Photo: WWE

It’s no secret that Jim Ross has taken a lot of heat and criticism for his many issues calling the action during last weekend’s NJPW US G1 Special. There are many rumors floating around on what actually caused the issues, but during an appearance on The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling (which will be released in its entirety tomorrow), Ross responded to the critics, basically blaming the issue on working live television.

“It is a real ambitious undertaking for the AXS TV folks who do do MMA 40 days a year (40 weeks a year on Friday night) or something like that but they had never done pro wrestling. So we had a brand new crew that had no and most essentially no experience whatsoever in pro wrestling. I thought that we rallied together and came through with an excellent effort, the desire and the will to be good was there. I had some flub ups and was asking which one is Jay (of The Briscoe Brothers) and which one is which and God almighty the guy we asked was one of the ringside guys and Josh Barnett and I said which one is which and one of the guys said: “Well, ( I can’t remember Mark or Jay) doesn’t have any front teeth.” I said (okay) that doesn’t help me unless you are going to be shooting their smile, give me something. I got hammered on social media because I made that mistake and people forget that we are human and we are doing a live television show.”

“I wish we did not have those errors but I can tell you this. When I saw the Briscoes on Sunday I apologized to both of them for screwing that up and I took complete responsibility for it even though I got bad information (you know) I own it. It is my deal and so I apologized to those guys because I have great respect for their work and I always have so I wish we had not done that. I don’t live this product. Kevin Kelly and Don Callus are there, they live it all the time and they were there in the building doing some stuff but I think that people will see that our second show was much more cleaner and much smoother than was our first show. Of course the second show also was highlighted by the United States title tournament but I thought that the final match with Omega and Ishii was absolutely tremendous. The Young Bucks had a real good match on that second night with Roppongi Vice and it ended up being Roppongi Vice’s apparent last match as a team. I was very and really happy that I had the chance to do two live shows and not in voice overs but actually sitting in the arena, sitting at ringside and being able to do what I enjoy doing more than anything or any other phase of the wrestling business and that is do live commentary.”

Whether Ross’ response appeases the masses or not doesn’t matter to me. I was so turned off by the English commentary that I switched to NJPW World during intermission. He and Barnett were ruining the show for me. Just one person’s opinion…

The post Jim Ross Responds To Criticism Of His NJPW US G1 Special Commentary Issues appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.

Photo: NJPW

New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced cards for their two upcoming G1 Special shows in Long Beach, California on July 1 and July 2.

Several weeks back, the company announced a new United States title. That title will crown its first champion in a 8-man single elimination tournament comprised of Kenny Omega, Michael Elgin, Jay Lethal, Juice Robinson, Hangman Page, Zack Sabre Jr., Tomohiro Ishii, and Tetsuya Naito.

Two matches have been announced for night two on July 2. The rest of the matches that night will depend on the results of the U.S. title tournament on night one. The NJPW G1 Special match cards as we know them now are below.

Night One – NJPW U.S. G1 Special (July 1, 2017)

• Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Marty Scurll, Matt Jackson, Nick Jackson and Yujiro Takahashi) vs. CHAOS (Beretta, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Rocky Romero and Will Ospreay)
• Dragon Lee, Jushin Thunder Liger, Titán & Volador Jr. vs. Bushi, Evil, Hiromu Takahashi & Sanada
• First Round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Hangman Page vs. Jay Lethal
• First Round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Juice Robinson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
• David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jay White and Kushida vs. Billy Gunn, Sho Tanaka, Yohei Komatsu and Yoshitatsu
• IWGP Tag Team Championship
  Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. War Machine
• First Round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Tetsuya Naito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
• First Round – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Kenny Omega vs. Michael Elgin
• IWGP Heavyweight Championship
  Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Cody

Night Two – NJPW U.S. G1 Special (July 2, 2017)

• IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
  The Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi Vice
• IWGP Intercontinental Championship
  Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Billy Gunn
• Semifinals – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Winner of Kenny Omega/Michael Elgin vs. winner of Jay Lethal/Hangman Page
• Semifinals – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Winner of Juice Robinson/Zack Sabre Jr. vs. winner of Tetsuya Naito/Tomohiro Ishii
• Finals – IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Tournament
  Winner of Semis #1 vs. Winner of Semis #2

How can you watch these G1 Special shows? The July 1 event will air live on AXSTV at 8:00 p.m. ET. The July 2 event will air on delay several days later on AXSTV (July 7). You will be able to stream both shows on the NJPW World subscription service. The July 1 show will air live around the world on NJPW World, but it will only be available on demand in the United States after it has concluded (in order to entice people to watch the show on AXSTV). The July 2 show will live around the world and in the U.S. on NJPW World.

The post NJPW Announces U.S. G1 Special Cards For Long Beach, CA appeared first on TopRopePress.com – Wrestling News, WWE News, TNA News, Wrestling Results.