Fan Feedback: NJPW New Beginnings, UFC 208

NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2017 | Thumbs Up

– Best Match: Michael Elgin vs. Testuya Naito
– Worst Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Kushida & Yoshitatsu

What a great show. Hiromu and Dragon Lee had an incredible match, super reckless and risky but remarkably crisp. Naito and Elgin had to follow that, and they tore the house down. Two outstanding matches with very different styles.

Ospreay vs. Shibata was excellent as well, but the crowd just didn’t believe Ospreay had a legit chance to win, which hurt on the near falls.

– Lou Pickney

**********

The Worst

TenKoji vs Kushida/Yoshi Tatsu: I felt bad for Kushida having to tag with Yoshi. Tatsu wasn’t awful in this match tho.

Toru Yano/Tomohiro Ishii (IWGP HW Tag Team Champions) vs Makabe/Honma vs Takashi Ilzuka/Harry Smith: This match almost caused me to fall asleep and I got a full nights sleep before the show! It was a relax match before the final two matches. I laughed at the finish. I look forward to the day Ishii is freed from this tag team.

The Middle

Tiger Mask/Jushin Thunder Liger/Juice Robinson/Yuji Nagata vs Jado/Gedo/Yoshi-Hashi/Hirooki Goto: A good match. I was more interested in the fact that Juice vs Goto isn’t over and are set up for another match.

Kazuchika Okada/Rocky Romero/Trent Beretta vs Minoru Suzuki/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Taichi: Minoru destroyed Okada’s leg some more. Taichi stunk. Everybody else did a good job and the finish set up a future Juniors Tag Title match good booking.

The Best

Ryusuke Taguchi/Manabu Nakanishi/Hiroshi Tanahashi (Never Six Man Champions) vs Bushi/Evil/Sanada: Brawling and comedy wrestling done really good. I hated the refs bumps and mist finish. With the constant targeting of Evil on Tanahashi over the last month. I’m just gonna assume they will have a singles match at some point.

Katsuyori Shibata (RPW HW Champion) vs Will Ospreay: I enjoyed everything about the match but Ospreay not selling the elbow work done by Shibata. The constant tease of using The Rainmaker and failing is funny but it would be nice if he hit it once successfully. It will be interesting to see where Shibata goes from here.

Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP JR HW Champion) vs Dragon Lee: These two young men never disappoint vs each other. But as much as they bring out the best in each other. They also bring out the worst in each other. They take so many risks in this match that it scared the hell out of me. Great match hopefully the next time they wrestle it will be just as great but less risks. Because I want them to be around for many years.

Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC Champion) vs Michael Elgin: Great crowd participation, momentum swings, kickouts and an excellent conclusions. Best match of the card and an early candidate for match of the year.

– Trevor Dixon

**********

thumbs up

– best match naito vs elgin 
– worst match kojima and nagata vs tatsu and kushida 

thought the undercard was better than last week’s.henare continues to impress an taka showed he’s still a solid hand.liked the commentators building the story of tatsu not being good enough to foreshadow his upcoming excursion. I’m fine with Suzuki gun vs chaos continuing for a while,gives them something for the 45th anniversary show till the new japan cup sets up new challengers.have been pleasantly surprised with kanemaru given his lackadaisical reputation but he’s seemed pretty decent,perhaps being on a bigger stage is motivating him.I’m also looking forward to evil vs tanahashi after the tour long build for it.

Really enjoyed shibata vs ospreay was a good clash of styles and showed ospreay can do serious intense matches.Found the tag titles fun,Davey boy looks great,is aggressive and his suplexes are textbook hopefully they find something for him while archer is injured.Felt they got around lizukas shortcomings pretty well. Hiromu vs Dragon lee had all the reckless awe inspiring  danger I anticipated,while am sure they’ll regret such spots in later life I can’t deny the visceral thrill they provide.was surprised at taguchi challenging then I remebered he pinned sanada during the week and the announcers have been hammering home that there’s a talented wrestler underneath the goofy shtick.

Loved the main event,great pacing.Elgin looked like a bona fide main eventer and has to be the best powerhouse in the business at this point.A great story of elgins power vs naitos cunning,and the ungovernable one showed why he’s the most over guy and biggest merch seller in the company with his character work.

– Scott Mcewan

**********

Thumbs up

– Best: Dragon Lee v. Takahashi
– Worst: TAKA vs. Henare

2017 is off to a ridiculously amazing start in terms of truly epic and memorable matches and Lee/Takahashi and Elgin/Naito just added two more to the pile. Lee and Takahashi put on a performance with so many out of this world spots that it actually made me yell out loud enough during the match that I fear I startled the neighbors. Okada/Omega, Okada/Suzuki, Tanahashi/Naito and AJ/Cena were all amazing matches but never actually had me yelling at the tv like a crazy person. I’d say overall this was the second best show of the year, just behind WrestleKingdom and ahead of Royal Rumble. 

