wrestling / Columns
My Take On 12.29.13: Looking at NJPW on iPPV in 2013
WELCOME!
Welcome back to the latest edition of My Take On. It is that time of year when I use the column to take a look back at the year that was. Much like last year, I will be looking back on PPV and iPPV I have watched during the year 2013. I will give the listing of PPVs/iPPVs by the score, the top matches from the company’s PPV/iPPV, a quick look at the shows and the best wrestlers on the shows before looking at an overall verdict for the year. I hope that this is something you will enjoy. This year the breakdown columns will include…
LOOKING at New Japan Pro Wrestling on iPPV in 2013
THE PPV SCORES
As a reminder, this is not a basic “how good was the show” number like a TV show, as I have always felt that a PPV is very different from a regular show. I have always judged PPV on how they built to a match, the match quality, crowd reactions to matches and angles, the overall booking, how the PPV leads into the future, PPV price and so on and so forth. I have added this in here for an explanation since so many have asked, and I have previously discussed it on podcasts. I understand that this may seem different, but that is how I grade. Obviously your criteria may be different.
THE BEST MATCHES
OVERVIEW OF THEIR iPPVS
New Japan Pro Wrestling iPPV in 2013 was awesome; you should watch it because it will rock your face, the end. I know, that simply will not cut it, so I will explain. Ok, in my opinion, New Japan Pro Wrestling was the best company, not only on PPV, but also in the world for 2013. I had the pleasure of watching a ton of great wrestling in 2013; WWE, TNA, ROH, EVOLVE/DGUSA, Dragon Gate Proper and of course, the New Japan product. Now while I will admit that Japanese wrestling is not for everyone, New Japan Pro Wrestling easily gave me the most bang for my buck in the year 2013. The company seemed focused all year, and while there was no English commentary, I was able to follow the product with no issues. It was simple, clean, and it worked.
Hiroshi Tanahashi was the man once again for the company, but his excellent feud with Kazuchika Okada finally cemented Okada as the next big main event talent. New Japan is now lucky, because they no longer have a #1 guy, they have a 1 and 1-A in my opinion. These guys competed in some tremendous matches through out the year, always delivering, and always delivering in the highest caliber possible. I have said it be for and will again, they are this generation’s Flair vs. Steamboat. But not only were the matches great, they have been drawing great houses, and they are making a huge improvement business wise, which is great to see. The G1, which all was available on iPPV, was one of the greatest amounts of concentrated wrestling in a short period, and a must see for fans of wrestling.
The company has also done a good job of incorporating foreign talent, which is nothing new for Japan, but they do not always use the right guys. La Sombra, Shelton Benjamin, Alex Shelley, Davey Boy Smith Jr, Lance Archer, The Young Bucks and Karl Anderson are the very best examples of this. They have all played their parts well, and at times have really added a lot to the promotion. It’s an aspect of the product that doesn’t get as much attention as it should, but I know that NJPW without Karl Anderson this year would have been a little less enjoyable for me. La Sombra and Shelton Benjamin were used well in their feuds with Nakamura, Smith and Archer are the reigning tag champions, Shelley has been great in the Jr. Tag Division and the Bucks made a late run to with the Jr. Tag Tournament and titles.
But not all was done perfectly. There will be a ton of praise for New Japan, but there are some things I had issues with as far as the booking goes…
But even with the shortcomings the company had, the big thing was that the company seemed very focused for the year. As I said, there is no English commentary, but I knew what was going on. I knew all of the big feuds, I knew what title matches they were building too I knew who hated who and it flowed from PPV to PPV, almost like episodic TV. Tanahashi and Okada was tremendous, Karl Anderson had a great year, Devitt proved he can go with the heavyweights, Nakamura delivered as the IC Champion, I loved having Sakuraba around, and Tetsuya Naito’s rise to the G1 win and NEVER Title victory all worked for me. New Japan Pro Wrestling, in my opinion, was simply the best on 2013, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience with the shows and look forward to 2014.
