#aj has a somewhat more hopeful ending in that he gets professional help...

[nativehueofresolution]

aj and christopher - tony's son and heir, respectively - are written as foils throughout the series, but i think there's something really special about the way things came together in the final season. in season six tony is eaten up both by his hatred for aj and christopher's hatred for him, and he furiously vents about both to melfi. he kept aj out of the mafia, because he felt he owed him that protection as a father, but he despises the coddled and emotionally fragile young man aj has grown into as a result. christopher, on the other hand, tony invited into the mafia and acted as a mentor, but christopher grew to hate tony for acting like a father all while essentially damning him to a hellish life he would never let his actual children enter into. tony finds both of them ungrateful, and yet he is eaten up by the fact he could find his son so loathsome or that someone he spent so much time nurturing could end up detesting him. both speak to tony's fear of being a toxic person, unable of having a loving relationship. he is repulsed by a gentle and sheltered young man he kept in a gilded cage, but the young man who has lived in tony's underworld can only see him as the devil.

interestingly, aj and christopher also enter into father roles of their own. aj falls in love for the first time after tony forces him to work at the construction site and he meets blanca. he becomes a pseudo-stepfather to blanca's son hector, and while blanca eventually cools on him, his relationship with hector always seems very doting and sweet. christopher, meanwhile, marries his girlfriend kelli after only being together a short amount of time because she gets pregnant, and his ambivalence is clear from the start. in many ways, he's not over tony having adriana killed and his own role in betraying her. we also know from previous seasons he feels both an obligation as his late father's only child to have a son to carry on the moltisanti name, while also fearing he is ill-suited to being a father because of his drug addiction, which he believes to have been inherited from his parents. tony himself is somewhere in the middle - capable of being a doting and generous father and yet frequently feeling removed from his children because of his double life and fearing he has passed along his cursed genes. both aj and christopher's stabs at fatherhood are short-lived however. aj's relationship ends, which leads to a suicide attempt, and christopher is killed.

the two episodes in which these events occur happen back to back, as if to really hammer home how linked the two are. christopher and tony get into an accident, and right as tony is dialing 911 to try and save christopher's life - he realizes his opportunity and kills him instead, the accident giving him the perfect cover. the next episode, tony comes across aj's botched suicide attempt and dives into save aj. both son and heir are at death's door and his responses are opposite, literally using his hands to smother christopher one episode and ripping a bag off of aj's head so he can breathe again the next. and the reactions he has to both mirror each other so powerfully. he is relieved to finally be rid of christopher, who he calls "the biggest blunder of my career" - he no longer has to wonder when christopher's animosity will become a full-fledged betrayal, he no longer has to see what an embarrassment christopher is, to be reminded of his poor judgment in selecting him as his successor. aj, on the other hand, he tells melfi he is ashamed of. he saved his son, of course he did, but we see how humiliated he feels each time his mob associates try to offer sympathy, how he vainly hopes someone like carmine jr will have gone through something similar so he won't be alone in his ignominy. just as he thinks he's escaped having to deal with his failure to have a worthy heir, he's confronted with the ways - in his view - he has failed to produce a worthy son (never grappling with the fact that his view of this as a failure is part of the problem).

in many ways, the last season is about finally casting judgement on tony soprano. after watching the last several seasons of his terrible behavior, the narrative begins to be much more explicit in the language it uses and the symbols it pairs with tony - he is the devil in the back of the club asking you to sell your soul; he is the toxic water poisoning jersey for a cheap profit - and now we see what that has meant for the two men he raised. what the protection he offered and the guidance he gave amounted to.

Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner

#tony soprano #aj soprano #christopher moltisanti #the sopranos #aj has a somewhat more hopeful ending in that he gets professional help... #but then he has to be talked out of joining the army on a whim and gets his car blown up with his girlfriend who's in high school. #and then the last we see of him he's off to be in the movie biz instead (which like. was chrissy's big thing omniously) #and he probably had his dad killed in front of him #so no i can't say i'm optimistic about his future #anyways. society if david chase had cared about meadow and found a way to work her thematically into this conclusion #kaitlin speaks #suicide cw

[newmusickarl]

Album & EP Recommendations

My word, the music world has well and truly spoiled us this week!

