No, because I don't watch 95% of shyt out there. I'm still not done with with shyt from late 90s/early 2000s. I ain't tripping on not being caught up with all the random 7000 Japanese promotions out there. I don't even feel obligated to keep up with just NJ, let alone whatever AJ/NOAH/DG and smaller promotions are doing. I don't give a shyt about indies and only watch what I can steal from FloSlam via generic flash grabber add-ons on Chrome.
Essential Japanese Wrestling Discussion/News
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No, because I don't watch 95% of shyt out there. I'm still not done with with shyt from late 90s/early 2000s. I ain't tripping on not being caught up with all the random 7000 Japanese promotions out there. I don't even feel obligated to keep up with just NJ, let alone whatever AJ/NOAH/DG and smaller promotions are doing. I don't give a shyt about indies and only watch what I can steal from FloSlam via generic flash grabber add-ons on Chrome.
Jmare007
pico pal q lee
So, we agree then.
2000 WCW is a stretch for what it did for New Japan guys though, at that point working there was already used more as a tool to present a guy as a bigger deal because he was working in the US than actually sending them to learn stuff. I know the idea of the overseas excursion was getting more knowledge, specially when the territories were still a thing (even when they had awful experiences, like Kawada) but that's hasn't been the case for a long ass time.
I honestly don't believe Okada was sent to TNA with hopes he would learn anything worthwhile, he was sent there because they had a working agreement and it was "time" to sell the idea of the biggest prospect since Shibata "maturing" in an overseas stint.
And yeah, lucha promotions normally make guys better, and that thankfully hasn't changed.
Like I told you a couple of weeks ago, once you start going this rabbit hole, the worst thing you can do is watch too many stuff from too many different places. Pick 1 project at a time and watch as much as you feel you need or want to. Then go to the next. It's a smart decision to cut one out.
I've never felt overwhelmed with old footage. I always knew I had to be patient and that at some point I would catch up with everything I wanted to see, Like I told you, it took me like 5 years to watch what I wanted out of the territories.
I have felt burned out with too much current wrestling though, at some point the current style isn't nearly as compelling as it used to be and there's very little interest to keep up with everything I once watched or even seek out new stuff. That's why nowadays I'm more of a casual fan when it comes to actually watching wrestling.
MightyHealthy
said what he said
As crazy as that match was, it was only the third best they've had IMHO.Takahashi vs Dragon Lee
The CMLL swan song and the FantasticaMania match edge it out, but damn...they just have a chemistry that makes multi tag matches featuring them worth a look. They practically go quadruple time on sequences that just leave me breathless.
Scottie Drippin
Should Never Mention Me
I disagree. Of course CMLL’s track record with Naka, Naito, and Takahashi is incredible, but I think guys are still sent to the US to learn, and it’s to learn the show aspect of the business. Okada has talked about what he learned while here, and even Tanahashi commented on the things Okada had learned working in the US that he never learned, and no one would have learned just working in Japan.
Okada learned how to follow/predict/work the tally light around the ring, and position himself and spots accordingly. Tana was/is openly jealous of that, saying that’s the sort of thing you’d only learn working TV in the US.
The problem with the wrestling itself in the US now is that with all the old hands aboard one big ship, the indies are filled with guys who are just derivatives of Japan (or older indie guys), so it’s CMLL where guys are going to gain experience working with veterans.
Okada learned how to follow/predict/work the tally light around the ring, and position himself and spots accordingly. Tana was/is openly jealous of that, saying that’s the sort of thing you’d only learn working TV in the US.
The problem with the wrestling itself in the US now is that with all the old hands aboard one big ship, the indies are filled with guys who are just derivatives of Japan (or older indie guys), so it’s CMLL where guys are going to gain experience working with veterans.
Jmare007
pico pal q lee
I just don't buy he was sent there with that purpose. And in the grand scheme of things, even if Tana feels jealous about it, that doesn't mean much. Like, Okada was going to be a big star regardless if he learned how TV "works" in the US. I'm glad he actually got something positive out of his TNA stint but if that was an actual goal of sending guys to the US then we would have seen more people being sent to TNA or even ROH.
Scottie Drippin
Should Never Mention Me
I agree with you that in this day and age it's more about the idea of working abroad than the actual work. The industry just isn't the same. You can't throw some green dude from halfway across the world at a company that actually tours enough to warrant it being called a learning excursion.
