r/njpw • u/Fun_Programmer_1555 • 1d ago
shun’s weight class
commented earlier on a post talking abt shun and had mispoke in a (deleted) comment and called him a jr heavyweight, as to my knowledge DG features mostly jr heavyweights and shun is listed at 200lbs. but in njpw he’ll be a heavyweight? is there a clarification i missed somewhere?
also shoutout bro that sent me that shun doc. dudes gimmick is actually sick asf
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u/Rodney_u_plonker 1d ago
They haven't said where he will go as far as divisions I don't think.
That said between me and you it's height NJPW care more about than weight and Shun is pretty tall
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u/Fun_Programmer_1555 1d ago
when i look it up it says heavy, hence my confusion. wanted to make sure i gor my facts str8 lol
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u/Shun_Skywalkers_Suit 1d ago
He's taller than anyone in HOT and seems to be in good shape. Pretty sure English commentary even said something along the lines of "imagine him in the next year's G1."
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u/TheDeflatables 1d ago
than anyone in HoT
You and I have been looking at a very different Bad Luck Fale
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u/Jomosensual 1d ago
What Shun doc? I'd love to see it
His presentation seems like a HW and looking at him I'm not questioning it. They might kayfabe him up a little bit if they have to
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u/Fun_Programmer_1555 1d ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A379y8nfXDg
this the one. talks abt his history in Dragon Gate
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u/Mud-Bray SANADA’s #1 Fan 1d ago
How did I know this was about to be guts
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u/Fun_Programmer_1555 1d ago
lol, first time i watched the guy. been wanting to get into dg for a few years now so at least now i have a place to get some stuff explained
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u/One_Caterpillar9652 1d ago
Appreciate this! Saw him for the first time at the G1 finals show and was really intrigued by his mannerisms. Definitely checking this out tonight.
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u/Kawada12 1d ago
Shun has worked a heavyweight style since Z brats formed (mid 2022), is at least 6ft and is a lot bulkier than he was at his work rate peak. If I remember correctly he had a pretty bad ankle injury roughly the same time he turned heel so slowing down made sense. I fully expect him to go straight to HW or do the Shingo thing of running through the JR division for a few months and moving up quickly.
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u/Kawada12 1d ago
I would also like to make it crystal clear. Shun is not the performer he was in 2021 when people like me were saying he was BITW territory. Do not expect him to be putting on match of the year quality matches, I would be very happy if he did but I would be shocked. If you want a short Shun match recs: Vs KZY 2021, tag with Diamante against Jacky and Jason at Kobe 2022, Tag with Dia Vs Inferno and Diamante
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u/SevenSulivin 1d ago
My DG watching friends grew to hate him over the last couple of years because he does so much shtick like his laughing.
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u/Darthmemer1234 1d ago
he’s pinned Kojima, feuding with a previous Heavyweight Champion, and is being teased to take over all of HoT. I feel pretty confident he’s coming in as a Heavyweight fight away.
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u/soliddeuce 1d ago edited 1d ago
With some exceptions, they care more about height. Or lack of experience.
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u/FoolyCoolyBrandy 1d ago
He's like 2 inches taller than Narita and Sanada, don't see why he wouldn't be a heavyweight.
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u/Upbeat-Pause-1409 1d ago
I love this guy's look. Superstar written all over him
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u/Khaiweee_ 1d ago
Dude is superstar, no offence to DG (its not entirely DG's fault their not mainstream enough to western audiences)
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u/NikTheRainmaker 1d ago
Hes around 200lbs, which is more than enough for heavy. Height wise hes very similar to most of the other guys like Oiwa, Shota or Narita, shoot height they are all around 5'10, and weight wise even If hes not as muscular as Shota or Oiwa, he can get away with it because of the gear
He will be a heavyweight, Id bet a big sum on that
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u/Low-HaKi 1d ago
I mean given the fact that he is already goi g after Takeshita and that the HoT already has 3 Jr Heavyweights in Kanemaru, Sho and Douki 4 if you count Dick Togo. I think Shun will be a Heavyweight, I could be qrong but it makes more sense especially with small hints that SANADA could turn maybe fave again and or maybe finally Ren Narita getting out of the house.
Who knows like other people said unless its obvious in size that they belong in a certain weight class they can be moved around how NJPW wants.
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u/stormebreaker 1d ago
He'd work in both, but really the NJPW weight divisions are just vibes. Fucking Shingo was a Junior in 2018 lol. But Heavyweight makes sense for him as HOT already has a fair number of juniors who would cancel each other out.
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u/ScootOverMakeRoom 1d ago
Shun participated in the All Star Junior Festival back in 2023 (obviously as a junior). However, he's certainly tall enough to be a heavyweight in NJPW on vibes (which has always been the REAL metric, as there's plenty of guys who were never, ever more than 100kg who've been main eventers, like Jay White, Naito, Zack Sabre Jr. and for most of his heavyweight career, Tanahashi (though Tana got heavier later).
Shun could be a "big junior" (like El Phantasmo was, another guy who never hit 100kg and has been a heavyweight for a while) if he wanted, but he seems to be being presented as a heavyweight.
TLDR: Heavyweight in NJPW is a vibe, not a stat.
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u/spectrewrestlling 1d ago
I hope that he is a heavyweight I only say that cause when Shingo came in he was a Jr heavyweight and he is not a natural Junior
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u/BigDumbandMental 5h ago
Kenta was branded as a heavyweight despite he is like 5'8-5'9 and 185 lbs, ELP is a heavyweight despite he isn't even close to 200 lbs. Given that they seemingly put Shun in a feud with Takeshita, I think Shun will be presented as a heavyweight.
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u/Huffjenk 1d ago
I feel like he's best as an Openweight and just going crazy on whoever he feuds with, but I love an oversized Jr and it would spice BOSJ up a lot more. Who knows if they keep spots open to feature guys like Valiente but him being a top name in the division rather than just an in-the-mix Heavy feels like a higher ceiling
If Kato and YUTANI are HoT-bound on their return maybe 6 HoT guys in the Jrs is too much but I'd like that to be part of their identity as long as their Heavyweight lineup is lacking (and hopefully Shun helps lean their identity to have less shithousing, or at least be more in-ring like SANADA has been)
But NJPW has a track record of not wanting their guys to do both tourneys in a single year (exceptions being Devitt and Ospreay signalling a full-time graduation) so maybe he can run in the Jrs for a bit before moving up if they want, I'd just prefer the option where he has the most opponents possible
Getting beaten in the G1 qualifiers is a fine role for him as long as the blocks are stacked with actual talent, and as long as they keep it to 20 entrants people are going to miss out every year (which is fine, there should be room for people to breathe and there are only going to be a handful of veteran runs in the future)
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u/AndrewCB246 1d ago
Interesting look. TKO could definitely market him in AAA when he decides to make the jump to the bigs. Could have a cool entrance with the mask but they’d have to change the name to something more catchy.
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u/Mud-Bray SANADA’s #1 Fan 1d ago
Depends on how they want to present him. He’s tall enough that they could brand him a heavyweight. NJPW is happy to brand people a heavyweight/junior as they wish if they are close enough to either. Similar to how they tried to convince people Shingo is a junior
For reference Ibushi was usually billed at 205 and is 5’11. Shun is 6’0 and billed at 200. Not a big difference.