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12/6~12/11 full cards, notes by Stuart - 06 Dec 2005
Full cards for the rest of the tour have been announced, from tonight's show through to Aichi. Tatsutoshi Goto replaces Black Strong Machine in all of his bookings. There are some interesting additions. Jado & Gedo vs. Sangre & Safari has turned into a three match series, similar to when Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero toured in 2003 (Jado & Gedo won that series 2-1). As many as four junior-centric matches on some cards, showing how many juniors there are right now (even with Black Tiger, Wataru, and Takemura absent). A Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto match has been added to 12/8 Imabari, so their 12/18 Korakuen match won't be their first since Taguchi's excursion. Same show has a rare big singles match of late, when Iizuka faces Tanahashi. Amazingly, this will be the first time they have ever had a singles match. Both of the tour-ending big shows are packed ten match lineups, with the ex-Team JAPAN vs. Brock matches naturally headlining. Some other notes. Major improvement in fan service lately, which isn't going unnoticed. New Japan will be handing out free glasses of champagne to fans at the 12/25 Korakuen show. New Japan is running a "Chibi Chono" competition at the 1/8 fan appreciation Korakuen show, where young children can dress up as Chono and the winner will receive a special gift. Tenzan received a free electric scooter from IS Group (a photo of the parade can be found at their site) for his main event win on 12/4. The winner of Nakanishi vs. Brock on 12/10 will also receive one. Tanahashi has demanded Shibata attend the 12/25 Korakuen show, as he wants to beat Shibata's friend, Hirooki Goto, to a bloody pulp before Shibata's eyes. Takao Omori has begun provoking New Japan to build up the 1/4 IWGP Tag match, saying he isn't interested in the IWGP titles. NJPW "TOUKON FESTIVAL", 12/6/05 Fukuyama Big Rose 1. Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Masayuki Naruse 2. El Samurai vs. Akiya Anzawa 3. Osamu Nishimura & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Toru Yano 4. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 5. Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirooki Goto vs. Minoru, Jado & Gedo 6. Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka vs. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 7. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 8. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura NJPW, 12/7/05 Shunan Sports Center 1. Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 2. Koji Kanemoto & Akiya Anzawa vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 3. Masayuki Naruse & El Samurai vs. Jado & Gedo 4. Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto 5. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Hiro Saito & Ryusuke Taguchi 6. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 7. Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata & Toru Yano 8. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto NJPW, 12/8/05 Tex Port Imabari 1. Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Toru Yano 2. El Samurai vs. Osamu Nishimura 3. Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto 4. Jado & Gedo vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 5. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 6. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Akiya Anzawa vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru & Masayuki Naruse 7. Takashi Iizuka vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 8. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto NJPW, 12/9/05 Tokushima Municipal Gymnasium 1. Hiroshi Nagao vs. Toru Yano 2. Masayuki Naruse vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 3. Minoru & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 4. Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai vs. Jado & Gedo 5. Jushin Thunder Liger & Akiya Anzawa vs. Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto 6. Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie 7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 8. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiro Saito NJPW, 12/10/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiroshi Nagao 2. Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hirooki Goto 3. Akiya Anzawa vs. Masayuki Naruse 4. Jado & Gedo vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 5. Osamu Nishimura & Toru Yano vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 6. