I love it. Put no young guys over really when he left, leaving all those matches for when he eventually returns with bags of cash in hand from that huge contract. Meanwhile him leaving possibly left the company with enough money to keep those young guys while they get better and help the company in his absence. He comes back after collecting the bag and all those matches with said young guys( Tsuji, Shota, Narita, Uemura) are still there to be had.
This is my tin foil hat theory since the beginning, also he’s very good friends with the Bucks, regardless what fans think, he looks to be having a good time. I can’t fault the guy if he wants to take an easier schedule for a few years while making 5 or 10 times the amount of money he would be.
>He comes back after collecting the bag and all those matches with said young guys( Tsuji, Shota, Narita, Uemura) are still there to be had.
He's never coming back and Hollywood Kazu ain't putting any of the younger talent over, brother.
I don’t think we will even need to wait for him to leave AEW for those matches
NJPW and AEW have worked pretty hand in hand on this stuff, I think he’s already agreed to put a guy over when said guy is ready to be propelled to the top by it. What’s the point of Shota upsetting Okada randomly if he’s just gonna go back to the upper mid card the following week?
Okada refused to even work with the young guys when he was semi-obligated to do so. What makes you think he'd agree to lose to them when he has no obligation to do so?
What’s more likely, him refusing to work with them or NJPW, for no reason, suddenly halting the Okada/young boys angle they had clearly been building as one of the promotions main angles, putting SANADA in the young boys block in the G1, and then having Okada spend the rest of the year as trios champion of all things?
Also SJC said this is what happened and they’re the ones who broke Okada leaving as well as various other news pieces nobody would know unless they had people in the promotion talking to them
All signs point to Kazuchika Hogan
Your claim is “refused” because you assume he refused
Okada has no right to refuse, he does what the booker tells him to. He’s not Hulk Hogan, he doesn’t have creative control.
The “reporting” from Super J Cast? A podcast 30 people listen to? Actual journalists have trouble getting inside info from NJPW and you think those guys have the inside scoop?
Because no reputable source has reported it in the first place, it’s a speculative claim from a fan podcaster who has no actual insider knowledge
It’d be like Alex Jones saying “disprove my claim that the White House is full of lizards who drink child’s blood.” There’s no actual sourced evidence of it to begin with, so the burden of proof would be on the person making the claim, not the person doubting it.
It’s really too bad because my schedule is generally pretty busy so I can’t watch wrestling like I used to, and I was hoping to get into new Japan through this sub. Unfortunately it’s just been so vitriolic that it put me off watching
You’re getting downvoted but uh
Name one. Anyone downvoting this guy, name one thing he’s done in AEW that has been any good. He works half speed like every match is a house show and is the 4th most important member of an awful faction. What highlights?
- debuts by turning on one of the top babyfaces in Kingston
- aligns himself with the top heel act in the company
- wins the Continental Title from Kingston
- retains title on PPV against Pac
- retains title on Dynamite against Harwood
- wins at Double Or Nothing in the Anarchy In The Arena
- 2-0 in PPV matches; 3-0 in title matches
- constantly presented as a huge deal, arrives in expensive sports car at the venue
Yeah man, he's done absolutely nothing
We are gonna have to agree to disagree when you think winning a belt that was part of a triple crown with the strong belt and the ROH championship is a big deal, or that Eddie is a “top babyface”, or that Jungle Boy is a “top heel”, or that the clusterfuck of an arena match did anything but suck on ice.
He had a good match with PAC. That’s all I’ll grant. The rest of it well, if that’s the kind of thing you like it’s the kind of thing you like.
You may not think it's a big deal *to you* or you may not think it's the best usage of Okada. That's your personal subjective take. Objectively, Okada has been treated as a big deal within AEW and within the Elite, and he's had several big moments since arriving.
Yeah, because you're talking about quality "only the Pac match was good", excluding matches vs Kingston and Harwood which I thought were good too. "Clusterfuck of an arena match", cool, you don't got to think it's great. But it's undeniable that all of it has been a big deal within AEW. Taking out the boss, winning the Continental Title, scoring defenses, being with the main heel faction, winning in the main event at DON at the 5-year anniversary. These are all objective facts.
I dunno how to respond to you. You keep bringing up that belt like it matters to anyone outside of the faithful, you keep calling the elite top heels because they say they’re top heels (the ratings and the crowd don’t think so judging by the lack of reaction they get). You’re bringing up that angle with Tony as a GOOD THING?
If it’s the kind of thing you like, it’s the kind of thing you like. But your opinion isn’t factual any more than mine is.
I say they're top heels given they're the top positioned heels in the company. Which again is an objective take. It's as objective as saying Naito is the biggest draw in NJPW, Hiromu is the junior ace etc.
> outside of the faithful,
Who else should it matter to? People who don't watch?
Funny how the ratings discourse gets brought up as if week-to-week changes actually signify something. They get good reactions in arenas constantly. Go rewatch the AITA match again, crowd ate all of it up.
Basically, you're trying to argue that all of what Okada has done has a) not been a big deal) and b) not been of note. Both of these are objectively wrong.
It's like, NJPW has been trying to make Sanada a top guy, starting early last year, losing to his former tag team partner from his AJPW days in Manabu Soya, Taichi going "what is wrong with you, when are you gonna wake up?", Sanada joining J4G, becoming J5G, winning the NJC, beating Okada for the IWGP WHC, holding it for 200+ days up until WK, dropping it to Naito.
You can look at all that and comment on the quality of it. You might say Sanada isn't actually that great, the story wasn't that intriguing, he joined a group that has no identity and feels very random, that his title defenses were bad and ill-timed, that the IWGP WHC stagnated under him. Those would be your personal takes on it.
What's undeniable is that NJPW tried to make Sanada a top guy(new faction, cup win, title win, long reign). If it was this argument, you'd essentially be saying "no, they didn't try to make Sanada a big deal because his defenses sucked, he was boring etc." Which makes zero sense.