The past seven days has seen a colossal avalanche of new releases, so much so I’ve barely had chance to keep up with it all. Although this is not the full list of everything from the past seven days, here are the 16 (yes, 16!) new releases I’ve enjoyed the most this week.

As there is so much to get through the rundowns are (mostly) a bit shorter than normal and there is no single Album of the Week, instead I simply recommend checking out whichever album or track sounds most appealing depending on your preferred taste.

So without further ado then, here’s what’s good:

Californian Soil by London Grammar

It’s been four years since the release of London Grammar’s last record Truth Is A Beautiful Thing - an album that I enjoyed, but I’ll admit also left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed coming off the back of their incredible breakout debut, If You Wait. As it turns out, the band themselves were also having a tough time around that period, with front woman Hannah Reid in particular battling relentless industry sexism, as well as the persistent physical pain caused by her fibromyalgia condition. With this being the case, it is amazing that the young indie-pop trio have made it to their third album at all, let alone delivering what is their best work to date.

Opening on a grand, string-drenched Intro, the record soon morphs into the sun-soaked guitars and soaring orchestration of the album’s glorious title track. It marks an early highlight as Reid catches the audience up with the tribulations of the last few years – “I left my soul on Californian soil.” From there the album doesn’t really let up as the band move through a series of career-defining tracks – the gorgeous contemporary groove of Missing, the dance-influenced How Does It Feel, the chilled-out ambience of the dreamy Baby, It’s You and the sublime, stripped-back closer America.

However, the album’s strongest moment comes when Reid confronts music industry sexism head on with defiant anthem Lord It’s A Feeling. Beginning with some twinkly xylophone, before evolving into an atmospheric synth-laced backdrop where Reid pulls no punches:

“I saw the way you made her feel, like she should be somebody else,

I know you think the stars align for you and not for her as well,

I undеrstand, I can admit that I have felt those things mysеlf”

The cutting lyrics against some blinding quiet rave instrumentation leaves quite the impression, as does this sterling record in general. After a slight misstep, London Grammar have well and truly rediscovered themselves and they have honestly never sounded better – a truly incredible album.

If You Could Have It All Again by Low Island

Oxford electo-pop outfit Low Island are another band that have defied expectations to get to this point. This, their debut album, was not recorded in a professional music studio – in fact, the vocals were recorded in a bedroom cupboard of all places. The band themselves don’t even have a manager or a record label. In every sense of the word, they are a truly independent band. For a self-financed, self-produced effort, If You Could Have It All Again is a quite remarkable first outing.

From melodic, uplifting opener Hey Man, the record quickly jumps into spoken word electro punk banger What Do You Stand For, featuring acid-drenched synths and a dancefloor-ready groove. Fans of FIFA 21 will recall Don’t Let the Light In, with the glitchy pulse of recent single Who’s Having the Greatest Time also standing out. That said, it’s the smooth, infectious sway of I Do It For You that still pulls me in the most.

Having followed the band since their early EPs, I’ve been rooting for Low Island for a while now and this is one debut album I was highly anticipating this year. Safe to say, my expectations have been met – this is a fantastic, accomplished record, which leaves me eager to see where they go next.

The Greatest Mistake Of My Life by Holding Absence

There was a time when the difficult second album used to be a thing, but listening to the sophomore effort from Welsh rock band Holding Absence this week, I’m really not sure that exists anymore. After a dramatic and impressive self-titled debut two years ago, the band have wasted little time taking things up a notch, with this new album cinematic and masterfully produced from beginning to end.

From standout singalong anthems like Afterlife and In Circles, to the album’s epic seven-minute penultimate track Mourning Song, The Greatest Mistake of My Life shows a band pushing themselves and driving forward with ambition at every opportunity. In a year packed with outstanding rock and metal albums already, this is most definitely another one you can add onto that list. Soaring, impressive and demanding of repeat listens.

We Forgot We Were Dreaming by Saint Raymond

It’s been six long years since Nottingham-born singer-songwriter Callum Burrows, AKA Saint Raymond, released his debut album. However it seems the time away has been well spent as this long-awaited follow-up finds Burrows in fine form, with this album packed to the brim with catchy, glossily produced indie-pop anthems.

From the brilliant title track that opens the record, to the bouncy riffs of Right Way Round, Talk and Solid Gold, to more subdued and heartfelt moments like Only You, this album will have you smiling, singing your heart out and dancing your troubles away.

