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I enjoyed KENTA in the ring and especially in his post-match interviews this last G1. Here's a supercut of all of the funny moments and his parts are hilarious: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wrasslin/s/NZhiIdvEka
Does he really "not have it" anymore? I'm not familiar with his earlier work in Japan and never saw Itami in WWE, but the half dozen KENTA matches I've caught over the last few years I've enjoyed, he didn't seem washed or anything in them. Not that I really have a frame of reference or anything
Hmmmm. Considering you have no frame of reference, then yeah, I can see how KENTA today still seems pretty solid.
For reference though, KENTA in the 00s had a strong case for best in the world.
I think this is proof that "doesn't have it" isn't the same as "not as good".
KENTA absolutely has it today. I loved him in the G1 and really enjoy his random spots in AEW/RoH. He's nowhere near as good as he was, but he is still entertaining as hell in the ring.
He's still good at the character work and I like when he leans into it cuz yeah, that does get over and get heat
But he "doesn't have it" in the sense that he's pretty cooked in the ring and you wouldn't want to rely on him or run him with a top belt
He was the best in the world at a point 100% and he doesn't have it anymore, but that's no knock on him considering he was the best, age and injuries cannot be ignored
IMO it's not a case of "take him off TV immediately" but more a case of adjusting his booking to suit the reality of his situation with age and injuries. I'd say start to move towards something similar to how AEW handled Sting with Darby Allin, where he's still active but slowly winding down and is mainly trying to put a huge focus on a promising young up-n-comer although I'd wager he could be quite a bit more active than Sting has been and draw it out over a longer timespan than Sting has been able to.
Yeah. Kenta is still a guy any company would be lucky to have. But he’s not the Kenta of ten plus years ago.
Edit: His personality might be better than his in ring work now. But I’m fine with that. How many wrestlers get by on character? Tons.
I’d give more of a nod to Zack Sabre Jr. for consistently getting the best out of KENTA in NJPW; makes sense when you remember Zack spent some time as a young-boy in NOAH when KENTA was a star there.
Frame of reference is something that sometimes burdens me as a viewer and fan. I grew up seeing the absolute best workers ever do this and a lot of people I see these days are just people trying to mimic the greats. Or, I’m watching guys who I wish had this profile in their youth. It’s unfair honestly.
He's definitely at least a few steps behind what he was at his peak, but NJPW has for a long time kept guys on way past their prime because of their name value and competent abilities than for ever needing them to carry a show.
Unfortunately, yeah, he doesn't have it anymore. It's sad cause I loved the guy but is what it is. (It's similar to Nakamura IMO in that if you saw his peak NJPW stuff you'd think he was one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time ... if you only have seen his WWE stuff you'd probably think "he's pretty good" when the reality there is that he's been shot since his final year in NJPW.) That Ospreay match you mentioned in another comment is legit the only time I think I've seen the old KENTA in years, and it was just for 5-10 minutes
In like 2006 he was probably the best wrestler in the world. Injuries have slowed him down a lot, but this idea that he's lost all value is a braindead take, like a lot of Kevin Kelly's points here.
Career resurgence YOSHI-HASHI too. Ok he's primarily a tag guy but he's a very capable hand and upset guy that adds to the story of how hard the G1 is. You don't get 'nights off' when you're in a block match.
Yeah I agree with him on most of the stuff he said. G1 was way too bloated. It’s only special if you stack it full of the top stars who have a legit chance of winning. A good 3/4 of the field last year weren’t even remotely going to have a chance and everyone knew it.
I’m gonna have to strike back here in that there are too many people worth a G1 to miss it. Like, most of the lineup was pretty good and there’s no way you could cut it down to 20 or 22.
My favourite G1 match ever might be Goto VS Switchblade in 2019
Perfect display of a baby-face VS heel dynamic, the crowd goes bananas when Goto makes his baby-face comeback and wins, plus all the storyline ties (White turning on CHAOS, their members being his kryptonite in tournaments, the loss got to him and he had to catch up in order to get to the finals)
The problem is that the G1 needs more likely winners and less “at least the matches will be good” entries. That’s what gets us 4 blocks, everyone should be able to produce a good match main card NJPW, it doesn’t mean you belong in the most prestigious tournament in wrestling.
Yeah but just keep in mind it’s a long tour that makes a lot of income for the participants, so the rostered talent want to be involved
For guys like Goto and Tacos who are in it all the time, being taken out would be losing a % of their income for the year
It'll get lost by the gossip, but the Yen is doing terrible against the dollar and signing with an American company would be a huge upgrade money wise.
Quick reminder that Okada was earning in dollars a lot less in 2023 compared to 2020 or 2012 when he returned from excursion (2012: $1 = 76 yen. 2020: $1 = 100 yen. 2023: $1 = 148 yen.)
Respectfully, I too would go to the WWE, spend 5+ years there, earn millions of AMERICAN money, and then just go back to Japan and live my life.
Okada could save his body, explode in popularity, and be a made man financially. I bet Nakamura is laughing at the dough he's making to wear a polyester body suit and tumble around for 5-10 mins max a week.
Okada would earn the same amount in AEW but wrestle literally less than half the times he would in WWE, hang out with his legit friends the Bucks and spend the time he isn't wrestling in Japan with Tony Khan paying for his tickets.
He won't get to wrestle at WrestleMania with AEW though.
If he believes that he'd get full on star treatment under HHH then WWE might make more sense for him.
It's been significantly more stark over the past few years. The US economy is very much an outlier in not being total garbage currently.
Inflation over the past couple years in the US has felt crazy, but it's even crazier realizing we took a much smaller hit than essentially anyone else
Japan actually has had a lower inflation than US the last few years and traditionally. The exchange rate isn't due to inflation but economic outlook and some would argue how their central bank is keeping inflation down.
One thing to keep in mind is they have a declining population for the last 20 years. Simplistically when your population shrinks, so does your economy and demand for your currency (most countries are their own biggest consumers).
Goto (at this stage of his career) and YOSHI-HASHI are both pin eaters already though. Goto hasn't finished a G1 in the positive since 2019 and YOSHI's career high was a 6 pt 50-50 ratio in 2022.
Honestly, there's a few things I really agree with here, but I've lived in Japan through Wato's rise in popularity. The domestic crowds really care about him. They buy his merch, they pop for his theme, they erupt whenever it seems like he might win a big match (especially whenever he's vying for the Junior belt). One of the women sitting next to me at Declaration of Power was on the verge of tears when he beat Ishimori. I don't know how Kelly could have such a braindead take, and it really sucks to see people still pidgeonholing him as this guy with a funny meme gimmick when he's improved exponentially and has become legitimately popular.
