>Schedule1.6 - New Year Dash1.11 - Battle In the Valley>FAQs! New Japan Pro-Wrestling does not feature a weekly TV show like WWE, AEW, and TNA, instead relying on the streaming service of NJPW World for their shows.! NJPW's major shows all feature a clear schedule, and feature in the same buildings—Wrestle Kingdom occurs on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome, Sakura Genesis generally occurs in early April at the Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Wrestling Dontaku is mainly around May 1st - 4th at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center, etc.! NJPW Strong is the brand name for New Japan's American events. They carry their own belts, but the main NJPW belts can be defended in these shows as well.>NJPW World LinksIn-Browser: https://watch.njpwworld.com/App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/njpw-world/id6451441843Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tvasahi.njpwworldFire TV: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CCS28SGSRoku TV: https://channelstore.roku.com/details/2683188c1fe3c439b3e1109a0981febd/njpw-worldPrevious thread>>16652895
You have been hired to turn this geek into THE ACE of the company by February 2026 or you must commit seppukuWhat do?
dead general
>Ibushi was kicked out of the Tokyo DOme
>thread died because no one cares>make another anyway Nujamals are so embarrassing
PREASE CARE ABOUT NEW JAPAN WE ARE GOOD PRO WRESTLING COMPANY YES AND MY FRIEND IS JON MOXLEY AND OSPREAY AND I DO THE SAME MOVES LOOK PREASE WATCH ME PREASE I AM BADASS PREASE LOOK I LOVE AEW TONIKAN LOVE ME RIGHT YES AND I AM SHIN ACE PREASE LOVE ME PREASE I MAIN EVENT TOKYO DOME I AM BIG STAR OF JAPAN YES PREASE BUY TICKETS
Mascara Dorada going super viral in Japanese social media right now.NJPW should just use CMLL luchadores much better
>>16674696Get rid of all the flashy colors, especially pink, give him one colorway and stick with it, stop dyeing the hair, since his dad is red shoes, he should have red boots
more like Seething About Shota Umino General, you mindbroken faggots
>>16674688Is it OK to like Takeshita now that he's signed with NJPW?
>>16674696give him the pink android bitch gimmick and see what happens
>>16674688He's a few thoughts before the general gets shuffled off the board again>Shota is in a "Cody in AEW" phase right now, where everyone is expecting him to turn heel or something to justify the weird decisions around his booking/direction>Charlton got worked into a shoot, but he should have gone in even harder >Zack needs some big feuds this year to reignite his title reign >Uemura should be pushed to the moon once he returns (i want a Takeshita/Uemura rivalry because their G1 match was great)>NJPW should try and get a Nakamura match for Tana's retirement (even if it annoys Tony Khan)>The NJPW/AEW partnership is utter shit but I don't think it's going anywhere unfortunately
I think they feeding Gabe to Tusji since Gabe is gonna win the cup
>>16674982Zack is dropping the title to Goto and Goto is dropping it to New Japan Cup winner Finlay though
>>16675019Probably. Which means Zack's reign won't be remembered much in the long run. He's not really had any defining matches (I feel like a match with Taichi or even a Suzuki match would have been a good idea)
>>16674982>The NJPW/AEW partnership is utter shit but I don't think it's going anywhere unfortunatelytook you this long to realize?
>>16675049Nah but I just wanted to say it again after Dynasty, Kidani's comments and the Charlton stuff. I've seen some people getting their hopes up that the partnership is weakening
>>16674696That's honestly not long enough.He needs to be a heel for at least 3 years before attempting to go face
Probably about time for Oskar and Nakashima to return. Tag team division always reshuffles at the start of the year so I can see it.
>>16675019i think goto's winningDroping back to Zack at dominonShota beats Zack at WKDavid beats Shota so we get good old baby face shota saving the day at WK 2027 from muh evil bulletclub
>>16675197Finlay is almost definitely winning the title this year. It's why he dropped the Global Title
>>16675129Don't act like the HW tag is a real division it at the best of times has like 3 real teams running around.A make shift team just won fucking tag league, Oskar and Nakashima should fear being 3k'd and having like 5+ title runs i could see some retarded NJPW office booker thinking Oskar and Nakashima beating the bucks amkes them a big deal tag team
Chris got what he deserved
I hope they won't give the title to Finlay. Zack Twinky Jr. is already an anti-draw, Finlay is an even bigger shitter anti-draw.
