The New Japan camera people always catch this shot perfectly. Credit: NJPW
The Destruction tour comes to an end and it’s safe to say that in an incredible year for New Japan, these shows won’t be making the scoreboard. It’s had its moments, but it has been a B tour through and through, and 90% of the cards were made up of tag matches. That doesn’t stop us rating them, though. Let’s dish out those stars.
NJPW don’t seem to be putting up photos from these shows, sorry. Credit: NJPW
In a strange way, the pressure was off Destruction in Hiroshima. The first Destruction show was New Japan’s worst outing this year and it’s lowered the expectations for this tour. The wrestlers booked here won’t have to do much to impress, as it isn’t hard to improve on crap. Let’s dish out those stars.
Pictures aren’t up yet, but I’ll add them when they are. Credit: NJPW
With the New Japan roster all rested up post-G1 (although a lot of them headed off around the world so they might not be as rested as they want to be), they are now heading back to work for the Destruction tour. Three B Shows and a host of Road To events don’t exactly scream unmissable, but there are a few gems hidden away over the next couple of weeks. Sadly, they aren’t on this show, but we trudge into the dark anyway. Let’s hand out those stars.
Living in Edinburgh as a lover of music and wrestling you have two choices. Never see anything live or spend a lot of time on a train to Glasgow. While Discovery is starting to change the wrestling part of that statement, it’s still exciting when one of the big boys turns up in our city rather than the ugly bastards’ one over there. We appreciate it more (plus the Weegies are perfectly capable of taking a train too). It’s particularly lovely when they turn up with a selection of NJPW, CMLL and Rev Pro wrestlers in tow. So how did a rare visit to Edinburgh’s capital go for ROH?
Here we are. The nineteenth and final show of this year’s G1 and my final review. It’s been one hell of a tournament with umpteen match of the year contenders and a fair few emotional moments. So for one final time (well, until the next wrestling show I review), let’s dish out those stars.
We all knew that it would come down to this. There were questions about how they’d do it, but it was written in the stars. Okada vs. Omega III with the winner going to the final. Could they capture the magic of their first two matches with the constraints of a thirty-minute time-limit? Of course they fucking could, stupid.
It’s beginning to look a lot like G1… Yup, it’s that time of the year, folks. If you are into the puro, wrestling is about to take over your life. Whether you’re planning on watching every second (no cheating, that includes the undercard) or dipping in and out when you hear Ishii has done something amazing or Okada went and did Okada stuff again, it’s hard not to be excited for what’s to come. If for some reason you weren’t, then I can’t imagine that apathy extended past night one. New Japan did what New Japan does and put on one hell of a show. Here is that, but in a lot more words.
Spit in my eye and call me Shirley because New Japan Pro Wrestling has done it again. This was one hell of an event, and I’d go as far as saying Dominion might be the best show I’ve seen from them yet. If you like wrestling and aren’t watching NJPW right now, you are doing it wrong. It’s like loving rock music but only listening to Shinedown. Sure, it has guitars, but you’re just punishing yourself. With that in mind, here are ten things we picked up on at Dominion.
Sometimes you just need to punch them in the face. Credit: NJPW
I’m worried friends. On January 4th I decided this would be the year that I got into New Japan. Around six months later, they may well have ruined all other wrestling for me forever. Holy shit is this company good. This Best of the Super Juniors tournament was a joy from start to finish, and I don’t think I can put into words quite how much fun I’ve had watching it. Despite that, I’m going to try and take you through 10 observations I had from BOSJ as a whole.
Following the disappointment of Payback – although some people liked that show more than me – it’s easy to drop into a wrestling related mood. Many a time a bad show can leave you feeling like you can’t be arsed anymore. Thankfully, that’s when New Japan tend to step up to the bat. While, as is the case with most New Japan shows, there were plenty of tag matches to get through before you hit the juicy stuff, Dontaku was a good to occasionally great few hours of pro wrestling and here’s what we thought while we enjoyed it.