BEST PERFORMERS ON THEIR iPPVS
In all honesty, and in the spirit of full disclosure, Kazuchika Okada is my wrestler of the year. The strides he made, winning the title and the overall elevation made it a tremendous year for him. But as far as the PPV performances go, Hiroshi Tanahashi was able to just edge him out for the honor of best PPV performer. Hiroshi Tanahashi is still the guy for New Japan, and while there are reports that he is working hurt, and has been throughout the year, the man delivered at an insane level, in 12 high caliber matches. For the record, Okada had 11 matches that ranked highly. Lets take a look at the matches that featured Tanahashi at his best for the year 2013…
From The NJPW Kings of Pro Wrestling iPPV – Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [*****] From The NJPW Invasion Attack iPPV – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada [****¾] From The NJPW WrestleKingdom 7 iPPV- Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Kazuchika Okada [****¾] From The NJPW A New Beginning iPPV- Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Karl Anderson [****¾] From The NJPW G1 Climax Finals iPPV: Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi – [****½] From The NJPW G1 Climax Semi-Final iPPV – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada [****½] From The NJPW Destruction iPPV – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt [****] From The NJPW G1 Climax Finals iPPV: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata – [****] From The NJPW Dominion iPPV – Prince Devitt vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [****] From The NJPW Power Struggle iPPV – Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii [****] From The New Japan Pro Wrestling Dontaku iPPV: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson [***¾] From The NJPW G1 Climax Semi-Final iPPV: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura [***¾]
Much like El Generico in 2012, Hiroshi Tanahashi was an unstoppable force of awesome on PPV in 2013. It’s a shame that Generico had to return to Mexico to take care of the orphans, but he had a higher calling. Anyway, lets get back to Mr. Tanahashi. First of all, there was the feud with Okada over the IWGP Title. An awesome series of matches that way too many people missed out on. In my opinion, this was the feud of the year, not only because of the high quality of matches they had, but also because the feud cemented Okada as another top guy, nearly Tanahashi’s equal to many. Two other men that I felt benefited from their matches with Tanahashi were Prince Devitt and Karl Anderson. Through his matches with Tanahashi, Devitt became a legit threat to anyone, and not just another Jr. Heavyweight. That was vital to the quality year that Devitt had. Also the same goes for Anderson. He went from just another American tag team wrestler to a guy that could headline shows with the top guys. Tanahashi carries himself like a star, he looks like a star, and he works like a star; but what is even more important is that the guys he has been feuding with have come out of the matches looking great and have become more bankable stars for the promotion. There is a trick to booking a top guy. All too often promotions book the guy as completely bullet proof, and in a way that it ends up not helping anyone. Either through the match booking or the post match booking. Tanahashi gave a lot in unselfish performances, and the company was smart enough to follow up on that. Hiroshi Tanahashi is easily one of the best wrestlers in the world, he helps elevate talent around him, and the man can deliver on PPV like no one else right now. Add onto that the fact that he has been working hurt nearly all year and it is even more impressive.
BEST PERFORMERS: While I did name my overall best performer, I do want to make mention of the overall best performers for the promotion. These men are the ones that have consistently delivered when appearing on PPV.
AVERAGE PPV SCORE: 8.16 {Based on 15 Events} According to the 411 scale, which is what I use for grading the PPVs, that means for the year that the gives New Japan Pro Wrestling a “very good” rating for the year.
Overall verdict: It cannot be said enough how much I enjoyed the New Japan Pro Wrestling product this year. They never had a bad show of the ones I was able to watch, and simply delivered on the shows they charged money for. I never felt as if my intelligence was insulted, I knew where things were going; they didn’t swerve just for the sake of swerving, and stayed the course. I loved that they had a vision, that they knew where they were going, how they would get there and that it was easy to follow. I have not been this into a pro wrestling product for a long time, and that is a tremendous feeling. At the end of the day, unlike some other promotions, I will still cover New Japan in 2014. They have more than earned my money through out the year, and that is all I can ask for. Can 2014 be just as good if not better? Only time will tell, but I will be along for the journey. In closing: New Japan Pro Wrestling iPPV in 2013 was awesome; you should watch it because it will rock your face, the end.
Larry Csonka is a Pisces and enjoys rolling at jiu jitsu class with Hotty McBrownbelt, cooking, long walks on the beach, Slingo and the occasional trip to Jack in the Box. He is married to a soulless ginger and has two beautiful daughters who are thankfully not soulless gingers; and is legally allowed to marry people in 35 states. He has been a wrestling fan since 1982 and has been writing for 411 since May 24th, 2004; contributing over 3,000 columns, TV reports and video reviews to the site.
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