WrestleKingdom 7 - 1/4/13 Tokyo Dome, Tokyo Japan *ENTIRE EVENT POST 103*

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Went back and watched Minoru Suzuki's entrance with theme...awesome.

He comes out and gives her a fist bump.

Mark out.

The gook equivalent of Mr. H's coming out to Motorhead.

[SuperKevin]

You can skip the prelims and the opener and save yourself an hour or so.

Instead of watching RAW on Monday, watch this.

The same goes for fuckin Leavy.

But Ryback is fighting CM Punk in a TLC match on RAW!?

[Warner2BruceTD]

Went back and watched Minoru Suzuki's entrance with theme...awesome.

He comes out and gives her a fist bump.

Mark out.

The gook equivalent of Mr. H's coming out to Motorhead.

larry, check this out....

Tidbit gleaned from WK7 - Minoru Suzuki's ambition since he started training as a wrestler was to have an entrance theme sung by Ayumi Nakamura (she was big in the 80s). When he asked her, she went to see his matches in Pancrase for inspiration and then wrote Kaze ni Nare especially for him

You kind of have to "get" Suzuki to really understand how awesome this was. Great stuff.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

That is so fucking awesome.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Whole damn thing...

So who has 5 hours to kill?

I would suggest things you can skip, but honestly aside from the short dark matches and maybe the opener, the rest of the card ranges from good to epic. Without those three matches, the intermission, and the post main event stuff, you are still looking at 4 hours or so.

[Warner2BruceTD]

The following review is not shtick. This guy is totally serious.

I enjoy alternate perspectives and all, but this is clearly a fella who turned on his computer, settled in, and forced himself to watch five hours of wrestling that he knew he wasn't going to enjoy. WHY ON EARTH DO PEOPLE DO THIS?

DylanWaco is his name, he mostly posts on DVDVR, and he enjoys a different style of wrestling. His Wrestler of the Year this year is Negro Casas, and he likes watching fat old guys slap fight and exchange submissions for 30 minutes. Which is fine, to each his own, but why people watch shit that they don't like is beyond my understanding.

Anyway, enjoy. He's like the bizarro world JimLeavy:

 

Wrestle Kingdom 7

Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga vs. Jado & Yoshi-Hashi & Tomohiro Ishii

This happened. Really came across like New Japan's answer to the placeholding six-man's they will occasionally throw together on a Raw to fill space and this is a show that didn't need space filled. Inoue is probably a wash with R-Truth and Tama might actually be better than Kofi, but Captain New Japan is a poor man's Rey to say the least. Jado is pretty awful at this point and his existence in this match almost immediately pissed me off. He's a shitty Cody Rhodes at this point which is damning. Hashi is a perfectly fine Jack Swagger. Ishii doesn't really fit the narrative, but he's better than all of these guys and really over and this was a waste of him. Not a bad match, but there are probably several hundred similarly thrown together six-man's, that got the same amount of time and have appeared on WWE tv in the last decade that smoked this.

Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kushida & Bushi

Liger is still over in the Dome which I find comforting. Parts of this I thought were really sharp, particularly the early going even if this was obviously another thrown together match. On the other hand for a sub-ten minute match this had a lot of stuff that looked suspect or less than impressive. This will sound odd coming from me, but I would have preferred this been a balls out spotfest. Okay for what it was, but I saw two Heath Slater v. Justin Gabriel house show matches live about a year ago that looked like high end 90's NJPW junior wrestling next to this.

Manabu Nakanishi & MVP & Strongman & Akebono vs. Bob Sapp & Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi

This kinda felt like one of those matches they throw together on Mania now to give the rest of the upper mid-card something to do, without having to take away from the semi-retired guys they are protecting. I half way expected Teddy Long and Vickie to show up pre-match and was trying to figure out who would be managing which team in my head when the match started. I actually didn't mind this at all. I would have preferred more fat man offense from Akebono and Sapp sucks horribly, but it was kept short and for match filled with useless roided guys and shit workers this was if anything better than expected. It didn't even border on being a good match, but it was watchable.

Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin

I watched Tanaka v. Ishii from last year yesterday which is a match a lot of people liked. I thought it was worked like a Davey Richards v. Kyle O'Reilly match, but with more violent looking offense and slightly more (that is to say "some") selling. In any event I figured this would be even more ROH and it was. We even got shitty ROH style manager involvement. Short match with tons of shit that meant nothing, one of the most contrived looking spots around the ropes I've seen in recent memory and of course in true ROH form a senseless ankle lock spot right before the finish. This was short enough to be largely inoffensive but still sucked and is the worst match on a show that up to this point that has been filled with random multi-men matches featuring roid freaks, cast offs, old farts and sub-Lash Leroux juniors. For "go, go" matches something like Tyson Kidd v. Hunico series from last year laps this several times over.

Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Karl Anderson & Hirooki Goto

I wanted to like this because I like the idea of the Smith/Archer team on paper and haven't found a match of their's yet that I think delivers on their potential. Instead they have the look of a poor mans 3MB and don't put their matches together nearly as well. To be fair I didn't hate this, but I am a guy who wants structure in his tag matches not spots galore. They teased the structure early but then this felt really rushed and all about getting big shit in and it just annoyed the fuck out of me. I'll take The Colons v. The Uso's over this every time.

Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki

I am a guy who really loves grumpy old man wrestling so I expected that I would like this. Sure Nagata is comically overrated by some, but I don't hate the guy and he's been involved in plenty of things I've enjoyed over the long haul. And Suzuki is the guy that made me enjoy a Tanahashi match. So this had some major positives working in it's favor. At the end of the day I wasn't disappointed and this worked well. I wasn't in love with interference spot on the floor early, but Nagata getting choked out with the chair was a cool visual and Suzuki's cocky posturing is one of the better parts of his act. I enjoyed the work around Suzuki's rear naked choke, even if it wasn't worked that tight and I dug the fact that they worked a couple of hope spots in for Nagata before he finally made his comeback and went to the arm. I'll never be a fan of the "stand in the ring and take turns in cooperative fashion striking each other" spots, but that's a staple of Japanese wrestling at this point so it seems worthless to complain about it and it was used as a vehicle to give Nagata more hard shots to Suzuki's arm. I also really liked the finish with Suzuki making one last gasp for his finishes, eating a sick slap and giving the modified "Dick Murdoch v. Inoki KO look" before eating the backdrop suplex finish. For matches involving grizzled veterans worked around stiffing each other, making funny faces and arm work/submissions/submission counters this wasn't as good as Ron Garvin v. Greg Valentine from Royal Rumble 1990. On the other hand this was definitely better than the old man respect struggles from the last two Manias and it was a good match.

Prince Devitt vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi

Why is Low Ki wrestling in a suit? I assume there is some storyline reason that I don't know about or perhaps it's some sort of symbolism that escapes me. I guess maybe this was some Japanese gangster flick tribute? Anyway this had a lot of really good looking shit, and was perfectly fine for a spotfest of this sort. The stuff on the ramp had a nice visual effect to it, especially with Ki fighting in his get up. I also enjoyed his "tossing the jacket as dropping the strap" spot even if it was after one of the most egregious no sells of a huge move I've seen in recent memory. The big spot with Ibushi blocking the tree of woe double stomp looked really good too. They found a pretty good way to take one guy out so they could go to the finish and I actually liked that Devitt - who really seemed in the background for the whole match - basically survived by stealing a win. For spotfest involving guy working in dress clothes I may have liked Corino v. Brisco better. That also had the crazier spot and sicker finish. But I thought for the sort of match this was it was good and it is a rare triple threat that actually felt like it was a better match because it wasn't a singles.

Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Everytime I see Ohtani I get depressed as I don't know if there is anyone in wrestling who's "look" has so radically changed from the image I have of him in my head at his peak. This was over with the live crowd and got good heat which helped it. The work ranged from solid to pretty weak, but nothing outright embarrassing. For promoter/legends Muto looked better than HHH, but not as good as Vince. To be fair Kojima is no Punk to play off of, but that chop segment in the corner did not look good. On the other hand Ohtani's face wash bit got a great response and I really marked out for it. After that this mellowed out and Tenzan really felt like a come down when he was on offense. Ohtani was the star of this and wrestled well even if he doesn't look like I want him too. This might have gone a hair too long considering the limitations of some of the guys involved, but it was perfectly fine over all.

Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata

Boy this was disappointing. On paper I thought this had potential to be a show stealer if things broke right. Shibata looked pretty good in it at times, but man Makabe's selling was just absolute dog shit. That dueling back drop suplex spot pissed me off but I would have been okay with it if that asshole would have looked the least bit bothered at any point int he match when on the defensive. He didn't. The table spots were okay I guess, but this really wasn't any good at all. As brawls of this sort go every Sheamus v. Big Show match in the few months destroys it.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

This was the match I was most looking forward to even before the hype as Nakamura is one of my favorite guys in New Japan and I wanted to see how he would play in this setting. I watched a match with him and Ishii v. Sakuraba/Shibata last night and he was clearly the odd man out and had no clue what the fuck was going on at times, which made me a little nervous, but I was still excited to watch this. Turns out there was no reason to be nervous because this was really fucking good. Sakuraba in particular was great in this. I loved the theme of him escaping the more typical pro wrestling positions and reversing them into submissions or huge attacks. Obviously the knee after the blow off of the German was an appropriate "fuck you," but I also thought the spot where he saved himself off the ropes was great, as was the escape of the go behind. All the big strikes looked absolutely crushing. I really wanted him to bust out the Mongolian chops but you can't always get what you want. I also thought Sak barely being held down by the big knee was the right finish. This could have and should have been a bit longer but it was still pretty great. Not as good as Lesnar v. Cena but not much is.

Tanahashi vs. Okada

Man did this feel long. I didn't hate this, but this is a match I never want to watch again. Tanahashi's offense is just not convincing at all to me. I thought Okada was decent enough as he usually is. Not outstanding but he's charismatic, works hard and at least tries to sell. But it's hard for me to take anyone seriously working underneath Tanahashi, unless they are taking great bumps and their selling is off the charts and Okada was doing neither. I honestly can't believe that the same sort of people who bitch about the offense of John Cena, have not problem with that trash bag hooking clothesline Tanahashi uses all the time. Some of the big spots looked good and some didn't really work. I did like the fact that they didn't bury The Rainmaker as a finish by allowing Tanahashi to survive it, but I also think the wrong guy went over and not just because I don't like Tanahashi. I guess for people who like this sort of match it was good, but I don't like this sort of match and for upstart star v. established ace series and matches Cena v. Punk has been about fifty thousand times better.

Overall Thoughts:

Eh I don't know. I get that New Japan is "hot" right now with a certain sort of hardcore fan and that this was there big show, but I don't think this was even close to a great show. I've been pretty down on three hour Raws, but the first hour and a half of this show was clearly worse than the wrestling portion of the average three hour Raw to the point where I really can't imagine that being a controversial statement, even though I suppose people will read it as a troll. I did think the show was pretty well paced and put together in the ring order which gave it a good flow. From Suzuki v. Nagata forward the show was more good than bad, but there were only three matches on the whole show I would really classify as good matches. On the other hand there was nothing that was the duel combination of offensively long and horrible which is something I always fear on modern Japanese shows. Okay show. Best show ever is an insane statement that strikes me as the sort of hyperbolic statement we hear every year after Mania when WWE fans get the highs they want out of a show but aren't thinking in a broader context. Great show is a massive stretch, though I suppose if you were super invested in some of the stars or the style it might fit. Good show? I'm not even sure I'd go that far. It was watchable and didn't feel like a waste of time, but if I were getting Observery I would go "Thumbs In The Middle" and by Observer Awards standards I'd already have it safely behind TLC in the "Best Major Show" category.

[SuperKevin]

I thought the Tanaka vs Shelton Benjamin match was bleh. Honestly felt it was on par with a RAW main event match. Shelton Benjamin put forth solid effort but it just seemed sloppy.

[EmpireWF]

Watched most of the show…I don't remember the last time I watched most of a 4+ hour show and had that much fun (well, one I didn't attend live).

I skipped some (I'll go back to watch the Mutoh/Otani vs. Kojima/Tenzan tag and the Makabe match at some point) but among what I saw, not a bad thing (yeah, I skipped the Bob Sapp multi-man tag).


-- Tanaka and Benjamin had a solid bout with some fun spots. I haven't seen Benjamin in NJPW before so nothing to compare him to on that end.

--DBS Jr./Archer retaining over Goto & Anderson, expected to see Archer lumber about but not really. Guy is a good bad ass 'I don't give a fuck' heel. His chokeslam was sick. Anderson is so much fun to watch, hope he continues moving up the card. Haven't seen Davey Boy in a while, he put on some weight but he still moves around the ring well. In this 10-minute match or so, he showed more personality with his facial expressions then he ever did in America. Go figure.

--This is where I start to mark out. Nagata/Suzuki was awesome. I loved Nagata figuring out what to do after the first segment where he gets slapped 1000x. Go for Suzuki's arm and he ravages it ultimately leading to the end.

--The triple threat Jr. Heavy Title was crazy good. All 3 are soooo quick in the ring, compared to mainstream U.S. wrestling (include indy's in that), it's like night and day. Ibushi is a freak, Devitt is outstanding and Low Ki's Hitman outfit was hilarious (the scene of a guy storming down to the ring with a pair of guns is….unique). Crazy moves all around. The ONLY criticism for this, if you want to go that way, SO much in what was under 20 minutes. Still, no complaints from me.

