New Japan

[Judge Fudge]

Watching this because of Free Preview of Fight Network.

This is some good shit.

Okada vs Tanashei are just sights and matches to be seen.

 

[wildturkey]

Never watched a NJ show. I've just seen their crossover stuff with ROH.

 

[Hitman Hart]

NJPW has their ups and downs (they nearly died ten years ago) business wise, but its really great stuff to watch. Their booking of AJ Styles and the Bullet Club when AJ was signed in 2014 was excellent.

During the 90s, which were the better; the NJPW Juniors or the AJPW Heavyweights was a great topic of conversation.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Bought NJPW World for $8.99. Its basically NJPW's version of the WWE Network.

 

[Judge Fudge]

Bought NJPW World for $8.99. Its basically NJPW's version of the WWE Network.

Bastard.

Have to talk to my brother about hooking me up with that

 

[Hitman Hart]

Super J Cup starts on July 20th.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Obviously meant August 20th on the above post.

Kenny Omega is the first foreigner to win the G1.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Omega/Adam Cole tension after their tag team win two nights ago. Going to be interesting. Cole's contract expires in April and he is almost certain to be WWE bound.

 

[Judge Fudge]

Omega/Adam Cole tension after their tag team win two nights ago. Going to be interesting. Cole's contract expires in April and he is almost certain to be WWE bound.

Omega beats Cole for the tittle

 

[Hitman Hart]

Kinda late on the news here, but Shibata won the New Japan Cup and will face Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis on April 9th.

Good booking decision. There's been a few weird booking decisions in NJPW this year. The way they've handled Suzuki-Gun was weird, so has been their handling of Omega.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Been awhile. Since my last post, Shibata lost to Okada in a match where he probably suffered a career ending injury. Omega fought Okada to an hour long draw.

NJPW had two shows in the US that drew a sellout crowd of 1,000.

A lot of the hardcore fans are really over-rating what this means. Some people are out there actually thinking that NJPW could draw a pretty decent crowd in a big venue in the United States (I've seen people throw out venues such as MSG and Staples Center as choices for next year's event in the U.S.). There isn't any data out there that suggests that line of thinking is even close to being true.

NJPW World as of this past January only had 15,000 non-Japanese subscribers. NJPW's social media accounts lag behind Impact/GFW and ROH (well kinda for ROH. ROH has more followers than NJPW's english account, but NJPW's Japanese account has ROH beat)

NJPW booked a small venue in America's 2nd biggest market and had a sell out crowd. It was also their first time coming to the United States

 

[Judge Fudge]

Been awhile. Since my last post, Shibata lost to Okada in a match where he probably suffered a career ending injury. Omega fought Okada to an hour long draw.

NJPW had two shows in the US that drew a sellout crowd of 1,000.

A lot of the hardcore fans are really over-rating what this means. Some people are out there actually thinking that NJPW could draw a pretty decent crowd in a big venue in the United States (I've seen people throw out venues such as MSG and Staples Center as choices for next year's event in the U.S.). There isn't any data out there that suggests that line of thinking is even close to being true.

NJPW World as of this past January only had 15,000 non-Japanese subscribers. NJPW's social media accounts lag behind Impact/GFW and ROH (well kinda for ROH. ROH has more followers than NJPW's english account, but NJPW's Japanese account has ROH beat)

NJPW booked a small venue in America's 2nd biggest market and had a sell out crowd. It was also their first time coming to the United States

I would try something like Chicago or Dallas before MSG or Staples.

Preferably Chi-town because they let you know what works and what is a joke

 

[Hitman Hart]

I would try something like Chicago or Dallas before MSG or Staples.

Preferably Chi-town because they let you know what works and what is a joke

I'm really not sure what NJPW should do. They are breaking new territory here. I'd probably stick with the west coast, but it won't matter where they hold the show if they're just coming here once a year.

They aren't coming back to the U.S. until 2018. Earlier reports read that the long game here is for NJPW to open a U.S. based territory. It all makes zero sense to me. They have no casual fan base here and even on the diehard boards, such as WrestlingForum, Impact/GFW gets more discussion than NJPW. I guess it makes life easier for the North American based talents that they have.

I do wonder how ROH feels about a potential NJPW U.S. based territory.

In the UFC, the top draws are guys that are charismatic, can hype up a fight to an american audience and are fluent in english.

There just aren't many of those guys in NJPW. I use the UFC comparison because the way puro companies do business isn't all that different from the UFC and Bellator. There is a lot of faux realism (and no, not the american wrestling type of "realism") in NJPW and you aren't going to see elaborate storylines.

NJPW is the polar opposite to the WWE and that appeals to a lot of diehard wrestling fans. I'm assuming that is why Meltzer and Ryan Satin think that a NJPW territory in the U.S. could work and do very well. I just think they're wrong and they're letting their fandom for the NJPW product get in the way of logic.

 

[Tubbs1518]

I'm really not sure what NJPW should do. They are breaking new territory here. I'd probably stick with the west coast, but it won't matter where they hold the show if they're just coming here once a year.

They aren't coming back to the U.S. until 2018. Earlier reports read that the long game here is for NJPW to open a U.S. based territory. It all makes zero sense to me. They have no casual fan base here and even on the diehard boards, such as WrestlingForum, Impact/GFW gets more discussion than NJPW. I guess it makes life easier for the North American based talents that they have.

I do wonder how ROH feels about a potential NJPW U.S. based territory.

In the UFC, the top draws are guys that are charismatic, can hype up a fight to an american audience and are fluent in english.

There just aren't many of those guys in NJPW. I use the UFC comparison because the way puro companies do business isn't all that different from the UFC and Bellator. There is a lot of faux realism (and no, not the american wrestling type of "realism") in NJPW and you aren't going to see elaborate storylines.

NJPW is the polar opposite to the WWE and that appeals to a lot of diehard wrestling fans. I'm assuming that is why Meltzer and Ryan Satin think that a NJPW territory in the U.S. could work and do very well. I just think they're wrong and they're letting their fandom for the NJPW product get in the way of logic.

I 100% believe a NJPW territory could work here. They pretty consistently have some of the best matches of the year and they are very very good at what they do. If they do something where more people can watch it without having to pay for it, then they could really take off, especially if they do things with ROH and Impact where stars move around some and fight.

 

[futballiscool]

Signing Daniel Bryan when his contract expires would be huge for them.

 

[Hitman Hart]

Signing Daniel Bryan when his contract expires would be huge for them.

Probably a lock to happen, unless either Bryan or the WWE have an epiphany.

 

[futballiscool]

Probably a lock to happen, unless either
Bryan or the WWE have an epiphany.

I think that would be a game-changer for them. I agree there's a good chance it happens

 

[Hitman Hart]

I think that would be a game-changer for them. I agree there's a good chance it happens

Agreed, but not sure what a game changer means for NJPW.

 

[futballiscool]

Agreed, but not sure what a game changer means for NJPW.

I think a well booked return match for DB would be huge. Against Tanahashi or Omega or Okada it could sellout an arena in a major market and be a huge selling point for subscription.
Plus once they get a fresh set of eyes on the product they have a chance to create an entirely new fan base.
If that doesn't convert people I would say there's literally no hope for them in the US.

 

[Ewa PGH Fan]

I 100% believe a NJPW territory could work here. They pretty consistently have some of the best matches of the year and they are very very good at what they do. If they do something where more people can watch it without having to pay for it, then they could really take off, especially if they do things with ROH and Impact where stars move around some and fight.

I agree. Getting enough new eyes on the product would be the challenge and getting the new eyes to stay the even bigger challenge. As some have already suggested signing DB and having his return match would accomplish that.