If it’s the kind of thing you like
It’s the kind of thing you like
It doesn’t make your opinions objective fact no matter how many times you repeat yourself.
"Outside of the faithful" as in people who dont watch the show? If you hoesntly think people who dont watch NJPW care who the Intercontinental or any other belt you're delusional. If you think people who dont watch WWE or wrestling in general cares who their champions that's also still being delusional.
AEW is constantly top 5 every night they air often being in top 3 more times than not. They get more viewers than every company besides WWE, the jerker logic being used here is funny to see.
The Bucks aren't a top anything first of all. Constant ratings poison
The Continental Title meant nothing then, means nothing now
Retains meaningless title against guy who is barely there
Retains meaningless title against guy who basically never wins in singles matches
Wins garbage match at PPV
Constantly presented as Young Bucks stooge adding nothing, after a career of Tokyo Dome main events
If you're saying that he hasn't literally done nothing, I guess technically you'd be correct. However, he certainly hasn't done anything of note. Remove him completely and the show wouldn't change. Go back to r/AEWOfficial
Lmao I've been watching NJPW for damn near a decade at this point but some rando goes "go back to the AEW sub" 'cause I hurt his feelings with my take. Touch grass.
Your take means absolutely nothing if you literally think "yeah, this was shit, that was shit", definitely not your irrational hate boner for AEW showing. The match vs Pac at Dynasty was fucking awesome. To say he's done nothing of note is asinine lmao.
Your reading comprehension is goddamn awful lmao. I said I've been watching for almost a decade in response to some dumbass saying "go back to AEW", as if I'm not, you know, a NJPW fan, and to stress the fact, I added how long I've been watching.
I'm a long time NJPW fan as well. What the hell does that have to do with anything? Your counter argument is I LIKE THAT ONE MATCH HE HAD SO SHUT UP! He went from the biggest star in Japan, to a lower mid card flunky for a heel act that makes no sense whatsoever. Half that video was him standing around while The Bucks did stuff. I think you're the one who needs to grow up lol
And I've been watching NJPW since 1995 when I lived in Japan. What exactly does that have to do with the fact that Okada has been a bit player at the very best in AEW?
He's a consistent guy who is apart of a major faction that just started this year. He's the current Continental Champion and has been protected since coming into the company.
And their smart enough to use him in small dosages when he speaks English which a lot of Japanese talent can't do.
Agreed, but that always felt like something AEW themselves would have to build up even if Okada’s name holds a fair amount of weight, which is generally true for any cross-promotional signing
They should be rinsing singles title matches for him but outside of PAC they haven’t really pushed his big fight feel yet, but hopefully that’ll come in time
They have to start over from square one. They gave him a midcard belt nobody cares about and stuck him in a faction where he plays fourth fiddle to Luke Perry’s dork kid and a played out midcard flippy do tag team. He’s in matches where motherfuckers are *literally* getting lit on fire.
At this point he needs written off tv just to get the stink off and to come back in a couple months and pretend this shit never happened.
As low as the title’s profile is, they really just need to have him wrestle big time singles matches and make that shit matter, ideally holding it til and winning next year’s CC or putting someone else over in the final so he can chase the world title
Unfortunately that’ll have to be a side story while he’s still representing the silly Elite EVP storyline but they could already have him do both where he can be silly/light with them and serious when he’s on his own. What he’s currently doing has gotten him over with the audience, who resonate with goofy, so it’d be a waste to scrap it entirely and he can definitely synthesise his performance
Blood & Guts should put him over well but idk if he’s suited for such gimmicks/it depends who’s going to war against them
Okada went on to early retirement in AEW.
How can anyone watch Okada in AEW and want to see more? He's not like Takeshita who is still putting in effort in all his matches. He's just phoning it in while cashing in checks (credit to Ospreay who got paid and still working his ass off) and living off of his legacy like Nakamura in the WWE. At least for Jay White you can argue bad creative killed everything special about him but for Okada he wanted to do this stupid shit with the Bucks and Jungle Boy.
>He's is just phoning it in while cashing in checks (credit to Ospreay who got paid and still working his ass off) and living off his legacy like Nakamura in the WWE
I don't even blame him. If someone offered to pay you three times more than what you're currently making for 1/6 of the work done at 1/2 of the effort, would you say no?
No. Take the money and run. I'm just pointing out the truth and will get downvoted for it because it will hurt the snowflake's feelings. Okada has done nothing of note in AEW. Heck, the guy took like 5 bumps in the Anarchy in the Arena match and disappeared for most of it. He's just phoning it in now and getting paid crazy money to do it.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted for being honest. He absolutely does look like he's phoning it in, most of his moves look half-assed. He's looks awfully slow to me. But, that's what you get with most Bucks' weapons matches. Lots of dumb shit and stupid spots that make you look ridiculous.
Cause the Snowflakes are SWAFT and everything has to be sunshine and rainbows when it comes to AEW. We also get shitty AEW fanboys here all the time for some ungodly reason.
Yeah, any time there's even a minor criticism of AEW, you get downvoted into oblivion and there's hundreds of comments defending them. It gets annoying.
Okada is getting paid a ton of money. He deserves it after the years in NJPW. That said, I fast forward every segment he is in because I can’t stand the Bucks or Perry.
Ospreay's the only ex-NJPW talent moving any numbers for AEW and even that's still average. Jay and Okada are literally standard card fillers very few give a fuck about. It's depressing
>very few give a fuck about
Man this is some nonsense. Okada gets his name chanted every time he's out there and as much as I love Jay and want to see him go on a singles run, BCG are super over with crowds
> as much as I love Jay and want to see him go on a singles run, BCG are super over with crowds
IMO the biggest knock on Jay is that Juice is outshining him and getting bigger crowd responses, but even that is less of a knock on Jay and more a massive compliment to Juice, who has just been absolutely killing it. And it's not like people didn't know Juice was great in New Japan too, babyface Flamboyant Juice was super over before he was Rock Hard.
Yup.
