(No Spoilers) So I just got done watching Wrestle Kingdom 9

[SlightlyJames]

I've got to say, as someone who hasn't watched a single New Japan show before, I enjoyed the hell out of this. There were a load of fun and awesome matches, some of which were absolutely fantastic.

It certainly did help as a newcomer to have JR and Matt Striker doing commentary, you could tell Striker was a massive fan and while JR started off sounding a little bewildered with all the multi-man matches, he settled into it as things moved along and when it got down to the end stretch he was well into it and it was like he'd never missed a beat.

Those last couple of matches especially were something special man, I totally get why people go on about Shinsuke Nakamura, he and Ibushi had a hell of a match. Tanahashi vs Okada was even better in my opinion, it's been a while since I've felt that way watching a Wrestling match. You could just feel it man, and they tore the house down.

[KaiserGlider]

The AJ Styles/Bullet Club stuff has recently drawn my interest to New Japan even though I've never watched a full show of theirs. And if JR and Striker are proving English commentary, that's awesome. Where can I watch this Wrestle Kingdom 9?

And on a side note, how is the format of NJPW? Do they have storylines like the American companies (stuff I need to catch up on?), or just guys wrestling each other for the sake of the sport?

[SlightlyJames]

The AJ Styles/Bullet Club stuff has recently drawn my interest to New Japan even though I've never watched a full show of theirs. And if JR and Striker are proving English commentary, that's awesome. Where can I watch this Wrestle Kingdom 9?

And on a side note, how is the format of NJPW? Do they have storylines like the American companies (stuff I need to catch up on?), or just guys wrestling each other for the sake of the sport?

It is definitely more competition focused but there are stories being told. There was a Playlist of videos giving insight into what would be going on during the show that I found pretty interesting. Outside of that you'll probably get a feel of what's going on as it happens, I didn't have much trouble.

As for where to watch the show, I don't know how it was distributed but I found it on Xtreme Wrestling Torrents (I won't link to it as that's probably considered a no-no)

[VaderBomb]

Hell yeah, glad to hear it was a good show, I have it on queue for tomorrow night. Wrestle Kingdom is almost always in the top three wrestling shows of the year, I remember making a thread back on WWE-Club about five years ago demanding that everybody watch NJPW and to start with Wrestle KIngdom.

Maybe you fuckers will listen this time.

[Georgerv]

Just finished watching it myself, rather tired so for now my thoughts are: Ho...Ly...Shit.

Absolutely incredible event, start to finish

[Daz]

What I like about this, is seeing everyone marking out like this is the greatest thing since sliced bread, even though this wasn't even the best NJPW show of the last year. I hope some people who watched this because of JR/Striker commentary, will continue to watch, even without them.

Swag-suke Nakamura is the most entertaining wrestler on the planet and deserves to be seen by all.

Also Kaiser, have a look for watchwrestling dot ch.

[SlightlyJames]

I remember making a thread back on WWE-Club about five years ago demanding that everybody watch NJPW and to start with Wrestle KIngdom.

I can't imagine why they didn't.

I hope some people who watched this because of JR/Striker commentary, will continue to watch, even without them.

As one of those people, where can I find information about when their events take place? How often do they happen and how important is it that I keep track of all of them? Is there any supplemental programming to be aware of?

[Daz]

I remember making a thread back on WWE-Club about five years ago demanding that everybody watch NJPW and to start with Wrestle KIngdom.

I can't imagine why they didn't.

I hope some people who watched this because of JR/Striker commentary, will continue to watch, even without them.

As one of those people, where can I find information about when their events take place? How often do they happen and how important is it that I keep track of all of them? Is there any supplemental programming to be aware of?

Like most Japanese promotions, they run tours that build to a finale. A lot of them are like "house shows" and you don't really need to watch to know what's going on, but there are usually one or two great matches peppered in there that are worth checking out. You can easily get by watching the last show or two of the tours, because that's where most of the storylines/big matches get progressed/take place.

You can see their schedule here - http://www.njpw.co.jp/english/match/index.php?ticket=1

As you can see, they do the "Road to..." which are the tour shows building to the "actual" event. It can seem pretty overwhelming and if you're like me and want to see everything, keeping up with 10 - 12 shows in a three week period is a bit mental. But like I said, you don't need to watch everything to know what's happening. The only time you really, absolutely, have to watch everything is G1, if the past couple of years are anything to go by. And that's not till summer.

You can watch everything on NJPW world which is their version of the WWE Network (cheaper, and already available in the UK). You can also find a lot of stuff on dailymotion with a pretty quick look (search for RealHero ... pretty much everything Japan related from NOAH, Dragon Gate, AJPW, Big Japan, etc. you could ever want)

[xgamr]

The only thing that i would say is a negative is that due to only being able to get the 4 hour slot on US providers made to me everything a bit faster than usual. note im almost 2 hours in but the matches felt faster than usual for NJPW and i watch a good chunk of the other shows

[EmperorWu]

I finally watched it the other day at my coworker's insistence. It's the first NJPW show I've ever seen and it was very impressive. Never been a fan of brawler type matches but the Pitbull vs Gorilla guy match ended up being my favorite match on the card.

The 4 way tag match was good. I love the name Forever Hooligans a lot and they impressed me the most, but the lack of selling and just going from spot to spot bugged me a bit. I hear this is very common on the indy scene though, which I haven't had the fortune to see any of.

Kenny Omega is a frakin' revelation! He's like a real life video game villian or something. The second he walked out, I was like who the hell is this guy. No other person on the PPV made me think that. His mannerisms in the ring or walking to it, his facial expressions, that dude knows how to live in his character. Also he's a damn good wrestler to boot.

After all the hype I heard, Shinsuke Nakamura did not impress me. The wrestling was very good, but I was made to believe he was the coolest and most charismatic guy around. I found him a bit off putting and I just don't get it I guess. I also didn't get the whole 10 minute air guitar routine at the end either so what do I know. Different strokes for different folks.

Overall regardless of my complaining it was a great show. Saw a ton of wrestlers I've never seen before doing moves I've never seen and wrestling strong style, also a first. To those who haven't, if you can watch the show you should, especially if you're new to it. It's a whole new world.