Wrestling Chatter

Hi guys, After a week (in which I started my new intensive journalism course), I'm back for a preview of the New Japan Cup which is always exciting and really full on with the schedule! Like all the other tournaments, I'm going to run down all the participants who've been announced and the possible match ups that I'm mega looking forward too! With all the guys chasing Jay White for his title, the stakes are massive! I was initially going to do the usual ‘look at each competitor’ thing, but the card's so stacked and there’s 24 competitors. So I’ve decided to look at them in terms of first matches. They changed it up this year by putting most of the heavyweights which is nice! Also, I’ll split this preview into two posts because there’s so much to write about - I don’t want to blow your mind. Hope you enjoy! Yuji Nagata v Tomohiro Ishii When this match was announced, I was literally over the moon considering what happened at Iizka's retirement show. Both...

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, Welcome back to part two of my unofficial guide to NJPW wrestlers in one sentence, hopefully this means that you found the last one hilarious! If you're new to this blog or this series, here's a link to the last post  https://wrestling-chatter.blogspot.com/2018/09/the-unofficial-guide-to-njpw-wrestlers.html  and a reminder from me that this isn't serious and all of its done for fun so take it with a pinch of salt! So, without further ado, here's the last of the factions for you!' Chaos Kazuchika Okada - Former champion with red hair who lost the plot but has cool balloons  Jay White - Your friendly-ish neighbourhood knife pervert who hates everyone but loves dogs Baretta - Tall bean who doesn't go anywhere without his best friend Gedo - If you hear him speaking English, it's normally because he's swearing Hirooki Goto - He's so chilled but, when he's angry, he's a Samurai who can beat yo' ass Toru Yan...

Hi guys, This year's G1 has been so epic and it makes me wonder why it took me so long to find NJPW, but hey ho! I know I've touched upon how amazing the tournament matches were and how awesome the competitors were. But, throughout the 5 weeks, there have been a few of the wrestlers who really stood out for me and are my MVP's. Before I get into my list, there are some honourable mentions that I have to put in who, even though they weren't actually part of the G1, were out there every night and putting on great tag matches. Firstly, honourable mentions for Shota Umino and Roppongi 3k because Rocky has been immense on commentary and Shota, Sho and Yoh have competed at every event. I can't forget my boys David Finlay and Toa Henare who tried to bring the people the C Block (sighs of sadness) and Chase Owen's tagging with both Hangman and Kenny in some great matches - all three have to be part of next years G1! Now onto my main list: 1. Adam 'Hangman...

Hi guys, It's been a crazy few weeks of this years NJPW G1 Climax and it's been so exciting for me because it's the first time watching this tournament when it happens! So, in the lead up to the final two block days and the final on the 12 Aug at Budokan Hall, here's my review of the last few weeks, including some of the highlights, the storytelling and what I expect from the last few days of matches! Even though I'll probably do another post with my top 5 matches of the ENTIRE G1, this tournament really has had some amazing matches in the first few weeks! We've had the pure beauty of matches like Okada v Naito, Ibushi v Ishii, Ishii v Kenny and Jay White v Tanahashi, which were all just pure brutal wrestling that made me want to hide behind my pillow. There's been matches that have surprised me at how invested I got into them like Sanada v Ibushi and Ibushi v Juice Robinson. I don't think there's been one match where I've been bored o...

Hi guys, I think one of the things that is unique about New Japan is the importance of factions - Jay White said it perfectly in January after he returned from excursion, you need to be in a faction to get momentum in the company! All of New Japan's factions are so strong and important to the storylines so they're probably one of my favourite things about the company! In the midst of the G1 where faction loyalties are tested *or turned to ash ehem Jay White*, I thought it'd be a perfect time for me rate the factions and these are all personal opinions! 1. Taguchi Japan/ NJPW Main Unit I know people might think this is crazy rating but, by god, I love a bit of Taguchi Japan! I think these guys are such an underrated faction because they're never really at the forefront of storylines together, but the lack of drama and stuff shows how strong a faction they are. That's not even thinking about the members of the group who are some of the best in the whole compa...

Hi guys, Coming off the hype I had last Sunday after the NJPW/ Rev Pro Strong Style Evolved Show, we had the G1 Special on Saturday (or Sunday for me). The card was announced before the show and it was stacked from the first to last match, from the title to non-title match - I mean they spoil us every single time! I mean it was probably one of the best wrestling shows I've ever watched from the start to the beginning, I mean there were some AMAZING matches but none of them disappointed me - the standard was just so high. From the get go, even the matches that didn't have a title on the line were amazing and I didn't have one match that I wasn't on the edge of my seat for. Starting with a 10 man tag between Chaos and Bullet Club was amazing because, even though the match was short, it did everything it needed to and showed off the guys to the best of their ability. We saw the athleticism of Roppongi 3k, the talent of the Tongans (still bitter and those of you w...

Hi guys, Considering my last blog post was about NJPW, this post is a nice follow up because, on Sunday, I was lucky enough to go to the joint NJPW show run by Rev Pro at Altrincham Ice Rink which had some of the top New Japan stars and some Rev Pro talent. I found out last week that I was going to be graduating from university with a 2:1 in history, so it was the perfect way to end the perfect week of good luck, good weather and amazing wrestling! I guess it's easiest to start chronologically but without all of the boring bits. So, I got to the venue at about 1:30 for the meet and greet - it was pretty scary to start with because it was the first time I was going to meet any wrestlers and I was doing it alone. I'd paid £50 for the entry ticket and to meet my favourite Switchblade Jay White and Aerial Assassin Will Ospreay who, if you've read my other posts, will know are my two fave wrestlers. They are probably some of the nicest people (and badass in the case of ...

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...