>>16675207you could take Finlay in a few different directions, i also think he's getting that Jay match at WD next year. Since i think Jay's deals up at that point and he'll be fucking off to WWE so Tony won't care. like you could have him turn on Gabe and take the strong beltYou can have him get the belt back if Tusji's winning G1
>>16675212Never said it was a real division but it’s time for a new real team to run around. They’ve been focusing on Goto as a singles, Kenta is gone and Chase isn’t around, and they always seem to drag their feet with Nichols and Haste. Beating Naito and Hiromu would mean more so I’m sure they’ll beat The Bucks instead.
>>16675223Completely. It's his job to sell the promotions and get the talent over and he did the exact opposite. If he was right or telling the truth is irrelevant. When Naito appears on AEW the commentators act like the world is ending. They don't say, "Look at this broken down old shitter barely walk to the ring, too bad it's not 6 years ago when he was still good. Wonder if he'll even take his shirt off?"
Hirooki Goto main event is selling tickets apparently
>>16675242filtered by the goat slayer the rebel the savage king the leader of bullet club david finlay
>>16675840doesn't change the fact he's literally an anti-draw
finlay just needs to change gimmick to a viking character, already looks a little like ragnar from the TV show
5ch on Chris Charlton
>>16676196>Dave Mel tour
>>16676196Money Mark in Japanese is Money Tree?
>>16676196That guy bringing up that Tanahashi crying, moved by Gabe's defense of NJPW and then suspending Charlton for basically doing the same thing as Gabe being disgusting is right
>>16674696accept my death and party hard for a year
>>16676196Trannyhashit xirs...
>>16676196>Isn't Hagrid good enough?Kek. Someone should photoshop Chris as Harry and Walker as Hagrid.
>>16676196I love our 5ch brothers
>>16674696Heel turnIt's easier to force someone down people's throats when he's a heelJust look at how well it worked for Okada
>>16674946based
I am newly getting into New Japan. I know people say it's not the best time, but I still enjoy the show. I'm really not happy about them punishing the commentator for being entertaining and calling Tony a money mark. Just feels so cowardly.
>>16676793kek that's a good one>>16676810It's a great time to get into NJPW actually because you're getting in on more or less the ground floor of the new generation, for better or for worse.
>>16676781Also>Forced Roman Reigns face push>BOOOOOOOOOO for like 5 years straight>Forced Roman Reigns heel push>WOOOOO! TRIBAL CHIEF! for 5 years
>>16676196our 5ch anikis be tellin the truth frfr
>>16676810It's pretty telling that even NJPW at its worst time gives us shit like Omega Kidd and Takeshita IshiiThere's a satisfaction in watching a company build itself to peak again, and I feel like that's what's happening>>16676793based and dragonballpilled
>>16676827Well I like Shota and it seems a lot of people on this board don't. But I like him and I thought the match at Wrestle Kingdom was good. I haven't watched Wrestle Dynasty or New Year Dash yet because I just haven't had time. I'll watch them tomorrow and the next day.
>>16676810If Charlton is still getting paid (and he probably is because he writes for the website), then all it is is a break, and he gets more street cred from the whole thing
>>16676864But at the end of the day, Shin Nihon officials look like bootlicking bitches. We all know Tony's little ego is hurt and he will punish them for it. Probably with a Jack Perry reign or some shit like this.
>>16676864Okay well that's good. Still I really appreciate his live translations of promos. >>16676847I like most of what I've seen from NJPW so far. First big show I watched was Power Struggle and I've been keeping up since. Only thing I've seen that I really didn't like was that 2 out of 3 falls match between Taichi and Great-O-Khan. I thought that one kind of sucked.
i thought japan was all about respect? the 5inchers should know why. tana did what he did.
>>16676949AEW does not respect NJPW
>>16674982>>NJPW should try and get a Nakamura match for Tana's retirement (even if it annoys Tony Khan)I would love this, but is it even possible? I thought that WWE broke off their partnership with AJPW because they signed a deal with Abema to distribute their shows, and Abema has a hand in NOAH, so that's why they send their guys there now.
I think EVIL might come back for the New Japan Cup, win it and beat Goto at Sakura Genesis to get heat. Then they'll probably have Shotetty beat him at Dominion or Forbidden Door to try again to make him a popular babyface.
>>16676977NJPW and Noah are still in good termsThe issue is WWE/AEW
>>16676992It would be so cool if WWE was able to send guys like Charlie Dempsey or Ilja Dragunov to New Japan every once in a while.
