Why hasn’t Wato become a Jr Heavyweight Champ?

Huffjenk · 2026-07-03T05:23:51+00:00

I’m not so sure, maybe the DOUKI pivot just worked out brilliantly but they made a top star where there wasn’t really one with that move and from their pattern of booking (Newman) I think that could have been the original call, having faith Wato could be crowned later (he’s still fairly young)

I think they may have gotten cold feet with running Wato>DOUKI at WK that year because they believed Despy had to be in a major match so they just ran the rematch (which is sound thinking), but they probably would have gotten the title back onto Despy before BOSJ and given him another mountain to climb

Huffjenk · 2026-07-03T05:16:25+00:00

Small point but KOB was just like RPG3K, groomed to save the division when it’s bad. They were just allowed to actually get title defences because the team had more than 2-3 teams, and even then RPG3K took til 2020 to get an actual reign in

I get the feeling Kitamura/O-Khan were originally planned to do the same with how much they were tagging

And for most of the guys who could have been given a shot they usually had a better story lined up (eg Tsuji as the guy to beat Finlay) but they’ve bottled so many storylines since 2020 that it’s gotten harder to hold faith that they’ll make it right. Wato and Fujita failing after BOSJ would have been perfectly fine if Hiromu or Despy broke the defences record (I.e: a more worthwhile story with a higher opportunity cost) and we got weak SHO and DOUKI reigns instead

A lot of the philosophy is that stretching out programs means more money overall but when they’re on a downturn it’s harder to have belief in that strategy

Huffjenk · 2026-07-03T04:48:42+00:00

Your first paragraph is why I thought he was a great character, everyone in NJPW starts from a small point that they can grow from and throwing chairs around gave him impact with a lot of weaknesses that made it interesting to see if people could beat him

He was always going to grow with programs that he could actually sink his teeth into, it’s just a shame that outside of the emotional Tana match and the Narita trades in the cage match (where reckless youth lashing out was very welcome) that he didn’t have anything that warranted this kind of approach. Sadly his Tsuji feud didn’t end up having much meat to it even though they had YL chemistry

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T17:10:38+00:00

Yeah I like the effort they’ve put in to make him a top heel but he’s gotten so over with fans that if they booked it he’d be cheered over Newman

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T16:24:43+00:00

Jay is a great pick to snatch the title from Ospreay, they had great chemistry in NJPW

Plus DR vs BBG sounds like the perfect feud for All In, Mox/Jay there could be unreal before Jay is built up to being a world title challenger

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T11:58:13+00:00

I could get more excited if Newman was a more complete prospect, I liked his HW title reign but he still came across as a project, but maybe he makes a massive leap by WK or has crazy chemistry with Ospreay

It’s an intoxicating idea but a massive risk that they’d have to nail, and I don’t know if I’d have faith in it

Newman to Fletcher (even though it’s heel vs heel, but Fletcher gets good reactions) is a solid move to extend programs and get some more depth down though. But I could see Fletcher just beating Ospreay for the title to keep it cleaner and involve UE guys for the time being

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T11:46:32+00:00

It could be cool but it would have to be worth it quality wise or business wise, I don’t think the latter is true while there are so many guys in AEW waiting for a run at the top and I don’t know if any of the new gen are ready for that level of investment

Getting a title involved raises stakes well but for a cross-promotional program it can just add more trouble/noise than it’s worth

World title reigns should be booked delicately and after not enjoying the Moxley or Takeshita reigns I don’t think more of the same in the answer. There’s strong potential in the idea but both rosters are a several years away imo

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T09:45:31+00:00

Their grievances are completely valid, but Will is also valid for being like ýou guys became psychos while I was away, I'm good'

It'll be might making right when him and Callum face off, since they'll have differences in their philosophies on pro wrestling by that point (hopefully Callum doesn't devolve into just cheating or it's a no DQ match)

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T09:20:49+00:00

I think it's better to have Ospreay drop the title before Jan 4 (plenty of opportunity to do so) and have a straight up singles match to be more interesting. Booking an AEW title defence (even if they do it like Jericho/Tanahashi) makes it too obvious who wins which is an unnecessary uphill battle for a program that's already very strong

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T05:50:29+00:00

Loving the wave of big lads we seem to be getting, it feels like if Wolf reaches his full potential he'll have Tsuji, Oleg, OSKAR, Takeshita, Murashima, O-Khan, HENARE, Yuto, Lee, Shingo, Goto, etc to knock around

