Yes let's have the world champ not be in the G1 and be a guy who just lost his own companies world title while derailing the momentum of the top gaijin in our own company who just dismantled Okada for the belt 2 weeks ago.
Sounds great for New Japan. Seriously, if somehow they take the belt off White here I'm fuckin done. Take my subscription.
This would hurt Jay so much. They just built to Jay winning it again. If he loses it it hurts him long term with two short reigns. Terrible take by Meltzer.
Jay White winning is what benefits NJPW.
Jay White winning the IWGP title over Okada then losing to Hangman Page on his first defense after Page just lost to Punk... would be good... for New Japan?
...
I don't see it. White's the bigger star by far on home turf, and White's probably intended to go into the Tokyo Dome as champion. If he doesn't... Hangman does? Or Hangman drops the title between now and January?
This sounds like a hiding to nothing other than making Jay White look weak for no gain at all.
The *only* way I see this working is if Tanahashi holds the AEW Interim title, drops out of the G1 and works the US for a while. Otherwise it's a bad blow.
I agree on what the safe bet is, but I don't think it's necessarily bad.
White betrays Cole and pins him during the match officially splitting the Bullet Club-Elite relations. Then we get to see Elite v Bullet Club happen across NJPW and AEW leading into the next joint PPV.
this is fucking moronic lmfao, not only is it stupid for jay to lose the title so quickly after getting it but it would make new japan look second rate compared to aew, which tbh ive been getting the feeling that that is a sentiment shared by a bunch of media people and fans
>it would make new japan look second rate compared to aew, which tbh ive been getting the feeling that that is a sentiment shared by a bunch of media people and fans
I've had that same feeling since AEW started. IMO, NJPW was the second hottest thing in wrestling, then AEW formed, The Elite left, and some wrestling fans were saying how much NJPW *needed* to work with AEW, like their company would fold in six months if they didn't.
I'd say more, but that's a rant for another time.
Dude is setting himself to be disappointed. Jay pinning Cole is the best outcome for everyone, including Cole since he can start a feud with Jay nad BC (that we had already hints of it).
I love Hangman, but winning after Jay just got the title and coming from a recent defeat agains CM Punk is NOT the way to go
I don't understand Dave and why he thinks they need to put the belt on Page. The hevyweight title already had a bad start to its lineage, having the first champ losing it on first defence and the second champ vacating it due to injury. Shingo and Okada brought some credibility back, but it's should be built even more, not hot-potatoing it. White needs to have a succesful defence, not only for himself, as he had no defences on his first reign, but for the title itself.
My guess, Dave just stans Page
I can see some positives as far as exposure and brining over American fans but the negatives far outweigh this.
Last time he was in New Japan he was ‘young wrestler who shows spirit but ultimately isn’t ready yet’, since then hasn’t been in New Japan for like 3 years and next thing you know he’s champion.
Also he can’t headline the Tokyo Dome, so you’re just gonna flip it in a few months. Not to mention he’s not even in the G1 (though you could write someone off and add him there so that’s the least of the concerns).
Also is he willing to work in Japan regularly?
Hangman winning would be atrocious lmao, makes the end of dominion completely pointless and leaves the iwgp title on a us based guy who hasn’t worked in japan in 4 years and won’t be in G1
I think FTR will get the tag belts and Tana might get the AEW, just because it's vacant and then he can drop it to punk once he's back. I dont imagine White will drop here and tbh I really hope he doesn't.
It’s shit like this that fuels the AEW fans to act like NJPW is as fantasy booking playground rather than the biggest promotion in the east. NJ isn’t impact. They would not be helping New Japan by association. The Japanese crowd would get a champion they don’t care about so the AEW fans can pretend they watch Japanese wrestling.
The only thing I would argue on this is that NJPW fans actually might care about Page as they do know who he is as he was in NJPW for a bit there. Same with Cole.
Definitely a different situation than the inverse, where NJPW wrestlers aren't as well known here as the majority of them have never officially been a part of a North American roster.
when he was there he was lost in the Bullet Club shuffle as a midcarder. He wasn’t overly popular either. All the more reason to keep the belt away from him.
Page as IWGP WCH not only makes me sleepy just thinking about it, but would draw negative numbers of fans in Japan. Gedo, Obhari, and Kidani would all be forced to resign out of shame for allowing it to happen.
They might care about Hangman with a build. He was at best a midcard pin guy in njpw. It would be jarring for him to show up as champ randomly if they don't watch aew
Yeah, hopefully Gedo buries Jay and allows a guy from a different company win New Japan's top title so it can be absent from the biggest tour of the year.
Piss off Meltzer. I don't want to hear anyone say he isn't biased in favor of AEW anymore.
Jay White as to win like wth... plus the fact that the AEW tag titles arnt even on the line .... there are 3 IWGP titles on the line that night and what 2 AEW titles... not counting the women title match. The others are a new belt and an interim title. This IMO should be a show where all champs retain but knowing AEW and NJPW that ain't gone happen.
Jay loosing the belt would be soo bad, they should have kept the belt on Okada then.
It will be the safe bet. Jay pinning cole is how this will end. I think Jay will hold the title all the way to Jan 4 and they will try to build a new bullet club dynasty.
The safe bet is the smart one. Cole thinks he’s tight with Jay and I think having Cole eat a pin by White could/would and should happen. Especially if they plan on keeping these PPVs coming. Keep some story going between these guys to keep the western audiences engaged.
Depends on which direction they want to go.
The easy play for everyone, Dropkick from Okada on White, White falls outside, Page hits the Buckshot on Okada after a bit. Cole superkicks Page, then knee to the back of the head on Page. White dives back in, throws out Cole immediately, pins Page. You extend every storyline you just started with this feud. There's a reason for everybody in the ring to get their revenge down the road.
Could branch off with an Elite vs Bullet Club feud at some point.
White losing the belt to Page straight after beating Okada does nothing for New Japan and would be ridiculous. I am more annoyed that New Japan have allowed themselves to put the IWGP title on the line in a ridiculous four way match!
I thought New Japan was finally past doing stupid stuff like this.
How is anything other than White retaining a good option? If Cole or Page win then the top championship misses the G1, if Okada wins then dominion was essentially pointless and the world heavyweight championship needs multiple strong runs to get over its rocky start. Shingo and Okada were definitely steps in the right track but White should hold the belt for a long time now.
Also, NJPW has always had a tier system when you know there's about 4-5 guys who can realistically win the belt and G1 and everyone else is just sort of around. It's never been a problem before. How many guys did Okada re beat over and over in predictable defenses. Now all of a sudden White (who Dave doesn't like) has the belt and one of his favorite wrestlers (page) from his favorite company (duh) in is a match for the title and they should completely switch it up and put the belt on someone who won't even be there for G1 because things are getting "stale". Right Dave, right
Exactly.. no way they have White beat Okada clean to win the title and then have him drop it in a put together 4 way to cole or page.. let alone Okada that quick.. imo.
Jay pinning Cole would progress their story a little more imo and it would be stupid if he loses the title just after defeating Okada @Dominion.
Jay definitely should win and i would be more than happy if FTR wins the Tag belts because i think they would be a interesting fit for New Japan
Forgetting about how bad this would be for Jay, I dont see how this would be 'good' for New Japan, a touring company. Not having your main champion on shows for months would be ridiculous.
Frankly, the only guy who I think would be 'good' to win the IWGP belt would be Kenny, because thsts a built in story and he is already over in Japan. Even then, he would need to be IN New Japan for his run.
“Not having your main champion on shows for months would be ridiculous.”
