# Riho is a Disaster.



## RainmakerV2 (Nov 8, 2017)

Britt just stands there and eviscerates her verbally (by the way, is Britt supposed to be the heel here, because all her points were correct LOL) and she just stands there like a clueless child. Please end this. Its a joke. Her offense looks absolutely terrible on grown women. 

Oh, and didnt she just get splashed through a table by a 300 pound used to be dude? Why is she standing backstage looking fine 30 minutes later like nothing happened? Que?


----------



## The Sheik (Jul 10, 2017)

Riho still manages to be the most over woman in the division, so i don't see it ending any time soon.. They've done an awful job building this division so far.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

She's absolutely awful. I've heard amazing things about even the modern joshi, but the match I saw her in with Hikaru Shida was abysmal. She did this running knee move, but she stopped, then lightly landed the move and JR had to cover it on commentary. It was soooooo bad. 

She looks legitimately like a child. Bewildered all the time. She doesn't look like a star. She bounces off her opponents. She is so small it sets a weird cadence to the action in the ring. 

If this is what modern women's wrestling in Japan is like, I'll take a hard pass. Shida at least looks the part. But Aja Kong vs. Manami Toyota this was not. 

The best defense for her seems to be the ratings. You know why she gets ratings? Fap, fap, fap. Japanese women have been sexualized in culture and in wrestling. It's also why Scarlett Bordeaux set a record in AAA and might boost things in NXT. It's not because of an innate talent, my friends. It's because people are perverts. 

Didn't see the segment from this week, but stupid babyfaces standing there as heels make fun of them is classic WWE. More sports entertainment bullshit that the AEW audience claims to hate.


----------



## RainmakerV2 (Nov 8, 2017)

The Wood said:


> She's absolutely awful. I've heard amazing things about even the modern joshi, but the match I saw her in with Hikaru Shida was abysmal. She did this running knee move, but she stopped, then lightly landed the move and JR had to cover it on commentary. It was soooooo bad.
> 
> She looks legitimately like a child. Bewildered all the time. She doesn't look like a star. She bounces off her opponents. She is so small it sets a weird cadence to the action in the ring.
> 
> ...


Its hilariously bad. You know your champion looks 12 and cant speak English and you put her in that spot why exactly? Complete tone deaf writing.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

This has completely exposed Kenny Omega as both a booker and a talent scout too. I'm not sure the entire extent of his EVP duties, but on-air has been a total bust.


----------



## Roxinius (Jul 21, 2014)

lol a corbin mark calling another wrestler a disaster thats rich


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

I don't think Rainmaker is actually a Corbin mark. I think it's just so he steps on toes, but let's say he was: 

* Corbin has a better look for the role he's in. 

* Corbin is a passable, if boring, talker. 

* Corbin is a lot more believable. He has a legit background, etc. 

* Corbin has gotten considerably better at carrying a tune in the ring. 

I'm no fan, but I would honestly take Corbin at this point. I bet he and Bryan actually have a really good match down the line. Riho isn't going to do that. 

Oh no -- I just made a reasonable claim that someone shitty in WWE might be better than someone shitty in AEW. I'm going to get called a troll now. 

But Corbin's got that Jay White thing to him. A promoter saw something in him, and regardless of what the untrained eye thought, they've kept at it and now you often hear even cynics give them good reviews. I've heard good things about Corbin on SmackDown lately (outside the dog food segments) and his work against Chad Gable was heralded.


----------



## Buhalovski (Jul 24, 2015)

They had to go with Shida, she was also over and much better wrestler overall. Also as far as I know her english is ok-ish.


----------



## Darkest Lariat (Jun 12, 2013)

I don't particularly mind Riho. I do find it confusing that they'd make their first Champion someone with commitments on the other side of the world. I bet in hindsight Nyla isn't looking like such a bad choice. At least she would've been around.


----------



## Jazminator (Jan 9, 2018)

I love Riho. I hope she stays champion for a long time.


----------



## 45banshee (Jan 7, 2019)

I love asian female talent. Im the first to scream it to the rooftop but it was time to take that belt off Riho. Kris or Shida are better choices at this point


----------



## Chan Hung (Dec 28, 2011)

On the plus side, Riho has the advantage of being small and cute along with an innocence of sort that 'most' fans enjoy. So it's easy to rally behind her...but....

On the negative, she has zero mic skills to the table. Thus, she needs a manager that knows Japanese and English. Is there anyone else they can use besides Nakazawa? I Hope So.


----------



## CenaBoy4Life (Jul 31, 2013)

all the commentary can say is she smiles nice because she doesnt show up or speak english. theres no reason to care or connect with Riho. I cant stand her rodent face either.


----------



## Cult03 (Oct 31, 2016)

I actually really like Riho, but she shouldn't have been their first champ. There's also no conceivable way she would ever beat Nyla, knowing who she is. And the fact that she doesn't show up is the cherry on top. Now she's getting roasted on television by someone who works 5 days a week and probably only has one day to train. It doesn't look good


----------



## Chan Hung (Dec 28, 2011)

I think Shida and Riho would be a pretty good tag team in the future. Shida speaks a bit of English. Riho though could use a manager for sure!


----------



## Geeee (Aug 9, 2010)

I think Riho is pretty good. I don't understand why she is so disliked on here. She gets a good reaction from the live crowd. She's not the only current tiny female wrestler. AJ Lee was tiny. Alexa Bliss is tiny. Sasha Banks is like 2" taller.