– Nick Randall

********** 
Best match: Elgin v. Naito (c)

New Beginning in Osaka didn’t quite meet the high bar set by recent NJPW  PPVs (WK11, Power Struggle, KOPW 2016), but this was a really good show 
highlighted by outstanding semi-main and main events.  This show,  however, appeared to be hurt by injuries and lineup shuffling.

It remains bewildering how this company could lose world class talent 12  months ago and it already seems to be overflowing with great performers again. Heading into the mid-season NJPW schedule, it should be  interesting to see if Gedo and Jado can utilize the roster effectively for upcoming split PPVs, New Japan Cup, BOSJ, and G1 27.

– Casey Goldman

**********

Thumbs down. Left a bad taste in my mouth.

– Best fight: Dustin Poirier vs. Jim Miller
– Worst fight: Glover Texiera vs. Jared Cannonier

Biggest thing about this show was the abysmal judging and refereeing. Why New York didn’t have Herb Dean and John McCarthy for this show, especially a title fight, is beyond me. Holm got screwed by terrible refereeing and questionable scoring. That fight should have been a win for Holm with two points deducted, or at the very least a tie with one point deducted. Highway robbery.

Anderson Silva also won due to bad judging. The judge that scored it 30-27 for Anderson, Eric Colon, should be fired immediately. Anyway, when the fight was over, Silva cut a really great promo. He barely speaks English and he cuts better promos than anything in WWE.  Guess all that shitty verbiage is for naught.

I voted Texiera vs Connonier the worst fight since it was the worst fight on the main card, but I didn’t really dislike it at all. It was fine. Nothing special but didn’t deserve the boos it got. This is UFC, not Glory. I don’t get the point of going to an MMA show and then booing when MMA happens.

Also, I heard there was at least one more robbery during the prelims. NYSAC needs to get their shit together. We can’t have this.

– Brandon Marshal

**********

New Beginning in Osaka – Thumbs Up

Even though the main event of the show last week was great and really different, overall I enjoyed this show more. Naito vs. Elgin was top notch. Mike is freaky strong, and I’m kinda surprised he didn’t go over, but whatever. Dragon Lee vs Takahashi was crazy. I know the dudes are really amazing athletes and that they have a lot of hype to live up to, and also this was a few steps above a typical spotfest, but they could cut out some of the super crazy bumps. Kinda takes me outta the match seeing these guys do stuff that could be chipping years off of their career. Plus, sometimes less is more, right?

Shibata might be my favourite wrestler around today. I don’t follow much UK wrestling, I don’t know how Ospreay is booked there, but maybe in America / Japan it my be time to push him to the next level? It seems like he’s always buried in tag matches or losing important fights. I know he’s young, but the guys has a great look and a hell of a performer. Maybe NJPW doesn’t need him to be elevated, but why wouldn’t ROH want to push this guy as a star?

Outside the main singles title matches, typical NJPW show. I’ve only been following the company on New Japan world for about a year now. Quality of the shows is usually the best on the market, but the multi-man matches full of low-level and old dudes are starting to seem repetitive. Also, it seems weird that every show, another one of the four factions looks strong while the others don’t do as well, and it never really goes anywhere. Like, Suzuki Gun comes back, looks strong, then CHAOS has a good night last week, LIJ was on top tonight, and back before WK11, Bullet Club was on top only for CHAOS to dominate that event. Again, the matches are great, but I’d love to see some more, I dunno, story or something (I hesitate to say “sports entertainment”, but, ya know…)

Also, Tanahashi is one of the best in the world. He was at the top for a long time, and making room for new people in that roll is important, but is this the best use for him? Losing him in the midcard? I have no idea how important his draw is for their tour shows and ppvs, and this might be a crazy idea, but why not let him go work ROH as a top guy for a year? ROH could use a bonafide star, dude would probably be a solid attraction for them and a great match for top talent. Something similar to what happened with Morishima maybe? Just a thought.

UFC 208 – Thumbs Up (ish)

Only caught the main card, so that’s all I can comment on.

Miller vs. Poirier was MOTN. It might have even been a better idea to have these guys headline prelims? Having an exciting lead-in fight is usually what they want, isn’t it? Whatever. Good opener on the main card. Dustin needed a win, Jim’s one of those great long-term LW gatekeepers that’s always entertaining. Loved it. Those leg kicks…

Glover fight wasn’t so great. But that would have been a devastating loss for him. Same could be said for Souza, but unlike Glover, he did exactly what he needed to. 

Silva didn’t win that fight. It’s a feel good moment and Brunson didn’t make a huge statement, but Silva didn’t win. At least not 30-27. Fuck. Seemed chill and happy to be there, but like some many other times, you just wish he’d pull the trigger sometimes and unload. I can’t imagine how frustrating it must be for the guys actually fighting him, seeing him look like he’s going to do something but he never does. I can understand why guys get baited in.