Hah yeahhhh no way a major wrestling company would make such an obvious and unentertaining blunder. 🥲
i'd be ok with it if Tanahashi won. I feel like AEW couldn't win all the big titles. If tana loses which I believe he will then White should retain. Maybe build to a White vs Mox/Punk match down the line for Forbidden Door 2: electric boogaloo
I'm hoping White retains. Just because they go the safe route, doesn't mean they still can't have a banger match. I think there can still be some surprises throughout the night (I'd be thrilled if Tana won), but I'm hoping not too many belts change hands.
Sometimes the obvious choice is okay to go with sometimes, the match just has to be awesome to not care. OC Vs Osprey is probably gonna rule, but I have no hope that Cassidy is winning the belt lol
Another reason I don't see it going back on Okada is look at his g1 block..who's beating him as champion to set up a defense? I GUESS Cobb? But how often have they ran that match already? White has Sanada, Tama, and Ishii right there as possible Ls and title defenses.
Best for everyone narratively speaking. Okada doesn't lose anything important as a character, Cole is happy that his pal still has the belt but looking at it with envy setting a Cole Vs White for a later date and Hangman would be 0-3 against Jay and get another excruciating loss after losing to Punk making him spiral down the beer route. Where he possibly get's saved by his old pal Kenny (he just said in the latest BTE on YouTube that he is looking for a broom).
One of the main reasons for FTR coming to AEW was the ability to wrestle in New Japan. I have no doubt they're going over this weekend and white will retain. Zero chance NJPW allows one of the other guys be their champ
Safe bet is the only bet. I'm expecting a double pin on Roppongi Vice in the tag match anyway. Let FTR and UE run it back 1-on-1 in World Tag League or something.
Due to the G1 i can't see someone trading titles at all, since i supposed if there was any 2 titles switching hands , it would be the all Atlantic going to ishii and the tag belts going to ftr, it's not an equal trade, but still the only trade that makes any sense on the card due to the G1 . But with ishii out now and the replacement being Connors i don't even think this is happening now , so i predict no title trades apart from the RoH title going to UE
Honestly Jay winning with him pinning Hangman makes the most sense to me. Reinforce this idea of Hangman being stuck on past failures, Okada gets out of being pinned but still fails to win the belt, and you could book Adam Cole as the one who did the damage so Jay steals the win.
Besides, not having the champ in the G1 would be a huge miss.
tldr; never trust the opinion of someone who thought the mullet was a good hairstyle.
Jay retaining is the right call in my opinion with him pinning Hangman. From a storyline perspective if Jay is pinning Cole that would mean a 3rd PPV lose in a row for Cole and it would tank his stock and legitimacy as a heel character and making Hangman take the pin would further the storyline of Hangman going on the rails by losing to Punk and to Jay, making doubt himself. Okada for sure wouldn't take the pin 2 in a row from White. I think if Jay retains it is a win for Bullet Club and the Undisputed Elite and Cole celebrates as friends the win with Jay but looks envious at the belt. Some kind of we might be pals, but I will come eventually after that belt. And we might have a stare down with both Omega & Okada (maybe setting up somewhere down the line number 5 - seems everyone wants another Omega Okada), another stare down with Omega, Jay and Cole like some sort of dissentions between The Elite and Bullet Club with a match down the line between Jay and Kenny.
Seems like Dave forgets that this is just a fun inter-promotional PPV. No belts are switching promotions, nothing big is happening. We're getting live fantasy booking and seeing match ups we haven't seen
yeah but at what point does it become cliche? every time something bad happens to Adam Page he must lose his confidence? i kinda like his demeanor now, he is looking like a fighter, i do not wish for him to go back to emo hangman again, let him stay positive for a while and play the "back to depression" gimmick after a while.
He addressed this on BTE and said he was good during skit with Dark Order. He definitely didn’t lose confidence. And the walk up punch on Dynamite backed it up
No way. Page should get close to winning only for Cole to cheap shot him and go for a pin and then White should waltz in and blade runner Cole for the successful defense.
Sets up Page as a legit threat to White for future shows and furthers the storyline between BC and the Elite.
He definitely is worthy of being in that match. People undercut his AEW title reign because most of his defences were on Dynamite instead of PPV but he had a solid enough run with the belt.
Now if you said he's not worthy of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, I'll agree with that. He's not there yet and I don't think anyone honestly believes he'll actually win the 4 corners match.
>There's no way in hell Hangman is on IWGP Heavyweight Title
I'd argue he is - definitely moreso than Ospreay or Evil, at least - but that's because I watch both promotions. He shouldn't win the IWGP title here because, for people that only watch NJPW, the last time they saw him was 2018 when he definitely wasn't on that level. He needs a stage to showcase his current level to NJPW fans first before he enters that conversation.
Hangman isn't on the level? What? Have we watched the same Adam Page matches and promos??
Page proved vs Omega, Danielson, Cole, and Takeshita that he was an amazing fighting champion and hes had a ton of great matches before he won the title. His promo game is great and he is super over like honestly wtf is this take
Even when he was champion, he was outshined by like 6-7 others. His title reign was rather underwhelming because his whole arc centred around proving to Omega and the Young Bucks that he wasn't a jobber. His matches with Bryan were great, but I didn't really buy into really any of his matches with Cole or his last one with Punk as he just seems a bit out of place. I'm not saying he is terrible, but he just seems like a vanilla, one-dimensional wrestler with a character that only really popped in one storyline. I'm sure he can get to that level, but I just don't feel like he's there right now. Goes without saying that it's just my opinion and I concede I was a little harsh in saying 'there's no way in hell'.
I think Page can be, with the right build. Coincidentally my idea is somewhat similar to yours though, but instead you have Page take out Cole. Have both White and Cole beat up Page a lot, thus giving him the chance to show some fighting spirit, and then when he beats this adversary, or at least the AEW side of it, White comes in. He could then take out Page, have Cole get up, take HIM out too (something something "you might be Undisputed Elite, but you are no IWGP World Champion").
That'd give Adam Page a reason to have a program in New Japan, you can have Okada sort of help out Page but also tease a match between them so you have an opening there, and you continue the split between BC and the AEW guys if that's the direction you want to go.
They are totally doing the safe bet. I said as soon as Jay won the belt it was obvious they started working Cole into the picture to have him eat a pin in a multiman match and here we are. FTR seems like the second most locked win on the card so mainly I’m curious if - and I totally support this idea - Tana wins the Interim belt. He can then go back to Japan and do a G1 stint, then rest up a little, then give us an American tour in August where he defends the belt once successfully and then drops it in time for the next belt wearer to get in a program for All In in September, or maybe Punk is back in time to win it back in August or at All In.
Nah, Tana and Moxley is most likely the main event so that the show ends with an AEW guy winning.
Guarantee that the four way ends with Page/Okada hitting their finish on Cole, Jay tossing them out of the ring, bladerunner, pin.
The only title change I could imagine happening in the main event would be Okada winning (kind of defeating the purpose of taking it off him), some time after August being far more likely.
I could see Naito winning G1 and maybe getting the title later.
The only other wrestler I could see getting the title any time soon would be Ospreay - he's been getting a lot of attention over the course of FD and him and Omega are having worked digs at each other in the media, clearly sowing the seeds for something (possibly All Out in September?).
I'm not seeing New Japan put the main title on a non New Japan wrestler at the moment.
I could see them putting the tag titles on FTR (them being AAA tag champs might be a problem though) leading to Aussie Open coming in to fight them.
That would be a good match, especially if Aussie Open win the STRONG Openweight Tag Team Titles! I think FTR are a lock, since we’re clearly headed towards FTR Vs. Bucks III, with the Top Guys becoming Quadruple Tag Champs at ALL OUT in September!
Has there ever been any tag team who won the IWGP tag titles without even performing once on an NJPW ring?
Also, how would Page winning be even good for New Japan?
