Wrestling Chatter

Hi guys, Last time I left you, I was a bit too excited about everything that happened at Wrestle Kingdom 14. I took a few weeks to compose myself and luckily I didn't have to wait too long for my New Japan fix with as the yearly CMLL shows Fantastica Mania came around. For a lot of people, they see it as a filler tour or something that they don't really bother watching. I agree in the fact that it normally has no impact on any upcoming storylines. However, I always tell people to watch it.  Out of all the tours in New Japan, this is the most fun and colourful bringing everything special about CMLL to Japan from the wrestlers, bright colours and the horns. It's not only a chance to see your favourite New Japan wrestlers let their hair down a bit, but also see what CMLL has to offer with their wrestlers who are so diverse! Unfortunately, it all came to an end on Monday but, if you didn't get a chance to watch it, here are five reasons why this year's F...

Hi guys, Another month, another New Japan tournament which is always exciting. This time, we've got Power Struggle aka the Jr Tag League which is my favourite of the two tag league's because #JrPride. Over the past few months, we've seen the Jr tag division thin out slightly, but that doesn't stop the talent from being out of this world. As always, the league is bringing together some of the best Jr tag teams from NJPW, ROH and CMLL. As always, I'm here with a preview of the upcoming tour and specifically looking at all the teams involved this year. TJP and Clark Connors After teasing his appearance for the Jr tag league, it's nice to see TJP back in NJPW and the Jr heavyweight division. I know there's always grumblings, but TJP is home. For any of you who don't know, he was part of the original LA Dojo under Inoki with the likes of Rocky Romero and Bryan Danielson. You're putting the old with the new as he teams with LA Dojo Captain Cla...

Hi guys, The biggest BOSJ tournament has finally come to an end after a spectacular finale at Ryōgoku for one of the biggest crowds in around 20 years. Unlike my usual review, I think it's best if you can go and watch the tournament. But, if you're busy and don't have the time to re-watch 15 days of action, then I'm going to point out my favourite matches of the tournament that you should definitely go and watch if you have the chance. Sho v  Shingo Takagi This was the match that most people were looking forward to going into the tournament and NJPW blessed us with it on the first night! Shingo Takagi came into the tournament unpinned/ unsubmitted and Sho wasn't going to take that. Both guys rivalry has stemmed from Takagi's debut in October and the ongoing Roppongi 3k/ LIJ competition for the Jr tag belts. It makes even more sense considering the similarities between the two: both extremely strong and fast and the more aggressive of their respective...

Hi guys, After posting my Block A post yesterday ( https://wrestling-chatter.blogspot.com/2019/05/bosj-26-preview-block-a.html ), I was surprised to see some changes regarding Block B with El Desperado being injured (which means my pick to win is out) and Flip Gordon having Visa issues. However, Block B is still so strong and there's a crazy amount of talent to rival that of Block A. Ryusuke Taguchi After Taguchi's dreams of being the 69th IWGP Heavyweight champ alluded him, the Coach is back in the BOSJ. Taking part in his 16th tournament, could this be the year that Taguchi gets his second BOSJ win? A lot of people count Taguchi out as a joke or someone just to get the pin but, after his amazing match with Taiji Ishimori earlier this year, you can't count out the Funky Weapon. However, although Taguchi will take it seriously, all of his matches are going to be tons of fun with some hip attacks and maybe even a few ankle locks here and there. In terms of match u...

Hi guys, With the largest Best of Super Jr line up ever on the cards and all of the events being broadcast live and with English subtitles, May is going to be a damn good month of wrestling. Obviously, as the line up is so big, I'm going to split this preview into two and this post will focus on the participants in Block A! Dragon Lee As the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Champion, Dragon Lee has probably the biggest target on his back. Even though everyone is gunning to pick up as many wins as possible, the main win they will all want is against Lee because it guarantees a title shot in the future. However, Lee stands in good stead against his competitors because of his perfect combination of speed and agility in the ring. Even though he's one of the youngest competitors in the field, with the title around his waste, he's already one step above all his opponents. Within this block alone, I am looking forward to another match between him and Taiji Ishmori and his fellow CMLL w...

Hey guys, So another month's gone and another NJPW tour is under our belts, this time it was Power Struggle which was combined with the Super Jr Tag League (which I wrote about earlier). This tour has seen some amazing matches, some great storytelling and a Super Jr Tag League that really shows that New Japan has some of the best jrs in the world.   Before I talk about the league itself, we can't forget about all the other matches this tour which have been building up storylines for the next few months. We've had Tanahashi tagging with other Taguchi Japan members (hai) against the mix of Yujiro, Kota Ibushi and my boy Chase Owens (#AceCommentator) in the lead up to the Tokyo Dome. Even without Kenny, the lead up for this has been great with us seeing the pain in Ibushi's eyes for some reason or another, to the position of Chase and Yujiro within the BC Elite to Tanahashi's growing 'hatred' of Kenny Omega and everything he stands for in wrestling. We ...

Hi guys, Another week, another NJPW post because tomorwas the start of Jr Tag League (Power Struggle). Even though I'm sad it doesn't seem as important as World Tag League (I mean it's not even classed as it's own product, not all of the shows are broadcasted live and have you seen the banner), I still  want to look specifically at all the teams and who might be the front runners instead of the whole tour card. Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado - Suzuki Gun Even though these two are Jr Tag Team Champions, they've not been the best of champs and we haven't really seen the belts elevated like it was on the Bucks. I know that they're major heels and winning by sneaky tactics is the go to, but that doesn't mean that they shouldn't be able to put on solid matches and defend the title more than once every few months. But, I think this tournament is the best way to show the fans that they are great wrestlers and are champs for a reason. The...