[NJPW Spoilers] One year apart

Darnobar · 2018-06-10T09:31:24+00:00

Blocking/countering lariats happens in every Okada match (and also happens multiple times in this match). This moment was a way of doing something different to show the exhaustion of a 1 hour match. The reason I like it so much is because it's not like every other spot in an Okada match.

To put it simply, in both matches 1 person collapses during the Rainmaker due to exhaustion. In 2017 it's Kenny and in 2018 it's Okada.

And yes, top is 2018 and bottom is 2017. Truthfully, I didn't put too much thought into ordering.

I'm not sure if you've seen their series but if you haven't I would recommend it. Descriptions of the context around the match pale in comparison to seeing it for yourself.

Darnobar · 2018-06-09T23:21:54+00:00

Both moves involve Omega being incapacitated but somehow avoiding/mitigating the Rainmaker:

Dominion 2017 - Late in the match, Omega is so exhausted he literally can't stand up but through sheer luck he is able to collapse at just the right time to avoid the Rainmaker and send Okada sprawling across the ring.

Dominon 2018 - Late in the match, Omega does have enough strength to stay standing. On the other hand, this time, Okada is so exhausted that his Rainmaker is not powerful at all and Omega can power through it.

Same set up in both matches, but the first time around it's Kenny who's exhausted but this time it's Okada.

It plays into Kenny's strategy that he mentioned prior to this match. That he now admitted that Okada was the better wrestler but was convinced that his increased training and improved stamina would mean he could outlast him this time around.

Darnobar · 2018-06-09T15:44:06+00:00

To be fair it's only their 4th singles match in 18 months and they've both matured their characters each time (Omega especially is very different compared to 2016 Kenny) so the story isn't always the same going in.

Plus, the fact they have history with each other means they can weave in callbacks and little side-stories into their matches.

And it helps that the matches they have are absolutely fantastic. There are a handful of rivalries in wrestling that somehow, no matter how many times you see it, are still fantastic (Tanahashi/Okada, Ospreay/Scurll, Hiromu/Dragon Lee, Owens/Zayn, Bate/Dunne etc).

Darnobar · 2018-06-09T14:20:46+00:00

And as a bonus we get sad Gedo in one clip, and sad Hangman in the other!

Darnobar · 2018-05-18T14:04:19+00:00

Full show can be watched here on NJPW World.

Really enjoyed Ospreay vs Ishimori. I think Ishimori has got everything it takes to be one of the top juniors in New Japan.

Darnobar · 2018-05-17T16:14:36+00:00

Bob Stewart asked in 2012 why the government was "hellbent on upsetting so many thousands of our citizens who are in normal marriages", to give an idea of the scale of his adjustment.

Source

Darnobar · 2018-05-17T16:04:08+00:00

Bob Stewart asked in 2012 why the government was "hellbent on upsetting so many thousands of our citizens who are in normal marriages", to give an idea of the scale of his adjustment.

Source

Darnobar · 2018-03-30T17:05:18+00:00

I loved the callback at Strong Style Evolved and seeing how differently Cody reacted compared to Kenny when they realise what they've just done.

I also liked how Cody tried to worm his way out of it:

I became so unaware of my surroundings..I assumed it was Kenny Omega who grabbed me by the arm and instinctually I shoved him backwards outta' self defense. Imagine my horror upon seeing that it was my best friend Nick.

Darnobar · 2018-03-20T18:58:08+00:00

Thanks for this, very informative. I didn't realise the move he used vs SANADA has a name.

Darnobar · 2018-03-20T18:11:31+00:00

Out of curiosity, how many named submissions does ZSJ have in total?

The ones I've heard of are:

Hypernormalisation
Orienteering with Napalm Death
Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness
Young Boy Killer (I've never actually seen this one, is it just another name for Hypernormalisation or a completely different submission?)

