Opinion
Tiffany: Intriguing Storyline Brewing in NJPW’s G1 Climax
Tiffany’s rookie experience through New Japan continues! What has she noticed in the G1 Climax?
Tiffany’s rookie experience through New Japan continues! What has she noticed in the G1 Climax?
So, I’ve been watching the G1 Climax this year and loving it! Yes, I mostly made the choice to watch it because Jon Moxley declared at Dominion that he wanted in and his request was granted, but I’ve been genuinely intrigued and excited by the matches of the grueling tournament.
For some background for those who do not watch NJPW, the G1 Climax is NJPW’s big tournament of the year. They take a field of around 20 guys and split them into two Round Robin blocks. One day, Block A will have their matches while B Block has tag matches to tease upcoming matches and the next day B Block will have their matches while A Block has tag matches. A win gets you two points, a draw gets you one point, a loss gets you zero points and the two guys who have won their blocks by getting the most points face off in the G1 Climax Final and the winner faces the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW’s WrestleMania in January. This tournament takes a month to get done, they don’t wrestle every day, but it’s usually a few days on, a day or so off, then start all over and, in some ways, is as grueling to watch as it is to do.
As it stands on Sunday, July 21, 2019, Jon Moxley, FKA Dean Ambrose, is the only man in B Block to be undefeated and he has 6 points after 3 matches. In A Block, IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kuzuchika Okada shares the undefeated mantle with KENTA, FKA Hideo Itami, each of whom have 8 points because A Block had two block shows this weekend, and that is where things get interesting.
We are about one-third to halfway through this tournament and two former WWE guys are in the top of the standings, but where Jon Moxley has largely been embraced by the Japanese fans, KENTA, a native of Japan, has largely been shunned, even getting booed by the Japanese crowd in his match with EVIL in Saturday’s A Block match. It would very easy for whomever does the booking for NJPW to create a rivalry between KENTA and Moxley based on how they’ve been treated since coming to NJPW, especially playing up KENTA resenting Moxley for being loved and/or respected by the Japanese fans, while KENTA has not. Add in Moxley getting, and winning, the IWGP US Championship in his first match, while KENTA, due to the tournament schedule, has not.
That would not have to be the only point of contention between them, they could use Shota Umino, a Young Lion (NJPW rookie) who has becoming Moxley’s sidekick, and have KENTA resent how Moxley’s…’corrupting’ Umino and the teachings of the NJPW Dojo.
Does it HAVE to be KENTA? No, there have been other wrestlers in NJPW who have expressed resentment and skepticism over Moxley, and all of them have paid for expressing those doubts with serious ass-kickings, just ask Juice Robinson, Taichi, and Tomohiro Ishii, but KENTA, who has also just left WWE would make the most sense as they came in about the same time, from the same company, but the way the Japanese fans have welcomed and treated them has been VERY different.
Is this NJPW’s plan? I have no idea, Moxley is signed to a full-time contract with AEW, who will have first dibs on his dates once the TNT show starts up. Plus, I’m not familiar enough with NJPW to know how their booking works, but it definitely makes for an intriguing storyline coming out of the G1, so we’ll see.
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Opinion
Chris King: Is Brock Lesnar Truly Retired?
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
Brock Lesnar retired at WWE WrestleMania 42, right? Are we totally sure? Chris King asks…
At WrestleMania 42, ‘The Beast Incarnate’ Brock Lesnar took off his boots and gloves following his loss to Oba Femi. Lesnar has done it all inside of his twenty-four-year career in professional wrestling. He’s a ten-time WWE Champion and former UFC Heavyweight Champion, and he’s one who ended The Undertaker’s undefeated streak at WrestleMania.
While Lesnar was in the ring, he was visibly overwhelmed with emotion and crying while he thanked the fans in his own way. The Beast even threw up an x to signal to Paul Heyman, his longtime friend and advocate, that this was not scripted and was real. There had been rumors that Lesnar and Oba were supposed to have a series of matches before everything went down at Mania.
‘The Career Killer’ Gunther was doing Heyman’s bidding as he faced Seth Rollins for a favor. For a while now since Gunther retired Goldberg, John Cena, and AJ Styles, the rumor has been Gunther was set to retire Lesnar in his hometown at this year’s SummerSlam event. There’s been no confirmation if Lesnar is truly retired, but on this week’s episode of Friday Night SmackDown, we saw Heyman talking with General Manager Nick Aldis. Later that night following Rhodes’ match against the debuting Ricky Saints, Gunther choked out the WWE Champion. Could this be the favor from Heyman?
I know in the world of professional wrestling we live by the mantra of “never say never,” but what if Lesnar is actually retired and this was WWE’s way of shutting down those rumors about Gunther and Lesnar? What if Gunther’s next program is chasing after the WWE title, and where is Randy Orton at in all of these plans? There are so many questions that need to be answered, hopefully soon!
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Opinion
Chris King: Defend The Intercontinental Championship At Backlash!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
With WWE Backlash upon us, Chris King wants to see Penta defend the Intercontinental Championship in Tampa!
This year’s annual Backlash showcase is only a few days away, and while there are many big matches announced, one that definitely should be isn’t on the card. In my opinion, outside of Roman Reigns/Jacob Fatu and Seth Rollins/Bron Breakker, the Intercontinental Championship scene has been stellar over the last month.
Penta has been an excellent champion, especially after his triumphant title defense in a ladder match against JeVon Evans, Rusev, Dragon Lee, and the Hall of Famer Rey Mysterio at WrestleMania 42. Their ladder match at Mania was one of the best that WWE has produced in a while.
The momentum never stopped, as on the post-Mania episode of Monday Night Raw, ‘All Ego’ Ethan Page made his debut and was quickly inserted into the Intercontinental title scene. Page had a fantastic showing against his longtime NXT rival Evans and picked up a big win in his debut match thanks to an assist from Rusev.
All Ego immediately joined forces with ‘The Bulgarian Brute’ Rusev, who was also vying for the Intercontinental Title in his own right. On this week’s episode of Raw, Page and Rusev defeated Evans and Penta. All Ego pinned the champion, making a huge statement and putting him one step closer to getting a title shot. For the past few weeks I’ve been anxiously waiting to see if WWE was going to add this incredible fatal four-way match for the Intercontinental Championship, but it hasn’t happened yet.
As much as the WWE Universe enjoys witnessing great matches on free television, I truly believe all four superstars deserve the chance to showcase their talents on the PLE. While Penta has done a terrific job as the intercontinental champion, it’s time for a fresh face to hold the prestigious title. Page would make a great braggadocious heel that would help elevate the Intercontinental Championship to new heights!
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Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)
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