{"id":116027,"date":"2021-03-29T07:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T12:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=116027"},"modified":"2021-03-28T15:13:19","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T20:13:19","slug":"heydorns-take-its-called-reading-the-room-new-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/03\/29\/heydorns-take-its-called-reading-the-room-new-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: It\u2019s called reading the room, New Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-2761022998\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, no. No matter which way you slice, dice, or OsCut the closing angle of the 2021 New Japan Cup tournament, the only real analysis necessary is as follows: Bad idea.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In case you missed it, after Will Ospreay won the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/03\/21\/3-21-new-japan-cup-2021-results-wellss-results-analysis-of-will-ospreay-vs-shingo-takagi-final-more\/\">2021 New Japan Cup<\/a> by pinning Shingo Takagi, Ospreay gave the traditional post-match interview in the ring, spoke about the win, and then illustrated how significant it would be for him to wrestle Kota Ibushi for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Ospreay talked about needing the championship, that it was the most important thing in the world to him, and that he\u2019d do anything to get it. Then, out of nowhere, Ospreay hit his girlfriend, Bea Priestley, with the OsCutter and rolled out of the ring as officials checked on her. Yep, a domestic violence angle to close a wrestling show in 2021.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-102397 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2020\/07\/HeadshotHeydorn2020_180.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"180\" height=\"210\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Save the arguments, because I get it. Domestic violence? Zack, you\u2019re nuts. Priestley was in on it, and she agreed to everything. Violence like this happens in movies and on television all the time. Basically, get over it and it\u2019s all just fine, right?<\/p>\n<p>Wrong. I can admit, fair points, but there are issues here and it starts with simply reading the room. Can we do that next time, New Japan?<\/p>\n<p>The world has moved past this kind of thing being tolerable. #MeToo in the broader culture and #SpeakOut in wrestling culture thankfully created a new environment. Those\u00a0movements gave women voices when they ordinarily wouldn\u2019t have had one. Their stories not forgotten but told\u00a0loudly.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Not in New Japan, though. The story here is that Ospreay only loves and needs the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In this instance, he showed that by\u00a0breaking up with his girlfriend and physically assaulting; he wanted to make sure she and the watching world got the point. What\u2019s the goal from a booking perspective? Why, heat on the heel, of course.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing, though. Nobody hates the character of Will Ospreay more because of what he did to Priestley. That\u2019s a problem. They should. Everyone should. The guy wrecked his girlfriend with a viciously physical move because he was done with her and wanted something else. Instead, the immediate reaction on social media was to debate the merits of what happened.<\/p>\n<p>See, all the debating meant that the coveted nuclear heat that was to be generated within this fell squarely on the shoulders of New Japan Pro Wrestling as a company for being crusty, old, and too stubborn to get with the times. Not Will Ospreay. What was left over was the story of a man physically harming a woman without a place to go.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-1344016094\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>We know what happens to Ospreay. He\u2019s main-eventing the next major New Japan event and wrestling for the world championship.\u00a0Uh-huh. He\u2019ll be trotted out in front of the world as if he did nothing to wrestle Kota Ibushi &#8211;\u00a0with Priestly, the woman he assaulted, in his rearview mirror.<\/p>\n<p>Priestley? She\u2019s silenced. She\u2019s not getting a match with Ospreay any time soon to fight for revenge. At this point, Kota Ibushi doesn\u2019t appear to be fighting Ospreay on her behalf either. The endgame here is that she and this story are forgotten. She was a blip on the radar of history and used to get her male counterpart over.<\/p>\n<p>So, at worst, New Japan, you&#8217;re willingly telling a story in which an abuser of women is looked past and protected by his company because of who he is. That\u2019s not the right side of history to be on. The best-case scenario is you look silly and out of touch.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Culturally, this angle belongs in a time capsule that reads \u201c1998 wrestling.\u201d Re-watching material like that from back then is cringe-worthy and embarrassing through today&#8217;s lens. As I type this, a few poor interns at NBC are purging the WWE content migrating to Peacock because the rules are different now. That\u2019s a great thing for the pro wrestling business and a long time coming, too.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, Zack. It\u2019s just a wrestling show. Yeah, it is and the goal of a pro wrestling show is to stage reality. Today\u2019s reality isn\u2019t the place for Will Ospreay physically harming his girlfriend, Bea Priestley. New Japan should know better.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>NOW CHECK OUT HEYDORN&#8217;S PREVIOUS TAKE:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/03\/20\/heydorns-take-dont-hold-me-to-this-wwe-fastlane-2021\/\">HEYDORN\u2019S TAKE: Don\u2019t hold me to this \u2013 WWE Fastlane 2021<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-3237905097\"><div id=\"pwtor-1622573226\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>So, no. No matter which way you slice, dice, or OsCut the closing angle of the 2021 New Japan Cup tournament, the only real analysis necessary is as follows: Bad idea. In case you missed <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/03\/29\/heydorns-take-its-called-reading-the-room-new-japan\/\" title=\"HEYDORN&#8217;S TAKE: It\u2019s called reading the room, New Japan\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":39475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,6454,53],"tags":[1767,2149,404],"class_list":["post-116027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-heydorns-take","category-opinion_stafftakes","tag-new-japan-cup","tag-new-japan-pro-wrestling","tag-njpw"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/03\/OspreayWillROH3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116027"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116027\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":116031,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116027\/revisions\/116031"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}