Current New Japan

[soup23]

Zero issue with Jericho and think it is a savvy move both on his part and NJPW in general to create buzz. For my personal tastes, I know where an Omega vs Ibushi big dome match probably tops out at. There is much more uncertainty in the quality of a Jericho match.

 

Otherwise for the show, Naito vs OKada is odd in that I love the 2012 March match between the two but havent felt fully cultivated by any of their output since. Tanahashi vs Jay White intrigues me and is a really big spot for Jay to either sink or swim. The junior four way is going to be all action and that will either be your thing or not but I have set my expectations that it will be at least enjoyable.

[NintendoLogic]

Plus, the optics of New Japan making a deal with a longtime WWE top guy as opposed to a midcarder like Cody Rhodes or a has-been like Billy Gunn can hardly be overstated.

[The Thread Killer]

It should be interesting how this changes things business wise, as you have to think Vince isnt too happy about this.

 

Really? I would imagine that Vince couldn't care less. I can't imagine that he sees New Japan as any kind of competition. In his mind I am betting he thinks they're a professional wrestling promotion which caters to a very selective niche audience, whereas he's in the Sports Entertainment business and "makes movies." He's never cared about what happens in Japan before, has he? I know NJPW is trying to make inroads into the U.S. market, but realistically speaking even if Jericho makes a huge impact there, I doubt it will move the needle much in North America for NJPW.

 

One thing that has really come across from listening to all those Prichard shows is that (if Bruce is to believed, which is a big "if") Vince usually had no clue what was going on in other promotions, nor did he care when he found out. I doubt he's changed his opinion as he's aged. If anything, all signs appear to point to him being even more out of the loop with what goes on outside his bubble.

[FMKK]

 

 

It should be interesting how this changes things business wise, as you have to think Vince isnt too happy about this.

 

Really? I would imagine that Vince couldn't care less. I can't imagine that he sees New Japan as any kind of competition. In his mind I am betting he thinks they're a professional wrestling promotion which caters to a very selective niche audience, whereas he's in the Sports Entertainment business and "makes movies." He's never cared about what happens in Japan before, has he? I know NJPW is trying to make inroads into the U.S. market, but realistically speaking even if Jericho makes a huge impact there, I doubt it will move the needle much in North America for NJPW.

 

One thing that has really come across from listening to all those Prichard shows is that (if Bruce is to believed, which is a big "if") Vince usually had no clue what was going on in other promotions, nor did he care when he found out. I doubt he's changed his opinion as he's aged. If anything, all signs appear to point to him being even more out of the loop with what goes on outside his bubble.

In fairness, if this was the case he would be correct

[The Thread Killer]

Absolutely. If I was in Vince McMahon's position I wouldn't care what New Japan was doing, regardless of who they signed. If those Long Beach shows were any indicator of what New Japan considers as putting their best foot forward in order to make a dent in the American market, WWE has nothing to worry about.

[NintendoLogic]

I don't think Vince would've signed two of New Japan's four biggest stars if he didn't know or care about them.

[Jmare007]

I fail to understand why creating buzz in the US and social media is better than booking a bigger match for the Japanese audience (Omega vs Ibushi). And it's not like NJPW needs a lot of buzz to draw in the US right now, they could book a regular show with their current roster - with 1 important singles match, say Naito vs Omega for the IWGP belt - and sell out the Long Beach show in minutes.

 

I get the excitement over Jericho working at the Dome. It's a novelty and a legit surprise, but the match that it's replacing was a bigger draw (it already got 12k in Budokan Hall 5 years ago when both didn't have the level of stardom they have now) and cock blocks a guy that should be getting a big push - regardless if he can't commit long term - and freshen things up in the heavy division.

 

This kinda like Punk having to wait 2 years and cutting the pipe bomb promo before getting the push he needed because WWE had booked Rock as a ref for WM 27 and wrestling at 28. And it's even worse because Jericho doesn't mean 1/100th to New Japan to what Rock means to WWE, and Ibushi is a proven draw unlike Punk was.

 

I'm not saying having Jericho is a disaster or a huge mistake, I get why New Japan did it. But I don't buy it being a better decision than just booking Omega vs Ibushi.

[El-P]

Last time Jericho worked a Dome show, he was Super Liger. Wow. Time...

