#I was thinking of their never openweight match | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mystic-story-lover · 2 years ago

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~Let Me Help You~

Let Me Help You David Finlay x Sage (Female!OC) Word Count: 4035 Warnings: 18+ Drinking, Swearing, Oral (F receiving), Fingering, Penetrative sex Type: Angst/Smut Summary: David Finlay copes with losing his Never Openweight Championship A/n: This was supposed to be a comfort fic, but sometimes things change ~~~

The history stood behind David and Tama, everyone knew that. They also knew that David planned to destroy Tama’s body, his career, and his chance at winning the title. Tama merely wanted revenge, and to take everything away from the Bullet Club leader, no matter how long or how difficult it became.

“Hey, Sage, are you waiting for David?” Drilla questioned, sliding a glass of whiskey in my direction.

“Yeah I am,” I sighed, reaching for the glass that now sat in front of me. “He wanted me here for the end of his match.”

The sound of crashing interrupted any future conversation we planned to have, and I knew exactly what that noise would be. Picking up the glass, I downed the whiskey in one swallow, and sat it back down before walking to the interview area. By the time I arrived, the scene looked like a massacre, and David was laying outstretched on the floor. For a moment, I stood in silence, giving him the time to finish his interview, and to wait for the camera’s to turn off.

“Are you going to destroy a few more things?” I asked, a teasing manner in my voice.

“Now is not the time, Sage.” He replied.

“Oh come on David, you and I both know that you’ll get another shot. Challenge for your rematch if you want, but we both know Tama only got lucky.” I spoke, the teasing gone, leaving me with a serious tone, and a man shooting daggers at me.

“Lucky? You think he couldn’t do it without luck?” The anger was clear in his tone, but I was done with it. Too often he acted like a child post match, and I was over it.

“Look, I’m not having this fight with you tonight. You want to break shit and throw a tantrum like a child, by all means, be my guest. Just know that I won’t be around to pick up your mess again.” I stated, not giving him the time to respond before I turned and walked away.

Considering my options, I knew that I could go to the locker rooms to grab my bag, but that also meant running into David again. The downside of sharing the locker room with Bullet Club. That left back to the War Dogs, or straight to the hotel after asking one of them to grab my shit, which wasn’t really an option. If that was the option I chose, I knew one of them would mention to David that I was there, and that would only cause the same issue we were having. Hanging out with four loud ridiculous men it would have to be.

“Sage, you’ve come back love?” Gabe was the first to acknowledge me in the room, but once he said my name, the other three seemed to forget their previous actions.

“Your leader is a dick.” Without another word, a bottle of whiskey slid my way, this time without a glass to fill. However, I rejected the drink, not wishing to let my feelings go that way.

“He’ll come around, you’ve just got to give him time.” Clark answered the silent question everyone seemed to have.

“I’m done giving him time. Tonight’s behavior set that in stone for me.” A sigh came from behind me, and I turned to see the two men that I’d planned to avoid less than five minutes prior. “No, I’m not doing this.”

“Sage, wait. I’m sorry for how I acted, and for how dickish I was to you.” David whispered, not bothering to lift his gaze from the floor.

“Good for you Finlay, I don’t care anymore.” I spat.

I walked away from the guys, ignoring their following calls, knowing that one of them would check on me later. It didn’t matter to me, not anymore, because as far as anyone was concerned, I was done with David Finlay. No matter how many times I’d try to get through to him, the efforts were left empty, so that’s where he could be. Empty.

Hours passed since the last encounter, most of my time spent scrolling through twitter, looking at everyone’s reactions to the show. Some fans were excited for the reign of G.O.D. while others were hoping that Bullet Club retained all their titles. The mix of emotions over Finlay’s match was clear, but as I continued to scroll I was able to see a tweet of Taiji’s return against Hiromu, and a smile appeared on my face. He was one of the few friends I’d made that was still around in Bullet Club, and to say that I hoped he’d win the title, or even be the final victor at the BOSJ would be an understatement. A knock sounded on my hotel door, interrupting the peace I’d been in, and a groan escaped my lips before I forced myself off the bed. Based on earlier events, I’d half expected it to be one of the guys, but when I’d spotted David in the doorway, part of me was tempted to shut the door.

“Before you close this in my face, can you give me time to say what I need to?” He asked, the solemn expression clear in his eyes.

“Should be surprised you knew I was considering that option.” I shrugged. “But then again, it’s well deserved.” I sighed, leaning my head against the door. “Alright fine, you’ve got two minutes.”

“I’m sorry. I was a dick to you after the interview, and I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. Especially not when all you wanted to do was make my mood better.” He bowed his head, and the sound of a sniffle broke through the beat of silence that laid in the air.

“Want to order a pizza?” I relaxed my shoulders and stepped to the side, offering him the chance to enter the room.

“Really? I mean, sure, yeah, that’d be cool.” He lifted his head, a small smile spread across his lips.

“Just don’t be a dick this time, yeah?” I laughed, but he only groaned in response.

“Well if you learned not to give out so much attitude, maybe I can be nicer.” He joked back, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Oh please, as if I have an attitude.” I spoke before grabbing my cell off the table.

“Uh huh, what about all the times you’ve sassed out the guys and I at shows.” His stupid eyebrow raised, sending a shiver down my spine.

“It was well deserved.” I shrugged for a second time, and he only rolled his eyes.

Ever since he’d taken over in Bullet Club, the two of us danced around our feelings for each other. It was obvious we had them, but neither of us truly ever asked the other on dates. Sure, we flirted from time to time, and yeah, some nights one of us ended up in the other’s bed, but nothing ever happened during those moments. Our movie night binges turned into crashing in the other’s room, but it’s never gone farther than a simple flirt, and yet, my body reacted to him in ways it never did with someone else.

“Or hell, what about that time when you wore that Rebel Club crop top of yours and told me to ‘take a bite of what I truly wanted’ before shoving three plates of food at me?” Again, with that stupidly seductive eyebrow. The effect he was having seemed to be hidden to him, but I could feel it within every inch of my body.

“You just looked really hungry.” I breathed out, trying to keep control over my actions when he leaned back on his hands. The way he body looked when leaning, and the thoughts I’d had of him in this position filled my head, causing an easy distraction for me.

“Hungry, that’s how I looked?” He whispered, before lifting one hand off the bed to grab my phone.

“David, give me that!” I exclaimed, a small laugh following it. His only reply was to lift the phone above his head, forcing me to climb up for it. After a moment of him moving the hand with my phone back and forth, I was finally able to grab his wrist, and I brought it back down to my chest before unwrapping his fingers from it. Once the device was once again in my grasp, I relaxed, and realized exactly where I was. Straddling David, and only a mere inch away from his lips.

“Yeah, Sage, I think I am hungry.” The whisper almost faint to my ears, but I was able to hear what he’d said, barely in enough time before his lips found mine. The kiss was slow, almost as if it was to show the emotions between us. He was the first to pull away, causing me to whimper from the lack of him, and he only smirked at me like the cocky bastard he is.

“David–” I started to speak, but he used a finger to cover my lips.

“I want this with you Sage, not just for a night. You and I, against the world during the day, and you against the mattress begging for me at night.” Another smirk, this time he used his free hand to grab a hold of my bubblegum pink locks from the back, and lowered his finger to bring me into a painful kiss. The kind that left you breathless.

“I want this too, even when you’re being a dick.” I smirked back at him, and a low growl came from him in response. “But I have one question for you.”

“Anything you want to know, I’ll tell you.” He pressed his forehead to mine, likely expecting me to ask him about tonight, or even something to do with what we’re gonna be. Without warning, I ground down onto him, eliciting a groan in my ear. The feeling of the bulge through his gym shorts went straight to my core, and I moaned at the feeling.

“Can you back up your words with what’s in your pants?” I panted, and the cocky smirk that once again appeared on his lips made my core clench with want.

There were no words between his actions, only the feeling of his hands sliding down to my waist. When they reached their destination, David let his body weight fall against the mattress, and used his hands to bring me down with him. “Oh trust me, I can back it up.”

“Oh, fuck, David.” I moaned.

“What’s the matter Doll, you need more proof? Want my cock in you to prove it to you?” He asked, thrusting his hips up when the second question arose.

“Yes! Please David, I need your cock.” A whimper this time, one that had David breathe out slowly, clearly feeling the effects of the moment.

“Fuck, Doll, I’ve barely touched you and you’re already begging for me. I bet you’re panties are a ruined mess for me too, aren’t they?” Another question, and a nod in response from me. “Use your words.”

“Yes!” I moaned, as his lips found my neck.

Suddenly, as soon as things started, they were brought to a stop when my phone began to ring. I’d forgotten it was on the bed once I’d gotten it back from David, and the ringing sound forced a groan to fall from my lips.

“It could be from one of the guys. You should answer it.” David shrugged.

“They can wait, I have more important things in front of me.” I smirked, but he only shook his head.

“Trust me, I’m not going anywhere. If you don’t answer it, they’ll all show up here.” He pointed out, and I knew he was right. “Besides, I have an idea on how to punish that bratty behavior of yours.”

David didn’t say anything else, so I took the opportunity to roll off of him to answer the phone call. When I spotted Clark’s name, I internally groaned, knowing this call would take forever. Still, knowing it was better then the four of them appearing at my hotel room, I accepted the call.

“Hey, Clark, listen I’m really–” I’d started, but was instantly interrupted by Drilla.

“Sage, how are you? You know David was just mad right? You know he cares about you, yeah?” The rapid fire questions caught me off guard, and a small smile appeared on my face at them.

“I know, it’s just–” I stopped, noticing David get up from the bed. To cover the silence, I faked a cough, giving me a second to excuse it. “Sorry, been a minute since I had something to wet my throat down. It’s just that we’ve been walking on eggshells about how we feel, so I’m tired of the games.

“David is just scared.” Alex replied from the other line.

A gasp escaped me as David pulled down my sleep shorts, the heat of his breath falling on my legs. A sly and cocky smile appeared on his handsome face before he used his tongue to lick a stripe up my panties. “Oh” I moaned softly, completely forgetting about the call. David only used a finger to make a shushing motion against his lips before he used both hands to rip the fabric from my body.

“Sage, are you alright?” A voice questioned from the phone. I recognized it as Clark’s, but it was clear he’d been drinking from the way he slurred his words.

“Yeah, yeah I’m alright. Just whacked my arm on the table.” I bit my lip to keep from making a noise as David’s mouth covered my clit. I could feel as he began to suck on the bundle of nerves, and I tried closing my legs to prevent him from continuing while I was on the call. He had other plans, however, and used both hands to hold them open before looking up at me with his lust filled blue eyes.

“Be more careful next time.” The stern warning came from Gabe, and I sighed from the pleasure of David’s tongue. “Don’t sigh at me missy.”

“I’m sorry. Listen, can I call you guys in the morning?” I said, my mouth falling open as David slipped a finger in my entrance.

“No way, we’re here to make you feel better.” Another set of slurred words falling out of Clark’s mouth.

“Here? What do you mean here?” I asked, suddenly pulling my phone from my ear to put it on speaker.

“We’re at your hotel, maybe three doors down from your room.” Alex replied.

David stopped in his tracks upon hearing the answer, and it took nearly everything in me to keep from begging for him to return to his spot between my legs. When he pulled himself off the bed, I saw the annoyed look on his face, right before the knock on my door. The sound of a call ending came from my cell, and before I could move, David pulled the sheet over me. He moved the few feet of distance their was to the door, and opened it fully, to allow the guys see that I was in fact just in bed.

“I’ve got a half naked Sage waiting for me to finish making her come, what do you want?” David barked out, and I watched as a shocked expression appeared on each of their faces.

“You could be nicer to them.” I laughed to which I heard a chuckle fall from his lips.

“Hmm, be nice or finish what we started faster. Which would you prefer, Doll?” The teasing tone coming from him caused me to smile.

“We could give them a show.” I winked at him, but instead of saying anything, David only shut the door and stalked his way back to me.

“Let’s leave now before they start again.” Drilla groaned, and I could hear the others agree in union. David and I laughed at the scene from the other side of the door, and as he made his way toward the top of the bed, he placed a kiss on my lips, forcing me to taste myself.

“Hmm, you know what sounds better than your face back between my legs?” I aired the question, and he raised his eyebrow for a response. “Your cock in the same spot.”

“I think you’re right about that. How about we find out?” He didn’t give me a moment to answer before he reached for my hands to pull me in a sitting position. Once I was up, his hands got to work quickly removing my shirt, and he let out a breath when my bare chest was on full display for his eyes. In a second, both of his hands had thrown my shirt on the floor and found their way to my breasts. “Been thinking about these since we started.”

I gasped as his fingers slid down until he found my nipples, giving them a tug for extra pleasure. As he kept his silence, David coaxed me back down on the bed before he pulled his own shirt from his body. Instinctively, my hands reached for his sides, as if it were to be a post match massage like I’d given him countless times before. Instead, David swatted my hands away, and began to make his way toward the edge of the bed. Before I knew he was fully down there, he’d removed the last of his clothing, and climbed onto the bed once again.

“David, please, I need you.” I moaned, and David kept climbing before kissing me once again.

“Don’t worry Doll, you have me.” He smiled before placing a kiss on the tip of my nose. While distracted by the kiss, I didn’t see David slide his hand down until I felt his fingers circling my clit. My back arched, and a chuckle escaped David’s lips, clearly happy with the reaction.

With no warning or time to adjust, David slid into me and began at an animalistic pace, and my arms wrapped around him. Using the opportunity, I drug my nails down his back, likely leaving red marks. David hissed at the feeling, his pace picking up, causing me to moan. The sound of skin against skin filled the room, followed by the noises leaving our lips.

“Fuck, Doll, you’re clenching me so hard.” David’s pace faltered slightly, and a growl fell from his lips. “I want you to come with me.”

“Oh David, that feels so good.” I moaned as his skilled fingers found my clit for the second time, my orgasm approaching quickly. I could feel the coil tightening in my stomach as David continued his pace.

“You feel so good wrapped around my cock. Fuck, could get used to the feeling of you squeezing me like this.” His free hand found my breast again, squeezing it, as the filthy words were spoken. “Could do this for a lifetime with you.” A whisper this time, one that probably wasn’t supposed to be heard by me, but the thought of spending a lifetime with him, it sent butterflies to my stomach.

Without saying anything to him, I reached up and pressed both of my hands against his cheeks. I looked at him, truly looked at him, and noticed the way the dark lust had left his eyes, leaving them with an entirely different emotion. Love.

“Fuck, fuck David I’m going to come.” I panted, still holding his face between my fingers.

“Yeah, you’re gonna come for me? Fucking do it Doll, make a mess on my cock.” David spoke, giving one last tug to my nipple, sending me over the edge.

My back arched as I could feel as my entire body shivered from the feeling. Three more pumps and David pulled out, jerking himself off before hot ropes of cum landed on my stomach. I smiled up at him, all fucked out, and a soft smile was returned.

“Here, let me grab you a cloth.” He spoke before turning to step into the bathroom. I whistled once his back was to me, seeing the clear scratches down his back and a clear shot of his ass.

“Been thinking about that ass since we started.” He threw his head back at my words before flipping me off. His laugh was like none other, filled with joy, but still unique in its own way.

