2016, I can see how some fans are annoyed by it.

However , just like Austin-JR I fell that Omega-Callis has helped in the overall NJPW English product.

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Anyone else shocked that the only Bullet Club presence on Dominion was the crew from Being The Elite - no Fale, no GoD, no Yugiro, no Chase

I expect them to have a major presence at th Cow Palace but who knows…it’d be cool to get Tama challenge for the title and a real Bullet Club split. Kenny and the Bucks don’t need the Bc anymore and I know that the money behind the brand is huge but let’s be honest - they are so far ahead of the brand itself more people recognize them as The Elite than BC.

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I wasn’t surprised, I think the OG guys were pushing Ishimori and that was their role, of course it was more Owens and Tama.

I think they need to start closing down the story within BTE. I want to see them solidify leadership of Bullet Club and that should be the next angle. I hope they don’t go all Civil War. I mean Kenny’s gear hasn’t had the Bullet Club logo on it for a while, and the pre-match video showed the logo dissolving, is that a hint that the Golden Elite are distancing themselves from Bullet Club?

I’d like to see the culmination, maybe that happens in the G1? Maybe Kenny, Cody and Tama can use the G1 to determine who is leader once and for all.

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Cody isn’t in the G1, or that’s what’s he’s saying anyway

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I wouldn’t go all out civil war - I’d just position Tama as the next IWGP challenger after Cody. Check out his twitter account and while I know that’s just twitter I do not think he’d be doing that without something in mind (the creative in Japan is too good for rogue agents).

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SLIGHTLY NJPW / Australian related:

Announced for the upcoming “Melbourne City Wrestling: #MCW100” event, Jonah Rock vs. Tetsuya Naito. This is the second time a Top NJPW talent has appeared on the Australian based Promotion, after Slex vs. Kazuchika Okada at the “Melbourrne City Wrestling: November Rain”. Other major names have included Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Trent Seven, and Bad Luck Fale anmong others.

If not for the fact I’m broke A.F. I’d be getting tickets to this!

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Re: NJPW G1 Special in USA (2018)

Has it been announced who are the English Broadcast team are for the upcoming “G1 Special in San Francisco”?

  • NJPW World: Kevin Kelly and Don Callis.
  • AXS TV: Jim Ross and Josh Barnett.
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Callis stated on the last Killing the Town podcast that this is exactly what that was. He got caught up and after the fact he realised he was still saying “hook the leg” and thought he’d fucked up the call; then he received so much praise for it online. I take everything Don say with a pinch of salt because he is never not working when there’s a microphone around but the way he spoke about it felt very genuine so it may have been exactly what it came across as; a friend and a fan buying into the story and being overwhelmed by the possibility of their favourite winning the big one.

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Thanks for the info. I like Callis as announcer, but the lack of Lance Storm coupled with Don’s constant working (which I kind of appreciate but am still annoyed by, if that makes any sense at all) recently caused me to cut “Killing the Town” from my queue.

LIVE - KIZUNA ROAD 2018 (Japanese Commentary)

  • Tonight’s Main Event: Michael Elgin © Vs. Hiroki Goto - NEVER Openweight Championship
  • Also G1 Climax 28 announcements