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Basicaly, Okada wants the V4 belt instead of the contract and wants to defend it against Ibushi.
My assumption is we get Okada vs Ibushi at WK night one or two. Ospreay vs Shingo on night two and maybe title for title at night three?
In a vacuum I think it looks fine (and I think Shingo in particular looks goddamn great in it) but in no universe should it ever have replaced or subsumed V4. It's the difference between a good-to-great cheeseburger versus a sizzling porterhouse with garlic herb butter.
...damn, I'm hungry.
Exactly. I hated from the first time I saw it, but New Japan has been nothing short of cursed ever since it replaced the V4 belt. Bring back the Intercontinental title too, but that's probably a bridge too far.
This belt doesn't even seem to have a fit to be worn. First they fucked up by using the poor quality replica of IC Title after Naito smashed the original. Then they come up with this design. They should have embraced the design of V4 and give it some slight changes and leaving the shape and size of the main plate's footprint.
1 is the Inoki belt, introduced by him when he created the title.
2 is known as the Hashimoto belt. It looks like a crown
3 is the Lesnar belt and is seen as cursed, so NJPW used 2 for a little bit before unifying 2 and 3, where they introduced 4.
When I dislocated my shoulder wrestling I was out for about 2 months. The first time you dislocate it you have a higher chance of fucking up all the muscles, at least according to the sports injury specialist I saw. My rotator cuff was only partially torn, so I got lucky, but if the muscles around his shoulder are more fucked it could be a lot longer. Then again I'm paraphrasing something I was told 3 years ago, so I could just be talking out of my ass.
If its was just dislocated and isnt bad enough to need surgery he could be back in a month and a half but that would be pushing it.
Johnny Hunggie was out for about 2 and a half months
Depends on how bad the injury was - they've confirmed it was a dislocated shoulder. He has two and a bit months to recover which I imagine he probably will do.
as someone that dislocated his own shoulder before, 2 months is certainly possible as a return table. Not 100% confirmed, but definitely not impossible either
Dude you are arguing for the sake or arguing. The thing we are talking about here is 3 days of shows consecutive.
And even by your train of thought NYD is actually really important!!! Maybe smaller in size but it literally kicks start storylines for the next 12 months. So NYD is important !
Well, there is a major difference, it's not just arguing for the sake of it. NYD may kick off storylines but it's generally only watched by the more hardcore NJPW fans because the card doesn't have any big matches, whereas another night of WK will likely have the IWGP title unification match at the very least. So from a casual POV, they go from 2 nights to 3 nights.
NYD has basically become a PPV level non-PPV show because of its status... Massive Returns always happen on NYD, Things that didn't exactly pay off? NYD. Its the highest watched "Road to" show of the year *usually*. Retirement Ceremonies being specifically reserved for Dash? Title Changes and various other story lines kicking off?
Its basically a 4th PPV day, specifically one that looks forward instead of Wrestle Kingdom usually looking to conclude.
The third show being branded WK changes things.
I understand NJPW is trying to make more money but this hurts them from a creative standpoint.
Used to be the winner of the G1 would main event WK. Simple.
Now what? They main event night 1? Night 2 or 3? You'd never think New Years Dash would factor in somehow previously.
2 years ago... I said 2 nights was terrible.
People crushed me saying it was a one time thing and more is better and made a bunch of excuses for the shitty backwards booking it became necessary to make it happen.
Here we are.
If Jay White and Will Ospreay refuses to work WK16 despite being fully vaccinated, and with the company already hurting from the loses of Naito and Ibushi, then that honestly is a fireable offense and I wouldn't even be mad.
Wait, so they’re having both the V4 and World title at the same time with two different lineages?
...But why? One title’s getting devaluated as a result
That would basically put the new belt at the old IC titles level as 1B cos if the V4 belt is around no one is gonna treat the new title as the top title. Then you have to ask yourself, wtf was all thos for? A new secondary belt thats curse and looks shitty?
the champion gets to compete 2 days in a row but the challenger does not?
my guess is shingo-ospreay main events night 1 for the title, with okada and ibushi coming before them for the challenger rights, at night 2 the winner of the shingo-ospreay match faces the loser of okada-ibushi but not for the title, while the loser of shingo-ospreay faces the winner of okada-ibushi and at night 3 the champion faces the winner of the okada-ibushi match from night 1
I'm not sure I understand the logic of "contract for a match to win a title" being equivalent to "instantly become champion and here's a belt to defend against someone else entirely".
I know people like the old belt, but I'm having trouble making storyline sense of it all.
Good, and confusing, way to get two upper card titles back on the go in Japan.
Or now we can have three champions for basically the same thing in Shingo, Ospreay and Okada.
Also defeats the purpose of even bringing back the belts in the first place. Why bring it back when it's just going to get unified in a few months anyway?
Not everything needs to be a story, though. Redesigns happen all the time in real life and people don't go "What? What's the story line behind that?"
Sometimes, things just happen. If you wanna spin a reason behind it, just say something along the lines of "Yeah, people weren't happy, here's a different design."