--MY FAVORITE MATCH on the show, Nakamura and Sakuraba. The way they molded MMA into pro wrestling is something I haven't seen to this degree since the Josh Barnett match (last year?). I'm a mark for all the seamless submission transitions in MMA so no different here. Loved how the only way Nakamura could finish this and retain his belt was by BLASTING him in the head with sick knees. Now, I'm one of those guys who hated seeing Sakuraba fight his last few times in MMA because he'd take a bloody beating, so I hope those knees were just fucking spot on……but the match was soooo great.

--Tanahashi/Okada DEFINITELY had the big match feel. Not sure why the dragon screw gets such a pop from the Japanese fans. I found myself pulling for Okada (even though I knew who won thanks to the cover picture at F4W) with each attempt at the Rainmaker, only for Tanahashi to foil it and hit his big stuff.

It's the little things….and I don't know if he does it in your run-of-the-mill matches on the small shows or house shows but when Tanahashi sets up his opponent and goes for the frog splash, he doesn't just waltz his way to the top rope…that fucker FLYS over the ropes and bolts to the top rope to go for it. Good stuff.



A couple questions in case anyone knows.....

-Who was that woman in the blue (Chun Li looking), looked so out of place. The NJPW deal of having a woman hand the championships to the winners is a nice touch.

-The band who played during Tanahashi's entrance (or was it before?)....are they a big band over there?

-The fucking PBP guy during the main event must have said 'HAI' a billion fucking times as he was responding to whoever kept talking on and on and on.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

That little jap chick was a member of the AKB48's.

Its like a super huge pop group in Gookland.

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

I will say this...there is a good chance Suzuki/Nagata will be in my Top 10 by year's end based on the entrance alone. Can not get enough.

[Warner2BruceTD]

A couple questions in case anyone knows.....

-Who was that woman in the blue (Chun Li looking), looked so out of place. The NJPW deal of having a woman hand the championships to the winners is a nice touch.

-The band who played during Tanahashi's entrance (or was it before?)....are they a big band over there?

-The fucking PBP guy during the main event must have said 'HAI' a billion fucking times as he was responding to whoever kept talking on and on and on.

1. Larry covered it

2. The band is called Breakerz, I have no idea where they stand culturally, but that song was used in all of the TV spots & promos, and I think they are friends with Tanahashi

3. Somebody told me "Hai" means "is that so?" or something similar. I like when they scream shit in english like DANGEEERRRRROOUUUSSSS! before a high spot.

[Warner2BruceTD]

[Warner2BruceTD]

No total iPPV numbers yet, but we do have North American/worldwide numbers

Buys as of when the Observer went to print: 1208

ROH Final Battle did "roughly" 2000

Now think about that for a second. ROH is on national TV, and has a firmly established fan base. 2000 is a good number, back in the range from the days before they had all of the issues.

New Japan is at 1200+ and counting (the show is still available until 1/11), with no TV, no advertising, just straight internet buzz from super hardcore fans. Both shows were the "major" show of the year for each promotion, so from that angle it's apples/apples.

New Japan is also beating everybody else. DGUSA, EVOLVE, Chikara, whoever.

The expectation is that when the total comes in from Japan, they are looking at 100,000+ total.

I know people like Dave Meltzer are downplaying the success, but to me doing 1200+ iPPV buys outside of Japan with no advertising is a pretty big success. I thought doing in the 500-700 range for the other shows was solid, since its right in the range and even a bit higher than domestic promotions.

At $35 a pop, this show generated $42,000+ gross, which at an estimated 50/50 split with USTREAM is a slick $20,000+ profit. Chump change for McMahon, but for a company that has been lucky to break even in recent years, they are adding something like $40,000 in net revenue since October with this iPPV thing, from outside of Japan alone. Add in Japan, and this is a gigantic success.

[EmpireWF]

Now how was WK7 broadcasted in Japan since I understand PPV is not a platform there.

[Warner2BruceTD]

Now how was WK7 broadcasted in Japan since I understand PPV is not a platform there.

Same deal. iPPV.

It was also on PPV, but literally nobody has access to traditional PPV so the numbers are insignificant.

iPPV in Japan was rolled out last year in September I believe, and then King of Pro Wrestling was the first one made available worldwide. They've been doing between 50-60,000 buys total for the shows it's a significant new revenue stream.