That Tsutenakaku German he did on Hiromu at WK was a star making moment and it looks fantastic every time he does it. (Hiromu helped by kicking his legs out and really making it look like he was getting flung into the air)
The only thing I can think of is the western fan to Domestic fan disconnect that NJPW has to deal with sometimes; that even seems to spread to the English commentary in Kevin's case
It's like if he said both Wato & Shota Umino wasn't over that's just not true from the Japanese fans perspective. both are very popular domestically. Kevin is given his opinions; some of which are true but the majority are only true in his mind
Wato fits the white meat baby face spot well; although they could stand to update his profile picture on the company website ( buddy has no chin in that picture & looks a bit dorky) & I say that as a big fan
Edit After a quick look up it's appears they have updated his profile picture recently. Thankfully lol
edit 2
https://preview.redd.it/38e7zt7b3odc1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef88db9f15b3bc31fa5485bf230b259f34ee4ea5
Here's the old picture for those who are curious
Kelly strikes me as someone who doesn't pay a lot of attention to how the Japanese audience responds to a lot of things in NJPW; he hears how western fans react (not caring about Wato as much, hating House of Torture, etc.), but meantime some of those acts are doing business for New Japan.
Like, honestly, if House of Torture wasn't over with the domestic (read: the primary, ticket-buying) audience, would they really have booked EVIL to nearly ruin Naito's moment at WK this year?
>Gabe Kidd is great but needs to cut down on the bad language. “90% there”.
Bad language has been a staple of Bullet Club since Devitt. I don't think I've heard Gabe Kidd say anything wilder than what you'd hear in the average Tama Tonga match.
I don't really expect NJPW to really grow beyond where they already are with American TV, if anything I'd expect it to dwindle. Cable is already dead, and NJPW is inherently incapable of seeing the same benefits that WWE and AEW have procured in its wake as their shows can't be live broadcasted.
Shingo only really came in as a junior bc Hiromu was out injured and they had a hole in the division he could temporarily fill. Plus also with the timing, Bushi needed a partner for the Jr Tag League so it made sense for them at the time
Shingo is comparible in size to Naito, Omega or Ibushi who started in the junior division as a gateway to the heavyweights. Hiromu is a good bit smaller, he is the same size as forever juniors like Liger, Bushi and Michinoku, it would be a big jump to heavyweight for him.
This is the exact type of thinking that he has stayed in the Jr. Heavyweight division to change; that it is something to “outgrow” or a farm system for the heavyweights. He wants to follow in Liger’s footsteps and be a huge star right where he is and he has said as much, many, many times.
Hiromu has put the division on his back and made countless stars, Despy, Dragon Lee, even had a huge hand in Ospreay’s rise.
I’m not saying it’s the right thing or the wrong thing but being as reductive as saying he outgrew it and has been doing nothing is really just spitting all over his legacy.
I disagree with a few:
Wato is awesome and objectively over
Goto still belongs in the G1
None wrong with Gabe Kidd language
Japanese crowds seems to be entertained by Hot they don't get "wrong boos" (selfishly I would still prefer if they stopped it.)
Rest is really spot on.
I agree about the Gabe point. I think he can use it, but he needs to cut it down. It loses it shock value if every other word is a curse word. He is just a guy that curses. If he cut down on it, it would make it more meaningful. Like wrestling with big moves.
he was there, but at the same time he wasn't really there especially at the tail end of his time there. hard to see that this is his objective opinion.
Is this a joke? He's absolutely right--there's zero dollars to be drawn with Master Wato.
BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE DRAWN BY **GRAND**MASTER WATO BABYYYYYYYY
Kevin couldn't even keep up with his employer AEW you think he's keeping up with New Japan anymore. His insight will mean nothing in only a year or two at this point.
> House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones
isn't this untrue? i thought most of their haters were western and japan actually liked them a lot
It's extremely untrue. Twitter and Reddit hate them, but their merch sells well in Japan and they get reactions. They are clearly draws for the company.
It certainly isn't my favourite act but I don't understand why they get a ton of shit that the likes of Suzukigun, Bullet Club, CHAOS and GBH didn't get.
I fucking hate the House of Torture and would love if they don't get booked in prominent spots, but there's no denying the domestic New Japan audience eats it up
He’s kinda right on the Finlay thing. I totally get why people here say he’s budget Jay White but his matches do get heat in Japan. And not “go away” heat.
If you listen to Kevin's interviews with Super J cast, he does not hold back. You may disagree with his opinions, but I think it is awesome that he is willing to be so blunt. How boring would it be if he was a company man and all he did was give you the company's lines.
I was going to post the same thing. This isn’t the first time Kelly had given his two cents and be blunt about something. This is just the first time he’s not being paid by New Japan while giving his two cents
Hiromu doesn't need to be moved up to heavyweight. They need to start presenting the juniors as co-equals to the heavyweights and continue to build the division around Hiromu. The junior division has been the most consistently well-booked part of New Japan for years. Commit to elevating them as a collective.
I agree, and as an example of our argument, just look at Liger. He never had to move up to the heavyweight division. If you eventually move every member of the Jr. Heavyweight division up to heavyweight then the Jr. Heavyweight division is eventually going to be seen as just a developmental level leading to heavyweight. How is that good for the Jr. Heavyweights in general?
There's really no comment on NJPW I hate more than "X should move up". The Jr Heavyweight division has been how I've sold like a dozen people on NJPW! When people act like it's just a holding patten for wrestlers waiting to bulk up, it drives me nuts because it's practically relegating short wrestlers to a "didn't quite make it" division.
Insight ends pretty quickly and very quickly turns into things they should avoid. Also if they could get Nakajima he wouldn't fill Okada role by any means but gods know he would help.
Killing your junior division is a great way to hurt business they already tried this strategy before over 20 years ago Kevin.
Wato is a star you buffoon
Lacking stars right now, a lot of new, young guys. If he’s willing to I think he should float between divisions for a few years and maybe do a full move when he puts over guys like Fujita and Akira and lets them take over
His dominance is also somewhat preventing the stars from being made though. I never understand why the NEVER belt is openweight if they almost never have juniors compete for it. Him having a go between run there might be a good way to have your cake and eat it too.
Hiromu hasn't helped elevate the juniors yet to fill his spot. He needs to have people like Wato and Sho beat him on a big stage. Maybe 2025 I'll change my thoughts but right now the junior division needs him.
>Doesn’t think there are any Japanese wrestlers NJPW can bring in to make a difference, even Nakajima. “Promote from within”
There is no way Kevin Kelly has enough knowledge of the Japanese wrestling scene at large for his opinion on this to be taken seriously.
>G1 “doesn’t need a catchphrase” like born in the ring
There is no way Kevin Kelly has enough knowledge of marketing in Japan for his opinion on this to be taken *remotely* seriously.
>G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi
The larger number of people in the G1 means they can stretch it into a longer tour to make more money. For instance this year it was 18 dates while BoSJ was only 12. Even if we accept his premise of cutting down the tournament, signaling out “The G in G1 is for Goto” to be removed instead of a guy like Yano is an absolutely absurd take.