David came back with a warmed washcloth, and cleaned up the remnants of what we’d done off my stomach. I sighed at the feeling, the warmth against my skin, and knew that this was going to be more than once. Once he’d finished with the cloth, he tossed it into the bathroom before grabbing his shorts and two other pieces of clothing off the floor. As he stood back up, I saw that it was his shirt and the underwear I’d been wearing that day.

“I’m gonna call one of the guys and have them bring my bag down to your room. That way I can get you a clean shirt of mine to wear.” David spoke before grabbing his phone from the pocket of the gray shorts he’d come here wearing.

“I can wear one of my own,” I protested. “You don’t have to go out of your way for this.” David shook his head at that, and I knew it was an empty attempt to stop him, so I only reached my hand out for him instead. He grabbed it, using the moment to take a step closer, and gave me a chance to pull myself up. When my body was in a sitting position, I leaned my head against his stomach, savoring the feeling as his hands began to play with my hair. Within five minutes, there was a knock on the door, and David sighed before pulling himself from the tenderness of what we had. He left to the door, opening it slightly before pulling the bag in, giving me the chance to see a disgusted look on Gabe’s face.

“David, you didn’t put your clothes on before opening that.” I groaned while still managing a laugh.

“Oops. Now go back to your room Gabe, I’ve got a woman to get back to.” David made an expression I couldn’t see, but it caused a redness to appear on the blonde man’s cheek. Without ever saying a word, Gabe took off, and David returned, bag in hand, back to me. He stopped as he approached the dresser, adjusting his bag so it was on the floor, and unzipped it. It took a moment, but he’d found what he was looking for, pulling out a shirt and a second pair of shorts for him to wear. Safely, he tossed the shirt at me, and I slid it over my head, watching as David slid his second leg into the open area of his bottoms. When he was finished, he started to make his way to me, stopping halfway to grab something off the floor again. As he stood, I noticed that he held the same underwear, and I watched as he tossed them into his bag. “Stealing those from you.”

“So I see. Good thing I have plenty others to wear for you.” I winked at him.

“For me?” His question was followed by a frown, and I knew in that moment he’d been thinking this was only for a night.

“David, we’ve both got feelings for each other, that much is clear, and now we’ve had sex. I think that could qualify us as a couple.” I smiled, beginning to stand.

“Fuck, I didn’t think you’d want anything past tonight after how I treated you.” He sighed, shaking his head.

“Sure you were a dick, but I’m a big girl who can handle that. Besides, I could do this for a lifetime with you.” I repeated his words from earlier, a soft smile falling onto my lips.

“You heard that, huh?” He asked, jokingly, as he took the remaining steps and wrapped his arms around me. “Good, cause I want a lifetime with my girl. That’s who you are Doll, my girl.” He sighed.

#~ my story :) ~#njpw imagine #david finlay smut #njpw smut #david finlay imagine

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wrestlingisfake · 1 year ago

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Sakura Genesis preview

Tetsuya Naito vs. Yota Tsuji - Tsuji won the New Japan Cup tournament to earn this match with Naito's IWGP world heavyweight title on the line. Win, lose, or draw, Naito is already slated to face Jon Moxley on April 12 in Chicago. That isn't scheduled to be a world title match...at least, not yet. If Naito retains against Tsuji tonight, Moxley will almost certainly confront Naito after the match, and Naito will most likely put the gold on the line for next week.

This is a tough spot for Tsuji. He returned from excursion last year with a red-hot start, immediately challenging SANADA for the world title, but losing that match hampered his momentum. I strongly feel he shouldn't be put back in a situation like that unless they're ready to let him win the big one. I also strongly feel that Naito-Moxley is going to involve the world title. So I don't think Tsuji can win here, and everybody is going to be looking past him, which is all wrong for a guy with so much potential to be a top star.

To make matters worse, Tsuji did a press event making bold proclamations about what he'll change once he's on top. The current world title was created in 2021 when Kota Ibsuhi unified the original IWGP heavyweight and IWGP intercontinental titles; Tsuji says he'll bring back the heavyweight belt and properly retire the IC belt. It's hard to imagine New Japan will actually do any of this, so it comes across like Tsuji is writing checks he knows he won't have to cash. It's one thing to call your shot and blow it. But this is a whole other level of hubris, and if Yota can't back it up it could be a humiliating setback for him.

Setting all that aside, there's also the issue of both the champion and challenger being members of Los Ingobernables de Japon. Naito has always welcomed the idea of competition within the faction, but EVIL and SANADA have demonstrated that such competition can tear LIJ asunder. If Tsuji is going to be a tippy-toppy guy--and New Japan needs a new one--then sooner or later he's going to need to run his own team, whether he breaks away from Naito or usurps LIJ out from under him. A Naito win here doesn't get us any closer to that inflection point--Tsuji will just do the fistbump like a good soldier and remain the #3 heavyweight in the group.

All in all, I really want Tsuji to shake things up with a title win. On the other hand, I live in Chicago, and I really want to see Moxley challenge for the IWGP world title in my backyard. So I'm pretty torn on what should happen here, and what will happen here. Which isn't a bad place to be in, if you're a fan. But if you're the booker, well...Gedo's got his work cut out for him. My gut says he'll have Naito retain.

EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi - Evil is defending the NEVER openweight title. Shingo is 2-2 against the champion, but it's been three years since he last defeated Evil in a singles match. It's only been three weeks since Evil beat Shingo one-on-one, during the New Japan Cup, so I'm not sure what we're doing here. But I guess somebody has to challenge Evil and do all the House of Torture spots.

The NEVER belt is kind of a hot potato, so I could see Evil dropping it to Shingo in his second defense. On the other hand, if enough House of Torture guys run in that will create a justification that Takagi is protected from doing a clean job, so it's okay to beat him. However, I think they tipped their hand a bit by announcing Evil's teammate Yoshinobu Kanemaru as the referee. It's one thing for the heel to stack the deck against the babyface, but this goes so far that Takagi almost has to defy the odds and win.

Jon Moxley & Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry & Ren Narita - Perry debuted with New Japan on January 14 by ambushing Umino. That led to a match on March 6, which Perry won with help from his new friends in the House of Torture. Shota spent the next month looking to settle things once and for all, and it looks like he'll get his chance with another singles match on April 12. In the meantime, though, he said he had something special planned for the House of Torture, and evidently it's his old mentor, Jon Moxley.

I liked the idea of Mox taking Shooter under his wing in 2019, and the idea that Umino became "The Roughneck" because of it. So I'm not so wild about the idea that Umino's big plan to settle the score with a bunch of hooligans is to bring in his daddy to fight his battles for him. Umino shouldn't be "the guy who can call Jon Moxley to beat your ass," he should be "the guy who learned how to beat ass from Jon Moxley." Granted, this is just a place-setter for the real blowoff next week. But Shota is overdue to prove he can fight--and win--his own battles against guys who play dirty.

I would probably have Mox pin Narita for the finish, unless they really want to get heat and have Perry get another cheap win over Umino.

SHO vs. YOH - This is Sho's first defense of the IWGP junior heavyweight championship. He won the title back in February, but Yoh stole the title belt during the New Japan Cup tour. Sho is outraged at the notion that you can demand a title shot by stealing the belt, even though that's literally what how he won the title from El Desperado in the first place.

It feels like ancient history now, but Sho and Yoh spent much of their careers as a tag team, going on excursion to CMLL as the Tempura Boyz, and returning as Roppongi 3K in 2017. R3K won the IWGP junior tag title five times, but in 2021 Sho turned on Yoh and joined the House of Torture. Both of them have gotten a lot weirder since then. I think Yoh kissed Sho on the mouth during a match one time? And I don't mean like Toni Storm kissing Mariah May--more like Rick Rude kissing a fan back in the day.

Anyway, it'd be funny if Yoh won the title by out-House of Torture-ing Sho, but I don't really think that's how they'd give him his first singles belt. I'll go with Sho to retain.

KENTA & Chase Owens vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI - Owens and Kenta are the defending IWGP heavyweight tag team champions. Bishamon (Goto and Yoshi) are seeking their fourth reign with this title. During the New Japan Cup, Yoshi eliminated Kenta in the first round, and Goto eliminated Owens in the second round, which pretty clearly set up Bishamon as the next challengers. Nobody takes Owens seriously as a champion (even though he's held this title before) so I'm not sure what the point is of keeping the belts where they are. Bishamon should win and move on to stronger competition.

Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney vs. KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight vs. TJP & Francesco Akira - Connors and Moloney are defending the IWGP junior heavyweight tag title in a three-way match--whoever scores the first fall on any opponent will win the match and the title for his team. The champs have traded the title back and forth with Catch 2/2 (TJP and Akira) for months. Before that, though, it was the Intergalactic Jet Setters (Kushida and Knight) who traded the title back and forth with Catch 2/2. It was looking like we were headed for another Connors/Moloney vs. Catch 2/2 match until the Jet Setters suddenly revealed they were coming back, and stole Catch 2/2's thunder.

I don't think it makes much difference who wins here--we're bound to see the two losing teams get plenty of title shots down the line anyway. I guess I'll pick Connors and Moloney to retain.

SANADA & Yuya Uemura & DOUKI vs. Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan & Callum Newman - Sanada doesn't have a clear direction since being knocked out of the New Japan Cup; he's probably out of contention for the world title until at least the G1 Climax. Meanwhile the United Empire, represented here by Cobb's team, is similarly rudderless since Will Ospreay left. I'd like to see everybody in this match get on track, but I don't expect it to happen here. At best maybe Uemura can issue a challenge for Khan's KOPW belt, but that's not much to hope for.

David Finlay & Gedo vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI - Finlay is returning to action after some illness or something forced him to withdraw from the New Japan Cup. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume he's pissed. It's a top heavyweight and an aging junior against a top junior and a middle-of-the pack junior. That math comes out looking good for Finlay. Gedo might lose the match for his team, but I'm thinking Bushi is far more likely to take the pin.

Zack Sabre & Kosei Fujita vs. El Desperado & Ryusuke Taguchi - Sabre looks to be challenging Matt Riddle for the television title on April 12. Everyone else in this match is just happy to be here, I suppose. Sabre should probably beat Taguchi.

Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano & Boltin Oleg vs. Ayato Yoshida & Takuro Niki & Chicharito Shoki - This is another one of those "frontier zone" matches where some New Japan guys wrestle some guys from smaller promotions. I've given up expecting it to matter who the outside guys are, or what company they represent. The New Japan side pretty much has to win.

#njpw #sakura genesis #tetsuya naito #yota tsuji

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melissahausen · 2 years ago

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Predictions for AEW worlds end

As always these are who I think will win not necessarily who I want to win.

Participants TBA 20-man Battle Royale for a future AEW TNT Championship match

Nick Wayne why I dunno (don't even know if he's in it 🤣🤣 but why not.

Kris Statlander vs. Willow Nightingale Singles match: Kris

Hook (c) vs. Wheeler Yuta FTW Rules match for the FTW Championship: If it wasnt for the title I'd have probably said yoots but I don't think boring Hook is gonna lose 🙄

4 Ricky Starks, Big Bill, and The Don Callis Family Konosuke Takeshita and Powerhouse Hobbs (with Don Callis) VS Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevara, Sting, and Darby Allin Eight-man tag team match

I'll never count out Darby but DCF are on a roll right now , genuinely don't know who's gonna do it, I'll say Darby and Co but it's not a confident guess lol.

5 Julia Hart (c) vs. Abadon Singles match for the AEW TBS Championship: Julia but I'm team abadon all the way!

6 Swerve Strickland (with Prince Nana) vs. Keith Lee Singles match: swerve.

7 Blackpool Combat Club (Claudio Castagnoli and Bryan Danielson), Mark Briscoe, and Daniel Garcia vs. Brody King, Jay White, Jay Lethal, and Rush Eight-man tag team match.

BCC

BCC!

8 "Timeless" Toni Storm (c) with Luther vs. Riho Singles match for the AEW Women's World Championship

Timeless Toni dahling

9 Miro vs. Andrade El Idolo (with CJ) Singles match: I dunno man they both deserve it imma say Miro but I'm not confident.

10 Eddie Kingston (c) vs. Jon Moxley Championship Final of the AEW Continental Classic for the inaugural Triple Crown Championship

(ROH World Championship, NJPW Strong Openweight Championship, and the inaugural AEW Continental Championship)

EDDIEEEEEEEEEE

I can't believe he's actually in the finals I'm so happy for him and I just know Jon's gonna put him over like the bestie he is!

11 Christian Cage vs. Adam Copeland No Disqualification match for the AEW TNT Championship:

AAAAAAADAMMMMMM

12 MJF (c) vs. Samoa Joe Singles match for the AEW World Championship

JOE

the 400 odd day reign ends tonighhhhht 😈😈😈

#aew worlds end

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buttdawg · 2 years ago

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Bullet Club '23

I was complaining before about how little change has happened in NJPW since 2019, but I will admit that the Bullet Club roster has been completely shaken up since I stopped watching in 2021. There was a ten-man tag on the G1 Finals show that I didn't watch, but the lineup was G.o.D., Jado, and El Phantasmo vs. a a bunch of BC guys, and I was confused for a moment because it looked like Bullet Club fighting itself. Then I remembered that one side is made up of guys who got booted out of the group last year.

On the other hand, I still think Bullet Club itself has stagnated. Maybe it's been stagnant all along, but it seemed like it lost a step until KENTA joined, then it seemed like things were going to get really different when EVIL joined and he was the de facto leader while the important guys were stuck outside of Japan. Then all the gaijin members came back and... nothing happened. Now there's been a lot of turnover in the group, but it really doesn't feel all that different to me, except that they kicked out G.o.D., who were the coolest members.

I kind of want to analyze the state of the group right now, except I have trouble keeping track, so I'm going to list all of the active members, according to the ever-accurate Wikipedia page.

I. Bullet Club War Dogs

David Finlay (NEVER Openweight Champion)

Gedo

Alex Coughlin (NJPW Strong Tag Team Champion)

Gabriel Kidd (NJPW Strong Tag Team Champion)

Clark Conners (IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion)

Drilla Moloney (IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champion)

So this is basically the most important part of the group these days, as Finlay is acknowledged as the new leader of the entire stable, and the "War Dogs" moniker represents his hyper-aggressive vision for what Bullet Club should be. The best example of this is how Coughlin and Kidd always ambush their opponents before the bell, and they constantly threaten and antagonize the live crowds, using middle fingers and F-bombs with reckless abandon.

I honestly enjoy Coughlin and Kidd's heel act, and while I haven't seen much of Conners and Moloney, I got the impression that they kind of do the same stuff, just in a lighter weight class. It's effective because they're really mean and evil, and their tactics can be a strength or a weakness depending on the situation. Sometimes they overwhelm their opponents with shock and awe, and sometimes they get so fixated on hurting people that they forget that they need to win the match.

I guess Gedo has cemented himself as the Guy Who Manages the Leader now, since he jumped from Jay White to Finlay, so no real change there.

I'm on the fence with Finlay himself, though. His biggest claim to fame seems to be that he ran off Jay White, except he didn't. Jay lost matches with loser-leaves-NJPW stipulations, and Finlay had nothing to do with that. The commentary team keeps insisting that he's totally not "Jay White Junior" like everyone said at the beginning of his tenure, and that feels like a mixed message to me. No one had to explain to me that Scott Steiner ran the nWo differently from Hollywood Hogan.