>>16677088On the one hand, I do think AEW has done a lot more to promote New Japan in America than WWE ever would. A WWE x New Japan crossover show doesn't seem possible at all. Then again if you think about which wagon you'd rather be hitched to right now, I think WWE would probably be more ideal. I'm imagining Ilja in the G1 and that would be great.
>>16676196>>16676288>Hagridamazing call from our 5ch brothers
Here is Zack Sabre Jr.'s next entrance song: https://suno.com/song/4f45b550-4d28-45c3-8ab4-88b69b29bc46
Why did Zack come out to that gay fucking theme?I love the YOUNG PUNKS theme, it was so disappointing
>>16677948it was awful. a waste of an entrance.
>>16677599Glorious
reminder that bushi is not booked at WK and WD. He even prepared this mask
>>16674810Umino looks like he wants to talk to the manager.
>>16676196>Does Charlton read our threads? wHe also goes on /pw/ too if the Nash posting on the NJPWGlobal twitter is anything to go by.
>>16678971the first forbidden door ruled. I had hope then but that's gone now.
>>16677599lol>>16677632lmao
>>16679042yup
>>16677632>put the world title on foreigner Jeong Mok>do awful business>put the world title on foreigner Zack Faggot Jr.>do awful businessbruvs, are they really going to put the world title on Finlay or will they finally get a clue that they need a popular Japanese champion ?
>>16676847I started in 2018 so I caught the back end of the last NJPW boom period. COVID basically ended it as far as I am concerned. I hold out hope that a new golden era is around the corner, but I so tired bawss.
>>16679957Mox outdrew Naito thoughbeit
>>16679957safe option is go for tsuji and gabe kidd before they leave japan
>>16680450>main show against one G1 Climax shownot comparable
>>16680608>dontaku vs. the g1yeah the g1 should've drawn more
>>16678428poor guy
>>16674696Just let him be the cringe goofball he really is. He can work and is naturally likeable. Just stop trying SO hard. Send him to aew and put him in the leaning tree or some shit.
>>16680690Learning tree*
>>16674696Just have him dress and act like 2019 Jon Moxley. What's the worst that can happen at this point? Yeah it's a copycat gimmick but this shit ain't working right now.
>>16680627no the normal road showsDontaku is meant to just be one major final show vs one tour show you nitpicked
>>16678428He just does it for vibes. Respect to him for that.
>>16680896Sorry broJEONGMOK is more popular than SIMPNADA
>>16680908>no argument to disprove what I saidI win
>>16680927Much like JEEEEEEEEONG MOKSLEY won the IWGP World Hebby and became a bigger draw than SANADA and Naito in JapanJEEEEEEEEEONG MOKSSSSSSSSSSULLLLEYYYY
Current batch of distributed tickets for New Beginning in Osaka are sold out on all 3 ticket sites
>>16681229goto is a draw
>>16681229>>16681651>Goto about to win pinning Zack>Gedo comes out in normal clothes with no context and pulls the referee out>starts shooting on Goto
>>16680413We may never have the same golden era as the mid 2010s, but there's no denying that the young roster in NJPW has a ton of potential and are gonna grow into believable NJPW main eventersYes even Shottetty
>>16677599I love /njpw/
Ever since supposed Insideranon posted here a little while back about Finlay leaving it's been in my head, now he's here with nothing major brewing as Gabe reached another level
>>16681893He should not get a main event push and well, that means he's reached his ceiling.What else is there for him to do?
>>16681893what did he say?
Is New Year Dash worth watching?
>>16682316I started it, they announced the card at the start and it just didn't interest me enough to sit through. Despite all the different people who were at WK and WD it was basically just an NJPW show with basic multi-mans.
Shotageek lost
>>16682379Yeah I scrolled through the list of matches and I didn't think it seemed like a very important show.
>>16682316>Rocky Romero main event
>>16682463missed opportunity for Chris to come out and cost him the match
>>16682316Only thing I particularly liked was the Barnett/Oleg grappling exhibition.
Main event of WK felt so antidimes. It was the first one that well and truly marked a new era.Of shit.
>>16682595The core group of young guys they have are greatShota is a good worker but is anti dimes atmeveryone else is greatthey just need to find a way to get them overTusji and Gabe are doing wellThey have the talent, i just don't know how they get the star power. Not everyone can get over in deafet like Gabe
>>16680754Have him shave the top part of his head mostly bald or thin it way out to keep the spirit of 2019 Moxley.
>>16675299If Excalibur said that on commentary he'd be completely redeemed.
>>16681826Goto would beat the dog shit out of that fucking dwarf.