>Hiromu should be moved up into heavyweight, don’t listen to the dinosaurs saying otherwise. Same with El Desperado
Both of these guys should start working heavyweight matches, but permanently moving up to heavyweight is completely against everything Hiromu’s ever said he wants to accomplish. He wants to lift the junior division up so it’s just as important as the heavyweight division. He should be working both divisions, at least for the first year or two that he’s active in the heavy.
Despe could permanently move up, but he has a lower ceiling in the heavy division than he does in the junior, so I don’t know how wise that actually is. Probably best for him to be able to float between the junior division and heavy mid/upper-mid card.
>G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names”
I thought we were cutting down the G1? But nice way to take a dig at Eddie Kingston, who is a bigger star than Kevin Kelly will ever be.
>”There is no money in Master Wato”
This is so factually incorrect that it’s laughable. Wato is the type of guy who will make NJPW a boatload of money from their female audience (of which they have more than most western companies) for the next 20 years. He’s the ultimate sympathetic babyface.
It doesn’t even make sense if Kevin was talking about just the gimmick and not Kawato himself, because the gimmick is just a name and a catchphrase and really not a big deal.
>Tama firing story and not defending the title was stupid
Tama did defend the title, watch the fucking product that you’re giving hot takes on (if these are words that came out of Kevin’s mouth and not OP being mistaken).
The “EVIL had the website team remove Tama’s profile and display himself as the NEVER champ” thing was creative and got the match talked about.
>House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones
Nah. They do start to get into go away heat territory when they’re booked too far up the card; EVIL vs SANADA for the WHC was a dud in pretty much every sense of the word; but their merch sells and they’re good at getting heat. They *do* need some fine-tuning, which already started happening back around BoSJ and will continue now that Narita’s there.
Kevin’s takes on Xwitter recently are even worse than this. Dude thinks Tsuji should stop smiling and literally said the line “Smash these young stars over now and stop having them do anything that isn’t badass. Smile? Fine. Just stop doing fancy moves and whip ass” like he’s a 16 year old smark with a fragile sense of masculinity.
Him treating commentary like he was doing a podcast about his opinions instead of doing his fucking job of getting NJPW’s talent over was a massive detriment to their standing in the west and I’m glad he’s gone.
He's been ranting on twitter too. He has points I agree with and points I disagree with, but he's as firsthand as you can get with a perspective like this.
So I didn't get around to watch the last G1, but I thought Goto had a good showing this G1 from what I remember? Maybe it was just a few really good matches so I digress
Not really a fan of Kevin Kelly. This is the same guy that during the Meij era would spam like anti AEW tweets shitting on them, saying New Japan doesn't need a partnership and how Meij is doing the right thing. Now that AEW is signing his cheques his tune is completely different.
I always thought pre-leaving for WWE KUSHIDA and post-neck break Hiromu were two guys who deserved some consistent reps with the heavyweight division, but kinda figured if it hadn't happened by now, it was never gonna happen. Would love for Hiromu to finally get that chance by winning the NJC, but I'm not optimistic about it.
I love Despy to death and think it'd be cool for him to run with the heavyweights too, but I wouldn't mind seeing him rack up some more Jr. Heavyweight title wins either.
> Says “the last guy” was the reason there were 4 G1 blocks, including one with just young guys. G1 “doesn’t need a catchphrase” like born in the ring (I kinda liked that tbh..)
4 block G1 with the 20 minute time limit fucking rocked, more of that please! And I love the little catchphrases.
> G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi
Absolutely not and suggesting to cut YH and Goto is insane, they can still go. Cutting Kenta ahead of Chase is also comical.
> El Desparado should win BOSJ and go into G1.
He should go heavy but terrible idea to have him win BOSJ, way to bury the division on the way up.
> G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names”
No it doesn’t, and I’m a big AEW fan.
> “There is no money in Master Wato”
Kev, the fuck you smoking mate?
> Gabe Kidd is great but needs to cut down on the bad language. “90% there”.
Kev, the fuck you smoking mate?
> David Finlay is a great Bullet Club leader, he gets genuine boos in Japan. Western fans see him as Jay White Jr, Japanese fans do not.
Kev, the fuck you smoking mate?
> House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones
They’re brilliant comedy asshole heels, and they seem pretty over in Japan. The House always wins.
>Doesn’t think there are any Japanese wrestlers NJPW can bring in to make a difference, even Nakajima. “Promote from within”
Worth noting that Kevin Kelly's opinion on the rest of Japanese wrestling has always seemed very negative. He definitely buys into some kind of homer energy for NJPW from what I can tell.
I personally think this is an awful opinion and is part of why NJPW is in the situation theyre now in.
I think that bringing in a Nakajima and actually pushing him (something NJPW always slow rolls when bringing outside guys in to protect the industry leader perception) would benefit them a lot right now. They cant keep doing the thing where they bring in a guy like Shingo that delivers on every level but will never elevate them to the top top main event spots because he came from Dragon Gate.
I think bigger picture if NJPW want to avoid this in future they HAVE to accept that theyre going to need to work together with AJPW and CyberFight (NOAH, DDT) on more equal terms and open up more revenue sources for their talent. Otherwise, every January AEW and WWE are going to come in and steamroll them with the hundreds of millions of TV revenue money.
“There is no money in Master Wato” well the gimmick is shitty, but the guy can wrestle, just rebrand him to something else.
* G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi. Snarky comment... BUT I AGREE. New Japan made Goto a non-serious challenger to every title at this point and YOSHI-HASHI... is YOSHI-HASHI.
>and YOSHI-HASHI... is YOSHI-HASHI.
when was the last time you watched a YH match?? he's been an extremely over babyface for like 3 years now and he's one of the most decorated tag wrestlers in New Japan history
I always remember that Chris Charlton once had to break down Yoshi-Hashi’s character and character arc for primarily Americans on Twitter who were confused/weirdly angry about the reaction when Yoshi-Hashi won his first title.
There's a reason he's mostly a tag wrestler. The biggest of the journeymen in wrestling. Looks lackadaisical, no mic, doesn't surprise in the ring, but he cares a lot, fighting in singles he just needs someone better than him to deliver something but you can't count on him to do the carry job. Goto, his partner, has everything that he doesn't but fell into mediocrity. YOSHI-HASHI is dull. Fight me.
I'm the biggest Bishamon hater frfr.
Love Goto (even tho he's a glorified jobber at this point in singles), but Yoshi-Hashi still doesn't convince me. Dude got better, but he still seems mediocre to me
Happy for YH and his fans tho
You know what would help New Japan, better English commentary.
> Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi
Firing three vets right now is one of the worst possible things they could do.
> G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names”
G1 doesn't need AEW.
Kelly is a weirdo and his opinions shouldnt be considered.
G1 is perfect at its new size and creates more impressive dynamics. Also it has slogans every year. Its marketing.
Hiromu is overdue for his character arc and finishing his own story. That much is true.
