Csonka NJPW 46th Anniversary Show Takeaways

Welcome back to column time with Larry! Today I’d like to talk about the NJPW 46th Anniversary Show. I have a few takeaways from the show I’d like to discuss and feel free to share yours. Thanks for reading, and remember, it’s wrestling, we love it and will disagree. The only rules are “have a take, be respectful, and don’t be a dick.”

QUICK HITS

* While many pass off the opening multi-man tags as nothing matches, and I will admit that they tend to be basic and solid at best, I love watching the evolution of the young lions like Ren Narita, Tomoyuki Oka, Shota Umino, & Tetsuhiro Yagi and their interactions with the New Japan Dads.

* I absolutely love the mini-feud between Henare & Ishii, and think if given a chance, they can have an absolute banger of a singles match.

* I hope that Katsuya Kitamura’s concussion isn’t a major issue and that he’ll be back soon.

* SANADA finally feels like he’s back on track after a lackluster closing stretch in 2017.

* A Tetsuya Naito that gives no fucks is the best Tetsuya Naito.

* Taichi’s attack and work on the shoulder of Naito perfectly set up a Sack Sabre Jr win in the New Japan Cup.

The Booking of The Junior Tag Ranks Is Just Ridiculous: The booking of the junior tag team ranks continues to be an absolute joke, that not only hurts the division, but also makes it hard to care and invest in the division. Some will say that good matches are enough, and there are certainly good and even great matches, but it’s the talent overcoming bad booking to have those matches, and they shouldn’t be battling the booking. You’d think with Jado & Gedo, two junior tag wrestlers, who also love southern wrestling and the likes of the Midnight Express, that more care would be taken with the division, but you and I would be wrong. The longest run in recent history was the Bucks in 2016, running for 199 days. Since then we’ve had NINE title changes, with reigns of 61, 52, 45, 63, 57, 87, 24, and 37 days, bringing up to the new Suzuki-gun reign. With the Bucks moving up to heavyweight, NJPW now has a chance to stabilize the division, without the temptation of having to go back to them, and Roppongi 3K should be their anchor. They came in like a house of fire following excursion, won the titles and tag tournament, and then lost to the Bucks at WK 12. They quickly won the titles back and looked prime to dominate, but have already lost the titles. NJPW needs to stop fucking around with these belts and the division as a whole, pick a team and run with them. Title changes for the shake of title changes to create the illusion that your booking something meaningful is shit.

Taichi Delivered: It has been no secret that I haven’t been a fan of Taichi, and more often than not, I am more inclined to type “Fuck Taichi” when writing about his efforts as a wrestler. But I will say this, his first effort in the heavyweight ranks was very good, and it wasn’t all Naito. The new Taichi, working heavyweight, was a refreshing change from his shitty juniors efforts. He wasn’t a totally cowardly heel; he actually brought the fight and was more of a douche bag bruiser. He looked really good and had a very good match with Naito, and looked like he belonged. I am not sure if this Taichi is here to stay, and he’ll be tested against Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup, getting another chance to deliver. But if this Taichi is here to stay, I am all for it, he was brutal, focused, and fun; if he can keep delivering, I will gladly admit to being wrong about him.

This Minoru Suzuki is The Best Suzuki: In 2017, I was honestly very disappointed with Minoru Suzuki. It wasn’t that he was a bad performer; it was that every opportunity for a great match was completely ruined by the constant Suzuki-gun bullshit. Some tried to defend it as “heels being heels,” but when you constantly ruin matches and start to hurt the enjoyment of shows with the same old bullshit, you’ve gone far beyond “just being a heel.” But in 2018, we have anew Minoru Suzuki, a focused Minoru Suzuki that is all about ripping apart bodies, punishing his opponents, and most importantly, doing it on his own. It all charts back to WK 12, and his loss to Goto. I really enjoyed that match, and while I didn’t think it was as great as some, the performance by Suzuki was great, and the loss signaled a new Minoru Suzuki. He lost his title, was embarrassed and humiliated when he lost his hair and has been on a rampage ever since. He targeted Tanahashi at New Year’s Dash and turned that into a title shot. And at the New Beginning in Sapporo, Suzuki, now focused and looking to prove himself all over again, decimated Tanahashi in a MOTY contender, destroying the leg of the ace and not only hurt Tanahashi, but took his title and put the ace on the shelf. Suzuki was reborn, he was the bad ass we wanted, we needed, and he did it on his own. Togi Makabe then stepped up and looked to avenge his friend, and challenged for the title, but the result was more of the same. Suzuki was a sadistic bastard, destroying Makabe with strikes and taking apart his leg, laughing and smiling like a complete maniac all while doing so. Suzuki’s 2018 has been absolutely great so far, he’s the evil bastard we want, need, and likely don’t deserve. He gave Makabe his best match in a long time, and to his credit, Makabe was game and worked his ass off in their match. The layout was smart, with Suzuki continuing his assault on the knees of his opponent, which took away the king kong knee drop and Makabe’s power advantage. Makabe was really great fighting from underneath, and this was a simple, hard-hitting match that played well with the crowd and delivered, continuing Suzuki’s dominance, and more importantly, there was no Suzuki-gun shenanigans. We’re getting Suzuki at his best right now, which at age 49, continues to be amazing. The man and his work are amazing, and I hope that he can keep it up in 2018.

– End Scene.

– Thanks for reading.

“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”