Considerably more over, better character, already won the G1, fought for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom. This has been pointed out a few times, that there are clear similarities and NJPW must have done it that way for a reason. In his recent matches, he's been more of a face, but that's partly a change of character. From Black Panther to Ocean’s 8, Women of Color Are Finally Part of the Action, Run, don’t walk to go see Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, ‘Justice League Dark’ Proves that Warner Brother’s Animation Division Knows the DC Characters….

While it’s tough to gauge acting while reading subtitles, there was never a moment where I felt like I was watching Tanahashi instead of Cockroach Mask. Maybe he's so good he's gonna make it rain for NJPW as a whole to show how fucking boss he is. In particular, Okada stands out because he simply looks like the ideal wrestling champion. That’s simply a stroke of good luck, similar to if WWE tried to make a movie with The Rock as a champion. KAZUCHIKA OKADA | HEEL TITANTRON Rol Internet Wrestling Oficial.

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At what point did the fans started cheering him? You might want to take a look at this: https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/44wgu6/okada_says_he_will_never_go_to_wwe/.

This match showed why the Heel Master is such a veteran in Jr Heavyweight wrestling. That's the premise of his original match with Hiroshi Tanahashi - Okada, a couple of months after coming back from TNA, claimed that he was the greatest wrestler in the world and said he deserved a title match with Tanahashi. But I found it hard sometimes in NJPW. Invasion attack 2013? I think Okada is turning heel *SPOILERS* User Info: Fenrir-Juubi.

"I've found it's slightly harder to distinguish faces and heels in New Japan". The matches are booked logically. I know that sounds corny, but there are so few moments as a pro wrestling fan where you feel proud to be one. In 2020 when Evil won, the crowd died, period. Okada, like Rock and SCSA, got over properly when he became more heel-y. And while the outcomes of matches aren’t explicitly outed as being predetermined, it’s still clear that the actions of certain wrestlers can upset people in charge if they don’t do as they’re instructed. Fenrir-Juubi 3 years ago #1. Both are revealed to be unexpected outsiders to the company. Did he say those things in a real interview or a kayfabe segment? When a heel boasts and backs it up, they become less of a heel. It's pretty unclear to me. His face arc recently was punishing Naito, who didn't treat the IWGP title or NJPW as a whole with the respect Okada thought it deserved. I think Naito will win and headline Wrestle Kingdom. Please correct me if I've misinterpreted something. The gimmick is left over from his heel run, but it was over so they kept it.

Well, yeah, except there also wasnt a huge fucking Pandemic with the most over top heel, Jay White, unable to enter Japan. Asking because I genuinely don't know. However, while going through that post again I came to a realization: Naito vs. Why “Call Me By Your Name” Is Not a Gay Movie. It looks great on film. Sounds like the same character arc as EC3.... His character is still somewhat of a dick but he wrestles as New Japan's ace now, the top guy who defends the prestige of the company.

What really makes this movie so great how believable Tanahashi is in the role. If you didn’t watch pro wrestling, you would be forgiven for thinking they hired an actor to play a role. I think originally Okada was strictly a heel, as his persona was that of a spoiled rich kid who claimed that he deserved opportunities that he had not earned.