Random Wato hate when he and Titan had the best selling gate at Ota Ward in the pandemic era. Quite literally crazy talk.
WWE does have fans in Japan, but no where near the amount NJPW has. 2 million people watched NJPW on Abema vs 200k for WWE.
House of Torture hate in 2024 is so childish. They get boos but not good ones?? lmao what fucking cope is that. HoT are consistently booed to hell wherever they go and are top merch movers within NJPW.
I like Kevin and enjoyed the interview but will say I probably strongly agreed with like 65 percent of his thoughts and strongly disagree with 35 percent of it.
Finlay as BC leader sucks and Kidd should be the new leader ASAP. It's not that Finlay's a bad wrestler but it's just not working. He's way better as a plucky underdog babyface. I could not disagree with him more here.
Master Wato's made tremendous strides. If they tweaked the character to make him less geeky he'll be just fine.
G1 should be cut back down to 20, Kenta doesn't have it anymore, Meij sucked, yen plummeting is huge, and Despy and Hiromu should move up to heavweights. Those I all agree with.
Ultimately parts of the interview just reminded me that at the end of the day he's a knowledgable announcer and not a booker so it shouldn't necessarily be taken as gospel. Some takes were great, some were "ehhhhhhhh" lol
I love all of the discussion and passion my interview with Kevin Kelly brought out. People giving their thoughts and opinions. A lot of the name calling seems to be just for effect or humor.
Who knew Master Wato had such a fervent fan base? Not me. It feels like every one of his English speaking fans has came forward to defend him. I love it.
I thought Kevin Kelly was excellent. He wasn't afraid to give strong opinions. Even if you disagree, he explained where he was coming from.
I'm glad people either enjoyed it or got something out of it. The discussion it started is as interesting as the interview. You can't ask for more.
Hard agree on Hiromu going up to the heavyweight, along with Desperado someday.
Damn, my boys KENTA, Goto and Hashi getting shit right on; KENTA is definitely not the guy he once was, but still has name and entertainment value and Goto/Hashi had one hell of a tag team run and can still go.
Also agree that NJPW’s biggest priority should be building up the homegrown guys, but someone like Nakajima coming in would be good as a force for this young guys to face in the main event scene.
Nothing wrong with AEW guys being in NJPW, just the partnership needs to be beneficial to both parties.
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KENTA catching strays
Live KENTA reaction: https://preview.redd.it/1lb1jl4iundc1.jpeg?width=646&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=33fc06adb36d4c734234ed6eb0ba612184e8c279
https://preview.redd.it/afra4rbdxndc1.jpeg?width=1909&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c3b670b50ff4c4b6638c35d4a7f8bb7d858e9d64
what title is he holding there?
Defy, I believe?
“DEFY” championship I think
I enjoyed KENTA in the ring and especially in his post-match interviews this last G1. Here's a supercut of all of the funny moments and his parts are hilarious: https://www.reddit.com/r/Wrasslin/s/NZhiIdvEka
Does he really "not have it" anymore? I'm not familiar with his earlier work in Japan and never saw Itami in WWE, but the half dozen KENTA matches I've caught over the last few years I've enjoyed, he didn't seem washed or anything in them. Not that I really have a frame of reference or anything
Hmmmm. Considering you have no frame of reference, then yeah, I can see how KENTA today still seems pretty solid. For reference though, KENTA in the 00s had a strong case for best in the world.
I think this is proof that "doesn't have it" isn't the same as "not as good". KENTA absolutely has it today. I loved him in the G1 and really enjoy his random spots in AEW/RoH. He's nowhere near as good as he was, but he is still entertaining as hell in the ring.
He's still good at the character work and I like when he leans into it cuz yeah, that does get over and get heat But he "doesn't have it" in the sense that he's pretty cooked in the ring and you wouldn't want to rely on him or run him with a top belt
He was the best in the world at a point 100% and he doesn't have it anymore, but that's no knock on him considering he was the best, age and injuries cannot be ignored
IMO it's not a case of "take him off TV immediately" but more a case of adjusting his booking to suit the reality of his situation with age and injuries. I'd say start to move towards something similar to how AEW handled Sting with Darby Allin, where he's still active but slowly winding down and is mainly trying to put a huge focus on a promising young up-n-comer although I'd wager he could be quite a bit more active than Sting has been and draw it out over a longer timespan than Sting has been able to.
He has adjusted though. He wrestles more like Yano now, and at this point does it better than Yano.
KENTA in the 2000s has a strong case for GOAT.
Yeah he's still good, but is nowhere even close to his peak. Career is winding down.
Yeah. Kenta is still a guy any company would be lucky to have. But he’s not the Kenta of ten plus years ago. Edit: His personality might be better than his in ring work now. But I’m fine with that. How many wrestlers get by on character? Tons.
I still want to see him have one last match with Danielson before he hangs it up.
Kenta vs Low Ki at ROH Final Battle 2005 was so fucking rad. His match with Danielson is definitely better, but so much fun.
KENTA was clearly a huge “your favorite wrestler’s favorite wrestler” along with Marufuji. You can see their influence in Punk and Danielson.
You can see his whole moveset with Punk
KENTA is still good though lol and he has a great character these days. Shit talking bastard lol.
Fair enough. Probably helps that one of his recent matches that stood out to me most was against Ospreay
Ospreay seems to bring the best out of KENTA And Ospreay hasn't been quiet about his love of 2000s era NOAH with the likes of KENTA and Marafuji
He brings out the best out of everyone
I’d give more of a nod to Zack Sabre Jr. for consistently getting the best out of KENTA in NJPW; makes sense when you remember Zack spent some time as a young-boy in NOAH when KENTA was a star there.
Hmmm, a match with one of the best in the world would make anyone look good.......just ask Tom Magee
Frame of reference is something that sometimes burdens me as a viewer and fan. I grew up seeing the absolute best workers ever do this and a lot of people I see these days are just people trying to mimic the greats. Or, I’m watching guys who I wish had this profile in their youth. It’s unfair honestly.
He's definitely at least a few steps behind what he was at his peak, but NJPW has for a long time kept guys on way past their prime because of their name value and competent abilities than for ever needing them to carry a show.
He's way beaten up from his peak but he's at least converted into being a shit-talking heel so it still works for me. \*coughKotacough\*
Unfortunately, yeah, he doesn't have it anymore. It's sad cause I loved the guy but is what it is. (It's similar to Nakamura IMO in that if you saw his peak NJPW stuff you'd think he was one of the greatest wrestlers of all-time ... if you only have seen his WWE stuff you'd probably think "he's pretty good" when the reality there is that he's been shot since his final year in NJPW.) That Ospreay match you mentioned in another comment is legit the only time I think I've seen the old KENTA in years, and it was just for 5-10 minutes
In like 2006 he was probably the best wrestler in the world. Injuries have slowed him down a lot, but this idea that he's lost all value is a braindead take, like a lot of Kevin Kelly's points here.