----------



## Oracle (Nov 9, 2011)

Gotta drop the belt next week or there will be issues for mine.

time to go with a wrestler who works there full time and not shows up when she feels like it.


----------



## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

Geeee said:


> I think Riho is pretty good. I don't understand why she is so disliked on here. She gets a good reaction from the live crowd. She's not the only current tiny female wrestler. AJ Lee was tiny. Alexa Bliss is tiny. Sasha Banks is like 2" taller.


I don't like her in general. But most folk don't like that she's never around. People like champions to show up


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

She's a disaster like the wedding angle on RAW was a disaster.....

A disaster for the wrestling fans can be "good" for the non wrestling fans.


----------



## Optikk is All Elite (Sep 5, 2007)

rbl85 said:


> She's a disaster like the wedding angle on RAW was a disaster.....
> 
> A disaster for the wrestling fans can be "good" for the non wrestling fans.


People think WF/the internet speaks for everyone. This is the problem.
That’s why I’m glad AEW don’t listen to the goofies on the Internet. WWE have done so previously; that’s why we have this rush of bland losers like Cedric and Ricochet. But they seem to realise that hence the Lana storyline. Keep it coming imo.


----------



## kingfrass44 (Sep 19, 2019)

rbl85 said:


> She's a disaster like the wedding angle on RAW was a disaster.....
> 
> A disaster for the wrestling fans can be "good" for the non wrestling fans.


you are right
good for the smarks and meltzer can be "disaster " for the non wrestling fans
Because of this They lost of Half the views


----------



## DammitChrist (Apr 3, 2016)

I'm just glad that they decided to push Riho since she's a pretty good talent, and that she became the AEW Women's Champion (even though she'll drop the belt next week) regardless of the complaints :banderas

Edit:

It also helps that Riho is far more watchable than Baron Corbin :mj


----------



## reyfan (May 23, 2011)

I find it interesting people are so sure she will drop the title next week, the same way people were sure Adam Page was going to be AEW world champion


----------



## Metalhead1 (Jan 21, 2019)

They are probably gonna have her drop the belt to Kris Statlander next week anyway. Kris has awesome in ring skills and a really engaging alien persona, so she'd make a perfect champ. Then, they'll have her feud with the likes of Awesome Kong, Nyla Rose or Bea Priestley.


----------



## Boldgerg (Apr 2, 2017)

Yep, she's fucking horrendous. Putting the title on her was beyond stupid and just thoroughly bizarre.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

I love how people on this forum shit on her and yet she's by far the most over women XD.


----------



## deadcool (May 4, 2006)

I am reading a lot of lame posts about how Riho is so bad. I don't necessarily agree with them but the bottom line is, she is by far the most over female on the roster.

I am convinced that some wrestling fans are clueless idiots. AEW does a good job of not burning out their performers by not featuring them every week and spacing them out over a period of time and then we have some lame a** fans saying "we want a champion who shows up every week". It's like there is no pleasing them. Morons like these deserve WWE. 

If they do not like Riho or what AEW is doing in general, they can switch the channel and watch NXT or watch something else that appeals to them.


----------



## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

She's the most over, but how much does that help them if she constantly has to go do work for Stardom and miss their shows? Does anybody know how much longer she's contracted to Stardom? Her being over warrants her getting a push. But maybe let someone else hold the belt and use her as a secondary feud for the division.



deadcool said:


> I am convinced that some wrestling fans are clueless idiots. *AEW does a good job of not burning out their performers by not featuring them every week* and spacing them out over a period of time and then we have some lame a** fans saying "we want a champion who shows up every week". It's like there is no pleasing them. Morons like these deserve WWE.


This is such a ridiculous thing that some of y'all believe in. Fans don't burnout on wrestlers they like and on the talent end just don't have them wrestle 4 times a week 52 weeks a year. Imagine trashing folk for wanting over wrestlers to be on TV weekly lol.


----------



## RapShepard (Jun 20, 2014)

Double post


----------



## Stellar (May 30, 2016)

Riho isn't bad in the ring. She is fine.

The problem is that she doesn't speak at all really. At all. Even when Britt Baker is making good points toward her. Plus because of her commitments elsewhere shes been absent and her momentum has really slowed down. I don't dislike her as a performer but something needs to change in that division and they missed out on an opportunity last night.

Nyla Rose still wouldn't have been a good choice as the first Womens Champion and i'm not changing from that still, but I am starting to warm up to her winning the belt eventually. The division needs _something _to really get some buzz again. Plus usually its the face chasing the heel that is the most interesting.


----------



## P Thriller (Jan 6, 2016)

Geeee said:


> I think Riho is pretty good. I don't understand why she is so disliked on here. She gets a good reaction from the live crowd. She's not the only current tiny female wrestler. AJ Lee was tiny. Alexa Bliss is tiny. Sasha Banks is like 2" taller.


Sasha Banks is 4 inches taller than Riho. But the height isn't really what the problem is. Riho only weighs like 95 pounds. It is borderline creepy watching her because she literally looks like a little child. Sasha Banks is 20 pounds heavier than her. AJ Lee was 20 pounds heavier than her. Alexa Bliss is even 10 pounds heavier than her with some actual meat on her bones. Just Imagine what AJ Lee would look like 20 pounds lighter and with an uglier face....that's Riho.


