New Japan Pro-Wrestling (On NJPWWorld and Triller TV)

[nobbyiscool]

Was just thinking how much better the group could be the other day if it was Henare in rather than O Kahn so don't mind this although still have no time for Kahn at all.

I wondered whether "X" might end up being Robbie Eagles, cos he's tight with Ospreay.

I like that they're finally doing something with Henare, but nothing about the Ultimate Empire really seems a natural fit. It reeks of angle, cos you look at it and go "what do these guys have in common, and how would they every have associated with each other to come up with this plan?"

All I want is to suspend disbelief, and I can't do that when we're looking at factions that have nothing in common.

 

[Phone]

i would guess that Ospreay loses it back to Ibushi at around the time of Dominion and the title story goes to the dome with Ibushi/Okada after Okada wins the G1. Okada/Ibushi was teased during 6-man tag on the earthquake show and it's just the obvious path, and in this case, the obvious path is clearly the best path. Then they'll be praying that come 2022, things can return to a sense of normality with Okada on top again (foreign talent flying in-out for tours, crowds being able to be crowds, not running korakuen a million times a month, etc)

Naito 2016 comes to mind as a obvious template for Ospreay's title reign (and really every new new heel, Gedo loves to give a title to a new top heel: EVIL, Naito/Omega in 2016, AJ Styles) so I'd be shocked if Ospreay A) doesn't successfully defend against Shingo and Okada and B) doesn't face Ibushi not long after. Then either Shingo/Okada get their win back to knock Ospreay out of the G1 (although strictly speaking, in each case the ledger for the year would still be 2-1 to someone). All this would be a good thing because among other things it'd be getting NJPW's booking back to a sense of normality after the oddness of the last 13 months. The new title thing is still death to me and if the story doesn't end up with Okada/Ibushi, I'll be even more flummoxed by it. (Now, they might overthink things and want Okada as champ as the Olympics are happening or something like that, so that would flip things to Ibushi going for the G1 3 years in a row, which would be kinda cool)

So after all that, there's an equal chance Ospreay defends against SANADA or some rubbish at Dominion. But to me, I look at how this is set-up at the moment and this is just screaming for some solid, predictable booking that we used to see from Gedo before.

As for the United Empire, the talent is fine. I like Khan, he's different. We've been saying Henare is talented ever since his Achilles injury and a bit like Finlay he got stuck in purgatory, indeed I wonder if a singles match between those two is lined up for the future. Cobb as the 2nd heavyweight is something I would have argued against 2 years ago, but he's got that banger against Shingo and some good ones against Ishii under his belt, and you know that speaks to two of the greatest in-ring performers of our generation, but Cobb was able to hang with them. I can't imagine he'll ever be asked to main event a non-G1 tour show. The big problem is obviously that Ospreay can't be trusted to deliver anything on the microphone, but will be given plenty of opportunity. The early signs are obviously not good. I suspect that in a few years time, Ospreay will get to a stage where he isn't total death on the mic, but it's gonna be a long journey.

 

[TradeDraft]

I've just found out that according to wiki the new world title has a separate title history.

So the IC Title and IWGP Title are Pretty much dead then?

 

[RossFC]

 

[Cleavy]

can we blindfold the crowd instead so they don't have to witness this idea?

 

[Cleavy]

NJPW cancels three May shows due to Tokyo's state of emergency

NJPW has canceled three Road to Wrestle Grand Slam events due to Tokyo's state of emergency.

www.f4wonline.com

RossFC

 

[itchee40]

NJPW cancels three May shows due to Tokyo's state of emergency

NJPW has canceled three Road to Wrestle Grand Slam events due to Tokyo's state of emergency.

www.f4wonline.com

RossFC

Probably best they don't run Korakuen for a bit, they've been embarrassing themselves with attendance numbers there

 

[The Casey Cat]

Can't see the May Tokyo Dome show happening either. God knows what they were thinking putting that on anyhow.

 

[RossFC]

Spoiler

Jay White beats Tanahashi for the Never Openweight title in the main event tonight. First ever person to win the world, IC, US and Never Openweight titles

 

[The Casey Cat]

Really good show tonight.

 

[TradeDraft]

 

[nobbyiscool]

It's a good reminder of how lucky we've been (or at least I've been) getting to go and cut loose in a live crowd at local wrestling. Still can't figure out why, when we're the only country allowing full crowds, and when PCW and DMDU in particular are running more regular shows as a result, more talent didn't come out from Europe, do their 14 days, and make some money.

 

[Senor M]

It's a good reminder of how lucky we've been (or at least I've been) getting to go and cut loose in a live crowd at local wrestling. Still can't figure out why, when we're the only country allowing full crowds, and when PCW and DMDU in particular are running more regular shows as a result, more talent didn't come out from Europe, do their 14 days, and make some money.

Unless they've got Australian citizenship they simply won't get in. Do you think any of the Australian indy wrestling groups have the financial influence on the government to get an exemption for anyone? Even then-- how much do PCW, Melbourne City, DMDU, etc. pay per match? Unlikely enough to make it financially worth it to move half way across the world.