Flu Game by AJ Tracey

AJ Tracey may have only been three years old when Michael Jordan was winning NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls, but that hasn’t stopped him making a record influenced by the legendary icon and his famous 1997 Flu Game. Like many others including myself, grime superstar AJ Tracey spent lockdown watching the brilliant The Last Dance documentary, and this record weirdly works as a fantastic unofficial companion, but also just a great summer rap record.

McCartney III Imagined by Paul McCartney

Even if like me you completely missed Sir Paul McCartney’s 2020 album McCartney III, it’s well worth checking out this reimagining, where he has called on the help of some of his famous musician pals. This is a real who’s who line up of guest features including Beck, Khurangbin, St. Vincent, Blood Orange, Phoebe Bridgers, Damon Albarn, Josh Homme, Anderson .Paak and more, making for quite a fascinating mix of sounds and styles.

Moratorium (Broadcasts from The Interruption) by Enter Shikari

And finally on the albums front this week, genre-benders Enter Shikari have released a brilliant compilation of all their lockdown live performances, headlined by an incredible string-tinged acoustic version of The Dreamer’s Hotel and a beautifully stripped-back “At Home” rendition of Live Outside.

Tracks of the Week

Introvert by Little Simz

Wow, wow and wow again. Still fairly fresh off the back of her masterful, Mercury Prize nominated third album Grey Area, this week British rapper Little Simz released the first taste of her next record in the form of this epic and triumphant opening track. At six minutes in length, this majestic and operatic political anthem aims to grab the listener by the collar and shake them awake. Without a doubt, one of the best songs of the year so far, the powerful video for which you can view above.

Smile by Wolf Alice

The second taste of their forthcoming album Blue Weekend, Smile continues Wolf Alice’s pattern for alternating Loud/Soft releases, with this one featuring buzzy guitars, punky vocals and a hypnotic chorus melody.

Beautiful Beaches by James

Although written off the back of the California wildfires that impacted front man Tim Booth’s local community, the lyrics on the band’s latest anthem purposefully offer a dual meaning, giving hope to those dreaming of a post-lockdown getaway and fresh start.

He Said She Said by CHVRCHES

The Scottish trio made their much-anticipated return this week, with Lauren Mayberry also sharing her experiences of sexism on this arena-ready synth-pop banger.

Matty Healy by Georgia Twinn

Georgia Twinn delivers an infectiously catchy break-up anthem, inspired by an ex-boyfriend, who’s most interesting feature was supposedly looking like the 1975 frontman.

Kill It by Vukovi

Underground Scottish rock outfit Vukovi’s new single is so good, they even managed to get KILL IT trending over the weekend of its release. Masterfully produced with big bold riffs and trancey synths, this one just sounds huge.

Can’t Carry On by Gruff Rhys

The latest solo single from the former Super Furry Animals frontman is a stunning, super-melodic tune with an instant chorus you’ll be singing before the track has even finished its first play.

Ceremony by Deftones

One of the highlights off their last album Ohms, the nu-metal rockers have now delivered a cinematic new video directed by horror legend Leigh Whannell. Check it out!

Chasing Birds by Foo Fighters

And finally this week, Dave Grohl and company released a trippy new animated video for this Medicine At Midnight cut to help celebrate 420 in their own unique way. Again, well worth a watch!

#best new music #new music #little simz #introvert #london grammar #californian soil #low island #holding absence #enter shikari #james #saint raymond #vukovi #aj tracey #michael jordan #the last dance #foo fighters #deftones #gruff rhys #super furry animals #wolf alice #chvrches #paul mccartney #albums of the week #tracks of the week

[sol1056]

more asks: when retcons attack

tl;dr: harsh truth, y’all: there’s only one way out of this quagmire, and it’s not around or behind or above. It’s through. 

Let’s see. First in the list are the bunch o’ anons who want to know when Yoo left + when EPs changed + issues of S2′s writing (reveal, filler eps). 

Yoo has EP credit for all 24 episodes of S1/S2. (The three-part pilot is counted as a single episode.) Oddly, the Koplar brothers have 23 credits, skipping S1E2, Some Assembly Required. The outlines and story ideas for those episodes were probably hammered out back in 2014. Animation may get behind schedule, but it almost always does start well in advance. 