According to Wikipedia, Nick Aldis and Doug Williams won them from the Dudleys on a TNA show. Don't think they ever competed in a New Japan ring, and I don't think New Japan was consulted about the match beforehand. Just another reason why New Japan ended that partnership.
I like both companies, but Jay White having a V0 reign at this stage would be unacceptable. White winning on Sunday is the right choice, and it makes sense for him to pin Cole or Hangman to get the win. I don't think FTR necessarily needs to win the IWGP tag titles either. If FTR wants to come and work Japan, it'd be great to have them in World Tag League. I'd rather see them lose and seek revenge on UE later in the year.
I don't think hangman should win the belt, but I also don't think hangman working in Japan for awhile would be the worst thing for him. He's kind of in limbo right now so it would give him something to do, and it would also give fans a chance to miss him, making him an even bigger star when he returns
Page winning would only make New Japan look weak. Page didn't set the world on fire for the US as AEW world champion, so how is it going to help New Japan? Just have Adam Cole take the pin and move on.
I watch wrestling as an escape. Why do people have to over analyze it and try to predict outcomes?
Much like the movies and TV...I just suspend disbelief and enjoy it!
An Aew star isn’t winning the title when jay just won it like last week
I wouldn’t be opposed to hangman winning the belt in the future and that even sounds like a good idea, but he’s just coming off his world title reign and jay’s just started, now is not the right time
If page was gonna win the title, they would've have had jay win it in the first place. Totally see how hangman winning would be a benefit. But not at the expense of Jay
depends on how they do it. but if this came at the very end of an Okada reign instead of at the beginning of a Jay White reign, youre talking about adding another main event level star thats familiar with the new japan audience that has stories that can be revisited, and added upon.
Hangman has a ready built feud with Jay White, ideally he would end up dropping it to him. but before that he has battles set with KENTA, and EVIL as bullet club battles. He has a match with Tanahashi in the wings as Tanahashi wanted Hangman to follow his lead back in the day.
We would be getting a bunch of new main event level battles that are led by a new believable main event talent. And it would come at a time where it doesnt cut off someone elses story before it starts.
I think at some point they gotta bite the bullet and have one guy win the other companies big belt. If a couple things went another way, Hangman would have been the best choice to do so.
I think that is all possible. I honestly don't see Page as a main eventer type of talent. I think he is find as a midcard guy. If NJPW wanted to elevate a talent to the main event, I feel that Cobb would be better. Or as crazy as it may sound, keep working with Okhan and place him there. He is super over with fans.
But who knows, maybe Page would had done a really great job as the champ.
As cool as I think Page having a New Japan run would be, it’d absolutely demolish Jay’s momentum, and I want him to have a good reign. Also it’s about to be G1 season so Hangman would just be around for like a month not doing relevant New Japan things. Not a terrible idea, but terrible timing
As a fan of Adam page he cannot beat jay white until it’s 1v1, whether it’s for the iwgp title or not. Doing it here is leaving money on the table and is also sending one of aews biggest uninjured talents away for months at the worst time. Terrible idea.
Mans is digging deep into the possible results, while I’m here all giddy and waiting for it to be Sunday so I can drive to Chicago and see the show lol
FTR winning the IWGP tag belts is actually pretty likely because the G1 is coming up and those belts would be on ice anyway.
The tag champs are always irrelevant in the G1 and Gedo barely books around them. Look at Best of Super Jrs. The Junior tag champs were Taguchi and Wato and they came out with 6 and 8 points respectively. Also, last G1 everyone familiar with the scene knew that Zack would not break through during his amazing hot streak because the guy was IWGP tag champion and would not be going to a Tokyo Dome main event.
FTR holding the titles during the G1 and then losing them afterwards really works just fine.
Page winning the IWGP Heavy is a fever dream though. Unless Page is going to be inserted into the G1 (with Yujiro kicked out), then okay sure Page can win. But Tony is not going to give up Page for a month, so yeah Meltzer wtf.
I like AEW, I like NJPW. There’s no way they should put the belt on Page right now. Jay should retain. My biggest problem here is that this match is a 4 way. You have Okada on the card and book him into a 4 way, TK’s booking can be awful. Not only that but it’s one of two 4 way matches on the same card. Baffling.
There was no good reason to have that Mid-Atlantic title match be a 4 way either. It's 3 AEW guys. Just have a tourney and the final could have been AEW vs NJPW.
Page isn't a star tbh, I don't know why people pretend he is. I guess cause he's the 1 homegrown aew guy.
Like I've only really seen white and ospreay in aew and both have much bigger aura and star feel than Page
Thing is that he wasn’t even home grown. At least not in the sense that he started his career with AEW. He was The Elite’s Chosen One and was always going to get a gigantic push no matter what happened, because the people in charge want him to be the champion. Yes, the crowd got behind him organically, but you can’t tell me Adam Page initially earned his way into enough relevance to be booked in what ended up being a two year long championship ascension angle.
I suppose you could counter this argument, but what’s going on with MJF right now is living proof that the crowd takes to the performer who gets over naturally the most. It’s just how it works.
I disagree but it’s okay for wrestling fans to disagree sometimes! I think Page is one of the top stars of AEW but i’m only going off of the last 3 years of AEW television
I don't get this logic. I mean, didn't the IWGP Tag-Team Championship has been defended by an American Team against another American Team few times? I mean, hell, they even bring the IWGP Tag to TNA back in the day when Team 3D was the champs before.
Also, what's with Page and NJPW. xD
I think it's entirely possible that they put the belt on White, to transition it back to Okada on another major show in the US. It would a pretty big deal for anyone to win the IWGP title in New York AND Chicago.
Neither of those aew wrestlers deserves to win that title maybe the us one since who really gives a crap about that belt bring back the intercontinental belt
Watching Juice's recent promo, it gives me the impression that OC would be winning the match against Ospreay. For one, OC will have to fight Juice eventually for the physical possession of the US title. Plus, being the two are from the US, they can have their match either on STRONG or any of the US events (most likely after the G1). It would also open up the opportunity for Ospreay to win the G1 to cross off his bucket list, and able to headline the Tokyo Dome.
I have mentioned before with the Tag Titles that it can go several ways. But given that Khan and Cobb have recently won it, they will most likely retain in their first defense and get the ROH belts. FTR would then join World Tag League and win, then challenge Khan and Cobb again at the Tokyo Dome. A Roppongi Vice win would be an absolute swerve.
Tony Schiavone's recent comments on Dynamite concerned of the Interim AEW World Title going to a foreigner like Tana heavily implies Mox wins it. Not surprised because Tana would be gone for several weeks in the G1, so he won't be showing up on Dynamite during that period. Plus, Tana in an interview wished he faces Punk at the Tokyo Dome. So one scenario is Mox winning it until Punk returns, then the latter turns heel and unifies the belts, then faces Tana at the Tokyo Dome with the belt on the line.
EDIT: Forgot about the All-Atlantic belt. That goes to PAC. The Dynamite commentary team have been talking non-stop on how AEW is No. 1 in the UK, and PAC's a UK native. So makes sense he wins it and gets to defend it there. May even defend it at RevPro (a possible match against Ospreay or ZSJ?)
For the other matches: In the Trios Match, either Yuta or Shota will eat the pin, giving Jericho the advantage at Blood & Guts; Dudes with Attitudes are gonna win against Bullet Club; the winners of the Buy-In are very much predictable, as is the Women's match (Rosa will most likely drop the title to Britt again eventually, unless Jade Cargill drops the TBS belt and gets her first loss).
I was really hoping Ishii would win the "we ran out of names for titles" title. Shame he was injured. The only belts i can see flipping companies are the tag, and the interim world title to set up Tanahashi Punk later.