----------



## Jman55 (Nov 21, 2016)

deadcool said:


> I am reading a lot of lame posts about how Riho is so bad. I don't necessarily agree with them but the bottom line is, she is by far the most over female on the roster.
> 
> I am convinced that some wrestling fans are clueless idiots. AEW does a good job of not burning out their performers by not featuring them every week and spacing them out over a period of time and then we have some lame a** fans saying "we want a champion who shows up every week". It's like there is no pleasing them. Morons like these deserve WWE.
> 
> If they do not like Riho or what AEW is doing in general, they can switch the channel and watch NXT or watch something else that appeals to them.


See I agree with your general point that AEW are mostly doing a good job not overexposing talents however Riho is an exception as due to her Japan commitments she is instead completely underexposed which as the Champion of her division is a genuine problem (She's a great performer imo who if more full time I'd personally be fine with being champion but the fact is at this moment in time she isn't so she was a bit of a poor choice as the first champ in that regard)

Hoping Kris Statlander ends up winning the title next week with her story going on and to fix this issue (plus from my very brief exposure to her I very much like her anyway) while the Riho and Baker stuff can be a more personal rivalry without the title and keep her involved with the roster cause again I do like Riho just not sure her being champ is the right call.


----------



## Whoanma (Apr 5, 2016)




----------



## Benoit's Weight Machine (Dec 28, 2019)

reyfan said:


> I find it interesting people are so sure she will drop the title next week, the same way people were sure Adam Page was going to be AEW world champion


I think the reason people are getting the sense that she's dropping the title is because it has been made abundantly clear that Japan is her priority. AEW has also been booking around her and not even showing pretaped promos or barely even mentioning her for that matter.

Similarly, I think people thought they were going with Page as champion because A) they named the next PPV after him, B) they announced no upcoming matches for him when advertising Dynamite and C) the fact that the elite had gone on record that they held him in very high regard. Thankfully they went with the right choice in Jericho.


----------



## Brodus Clay (Jan 6, 2012)

Shes fine I don't want more toxic wamen revolution kind of champion that WWE toddlers idolize.


----------



## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

She isn't believable in the slightest and my partner thinks her face looks like a horse. Enough said.


----------



## The Phantom (Jan 12, 2018)

She's delightful.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

I wonder on who we should listen to when it's a question of how much fans like a wrestler.

10 guys shitting on her on a forum or 4K+ people cheering her last night ?


----------



## RainmakerV2 (Nov 8, 2017)

rbl85 said:


> I wonder on who we should listen to when it's a question of how much fans like a wrestler.
> 
> 10 guys shitting on her on a forum or 4K+ people cheering her last night ?



By that logic you can say almost everyone in WWE should be champion.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

RainmakerV2 said:


> By that logic you can say almost everyone in WWE should be champion.


Because every wrestler in the WWE got the crowd behind them ?


----------



## RainmakerV2 (Nov 8, 2017)

rbl85 said:


> Because every wrestler in the WWE got the crowd behind them ?



Getting cheered and having the crowd actually invested and involved in your character and story are two completely different things.


----------



## I'mTheGreatest (Aug 3, 2019)

Omega needs to leave for the WWE to save AEW when it comes running divisions. 

The guy is clueless.


----------



## V-Trigger (Jul 6, 2016)

Lol at the Corbin mark thinking that Riho is bad in the ring. You must be a Mandy Rose fan as well.


----------



## The Principal (Apr 5, 2019)

Dickhead1990 said:


> She isn't believable in the slightest and my partner thinks her face looks like a horse.


Riho, Britt Baker, and Hunter Horse Helmsley would make quite a “stable”.

Shit, Helmsley’s dead.


----------



## IronMan8 (Dec 25, 2015)

I like Riho because she’s cute.

If she gets airtime when I’m watching an episode, I’ll watch her. 

She’s not a believable wrestler though and the crowd reactions could be better, so I’d rather someone else gets the spot and I’ll just watch something else after the episode finishes.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Apr 21, 2014)

*I think they were going to put the title on Statlander until they realized she was double booked. 4'9 Asian Lesnar is a joke and an embarrassment to women's wrestling. I'm so glad we were blessed with Io on NXT.*


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *I think they were going to put the title on Statlander until they realized she was double booked. 4'9 Asian Lesnar is a joke and an embarrassment to women's wrestling. I'm so glad we were blessed with Io on NXT.*


Sadly Io should be booked like Riho.

One is booked maybe too strong and the other too "weak".


----------



## The Principal (Apr 5, 2019)

I feel like Kenny expected Riho to be this underdog babyface like Daniel Bryan that would get over with work rate and “overcoming the odds.” Bryan obviously connected with fans through those qualities but had a critical third piece that Riho doesn’t have - mic skill in English. She’ll never have the kind of fan support that would cause many to overlook her physical stature because she doesn’t speak English.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

The Principal said:


> I feel like Kenny expected Riho to be this underdog babyface like Daniel Bryan that would get over with work rate and “overcoming the odds.” Bryan obviously connected with fans through those qualities but had a critical third piece that Riho doesn’t have - mic skill in English. *She’ll never have the kind of fan support* that would cause many to overlook her physical stature because she doesn’t speak English.


She always does in her match


----------



## reyfan (May 23, 2011)

The Principal said:


> I feel like Kenny expected Riho to be this underdog babyface like Daniel Bryan that would get over with work rate and “overcoming the odds.” Bryan obviously connected with fans through those qualities but had a critical third piece that Riho doesn’t have - mic skill in English. She’ll never have the kind of fan support that would cause many to overlook her physical stature because she doesn’t speak English.


Can't really call her an underdog unless she lost to begin with, can't really do underdog stories in a company that had been on tv for like 1 month at that point.