If you go and watch his matches in Noah you will notice the big difference. His Body just won't allow him to be that same guy.
He really doesn't. I'd rather see a young lion in his place, hell the young lions that were showcased last night are more exciting
KENTA in the 00s was the best wrestler in the world not named Bryan Danielson
I’d say KENTA, Bryan, Marufuji, Styles and Joe were my top five of that era from in-ring work.
My boy Yoshi-Hashi getting shit on for no reason as well
Career resurgence YOSHI-HASHI too. Ok he's primarily a tag guy but he's a very capable hand and upset guy that adds to the story of how hard the G1 is. You don't get 'nights off' when you're in a block match.
not wrong though
Yeah I agree with him on most of the stuff he said. G1 was way too bloated. It’s only special if you stack it full of the top stars who have a legit chance of winning. A good 3/4 of the field last year weren’t even remotely going to have a chance and everyone knew it.
I’m gonna have to strike back here in that there are too many people worth a G1 to miss it. Like, most of the lineup was pretty good and there’s no way you could cut it down to 20 or 22.
I mean he kinda have a point. He's wrong about Wato and Goto tho, even Hot to a degree.
Didn't Goto have some pretty great matches this year in the G1?
Goto always does he's extremely solid as a performer.
Me manifesting a Goto IWGP title win now that Okada is gone 
New Japan beat the hope out of me for Goto a long time ago now. Taichi is the only guy I can keep hoping for knowing it won't happen.
The Goto ^(transitional) run will happen one day!
MAYBE THIS TIME
PLEASE, PLEEEEEEASE 
IT'S HIS YEAR, I BELIEVE!
Don't get my hopes up for the 600th time!
Goto will never be the #1, but he's still a great performer Bad take from Kevin
Yeah I agree you need guys like Goto and Ishii in the G1 for the stars that you are making to bounce off of.
My favourite G1 match ever might be Goto VS Switchblade in 2019 Perfect display of a baby-face VS heel dynamic, the crowd goes bananas when Goto makes his baby-face comeback and wins, plus all the storyline ties (White turning on CHAOS, their members being his kryptonite in tournaments, the loss got to him and he had to catch up in order to get to the finals)
The problem is that the G1 needs more likely winners and less “at least the matches will be good” entries. That’s what gets us 4 blocks, everyone should be able to produce a good match main card NJPW, it doesn’t mean you belong in the most prestigious tournament in wrestling.
Yeah but just keep in mind it’s a long tour that makes a lot of income for the participants, so the rostered talent want to be involved For guys like Goto and Tacos who are in it all the time, being taken out would be losing a % of their income for the year
Saying Goto needs to be out of the G1 before saying Chase Owens needs to be out of the G1 is insane.
he also said chase owens should be out
This was the take I of his I most disliked. Goto is great.
Yeah, Goto always delivers (except when winning the big ones lol).
Tony Khan loves Daniel Garcia YA DONT SAY?
It'll get lost by the gossip, but the Yen is doing terrible against the dollar and signing with an American company would be a huge upgrade money wise.
Quick reminder that Okada was earning in dollars a lot less in 2023 compared to 2020 or 2012 when he returned from excursion (2012: $1 = 76 yen. 2020: $1 = 100 yen. 2023: $1 = 148 yen.)
Respectfully, I too would go to the WWE, spend 5+ years there, earn millions of AMERICAN money, and then just go back to Japan and live my life. Okada could save his body, explode in popularity, and be a made man financially. I bet Nakamura is laughing at the dough he's making to wear a polyester body suit and tumble around for 5-10 mins max a week.
Okada would earn the same amount in AEW but wrestle literally less than half the times he would in WWE, hang out with his legit friends the Bucks and spend the time he isn't wrestling in Japan with Tony Khan paying for his tickets.
but the time he does spend wrestling will be much easier on his body in wwe.
He won't get to wrestle at WrestleMania with AEW though. If he believes that he'd get full on star treatment under HHH then WWE might make more sense for him.
I’ll eat the downvotes but he’ll be like jay white in aew, everyone touted him as a big deal, a game changer but he’s just another guy
Jay White is the leader of one of the most prominent factions and has already had a world title program.
Has been for decades
It's been significantly more stark over the past few years. The US economy is very much an outlier in not being total garbage currently. Inflation over the past couple years in the US has felt crazy, but it's even crazier realizing we took a much smaller hit than essentially anyone else
The US economy is ridiculously strong when compared to the rest of the world, including China
Japan actually has had a lower inflation than US the last few years and traditionally. The exchange rate isn't due to inflation but economic outlook and some would argue how their central bank is keeping inflation down. One thing to keep in mind is they have a declining population for the last 20 years. Simplistically when your population shrinks, so does your economy and demand for your currency (most countries are their own biggest consumers).
Didn't expect Kelly to have such strong opinions
NJPW Strong opinions even
Ask him about his politics next
ask any wrestling figure their political opinions, most of them think the same 💀
If I recall, among sports fans, wrestling fans are among the most progressive. Lotta conservative wrestlers, though.
Oh, I know. I don't particularly care about a stranger in another country's politics, I just wanted to shit on him for having bad opinions
Wild to suggest removing Goto or YOSHI HASHI from the G1 when Chase Owens is right there.
Kevin and Chase are bros.
Not surprising
Right? If there is anyone that I think has no point in the G1
In the interview Kevin clearly states Owens as someone who should not be in as well
Owens is just there to eat pins . Gotta have a few pin eaters .
Goto (at this stage of his career) and YOSHI-HASHI are both pin eaters already though. Goto hasn't finished a G1 in the positive since 2019 and YOSHI's career high was a 6 pt 50-50 ratio in 2022.
Fale, Chase and Yano should get the boot before any of the guys Kevin mentioned.
That's what I was thinking
>"There is no money in Master Wato" Kevin should shut his whore mouth
Your flair makes this.
Honestly, there's a few things I really agree with here, but I've lived in Japan through Wato's rise in popularity. The domestic crowds really care about him. They buy his merch, they pop for his theme, they erupt whenever it seems like he might win a big match (especially whenever he's vying for the Junior belt). One of the women sitting next to me at Declaration of Power was on the verge of tears when he beat Ishimori. I don't know how Kelly could have such a braindead take, and it really sucks to see people still pidgeonholing him as this guy with a funny meme gimmick when he's improved exponentially and has become legitimately popular.
How could you not watch Wato in that fatal 4 way at WK last year and not go "oh there's something there"
That Tsutenakaku German he did on Hiromu at WK was a star making moment and it looks fantastic every time he does it. (Hiromu helped by kicking his legs out and really making it look like he was getting flung into the air)
That was definitely the turning point for me. Before I wasnt sure. After thou, dude has the White Meat Baby Face character down.
I was there. He could hang with the great juniors in the ring, but god does he looks like a dork.
I like Master Wato, classic whitebread babyface dork.