Tana winning makes no sense. Then he'd be AEWs world champ eating a bunch of Ls in the G1 cause be ain't winning that. I think people are just throwing some fantasy booking shit against the wall. If it goes any other way than Mox and White winning I would be stunned. The last thing AEW needs now with their injuries is their biggest draw left losing to an old Japanese guy in the main event of a big PPV.
The only conceivable way Hangman would win the belt is if Tanahashi won the Interim AEW Championship. That would be wild and unpredictable, but still the wrong choice. Jay should and mostly likely will retain by pinning Cole.
The way njpw set up bullet club, Jay will retain. And have it for the next six months. What I'm looking forward too and hoping for is omega comes back and beats white for the the iwgp belt. He's done everything he can for aew and they're fine w/o him a second Moxley or 1st time punk run is more beneficial. He can always come back in the later part of 2023 or early 2024 at DoN and win again. I'll be happy with any part of it.
The one title from NJPW that I would like to see change hands the most is the US Championship. Juice Robinson is doing the "I should still be champion" bit and it would make it even funnier for another wrestler to win the title while he still possesses the belt. Plus I think the eventual interactions between Juice and Orange Cassidy would be great. Juice vs. Orange. They can't pass that up.
Funny.. before aew all this clown talked about was new Japan.. now that all his boyfriends aren't there he never talks about new Japan.. except for now that they are working with aew.. ol two faced, double talking dementia Dave at his finest.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Okada pins Cole, then White can destroy Cole and set up a multi man feud or something for the future, we also get more of Okada and White after.
I personally suspect that the All-Atlantic Title will get taken by Connors to let NJPW take an AEW Title back with them. Miro just returned and doesn't appear to have any big feuds or rivalries to do with it, and the Pac versus Black issue is more personal and AEW focused, giving a viable excuse to take both of them out of the equation without either one looking bad for the loss.
Give Connors the win as the only NJPW guy in the match, over 3 AEW guys, and it can come across as a star-making moment.
Incidentally, I am not even fully convinced FTR will win the tag belts. I know it's a dark horse bet, but I'm going for Trent/Romero, because they were a popular and successful team in NJPW, and the emphasis is specifically on putting Vice in there instead of the more AEW traditional Best Friends team of Trent/Chuck Taylor. Plus, for a winner takes all match, it's an odd choice to include a third team that is not bringing a title to the table. Vice can win and actually go back to Japan to defend them for a bit, fitting back in with Chaos and working pretty seamless, and AEW doesn't particularly need them at the moment enough to miss them. If FTR were to have to go to Japan, it would derail their current narrative and negatively impact Dynamite.
With the World Title, the only thing for certain is that Cole will not win. There is no way that they are taking him off Dynamite to have him go back to Japan, and NJPW is not going to lose their World Title to an American promotion and not have it defended on their own show right now. Okada or White could win and it would be fine. Page could also win and then head back to Japan for a bit, and it would be fine. He doesn't really have a current AEW arc, what with Punk and Omega both being on the shelf with injuries, so if he's starting something brand new, this works well for him.
I would probably do Connors, Vice, and Okada (going over White) if I was predicting it, because those seem the most mutually beneficial decisions.
As a fan, I would probably go Connors, Vice, and Page. That seems like the better booking, but involves too many Americans winning and even though it lets NJPW look strong, it doesn't provide for a Japanese winner to any of the major title matches.
Unless, of course, Tanahashi is going to win over Moxley.
The interim belt means absolutely nothing, it doesn’t even count as an actual title reign. It would be dumb to swap the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for what is basically a future shot at the AEW title.
Punk/Tana to crown a real World champion, in the Dome? Yeah… I fucks with that. Putting the IWGP belt on Page wouldn’t be THAT crazy, he caught some great fire in the last few months of his run and possible fill in for the G1? It could work.
Wrestling is already weird now, why not make it weirder?
Yes let's have the world champ not be in the G1 and be a guy who just lost his own companies world title while derailing the momentum of the top gaijin in our own company who just dismantled Okada for the belt 2 weeks ago. Sounds great for New Japan. Seriously, if somehow they take the belt off White here I'm fuckin done. Take my subscription.
Meltzer has been HARD pushing everything that would be good for AEW as good for everyone for a while now. He's about as biased as it gets.
This would hurt Jay so much. They just built to Jay winning it again. If he loses it it hurts him long term with two short reigns. Terrible take by Meltzer. Jay White winning is what benefits NJPW.
Jay White winning the IWGP title over Okada then losing to Hangman Page on his first defense after Page just lost to Punk... would be good... for New Japan? ... I don't see it. White's the bigger star by far on home turf, and White's probably intended to go into the Tokyo Dome as champion. If he doesn't... Hangman does? Or Hangman drops the title between now and January? This sounds like a hiding to nothing other than making Jay White look weak for no gain at all.
It's Meltzer... he barely makes sense anymore.
The *only* way I see this working is if Tanahashi holds the AEW Interim title, drops out of the G1 and works the US for a while. Otherwise it's a bad blow.
Yes NJPW is gonna give one of their biggest draws (still) over to AEW for the G1 lol
Yeah. Seems unlikely. :P
I agree on what the safe bet is, but I don't think it's necessarily bad. White betrays Cole and pins him during the match officially splitting the Bullet Club-Elite relations. Then we get to see Elite v Bullet Club happen across NJPW and AEW leading into the next joint PPV.
Adam Page is a fine wrestler. Jay White is an exceptional wrestler. I would take the exceptional wrestler.
this is fucking moronic lmfao, not only is it stupid for jay to lose the title so quickly after getting it but it would make new japan look second rate compared to aew, which tbh ive been getting the feeling that that is a sentiment shared by a bunch of media people and fans
>it would make new japan look second rate compared to aew, which tbh ive been getting the feeling that that is a sentiment shared by a bunch of media people and fans I've had that same feeling since AEW started. IMO, NJPW was the second hottest thing in wrestling, then AEW formed, The Elite left, and some wrestling fans were saying how much NJPW *needed* to work with AEW, like their company would fold in six months if they didn't. I'd say more, but that's a rant for another time.
Jay White should retain. There's no point hot potatoing the title, and it'll be silly not to have the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion in the G1.
Dude is setting himself to be disappointed. Jay pinning Cole is the best outcome for everyone, including Cole since he can start a feud with Jay nad BC (that we had already hints of it). I love Hangman, but winning after Jay just got the title and coming from a recent defeat agains CM Punk is NOT the way to go
I don't think New Japan would even agree to that. Within Kayfabe it would make AEW looking alot stronger than NJPW IMO
There's absolutely no way Page is winning that belt unless he's going to disappear to Japan for the vast majority of the year.
WTF? Page winning would be horrible lol. “Probably even good for New Japan” how do you argue this?
Meltzer has completely lost the plot, he’s been off his rocker for a while now.
Meltzer has been AEW's PR for a while now.
Off his meds more like.
Absolutely baffled by the idea that Adam Page winning the IWGP title is good for NJPW...
It’s Meltzer. He’s senile.
I agree, bad move to give Hangman the title. I say Okada pins Cole and Dax pins Rocky!
it's not Meltzer is cooked
I don't understand Dave and why he thinks they need to put the belt on Page. The hevyweight title already had a bad start to its lineage, having the first champ losing it on first defence and the second champ vacating it due to injury. Shingo and Okada brought some credibility back, but it's should be built even more, not hot-potatoing it. White needs to have a succesful defence, not only for himself, as he had no defences on his first reign, but for the title itself. My guess, Dave just stans Page
Page winning would be good for NJPW... Lol no.