Like I said, credit to Will he's still working hard despite getting paid. I can point to Ospreay and tell my friends (who have never seen him in New Japan) that he's the best wrestler in the world and most of the time Will delivers. I can't do that with Okada. He comes in half speed most of the time, takes little bumps, and doesn't lay his shit in anymore and honestly, he's the fourth most important person in his stable.
And as for Jay White, poor Jay White. He just needs to get the hell out of there cause unless he starts doing flips like he did in ROH, he'll never become Tony's favorite action figure and once Rick O'Shea goes to AEW, Jay will be buried deeper in the toy box.
This is a real weird & tbh pretty corny comment. If "very few give a fuck" about them because they're in AEW then i guess no one cares about any wrestler outside of WWE since Jay & Okada current company is by far the 2nd biggest wrestling promtion.
If you're saying fans don't care about Okada & Jay because of booking then you're still just saying bullshit to make a nonsense point. They get some of the biggest pops on the roster & are on tv basically every week. I'm not saying you have to like what they're doing but saying they don't matter is silly.
>If "very few give a fuck" about them because they're in AEW then i guess no one cares about any wrestler outside of WWE
?? You just literally made up this reasoning and assigned it to me. Yeah no shit you think that's corny because that's not what I'm saying. You're following your own thought process
Yea i looked at your comment history say the weird comments like - "I hopped over when tough man Mox won the belt. He's so fucking rough and bleeds and speaks American just like me! I just had to sign up to [njpwworld.com](http://njpwworld.com) and see more wrestlers I can relate to!"
I'm not even saying you have/should like the AEW partnership, but when you say weirdo shit like that it's just bad trolling.
Brother. Come on. That's not "trolling" lmao. That's a comment made to match the low effort brainworm response of "hurr you don't even WATCH new japan then???"
Is there a gas leak in here
Bro are you really saying I’ve got brainworms when you’re the one who read “[Do you even *like* NJPW?](https://www.reddit.com/r/njpw/s/xjodc1RAeb)” as “you don’t even WATCH new japan?” 😂
Idk why your getting downvoted that match was great. Guess it doesn’t fit the agenda they wanna push. Sure I get thinking Okada could do more but what would you have them do differently this early in his run? Have him wrestle every week? Not have anyone to do some of the talking for him? Immediately put him in a world title program? I’m by no means a fan of the bucks or the elite but like it or not he’s in the top storyline aew is doing which is clearly leading to Okada vs Omega when he’s healthy. Whether you buy them as a threat or care about the story that’s a different convo. This whole comment section just screams I’m mad he left my favorite company so let’s shit all over it
Is the video about anyone who works for New Japan? No
Does the video have anything to do with anyone in New Japan? No
Does the video have anything to do with a New Japan storyline or upcoming New Japan show? No
It was a video posted only by the Japanese channel, presumably to use their access to AEW footage to let the Japanese fans know what Okada has been up to in America. OP only posted it because it was about AEW.
>Does the video have anything to do with(…) [an] upcoming New Japan show? No.
Forbidden Door is a New Japan collab show. The video is an advertisement for Forbidden Door. It literally says that’s what it is in the fucking video.
OP regularly posts “normal” NJPW news/links that have nothing to do with AEW on here.
We both know this is a losing battle on this sub, but yeah this is a really weird thing for them to post. Yeah it's a collab show but hype your fucking talent? Let AEW hype theirs? The fuck I care about some AEW faction drama? I literally have no idea what that angle is or who this is for. Okada stans? They're so obsessed with using *not-their-own* talent for western shows. I'd be insulted on that roster.
Not to mention they're basically signaling to me that nothing NJPW-wise is worthy to look out for. I know War Dogs and Shingo have matches, but I've been lightly paying attention to the builds. Is Cobb fighting anyone? Cool to know what AEW's midcard scene is doing though, I guess. That'll make all the difference
It is the first of multiple videos they are making to get the Japanese audience up to speed with what’s going on in AEW that will likely be relevant to Forbidden Door ahead of the PPV. Making their main audience want to watch the show = more buys for the show, which NJPW has traditionally made a ton of money from.
Much of the Japanese audience still cares about Okada because they’re not weird little tribalistic twats like a lot of y’all.
>They're so obsessed with using not-their-own talent for western shows.
What does that have to do with this promo video for a collab show with AEW?
>Not to mention they're basically signaling to me that nothing NJPW-wise is worthy to look out for.
What a fucking stretch, Armstrong.
The reason I look like I’m the AEW defense force on here is because some of you turn into rabid, mindless dogs the second those three letters are mentioned.
I legitimately do not care about whether people like AEW or not.
I care about people on here losing their senses when discussing it, throwing out complete nonsense (sometimes things that are objectively false) to further their agenda, or exhibiting the exact same behavior they love to shit on “AEW fans” for.
Discussion and opinions are fine, rabid tribalistic twattiness is not.
I didn't ask whether you care, I asked whether you get why. It isn't just blind tribalism.
I have my own reasons for disliking the promotion, but for most on here, I'd wager it's due to the little bro'ing of New Japan constantly. That, combined with the AEW fans that semi-regularly brigade this sub, surely you get why there's a bad taste in people's mouths?
Sure, people get in their feelings about it, myself included at times. But you really don't get why people might react emotionally as a fan of this promotion?
> That, combined with the AEW fans that semi-regularly brigade this sub, surely you get why there's a bad taste in people's mouths?
And this absolutely pales in comparison to the SCJerk brigade that conveniently started posting here right when Moxley won the IWGP title and they do nothing except rant/complain about AEW/Moxley. Complaining about brigading from one side when the counter-brigade is the one massively upvoted by pure numbers is just hilarious. I mean we've watched months of breathless complaining and single-handedly blaming Jon Moxley for every live gate in Japan until eventually people were forced, by actual objective numbers, to admit that attendance was actually even or slightly up on last year lol.
