Okada not being recruited still shocks me.
i want to get into New Japan. Where do i start?
- Thread starter Cladyclad
- Start date
Will respond to the other posts in a bit but:
I love that you signed up, but just want to give you the heads up that they charge on the 1st of every month (I didn't know this when I first signed up either). So you might want to watch a lot this weekend to feel like you got your $8 worth, lol.Decided to stop freeloading and sign up for their network. All the Inoki matches I want. First thing up is that Island Death match.
Thanks for the tip.
Signing up was easy, Chrome did a fine job translating, but heres a video in case you need a guide.
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richaveli83
Veteran
Its great stuff. I watched a lot in the late 90's mainly Jushin Thunder Liger. If you have Axs tv you can catch their Friday night shows. If you're expecting something akin to WWE and TNA as far as angles and stuff you won't find it.
They may have, who knows. The TNA experience may have soured him on even entertaining the E' considering how they've done Asian wrestlers in the past
From what he's said he wants to help grow New Japan to even greater heights. I think seeing how WWE uses Nakamura, KENTA, and Kana will go a long way in Okada considering WWE further down the road
Johnny Joestar
oraoraoraoraoraora
ya boy finally bought the World
no more dailymotion links
Cuckkleberry Finn
All Star
@HereWeGo2 can we get some more write ups of the rest of the roster? These are entertaining as hell
EDIT: didn't see that there was one posted today already
EDIT: didn't see that there was one posted today already
Hirooki Goto
Tough as hell, hard-hitting, very physical style wrestler. Has a no-nonsense approach, but his look is that of a Samurai Warrior (Nakamura said something about "slicing his head off" when feuding with him, lol). Very classical look, and he comes out to some cool-ass, cinematic, sounding theme music. NJPW is pretty good at that, eh?
He is legitimately best friends with Shibata, as they went to high school together and have been close friends ever since (Goto even stayed at Shibata's house while recovering from injury). Goto is, like, one of two people you will ever see Shibata hang out with in social media pics, lol. Anyway, this relationship has been highlighted in New Japan, as they will often get together to abuse some folk who dare to mess with the GAWDs (via being a tag team named Meiyu Tag). They've also had a rivalry with each other, which played out in a series of great matches.
Goto is someone whom the company has been pushing to the top level. My impression is that he's someone whom everyone likes, but is not very many peoples' ultimate favorite. I think that's what hurts him. That lack of extreme passion.
Having said that, he's respected, he puts on great matches, and he's a solid person that the company can always rely on. Most importantly, he seems to have found that passionate reaction via pissing the crowd the fukk off during Nakamura's farewell match. The crowd was giving him the business, lol.
If he can continue down that path of delivering his trademark intensity along with that newfound "give no shyts if I ruin your party" vibe, he might have hit on something quite good here. He's currently embarking on a program with Okada, so it will be interesting to see if the crowd continues giving him that major heel reaction. If so, that might be the best thing that's happened to Goto in quite some time. Naito criticized him for having no character, so this may be exactly what he needs.
Plus, he delivers the most Godly headbutts ever.
Recommended match:
Goto vs. Tanahashi at Destruction 2007 (Goto's coming of age. He's determined to grab the throne from the king of NJPW, and gives a superb performance with the crowd totally behind him.)
Bonus match:
Goto vs. Nakamura at Dominion 2015 (****1/2 Meltzer rating)
A few more bonus matches:
Goto vs. Shibata at Dominion 2013 (****3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at Wrestle Kingdom 8 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Okada at New Beginning 2014 (****3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at G1 Tournament 2014 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at New Japan Cup 2015 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto & Shibata vs. Guns & Gallows at New Beginning 2015 (***3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto, Shibata, & Makabe vs. Young Lions (Goto's in a foul mood & wants to f up some Young Lions...Shibata tags in just to one up him on the abuse...the Lions decide to FIGHT BACK. Good shyt.)
Minoru Suzuki
One of the best all-around performers in the business, and definitely one of the best heels you will ever see. Dude is just a b*stard and loves every second of it. He lights up a room, and like Nakamura, his facial expressions are just aces (ff to 24:35). I can watch both despite not understanding a word of what either one of them are saying, but still be totally fascinated anyway.
He will laugh in your face like a psychopath, he will throw Young Lions off the rope just because, he will slap you around like you're his personal bytch, and most importantly, he will out-wrestle your ass even though he's approaching 50.
His character is so great that it's almost easy to forget that he's one of the best wrestlers on the planet. But then you watch one of his epic matches, and all you can do is sit in admiration.
His performances are so all encompassing that young wrestlers should really be studying film of him. That is, if they're not too busy getting their asses kicked by him, of course.
He is also a legitimate tough-ass, as he is one of the founding fathers of MMA.
He has recently taken his talents to NOAH (which in the 2000s was the rival promotion to New Japan in terms of popularity). NJPW now partially owns NOAH, so they have a mutual relationship. Suzuki has decided that he wants to run thangs in NOAH, so that's exactly what he's done.
