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The Cubed Circle
Newsletter
In this week’s issue we cover the All Together show from All
Japan, New Japan and NOAH, RAW, WWE Kayfabe t-shirts and we have a new segment
in the recommendations column in the Bits and Pieces section. As always your
feedback is welcome, either through the comments section, e-mail or the many
social networks available in the contact section.
NJPW/AJPW/NOAH “All
Together 2”, 2012/02/19 Sendai Sun Plaza Hall, 3,500 Full House Super No
Vacancy, Review
Overall Show Thoughts
Overall this show was like the first All Together show, it
was a show meant to instill unity and patriotism and I assume that’s what it
did. This was a feel good show just like the first, but it capped off with two
very good matches. It was \an easy
show to sit through and most of the matches didn’t go all that long, it was not
a must see show, but it was still very fun and there was some great wrestling
on the show.
 |
| The opening of the All Together show, at a packed Sendai Sun Plaza |
1. Gedo, Jado, Kenou & Taro Nohashi vs. Great Sasuke,
Ryusuke Taguchi, Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask
This was a good opener that the crowd was into, especially
during the brief portion where Gedo and Jado got the heat on Taguchi. Other
than that, everyone got their spots in, but nothing about the match was all
that memorable. Sasuke pinned Nohashi in 11:12 with the Sasuke Special 10.
***
2. Captain All Japan (Ryota Hama), Captain New Japan &
Captain NOAH (Mohammed Yone) vs. TenKoji (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi
Kojima) & Kentaro Shiga
I must say the team of captain All Japan, New Japan and NOAH
looked amazingly great together. TenKoji did their best, but they couldn’t help
or subsidize the wackiness and subpar workrate of the other team. Although it
was fun, the match was far from a wrestling clinic, but luckily it didn’t go
all that long. Tenzan submitted Captain New Japan with an anaconda vice in
10:27.
** ¼
3. Jushin Thunder Liger, KAI, Kotaro Suzuki & Minoru
Tanaka vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Yoshinobu
Kanemaru
This match was full of good to great workers, which really
made for a good match, besides some botched spots and pacing issues. You
obviously had great workers in the match like Hayashi, Suzuki, Nakajima and
Kondo who really carried the bulk of the match. Tanaka botched a moonsault off
of the turnbuckle and a few other spots, but it didn’t detract from the match
all too much. Kondo pinned KAI in 14:38 with a King Kong Lariat.
*** ½
4. Manabu Soya & Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Sugiura &
Yujiro Takahashi
I don’t know if Sugiura was hurt, or if he was just beaten
down, but my God was he slow. I get that it was a heavyweight style matchup,
but compared to Makabe and even Soya who wasn’t all that quick (Although while
running from post to post he took two very hard turnbuckles). It was a decent
match, although it was slow and pretty uninteresting until the finish. Sugiura
pinned Soya in 11:46 with an Olympic slam.
** ½
5. Akebono, Kensuke Sasaki, Naomichi Marufuji & Yuji
Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Yoshihiro Takayama & Masayuki Kono
I have seen way too many Taichi, Takayama, Nagata and Suzuki
tags for my liking as of late. Nagata and Suzuki are great, but I would really
like to see them more outside of tag matches, especially in New Japan. The heel
team got the heat on Marufuji for a while and everyone hit their spots,
although Taichi and Akebono got a bit too much time. Akebono pinned Taichi with
a lariat big splash combo in 13:58.
***
6. Akitoshi Saito, Hirooki Goto & Jinsei Shinzaki vs.
Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano
This was a very fun match, jut for Saito and Shinzaki alone
the match was worth it, not even counting Goto and Nakumura. The match was
worked in a very fun manner and Goto pinned Iizuka in 13:30 with the Shoten
Kai.
*** ¼
7. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori vs. Keiji Muto & Kenta
Kobashi
Muto and Kobashi’s
selling in this match was absolutely incredible, from their facials to their
vocals. They didn’t do a million flips or flops, but they didn’t need to do that
to get over. Both of them are pretty beaten down at this point, although
Kobashi seems to be more broken down than Mutoh. But, they never took any crazy
or harmful bumps in the match, besides an inverted tombstone piledriver that
Muto took, which makes it difficult to protect the head and neck. Akiyama and
Omori got the heat on Muto then it was switched to Kobashi and so on, but the
match was compelling all the way through. Muto pinned Akiyama in 20:20 with a
moonsault, building up their Triple Crown match further.
*** ¾
8. Go Shiozaki, Seiya Sanada & Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiroshi
Tanahashi, Suwama & Takeshi Morishima
I was happy to see that Akiyama was kept in the Muto match,
just because I don’t think that he would have fitted in here. However what I thought
was strange was that there was no Okada to be seen, in fact Tanahashi was
practically treated like the champion. What I was glad to see was that
Tanahashi is just as over as he was before he lost the championship, although
time will tell if the change is going to work or not. Regardless the match was
great with everyone in the match being great workers what else would you
expect. Morishima pinned Shiozaki in 23:14 with a back drop driver.