It would help if Finlay actually, you know, made himself distinct from Jay White. He could cut his hair short, wear different ring gear, stop using the creepy entrance theme, etc. I guess he deserves credit for the other War Dogs' attitudes, but he doesn't seem to embody the same style. Why isn't he flipping off fans and constantly shouting "fuck you!"?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that Gabe Kidd should take over the whole group and rename it Bullet Club Fuck You. His shirt would have middle fingers instead of crossbones.

II. House of Torture

EVIL

Sho

Yujiro Takahashi

Dick Togo

These guys are the drizzling shits. Back in 2020, this was the entire Bullet Club in Japan, along with Jado and Gedo, because everyone else was locked out of the country during the pandemic. Their whole routine is to egregiously, blatantly cheat during all their matches, which would be fine except they take it to such an absurd degree that it ruins the suspension of disbelief.

Dick Togo will just jump in the ring and strangle babyfaces with a garrote. That's just a straight up weapon. The whole reason wrestlers use folding chairs and trash cans on each other is because those are easy to find in sports arenas, where weapons usually aren't allowed. Dick Togo just shows up to work every day with a fucking garrote and his employers are like "go on in, Dick, there's donuts in the break room."

In normal (read: good) wrestling matches, the heel might pull the referee in front of him, causing the ref to take an offensive move from the face. Then the referee will lie on the mat insensate for a while, during which time the heels can cheat as much as they want. In EVIL matches, EVIL will just hit the referee, or Dick Togo will simply manhandle the referee so he can't see the cheating. Those ought to be automatic disqualifications, but in New Japan that never happens for some reason. Usually, the worst thing a referee will do to punish EVIL is to allow him to cheat, but then refuse to count when he pins his opponent. This is incredibly stupid, and it implies that the referee is secretly in the tank for EVIL, which is also incredibly stupid, since EVIL beats up the referees all the time, and his win-loss record is pretty lousy.

House of Torture does a lot of low blows, often in full view of the referees. They don't care who sees it. The problem with an all-ballshot offensive style is that it kind of exposes the ballshots as ineffective. I think the recent EVIL/SANADA match in the G1 semifinals only had one low-blow at the very end, and I was genuinely impressed. Maybe they finally figured out how to do it right, and not overuse the same move. But then EVIL used two or three low blows against Okada, so never mind. The thing is, if EVIL has to hit a guy in the balls twice in the same match, you have to ask yourself if his low blows even hurt that much. Okada won that match. Did the low blows from EVIL somehow make him stronger?

The Japanese fans seem to really respond to EVIL's heel heat, so at least someone enjoys this crap, but I'm getting the impression that the Japanese fans have a different view of heel heat. To them, kicking a puppy isn't what a bad wrestler does. Naito could kick a puppy and they'd probably go wild for it. What they seem to hate is when wrestlers defy the conventions of wrestling, like not trying to get back in the ring during a count, or too much shenanigans that interferes with the illusion of a legitimate sports contest. I'm pretty sure EVIL could get even more heat just by forfeiting all his matches, or performing a one-man show instead of wrestling.

III. Other members who seem to be unaligned with any subgroups

KENTA

Chase Owens

Taiji Ishimori aka Bone Soldier #2

I like KENTA, but boy these guys are going nowhere. Ishimori's Wikipedia page kind of stops around 2021, so I'm not sure what his status is these days. Chase Owens has been in Bullet Club forever, but now he looks incredibly irrelevant, like a New Generation WWF guy who refuses to get a new gimmick for the Attitude Era.

IV. Bullet Club Gold (AEW/NJPWoA)

Jay White

Juice Robinson

Austin Gunn

Colton Gun

This group kind of makes sense to me, except I don't understand their connection to the main Bullet Club group. Everyone in Japan acts like Jay White got kicked out of Bullet Club once and for all. So is Gold supposed to be an opposition faction like nWo Wolfpac? Or is it another sub-group like House of Torture? Or is this Jay White moving on to a post-Bullet Club phase of his career, like the Elite or the OC? He keeps referring to them as "The Bang-Bang Gang", like that's his alternate name for the stable if he gets a cease-and-desist letter from NJPW.

What irritates me is that no one will just come out and say it. There's this weird thing between War Dogs and House of Torture, and no one will just explain what's going on there. And there was a weird thing between Jay White's Bullet Club and House of Torture. But they never like, talk shit about each other or accuse them of being imposters.

V. The Rouge Army (Tamashii)

Bad Luck Fale (co-founder)

Jack Bonza

Lyrebird Luchi

Caveman Ugg

Stevie Filip

Tome Filip

VI. ABC (Impact Wrestling/NJPWoA)

Ace Austin

Chris Bey

I don't know anything about these groups. Fale is the only founding member of Bullet Club still on the active roster, but apparently he's been spending his time in these other promotions in Australia. He always seemed to have a hands-off style with managing Bullet Club anyway, so I guess that fits. I'm pretty sure Austin and Bey just bought some Bullet Club merch at a show once and they managed to trick Impact into thinking that they were big stars "on-loan" from Japan. I won't tell if they don't...

In summary, there's like a dozen Bullet Clubbers active in Japan, plus a dozen more in the rest of the world. That seems like way too many guys for a stable, but I think a lot of these lower-tier guys are more about selling shirts than furthering any sort of agenda. House of Torture wouldn't mean a damn thing without a Bullet Club logo on it. Without the Bullet Club branding, Jay White's gold team would just be him and three idiots in yellow gear.

In a lot of ways, it feels more like a farm system than a genuine stable. You join Bullet Club to get some instant heel heat, build a reputation, then you score some sympathy when you get kicked out, or you start another dastardly heel stable when you jump to another promotion. There's not really a plot to Bullet Club in and of itself, no ultimate goal or agenda that they're trying to reach. I guess that's why all the major leaders in the group never stuck around too long. I thought it was kind of wild that they kicked out Tama Tonga, but let's be honest, it's not like the kayfabe was that Tonga and Fale were backstage plotting the future of the group. He's moving on to a new phase of his career, and guys like Gabe Kidd have moved into take his old spot.

I'm not sure I care for this. The individual members will change and grow, but the group itself remains static. Bullet Club basically does all the same stuff even though it's a whole other roster than it was in 2017. But I guess that suits a promotion that keeps doing Okada vs. Naito when it needs a major main event match.

#njpw #bullet club

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fagcrisis · 2 years ago

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my friend ellis @jonny-dykeville wants to get into njpw, and i thought id write her a little summary of whats been going on lately! im posting it here in case its useful for anyone who wants to get into nooj but finds it a little too confusing (understandable) or has stopped watching in the last couple years and now wants to get back into it

this will include a list of matches at the end from 2023 that i think were good and/or are important to storylines! this is accurate to the day im writing it which is 2023/05/15

LINKS TO BE UPDATED

The landscape of New Japan Pro Wrestling has changed enormously in the past couple of months. For example if you told someone a year ago that Kazuchika Okada would hold a non singles belt, theyd laugh in your face.

So how did we get here?

google doc version

Your current champions

Sanada beat Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP heavyweight championship at Sakura Genesis, and has since defended it against Hiromu Takahashi, the current junior heavyweight champion.

Hiromu won the belt at Wrestle Kingdom in a four-way match against Master Wato, El Desperado, and former champion Taiji Ishimori.

The IWGP women’s title was created last year and won by Kairi at Historic X-over. She lost the belt to Mercedes Moné, who was champion until Mayu Iwatani dethroned her recently.

Aussie Open hold the tag titles after defeating Bishamon, and they’ve gone on to win the Strong openweight tag team championships from the Motor City Machine Guns.

David Finlay is the NEVER openweight champion, bringing the belt back in to Bullet Club after Tama Tonga defeated Karl Anderson for it at Wrestle Kingdom.

Intergalactic Jetsetters (Kushida And Kevin Knight) finally ended the reign of Catch 2/2 (Tjp And Francesco Akira) as junior heavyweight tag team champions during the road to Wrestling Dontaku tour, thank god.

Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii are the NEVER openweight six man champions winning the titles from Strong Style (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki And Ren Narita). If you think that sentence is insane, don’t worry I’ll explain whats happening.

Zack Sabre Jr became the inaugural NJPW World TV champion, winning the tournament at Wrestle Kingdom by defeating Ren Narita, and he’s had some incredible defenses since (you might’ve seen him on ROH).

the KOPW trophy graduated to a belt after El Phantasmo broke it, and Taichi is the current provisional champion having defeated Shingo Takagi for it.

Kenta lost the strong openweight championship to Hikuleo in the first defense of the belt in Japan, after winning it from Fred Rosser (with Juice interference).

at the time of writing this the Strong women’s title does exist but the tournament to decide its first owner has yet to be held (Resurgence may 21st).

Karl Anderson will pay for his crimes

Those who have been following me since november last year know that Suzuki-gun, a heel faction in NJPW led by Minoru Suzuki, has come to an end. I was inconsolable. There are multiple reasons for this happening, but the main one is Karl Anderson.

While Anderson is a member of Bullet Club, and in fall of last year was still the NEVER openweight champion, he is contracted to WWE and was on a handshake deal with NJPW, essentially promising he’ll appear at shows they book him for. There was a scheduling conflict with one of WWE’s saudi shows, and Anderson essentially ghosted the company not appearing for his title defense against Hikuelo, which meant I had to watch Yujiro Takahashi wrestle. anyway this all meant that New Japan lost faith in their freelancers, and because the majority of Suzuki-gun were on handshake deals, this meant the faction had to go. Their last match was on december 23rd (njpwworld) (bilibili link) and it was very emotional and beautiful, and I was incredibly sad.

Shota came back!

Shota Umino, who you may know as the protege of Jon Moxley, returned from excursion in the fall of last year. Young lions (NJPW trainees) are sent abroad to foreign promotions by the company to train and gather experience in different environments to Japan. Shota was in Britain for a time and he returned, challenging Will Ospreay for the US title he still held at the time. He lost but with this high profile title shot he joined the ranks of the young stars NJPWhas much faith vested in.

This also includes Ren Narita, who you may not know because he was never adopted by a mean american man. he was trained by Katsuyori Shibata, earning the nickname Son of Strong Style and wearing similar gear to Shibata as well. The company seems to be trying to set him up to be Shibata’s successor, and he wrestles a similarly, clean technical style.

A recent addition to their ranks is Yota Tsuji, whose return I will explain later.

The IWGP women’s title

Women’s wrestling promotion Stardom and NJPW are both owned by Bushiroad. Because of this last year there was a crossover between the two promotions, which saw the first mixed tag matches in an NJPW ring. Great show, you should watch it. (njpwworld link) (bilibili link)

For this event, the IWGP women’s championship was created and won by Kairi. Now I have some thoughts about how Stardom is already full of accomplished talented women, and putting a women’s match on the card once in a blue moon isn’t a win for women in wrestling and you should maybe try watching Stardom instead (guide on how to do that). But I digress. Regardless of whether or not this is pandering, every match for the belt was undoubtedly incredible and I will be linking them all in the rec section.

A brief Wrestle Kingdom aside

You fucking know what happened at Wrestle Kingdom I shouldn’t have to explain this to you. Kenny Omega returned and defeated Will Ospreay for the US title, and Okada won his beloved IWGP belt back from Jay White, starting him down the path of leaving NJPW.

What you might not know is what happened at Wrestle Kingdom Night 2, which confusingly was held some weeks later. Wrestle Kingdom traditionally is a show between NOAH and NJPW, so Night 2 saw the two promotions pitch their most popular wrestlers against each other. Okada was set to fight Kaito Kiyomiya in a tag team match, but he thought this challenge beneath him and attempted to murder Kiyomiya ruling the match a no contest.

Later in february, at Keiji Muto’s retirement show, Okada did have to face off Kiyomiya in a singles bout, despite his protests that he is not some cheap whore (his words not mine). That entire show is incredibly good but not extremely relevant to NJPW storylines, as crossover events usually are not. (njpwworld) (unoffical link)

After Wrestle Kingdom, New Japan holds New Year’s Dash and the New Beginning shows where they set up new storylines that will likely last the whole year. Jay White challenges Hikuleo to a loser leaves Japan match, because he blames him and his brothers (Guerillas of Destiny) for Bullet Club weakening and his loss at Wrestle Kingdom. He promptly loses this match. Bummer.

El Desperado refuses to accept that Suzuki-gun is over and joins Minoru Suzuki in defending Ren Narita from House of Torture’s dastardly attack, leading to the formation of their trios team; Strong Style. They then go on to defeat House of Torture for the NEVER openweight six man tag team titles. Now this is crazy but we dont have time to dwell on it because the other remnants of Suzuki-gun are also making moves that are considerably more insane.

Its time for: faction madness

There are a lot of factions in New Japan Pro Wrestling. like a lot. Every storyline is heavily driven by who is in what faction and where their allegiences lie. This might be confusing to you if you only watch AEW, a promotion where factions matter less than what Tony adds to commentary.

TMDK

Naturally ex-Suzuki-gun member and best technical wrestler in the known universe Zack Sabre Jr couldn’t simply remain in Hontai, the main body of New Japan where factionless members of the roster belong. Luckily he was a free agent for all of five seconds before his old australian buddies snatched him and his fresh tv championship up. TMDK, known as an australian faction despite a solid half not being from Australia, has suffered some losses in the past year. Jonah, their strongest member, a man who defeated even Kazuchika Okada, left Japan for WWE. Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls, founding members of the faction and a tag team under the same name, have failed to succeed in winning Tag League in fall of last year. Safe to say, they needed a win. Zack has teamed with them during his time in NOAH, so it was only logical that he would return to his old friends. They even recruited a young lion, Kosei Fujita, who became the first young lion in a faction if you don’t count Hikuleo which was a slightly different situation. TMDK also includes Bad Dude Tito (or Big Teets) over in the States.

The addition of Zack really reinvigorated the faction. Shane and Mikey challenged and failed to defeat Aussie Open for the tag titles, and Robbie Eagles left Chaos for more australian pastures, joining the faction when he challenged Hiromu Takahashi for his championship. Robbie also lost but TMDK didn’t let these setbacks stop them from cutting the weirdest promos after every match and staunchly insisting Fujita (who they’ve nicknamed Big Fooj) will be the first young lion to win a championship.

United Empire

Will Ospreay is no longer the IWGP US heavyweight champion. After losing to Kenny Omega he threw a hissy fit and declared that he would give professional wrestling one more year. He also entered the New Japan Cup, a tournament for the right to challenge for the IWGP championship. Unfortunately in a match against his friend and stablemate Mark Davis (of Aussie Open and ass size fame) he injured his shoulder which put him out of action until about last week. He won the 1pw world title though, so he’s fine.

Other than that, the faction has been doing fairly well for themselves. After a titanic struggle against Bishamon, Aussie Open won the tag titles and have gone on to defend them against TMDK and somehow, Best Friends on AEW television. They also won the Strong tag titles, and Kyle Fletcher managed to botch a moonsault in both matches. You’ve definitely seen them even if you don’t watch NJPW, their schedule is insane and they have a banger of a match practically on a weekly average.

Also tag champions in the faction were Catch 2/2, who held the junior titles until fairly recently. They’ve had great defenses against YOH and his new tag partner, Lio Rush (more on that in a second) and Douki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. What you need to know about Catch 2/2 is that TJP is a PragerU weirdo and Akira is good albeit italian.

UE also includes Jeff Cobb, who you might’ve seen challenging for Kenny Omega’s US title on Dynamite. He is incredible I don’t have anything else to say. He also kind of thinks flat earthers have a point. He’s really good though.