----------



## The Principal (Apr 5, 2019)

reyfan said:


> Can't really call her an underdog unless she lost to begin with, can't really do underdog stories in a company that had been on tv for like 1 month at that point.


I was referring to AEW’s commentary team frequently talking about how small she is, especially leading up to her match with Nyla on the first Dynamite. I think they wanted to make Riho the underdog in that match (wasn’t hard to do). They kept talking about her size in matches after she won to keep that underdog champion persona.


----------



## Jazminator (Jan 9, 2018)

Riho is one of my favorite wrestlers to root for, and I enjoy her matches. When she was matched against Nyla for the AEW title, I was cheering for her so hard. And when she pinned Nyla, I marked out.

Now I just want Yuka Sakazaki to come back for a few matches.


----------



## yeahright2 (Feb 11, 2011)

If it´s a choice between Riho and Nyla, I´ll take Riho any day of the week.


----------



## 5 Star Giulia ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (Apr 21, 2014)

rbl85 said:


> Sadly Io should be booked like Riho.
> 
> One is booked maybe too strong and the other too "weak".


*lol no. There's nothing unbelievable about the way Io wins. *


----------



## validreasoning (Jul 4, 2012)

AEW book the women's division as pure time-filler so it doesn't matter who the champion is. It's not like if the put belt on anyone else it will be maineventing tv or ppv.


----------



## LongPig666 (Mar 27, 2019)

You mean like a main event Wrestlemania botch finish disaster?


----------



## Chris JeriG.O.A.T (Jun 17, 2014)

She's fucking awful and while once upon a time I argued that despite her being awful she should be the champ because she was the most over, now she's not even that over, she never shows up, she can't speak, she adds nothing to the product. 

There aren't enough lolicon weebs in the AEW fan base to support her push.


----------



## The Masked Avenger (Apr 18, 2018)

Riho was the right choice at the time. The women's division was an after thought and they shouldn't have crowned a champion with so little booking or storylines. They should have waited until after they crowned the tag champs and started from there. At that point they had some more quality women in Shanna, Swole and Statlander. Plus Nyla has marketable improved since she first started. 

Riho was literally the only women getting any sort of reaction and the smart move was to put it on the only needle mover. However, now it seem that Stardom is more a priority and it's time to move on. I tried to look up anything about her contract situation and the only thing I could find is a reddit post outlining the deal from the Observer and she is contracted to show up for 80% of the Stardom shows and is only contracted for one show a month for AEW. I don't know how true it is but it's not something to move forward with.

Statlander is the way to go. She is over even if it's not as much and she will actually show up as long as she doesn't have some random indy dates.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

rbl85 said:


> I love how people on this forum shit on her and yet she's by far the most over women XD.


People really need to lose this idea that something is “over.” Something working in a room or a building doesn’t mean it is working at home for wider audiences. Scotty 2 Hotty used to be “over.” Think about how you would follow the logic of yoyr



deadcool said:


> I am reading a lot of lame posts about how Riho is so bad. I don't necessarily agree with them but the bottom line is, she is by far the most over female on the roster.
> 
> I am convinced that some wrestling fans are clueless idiots. AEW does a good job of not burning out their performers by not featuring them every week and spacing them out over a period of time and then we have some lame a** fans saying "we want a champion who shows up every week". It's like there is no pleasing them. Morons like these deserve WWE.
> 
> If they do not like Riho or what AEW is doing in general, they can switch the channel and watch NXT or watch something else that appeals to them.


Notice which side it is doing the name-calling? Again, being “over” isn’t the end-all, be-all. If the point was to not burn out talent, why point it out in their storylines? 



rbl85 said:


> I wonder on who we should listen to when it's a question of how much fans like a wrestler.
> 
> 10 guys shitting on her on a forum or 4K+ people cheering her last night ?


I wouldn’t trust those fans. They’re a certain kind of fan. You should listen to people who know what they are talking about, and tje



V-Trigger said:


> Lol at the Corbin mark thinking that Riho is bad in the ring. You must be a Mandy Rose fan as well.


More hasty generalizations to try and dismiss people.


----------



## reyfan (May 23, 2011)

The Principal said:


> I was referring to AEW’s commentary team frequently talking about how small she is, especially leading up to her match with Nyla on the first Dynamite. I think they wanted to make Riho the underdog in that match (wasn’t hard to do). They kept talking about her size in matches after she won to keep that underdog champion persona.


That doesn't make her an underdog though that just makes her unbelievable like Marko Stunt having competitive matches with grown men


----------



## Majmo_Mendez (Jul 18, 2014)

Absolutely no reason to keep the belt on Riho when they have Shida who is superior in every single way IMO


----------



## Dickhead1990 (Aug 31, 2016)

The Principal said:


> Riho, Britt Baker, and Hunter Horse Helmsley would make quite a “stable”.
> 
> Shit, Helmsley’s dead.


That would neigh work


----------



## Benoit's Weight Machine (Dec 28, 2019)

IMO putting the belt on Riho was a necessity as they really had no viable options at the time. Putting her size and believability aside, there's no denying that she is over with the crowd and has proven to be a ratings draw.

With that being said, they need to get the belt off of her ASAP if she cannot make some sort of firm commitment to AEW. Her disappearing for 2 months following full gear just isn't going to cut it.

While Statlander is a great rising star, we need to learn from history with Goldberg and not push her too far, too soon. Let her get a few feuds under her belt and develop her gimmick before putting the belt on her. Shida is the best choice at the moment and they should have pulled the trigger on that this past Wednesday.


