So I don’t think the sky is falling and some of these results weren’t out of the question.
Firstly, with two big US arena shows it makes sense that NJPW would want to get the best out of these EX-WWE stars using them to sell tickets.
A common trope in Japanese wrestling has been making/cementing a star off a big western name whether it was Fujinami beating Vader, Misawa beating Hansen, Okada beating Styles, Naito beating Jericho and whoever was meant to beat Lesnar in 2006.
With the NJC coming up those belts being absent won’t really seem that apparent and their reigns are more about selling tickets and who benefits from beating them.
Now, I was going to make a similar post after the tour, but this added more fire to it. With Moxley featuring prominently on the Resurgence, posters there is a significant possibility that Moxley beats Naito for the belt. That isn’t so bad but the worry is they just run back the same main event again. Also, if that was to happen 3 belts would be somewhat held hostage in the States.
Looking further into this and at certain individuals.
Riddle: Him joining UE was quite apparent but now there is a chance he becomes the new too guy over Cobb and O-Khan.
Umino: Shota losing to EVIL was the worst and the most surprising result from the show. I was expecting a big run with the Never belt to signify a new era. But it is not doom or gloom. This could lead to a NJC win or even a big time match vs Moxley at Resurgence potentially even for the belt.
Finlay: I don’t think they are giving up on him that easy. They just wanted to play with heir shiny new toy. There is also the possibility that he gets promoted further up the card after this with a NJC win or even winning the World title.
Nemeth: Not sure how available the Wanted Man will be. He could defend the title on Impact due to the relationship. Nemeth defending in the semi-main at Resurgence was probably another way to get more eyes on the show. But against who? They could run it back vs Finlay, maybe Zack gets a chance to win a bigger belt or will they bring back Ospreay earlier.
Zack: He started the year with a big win over Danielson, another dub over Nagata. It really feels like he is being braced for a big 2024. Now we can hope he ultimately gets his hand on either the Global or World title at the end of all of this mess. It’s also interesting that they bothered to have him on the first show yet he has no plans for night 2.
HOT: I think those guys hold the belts for a couple months and he no idea who beats them. At current it looks like a mistake taking those belts of Hiromu and Takagi and would make this J5G vs LIJ more interesting.
A current problem is that besides the World and KOPW title all the belts are with Heels/out of the country which is not the best.
We are in for a chaotic first 6 months. Buy I think Sabre, Umino and whoever beats SHO and EVIL will be the beneficiaries. I got Shota, Finlay or Takagi winning NJC. Either Despy, YOH or Akira winning BOSJ. But I ultimately have Zack going into the summer as champ or at least Global Champ.
Well I think that’s the end to my ramblings.
by shecanbromehard
