is the hype for Yuya Uemura truly dead ¿

24 comments

1. When he returned he said he would have matches with SANADA, Taichi and DOUKI. 

   So far he has faced Tsuji, Tsuji again, Shingo, Shingo again, Khan, and Khan again. 

   🤷‍♂️

2. Feel like the G1 will be a true test for him. He’s main-eventing 7/25 against Takeshita; can’t think of a better match to show out and claim his place in the company.

3. It feels like Just 5 Guys in general has come to a screeching halt, currently the least interesting faction in NJPW. Not even DOUKI’s recent title win has pulled it up that high.

4. I don’t want to say he’s dead in the water, but he’s shown pretty much nothing since coming back. Does a couple moves well, but doesn’t have much of a move set and just about 0 charisma or character. As u/DJ_Aftershock noted, Just 5 Guys has pretty much killed any and all momentum of all 5 Guys. Douki is at a career high right now, obviously, but the stable is just an absolute zero.

   I think they had more in mind when they brought Uemera back and they pivoted when they realized he’s not there yet (or even close to it, really). He’s pretty clearly behind Tsuji, Kidd, Umino, and Narita in his “class.” Feels like Oiwa will jump him as soon as he returns, too.

5. Why the fuck did they make him cut his hair man

6. Wrestling is very difficult and the new japan mainevent style especially so

   We are more impatient because the mainevent has been ripped out but some guys do just take longer to develop. El Desperado is a prime example compared with say Hiromu.

   The good news is that really Tsuji and Shota are to me pretty close. The way Uemura wants to wrestle takes work

7. If he doesn’t have a good showing in the G1 he’s cooked

8. Man needs to start dragon screwing people.

   I’d also turn deadbolt into the set up for a good ol’ Camel Clutch submission finisher.

   If he works his opponents backs with some back stretches during the match, it might work…

9. Some people take longer than others to develop, even when returning from their excursion. Master Wato right after his excursion was absolutely DOA, but then he eventually figured it out and that BOSJ run and Wrestle Kingdom match were fantastic, and he was really crushing it pre-injury. It took him a bit, but he got there in the end.

   The issue with Uemura is that he just hasn’t really done *anything* to separate himself from the pack, being “generally solid” just isn’t enough if the goal is to rise above the generalized tier of “faction guys.”

10. Lost to O Khan in the catch wrestling match which was underrated

11. Yuya has that 2023 Ren Narita thing going where it feels like Gedo must have a big plan that retroactively explains his weird ass booking.

12. It feels like after they had him shave his head he just lost it all. Then being in a comedy feud with GoK definitely didn’t help him get any momentum back. Maybe G1 will help him. But as it stands right now it’s not looking great for him

13. takes on the young guys are so out of control lmao. The next 10 years are set for them. But every comment about them is “their next match is do or die”, “they need to win this or do this now”

14. I never got the hype. Maybe the most uninteresting recent young lion IMO

15. I wouldn’t say it’s dead, but none of the young guys have been booked strongly yet, and that’s the threat of failing or picking the wrong one. I still think we could end up being surprised by someone like Oiwa being that guy, but the truth is that everyone wants “the next Okada” and there just probably isn’t one.

16. He’s 29 dude, chill. I liked his matches with O-Khan and find it interesting how he rages when he loses, especially when he loses to faces who show him respect that he rejects.

17. I was most hyped about Yuya returning but I hate to say it, he’s been a complete dud so far. He’s about as bland as they come. Watching Shingo try to pull any charisma out of the guy with backstage banter was absolutely painful.

18. Personally I never really saw it with him the same way I do Shota or Tsuji, but he has a lot of time to prove me wrong. He’s still 29 and his booking has been kinda weird this year, we can’t write him off completely.

19. I like Yuya a lot, but it’s hard to be excited about him when he isn’t doing anything meaningful. I feel that way about like half the roster right now, the G1 can’t come soon enough.

20. Many were really looking forward to that hair v hair match vs Tsuji but it was incredibly boring and I think a lot of people have soured on him since. G1 will be interesting for him tho.

21. He’s way better than 2/3rds of the Musketeers (Shota and Ren are actively regressing), is part of the best faction in terms of prospective growth (LIJ will just always be Naito & his sidekicks, but the Guys are something way more individualistic), and has by far the best intra-generational feud (Tsuji-Uemura is just inherently better than the two wet towels of Umino & Narita slapping eachother).

    All that to say, he’s in a weird phase right now, but he has the skills to get himself out, that much is certain. Management doesn’t really have a choice to fuck him up, because if they fuck up the Reiwa Four anymore than they already have, the company will be in deep trouble.

22. Sometimes you just need to chill out, allow a young dude the chance to develop and see how the company’s long term plans play out, rather than heaping up all these expectations that a young guy is supposed to become an instant sensation. Yuya has done fine so far and his ongoing development is just one of many things occurring in this most fascinating transitional phase for New Japan.

23. If Kaito Kiyomiya were to jump over as well I can see him surpassing Uemura as well. He just doesn’t do anything for me

24. Someone has the fill the void left behind by YOSHI-HASHI as the permanent geek