----------



## Not Lying (Sep 9, 2013)

I'm not a fan of Riho. I guess I have to admit she's over, but I even though Nyla looked better than her in the last match. I can suspend my disbelief for most of her weak-looking offence, but i don't enjoy her matches. Shida looked SO good on Wednesday. Idk maybe it's me finally noticing but damn the stuff she did and combination of her strenghts and athletism is on another leve.
To me, Riho should be in the mid-card getting beat up by heels that gain heat to go for the champion.


----------



## MrWalsh (Feb 21, 2010)

Riho is cute and she has that kawai uguu pattern to her matches down pat 
Her size and lack of any mic skills is exactly why the live crowds love her

The exact opposite of marko stunt's situation


----------



## TAC41 (Jun 8, 2016)

90% of AEW fans no doubt have a Japanese girl fetish and only watch anime outside of wrestling, so it’s probably the only reasonable business decision they’ve made since creation. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## TheDraw (Jun 27, 2019)

The AEW womens division just screams Indy!


----------



## Purple Haze (Sep 30, 2019)

I skip all of her matches, a very boring wrestler, just like 90% of the AEW women's division.


----------



## V-Trigger (Jul 6, 2016)

BOSS of Bel-Air said:


> *I think they were going to put the title on Statlander until they realized she was double booked. 4'9 Asian Lesnar is a joke and an embarrassment to women's wrestling. I'm so glad we were blessed with Io on NXT.*


Lmao


----------



## TKO Wrestling (Jun 26, 2018)

I’m a pretty big Riho fan, her matches aren’t as horrible as normal women matches. Plus she is just super hot so that helps.

If we are stuck having to be like WWE and have a damn women’s division then I’m a-ok with Riho, she is better than most I’ve seen over the years.


----------



## reyfan (May 23, 2011)

TheDraw said:


> The AEW womens division just screams Indy!


To be fair that's what they wanted their product to be, indy wrestling on TV.


----------



## Dummy_Yeah! (Jun 28, 2018)

The women's division is a disaster.


----------



## MarkOfAllMarks (Apr 7, 2018)

Riho is an excellent wrestler with a ton of experience. She's also in her early 20's and a veteran in terms of wrestling experience. Given that she is so young and already so good she can still get even better.
I see a lot of people complaining she is too small so it looks fake. I disagree. Rey Mysterio is also small and he went on to beat guys twice his size. Wrestling is not real. In wrestling smaller competitors can beat bigger guys. In real life do you think Rey Mysterio could've beaten Kurt Angle, or Batista. Absolutely not. You have to suspend your disbelief.
I think Riho has a lot of heart and fight for such a small person. I think fans find that very endearing and inspiring. Shes at a disadvantage yet she is still able to pull off amazIng victories... like Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan. I love Riho.


----------



## Cult03 (Oct 31, 2016)

MarkOfAllMarks said:


> Riho is an excellent wrestler with a ton of experience. She's also in her early 20's and a veteran in terms of wrestling experience. Given that she is so young and already so good she can still get even better.
> I see a lot of people complaining she is too small so it looks fake. I disagree. Rey Mysterio is also small and he went on to beat guys twice his size. Wrestling is not real. In wrestling smaller competitors can beat bigger guys. In real life do you think Rey Mysterio could've beaten Kurt Angle, or Batista. Absolutely not. You have to suspend your disbelief.
> I think Riho has a lot of heart and fight for such a small person. I think fans find that very endearing and inspiring. Shes at a disadvantage yet she is still able to pull off amazIng victories... like Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan. I love Riho.


I like Riho but I am sick of people using the "It's not real" excuse. If people struggle to suspend their belief because these humans act unrealistically then that's the fault of the wrestlers. They have to sell it to us, and Rey did just that. She's a good wrestler in my opinion, but because she's not there all the time it was a bad choice to put the belt on her. People are more worried about that I think. She also shouldn't have stood next to Nyla in her first few matches because it just made the company look a bit ridiculous right out of the gate. She should have been built as an underdog with enough fight to overcome the monsters.


----------



## 45banshee (Jan 7, 2019)

Spike Dudley was never booed. Fans were somewhat behind him. Tiny puny Spike Dudley. If the crowd is behind him should the title been put on him and let him have it for 5 months?

I feel the same applies to Riho. Due to her being a walking stick with no muscles her offense is really lacking. 60% of her moves in match seems to be the double stomp. She spams the shit out of that moves


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

MarkOfAllMarks said:


> Riho is an excellent wrestler with a ton of experience. She's also in her early 20's and a veteran in terms of wrestling experience. Given that she is so young and already so good she can still get even better.
> I see a lot of people complaining she is too small so it looks fake. I disagree. Rey Mysterio is also small and he went on to beat guys twice his size. Wrestling is not real. In wrestling smaller competitors can beat bigger guys. In real life do you think Rey Mysterio could've beaten Kurt Angle, or Batista. Absolutely not. You have to suspend your disbelief.
> I think Riho has a lot of heart and fight for such a small person. I think fans find that very endearing and inspiring. Shes at a disadvantage yet she is still able to pull off amazIng victories... like Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan. I love Riho.


Lol, wrestling when you are a little girl is not the same as proper wrestling experience. She's soft as a Maccas ice-cream. 

You've got to make it credible. The more you ask the audience to suspend disbelief, historically, the less successful a promotion is. You need to be able to tell that story, work with psychology and sell it to the audience. It's part of the work. It's not just going out there and doing shit with the idea being "it's not real so anything can happen." It defeats the whole purpose of anything. 