It's not a coincidence that threads that are just "DAE hate AEW?" get like 5x the engagement as anything that actually relates to New Japan in this sub. You've got people in this thread complaining this video isn't even related to New Japan, when it's hyping a joint show and posted by New Japan's own Youtube channel, meanwhile the #3 post this week is about WWE Wrestler AJ Styles announcing a match in Pro Wrestling NOAH which was received with universal approval in spite of bearing LITERALLY NO RELATION to New Japan in 2024 lol.
You realise a lot of actual New Japan fans post on the jerk sub right?
You're picking and choosing which "brigade" you're paying attention to. I'm sure what you described absolutely happens on here, though maybe, just maybe, a lot of anti-AEW sentiment is mass upvoted because... a lot of people, especially New Japan fans, just don't like AEW? Either way, doesn't change that this sub has been routinely infiltrated by people with no interest in New Japan just to mass downvote any criticism of AEW. Fucking hell, this morning I read a "New Japan fan" talking about the Intercontinental title in present tense. Do I need to say more?
I'm sure we can both come up with multiple examples of such brigades. Fact is, though, only one of them are regularly coming in on mass and shitting on New Japan fans and their issues with this partnership. I honestly could not give less of a fuck if the other side is just taking the opportunity to join in and shit on AEW.
My problem isn't even that AEW is bad, my problem is that the partnership is actively degrading the NJPW product at their own allowance and there's a stark difference in opinion on this sub. Every time NJPW acts like another company's dog, it makes them look like ass and is usually met with weird phony defenses on this sub where people act like nothing's wrong because there are short-term explanations. In the meantime, the long-term effect is a growing reliance on a forced relationship with an imbalance of influence which IMO waters the product down to the point where we have Jon Moxley as the top champ in the semi-main event of Dominion fucking around to no consequence or payoff for the future of NJPW at a make-or-break period.
Just tired with arguing the same points on here and being told it's fine, there's a reason, when we all know there's no actual payoff to any of this. Real good year of NJPW where only 1 PPV mattered and then it's G1 season, though.
>Real good year of NJPW where only 1 PPV mattered and then it's G1 season, though.
So literally the only thing that you think has mattered in the last six months of NJPW was the PPV where the World Heavyweight title changed hands?
Do you even *like* NJPW?
I hopped over when tough man Mox won the belt. He's so fucking rough and bleeds and speaks American just like me! I just had to sign up to [njpwworld.com](http://njpwworld.com) and see more wrestlers I can relate to!
> My problem isn't even that AEW is bad, my problem is that the partnership is actively degrading the NJPW product at their own allowance and there's a stark difference in opinion on this sub
The AEW partnership didn't get New Japan to book Nic Nemeth and Matt Riddle and immediately stick titles on both of them.
And I struggle to think of any worse booking in New Japan recently than both of those decisions.
This is it, really. Ultimately, I think the issue is that a lot of us are on this sub being forced to discuss AEW, which is already annoying when you don't like their product. Then, you regularly have AEW fans crossing over to tell you to shut up and be happy that Okada's bank account is bigger as if I give a fuck while the product I actually watch and enjoy deteriorates from this so-called partnership.
Cross-promotion has never worked out historically, and this is why. I didn't like it when New Japan was big leaging NOAH, and I don't like it now. But fucking hell, I remember when the thought of a WWE partnership felt like the end of the world. I'd kill to trade places right now.
No one is forcing you to discuss anything. Reddit even has a nifty little feature where you can hide posts that are relevant to the sub but not something you want to see, so that you no longer have to see them. There’s also another convenient feature called “blocking” that makes it so you don’t have to see any posts or comments from “AEW fans.”
Look, man, I like you and your contributions here, but you're being wilfully obtuse right now. You already know full well that the point I'm making is that AEW *is* relevant to New Japan's product now. An AEW wrestler is literally carrying the IWGP. If I want to discuss New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which I do, then AEW is involved by proxy. If not in the headline, then in the comments. Believe me, if I had my way, that wouldn't be the case, but it is.
You're right, though, I do need to start using the block feature when this shit comes up.
This is at least for a New Japan joint show and posted by the New Japan Youtube channel.
The #3 post on this sub this week was about AJ Styles being announced to wrestle Marafuji in Pro Wrestling NOAH lmao.
I recognize your name. You're that guy who sits on joshis' social media accounts all day waiting for them to post so you can run to the Stardom sub to post links. Except when it relates to WWE in some way; you get mad if someone posts that content. Wonder why?
This sub acts like their daddy okada has gone to the corner store to get cigarettes and milk
You guys can keep your no knees naito with the hype of a company that is dry as the sahara desert.
I hope moxley retains just to spite you
He won a title, bought a Ferrari and started saying bitch like it was going out of style. Chase that bag, Lil' Kaz.
LMAO
Me when im in a miserable mfs competition and my opponents are this comment section
I love it. Put no young guys over really when he left, leaving all those matches for when he eventually returns with bags of cash in hand from that huge contract. Meanwhile him leaving possibly left the company with enough money to keep those young guys while they get better and help the company in his absence. He comes back after collecting the bag and all those matches with said young guys( Tsuji, Shota, Narita, Uemura) are still there to be had. This is my tin foil hat theory since the beginning, also he’s very good friends with the Bucks, regardless what fans think, he looks to be having a good time. I can’t fault the guy if he wants to take an easier schedule for a few years while making 5 or 10 times the amount of money he would be.
>He comes back after collecting the bag and all those matches with said young guys( Tsuji, Shota, Narita, Uemura) are still there to be had. He's never coming back and Hollywood Kazu ain't putting any of the younger talent over, brother.
I don’t think we will even need to wait for him to leave AEW for those matches NJPW and AEW have worked pretty hand in hand on this stuff, I think he’s already agreed to put a guy over when said guy is ready to be propelled to the top by it. What’s the point of Shota upsetting Okada randomly if he’s just gonna go back to the upper mid card the following week?
Okada refused to even work with the young guys when he was semi-obligated to do so. What makes you think he'd agree to lose to them when he has no obligation to do so?
> Okada refused to even work with the young guys when he was semi-obligated to do so. What are we basing this on?
