#but instead I just keep finding g1 fans hating :(

[gameerica]

The day people stop bullying G3 is the day I will finally know peace. I love these guys so much, stop being meann :((

[breadclubrising]

Why do you believe another gl reunion would make Ibushi fulfilled? Bc last time he seemed pretty annoyed by the end of it, saying he was just being tossed aside as "Kenny's replacement" and "I have nothing else to do in this tournament" and ofc the "I've always been alone". Why would it be different now?

wellllllllllll because the GL story has a surprising amount of nuance for a wrestling storyline, and has kind of deliberately mixed kayfabe with real life in such a way that you can’t talk about them separately a lot of the time.

i DEFINITELY didn’t say he ‘needs’ it to be ‘fulfilled’, because that is a thing that would give me hives to say. i have many times said he doesn’t need Kenny and that’s been the point, is that they both totally can be great without each other, but they keep choosing each other and even if they’re successful in their careers, they are unhappy when they’re apart. if you find that disagreeable, please email kota (i know for a fact he does not check his email because of course he doesn’t). What I said was: it is how their careers will play out because they literally say that will happen and they have gone to LENGTHS in real life to make it happen.

i saw someone on twitter who bothered to take a screenshot of some galaxy brain on reddit finally figuring out that ibushi and omega see each other as endgame, and captioned it something like ‘golden lovers is the worst story in wrestling please stop.’ which is totally an opinion you are welcome to have but also, the part about them being each other’s endgame is a thing they both have said and kenny in particular will never let anyone forget. i do not understand why people give it the ‘lol shut up fangirl shippers’ treatment when it’s a thing that has been telegraphed since the beginning of time, unless you are calling ibushi and omega fangirl shippers, which you actually probably should bc no one ships GL more. anyway, i actually completely get why people who don’t like the storyline, or don’t like kenny, or whatever, have a different reading of the actual events that took place. but it means that you asking me this question isn’t going to get you a satisfying answer, and that makes me feel like you’re just asking me this to make me feel bad for liking a thing incorrectly. 

but you did ask, which is totally on you, so: Ibushi said (explicitly, in interviews, and on twitter) that he was frustrated with himself for not Reaching His Potential. He never expressed frustration with Kenny, or even with NJPW’s booking. He wasn’t even officially signed until a couple months after Kenny left. 

It was like this: he was an outsider in the company. He was always paired with the guy who is like, certified by the belt to be The Best Wrestler In The World. That guy had a problem like the bus in Speed, except instead of having to maintain a speed of 60mph to avoid exploding, the bus has to constantly say its boyfriend is the coolest. So Kenny, the best wrestler in the world according to kayfabe, is like ‘actually my mans here is the best wrestler in the world’ and kota’s like ‘thanks i love you too but i’m pretty sure you’re the one with the belt and the pwi cover and 437 meltzer stars you fucking labradoodle.’ (I’d bet money Kota does not know what a labradoodle is.) Kenny’s stanning was sweet and well-intentioned but to Kota it only highlighted the achievement gulf between them. And it did not help that his mentor Tanahashi was like ‘allow me to highlight the achievement gulf between you and your genetically inferior labradoodle boyfriend, whomst i don’t like for Reasons.’

And that made Ibushi be like ‘i’m 36 (at the time) years old and I have every muscle and yet, no accolades. the fact that i have not yet managed to be the unequivocal best and that i foolishly had a body and feelings is shameful and weak.’

That’s how he is: he beats himself up about stuff like goddamn taking time off to heal from neck surgery and a mental breakdown, and the unforgivable sin of not being quite sure what direction he wanted to take his career. It felt really bad! It deffos did! But his frustration was not directed where you think it was! But that’s the part I said you’re not going to agree with me on, so!

There was so much going ON in this story and it was really GOOD! Like all the stuff with Tanahashi was incredible and heart-wrenching and you just wanted to both smack and hug all three of them and it was a really good story! 

Sometimes I just need to remind myself of that bc people who dislike the Golden Lovers are very reductive about why they assume people like the thing they do not like. But yes, it actually is a good story, now that I type a tiny part of it out like that; not my fault some people seem to have missed the epic heroes’ journeys forest for the gay love story trees. Not that there’s anything wrong with gay love story trees; also very much part of the forest.

Anyway Anon, part of the reason earlier on I speculated that you just came to my inbox to try to make me feel sad for liking things in a way you did not was that... honestly. HOW did ANYONE watch Ibushi say “I was always alone, before” after he won the 2019 G1 and go “king said ‘new career who dis’ and deleted kenneth’s number from his phone! 👏always 👏alone 👏before 👏!!!’ 

Like yeah those are the words he said but, you know, words can mean a lot of things! and personally, I think it’s relevant that those words were enveloped by a heartbreakingly pained smile that says ‘GREAT question Tokyo Sports, i WILL cry RIGHT here at this FUCKING folding table if you do not IMMEDIATELY pretend along with me that my existence began earlier this evening when I entered this arena. thanks in advance!’ Like!

Yep, look at that smug fuck pretending not to know who his shitty ex is! Prolly thinking of some good labradoodle jokes.