Also in the faction are Aaron Henare, men’s rights weirdo who challenged and lost to Shingo Takagi for the KOPW belt and Great O Khan who is somehow the Revpro champion. He is notable for having a nice bow in his hair and screeching. The most recent recruit to the faction is Dan Moloney, who unfortunately is fairly unknown to me. He joined the faction as a junior heavyweight and subsequently entered the Best of Super Juniors Tournament, which I will explain later.

Chaos

I’ve previously described Chaos as Hontai 2.0, because that’s really what it is. Lead by Kazuchika Okada, Chaos was the original heel faction in NJPW, founded by Shinsuke Nakamura. Nowadays it is a loose collection of allegiances that confusingly includes the entire Best Friends faction in AEW. Yes, that includes Trent’s mum Sue. Since becoming faces, Chaos members regularly team with Hontai because it all doesn’t really matter.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi at Battle in the Valley, and then asked him to tag together. They named themselves the Dream Team, and I only briefly pondered how well it ended the last time Tana teamed with a younger star. Anyways I’m sure this will go fine. They challenged Okada’s fellow Chaos members Bishamon for their tag titles they still held at that time, and sadly lost that match. They defeated the team of Shota Umino and Ren Narita, and then once again failed to obtain gold in a 3-way match against the Motor City Machine Guns and Aussie Open (who won). After Okada lost his belt, they recruited Tomohiro Ishii, who doesn’t like Tanahashi and doesn’t want to team with him because he isn’t in Chaos. Despite this, they managed to defeat Strong Style for the NEVER openweight six man championships.

Bishamon I’ve covered sufficiently enough I think, they are the team of Hirooki Goto who recently celebrated his 20th anniversary in professional wrestling and YOSHI-HASHI who used to be incredibly horrible and is less bad recently. They are fun and I like them.

YOH and SHO were a junior tag team in Chaos until SHO turned heel, joining Bullet Club. This left YOH in a sort of strange limbo, where he contemplated quitting wrestling and pursuing his more artistic ambitions (he is a musician and an artist). Rocky Romero, also a member of Chaos, got him and Lio Rush together to team for Junior Tag League, and they ended up winning the tournament! Although they failed to defeat catch 2/2 at Wrestle Kingdom, and Lio got injured, teaming with him seemed to bring YOH’s confidence back. He’s been wrestling slightly differently and with more self-assurence. The pair both separately challenged and lost to Hiromu Takahashi, two incredible matches that I will link below. Not even these losses brought YOH’s confidence down though, and he’s entered BOSJ alongside Lio although they are in different blocks.

Also members of Chaos are Rocky Romero, Best Friends (including Kris Statlander, Orange Cassidy, Sue, and I think quite possibly Danhausen), Toru Yano who is kind of a funny little man, and Tomohiro Ishii.

Los Ingobernables de Japon

Led by Tetsuya Naito, the tweener group is more of a loose collection of talented individuals than your regular faction. LIJ has a policy of letting their members forge their own paths and create their own success, instead of letting them fall back on the power of the group.

Maybe the only exception to this rule is Hiromu Takahashi, who owes a lot of his success to the faction as well as his mentor Tetsuya Naito. Hiromu is very talented and has a very unique style both in his wrestling and his fashion sense. Unbiased corner ahead I like him a lot. He holds junior wrestlers in very high regard and recently organized the All Star Junior festival to showcase junior heavyweights from all around japan (njpwworld ppv) (vk link). He has a plush cat named Daryl. Hiromu is kind of the ace of the junior division right now, he is on his fifth title reign and is trying to defend the belt 12 times to beat the current defense record of 11 held by Minoru Tanaka. Currently he is 4 defenses into this streak, having defeated YOH, Lio Rush, Robbie Eagles and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Despite being champion he entered BOSJ, a tournament he’s won four times, three times in a row. If he wins, he’ll get to hand pick his opponent at Dominion.

I have no clue what to say about Tetsuya Naito. To quote my friend Jay, “it’s naito. he is an indescribable force of non-functional knees and the driest hair you've ever seen. he takes ten years to remove his entrance gear. he is naito”. You fucking know who Tetsuya Naito is.

This year, the main thing he’s done is defeating his mentor Keiji Muto at his retirement show in Febuary (njpwworld link) (vk link). He has a very hands off approach towards leading his group, sort of letting everyone figure their things out, which is why he didn’t really seem worried about his match against his stablemate Sanada in the New Japan Cup. You can imagine his surprise when Sanada not only defeated him but then declared that he would be leaving the faction, but more on that later. He also recently had a singles match against DOUKI, which was incredible.

Also members of LIJ are Shingo Takagi, winner of KOPW 2022 and former KOPW 2023 provisional champion, and also living legend. He made his name in Dragon Gate, a different japanese promotion you should also watch (I’m not at all being held at gunpoint by people whose names start with J), Bushi and Titan, who are both junior heavyweight luchadors I don’t know as much about as I should. They’re really good and they are both in BOSJ this year.

Bullet Club

Do I even need to explain. Don’t worry I will.

Jay White lost his loser leaves Japan match to Hikuleo, but there was hope. He promised Gedo he would go to America and wrestle on Strong and right his wrongs. So obviously he immediately lost a loser leaves New Japan match to Eddie Kingston, barring him from ever wrestling in a New Japan ring ever again. After weeks of radio silence, he showed up on Dynamite, forming Bullet Culb Gold (2 bullet 2 club) with Juice Robinson and you all know what happened after that.

It’s spring which means it’s Bullet Club infighting season. After Jay’s loss, his long time rival David Finlay waltzed into the ring all goth and angry, cutting a promo about how the japanese fans never appreciated him and he is an outsider wherever he goes. If this didn’t make it clear to you that he was the new leader, don’t worry it wasn’t clear to me or El Phantasmo either.

ELP was friends with Jay White, and made the rest of the Club agree that they will let Jay ride off into the sunset. A peaceful transfer of power is however impossible in Bullet Club, which is kind of a Stanford prison experiment for closeted gay men. It started bothering Phantasmo, that everyone in his faction so readily accepted Finlay as the new leader, like they weren’t fully behind Jay only a week ago. And anyone who questions the leader has to go.

Then came a months long game of gay betrayal chicken. Every postmatch, Phantasmo would assure Finlay that they were doing it for the club, refuse to too sweet the new leader, and the two slapping eachother in place of a tag. Meanwhile the faces in Hontai were increasingly more accepting towards ELP, Shota Umino even gave him one of his bracelets. The tension came to a boil at Sakura Genesis, where in a tag team match against Guerillas of Destiny and Master Wato, Phantasmo refused to commit the clubs usual heel antics and was brutally kicked out in response. Despite his close friendship with Taiji Ishimori and Kenta, both men readily betrayed him for David Finlay.

Phantasmo returned as a face to beat Finlay up after he defeated Tama Tonga for the NEVER belt, and the two have a title match set at Dominion.

As I mentioned Kenta and Taiji Ishimori are both members of Bullet Club, and Finlay recently recruited Clark Connors to be the clubs newest junior. He entered BOSJ alongside Taiji. Gedo, the head booker of NJPW is also a member of BC but he mainly stands ominously in the background and in kayfabe doesn’t have a massive role in storylines.

HOUSE OF TORTURE

I have to explain what’s going on here. Bullet Club has sort of a subesction? Called House of Torture. They’re only really part of BC in name only, and merch sales. Their thing is gratuitous cheating, if one HoT member has a match, the rest of them aren’t far behind making every match a handicap. Their members are EVIL, the leader of the group and former LIJ member, Yujiro Takahashi the incredible slow motion man whose joints creak audibly with every move, Dick Togo and SHO, who joined after betraying YOH and turning heel. SHO is actually pretty good but the presence of HoT at every match really ruins. Everything. I try not thinking about them.

JUST 5 GUYS

NOW baby. The reason I’m even writing this. The worst faction name in the history of pro wrestling. This faction is made of four ex-Suzuki-gun members and Sanada. Originally called Just Four Guys when Taka Michinoku, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI announced they would be forming a faction at New Year’s Dash. Taka made some baseless claims about how they will defeat everyone and change the landscape of New Japan. He also came up with their new catchphrase “You already die”. Commentary and everyone else immediately dismissed them as a joke that will last maybe a couple of months. Oh how wrong we were.

Initially, the group did not have much success. Douki and Uncle Nobu lost to Catch 2/2 in their title match against them, Taka kept getting pinned and they failed to deliver on their promises to destroy everyone who stood in their way.

Taichi, as their only heavyweight, entered the New Japan Cup. His first match was against Sanada, a man he’s had some history with when he was still tagging with Zack Sabre Jr as Dangerous Tekkers. Sanada was a man not really renowned for anything, he hasn’t seen any singles success since joining LIJ by helping Tetsuya Naito cheat, except for a US title run cut short with no defenses due to an injury. He had blonde hair and the best or the worst move in pro wrestling history, depending on if you ask my friend Ryan or me. He never hits a moonsault. I don’t think Naito even knew who he was.

Safe to say, absolutely no one expected Sanada to defeat Taichi, much less his superior Naito. What we expected the least is for him to announce he is leaving LIJ for Just 4 Guys, which was now to be renamed JUST 5 GUYS. With dark hair, a clean shaven face and soon, new gear as well, Sanada really found his footing among this motley crew, the way he never managed in his seven years during LIJ. He went on to blaze through the competition in the Cup, winning it and subsequently defeating Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP world heavyweight championship. Absolutely no one has expected this to happen, ever. Yet somehow, it is also one of the coolest things to happen, ever.

His former faction members in LIJ mostly seemed to just sort of accept he left, except for Hiromu. He said while he understood Sanada’s reasons for leaving, he felt betrayed. Hiromu challenged Sanada to a match for the heavyweight championship. No junior heavyweight has been able to defeat the heavyweight champion in the history of the company, although this match is not the first of its kind.

When Sanada defeated Hiromu, the returning Yota Tsuji walked out into the ring and beat him up, held up the LIJ fist and carried Hiromu out of the ring. We don’t really know if this means he’ll be joining the faction, but it’s very likely, and the two have a match set at Dominion.

Obviously other stuff has happened but this is already 4000 words long and I still have things to explain to you.

Whats happening right now

As I’m writing this, the 30th Best of the Super Juniors is just beginning. BOSJ is a round robin style tournament, just like the G1 where wrestlers are divided into two blocks and everyone fights everyone in their block. Usually, the winners of the two blocks face off against each other to win the tournament, but this year, the winner of each block faces off against the person who came second in the other block, and the winners of those matches are the finalists. The winner has the right to challenge for the IWGP junior heavyweight championship at Dominion.

This year’s participants are as follows.

I think this is absolutely the perfect time to get int New Japan. The junior division is full of incredibly talented wrestlers who focus more on fast paced high flying style matches and every one of them is easy to watch and very entertaining. The entire tour will be broadcast with full english coverage.

How do I watch all of this

New Japan conveniently has a streaming service called NJPW world, membership is 999 yen per month. Dont forget to toggle it to english in the upper left corner! Most shows have english commentary and in my opinion it is pretty good commentary. Even if you don’t want to pay for the site, it has a schedule page (upper right corner) which even displays multiple timezones, and links to the card for every upcoming show.

The site also has some free content, for example the backstage comments after every show. Backstage comments are essentially short interviews with the wrestlers directly after every match, which makes for very fun adrenaline fuelled nonsense. Search backstage comment on the site, or check the njpwworld youtube channel. The videos always have subtitles, but it takes the transcribers time, subs are usually out a day after shows air.

PIRACY

In case you’d like to sail the high seas, you have a couple of options.

Watching show’s live I would recommend watchprowrestling.org for. They upload the shows and you can watch them live as well with a bit of delay.

If you’re looking for older stuff, you should try searching on bilibili (dont be intimidated by the language barrier, its quite easy to use) or this specific user on vk.com.

MATCHES TO WATCH

Title changes and defenses:

Kazuchika Okada vs Jay White (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Hiromu Takahashi vs Master Wato vs El Desperado vs Taiji Ishimori (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Zack Sabre Jr vs Ren Narita FREE MATCH

Zack Sabre Jr vs Tomohiro Ishii FREE MATCH

Zack Sabre Jr vs Shota Umino FREE MATCH

Zack Sabre Jr vs Tom Lawlor FREE MATCH

Zack Sabre Jr vs Jeff Cobb FREE MATCH

Catch 2/2 vs YOH and Lio Rush (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Catch 2/2 vs Intergalactic Jetsetters (njpwworld) (unofficial link 2:35:08)

Hiromu Takahashi vs Lio Rush (njpwworld)

Hiromu Takahashi vs YOH (njpwworld) (unofficial link2:48:13)

Hiromu Takahashi vs Robbie Eagles (njpwworld)

Hiromu Takahashi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Kazuchika Okada vs Shingo Takagi (njpwworld)

Kazuchika Okada vs Sanada (njpwworld)

Sanada vs Hiromu Takahashi (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Aussie Open vs Bishamon (njpwworld)

Aussie Open vs TMDK (njpwworld)

Aussie Open vs Motor City Machine Guns vs the Dream Team (Okada & Tanahashi) (njpwworld ppv)

Kairi vs Mayu Iwatani (njpwworld)

Kairi vs Tam Nakano (njpwworld)

Kairi vs Mercedes Moné (unofficial link)

Mercedes Moné vs Kairi vs Hazuki (njpwworld)

Mercedes Moné vs Mayu Iwatani (njpwworld)

Tama Tonga vs El Phantasmo (njpwworld)

Tama Tonga vs David Finlay (unofficial link)

Taichi vs Shingo Takagi (njpwworld) (unofficial link 1:44:00)

Strong Style vs Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Hikuelo vs Kenta (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Story matches

Tetsuya Naito vs Sanada (njpwworld)

Jay White vs Hikuleo (njpwworld)

Jay White vs Eddie Kingston (njpwworld) (unofficial link 1:04:00)

Bullet Club (David Finlay, Kenta, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) vs Guerillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga, Hikuleo & Jado) & Master Wato (njpwworld link)

just fun

Mark Davis vs Will Ospreay (njpwworld) (unofficial link)

Mark Davis vs EVIL (njpwworld)

Tetsuya Naito vs DOUKI (njpwworld) (unofficial link 2:11:32)

El Desperado vs Tomohiro Ishii (njpwworld ppv)

Shota Umino vs Tetsuya Naito (njpwworld)

Hiromu Takahashi vs Speedball Mike Bailey FREE SHOW

Taichi vs Will Ospreay (njpwworld)

#njpw #wrassle #yall this is nearly 5000 words please read it and watch njpw i worked so hard. for you to watch njpw. its so extensive #i explain literally everything

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sana-yan · 2 years ago

Text

the sound of secret minds; a deep dive on SANADA [part one]

or, alternatively, "Why the hell did SANADA leave Los Ingobernables de Japón?"

! Content Warnings: depictions of blood

Disclaimer: This editorial on SANADA's exit from Los Ingos is based on my interpretation of NJPW kayfabe and information from match results, backstage comments, social media, and interviews. Kayfabe is enforced, but I will sometimes reference "out of character" context to analyze events from 2020 to current-day 2023. I will do my best to provide sources, and I highly recommend you subscribe to NJPW World and watch the matches.

Since much of the information is in Japanese, there may be gaps because I am not a native speaker and rely on my/NJPW's translations. As this is a developing storyline, when new information is revealed, some interpretations in this post may become outdated/debunked.

