Opinion
Was New Year Dash Lackluster ?
New Year Dash usually starts off the year’s storylines. Did New Japan do enough to keep people’s attention for the New Beginnings tour? Valentin let’s us all know.
Here is a question I have been asking myself since January 5th. Was NJPW’s New Year Dash event lackluster ? It was kind of my feeling after what I thought was a tremendous Wrestle Kingdom event. Without expecting a show of the same level, I had been quite used to some big moments happening on the day following the Dome event.
Therefore, let’s take a look back at what happened at New Year Dash and see if this is a question worthy of being asked.
The first thing I want to say is that, again, on an undercard some people would see as nothing really interesting, New Japan not only gave us good matches, but some events which spiced things up a bit and caught people’s attention, mine included. We had the continuity of Chuckie T beating his opponents up with chairs, costing wins to his team with Beretta. Where does that lead to ? Is it linked to the “mole” inside of CHAOS that Jay White mentioned a few months ago ? Also, it is likely that Juice Robinson’s first defense in his second reign as US champion happens against Beretta, most likely in the New Beginning in USA event. After all, the CHAOS member faced off with the champion during Robinson’s post match press conference after regaining the title.
We had a very good three on three match between Yuji Nagata, Jeff Cobb and KUSHIDA, facing Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto and Will Ospreay, the new NEVER Openweight champion. Outside of the pure quality of the match, we witnessed Nagata and Ishii going at it during and after the bell rang. Who knows if that will lead to a match or if there was an actual beef between the two men. I will gladly take a Ishii vs Nagata match, though.
The last “big” thing which happened during the undercard was the NEVER Openweight 6-man championship match between Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Taiji Ishimori facing Togi Makabe, Toru Yano and Ryusuke Taguchi (who won the gauntlet match the day before). The champ retains, but we got to see both Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens rejoin Bullet Club, as they helped the champions keeping their titles.
One last thing I have to mention because this has been going on for a while as well, Roppongi 3K (with Rocky Romero) grabbed another win against Killer Elite Squad and Takashi Lizuka. Then again, who knows if that’s going to lead to something in the future, but these matches have been quite entertaining, so can we really ask for more ?
Now it’s time to talk about the more serious matter, as first with the semi-main event, we had yet another Los Ingobernables de Japon vs Suzuki-Gun five on five match. The faction lead by Naito may be full of championships, it didn’t stop their opponents from beating them in the most Suzuki-Gun fashion possible. The biggest fallout of this match is that we will have Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP Intercontinental championship against Taichi. I personally see this match as a test for Taichi, after giving more than decent performances against Hirooki Goto and Will Ospreay around the NEVER Openweight championship not that long ago.
We also get two tag team matches, as El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru will challenge Shingo Takagi & BUSHI for the Junior Heavyweight tag team championships.
Lastly, and definitely not the least, EVIL & SANADA will face off against Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr, first in singles matches being SANADA vs Suzuki, and EVIL vs ZSJ. I was not a big fan of going back to Suzuki-Gun and LIJ feuding together, but the match-ups are actually more than appealing, so in the end, this is a good point.
Finally, the main event was a three on three CHAOS featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Bullet Club match. Teaming with the new IWGP Heavyweight champion ? Kazuchika Okada and a returning Yoshi-Hashi. The trio would face Jay White, Gedo, and Bad Luck Fale. Let’s get this out of the way : Yoshi’s return didn’t feel special at all. Not only that, but guess who took the pin for the losing team ?
And don’t get me wrong, he got more than a decent showing during the match, but taking the pin on your return match feels odd. I wasn’t even expecting a huge upset like Yoshi pinning Jay White, but what does that mean for him? Back to being CHAOS’ Chase Owens and be some sort of filler guy with flashes of hope in the G1 ?
That’s quite disappointing.
Now the other big thing coming out of this match, and the biggest thing coming out of this event is the continuation of the Jay White vs Hiroshi Tanahashi feud. The two men will face off in Osaka for the Heavyweight championship, and this match is incredibly uncertain. On one hand, you kind of expect Tanahashi to retain on his first defense, but on the other hand, Jay White has been sneaking up wins left and right and kept growing and becoming better. If anyone could pull off the upset, that’s the main who pinned Kazuchika Okada in the Tokyo Dome. Let’s not forget that, last year at New Beginning (In Sapporo, that time), the Switchblade pulled of what was, at the time, nearly unthinkable, as he defeated Kenny Omega to claim the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship.
With all of that in mind… Was New Year Dash really lackluster ? I will say no because some of the top matches for the New Beginning tour are something I personally look out for a lot, but the event itself had this big moment feel I missed compared to previous years. The show still gave what I objectively think is enough, I know I wouldn’t have minded if we got a little bit more.
Now tell me, what did you think of this year’s New Year Dash ? Are you looking out to the New Beginning events ?
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Opinion
Chris King: The Wyatt Sicks’ Wasted Potential By WWE
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
Chris King takes a look at the WWE and their wasted potential of Uncle Howdy and the Wyatt Sicks faction.