The fact that Yoo may’ve contributed greatly to the story outline doesn’t mean he has writing credit. It’s possible he made vague motions at “the team finds out Keith is part-Galra,” and left the ‘finding out’ to be handled at the script level. If Yoo did contribute enough to the story to get the EP credit for that, then he probably worked at the broadest strokes. If the episode is badly written, that’s on the writer and the story editor. 

My guess at who influenced which seasons: 

S1, S2: Yoo  S3/S4, S5: Hedrick* S6: Hedrick, with greater EP input (plus script) S7, S8: JDS and LM

* remember post-S3/S4, where the EPs’ interview tone was of not knowing what was going on. It’s possible that was more truthful than we realized at the time, if they’d left the scripts in Hedrick’s control. I have nothing to go on but my gut, but I wonder if the growing EP involvement was out of annoyance that Hedrick was setting up the pieces for Shiro’s return as Black Paladin, rather than his return and benching.

So THAT'S how EPs managed to steer the story their way, he wasn't there to stop them so they leaped at the chance post S2? And Hendrik could only try to make it make sense and keep the premise as much he could?

It’s the best explanation I can think of, at least.

With all the backlash, there’s no way [the writers] in this clusterfuck won’t spill the deets as soon as they can (in a professional way ofc) to absolve themselves for things they were forced to write

One way or another, most of the behind-the-scenes madness will come out. I can tell you this: if DW doesn’t give the EPs another show --- thus reducing the professional risk in speaking honestly --- we may get those truths sooner rather than later. If the EPs do prove to be paying someone under the table and are protected from their mistakes, we’ll still get the truth. It’ll just come at us sideways and in hints and allegations. But we will get it. 

That brings us to retcons. 

If DW want to fix VLD they can. It's only unsalvagable if EPs continue trashing canon and retconning things, and they will, but: the show has given so much to write plausible explanations: mind manipulation, AUs, messing with time, cryogenic sleep.

All of which aren’t new nor original to VLD. Those are standard SFF tropes, and anyone doing VLD (or some other futuristic SF series) will have those in their genre rolodex. The problem isn’t that VLD couldn’t tap those tropes, but that they didn’t throw them in because they were organic to the story. The EPs are proud of their rule-of-cool approach, and you can see it all over the story’s flaws. They threw in whatever seemed cool at the time and never thought of how it might impact anything beyond that one point of cool. 

And an anon with a lot of questions:

What's your idea of a well-written retcon?

A reboot from the ground up. 

What would you advise writers to be careful of?

Ever getting suckered into retconning someone else’s work to ‘fix’ it. 

Unless you are very, very good --- and I can count on one hand the writers with the right combination of curiosity and ingenuity --- you risk making even more of a mess by creating plot holes in the course of filling other plot holes. Just avoid it, and take some other job. 

Life’s too short to be someone else’s clean-up crew. 

Also what do you think about retcons in vld s7-8? ...If S1/S2 along with watered down S3/S4 [is VLD #1 and] S5-S6 is ... VLD #2, [can] another retcon somewhat fix things? It can't erase the damage or revert VLD to S1-2 sadly, but maybe cutting the infected parts will make way for future seasons/sequels to make Voltron VLD 1 again?

How? “Cut to Bobby in the shower, waking up to realize the entire season was a dream”? You said it yourself: it won’t erase the damage. The story is broken at this point. The best we can hope for is a band-aid, some paltry attempt at closure so we can all be done and move on. 

At the very latest, S4 was the last chance for the story to turn itself around. Keep Keith on the team, have Black reject the clone, have the clone attack, let the team deal with it, find Shiro, reverse the lion swap, take down Lotor, then Haggar, then return to Earth for one last clean-up and introduce new characters and setup the continuation. 

We’re thirty-one episodes past that turning point. There’s no going back now. Whatever fresh hell is currently springing full-grown from the heads of the nostalgia-obsessed EPs... well, it’s what we’re gonna get. 

We may get band-aids, but that original story and its promising setups are gone. Nothing’s going to change that. If that frustrates you, the answer is to pummel DW Animation TV with your complaints so they’ll realize that a) there’s a diehard fandom that wants VLD done right, and b) to make sure any redo has god-tier storytellers like Ehasz or the Hageman brothers. 