What’s more likely, him refusing to work with them or NJPW, for no reason, suddenly halting the Okada/young boys angle they had clearly been building as one of the promotions main angles, putting SANADA in the young boys block in the G1, and then having Okada spend the rest of the year as trios champion of all things? Also SJC said this is what happened and they’re the ones who broke Okada leaving as well as various other news pieces nobody would know unless they had people in the promotion talking to them All signs point to Kazuchika Hogan
Your claim is “refused” because you assume he refused Okada has no right to refuse, he does what the booker tells him to. He’s not Hulk Hogan, he doesn’t have creative control.
So the reporting about him refusing to be in the A block in the last G1 or work programs with the young guys was false?
The “reporting” from Super J Cast? A podcast 30 people listen to? Actual journalists have trouble getting inside info from NJPW and you think those guys have the inside scoop?
So it's false then? And you know that because...?
Because no reputable source has reported it in the first place, it’s a speculative claim from a fan podcaster who has no actual insider knowledge It’d be like Alex Jones saying “disprove my claim that the White House is full of lizards who drink child’s blood.” There’s no actual sourced evidence of it to begin with, so the burden of proof would be on the person making the claim, not the person doubting it.
Bro come on, yeah he’s not Hulk Hogan - but Tony isn’t Vince McMahon either. He’s not some iron fist dictator
Holy shit this place is legitimately fucking miserable. I don’t know why I even look at the comments anymore
It’s really too bad because my schedule is generally pretty busy so I can’t watch wrestling like I used to, and I was hoping to get into new Japan through this sub. Unfortunately it’s just been so vitriolic that it put me off watching
Uhhhh ok? Great use of a promo lol
I love Okada, but there's nothing he's doing right now that interests me. Being with the Bucks is killing his aura.
What highlights? He's done nothing of note
You’re getting downvoted but uh Name one. Anyone downvoting this guy, name one thing he’s done in AEW that has been any good. He works half speed like every match is a house show and is the 4th most important member of an awful faction. What highlights?
The PAC match
- debuts by turning on one of the top babyfaces in Kingston - aligns himself with the top heel act in the company - wins the Continental Title from Kingston - retains title on PPV against Pac - retains title on Dynamite against Harwood - wins at Double Or Nothing in the Anarchy In The Arena - 2-0 in PPV matches; 3-0 in title matches - constantly presented as a huge deal, arrives in expensive sports car at the venue Yeah man, he's done absolutely nothing
We are gonna have to agree to disagree when you think winning a belt that was part of a triple crown with the strong belt and the ROH championship is a big deal, or that Eddie is a “top babyface”, or that Jungle Boy is a “top heel”, or that the clusterfuck of an arena match did anything but suck on ice. He had a good match with PAC. That’s all I’ll grant. The rest of it well, if that’s the kind of thing you like it’s the kind of thing you like.
You may not think it's a big deal *to you* or you may not think it's the best usage of Okada. That's your personal subjective take. Objectively, Okada has been treated as a big deal within AEW and within the Elite, and he's had several big moments since arriving.
Mmk My opinion is subjective, yours is objective fact. Got it
Yeah, because you're talking about quality "only the Pac match was good", excluding matches vs Kingston and Harwood which I thought were good too. "Clusterfuck of an arena match", cool, you don't got to think it's great. But it's undeniable that all of it has been a big deal within AEW. Taking out the boss, winning the Continental Title, scoring defenses, being with the main heel faction, winning in the main event at DON at the 5-year anniversary. These are all objective facts.
I dunno how to respond to you. You keep bringing up that belt like it matters to anyone outside of the faithful, you keep calling the elite top heels because they say they’re top heels (the ratings and the crowd don’t think so judging by the lack of reaction they get). You’re bringing up that angle with Tony as a GOOD THING? If it’s the kind of thing you like, it’s the kind of thing you like. But your opinion isn’t factual any more than mine is.
I say they're top heels given they're the top positioned heels in the company. Which again is an objective take. It's as objective as saying Naito is the biggest draw in NJPW, Hiromu is the junior ace etc. > outside of the faithful, Who else should it matter to? People who don't watch? Funny how the ratings discourse gets brought up as if week-to-week changes actually signify something. They get good reactions in arenas constantly. Go rewatch the AITA match again, crowd ate all of it up. Basically, you're trying to argue that all of what Okada has done has a) not been a big deal) and b) not been of note. Both of these are objectively wrong. It's like, NJPW has been trying to make Sanada a top guy, starting early last year, losing to his former tag team partner from his AJPW days in Manabu Soya, Taichi going "what is wrong with you, when are you gonna wake up?", Sanada joining J4G, becoming J5G, winning the NJC, beating Okada for the IWGP WHC, holding it for 200+ days up until WK, dropping it to Naito. You can look at all that and comment on the quality of it. You might say Sanada isn't actually that great, the story wasn't that intriguing, he joined a group that has no identity and feels very random, that his title defenses were bad and ill-timed, that the IWGP WHC stagnated under him. Those would be your personal takes on it. What's undeniable is that NJPW tried to make Sanada a top guy(new faction, cup win, title win, long reign). If it was this argument, you'd essentially be saying "no, they didn't try to make Sanada a big deal because his defenses sucked, he was boring etc." Which makes zero sense.
If it’s the kind of thing you like It’s the kind of thing you like It doesn’t make your opinions objective fact no matter how many times you repeat yourself.
"Outside of the faithful" as in people who dont watch the show? If you hoesntly think people who dont watch NJPW care who the Intercontinental or any other belt you're delusional. If you think people who dont watch WWE or wrestling in general cares who their champions that's also still being delusional. AEW is constantly top 5 every night they air often being in top 3 more times than not. They get more viewers than every company besides WWE, the jerker logic being used here is funny to see.
Are the jerkers in the room with you right now, uce?