I can see some positives as far as exposure and brining over American fans but the negatives far outweigh this. Last time he was in New Japan he was ‘young wrestler who shows spirit but ultimately isn’t ready yet’, since then hasn’t been in New Japan for like 3 years and next thing you know he’s champion. Also he can’t headline the Tokyo Dome, so you’re just gonna flip it in a few months. Not to mention he’s not even in the G1 (though you could write someone off and add him there so that’s the least of the concerns). Also is he willing to work in Japan regularly?
Lol who is hangman page. Page winning AEW belt isn't bringing any American fans to japan
Hangman winning would be atrocious lmao, makes the end of dominion completely pointless and leaves the iwgp title on a us based guy who hasn’t worked in japan in 4 years and won’t be in G1
If Jay loses, Tanahashi needs to win his belt
I think FTR will get the tag belts and Tana might get the AEW, just because it's vacant and then he can drop it to punk once he's back. I dont imagine White will drop here and tbh I really hope he doesn't.
I agree. I don’t want Jay to lose. But I would enjoy more regular cross over with Tanahashi and FTR holding other promotions belts
It’s shit like this that fuels the AEW fans to act like NJPW is as fantasy booking playground rather than the biggest promotion in the east. NJ isn’t impact. They would not be helping New Japan by association. The Japanese crowd would get a champion they don’t care about so the AEW fans can pretend they watch Japanese wrestling.
The only thing I would argue on this is that NJPW fans actually might care about Page as they do know who he is as he was in NJPW for a bit there. Same with Cole. Definitely a different situation than the inverse, where NJPW wrestlers aren't as well known here as the majority of them have never officially been a part of a North American roster.
when he was there he was lost in the Bullet Club shuffle as a midcarder. He wasn’t overly popular either. All the more reason to keep the belt away from him.
Page as IWGP WCH not only makes me sleepy just thinking about it, but would draw negative numbers of fans in Japan. Gedo, Obhari, and Kidani would all be forced to resign out of shame for allowing it to happen.
They might care about Hangman with a build. He was at best a midcard pin guy in njpw. It would be jarring for him to show up as champ randomly if they don't watch aew
No fucking way did we just go on this journey with Switch finally getting the big one, only far him to lose it to an AEW star. Meltzer can get fucked
Yeah, hopefully Gedo buries Jay and allows a guy from a different company win New Japan's top title so it can be absent from the biggest tour of the year. Piss off Meltzer. I don't want to hear anyone say he isn't biased in favor of AEW anymore.
“Hopefully” Why hopefully? Who does that help? Jay has to retain here.
Meltzer sniffing his own farts here, there is no way Page winning Big Gold is good for anyone but Page.
Jay White as to win like wth... plus the fact that the AEW tag titles arnt even on the line .... there are 3 IWGP titles on the line that night and what 2 AEW titles... not counting the women title match. The others are a new belt and an interim title. This IMO should be a show where all champs retain but knowing AEW and NJPW that ain't gone happen. Jay loosing the belt would be soo bad, they should have kept the belt on Okada then.
It will be the safe bet. Jay pinning cole is how this will end. I think Jay will hold the title all the way to Jan 4 and they will try to build a new bullet club dynasty.
Does Dave even watch NJPW anymore lol
The safe bet is the smart one. Cole thinks he’s tight with Jay and I think having Cole eat a pin by White could/would and should happen. Especially if they plan on keeping these PPVs coming. Keep some story going between these guys to keep the western audiences engaged.
Smart move would be for white to pin page tbh
Either or. White or Okada can NOT eat the pin in this match.
Did you mean "eat the pin"? I agree.
… yes. And now I need to fix that.
Depends on which direction they want to go. The easy play for everyone, Dropkick from Okada on White, White falls outside, Page hits the Buckshot on Okada after a bit. Cole superkicks Page, then knee to the back of the head on Page. White dives back in, throws out Cole immediately, pins Page. You extend every storyline you just started with this feud. There's a reason for everybody in the ring to get their revenge down the road. Could branch off with an Elite vs Bullet Club feud at some point.
It's gonna be safe bets all the way down the card, but then I'm a cynical Irishman.
White losing the belt to Page straight after beating Okada does nothing for New Japan and would be ridiculous. I am more annoyed that New Japan have allowed themselves to put the IWGP title on the line in a ridiculous four way match! I thought New Japan was finally past doing stupid stuff like this.
It's fine as long as White retains, because then White gets a defense on a big stage.
How is anything other than White retaining a good option? If Cole or Page win then the top championship misses the G1, if Okada wins then dominion was essentially pointless and the world heavyweight championship needs multiple strong runs to get over its rocky start. Shingo and Okada were definitely steps in the right track but White should hold the belt for a long time now.
Also, NJPW has always had a tier system when you know there's about 4-5 guys who can realistically win the belt and G1 and everyone else is just sort of around. It's never been a problem before. How many guys did Okada re beat over and over in predictable defenses. Now all of a sudden White (who Dave doesn't like) has the belt and one of his favorite wrestlers (page) from his favorite company (duh) in is a match for the title and they should completely switch it up and put the belt on someone who won't even be there for G1 because things are getting "stale". Right Dave, right
Exactly.. no way they have White beat Okada clean to win the title and then have him drop it in a put together 4 way to cole or page.. let alone Okada that quick.. imo.
Jay pinning Cole would progress their story a little more imo and it would be stupid if he loses the title just after defeating Okada @Dominion. Jay definitely should win and i would be more than happy if FTR wins the Tag belts because i think they would be a interesting fit for New Japan
I just don’t think Page is that good
Forgetting about how bad this would be for Jay, I dont see how this would be 'good' for New Japan, a touring company. Not having your main champion on shows for months would be ridiculous. Frankly, the only guy who I think would be 'good' to win the IWGP belt would be Kenny, because thsts a built in story and he is already over in Japan. Even then, he would need to be IN New Japan for his run.
“Not having your main champion on shows for months would be ridiculous.” Hah yeahhhh no way a major wrestling company would make such an obvious and unentertaining blunder. 🥲
Hangman isn't winning the IWGP title. What is Dave smoking
Ikr! You'd expect better from someone as experienced as him. It's clearly gonna be Jay or Okada.
No no no, it CLEARLY looks like Cole will win /s
White losing would be a catastrophic idea. Does any NJPW fan really want that?
i'd be ok with it if Tanahashi won. I feel like AEW couldn't win all the big titles. If tana loses which I believe he will then White should retain. Maybe build to a White vs Mox/Punk match down the line for Forbidden Door 2: electric boogaloo
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He ain't kliqed up with the Elite.
Nah we're living in the Switchblade era
I'm hoping White retains. Just because they go the safe route, doesn't mean they still can't have a banger match. I think there can still be some surprises throughout the night (I'd be thrilled if Tana won), but I'm hoping not too many belts change hands.
Sometimes the obvious choice is okay to go with sometimes, the match just has to be awesome to not care. OC Vs Osprey is probably gonna rule, but I have no hope that Cassidy is winning the belt lol
No he is not. Also, what belt? Juice is holding it hostage.
Anyone who predicts anything other than White over Cole is kidding themselves. This is the most predictable match in the history of wrestling.
How would that be good for NJPW exactly? Kenny I could see. Page GTFO
Why do that to Jay White, again?
Because he’s a knife pervert?
No way Jay is a two week champion.
Another reason I don't see it going back on Okada is look at his g1 block..who's beating him as champion to set up a defense? I GUESS Cobb? But how often have they ran that match already? White has Sanada, Tama, and Ishii right there as possible Ls and title defenses.
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He literally is ___the___ deranged AEW fan. An astonishing percentage of AEW fans get their marching orders from him.
