Thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom 17...
Tam Nakano vs. KAIRI (Pretty much a sprint because they only allowed the women 5 minutes but with what they were given they did a awesome job. KAIRI retains. NEXT TIME GIVE THE WOMEN MORE TIME!)
Mercedes Mone Debut (She looked great. Carried herself like a star and yes she was nervous but she'll be fine. I'm sure she's already getting pointers on how to get over with the Japanese crowd. The best way she'll be able to do it is by delivering great matches with the Stardom women. If she starts pumping out five star matches you'll see how quick her stock rises in Japan. I'm excited to see what she has to offer outside the WWE bubble.)
Yoshi-Hashi & Hiroki Goto vs. FTR (Good match but too short for my tastes. FTR drops the belts to Hashi and Goto. Kevin Kelly on commentary goes in on pro wrestling illustrated for not including Hashi and Goto in the best tag team conversation of 2022.)
Ren Narita vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (This match was for the brand new NJPW TV belt. Was an excellent technical match. Loved the MMA ending)
Tam Tonga vs. Karl Anderson (Anderson did some fantastic heel work in this match. Stiff and brutal. I thought he was going to take the lazy way out but he actually put in a good performance here.)
Bushi, Sanada & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shota Umino, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Great Muta/Keiji Muto (Muta's final match in New Japan. Entertaining and fun. Muta at his age attempted to do moonsault but Tanahashi talked him down. Good send off for Muta. At ringside were New Japan greats like Tatsumi Fujinami, Masahiro Chono and Jushin "Thunder" Liger.)
Kenny Omega vs. Will Ospreay (God tier level match. Will probably get 6 stars. They need to do the rematch at Forbidden Door 2. )
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White (This was good but both men were put in a tough spot after the Omega/Ospreay epic. Hate that they put the belt back on Okada but considering this show was dedicated to Antonio Inoki I understand it.)