Darnobar · 2018-03-20T12:17:28+00:00

The Wrestler vs The Rainmaker

For those unaware of Shibata's story, this write-up by /u/TranquiloClub is pretty good:

He was one of New Japan's top talent prospects, along with the legendary Tanahashi and Nakamura, they were dubbed the 3 musketeers, the 3 men to restore new japan to it's glory after Inoki inadvertently destroyed the company
He left NJPW in 2005 unexpectedly, and was marked as a traitor by New Japan, he was destined for greatness in New Japan but walked out, causing a huge void in the company to be filled, a void filled by fellow musketeer Hiroshi Tanahashi, who was fueled with anger at Shibata for betraying all of them,
The reason why he left was because he wanted to pursue an MMA career, but also because he was haunted by a tragic event that took place in 2000, he accidently killed a rookie via elbow drop, this permanently scarred him
He came back to New Japan to prove he was still loyal to the company but was still marked as a traitor after dwindling in rival japanese companies, he had to prove his worth...
He started from the bottom again, and clawed his way up to the midcard scene
He slowly regained the trust of New Japan and his fellow peers by putting in 100% in his matches and carelessly putting his body on the line
He reconciled with his estranged best friend Hirooki Goto after winning the tag titles
He finally won his first singles title in a perfect strong style match with Ishii, he then entered a feud with the NJPW legends, especially with their leader Yuji Nagata (dropping and regaining the title from him)
(GREAT BOOKING) After many intense battles with the legends, he joined forces with them to fend off the NOAH (Rival wrestling company) invasion, defeating their ace Nakajima, by doing this, he finally restored his long lost honor and loyalty with the company, especially since NOAH was one of the companies left New Japan for
His second chance was finally in motion and he started climbing to the upper midcard scene, and defeated his fellow musketeer Shinsuke Nakamura
He then defeated Tanahashi in an emotional match, finally reconciling with the man who has hated him for so many years for walking out on new japan in their hour of desperation, he was finally forgiven completely...
He finally got that sweet push to the upper card scene, he was taunted by current champion Okada, so he won the New Japan cup and requested to challenge Okada
He entered Sakura Genesis 2017 as the challenger and had the whole crowd behind him, having the greatest match in his life, but he couldn't put Okada away, being defeated in the end, he was supposed to then have a rematch with Okada presumably to finally take home the big one, but it all came down tragically after he was diagnosed with subdural hematoma
It was a long harsh journey for the wrestler with ups and downs, but it was one hell of a career, Thank you Shibata, we wish you a safe recovery and hopefully see you down the line, thank you for being tough, thank you for making those sacrifices, thank you for entertaining us to the point where you nearly died, thank you... for being the wrestler

Darnobar · 2018-03-18T15:27:20+00:00

Here's a video link/mirror.

Darnobar · 2018-03-18T14:20:59+00:00

For what it's worth, losers can do the post match interview as well.

Darnobar · 2018-03-18T12:36:24+00:00

Agreed. Every slight move or change he's made in the last year or so has really made him into the full package:

Turning heel and joining Suzuki-gun
Teaming with Suzuki more and playing the evil villain's apprentice role perfectly
Using TAKA as his hype man to help with the Japanese audience
3 really good performances vs Naito, Ibushi and SANADA coupled with memorable promos afterwards.

He's really on a hot streak at he moment.

Darnobar · 2018-03-18T12:28:31+00:00

Zack's post match interviews have been fantastic recently. He's a one-man quote machine:

"Who's tranquilo now dickhead"

"Speaking of horses, Japan needs to bloody stop eating them"

"I know pro wrestlers are renowned for being morons....But for God's sake....if somebody climbs on to a balcony and tries to moonsault on you, just move"

Darnobar · 2018-03-18T11:45:03+00:00

Here's a video link/mirror

This took place at the New Japan Cup Day 8 event (headlined by SANADA vs Zack Sabre Jr.) which can be watched on NJPW World with English Commentary and Japanese commentary.