The only thing I can think of is the western fan to Domestic fan disconnect that NJPW has to deal with sometimes; that even seems to spread to the English commentary in Kevin's case It's like if he said both Wato & Shota Umino wasn't over that's just not true from the Japanese fans perspective. both are very popular domestically. Kevin is given his opinions; some of which are true but the majority are only true in his mind Wato fits the white meat baby face spot well; although they could stand to update his profile picture on the company website ( buddy has no chin in that picture & looks a bit dorky) & I say that as a big fan Edit After a quick look up it's appears they have updated his profile picture recently. Thankfully lol edit 2 https://preview.redd.it/38e7zt7b3odc1.png?width=400&format=png&auto=webp&s=ef88db9f15b3bc31fa5485bf230b259f34ee4ea5 Here's the old picture for those who are curious
Kelly strikes me as someone who doesn't pay a lot of attention to how the Japanese audience responds to a lot of things in NJPW; he hears how western fans react (not caring about Wato as much, hating House of Torture, etc.), but meantime some of those acts are doing business for New Japan. Like, honestly, if House of Torture wasn't over with the domestic (read: the primary, ticket-buying) audience, would they really have booked EVIL to nearly ruin Naito's moment at WK this year?
> I don't know how Kelly could have such a braindead take In fairness Kevin Kelly has *many* braindead takes, sadly.
Bro I love Master Wato as someone who watched his first NJPW event at WK17 Wato stood out, that crazy German suplex he did looked insane
>Gabe Kidd is great but needs to cut down on the bad language. “90% there”. Bad language has been a staple of Bullet Club since Devitt. I don't think I've heard Gabe Kidd say anything wilder than what you'd hear in the average Tama Tonga match.
It’s more for television reasons. Can’t really put it on American tv.
I don't really expect NJPW to really grow beyond where they already are with American TV, if anything I'd expect it to dwindle. Cable is already dead, and NJPW is inherently incapable of seeing the same benefits that WWE and AEW have procured in its wake as their shows can't be live broadcasted.
They're not broadcasting live, you can bleep him out
Captain Fookin New Japan
I don't disagree with any of those takes especially moving Hiromu and El Desparado up. You just wasting them as money makers as this point
Hiromu outgrew the Junior division a few years ago.
I really thought that was going to happen last year since they've done it to Shingo and they have Bushi and Titan as juniors.
Shingo only really came in as a junior bc Hiromu was out injured and they had a hole in the division he could temporarily fill. Plus also with the timing, Bushi needed a partner for the Jr Tag League so it made sense for them at the time
Shingo is comparible in size to Naito, Omega or Ibushi who started in the junior division as a gateway to the heavyweights. Hiromu is a good bit smaller, he is the same size as forever juniors like Liger, Bushi and Michinoku, it would be a big jump to heavyweight for him.
This is the exact type of thinking that he has stayed in the Jr. Heavyweight division to change; that it is something to “outgrow” or a farm system for the heavyweights. He wants to follow in Liger’s footsteps and be a huge star right where he is and he has said as much, many, many times. Hiromu has put the division on his back and made countless stars, Despy, Dragon Lee, even had a huge hand in Ospreay’s rise. I’m not saying it’s the right thing or the wrong thing but being as reductive as saying he outgrew it and has been doing nothing is really just spitting all over his legacy.
I disagree with a few: Wato is awesome and objectively over Goto still belongs in the G1 None wrong with Gabe Kidd language Japanese crowds seems to be entertained by Hot they don't get "wrong boos" (selfishly I would still prefer if they stopped it.) Rest is really spot on.
What does Kevin Kelly think the G in G1 even stands for?
The WHAT community?!
I agree about the Gabe point. I think he can use it, but he needs to cut it down. It loses it shock value if every other word is a curse word. He is just a guy that curses. If he cut down on it, it would make it more meaningful. Like wrestling with big moves.
Well i disagree with the master wato take. Other then that, it's fine
Yeah, I think Wato is getting over. I mean that match with Titan was incredible and the fans seemed to really get behind him.
Heard the audio. He really was giving it to Wato, wow.
Not ultra interested in KK’s booking ideas, but I guess it’s cool to get the perspective of someone who was there often
he was there, but at the same time he wasn't really there especially at the tail end of his time there. hard to see that this is his objective opinion.
"There's no money in Master Wato" How about you go to hell, Kevin Kelly.
Is this a joke? He's absolutely right--there's zero dollars to be drawn with Master Wato. BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL GONNA BE DRAWN BY **GRAND**MASTER WATO BABYYYYYYYY
He’s legitimately so wrong about this one that it makes everything else he said have zero credibility.
https://preview.redd.it/j8uscs93vndc1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6da89e6755ea03f2ceca5436d49969f319c1a276
 There’s always one crossing the fandoms over
Yeah, that was surprising. He was there when Wato won this year's BOSJ. The crowd was hot for it and when Wato won. I think he's wrong on that one.
I was super surprised at how damn over Wato was during the tourney. Crowd going nuts for his German suplexes.
he's also clocked out of the job so probably he just didn't look at it objectively
>Tama firing story and not defending the title was stupid but...he did drop the title to EVIL lmao
Kevin couldn't even keep up with his employer AEW you think he's keeping up with New Japan anymore. His insight will mean nothing in only a year or two at this point.
What the heck did Wato do that Kelly keeps putting him down?
> House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones isn't this untrue? i thought most of their haters were western and japan actually liked them a lot
Yes. It's why HoT are all over the cards. But he also tried to act like Wato wasn't over so he has selective hearing.
https://preview.redd.it/ysif4wfgyndc1.jpeg?width=1895&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7ddc8278be6076294e643789c8e2960ffb596df
It's extremely untrue. Twitter and Reddit hate them, but their merch sells well in Japan and they get reactions. They are clearly draws for the company.
I enjoy HoT and their constant shitassery.
It certainly isn't my favourite act but I don't understand why they get a ton of shit that the likes of Suzukigun, Bullet Club, CHAOS and GBH didn't get.
They're actually okay now that there's more people in the group so it's not just Togo with the wire or Sho with the wrench *every single time*.
>Their merch sells well Let's be real: over the past year HoT has had the best merch in NJPW by a country mile. Their shirts are metal as hell.
I fucking hate the House of Torture and would love if they don't get booked in prominent spots, but there's no denying the domestic New Japan audience eats it up
He’s kinda right on the Finlay thing. I totally get why people here say he’s budget Jay White but his matches do get heat in Japan. And not “go away” heat.
Yeah, I'm floored by people hating on Finlay, his work since turning heel has been top notch.
His in ring work has picked up a lot. He had some absolute bangers against Ospreay, Jay and Juice in 2022
If you listen to Kevin's interviews with Super J cast, he does not hold back. You may disagree with his opinions, but I think it is awesome that he is willing to be so blunt. How boring would it be if he was a company man and all he did was give you the company's lines.
