NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2014

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

King of Pro-Wrestling 2014
13th October 2014, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo

Some supercards require me to witter away for 500 words before getting to the first match, but this is King of Pro-Wrestling, cast in stone as a big deal and the last real throw of the dice ahead of the Dome Show on January 4th. Sumo Hall is sold out and a whole heap of titles and briefcases are up for grabs.

Main event: AJ Styles (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Furthermore I come armed with translations from Yottsume, the ingenious entrepreneur slash fansubber extraordinaire, meaning that there's actually some grounding to my drivel this time.

NJPW Destruction in Okayama

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Destruction in Okayama
23rd September 2014, Convex, Okayama

Okayama is just an hour and a quarter west of Kobe by the train that leaves Shinkobe station every fifteen minutes, which means if you really wanted to pull a live double-header for this PPV then it would be pretty easy. New Japan haven't run a big show here in the Bushiroad era, often granting the city smaller shows on the Tag League tour, giving this show the quality of a step into the unknown (unlike say, Osaka or Korakuen Hall).

On initial announcement my reaction was one of hesitation, feeling that there was more 'angle' than 'spectacle'. Drilling down deeper I must admit that all of the title matches and the contendership bouts offer something noteworthy. Match of the night seems genuinely up for grabs rather than nailed-on. As a critical word, I don't think that I can recall a main event where the result has been so completely expected ahead of time.

G1 CLIMAX 24: Day 10

G1 CLIMAX 24: DAY TEN
City Gymnasium, Takamatsu
6th August 2014 

NJPW leaves Honshu for Shikoku, the smallest of the four major islands - and in particular, the city of Takamatsu, reachable by ferry from Kobe. On the boat ride over I daresay many of the workers will look to this blog for spirit and courage and to remind them of of who they're really trying to please here.

RRRRAAAAARRRRGGGHH!

Tonight's card has one marquee match based on their Meltzer-approved tear-up from last year as Katsuyori Shibata takes on Tomohiro Ishii. Their bout in Osaka was utterly heartstopping and is probably one of my favourite matches of all time. I'm not going to pressurise this rubber match (as you'll see later) as Ishii is reportedly hurt but it should be interesting at worst and bloodcurdling at best.

G1 CLIMAX 24: Day 9

G1 CLIMAX 24: DAY NINE
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, Nagoya
4th August 2014

After a barnstorming weekend of two shows that would knock the block off almost anything I've ever seen, the NJPW charabanc rattles into Nagoya, between Tokyo and Osaka and a little farther north of Hamamatsu (Day Six). As well as being an important port city, Nagoya calls itself home to the founder of Toyota, the 1989 World Figure Skating Champion Midori Ito and one of the greatest cruiserweight wrestlers of all: Ultimo Dragon. Dragon-san also helped train current Block B co-leader Kazuchika Okada, who hails from just down the road in Anjo.

Clear leaders at the top of each Block have emerged, though the eventual victors are far from cut and dried. Five men, all at 5-2, will comprise the second half of this show, going out to bat one after the other. The first half of the show contains few who could feasibly enter the winner's circle, but plenty who could yet spoil the party. CHAOS foot soldiers Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii have the night off, which is quite timely for the latter man, who is reported to have seriously duffed up his shoulder.

NJPW Kizuna Road (Day 2)

Kizuna Road 

29^th June 2014, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo.

Kizuna (絆) is a kanji word that roughly translates as 'bonds', 'friendship' or 'connections'. Much like the Portguese word 'saudade', the Dutch 'gezellig' and the German term 'heimat', there are certain words that have specific meanings that also have regional connotations that go beyond simple translation; they have deeper meanings that attempt to hint at the deeper condition of the people in the mother language. Kizuna can exist between people separated by oceans and by people who do not know each other, it is the spirit of the people as much as simple friendship or nationhood. It's an oddly profound choice for a wrestling promotion to go with, but it beats the shit out of Payback. 

"I bring you peace" ~ C.Montgomery Burns

NJPW Dominion 6.21

Dominion 6.21

21^st June 2014, BODYMAKER Colosseum, Osaka.

The midsummer spectacular of New Japan Pro Wrestling has historically been an explosive affair. Just twelve months ago, Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata continued their boiling bloodfeud in an encounter many take to be the finest of their tear-ups. A flowering boy-prince named Kazuchika Okada was still our champion, defeating To(u)gi Makabe before being challenged by Prince Devitt, who had just downed Hiroshi Tanahashi in the semi-main.

Conversely, this would be the first defeat Tanahashi would suffer at Dominion, having defeated Okada in 2012, Goto in 2011, Yano in 2010 (in a hair vs. hair match that sounds fucking LOL) and the man who shall forever be prefixed with 'veteran' Manabu Nakanishi in 2009 in a 30+ minute encounter are you INSANE?