Breezus

On 6/19/2018 at 3:28 AM, FiggyPud said:

Money In The Bank was rough to get through.  Good lord.  

That's how I feel about most WWE shows these days. I stopped watching RAW completely and watch half of the PPVs at most. SD! has gotten good again but I still tend to skip a lot of stuff. NXT and 205 are the only consistent products they got. 

I gotta say, I'm pretty happy with changing my viewing habits. I'm basically Team NJPW now, so that's where my primary focus lies. I'm a big fan of Lucha Underground too and with the G1 coming up, the summer is more than stacked even without WWE's main shows.

PM for RATM S/T

On 6/5/2018 at 3:04 AM, FiggyPud said:

 

I’m feeling the same way.  So far I think I’m only about finished with the 2nd night.  Not sure if I want to watch the rest of it or not.  Every singles match is top notch though so I’d hate to miss out on something real good.

 

And oh shit I didn’t realize Dominion was this weekend!  Yessss.  

It's a lot but it's totally worth it. BOSJ reached G1 levels of high quality match-ups this year. There's some gems like Ishimori-Ospreay, Flip-Ospreay, Flip-ACH, KUSHIDA-Scurll and all of Hiromu's matches. Also, SHO and YOH had great showings (their solo future is bright) and even Tiger Mask hasn't looked this good in a while.

Absolutely watch the finals btw. It's legit one of the  greatest matches I've ever seen, up there with Okada-Omega I (and maybe even II) and I'm not exaggerating. It's my personal MOTY (well, until this Saturday, that is). Bummed that I'm not gonna be able to watch Dominion live but I'm hyped nonetheless. That card is unbelievable.

On 5/30/2018 at 1:08 AM, IanRees said:

Apparently Andrew Lincoln is leaving the show after season 9.

http://collider.com/andrew-lincoln-leaving-walking-dead-season-9/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=collidersocial&utm_medium=social

I have yet to watch the second half of this past season.

Same. It's gotten inexcusably bad and when they got rid of Coral (especially under those rumoured circumstances), I knew it was just a matter of time until the show would die as well. Rick is the heart and soul of The Walking Dead and killing him off is like having Breaking Bad without Heisenberg or House of Cards without Frank Underwood. I used to be a big fan but I don't think I'll even bother with future seasons.

26 minutes ago, FiggyPud said:

 

I saw that Dontaku is up on the stream now so I gotta watch that.  7 hours of wrestling will be a lot to take on though but I’m excited.  Thanks!

 

Goddamn there isn’t enough time in the day to keep up with WWE and NJPW.

I often watch both shows at the same time and switch from one show to another whenever one feels more important. NJPW's first half is usually just a bunch of multi tag matches (which are usually decent, always fun (and sometimes pretty good) but they're not necessarily must-see, especially when you're out of time) and the majority of WWE's product has little to no meaning or consequences (the past week had 10 hours of WWE content and you can count the must-see matches on one hand - well, excluding NXT since the whole episode was great and usually is)

On 5/9/2018 at 12:35 AM, FiggyPud said:

I haven’t watched any NJPW in what feels like a while now.  Any essential shows I missed (that are on the streaming service)?  I kept seeing a bunch of “Road to Dontaku” stuff pop up on Facebook but I don’t remember seeing anything come up on the stream, so I assumed they weren’t really necessary to watch.

Definitely watch all the title matches and the Bullet Club singles matches (think some were on the Road To shows but most of those happened at Hinokuni and Dontaku). Especially the IWGP Jr. and IWGP Hv. matches were incredible and the Dominion card is so promising, it could become the greatest fucking wrestling event of all time.

On a sidenote, the Best of the Super Juniors tourney starts next weekend and the line-up is stacked.

Infinity War wasn't perfect but it's the best MCU movie by far imo. 

Have yet to see the main event but that was such a mixed bag, I don't even know. I can't wait for HHH/Stephanie to take over. This is getting more and more ridiculous.

Mania weekend is so stacked, it's not even funny. For example, iMPACT vs. Lucha Underground happened last night and I only found out about it just now because it was overshadowed by the hype surrounding the Hall of Fame, AJPW and a shitload of other indie shows (it was pretty good btw; sure have missed the LU talent and iMPACT's roster is great too). And tonight, there's Takeover. I think I have to subscribe to the network again.