He and his group, Suzuki-Gun, have taken over NOAH and caused near riots in the crowds. He's taken their belts and their pride, and is like "fukk you, NOAH, what'cha gonna do about it?
"
They don't want it with Suzuk.
This is how he used to look, by the way:
Recommended match:
Suzuki vs. AJ Styles at G1 Tournament 2014 (****3/4 Meltzer rating; Voted MOTY in the Observer Awards)
Bonus match:
Suzuki vs. Ibushi at G1 Tournament 2014 (**** Meltzer rating)
A few more bonus matches:
Suzuki vs. Suigura at Noah Great Voyage 2015
Suzuki vs. Marufuji at Noah Destiny 2015
Suzuki & Satomura vs. Marufuji & Kana at Kana Pro 2014 (Suzuki beating the hell out of a woman (Kana who is now Asuka in NXT), to the point where people were wondering if he was shooting. No worries, he's a big supporter of womens wrestling. He's just doing his part for the cause.)
Prince Devitt
"Pince Devittttt-Uh", as the ring announcer says it. Started off as a junior heavyweight, and was probably the fans' favorite foreigner. Then he decided to act like a big a$$hole and get his group of trashy foreigner friends to join in on the debauchery.
In the midst of all of this, Devitt maintained a cool, somewhat unstable character, that was a bit detached from some of the more unsavory elements of his compadres (more on this later). He's an ass, but he's still an elegant, albeit, dark one.
The Bullet Club began running roughshod on everyone, and the numbers game made it really hard for New Japaners to cope. He and his crew would humiliate their opponents by showing them what helpless bytches they were by mock murking them in a number of different scenarios.
Devitt-uh came up with the Bullet Club name and concept, and sadly he's moved on to NXT. The Bullet Club lives on, though....
Recommended match:
Prince Devitt vs. Okada at Kizuna Road 2013 (****1/4 Meltzer rating)
A few bonus matches:
Prince Devitt vs. Tanahashi at Destruction 2013 (Lumberjack Match) (****1/4 Meltzer rating; Just a complete carnival. Awesomeness.)
Prince Devitt vs. Marufuji at Road to New Beginning 2010 (1/30/10)
Tough as hell, hard-hitting, very physical style wrestler. Has a no-nonsense approach, but his look is that of a Samurai Warrior (Nakamura said something about "slicing his head off" when feuding with him, lol). Very classical look, and he comes out to some cool-ass, cinematic, sounding theme music. NJPW is pretty good at that, eh?
He is legitimately best friends with Shibata, as they went to high school together and have been close friends ever since (Goto even stayed at Shibata's house while recovering from injury). Goto is, like, one of two people you will ever see Shibata hang out with in social media pics, lol. Anyway, this relationship has been highlighted in New Japan, as they will often get together to abuse some folk who dare to mess with the GAWDs (via being a tag team named Meiyu Tag). They've also had a rivalry with each other, which played out in a series of great matches.
Goto is someone whom the company has been pushing to the top level. My impression is that he's someone whom everyone likes, but is not very many peoples' ultimate favorite. I think that's what hurts him. That lack of extreme passion.
Having said that, he's respected, he puts on great matches, and he's a solid person that the company can always rely on. Most importantly, he seems to have found that passionate reaction via pissing the crowd the fukk off during Nakamura's farewell match. The crowd was giving him the business, lol.
If he can continue down that path of delivering his trademark intensity along with that newfound "give no shyts if I ruin your party" vibe, he might have hit on something quite good here. He's currently embarking on a program with Okada, so it will be interesting to see if the crowd continues giving him that major heel reaction. If so, that might be the best thing that's happened to Goto in quite some time. Naito criticized him for having no character, so this may be exactly what he needs.
Plus, he delivers the most Godly headbutts ever.
Recommended match:
Goto vs. Tanahashi at Destruction 2007 (Goto's coming of age. He's determined to grab the throne from the king of NJPW, and gives a superb performance with the crowd totally behind him.)
Bonus match:
Goto vs. Nakamura at Dominion 2015 (****1/2 Meltzer rating)
A few more bonus matches:
Goto vs. Shibata at Dominion 2013 (****3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at Wrestle Kingdom 8 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Okada at New Beginning 2014 (****3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at G1 Tournament 2014 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto vs. Shibata at New Japan Cup 2015 (**** Meltzer rating)
Goto & Shibata vs. Guns & Gallows at New Beginning 2015 (***3/4 Meltzer rating)
Goto, Shibata, & Makabe vs. Young Lions (Goto's in a foul mood & wants to f up some Young Lions...Shibata tags in just to one up him on the abuse...the Lions decide to FIGHT BACK. Good shyt.)
