Ramblings of an Englishman

I’m a sucker for a big swing what can I say.   I did envisage a longer break from NJPWWorld I really did, at least until the end of Best of the Super Juniors because of how disinterested I had become. Then Gedo remembered to take big swings with his booking specifically with Callum Newman.  Over the past few months Callum Newman has been given more than a push but the shove. While it felt like the long term build is always to Newman vs. Ospreay January 4th 2027 and I did have Newman as a cup finalist (funnily enough I for once predicted the final correctly of Newman and Uemura with Newman winning) I did not expect what followed. Callum Newman became not only the youngest New Japan Cup winner but the youngest IWGP Heavyweight champion. This is shocking to me because that record was held by Shinsuke Nakamura a man woven into the history of the company so for that record to be taken by a non Japanese talent and at 23 years and 7 months it’s a real difficult record to break. ...

What a difference two months makes. If this was a video it’d cut back to all the positive things I said to fade into me looking as the ground sad from my desk chair doing one of those YouTube thumbnail faces. Man for New Japan Pro Wrestling my smile and my optimism are gone, killed at the hands of the man they call Gedo. But before the negatives let’s look at where we were. January 4th 2026 was a massive success. Not just for TV viewership but for fan perception. Combined with the return of the IWGP Heavyweight Title and set philosophy for that and the Global Title it really felt like New Japan was back. Sure they would have issues retaining talent as they always do with Japan’s economy being a shitshow but they had a definitive draw again in Aaron Wolf. However, what we’ve seen in the last two months is a return to old form and just House of Torture run ins. I must be missing something but having your top star and draw lose to Bad Luck Fale is terrible optics. I guess we are doing a s...

It’s 2026 and you know what that means? More PPV for me to pretend I’m reviewing while really saying nothing. That’s how it goes that’s what the probably two of you who read this are here for. I’m quite positive on wrestling that isn’t run by a sex trafficking MAGA company at the moment because I’ve been having fun watching. I’m writing this the day after going to Wrestle Queendom 8 at the O2 and what a spectacular show. I’d expect a few of those matches to be near the top of my match of the year post a rewatch. But we are here for AEW Revolution 2026 a big show for sure. The first PPV of the year for AEW and know after this is posted I’ll be up for the All In pre-sale so thoughts and prayers. I’ve been really enjoying the AEW product this year it’s continued the good quality of 2025 and seems to be attracting new viewers and fans by the week as WWE prices out and alienates fans (how anyone can still support evil company like that before you consider the dogshit product is beyond me). ...

It was announced late Monday night that Ring of Honor would be holding a sole taping in Jacksonville at WJCT Studios this coming Sunday (1st March). This is an interesting move and a break from the current standard. For the last few years ROH has been tapped before and after Dynamite and Collision and has for a number of episodes been just matches with little promo segments or story beats. While this has improved I do find myself annoyed at the PPV builds where the majority of matches being announced 48 hours before. An exclusive taping show for ROH would allow for more time to focus on the storylines on that show. If it is not at the end of a long taping day past a big Dynamite or Collision it may help breath life into ROH. A focus on just ROH means that fans are going there to watch ROH instead of it being added at the end of what they’re going to see it should add to enjoyment. We don’t have a major ROH PPV coming up for a while (I don’t know if Supercard of Honor is moved to All In...

This could be a big year for wrestling. Tanahashi and Cena retired and we are likely to see the end of the careers of the likes of AJ Styles and Tiger Mask. This is combined with TNA's bigger TV deal, AEW continuing to roll through (and they just ended up with a TV deal in South Korea) it's a big year. But as the title of this post says it is about New Japan Pro Wrestling. We are 2/2 for positive shows this year and will be starting the New Beginning tour later this month. I think as the third biggest wrestling company in the world it is odd to say they need a rebuilding year but I think it is needed. New Japan will start by using the celebrity of Aaron Wolf as a main hook in shifting tickets while using the increased eyes to establish it's top of the card. Look seeingly it's working and if it's a good move then it's a good move but I think by the time we hit January 4th 2027 New Japan should be fully formed in this new era. I personally just want to note a few ...

We are now on January 6th as of the time I begin writing this. Two days removed from Wrestle Kingdom and two days removed from the retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi. Man what an emotional match and ceremony for one of if not the all time great that left me pretty emotionally drained for the RevPro show I was at after. It’s a curious time for New Japan now they have to put all their ducks in a row. I am however cautiously optimistic for the future coming out of New Years Dash. Of course the return of the V4 heavyweight title is a good move I love that belt and its history. We need to see how the history of the titles work I’d just merge the world heavyweight title lineage into it. The same way I didn’t like forgetting the history of the heavyweight title I am the same with the world heavyweight title. That belt is the legacy and history of the likes of Ospreay, Shingo, ZSJ, Moxley, SANADA, Takeshita & Goto as well as additional world title reigns of Okada, Naito & Jay White. All t...