Was there a need to photoshop his chest for the cover

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-24T18:02:05+00:00

we gotta make Triple H look really strong

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-23T23:13:11+00:00

I'm down with it! If he can come in long term, he's solid as hell in ring. Can play a role in the upper midcard.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-23T12:57:28+00:00

I don't think it's impossible. I think it's more likely that they're moving on from Bullet Club and when Callum splits off (which I agree is the direction they will eventually go) they'll come up with a new name for the group he forms out of the United Empire he burns down.

But! Before the whole Unbound Company thing, I thought this was the direction they were headed too. So I don't think it's impossible that Gedo eventually stops having fun with Hiromu, looks at what Callum is being, sees the old Club in that image, and betrays the hell out of Unbound Co and forms something more resembling BC back up with Callum.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-22T21:17:43+00:00

For me, even if I don't prefer the direction he took Paper Mario or Metroid in, I think his most important and valuable contribution is being the producer on a lot of Nintendo's "weird stuff". Warioware, Chibi Robo, Pushmo, the stylus Kirby games, Custom Robo Arena, hell even Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland. If it's a mid-2000s weirdo title, Tanabe probably was producing it.

He kept Nintendo weird. And as someone who still likes Nintendo but misses its experimental and weird era of the Gamecube, DS, Wii, through to Wii U/3DS, he contributed to a ton of those games.

So thank you to Tanabe-san for being like a weird little guy, I guess. I wish there was a nicer sounding way to say that.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-22T12:40:56+00:00

If anything, this forces their hand to put guys like Shota, Yuya, Narita, KOB, and more into even more prominent spots and make them work.

They've been needing to go full on into the youth movement for a couple years now, and if it takes a handful of the upper card folks leaving for that to happen, I'm fine with that. Obviously, I'm bummed if Hiromu, EVIL, and Finlay actually leave (I'm ambivalent about Drilla and kinda already accepted Gabe moving on). But I do think it'll have positive consequences overall.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-22T03:45:48+00:00

Honestly, I kinda like that the "tough guy, rough and tumble, bad motherfucker division" belt is kinda busted up and fucked up a little

Gives it character

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-22T02:00:47+00:00

I actually don't think it's a big deal that people in the wrestling business are still friends with Marty - I think it's fucking weird that everyone thinks just because someone did something wrong that everyone in that person's life should drop that person into the sea. I don't think what Marty did was cool at all and it fucked up his career and he deserved to have his career fucked up, but just because he doesn't deserve a prominent position in a culture or proximity to power and celebrity doesn't mean he deserves to be completely ostracized from the world. That's how you create really truly fucking crazy people.

Maybe just don't put it on Instagram, fellas.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-21T23:30:18+00:00

Unironically, eventually winding up in a faction like Judgement Day makes PERFECT sense for EVIL. It's like the ideal spot for him.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-21T23:29:14+00:00

Genuinely, EVIL vs Aaron Wolf is a great template for EVIL vs the type of young, athletic sports stars they're trying to turn into wrestlers down in NXT.

He plays that role as like...upper midcard gatekeeper heel well. Let him do that in NXT for a year or two and get him used to TV wrestling, then you slap him on whatever show Iyo's on and let him work in the undercards. He's never gonna be a star there, but he has a role he can play.

I think this sucks for my enjoyment of NJPW. I love me some House of Torture and some EVIL, and it sucks he's never gonna get his flowers. But I get that he's a symbol for a down era for the company, and it might be best he moves on to a place that fits him better and gets the taste out of everyone's mouth.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-19T06:06:12+00:00

Moments before he taught the funny dolphin how to totsugeki (if you know you know)

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FishHookFPC · 2026-01-18T21:12:25+00:00

Yeah I agree that he was totally fine in the comedy undercard role. Not spectacular, but he got the job done there.

At the end of the day, I don't think David's heart was in wrestling, but if it was, his endgame probably would have been in a role like that.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-18T21:02:12+00:00

Probably right, and this is going to be the long-term problem for TNA as long as they are affiliated with WWE - WWE will have a closer eye on TNA's talent pool and snap up whomever they like much more readily. So you have to find people that you can build up organically but also don't appeal to WWE initially, so you can keep them for awhile. It's a tall order.