Furthermore, I love LIJ; however, I will analyze and critique the group dynamics (especially Naito) in this meta. I recommend a different read if this current event is a sore spot for readers.

To avoid getting my premium account removed for providing evidence from paywalled content, please do not share outside of Tumblr. Thank you!

Overture;

Los Ingobernables de Japón is fine. More than that, actually. They've had massive wins since their debut in 2015, and their sleek five-man band of Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, BUSHI, SANADA, and Hiromu Takahashi finally acquired their newest pareja, decorated Dragon Gate veteran Shingo Takagi, in October 2018. LIJ seemed to be on an all-time high, led by the man of cool, Naito.

[ID: A screenshot from Bushi's Twitter, posted on March 17, 2020. The members of LIJ pose for a group picture at Korakuen Hall. From left to right: SANADA, BUSHI, Naito, Shingo, Hiromu, and EVIL. Of note: SANADA and EVIL stand on opposite ends, at the edges of the group. Naito is in the center, lying down in his "Tranquilo" pose. SANADA is looking off to the side. EVIL has his back to the viewer, looking over his shoulder. End ID.]

The early iteration of LIJ founder Tetsuya Naito was that of the anti-establishment upstart looking to disrupt the very place that had rejected him as the Stardust Genius. He looked to antagonize the crowd who had driven him away, and his parejas were instrumental to his ascent, assisting him in crucial matches and cheating on his behalf to get the victory.

Nowadays, they've more or so dispersed from the ringside, and Naito himself has shed those ways, arguably losing that bitter bite after winning over the fans in the 2017 G1 Climax. He follows the same vein of New Japan's classic babyfaces in the ring, wanting no interference from his faction during his singles matches.

Los Ingos' appeal is its rebellious aesthetic. I say "aesthetic" as LIJ adopts counterculture motifs but benefits and plays to the society that had scorned their leader. Although Naito quips at the company and speaks unfavorably about some of their decisions, he also abides by New Japan's rules in kayfabe. It's a mishmash, the best of both worlds, despite being ideologically insensible to the true nature of being ungovernable.

Nonetheless, LIJ's brand of rebellion is one that straight-laced Japanese young adults can consume without retribution to their social standing by aligning with something truly anarchist. (It's really shonen manga-esque if you think about it.) By the time 2019 rolls in, Naito and his stable are the establishments now, one of the most popular and prominent stables in NJPW's history. The company fully backs its projects, and branded merch sells faster than hotcakes.

Furthering that triumph, it's a big win for the members of LIJ at Wrestle Kingdom 14 (Jan. 4-5, 2020): Naito wins both IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Belts from Jay White and Kazuchika Okada; Hiromu Takahashi defeats Will Ospreay and gets the IWGP Junior Heavyweight, becoming a 3-time champion; and BUSHI, EVIL, and Shingo win the Gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Championships. Yes, the members of LIJ were bona fide champions. A faction draped in victory and riches.

Ah, did I forget someone?

That's right, I did. SANADA was the only member of LIJ not to win his bout versus Zack Sabre Jr. for the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship. However, I believe it was the correct outcome. Unlike Zack, who had his pride on the line and the drive to raise the prestige of the belt, SANADA didn't seem to be as hungry.

[ID: The members of LIJ pose for the magazine Weekly Pro Wrestling (Issue No. 2061, April 22, 2020). From left to right: EVIL, Shingo, BUSHI, Naito, SANADA, and Hiromu. Of note: EVIL is the farthest from the group, dressed head-to-toe in black. SANADA stands out with his white suit as the only one without a belt. As the Double Champion, Naito sits on a chair, showing off his belts (the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental). End ID.]

Even though Naito's big roll call in the Tokyo Dome was ruined by a malicious KENTA (the king of iconic behavior), Naito had these words to say:

"What he [KENTA] did was truly amazing, professionally speaking. You have to speak up or make a move if you want to show the fans what you want."

Remember this: Naito is a big "Pull Yourself Up By Your Bootstraps" type. This is his philosophy after the toxicity he had received from the fans as the Stardust Genius. Life doesn't give you chances, so you must seize your opportunities.

As Naito deals with KENTA, SANADA pins Jay White during a tag match at New Years Dash 2020, catching the ire of the Switchblade. After sparring again at a Feb 1, 2020 match, Jay rants backstage, calling out SANADA for his apparent lack of depth.

"But... SANADA... you can never win when it matters! How many times have you *evil bastard gaspy breathing* won the US Championship? Zero! ...The Intercontinental Championship... Zero! How many times, after chance, after chance, after chance, have you held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship? *evil bastard chuckle* Any guesses?! ... It's another ZERO!"

Jay White refers to SANADA's record of unsuccessfully challenging Kazuchika Okada, New Japan Pro Wrestling's undeniably dominant champion in the heavyweight division. SANADA had challenged him for the title at Wrestling Dontaku 2019, and at King of Pro-Wrestling 2019, the Rainmaker reigned supreme. The singles titles in NJPW are seen as the pinnacle of success, and although SANADA had won trios and tag team titles, his singles run was barren.

So, is SANADA a dud? A choke artist? Not so fast.

Kota Ibushi, who you might know as one of the most talented and most himbo wrestlers from the nation of Japan, had these words to say during his bout with SANADA leading up to G1 Climax 29:

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[ID: A video from Night 6 of the G1 climax. SANADA and Ibushi have a friendly pec-popping contest. End ID.]

This interaction interests me because the calm and collected Cold Skull from Los Ingos is approaching Kota first of his own free will. On Japanese commentary, they state that SANADA acknowledges "four wrestling prodigies with super abilities: Keiji Mutoh (his mentor), Naomichi Marufuji (the premier Ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH), AJ Styles (🌈), and Kota Ibushi (the man who doesn't trust books)."

In the segment, I want to highlight how engaged SANADA is in a competitive comradeship with Kota, as opposed to his matchups with other wrestlers during this time. The commentary remarks on their obvious parallels as the two do some himbo-to-himbo communication. Both are seen as wrestling prodigies, babyfaces at heart, effortlessly good-looking, and have the crowd's devotion, yet ― Kota achieves success, and SANADA does not. Kota would beat SANADA on July 20, 2019, in the G1 Climax and be one more step closer to becoming "God."

Reflecting on the match, Kota had this to say:

"He doesn’t really fit in with LIJ to me. I think there’s a spot for him where he can be at his best, and it isn’t as SANADA, it’s as Seiya Sanada." (emphasis added)

But that's 2019. Let's fast-forward to the current timeline. On February 9, 2020, Jay White and SANADA square off in a special singles exhibition... and SANADA loses.

You might have noticed I have not mentioned any of SANADA's backstage comments from his feud with Jay. There weren't any from the Cold Skull at the time.

On the other hand, Naito defeats KENTA and retains his titles on the same day as SANADA's loss. He reiterates his statement, veiled in blood because I cannot find a youtube link:

[ID: A bloody Naito gives a press conference after defeating KENTA. He says, "It's like I say, you have to speak up to be heard. The wrestler who ventured out into the world [KENTA] is very hungry. He wants to reach for any chance available. I like his attitude. I like that kind of attitude. So other wrestlers should be wary. He'll do what he wants, regardless of the blowback. I do think that is amazing." End ID.]

This further illustrates how Naito feels about his competition ― friends and foes alike. Yes, KENTA besmirched Naito's big moment, but Naito respects the man who feeds his hunger to win by any means necessary. If you want to make your mark in the world, you must get your hands dirty digging into the earth.

Right after that match, Hiromu challenges Naito for a special match. They set the date. March 3, 2020. Naito vs. Hiromu. Shingo, BUSHI, and EVIL are set to defend their trio's titles. And lastly, the runt of the litter, SANADA, tries to regroup through the New Japan Cup to compensate for his loss of momentum. He earns a win over Mikey Nicholls in the first round. However, his strive to ascend among his stablemates is short-lived as Japan enacts its emergency COVID-19 pandemic countermeasures, and NJPW's show dates are canceled until June.

Although these videos are centered on Hiromu and Naito, they portray LIJ's group dynamics. What makes some members resonate with the group's ethos and others feel left behind all boils down to Naito's vision for the group.

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[ID: A video detailing Naito and Hiromu's past before LIJ. End ID.]

Compared to his other parejas, Naito sees Hiromu as his prized student... and the 2nd Generation of Tetsuya Naito. Yes, while LIJ mainly functions as a group of individuals first and foremost, and every member is focused on their own goals rather than each other, Naito's relationship with Hiromu goes beyond his partnership with the other teammates. Almost as if he knows he will be passing on the torch of LIJ to Hiromu.

My prediction is if NJPW wants to pull the trigger and move Hiromu to the Heavyweight Division, he will be the one to replace Naito as the "leader" of LIJ (said loosely, as Naito noted there is no leader in LIJ.) According to the video, Naito mentions he even queried Hiromu about the possibility of Los Ingos in Japan. As per Naito's belief in "Destino," LIJ's bonds weren't just discovered; Naito predestined Hiromu's inclusion into the team from LIJ's inception.

youtube

[ID: Part one of a video from Hiromu's YouTube channel showing the rare meetup between all members of LIJ. Of note: The Youtube thumbnail is from the same photoshoot featured in Issue No. 2061 of Weekly Pro Wrestling. End ID.]

Some points I wanted to emphasize in this video:

LIJ does not keep tabs on one another outside of the ring. As Naito says in an interview: "We aren’t super sociable as a group, but we’ll send texts here and there." Their out-of-ring distance will be a motif among the members.

Naito likes to instigate conflict. Some people thrive and play well with it (Hiromu, Shingo). Others do not.

Uncle Shingo is such an uncle. This kinda plays into this meta.

youtube

[ID: Part 2 of a video from Hiromu’s YouTube channel showing the rare meetup between all members of LIJ. Of note: The Youtube thumbnail is from the same photoshoot featured in Issue No. 2061 of Weekly Pro Wrestling. BUSHI, Naito, and Shingo share a couch while Hiromu sprawls on the floor. EVIL is seated on a chair at the group's left, with a large gap separating him from everyone else. At the opposite end of the group from EVIL, SANADA also sits alone in a chair that is pushed close to Shingo's side of the couch. End ID.]

Key points in this video:

"We wanted to do the LIJ roll call in the Dome; I thought it'd be great if we were all champions. But SANADA lost his title match... Even before I won, we decided not to do it." - Naito (0:56-1:05)

"I have no desire to impose my will on the rest of the team." - Naito (3:03)

"The thing about this unit is that each of us is especially hungry. If even one of us were to take it easy, that would lower the value of the team." - Hiromu (3:35)

BUSHI is Team Mom (SANADA responds well to BUSHI because they have a shared history before LIJ; they trained at AJPW roughly around the same time.)

EVIL does not respond when BUSHI says, "We're like family." In fact, EVIL does not speak at all in these videos.

This might be something tumblr user @taichi-niiyan and I might be reading too much into, but it feels noteworthy to mention the group's visual aesthetic in these videos. EVIL and SANADA are seated at both ends, with EVIL in a pure black ensemble and SANADA in white. Both would leave LIJ in the future, but their methods would be at opposing ends. Also, SANADA's white suit catches the viewer's attention, quickly demarking that he is the only member without a title.

In June 2020, Japan lifted a few COVID restrictions, and NJPW resumed its New Japan Cup. In this interlude during the lockdown, NJPW releases a curious interview where Naito shows his priorities among his members, choosing Hiromu and EVIL to make it to the finals in the 2020 Cup. Infamously, Naito muses aloud,

"Is EVIL fourth at bat, or is he the fourth of four heavyweights? SANADA doesn’t have a title, and EVIL is NEVER Openweight 6-Man Champion, but he [EVIL] seems to be further behind in a way."

He also compares SANADA's performance and how his lack of a belt doesn't seem to faze the Cold Skull. How Naito operates is why he didn't choose SANADA in his final bracket. The people who "want it more" will always appear on Naito's radar. He walks his critiques back a little, saying that he says these things to motivate the group, but as I mentioned before, Naito enjoys mind games a little too much to notice that not everyone finds his "encouragement" inspiring.

SANADA even quips about it in a 2018 NJPW interview:

NJPW: — Last September [2017], as Naito was heading into a match with Tomohiro Ishii, he taunted Ishii by saying he needed to speak his mind, to speak up. There’s an extent to which that was directed at you, perhaps, as advice, or that he was being cognisant of you.

SANADA: Ah, yes. Naito is very ‘kind’ with his advice in so many ways, isn’t he..

— Do you feel that Naito is aware of you, that he does keep you in mind?

SANADA: Yes, but only in so much that he feels he has the energy left over for it. He has his antenna going all the time. He isn’t entirely wrapped up in himself, but he has an awareness of everything going on around him. That I’m worthy of coming up on his radar, I guess that’s ‘kindness’ on his part.

LIJ's competitive environment centered on personal success and self-started motivation, plus Naito's provocative comments, open to an electrifying NJ Cup where Hiromu, Shingo, EVIL, and SANADA, duke it out, among others on the roster, to challenge the double champ, Naito.

SANADA faces off against Ryusuke Taguchi, SHO, and, lastly, Taichi in the quarter-finals to make his way to the semi-finals of the NJ Cup. Funnily enough, Cold Skull doesn't provide any backstage NJ Cup commentary until the Taichi match, to which SANADA says:

youtube

[ID: A video from July 2, 2020's New Japan Cup between SANADA and Taichi. SANADA remarks on the mic, "I confirmed something while competing in this New Japan Cup. I love fighting in this ring more than anything else in life." End ID.]

A fun fact SANADA brings up in his July 10, 2020, kayfabe diary entry is that his battle with Taichi contained all previous AJPW personnel in his opponent (Taichi), ring announcer (Makoto Abe), referee (Red Shoes Unno), and guest commentary (Yoshinobu Kanemaru).

Now making it to the semi-finals of the New Japan Cup, SANADA must face his LIJ stablemate and tag team partner of over 3 years, EVIL. He ensures he means friendly competition, offering a handshake to EVIL at the start of the match, to which the big bruiser accepts ― to create an opening for a quick finish. SANADA and EVIL break off to create space, and SANADA's expression says it all: something is off.

Throughout the match, SANADA gives EVIL multiple sportsmanlike chances, even holding the rope open for EVIL to return to the ring when the King of Darkness goes outside to disrupt the pace. Still, each goodwill from SANADA is thwarted, and the match ends with a cheap shot from EVIL to crush SANADA's chances of winning the New Japan Cup (as well as his balls).

Eventually, EVIL would triumph as the victor of the New Japan Cup, defeating Okada with help from Bullet Club interference. While giving his victory speech, EVIL calls out Naito. And the rest is history.

Bereft by the betrayal, Hiromu clashes with EVIL, failing to regain the belts EVIL has cheated from Naito at Sengoku Lord (July 25, 2020). At this time, SANADA has been processing the betrayal, making no comments backstage about losing his long-term tag team partner. However, it's not to say his emotions aren't brewing underneath it all.