On 3/30/2018 at 5:24 AM, dantheriver said:

Those “Road to” shows are essentially house shows. They are typically non essential. Glancing at the schedule now I’d say the only things you need to be concerned with for the next few months are Sakura Genesis, both nights of Wrestling Dontaku and Best Of The Super Juniors. Best of Super Juniors is a tourney that will have 1-2 matches of the tourney headlining each date, so you can just watch those match ups to stay current with the tourney (sometimes they only have the tourney matches available anyways). After that is the big mid year show, Dominion, which is usually pretty significant.

I'd usually agree but this year's Road To shows all have title matches (Jr. Tag, US, NEVER) as well as Hinokuni (IC). No need to check out the entire shows but each Road To has one major match that's worth checking out.

57 minutes ago, FiggyPud said:

Alright next question:  I asked this before, but what exactly is the “schedule?”  They have a normal show every Friday on AXS right?  Then a PPV once a month like WWE?

 

And if there’s more to it then that,  What’s the essential stuff I need to keep up with?

 

Once again, real sorry about all these questions, just want to get as much out of it as I can.

They don't have a weekly show but they do have a big event every month, with a couple of Road To shows (which can be compared to RAWs/SD!s that build to PPVs). They also have tourneys for the respective divisions as well as for #1 contendership. AXS' weekly show is only shown in the US (I think) and is months behind.

I highly suggest subscribing to Real Neat Pro and Showbuckle if you're new to NJPW and want to know more. This video explains the schedule very well.

6 hours ago, FiggyPud said:

 

Can I ask how the Japanese commentary is better?  Besides it SOUNDING more hype, I feel like I would have no idea what was going on without English commentary.

Just by being more excited, they elevate the entire product. They make you feel like you're watching something important, something you should absolutely not miss. It's like watching sports. They actually and genuinely go apeshit when something crazy happens. For example, they fucking lost it during the Hangman/Switchblade finish, screaming for a solid five seconds when the counter happened. It made the match even better.

Not knowing what's going on because of the language barrier is a valid point. I only understand about 20% myself but them hyping up the action is enough reason for me to never switch back to English commentary. That being said, Kelly/Callis are actually quite good from what I've heard, so they're not a bad option at all.

On 3/26/2018 at 3:53 AM, FiggyPud said:

 

Thanks man.  Probably just gonna wait until the English commentary goes up.

Don't bother, the English commentary was terrible. J.R. barely knows the roster and clearly doesn't care about the product. Barnett is really bad as well. They both sound like buzzkills and drag the enjoyment and quality of the entire show down (although the show was still pretty damn good). They did the same in the G1 Special last summer. I switched pretty quickly to the Japanese commentary and they were infinitely better (as usual).

Anyway, that tag main event was something else. I'm surprised they all came out of that alive.

Yeah, I never expected WWE to actually clear him. I was eagerly awaiting his exit later this year, so he could return to the indies but I happily embrace this unexpected development as well. Bryan not wrestling a full-time schedule and having long-awaited rematches and dream matches with the likes of Joe, Owens, Zayn, Strong, Black, Almas, Ohno, Gargano, Styles and Nakamura really is the best case scenario.

Actually seeing BROKEN Matt Hardy and the Ultimate Deletion uncensored and in all its glory on RAW was surreal. It's kind of a miracle. The rest of the product may be shit but I gotta give them props for letting the talent do their thing there and handling Bryan's return as well as they did.

As far as NJPW goes, I think ZSJ has become my new favorite wrestler (Top 5, at least). I still can't believe NJPW booked him like an absolute machine by having him brutalize top stars like Naito, Ibushi, SANADA and Tana in order to face Okada. I couldn't be happier he and Ibushi didn't sign with WWE. However, it's a shame that Rey won't be able to make it to Strong Style Evolved but at least the Golden Lovers-Bucks match is going to be amazing.

Yeah, NJPW's schedule is pretty much an all-or-nothing kind of thing. I don't think it's necessary to watch the entire show during tourneys like the NJC or the G1 though, especially if there's an event every day. That being said, the NJC matches have all been damn good so far. I never thought Heavyweight Taichi would be this impressive.

I've pretty much removed WWE from my viewing schedule. Didn't even bother with Elimination Chamber and will only watch Fastlane's main event if people say it's good. I'm probably gonna give WM the same treatment. I'm only interested in the BROKEN Hardy stuff and Styles-Nakamura (as well as NXT and 205). It's a massive relief and NJPW and Lucha Underground are the perfect replacements.