****
WWE RAW 2012/02/27
Overall this week marked the next in a string of good RAWs
that have been taking place for a couple of weeks now. The show was pretty much
made by the opening and closing segments, there was no Triple H Undertaker
build this week, other than a good hype video.
The show opened with Punk coming out for a match with Daniel
Bryan, but Punk was interrupted by Jericho, which I was happy about at the time
thinking that the match wouldn’t take place and we would get the match again on
free TV, when it could be a big mainevent down the line.
Punk and Jericho performed in the best segment of the night
in my opinion, although the Cena/Rock segment was good, this segment leaned
more towards the age old tale that has worked for so long, “I think I am better
than you, you think you are better than me, lets settle it in the ring.”.
That’s it and the segment didn’t need to be convoluted like the Cena/ Rock
segment.
I was a big fan of the way that Jericho started the segment,
saying that Punk was one of his favorites but he was a step above him, instead
of going the other way and burying the guy. He said that he was the last of a
dying breed, a group of wrestlers that toured the world having great matches
and not caring about politics. He said that Punk was like him in a way, because
he became something that everyone thought he couldn’t. Punk responded by saying
that they knew just how good Jericho was. He carried on with his promo saying
that he didn’t plagiarize anything and that Bret Hart called himself the best
in the world. Jericho then said that he was on a completely different level and
that it was not a gimmick, he had stayed at a higher level than anyone in
history.
Then we got to the real meat of the segment, where Punk
basically said the same thing that Cena has been saying, you left to write books,
dance and sing, I am really getting tired of this whining. Jericho then said
that while he was becoming a bigger star than Punk ever will be, all he could
think about was how he had been ripped off because Punk was calling himself the
best in the world. He said that the vignettes and jackets were all frosting on
the cake. Punk said that they don’t need pyro or jackets, he said all they need
is a ring to put on one of the greatest Mania matches of all time.
Out came Daniel Bryan for the match, at this point I
realized the match was staking place, but it didn’t go all that long in fact is
was a match, which damages the drawing power of this match in the future. The
match was just a vessel for the progression of the on going Long Laurinaitis
feud which isn’t all that engaging.
Both Sheamus and Jericho interfered in the match, with
Sheamus inferring so that Punk could hit the GTS on Bryan. Jericho ambushed
Punk after the match, locking in the Walls of Jericho on the ramp. The match
featured good progression of the Sheamus Bryan program, but I can’t help
thinking that it wasn’t really needed, as specially when a match of this
caliber had to be degraded and given away free again.
They showed a video package of last year’s WrestleMania
match between Triple H and the Undertaker with commentary and thoughts from
Rock, Austin, Edge, Cena, Punk and Big Show.
Miz cut a promo on how he should be in the mainevent of
WrestleMania, it was fine, but boy oh boy am I sick of hearing people wine
about Rock and the top spot. This is the WWE’s problem, they have something,
but then they just oversaturated it. Why have Cena come out and say something
the week before, then have Punk say something and now Miz who isn’t even a top
guy anymore, it makes no sense. After the match he had a pretty one sided dull
match with Cena, he submitted Miz, the poor guy.
There was a tag team gauntlet match, I was fine with it
since Primo and Epico retained, but after the match Kane made his big return
(one week my god!) and killed everyone in the division, it was stupid. Sheamus
was in a tag match, I had no problem with the match itself, but I wish there
was more emphasis on him being the Rumble winner, I mean at least hype the
match up as a bigger deal.
The Rock came out to a pretty big ovation, he cut a great
promo on “a guy” in the back, which I presume in storyline was Cena, but in
reality was Punk, but I am not sure. He talked about the “babyfaces” of the
past such as Austin, Piper, himself etc. Cena interrupted and mentioned the notes
on the Rock’s hand, which I never took much notice of at first, but after
seeing how much of a big deal people made out the line to be I rewatched the
segment. People were saying it was a shoot and I doubt it. First of all why
would Cena double-cross Rock before their match, it makes absolutely no sense.
Apparently Rock flipped out backstage, but why wouldn’t he retaliate right then
and there, plus why would Vince want to kill his relationship with such a big
draw. It being a shoot just wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense.
They bickered back and forth, until Cena basically said “you
may be looking at the guy who doesn’t have any balls, but I am going to kick
your ass.”. It was a good segment and I see where they are going, I believe
that they are trying to make Cena into the person defending wrestling, to get
the smart fans behind him. Which I doubt will work, but still it’s producing
some great segments.
Overall this was another good show, with a good beginning
and end, there was some stupid stuff in-between, but I still think that the
show did more good than bad. As for the ratings, the show did worse than
expected with the over run segment loosing quite a lot of viewers, which is
very disappointing, given the fact that Rock was advertised and he seems to be
the only major needle mover at the moment.
Bits & Pieces
WWE Kayfabe T-shirts
I understand the fact that we can’t go back to a time where
kayfabe was fully embraced, respected and protected. But, the WWE has done
something quite remarkable with their new kayfabe range, they have managed to
simultaneously undermine their product along with their merchandise and
content.