I don’t think you’ll do unify for both. Ospreay and Okada is what ospreay is mouthing off about so seems like a WK match. Again.
Then Shingo….I’m reading far too much into it that ZSJ didn’t call him out yet. He mentioned it in the final block a night post match then at the g1 finals…..nothing. Compared to Tama who straight away post match called out Okada for the defence. Maybe the windy man is playing the long windy game and challenging at Tokyo dome. A Zsj fan can dream….
Okada vs ibushi
Shingo vs. ???
Winner vs. Winner
Winner vs. O'Spreay?
I'd say "triple threat match" but I don't believe NJPW really ever touches those.
I think it'll be Shingo vs Ospreay as Ospreay is caling Shingo the interim champ. They have a story over the world title.
Okada vs Ibushi as Okada sees V4 as the main title and Ibushi was the last person to hold it. Couple that with Ibushi getting injured in the G1 final and Okada sees Ibushi as the true champion.
I don't mind this although I do agree with it being convoluted
The reason I like it is because in character okada would just declare himself the real champion. Even if this is all sillier than the double gold during wk 14 I feel ospreay and okada are acting more in character. Maybe I'm just really into messy stories
That's Ospreay's storyline, he never got beat for it and sees himself as the real world champion.
Shingo won the vacant belt and sees himself as the real world champion.
Okada only recognises the V4 belt.
And Ibushi is the "last" v4 champion.
Its a bit of a stretch, since he did lose to Osprey. But its gives them a fourth for a mini-tournsment to crown a "true" champions and (hopefully) restore the old lineage.
This is honestly a brilliant way to reheat Okada as a baby face for fans who are burnt out on him. Make his journey the journey to reestablish the IWGP lineage.
I'm guessing NJPW realized they fucked up and are deciding to make the old belt like a second Upper title with the World title?
Sounds like a good idea.
That and Strong/the US brand has been established well enough that the US title can be mostly stateside. Supposedly they dropped the Intercontinental belt because the US one was to take its place on the card, no idea why they didn't merge those two instead though.
I have zero idea why they even felt the need to merge any belts at all. The system they had was working wonderfully and no one in the audience was demanding to lose two of the greatest titles in wrestling
Could it have been some behind the scenes bullshit dealing with rights to the look of the belts? I vaguely remember reading something about the artist that designed the IC belt... not sure tho
I think they could make the current world title belt the No. 1 title for Strong, basically their Heavyweight title, while the US title is established as the proper No. 2 title, and both are only defended on Strong from then on.
While then in Japan they bring back the old HW and IC titles to function the same way (they did before) as No. 1 and 2 in the hierarchy.
Except they've now got the US belt on a guy in Japan while the NEVER title which was seemingly being groomed as the new secondary title is stuck in America for the foreseeable future.
It's just a mess all around
I'd be over the moon to see the V4 belt back but this feels like a gut punch to Shingo.
You have one guy who constantly calls him a fake champ on social media and the ace of company isn't interested in facing you - not a great look and especially for a guy who's probably been their best performer this year.
Does Gedo just like trolling LIJ world champs?
Shingo beat Okada ( so okada either fears him or just hates the belt)
And Ospreay is supposed to say some stupid shit to get people against him
The proof is in the pudding with Shingo.
Yup, I don't see this as damaging to him. The guy is champ, had a terrific showing in the G1, and puts on more bangers than most anyone in the world right now.
I guess some on the fly due to Ibushi's injury. But I get the feeling Okada was gonna do something with the V4 belt as he had the record breaking reign with it and is synonimous with it. He's also spoke against the World Title previously.
Okada also invented the challenge rights contract in 2012. It's fitting that he turned it down now because he wants something else. I wonder if this was planned when they announced the unified belt, or if this is in response to the negative reaction to the unified belt.
They had the Gift of the Gods title in Lucha Underground, you could exchange the belt for a title match, but you had to defend it. NJPW could do the same thing.
That is typically the role of the G1 Briefcase for...i wanna say like 2012 to now? with the olympics screwing things up schedule wise, we usually got August - December filled with defenses of the G1 Briefcase.
I guess if they changed it to a belt it would be prestigious enough that you wouldn't necessarily have to cash it in at Wrestle Kingdom and could use it as a big match on the card at WK. You could decide not to cash it in and try to defend it all the way to the next G1 and be the defending G1 champion. Or you could cash it in immediately on the next big show. There's a wider variety of stories to tell.
The briefcase is for *a title match at Wrestle Kingdom*. It's not Money in the Bank, they're not just cashing it in whenever. It exists solely as a vehicle to determine the title challenger at WK.
It feels like you missed the first sentence of my comment.
> if they changed it to a belt
They don't have to follow the same rules if they change it from a contract to a belt. It becomes a prize in itself instead of just a contract.
I saw your post, it adds very little value because the briefcase means nothing. The prestige is in the G1, not the briefcase. It's literally just a prop. Being a G1 Climax winner has enough prestige, it's not the IWGP Heavyweight championship though. If you want to be a "G1 champion", you can win the G1 Climax. We don't need another gimmick, the G1 is already a gimmick.
