The Puro Thread

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

Yes. Like I said, the idea would then be that both Okada & Naito have passed Tanahashi by, and it's now the Okada/Naito era.

I don't really like Naito that much. To me he's missing something and isn't on the level of Tanahash/Okada/Nakamura. I can't deny he's over with the fans though. He's a made guy now whether I like it or not.

I still think Okada/Nakamura is the natural money match.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I still think Okada/Nakamura is the natural money match.

Completely agree.

I don't think the timing is right now, but it's a natural story and it's fresh.

It sounds weird complaining that they are doing Okada/Tanahashi again, because nobody ever complained about Misawa/Kobashi for the 9,786th time, but I really really think VI should be it for a while.

If Tanahashi loses to Okada, I think he should beat Rob Conway. I think the NWA title is the perfect thing for all parties involved to both keep Tanahashi out of the IWGP mix, give him something to do, and elevate the NWA.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

King of Pro Wrestling 10/14

Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for IWGP heavyweight title

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Naomichi Marufuji for IC title

Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi for NEVER championship and No. 1 contendership

Yuji Nagata vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata

A bunch of faces vs. The Bullet Club

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & someone vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer

Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano

Alex Shelley & Rocky Romero vs. Alex Shelley & Kushida for IWGP jr. tag title

There is also an opener with Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger, Takashi Iizuka, Yosh-Hase, Gedo & Jado and others.

 

[LiquidLarry2GhostWF]

That is a very good card...will probably get my money.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

It's a great card.

I said this on twitter but I will repeat here. If I could pick two people off of the entire New Japan roster to have a singles match that I would have the least possible interest in, I would probably pick Sakuraba & Nagata. Maybe replace Nagata with Nakanishi. Maybe.

The problem with Sakuraba/Nagata is that it will be filled with awful fake MMA, and of course Sak's bad pro wrestling. Not looking forward to that.

Shibata is a beat and has won me over. Sak needs to go away.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Tenzan will team with Watanabe. Kojima has a separated shoulder and is out two months. That means he's off the U.S. shows, too.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

 

[FedEx227]

Okada said if he doesn't beat Tanahashi in 60 minutes, he'll forfeit the title.

Tanahashi also putting the Universal Title on the line.

Translation: Tanahashi is definitely winning and going to Dome vs. Naito.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Okada said if he doesn't beat Tanahashi in 60 minutes, he'll forfeit the title.

Tanahashi also putting the Universal Title on the line.

Translation: Tanahashi is definitely winning and going to Dome vs. Naito.

I hate that they did this. They are basically telling you that it won't be a draw, and Okada isn't winning that CMLL title.

Drama gone.

Of course, 99% of the audience isn't "inside", so these stips add to the match for the majority of the fanbase. So really, it's just our problem. Still annoying.

 

[FedEx227]

I wish I hadn't heard it or they hadn't announced it. Totally agree, match will still rule but loses a bit of intrigue.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Two more notes for the New Japan show. Kota Ibushi is the mystery X on the face side in the Bullet Club 8-man. Alex Shelley is off the show with a bad back, so its Hooligans vs Taichi & TAKA.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

I don't know what's going on in Dragon Gate, but another rapid fire title change.

First, Shingo finally knocks off CIMA ending his epic run.

Shingo then loses to arch rival YAMATO in his v1 defense.

Yesterday, out of nowhere, YAMATO loses to Masato Yoshino of all people in is v2 defense.

Unit shuffling still going on, but MONSTER EXPRESS w/Tozawa, Shingo, Uhaa, Ricochet, & Yoshino might be the coolest unit ever.

Also, Tozawa is a really, really small dude. Shingo & Yoshino aren't exactly monsters:

 

[FedEx227]

That's a dream team for me — my top 5 DG guys all in the same unit.

Any insight into why they've bounced the title so much in the past few months (shit, weeks)?

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

CIMA had the title forever and it's no secret he's trying to slow down and take a lesser role, along with some of the other first/second gen guys.

YAMATO beating Shingo made sense because of the betrayal storyline, so that was fine.

But we thought we would be getting a long YAMATO run. He beat Saito in a token defense, and then nobody expected Yoshino to win. I mean, the match had no buzz because it was considered another layup defense. It also doesn't make much sense, because Yoshino was one of those guys who everybody thought would be deemphasized a bit with the new focus on youth, especially when he vacated the Brave Gate and even cut a promo saying it was time for younger guys to fight for that title.

Anyway, The Millennials (Eita & T-Hawk in this case) won the tag league (which was also for the vacant Twin Gate titles), with Eita tapping YAMATO (who was champ at the time), so the rocket is still strapped to their backs, but this Dream Gate title change is a curious move to say the least.

Things are real fresh right now with The Millenials & Monster Express, I have to catch back up.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

SPEED MUSCLE COLLIDES!

It looks like Yoshino vs Naruki Doi for the Dream Gate at the next iPPV.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

www.openthedragongate.com is back up, and has everything starting with Infinity 308, which is September onward. This is right around the time of the Millennials return & big push, Summer Adventure Tag League, and all of the new faction shakedowns post Kobe World. So it's a great jumping point if anybody wants to jump in.

What I like to do, is watch an episode, then hop over to www.iheartdg.com to read the breakdown and translations to fill in the gaps of what went over my head.