VA interviews prove EPs unprofessionalism

I think the EPs’ own interviews do that all on their own, tbh.

the EPs trashed canon by changing VLD's arcs and the natural storylines the VAs recorded, and let them take the fall for making "wrong" comments. ... Jeremy reassured VLD would follow logic: Keiths sacrifice will be addressed [and he’ll] be angry at Krolia for abandoning him, Lance will use his sword [and] be someone’s first choice. None happened.

I realize now I was wrong to side-eye the older VAs for seeming to not know what was in the upcoming season. Seems like they probably ended up recording multiple versions of the story. I wonder if they still do the group watching together when the season comes out (pretty sure they did it for S3 and S4, ‘cause iirc AJ was part of it)... it’s got to be somewhat subdued watching, now, to see none of what you’d thought you were helping tell ever made it to the screen. 

#vld #voltron #analysis #sol thinks about stuff

[pwrestlingxpress]

Reddit Article about Golden☆Lovers History

Found this interesting column by WrestlingisJay on reddit.com about Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi’s history in which I felt compelled to share it here on the Pro Wrestling Express.  You can click here for comments on the article and if you a member, log in and make your own comment.  Anyway here is what WrestlingisJay had to say about the reunion of the Golden☆Lovers that occurred back on January 28, 2018 at New Beginning in Sapporo Night Two and remember, I take no credit in this.  The credit for this should go to WrestlingisJay on reddit:

Hello, I’m u/WrestlingIsJay! You may remember me from such walls of text as this post or this other post. Today I’m here to invite you to come with me on a journey… a Golden☆ journey! A lot of stuff has already been written on the greatest relationship in pro-wrestling, and I always make sure to send people looking for a quick fill-in to this excellent post from a while ago or this more recent Uproxx article, but what I really wanted to do was to create a place to also include all those little details and bump on the road that obviously often get overlooked for the sake of brevity in those kind of summaries but that I really think make up the soul of this amazing story. All the Small Things, basically (thank you Tom DeLonge). I’ll try my best and I hope people will come up with all those other things I’ll probably leave out in the comments, so to make this more and more complete. Let’s start, shall we?

2008-2012: Beginnings.

I guess pretty much everyone knows how it started at this point, so I’ll be quick: Kenny has a unique vision for pro-wrestling that sets him apart from most of his north American colleagues, finds a clip of Kota Ibushi having DDT-style matches on YouTube and immediately thinks that this guy from across the Ocean must thinks the same way he does, so he sets on a quest to face him no matter the odds. He films himself doing a crazy DDT-styled “Anywhere match to appease to them, cuts a promo on Ibushi and manages to get himself to become the one and only gaijin in DDT for quite a while. They have the match (DDT Universe link, it’s 9$ a month, first month is free), and it’s a rough sketch of everything Omega and Ibushi have in store for pro-wrestling: a perfect blend in of comedy, crazy high spots, unique storytelling and unparalleled athleticism. It ends up winning a MOTY trophy earning Omega his stay… the rest, as they say, is history.

I think one of the best “Small Things” about this is the way Kenny Omega retells it during his appearance on “Japanophiles”, a TV Show about foreigners living in Japan which dedicated an episode to him, in a somewhat-shoot interview he did while he was still in DDT (timestamped link) which really drives home how much of real life anime characters these two are: “I felt that my destiny, if there is such a thing, was to come out here and fight Kota Ibushi”.

He will later say that his first match with Ibushi was also the first time he cried after a match during a 2016 NJPW interview but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. They have the match and clearly immediately develop a strong friendship as early pictures and statements from Michael Nakazawa, a huge friend of both and basically the third unofficial member of their team (kind like a proto-Elite), attests. (shout out to @archaicbro by the way, who put together a most useful Twitter-sized recollections of their story). They join forces instead of facing each other again, as DDT originally had planned, and hit one homerun after the other: they even get a MOTY in New Japan in 2010 which, as Kenny recalled in the Edge & Christian Podcast, it’s something Jr. Tag Teams just “don’t do”. Their shenanigans both inside and outside the ring really depicts one hell of a great time for both of them, and Japan loves them as well.

Their peak probably comes in 2012 when, as many will already know, they main evented DDT’s most important show of the year, Peter Pan at the Nippon Budokan arena in Tokyo. There the “sketch” that was their first match together gets refined and they put up one of the greatest matches of all time (here’s another DDT Universe link) battling over the KO-D Openweight Championship, DDT’s top singles belt. One very interesting note: Kota Ibushi wins the match after having kicked out at 2 from a One Winged Angel in the center of the ring, the only wrestler to ever having done so without interferences or rope breaks.