>>16682796They should clean house on the stables. - Disband CHAOS. Barely exists as a group, and the members are all Dad-tier. Goto's getting that push, but he can do that as Hontai.- No more Bullet Club. Just "War Dogs." Gabe Kidd is probably going to cut his cock off soon, but he should be the leader over Finlay.- United Empire needs a central star who can realistically compete for the World or Global belts. Shingo would look good in green if you ask me.- House of Torture needs more competitive members. EVIL is the only one who is treated seriously and who can be taken seriously at all. Reinvent Ren Narita somehow.- LIJ is going strong still, but in a year or two they should push Yota as the leader.- Just 4 Guys should recruit a new leader but push Uemura to be a star in the meantime.- Start a new face stable. If it were up to me, the stable would be led by Konosuke Takeshita. That dude is the closest thing that NJPW has to a new Tana or Okada, not any of their homegrown talent.
>>16682921Oh, forgot TMDK. They're a bit like House of Torture except instead of EVIL it's ZSJ, though Fujita seems to connect with the fans, so there's hope for them.
>>16682921>No more Bullet Club. Just "War Dogs."I disagree, Bullet Club War Dogs is a good complete name. Just cut out anyone you don't have in War Dogs, there's no use having all these subgroups that don't even interact with the leader and his own subgroup.
>10 millionshttps://x.com/daimon_hentai/status/1876386846147797375Time to make him or another CMLL luchador BOSJ winner
>>16682822Grim: The Photo.
it's joever
>>16683111Based tag team
segai hebby q ponshobo con aimas uhhJEEEEEEEEEONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGUUUU MUKSSSSSSSSSLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYUHHH
jeong mosque li
New Jacan Puc leaked poster
>>16683644Shotabrosh, we're headliningONELASHTSHANSHE
>>16683644>no HEAT STORMbros...
>>16683644But EVIL said that he would never wrestle for this crappy company ever again
>>16683644O-KHANCHADS WE'RE TAKING IT ALL THE WAY
>>16683689Classic black company behavior from the fake president
>>16683689njpw posted that promo in twitter while the kenta backstage was not posted at all
>>16683644grim
>>16682921yup
>>16682316throw it on in the background when youre doing dishes. barnett v oleg is worth watching all the way through, but the rest of it is fairly typical house show shenanigans
Trying to educate myself a bit more with the history of NJPW considering I started in 2014 but I never really watched anything prior to the rise of Okada.The WK3 Tanahashi vs. Muto match any good?Feels like a obvious pick considering Tanahashi at that time was on top and Muto I imagine can still actually go somewhat considering it's 08'. I'm gonna watch it but I wanna know what people on /njpw/ think too.
>>16682957>Fujita seems to connect with the fansi think we can all agree that he should win all the belts and come to my house with his shirt off
>>16683111>>16683137i love old noah kenta a lot, but post-wwe troll kenta is really something great
>>16684277What G1 was it where Kenta kept insisting the camera man was stalking him and cutting promos where he was bad on purpose lmao
GOOOOOOING DOWN GAWKINGHOMOGOOOOOOING DOWN GAWKINGHOMO
i LOVE laughing at shota umi no dimes
>>16684266Go watch Hashimoto/Takada and Sasaki/Nagata right now.
>>16684266If you want to see Tanahashi at his peak watch 10.8.2012 match vs Suzuki. Also, I'll agree with >>16684612 those are excellent matches.If you want to go back even further, try:6.12.1986 Maeda vs. Fujinami8.4.1983 Choshu vs Fujinami12.13.1994 Hase vs. Hashimoto8.1.1998 Tenryu vs Hashimoto4.27.1987 Inoki vs Saito4.19.1984 NJPW vs Ishin Gundan (10 Man Gauntlet)
>>16684266>Inoki's best matchespastebin.com/P9bj2c1i>The Three Musketeerspastebin.com/NaLk9e3HWish someone would make one for Choshu and Fujinami as well as Nagata/Tenzan/Kojima/Nakanishi
>>16683689He’s wrestling for them this weekend
>>16684258>washing dishes for 3 hours
>>16684266Antonio Inoki vs. Billy Robinson 1975https://archive.org/details/antonio-inoki-vs.-bill-robinson-12-11-75Choshu Riki vs Tenryu Genichiro 1993https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7wwdjsFujinami Tatsumi vs Maeda Akira 1986https://archive.org/details/akira-maeda-vs.-tatsumi-fujinami-06-12-86Chono Masahiro vs Onita Atsushi 1999https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1LE411d7J9/Muto Keiji vs Chono Masahiro 1991https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3lpikuThe Great Muta vs. Hase Hiroshi 1992https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x25eylaHashimoto Shinya vs Takada Nobuhiko 1996https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8p7cm3Nagata Yuji vs. Kensuke Sasaki 2004https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1kW411Q71F/Tenzan Hiroyoshi vs. Akiyama Jun 2003https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7cnu6cKojima Satoshi vs. Tenzan Hiroyoshi 2005https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1Z7411n7dw/Nakanishi Manabu vs Bob Sapp 2002https://archive.org/details/the-spiral/2002.10.14l-NJPW-New+Japan+VS+Foriegn+Enemy+Army+Single+7+Trials+%236-Manabu+Nakanishi+VS+Bob+Sapp.mp4Brock Lesner vs Akebono 2006https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkdhnFujita Kazuyuki vs Shibata Katsuyori 2004https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3dd3vTanahashi Hiroshi vs Goto Hirooki 2007https://fb.watch/oaVlqEBkGe/Nakamura Shinsuke vs Tanahashi Hiroshi 2008https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1NJ411F7iQ/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click
>>16684964>only three good 90s matches linkedThis list should be 90% from the late 80s and early to mid 90s
>>16684985I’m just posting my personal favorites.