Rey Mysterio and Daniel Bryan are two of the greatest workers -- top-to-bottom workers -- of all-time. That's why they got to where they are. They could tell stories with their size by complimenting it with skill, psychology and by drawing in genuine emotion from crowds with their selling. Riho screeching and doing double-stomps is not the same thing.

You can enjoy her all you want. Fap, fap, fap. But the comparisons to the greatest workers of all-time just doesn't hold up. Just because she's little and wrestles doesn't mean she's a great small worker. 



45banshee said:


> Spike Dudley was never booed. Fans were somewhat behind him. Tiny puny Spike Dudley. If the crowd is behind him should the title been put on him and let him have it for 5 months?
> 
> I feel the same applies to Riho. Due to her being a walking stick with no muscles her offense is really lacking. 60% of her moves in match seems to be the double stomp. She spams the shit out of that moves


Spike Dudley was never WWF Champion. In fact, when they put him into the main event of a SmackDown against Steve Austin, the segment bombed.


----------



## Alexander_G (Mar 10, 2018)

I think Omega was trying to win over the Kairi Sane crowd for AEW by pushing Riho as far as he did.

The problem is that she tends to look obviously like she is a fish out of water. It's not her fault, she just looks that way. I'm very skeptical that she works as well as some here would like her to be in a general, TV watching American crowd.

Americans are naturally used to American girls, with American attitudes, and American looks. Plus whether they can talk shit to each other.

Riho on the other hand is a small cute Japanese girl, coming from a land where high levels of cuteness and politeness is a value in girls, and notwithstanding in her particular background of modern joshi, in Gatoh Move and Ice Ribbon where she made a name for herself, a great deal of the girls give off the manner of being cute little pixies who can fight.

She gets a largely sympathetic fanbase, and that's the majority of the reason I can see that she's over in AEW.

It's regardless of whether it's a question she can wrestle well. That appeal won't last long. Americans like bigger, bustier women with extroverted, "queen bitch" personalities. The Tessa Blanchards, the Sashas, the Beckys, even the Bellas. I think that is what the American wrestling fans are more inclined to when it comes to women wrestlers.


----------



## elidrakefan76 (Jul 23, 2018)

I agree that Riho in the ring is a disaster but there are pics on the internet of some photo shoots she has done and she has a nice little body.


----------



## Psychosocial (Jul 13, 2018)

She's only over because of people's Japanese anime/sex culture fantasies. Literally no other reason.


----------



## BlueEyedDevil (Dec 26, 2019)

Riho looks like she could be World Tetherball Champion of the 4th Grade. Her in actual pro wrestling matches having 160 lb women sell for her looks ridiculous.


----------



## Boldgerg (Apr 2, 2017)

Yeah, she fucking sucks.

Part time, doesn't speak English and doesn't cut a promo, weak offense, and looks like she's 12. Just GTFO.


----------



## TheDraw (Jun 27, 2019)

She's nothing more than something to bring in anime fans and Omega is hitting that on the side obviously.....

The AEW womens division is a complete joke. Not that I give a damn because Woman's wreslting and MMA in my opinion is ZZzzz....


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

Strange that since she came back every women segment have been a draw....

But 10 people here are saying that she suck so that must be true XD


----------



## kingfrass44 (Sep 19, 2019)

[/QUOTE]


rbl85 said:


> Strange that since she came back every women segment have been a draw....
> 
> But 10 people here are saying that she suck so that must be true XD


she is not draw
draw only Jon Moxley and Degree less Chris Jericho
draw Only at the Hardcore


----------



## Lorromire (Jun 17, 2014)

Fans like her, casual and hardcore alike that attend the AEW shows. That's all that matters, really.

She's not even remotely bad at wrestling.
Her not speaking English means nothing when she's simply wrestling, and even if she was doing promos in Japanese, it's still not an issue.
You can say she's too small but that's also why fans seem to like her. She's a natural babyface that fans can get behind.

Say what you want about the AEW Women's Division and how jumbled it is at the moment, but you can't outright deny the facts that she seems to draw a crowd and get said crowd behind her.


----------



## Whoanma (Apr 5, 2016)

rbl85 said:


> Strange that since she came back every women segment have been a draw....
> 
> But *10 people here are saying that she suck so that must be true* XD


----------



## MontyCora (Aug 31, 2016)

Whoanma said:


>


I mean, people are saying his segments draw numbers wise. Do they? If they do... You can laugh all you want. Draw is a draw.


----------



## Whoanma (Apr 5, 2016)

MontyCora said:


> I mean, people are saying his segments draw numbers wise. Do they? If they do... You can laugh all you want. Draw is a draw.


The post I quote made me laugh as it was really accurate, and I agree with rbl85 and Lorromire: Riho is the most over woman they have in the roster, and it’s not even close. No contest. So let the butthurt continue, it’s so amusing. ;P


----------



## The Dude (Jan 1, 2020)

The OP is classless.

-Kenny Omega


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

Do people know what a draw is? A draw is someone that people actually pay money to go and see or watch on television. You are not a draw if you are in a half-empty arena and no one is watching the television. 950k is not an amazing television number. And a few perverts flicking over to Dynamite to fap is not really something to crow about.

If Riho were actually spiking ratings and people were lining up around the corner so they could get front row seats to the Riho Experience, I'd concede that she is a draw. But when your television show went from 1.4 million people to 950k _on a good week_, your work is still in front of you there.


----------



## Benoit's Weight Machine (Dec 28, 2019)

IronMan8 said:


> I like Riho because she’s cute.