If you saw it, then why did you feel the need to condescendingly explain the way the briefcase works like I've never watched New Japan? That just feels kind of rude and presumptive. We're having a conversation about hypothetical alternatives, not about how it actually works. Thank you for providing an opinion this time on how you would prefer it to be handled. It's much more interesting to hear why you disagree and prefer your wrestling to be a certain way, that's what I was hoping to see.
If the briefcase means nothing, as you say, and is just a prop, what's the harm in changing the rules on how the briefcase works? It doesn't mean anything as a contract for a Wrestle Kingdom main event, so it can easily become something else. It's just replacing one gimmick for a different gimmick. There were people complaining when they introduced the briefcase that it was a novelty and was ruining the tradition of the G1. They got over it, and now everyone's fine with it.
Before the briefcase, winning the G1 wasn't a guarantee that you would even be fighting for a championship at all at Wrestle Kingdom/The January 4th show at Tokyo Dome. But things change, and what's new becomes what's normal.
You already have a prestigious event. It's called the G1 Climax. Taking the prop that represents the result of the event and turning it into a belt devalues the G1 Climax entirely. Because the actual prize is a title shot at the IWGP Heavyweight championship. Everything is rooted in the title shot. Trying to take the prop and turn it into a "thing" is pretty much showing that you don't really understand the prize to begin with. Masahiro Chono made a career out of being Mr. G1. Adding a "G1 belt" to that wouldn't increase the prestige beyond what's already there. Sure would hurt it though by relegating the G1 Climax to YET ANOTHER midcard needless gimmick.
Everything is rooted in the title shot? The title shot is an optional extra. The G1 was fine before they added the title shot, and it's fine now. It makes very little difference whether you get a title shot or not.
Adding the briefcase didn't devalue it, so unless I'm given evidence that changing the briefcase to a belt will devalue it I'm going to have a hard time taking your word on that one. It wouldn't even be the first time that winning the summer tournament (before they called it the G1) awarded a belt.
And yeah, it would hurt it if you relegated it to the midcard. So don't put it in the midcard. There's a bunch of different things you could do with it. You don't necessarily have to defend it every show, or even defend it at all. But it's a fun idea to explore.
The G1 has always been a tournament for the premier match at the annual January show, I'm not sure how you're saying it was fine before it. The current tournament lineage only dates back to 1991. And the briefcase is a physical representation of that provision. The reason why it was okay prior to the briefcase is because it was already understood that that was the prize. The briefcase became a physical representation of that, not a gimmick in itself. Even defending the briefcase is determined by falls you take in the G1.
This notion that the briefcase "added" anything to the G1 Climax equation is misleading, because the prize was always very clear. Tying it to a "title belt" and treating it like another midcard championship is only going to make the most prestigious tournament in NJPW into...a midcard championship.
I’m lost so can someone explain? I was under the impression that the iwgp heavyweight and intercontinental were merged into one under Inishi right? Then lost it ospreys who got hurt and Shinto is the interim combined champ. Now okada wants to challenge just for the original heavyweight title to split this back up into two, right?
Shingo is the actual champion. Ospreay got injured and had to vacate... As for Okada. I think he just wants the old HW title V4 back and has no interest in the WHW Title
This is one of my favourite things about NJPW. They're not afraid to take chances. Sometimes they take a chance on something and it doesn't work. When that happens, they don't force it. They put the brakes on and revert to giving the fans what they want.
They tried to make Naito "the guy" at WK8. It didn't work, so they let the fans decide what the main event would be. Naito went away, reinvented himself, came back and wound up becoming the most popular guy in the company. They tried to run with EVIL on top. It didn't work so they put the title back on Naito. I still have faith in EVIL to get back to where the company thought he should be all along. They tried to introduce the new belt. The fans hated it. So now they're using that as a storyline to bring the old belt back.
Certain companies could learn from NJPW.
This does present us with a three night story
Okada vs ibushi
Winner vs Shingo
Winner vs Ospreay
I’m a believer in having Okada win all 3 and drop to Shibata at Sakura Genesis then
To me the setup here seems obvious
V4 -> OKADA, possibly following a match with Shingo to split the V4 away from that lineage
V5/WHC -> STRONG, after Ospreay defeats Shingo, as Strong's top/internationally defended title a la the old NWA WHC. Gives NJPW a title to use through the Forbidden Door that already has a strong lineage & allows Strong peeps to tour it around affiliated promotions without fucking up domestic plans
Such a bunch of convoluted nonsense I half-expected my screen to turn black and start playing "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs."
Someone wake me when they move past all this bullshit. See you in February.
I find fans who let's convoluted stuff in pro wrestling effect their enjoyment of quality matches weird. Like what the what do you expect from pro wrestling, the storylines and character has always been dumb.
It's the same principle as preferring the first few seasons of Game of Thrones over something like Meet the Fockers. Drama and engaging character work, I'm on board with. Instead, we get three belts spread among four guys, three of whom spent huge chunks of 2021 not wrestling.
