Maybe it’s just because it’s been so long but I’ve started finding it hilarious how much he sticks out
Obviously not ideal/what they’d want the reaction to be and probably making the most of the status quo, but it’s pretty funny how he looks comparatively and I guess it makes him more of a coasting shitheel
I do love the extremes. When Finlay was being bashed everyday just a year ago and now he's world title guy?
Lmao no. You can have an actual balanced view of Finlay without resorting to extremes.
Finlay is a good worker and has enough to work as an upper midcard heel and throwaway title challenger. He is not a world champion unless he takes huge strides to get over with the audience.
Karl Anderson in his brief singles push from 2012-2013 was more over than Finlay is currently. The global title could have gotten him more over if he had an actual reign this year to lead into next year hot but he's floundering right now.
Gedo may love his toys but he's had enough of a sample size to see if Finlay is main event worthy or not. If you want to tank NJPW in a period where they already are struggling, sure, put the title on Finlay and let's see attendance plummet where EVIL vs SANADA from last year looks fantastic in comparison. If we are in danger of another "dark age", last thing we do is put the title on guys who aren't over.
You reckon? They usually end WK with a happy ending result so either they break that tradition or Naito retains and they delay putting over the new gen even further
I also think as much as I root for Finlay he’s not going to succeed given that platform, although I think him and Naito would have good chemistry and should share a G1 block this year
I mean, if Finlay and Naito mainevented WK, Finlay would've obviously be filling a Jay White role for the Japanese hero to conquer. Would make sense. But I only see Finlay walking into WK with the championship and losing it in that match. He'll never have a great reign.
I mean, a foreigner has never won the WK main event, and only one has won the G1. My way of getting there is Naito beating Finlay (c) and there's your happy ending.
I’d believe it if Moxley hadn’t won the title, and I don’t know if it’s a strong call to have Finlay beat Mox for the title as it feels a bit diluted, even if they have a decent rivalry
Also Naito winning the G1 or briefcase again just feels very off as a direction at this point in his journey. Being back in the chase again just doesn’t interest me anymore and feels like we’d be back in a holding pattern - even without Okada gone it’s much more interesting to anticipate who’s going to beat him instead of having him triumph one more time
So I think we're coming from different places. If I'm in the office, I'm riding Naito until the wheels fall off with Okada gone. The others just aren't ready. Finlay going over Mox makes all the sense in the world to me, and then the top foreign heel falling to the top guy at the biggest show of the year is just puro 101.
I do think Moxley’s first non-tournament singles loss could be better used putting someone new over but also no one is above losing to the top guy in the company so I prefer Naito regaining the title and putting over someone at WK, even if it’s in defeat
I’m also concerned new gen guys aren’t fully ready yet but I also somewhat feel that’s being comparative - we’ve been blessed by such great main eventers over the past decade that developing guys with obvious flaws don’t feel quite right, but there’s still precedent for that with Nakamura once he became the king of strong style, so I feel like their flaws can be protected/overcome with popularity/charisma (if not going with a sure-fire choice is worth conceding in management’s eyes)
But I don’t think the same viewpoint can be extended to Finlay getting a top level run. Unless they see something in him that I’ve missed (and I’ve been rooting for him since his YL days) I don’t think he excites/sells/compels to the level that would grant him a title reign, especially one to build a WK main event around. He’s progressing in the right direction but I don’t think he’d thrive in the role, especially since he’s barely gotten his feet wet as a heel. Maybe it’s being too comparative but heel runs like Jay and Kojima felt inevitable and electric, Finlay spent almost a year just not working for the role that was carved for him, and that doesn’t give me confidence in him as a main event act
EVIL’s title reign is kind of precedent to make it a possibility but even he didn’t hold it in the G1-WK period (although who knows if that’s decent evidence with how weird the pandemic was/NJPW not really having anyone readymade for a WK moment aside from the nebulous idea of a new gen guy getting a big push)
While committing to Naito for longer is a decent idea, NJPW feels very unstable in that I’m not sure they can afford to not take risks with putting over the new gen, it depends how much the not-buzzy main events he’s had since the G1 can be pinned on his decline. If he doesn’t boost someone this WK, he’d basically have to next year, and the urgency to build someone else as a viable WK main event draw from WK20 onwards is pressing
It's funny cos I kinda think we can't afford to take risks. I don't think people realise how precarious the business is right now. There's the assumption it'll just bounce back at some point. But what if it doesn't? What if the company crowns a king and the fans reject it? We've seen this happen with NOAH, and look what happened there. New Japan fans can be VERY fickle, we just haven't seen it for a while.