[topropepodcast]

The Jay White Switchblade stuff looks laughably bad as it was.

 

Jay White, for being a bright young talent, is a total babyfaced kid. Having him look like he raided Baron Corbin's wardrobe and an edgy nickname does absolutely nothing for him short of making him look like a total dork.

[SPS]

The Jay White Switchblade stuff looks laughably bad as it was.

 

Jay White, for being a bright young talent, is a total babyfaced kid. Having him look like he raided Baron Corbin's wardrobe and an edgy nickname does absolutely nothing for him short of making him look like a total dork.

 

I disagree, I think how he carries himself once the bell rings will be the biggest factor but the look doesn't remind me of Baron Corbin but more like something out of Resident Evil or a comic book. As for the nickname it is something that seems like some sort of gamer tag or something an MMA fighter would use so even if to some folk it seems hokey to a lot of younger folk that shit is cool so I do think it adds some flavor and something to identify him.

[FMKK]

The Jay White Switchblade stuff looks laughably bad as it was.

 

Jay White, for being a bright young talent, is a total babyfaced kid. Having him look like he raided Baron Corbin's wardrobe and an edgy nickname does absolutely nothing for him short of making him look like a total dork.

I thought he looked like a 12 year old doing Undertaker for Halloween or something. So many of these new indy guys look like the least intimidating people on earth.

[SomethingSavage]

Knew I couldn't be the only one that immediately thought of the guy from "Grandma's Boy" when the Jay White reveal popped up.

 

[SAMS]

I fail to understand why creating buzz in the US and social media is better than booking a bigger match for the Japanese audience (Omega vs Ibushi). And it's not like NJPW needs a lot of buzz to draw in the US right now, they could book a regular show with their current roster - with 1 important singles match, say Naito vs Omega for the IWGP belt - and sell out the Long Beach show in minutes.

 

I get the excitement over Jericho working at the Dome. It's a novelty and a legit surprise, but the match that it's replacing was a bigger draw (it already got 12k in Budokan Hall 5 years ago when both didn't have the level of stardom they have now) and cock blocks a guy that should be getting a big push - regardless if he can't commit long term - and freshen things up in the heavy division.

 

This kinda like Punk having to wait 2 years and cutting the pipe bomb promo before getting the push he needed because WWE had booked Rock as a ref for WM 27 and wrestling at 28. And it's even worse because Jericho doesn't mean 1/100th to New Japan to what Rock means to WWE, and Ibushi is a proven draw unlike Punk was.

 

I'm not saying having Jericho is a disaster or a huge mistake, I get why New Japan did it. But I don't buy it being a better decision than just booking Omega vs Ibushi.

 

Firstly, there's still doubt as to whether the Long Beach sell-outs are purely driven by the novelty of having a New Japan show stateside where people are flying/driving in specifically, and how sustainable that is in the long run once that novelty wears off.

Secondly, I think it's fair to say that anything that brings more eyeballs to the product, especially people who otherwise wouldn't have bothered, takes precedence over merely satisfying the wishes of the established audience, who most likely would be watching anyway. At least from a business perspective.

[joeg]

Omega vs Ibushi can sell out Osaka or Ryoguku Kokugikan sometime in the spring. (Is Ibushi still banned from Ryoguku Kokugikan or was that another building in Tokyo he and Omega got banned from?) I don't think if they ran Jericho vs Omega in the spring as a headliner it sells out 8-12,000 in Japan. However I would think running a Jericho vs Omega return match could sell out a 8,000 seat venue in cenrtain parts of the US, Canada, and the UK. So just thinking of how this might play out, run the Jericho vs Omega on the undercard at the Dome, at the least it bumps foreign press coverage of the show maybe even bumps foreign subscriptions for the month of January. Run Omega vs Ibushi as the main event for one of the big shows in the spring, run the return match to Jericho vs Omega in the US or Canada which I would expect to do at least triple the attendance of Cody vs Okada.

[Jmare007]

NJPW 2017 (Fiscal year Aug '16 through July '17)

 

Revenue: ¥3.859 billion (up 20.6% from 2016's ¥3.2 billion)

Employees: 61 (up from 2016's 45)

 

¥3.859 billion exchanges to $34 million. 2017 is NJPW's second highest grossing year ever, after 1997.

