>>15406294>I think Shota's put in a good in-ring performance too but he's just lacking something. He does a bunch of moves but it's like there's no passion in it or something and he's just going through the motions. I've kind of started to dislike his moveset because it seems designed to be cool in a kind of disingenuous way.Yeah, there's been something there that just doesn't fully click, even compared to his wrestling previously, in my opinion. It might be that he's trying to step into his role as self-appointed ace and not really filling out those shoes yet. I think that's precisely what made the match vs. Kidd work so well though. Gabe sells this pure HATRED for people who don't respect the sport as much as he does so well and it really felt like he wanted to murder Umino for being a nepo baby. Awesome finish, too.
>Takeshita and Gabe definitely look like the most complete wrestlers in the tournament. Gabe has improved so much, become so well-rounded. You can tell they both love pro wrestling, I think that really matters in the development process. A 'for the love of the game' kind of wrestler's passion will always get across.Absolutely agreed, and especially in Kidd's case I think his love for pro-wrestling is a very interesting wrinkle in the otherwise pretty standard pissed off heel-character. The crowd love him too, he gets huge reactions all the time. The post-match against Shingo worked the fuck out of me for that exact reason.
>Uemura has that a little bit though I wish he'd add a bit more punishing moves to his moveset.I'm just as much of a mark for stiff shit and head drops as the next guy, so I'm sure I'd welcome it, but I think Uemura's in a great spot right now. The ring-out lariat, uranage and the backslide into Deadbolt combo round him out super well.