At this point, life couldn’t be better for them, as Kenny himself will say to Meltzer in an interview in 2017 that he felt his career had peaked at that point, having gone all out at such a legendary arena, within a company he helped grow, with Ibushi. Despite that though, unfortunately trouble was brewing not so far on the horizon…

2014-2017: Paradise Lost?

2014 comes, and with it the biggest turn in Kenny Omega’s career arrives. He signs a contract of exclusivity with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and decides to stay a Jr. Heavyweight for the time being: with Kota already a Heavyweight in New Japan, this effectively breaks up their team and sends them separate ways. After an emotional (and pretty crazy) farewell match (rutube link as I couldn’t seem to find the match on DDT Universe), Kenny’s conference with NJPW is unusually cold when he talks about the fact that he will stay separated from Ibushi going forward: whether something happened behind the scenes or Kenny’s just preparing to become the evil Cleaner, we may never know, but the Golden☆Lovers are no more.

This is where turbulent times start for Kenny, and this is where the “Small Things” really shine. You’d be hard pressed to find an interview without a shout out, a quick hint or a monologue of the Cleaner towards his former tag partner, and what it all adds up to is a compelling depiction of someone clearly dealing with a lot of unwanted thoughts in his head. Kenny’s constant wandering with his mind towards Ibushi is so powerful, so humane that the lines between reality and kayfabe gets very blurred, and it’s astounding.

The first big crack in the “wall” Kenny put up to forget about his past obviously comes at Invasion Attack 2015, when in a wonderfully put-together segment wanted by all three involved, Kenny finds himself between a rock and a hard place when he has to help AJ Styles retain his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Kota. He doesn’t go all out in helping his Bullet Club brother, but the split second hesitation he causes in Ibushi is enough for AJ to turn his Phoenix Splash into a Styles Clash for the 1, 2, 3. After the match, Omega is definitely not thrilled about the outcome and his part in it. Some say this even started (in kayfabe) his path towards the inevitable takeover of the Bullet Club against AJ Styles: even when they just graze each other, Ibushi always has a huge impact on Kenny’s psyche and career.

They will stay apart for all of 2016, the true breakthrough year for the Cleaner, and this seem to weigh in deeply on Omega. After winning the G1, he states to having finally surpassed Kota, but he’s also clearly hurt at his disappearance at such a pivotal moment for him. He will start antagonizing him more and more, building up basically a feud with Kota’s shadow that will accompany him throughout all of 2016 and shape his interactions with him when Ibushi will finally return to New Japan later (as himself, although Kenny didn’t refrain from throwing shade at him with a couple of ironic comments on Twitter about Tiger Mask W’s performances being “a little green”). One important moment comes almost six months later, in March 2017, when TV Asahi hosts a ceremony to make a list of the greatest wrestlers in history and Kenny Omega, ranking #15, ends up standing in front of Kota who is amongst the judges. The look Kenny gives Kota here speaks for himself, but he also doubles down on Twitter, truly opening up for the first time in a while.

Keep in mind what he says here, as it’s one of the greatest details of this whole thing: Kenny clearly sees standing in the ring with Kota as the only way to truly be able to communicate with him after all this time. He doesn’t know how to tell him all the things he would like to, and he doesn’t even know if he would be able to, but he knows damn well how to wrestle, so that’s how he wants to speak to Ibushi – by fighting him. He will say this again later, and he will ultimately state as much after the reunion. But once again, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

WrestleKingdom 11 comes and goes, and Omega becomes the hottest topic in the world of pro-wrestling, but he doesn’t forget Ibushi, not even after his war with Okada: in an exclusive interview he states that the WK11 main event brought him to a ”magical [state of mind] where wrestling didn’t hurt”, something he only felt one other time in his career, ”when I was still in a tag team with… an old friend of mine”. Whatever happens, Ibushi is still there, always lingering in the back of his mind. This becomes evident when the rumors get more and more loud until yes, it’s revealed that Kota Ibushi will indeed be a part of the 27th edition of the G1. Kenny doesn’t hide his intentions: he will take part in the G1 because he wants, because he needs to be in the ring with Kota again. Maybe it’s because he really wants to prove himself he can surpass him, but mostly it’s because he’s aching for that chance to talk to his old friend in the only language he would be able to – that of professional wrestling.