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura 7. Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru 8. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tiger Mask 9. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto 10. Brock Lesnar vs. Manabu Nakanishi NJPW, 12/11/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Hiroshi Nagao vs. Hirooki Goto 2. Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 3. Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano 4. Jado, Gedo & Akiya Anzawa vs. El Samurai, Sangre Azteca & Safari 5. Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiro Saito 6. Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 7. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru 8. Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 9. Tatsumi Fujinami, Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto 10. Brock Lesnar vs. Yuji Nagata Choshu on 12/10, Chocoball Mukai wants Nakanishi, 2006 schedule by Stuart - 04 Dec 2005 Nagata recently watched a tape of Brock Lesnar vs. Kurt Angle to prepare for his match with Brock. Since he and Angle have similar backgrounds and similarities in their styles, Nagata studied the match to figure out how he can hope to challenge a monster like Brock. Nagata wants to "wrestle" Lesnar, since both have prolific amaresu backgrounds, and is hoping to break down Brock's stamina. Indy wrestler and ex-porn star, Chocoball Mukai, has been getting his name in the press lately by saying he wants to be Nakanishi's opponent on 1/4. Naigai Times spoke to Mukai, who is set to raid BIG MOUTH LOUD's Korakuen show this month, and he called Nakanishi the toughest "wall" in Japan and wants to fight him. Unsurprisingly, New Japan has not acknowledged this at all. If you didn't catch the update in the report below, Riki Choshu is hinting strongly at becoming a full-timer in the New Japan ring again next year. Signs of increasing participation are already appearing, with Choshu now adding himself to the 12/10 Osaka card, where he will replace Nakamura in the six man tag, teaming with Nagata and Tanahashi. Nakamura will have a different match in Osaka that hasn't been announced yet. NJPW, 12/10/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Takashi Iizuka vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa 2. Osamu Nishimura & Toru Yano vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 3. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiro Saito & 4. Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru 5. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tiger Mask 6. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto 7. Brock Lesnar vs. Manabu Nakanishi New Japan has finally announced the schedule for the first tour next year. It is similar to the usual February setup (three more shows than this year though), beginning at Korakuen and ending at Sumo Hall. With Miyagi Sports Center shutting down, New Japan is relocating to the smaller Tsukidate Town Movement Park Gymnasium in Miyagi, which seats 2,000 or more. New Japan is the only major company that is persisting with big shows in Hokkaido now. Like NOAH, New Japan has not been able to draw a strong crowd at the Tsukisamu Green Dome recently, but hasn't chosen to downscale to the 2,400 seat Sapporo Media Park Spica yet, and will again try the Green Dome next February. One place in Hokkaido that New Japan has been able to draw at recently is Hakodate Citizen Gymnasium. For the third year running, there will be a "TOUKON FESTIVAL" there, with Antonio Inoki appearing. With regular house show cards, the 2004 one drew 4,000 fans, and the 2005 one drew 4,200 fans, actually bigger than New Japan's recent Green Dome numbers. 2005 schedule so far: 1/4 "TOUKON SHIDOU CHAPTER 1" @ Tokyo Dome (55,000) 1/8 "2006 FAN THANKSGIVING DAY" @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,000) Unnamed January~February Series 1/28 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,000) 1/29 @ Tsukidate Town Movement Park Gymnasium (2,000+) 1/30 @ Ofunato City Gymnasium (1,500) 2/1 @ Hachinohe City Gymnasium (2,700+) 2/2 @ Aomori Industrial Hall (2,300) 2/4 @ Sapporo Teisen Hall (1,350) 2/5 @ Tsukisamu Green Dome (7,000) 2/7 @ Muroran City Gymnasium (2,500) 2/8 "TOUKON FESTIVAL" @ Hakodate Citizen Gymnasium (4,200) 2/11 @ Osaka Rinkai Sports Center (3,500) 2/12 @ Gifu Industrial Hall (3,000) 2/14 @ Okayama Orange Hall (1,900) 2/17 @ Hiratsuka City Gymnasium (4,200) 2/18 @ Sanjo Welfare Hall (2,500) 2/19 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (11,500) 3/12 @ Act City Hamamatsu (2,300) 3/25 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan (11,500) (unconfirmed booking) 4/30 "NEW JAPAN CUP" @ Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium (6,500) [Results] New Japan, 12/4/05 by Stuart - 04 Dec 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- Today Nakanishi & Tanahashi joined a long list of teams beaten by Chono & Tenzan recently, who are proving why they are the IWGP Tag Team Champions and such a famous tandem. It was another tough workout for the champs in today's main event, but in the end they remained unbeaten on the tour. Tanahashi is finding the third generation to be a brick wall of late, Tenzan submitting him with the Anaconda Vice today after Nakanishi cut him down with the Hercules Cutter on 11/30 in Tatebayashi. This is a bad sign for Tanahashi, who is lacking vigor going into his U-30 defense against a very hungry Hirooki Goto on 12/25, and of course against his old rival, the bloodthirsty Shibata, on 1/4. Chono & Tenzan face Nagata & Nakamura for the second time on the tour on Tuesday's "TOUKON FESTIVAL" (also in Hiroshima), and Choshu is pinning his hopes on Nagata & Nakamura avenging their earlier loss to ChoTen. Today they picked up a solid win over Morgan & Jindrak, Nagata using the foreigners as "virtual Lesnars" going into his big Nagoya singles match with Brock, taking apart one of Jindrak's knees and submitting him with the original Nagata Lock like he hopes to do with the IWGP Heavyweight Champion shortly. Nagata said backstage that he simply can't beat Lesnar with just kicks and suplex techniques, which is why he's working hard to devise a technical approach, so that he can methodically pick him apart. Nakamura backed up Nagata, so they seem to be getting along again after Nakamura was reluctant to shake hands with Nagata at the beginning of the tour. Jado & Gedo got their first win since returning today, teaming with Hirooki Goto to beat Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Taguchi. Taguchi is finding it slow work climbing the ladder, and was pinned after Gedo's Superfly splash. The other match saw the luchadores fall to CTU's top two, Liger & Minoru, Liger pinning Sangre after using the CTB. Much like Tanahashi, Yamamoto is lacking steam going into his big Tokyo Dome match. Despite recent progress, Yamamoto now has five singles losses in a row, after pinning Wolf (missing again today, along with Takemura and Anzawa) at Korakuen in that tag match. Hiro, who is getting plenty of singles matches at the moment, was beaten by Yano the other day, but has come back with victories over Naruse and Yamamoto now. Speaking of Yano, he remained unbeaten on the tour in the opening match, scoring his fifth singles win in a row by pinning Nagao. Today's show was said to be very good, with the crowd into most of the matches. Liger was the most popular wrestler today, and the fans knew the man under the mask is a Hiroshima local boy. Choshu held a press conference before the show to discuss a few things. He announced that the signing ceremony for Chono & Tenzan vs. Omori & Koshinaka will take place before the 12/10 Osaka show, which means the challengers will probably make an appearance there. Choshu also clarified that there is a good chance that he may switch one or two wrestlers on the existing 1/4 card yet. Also, Choshu is hoping to complete negotiations with Nakanishi's 1/4 opponent in time to announce it on 12/10. Finally, Choshu said he may appear in the ring more next year for New Japan, because he felt wrestlers were more motivated in his presence yesterday and wants to lend his power in the ring. Yujiro said he expects to be back in February, so likely the first tour of 2005. He has been checking New Japan's pocket site every day for results, and has been paying attention to how Yamamoto and Nagao are doing, as he considers them his young heavyweight rivals. Yujiro wants to show a different side of himself when he returns. Morning Update: Nikkan Sports suggests that Choshu could return to being a full-time in-ring performer next year for New Japan. Chono was appalled at the idea of a 54-year-old man in his ring, and promised to cut Choshu's career short. NJPW, 12/4/05 (Samurai! TV) Hiroshima Green Arena Small Arena 2,200 Fans - Super No Vacancy 1. Toru Yano beat Hiroshi Nagao (8:15) with the Oni Koroshi. 2. Hiro Saito beat Naofumi Yamamoto (8:52) with a diving senton. 