Wrestle Kingdom 14

[Vic Boss 612]

Full cards have been announced. Two 8 match shows on Saturday, January 4th and Sunday, January 5th, both at the Tokyo Dome

 

January 4th

 

January 5th

 

Wish List of Hopes And Dreams:

 

1) Kuniaki Kobayashi attacks Tiger Mask

2) Juice Robinson becomes double champion

3) Wet tears when Jushin Liger retires on the 5th

4) Shibata

5) Naito tossing two belts into the air at the end of the 5th

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

I am HYPED as fuck.

 

Getting up early tomorrow for Day 1, watching the full thing, drinking whisky at 8am!

 

Gonna watch half of Day 2 live and the rest later. On high alert for spoilers Day 2.

 

Considering buying NJPW World for it. @Death Rider Mox any suggestions of shows I should catch to make my month worthwhile? I haven't watched dick all since last WK basically.

[Blackjak 57]

A lot of the G1 would be worth watching?  

 

I'll be getting up early for it too... long days of Wrestling and NFL this weekend.

[Vic Boss 612]

Meltzer's 4.5 Star rating matches and up, pretty much

 

I picked it up for the month and mostly just use it combined with youtube/dailymotion/other sources to go through the historical archives

[Blackjak 57]

Spoiler

Hiromu and Will with the match of the Decade

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

MOTN: Takahashi v Osperay

 

Right people won in all matches (except Juice & Finlay imo)

 

Ibushi getting booed punching Okada in the corner perfectly mirroring Naito getting booed booting Ibushi in the corner at Dominion. The boy learned.

[Vic Boss 612]

1 hour ago, Garlic Junior said:

MOTN: Takahashi v Osperay

 

Right people won in all matches (except Juice & Finlay imo)

 

 

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Ibushi getting booed punching Okada in the corner perfectly mirroring Naito getting booed booting Ibushi in the corner at Dominion. The boy learned.

 

 

 

 

And mirroring Okada's former leader/mentor Shinsuke, who used to throw closed-fist punches as a fuck-you, and who used to bully Ibushi the same way
 

 

Also

 

Will being a huge dick. Dying his hair red and popping out the ground like Hiromu would just to troll him, and then having that match just ahead of Jay White's match after Jay buried him at the WK press conference

[MT 917]

MOTN: Okada/Ibushi

 

 

Devil Trigger Ibushi scared the shit out of me. Just straight up fists to the face.

[Garlic Junior 136]

Day 2 Random Thoughts: Match 1, NEVER 6 GAUNTLET

 

I don't mind Ishii curtain pulling if he's gonna be used right, but sharing a ring with Fale, Eagles and this POS "telegraphing the kick-out" ref is a travesty.

 

When Fale & Eagles are messing up so badly it's making Chase Owens look good by comparison.... hopefully this is as low as it gets. Maybe only seeing half a crowd is affecting my mood lol

 

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lul at least that second pin (the constantly reversing waistlock spot) was fun, and LiJ are here now so...

 

----

 

Eagles get your damn bandana scarf off already. And learn how to sell you absolute hack. At least your coat game was good but eurgh you're stinking up the joint so bad.

 

---

 

Shingo v Yoshi-Hashi is fun. Nice that they colour coordinated. Ishii v EVIL now yes please...

 

---

 

Took all 3 to take down Ishii. Like. Ref getting in the way of spots. Dislike.

 

---

 

I want Ishii v EVIL for an hour for all the belts.

 

---

 

LMFAO I thought I was riding the ref too hard but did he actually botch that pin count??! Holy shit. RIP your career, shitty ref.

 

---

 

LiJ need to win, but a total garbage rollup in 10 seconds would make me lol. Didn't get the rollip, time for Shingo to wreck you

 

---

 

BUSHI's white t-shirt is so amateur, is he not in shap.... Ah, a weapon lol 

 

---

 

Oh gosh could that ending be any more botched. Bushi being held in place like a PSX loading screen then randomly escaping, that stumble, that fucking ref, at least Shingo didn't drop on his head actually had the fear until he straight POWER lifted him up a few more inches

 

Right team won. 2/10 would NEVER recommend

 

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

btw LOVE the little vignettes explaining how to act, the rules, expectations etc. LOVE them. Not worth getting up at 5.30am to watch, but fun all the same

 

 

 

At least Liger won't be stuck for work.