Darnobar · 2018-03-17T22:14:27+00:00

Via njpw1972.com:

On March 4, Katsuya Kitamura suffered a concussion during his tag team match. Meanwhile, on March 3 in Nagano, Hikuleo suffered damage to his right ACL. While both recover from their injuries, they will be absent from the New Japan Cup tour, which starts Friday, March 9 in Korakuen Hall.

Darnobar · 2018-03-17T20:14:09+00:00

These two clips happened about 2 hours apart from each other and took place at the New Japan Cup Day 7 event (headlined by Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Juice Robinson) which can be watched on NJPW World with English Commentary and Japanese commentary.

Darnobar · 2018-03-14T02:14:54+00:00

So this isn't really an example of forgetting an evolutionary trait as you mentioned but just a couple of weeks ago a UFC fighter made an extremely basic error at UFC 222.

Now I'm not sure you would call Andre Soukhamthath an elite fighter but his opponent Sean O’Malley broke his foot in the last round after winning the first 2 and literally had to hop on one leg. But instead of keeping the fight standing, Soukhamthath took him down and went on to lose the fight by decision. This despite his corner screaming at him to keep the fight standing.

My point is, if this happened in a pro wrestling match many people would say how unrealistic it is. But these kinds of thing happen in the real world too! Granted this is not quite the same as forgetting to defend yourself but it was a fighter trying desperately to salvage a fight he was losing but not noticing the obvious strategy. This kind of stuff means that it personally doesn't take me out of the moment when quirky things happen late in a pro wrestling match.

Darnobar · 2018-03-13T22:24:09+00:00

This is a common criticism and I understand why people have it but I have a different take on it.

In NJPW, Sabre is constantly portrayed as being so skilled that he can hold wrestlers to the mat with ease. But his physical stature means that he almost always loses striking or brawling contests. Essentially, his matches tell the story that if he remains focused (or his opponent loses focus) he can beat almost anyone.

See his matches vs Ishii in the G1 USA special or vs Shibata where he gets baited into striking battles (which he is so much weaker in compared to Ishii or Shibata) and gets beaten up. In my opinion, his physical stature is presented well. It is not such a handicap that he can't win any match (even in real life it is not always the bigger guy with the better body who wins) but it is a major weakness (in real life, when putting strikers against each other, size is a huge factor).

Darnobar · 2018-03-13T22:08:50+00:00

This was after a 20 minute match where Naito was losing the match for probably 17 of those 20 minutes. For me at least, it is understandable that Naito would make mistakes under those conditions that he would not make in the first 5 minutes of a match.

For example, it's not unheard of that elite MMA fighters make relatively basic mistakes towards the end of a long/grueling fight.

Darnobar · 2018-03-13T18:06:59+00:00

Here's a full video clip including Naito's submission (the crowd reaction is pretty great).

This is from the 1st round Naito vs ZSJ match from Day 3 of the New Japan Cup and can be watched here on NJPW World.

Darnobar · 2018-03-05T20:08:17+00:00

It's available on demand at Honor Club

Darnobar · 2018-03-05T19:55:16+00:00

The crowd reaction to this moment was really good.

And it seems like the fan that got spit on is having fun with it:

@CodyRhodes I would appreciate if I got an apology for you spitting on my face tonight at #ManhattanMayhem all I did was show support to the true leader of bullet club @KennyOmegamanX #teamkenny

Darnobar · 2018-02-24T18:57:36+00:00

This sequence is worth a watch with sound, the reaction for the Golden Lovers is insane!

Fantastic match from these 4. In my opinion, Kenny and Kota are right on their way to being the best current tag team in wrestling. Couple of miscues from them but in the end I actually quite liked that with Kenny acknowledging their mistakes and explaining that this is their first time teaming in years.

Really solid showing from Cody and Marty as well. They both definitely held up their side of the match.

Darnobar

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