(On the real i know that not everyone is good at ascertaining emotion from facial expressions. I get that, and I’m not gonna dog on anyone for it, because I myself am often not great at it. And honestly? If he meant this in the “I don’t know her” sense, I would probably have loved it, bc I am a Kota Ibushi fan first, a human second, an antifa supersoldier third, and then a Golden Lovers Scholar like somewhere in the low 20s. But... I can’t even pretend that reading works for me. I hate looking at these gifs. That’s how much this reads to me as Having A Bad Time, like this man’s face is among my favorite things to view on this horrible planet and my heart feels like it’s being poked with a broken toothpick every time these gifs loop.)

And finally, because of the thing I said in the first paragraph that I wrote when I was like “i’m just gonna write a quick answer to this ask” like some kind of fucking fool who has never seen my own blog: it would not “be different now”, it has always been this story, and both Kenny and Kota say that when they are able to. It mixes kayfabe with real life, and in real life it’s really clear that it’s endgame for both of them, and I’m very sorry to GL haters but please direct your displeasure with the narrative to the two nerds who are determined to continue it across decades and oceans.

[darlinrogue]

the first time kota and adam hugged, kota swore that he felt anything but fear.

Ibushi

Kota and Adam || @lavmisc​

The alarm clock displayed an ominous, crimson red, 1:34 AM. The ceiling fan turned in lazy circles and churned the humid night heat. Sirens blared on the streets outside. Strips of headlights playing on the backs of the curtains. Cheek wedged against his pillow, Adam stared at the numbers and then gave-up. He rolled out of bed and left behind disarrayed sheets. Adam yanked on jeans and a t-shirt. He left his hotel room in a stupor, stumbling down the hall. Around the fifth landing of the stairs, his brain caught-up with his feet. The frontal parts of his brain cussed-out the back parts of his brain as he merged into the hotel lobby. The lights were dimmed and a clerk lounged behind the desk with a magazine. Adam hung a sharp right and pushed through a glass door leading outside. 

Earlier, when he checked-in he had noticed a seating area outside. A small veranda connected to the pool area with wicker furniture and dainty, thin leaf decorative ferns. It was a space that wasn’t his hotel room, with its nauseating beige walls and too-soft bed. Water lapped at the side of the pool and a cool, gentle breeze brushed through the ends of Adam’s hair. Gold light spilled from the hotel lobby, contrasted with the pale blue glow from the water. Adam closed the door behind him. The latch turned and clicked. Someone sat on the stone steps leading down to the sidewalk. They sat hunched over, shoulders rolled forward, and elbows braced against their knees. A t-shirt stretched over the defined muscles of their back. The soft, red color of Ibushi’s hair sparked recognition in Adam. Adam let his hand fall off the door handle and for a moment too long he stood there, staring.

It wasn’t that he was afraid of Ibushi but something burned in his chest whenever he saw him. It was exhilaration and hesitation and hope all rolled into a blanket of uncertainty. A couple weeks ago they had drinks at a dive bar, alone, and Ibushi had held his hand in reverence. Then he was there, with Kenny, early in the tournament, kneeling over Adam with a face twisted in concern. The run of his fingers over Adam’s skin ran tingling paths of warmth. Adam had gazed-up at him, haloed by the spotlight, not quite sure why he was there. And now here, alone, way past their bedtimes— Adam was uncertain of his welcome. He and Ibushi drifted on an uncut line, with no hard boundaries, no destination. It was limitless and perilous. There had to be a hard stop, a wall of some sort, and it was going to hurt like hell whenever Adam ran face first into it. 

He took the first step and Ibushi twisted over his shoulder to look. Ibushi blinked, eyes adjusting to the dimness of the veranda. Then, even in the soft light, gold and blue playing on his angular features, Adam saw him smile. Ibushi nodded and Adam took that as a beckoning gesture, a subtle, ‘come hither.’ Emboldened by the not outright-rejection, Adam walked over. He sank down on the stone steps beside Ibushi, grumbling as his knees clicked. Adam rolled out his shoulders and twisted to pop his back. A couple small stretches to wash off the dredges of his stiffness. Then, he settled back, draping his forearm over his bent knee and looking with Ibushi at the dancing water in the pool. In the distance, another siren screamed and then faded. 

“Can’t sleep, Page-san?” Ibushi asked. 

Adam glanced at him, hearing the unfamiliar English fall from Kota’s lips. Ibushi tilted his head at a slight angle, his dark eyes earnest, as if Adam burning the midnight oil was a legitimate concern of his. Which was absurd, if kind of adorable. Ultra did a similar head tilt when he was concerned or confused. It was very endearing, very —and the thought hit Adam like a freight train— cute. His mind dismissed that thought alongside the idea that Ibushi actually cared that much. 

“Yeah, no, just got too much on my mind, I guess,” Adam admitted. He glanced down at his hands, resting between his legs. “I mean, I got a match tomorrow, so maybe I shouldn’t be out here but, uh, here we are.”

Ibushi made a grunting noise in agreement, nodding his head. He said, “I came here to clear my head, to focus.”

He spoke in Japanese now and by instinct Adam tipped forward to listen better. He’d been drilling Japanese like a madman and his immersion over the past couple weeks had helped. Adam also heard how Ibushi slowed his speech, annunciated better for him. A sharp contrast to the quick and dizzying pace he usually set with Kenny. Part of Adam was grateful for the thoughtfulness, another part of him felt guilty for making Ibushi talk so unnaturally. 