The only problem is with the 3 hour shows, skipping around in mandatory unless you have absolutely no life.

edit - the opening to 308 is the best. Uhaa teaching Tozawa & Shingo the TOOO EEAAAASY!! taunt.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

So i've been binge watching Dragon Gate to catch up before the iPPV the first week of November, and this promotion is pretty exciting right now.

The Millenials in particular are pretty awesome. They have a Shield like vibe when they make their entrance, where you can feel that they are pretty special. They are smug little pricks in the mold of Prince Devitt, and work 1,000 MPH even by DG standards. U-T is fucking tiny. I mean TINY. Even smaller than Eita, who is a little shit himself. T-Hawk is a future star. And Eita is a star. The dude just has it. And the push is phenomenal.

First, they did vignette videos to get them over before they came back from Mexico. They beat some jobber types, then defeated Jimmyz in a six man at Korakuen. But they didn't pin some random Jimmy like Kagetora or Kanda, Eita tapped out Genki Horiguchi, the top dog and a "made guy". And he not only tapped him, they did an injury angle. This came off like a million bucks. Then the little fuckers chased the Jimmyz out of the ring, and called out the Veterans. Keep in mind, the Jimmyz aren't exactly jobbers, that's a pushed act, and Genki is a top guy who if nothing else is always protected. The Veterans come out, and the little shits get right iin the faces of guys like Mochizuki, Fujii, & CIMA, setting up another six man down the line.

On the next show, Eita & T-Hawk win the Summer Adventure Tag League (DG's G1 tag) by beating YAMATO & BB Hulk, with Eita tapping YAMATO, another top star & the Open the Dream Gate champion at the time. Center of the ring, clean as a whistle.

THAT, is how you make a star.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

As reported by VOW first last month, Tony Nese is on the next Dragon Gate tour and will face Genki Horiguchi for the Open the Brave Gate on the iPPV 11/3.

MONSTER EXPRESS made their Nagoya debut after the opener. Yoshino talked about winning the Dream Gate, although they failed as a team to capture the Triangle. He said Tozawa had an announcement to make. Tozawa congratulated Horiguchi on his Brave Gate win. Horiguchi accepted, but told him to tget to his ulterior motive. Tozawa told him that a MX member wanted a title match. Horiguchi accepted, from any of them. Uhaa eagerly stepped up, but was gently let down by Tozawa, who told him he didn't meet the division requirements. Tozawa told Horiguchi that it was none of the members in the ring, but their new foreign reinforcement. Horiguchi refused, saying he would not accept the challenge without knowing anything about them. Tozawa relented, and unveiled (via photograph) the new foreigner- Dragon Gate USA regular Anthony Nese. Horiguchi was impressed with his physique, but noted that the Brave Gate wasn't about muscles. The match was set for Osaka.

So Nese joins Monster Express with Tozawa, Uhaa, Ricochet, Yoshino, Shingo, & Shachihoko BOY.

Monster Express is awesome.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

iPPV so far....

Takagi challenged MAD BLANKEY to a Triangle Gate title match in Osaka. Tozawa & Nation will be his partners. YAMATO initially refused. Takagi pressed further, wondering if YAMATO was scared of Uhaa. YAMATO told MX not to forget that Kong was the Real Muscle Monster. Takagi assured everyone that such a thing was absurd, and the Real Muscle Monster was Nation. YAMATO decided to accept the challenge on the basis of finding out who the Real Muscle Monster was.

11/3/2013 Osaka, BODYMAKER COLOSSEUM ~THE GATE OF DESTINY 2013~
-Open the Brave Gate Championship Match: Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! vs. Anthony Nese
-Open the Triangle Gate Championship Match: YAMATO, BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong vs. Akira Tozawa, Shingo Takagi, Uhaa Nation
-29th Open the Twin Gate Champion Team Decision Match: T-Hawk, Eita vs. K-ness, Dragon Kid
-Open the Dream Gate Championship Match: Masato Yoshino vs. Naruki Doi

Dragon Kid is back from injury, so the Twin Gate titles will be decided here. This is a STRONG lineup so far, and this is just the title matches. Good shit.

For Korakuen Hall after the iPPV...

Doi attacked Yoshino straight away after the main event. He cut right to the chase, demanding CIMA come out and make a title match between the two. CIMA complied, and began to announce it for the 11/7 Korakuen show. Doi said he doesn't like Korakuen Hall, and refused that. CIMA changed it to Osaka. Yoshino will make his first defense against Doi at GATE OF DESTINY 2013 on 11/3.

However, CIMA wanted to keep the recent trend of Korakuen title defenses intact. Both Yoshino & Doi consented, so the winner of that match will have to defend 4 days later at the 11/7 show. That show will see each unit send a representative into a 4 way match. MONSTER EXPRESS will send Tozawa, Hulk for MAD BLANKEY, T-Hawk from the Millenials, and Susumu for the Jimmys. Yagi was a bit bored by the idea of a plain 4 way, so he decided this match will be the return of the Key Hunting style 4 way match. The Dream Gate #1 contender key is hidden in one of the turnbuckle pads. Each competitor will get 3 attempts to open one, until the key is found. Whoever finds it wins the match. Competitors can also be eliminated via standard pinfall & submission rules. T-Hawk said he learned the importance of keys in Mexico. Tozawa revealed he used to wear his house key around his neck back in his primary school days. Susumu won the first ever key Hunting match, so he considers himself to be Mr. Key Hunting. Hulk just wanted to beat Tozawa and cared little about the key.

Tozawa the best.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]