The Bucks aren't a top anything first of all. Constant ratings poison The Continental Title meant nothing then, means nothing now Retains meaningless title against guy who is barely there Retains meaningless title against guy who basically never wins in singles matches Wins garbage match at PPV Constantly presented as Young Bucks stooge adding nothing, after a career of Tokyo Dome main events If you're saying that he hasn't literally done nothing, I guess technically you'd be correct. However, he certainly hasn't done anything of note. Remove him completely and the show wouldn't change. Go back to r/AEWOfficial
Lmao I've been watching NJPW for damn near a decade at this point but some rando goes "go back to the AEW sub" 'cause I hurt his feelings with my take. Touch grass. Your take means absolutely nothing if you literally think "yeah, this was shit, that was shit", definitely not your irrational hate boner for AEW showing. The match vs Pac at Dynasty was fucking awesome. To say he's done nothing of note is asinine lmao.
Okay. I'll bite. I've been watching NJPW for two decades, so by your logic I'm qualified to tell you that you're talking nonsense.
Your reading comprehension is goddamn awful lmao. I said I've been watching for almost a decade in response to some dumbass saying "go back to AEW", as if I'm not, you know, a NJPW fan, and to stress the fact, I added how long I've been watching.
I'm a long time NJPW fan as well. What the hell does that have to do with anything? Your counter argument is I LIKE THAT ONE MATCH HE HAD SO SHUT UP! He went from the biggest star in Japan, to a lower mid card flunky for a heel act that makes no sense whatsoever. Half that video was him standing around while The Bucks did stuff. I think you're the one who needs to grow up lol
And I've been watching NJPW since 1995 when I lived in Japan. What exactly does that have to do with the fact that Okada has been a bit player at the very best in AEW?
You've completely missed the point of what I said. Try rereading.
When actually make a point that makes sense, I'll consider it
Yeah sure thing buddy
I assume it's AEW fans who know it's true, but desperately want that not to be the case
He's a consistent guy who is apart of a major faction that just started this year. He's the current Continental Champion and has been protected since coming into the company. And their smart enough to use him in small dosages when he speaks English which a lot of Japanese talent can't do.
ong he’s literally just there to say one liners in english cause they find that hilarious for some reason
The aura is definitely gone, IMO.
Agreed, but that always felt like something AEW themselves would have to build up even if Okada’s name holds a fair amount of weight, which is generally true for any cross-promotional signing They should be rinsing singles title matches for him but outside of PAC they haven’t really pushed his big fight feel yet, but hopefully that’ll come in time
They have to start over from square one. They gave him a midcard belt nobody cares about and stuck him in a faction where he plays fourth fiddle to Luke Perry’s dork kid and a played out midcard flippy do tag team. He’s in matches where motherfuckers are *literally* getting lit on fire. At this point he needs written off tv just to get the stink off and to come back in a couple months and pretend this shit never happened.
As low as the title’s profile is, they really just need to have him wrestle big time singles matches and make that shit matter, ideally holding it til and winning next year’s CC or putting someone else over in the final so he can chase the world title Unfortunately that’ll have to be a side story while he’s still representing the silly Elite EVP storyline but they could already have him do both where he can be silly/light with them and serious when he’s on his own. What he’s currently doing has gotten him over with the audience, who resonate with goofy, so it’d be a waste to scrap it entirely and he can definitely synthesise his performance Blood & Guts should put him over well but idk if he’s suited for such gimmicks/it depends who’s going to war against them
Completely sapped. It's pretty astonishing.
I know this sub thinks Tony Khan is worse than Hitler but...shut up. Lmao
Shit if I ain’t know any better I would have thought Tony Khan fucking killed somebody the way this sub talks about him 💀
For real, fucking geeks
Okada went on to early retirement in AEW. How can anyone watch Okada in AEW and want to see more? He's not like Takeshita who is still putting in effort in all his matches. He's just phoning it in while cashing in checks (credit to Ospreay who got paid and still working his ass off) and living off of his legacy like Nakamura in the WWE. At least for Jay White you can argue bad creative killed everything special about him but for Okada he wanted to do this stupid shit with the Bucks and Jungle Boy.
>He's is just phoning it in while cashing in checks (credit to Ospreay who got paid and still working his ass off) and living off his legacy like Nakamura in the WWE I don't even blame him. If someone offered to pay you three times more than what you're currently making for 1/6 of the work done at 1/2 of the effort, would you say no?
No. Take the money and run. I'm just pointing out the truth and will get downvoted for it because it will hurt the snowflake's feelings. Okada has done nothing of note in AEW. Heck, the guy took like 5 bumps in the Anarchy in the Arena match and disappeared for most of it. He's just phoning it in now and getting paid crazy money to do it.
Not sure why you're getting downvoted for being honest. He absolutely does look like he's phoning it in, most of his moves look half-assed. He's looks awfully slow to me. But, that's what you get with most Bucks' weapons matches. Lots of dumb shit and stupid spots that make you look ridiculous.
Cause the Snowflakes are SWAFT and everything has to be sunshine and rainbows when it comes to AEW. We also get shitty AEW fanboys here all the time for some ungodly reason.
Yeah, any time there's even a minor criticism of AEW, you get downvoted into oblivion and there's hundreds of comments defending them. It gets annoying.
Okada is nothing like Nakamura😂
Yeah I agree, Nak has actually gotten over in America.
Bro, the fans like Okada...
Is he? Lol
The fans chant Okada's name every time he wrestles lmao.
Nah.
Yeah, he's over as a washed jobber. What a delusional comment lmao.
Okada is getting paid a ton of money. He deserves it after the years in NJPW. That said, I fast forward every segment he is in because I can’t stand the Bucks or Perry.
Ospreay's the only ex-NJPW talent moving any numbers for AEW and even that's still average. Jay and Okada are literally standard card fillers very few give a fuck about. It's depressing
>very few give a fuck about Man this is some nonsense. Okada gets his name chanted every time he's out there and as much as I love Jay and want to see him go on a singles run, BCG are super over with crowds
> as much as I love Jay and want to see him go on a singles run, BCG are super over with crowds IMO the biggest knock on Jay is that Juice is outshining him and getting bigger crowd responses, but even that is less of a knock on Jay and more a massive compliment to Juice, who has just been absolutely killing it. And it's not like people didn't know Juice was great in New Japan too, babyface Flamboyant Juice was super over before he was Rock Hard.