>>16684985There's tons of gems in the 2000's, you just have to know where to look. Nagata, Sasaki, Kojima, etc. Even Nakanishi, Tenzan, Takayama, and Fujita had their moments.It's an overlooked period because casuals just hear about 90's stuff over and over again.
>>16685066Casuals don't know shit about old NJPW, doesn't have anything to do with the era and has everything to do with how hard it is to find old NJPW, how you have to climb around a bunch of foreign websites.It's not like "casuals" know 90s NJPW matches like they know AJPW or NOAH from the era.I think I can confidently say that 95% of western NJPW fans in 2025 have never seen a full length Hashimoto match.You've got to be way more than a casual to have any interest in old NJPW because of how annoying it is to find and watch, particularly without being edited to pieces with no entrances and all of the fucking atmosphere cut out.It sucks honestly, I was hoping Tanahashi would try to change their attitude towards Youtube
>>16685095I meant "casuals" to be the kind of diehard Western wrestling fan that is relatively new to Japanese wrestling. Not some sort of casual fan to wrestling in general. If a wrestling fan has reached the level of "I should do a deep dive into Japanese wrestling," then one has to assume they are already keenly aware of how to at least start finding stuff online.I realize older NJPW stuff isn't easy to find but I was pointing out that generations of curious fans have been told to avoid the entirety of the 2000's and focus only on 90's junior/3 muskateers and/or Tanahashi/Nakamura revival. People just keep writing off a good 10-year span because so-and-so told them to, or because Meltzer said so. If you're already preparing for a deep dive you should be open to a wider swath of matches/eras.
>>16675299>>16682884>Look at this broken down old shitter barely walk to the ring, too bad it's not 6 years ago when he was still good. Wonder if he'll even take his shirt off?would be so based
>>16684277I'm gonna miss that based shitposting bastard
>>16684266I compiled every tourney final and IWGP title change from 1974 to 2009 here. https://pastebin.com/gD40F49tGood luck finding half of them, though.>>16685095>and has everything to do with how hard it is to find old NJPWI felt this while making the pastebin above.
Togo just tweeted that an upcoming tag match may be one of the last times he teams with EVIL, so it sounds like the latter is leaving his full time career in Japan and moving to America.
>>16686272>EVIL leaving for America >Naito physically unable to carry the company>Tanahashi retiringNJPW is losing all its draws
>>16686272>goes into the hardest heel turn of his life that got major go away heat with western fans who didn't get the gimmick...>...right before moving to the USGood lord
>>16685095>I was hoping Tanahashi would try to change their attitude towards YoutubeThere's really nothing he can do since most of their old library is owned by TV Asahi or Samurai TV. Bushiroad could theoretically pony up enough money to buy the rights but I doubt they ever will
>>16686248>to 2009Why this year?
>>16686291>EVIL>Draw
>>16686814HOT is undeniably a draw (particularly with merch) and EVIL is the faction leader
>>16686987Contrarianism shouldn't be a desired personality trait
>>166867552010s NJPW is what the majority of western fans started so they most likely already watched or knew about the results of the tourneys and the title changes.