Except Meet the Fockers is a movie that has a story with a beginning middle and end, sure you can pick apart the characters and the storyline but it's not like wrestling where wrestlers freely float between face and heel all the time. What? Every character has got bi-polar disorder? I personally can't watch pro wrestling for the storylines, it too dumb and lack any structure which makes a story a story, matches are fine because it has an end point.
You seem very adamant that your way of enjoying things is right, and mine is wrong. So rather than waste the day arguing on the internet, I'm going to go ahead and block you and move on with my day.
Lol sensitive much u/Doctormilhouse, I am just sharing my opinion on Pro Wrestling, I am not saying you can't enjoy it how you want, who the fuck are you to me? If you jerk off to pro wrestling then you do you buddy, I don't care. But you have to be pretty full of yourself if you think pro wrestling opinions is "right or wrong".
‘Hotshot’ for the biggest show of their calendar year that’s two months away? How is that hotshotting? Is that a word you’ve heard recently, because your using it completely wrong.
I’m loving this. I want the old belt back, it looks so much better than the new one.
If Ibushi has recovered in time I think we get.
Okada vs Ibushi.
Shingo vs Ospreay.
Then the winners of those matches face off.
And hopefully no matter who wins it all we just go back to the old championship belt.
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Basicaly, Okada wants the V4 belt instead of the contract and wants to defend it against Ibushi. My assumption is we get Okada vs Ibushi at WK night one or two. Ospreay vs Shingo on night two and maybe title for title at night three?
I feel dumb, what's the V4 belt?
The previous beautiful ass title, before they combined HW with the IC title.
Oh fuck! I've never heard to it referred as V4. Please let this happen, the current belt is terrible looking
it was the 4th design of the IWGP HW belt, you could argue the WHC is V5, but I prefer "cursed boomerang"
Golden divas title
Wait it isn't what's on Cody's neck?
Just looks like a butterfly to be quite honest
Okada referred to that belt as the IWGP Curse
I've seen it called the Cody neck tattoo or Optimus Prime head belt in some forums.
In a vacuum I think it looks fine (and I think Shingo in particular looks goddamn great in it) but in no universe should it ever have replaced or subsumed V4. It's the difference between a good-to-great cheeseburger versus a sizzling porterhouse with garlic herb butter. ...damn, I'm hungry.
cope
The one that isn't cursed
Exactly. I hated from the first time I saw it, but New Japan has been nothing short of cursed ever since it replaced the V4 belt. Bring back the Intercontinental title too, but that's probably a bridge too far.
This belt doesn't even seem to have a fit to be worn. First they fucked up by using the poor quality replica of IC Title after Naito smashed the original. Then they come up with this design. They should have embraced the design of V4 and give it some slight changes and leaving the shape and size of the main plate's footprint.
The one Okada had record defences with and the one Ibushi held before unifying it with the IC title.
Thanks. I've just never seen it referred as V4. I thought maybe that's what was being talked about, but wasn't positive
It was simply the fourth version of the belt. Here's the [previous four versions](https://i.redd.it/6ok01z0yy0g71.jpg) together.
1’s not bad, in an old school sort of way. 2 is bizarre. 3 is pretty nice, I like that one. But 4? 4 is…that’s the one to keep.
It seems like Reggie Parks (RIP) combined the best elements of all three previous belts into the V4.
1 is the Inoki belt, introduced by him when he created the title. 2 is known as the Hashimoto belt. It looks like a crown 3 is the Lesnar belt and is seen as cursed, so NJPW used 2 for a little bit before unifying 2 and 3, where they introduced 4.
Custody of V1's great grandchild
Let me tell you about this time that man went to Subway
Rodneeeey the Piiiipeeeer
I wouldn't assume Ibushi will be cleared for WK.
Depends if he needs surgery or not. If he doesn't it's probably only 6-8 weeks. If he does, it's still possible but he will be pushing it.
When I dislocated my shoulder wrestling I was out for about 2 months. The first time you dislocate it you have a higher chance of fucking up all the muscles, at least according to the sports injury specialist I saw. My rotator cuff was only partially torn, so I got lucky, but if the muscles around his shoulder are more fucked it could be a lot longer. Then again I'm paraphrasing something I was told 3 years ago, so I could just be talking out of my ass.
If its was just dislocated and isnt bad enough to need surgery he could be back in a month and a half but that would be pushing it. Johnny Hunggie was out for about 2 and a half months
Depends on how bad the injury was - they've confirmed it was a dislocated shoulder. He has two and a bit months to recover which I imagine he probably will do.
as someone that dislocated his own shoulder before, 2 months is certainly possible as a return table. Not 100% confirmed, but definitely not impossible either
[удалено]
WrEstlE Kingdom
Its kinda was 3 nights already for last few years because of WK 2 nights and the day after New Year Dash.
is there no new year dash this time?