Someone on r/sc asked about the backstory for the current storyline involving EVIL and Naito. He now says it a lot in kayfabe promos, but I think in real interviews as well. Of course, right now he arguably is, so it's not really a heel gimmick so much as an accurate reflection of reality. Losing to EVIL and Omega, specially with being proved he can't kick out of OWA, I think it's the tipping point. Known as the “Ace” of NJPW, Tanahashi is easily described to American fans as the John Cena of Japan. Over the years, the two have had their fair share of battles. Being a champion is normal to him, nothing special in any way.
But I had nothing to fear. EVIL at Dominion 2020 is a remake of Okada vs. Naito at Invasion Attack 2016. Bullet Club has always been a group of foreigners and gaijin sympathizers united in evil, and can be slotted as a great foe for any top guy, from the pure babyface ace Hiroshi Tanahashi to the supremely reigning top guy Kazuchika Okada. I won’t spoil it, except to say any pro wrestling fan will appreciate it. All of CHAOS basically turned face when they started the feud between AJ and Nakamura, except for Toru Yano, who is...well he's Toru Yano, he does what he wants. It would make sense to anyone, fan or not. Other NJPW wrestlers in the movie, such as Ryusuke Taguchi as Cockroach’s heel partner or Kazuchkia Okada as the beloved champion, nail their roles to perfection. Okada's gimmick is that he thinks he's the greatest wrestler around, a prodigy with unmatched potential who is the biggest mainstream star NJPW could possibly have, someone who they should be grateful to have. As a kid in grade school — after the Hulk Hogan era and before the Stone Cold/Rock era — I kept my fandom secret after being mocked by classmates for liking it in the 5th grade, so I uniquely understood Shota’s motivation. With the exception of the climatic scene, there are no slow motion cuts to artificially enhance the drama. Loading... Unsubscribe from Rol Internet Wrestling Oficial? It is now my favorite pro wrestling movie of all time.

You first must realize that the Japanese, in general, treat pro wrestling with much more respect than American audiences view the clown show Vince McMahon has delivered for the past few decades. From what I gather from Okada's rainmaker gimmick here on reddit and other sources, he thinks that everyone is beneath him and he's doing this all for the money.

Of course, right now he arguably is, so it's not really a heel gimmick so much as an accurate reflection of reality. Me too. Does the fans started cheering him back then? Likewise, Shota, his son, struggles with the realization of what his Dad actually does, and is forced to lie to his classmates about it. Yes, it’s basically typical NJPW matches being filmed cinematically, but that’s what wrestling in movies should be! Just from that, the movie felt different than any U.S. pro wrestling movie.

The best pro wrestling matches have always delivered that. Especially here in the United States, it’s usually embarrassing to admit you like it. Right now he's just a vanilla Superman babyface. At a minimum, we are meant to think about the start of Naito’s first reign when we see the end of the second. I've found it's slightly harder to distinguish faces and heels in New Japan - look at Kenny Omega, he delivered a passionate pro-New Japan speech in Japanese after winning the G1 Climax, where he was cheered over the native babyface, Hirooki Goto.
Naito vs. While the movie never outwardly admits that pro wrestling is scripted, they make it clear that “bad guys” exist because it would be no fun if everyone was a hero. You're basically reading his gimmick right: he thinks he's the biggest star/earns the most money for NJPW. Cheating to break that record is a possibility. The interaction with his family felt genuine and heartfelt. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast, More posts from the SquaredCircle community, Press J to jump to the feed.

I didn’t know this movie existed. I think The Rock is a good point of comparison, technically he's a heel who does heely things, but mostly he says what the audience is thinking in an entertaining way, so he gets treated as more of a face. I'm asking because their match at invasion 2013 is one of the best match I've ever watch so these kinds of small details are important to me. Tanahashi’s character is heartbroken when his son discovers his true work and is disappointed. That having been said heel and face don't really matter as much in Japan. Sure, they aren’t asked to stray from their normal characters all that much, but it’s different enough that it works. The child actor playing Shota, it should be said, could not have been cast any more perfectly.

Also, he is very near of breaking Hashimoto's record, right? So they had to take a gamble. Evil's not bad, he's had some decent G1 runs, all the tag team work with Sanada, but not even close to Naito in 2016. As others have said, Naito in 2016 was way ahead of Evil in every aspect. "he donates a percentage of his earnings to paediatric cancer research after every one of his matches, and encourages others to do so as well, he's mentioned that a few times in kayfabe.".

You're basically reading his gimmick right: he thinks he's the biggest star/earns the most money for NJPW.

Should one be ashamed of winning the lottery? Some of that interference is fended off by members of the faction the champion is from.

Both matches have copious amounts of interference by that heel faction, as well as low blows.