After some time has passed today. And a lot of conversations. Overall thinking about the show it was a good show. Didn't have the same feeling as previous WK. But looking at it as a standalone show it was a solid 7/10.
There were no bad matches. We had a unfortunate injury which sucks.Some good matches nonetheless but nothing at the moment I feel will be remembered as a classic.
by DeathTriangle720
10 comments
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7/10 is a fair score. Solid show, but definitely had its share of drawbacks. The newer era WK shows are more about bell to bell quality, rather than before when people used to say that after intermission is when the show really begins.
Felt like the first few matches could have been better if they didn’t feel so rushed out. Felt good seeing ELP get his moment after the last few months he’s had. I wish Shingo/Take went just a little bit longer. Mayu/AZM made the most out of 9-ish minutes. Main event was polarizing to some, and I wished we could have had Naito v. Hiromu when it was originally planned.
Was super gutted for DOUKI. He had a very slow rise to the top, so to watch his big moment fizzle in a snap was hard. Especially when you consider what the match was probably going to look like from those first few minutes. Might have been a classic, but we’ll never know.
DOUKI’s injury was unfortunate since I’ve been a fan since his debut years ago. I thought most of the matches were good, but not quite Wrestle Kingdom classics. Nicholls and Haste being absent was the biggest sin NJPW management did since they were a treat to watch last year, but the show was definitely a decent watch
Was there at the Dome, pretty good, been to better Dome shows but was worth the trip. Shota and ZSJ told a great story.
It was a great show until the final two matches. Naito physically can’t keep up with his mind and the matches are clunky at best. ZSJ v Umino dropped a snoozer. Finlay v Tsuji and Takeshita v Shingo delivered, ladder match was a fun spot fest and Iwatani v AZM was great given the time they had. 7.5/10 show
– The ladder match was a clusterfuck and not the good kind. Would’ve been better with 3 teams.
– The women’s title match should’ve been longer. One of the better matches on the card but Zombie Mayu is approaching Super Cena levels of credibility at this point.
– The TV title match did surprise me. It was enjoyable to watch. Cobb and ELP getting strong reactions was dope.
– The lumberjack match was a HoT match. You either like it or don’t. I liked it.
– Take v Shingo was underwhelming. Was not a bad match just was not engaged with it.
– Douki v Despe could’ve been MOTN if Douki didn’t get hurt. Wishing the best for Douki.
– Finlay v Tsuji was my match MOTN. Two hosses just hossing it out. If this doesn’t convince people that they’re both ready for the main event, nothing will. The minigun should’ve stayed home though.
– Hiromu vs Naito was the draw match. This should’ve happened years ago. I hate seeing Naito in this state. But when Naito hits Gloria or Destino, I still believe.
– ZSJ vs Umino. Meh. Just meh. In a lot of ways, it did have good, old school puro psychology. But the crowd did not like Umino at all. Did not have to be 40+ mins.
5/10 for me. Just average. Nothing special and one of the weaker Wrestle Kingdom since the Jan 4 event got renamed to Wrestle Kingdom.
I scored it an 8/10. The first half of the show was super rushed (and I really wish New Japan would give the token Mayu match longer than ten minutes even if it is always lolMayuwins), but I enjoyed all the matches even though seeing Naito being a shell of himself due to injuries made me super sad as a huge Naito fan.
Even with its flaws (and the awful chairs they gave folks sitting on the floor) I definitely don’t regret going, and even my wife who’s a non wrestling fan had a great time boo’ing and cheering. That right there is the hallmark of a good show
Solid show overall for me.
ELP picking up the win was the right call, and an overdue one.
Mayu vs AZM was amazing for a 7(?) minute match.
Tana vs Evil was unexpectedly entertaining.
Shingo vs Takeshita was good, but it could have been so much better with some more time. They were rushed.
I love Despy and wanted him to win, but feel bad for Douki after the year he’s had.
Tsuji took a big step in the right direction. Finley, too, he looked viscous.
Naito and Hiromu was my favorite of the night, and it ain’t even close. Hiromu clawing his way to his feet to bow to Naito nearly had my allergies working.
ZSJ and some big bland dude that looks like walking pudding definitely had a match.
Solid 7.
I guess I’m in the minority because I thought ZSJ vs Umino was really good. It could’ve been like 10 min shorter but I still thought it was really fun.
Hope Umino turns heel to capitalize on the boos.
My main takeaway is that we still haven’t had a Dome “classic” since Omega/Ospreay *two years ago.* Having to slowly come to terms with the fact that the best golden age a promotion has ever had is over is really quite difficult as a long term fan.