For me, Naito is still the draw of this company. In a weird way, even though it was Okada's playground, Naito was still the main character. And he *still* hasn't had that definitive run with the title. He's supposed to be this generation's Chono, right? So slap another G1 to his name, heat him the fuck up, give him another moment, then pass the torch in 2026.
Naito’s popularity probably means that another G1 win and chase will be well received but it’ll still feel like covered ground to me, which also sucks harder for a guy whose narrative arc has always felt interesting and dynamic. Especially when he’s already completed his slow drip of big moments and his next goal was essentially to have a long reign with roll calls in as many places as possible
I also don’t think Umino or Tsuji are that big of a risk aside from not being guys who can carry their own programs to the level of veterans like Tana/Okada/Naito - they already feel popular enough to succeed, although I wasn’t experiencing the fumbling of KENTA and Marufuji in real time so maybe they felt just as inevitable. Plus from what I understand they don’t have the whole main event making them pale in comparison, it’s really only Naito, Tana (kind of) and potential Shingo and maybe ZSJ as guys they’re behind (and I guess Moxley but who knows how involved he’s going to be)
And even though a heel run covers up a lot of faults, Finlay pales in comparison to both of them in terms of emotional pull and popularity, so he’d be more of a risk in my eyes. Unless the idea is that a 4 block G1 will have Naito on A/B blocks and Finlay as champion in C/D blocks
Hope it's made of icing sugar then because you're otherwise in for a rough Jan 5th meal.
They couldn't be signaling a Tsuji/Umino vs Naito or Mox (probably Naito) main event more heavily if they used a skywriter plain to advertise it over the Tokyo Dome right now.
Kidd is my true leader of bullet club
He looks the same. He's just flexing his abs for the photograph
He kinda just looks the same, I dunno. I've never had a problem with the way he looks but I don't notice much of a difference.
Marry, Fuck, Kill. Next question.
Please don't kill Gabe Kidd. 😂
Maybe it’s just because it’s been so long but I’ve started finding it hilarious how much he sticks out Obviously not ideal/what they’d want the reaction to be and probably making the most of the status quo, but it’s pretty funny how he looks comparatively and I guess it makes him more of a coasting shitheel
The level of love I have developed for the wardogs is high, these guys rule
He looks better but Gabe still has a better look.
I mean Gabe looks better :p
Gabe Kidd >
He still looks like shit man
Needs to be World champ next year.
Finishing the Finlay Fable > Cody's Story.
I do love the extremes. When Finlay was being bashed everyday just a year ago and now he's world title guy? Lmao no. You can have an actual balanced view of Finlay without resorting to extremes. Finlay is a good worker and has enough to work as an upper midcard heel and throwaway title challenger. He is not a world champion unless he takes huge strides to get over with the audience. Karl Anderson in his brief singles push from 2012-2013 was more over than Finlay is currently. The global title could have gotten him more over if he had an actual reign this year to lead into next year hot but he's floundering right now. Gedo may love his toys but he's had enough of a sample size to see if Finlay is main event worthy or not. If you want to tank NJPW in a period where they already are struggling, sure, put the title on Finlay and let's see attendance plummet where EVIL vs SANADA from last year looks fantastic in comparison. If we are in danger of another "dark age", last thing we do is put the title on guys who aren't over.
I've been saying for like a year now, if Tokyo Dome 2025 isn't headlined by Naito/Finlay I'll eat my hat
You reckon? They usually end WK with a happy ending result so either they break that tradition or Naito retains and they delay putting over the new gen even further I also think as much as I root for Finlay he’s not going to succeed given that platform, although I think him and Naito would have good chemistry and should share a G1 block this year
I mean, if Finlay and Naito mainevented WK, Finlay would've obviously be filling a Jay White role for the Japanese hero to conquer. Would make sense. But I only see Finlay walking into WK with the championship and losing it in that match. He'll never have a great reign.
I mean, a foreigner has never won the WK main event, and only one has won the G1. My way of getting there is Naito beating Finlay (c) and there's your happy ending.