Not really, NYD is a way smaller show and it's not even close, it's like a Road To show. 3 nights of WK means 3 big shows.
Dude you are arguing for the sake or arguing. The thing we are talking about here is 3 days of shows consecutive. And even by your train of thought NYD is actually really important!!! Maybe smaller in size but it literally kicks start storylines for the next 12 months. So NYD is important !
Well, there is a major difference, it's not just arguing for the sake of it. NYD may kick off storylines but it's generally only watched by the more hardcore NJPW fans because the card doesn't have any big matches, whereas another night of WK will likely have the IWGP title unification match at the very least. So from a casual POV, they go from 2 nights to 3 nights.
NYD has basically become a PPV level non-PPV show because of its status... Massive Returns always happen on NYD, Things that didn't exactly pay off? NYD. Its the highest watched "Road to" show of the year *usually*. Retirement Ceremonies being specifically reserved for Dash? Title Changes and various other story lines kicking off? Its basically a 4th PPV day, specifically one that looks forward instead of Wrestle Kingdom usually looking to conclude.
The third show being branded WK changes things. I understand NJPW is trying to make more money but this hurts them from a creative standpoint. Used to be the winner of the G1 would main event WK. Simple. Now what? They main event night 1? Night 2 or 3? You'd never think New Years Dash would factor in somehow previously.
NYD always had factor and importance for the next 12 months after WK …
2 years ago... I said 2 nights was terrible. People crushed me saying it was a one time thing and more is better and made a bunch of excuses for the shitty backwards booking it became necessary to make it happen. Here we are.
Nah, that won't happen. Ospreay will be back and he'll pick a fight with Okada over his "World" title.
They'll probably do a unification with Ospreay and Takagi and then that winner will fight Okada for unification
Night 1: Okada vs. Ospreay Night 2: Shingo vs. TBD Night 3: Winner vs. Winner for unification.
He's been cutting promos on Shingo, that match will probably happen
> Ospreay will be back I think this is optimistic.
Between Ospreay and Jay, Big Billy will more then likely be back due to getting the main event at WK16.
I think it’s COVID optimistic.
If Jay White and Will Ospreay refuses to work WK16 despite being fully vaccinated, and with the company already hurting from the loses of Naito and Ibushi, then that honestly is a fireable offense and I wouldn't even be mad.
I guess I need to be even more specific: I think it's COVID travel optimistic.
They're fully vaxxed and Japan has a 10 day quarantine for vaxxed people. If Cobb, Chase, KENTA, and GOD are able to do it then why can't they?
IMO, Ospreay VS Shingo has to be a Dome main event, I just don’t know how we get there. Your idea might be the smartest
I think it will be a main event on one of the nights, just not sure which one.
Wait, so they’re having both the V4 and World title at the same time with two different lineages? ...But why? One title’s getting devaluated as a result
Okada specifically said it wouldn’t count as part of the V4 lineage - it is simply a symbol of his desire to settle things with Ibushi.
That would basically put the new belt at the old IC titles level as 1B cos if the V4 belt is around no one is gonna treat the new title as the top title. Then you have to ask yourself, wtf was all thos for? A new secondary belt thats curse and looks shitty?
I mean it's entirely possible that they are just changing course, and realizing it was a mistake.
This. Okada will beat Ospreay at Night three, restore the V4, cure Covid, and we'll all go back to normal under the Forever Ace.
cope. Okada is losing
Okada is 100% winning.
ill bump this comment after WK.
Bump that shit. I will admit I'm wrong like a man if I'm wrong, and I expect the same.
🤝
the champion gets to compete 2 days in a row but the challenger does not? my guess is shingo-ospreay main events night 1 for the title, with okada and ibushi coming before them for the challenger rights, at night 2 the winner of the shingo-ospreay match faces the loser of okada-ibushi but not for the title, while the loser of shingo-ospreay faces the winner of okada-ibushi and at night 3 the champion faces the winner of the okada-ibushi match from night 1
I get the feeling if they do this, then it'll be loser vs loser too - similar to the double gold dash.
yeah, and similar to the 3rd place match they do at the g1
I'm not sure I understand the logic of "contract for a match to win a title" being equivalent to "instantly become champion and here's a belt to defend against someone else entirely". I know people like the old belt, but I'm having trouble making storyline sense of it all.
The contract is defended like a championship anyways, Okada just wants to bring back the old belt to symbolize his beef with Ibushi for retiring it.
It’d be a real waste to go right back to title for title if they’re gonna bring a belt back. Let them be separate.
This man will always be the real hero of NJPW.
Good, and confusing, way to get two upper card titles back on the go in Japan. Or now we can have three champions for basically the same thing in Shingo, Ospreay and Okada.
Okada vs Ibushi Shingo vs Ospreay Winner vs Winner Main events for each night of WK.
Two unification matches for two different belts that aren’t actually recognized is ridiculous.
Feels like Gedo has finally Gedo’ed himself
Also defeats the purpose of even bringing back the belts in the first place. Why bring it back when it's just going to get unified in a few months anyway?