If you haven’t seen the shirts they are quit astounding,
they are for sale on wweshop.com in the “kayfabe” section, they have shirts
with such terms as “jobber”, “heel”, “I’m so over” and “what’s your finish?”.
Now one could make a case for the shirts by saying that the term “jobber” and
“heel” have been used in the context of the show in the past, but to put them
on a shirt seems absolutely ludicrous.
The shirts actually don’t intrigue me as much as the fact
that they were actually authorized by someone. I mean it took a couple of days
or even hours before the infamous Sin Cara t-shirts were pulled, why should
this be any different? I guess the WWE just don’t care about the fact that
these terms have been acknowledged, after all Ziggler has “#heel” on the back
of his tights which is a completely different matter entirely.
Another thing that absolutely astonishes me is the fact that
people are actually buying these t-shirts. Besides the fact they are badly made
and pretty ugly, what so called “smart fan” would actually buy one of these?
Surely if you are smart you wouldn’t by one of these and if you are not then
why would these interest you in the first place?
These shirts aren’t a tremendous insult to the business,
although I don’t feel that they should have been released because I do find
them stupid. It’s fine to break kayfabe in share holders meetings or radio
shows, but to openly acknowledge it in the merchandise sector, a market that is
theoretically based around the suspension of disbelieve is profoundly strange
and idiotic.
Recommendations for
February 2012
WWE
In terms of in ring performance, the WWE in month of February
wasn’t the best. Yes we had the chamber which almost always produces great
matches, but this year the Elimination Chamber pay-per view didn’t deliver the
stellar mainevent caliber chamber matches it is known for. But, it hasn’t been
all bad this month in terms of WWE produced content, Raw has been delivering at
a consistently higher level than has been doing the past few months.
February produced some great promos from all the
participants in this year’s WrestleMania matches, from Jericho to Cena most of
the content has been good. Granted the content of the programming at the
beginning of the month was far from stellar, partly due to the Kane vs. Cena
angle. The main problems were mostly focused on the build to the Chamber, but
the build to Mania has been consistent the whole way through, producing some
enjoyable and memorable content.
Japan
New Japan
The most notable match from New Japan this month was by far
the IWGP heavyweight championship match, between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika
Okada. The match was great and will probably be one of the best matches from
the first quarter of this year, but most people who follow the product view the
change as questionable.
New Japan made the announcement that they were purchased by
anime and card game company Bushi Road this month, although for a small amount.
But, the choice to change the title was apparently made before the sale.
All Japan
In terms of pure ring work, All Japan has been one of the
best promotions of the year so far. They have produced great show after great
show, with amazing triple crown title defenses from Jun Akiyama (age 42) as
well as the Junior Heavyweights.
Akiyama put on what will probably be one of the best All
Japan matches of the year together with Takao Ōmori also age 42 on the February
3rd All Japan show from Korakuen Hall. Although both men may not be
in their prime they put on a great match, the show also featured a good junior
heavyweight championship match between Kenny Omega and Kaz Hayashi.
The trend of great All Japan shows and matches continued
throughout the month with great banquet shows and it looks like it is going to
continue into March.
Misc
All Together
I am not going to touch too much on All Together, since it
was already addressed earlier in the newsletter. The show was easy to sit
through and was really just a genuine feel good show with a great mainevent.
The show isn’t a must see, however the main and semi mainevents were both
really good matches.
Kensuke Office
Renamed Diamond Ring
The Japanese promotion Kensuke Office has been rechristened
Diamond Ring and to commemorate this change they put on a special “renaming”
show of sorts. This show ran for around two hours and featured some great
matches. The mainevent between Nakajima and Shingo was great and would have
been even better if Shingo continued to sell the injured arm throughout the
match. The semi-main event was also great, a tag match between the team of
Kenta Kobashi and Jun Akiyama taking of the team of Kensuke Sasaki and
Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya. The tag match arguably featured greater psychology and
storytelling, with Kitanomiya getting worked on and partially bloodied by
Kobashi and Akiyama. He was pinned, but he got over in a big way, because of
the way he show cased his fighting spirit.
Diamond Ring “Kensuke
Office Changes” 2012/02/11
1. Kikutaro & Numazu Man vs. Masao Inoue &
"Hollywood" Stalker Ichikawa
* ½
2. Ultimo Dragon, Taiji Ishimori & Satoshi Kajiwara vs
Kazunari Murakami, NOSAWA
Rongai & Takeshi Minamino
** ¾
3. Fujita "Jr." Hayato vs. Kento Miyahara
*** ¼
4. Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. Kensuke Sasaki &
Mitsuhiro Kitanomiya
****
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shingo Takagi
**** ¼
Next Week’s Issue
In next week’s issue we cover the Ring of Honor 10th
Anniversary Event, RAW, the continued build to WrestleMania, all the news from
the week and more! For more on next week’s issue visit
cubedcirclewrestling.blogspot.com.
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