Main event was alright. This title needs Cyborg, and this division needs people in it. I’m not saying they can’t make it happen, but if you’re gonna do it, then, ya know, do it. Book some fights for 145. Fight itself was okay. Those late shots sucked. The ref wasn’t great. Judging tonight was questionable to. NY needs to step up its game. Tough loss for Holm. She needs a gimme fight next, if she comes back at all? Might she go back to boxing after this? About halfway through this one I thought that it would be funny if it ended up being a draw, and if that ref had deducted a point like he should have, it could have been.

– Colin Faucher

**********

Thumbs in the middle

– Best Fight – Porier vs Miller
– Worst Fight – Teixiera – Cannonier

The bar I was at watching it was actually more crowded than I anticipated. Not sure if its indicative of Holm becoming more of a draw than she is, but I was surprised.

I thought Brunson won the fight with Silva myself. I had a feeling they’d give it to Silva right before it was announced. In either event, there is no way one round should have been scored 30-27.

I also think Holm-de Randamie should’ve been scored a draw due to the punches after the bell ended in both those rounds.

– Jeremy Rudomektin

**********

Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay review: My most awaited New Japan match up in a quite some time. I loved all of their interactions in their multi-man tag matches, and this singles meeting between them sure was as spectacular as expected. Fantastic styles clash with Ospreay first trying to ground Shibata, only for Shibata to get out of everything he tries. Ospreay used his amazing flips to avoid Shibata’s deadly strikes. He tried to go toe-to-toe with The Wrestler a few times w/ the strikes, only for him to get absolutely destroyed by him. This had everything I expected it to have – fantastic sequences, intensity, great counters, memorable moments + really good storytelling with Ospreay getting more & more frustrated as he tried everything he could to put Shibata down – the story of a cocky youngster getting humbled, but also earning the respect of the veteran he pissed off. Amazing match.

Dragon Lee vs. Hiromu Takahashi: An absolutely wild match. These 2 always go balls to the walls when they face each other – and this match was no different, they put on one helluva spotfest which was filled w/ some sick, dangerous looking spots. My favorite spot of the whole match was when Hiromu started slapping Lee, and then Lee busted out a sick looking Armbar. They probably went on a bit too long for my taste, I would’ve preferred if it had gone just a tad bit shorter, but it was still a very good match.

MIchael Elgin vs. Tetsyua Naito: Typical New Japan main event ‘epic’. The first half was completely forgettable, the work Naito did on Elgin’s leg was sold very badly by Big Mike. The match only got interesting once they kicked into the finishing gear w/ them just throwing big bombs at each other, but even then, it wasn’t very interesting. 

Robbie Grill

**********

Thumbs Up

– Best Match: Takahashi vs. Lee
– Worst match: Wasn’t one, even the Yoshi Tatsu match was entertaining.

Thought the main was incredible, went on a bit too long for my taste, but still a tough match to beat. Takahashi vs. Lee beat it though, in my opinion. Big, dangerous spots, but my gosh this might have been their best outing which is saying a hell of a lot. Takahashi has STAR written all over him in black and red ink and my understanding is that Lee is already a star in Mexico, or very close if not. Takahashi’s charisma, to me, is off the charts and hopefully we get to see him get built into a superstar.

– Jonathan Beckner

**********

Big Thumbs up

– Best Match: Ospreay/Shibata 
– Worst: Suzuki/Okada six man and the tag title match tie. 

Three of the last four matches were excellent but at a price. Dragon Lee will be in a wheelchair before he’s 30 if they keep having matches.  And now in every match every kicks out of moves that should be certain pins. Every match is treated like it’s the blow off match at mania or the dome.  Where do you go from here?  Elgin and Ospreay better bring guns next time if they want to win. One the reasons the Omega/Okada match was so good was that they saved Omega’s finisher.  That has not been the case in any of the big matches in NJPW or WWE since.  Everyone kicks out of everything.

Russell Griffith

**********

– Best fight: Miller/Porier

– Worst: Holm/GDR

Thumbs (way) down. 

The bar I was watching out probably emptied out by like 50% after the Silva fight.  It was clear most people were there for his fight only. I also noticed that everybody left at this point had at least one woman in their party, so Holly definitely meant something to the women.  That said, even as the Holm/GDR fight was ongoing, more people started to leave. 

One other thing you might find interesting: I built a simulation model that estimates the likelihood of a UFC card having x number of specific finishes based on a dataset of every UFC fight in history.  The odds of a 10 fight show having 9 fights go to a decision were .00272.  That’s 1 out of every 367 shows. For reference, there have been 389 shows in UFC history.