Wrestling Chatter

Hi guys, For me, New Japan Pro Wrestling has to be one, if not, the best company in the world for giving us amazing wrestling content. With the introduction of their streaming site NJPW World, more worldwide shows and English commentary (from the AMAZING Kevin Kelly) on most of their shows, it’s becoming a massive rival for other massive companies. But, when I started watching it a while back, the whole format was really confusing because it was so different from what I was used too. So, in the lead up to Wrestle Kingdom (which is the biggest show/s of the NJ calendar year), here’s a beginner’s guide to New Japan Pro Wrestling (Shin Nihon Puroresu) for anyone who wants to watch NJPW but has no idea where to start. History New Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in 1972 by wrestling legend Antonio Inoki after he left the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion. Inoki put himself as the star of the company and drew on the experiences of foreign wrestlers (Gaijin’s) like the Bri...

Hi guys, In a time where darkness seemed to shroud New Japan, a crop of young lions made their way to the dojo with dreams of making it. Amongst the newest NJ prospects, a Young Hiroshi Tanahashi pledged to make his mark on the company and bring it into the light. 20 years later, the Ace of New Japan is still that shining beacon touching the hearts of crowds across the world. 20 years of going out each show and giving the fans what they want, pouring his heart and soul into every match he's in and representing NJ the way it deserves to be. So, in celebration of Tanahashi's 20th wrestling anniversary, I'm going to have a look back at what makes the Ace the centre of New Japan and in the heart of it's fans. I'll have a look at his humble days as a Young Lion, his rise to stardom and his current status as a father figure to the up and coming talent. (前ツイートの続き)…と、クリアファイルを見た娘が「同じだね」と持ってきた #クレヨンしんちゃん のファイル。同じやな(笑) pic.twitter.com/tF4gwpbC0F — 棚橋 弘至 feat.鉄...

Hi guys, With the 2019 G1 tournament starting in a mere few days, I was wondering what the best way would be to really get you ready for the busy Summer season of NJPW. Whilst strolling through the NJPW archives, I stumbled upon a match that inspired me to do this match. Last year, I watched my first ever G1 and it was one of the best experiences ever because every match was so different and unique. So, here are my top 5 matches from last years G1. Kenny Omega v Yano Toru ( Night 16 - 8/8/18) This was the match that inspired me to do this post, because it made me realise how diverse last year was. For anyone who hasn’t watched it, Tama and the BC attacked Kenny before the match and Yano came running down trying to capitalise and, after a second attack from the BC, picked up the win. However, it was the match itself that made it so memorable and one of the best. Obviously Yano took off all the turnbuckles, but we had best friend Chase Owens making sure that Kenny was prote...

Hi guys, About 6 months ago, I delved into the NJPW Faction system and basically ranked them all in order of my personal feelings toward them but things change. Looking back at that post ( https://wrestling-chatter.blogspot.com/2018/07/new-japan-factions-rated.html ), I put Bullet Club at number 3 and maybe I was being a bit too generous because the faction was basically falling apart which all culminated in a split within the faction which I wasn't a fan of. Fast forward to February 2019 and the BC OG's are the sole Bullet Club faction with the Jay White, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishmori, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado, Gedo and Robbie Eagles. The Bullet Club have now moved straight to the top of my favourite factions and I thought I'd look at the past few months and how they've gone from being hierarchical faction with the 'main cast' to the most dominant faction again! This is especially relevant after the New Beginning Osak...

Hi guys, Before I get into this exciting post and possibly very long ass post - HAPPY NEW YEAR (right, we've got the formalities out of the way). So, if you've been reading this blog recently, you'll know that NJPW always gets me very excited and on Friday 4th Jan, we had the biggest event of the year at the Tokyo Dome... Wrestle Kingdom 13. I got a day off work and sat my bum on the sofa from 7am (after getting up at 6:30am) to watch an event with one of the most stacked cards I've ever seen from a wrestling show! All I can say is, wow! It was the first WK I've watched where I was fully into the company and all the storylines (last year was just Ospreay's match and Kenny v Jericho) and I was at the edge of my seat for every single match, also my prediction tally at the end was 7-3 (which is pretty damn good considering my past records).   So, here are my reactions to all 5 hours of Wrestle Kingdom 13 including the pre-show: Wrestle Kingdom started wit...

Hi guys, After a long year of wrestling amazing wrestling from NJPW, we're nearly at Wrestle Kingdom 13 which is on January 4th and, after seeing the entire card, I am so excited to spend a whole morning in my PJs watching WK on NJPWWorld. I know there's been some controversy over the match build ups, due to vacant champs, but there have been some matches that have been built up perfectly. So, here's my look at the entire WK13 card and my predictions on who I want to win (it is a long post but bare with me)! No. 1 Contender Gauntlet for Never Openweight 6-man tag team titles I guess that the problem with a company that has so many amazing stars but not enough places on the card is that we're going to have wrestlers like Suzuki and Goto without main card slots. This Gauntlet is probably the best way to get some amazing stars on the show in some way... even if it's not idea. The teams have now been announced and apart from a few sad tears (I mean where the...