“You want me to go?” Adam asked, he pointed at the door. “I can leave—”

“No, I like you here,” Kota said, such a simple phrase but Adam struggled to comprehend it. Kota placed his hand on Adam’s arm, a physical barrier to keep him from getting-up. “Please, stay, the company is nice.”

“Sure,” Adam breathed. 

Kota hadn’t moved his hand and again his touch burned. There had to be something wrong with him. Kota gripped his wrist, and squeezed. Ever so slow, hesitant, as if Kota was a timid squirrel that’s scare away at a quick movement, or something, Adam turned over his hand. He watched with open fascination as Kota slid his hand down until their palms caressed. Adam didn’t move, didn’t dare even breath, until Kota had interlaced his fingers with his. It was picture perfect, the way they locked together and Adam couldn’t believe this was the guy he hated a handful of months ago. 

Laying in bed for three hours, Adam’s thoughts had been topical. From worries about his family and the chores he had to do when he got home. About the matches on his card and the string of losses he left behind him in the G1. Before he came to Japan this whole month hung together like a painting on the wall, the colors crisp and the ideas clear. Now, the paint muddled and the nails gave way, the frame cracked. Topped on all of that was Kota Ibushi and Kenny Omega, his two travel compatriots— relationships unchaperoned by Cody or the Bucks for the first time. Wound together with the history of the past year and tangled with how much Adam didn’t know them, was Adam’s point count compared to Ibushi or Kenny. Night and day, loser and winners, and all Adam could think about was that he didn’t deserve to be on this tour. He was waiting for the other boot to drop, for Ibushi and Kenny to turn around, drop the pretenses, and tell him to get the fuck out. 

Instead, he looked down again. At Ibushi’s long, slender fingers, tangled with his own. Pale blue veins ran over the intricate bones of his hands and knuckles. Ibushi tipped over and leaned against Adam’s side. His cheek pressed against Adam’s shoulder and Ibushi hummed, low in his throat. It was as sweet and content as a cat’s purr. Then, Ibushi straightened, but he didn’t move away, so they were hip-to-hip, rib-to-rib, knee-to-knee. Bone-to-bone, like Ibushi was trying to sink into Adam’s veins and wedge his way under his rib cage. Dig at Adam’s heart where all he’d find is charcoal, ash, and dust; bitterness, jealousy, anger, frustration—

 Poison. 

Tanahashi, was the Ace of New Japan, and for some reason, when Adam looked at him, he saw all the things he could never be. 

“What’s on your mind, Page-san?” Ibushi asked. Adam felt his eyes drill into him but he couldn’t look back. Adam swallowed hard, and couldn’t stand how soft Ibushi’s voice was, “What’s wrong?” 

“It’s— it’s nothing,” Adam admitted. Skin-to-skin, his hands burned where he touched Ibushi but he couldn’t snatch his hand back, just withstand the intensity of the heat. He dismissed Ibushi’s concerns but the next time he opened his mouth the words all spilled-out in a rush, like he couldn’t barf them up fast enough.  “I mean I, I was just thinking, about the match today. I thought Tanahashi was mine, I really did. We’d fought before, you know, and I may’ve lost then but I could feel it— he was in reach. I just— I just feel like the only reason I lost was because I let it slip my grip. I let it go, I fucked it up—”

“Page, you can’t let one loss take up so much space in your mind,” Ibushi warned. He slipped his hand from Adam’s and Adam’s hand felt so much emptier for it. Ibushi pressed his palm to Adam’s shoulder. “There are other matches in the G1, other chances. You’ll get yours, I know it.”

“It’s not just one loss, though,” Adam protested. “Right now it’s three, in a row, I if I don’t get some points soon, I’ll be out altogether—”

“Page, those losses?” Ibushi began. “Did you learn something from them?”

Adam gaped for a moment. He ran his tongue over his lips and then admitted, “Yeah, yeah I did.”

“Then they aren’t losses,” Ibushi stated, simply. “They’re victories, because through them you grow. Maybe, maybe you don’t win another match in the G1, maybe you do— but next year, next year will be better. Because you’ll have learned and you’ll be ready. Growth is hard Page, but you’re strong, I know you can do it. Keep going!”

“Kenny won his first G1,” Adam said. His head ducked and he braced his elbows against his knee, like he was propping himself up. 

“Kenny is eight years older than you,” Ibushi retorted. 

Even Adam had to laugh at such a dry reply. It was true, he was holding himself to an impossible standard— but if he didn’t drive himself, if he didn’t try. Ibushi reached between them and he turned Adam’s face to look at him. Like, he knew Adam’s thoughts were wandering and wanted to reel them back in like fishing line. Adam’s breath trembled, locking eyes with Ibushi. 

“I’ve stood against you in the ring,” Ibushi said. “I know you’ll go far.”

“Why couldn’t you sleep?” Adam asked, because he had to change the subject in the face of such unwavering faith he didn’t deserve. 

“I was thinking about us,” Ibushi admitted. “You, me, and Kenny, being with you, makes me happy— I hope that after the G1 we can stay like this.”

“Is there a reason we couldn’t?” Adam asked, his brow furrowed, and he hated how helplessly, stupidly optimistic his voice sounded. It was almost a childish question. The soft smile Kota gave him, didn’t reassure him. Kota tugged on Adam’s elbow and they stood together. 