Countless “Small Things” are littered among the interviews, tweets and shoot Q&As Kenny did around this time, but two of the most intense statements can be easily found on New Japan World. The first happens during a Skype interview Kenny did to promote the G1 USA Special. At the 22:53 mark, he gets asked about Kota being in the G1 and cuts a short, but awesome promo. I’ll transcribe here some of the best lines for those unwilling to click the link, as I believe it’s one of Omega’s best mic work I’ve ever heard:

“Look… Ibushi. Yeah, I’ll say his name, Ibushi. It’s been a while. I was waiting… I wondered what it would take. […] after I’ve won the G1 I thought for sure, you would come back to me. After I had the greatest match of all time at the Tokyo Dome, something you could never do, I thought you’d come back. What makes you come back now? What makes you want to challenge the G1 after everything we’ve been through. Is it something that you’re doing for yourself? Are you trying to challenge me? […] Questions that are running through my head. You know… I could always call you, I could always contact you, but I wouldn’t know what to say. […] Let’s do the talking in the ring. I want you to promise me… be a man of your word, promise me Ibushi, that you would make it to the finals. It’s the only way we can meet. Show me how much you’ve grown, and I’ll show you how much I’ve grown. You’re not the man anymore… I’m so much more than what you are now, and I can’t wait to show you the difference in that power.”

This is enough to make the situation look even more like a real-life anime rivalry than already is, but Omega wasn’t finished yet. During his appearance at a NJPW World’s one-hour show called Wonderland (it’s on their streaming service but the clip itself is free, so you can watch it without having to pay the monthly fee), where he was asked to go through all his adversaries for the upcoming G1, he stated multiple times that the only reason he was joining the tournament was Ibushi. In the end, around the 55:00 mark, he addresses Kota directly and cuts another gem:

”A-Block? There’s only one… there’s only one. […] There’s only one I want to beat, there’s only one I want to meet. And It’s you Ibushi. It’s a different world, and I saw your training video. You can’t just wake up one day and say, ‘I’m going to win the G1’! It isn’t that easy… but Ibushi, somewhere in there, I know you have it in you. [If it’s] really is your time, take it. Because I never stopped after you left. After you left me all alone, to fend for myself, I never stopped training, I never stopped sacrificing, I never stopped feeling the pain. I never ran away like you did. If you can make it to the final, that’s where I’ll be waiting. And then finally I’ll make you feel the pain Ibushi, and I’ll show you through my actions everything that I felt while you were away, after you threw me away.”

After these two pieces of work, hype was through the roof, but alas, Ibushi didn’t manage to reach the G1 Finals, and the Golden☆Lovers seemed destined to stay apart… for a little longer.

2017-2018: Reunion.

The finals arrived, and after them, the unexpected happened: a beaten Omega clad in gear that was an homage to his former partner met Ibushi backstage, even if the encounter lasted only for a few, seemingly misunderstood, seconds. A failed connection if there ever was one, for sure. But despise that, things kept moving and Kenny kept going there: in an interview with Kevin Kelly (another free one!) months later, when he was about to defend his IWGP US title against Juice Robinson, he reiterated that his only regret for the G1 Finals was the opponent. He wanted Ibushi, he needed to meet him in that ring, and that need was still there, clear as day. A need that would have been answered months later, in a truly unexpected fashion, amidst the snows of Sapporo.

…and here we are, at last, at the final reunion. At that single shocking moment, ten years in the making. With some unrequested help from the villainous Cody, Omega and Ibushi are standing face to face in the same ring again. It’s nothing like Kenny had thought, there are no wrestling moves involved, no fighting. It’s just his old friend, lending a helping hand, and for him it’s his whole world coming down hard. There’s no more feigning indignation, or hatred, or masquerading the pain of having been left alone. It’s all thrown in his face and the Cleaner’s metallic exterior gets shredded by the events. Underneath, the “real” Kenny resurfaces and after some hesitation, he gives in to a liberating hug. The Golden☆Lovers are back.

Again, click on the link (or here if confused) above to comment on this very interesting article from reddit by WrestlingisJay. 

#Kenny Omega #reddit #Kota Ibushi #Golden Lovers Reunion