3. Osamu Nishimura & Masayuki Naruse beat Takashi Iizuka & El Samurai (17:55) when Naruse used a kneel kick on Samurai. 4. Yutaka Yoshie beat Tatsutoshi Goto (8:38) with a diving body press. 5. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru beat Sangre Azteca & Safari (8:49) when Liger used the CTB on Azteca. 6. Jado, Gedo & Hirooki Goto beat Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:57) when Gedo used a Superfly splash on Taguchi. 7. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak (11:33) when Nagata used the Nagata Lock on Jindrak. 8. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi (20:45) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Tanahashi. - NJPW "TOUKON FESTIVAL", 12/6/05 Fukuyama Big Rose 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru, Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa 2. Riki Choshu, Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Black Strong Machine, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 3. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 4. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura [Results] New Japan, 12/3/05 by Stuart - 03 Dec 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- New Japan returned to the old capital today, ancient Kyoto, with a nine match show airing live on Fighting TV SAMURAI!. Riki Choshu (celebrating his 54th birthday) returned to action with his first New Japan in-ring appearance since the Tokyo Dome show in October. Choshu teamed with former ace Nagata and expected ace Nakamura against the anti-Choshu trio of Chono, Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto (replacing Black Strong Machine, who has disappeared again, possibly putting his singles match with Yoshie tomorrow in doubt). This was said to have been a pretty hot main event, with plenty of heat for Choshu's offensive spurts. There was a some brawling and plenty of heel tactics from the tag champions (who are demanding new belt designs because the IWGP Heavyweight Title got one) and Goto. Nakamura played an active part in the match, continuing to show some new moves and a slowly increasing physicap presence, and was involved in the finish. Goto tried to backdrop him, but Nakamura ran up the ropes and backflipped behind Goto, then applied a sleeper. Goto tried a lariat, but Nakamura ducked under and used a new locomotion German suplex flurry, the final one with a bridge for the three count. Reports said Nakamura looked very good and had an aura similar to a young Keiji Muto in the ring, full of life and coming across as a superstar. Backstage, Nakamura said he had never felt such drive and thirst for blood as when teaming with Choshu, and wants to study Choshu from now on. Nagata said that wrestlers shouldn't complain about their matches on 1/4, and instead should get in the ring and fight whoever is thrown at them. Choshu sounded interested in letting Nagata & Nakamura challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Title, so if they get revenge over Chono & Tenzan in Hiroshima on 12/6, they may get a shot. TanaYoshie hit back in style after losing to Nakanishi & Iizuka in Tatebayashi, beating Fujinami & Yoshie. I can't remember many confrontations between Tanahashi and Fujinami (pupil and teacher) in the past, so that was one of the features of this show. Yoshie continued to go strong, while Nishimura is the opposite at the moment, the Flying Tank crushing Mr. Muga with a diving body press for the win. Could TanaYoshie re-enter the IWGP Tag front soon? It would be interesting if they faced Chono & Tenzan, because after a failed challenge on 4/23/03 for Chono & Tenzan's IWGP Tag Team Title, they persisted and ended up ending ChoTen's record-breaking reign on 6/13/03, so may be one team who could end ChoTen's current reign. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak returned to New Japan, taking on Nakanishi & Iizuka, who were hot off that win over TanaYoshie. So Morgan & Jindrak's win today was very good for them, coming when Morgan chokeslammed Iizuka. Morgan & Jindrak finished 0-4 in tags on the last tour, so using the experience of their first New Japan series, have already shown progress this time. However, they have some tough matches coming up against teams like Nagata & Nakamura (tomorrow), Nakanishi & Tanahashi (12/6), Nishimura & Yoshie (12/7), and Nakanishi & Nakamura (12/11). Yanagisawa was supposed to return today and was scheduled to team with Nakanishi, but no sign of him. Choshu may not have booked