Later on, he briefly reflects on his tag team with EVIL:

そして、新日本に来てからのパートナーはEVILでした。EVILとは未完成がフィットした時の快感が凄く良く、タッグならではの味が出て、パートナーがいないと強くもカッコ良くもならいような感覚、2人が組む事に意味があるパートナーでした。 "Ever since coming to New Japan, my partner was EVIL. It felt fulfilling when our partnership began to fall into place, our tag team flavor was unique, and there was a sense that we couldn't become strong or cool without each other. It was meaningful for us to work together." (Mar. 5, 2021)

SANADA acknowledges that during his tag run with EVIL, there was no way for them to shine independently, for they lacked that extra something, though he doesn't know what. In EVIL's perspective, he had to drastically betray LIJ to finally overcome that hurdle. Throughout the summer, SANADA and his teammates fend off EVIL and his cronies and succeed. Naito wins back his titles at Jingu Stadium.

SANADA's next big moment is the G1 Climax 30, where he faces a block where he'll have to go head-to-head with Naito. But things aren't looking so good. He's on a losing streak, with Yano, Goto, and YOSHI-HASHI besting him. Naito, on the other hand, has been breezing by with his wins, and he remarks on his upcoming match with SANADA in Nagaoka:

youtube

[ID: A video from Naito's backstge comments from Night 6 (September 29, 2020) of the G1 Climax 30. End ID.]

"SANADA doesn't seem ready for that kind of underdog story, yet." - (6:25)

"...That frustration [from losing] will serve him well in the future." - (6:43)

October 1, 2020, Naito vs SANADA. If SANADA loses here, he's basically out of the G1 Climax Tournament. After a grueling fight, miraculously, SANADA wins this one, setting his and Naito's singles record to 1-1. After the Naito upset, SANADA is on fire, beating ZSJ, KENTA, Juice Robinson, and even toppling the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi.

After the Ace, what remains is EVIL. On Oct. 17, 2020, almost 3 months after his loss to his former tag partner in the New Japan Cup, they have a head-to-head in a singles match. As per EVIL's new modus operandi, there's a lot of interference on behalf of Dick Togo, but what makes this match stand out is that Hiromu leaves the commentary booth to help SANADA during EVIL and Dick Togo's illegal 2-on-1 attack, a rare feat for modern-day LIJ. His stablemate's much-needed aid pushes SANADA into victory to move onto the finals and face the Block A winner ― Kota Ibushi.

And at the Tokyo Ryoguku Kokugikan, Kota Ibushi makes history, becoming the first wrestler to go to the finals 3 times straight and becomes a back-to-back champion, in the same vein as legends Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

In the closing remarks, Kota fields a question from a reporter asking about what it was like to face SANADA in the longest G1 final ever. Kota, without hesitation, says his sentiments have stayed the same.

"SANADA should be on this side. I was reminded of that today."

And after his match on the card, Naito says it one more time backstage, almost pleased that EVIL hasn't given up on exacting revenge on Naito and LIJ, and directs his message to the world:

"It's good to speak up, or else no one will ever hear you."

But SANADA remains silent.

Da Capo;

SANADA returns to tag team action after his failed attempts at breaking out on his own. Tagging with Naito, he neutralizes EVIL and Dick Togo on the road to Power Struggle and then joins World Tag League again with Shingo Takagi for the first time.

Although they don't win the Tag League, Shingo fosters a good relationship with SANADA. He declares that they "exist between the calm and the fury." He also gives SANADA credit for his achievements in previous World Tag Leagues.

youtube

[ID: A video from November 19, 2020 depicting Shingo Takagi and SANADA. Shingo encourages SANADA to speak to the crowd. End ID.]

Unlike the other members of LIJ, Shingo is very social and seeks company, which initially confuses the Cold Skull. He's more used to LIJ, mainly Naito and Hiromu, commanding control and attention. However, with Shingo's insistence, SANADA plays along, speaking on the mic. However, backstage, SANADA has a silent moment with the camera and moves on.

youtube

[ID: A video from December 4, 2020 depicting Shingo Takagi and SANADA. Shingo offers SANADA the mic. End ID.]

I believe Shingo was a positive influence on SANADA. He helped crack SANADA's shell, encouraging him to be more emotive. Behind SANADA's calm exterior is someone who wishes to connect with others, with an all-too-human desire to feel "seen" and liked. (His asking, "Do you like SANADA?" is a crucial motif.) In a diary entry, SANADA writes how he respects Shingo:

TKGは本当になんでも出来て頼れるパートナーで、パワー、スピード、カッコイイ全部揃ってるところが魅力的なパートナーです。 "TKG is a reliable tag partner who can do anything. He's got power, speed, and coolness all-in-one." (Mar. 5, 2021, diary entry)

However, while these interactions with the crowd are cute, I cannot help but feel that SANADA loses his agency.

I likened Shingo to an Uncle because that's what it feels like in hindsight; SANADA is put in a spot by his senior teammate, much like a child whose uncle wants him to entertain. Shingo's solution to SANADA's disaffection is to hype him up and get SANADA to emulate his fiery spirit for the crowd. But from where it stands, his inclusivity efforts fail to reach SANADA ultimately. You get the sense that SANADA feels uncomfortable in his own skin when he passes backstage.

A quick aside, during the WTL, Hiromu enters the Best of the Super Juniors and wins against El Desperado in the finale (which you should watch since it is an amazing match).

youtube

[ID: A video from the backstage of the Best of the Super Juniors finals. The winner, Hiromu, sits alone with a ZIMA in his hands. End ID.]

He asks, "Doesn't everyone from Los Ingobernables de Japón want to celebrate my victory [with me]?" He jokes that they're probably going to "watch and laugh" and moves on. This may be controversial to popular belief, but to me, LIJ is a family... but a dysfunctional one. Naito's non-leadership outlook and pick-and-choose involvement with his parejas negatively affect LIJ.

It's not that they don't care about or have never protected each other, but they don't go out of their way to be present for each other's victories (except for Naito's roll call) or struggles. They don't expect that support from each other, as it's not considered fighting one's own battles to lean on someone during times of strife.

Compare that with the camaraderie in United Empire, Suzuki-gun, and as scattered as they are, CHAOS even shows up for Okada in his victory press conferences. LIJ, in contrast, majorly commemorate their grand feats alone. If other factions are continents, LIJ is an archipelago. The members may group together when their goals align, but at their crux, they are insular, focused only on their faculties and goals.

Therefore, it's no stretch to see where EVIL came from when he said LIJ was "rotten." He didn't know how to articulate his loneliness or disappointment in being so close to his hero, Naito, yet feeling like they were on different teams altogether. That's why SANADA didn't have the explosive outcry Hiromu did right after EVIL's betrayal.

Hiromu, who's always been doted on by Naito and BUSHI, doesn't understand that his experience in LIJ isn't universal. SANADA, on the other hand, lowkey understood how LIJ dispirited EVIL. (For more on the events leading to EVIL's betrayal, I recommend you watch this excellent video essay.)

However, EVIL has become twisted with his vindictive revenge, and on the last day of the World Tag League, he unleashes SANADA's repressed anger through his cheap, violent tactics. Even Shingo cannot rein in SANADA. The two fight it out on the ramp, and SANADA drags EVIL backstage.

[ID: A gifset featuring the December 11, 2020 tag match between Shingo and SANADA vs. EVIL and Yujiro. Image 1: Dick Togo chokes out SANADA from behind with a garrote wire. EVIL taunts SANADA, curling a finger and slapping his face. Image 2: SANADA strikes a prone EVIL, pushing off a Young Lion trying to stop him. Image 3: Shingo approaches SANADA, trying to calm him down. Image 4: SANADA shoves past Shingo to jump the ropes to go after EVIL on the ramp. End ID.]

In the following video, it's clear that EVIL is in over his head and panicking, and SANADA has lost his patience.

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[ID: A video showing EVIL, Dick Togo, and SANADA backstage. Although EVIL makes vague threats to SANADA, he escapes up the stairs with a chair. SANADA silently stalks off. End ID.]

On the Road to Wrestle Kingdom 15, the two go after each other, and although the first night is in EVIL's favor, and the King of Darkness revels in his easy win, yelling at SANADA to "get mad," he is not ready for the war about to take place between them.

The normally cool-headed Cold Skull finally lets go of the nostalgia of his old tag team partner, the closest member of LIJ who he had known for the past 4 years. He comes up to EVIL intending to hurt him, carrying that "killer edge" that the English commentary says SANADA has been missing to propel his intensity. However, it's worth noting SANADA doesn't find the cheer in victory (like Naito and Hiromu) but appears deeply unsatisfied in enacting such violence, as seen in these gifs:

[ID: A gifset featuring the December 22, 2020 tag match between SANADA, Naito, and Hiromu vs. EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro. Image 1: SANADA keeps EVIL in his sleeper hold, Skull End, even after the bell has rung. Young Lions come to try to free EVIL, but SANADA holds on. Naito shoves off the Young Lions, encouraging SANADA to keep holding on. Image 2: SANADA releases EVIL and looks over at his ex-teammate with a serious expression. Image 3: SANADA stands in the ring, hands at his sides, frowning. Image 4: Naito and Hiromu swing their arms up and down in their victory. SANADA keeps to himself, watching as ring staff help EVIL out. End ID.]

When their feud culminates at Wrestle Kingdom 15, SANADA comes to terms with his relationship with EVIL. It's done and done. When he defeats EVIL, he moves on with a clean break. He challenges Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Intercontinental belts just as the Golden Star plans his unification process. He wants to test himself against the best to see how he matches up to the Golden Star.

どっちが強いのか、どっちがカッコイイのか、どっちが凄いのか、チャンピオン、勝負しましょう。 "Which one is stronger? Which one is cooler? Which one is more awesome? Champion, let's fight." (Jan. 8, 2021 diary entry)

In the days leading up to the New Beginning in Hiroshima, Kota, while down to fight SANADA, also wonders about the reason why SANADA has chosen to challenge for the belts. In an interview posing the same question, SANADA replies,

"I want to be where the lights shine the brightest... To me, what shines the brightest is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship."

In the same interview, SANADA finally addresses Kota's invitation to join Hontai but turns him down. He doesn't believe in leaving LIJ without getting results; he doesn't want to regress to the past of Seiya Sanada. He's happy where he is now, he says.

However, he agrees that there's a lot "unfulfilled" with his career. It's becoming clear that the idea of leaving LIJ has been on his mind. However, he says he can't go "half-assed." Although SANADA's words sound like they're full of conviction, in actuality, they're hollow; it's an excuse to the painful core of why SANADA chases for the title.

[ID: SANADA interviewed by New Japan. He says, "Also becoming champion will end any doubt about SANADA." Of note: he lowers his gaze away from the camera. End ID.]

It's to quell his anxiety. SANADA secretly wonders if being "just a member" of LIJ is the height of all he can achieve with New Japan. That LIJ is his ceiling. His safe route.

[ID: Kota Ibushi interviewed by New Japan. He says, "However, I'm not sure about SANADA's ambitions towards becoming champion." End ID.]

And Kota picks up on something amiss immediately. He suspects SANADA's ambitions of becoming champion aren't "true." In a way, SANADA fulfills his own words. His chase for the title is half-assed, just like how he had challenged for Zack's RevPro British Heavyweight title a year before.

February 11, 2021, at the New Beginning in Hiroshima, SANADA suffers another loss to Kota Ibushi. And as SANADA goes backstage, fading into the shadows, none other than Tetsuya Naito saunters up to the victorious Ibushi, in the full spotlight, standing up to the God of Wrestling as the next challenger.

In his backstage interview, Kota remarks on SANADA for the final time.

"I think he's still unsure of where he's supposed to be. Even though he said he has to make his mark before he moves on, I don't think that's right. He should keep moving forward... But this is the last time I'll tell him that."

And SANADA remains silent.

END PART ONE.

To be covered In the next installment: "Sana-yan", "Ni-yan", Instagram thirst traps but not really, masks, ennui, and hope.

#sanada #seiya sanada #njpw #*meta #long reads #*history #( title from hi-standard; sana-yan's favorite band )#( i hit video limit lmao )#( so this is a two-parter! )#( thanks to tumblr user taichi-niiyan for writing some of the IDs! )

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bisexualgarrusvakarian · 3 years ago

Note

I know you'll get Bobby for the meme, so Kyle!

i did in fact get sent bobby as thee first ask sjfdskjs

am i a fan: yes!! he's one half of my favourite tag team and one of my favourite singles wrestlers ♥

favourite move: i rly like his rolling butterfly suplexes! also his axe and smash combo, especially when he goes for it at full speed (and not nxt speed lmao)

favourite match: not to kind of repeat my answers from the last ask, but vs katsuyori shibata for the never openweight title at njpw king of pro wrestling 2016! one of the best semi-recent technical matches i've seen. vs kushida at njpw bosj finals 2015 because its kyle and kushida and lbr any of their matches could be on this list. redragon vs the revival (aka ftr) on nxt tv in november 2019 because it's just incredible. i talked about this in my last ask so i won't repeat myself here lmao

favourite feud: idk if this really counts as a feud because it's more of a long-term friendly rivalry, but with kushida. all of their matches slap regardless of the timing, the setting, how long it's been since the worked together - they're incredible together. also i think vs davey richards because i don't think this one gets enough credit for shaping kyle's character in some key ways, especially with the formation of redragon (it's about the fact that kyle never had a partner who trusted him completely and without question until rdgn. not adam not davey not anyone.)

favourite promo: i'm re-using another answer but literally every fish tank segment because they are all comedy gold ♥ also when he turned on davey on roh tv in 2012 because he was right to snap like he did!! "how does it feel to choke?! how does it feel to suffocate?! that's how i felt every moment around your sorry ass!!"

dream match: bryan danielsonnnnn 100000% also rdgn vs tmdk and rdgn vs steenerico/zowens

seen live: yes! at a number of nxt house shows, tv taping, smackdown and survivor series!

unpopular opinion: i think a lot of people only see value in kyle when he's associated with adam cole - obviously they've been big parts of each others' careers but kyle has had a number of tremendous singles matches and feuds outside of that dynamic! also when he dressed like himself on nxt after the ue breakup and everyone called him a knockoff orange cassidy was bullshit <3

SEND ME A WRESTLER

#answered #shes-a-voodoo-child #i just have a lot of thoughts abt kyle and rdgn

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gdwessel · 3 years ago

Text

Otani Surgery Successful, Treatment Begins; NJPW Windy City Riot 4/16/2022: Surprise Return & Juice Robinson Farewell; NJPW, AJPW, Joshi Summit Shows for Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary 4/15 + 4/16/2022; AJPW Champion Carnival, STARDOM Cinderella, DDT, Tokyo Joshi, Dragon Gate, NOAH Results

Shinjiro Otani had a surgery on Wednesday on his spine, for the cervical spinal injury he suffered last Sunday in the main event of ZERO1’s show at Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan. It was said the procedure “went as planned,” and Otani has now been moved to another hospital to begin the next phase of his treatment and hopeful recovery. Otani’s wife Eriko also released a statement (translated by POST Wrestling):

"I married a professional wrestler, Shinjiro Otani, so I was prepared to accept a situation like this, but when I think of Shinjiro’s disappointment, I cry. However, we will not look down, but forward, and with the help of pro wrestling, we will continue to support Mr. Shinjiro. We will do our best with your warm support. We hope that you will continue to watch over us warmly. Finally, I would like to ask for your continued support for Zero One and all the wrestlers that Mr. Shinjiro has been protecting."

As ever, we’ll keep you posted.

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Last night in my neck of the woods (or really, 20 minutes south of my neck of the woods), New Japan of America ran Windy City Riot, a live PPV event in Japanese on NJPWWorld, and in English on FITE TV. Apparently the FITE TV feed has issues, and from comments seen on Twitter, this is not the first time this has been an issue with the English live feeds on FITE TV (I have never watched any so I don’t know for certain).

