2015 Q1 Review

Well Wrestlemania has come and gone, and with it marks my first ever quarterly review. I have to say this has probably been the single greatest years to be a wrestling fan. We've had an amazing (albeit hipstery) parody by Max Landis, we've had multiple MOTYC and had multiple new stars and new champions both at home and abroad, as well as some interesting story lines with unique characters. I will do my best to sum up and generalize what is going on with a select few wrestling promotions as well as giving each of them a grade. So lets get this started.

NOAH

Oh Noah why must you torment me so? For those of you who don't know one of my earliest columns was a scouting report for Pro Wrestling Noah in which I gave the main components of their roster a B. And how have they returned this kindness by giving a push to a goof like Genba, who's basically a rip off of Rusher Kimura and Haruka Eigen, only without the excuse of being to old and out of shape to do anything else except for spit and talk. They also have had a major corporate shift with Jado taking control of the book from Sugiura and Marufuji as well as rampant rumors that they are receiving at the very least some sort of financial backing from Bushidaboard the company that owns New Japan. They've also have a huge on going invasion angle going with Suzukigun. The biggest problem with Noah is that other than say maybe Nakajima they literally have no one that has the potential to be anything more than a Junior Star and that's a scary thing, having true heavyweight recruits seems to be a common problem right now in Japan, but it has probably afflicted no company more than Noah, and their recent Signings of Kenou, Hajime Ohara, Quiet Storm do nothing to change that. Right now Noah more than ever is up shit creek without a paddle, and all the corporate backing in the world won't change that. Q1 Grade: C-

AJPW

Proving what a bizarro year this has been so far All Japan for once isn't the but end of everyone's jokes. Quite the opposite actually, if anything they've been one of the better companies not named New Japan this year. Go Shiozaki has continued to rebuild his fallen star after the debacle in Noah taking the fabled Triple Crown from Joe Doering earlier in the year. They've had multiple MOTYCs and continue to be one of the most consistent companies in Japan. They also have what is quite possibly the fastest rising star in Japan in Kento Miyahara. However despite all this All Japan is still far from being out of the woods. They are still struggling with live event attendance and are gaining the public's trust back at a snails pace, I have my doubts but if any company can find a way to survive after 15 years of bad press and controversy it's All Japan. Q1 Grade: B+

Lucha Underground

I've watched Lucha Underground off and on since it's inception, but from what I've seen I've enjoyed. They've signed up some of my favorite indy talent Such as Ivelisse Velez and Brian Cage. As well as introducing me to some new international talent that I otherwise wouldn't have seen like Phoenix, Pentagon Jr., Sexy Star. I've been impressed by what I've seen so far and hope to see more, keep it up. Q1 Grade: C+

TNA

Well it's another year and Impact continues to be whipping boy of pro wrestling. However similar to All Japan they haven't really earned it, they've been running awesome shows since their switch to Destination America, they've had rising stars in Rockstar Spud and EC3, as well as key signings in Drew Galloway, Shaun Ricker now Eli Drake, and Camacho now Myka. But as with anything tna there's always a piece of turd in the sand, they've lost Samoa Joe, have more factions than I care to mention and still struggle with getting any sort of attention in the U.S.. But for the most part TNA has had a damn good year. Q1 Grade: B+

New Japan

Well it what looked like what would be a more of the same from the King of Sports ended up be somewhat of a change we have two new junior stars in Dorada and Omega, as well as a new tag team in Barretta and Romero. But More Importantly we have a fresh main event scene with Styles and Ibushi getting to main event Invasion Attack. They also had Yano pin Tanahashi twice, doesn't really bother me but I felt the need to include it. Yano wins LOL. Q1 Grade: B

Wrestle-1

Well you had to know this was my main event. Wrestle-1 is probably the promotion I fallow the closest, and well I can say that they it's been an exciting ride to say the least. But for the most part they have had a very good year, putting behind some of their past mistakes and have made it point to instead focus on great wrestling, for the most part (FUCK OFF DESPERADO). They have a tag division that's on the rise with a burning hot team in TEAM 246, they've announced a Cruiser division which I'm amped for sure, as well as a series of dojo shows featuring their younger talent, Such Yasfumi Nakanoue, Seiki Yoshioka, and Yusuke Kodama. Some of the negatives Desperado's still a thing, Daiki Inaba is injured which really sucks, in my opinion he's the best rookie in Japan today but maybe it's for the better. Oh and KAI WON THE BELT. Q1 Grade: B-

Final Q1 Grade: A-

For those of you wondering why there's no WWE review or ROH review, well that's because I don't like either promotion and rather than bury them for the sake of burying them I decided it would be best not to touch them do to a conflict of interest. Imagine that a wrestling journalist with actual ethical standards, can't you tell I'm an amateur folks. Well til next time boys and girls, stay classy stay safe.