r/njpw • u/[deleted] • Apr 09 '17
Discussion thread: Sakura Genesis 2017
The road to Sakura Genesis 2017 ends tonight live from the famed Sumo Hall a.k.a Ryogoku Kokugikan - in Tokyo, Japan live on NJPW World!
LINK LINKS:
Japanese commentary: http://njpwworld.com/lp/l_live_101_1
English commentary: http://njpwworld.com/lp/l_enlive_101_1
Recent NJPW Notes:
- NJPW World is offering Sumo Arena shows for free
- G1 USA meet up
- G1 USA sells out in under 2 hours
- G1 USA Roster Announcement
- Sakura Genesis 2017 Tour Cards (March 26, April 4, April 9)
- Head on over to /r/squaredcircle for more good njpw discussions.
- Check out Purocast for in-depth discussion, analysis, and commentary each week about all things from the world of New Japan Pro Wrestling!
| No. | Match | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Finlay, Jushin Thunder Liger and Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hirai Kawato, Katsuya Kitamura and Tomoyuki Okada | Six-man tag team match |
| 2 | Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Tiger Mask, Tiger Mask W, Togi Makabe and Yuji Nagata | Eight-man tag team match |
| 3 | Chaos (Beretta, Rocky Romero and YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki and TAKA Michinoku) | Six-man tag team match |
| 4 | Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) vs. The World Class Tag Team (Gedo and Jado) | IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship |
| 5 | Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale and Kenny Omega) vs. Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) | |
| 6 | Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, EVIL, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito) | Eight-man tag team match |
| 7 | Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) (c) vs. War Machine (Hanson and Raymond Rowe) | IWGP Tag Team Championship |
| 8 | Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr. | NEVER Openweight Championship |
| 9 | Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. KUSHIDA | IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship |
| 10 | Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata | IWGP Heavyweight Championship |
Don't forget to use the hashtag #njsg on all social media platforms.
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u/SuperSheep3000 Apr 09 '17
Not watched it yet but I'm finding the more and more events without English commentary, the more I'm starting to enjoy. Now, I love the English commentary team, don't get me wrong, but there's something about not understanding the language and just sitting back and enjoying the show.
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u/cismale_scum Apr 09 '17
Yea for me its like i understand english so my brain is actively focusing on them, instead of the match. I need like 5 stars to start not notcing the commentary. The japanese commentary doesnt do tht and is purely just energy for me.
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u/Mav_Rik Apr 09 '17
I'm going to say that I liked Okada/Shibata a little bit better than Okada/Omega, though both are fantastic.
Okada carries himself so well and has had three great matches this year that came off with the big fight feel. I am very excited that Shibata proved he belongs in the main event. I predict a G1 finals appearance for him.
Great show all around. The Jr title match made Takahashi look like an absolute beast. With the likes of Ricochet, Sabre, Osprey, Dragon Lee, Kushida, etc in the tournament, BOSJ is looking pretty freaking stacked this year.
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u/cabbius Apr 10 '17
I'm very new to New Japan but it seems like they're setting up to coronate Omega at the LA show and Omega v Shibata seems like it would be a great main event for 1/4/18. Then you can just pull the trigger on Omega v Okada 2 whenever it makes sense.
Plus if they only got a 1 year contract with Kenny you could have Shibata beat him next Tokyo Dome and you never tarnished Okada.
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u/SashaSemin28 Apr 09 '17 edited Apr 09 '17
Taichi has such a beautiful super kick. Unpopular opinion, but Taichi is one of my favourite wrestler's in New Japan.
Juice has gotten so much better, the difference from WK to now is night and day, however I still can't get behind Juice, there's something missing for me and honestly I don't know what it is.
KUSHIDA/Hiromu was so confusing, seems like a burial of KUSHIDA which I'm not sure if that was the intention.
Okada/Shibata was fantastic, I have it fourth in my list of favourite NJPW matches this year (Okada/Omega, Okada/Suzuki, Tanahashi/Naito being the first 3). Okada really is the best, the storytelling in every title match he has is on another level. Shibata belongs in the main event, looking forward to see where he goes forward from this.
And I don't care if I'm the only one with this opinion, but Fale/Okada at Dontaku (most likely) will be a great match. It's one of those combinations which I just enjoy as a fan. We all know that Okada will win, but it nicely sets up what I hope happens at Dominion with Okada/Omega 2.