I was actually in attendance for this one, my first live wrestling event since AEW Revolution 2020. I missed the first couple of matches due to parking issues, and also the massive line of people that was still outside even after the show started. I ended up actually being sat with a whole bunch of Rocky Romero’s extended family members, including his mother, whom I talked to and is one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met on this planet.

Windy City Riot - 4/16/2022 Odeum Expo Center, Villa Park, IL (FITE TV)

Rocky Romero [CHAOS] & Wheeler Yuta [AEW] d. Kevin Knight & The DKC (9:30)

QT Marshall, Aaron Solow & Nick Comoroto [AEW] d. Karl Fredericks, Yuya Uemura & Clark Connors (Marshall > Uemura, Diamond Cutter, 11:56)

Chris Dickinson, Ren Narita, Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin & Josh Alexander [Impact] d. Danny Limelight, Black Tiger, JR Kratos, Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs [Team Filthy] (Rosser > Tiger, Crossface Chickenwing, 13:50)

NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor [Team Filthy] (c) d. Yuji Nagata (Strangle Knee, 13:57) - Lawlor succeeds his 9th defense

Jeff Cobb, Great O-Khan, Aaron Henare, TJP, Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher [United Empire] d. Scott Norton, Karl Anderson [Bullet Club], Doc Gallows [Bullet Club], Chris Bey [Bullet Club], Hikuleo [Bullet Club] & El Phantasmo [Bullet Club] (Fletcher > Bey, Corealis, )

Chicago Street Fight: Juice Robinson, David Finlay Jr. & Brody King [AEW] d. JONAH, Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito (Finlay > JONAH, Acid Drop, 24:11)

U-S-Of-Jay Open Challenge: Jay White [Bullet Club] d. Shota Umino (Blade Runner, 15:45)

Tomohiro Ishii [CHAOS] d. Minoru Suzuki [SZKG] (Vertical Drop Brainbuster, 18:46)

Jon Moxley [AEW] d. Will Ospreay [United Empire] (Death Rider, 21:24)

The finish of the main was kinda screwy. A very bloody Mox hit two Death Riders on Ospreay, which lead to a 2.9 count but the bell was rung regardless. Mox then applied a bulldog choke on Ospreay to “fix” the finish, and then hit a Death Rider on the ref before getting a mic. Moxley then declared he actually had respect for Ospreay now for stepping up, and called out Hiroshi Tanahashi one last time, to meet him at Capitol Collision in Washington, DC, on 5/14/2022, or else.

Tomohiro Ishii beat Minoru Suzuki, which prompted a challenge from AEW’s Eddie Kingston, also at the DC show; Brody King challenged Suzuki for the same.

The big surprise opponent for Jay White was introduced via video of Jon Moxley, saying “Go get him, Shooter!” Which was amazing. Shota Umino wrestles his first NJPW match of any kind since his final match in the 12th Young Lions Cup on 9/22/2019, having been in RevPro ever since, including during the pandemic. He looked amazing, very much in a Hiroshi Tanahashi mold, despite the obvious Moxley connection. Hopefully he’ll be back in the NJPW very soon.

Whilst we got one return, we also got what was very definitely a farewell, as it’s become publicly stated that Juice Robinson is not renewing with NJPW once his contract runs out at the end of this month. Indeed, the interview where he said this has him saying he may not return to wrestling at all, as he “doesn’t have the urge to wrestle really anymore.” He is currently engaged to AEW’s Toni Storm, so he may be able to live vicariously on that Tony Khan money for a little while. In any event, he hugged it out with Finlay post-match, and gave a very extended goodbye, including to a cheering section that was very clearly for him with signs and everything. Whatever he ends up doing, hope he does well. A big part of that match saw both Juice v. Tito and Brody King v. Shane Haste in my area of the seating, so that was fun.

I was also very pleased to see Great O-Khan live, and he even gave a post-match promo as the Empire beat the Bullet Club. There were too many people in that match; Scott Norton is now apparently part of the Bullet Club, betraying TEAM2000 (With Cheeseburger) in the process. Also, Norton was good for a couple of bumps and a suplex or two, but that was about it. Nagata goaded Lawlor into making their match a title match, which Lawlor won.

There were no announcements or teases about the rumored AEW + NJPW joint promoted show in Chicago that has been the talk of Wrestling Twitter this weekend. It looks like anything to do with that will be coming up on AEW Dynamite this Wednesday, as Tony Khan may want to deliver this message on his own.

All in all, it was a pretty fun return to live wrestling, especially for a show I was initially iffy about for various reasons. It does not appear that there was an NJPW Strong episode last night either, so there’s one less thing I need to write up.

Tomorrow begins the Golden Fight Series tour in Japan. As for what the rest of the roster were up to this week? See below….

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary

This weekend saw two shows commemorating the 60th Anniversary, having first opened on 4/16/1962. In addition to its status as the place to go for pro wrestling (indeed, for some promotions Korakuen Hall is the biggest show they run), there were boxing matches held here during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. I don’t exactly know why they chose not to do the same in the 202(1) Olympiad, but here we are.

Two shows were run here. On Friday, a joshi summit card, with wrestlers from all sorts of companies taking part in the event, while Saturday had a joint AJPW/NJPW 50th Anniversary show. The shows were shown on SKYPerfect TV, so I am assuming they will be available at some point, on NJPWWorld if nothing else for the Saturday event. Attendances for these shows were listed at 1251 and 1588 – if that is the case, that is the highest Korakuen Hall attendance for either NJPW or AJPW since before COVID-19. It makes me wonder if restrictions are looser now, or Korakuen Hall is simply not following them.

Show results:

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary Festival: Joshi Pro Wrestling Dream Festival - 4/15/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Maria [Marvelous] TLD Riko Kawahata [T-HEARTS] (10:00)

Asahi [Ice Ribbon], Crea [PURE-J], Kaho Matsushita [Ice Ribbon] d. Madeleine [Diana], Nanami [Diana] & Kanon [Sendai Girls] (Crea > Kanon, Sky de Special, 9:24)

Yuki Miyazaki [WAVE], Hirota Sakura [WAVE] & Hibiscus Mii [Ryukyu Dragon] d. Tomoko Watanabe [Marvelous], Kaori Yoneyama [YMZ] & Yuki Mashiro [Ice Ribbon] (Miyazaki > Mashiro, Moonsault Press, 13:03)

Koguma [STARDOM], Manami [Sendai Girls] & Chie Ozora [PURE-J] d. Yuko Sakurai [COLOR’S], Rico Kaiji [SEAdLINNNG] & Lady C [STARDOM] (Koguma > Sakurai, Diving Body Press, 8:52)

Kyoko Inoue [Diana], Sonoko Kato [OZ Academy] & Leon [PURE-J] d. AKINO [OZ Academy], Ayako Sato [Diana] & Rydeen Hagane [PURE-J] (Inoue > Hagane, lariat, 10:21)

Tsukasa Fujimoto [Ice Ribbon] & Arisa Nakajima [SEAdLINNNG] d. Yurika Oka [Sendai Girls] & Ai Hozan [Marvelous] (Fujimoto > Hozan, Japanese Ocean Cyclone Suplex Hold, 9:34)

Unagi Sayaka & Mina Shirakawa [STARDOM] TLD Rin Kadokura [Marvelous] & Haruka Umesaki [Diana] (15:00)

Chihiro Hashimoto [Sendai Girls] & Yuu [EVE] d. MIRAI [STARDOM] & Maika Ozaki [FREE] (Hashimoto > Ozaki, Albright, 18:51)

Mayumi Ozaki [OZ Academy], Maya Yukihi [FREE] & Starlight Kid [STARDOM] d. Nagisa Nozaki [WAVE], SAKI [COLOR’S] & Takumi Iroha [Marvelous] (Kid > SAKI, Eternal Foe, 29:31)

Starlight spit mist to set up her win. Ozaki questioned it, but understood as she has been a heel in the past too. STARDOM’s champion Syuri stared down Chihiro after the semi-main. Sayaka/Shirakawa will be going to Diana on 4/29/2022 (the date of STARDOM’s big show at Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium) ti challenge for the WWWD tag team titles from Haruka Umesaki & Miyuki Takase.

Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary Festival: 50th Anniversary New Japan Pro Wrestling + All Japan Pro Wrestling - 4/16/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Kosei Fujita d. Ryo Inoue (Boston Crab, 9:32)

Yoshitatsu, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato d. Takao Omori, Yuto Nakashima & Ryohei Oiwa (Yoshitatsu > Oiwa, Backdrop Hold, 8:01)

TAJIRI [TOTAL ECLIPSE] & Toru Yano [CHAOS] d. Yoshinobu Kanemaru [SZKG] & Black Menso-re (TAJIRI > Menso-re, Samson Clutch, 10:12)

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI [Los Ingobernables] d. Yuma Aoyagi [NEXTREAM], Atsuki Aoyagi [NEXTREAM], Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (Naito > Honma, Destino, 17:25)

Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & YOH [CHAOS] d. Suwama, Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura [Evolution] (Goto > Tamura, Shoto, 13:47)

Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kento Miyahara [NEXTREAM] TLD Jake Lee [TOTAL ECLIPSE] & Taichi [SZKG] (30:00)

Tanahashi invited Jake Lee to come to NJPW any time. Kento said he wanted to face Tana once again in the ring, which Tana was all into as well. This is, I believe, Kosei Fujita’s first ever victory!

And while we are talking AJPW...

All Japan Pro Wrestling

Champion Carnival rolled on Friday with another round of matches:

Champion Carnival 2022 Night 5 - 4/15/2022, Tokyo Shinkiba 1st-RING

Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura [Evolution] d. Izanagi & Ryo Inoue (Tamura > Inoue, Boston Crab, 9:21)

TAJIRI & Koji Doi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Takao Omori & Black Menso-re (Doi > Menso-re, Hitogoroshi Lariat, 8:42)

Jake Lee, Hokurto Omori & Yusuke Kodama [TOTAL ECLIPSE] d. Kento Miyahara, Atsushi Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO [NEXTREAM] (Omori > HAYATO, Narcissist Roll, 9:53)

Champion Carnival A Block: Shigehiro Irie d. Ryuki Honda [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (Flying Headbutt, 10:08)

Champion Carnival B Block: Yuma Aoyagi [NEXTREAM] d. Yoshitatsu (Pinfall counter, 9:11)

Champion Carnival A Block: Shuji Ishikawa d. Shotaro Ashino [Evolution] (Splash Mountain, 12:36)

Champion Carnival B Block: Suwama [Evolution] d. Kuma Arashi [TOTAL ECLIPSE] (Backdrop Hold, 14:48)

Here are the current standings after Day 5:

A Block T-Hawk: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Irie: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Ishikawa: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Ashino: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Lee: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Honda: 0pts (0W 0D 3L)

B Block Suwama: 5pts (2W 1D 1L) Aoyagi: 4pts (2W 0D 1L) Nomura: 4pts (2W 0D 2L) Miyahara: 3pts (1W 1D 1L) Arashi: 2pts (1W 0D 2L) Yoshitatsu: 2pts (1W 0D 2L)

Suwama suddenly takes the lead in B Block with Yuma breathing down his neck. All tied up in A Block, except for Honda, who is still winless.

AJPW takes a break until Saturday from Chiba, continuing Champion Carnival.

STARDOM

STARDOM resumed the Cinderella Tournament 2022 with a show from Tokyo Korakuen Hall. They are listing this one at 1151 attendance, lending credence to the idea that Korakuen Hall, at least, is no longer restricting attendance numbers since we are getting back to what they were pre-pandemic. The second round wrapped up here, as well as the quarterfinals.

Cinderella Tournament 2022 - 4/17/2022, Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Thekla [Donna del Mondo] d. Lady C [Queen’s Quest] (Leg Roll Clutch, 5:35)

Hanan, Hazuki & Momo Kohgo [STARS] d. Tam Nakano, Mina Shirakawa & Waka Tsukiyama [Cosmic Angels] (Hazuki > Tsukiyama, Michinoku Driver II, 8:22)

Utami Hayashishita, AZM, Saya Kamitani, Hina & Miyu Amasaki [Queen’s Quest] d. Ruake, Rina, Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe & Fukigen Death [Oedo Tai] (Hina > Ruaka, 11:18)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Saya Iida [STARS] d. Mai Sakurai [Donna del Mondo] (Iidaiwa, 5:52)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Natsupoi [Donna del Mondo] d. Unagi Sayaka [Cosmic Angels] (Fairy Train, 4:45)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Koguma [STARS] d. Giulia [Donna del Mondo] (OTTR, 7:38)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 2nd Round: Saki Kashima [Oedo Tai] d. Mayu Iwatani [STARS] (Kishikaisei, 0:17)

Syrui & Ami Sorei [God’s Eye] TLD Maika & Himeka [Donna del Mondo] (15:00)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 Quarterfinal: Koguma [STARS] d. Saya Iida [STARS] (120% Schoolboy, 4:52)

Cinderella Tournament 2022 Quarterfinal: MIRAI [God’s Eye] d. Saki Kashima [Oedo Tai] (Miramare, 6:47)

With this, the semifinals are now set for the tournament final show on 4/29/2022 from Tokyo Ota Ward Gymnasium, that will also feature two title matches. The semis are Hazuki v. Koguma, and MIRAI v. Natsupoi. STARDOM’s next show is Saturday 4/23/2022 from Hyogo Kobe Sambo Hall.

DDT / Tokyo Joshi

Marika Kobashi has retired from pro wrestling (at least for now, until she finishes college), and her retirement show was today in Tokyo Joshi.

TJPW Spring Tour ‘22 - 4/17/2022, Tokyo Ryogoku KFC Hall (Wrestle Universe)

Hikari Noa & Nao Kakuta d. Yuki Aino & Pom Harajuku (Noa > Harajuku, Rotating Foot Hold, 8:59)

Miyu Yamashita, Raku & Yuki Arai d. Rika Tatsumi, Yuki Kamifuku & Mahiro Kiryu (Yamashita > Kiryu, Attitude Adjustment, 12:50)

Yuka Sakazaki & Mizuki d. Maki Itoh & Haruna Neko (Sakazaki > Neko, Magical Merry-Go-Round, 13:45)

Hyper Misao, Miu Watanabe & Moka Miyamoto d. Shoko Nakajima, Suzume & Arisu Endo (Misao > Endo, Hypami Returns, 12:52)

Marika Kobashi Graduation Commemorative 1 v. 20 Handicap Tag Match: Shoko Nakajima, Yuka Sakazaki, Mizuki, Maki Itoh, Miyu Yamashita, Rika Tatsumi, Hyper Misao, Yuki Aino, Miu Watanabe, Raku, Hikari Noa, Nao Kakuta, Yuki Kamifuku, Suzume, Arisu Endo, Moka Miyamoto, Pom Harajuku, Haruna Neko, Mahiro Kiryu & Yuki Arai d. Marika Kobashi - All 20 Wrestlers > Kobashi, Goodnight Express, 2:26 - Raku > Kobashi, Front Neck Lock, 17:41 - Yamashita > Kobashi, Attitude Adjustment, 21:10

Kobashi said she is focusing on graduating and doing new things that will help her be a more rounded wrestler, and hopes to return to TJPW some day, as well as actually beat Abdullah Kobayashi. Hyper Misao gets a win on her way to challenging Shoko Nakajima, using Nakajima’s title belt as a weapon both pre- and during the match.