 

Match 2: ALL HAIL TAKAHASHI'S COAT / LIGER THANK YOU GOODBYE

 

 

 

 

jfc for a moment I thought we were getting American Dragon DBD but then it flashed saying music changed due to copyright holy fuck my beating heart

 

Fujiwara looking better than he has any right to

 

omfg I dunno why but I really want Liger to demask and leave his entire gimmick in the ring at the end...

 

omfg that surfboard... I'm not crying, YOU'RE crying T_T;;

 

omfg that bow & arrow... etc

 

Oh Hiromu ya big bastard, almost forgot what the I stood for in LIJ

 

That low double dropkick mmmm

 

Mmmmmmf that clothesline turned him inside out

 

Bwahaha that somersault to the outside backfired spectacularly lul

 

Everything from the suicide dive onwards was amazing. I'd have liked a little more "finisher spam" to really kill off Liger but I'll take it.

 

29/10 a THUNDERous retirement, going to rewatch again already

 

The exchange of the mask and the bow :crying face: 

 

3,551 matches? Wow...

 
 

 

 

@Death Rider Mox what did Hiromu shout at the end? I know what the English commentary translated it as, but it sounded more angry than that? I feel some nuance was missed?

 

 

 

As much as I rag in the English commentary, I really enjoyed the "Arigato" story. Worth listening to. Looking forward to tomorrow's ceremony glad I signed up to NJPWworld now, although the servers keep dying and the English framerate is fuxxed right now

 

MATCH 3: BULLET CLUB B TEAM BUT A+ ENTRANCE

 

 

 

lol that "balls of woe" spot

 

Easily the match I care least about

 

Yeah no sequences were meh, Phantasmo constantly grabbing his own partner was dumb, lots of waiting on spots, superkicks rarely connected, meh/10 lived up to my low expectations
 

 

[Vic Boss 612]

What did the English commentary say? I watched it in Japanese

[Garlic Junior 136]

MATCH 4: SANADA'S TIME TO SHINE?

 

 

Very hyped for this match. Two wrestlers who get slept on too often

 

 

Match... did not live up to my hype and no LIJ clean sweep makes me SWEAT for later (saw some of this live but not the finish of the DGD)

 
 

 

 

MATCH 5: DOUBLE JUICE DASH?

 

 

 

NXT! NXT! NXT!

 

 

Juice attacking Mox ?? love this aggression!!

 

Usually adding chairs into the mix is hype. Cannonballing a seated Moxley was... sorer on Juice's back lol

 

Mox THANKING the ref for reminding him to use open palm strikes lul

 

Great recovery for that powerbomb. Wow, I wonder if this is legit residual fatigue from yesterday or kayfabe?

 

Mox still retaining the figure four..  And retaining the belt wow I seriously thought he was losing N1 didn't expect him to win both wtf

 

SUZUKI LOL
 
 

 

36 minutes ago, Death Rider Mox said:

What did the English commentary say? I watched it in Japanese

 

 

 

Hiromu:

 

 

"You started the Junior division, trust me, I will continue it well"

 

 

Something along those lines, like a respectful thing, but I dunno the tone I personally felt was more "nyah nyah I'll make it better, loser old man"

 

 

Arigato story:

 

 

Liger's speech was basically, "31 years ago, the professional wrestler Thunder Liger was born. Today, he ends. Thank you very much."

 

 

Commentary then discussed how backstage there is a word used a lot that basically means "thanks for all you have done" and it ALWAYS get said to Liger in EVERY room he enters.

 

Turns out Liger hates that specific word as there is a connotation that implies the receiver has went through a lot of WORK, a hard graft, for the praise.

 

Liger feels blessed that for 31 years he hasn't WORKED, he has had a whale of a time, so it was a specific nuance of him to say thank you as "arigato" and not the other word that all "the boys" would always say to him. As he doesn't feel it has been a hard time at all, it has been a fun time.

 

On 1/4/2020 at 3:24 PM, Death Rider Mox said:

 

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And mirroring Okada's former leader/mentor Shinsuke, who used to throw closed-fist punches as a fuck-you, and who used to bully Ibushi the same way
 

 

Also

 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

Will being a huge dick. Dying his hair red and popping out the ground like Hiromu would just to troll him, and then having that match just ahead of Jay White's match after Jay buried him at the WK press conference
 

 

 

 

Was the single braid in his hair also a dig at Tanahashi?

[Vic Boss 612]

Might've just been Hiromu's whackjob delivery.

 

In the Jan 4th after-match press conference, he screamed for like a minute or two about how pro wrestling is dangerous but it's also really fun.

23 minutes ago, Garlic Junior said:

Was the single braid in his hair also a dig at Tanahashi?