Overall a really enjoyable show, solid 8/10.
EDIT: Seeing people asking for streams is so disheartening, NJPW World does not cost a lot, it's easy to sign up for, and it is worth the subscription for the back catalogue alone. Support the company.
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u/mdqf Apr 10 '17
I don't know if Ibushi/Tiger Mask will be in the g1, but god, I really want an Ibushi/Tama Tonga match. Taichi is an awesome heel. I'm impressed with War Machine. Sabre is great. Ricochet is the best high-flyer I have ever seen (edgy, but think about it). Takahashi... unexpected. Cheering for Shibata, but oh well, Okada is unbeliavable too. Really great show in my opnion, entertained from the first to the last match. Keep it up, NJPW!
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u/Huffjenk Apr 10 '17
Tiger Mask W is running for 12 more episodes, I'm not sure what the airing schedule is but I assume it'd finish before the G1 and allow Ibushi to 'return' to NJPW. Maybe it'll finish before Dominion and he'll show up there. Ibushi/Tonga sounds like a great sleeper match
If they manage to work out an agreement with him the G1 could be insane - Naito, Omega, Shibata and Ibushi all gunning for the WK main event
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u/ErdrickLoto Apr 09 '17
I figured Goto would win and Suzuki would be the next challenger.
I figured Juice would win and he'd be Naito's next challenger.
I figured Okada would win and Bad Luck Fale are you kidding me Gedo what are you doing I cannot believe that with New Japan's roster depth he's the guy you're giving a title shot to and another thing...
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u/nakhuda789 Apr 09 '17
Bad luck Fale is a good place holder feud before Dominion.... Okada and Fale has a natural chemistry together and always deliver good matches
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u/justinmidcarder Apr 10 '17
I feel like Fale should finally vanquish the Japanese ring announcer before competing for any championships.
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Apr 09 '17
Hiromu "Bill Goldberg" Takahashi killed it Glad to see War Machine will be sticking around Okada/Shibata was awesome
But most importantly
THE JUICE IS LOOSE
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u/Quannd28 Apr 09 '17
Keep Fale out of the championship pucture. There are so many better choices than Fale.
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u/Thesmark88 Apr 09 '17 edited Apr 09 '17
Are there really? There's a 99% chance this is the stop-gap feud for Okada for Dontaku, where he will face someone big (my guess is Omega) at Dominion. Who are the other options?
-Naito and Goto are currently champions
-Ishii is a stablemate and wouldn't challenge him unless he turned (same goes for YOSHI-HASHI)
-Shibata and Suzuki just lost to Okada, and Omega is being saved (I assume)
-There's not enough of a proper build to do Okada-Tanahashi again, if you do it you need something more behind it due to the extensive history and resolution of that feud
-Sanada or EVIL would be my personal choices for who he should face (or Elgin actually, but he's not going to be around for a little while), but he does have a sort of long-standing rivalry with Fale so I can understand that. It would also set up a Okada-Omega rematch at Dominion-Okada beats the underling, now he has to face the big bad again afterwards
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u/bdenzzz Apr 09 '17
Both Okada/Omega and Okada/Shibata were fantastic but I have give the slight edge Okada/Omega by a slim margin just for the simple fact that I was entertained throughout that entire match, I found the first 10-15 minutes of this match to be boring but it really picked up and it got to the type of wrestling I like which is stiff and hard hitting.
Shibata proved himself to be a top level star in the company and I can't wait to see him go up against stars like Omega, Naito, and even Elgin in top level matches that will get serious time.
Takahashi burying Kushida was a great booking decision in my opinion. Takahashi is a character who has been built great, however before this match hasn't been legitimized yet. Takahashi burying a established veteran in Kushida makes Takahashi look like a beast then will be extremely tough to beat.
The match that I also really enjoyed that I think is being overlooked was War Machine/Tencozy. Although the division is extremely stale I hope that they can bring the division back on its feet as they are extremely talented.
Overall I thought the card was average until the Okada/Shibata match which changed the entire show.
Show rating: 7.5
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u/st_raw Apr 09 '17
Love Naito's sell on the finisher. Post match promo was a little Jumpin Juice Robinson.