him as punishment for a motorbike injury that apparently could have been avoided. The juniors had three matches today, including two big tags. A direct rematch from Korakuen again saw the junior "Big 4" again collide to heat up their Osaka and Nagoya singles matches. Today's saw Kanemoto & Tiger Mask get revenge over Liger & Minoru, Koji submitting Minoru with an ankle hold. Kanemoto is again hinting at a January departure. He does this every year and usually his contract negotiations have to be done two times. Anyway, the way Kanemoto hinted at it was peculiar. Koji said that he wants to defeat both Tiger Mask and Minoru in December to "finish off" proving himself as New Japan's top junior, which he suggested would mean he would then pursue other interests and leave the division in capable hands. There are many ways of looking at this, from it being a sign that Kanemoto is leaving, to a sign that Kanemoto won't win both matches, to a sign that Kanemoto will win both matches and do something unexpected besides leave, like turn heavyweight. CMLL's Sangre Azteca returned after a very impressive first tour, and brought respected veteran Safari with him this time. The two made an immediate splash, beating the also returning Jado & Gedo today. This was Jado & Gedo's first appearance since they went away to Mexico, but since they had to return to Japan early, they didn't get chance to do much in CMLL. Sangre followed up on his big win over Taguchi from 11/3, pinning Gedo today. Naruse continued to struggle. He was completely beaten by veteran Hiro Saito today, and so continues the slump activated by that upset loss to Yujiro on the last tour climax. Oddly enough, he was able to defeat Nishimura by countout at Korakuen and showed a lot of drive, but since then has gone down to junior heavyweight Minoru and oldster Hiro in singles matches, and Yoshie in a tag. Three young generation matches opened the show again. Choshu seems to be assessing many of these against each other, rather than veterans. Although he has that big Tokyo Dome match with Ryouji Sai coming up, Yamamoto is losing. Today's loss to Yano was his fourth successive singles defeat on the tour, and second to Yano. After that upset pin over Wolf in the Korakuen tag, Yamamoto has been struggling again, although two of his four matches have been against Yano, and the others were narrow defeats to Hirooki Goto and Nagao. Taguchi faced Anzawa in a battle of two young juniors who have both graduated from black tights and have their own costumes now. Taguchi won with one of the techniques he acquired in Mexico, a reverse Gory Special. Hirooki Goto continued to gain momentum going into his U-30 shot at Tanahashi, submitting Nagao in the opener. Although there were signs of heavyweights Nagao and Yamamoto sprinting ahead of Goto recently, he has come back well and beaten them on successive days. No sign of Blue Wolf or Takemura today, hopefully just a day off for Wolf and not another of his infamous disappearing acts. Yujiro finally left hospital today and spoke to the press, saying that if he faces Naruse again, he will destroy him and gain revenge for the jaw-breaking high kick. Meanwhile, the 11/30 house show main event of Nagata & Nakamura vs. Chono & Tenzan will join Nagata & Nakamura vs. Iizuka & Tanahashi (pushed as the first Nakamura vs. Tanahashi match since they split as a team) on tonight's WPW show. Regarding Kashin's probable 1/4 participation, he wants to join the Dragon Army, since Fujinami was one of his old idols. He may end up replacing Nagao or something, but wants Mrs. Kensuke Sasaki (Akira Hokuto), Mrs. Kenzo Suzuki (Hiroko), and Mrs. Shiro Koshinaka (Naomi) to team with Choshu, with Fukuda (former WJ president) or Katsuji Nagashima (Choshu ally and a top director in 1990s New Japan) in the final spot. Fujinami basically confirmed this will happen today, saying he is considering making changes to his team before 1/4 to ensure victory over Choshu. Meanwhile, Akira Maeda has pulled himself off the 1/5 Riki Pro show, meaning his talk battle with Choshu won't go ahead. Many fans are furious at Maeda, from whom this is just one of countless bad mannered acts, and Riki Pro is offering refunds. NJPW, 12/3/05 (Samurai! TV) Kyoto City Gymnasium 4,500 Fans - No Vacancy 1. Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Nagao (7:58) with a cross armbreaker. 2. Ryusuke Taguchi beat Akiya Anzawa (8:10) with a reverse Gory Special. 3. Toru Yano beat Naofumi Yamamoto (6:34) with the Oni Koroshi. 