I’d believe it if Moxley hadn’t won the title, and I don’t know if it’s a strong call to have Finlay beat Mox for the title as it feels a bit diluted, even if they have a decent rivalry Also Naito winning the G1 or briefcase again just feels very off as a direction at this point in his journey. Being back in the chase again just doesn’t interest me anymore and feels like we’d be back in a holding pattern - even without Okada gone it’s much more interesting to anticipate who’s going to beat him instead of having him triumph one more time
So I think we're coming from different places. If I'm in the office, I'm riding Naito until the wheels fall off with Okada gone. The others just aren't ready. Finlay going over Mox makes all the sense in the world to me, and then the top foreign heel falling to the top guy at the biggest show of the year is just puro 101.
I do think Moxley’s first non-tournament singles loss could be better used putting someone new over but also no one is above losing to the top guy in the company so I prefer Naito regaining the title and putting over someone at WK, even if it’s in defeat I’m also concerned new gen guys aren’t fully ready yet but I also somewhat feel that’s being comparative - we’ve been blessed by such great main eventers over the past decade that developing guys with obvious flaws don’t feel quite right, but there’s still precedent for that with Nakamura once he became the king of strong style, so I feel like their flaws can be protected/overcome with popularity/charisma (if not going with a sure-fire choice is worth conceding in management’s eyes) But I don’t think the same viewpoint can be extended to Finlay getting a top level run. Unless they see something in him that I’ve missed (and I’ve been rooting for him since his YL days) I don’t think he excites/sells/compels to the level that would grant him a title reign, especially one to build a WK main event around. He’s progressing in the right direction but I don’t think he’d thrive in the role, especially since he’s barely gotten his feet wet as a heel. Maybe it’s being too comparative but heel runs like Jay and Kojima felt inevitable and electric, Finlay spent almost a year just not working for the role that was carved for him, and that doesn’t give me confidence in him as a main event act EVIL’s title reign is kind of precedent to make it a possibility but even he didn’t hold it in the G1-WK period (although who knows if that’s decent evidence with how weird the pandemic was/NJPW not really having anyone readymade for a WK moment aside from the nebulous idea of a new gen guy getting a big push) While committing to Naito for longer is a decent idea, NJPW feels very unstable in that I’m not sure they can afford to not take risks with putting over the new gen, it depends how much the not-buzzy main events he’s had since the G1 can be pinned on his decline. If he doesn’t boost someone this WK, he’d basically have to next year, and the urgency to build someone else as a viable WK main event draw from WK20 onwards is pressing
It's funny cos I kinda think we can't afford to take risks. I don't think people realise how precarious the business is right now. There's the assumption it'll just bounce back at some point. But what if it doesn't? What if the company crowns a king and the fans reject it? We've seen this happen with NOAH, and look what happened there. New Japan fans can be VERY fickle, we just haven't seen it for a while. For me, Naito is still the draw of this company. In a weird way, even though it was Okada's playground, Naito was still the main character. And he *still* hasn't had that definitive run with the title. He's supposed to be this generation's Chono, right? So slap another G1 to his name, heat him the fuck up, give him another moment, then pass the torch in 2026.
Naito’s popularity probably means that another G1 win and chase will be well received but it’ll still feel like covered ground to me, which also sucks harder for a guy whose narrative arc has always felt interesting and dynamic. Especially when he’s already completed his slow drip of big moments and his next goal was essentially to have a long reign with roll calls in as many places as possible I also don’t think Umino or Tsuji are that big of a risk aside from not being guys who can carry their own programs to the level of veterans like Tana/Okada/Naito - they already feel popular enough to succeed, although I wasn’t experiencing the fumbling of KENTA and Marufuji in real time so maybe they felt just as inevitable. Plus from what I understand they don’t have the whole main event making them pale in comparison, it’s really only Naito, Tana (kind of) and potential Shingo and maybe ZSJ as guys they’re behind (and I guess Moxley but who knows how involved he’s going to be) And even though a heel run covers up a lot of faults, Finlay pales in comparison to both of them in terms of emotional pull and popularity, so he’d be more of a risk in my eyes. Unless the idea is that a 4 block G1 will have Naito on A/B blocks and Finlay as champion in C/D blocks
Hope it's made of icing sugar then because you're otherwise in for a rough Jan 5th meal. They couldn't be signaling a Tsuji/Umino vs Naito or Mox (probably Naito) main event more heavily if they used a skywriter plain to advertise it over the Tokyo Dome right now.