10 Things New Japan Does Better Than WWE
3. Tournaments
‘All Hail King Barrett!’ I can’t forgive WWE for that, I simply can’t. They took the gavel-banging, sadistically-sneering Bad News Barrett gimmick and saddled him with a crown, a cape, and a creative death sentence all because he was unlucky enough to win the King of the Ring Tournament.
WWE have shown some promise recently with the CWC and Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic both being engaging and producing exciting matches, but they still have a long way to go to come close to the prestige and downright majesty that accompanies the G1 Climax and its winners over so many years. Besides the momentum that is provided to the winners, tournaments hold a much more significant role in New Japan.
You see, WWE love gimmick PPVs like Elimination Chamber, Hell in a Cell, and TLC, and during the down-time between the Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, and WrestleMania, WWE will build to these ‘hardcore’ showcases where we’ll undoubtedly see one or two wild spots. But for wrestling fans with attention spans that go beyond five seconds, building an entire month to an event where some tables might be broken and a kendo stick might appear can be wholly unfulfilling.
New Japan by contrast operate on a wrestling calendar that you can really sink your teeth into. The G1, World Tag League, and Best of the Super Juniors all take place over two or three-week tours and every match, every victory, and every defeat means something in the long run. Opportunities for breakout performances, upset losses, and storyline development are plentiful, but WWE seem content on going for spectacle over substance in their monthly exhibitions. It may be for the best because I’m not sure I can witness one more poor soul being crowned ‘King of the Ring'. It’s haunting.