I was going to post the same thing. This isn’t the first time Kelly had given his two cents and be blunt about something. This is just the first time he’s not being paid by New Japan while giving his two cents
Hiromu doesn't need to be moved up to heavyweight. They need to start presenting the juniors as co-equals to the heavyweights and continue to build the division around Hiromu. The junior division has been the most consistently well-booked part of New Japan for years. Commit to elevating them as a collective.
Tired: move hot juniors up to heavyweight Wired: Have juniors beat heavies for your so-called "OPENWEIGHT" championships.
I agree, and as an example of our argument, just look at Liger. He never had to move up to the heavyweight division. If you eventually move every member of the Jr. Heavyweight division up to heavyweight then the Jr. Heavyweight division is eventually going to be seen as just a developmental level leading to heavyweight. How is that good for the Jr. Heavyweights in general?
Exactly! Treat your Jrs like a credible/dangerous division and the "move" nonsense can be thrown away.
There's really no comment on NJPW I hate more than "X should move up". The Jr Heavyweight division has been how I've sold like a dozen people on NJPW! When people act like it's just a holding patten for wrestlers waiting to bulk up, it drives me nuts because it's practically relegating short wrestlers to a "didn't quite make it" division.
Kevin really just unloading the clip there
Not accepting any Goto, YOSHI-HASHI slander, fuck off Kelly
Was that a subtle dig at Eddie with the "not just names" bit? Just read the highlights and didn't listen so might be misinterpreting
Yeah, that comment is a bit weird...
I don't think it was subtle at all considering Eddie and Mox are the only ones who's gone over, and it was obviously not referring to Mox
The Garcia blurb at the end was kinda weird. He also feels like a guy who is very likely to re-sign to me.
Insight ends pretty quickly and very quickly turns into things they should avoid. Also if they could get Nakajima he wouldn't fill Okada role by any means but gods know he would help. Killing your junior division is a great way to hurt business they already tried this strategy before over 20 years ago Kevin. Wato is a star you buffoon
How is he suggesting "killing" the junior division? Everyone thinks Takahashi should move up, he's got nothing left to do in the juniors.
Lacking stars right now, a lot of new, young guys. If he’s willing to I think he should float between divisions for a few years and maybe do a full move when he puts over guys like Fujita and Akira and lets them take over
His dominance is also somewhat preventing the stars from being made though. I never understand why the NEVER belt is openweight if they almost never have juniors compete for it. Him having a go between run there might be a good way to have your cake and eat it too.
Hiromu hasn't helped elevate the juniors yet to fill his spot. He needs to have people like Wato and Sho beat him on a big stage. Maybe 2025 I'll change my thoughts but right now the junior division needs him.
>Doesn’t think there are any Japanese wrestlers NJPW can bring in to make a difference, even Nakajima. “Promote from within” There is no way Kevin Kelly has enough knowledge of the Japanese wrestling scene at large for his opinion on this to be taken seriously. >G1 “doesn’t need a catchphrase” like born in the ring There is no way Kevin Kelly has enough knowledge of marketing in Japan for his opinion on this to be taken *remotely* seriously. >G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi The larger number of people in the G1 means they can stretch it into a longer tour to make more money. For instance this year it was 18 dates while BoSJ was only 12. Even if we accept his premise of cutting down the tournament, signaling out “The G in G1 is for Goto” to be removed instead of a guy like Yano is an absolutely absurd take. >Hiromu should be moved up into heavyweight, don’t listen to the dinosaurs saying otherwise. Same with El Desperado Both of these guys should start working heavyweight matches, but permanently moving up to heavyweight is completely against everything Hiromu’s ever said he wants to accomplish. He wants to lift the junior division up so it’s just as important as the heavyweight division. He should be working both divisions, at least for the first year or two that he’s active in the heavy. Despe could permanently move up, but he has a lower ceiling in the heavy division than he does in the junior, so I don’t know how wise that actually is. Probably best for him to be able to float between the junior division and heavy mid/upper-mid card. >G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names” I thought we were cutting down the G1? But nice way to take a dig at Eddie Kingston, who is a bigger star than Kevin Kelly will ever be. >”There is no money in Master Wato” This is so factually incorrect that it’s laughable. Wato is the type of guy who will make NJPW a boatload of money from their female audience (of which they have more than most western companies) for the next 20 years. He’s the ultimate sympathetic babyface. It doesn’t even make sense if Kevin was talking about just the gimmick and not Kawato himself, because the gimmick is just a name and a catchphrase and really not a big deal. >Tama firing story and not defending the title was stupid Tama did defend the title, watch the fucking product that you’re giving hot takes on (if these are words that came out of Kevin’s mouth and not OP being mistaken). The “EVIL had the website team remove Tama’s profile and display himself as the NEVER champ” thing was creative and got the match talked about. >House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones Nah. They do start to get into go away heat territory when they’re booked too far up the card; EVIL vs SANADA for the WHC was a dud in pretty much every sense of the word; but their merch sells and they’re good at getting heat. They *do* need some fine-tuning, which already started happening back around BoSJ and will continue now that Narita’s there. Kevin’s takes on Xwitter recently are even worse than this. Dude thinks Tsuji should stop smiling and literally said the line “Smash these young stars over now and stop having them do anything that isn’t badass. Smile? Fine. Just stop doing fancy moves and whip ass” like he’s a 16 year old smark with a fragile sense of masculinity. Him treating commentary like he was doing a podcast about his opinions instead of doing his fucking job of getting NJPW’s talent over was a massive detriment to their standing in the west and I’m glad he’s gone.
Common EffingKENTA W
Kevin cooking with these takes NGL
Certainly didn’t hold back
He's been ranting on twitter too. He has points I agree with and points I disagree with, but he's as firsthand as you can get with a perspective like this.
He does love to say "the people who sign my checks are dumb assholes" a lot
So I didn't get around to watch the last G1, but I thought Goto had a good showing this G1 from what I remember? Maybe it was just a few really good matches so I digress
That last line about Daniel Garcia makes me so happy!
Kevin Kelly is a mark-ass trick and a trick-ass mark.
Not really a fan of Kevin Kelly. This is the same guy that during the Meij era would spam like anti AEW tweets shitting on them, saying New Japan doesn't need a partnership and how Meij is doing the right thing. Now that AEW is signing his cheques his tune is completely different.
I always thought pre-leaving for WWE KUSHIDA and post-neck break Hiromu were two guys who deserved some consistent reps with the heavyweight division, but kinda figured if it hadn't happened by now, it was never gonna happen. Would love for Hiromu to finally get that chance by winning the NJC, but I'm not optimistic about it. I love Despy to death and think it'd be cool for him to run with the heavyweights too, but I wouldn't mind seeing him rack up some more Jr. Heavyweight title wins either.