 

[TradeDraft]

It's a good reminder of how lucky we've been (or at least I've been) getting to go and cut loose in a live crowd at local wrestling. Still can't figure out why, when we're the only country allowing full crowds, and when PCW and DMDU in particular are running more regular shows as a result, more talent didn't come out from Europe, do their 14 days, and make some money.

Because we Lockdown and do it Very Quickly like other Countries wait to late as Possible to do a Lockdown

 

[nobbyiscool]

Unless they've got Australian citizenship they simply won't get in. Do you think any of the Australian indy wrestling groups have the financial influence on the government to get an exemption for anyone? Even then-- how much do PCW, Melbourne City, DMDU, etc. pay per match? Unlikely enough to make it financially worth it to move half way across the world.

They couldn't get in now - but they could've 4 months ago when Australian events were ramping up and England was going into its 2nd wave.

No idea what people are paid per match, but we're not talking a hot dog and a handshake. If we use MCW as an example, capacity at Thornbury Theatre is a touch over 600. Average ticket cost would be about 38 bucks. So for the sake of the argument, let/s say they're grossing $24k.

I don't believe they pay anything for the venue - the owners of the Theatre invested in the company to get exclusivity on the shows and make their money on the bar. (The entire reason they wanted exclusivity on the shows and don't charge venue hire is because wrestling fans spend like crazy over the bar!)

I've heard that the first show back this year had over 4000 paid streams, which doubles that $24k. (It's hard to know what this looks like going forward cos they changed the streaming model during the break.)

When you do the numbers, I would have to expect your main eventers are earning at least $1k per show, while others are hopefully earning a minimum of $200-250. Not enough to bring over 4 or 5 people, but enough for 2-3 I think.

 

[Cleavy]

On Friday May 7, the Japanese government announced an extension to the state of emergency currently in place in Tokyo and other prefectures. In light of this announcement, as well as current COVID-19 infection status, and in order to prevent any potential further spread of the virus, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has arrived at the decision to postpone the Wrestle Grand Slam events in Yokohama Stadium and the Tokyo Dome previously scheduled for May 15 and 29 respectively.

 

[Senor M]

They couldn't get in now - but they could've 4 months ago when Australian events were ramping up and England was going into its 2nd wave.

No idea what people are paid per match, but we're not talking a hot dog and a handshake. If we use MCW as an example, capacity at Thornbury Theatre is a touch over 600. Average ticket cost would be about 38 bucks. So for the sake of the argument, let/s say they're grossing $24k.

I don't believe they pay anything for the venue - the owners of the Theatre invested in the company to get exclusivity on the shows and make their money on the bar. (The entire reason they wanted exclusivity on the shows and don't charge venue hire is because wrestling fans spend like crazy over the bar!)

I've heard that the first show back this year had over 4000 paid streams, which doubles that $24k. (It's hard to know what this looks like going forward cos they changed the streaming model during the break.)

When you do the numbers, I would have to expect your main eventers are earning at least $1k per show, while others are hopefully earning a minimum of $200-250. Not enough to bring over 4 or 5 people, but enough for 2-3 I think.

Based off your numbers, you’re suggesting that talent would only be getting $1k per show, possibly slightly more.

How many shows could someone do in Melbourne a weekend? 1, maybe 2? Most of those shows don’t get the revenue & crowd that MCW does— even then MCW normally only runs once or twice a month.

The match payments would barely cover the cost of living in Australia without a second job for most talent.

 

[RossFC]

On New Japan Strong Mox teamed up with Chris Dickinson. Yuji Nagata was on the other team. I think Mox's teeth got knocked out.

 

[Cleavy]

7 more wrestlers test positive for COVID-19

 

[Shade]

7 more wrestlers test positive for COVID-19

I thought things were looking promising in japan with covid obviously not hopefully they just pull up stumps for a few weeks and then resume as normal

 

[Cleavy]

I thought things were looking promising in japan with covid obviously not hopefully they just pull up stumps for a few weeks and then resume as normal

apparently they’re not strong on the vaccination front, and only 1% of the population has been vaccinated

 

[nobbyiscool]

I don’t expect anyone to be able to read these - I had to screen shot them from videos I took at last nights MCW show.

Spoiler if anyone plans to watch the stream:

Spoiler

Local favourite Ritchie “F’n” Taylor lost a loser leaves MCW street fight that came completely out of the blue. There’s been no signs of him leaving, and it was the first match of a new feud.

So what does his shirt say, and why’s it relevant to this thread?

“WATCH DOMINION”

Which is supposed to be next month

 

[Split pea]

Did Ospreay assaulting his storyline girlfriend lead anywhere?

 

[RossFC]

Did Ospreay assaulting his storyline girlfriend lead anywhere?

She got released right after that. The whole point of it was "If I did this to my own girlfriend, wait until you see what I do to you".

 

[MIZRKO]

Did Ospreay assaulting his storyline girlfriend lead anywhere?

Bea finished all her Japan commitments after the Yokohama show, the same time Ospreay won the world title.

Possibly heading to NXT UK