Stop getting worked and EVIL is going nowhere
>It's been 9 years since Goto's last shot for the top title at New Beginning 2016Whatever the outcome, I look forward to the Zack/Goto match
>>16684964I'm surprised you didn't link any of the 90s jr. stuff, considering how it was the entry point for so many non-japanese fans. A lot of it didn't age well, to be fair, but that roster is still something else today.
>>16687288it's not contrianism when they're relatively popular
1200 tickets sold for the US show in 4 days. They usually get above 2000. Even in burgerland Zack is an anti-draw.
>>16688087ZSJ is alright as a gimmick guy and a transitional champion but he should mostly be a heel and should mostly only have one or maybe two defenses topsI don't know why they're trying to give him the gaijin babyface push. Why? Because he decided he'd live in Japan? It isn't enough
>>16688087compared to the last year>bombed in Osaka>bombed at the Tokyo Dome>bombed in the US>even bombed in the UKso will they finally stop trying to push foreigners ? shit doesn't work yet they still put the belt on these shitters thinking they'll make some good money overseas
I like ZackFuck you guys
>>16688087The roster is depleted, they're rebuilding. ZSJ has nothing to work with except rookies and rehashing old feuds like Shingo. It takes more than just one person to sell a card.
>>16688712>>16688756Why are Zack marks so ridiculously delusional?Zack is a great gimmick wrestler but he's a niche guy, he is never going to be a huge draw
>>16688837I'm not saying ZSJ is the next Tanahashi or Okada or whatever. I'm just saying it's a bit of a stretch to place the blame all on him for sinking attendance. The roster has no legit draws right now, Naito was their last and his most recent string of failures have revealed to the audience that he simply doesn't have it anymore.ZSJ is just a reliable hand right now, I don't he's A+ either but blaming him for the failure of bookings, a weak yen, rampant pillaging, overreliance on faded stars, and roster-wide injuries is just foolish. There's only a handful if guys that can even hold the top title right now, let alone increase sales. Guys like Shingo could be champ too, or maybe a pity run with Goto... but NOBODY on the roster in 2025 is going to sell out the Tokyo Dome.
>>16688087>card not complete until 4 days before the event>match order is randomized this year>somehow this is Zack's faultHe's definitely not a difference maker in either direction but don't be retarded.
>>16688837Japs love him>M-m-muh drawingHe got 25k against Shottetty
>>16686272What he actually said was it could be the first and last time EVIL teams with Daisuke Sasaki, we're only speculating because there's an angle with EVIL and nobody watches DDT. >>16687631Togo's social media is almost never used to push angles, so there may actually be something to it.
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Naoki Sano (1/31/90)Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono (11/1/90)Masahiro Chono vs. Rick Rude (8/12/92)Great Muta vs. Hiroshi Hase (12/14/92)Hiroshi Hase vs. Shinya Hashimoto (12/13/94)Great Muta vs. Jushin Thunder Liger (10/20/96)Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinjiro Otani (2/9/97)El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto (6/5/97)Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Koji Kanemoto (6/3/98)Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada (10/9/00)Minoru Tanaka vs. Takehiro Murahama (4/20/01)Kazunari Murakami vs. Yuji Nagata (12/10/02)Katsuyori Shibata vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (7/19/04)Kensuke Sasaki vs. Yoshihiro Takayama (8/8/04)Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima (2/20/05)Masato Tanaka vs. Yuji Nagata (1/4/09)Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Naomichi Marufuji (4/4/10)Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima (8/15/10)Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata (4/3/11)Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (6/18/11)Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada (6/16/12)Masato Tanaka vs. Tomohiro Ishii (2/3/13)
>ZSJ’s “2024 Year in Music”How we feeling about this?https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3V13Sf5u4mxWb8IRxkk0Av
>>16689510I don't recognize a single name on this list
>>16688915>Naito was their last and his most recent string of failures have revealed to the audience that he simply doesn't have it anymore.he still drew well even when in wheelchairto form
>>16689633Wheelchairto drew fine as champ and never had a down main event compared to the previous year. Even drew more with a main event featuring sho and even mosque Li didn’t affect the attendance. Juniors also drew well. Just zsj being anti dimesWk18: up.New beginning Sapporo and Osaka: both upSakura genesis: upDontaku night 2 with mosque Li: upDominion with juniors main event: upDestruction in Kobe : upKopw: zsj first main event but also had wheelchairto carrying him. UpRoyal quest: downPower struggle: downWrestlekingdom 19 on a Saturday: down.Thankfully big dimes Goto is drawing the house for new beginning in Osaka.
>Blaming Zack for ShotaWhy?
