The wrestling speeds up around this time too and the blood makes everything seem even more intense until Naito hits Destino for the win. With all this and how good their match in Super Junior Tag League was in mind, this is a really promising development. You can keep up with With Spandex on Twitter and Facebook, follow our home site Uproxx on Twitter, and even follow me on Twitter @emilyofpratt. [3] It has also created a mass of other cultural icons in Japan including: Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Jyushin "Thunder" Liger, Tiger Mask, Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Kenta Kobashi among others. A top star to keep an eye on in the coming years. The Third Generation and GBH guys bring their old man A-games and Henare again turns in a performance in one of these opening matches that makes you want him not to be stuck in these opening matches much longer. Currently NJPWs biggest star, Okada is one of the biggest names in all of Japanese wrestling in general. Ospreay and ZSJ brawling reminds me of a fight I saw at about two-thirty in the morning in one of those shared living houses (basically a dorm or boarding house in which landlords squeeze about fifteen people) in Los Angeles. The part where Suzuki and Mox both hit themselves in the head with pieces of table took this match over the shark for me, though. While "The World's Strongest Man" has been around WWE programming in some form for the last 20 years or so, that doesn't mean he qualifies as one of the better in-ring performers the company has seen in that span. Graduate of Temple University, Class of 2015. One of the best tag team wrestlers of his era, he's held belts from promotion's all over the world including ROH, PWG, NJPW and of course now, TNA. It’s quality wrestling that brings back the memories of their past matches in a really fun way. WOWOW had a working agreement with Akira Maeda that paid millions to RINGS when he was featured, but eventually was scrapped with Maeda's retirement and the subsequent RINGS collapse. He also had a stint in TNA where he was subject of poor booking and misuse of his character, but has flourished under the scrutiny that comes with wrestling under the NJPW banner. The things I can remember from Jay White vs. Sanada are: This match had no stakes (not even any clear “momentum” type ones), no compelling underlying drama, and nothing that made it stand out as a match in itself. The current ROH World Champion, he's slowly making a name for himself worldwide, and will continue to excel for the next decade or so. It's unlikely he'll reclaim the minor success of his WWE run, and instead be relegated to Indy work for the rest of his career. A recent counter-example is Shinsuke Nakamura, who continues to perform under his birth name in WWE. Just about any decision is the right one for him right now. Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. Foreign wrestlers from diverse backgrounds have earned huge followings, sometimes greater than those of Japanese top rosters in respective Japanese promotions they have wrestled in. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match is kind of overshadowed by the next step, after helping Yano steal the 6-Man titles, in Taguchi’s plan to cure the title fever he cut a promo about on the New Beginning tour: the reunion of the Mega Coaches to challenge Roppongi 3K. Currently signed to ROH, where he combines managing and wrestling, Evans is decidedly mediocre, especially since he's no longer in his prime. THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA‼️第8試合IWGPヘビー級・IWGPインターコンチネンタル ダブル選手権試合、二冠王者@s_d_naito 挑戦者@KENTAG2S ‼️両者共にペースをにぎらせない試合が続く‼️一体どんな展開を見せるのか⁉️登録＆視聴https://t.co/CcdQ1XrpWA#njpwworld #njnbg #njpw pic.twitter.com/o1br7wPR0g. This Los Ingos vs. Of course, on mainstream television, WWE and. Tetsuya Naito’s first defense of both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships is a match that highlights his strengths and exposes both the pros and cons of his challenger. The opening with the chair fight on the entrance ramp, the initial barricade-assisted fighting in the crowd, and the sequences surrounding the table are all really fun. He possesses good size, undoubtedly what drew WWE to him in the first place, but doesn't have the "it" factor necessary to stand out in a business where originality is placed at a premium. (Bushi, Hiromu, Sanada, and Naito) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Ishimori, ELP, Kenta) elimination match, and the best part is the BC juniors working together to avoid touching the floor. When things look competitive between him and Naito, it’s exciting, but the parts of the match Kenta controls drag. [5][6] Growing out of origins in the traditional US style of wrestling, it has become an entity in itself. A four-time IWGP Title-holder, he has consistently produced and wowed audiences. Recent examples include Mitsuhide Hirasawa as Hideo Saito, Naofumi Yamamoto as Yoshi Tatsu, Kana as Asuka, Kaori Housako as Kairi Sane, and Kenta Kobayashi as Hideo Itami. Performing roughly the same move set, only with less efficiency and drive, he's become less interesting, and reliant on the same old tricks that suited a wrestler of much younger age. Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube. THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA‼️第1試合は中西学ファイナル大阪城ホール‼️"野人"@nobitokunが最後の大阪大会で大暴れ‼️そして第三世代が４人が集結‼️ 登録＆視聴https://t.co/CcdQ1XrpWA#njpwworld #njnbg #njpw pic.twitter.com/5JR7kBmtCC, — njpwworld (@njpwworld) February 9, 2020. All in all, an often overlooked superstar, who deserves more credit. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. When Hiromu Takahashi first came back from injury, he made fun of people asking if he’d change his wrestling style and maniacally took some flat back bumps. Ultimately, he'll likely end up back in the States, working smaller Indy shows for however long his career is able to last. As long as their matches feel like a competition or wow people enough that the audience doesn’t care that they don’t look like competitions, that works. All of this allows the viewer to gain a thorough, nuanced understanding of the different styles of wrestling each promotion has to offer, and the top stars in each company as well.