Basically, the only company that still operates like that is the WWE, and they're not (nor have they ever really been) with that. Okada learned almost in spite of his situation in Florida (he went damn near his whole second year without working a match or something crazy like that). So the sources of worthwhile experience in the US have dried up. I think they still TRY to do it that way in spite of this, hence why only a few people get sent to the US (and of course, the "prestige" of a learning excursion in the US).
But it's inarguable that the last two NJ sent to the US, Okada and Watanabe (unless I'm missing someone else), went back improved in-ring, and with good gimmicks, which ultimately is the entire point of an excursion.
I just think the logistics of sending guys to the U.S. is much harder now. I don't even know how sending someone to ROH works/would work. Where would they live? Who's the guy designated in the lockerroom to look after them? Help them with the language barrier etc etc
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Jmare007
pico pal q lee
Agreed.
Now, Okada and Watanabe did make a leap once they got back to Japan. But I'm not sure we can attribute that improvement to their work overseas. Both gimmicks were given to them once they were back, they didn't work on them while in the US. And at least in the case of Okada, he was really good in the ring even with the limitations a young lion is supposed to have. They just let him loose and he showed what he could do. I'm not saying he didn't learn anything in the US, but to me it's more of a natural progression than anything else.
And yeah, there's absolutely no point in sending a promising talent to ROH. I think a case can be made that doing that could actually harm someone's development.
NJPW New Beginning In Osaka 2017
The Osaka New Beginning show was much, much better than the Sapporo event from start to finish. I already talked up Takahashi/Dragon Lee, but Naito/Elgin was dope as hell too and I still think Elgin is trash. It was a much better main event than Suzuki/Okada, somehow. Naito da gawd. Shibata/Ospreay was pretty fun, too, although I was expecting Ospreay to get his ass kicked a little more. I think it's pretty clear WWE is going to try to get CJ Parker back when contracts end at the start of 2018.
Shibata won't be able to do crossword puzzles at 40, but Ospreay won't be able to walk at 40
Really struggling to get through the 45th anniversary show. Even with title changes it feels like a Road To... show.
The Osaka New Beginning show was much, much better than the Sapporo event from start to finish. I already talked up Takahashi/Dragon Lee, but Naito/Elgin was dope as hell too and I still think Elgin is trash. It was a much better main event than Suzuki/Okada, somehow. Naito da gawd. Shibata/Ospreay was pretty fun, too, although I was expecting Ospreay to get his ass kicked a little more. I think it's pretty clear WWE is going to try to get CJ Parker back when contracts end at the start of 2018.
Shibata won't be able to do crossword puzzles at 40, but Ospreay won't be able to walk at 40
Really struggling to get through the 45th anniversary show. Even with title changes it feels like a Road To... show.
Where do you get these gifs brehNJPW New Beginning In Osaka 2017
The Osaka New Beginning show was much, much better than the Sapporo event from start to finish. I already talked up Takahashi/Dragon Lee, but Naito/Elgin was dope as hell too and I still think Elgin is trash. It was a much better main event than Suzuki/Okada, somehow. Naito da gawd. Shibata/Ospreay was pretty fun, too, although I was expecting Ospreay to get his ass kicked a little more. I think it's pretty clear WWE is going to try to get CJ Parker back when contracts end at the start of 2018.
Really struggling to get through the 45th anniversary show. Even with title changes it feels like a Road To... show.
You know, I'm really not trying to be a contrarian, but I'm not seeing this all time classic year Okada is having. What I'm seeing catching up to the 45th ani show is a guy 5 years into his push as the top guy that still doesn't feel like he completely believes it, who seems timid at times, whose matches FEEL like they have big chunks of dead time even if they actually don't, and still needs the right opponent to bring that next gear out in him instead of the other way around.
Naito has completely eclipsed him in terms of everything (charisma, presence, ringwork). He was never as good as Tanahashi. And while I think structurally he was better than Nakamura, he certainly didn't have the charisma or excitement levels Nak could reach. I don't think I buy into Okada as the ace who makes everyone else look better.
Naito has completely eclipsed him in terms of everything (charisma, presence, ringwork). He was never as good as Tanahashi. And while I think structurally he was better than Nakamura, he certainly didn't have the charisma or excitement levels Nak could reach. I don't think I buy into Okada as the ace who makes everyone else look better.
You're alone on this one. Okada has this uncanny ability of having a match that suits his opponents perfectly.
The War Report
NewNewYork
So the NJPW watches that be airing on Axis TV is on tape delay?
Yes, but the American shows will be live.
I'm not saying he's bad or anything, I just don't buy him as the true ace or that he's having some out of this world year.