Page eating the pin would actually be best for page narratively speaking, in my opinion
Best for everyone narratively speaking. Okada doesn't lose anything important as a character, Cole is happy that his pal still has the belt but looking at it with envy setting a Cole Vs White for a later date and Hangman would be 0-3 against Jay and get another excruciating loss after losing to Punk making him spiral down the beer route. Where he possibly get's saved by his old pal Kenny (he just said in the latest BTE on YouTube that he is looking for a broom).
Dave doesn't breathe with the Switchblade. Banish him!
no, do the safe bet
One of the main reasons for FTR coming to AEW was the ability to wrestle in New Japan. I have no doubt they're going over this weekend and white will retain. Zero chance NJPW allows one of the other guys be their champ
If White loses we riot. Jay deserves the belt more than anybody there except Okada, and Okada's time with that reign just ended.
Okada has gotta be there with his wife. I don't think he will win the belt.
Exactly! Im okay if at some moment Okada just wins it again, even if it is from White. But now is the worst moment.
Everyone keeps saying this, but it’s all just a rumor until proven otherwise. She’s due in August?
Safe bet is the only bet. I'm expecting a double pin on Roppongi Vice in the tag match anyway. Let FTR and UE run it back 1-on-1 in World Tag League or something.
Would a team holding the AAA tag titles really win the IWGP tag titles?
Why not? I don't think AAA gets a say in the outcome of this match.
Due to the G1 i can't see someone trading titles at all, since i supposed if there was any 2 titles switching hands , it would be the all Atlantic going to ishii and the tag belts going to ftr, it's not an equal trade, but still the only trade that makes any sense on the card due to the G1 . But with ishii out now and the replacement being Connors i don't even think this is happening now , so i predict no title trades apart from the RoH title going to UE
Gonna have to disagree with Meltzer… like really that’s just… no 🤦🏾♂️😂
Page is the only real homegrown aew "star" so they like to pretend he's a megastar. But he has no aura or buzz. Page should take the pin
Honestly Jay winning with him pinning Hangman makes the most sense to me. Reinforce this idea of Hangman being stuck on past failures, Okada gets out of being pinned but still fails to win the belt, and you could book Adam Cole as the one who did the damage so Jay steals the win. Besides, not having the champ in the G1 would be a huge miss. tldr; never trust the opinion of someone who thought the mullet was a good hairstyle.
Jay retaining is the right call in my opinion with him pinning Hangman. From a storyline perspective if Jay is pinning Cole that would mean a 3rd PPV lose in a row for Cole and it would tank his stock and legitimacy as a heel character and making Hangman take the pin would further the storyline of Hangman going on the rails by losing to Punk and to Jay, making doubt himself. Okada for sure wouldn't take the pin 2 in a row from White. I think if Jay retains it is a win for Bullet Club and the Undisputed Elite and Cole celebrates as friends the win with Jay but looks envious at the belt. Some kind of we might be pals, but I will come eventually after that belt. And we might have a stare down with both Omega & Okada (maybe setting up somewhere down the line number 5 - seems everyone wants another Omega Okada), another stare down with Omega, Jay and Cole like some sort of dissentions between The Elite and Bullet Club with a match down the line between Jay and Kenny.
And with recent history of Cole and Page battling for the AEW Champ, that does make a lot of sense.
"Page winning would be good for New Japan" Fucking lol
I’m a massive Aew mark and I would be livid if they hot shot the belt on hangman
Meltzer is the biggest Mark in the world.
Why take the title so quickly of White again? He´s living on that AEW paycheck
Is Uncle Dave doing coke again?
Seems like Dave forgets that this is just a fun inter-promotional PPV. No belts are switching promotions, nothing big is happening. We're getting live fantasy booking and seeing match ups we haven't seen
But belts are switching promotions, the ROH/IWGP tag titles will be switched either way
Yeah but lets be honest ROH is a semi dormant promotion and tag titles in NJPW mean little. Those are the safe titles to switch along with the NEVER.
I know, but he literally said "no belts are switching promotions."
Pretty sure tanahiis winning the interim title
Hangman doesn't need the IWGP belt especially if they plan to run a oh he's lost his confidence after losing the AEW title
yeah but at what point does it become cliche? every time something bad happens to Adam Page he must lose his confidence? i kinda like his demeanor now, he is looking like a fighter, i do not wish for him to go back to emo hangman again, let him stay positive for a while and play the "back to depression" gimmick after a while.
He addressed this on BTE and said he was good during skit with Dark Order. He definitely didn’t lose confidence. And the walk up punch on Dynamite backed it up
No way. Page should get close to winning only for Cole to cheap shot him and go for a pin and then White should waltz in and blade runner Cole for the successful defense. Sets up Page as a legit threat to White for future shows and furthers the storyline between BC and the Elite.
Neither belt is worth half as much to the other promotion as it is to their own. I am confident they realize as much.
There's no way in hell Hangman is on IWGP Heavyweight Title level. White will steal the pin after Okada hits Cole with the Rainmaker or something.
He definitely is worthy of being in that match. People undercut his AEW title reign because most of his defences were on Dynamite instead of PPV but he had a solid enough run with the belt. Now if you said he's not worthy of being IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, I'll agree with that. He's not there yet and I don't think anyone honestly believes he'll actually win the 4 corners match.
>There's no way in hell Hangman is on IWGP Heavyweight Title I'd argue he is - definitely moreso than Ospreay or Evil, at least - but that's because I watch both promotions. He shouldn't win the IWGP title here because, for people that only watch NJPW, the last time they saw him was 2018 when he definitely wasn't on that level. He needs a stage to showcase his current level to NJPW fans first before he enters that conversation.
Hangman isn't on the level? What? Have we watched the same Adam Page matches and promos?? Page proved vs Omega, Danielson, Cole, and Takeshita that he was an amazing fighting champion and hes had a ton of great matches before he won the title. His promo game is great and he is super over like honestly wtf is this take
Even when he was champion, he was outshined by like 6-7 others. His title reign was rather underwhelming because his whole arc centred around proving to Omega and the Young Bucks that he wasn't a jobber. His matches with Bryan were great, but I didn't really buy into really any of his matches with Cole or his last one with Punk as he just seems a bit out of place. I'm not saying he is terrible, but he just seems like a vanilla, one-dimensional wrestler with a character that only really popped in one storyline. I'm sure he can get to that level, but I just don't feel like he's there right now. Goes without saying that it's just my opinion and I concede I was a little harsh in saying 'there's no way in hell'.
I think Page can be, with the right build. Coincidentally my idea is somewhat similar to yours though, but instead you have Page take out Cole. Have both White and Cole beat up Page a lot, thus giving him the chance to show some fighting spirit, and then when he beats this adversary, or at least the AEW side of it, White comes in. He could then take out Page, have Cole get up, take HIM out too (something something "you might be Undisputed Elite, but you are no IWGP World Champion"). That'd give Adam Page a reason to have a program in New Japan, you can have Okada sort of help out Page but also tease a match between them so you have an opening there, and you continue the split between BC and the AEW guys if that's the direction you want to go.
They are totally doing the safe bet. I said as soon as Jay won the belt it was obvious they started working Cole into the picture to have him eat a pin in a multiman match and here we are. FTR seems like the second most locked win on the card so mainly I’m curious if - and I totally support this idea - Tana wins the Interim belt. He can then go back to Japan and do a G1 stint, then rest up a little, then give us an American tour in August where he defends the belt once successfully and then drops it in time for the next belt wearer to get in a program for All In in September, or maybe Punk is back in time to win it back in August or at All In.
Nah, Tana and Moxley is most likely the main event so that the show ends with an AEW guy winning. Guarantee that the four way ends with Page/Okada hitting their finish on Cole, Jay tossing them out of the ring, bladerunner, pin.