Kota hooked his arm around Adam’s shoulders and tugged him in. Adam froze, muscles tensing, hands hovering by Kota’s sides. Japan had twisted Adam into a knot and now Ibushi dug his fingers in to unravel him. He relaxed and Adam ducked his nose to Kota’s throat. He breathed in hotel soap, fresh linens, something floral, and a hint of sweat. Kota ran his hands along the ridge of Adam’s spine, like a spark of fire and gasoline. Adam wrapped his arms around Kota and twisted his fingers in Kota’s shirt. Kota was soft and warm, in a way life hadn’t been for a while. What if they spent hours like this, holding each other together, and what if Adam tugged Ibushi to his hotel room, and they stayed together in their ‘can’t sleepness.’Then, Adam realized what he was doing— and he let go. He stepped back, hands falling to his sides, expecting that hard stop and reprimand. Adam forced himself to meet Ibushi’s eyes but didn’t find his hesitation mirrored. 

And that terrified Adam.

Like, Ibushi had seen something Adam’d been trying to hide. 

“I should uh, go to bed,” Adam stuttered, he ducked his head. He managed a weak laugh,  “I have to fight EVIL tomorrow so I’ll definitely need my beauty sleep.”

“Sleep well, Page—san,” Ibushi suggested.

“Hey, uh, you too,” Adam smiled. 

Another step away from Ibushi before Adam turned tail and fled back into the hotel. On the elevator ride back to his room he stared into the reflection of the metallic walls. His own eyes stared back and Adam couldn’t decide if he liked what he saw. Or, if his skin just crawled like he didn’t belong in it. 

[hazyheel]

NJPW G1 Climax Day 10 Review

Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano in Block B: An battle within Chaos, although Goto always tends to be the odd man out in Chaos. Goto was immediately worried about Yano as they started out, even not being very willing to get in the ring to start. Yano led the crowd in a Chaos chant, and as Goto got into it, he stood on the top rope, only for Yano to wrap his shirt around his face for a pair of rollups. Yano removed the turnbuckle pad, and the two began their wild brawl. Goto locked up his legs and then locked him in a pinning predicament for the win.  Goto: 4, Yano: 4.

Grade: D+. I just wasn’t into this, and it was too quick to really get invested in. The story here was that they always have really quick matches, so the winner would be whoever could close it out in that time. I didn’t care, but good for Goto getting another two points. 

Juice Robinson vs. Tomohiro Ishii in Block B: the two started out with a series of shoulder tackles to each other, with Robinson actually holding his own with the much bigger man. They transitioned into a striking and chopping contest, and both men totally blistered each other’s chests. Robinson actually won that contest, before picking him back up and slapping him disrespectfully. That made ishii so mad that he started to utilize his angry throat chops and even push the ref around. Those chops propelled Ishii into the lead between the two, but Robinson was continuously defiant. He stood his ground and took all the punishment that Ishii had to offer. The two then traded headbutts over and over, before starting up again with the strikes. Again Robinson came out on top, following up with a Full Nelson bomb for a near fall. Robinson tried to continue the pressure with a rana off the top, but Ishii refused to fall and delivered a knee drop off the top and a saito suplex for a near fall. Ishii then gave his signature chop and strike combination in the corner for a while, before Robinson fought his way out and they traded brutal chops. Robinson was getting more and more worn down as they continued these contests. Each one was shorter than the last, and Robinson started to fade a bit. He fought back into the match using a throat chop right out of Ishii’s book. Robinson then gave Ishii a superplex, which Ishii stood right up after. Ishii then hit a powerslam, but Robinson stood right up as well. They continued to no sell each other’s huge power moves until they both just collapsed together. Neither man could even stand after absorbing that much punishment. The two then started to trade huge blows once again in the middle of the ring, this time Ishii faltered, allowing Robinson to hit Juice Box for a near fall. The tow then jockeyed for position a bit, both men wanted their finish. Ishii countered the Pulp Friction with a ripcord lariat, but Robinson didn’t even move. He gave him a nasty headbutt, a huge lariat off his own, and then a powerbomb for a near fall. He went for Pump Friction again, but Ishii still slipped out, so Robinson kept up the pressure. He didn’t stay down for anything, he just refused to lose this match. Ishii fought back into things with his unreal strength, but Juice then reversed the Vertical Drop Brainbuster into a jackhammer, but when he went for a Pulp Friction, Ishii countered with a tiger suplex. Ishii then hit a vertical drop brainbuster for the win. Ishii: 6, Robinson: 6

Grade: A. I never figured Juice for much of a brawler, but his matches these past few months have been changing my opinion on that. His brawling ability is crazy, and I thought if he won this match then he would be pushed into the upper midcard. But he lost, although he looked incredible in defeat. They destroyed each other with everything that they had, and those striking contests seemed like they could go either way every time that they started to hit each other. Juice showed a hell of a lot of heart in this match, and that counts for something. He says that his attitude has changed, and that sure as hell showed here. Great match, match of the night. 

