Little things like Ishii's ankle play out through the whole tourney and have such a great payoff. Just the fact that every person has their own narrative is amazing (the new guy trying to prove he belongs, the old guy trying to prove he still has it, the guy trying to improve on last year's showing, etc.). That's not easy with 20 competitors.

I don't really watch the tag matches just cause I don't have the time, but whenever I catch a glimpse or hear the announcers reference the preview match in a tourney match it's pretty clear they are well thought-out and play into the overall story.

I honestly hate to harp on "NJPW is great and WWE sucks!" but like, how can I not? WWE always looks like they're stumbling through the dark week-to-week and New Japan probably has the next 2 years planned out. People were worried that AEW was gonna gut NJPW, but they are still looking strong.

I will say I was disappointed that KENTA joined Bullet Club though. Outside of the Switchblade and Gedo pairing I don't give a fuck about Bullet Club. The whole thing is just dead and I don't want KENTA to become just another BC dude after having such a hot start.