Blog Question – X Has Pinned the Champion!
By Scott Keith on 7 September 2019
Hey Scott!
I have a question for you and the blog. When WWE sets up title matches by having a wrestler pin the champion in a tag match or a non-title match, it seems to be met with eye-rolls and criticisms that they should do a better job protecting their champions or that it's "lazy booking." However, when New Japan uses the same trope–especially in their tournaments like the G1 and Best of Super Juniors–the fan reaction is different. I know I was hyped when Minoru Suzuki used pinning Okada in the tag match to challenge at Royal Quest, and I'm also pumped for Sanada after he pinned Okada in the G1.
What do you and the blog think New Japan does differently that makes this trope work for them? Where does WWE fall short?
Because New Japan doesn't do it all the freakin' time and it means something when it happens. WWE occasionally uses it to set up later title matches, but mostly their philosophy is that champions can lose all the matches on TV and be protected because they're the champion. Remember how they hyped up Kairi & Asuka getting a non-title match in Japan against the Iconics? And then they won the match and it led to literally nothing? That's the kind of stuff that makes it such a lazy trope, because it doesn't have anything to do with future planning, it's just a thing to fill time on their shows.