Jeff Cobb vs. Taichi in Block B: In Taichi’s corner was Miho Abe, and also Yoshinobu Kanemaru. These two have a bit of history from earlier this year. They feuded over the NEVER Openweight Championship in may, with Taichi taking the belt from Cobb. He has since lost the belt, but the wound is fresh in Cobb’s mind. The two started with a handshake, which shockingly enough ended up being a normal handshake, no dirty tricks from Taichi were involved. Taichi then asked Cobb to shake Abe’s hand, but when Cobb went to do it, Taichi attacked. The two then started to brawl on the outside, and when Cobb went to give Taichi a lariat, he pushed Abe in his path and then hit him in the face with the mic stand. Taichi used anything that he could as a weapon as the attack on the outside continued, but Cobb made it back in the ring. Taichi continued the disrespect, which infuriated Cobb enough to completely lay into him in the corner with a hurricane of strikes. Taichi contested those strikes with his precise kicks to the body and the head. Taichi then tried for Black Mephisto, but Cobb countered into a series of gutwrench suplexes and even a piledriver. Any time that it looked like Cobb had things in his control, Taichi would wipe him out with a hard kick. In the finish, Cobb went for a superkick, but Taichi pushed the ref in his way. Cobb pushed the ref away, and then narrowly avoided a low blow by starching Taichi in the face. He followed up with a headbutt and then Tour of the Islands for a win. Cobb: 4, Taichi: 4. 

Grade: B-. Fine match, but there was a lot of downtime here. They didn’t feel like there was a lot of urgency, and that definitely affected things. They still had a nice match with some hard hits, but they don’t really have the chemistry for anything great. 

Jay White vs. Shingo Takagi in Block B: Gedo was in White’s corner for this match, and he would definitely be a factor. Also, Takagi had an injured knee coming into this match due to his recent confrontation with Jon Moxley. White rolled out of the ring right as the match started, and while it looked like Takagi wasn’t going to take the bate, he eventually did and ate some offense for it. Takagi then took control right back as they got in the ring with some of his great looking power moves. Takagi was about to hit a death valley driver on the apron, but Gedo grabbed his leg and stopped him. That distraction allowed White to get some hits in and leave Takagi laying on the outside. White worked over the back a lot as they kept up the fighting. He threw Takagi all around ringside and into any surface that he could hit. They got back in the ring, and they started a chopping contest. The second that they started to hit each other, White lost control, as Takagi was a far better striker than he. White mostly fought from behind and used his dirty tricks to score him some hits here and there. White constantly baited Takagi into parts of the ring that he wanted, The two then started to trade huge moves, from slaps to lariats to suplexes. At one point, after trading Saito suplexes, White hit a combination of a flatliner, a german suplex and a Kiwi Crusher for a near fall. The two then traded hard forearms in the middle of the ring, and white could not stand up to the strength of Takagi. Takagi brought him back up to his feet, when White gave him a weak slap, only to be destroyed by a Pumping Bomber. Takagi went for another, so white fell to the ground to avoid it, only for Takagi to hit a vicious wheelbarrow german suplex for a near fall. The two then battled for their respective finishers, and when Takagi went for another Pumping Bomber, Gedo tripped him up. So instead, Takagi drilled White with a lariat in the corner, a buckle bomb and a pair of pumping bombers for a near fall. Takagi went for last of the dragons, but white grabbed the ref. Gedo tried to run in, but Takagi took him out with a straight left. White then tried to hit a Bladerunner, but Takagi just punched him until he dropped it, and then hit Made in Japan for a near fall. The tow then continued to fight for position, and Takagi only went down after being wrecked by a pair of sleeper suplexes. He then hit Bladerunner and won. White: 4, Takagi: 4. 

Grade: A-. Another great match that had actually no leg work, which was interesting. I thought the knee injury would come into play more, but they still had a great match. Full of hard hits and tricky plays, White had to outsmart Takagi to get this win. It was full of dishonesty and cheating, although Gedo was never the exact cause of the problems for Takagi. Takagi dealt with him well, but he just couldn’t get it done against White. White hit his moves with precision, never wasting his strength and holding out to the end. White now has two in a row, and he needs six to make it to the finals. I like this story, gives us more reason to hate him. 

Jon Moxely vs. Tetsuya Naito in Block B: Another Champion vs. Champion main event in the B block. Naito took his time removing his ring attire, and it was actually making Moxley go insane waiting for him. He just stood there swearing at Naito as he took a comically long time to remove everything, only to throw his pants at Moxley at the last second. Despite Moxley being the block leader, Natio had no respect for him. Naito took his time stalling things out, staying on the outside for a while, and taunting Moxley. Moxley tried to keep calm, but his temper would flare up. That is when Naito would strike. It got to the point where Moxley was so frustrated that he pulled him into the crowd and beat him with just about anything he could find. He brought him back to the ring by blasting him through the barricade, but then threw him clean into the crowd and even took some fans out in the process. They probably were out of the ring for four or five minutes before finally starting a countout. When they finally got back into the ring, Moxley started to work over the arm, but Naito fought out of his several attempts at armbars. They fought into the corner, both men spitting in each other’s face. Naito constantly tried to fight back with his vicious strikes, but Moxley hit him right back and used his strength advantage to slam him down over and over again. Then Moxley trapped Naito’s ankle in a chair, but Red Shoes disarmed him as he tried to break it. Naito then removed the chair from his ankle and kicked it right into Moxley’s face. From there, Naito stole a chair from a fan, DDT’d Moxley onto it, and then gave Moxley a huge running dropkick down the ramp as he sat in that same chair. As the two battled back into the ring, Moxley took control and battered Naito in the corner, before delivering a butterfly superplex for a near fall. The two proceeded to have a striking contest in the middle of the ring, clocking each other over and over again, until Naito fell at Moxley’s feet. Naito desperately tried to pick up the face with a flying forearm and a kinda botched super rana, but he was met with a stiff lariat when he went for Destino. The two then exchanged both hard strikes and bites in the middle of the ring, which allowed Naito to hit a running Destino, but Moxley still kicked out! He tried for another, but Moxley countered into a short Death Rider, but the Naito kicked out! Moxley then hit the full death rider for the win. Moxley: 10, Naito: 4. 