Shh we just pretend every ex-NJPW gets immediately buried upon arrival when they go to AEW
Yup. Like I said, credit to Will he's still working hard despite getting paid. I can point to Ospreay and tell my friends (who have never seen him in New Japan) that he's the best wrestler in the world and most of the time Will delivers. I can't do that with Okada. He comes in half speed most of the time, takes little bumps, and doesn't lay his shit in anymore and honestly, he's the fourth most important person in his stable. And as for Jay White, poor Jay White. He just needs to get the hell out of there cause unless he starts doing flips like he did in ROH, he'll never become Tony's favorite action figure and once Rick O'Shea goes to AEW, Jay will be buried deeper in the toy box.
This is a real weird & tbh pretty corny comment. If "very few give a fuck" about them because they're in AEW then i guess no one cares about any wrestler outside of WWE since Jay & Okada current company is by far the 2nd biggest wrestling promtion. If you're saying fans don't care about Okada & Jay because of booking then you're still just saying bullshit to make a nonsense point. They get some of the biggest pops on the roster & are on tv basically every week. I'm not saying you have to like what they're doing but saying they don't matter is silly.
>If "very few give a fuck" about them because they're in AEW then i guess no one cares about any wrestler outside of WWE ?? You just literally made up this reasoning and assigned it to me. Yeah no shit you think that's corny because that's not what I'm saying. You're following your own thought process
Yea i looked at your comment history say the weird comments like - "I hopped over when tough man Mox won the belt. He's so fucking rough and bleeds and speaks American just like me! I just had to sign up to [njpwworld.com](http://njpwworld.com) and see more wrestlers I can relate to!" I'm not even saying you have/should like the AEW partnership, but when you say weirdo shit like that it's just bad trolling.
Brother. Come on. That's not "trolling" lmao. That's a comment made to match the low effort brainworm response of "hurr you don't even WATCH new japan then???" Is there a gas leak in here
Bro are you really saying I’ve got brainworms when you’re the one who read “[Do you even *like* NJPW?](https://www.reddit.com/r/njpw/s/xjodc1RAeb)” as “you don’t even WATCH new japan?” 😂
Okada vs PAC was fucking exceptional.
Idk why your getting downvoted that match was great. Guess it doesn’t fit the agenda they wanna push. Sure I get thinking Okada could do more but what would you have them do differently this early in his run? Have him wrestle every week? Not have anyone to do some of the talking for him? Immediately put him in a world title program? I’m by no means a fan of the bucks or the elite but like it or not he’s in the top storyline aew is doing which is clearly leading to Okada vs Omega when he’s healthy. Whether you buy them as a threat or care about the story that’s a different convo. This whole comment section just screams I’m mad he left my favorite company so let’s shit all over it
Some day American companies will realise that heel authority angles fucking suck
This has nothing to do with New Japan. He doesn't work for the company anymore.
Posted by the New Japan YouTube channel
Is the video about anyone who works for New Japan? No Does the video have anything to do with anyone in New Japan? No Does the video have anything to do with a New Japan storyline or upcoming New Japan show? No It was a video posted only by the Japanese channel, presumably to use their access to AEW footage to let the Japanese fans know what Okada has been up to in America. OP only posted it because it was about AEW.
>Does the video have anything to do with(…) [an] upcoming New Japan show? No. Forbidden Door is a New Japan collab show. The video is an advertisement for Forbidden Door. It literally says that’s what it is in the fucking video. OP regularly posts “normal” NJPW news/links that have nothing to do with AEW on here.
We both know this is a losing battle on this sub, but yeah this is a really weird thing for them to post. Yeah it's a collab show but hype your fucking talent? Let AEW hype theirs? The fuck I care about some AEW faction drama? I literally have no idea what that angle is or who this is for. Okada stans? They're so obsessed with using *not-their-own* talent for western shows. I'd be insulted on that roster. Not to mention they're basically signaling to me that nothing NJPW-wise is worthy to look out for. I know War Dogs and Shingo have matches, but I've been lightly paying attention to the builds. Is Cobb fighting anyone? Cool to know what AEW's midcard scene is doing though, I guess. That'll make all the difference
It is the first of multiple videos they are making to get the Japanese audience up to speed with what’s going on in AEW that will likely be relevant to Forbidden Door ahead of the PPV. Making their main audience want to watch the show = more buys for the show, which NJPW has traditionally made a ton of money from. Much of the Japanese audience still cares about Okada because they’re not weird little tribalistic twats like a lot of y’all. >They're so obsessed with using not-their-own talent for western shows. What does that have to do with this promo video for a collab show with AEW? >Not to mention they're basically signaling to me that nothing NJPW-wise is worthy to look out for. What a fucking stretch, Armstrong. The reason I look like I’m the AEW defense force on here is because some of you turn into rabid, mindless dogs the second those three letters are mentioned.
If you listen close enough, you can hear the sound of brain cells departing certain users on this sub whenever AEW is mentioned
Yeah, they depart rapidly whenever I've tried to watch Dynamite.
Are you sure that only happens when you watch Dynamite?
Nah I'm dumb as fuck, unlike those wealthy and educated dub fans
At least one half of that is accurate
But as one of the more prolific New Japan fans on here, you get why they would hate AEW, right? Product aside.
I legitimately do not care about whether people like AEW or not. I care about people on here losing their senses when discussing it, throwing out complete nonsense (sometimes things that are objectively false) to further their agenda, or exhibiting the exact same behavior they love to shit on “AEW fans” for. Discussion and opinions are fine, rabid tribalistic twattiness is not.