MrWalsh said:


> Riho is cute and she has that kawai uguu pattern to her matches down pat





TKO Wrestling said:


> I’m a pretty big Riho fan, her matches aren’t as horrible as normal women matches. Plus she is just super hot so that helps.





elidrakefan76 said:


> I agree that Riho in the ring is a disaster but there are pics on the internet of some photo shoots she has done and she has a nice little body.


----------



## One Shed (Jan 7, 2014)

One odd thing about Riho, she only has one piece of merch: a baseball shirt. Even the female librarian and Justin Roberts have one shirt, where is the other merch for your champ?


----------



## MontyCora (Aug 31, 2016)

The Wood said:


> Do people know what a draw is? A draw is someone that people actually pay money to go and see or watch on television. You are not a draw if you are in a half-empty arena and no one is watching the television. 950k is not an amazing television number. And a few perverts flicking over to Dynamite to fap is not really something to crow about.
> 
> If Riho were actually spiking ratings and people were lining up around the corner so they could get front row seats to the Riho Experience, I'd concede that she is a draw. But when your television show went from 1.4 million people to 950k _on a good week_, your work is still in front of you there.


Yes because you're clearly an expert on running wrestling shows and programming television.

Get the fuck outta here arm chair expert you don't know what you're talking about. Stop peacocking like you know ANYTHING about any of this you're just some guy.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

MontyCora said:


> Yes because you're clearly an expert on running wrestling shows and programming television.
> 
> Get the fuck outta here arm chair expert you don't know what you're talking about. Stop peacocking like you know ANYTHING about any of this you're just some guy.


Lol, if you only knew.


----------



## Garty (Jul 29, 2007)

The Wood said:


> Lol, if you only knew.


Yes, MontyCora... you don't know he is, quit making assumptions, he has facts to back it up. 

And again, you use the same hypocritical statements about yourself. "I know you are, but what am I?" Why do you constantly feel the extreme need to ALWAYS tell us how much of a genius you are, while completely dismissing anything anyone else has to say about YOUR "correct opinion?!" As you have said, "you're proving me right". Sound familiar?

And I'm 100% sure that you'd just love to tell us about yourself, wouldn't you?


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

Garty said:


> Yes, MontyCora... you don't know he is, quit making assumptions, he has facts to back it up.
> 
> And again, you use the same hypocritical statements about yourself. "I know you are, but what am I?" Why do you constantly feel the extreme need to ALWAYS tell us how much of a genius you are, while completely dismissing anything anyone else has to say about YOUR "correct opinion?!" As you have said, "you're proving me right". Sound familiar?
> 
> And I'm 100% sure that you'd just love to tell us about yourself, wouldn't you?


I don't think I have ever once professed to be a genius on here. You are lying. I don't dismiss opinions, I argue my case. If someone has something to back up their point of view, I'll gladly listen to it. I don't think anyone here would disagree with that. Again, you are lying.

And I have deliberately gone out of my way to NOT talk about myself here. Swing and a miss.

You are just getting ridiculous now.


----------



## Cult03 (Oct 31, 2016)

The Wood said:


> I don't think I have ever once professed to be a genius on here. You are lying. I don't dismiss opinions, I argue my case. If someone has something to back up their point of view, I'll gladly listen to it. I don't think anyone here would disagree with that. Again, you are lying.
> 
> And I have deliberately gone out of my way to NOT talk about myself here. Swing and a miss.
> 
> You are just getting ridiculous now.


I often dismiss opinions on here because people like to think opinions can't be wrong but that's a terrible way to live


----------



## MontyCora (Aug 31, 2016)

So far your expert opinion is that Riho isn't single-handedly spiking the ratings back up to their 1.4 debut. A number that even a layman can tell you is an artificially spiked number that nobody would realistically expect to hit again given the full context of where the numbers have settled. And because of that, even though her segments apparently do completely fine to even good numbers, she's not a "draw". 

You have all the symptoms of someone who has absolutely no idea what they're talking about and none of the symptoms of an expert in anything. (shrugs)


----------



## Contra Unit (Jan 13, 2020)

MontyCora said:


> Yes because you're clearly an expert on running wrestling shows and programming television.
> 
> Get the fuck outta here arm chair expert you don't know what you're talking about. Stop peacocking like you know ANYTHING about any of this you're just some guy.



I'm guessing you're speaking to The Wood. I have him on ignore so I can't even see quotes replying to him. I agree with what you're saying though. I don't even like AEW (I'm an MLW & NWA guy when it comes to Western wrestling.), I even prefer Stardom over AEW, lol. 

It's just that I couldn't stand being a random internet lurker anymore coz I see that guy posting in every single thread, acting like some know it all, when he's obviously a never-was. Vince Russo & Eric Bischoff are Has-beens, but you don't see them wasting hours of their life writing novels in every single thread of a promotion that he doesn't like.
Nah, Eazy E & Russo are out there making money, selling shirts & doing podcasts , coz time is money, and they don't have time to waste even as has-beens.


> > MontyCora said:
> > I mean, people are saying his segments draw numbers wise. Do they? If they do... You can laugh all you want. Draw is a draw.
> 
> 
> The post I quote made me laugh as it was really accurate, and I agree with rbl85 and Lorromire: Riho is the most over woman they have in the roster, and it’s not even close. No contest. So let the butthurt continue, it’s so amusing. ;P



I really don't understand how people could deny how over she is when she had a loud Riho pop during the Statlander match. Yeah sure from the resident macho-larpers at this thread (Wood, Rainmaker, Benoit, all of you corny asses.), you hear excuses about how her entire fanbase are pedos & what not.