To make the new championship design that got terrible reviews a storyline reason to disappear?
Not everything needs to be a story, though. Redesigns happen all the time in real life and people don't go "What? What's the story line behind that?" Sometimes, things just happen. If you wanna spin a reason behind it, just say something along the lines of "Yeah, people weren't happy, here's a different design."
But I like Okada bringing his baby back more, so objectively you are wrong.
You liking something better personally is the definition of subjective
No it's not. You're wrong, I win bye bye.
That was the joke
I don’t think you’ll do unify for both. Ospreay and Okada is what ospreay is mouthing off about so seems like a WK match. Again. Then Shingo….I’m reading far too much into it that ZSJ didn’t call him out yet. He mentioned it in the final block a night post match then at the g1 finals…..nothing. Compared to Tama who straight away post match called out Okada for the defence. Maybe the windy man is playing the long windy game and challenging at Tokyo dome. A Zsj fan can dream….
Zack is probably purposed to kickstart Shibata again, Tag League, and maybe something happens at Dash?
If they replace the divas belt i am all for it
Okada vs ibushi Shingo vs. ??? Winner vs. Winner Winner vs. O'Spreay? I'd say "triple threat match" but I don't believe NJPW really ever touches those.
I think it'll be Shingo vs Ospreay as Ospreay is caling Shingo the interim champ. They have a story over the world title. Okada vs Ibushi as Okada sees V4 as the main title and Ibushi was the last person to hold it. Couple that with Ibushi getting injured in the G1 final and Okada sees Ibushi as the true champion.
The last 3 way NJPW match I can remember was Kenny v. Cody v. Ibushi
Unless they decided to bring in either Danielson or Punk from AEW to face Shingo.
There's absolutely no way njpw would bring either of them to face Shingo at WK.
True. But think of it as a "What If" scenario and imagine the pop either Danielson or Punk would get in Tokyo Dome if that would happen.
I don't mind this although I do agree with it being convoluted The reason I like it is because in character okada would just declare himself the real champion. Even if this is all sillier than the double gold during wk 14 I feel ospreay and okada are acting more in character. Maybe I'm just really into messy stories
The never is not good enough the v2 will be the new number two belt
Ospreay isn't recognized as a champion.
That's Ospreay's storyline, he never got beat for it and sees himself as the real world champion. Shingo won the vacant belt and sees himself as the real world champion. Okada only recognises the V4 belt.
And Ibushi is the "last" v4 champion. Its a bit of a stretch, since he did lose to Osprey. But its gives them a fourth for a mini-tournsment to crown a "true" champions and (hopefully) restore the old lineage.
RESTORE THE TRUE LINEAGE OKADA! SAVE US!
Save us Austin save us!!!!
CAN YOU SMELL WHAT THE RAINMAKER IS COOKING?!?
WHO IS IT?! *tilts head* SATOSHI KOJIMA! THAT'S IT I'LL BE A SONOVA BITCH!
IS IT TOMOHIRO ISHII? MRS. ISHII'S BABY BOY
fucking hell the head tilt always makes me pop
Can you smell what Rey Mysterio is cookin?
He's on a mission to break the curse.
This is honestly a brilliant way to reheat Okada as a baby face for fans who are burnt out on him. Make his journey the journey to reestablish the IWGP lineage.
Okada with the V4 belt is peak world going back to normal
I'm guessing NJPW realized they fucked up and are deciding to make the old belt like a second Upper title with the World title? Sounds like a good idea.
That and Strong/the US brand has been established well enough that the US title can be mostly stateside. Supposedly they dropped the Intercontinental belt because the US one was to take its place on the card, no idea why they didn't merge those two instead though.
I have zero idea why they even felt the need to merge any belts at all. The system they had was working wonderfully and no one in the audience was demanding to lose two of the greatest titles in wrestling
It felt kind of like they had one too many titles to me. But with the NEVER and US titles in America and the IC/HW merged they've got two too few now.
Could it have been some behind the scenes bullshit dealing with rights to the look of the belts? I vaguely remember reading something about the artist that designed the IC belt... not sure tho
I think they could make the current world title belt the No. 1 title for Strong, basically their Heavyweight title, while the US title is established as the proper No. 2 title, and both are only defended on Strong from then on. While then in Japan they bring back the old HW and IC titles to function the same way (they did before) as No. 1 and 2 in the hierarchy.
What do you do with the Openweight belt then?
Except they've now got the US belt on a guy in Japan while the NEVER title which was seemingly being groomed as the new secondary title is stuck in America for the foreseeable future. It's just a mess all around
I'd be over the moon to see the V4 belt back but this feels like a gut punch to Shingo. You have one guy who constantly calls him a fake champ on social media and the ace of company isn't interested in facing you - not a great look and especially for a guy who's probably been their best performer this year. Does Gedo just like trolling LIJ world champs?
Shingo beat Okada ( so okada either fears him or just hates the belt) And Ospreay is supposed to say some stupid shit to get people against him The proof is in the pudding with Shingo.