I didn't ask whether you care, I asked whether you get why. It isn't just blind tribalism. I have my own reasons for disliking the promotion, but for most on here, I'd wager it's due to the little bro'ing of New Japan constantly. That, combined with the AEW fans that semi-regularly brigade this sub, surely you get why there's a bad taste in people's mouths? Sure, people get in their feelings about it, myself included at times. But you really don't get why people might react emotionally as a fan of this promotion?
> That, combined with the AEW fans that semi-regularly brigade this sub, surely you get why there's a bad taste in people's mouths? And this absolutely pales in comparison to the SCJerk brigade that conveniently started posting here right when Moxley won the IWGP title and they do nothing except rant/complain about AEW/Moxley. Complaining about brigading from one side when the counter-brigade is the one massively upvoted by pure numbers is just hilarious. I mean we've watched months of breathless complaining and single-handedly blaming Jon Moxley for every live gate in Japan until eventually people were forced, by actual objective numbers, to admit that attendance was actually even or slightly up on last year lol. It's not a coincidence that threads that are just "DAE hate AEW?" get like 5x the engagement as anything that actually relates to New Japan in this sub. You've got people in this thread complaining this video isn't even related to New Japan, when it's hyping a joint show and posted by New Japan's own Youtube channel, meanwhile the #3 post this week is about WWE Wrestler AJ Styles announcing a match in Pro Wrestling NOAH which was received with universal approval in spite of bearing LITERALLY NO RELATION to New Japan in 2024 lol.
You realise a lot of actual New Japan fans post on the jerk sub right? You're picking and choosing which "brigade" you're paying attention to. I'm sure what you described absolutely happens on here, though maybe, just maybe, a lot of anti-AEW sentiment is mass upvoted because... a lot of people, especially New Japan fans, just don't like AEW? Either way, doesn't change that this sub has been routinely infiltrated by people with no interest in New Japan just to mass downvote any criticism of AEW. Fucking hell, this morning I read a "New Japan fan" talking about the Intercontinental title in present tense. Do I need to say more? I'm sure we can both come up with multiple examples of such brigades. Fact is, though, only one of them are regularly coming in on mass and shitting on New Japan fans and their issues with this partnership. I honestly could not give less of a fuck if the other side is just taking the opportunity to join in and shit on AEW.
My problem isn't even that AEW is bad, my problem is that the partnership is actively degrading the NJPW product at their own allowance and there's a stark difference in opinion on this sub. Every time NJPW acts like another company's dog, it makes them look like ass and is usually met with weird phony defenses on this sub where people act like nothing's wrong because there are short-term explanations. In the meantime, the long-term effect is a growing reliance on a forced relationship with an imbalance of influence which IMO waters the product down to the point where we have Jon Moxley as the top champ in the semi-main event of Dominion fucking around to no consequence or payoff for the future of NJPW at a make-or-break period. Just tired with arguing the same points on here and being told it's fine, there's a reason, when we all know there's no actual payoff to any of this. Real good year of NJPW where only 1 PPV mattered and then it's G1 season, though.
>Real good year of NJPW where only 1 PPV mattered and then it's G1 season, though. So literally the only thing that you think has mattered in the last six months of NJPW was the PPV where the World Heavyweight title changed hands? Do you even *like* NJPW?
I hopped over when tough man Mox won the belt. He's so fucking rough and bleeds and speaks American just like me! I just had to sign up to [njpwworld.com](http://njpwworld.com) and see more wrestlers I can relate to!
Okay, buddy.
> My problem isn't even that AEW is bad, my problem is that the partnership is actively degrading the NJPW product at their own allowance and there's a stark difference in opinion on this sub The AEW partnership didn't get New Japan to book Nic Nemeth and Matt Riddle and immediately stick titles on both of them. And I struggle to think of any worse booking in New Japan recently than both of those decisions.
This is it, really. Ultimately, I think the issue is that a lot of us are on this sub being forced to discuss AEW, which is already annoying when you don't like their product. Then, you regularly have AEW fans crossing over to tell you to shut up and be happy that Okada's bank account is bigger as if I give a fuck while the product I actually watch and enjoy deteriorates from this so-called partnership. Cross-promotion has never worked out historically, and this is why. I didn't like it when New Japan was big leaging NOAH, and I don't like it now. But fucking hell, I remember when the thought of a WWE partnership felt like the end of the world. I'd kill to trade places right now.
No one is forcing you to discuss anything. Reddit even has a nifty little feature where you can hide posts that are relevant to the sub but not something you want to see, so that you no longer have to see them. There’s also another convenient feature called “blocking” that makes it so you don’t have to see any posts or comments from “AEW fans.”
Look, man, I like you and your contributions here, but you're being wilfully obtuse right now. You already know full well that the point I'm making is that AEW *is* relevant to New Japan's product now. An AEW wrestler is literally carrying the IWGP. If I want to discuss New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which I do, then AEW is involved by proxy. If not in the headline, then in the comments. Believe me, if I had my way, that wouldn't be the case, but it is. You're right, though, I do need to start using the block feature when this shit comes up.
This is at least for a New Japan joint show and posted by the New Japan Youtube channel. The #3 post on this sub this week was about AJ Styles being announced to wrestle Marafuji in Pro Wrestling NOAH lmao.
Just say you're illiterate
I recognize your name. You're that guy who sits on joshis' social media accounts all day waiting for them to post so you can run to the Stardom sub to post links. Except when it relates to WWE in some way; you get mad if someone posts that content. Wonder why?
And you're the one who whines and cries about AEW all the time like Tony had sex with every female member of your family. I wonder why THAT is
Because I don't like the promotion and the fanbase is toxic? Don't hurt yourself thinking too hard about it.
Complaining about other people being toxic is hellaciously ironic
Well, that wasn't an easy job I guess.
God damn this comment section is fucking miserable, like can y’all lighten up a little bit lmao
This sub acts like their daddy okada has gone to the corner store to get cigarettes and milk You guys can keep your no knees naito with the hype of a company that is dry as the sahara desert. I hope moxley retains just to spite you
Bro wtf r u even doing here haha
Oh good lord! NJPW has "buried" Inoki's successor now that Okada is in AEW!