 

Source: http://www.njpw.co.jp/company

 

 

Not sure how it's a 20% increase when last year it was $32 million in revenue, but this are great news. I wish I wasn't so bored by the booking but it's working so I should just keep watching Kento Miyahara matches and Big Japan's Strong Division to satisfy my puro needs.

[sek69]

New Japan is basically WCW in 1996 in terms of stumbling on something hot and running with it, while not being stupid like WCW was in letting it run roughshod over everyone else on the roster.

 

The booking kind of reminds me of Vince Sr booking the WWWF, not always the most exciting but it's working for their audience and usually everything makes sense in the end.

[Wahoos Leg]

New Japan is basically WCW in 1996 in terms of stumbling on something hot and running with it, while not being stupid like WCW was in letting it run roughshod over everyone else on the roster.

 

The booking kind of reminds me of Vince Sr booking the WWWF, not always the most exciting but it's working for their audience and usually everything makes sense in the end.

 

Maybe it's a difference in sensibilities but a lot of times the booking seems to be foregone conclusions. While it usually yields matches that are at least watchable and often highly entertaining, the matches every fall with the IWGP Title or WK title shot on the line lack drama to me because there's no way the challengers are going to win. Ishii vs Naito was great, but there was no way he was winning and getting the shot at their biggest show of the year, which made it difficult for me to fully engage in it, if that makes sense.

 

And I couldn't get into Okada vs EVIL at all, much for the same reasons and also because I felt it was unnecessarily long. They could have shaved 5-10 minutes off and it would have been a better, tighter story.

[sek69]

As great as Okada's run as champ has been in terms of quality matches, it hasn't been the most drama filled run for sure. I guess they kind of painted themselves in the corner, either Okada only has matches with guys at the very tippy top and becomes a Brock like character who's never around or he wrestles more frequently and has more matches with guys who don't have a real chance of winning.

 

If nothing else it makes the other guy look good having a top quality match with the champ, even in a losing effort. One thing the booking tends to be good at for them is the whole "make guys look good while losing" deal, which didn't used to be difficult but is a lost art these days.

[Wahoos Leg]

As great as Okada's run as champ has been in terms of quality matches, it hasn't been the most drama filled run for sure. I guess they kind of painted themselves in the corner, either Okada only has matches with guys at the very tippy top and becomes a Brock like character who's never around or he wrestles more frequently and has more matches with guys who don't have a real chance of winning.

 

If nothing else it makes the other guy look good having a top quality match with the champ, even in a losing effort. One thing the booking tends to be good at for them is the whole "make guys look good while losing" deal, which didn't used to be difficult but is a lost art these days.

 

I agree with all of this. They've also done a pretty decent job telling the long-term story of how the title reign has worn him down over time

[Mad Dog]

I feel like they've done a good job the last 3-4 years of not making the time between the G-1 and WK to be a total dead zone.

 

I was surprised when Omega didn't beat him in May. I also liked when he was selling they leg injury during his program with Suzuki. I agree it hasn't been the most drama filled but I usually know I'm getting a good match out of it.

[William Bologna]

The Keith Lee vs Ishii match that people were raving about is up on NJPW World, and it's not blocked in the US.

[clintthecrippler]

Keith Lee vs Ishii was awesome. Two big beefy dudes taking turns throwing bombs at each other.

 

I would love for Keith Lee to go to NJPW and spend his 2018 bulldozing his way through the Bullet Club.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

Keith Lee vs Ishii was awesome. Two big beefy dudes taking turns throwing bombs at each other.

I would love for Keith Lee to go to NJPW and spend his 2018 bulldozing his way through the Bullet Club.

Anywhere Keith Lee goes, I will follow.

[Zoo Enthusiast]

I bought the Amazon FireStick gimmick since Target had it on sale today for $25 and knowing it has a NJPW World app on it, so it was worth a shot. It’s fairly barebones but in English enough for me that it is pretty easily navigable. As such, I am watching some tag league matches. I hope Jeff Cobb also starts getting booked in NJPW and bulldozes the Biz Cliz along with Keith Lee.

[Wahoos Leg]

I have a lot of problems with attempting to stream the NJPW World service on my laptop. Constantly freezing up and lagging as to make it impossible to watch a match.

 

I've seen various complaints elsewhere about similar issues and I think those sort of things have to be rectified if they want to make the desired splash on the 4th