Rambles about the wonderful world of wrestling.
It’s mid-February and WrestleMania season is well and truly swinging. We already have one confirmed match and the next few weeks should see the card begin to be fleshed out. So, I’m going to have some fun. Before WWE ruins everything by booking a load of crap here is the show that I would have broadcast around the world on April 2nd.
My New Japan Pro Wrestling education swung into Osaka on Saturday as they finished off The New Beginning Tour with one hell of a card. While you could argue that a lot of the star power was on the first show, this second card looked like the workers time to shine and the sold out building is a credit to those involved. Now, let’s see what we learnt.
Continue reading “10 Observations From The New Beginning In Osaka”
After the madness that was Fantastica Mania New Japan gets back onto the serious stuff with The New Beginning in Sapporo, a show that kicked off Suzuki-gun’s invasion of New Japan proper. Even with a second event next weekend this was a stacked card and gave me plenty to think about as I continue my New Japan education.
Continue reading “10 Observations From The New Beginning in Sapporo”
Another year another Rumble and another feeling of bitter disappointment for wrestling fans. Or maybe not, for some people do seem to have been quite pleased with this year’s event, and it certainly set the seeds for more than one WrestleMania match. Whatever your thoughts, it’s time for you to sit back and listen to me as I run through ten things I noticed during this year’s event.
For all the hype that surrounds WrestleMania more than a few wrestling fans’ hearts beat towards January. The Royal Rumble may essentially be a glammed up Battle Royale, but oh it makes us sing So what the hell have WWE been doing to it?
As a newcomer to New Japan, Fantastica Mania is a bit of a strange one. It’s the bump in the road before we get back to the serious stuff and it introduces a whole new cast of guys (the CMLL wrestlers) into a group that I’m only just getting to know. However, I’m nothing if not a trooper, and I wasn’t about to slow down on my newfound puroresu love. Therefore, over the last few days I’ve tuned into all the broadcast shows of Fantastica Mania and here are ten things that I took away from them.
Two weeks ago Kenny Omega walked out of Wrestle Kingdom as the hottest thing in wrestling. Ignoring the fact that Kazuchika Okada was as important to that match as he was and that Omega has been brilliant for years, it suddenly felt like the world woke up to The Cleaner. Yet, rather than turn his sights towards a potential rematch with Okada and a chance to become only the seventh non-Japanese wrestler to hold the belt and help spearhead New Japan’s push into the US, he began talking about taking some time off.
The UK Championship worried me. It worried me because I saw a future when WWE stepped into the British market and ripped apart something that has taken decades to build. That they would cherry pick the best talent and walk away having added nothing to what they left behind. It wouldn’t be the first time WWE played the big bully. Thankfully, it looks like I was wrong.
Coming into 2017 I made the decision that from now on I was going to watch less WWE. With five hours of Raw and SmackDown and two PPVs a month enough was enough, and it was dampening my enthusiasm for other wrestling. Alongside that, I vowed that this would be the year I finally got into New Japan. I’ve watched a couple of Wrestle Kingdoms in the past, but it is time for me to give it the effort it deserves. With that in mind, the last two days have seen me sign up to New Japan World and tune into Wrestle Kingdom 11 and New Year Dash and as this is the internet in 2017, here are some things I learnt.
Having finally clambered over the tedium that was Roadblock, wrestling is all but over for the year, and it is time to reflect. Therefore, over the next few days, I am going to put up my Match of the Year, Moment of the Year and Wrestler of the Year for your pleasure. Let’s get going.