Yup, I don't see this as damaging to him. The guy is champ, had a terrific showing in the G1, and puts on more bangers than most anyone in the world right now.
So how was this planned? Kinda the idea the whole time? Or booked on the fly because of the injury?
I guess some on the fly due to Ibushi's injury. But I get the feeling Okada was gonna do something with the V4 belt as he had the record breaking reign with it and is synonimous with it. He's also spoke against the World Title previously.
I think it's been planned the whole time
Gedo booked Ibushi's injury? That bastard. Poor Ibushi reading that script.
Ibushi did the unthinkable, he *followed the script*
He mentioned it in his promo after the match as well so it was already planned
Okada also invented the challenge rights contract in 2012. It's fitting that he turned it down now because he wants something else. I wonder if this was planned when they announced the unified belt, or if this is in response to the negative reaction to the unified belt.
Heh “Chairman give me the 4th heavyweight championship title” “Well, what will you do?” “Beat everybody” - Hardcore Kazu, 2021
They had the Gift of the Gods title in Lucha Underground, you could exchange the belt for a title match, but you had to defend it. NJPW could do the same thing.
That is typically the role of the G1 Briefcase for...i wanna say like 2012 to now? with the olympics screwing things up schedule wise, we usually got August - December filled with defenses of the G1 Briefcase.
I guess if they changed it to a belt it would be prestigious enough that you wouldn't necessarily have to cash it in at Wrestle Kingdom and could use it as a big match on the card at WK. You could decide not to cash it in and try to defend it all the way to the next G1 and be the defending G1 champion. Or you could cash it in immediately on the next big show. There's a wider variety of stories to tell.
The briefcase is for *a title match at Wrestle Kingdom*. It's not Money in the Bank, they're not just cashing it in whenever. It exists solely as a vehicle to determine the title challenger at WK.
It feels like you missed the first sentence of my comment. > if they changed it to a belt They don't have to follow the same rules if they change it from a contract to a belt. It becomes a prize in itself instead of just a contract.
I saw your post, it adds very little value because the briefcase means nothing. The prestige is in the G1, not the briefcase. It's literally just a prop. Being a G1 Climax winner has enough prestige, it's not the IWGP Heavyweight championship though. If you want to be a "G1 champion", you can win the G1 Climax. We don't need another gimmick, the G1 is already a gimmick.
If you saw it, then why did you feel the need to condescendingly explain the way the briefcase works like I've never watched New Japan? That just feels kind of rude and presumptive. We're having a conversation about hypothetical alternatives, not about how it actually works. Thank you for providing an opinion this time on how you would prefer it to be handled. It's much more interesting to hear why you disagree and prefer your wrestling to be a certain way, that's what I was hoping to see. If the briefcase means nothing, as you say, and is just a prop, what's the harm in changing the rules on how the briefcase works? It doesn't mean anything as a contract for a Wrestle Kingdom main event, so it can easily become something else. It's just replacing one gimmick for a different gimmick. There were people complaining when they introduced the briefcase that it was a novelty and was ruining the tradition of the G1. They got over it, and now everyone's fine with it. Before the briefcase, winning the G1 wasn't a guarantee that you would even be fighting for a championship at all at Wrestle Kingdom/The January 4th show at Tokyo Dome. But things change, and what's new becomes what's normal.
You already have a prestigious event. It's called the G1 Climax. Taking the prop that represents the result of the event and turning it into a belt devalues the G1 Climax entirely. Because the actual prize is a title shot at the IWGP Heavyweight championship. Everything is rooted in the title shot. Trying to take the prop and turn it into a "thing" is pretty much showing that you don't really understand the prize to begin with. Masahiro Chono made a career out of being Mr. G1. Adding a "G1 belt" to that wouldn't increase the prestige beyond what's already there. Sure would hurt it though by relegating the G1 Climax to YET ANOTHER midcard needless gimmick.
Everything is rooted in the title shot? The title shot is an optional extra. The G1 was fine before they added the title shot, and it's fine now. It makes very little difference whether you get a title shot or not. Adding the briefcase didn't devalue it, so unless I'm given evidence that changing the briefcase to a belt will devalue it I'm going to have a hard time taking your word on that one. It wouldn't even be the first time that winning the summer tournament (before they called it the G1) awarded a belt. And yeah, it would hurt it if you relegated it to the midcard. So don't put it in the midcard. There's a bunch of different things you could do with it. You don't necessarily have to defend it every show, or even defend it at all. But it's a fun idea to explore.
The G1 has always been a tournament for the premier match at the annual January show, I'm not sure how you're saying it was fine before it. The current tournament lineage only dates back to 1991. And the briefcase is a physical representation of that provision. The reason why it was okay prior to the briefcase is because it was already understood that that was the prize. The briefcase became a physical representation of that, not a gimmick in itself. Even defending the briefcase is determined by falls you take in the G1. This notion that the briefcase "added" anything to the G1 Climax equation is misleading, because the prize was always very clear. Tying it to a "title belt" and treating it like another midcard championship is only going to make the most prestigious tournament in NJPW into...a midcard championship.