Grade: A-. A great main event to close things out. They were street brawlers that wanted nothing more than to destroy each other. They got down and dirty with the strikes and the biting. They brawled all around the crowd, they used plenty of weapons and there was plenty of carnage to go around. Moxley is still undefeated, and now that he has beaten another one of the biggest names in his block, I am starting to think that he is going to win the block. Naito was my original pick, but after this it is tough to see it. A great match between these two, and hope that some of these losses translate into title matches for those who have beaten Naito. 

Overall Grade: B

Pros: Robinson vs. Ishii; Takagi vs. White; moxley vs. Naito

Cons: goto vs. yano

[sammyjs-ponies]

My Thoughts on MLP G5 Rumors (Potential Spoilers)

So you've probably heard about the massive MLP leaks lately. Among those have been a supposed plan for a Generation 5.

Below the Read More is my detailed opinion on the rumored direction of G5, and the things that I would like to see in a new generation.

The leaked concept art and information is highly debated on if it's real or not. I'm not going to share the images since it's a touchy subject for a lot of people, but by now if you want to see them, it's easy to find if you google "My Little Pony G5".

So, while the images are convincing, to me they look more like a really nice quality fanart than something a show would produce. From an animator's point of view, while the designs are pretty to look at, they are very complex and not practical at all to animate. I've heard rumors that it will be done in 3D instead of 2D (which is a huge disappointment), but even then, the designs have a LOT going on that would be distracting as an animated character.

It gives the impression that the show will:

Cut corners on animation quality to make up for the time it takes to work with that much detail.

Cut corners on story quality to make up for the time and effort it would take to animate that much detail nicely.

Become a more toy-focused generation and not have much of a show at all.

Judging how they've made a lot of smart decisions with G4 business-wise (not saying all the decisions were smart), it seems unlikely they would make a lot of these changes. But then again, the staff has changed a lot since the "good seasons" of G4. There's also looking back at how we all thought things like the Pokemon Sun & Moon starter concept art was fake, but it turned out to be real.

Assuming it is true, the plans/rumors I've heard so far are as follows:

(POTENTIAL SPOILER WARNING)

The same "Mane Six" characters are staying, and their designs (as in their colors and hairstyles) are staying the same. However, their species' are changing. Twilight to an Earth Pony, Fluttershy to a Unicorn, Pinkie to a Pegasus, etc. They will also be living in somewhat of an alternate universe.

Right away, this sounds more like a 0.5 generation. A completely new generation would have all NEW characters in an all NEW world. They might borrow a few names (Like Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy all came from G3), and their designs and personalities might nod to their past incarnations, but they would be completely different characters. While a 0.5 generation will instead keep all the same characters, maybe change a few designs or personality traits (like what happened to Toola Roola and Cheerilee in G3.5/Core 7) and make a dramatic change in the art and animation style.

It will be CGI/3D.

This one is argued on whether or not it's true. Like I said above regarding how difficult the leaked designs would be to animate, 3D would certainly make the most sense if they want to animate this much detail efficiently. But if this is the case, I am severely disappointed. I was proud of MLP for going so long without falling into the generic, cheap, 3D animation route.

It will cater to an older demographic and have more mature elements.

This I am skeptical of, but not doubting. The MLP franchise knows all too well what they can get from an adult fanbase, but they could also face a lot of backlash from angry parents who might feel like they can't let their little girls watch MLP anymore because it's suddenly become violent (or God forbid, sexual). I'm curious to see what they mean by this. It could be fantastic and enjoyable, or it could be a massive failure.

They are changing some of the characters' personalities. In particular, they are changing Applejack to something more generic to promote diversity.

Am I the only one who sees a HUGE contradiction here? To create a more diverse cast, they're getting rid of the most unique main character, the only one with an accent and a tie to a specific culture? Do they know what diversity means? Removing a race is the opposite of diversity. Diversity is to have a lot of unique and different things. Diversity is NOT simply removing everything that is white or tied to whiteness. If this is what they plan to do, it says a lot about the direction the show is going to go. We may be bracing for a propaganda-fest of progressive racism and who knows what other Leftist and Social Justice ideals being shoved down our throats. The fear of this once pure show tiptoeing into sexual content doesn't sound so farfetched now...

They want the ponies to act even less like horses, because even now, they think they're too much like horses.

In a leaked email, McCarthy was recorded expressing worry that the ponies are too horse-like. THEY ARE HORSES for crying out loud! That was the appeal of the show, especially for people like me. We like the show because we like horses! We WANT them to be horses!