17 hours ago, slinch said:

I don't like pops, but this one, I might make an exception for:

I'm close to 100 Pops but holy fuck, I need this

On 1/5/2018 at 7:58 PM, TheWindBlower said:

Definitely possible. I've liked what he's done in ROH too. Leaving WWE has don't him wonders.

 

WK12 was fantastic overall. Jericho/Omega lived up to the massive hype. The 4-way Jr. Heavyweight match was awesome, and JAY WHITE, wow. This was the first I've seen him since he left ROH, and he has really elevated his game. Better in the ring, better gimmick, way more confidence. If he's next to challenge Omega, that'll be a great feud.

Yeah, I agree. I wasn't too big on White but he keeps getting better and better every time he shows up. The next title matches  are already set for the New Beginning shows next month (spoilers in case you haven't seen WK and New Year's Dash):

These are all rather unexpected, but very intriguing developments and I'm already hyped for the next couple of months. I hope WWE has something good planned for the RTWM season too. Reigns-Lesnar is a lock but I really don't want Reigns to win the Rumble again. Nakamura-Styles needs to happen and while I don't expect it, I'd love to see Nakamura win instead.

On 1/4/2018 at 6:15 PM, TheWindBlower said:

Watching currently. Slow day at the office, got this on my laptop. On the 6-Man Gauntlet currently.

 

EDIT: Great match between Ibusi and Cody. Was surprised to see Ibushi get the win. Really enjoyed that.

Yeah, I didn't expect that match to be as good as it was. It's probably Cody's best match ever.

23 hours ago, FiggyPud said:

 

Anywhere in particular I can watch this?

NJPWorld. It's only 8 bucks.

Has anyone seen WrestleKingdom 12? That show was fucking wild. Cody Rhodes and Chris Jericho had their best matches in ages, the Fatal 4-Way was insane and the main event was fantastic.

PM for Björk - Post

PM if you want a Digital Download code for La La Land (may be UK-exclusive though).

I saw it last night and I thought it was pretty damn good. Don't click if you haven't seen it:

War Games was fucking wild. Probably WWE's PPV of the year - I can't really think of anything else that was so consistent and refreshing. Everyone was elevated and hell, that fantastic match with Black turned Velveteen into a superstar overnight. As far as Survivor Series goes, Styles-Lesnar was definitely MOTN and one of the best WWE matches in 2017 so far. Lesnar can be so good when he gives a shit and you can see that in his matches against Joe and Styles.

22 hours ago, TheWindBlower said:

I will be honest. I never saw Almas compete as La Sombra in NJPW. So, when he was signed, I tried to get into it, and he fell flat with me. The pairing with Zelina has DEFINITELY made him a little more interesting, and he can definitely go in the ring. We'll see how this title reign shapes up. You guys have any match recommendations from Almas' NJPW run?

He had a rivalry with Nakamura for the IC Title, with their encounter at Kizuna Road arguably being their best match. Not sure about anything else though, I didn't follow his NJPW-run myself. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of his at all until his heel turn. And now, Ingobernable Almas has actually become one of my favorites in NXT (also thanks to Vega, who's the perfect manager) and I was really happy he won the title.

Yeah, it's pretty wild to see Jeff Cobb, Chuckie T and Sami Callihan in NJPW. On top of that, they added Scurll, Rhodes and ZSJ to the roster and got Suzuki-gun, Hiromu, RPG 3K and Ibushi back this year, which made so many fantastic match-ups possible (that Ibushi-Tana match from Power Struggle for example, holy shit). I gotta say, since losing Nakamura, three of the most important Bullet Club members and the NOAH partnership last year, the product has actually gotten even better and the match quality has never been higher. 

20 hours ago, dantheriver said:

Chris Jericho is wrestling Kenny Omega in the Tokyo Dome. Maybe some of you WWE marks will finally tune in this January!

This is so surreal, especially with Jericho always saying he'd only ever wrestle for WWE. I love everything about this. I'm not even mad Omega-Ibushi won't happen just yet. On top of being a dream match, Omega-Jericho is gonna get a lot of attention and hopefully more long-term NJPW fans as well.

The WK 12 card is already pretty wild and it's still missing the rest of LIJ and CHAOS, as well as Juice, Elgin, ZSJ and Suzuki:

• Naito-Okada - IWGP HW
• Omega-Jericho - US HW
• Tanahashi-White - IC HW
• Scurll-Ospreay-Hiromu-KUSHIDA - JR HW
• Rhodes-Ibushi - ROH HW
• Bucks-RPG 3K - JR TAG