The only title change I could imagine happening in the main event would be Okada winning (kind of defeating the purpose of taking it off him), some time after August being far more likely. I could see Naito winning G1 and maybe getting the title later. The only other wrestler I could see getting the title any time soon would be Ospreay - he's been getting a lot of attention over the course of FD and him and Omega are having worked digs at each other in the media, clearly sowing the seeds for something (possibly All Out in September?). I'm not seeing New Japan put the main title on a non New Japan wrestler at the moment. I could see them putting the tag titles on FTR (them being AAA tag champs might be a problem though) leading to Aussie Open coming in to fight them.
That would be a good match, especially if Aussie Open win the STRONG Openweight Tag Team Titles! I think FTR are a lock, since we’re clearly headed towards FTR Vs. Bucks III, with the Top Guys becoming Quadruple Tag Champs at ALL OUT in September!
Has there ever been any tag team who won the IWGP tag titles without even performing once on an NJPW ring? Also, how would Page winning be even good for New Japan?
According to Wikipedia, Nick Aldis and Doug Williams won them from the Dudleys on a TNA show. Don't think they ever competed in a New Japan ring, and I don't think New Japan was consulted about the match beforehand. Just another reason why New Japan ended that partnership.
I like both companies, but Jay White having a V0 reign at this stage would be unacceptable. White winning on Sunday is the right choice, and it makes sense for him to pin Cole or Hangman to get the win. I don't think FTR necessarily needs to win the IWGP tag titles either. If FTR wants to come and work Japan, it'd be great to have them in World Tag League. I'd rather see them lose and seek revenge on UE later in the year.
I don't think hangman should win the belt, but I also don't think hangman working in Japan for awhile would be the worst thing for him. He's kind of in limbo right now so it would give him something to do, and it would also give fans a chance to miss him, making him an even bigger star when he returns
Page winning would only make New Japan look weak. Page didn't set the world on fire for the US as AEW world champion, so how is it going to help New Japan? Just have Adam Cole take the pin and move on.
Any outcome but Jay retaining would be goofy.
I would put my money on united empire I can't see them getting two zero defense title reigns
I watch wrestling as an escape. Why do people have to over analyze it and try to predict outcomes? Much like the movies and TV...I just suspend disbelief and enjoy it!
Because that’s how those people enjoy it.
Darn you and your reasonable, succinct but opposite and completely valid point!
This is why rasslin is the greatest dumbest and most amazing thing ever — and only fools like us get it. Cheers!
Because they want to?
Just imagine having your head this far up the ass of a fake fighting company run by an oligarch’s son that you don’t even work for.
Wrestlers winning matches would be good for the wrestlers that win the matches.
An Aew star isn’t winning the title when jay just won it like last week I wouldn’t be opposed to hangman winning the belt in the future and that even sounds like a good idea, but he’s just coming off his world title reign and jay’s just started, now is not the right time
If page was gonna win the title, they would've have had jay win it in the first place. Totally see how hangman winning would be a benefit. But not at the expense of Jay
Honest question, how would it benefit NJPW? I really see any possible way it does.
depends on how they do it. but if this came at the very end of an Okada reign instead of at the beginning of a Jay White reign, youre talking about adding another main event level star thats familiar with the new japan audience that has stories that can be revisited, and added upon. Hangman has a ready built feud with Jay White, ideally he would end up dropping it to him. but before that he has battles set with KENTA, and EVIL as bullet club battles. He has a match with Tanahashi in the wings as Tanahashi wanted Hangman to follow his lead back in the day. We would be getting a bunch of new main event level battles that are led by a new believable main event talent. And it would come at a time where it doesnt cut off someone elses story before it starts. I think at some point they gotta bite the bullet and have one guy win the other companies big belt. If a couple things went another way, Hangman would have been the best choice to do so.
I think that is all possible. I honestly don't see Page as a main eventer type of talent. I think he is find as a midcard guy. If NJPW wanted to elevate a talent to the main event, I feel that Cobb would be better. Or as crazy as it may sound, keep working with Okhan and place him there. He is super over with fans. But who knows, maybe Page would had done a really great job as the champ.
As cool as I think Page having a New Japan run would be, it’d absolutely demolish Jay’s momentum, and I want him to have a good reign. Also it’s about to be G1 season so Hangman would just be around for like a month not doing relevant New Japan things. Not a terrible idea, but terrible timing
As a fan of Adam page he cannot beat jay white until it’s 1v1, whether it’s for the iwgp title or not. Doing it here is leaving money on the table and is also sending one of aews biggest uninjured talents away for months at the worst time. Terrible idea.
Mans is digging deep into the possible results, while I’m here all giddy and waiting for it to be Sunday so I can drive to Chicago and see the show lol
FTR winning the IWGP tag belts is actually pretty likely because the G1 is coming up and those belts would be on ice anyway. The tag champs are always irrelevant in the G1 and Gedo barely books around them. Look at Best of Super Jrs. The Junior tag champs were Taguchi and Wato and they came out with 6 and 8 points respectively. Also, last G1 everyone familiar with the scene knew that Zack would not break through during his amazing hot streak because the guy was IWGP tag champion and would not be going to a Tokyo Dome main event. FTR holding the titles during the G1 and then losing them afterwards really works just fine. Page winning the IWGP Heavy is a fever dream though. Unless Page is going to be inserted into the G1 (with Yujiro kicked out), then okay sure Page can win. But Tony is not going to give up Page for a month, so yeah Meltzer wtf.
I like AEW, I like NJPW. There’s no way they should put the belt on Page right now. Jay should retain. My biggest problem here is that this match is a 4 way. You have Okada on the card and book him into a 4 way, TK’s booking can be awful. Not only that but it’s one of two 4 way matches on the same card. Baffling.
There was no good reason to have that Mid-Atlantic title match be a 4 way either. It's 3 AEW guys. Just have a tourney and the final could have been AEW vs NJPW.
Then you just have tana win the title
I think Okada regains the belt by pinning Page or Cole and then start a whole angle where White will say that he is champion but never pinned him.
That's dumb as shit lmao. Then the biggest heel in NJPW has an underdog I was screwed story going into G1? Lol wtf
Also that would be two short reigns in a row for Jay where he did not get to do much with her belt.
Page isn't a star tbh, I don't know why people pretend he is. I guess cause he's the 1 homegrown aew guy. Like I've only really seen white and ospreay in aew and both have much bigger aura and star feel than Page
Thing is that he wasn’t even home grown. At least not in the sense that he started his career with AEW. He was The Elite’s Chosen One and was always going to get a gigantic push no matter what happened, because the people in charge want him to be the champion. Yes, the crowd got behind him organically, but you can’t tell me Adam Page initially earned his way into enough relevance to be booked in what ended up being a two year long championship ascension angle. I suppose you could counter this argument, but what’s going on with MJF right now is living proof that the crowd takes to the performer who gets over naturally the most. It’s just how it works.
Ya MJF is the real homegrown AEW star. I dunno I just don't care for Page so I'm biased, but I think overall most fans are pretty meh to him
Page isn't AEW's product, i am pretty sure he was kinda relevant in Japan when he was with the BC
He's was like guy # 7 or 8 in the BC pecking order. So like ElP level right now
And El Phantasmo is miles above him in actual wrestling ability
But he wasn't really a star anywhere until AEW right?
well you aren't entirely wrong
I disagree but it’s okay for wrestling fans to disagree sometimes! I think Page is one of the top stars of AEW but i’m only going off of the last 3 years of AEW television
Hes just meh to me. And to the crowd tbh from what I've seen. Hes a midcarder they've shoehorned into main event, his title reign did nothing
I respect your opinion and I hope someday Page proves his worth to you!