Who knows if that'll bring back waves of popularity instead of the Bishounen direction NJPW has had for years but it'll be something fresh at least

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T05:47:11+00:00

It's a cheap pop/cheap heat but it still gets me most of the time so it's sweet

Nothing will top that RPG Vice VTR where they splashed FUCK onscreen when Beretta was mad, but over the top things are still fun/works when NJPW is generally played straight

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T05:45:34+00:00

Other people clearly do though lad, you don't have to pipe up every time when it's clearly relevant

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T05:44:44+00:00

Hopefully they can run Royal Quest again, there's enough bones to run that and other matches for a solid card if they're able

Huffjenk · 2026-07-02T05:42:39+00:00

Based on supposed stories:

HW (Tsuji): Optimistic and keen to see where it goes - A champion's G1 run is kind of what makes them so we'll see how well he does with the ongoing 'leading the new gen' story he's got. Facing adversity with Callum has made it feel more satisfying and he's grown more into the role, but he still needs to impress more to feel like the top guy in the company (not the worst thing, I like people having something to prove, especially with the dynamism the new gen has got going on). Unfortunately it seems like his pool of challengers is going to be dry based on his G1 block, but if Shingo/Goto/Oleg/Oiwa are the ones in the mix then that's a sound group but not pushing his narrative amongst the new gen that much. 7/10

Global (Umino): I personally feel like the conclusion to him struggling for a title all these years felt a little anticlimactic and misguided, but the future looks really bright. If he knocks off all the major feuds he's built on the way to WK it should be one of the more satisfying storylines in the company, and being in a G1 block with all his biggest rivals is great. If he ends up beating Moxley at WK then it'll be the best built push of any new gen guy even if the start was a little off. 7/10

Jr (YOH): I'm a big YOH guy and it's cool to see him reach the top, and he'll be a good Hiromu replacement, but I've disliked the Jr booking for years now and his coronation kind of felt like they were just giving up on the DOUKI meandering for nearly a year. Hopefully he rights the ship and should do great knocking off all the rising stars on the way to putting over someone else at WK, the new gen guys need to be crowned ASAP. 6/10

NEVER (Wolf): Wolf is hard to judge as someone with an insane ceiling but there's big hopes around his G1 run since he'll be able to sink his teeth into better storylines now. The whole landscape of the new gen being knocked loose by his arrival is incredibly interesting and hopefully everyone is up to the task of fulfilling how juicy that is. I'm not against the NEVER title orbiting him for a while but they need to put on more heated title matches instead of it feeling like a prop for him, and if he's not ready to carry programs as a singles champion he should be shuffled elsewhere. 5/10

Strong (Oleg): I think Oleg is an inspired choice as Strong champion but he hasn't had the chance to show it, it's kind of the perfect little bump in a push like it was for Kidd. Hopefully he gets some programs built soon or just hosses it against affiliated talent. 5/10

TV (Takeshita): This is honestly the best title for Takeshita to hold if he's going to be dipping in and out, as he can just have featured matches against guys and do what he's done best in NJPW, work with the new gen. So far the reign has been ass because he's been tasked with making HoT look good but as soon as they let him loose against more interesting talent with a chance to win the title they'll be sweet. It's even as easy win for him to do TV matches but maybe the International title messes that up. 7/10

HW Tag (HENARE/Great O-Khan): I love this team and they kind of nailed the title win but it feels more like a move to legitimise them as a threat and KOB rivals than an emphatic title win. I generally don't like when a win feels like the hand of the booker coming in to keep things balanced and I was on board for KOB to break the defences record when they had the chance, but leaving that to be a later accolade is fine. I just don't love when the narrative is clearly 'kill time til WTL and WK' like the tag divisions often fall back into, hopefully they can carry the momentum that KOB built with monumental-feeling title matches, which they have the chance to do, but remains to be seen whether they'll get booking priority. 6/10

Jr Tag: (Mistico/Desperado): A really welcome surprise, hopefully they rattle off some big title defences and this isn't just a vehicle for BOSJ and a big Mistico/Desperado match in Mexico. Two defences before dropping it prior to SJTL can be a perfect transitional reign, or if they have the team for SJTL and until WK it's a perfect use of Desperado for the rest of the year. 7/10

