NJPW PPV Review: King Of Pro Wrestling 2013

Okada-Tanahashi Part VI: MOTY?



I've been a huge fan of the wrestling scene in Japan for just under a decade now, but when I first started this blog, I centred most of my writing around the WWE's product.  The reason being that my knowledge for the promotion's history ran much deeper at the time.  Since 2009 though, I've been consistently following along with New Japan Pro Wrestling and I've slowly been leaning more in their direction as far as my overall superfan status goes.  Last year, the company made their iPPV debut with the now classic "King Of Pro Wrestling" event and it blew the wrestling landscape to bits with everyone claiming NJPW to be the best wrestling promotion on the planet Earth.  So I then figured that there would be no better moment to begin reviewing their shows with their much more accessible product.  In the year that followed, Kazuchika Okada replaced CM Punk as my current favorite active pro wrestler and Hiroshi Tanahashi has been the biggest magnet of praise in my writing with his consistently brilliant performances.  The rivalry between Okada & Tanahashi has been nothing short of spectacular and thus far in 2013 alone, one of their matches has already earned a five star rating from me.  With that kind of acclaim, you'd be a broke smark to bet against them when they clashed for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in their biggest matchup to date.  Ladies & gents, it is my honor to review such an epic encounter, but to get there we'll have to drudge through what could be New Japan's weakest iPPV offering since their breakthrough began just 365 days prior.  Find out how this event ranks among their other efforts after the jump!

The 23rd NJPW G1 Climax Review

2013's biggest tournament may very well be the all-time best.

 

 

For those of you who still haven't hopped a ride on the New Japan train just yet, there isn't much more I can say at this point about the level of greatness you are missing out on.  No other wrestling promotion in history has been able to put forth a better combination of glorious panache and superb quality and with this tournament they've managed to elevate nearly every wrestler involved to a level twice as high as the were going in.  In part one of my G1 coverage, I explained some of the rules and left you all with an idea of the current rankings at that time.  What follows next is an accessible recap of all nine events each with a final score and a few highly recommended matches.  So read on puro fans, chances are, you already know where I'm going with this.

 

Getting You Up To Speed On The 23rd NJPW G1 Climax

My money is on the Real Rock 'N' Rolla.

Whatup fellow puro marks it's that time of the year again!  The brilliant minds over at New Japan Pro Wrestling are currently delivering some of the most epic and cant-miss iPPV events of the year with their longest running tournament, the G1 (Grade One) Climax very well underway. 

NJPW PPV Review: Dominion 2013

New Japan delivers another stellar iPPV.

In my month long hiatus from writing I came very close to losing interest in pro graps for the time being.  As a huge WWE fan, the lack of any real compelling storylines had left me feeling a bit let down & burnt out.  Thank the Lord for New Japan Pro Wrestling!  With their latest iPPV outing, they've re-ignited my interest in the sport and continue their run as the undisputed king of the wrestling landscape.  That being said,  I'm sure many of you would like to see how Dominion ranks amongst some of 2013's all-time shows like Wrestle Kingdom & Invasion Attack.  The wait is over G9Z Wrestling fans because my full review of NJPW Dominion 2013 is waiting for you after the jump!

NJPW PPV Report: Dontaku 2013

New Japan's worst show of the year is still leagues ahead of what everyone else is putting out.

For the first time in roughly six months, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has released a slightly above average iPPV event.  It says a lot about just how amazing the promotion has been as of late if their worst effort still stands as one of the better events of the year thus far.  Not going to do one of my traditonal reviews for this one, but here are my ratings for each match:

NJPW PPV Review: Invasion Attack 2013

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi main event another all time show.

 

 

Kazuchika Okada has been the fastest rising star New Japan Pro Wrestling has seen in ages.  At just 25 years of age he ranks high among the absolute best main event performers in any promotion.  After a long road to Wrestle Kingdom, he would fail in recapturing the IWGP Heavyweight title from champion Hiroshi Tanahashi in a very strong MOTYC.  After this crippling defeat, he would be defeated by veteran Minoru Suzuki in both singles & tag team competition.  Many were questioning if he would ever make it back to the title.  Okada would silence all critics when he won the 2013 New Japan Cup after a superb performance at the event.  This win would set up Okada/Tanahashi IV and it's safe to say that this main event is one of the biggest matches of the year.  Would Okada be able to finally get redemption against the current Ace of the promotion?  Find out in my review of NJPW Invasion Attack with special guest Billy Carpenter of Four Corners Radio (@4CR_ Billy) after the jump!

The New Japan Cup Round 2

The Second Round of the New Japan Cup was last Sunday and was yet another solid effort by all involved.  It pales in comparison to Round 1, but there was still some quality here.  Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii [****] was the match of the night and the Okada/Anderson [***3/4] main event wasn't far behind. 

I've provided links to both matches below and be sure to check back for a full review of the both the finals and the Invasion Attack PPV in the coming weeks. 

Goto/Ishii



Okada/Anderson

2013 New Japan Cup Round 1

The good folks over at Youtube have uploaded the first round of this year's New Japan Cup in it's entirety in case you were looking for it.  There were three very good matches on this show.  Two of which I've added to the Top 25 section of the blog.  The opener between Ishii & Kojima [****] was very good, the Suzuki/Nagata grudge match (starts - 1:47:40) [****] and was just as awesome as their WK7 bout & one of my personal favorite matches of the year thus far Okada/Archer (2:03:45) [****1/4] was the match of the night for me.  I'm a sucker for David vs Goliath matchups and this one was unique in the fact that Okada is not a very small man.  Lance Archer has come along quite nicely as a performer these past few months and Okada makes him look like an absolute monster here.  He throws all of his trademark offense at him to no avail and Archer just returns fire with some brutal slams every time.  Good stuff.  I think this guy could be great if he's given a Mark Henry-like push at some point because the people are legit afraid of him and his moveset is unique to any other giant in the business today.  The CHAOS vs. Suzukigun turf war makes anything the North American stables are doing pale in comparison.  It's the best stable rivalry I've seen in ages.  And it's this feud that shined in what was a very solid event overall.  Be sure to order the finals at the upcoming iPPV if you enjoy what you see here.

NJPW PPV Review: The New Beginning 2013

The biggest match of Karl Anderson's career

Check after the jump for my thoughts on the latest iPPV from New Japan Pro Wrestling:

 

NJPW The New Beginning 2013 Preview

Will "Machine Gun" have enough ammo to take down the Ace of the Universe?

Check after the jump for my predictions for tomorrow's show:

NJPW Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi To Debut A New Finisher At The New Beginning iPPV!

Has Karl Anderson's penchant for countering Tanahashi's most famous maenuever rattled the champion?

NJPW PPV Review: Wrestle Kingdom VII - Evolution

Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi clash in the main event of the biggest NJPW show of the year!  Find out who walked out the IWGP Champion after the jump!

NJPW PPV Review: King Of Pro Wrestling

 

Find out my thoughts on one of the best shows of the year in my first ever NJPW PPV review after the jump!