The July 1-2 shows were very good indeed, having some more awesome matches to add to the classics put on by NJPW this calendar year (I especially rate Omega/Elgin, Ishii/Sabre Jr, Bucks/RPG Vice and Omega/Ishii). Topping off the two nights, we had Kenny Omega coming out on top and becoming the inaugural IWGP United States Champion.
I think that in these first two nights they've done a really good job of giving this belt some prestige to it. The tournament was filled with some of New Japan's top guys (Naito, Omega, Ishii etc.) to make the prize have an aura of desirability with these recent champions in the brackets. The weekend also worked towards elevating some wrestlers in the company's ranks, such as Adam Page who has had hardly any singles competition in NJPW.
As we see in the videos above, Omega is very passionate and driven to make this belt mean something, and take it to the heights of the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championships. Putting the belt on Omega, arguably the hottest wrestler in the world right now, is possibly the best decision NJPW could have done in regards to this tournament. He already has the following from the Japanese audience, is big in the western market already and is the perfect candidate to lead the company in the US expansion. I would imagine new fans in North America are more likely to gravitate towards English-speaking wrestlers, and I'm sure they will definitely be drawn by Omega's near best in the world ability.
From what we have heard from Grandaddy Meltzer's reports, it appears that Kenny will be defending this shiny, new belt on a slew of Ring of Honour shows. Yes fucking please, mate. I cannot remember ever seeing Kenny Omega have a bad one-on-one match, granted, I've only been watching NJPW for 2.5ish years, but that's still quite a feat. The first rumoured competitor for the belt is Will Ospreay, a match that has main event star power and will more than likely steal any show it is put on.
The appeal of regular Kenny Omega matches is sure to get more eyes on the ROH product, as well as helping to improve the shows in general. Ring of Honour's pay-per-views can be a bit hit and miss at times, with the cards having some cool match-ups amidst some admittedly weaker matches as well, some not having any build on TV or much promotion at all. Knowing I'm getting a guaranteed Kenny Omega match is certainly going to get me more hyped for these shows at least.
Also, I regard this as an especially smart move considering that Omega is the title holder. I'm a strong believer in the whole 'the champion makes the title' ideology when it comes to wrestling, and coming with this is the efforts put in the self-promotion of the belt, like we saw in the above promos, as well as title defences themselves. Like I said, with Kenny you're effectively guaranteeing yourself some awesome matches, and consequently this is gonna drive up the stock of the belt. We saw this with John Cena's reign with WWE's United States Championship, putting on barn-burners against a variety of challengers and making people not only care for the matches, but be excited for them with it consistently being the best part of Monday Night RAW.
Whilst this is obviously important, it is not the whole story coming out of the G1 Special. Following the success of the weekend's shows, New Japan Pro Wrestling's owner, Takaaki Kidani in an interview with Tokyo Sports discussed the next steps in NJPW's US expansion. According to him, New Japan will set up an office sometime this year and a dojo in early 2018, both in Los Angeles. Then, he went on to say that they intend to orchestrate a US tour no later than March/April of next year.
As far as I'm aware, this is the New Japan's first explicit mention of their intention to break ground in the US, establish a base there and produce some sort of regular shows. It is worth note that New Japan have attempted such before, having introduced the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in a tournament, and also ran dojo in LA a few years ago. But, with the company in a much, much better state than it was back then, this has got much greater potential for success. Judging at how well ROH's joint shows with New Japan go, as well as the success of the G1 Special, that a US tour would do brilliantly.
The dojo is quite interesting to me. If anything, it shows that New Japan intend to stay and settle in the US. Much of their roster came through the dojo system, and the addition of the Young Lion Project, though my knowledge on those shows is limited, looks like their here to do business. Although a fair few gaijin wrestlers have gone through this system, such as Prince Devitt (Finn Balor) and Jay White, this gives the opportunity for more to come up through the ranks. Then, to me, this feels like they're building to a full-time US roster, but I could be wrong, I ain't no prophet.
For now though, everything is speculation. Only time will tell what New Japan intends to do in the United States and what will become of the IWGP US Championship. But, as I sit here typing this, I am hopeful. Hopefully this expansion will bring about a new era of competition for the No.1 spot in the US akin to WCW/WWF feud, but that might take some time. In the meantime, here's looking forward to the G1!
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