Minoru Suzuki
One of the best all-around performers in the business, and definitely one of the best heels you will ever see. Dude is just a b*stard and loves every second of it. He lights up a room, and like Nakamura, his facial expressions are just aces (ff to 24:35). I can watch both despite not understanding a word of what either one of them are saying, but still be totally fascinated anyway.
He will laugh in your face like a psychopath, he will throw Young Lions off the rope just because, he will slap you around like you're his personal bytch, and most importantly, he will out-wrestle your ass even though he's approaching 50.
His character is so great that it's almost easy to forget that he's one of the best wrestlers on the planet. But then you watch one of his epic matches, and all you can do is sit in admiration.
His performances are so all encompassing that young wrestlers should really be studying film of him. That is, if they're not too busy getting their asses kicked by him, of course.
He is also a legitimate tough-ass, as he is one of the founding fathers of MMA.
He has recently taken his talents to NOAH (which in the 2000s was the rival promotion to New Japan in terms of popularity). NJPW now partially owns NOAH, so they have a mutual relationship. Suzuki has decided that he wants to run thangs in NOAH, so that's exactly what he's done.
He and his group, Suzuki-Gun, have taken over NOAH and caused near riots in the crowds. He's taken their belts and their pride, and is like "fukk you, NOAH, what'cha gonna do about it?
"They don't want it with Suzuk.
This is how he used to look, by the way:
Recommended match:
Suzuki vs. AJ Styles at G1 Tournament 2014 (****3/4 Meltzer rating; Voted MOTY in the Observer Awards)
Bonus match:
Suzuki vs. Ibushi at G1 Tournament 2014 (**** Meltzer rating)
A few more bonus matches:
Suzuki vs. Suigura at Noah Great Voyage 2015
Suzuki vs. Marufuji at Noah Destiny 2015
Suzuki & Satomura vs. Marufuji & Kana at Kana Pro 2014 (Suzuki beating the hell out of a woman (Kana who is now Asuka in NXT), to the point where people were wondering if he was shooting. No worries, he's a big supporter of womens wrestling. He's just doing his part for the cause.)
Prince Devitt
"Pince Devittttt-Uh", as the ring announcer says it. Started off as a junior heavyweight, and was probably the fans' favorite foreigner. Then he decided to act like a big a$$hole and get his group of trashy foreigner friends to join in on the debauchery.
In the midst of all of this, Devitt maintained a cool, somewhat unstable character, that was a bit detached from some of the more unsavory elements of his compadres (more on this later). He's an ass, but he's still an elegant, albeit, dark one.
The Bullet Club began running roughshod on everyone, and the numbers game made it really hard for New Japaners to cope. He and his crew would humiliate their opponents by showing them what helpless bytches they were by mock murking them in a number of different scenarios.
Devitt-uh came up with the Bullet Club name and concept, and sadly he's moved on to NXT. The Bullet Club lives on, though....
Recommended match:
Prince Devitt vs. Okada at Kizuna Road 2013 (****1/4 Meltzer rating)
A few bonus matches:
Prince Devitt vs. Tanahashi at Destruction 2013 (Lumberjack Match) (****1/4 Meltzer rating; Just a complete carnival. Awesomeness.)
Prince Devitt vs. Marufuji at Road to New Beginning 2010 (1/30/10)
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The Naito/Shibata build up was magnificent. Their segments in tag matches were better than their actual singles matches.
Naito seems to do his best character work in random tag matches, which sucks, because people watch those less. But I guess it's because he has far more freedom, due to less time constraints.
Naito & Shibata's burgeoning feud:
G1 Tournament Finals 2015 [8/16/2015]
Road to Destruction [9/4/2015]
Road to Destruction [9/11/2015]
Destruction in Okayama 2015 [9/23/2015]
The Ibushi/Makabe brawls were pretty great too.
Naito was such a great antagonist toward Shibata in these. A complete dikkhead, and Shibata's pulsating anger (to quote Tanahashi's description of how Shibata wrestles) was in full-form here. Loved Shibata abusing Naito all around the ring area, while Naito remains unfazed. Shibata keeps breaking free to beat the breaks off of him, 'cause that little twerp is that irritating.
Loved Naito's constant taunts, plus Goto & Ibushi's "ooh, you got what you deserved, son" looks yet unbothered too, like these two going at it is just par for the course.
That build-up was so well done. Just wish the pay-off was as good, but watching all of that was fun as hell & totally fitting of their characters.
@Cladyclad, when you get more familiar with Nakamura, you will be appreciative of this. It's Nakamura dancing with a bunch of kids. It's so Nakamura, but you have to know his style to appreciate the fact that they're basically just acting like a bunch of little Nakamuras. Down to his taunts and movements and everything.
Also, this is his theme song (& entrance video), and word is that WWE bought the rights to it. If true, that shows you how awesome it is, and how much they know it fits his character.
Here are violin and piano covers of it, which kind of shows you how influential he is, because you don't really see that for anyone else. Those covers are great too.
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