WK was basedWrestle Dynasty was whatever but Gabe v Kenny was great looking forward to the upcoming year fellas
>>16690190Because he always does bad, not just with Umino.
Kenny Omega, Will Ospreay, Kyle Fletcher, Lance Archer was in the last segment of aew tonight
>>16691259And no mention whatsoever of DynastyKenny didn't mention his match, I don't think they mentioned Japan all show
>>16691331the show opened with a highlight reel of stuff from WK/WDthey showed Takeshita winning, and parts of post match interviews with the Bucks, Omega, and Brody King
>>16691578sorry, after the Ospreay matchI mostly ignore his tv matches, they're good but he works the same match every time and I don't need to see it twice a week
>>16686248Great list, but might as well add every tourney final and title change until now, and keep on updating it in the future.
https://www.njpw.co.jp/549220/>Following comments from Great-O-Khan, who was recognized as the KOPW 2024 champion at the Korakuen Hall event on December 22nd last year, the IWGP Executive Committee has officially decided to seal the KOPW title.>KOPW was founded in July 2020 at the suggestion of Kazuchika Okada (currently affiliated with AEW). The title match format, which is unprecedented in the history of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, has attracted attention, with each wrestler bringing their own rules and the rules to be adopted being decided by fan voting, and more than 50 rules have been used to date.From the establishment of the title until 2022, a trophy was awarded to the title holder, but in 2023, a new belt was made at the suggestion of Shingo Takagi, the 2022 annual holder.>With this decision, the KOPW title will be sealed, but we would like to once again express our gratitude to everyone who has supported KOPW through fan voting and spectators.New Japan Pro-Wrestling Co., Ltd.
GayI liked it
>>16691903It was an okay idea but it’s best days were just copying what was successful for the NEVER title. Now that the NEVER belt is finally removed from the constant Bullet Club storyline and has guys fighting for it in the usual style, the KOPW can be retired. Next they have to figure out what they want the TV belt to be. Putting a title meant to reach wider fans on foreigners wrestling YouTube matches doesn’t help anyone. Put it on Uemura/Oiwa and make it the grappling exhibition title again.
https://x.com/CMLL_OFICIAL/status/1877200228266180971kek
>>16692195Translation?
>>16692239Soberano jr wants to fight Gabe kidd. Said he's the bad boy of new japan but wants to fight him in mexico and show him whose his daddy.
>>16692289*who's Christ.
>>16691903Fewer titles is fine. I liked the KOPW for what it was though.In fact there was a match between Shingo and Taichi a couple of years ago in which they had ten minutes to get more pinfall counts than the other. I loved the utter simplicity of it so much that I started to wonder why counting total pinfall counts was not a normal thing. It could at least be a tiebreaker.
>>16691943I remember for a couple of years the NEVER Openweight title was quite fun because anyone could compete for it and it was a good midcard title for the thirdstringers within any stable to compete for, thus giving it a title scene at any given point.
>>16691903I unironically like KOPW gimmick because some gimmick matches are creative and unique. >>16691943They should've get rid of the Strong title or at least unified it with NEVER title
>>16686248>Kensuke Sasaki vs. Bob Sapp (March 28, 2004)Where can I find this match?
Has anyone heard the rumours about Takeshita and him saying he wanted to join NJPW to management during his G1 run? And that people in AEW were shocked when he announced the Triple contract. Sounds a bit like wishful thinking from NJPW fans to me
>>166931973 contracts = AEW contract.He will only work big shows taking the place of somebody more deserving.
>>16691903kind of disappointed. i liked the gimmick quite a bit and thought grados idea of taking it to small ass towns and doing carny shit was fun and potentially good business. oh well
>>16693197Where did you hear the rumors from?
>>16691903May as well drop the six man titles next. It annoys me because when Goto/Ishii/Yoshi-Hashi had them for an over a year and were defending them constantly they proved they could actually mean something. Even Okada’s last reign with them was okay. But now it’s just whoever defending agaisnt HOT every few months.
WE NEED INOKIISM
>>16691903Worst championship in New Japan history? Or worst championship in wrestling history?
>>16688915Why do retards think the Japanese audience gives a fuck about Meltzer five star bangarino’s? They love Naito no matter what he does. It’s cool that ZSJ is getting a thank you run but he’s never going to have a connection with the crowd that Naito does.