It’s that time of the year again, folks; it’s unfortunate and downright awful that so many WWE superstars got released today. I’m not going to list all of them, but I am going to talk about one of my favorite factions,
The Wyatt Sicks. Nikki Cross, Joe Gacy, Erik Rowan, and Bo Dallas (Uncle Howdy) were something special. After Bo’s brother Bray Wyatt’s tragic passing, WWE felt like there was a hole that needed to be filled. Wyatt was one of the most creative and brilliant characters, and Bo would be taking over his brother’s concept and bringing it to life. In 2024, at the end of an incredible documentary highlighting Wyatt’s career and struggles, Bo appeared on the screen portrayed as Uncle Howdy. The last time Uncle Howdy was seen on-screen was at the 2023 Royal Rumble, where Wyatt defeated LA Knight in a Pitch Black Match. Howdy jumped off a structure onto Knight.
This post-credit scene sparked so much speculation and excitement that Wyatt’s brother would carry on his legacy and possibly debut the faction that was Wyatt’s concept. On the June 17th episode of Monday Night Raw, The Wyatt Sicks made their dramatic debut ,destroying the backstage area as well as “murdering” Chad Gable. It was such an iconic arrival for Howdy as he made his menacing walk from the back into the audience who were chanting “Holy Shit.” The Sicks and American Made (Chad Gable and The Creed Brothers) battled for months, with The Sicks being victorious. On the September 9th episode of Raw, The Sicks defeated them, with Howdy getting the win with Sister Abigail.
The following year, The Sicks would move over to Friday Night SmackDown, and it seemed like WWE had a plan in place. They would win the tag team championships from The Street Profits and start to look dominant. Now, what should have happened next is Howdy should have won the United States title. The Sicks could have held all the gold over on the blue brand, but it never happened. The Sicks entered into a never-ending feud with The MFT’s (Solo Sikoa, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa, JC Mateo, and Talla Tonga.) It started off exciting, and the WWE Universe was red-hot for their interactions.
After months of repetitive matches and The MFT’s stealing their lantern, the feud grew tiresome and boring. Even Tama asked Solo why they are still holding onto the lantern, as it was destroying them as a whole. Finally on the SmackDown before Mania, Tama
gave the lantern back to Howdy against Solo’s wishes. Please explain to me why both factions fought almost every single week instead of just having one final blowoff match at WrestleMania.
It should have been either a massive street fight or a falls count anywhere match on the grandest stage of them all. Instead, it turned into a meaningless week-after-week extravaganza that benefited no one. The MFTs won the rivalry, and The Sicks don’t even work for WWE anymore. This was the same criminalized creative process that Wyatt dealt with during his first run in the company.
We’ll never know how much of a dangerous force The Wyatt Sicks could have been in the WWE. For all their careers’ sake, I hope they stay far away from the company for as long as possible. Every superstar that was cut deserves better!
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Opinion
Chris King: Bloodline Saga: Is This the Right Call For WWE?
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Chris King questions the WWE’s logic in setting up Jacob Fatu as the next challenger for World Heavyweight Champion Roman Reigns
Roman Reigns is once again World Heavyweight Champion after his dominant win over CM Punk at WrestleMania 42. On the following night on Monday Night Raw, The OG Bloodline came back together as a well-oiled machine as The Usos stood side by side with Roman. With the WWE Universe asking who would be the first to challenge “The Tribal Chief,” Jacob Fatu shocked the world by answering the call.
Fatu is running hot after his impressive win over Drew McIntyre and feels like he is ready to become the new world champion. This bloodline segment ended Raw, and it picked right back up on SmackDown with even Solo Sikoa and the MFTs involved. This is now two shows that have been centered around The Bloodline saga, and it’s made me question whether or not WWE should be retelling this story.
The Bloodline (Roman Reigns, The Usos, and Solo Sikoa) ran WWE for over four years as Reigns’ henchmen, doing his dirty work to retain his title. Even though Roman has declared he doesn’t want Jey and Jimmy to serve him, it sure seems like WWE are spinning their wheels. Fatu could add a whole new chapter into the story, even if he’s not able to beat Roman at Backlash. “The Samoan Werewolf” could be forced to do the same thing as Jey did all those years ago and fall in line.
In my opinion, I feel like Fatu should be challenging for the Undisputed WWE Championship because that’s a title I feel like he should win. I understand standing up to your blood and trying to prove you’re the best, but I don’t think this is the right move. It feels like 2022 all over again, as The Bloodline is the central focus on both shows. If Fatu doesn’t win, what happens to all his momentum he’s been building over the last two years?
Why did WWE make this the best choice for storyline purposes? Why couldn’t creative have come up with a different challenger for Roman? There are so many other superstars that could challenge The Tribal Chief, such as Rusev, Bron Breakker, Gunther, or even a returning Sheamus.
I just can’t help but question WWE’s logic here, and it kind of reminds me of all the times The Shield reunited. Could WWE be pushing the same storyline too many times here? Could the WWE Universe get tired of this rinse and repeat cycle of The Bloodline Saga?
Are we about to see all the weekly episodes solely focused on The Bloodline again? Will it be cinema… Yes. Is there still money in The Bloodline… Yes. Was it the right call? That’s to be determined!
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