I don't know when it started but last night's recent US shows & a couple of shows since late 2023 have been up & down in terms of the quality for New Japan in the US shows. It just feel like the crowds are really not here for new Japan and more for guest stars.
It just seems like only 1 or two matches have any implications to a match that will happen in japan. But the rest is strictly for the US when they have a show every 2 months.
I recently watched the first US shows new japan shows new japan show new japan didn back in 2017. It was two nights & we were lucky to have a tournament culminate over the two shows. But overall it felt like a japan show. And it felt like whatever happens in every match will be affecting the Main japan shows.
Now it just seems like a obligation at times to do a US Show. And certain matches have no interesting stories or don't develop because of the space in between. It just seems like you don't need to watch the shows in order see what happens afterwards in japan at times.
by DeathTriangle720