>>16693813Who is saying that? I don't think ZSJ is one of Meltzer's "guys." He doesn't flip at all... plus everybody knows Japs don't care about MeltzerI'm pretty sure the Japanese fans just appreciate any foreigner that stays in Japan for more than a job interview. ZSJ has been in NOAH and NJPW for well over a decade now, so he's bound to get some appreciative fans. He's no Omega, but then again Omega leaned heavily into the Japanese audience, learned the language, baited the fujos, etc.
>>16693803Based
>>16693197lol
Should NJPW start up a working relationship with WWE to get Nakamura for Tana's final match? What's stopping them?
>>16695325>Should theyYes>What's stopping themThe money mark running their "partner" fed
>>16695325>What's stopping them?Tony (though Meltzer will blame NJPW management)
Gabe should be Tana's last opponent in the UK (I guess they'll do a UK show again this year)
>>16695325no, it should be an actual NJPW wrestler.
>>16695461Who would you pick?
I'm so excited to hear that the AEW/NJPW partnership is still going strong
>>16695511>1500 viewsThese guys are such grifters, please don't propagate their fucking liesIt makes me think you're a shill
>>16695496I don't like this answer, but unless he's in a title match at Wrestle Kingdom 20, it should be Umino.
ZAKKY ZAKKER !
>>16695725You mean Uemura, right?
>>16695511Nah apparently Tony wanted Charlton punished. Along with some other small news bits.
#freechrischarlton
>>16697178>apparently Tony wanted Charlton punishedTo be fair, that was obvious, especially when Meltzer started running defence
>>16697254Didn't want the bucks or omega on the show either.
>>16697603Nor did anyone else based on the attendance.
>>16697178What are the other ones? KENTA is out, Finlay and EVIL are floating around with no programs?
So do we actually give /ourguy/ the belt next month? It seems there's money a prolonged journey but they may not have time for that.
>>16699192Give him his gold watch. then have finlay win the nj cup and beat him at sakura genesis
>>16674982>The NJPW/AEW partnership is utter shit but I don't think it's going anywhere unfortunatelyThat "partnership" amounts to test drives for Tony's new toys, huh?
>>16698692The only other thing they seemingly heavily hinted at was Kevin Knight probably being done since he wasn't booked for battle in the valley but Kushida was. Damon also seemed worried about Finlay jumping but said that was just his perception not that they info on that one in particular.
>>16674696Drop the stupid gimmicks because he can't pull it off. Have him start from the bottom again as himself, or a version of himself. Have him renounce Mickey and stop doing Moxley moves, meaning he gets a new finish that's also a classic NJPW finish with his own spin on it. Have him slowly climb up the card and nearly win tournaments, always losing to the champion in the tournament. He loses the G1 semi final to the champion, the champion wins and challenges Shota. If he isn't over by then I cut bait and move on with Uemura.
shota umino fucking sucks
>>16676890It's a loss for whoever listens to English now commentary, but it got Schiavone suspended too so it's a major win for anyone sitting through AEW shows
>>16699843I heard Riccaboni was on Dynamite, but I didn't make the connection that Schiavone was suspended for his deleted tweet directed at Charlton. Honestly don't think either guy should've been suspended but people are sensitive these days.
>>16699705Knight I expected was headed to NXT, and Finlay is probably going to do one more year before sticking to the US to be with his kid more often.
>>16699705I'll be sad if Knight is done, hes impressive and surprisingly over in Japan
>>16700826I really don't think he's that over at all, his athleticism and TSU-YO-I chants get reactions but the people don't seem that invested otherwise and his ceiling seems limited (and yes being black is likely a part of it). Him leaving sooner than later feels likely, his look and athleticism will get attention especially in the fed, if he can become a decent promo he has everything he needs to succeed if they give him the ball and a push. Could be a long road regardless though, lot of black guys being built up in NXT .
if Wagner 3 went to CMLL, NJPW would have another luchador for pre-shows and filler matches
Fuck Chris Charlton
>>16700826>overlet's not lie, anon
>>16701803Tony needs his latte Rocky
NJPW needs to start building some rivalries for the new guys. We've basically only got Tsuji/Uemura so far. All the best NJPW moments revolve around the relationships between rivals
>>16701857It's not just the young guys, nobody has a rival anymore. Okada was Naitos, SANADA's and Tanahashi's, but he's gone. Who is Zack's rival? Who is Finlay's?
>>16701857>>16701869They sort of started to establish them last year at WK but the course has fucked up. Tsuji for the time being has Finlay, Gabe & Uemura. Shota and Narita but they both fucking suck so nobody cares, Gabe, and O-Khan may become the other one. Finlay has ELP I guess and Tsuji.
>>16701899Shota has*