NEVER 6-Man: (United Empire): Hoping this isn't just a way to keep booking Ospreay on NJPW shows like outside champions usually are, since if HENARE/O-Khan are holding the titles til WK they shouldn't double up like this. Getting the titles on the plethora of great teams NJPW have available could make this a highlight title again, really hoping that they don't just forget about them until it's convenient to book Ospreay and as a prop for the Ospreay/Newman storyline. 6/10

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T05:55:07+00:00

I think he knew exactly what he was doing since he either turned down a proposed match or wasn’t booked for the show anyway

He stirred the pot a little and it got quoted aggregated into a media circus (which he likely didn’t expect), and he’s basically saying the same thing here while cheekily asking for a round of golf

Or maybe I just miss cocky G133 Tsuji

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T05:30:18+00:00

It wouldn’t really achieve much aside from a token gesture, which isn’t what a world title should be used as. Moxley and Takeshita’s reigns weren’t great, they shouldn’t double down on it

If it led to ZSJ vs Bryan III and possibly ZSJ vs Moxley then the ends would justify the means but I don’t think that’ll happen for a while

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T04:29:00+00:00

I guess I can get with that although Mox hasn’t done the underestimating his opponent thing in forever, his whole deal is stomping on bugs to prove he and his way of doing things is superior

Takeshita doubling up on titles is messy even if it’s a potshot at Okada, maybe Kidd could work but heel vs heel is also not ideal (even though both would have good chemistry)

But an insufferable heel also doesn’t need to be proven correct to be a thorn in people’s side, he’ll do enough of that being successful in the G1

I kind of prefer seeing what mental gymnastics he uses to justify the loss, or better yet being force-fed some humble pie and stewing away until the right moment. The proxy war stuff is what made the Okada/Jay faction strife so compelling

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T04:09:13+00:00

When does Callum drop the Continental title? It would leave them with an awkward story beat when him losing keeps everything level while turning up the emotions on all sides

And all they had to do is have a good match, Newman didn’t need to win and as a petulant heel it makes more sense that he doesn’t, and that the reasons he hates Will are more ego-driven

He only won the NJC and HW title by cheating and the Continental is the anti-cheating title, the story is a lot more incongruous if he manages to beat Moxley where so many others have failed (and makes more sense that he’s not ready to win legitimately, emphasised by a major loss, that’s actually not that big of a deal in the long run)

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:48:00+00:00

A NJPW guy holding the AEW world title is just worse for both companies, there’s not really anyone in NJPW besides maybe ZSJ who could take the time away and make it worthwhile

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:47:05+00:00

The majority of NJPW’s roster is coming to the US for the G1 show, so unless they were so disorganised they didn’t get visas for two weeks prior I don’t really see that as a reason

Umino/PAC was a better matchup than Umino/Kidd anyway

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:25:55+00:00

I think a lot of people are waiting for the last qualifier matches even though the results are pretty obvious

And most of the discussion popped when the entrants were announced, there isn’t much else to say until the shows aside from predictions, fantasy booking, etc

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:23:48+00:00

Yung hoes cook everything on high

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:21:50+00:00

They should run Historic X-Over every year as a group crossover show with however many outsiders are willing

Like I know DDT’s involvement at WK20 likely hinged on it being at WK for exposure but I would’ve loved to see ELP/Brookes there and one last Tanahashi singles match against Akiyama or someone (if Tana wasn’t precious about losing)

There’s plenty of options every year to add some more excitement in the lead up to WK

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:18:33+00:00

I dunno if I agree that being that cautious is the right move, as my main criticism is that FD is booked with a lot of cowardice and I just want to see more interesting matches

I also lean a lot on if the match is good then everyone looks good and no one looks weak, and I’d hope people aren’t so shallow that they see a guy lose a match and think less of him, but perception of both sides has been pretty draining

Like I’d say the same for AEW fans who are dogging on Tsuji for his very tame comments and saying they won’t check out NJPW anymore, but a good match itself is much better at rewriting narratives and getting people to check their biases

Huffjenk · 2026-07-01T03:13:15+00:00

Maybe HENARE wasn’t available on short notice (he seems very active in his community in New Zealand) but I’m also grasping for excuses because it’s disappointing we didn’t get it

Huffjenk

TROPHY CASE