Wrestling Chatter

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...

Hi guys, I've been watching wrestling for around 3 and a half years but it wasn't until the Cruiserweight Classic where I started to become more aware about different divisions in different companies. For wrestlers under a specific weight limit, Cruiserweights is the term used by most companies for wrestlers but in Japan they're known as Junior heavyweights. Each company also has a different weight classification but that doesn't mean you're restricted to being a Jr/ Cruiserweight if you're under this limit as seen by Kota Ibushi, Young Bucks, Finn Balor etc - you just can't be part of the division if you're over. So, if that's the basics then why am I writing this post? It all links to something Marty Scurll said in the Best of Super Junior Conference in May (cast your little minds back): "I'm dedicated to making this junior division the best in the world. I hate the idea that this Jr division is less than and the fact that peo...

Hi guys, It's been about two months since I first started watching New Japan Pro Wrestling and I can most definitely say that I'm hooked (I mean I'm even going to see them when they come to the UK in July). So, the Best of Super Junior 25 has been the first NJPW tournament that I have been able to watch pretty much live (or a few hours later because of time differences) and I've been surprised at how invested I stayed from the start to the end.  There were a lot of superstars that I already knew pretty well before the tournament like Will Ospreay, Marty Scurll, Flip Gordon, Takahashi, Kushida and Taiji Ishimori. There were some I knew by name like Sho and Yoh and some I had no idea about like Chris Sabin, ACH, Taguchi and the rest of the participants. But, as well as putting hell-a-good matches, the tournament had some great storylines and kept me invested even in the house shows that were shown on NJPW World and some of the tag matches before the proper tour...