Hell I don't even understand her appeal, from an aesthetics perspective but I do enjoy her matches a fair bit, coz I like seeing little Riho get the living crap beat out of her. One thing Riho is good at, is selling. She looks like she's getting destroyed. 
When that 6 foot tall looking Nightmare chick hit her, Riho just plopped to the ground like she was about to cry coz the big bully stole her candy, lol.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

Contra Unit said:


> I'm guessing you're speaking to The Wood. I have him on ignore so I can't even see quotes replying to him. I agree with what you're saying though. I don't even like AEW (I'm an MLW & NWA guy when it comes to Western wrestling.), I even prefer Stardom over AEW, lol.
> 
> It's just that I couldn't stand being a random internet lurker anymore coz I see that guy posting in every single thread, acting like some know it all, when he's obviously a never-was. Vince Russo & Eric Bischoff are Has-beens, but you don't see them wasting hours of their life writing novels in every single thread of a promotion that he doesn't like.
> Nah, Eazy E & Russo are out there making money, selling shirts & doing podcasts , coz time is money, and they don't have time to waste even as has-beens.
> ...


Phenomenal gimmick.


----------



## brentreznor778 (Jan 12, 2020)

I don't hate Riho or anything, she's alright. But she definitely appeals to the neckbeard/weeaboo types, which I find a tad creepy.

If she were in the WWE she would be the 4th most talented Japanese female wrestler. The WWE gets a lot of flack for being sexist and racist. Yet, they present Asuka, Kairi and Io in a far better light.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

If Riho and Hikaru Shida were both in WWE, Riho would be the 5th best Japanese women’s wrestler. If Mayu Iwatani was in there, she would be 6th. If Meiko Satomura was there...7th.

Are we grading workers without gender in mind? She’s not better than Shinsuke Nakamura or Akira Tozawa. Are we opening it up to race? She’s nowhere near Charlotte, Tessa, Becky, Nattie and many others. All-time? She’s no Manami Toyota, that’s for sure.

The more you think about it, the less special she seems. And it’s such an odd choice for a promoter to go out of their way to bring her in and bring her in specifically for this role.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

brentreznor778 said:


> I don't hate Riho or anything, she's alright. But she definitely appeals to the neckbeard/weeaboo types, which I find a tad creepy.
> 
> If she were in the WWE she would be the 4th most talented Japanese female wrestler. The WWE gets a lot of flack for being sexist and racist. Yet, they present Asuka, Kairi and Io in a far better light.


Ok for Asuka but not for Kairi and even less for Io.


----------



## El Hammerstone (Jan 11, 2020)

How this division didn't launch with Awesome Kong as their inaugural champion is beyond me. Have her as the first champion, no Nightmare Collective garbage, have her reign last a good 6-8 months, and then when you've established a pecking order within the division, Kong could lose the title to a babyface like Shida or Statlander and it would actually mean something.


----------



## rbl85 (Nov 21, 2017)

El Hammerstone said:


> How this division didn't launch with Awesome Kong as their inaugural champion is beyond me. Have her as the first champion, no Nightmare Collective garbage, have her reign last a good 6-8 months, and then when you've established a pecking order within the division, Kong could lose the title to a babyface like Shida or Statlander and it would actually mean something.


Because she couldn't move properly when AEW started.


----------



## El Hammerstone (Jan 11, 2020)

rbl85 said:


> Because she couldn't move properly when AEW started.


Then maybe they should have waited a month or so before introducing a women's title, that way they establish a sense of structure/pecking order beforehand.


----------



## El Hammerstone (Jan 11, 2020)

double post, sorry


----------



## shadows123 (Jan 30, 2017)

The women's division of AEW seems like a mess.. Blaming one single performer is a bit too much. But i think Kenny Omega should probably take help or step aside and focus on just his character development and leave booking to the experts.. His booking overall is borderline bad, has got average to forgettable storylines. Just because he was a big deal in New Japan doesnt make him the genius booker who knows what he is doing... Atleast Cody seems to know what he is doing in comparison. You also have JR, Jericho, Arn Anderson etc to name a few..Surely Kenny Omega can stop playing god and play just wrestler.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

Awesome Kong would have been awesome in theory, but I’m not sure if she is ever going to be healthy enough to be that dependable star anymore.

They could have launched with Tessa Blanchard vs. Gail Kim. Kong could have been a side to Tessa, or come in later as a challenger.

There’s no excuse for this awful and uninspired division without a genuine good worker in it.


----------



## umagamanc (Jul 24, 2018)

The Wood said:


> There’s no excuse for this awful and uninspired division without a genuine good worker in it.


I think this is a little harsh. The division is uninspiring and definitely lacks the quality that WWE's women's division has. However, it does have some good workers, e.g. Shida. Statlander certainly has potential. Even Shanna, though not showcased much, seems promising. Nyla Rose is improving too.


----------



## The Wood (Nov 7, 2003)

umagamanc said:


> I think this is a little harsh. The division is uninspiring and definitely lacks the quality that WWE's women's division has. However, it does have some good workers, e.g. Shida. Statlander certainly has potential. Even Shanna, though not showcased much, seems promising. Nyla Rose is improving too.


Oh, there’s potential, but they’re just not there yet is all. I don’t dislike Nyla or Statlander, and haven’t seen Shanna, but I wouldn’t call them good workers just yet. They need someone that can really carry that tune.


----------