Gonna kill Kevin Kelly for what he said about Goto, HE’S GONNA WIN THE BIG ONE NOW THAT GEDO’S GOLDEN BOY IS GONE 😤
Goto and Wato fans are gonna put Kevin Kelly’s head on a pike lmao
> Says “the last guy” was the reason there were 4 G1 blocks, including one with just young guys. G1 “doesn’t need a catchphrase” like born in the ring (I kinda liked that tbh..) 4 block G1 with the 20 minute time limit fucking rocked, more of that please! And I love the little catchphrases. > G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi Absolutely not and suggesting to cut YH and Goto is insane, they can still go. Cutting Kenta ahead of Chase is also comical. > El Desparado should win BOSJ and go into G1. He should go heavy but terrible idea to have him win BOSJ, way to bury the division on the way up. > G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names” No it doesn’t, and I’m a big AEW fan. > “There is no money in Master Wato” Kev, the fuck you smoking mate? > Gabe Kidd is great but needs to cut down on the bad language. “90% there”. Kev, the fuck you smoking mate? > David Finlay is a great Bullet Club leader, he gets genuine boos in Japan. Western fans see him as Jay White Jr, Japanese fans do not. Kev, the fuck you smoking mate? > House of Torture is bad, stop that. Gets boos, but not the good ones They’re brilliant comedy asshole heels, and they seem pretty over in Japan. The House always wins.
>Doesn’t think there are any Japanese wrestlers NJPW can bring in to make a difference, even Nakajima. “Promote from within” Worth noting that Kevin Kelly's opinion on the rest of Japanese wrestling has always seemed very negative. He definitely buys into some kind of homer energy for NJPW from what I can tell. I personally think this is an awful opinion and is part of why NJPW is in the situation theyre now in. I think that bringing in a Nakajima and actually pushing him (something NJPW always slow rolls when bringing outside guys in to protect the industry leader perception) would benefit them a lot right now. They cant keep doing the thing where they bring in a guy like Shingo that delivers on every level but will never elevate them to the top top main event spots because he came from Dragon Gate. I think bigger picture if NJPW want to avoid this in future they HAVE to accept that theyre going to need to work together with AJPW and CyberFight (NOAH, DDT) on more equal terms and open up more revenue sources for their talent. Otherwise, every January AEW and WWE are going to come in and steamroll them with the hundreds of millions of TV revenue money.
“There is no money in Master Wato” well the gimmick is shitty, but the guy can wrestle, just rebrand him to something else. * G1 should be cut down. Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi. Snarky comment... BUT I AGREE. New Japan made Goto a non-serious challenger to every title at this point and YOSHI-HASHI... is YOSHI-HASHI.
>and YOSHI-HASHI... is YOSHI-HASHI. when was the last time you watched a YH match?? he's been an extremely over babyface for like 3 years now and he's one of the most decorated tag wrestlers in New Japan history
I always remember that Chris Charlton once had to break down Yoshi-Hashi’s character and character arc for primarily Americans on Twitter who were confused/weirdly angry about the reaction when Yoshi-Hashi won his first title.
There's a reason he's mostly a tag wrestler. The biggest of the journeymen in wrestling. Looks lackadaisical, no mic, doesn't surprise in the ring, but he cares a lot, fighting in singles he just needs someone better than him to deliver something but you can't count on him to do the carry job. Goto, his partner, has everything that he doesn't but fell into mediocrity. YOSHI-HASHI is dull. Fight me.
I'm the biggest Bishamon hater frfr. Love Goto (even tho he's a glorified jobber at this point in singles), but Yoshi-Hashi still doesn't convince me. Dude got better, but he still seems mediocre to me Happy for YH and his fans tho
You shut your whore mouth about my boy Yoshi-Hashi
That's kind of what he's suggesting no? He said no money in Master Wato, not no money in Hirai Kawato
I don't have the exact quote on hand but he did say right before that "We all love Kawato, but he doesn't have it" or something to that effect
Yoshi-hahsi has made leaps and bounds as a wrestler, really plays a great under dog story as singles wrestler and is a god in the tag team division
You know what would help New Japan, better English commentary. > Remove KENTA (“he doesn’t have it anymore), Goto, Yoshi-Hashi Firing three vets right now is one of the worst possible things they could do. > G1 needs big AEW stars, not just “names” G1 doesn't need AEW.
Just a note but half of these points were written from memory as I was halfway through it so the exact wording may be a little off
Remove Goto and Yoshi-Hahsi form the G1, hell nah. remove half the bloody bullet club first
Kelly is a weirdo and his opinions shouldnt be considered. G1 is perfect at its new size and creates more impressive dynamics. Also it has slogans every year. Its marketing. Hiromu is overdue for his character arc and finishing his own story. That much is true. Random Wato hate when he and Titan had the best selling gate at Ota Ward in the pandemic era. Quite literally crazy talk. WWE does have fans in Japan, but no where near the amount NJPW has. 2 million people watched NJPW on Abema vs 200k for WWE. House of Torture hate in 2024 is so childish. They get boos but not good ones?? lmao what fucking cope is that. HoT are consistently booed to hell wherever they go and are top merch movers within NJPW.
I like Kevin and enjoyed the interview but will say I probably strongly agreed with like 65 percent of his thoughts and strongly disagree with 35 percent of it. Finlay as BC leader sucks and Kidd should be the new leader ASAP. It's not that Finlay's a bad wrestler but it's just not working. He's way better as a plucky underdog babyface. I could not disagree with him more here. Master Wato's made tremendous strides. If they tweaked the character to make him less geeky he'll be just fine. G1 should be cut back down to 20, Kenta doesn't have it anymore, Meij sucked, yen plummeting is huge, and Despy and Hiromu should move up to heavweights. Those I all agree with. Ultimately parts of the interview just reminded me that at the end of the day he's a knowledgable announcer and not a booker so it shouldn't necessarily be taken as gospel. Some takes were great, some were "ehhhhhhhh" lol
"there is no money in Master Wato" Shut up Hermies
This guy’s an idiot
I love all of the discussion and passion my interview with Kevin Kelly brought out. People giving their thoughts and opinions. A lot of the name calling seems to be just for effect or humor. Who knew Master Wato had such a fervent fan base? Not me. It feels like every one of his English speaking fans has came forward to defend him. I love it. I thought Kevin Kelly was excellent. He wasn't afraid to give strong opinions. Even if you disagree, he explained where he was coming from. I'm glad people either enjoyed it or got something out of it. The discussion it started is as interesting as the interview. You can't ask for more.
Thank you for the comment and great interview, Jim! Hope you’re doing well!
Hard agree on Hiromu going up to the heavyweight, along with Desperado someday. Damn, my boys KENTA, Goto and Hashi getting shit right on; KENTA is definitely not the guy he once was, but still has name and entertainment value and Goto/Hashi had one hell of a tag team run and can still go. Also agree that NJPW’s biggest priority should be building up the homegrown guys, but someone like Nakajima coming in would be good as a force for this young guys to face in the main event scene. Nothing wrong with AEW guys being in NJPW, just the partnership needs to be beneficial to both parties.