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The Social Round-Up: Powerful Struggles
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OCT.30.2019

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The Social Round-Up: Powerful Struggles

We are counting down the days until Power Struggle on November 3! With two championship matches, a singles clash between Tetsuya Naito and Taichi, a tag team preview of our January 4 main event, and the finals of the Super Junior Tag League already on deck, it’s going to be an eventful evening in Osaka, just like it’s been an eventful week on social media:

First of all there’s the #TOMO hashtag that KENTA has been desperately trying (not) to make trend. Quite what buttons KENTA is hoping to push with Ishii ahead of their NEVER Openweight Championship match Sunday is hard to understand, but he certainly appears to have angered his challenger, hashtag or no. It should be noted that Tomohiro Ishii isn’t on social media in the first place, but KENTA appears to want to leave Osaka on November 3 with both the NEVER gold and a full meme folder. 

 

Taichi isn’t afraid of some light-hearted trolling of his opponents, but he spent the best part of the Road to Power Struggle actively crushing Tetsuya Naito’s spirit, leading to the above post. ‘Every day… I’m not sure when this started but it seems that more often than not that spirit has gone from your face, and you’re just quiet. What happened to that road (to double championship gold) you could juuuust barely see? November 3, are we going to do what I suggested (have a number one contenders match) or not? If you’re not going to get a move on, I’ll just have to make you…’

Mere hours after this post, Naito certainly made his move, with a brutal attack, followed by another the next night. It seems that Naito has lost his tranquilo, and Taichi is betting on that leading to him losing their match in the process. 

 

Jyushin Thunder Liger has been active not just on the Road to Power Struggle, but also for Dradition, as Liger helped Hiro Saito celebrate his 40th career anniversary this week in Tokyo and Osaka. In Osaka on October 27, Yoshiaki Fujiwara was part of proceedings. Fujiwara helped train both Liger and Minoru Suzuki, and is, incredibly, still wrestling at age 70. Said Liger:

‘With my wrestling teacher, or should I say master, Fujiwara! I don’t have many pictures with him, so asked for one, but he was standing on his toes a little bit. Enjoy this look at a playful Fujiwara’.

 

Sticking with Liger, as #njpwHalloween has seen fans show their creativity this Halloween season, you may be scrambling for last minute costume ideas. Frequent Japanese NJPW World broadcast analyst Miki Motoi has your answer: ‘Check it out! White T-Shirt! Oil marker! Turned into Jyushin Thunder Liger!’. Add Kishin facepaint for instant scares. 

 

You’re guranteed to make out like a bandit if trick or treating as Kishin Liger, but everyone’s a winner at Toru Yano’s place! Visitors to his bar Ebrietas are being given Yano cookies, to consume with Yano curry and Yano hotpots. Is there any culinary realm Yano isn’t a master in?

 

Once Halloween’s in the books though, it’s on to Osaka November 1 and the last matches of the Super jr. Tag League. It could well be that El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs the Birds Of Prey is the decisive match in this league, but that won’t stop Desperado casting shade on his ultra athletic opponents. 

‘I’ve got a pretty decent idea of the kind of match they’ll have, but no idea what stuff comes out of their mouths.

Do birds of prey eat worms? 

And look at Robbie’s clueless face.

And how boring his comments are on his own, the guy has zero vocabulary. 

I have no idea what they plan to do, but it probably won’t amount to much.’

As if Robbie Eagles and Will Ospreay needed any more firing up… we’ll see them clash Friday November 1 on NJPW World!

 

 

 

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