 

One can only hope

[Garlic Junior 136]

 

 

Random aside: I love how the graphic for WK 1.5 keeps the matches of 1.4 on it and doesn't spoil anything for subscribers. WWE would plaster the results all over their Youtube....

 

MATCH 6: WHY DO I NOT CARE ABOUT GOTO

 

Honestly just give SANADA or Ishii this spot plz

 

Cmon Hideo Kentami.....

 

Eurgh. Not my least favourite match, but bottom 3 for sure.

 

MATCH 7: THE LOSERS

 

Strange given who's involved, but I skipped this one live and could have easily skipped again. What's it for? A medal or something?

 

Ibushi doesn't even have a stable to fight for.

 

Just gimme SANADA vs Ishii instead plz

 

match was fine, Ibushi is always a good time, that one leg hooked tombstone was FEAR

 

EVIL IBUSHI elbows are great, but doesn't it kill Jay White's villain heat a bit?

 

I'm being too smarky... match was fine

 

LOL @ me being worried for Jay White's villain heat

 

[Vic Boss 612]

Sanada and Ishii are outsiders, Goto isn't. He's got priority over them on big shows like this

[Garlic Junior 136]

MATCH 8: ACE ELITE WRESTLING

 

lul that vignette mocking Fozzy

 

Match much better for the Japanese commentary. English REALLY bugged me live. Kept miscalling moves.

 

Tanahashi grandstanding for the crowd while Jericho flips them off LOL

 

The way Jericho can still fly about on the second rope

 

The way Tanahashi nearly died on the table

 

The Bret knee.... great match is great

 

 

 

Tanahashi's opposite side dragonscrews ufffffft

 

 

For my money it was the perfect outcome. Everyone seemed to already think BECAUSE there was a stipulation, that Tanahashi had to win.

This way, AEW don't get him, but they do get some promotion, and the implication is there that the ACE couldn't defend his company vs an outsider so maybe his time is truly truly up

 

[Garlic Junior 136]

MAIN EVENT

 

STARDUST FUCKING GENIUS YEAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

Also:

 

Massive props to Okada for getting the crowd to boo him. Felt they were only semi behind Naito until he pushed it up a notch

 

Maybe it's nitpicking, but....

 

A KENTA sneak attack vs a roll call with all the belts? Feels cheap

?

[Garlic Junior 136]

 

NEW JAPAN have hidden the video of Jericho's post match interview, where he talks about wanting to be the bridge between AEW and NJPW

 

It's went from public to deleted to private to unlisted, so you CAN watch it but only via direct link

 

Solike... here's the direct link lol

 

https://youtu.be/Gq35y-XT8gg

[Vic Boss 612]

14 hours ago, Garlic Junior said:

 

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A KENTA sneak attack vs a roll call with all the belts? Feels cheap

?

 

 

It's a cheap extender to make Naito fans want to see him win the Dome main event again so he can do a proper role-call.

 

I didn't love it, but at least KENTA gets to do more shit now

[Vic Boss 612]

"Sanada? That Pirate Wanker?"

 

"I'm vegan. That means I've got superpowers. I'm gonna live until I'm 150"

 

"Oi, I didn't even take my B12 supplement today and I was masterful"

 

God dammit, Zack

[Garlic Junior 136]

KENTA's interview was masterful. What a spoiled little child he is.

[MT 917]

Haven't watched Naito/Okada yet due to having the winner spoiled for me, but I felt like night 1 > night 2. If enough people say Okada/Naito is worth watching I may check it out.

[Vic Boss 612]

Naito/Okada is probably the only match worth checking out on Night 2

[Garlic Junior 136]

16 hours ago, Death Rider Mox said:

Naito/Okada is probably the only match worth checking out on Night 2

 

Even then, it wasn't MUST SEE wrestling wise

 

I'd cautiously opine that Ibushi/White was better in a wrestling sense. I'd also scope the Liger match tbh.

[Vic Boss 612]

KENTA and Naito's New Year Dash stuff was pretty good

 

Second favourite part was KENTA starting off his promo in Korakuen with Naito's style and cadence

 

Favourite part was Naito saying that he will fight KENTA in a singles match, but then passive-aggressively suggesting that it would cheapen the history of the Double Dome if KENTA, the guy who lost the NEVER Title, got a title much just because he did a gutsy thing by interrupting the end-of-show promo, and then trolling the New Japan match-makers by suggesting they couldn't still hate him that much after he made history

[Vic Boss 612]

And then there's this, holy shit

[Garlic Junior 136]

Shoulda added:

 

Perpetually injured.

I will injure.