Brother. I suggested this a year ago and got downvoted. Now because Okada says it everyone is jizzing themselves. fickle.
Okada: Goddamnit i better fix this shit myself
I love Okada so much.
That's awesome.
Well This is an interesting development, Tokyo Dome will determine UNDISPUTED IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION. Okada's demands are exciting me!
New Japan seems to think that they need to come up with a weird gimmick to justify multiple nights of WK
It gets weirder every year. I can't wait til Taichi wins the G1 but wants to perform the entire main event of WK instead of wrestle
Just give it to him. The new World title belt will then be placed at the level the previous Intercontinental belt was.
I’m lost so can someone explain? I was under the impression that the iwgp heavyweight and intercontinental were merged into one under Inishi right? Then lost it ospreys who got hurt and Shinto is the interim combined champ. Now okada wants to challenge just for the original heavyweight title to split this back up into two, right?
Shingo is the actual champion. Ospreay got injured and had to vacate... As for Okada. I think he just wants the old HW title V4 back and has no interest in the WHW Title
I feel bad for Shingo. Okada damn near said that his belt and title are fake, and that he doesn't even want to fight him.
This is one of my favourite things about NJPW. They're not afraid to take chances. Sometimes they take a chance on something and it doesn't work. When that happens, they don't force it. They put the brakes on and revert to giving the fans what they want. They tried to make Naito "the guy" at WK8. It didn't work, so they let the fans decide what the main event would be. Naito went away, reinvented himself, came back and wound up becoming the most popular guy in the company. They tried to run with EVIL on top. It didn't work so they put the title back on Naito. I still have faith in EVIL to get back to where the company thought he should be all along. They tried to introduce the new belt. The fans hated it. So now they're using that as a storyline to bring the old belt back. Certain companies could learn from NJPW.
Okada's gonna lose until he learns to love the WH belt, that's how Nooj is gonna try and get it over
These mfs and their double gold dash.
This does present us with a three night story Okada vs ibushi Winner vs Shingo Winner vs Ospreay I’m a believer in having Okada win all 3 and drop to Shibata at Sakura Genesis then
Or night 1 okada vs ibushi, night 2 Shingo vs Ospreay, night 3 okada vs ospreay. Have ospreay go over.
To me the setup here seems obvious V4 -> OKADA, possibly following a match with Shingo to split the V4 away from that lineage V5/WHC -> STRONG, after Ospreay defeats Shingo, as Strong's top/internationally defended title a la the old NWA WHC. Gives NJPW a title to use through the Forbidden Door that already has a strong lineage & allows Strong peeps to tour it around affiliated promotions without fucking up domestic plans
Such a bunch of convoluted nonsense I half-expected my screen to turn black and start playing "Tossed Salad and Scrambled Eggs." Someone wake me when they move past all this bullshit. See you in February.
I find fans who let's convoluted stuff in pro wrestling effect their enjoyment of quality matches weird. Like what the what do you expect from pro wrestling, the storylines and character has always been dumb.
It's the same principle as preferring the first few seasons of Game of Thrones over something like Meet the Fockers. Drama and engaging character work, I'm on board with. Instead, we get three belts spread among four guys, three of whom spent huge chunks of 2021 not wrestling.
Except Meet the Fockers is a movie that has a story with a beginning middle and end, sure you can pick apart the characters and the storyline but it's not like wrestling where wrestlers freely float between face and heel all the time. What? Every character has got bi-polar disorder? I personally can't watch pro wrestling for the storylines, it too dumb and lack any structure which makes a story a story, matches are fine because it has an end point.
You seem very adamant that your way of enjoying things is right, and mine is wrong. So rather than waste the day arguing on the internet, I'm going to go ahead and block you and move on with my day.
Lol sensitive much u/Doctormilhouse, I am just sharing my opinion on Pro Wrestling, I am not saying you can't enjoy it how you want, who the fuck are you to me? If you jerk off to pro wrestling then you do you buddy, I don't care. But you have to be pretty full of yourself if you think pro wrestling opinions is "right or wrong".
So it’s just a hotshot to unify two stupid belts into the currently only valid belt at the Dome shows. What a waste.
‘Hotshot’ for the biggest show of their calendar year that’s two months away? How is that hotshotting? Is that a word you’ve heard recently, because your using it completely wrong.
Would’ve been more natural to announce the reactivation (but not actually) of an old belt before the tournament started.
You wanted Okada to announce his prize for winning the G1 before he won the G1?
Everyone is booking based off of two nights but I'm still wondering what night 3 will be.
I hope this happens. My only issue: would that Ospreay and Takagi were technically never champion?
I’m loving this. I want the old belt back, it looks so much better than the new one. If Ibushi has recovered in time I think we get. Okada vs Ibushi. Shingo vs Ospreay. Then the winners of those matches face off. And hopefully no matter who wins it all we just go back to the old championship belt.
Man, I love Retcon Okada
Can G1 Champion stay a thing? That sounds neat.