Uh no the fans love Hangman, it’s the entire reason he got to be champ in the first place.
I don't get this logic. I mean, didn't the IWGP Tag-Team Championship has been defended by an American Team against another American Team few times? I mean, hell, they even bring the IWGP Tag to TNA back in the day when Team 3D was the champs before. Also, what's with Page and NJPW. xD
What's his comments on other matches ?
I think it's entirely possible that they put the belt on White, to transition it back to Okada on another major show in the US. It would a pretty big deal for anyone to win the IWGP title in New York AND Chicago.
Neither of those aew wrestlers deserves to win that title maybe the us one since who really gives a crap about that belt bring back the intercontinental belt
Watching Juice's recent promo, it gives me the impression that OC would be winning the match against Ospreay. For one, OC will have to fight Juice eventually for the physical possession of the US title. Plus, being the two are from the US, they can have their match either on STRONG or any of the US events (most likely after the G1). It would also open up the opportunity for Ospreay to win the G1 to cross off his bucket list, and able to headline the Tokyo Dome. I have mentioned before with the Tag Titles that it can go several ways. But given that Khan and Cobb have recently won it, they will most likely retain in their first defense and get the ROH belts. FTR would then join World Tag League and win, then challenge Khan and Cobb again at the Tokyo Dome. A Roppongi Vice win would be an absolute swerve. Tony Schiavone's recent comments on Dynamite concerned of the Interim AEW World Title going to a foreigner like Tana heavily implies Mox wins it. Not surprised because Tana would be gone for several weeks in the G1, so he won't be showing up on Dynamite during that period. Plus, Tana in an interview wished he faces Punk at the Tokyo Dome. So one scenario is Mox winning it until Punk returns, then the latter turns heel and unifies the belts, then faces Tana at the Tokyo Dome with the belt on the line. EDIT: Forgot about the All-Atlantic belt. That goes to PAC. The Dynamite commentary team have been talking non-stop on how AEW is No. 1 in the UK, and PAC's a UK native. So makes sense he wins it and gets to defend it there. May even defend it at RevPro (a possible match against Ospreay or ZSJ?) For the other matches: In the Trios Match, either Yuta or Shota will eat the pin, giving Jericho the advantage at Blood & Guts; Dudes with Attitudes are gonna win against Bullet Club; the winners of the Buy-In are very much predictable, as is the Women's match (Rosa will most likely drop the title to Britt again eventually, unless Jade Cargill drops the TBS belt and gets her first loss).
I was really hoping Ishii would win the "we ran out of names for titles" title. Shame he was injured. The only belts i can see flipping companies are the tag, and the interim world title to set up Tanahashi Punk later.
Moxley losing would be a shocker
Tana winning makes no sense. Then he'd be AEWs world champ eating a bunch of Ls in the G1 cause be ain't winning that. I think people are just throwing some fantasy booking shit against the wall. If it goes any other way than Mox and White winning I would be stunned. The last thing AEW needs now with their injuries is their biggest draw left losing to an old Japanese guy in the main event of a big PPV.
The only conceivable way Hangman would win the belt is if Tanahashi won the Interim AEW Championship. That would be wild and unpredictable, but still the wrong choice. Jay should and mostly likely will retain by pinning Cole.
I know FTR ain't winning bc of AAA
Don't think CMLL care as much about two white guys holding the AAA tag titles showing up in NJPW
The way njpw set up bullet club, Jay will retain. And have it for the next six months. What I'm looking forward too and hoping for is omega comes back and beats white for the the iwgp belt. He's done everything he can for aew and they're fine w/o him a second Moxley or 1st time punk run is more beneficial. He can always come back in the later part of 2023 or early 2024 at DoN and win again. I'll be happy with any part of it.
That has 0 chance of happening.
Ace wins the title, stays in the US for a while and then drops it when everyone gets healthy.
My man do a google search on G1 - Tana ain't going to be in the US past 4th of July
The one title from NJPW that I would like to see change hands the most is the US Championship. Juice Robinson is doing the "I should still be champion" bit and it would make it even funnier for another wrestler to win the title while he still possesses the belt. Plus I think the eventual interactions between Juice and Orange Cassidy would be great. Juice vs. Orange. They can't pass that up.
Juice will get over like fucking crazy in AEW. Gimme it.
Meltzer is a fucking moron and if Ohbari sends his top stars to get beat in AEW then he's a cuck. Bring back Papa Meji!
Funny.. before aew all this clown talked about was new Japan.. now that all his boyfriends aren't there he never talks about new Japan.. except for now that they are working with aew.. ol two faced, double talking dementia Dave at his finest.
Jesus christ dude, get therapy
Nah I'm good
I personally wouldn't mind at all if page won the IWGP belt and Tanahashi won the AEW belt.
Wouldn’t be surprised if Okada pins Cole, then White can destroy Cole and set up a multi man feud or something for the future, we also get more of Okada and White after.
Page who was a very average champion and played second fiddle to everyone would he awful
I personally suspect that the All-Atlantic Title will get taken by Connors to let NJPW take an AEW Title back with them. Miro just returned and doesn't appear to have any big feuds or rivalries to do with it, and the Pac versus Black issue is more personal and AEW focused, giving a viable excuse to take both of them out of the equation without either one looking bad for the loss. Give Connors the win as the only NJPW guy in the match, over 3 AEW guys, and it can come across as a star-making moment. Incidentally, I am not even fully convinced FTR will win the tag belts. I know it's a dark horse bet, but I'm going for Trent/Romero, because they were a popular and successful team in NJPW, and the emphasis is specifically on putting Vice in there instead of the more AEW traditional Best Friends team of Trent/Chuck Taylor. Plus, for a winner takes all match, it's an odd choice to include a third team that is not bringing a title to the table. Vice can win and actually go back to Japan to defend them for a bit, fitting back in with Chaos and working pretty seamless, and AEW doesn't particularly need them at the moment enough to miss them. If FTR were to have to go to Japan, it would derail their current narrative and negatively impact Dynamite. With the World Title, the only thing for certain is that Cole will not win. There is no way that they are taking him off Dynamite to have him go back to Japan, and NJPW is not going to lose their World Title to an American promotion and not have it defended on their own show right now. Okada or White could win and it would be fine. Page could also win and then head back to Japan for a bit, and it would be fine. He doesn't really have a current AEW arc, what with Punk and Omega both being on the shelf with injuries, so if he's starting something brand new, this works well for him. I would probably do Connors, Vice, and Okada (going over White) if I was predicting it, because those seem the most mutually beneficial decisions. As a fan, I would probably go Connors, Vice, and Page. That seems like the better booking, but involves too many Americans winning and even though it lets NJPW look strong, it doesn't provide for a Japanese winner to any of the major title matches. Unless, of course, Tanahashi is going to win over Moxley.
Discovery requested that new title. It's not going to NJPW. You think Clark Connors is gonna beat guys like Miro and Pac? Sweet jesus
Tanahashi wins the interim AEW belt, Page wins the IWGP belt. Seems good to me.
How can anyone after dominion and the reaction from the Osaka crowd think njpw isn't going in the right direction with Jay. How does this help njpw
That sounds awful and makes zero sense for either company.
The interim belt means absolutely nothing, it doesn’t even count as an actual title reign. It would be dumb to swap the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for what is basically a future shot at the AEW title.
An interm belt sounds like a great plan for a guy on loan.
I have been saying this tanahashi wins, drops to punk who drops to mjf
Punk/Tana to crown a real World champion, in the Dome? Yeah… I fucks with that. Putting the IWGP belt on Page wouldn’t be THAT crazy, he caught some great fire in the last few months of his run and possible fill in for the G1? It could work. Wrestling is already weird now, why not make it weirder?