(END OF POTENTIAL SPOILERS)

So, what would I want in a Generation 5?

Knowing what MLP has done right and done wrong in its lifetime, plus what I would like to see, this is what I would want from a Generation 5:

First of all, MAKE THEM LOOK LIKE THEY'RE ACTUALLY SUPPOSED TO BE EQUINES.

What was appealing about past generations (G3 in particular) is that they were horses, resembled horses, and appealed to horse lovers. G3.5 and even more so G4 strayed violently from looking like something that was supposed to be a horse. I might get a lot of hate from G1 fans for this, but while the G1 TV show did a great job of making the characters look like horses, the toys looked like Hippopotamuses. I loved the G1 cartoon, but the toys don't appeal to me at all. They did improve some over the years, but in general (ESPECIALLY the baby ponies) looked more like Hippos to me than horses. The G3 toyline in particular did the best job of looking like horses, and I'd love to see something go that route again.

While you're at it, let them ACT like horses!

In complete contradiction to what the MLP staff say they want, I really loved it in the first few seasons in G4 when they would nod to the fact that they were horses by giving them horse-like mannerisms once in a while, like making them whinny when they were surprised or excited (they did bring it back once recently for Shining Armor) and that one time in the Buffalo episode where Rainbow Dash snorted when she was angry. It was really clever.

Not so many main characters, yet still not focusing on any one particular pony

One thing that both G1 and G3 did right was not having a set cast of main characters that dominated the series. There were a few "spokesponies" that appeared often, but were more seen as... idk... like the "leaders" of the town? than "THESE are the MAIN characters that you're SUPPOSED to pay attention to!!!" It gets old focusing on the same characters for so long, and you can only drag out a character arc so far. That's why FiM has lost my attention. When you start out from the beginning by focusing on a different character or set of characters every episode, you could seemingly run the show as long as you wanted to and always have new material.

Bring back the wide character assortment in toys!

My Little Pony's "Thing" has always been, until now, to have a wide selection of characters to collect. If the character was in the show, there would (almost) always be a brushable toy figure of them that you could own, and then some. There was no shortage of designs and colors to choose from, and if they weren't in the show, that added to the creativity of playing with them because you could make up your own personality for them. With G4, all you get are the main characters, maybe 3 or 4 background characters, and 2 or 3 "creative" characters. I don't know about other kids or kids nowadays, but when I was little, I always loved to have empty slate characters that I could project my own ideas and personalities onto.

Don't you DARE make it 3D.

This is more of a personal preference than what may or may not benefit everyone, but PLEASE MLP. PLEASE don't fall into the "just another generic, dumb 3D kids' show" hole. PLEASE.

Make something wholesome that can still touch on not necessarily adult topics, but deep topics (like the reality of death) the way older shows weren't afraid to do.

Don't focus too much on being funny. Like the 3D trap, nothing makes civilized people who crave substance turn off your show like a cartoon that acts like the only emotion kids feel is humor. Witty and clever gags are good. Random is funny in moderation. But if that's all your show has going for it, people are going to brush it off at best, and rabidly hate it at worst. We need shows like G1 that could go on adventures and help characters overcome problems. Problems that often got deep, and even invoked empathy, sadness, or even fear. We need shows like G3 that could inspire us and ignite our dreams. We don't need more shows that have to rely on pop culture references, making every moment "funny", and breaking the fourth wall.

[lostinyourears]

THE G1 HYPE TRAIN #2 : Antonio Inoki’s G1 Finals(Only those on NJPW World)

I’ll preface this by saying that I’m only covering the ones on NJPW World, which sadly isn’t all of them. 

Antonio Inoki is of course the face of early NJPW and the one who founded the company back in 1972. Much like Undertaker’s unbeatable streak of 21 wins at Wrestlemania, Inoki’s 10 G1/World League/ect wins will likely never be matched with the 2nd place being 5 wins for Masahiro Chono. 

Short of someone taking over NJPW booking and really wanting to elevate themselves, no one will ever get 10 again or even 5 which seems like plenty. To be fair, wrestling was smaller in the 1970′s and 1980′s when Inoki won all of these and didn’t win 10 in a row, these 10 wins are over a 14 year period.

Antonio Inoki vs Seiji Sakaguchi 1974′s Inaugural World League (The video includes all 3 of the tiebreaker bracket matches, this particular match starts at about 15 minutes in)

(Card with Guide)

Tournament Format

Format for the first ever World League was interesting, 2 groups of 8, 1 Japanese and the other Gaijin(foreigners). The first round would see 8 Gaijin vs 8 Japanese guys in singles matches that awarded points, with the 4 on each side who had the most points advancing to another bracket. 

The winner of that bracket was to be crowned winner, but they had a 3 way tie : Antonio Inoki, Seiji Sakaguchi and Killer Karl Krupp. Who had a tie breaker bracket. 

I chose to have Antonio Inoki vs Seiji Sakaguchi be the representative of this tie breaker bracket as it was the longest match and certainly the best of the 3. 

How is it?

Good, though it might be like watching a movie in Russian for some. It’s a good peek into the catch wrestling roots of NJPW. Inoki and many of his peers from this era learned of catch wrestling from Frank Gotch. Inoki would call his style “Strong Style”, which of course is still used to label Japanese wrestling.