Meanwhile, DDT posted the semi-finals to the King Of Street Wrestling tournament yesterday.

King of Street Wrestling - 4/16/2022, various (Wrestle Universe)

King of Street Wrestling Semi-Final – Shizuoka Fumotoppara: Chris Brookes d. Hikaru Machida (Octopus Stretch on top of a tree, 22:24)

King of Street Wrestling Semi-Final – Kanagawa Ofuronokuni: Abdullah Kobayashi [BJW] d. Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Bakachinga Elbow into a bubble bath, 22:07)

The first match was at a campground. The second was at a public bath house. The final is Brookes v. Abdullah, which will be shown 4/23/2022, taking place at a Sengoku battle site in Kawanakajima in Nagano Prefecture.

DDT also ran a show with indie promotion ONLY WE.

DDT / ONLY WE Max Bump 2022 Tour In Chiba - 4/17/2022, Chiba 2AW Square (Wrestle Universe)

Soma Takao d. Yuya Koroku (Official Endless Waltz, 8:41)

Danshoku Dino & Yuki Iino [Pheromones] NC Chris Brookes & Antonio Honda (11:33)

Kazusada Higuchi, Yukio Sakaguchi & Hideki Okatani [Eruption] d. Hiroshi Yamato, Naomi Yoshimura & Yuki Ishida (Higuchi > Ishida, Brain Claw Slam, 9:20)

Yukio Naya & KANON d. Akito & Shunma Katsumata [The 37KAMIINA] (Naya > Katsumata, Backdrop Hold, 13:20)

Tetsuya Endo, Jun Akiyama & Yusuke Okada [Burning] d. Yuki Ueno, MAO & Toi Kojima [The 37KAMIINA] (Okada > Kojima, Sudden Death, 20:29)

HARASHIMA [DISASTER BOX], Yuji Hino & Quiet Storm d. Daisuke Sasaki [DAMNATION TA], Shogun Okamoto & Akira Raijin (Storm > Raijin, 50cm Arm Lariat, 14:13)

DDT next run on 4/22/2022 from Tokyo Shinjuku FACE.

Dragon Gate

The Gate of Passion 2022 tour resumed on Saturday. Earlier today, the company held a matinee and evening show from Fukuoka, both of which were streamed live on DG Network.

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 8 - 4/16/2022, Nagasaki Heiwakaikan Hall

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Yosuke Santa Maria, Strong Machine J & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Fujiwara, R-301, 11:12)

Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] d. Ishin Iihashi (Moonsault Knee Drop, 10:03)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. KAI & SB KENTo [Z-Brats] (Dia > KENTo, DQ, 10:00)

Jason Lee d. U-T [Natural Vibes] (Inside Cradle, 7:52)

Ultimo Dragon, Eita & Yasushi Kanda d. BxB Hulk, HYO & Diamante [Z-Brats] (Kanda > HYO, Inside Cradle, 9:28)

YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] d. Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka, Big Boss Shimizu & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (YAMATO > Kamei, Galleria, 18:02)

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 9 Afternoon Show - 4/17/2022, Fukuoka Acros Fukuoka (DG Network)

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi & Kaito Ishida [Gold Class] d. Big Boss [Natural Vibes], U-T [Natural Vibes] & Takuma Fujiwara (Minoura > Fujiwara, R-301, 11:28)

Masaaki Mochizuki d. Stan Ichikawa (Lariat, 0:13)

Ultimo Dragon, Dragon Kid [HIGH-END] & Ben-K [HIGH-END] d. Eita, Yosuke Santa Maria & Ishin Iihashi (Ben-K > Ishin, Spear, 11:45)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. YAMATO & Keisuke Okuda [HIGH-END] (Yoshioka > Okuda, Frog Splash, 12:11)

BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] d. Jason Lee & Strong Machine J (HYO > J, Nekotamashi, 8:56)

KAI, SB KENTo, Shun Skywalker & Diamante [Z-Brats] d. Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka, Genki Horiguchi & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Skywalker > Kamei, SSW, 14:44)

Some sort of drama happened between Ultimo Dragon and the members of HIGH-END. Shun basically abducted Jason Lee after the semi-main, leading to…

The Gate of Passion 2022 Night 9 Evening Show - 4/17/2022, Fukuoka Acros Fukuoka (DG Network)

Kzy, Susumu Yokosuka & U-T [Natural Vibes] d. KAI, BxB Hulk & HYO [Z-Brats] (Yokosuka > HYO, Yokosuka Cutter, 11:21)

Eita d. Ishin Iihashi (Boston Crab, 8:34)

Shun Skywalker [Z-Brats] & Jason Lee d. Big Boss Shimizu & Jacky “Funky” Kamei [Natural Vibes] (Lee > Kamei, Maximum Driver, 11:22)

Yosuke Santa Maria, Strong Machine J & Takuma Fujiwara d. Ultimo Dragon, Masaaki Mochizuki & Genki Horiguchi [Natural Vibes] (J > Horiguchi, Machine Suplex, 9:00)

Masaaki Mochizuki d. Stan Ishikawa (Udegatame, 5:44)

Dragon Dia & Yuki Yoshioka [D’Courage] d. SB KENTo & Diamante [Z-Brats] (Dia > KENTo, DQ, 8:03)

Kota Minoura, Naruki Doi, Kaito Ishida & Minorita [Gold Class] d. YAMATO, Dragon Kid, Ben-K & Keisuke Okuda (Minoura > Okuda, R-301, 14:30)

Gold Class dared anyone to challenge them for the Open The Triangle Gate titles to close the show, and nobody did. Shun Skywalker forced Jason Lee into a tag match with him, still calling him his “property.” This will all, hopefully, be resolved at the 4/25/2022 Korakuen Hall show. Shun also made a challenge for the Open The Twin Gate titles for Dead Or Alive 2022, however GM Ryo Saito shot it down, saying Dragon Dia already has a match booked, against Shun’s own stablemate at that. Seems like a very wrestling thing to make someone with two titles defend both on a show, but what do I know.

The tour continues with a house show tomorrow, before a break, then resumes Thursday with a streamed show from Kyoto KBS Hall.

Pro Wrestling NOAH

NOAH held the final Real Overture 2022 show, before their big weekend at Ryogoku at the end of the month.

Real Overture 2022 - 4/17/2022, Niigata Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza (Wrestle Universe)

Seiki Yoshioka [STINGER] d. Kai Fujimura (Tornado Strike, 7:26)

Tadasuke & Hajime Ohara [Kongo] d. NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy [Perros del Mal de Japon] (Tadasuke > Rongai, Fuyuki Special, 8:36)

Daisuke Harada d. Alejandro (Katayama German Suplex Hold, 10:39)

Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada d. King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito [Funky Express] (Inaba > Tany, DDD, 14:59)

Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY & Junta Miyawaki d. HAYATA [STINGER], Yoshinari Ogawa [STINGER] & Yasutaka Yano (Kotoge > Yano, Killswitch, 17:38)

Naomichi Marufuji [M’s Alliance] & Kotaro Suzuki [Perros del Mal de Japon] d. Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuya Susmu [STINGER] (Suzuki > Susumu, Tiger Driver, 16:32)

Takashi Sugiura [Sugiura-gun], Go Shiozaki, Masa Kitamiya & Hao d. Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya & Nio [Kongo] (Shiozaki > Nio, Gowan Lariat, 20:13)

Shiozaki declared “We Are NOAH!” once more in victory. Kenoh & Nakajima attacked Sugiura backstage. Hao v. Nio will not only be a match for their names, but their hair as well.

NOAH is now off until 4/29/2022, the first night of Majestic at Sumo Hall.

Other News

A Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Show will be taking place on 5/31/2022 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. So far only one match has been signed, Yuji Nagata & Suwama v. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku, but Shingo Takagi, Jun Akiyama, Tatsumi Fujinami, Great Kojika, and others will be taking part. Guests will include Stan Hansen, Kenta Kobashi, Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue.

Another memorial show at Korakuen Hall, for Hana Kimura on 5/23/2022, has their main booked, with STARDOM’s Syuri v. DDT’s Asuka. I am still rattled by her death.

Yuko Miyamoto remains BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion, beating Hideyoshi Kamitani today in Sapporo for his fifth successful defense. Drew Parker challenged Miyamoto for Yokohama Budokan on 5/5/2022, whilst Kamitani accepted a challenge from the team of Takuya Nomura & Fuminori Abe for Kamitani/Daichi Hashimoto’s tag team titles.

A lot of other promotions ran this weekend. This weekend was a lot. And Golden Week will be coming soon as well.

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debbiechanclub · 2 years ago

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bestie…. i fear i need finlay match recommendations 😗

Bestie. I have loaded you up with 20 matches. I told you if you give me an inch where Finlay is concerned, I will take a mile.

Now, first things first. All but three of my recs are on NJPW World (and two are free to watch without an account). If you don't have an account, I'm more than willing to share my login with you in the name of spreading the gospel of Debbie Chan.

That being said, if you think you might want to sign up for an account, now is a GREAT time to do it because they're actually launching a brand new website this Thursday (11/9), complete with apps for Android and iOS, which they didn't previously have. It's only $9 USD/month, so I think it's well worth it. However, you won't be able to sign up until Friday, after the new site is live. Additionally, as part of the overhaul, they're upgrading a massive portion of the archive footage, and, unfortunately, nothing from prior to 2021 will be available to watch until they put it back up. (All my recs except for one on YouTube are from 2021 on.)

Again though, I will absolutely share my login with you (and you'd be able to log in right away and watch as mine is an existing account). Just let me know!

Okay, now that that's out of the way, onto the recs! And my apologies because this... is long.

FYI: I've listed these in chronological order, and they're best viewed in that order as it really helps to tell the story of how Finlay became who he is today :)

FinJuice vs. G.o.D (YouTube) - YouTube comes in clutch for a pre-2021 match! This is good viewing because 1) FinJuice was a well established and fairly successful tag team, and don't even get me started on all the messiness of Juice running around with Jay in Bullet Club Gold while Finlay is literally leading real Bullet Club now; and 2) Since overtaking Bullet Club in March, Finlay has almost exclusively feuded with G.o.D. (he finally put an end to it this past weekend at Power Struggle). And it's crazy seeing Finlay's evolution from then to now.

2021 New Japan Cup Quarter Final vs. Jay White (3/18 show) - This was a HUGE win for our boy because, going into this match, Finlay was on an 0-12 losing streak against Jay. And he and Jay will be forever intertwined because they came up in the NJPW dojo together and were roommates and best friends and everyone constantly compared Finlay to Jay (they still do now), and that created a MASSIVE chip on his shoulder that lead to him clocking Jay over the head and subsequently taking control of Bullet Club. So yeah. V. important match in the lore of Finlay.

2021 New Japan Cup Semi-Final vs. Will Ospreay (3/20 show) - I hope you're ready for a lot of Ospreay, because he and Finlay have history. Back in 2021, Ospreay defeated Finlay in the semi-final of the NJ Cup and then went on to win the tournament and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. This plays into why Finlay is gunning for Ospreay now.

Resurgence 2021 vs. Jay White - This match was for the NEVER Openweight Title. Jay retained... but Finlay eventually went on to win that title after taking over Bullet Club, which also used to be Jay's.

G1 Climax 32 vs. Juice Robinson (7/26), Will Ospreay (8/2), and El Phantasmo (8/10) - Finlay returned to Japan for the first time in over a year for the G1 Climax 32, and he had a really strong showing. This was when I first started to get the brainrot for him. I really recommend watching all his matches from that tournament... but these three are the most important to Finlay's character because of his history with Juice and Will and what would come later with ELP and Bullet Club.

Burning Spirit 2022 vs. Will Ospreay (9/25 show) - This match was for the IWGP United States Championship, the very one and same that Ospreay currently holds and that Finlay destroyed with a giant mallet at Power Struggle this weekend. Ospreay retained back then. But I have a feeling (and sincerely fucking hope) that there's a new title in Finlay's future.

NJPW World TV Championship Tournament vs. ZSJ (YouTube) - After coming up short in the G1 Climax 32 and against Ospreay (again), Finlay still had a chance to win the newly created NJPW World TV Title; and then ZSJ eliminated him in the second round. I really think this loss was the straw that broke the camel's back and really set the stage for Finlay's frustration and his comeback as the leader of Bullet Club.

2023 New Japan Cup vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/6 Anniversary Event, free to watch without an account!), Tama Tonga (3/19), and Sanada (3/21) - And we've reached Bullet Club Finlay! Finlay's match against Ishii was the first match of the tournament, and no one―absolutely no one―expected him to come out in Bullet Club gear with Gedo, of all people, in his corner. And not only that, but he handily disposed of Ishii. He made it all the way to the final where he lost against Sanada, but he sent a loud and clear message during the entire tournament that this was a new David Finlay (and I was a goner).

Capital Collision 2023 vs. AR Fox (YouTube) - I think you've seen this one? But including it because it's a good match and also the night Finlay recruited Clark Connors, the first member of what would become Bullet Club War Dogs (and I was there!).

Wrestling Dontaku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (5/3 show) - Remember how I said that Finlay eventually won the NEVER Openweight Title after taking over Bullet Club? This was when he did it.

Dominion 6.4 in Osaka-Jo Hall vs. El Phantasmo - This. This is the match and night that ruined me forever. After kicking ELP out of Bullet Club (basically because he was and is close with Jay and didn't respect Finlay), Finlay defended the NEVER Openweight Title against him and proved that he could back up all the shit he was talking. But besides that, this was the night the War Dogs were formed. I highly recommend also checking out the end of the IWGP Junior Tag Title match just so you can see Drilla Moloney turn on United Empire and join Bullet Club. It quite honestly altered me forever.

G1 Climax 33 vs. Tama Tonga (7/26), Eddie Kingston (8/8), and Will Ospreay (8/10) - Did I mention that Finlay has spent most of this year feuding with Tama/G.o.D? They tried to kill each other in this year's G1, and it was fantastic. He and Eddie also tried to kill each other. But Ospreay beat him in the quarter-finals. Just more fuel for why he's going after Ospreay now.

12-Man Elimination Match: Bullet Club vs. G.o.D. and Intergalactic Jetsetters (10/1 show, free to watch without an account) - Because I would be remiss not to rec a match with all the War Dogs (and Chase is there, too). This is a fun one, if not a bit of a clusterfuck. (And shout-out to Kevin Knight, who I also adore.)

Destruction in Ryogoku 2023 vs. Tama Tonga (10/9 show) - This is the last of Finlay's singles matches against Tama, and unfortunately he lost the NEVER Openweight Title back to him (which I don't think anyone expected). But it's a good match and Finlay looked strong despite his loss. And now that I know he likely (hopefully?) has a new belt coming to him after the start of the year, I'm honestly okay that he lost. (Because Tama doesn't even have the title anymore, believe it or not).

So there are my Finlay match recs. I'm well aware this is overkill lmao, but I really am excited that you want to know more about him, and I want to do him justice. Because he really is my favorite guy, and he deserves to be recognized as his own wrestler and person not just in relation to Jay or Juice or anyone else.

But I won't blame you if you don't watch all of these, because I know I went insane 😂

#david finlay #bullet club #match recs #i... really do have the brainrot huh #this is my magnum opus #this and hit me like bang #asks

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