On January 4th, 2015 long time stalwart New Japan Wrestling will begin a working relationship with Jeff Jarrett’s fledgling Global Force Wrestling to present Wrestle Kingdom 9. This international wrestling mash up will be on full display live from the Tokyo Dome on January 3rd in America, or on replay at 7 pm eastern on January 4th.
This viewing option is one of the innovative wrinkles that Wrestle Kingdom 9 has on tap. If you want to watch the PPV live you can do so on your cable provider, however due to the time difference between countries you won’t be looking at a prime time live viewing. If you want to watch the PPV live on the East Coast it will be a 2 am start time (Jan 4th) and 11 pm start time on the west coast (Jan 3rd).
This will be a potential game changer of a PPV because of the international cross promotional nature of the show. Not only will the PPV be available for live viewing , it will also shatter the language barrier that normally prevents a foreign promotion from gaining traction in the United States. To bridge this gap GFW is bringing on none other than Jim Ross to do the play by play for the event. If you want to give legitimacy to a pro wrestling event there isn’t anyone better in the history of the business than Good Ol’ JR. Ross is thee master at making you care about the invloved performers and selling the importance of the story that the match is telling.
Far too often in the current WWE offerings there is not enough care given to the in ring story. The entertainment side of their creative equation has left scores of wrestling fans clamoring for a promotion that can combine innovative matches with top notch television production. Wrestle Kingdom 9 should be able to provide what WWE is lacking in terms of in ring action, with all the music, pyro, and light gimmick sizzle that the WWE excels at.
Since the WWE has the closest you can legally get to a pro wrestling monopoly in America, GWF head Jeff Jarrett is making a bold move to expand and cross promote with international federations in Japan and beyond. With plans for collaborations with Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa this may be the start of a promotion that can truly give the WWE the competition they sorely need to wake them up from the boring, cookie cutter stupor they currently reside in.
Being able to showcase international stars and styles via live PPV options with top notch English speaking commentary should be able to bridge the gap between American and International performers, and create a truly global wrestling brand for our global communication age.
Here is the card as it currently stands:
reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) vs.Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a Four-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Jeff Jarrett and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima andTomoaki Honma in a Six-man tag team match
Toru Yano, TBA, TBA and TBA vs. Suzukigun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton X Benjamin andTakashi Iizuka) in a Eight-man tag team match
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba in a Singles match; the match can only end by knockout or submission
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Togi Makabe in a Singles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kenny Omega in a Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) in a Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
A.J. Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito in a Singles match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi in a Singles match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada in a Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The event will also feature outside participation from GFW'sJeff Jarrett and Ring of Honor's (ROH) Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.
I for one cannot wait to hear JR try and keep up with the action in the opening bout for the Junior Heavyweight tag team championship. It’s a good thing he is going to have recently announced color commentator Matt Stryker on hand to help keep him a breast of the crazy ass moves JR has not likely seen before.
This viewing option is one of the innovative wrinkles that Wrestle Kingdom 9 has on tap. If you want to watch the PPV live you can do so on your cable provider, however due to the time difference between countries you won’t be looking at a prime time live viewing. If you want to watch the PPV live on the East Coast it will be a 2 am start time (Jan 4th) and 11 pm start time on the west coast (Jan 3rd).
This will be a potential game changer of a PPV because of the international cross promotional nature of the show. Not only will the PPV be available for live viewing , it will also shatter the language barrier that normally prevents a foreign promotion from gaining traction in the United States. To bridge this gap GFW is bringing on none other than Jim Ross to do the play by play for the event. If you want to give legitimacy to a pro wrestling event there isn’t anyone better in the history of the business than Good Ol’ JR. Ross is thee master at making you care about the invloved performers and selling the importance of the story that the match is telling.
Far too often in the current WWE offerings there is not enough care given to the in ring story. The entertainment side of their creative equation has left scores of wrestling fans clamoring for a promotion that can combine innovative matches with top notch television production. Wrestle Kingdom 9 should be able to provide what WWE is lacking in terms of in ring action, with all the music, pyro, and light gimmick sizzle that the WWE excels at.
Since the WWE has the closest you can legally get to a pro wrestling monopoly in America, GWF head Jeff Jarrett is making a bold move to expand and cross promote with international federations in Japan and beyond. With plans for collaborations with Mexico, Brazil, Australia, and South Africa this may be the start of a promotion that can truly give the WWE the competition they sorely need to wake them up from the boring, cookie cutter stupor they currently reside in.
Being able to showcase international stars and styles via live PPV options with top notch English speaking commentary should be able to bridge the gap between American and International performers, and create a truly global wrestling brand for our global communication age.
Here is the card as it currently stands:
reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) (c) vs. Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero) vs.Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) in a Four-way tag team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Jeff Jarrett and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima andTomoaki Honma in a Six-man tag team match
Toru Yano, TBA, TBA and TBA vs. Suzukigun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, Shelton X Benjamin andTakashi Iizuka) in a Eight-man tag team match
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazushi Sakuraba in a Singles match; the match can only end by knockout or submission
Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Togi Makabe in a Singles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship
Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kenny Omega in a Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) (c) vs. Meiyu Tag (Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata) in a Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
A.J. Styles vs. Tetsuya Naito in a Singles match
Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kota Ibushi in a Singles match for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada in a Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
The event will also feature outside participation from GFW'sJeff Jarrett and Ring of Honor's (ROH) Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly.
I for one cannot wait to hear JR try and keep up with the action in the opening bout for the Junior Heavyweight tag team championship. It’s a good thing he is going to have recently announced color commentator Matt Stryker on hand to help keep him a breast of the crazy ass moves JR has not likely seen before.