Seiji Sakaguchi is one of Inoki’s peers both having wrestled in the NJPW/AJPW precursor JWA which of course was founded by The founding father of Japanese Pro Wrestling Rikidozan. Seiji Sakaguchi was never as high on the totem pole as Inoki(not many were), still he had a decent career in NJPW and would win this tournament himself twice in his career. 

This match is probably the lowest rated for me as the finish is screwy and kinda makes the previous 20 minutes feel like a waste and the villain Killer Karl Krupp didn’t age particularly well and both his matches in this tiebreaker bracket aren’t exactly thrilling.

My Highlight of the match :

Antonio Inoki vs Andre the Giant 1978′s  MSG League Finals

(Card with guide)

Tournament Format

9 man round robin tournament with the 2 top point scorers going onto a final round vs one another. Andre destroyed in scoring having 37 points to Inoki’s 29.

How was it?

It’s up there amongst my favorite from this series of G1′s. If I told you a guy from Europe who is going to target the super over Japanese baby faces limbs with expert precision, you’d probably assume ZSJ vs Okada.

Nope, Andre vs Inoki nearly 40 years ago. It may seem like hyperbole, but I think I can say with certainty that this is the best Andre the Giant match I’ve ever seen. I loved every second of it and cannot believe the big guys work rate here. One of the most surprising things I’ve seen since I started this blog. Which granted has only been 2 months, but I think it’ll stay at the top of the list for a long while.  

The ending again is a little wonky, but at least it’s not a screwy finish followed by a 5 minute squash. 

My highlight of the match

Antonio Inoki vs Hulk Hogan 1984′s International Wrestling Grand Prix Finals

(Card with Guide)

Tournament Format 

Not exactly sure, wikipedia lists the the end of the IWGP League as the 14th of June, but Hulk Hogan wasn’t in that. So think this was a 12 man round robin, instead of having a final, the final was for the IWGP title which Hulk Hogan was holding at the time. Like now how the winner faces the IWGP champ at WK.

How was it?

Good, one of the first things I think many smarky wrestling fans learn as a fun fact is that Hulk Hogan had a decent work rate in NJPW. Which is true, Hulkster here still has his leg drop here, but will mix in suplexes and armbars too. 

This is a really run match and is basically the wrestling equivalent of Batman vs Punisher or Superman vs The Hulk, two icons matching up in the ring. The false finish after false finish makes the ending fall a little flat. One of the nice things from this entry onward on the list : the finishes stop being so screwy. Though the less than stellar finishes of these first three matches might lessen them slightly, I think all three are great Inoki bouts. 

My highlight of the match

Antonio Inoki vs Dick Murdoch 1986′s International Wrestling Grand Prix Final

(Card with guide)

Tournament Format

2 Blocks of 7 a piece, the two top point winners of each block going on to a semi-final round then the winners of each of those doing a final. Inoki went over Andre in the semi-finals while Dick Murdoch went over Akira Maeda.

How’s the match?

Oh it’s a blast, Inoki is at his most babyface here. With Dick taunting him loudly throughout the match and Inoki being cheered loudly from the very start people are chanting, ‘INOKI! INOKI! INOKI!’ which also happened in the Andre match causing frustration for both these Gaiji finalists. 

This match is the longest out of this group and even the longest accounting for the ones that aren’t on NJPW World. It gives it an epic feel clocking in at just over 30 minutes. These two throw everything at one another. This is also a great show of how Inoki and NJPW’s style evolved over the years. While Dick works Inoki’s arm and there is plenty of submission holds, the mixing in of grappling helps vary the offense and keep this bout from feeling too long. 

My highlight of the match

Antonio Inoki vs Masa Saito 1987′s  International Wrestling Grand Prix Final

(card with guide)

Tournament Format

2, 7 men block the point winners of each going on to take each other on in the finals, the winner being crowned IWGP Champion.

How’s the match?

Hard hitting and rather brutal, the two men at the time had a heated rivalry going on. Which most famously had them have a brutal war vs one another called ‘Ganryujima Island Death‘ which was a 2 hour+ match with each another on an island, April 10th 1987 before this match took place in the Summer. 

So by this time both men hated each other and Masa Saito shows it throughout the match. Perhaps the best spot imo had to be when Saito just cleanly clotheslines Inoki right off the apron. A great pairing of the two and a great final for Inoki. 

My highlight of the match

Finals I couldn’t find : Killer Karl Krupp vs Antonio Inoki finals of the 1975 World League,  Stan Hansen vs Antonio Inoki which were the 1979/1980/1981 MSG Finals, Antonio Inoki vs Hulk Hogan 1983 MSG Finals(Which Inoki didn’t win), and Antonio Inoki vs Riki Choshu, they tied in points for the league 6 a piece. I think they probably fought to determine who won, but I cannot find it on NJPW World, though Inoki did get the right to fight Fujinami for the title which is on NJPW World.

My personal ranking for the ones listed here :

1. Dick Murdoch ‘86

2. Andre The Giant ‘78

3. Masa Saito ‘87

4. Hulk Hogan ‘84

5. Seiji Sakaguchi ‘74

Highlights from all the matches :

The Inoki Challenge! Every Inoki G1 Final match highlights