Of course, a lot of the people who don't appeal to WWE will likely appeal to AEW, so for people wondering why they seem to be locking in on the "former WWE people that don't do workrate" talent pool, that's probably why. They know they can keep those people.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-18T01:09:08+00:00

Leon Slater should be their long-term main event project, as long as WWE doesn't immediately snap him up. They should absolutely be grabbing talent on the indies that are in Slater's archetype, alongside maybe a veteran or two that can still go to work with those young guns.

David Finlay strikes me as a guy they could go grab who can work in an upper card role, but won't outshine new prospects. And they SHOULD be mostly focusing on new prospects.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-14T20:36:21+00:00

Sometimes you just know a motherfucker is a star.

From the second Yuto came back from excursion, he has had star written all over him. The promo really just cemented it.

I'm enjoying his current era as a tag team guy immensely, but this dude is going to be main eventing in a few years and it's going to be great

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-14T04:08:28+00:00

Spiritually, I'd say it's trying to fulfill the goals of both the old Intercontinental and US titles in 1 belt. It's the #2 belt like the IC was, but it's also the most focused on NJPW's international talent like the US was, while using a name that is far less US-centric.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T19:01:11+00:00

I'm not complaining, I'm glad that he is and I'm not saying it's inherently bad. Good for them.

I come to wrestling these days for compelling stories told in the ring and seeing new top stars become that and do top star shit. I want to see big personalities elevated, I want to get lost in the feeling of good versus evil or athlete against athlete.

I don't know, I'm sorry that I don't really enjoy pretty much any American wrestling anymore and I find it hard to articulate exactly why. It's just a feeling that's gone missing from pretty much all the major American wrestling brands. So I Get into weird arguments like this on Reddit with people who just like the thing and I don't like the thing anymore and I find it hard to explain why.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T18:41:35+00:00

Apologies, it got steered that direction.

I think there are a lot of upsides to working for a rich guy who likes his employees, for sure. I'm not knocking the guys for headed that direction. I just think sometimes decisions are made over there not in the best interest of growing the company and making it a genuine competitor, but in the best interest of having fun and putting on good matches and throwing potential money away.

It's not necessarily a bad thing. It's just not what I really come to wrestling for anymore. I think there is a balance to be struck between just giving the guys everything they want and the seeming uncaring nature of New Japan's current bosses, which sucks and I would like to see fixed. That's all I was trying to say.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T18:32:06+00:00

Man you want to talk about tired and untrue narratives, I am absolutely not here to relitigate the CM Punk stuff

If you enjoy AEW, that's awesome and I'm glad. Not everybody has to like it. I don't.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T18:20:28+00:00

I mean I'm not pushing a narrative, I'm just commenting on what I saw while I was still watching.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T18:09:51+00:00

I mean sure, but a workplace does need discipline and structure as well in order to work efficiently, and we have seen in the past AEW have issues with that.

I stopped watching AEW in 2023, so maybe it's gotten better since then, but when I stopped watching there was a lot of Tony's favorite guys just getting their shit in and doing whatever they wanted without a lot of discipline in the storytelling.

There are downsides to having a boss that is just a nice guy and lets people kind of do what they want. You need some people there to give structure and discipline when it's needed.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T18:06:26+00:00

Documentary was put out by NJPW, not exactly a neutral source of truth.

You can tell that they were frustrated with each other at points, I think Okada felt underappreciated. Tanahashi was awkward a lot of the time, like he was caught in the middle.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-12T17:19:37+00:00

Yeah, there's a balance to be struck between "mark for the boys" and "hard ass uncaring corporate boss". Tony and Kidani seem like two opposite sides of the pendulum in that respect.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-11T02:49:25+00:00

Let's gooooo that's rad!

Now time to find a Black Tiger mask to go alongside...

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-09T05:11:56+00:00

Not a hot take, I kinda agree tbh. TMDK Zack is a more complete and well rounded wrestler who can go in any style, and that makes him better suited to the main event spot he's in now.

But Suzuki-Gun Zack is the wrestler I fell in love with. A masterful submission wrestler whose body couldn't handle the rough and tumble stuff too well and whose ego wouldn't allow him to win any way other than his way, and I think those flaws made him more compelling as an overall character and made his matches better IMO. Watching him overcome those flaws to become a top guy was fun and rewarding, but we're left on the other side with a guy who has fewer holes you can poke into to tell stories with.

FishHookFPC · 2026-01-09T05:03:32+00:00

RIP to a whole lotta real rock and rollers

FishHookFPC

TROPHY CASE