4. Hiro Saito beat Masayuki Naruse (10:13) with a guillotine drop. 5. Sangre Azteca & Safari beat Jado & Gedo (10:48) when Azteca used a revolution-style side buster on Gedo. 6. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru (10:29) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Minoru. 7. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak beat Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka (10:57) when Morgan used a chokeslam on Iizuka. 8. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura (16:17) when Yoshie used a diving body press on Nishimura. 9. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto (14:50) when Nakamura used a German suplex hold on Goto. - NJPW, 12/4/05 (Samurai! TV) Hiroshima Green Arena Small Arena 1. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Black Strong Machine 2. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru, El Samurai & Hirooki Goto 3. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 4. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan Updated 1/4 Tokyo Dome card! by Stuart - 01 Dec 2005 There will be a full-scale war at the Tokyo Dome between New Japan and outsiders! Just before the planned national isolation, New Japan's roster will be put to the test, and new additions today make the card closer to complete. Chono & Tenzan will make their V1 defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title, their match against Omori & Koshinaka formally made for the belts today. Fujinami and Choshu have named their partners in the 5 vs. 5 match that sees the legends go at it for the second Dome show in a row. Fujinami teams with Nishimura, Yoshie (so much for that big match), Hirooki Goto & Nagao. To stick with the New Japan vs. Indy theme, Choshu has selected some talented wrestlers from the indy scene: his Riki Pro disciple, Takashi Uwano, ZERO1-MAX's Yoshihito Sasaki and Kamikaze, and Big Japan's young heavyweight star, Daisuke Sekimoto. This won't actually be Sekimoto's first appearance at a New Japan Tokyo Dome show, as he took on Kintaro Kanemura as Big Japan's offer match on 5/2/02. Two members of the New Japan junior "Big 4", rivals for a long time, unite! Tiger Mask & Minoru do battle with the power fighting team of Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Tomohiro Ishii. It was Takaiwa who Minoru dethroned to begin his first IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title reign, while Ishii steps down from the heavyweight front to face juniors. This takes place a day before Liger & Samurai vs. Takaiwa & Ishii, so it is turning into something of a series. Three of hardcore wrestling's most famous stars invade the New Japan ring to battle CTU. Former FMW stars Masato Tanaka (his first ever New Japan appearance), Kintaro Kanemura & BADBOY Hido take on Liger, Jado & Gedo. These are heavyweights (I think Hido still is, as I remember him being listed at around 240lbs) that CTU are facing, but Jado & Gedo know them from days past and Liger has proven before he can match up to heavyweights. This takes place the day before Jado & Gedo vs. Kanemura & Hido, so like the Tiger Mask & Minoru vs. Takaiwa & Ishii match, it is linked to the Riki Pro event the day after. One of the hottest young lion feuds to break out in some time continues, as Naofumi Yamamoto and Ryouji Sai continue their quarrel from the previous Tokyo Dome show in a singles match. This will give both young men a chance to show their stuff and gain exposure. Ten matches are now announced and it looks like only Nakanishi's is left to be added. New Japan could be in negotiations to bring in a big name to face Nakanishi, explaining the delay. Some wrestlers are missing out, like Iizuka, Wolf, Yano, and Anzawa, which is disappointing (no sign of Morgan, Jindrak, and Black Tiger either). In Yano's case (and maybe Wolf's?) it could be part of something, as Yano hinted at rebelling against Choshu soon in a Nagai Times interview. Card order remains undetermined. Update: Choshu held a press conference with Hideaki Yamanaka to announce the card additions. Choshu said there may be some substitutions in existing matches, but thinks everything is mostly set now. He is just trying to set up a singles match for Nakanishi, and is talking to several parties. Choshu said there has been a request for Kendo Kashin to work the show (possibly from Simon Inoki or Nagata/Nakanishi), and is looking into whether Kashin could replace someone in an existing match. He noted that several New Japan wrestlers are not on the show, but wants 1/4 to be an eleven match show so it doesn't drag too long, and will give them chances on the New Year series in 2006. NJPW "TOUKON SHIDOU CHAPTER 1", 1/4/06 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Tokyo Dome 1. Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Ryouji Sai  2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Jado & Gedo vs. Masato Tanaka , Kintaro Kanemura & BADBOY Hido3. Tiger Mask & Minoru vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Tomohiro Ishii4. Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Nishimura, Yutaka Yoshie, Hirooki Goto & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Riki Choshu, Takashi Uwano, Yoshihito Sasaki , Kamikaze & Daisuke Sekimoto  5. Koji Kanemoto vs. Shinjiro Otani 6. IWGP Tag Team Title: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) vs. Takao Omori & Shiro Koshinaka7. Yuji Nagata vs. Kazunari Murakami  8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata 9. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kohei Sato 10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita Katsuhiko Nagata vs. Hideo Tokoro set for 12/31! by Stuart - 01 Dec 2005  Katsuhiko Nagata's opponent for K-1's "DYNAMITE!!" on 12/31 at the Osaka Dome has been decided. Katsuhiko will fight Hideo Tokoro, a very good fighter with a 13-8 record, who recently upset Alexandre Franca Nogueira. This is a very tough debut fight under MMA rules for Katsuhiko, but he is looking forward to the challenge and plans to do his best. K-1 "DYNAMITE!!", 12/31/05 Osaka Dome - Katsuhiko Nagata  vs. Hideo Tokoro
[Results] New Japan, 11/30/05 by Stuart - 30 Nov 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- Today's house show in Tatebayashi saw veterans dominate, the young generation going down to seniors in the last five matches. The top two saw the fort of the third generation stand strong, with both new generation aces pinned. More card changes due to Machine's ongoing absence meant another surprise main event for fans, as ChoTen abruptly faced Nagata & Nakamura, as they will on 12/6 in Hiroshima. Both teams were unbeaten on the series leading into this, but Chono & Tenzan are in impeccible form and don't even have to risk their belts right now, as they are proving themselves New Japan's top team in these daily non-title workouts. Tenzan, who remains unbeaten since the G1, drilled Nakamura with the TTD to hand the new generation's leader his first direct loss of the tour. The show was a complete sell out, with extra standing tickets added, and the main reason for this was Nakamura's PR work in hosting a wrestling classroom some days back. His students were there today and he handed them wrestling scholarships, but unfortunately couldn't win for them in the main event. Nakanishi & Iizuka's persistence paid off at last. After losses on the first two shows of the tour, they avenged their opening day Korakuen main event loss to TanaYoshie today, defeating the former tag champions. Nakanishi dropped Tanahashi with the Hercules Cutter and like Tenzan, proved that the third generation is here to stay. Since they have worked hard to gain results, Nakanishi said he wants to form a fixed tag team with Iizuka, as he believes they are a balanced tandem who compliment each other well (Nakanishi's power and Iizuka's technique). The junior matches had a similar theme. Liger & Samurai got their first win after reuniting, defeating Tiger Mask & Taguchi the show after they lost to Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto. The two were in fine tune today, and Samurai submitted Taguchi with his chickenwing armlock. Naruse was again in the junior division today, teaming with Kanemoto against Minoru & Anzawa. Naruse is trying to injure as many jaws as possible and smashed Anzawa's face with a kneel kick for the win. With a slight roster shortage again, there were more singles matches underneath. Nishimura beat Nagao in another win for the veterans, but Yano showed that despite his return to serious fight style, he has grown up in the last year, pinning one of his former mentors, Hiro, for the first time in his career. Blue Wolf's first win in New Japan came barely a month into his career and was over Takemura. This was on 11/30/01 in Kyoto, and four years to the day since their last match (which Takemura won), Wolf won quite easily in a reunion match today, showing the big gap between them now. The opener was part of an ongoing hot young lion feud between Yamamoto and Hirooki Goto, the pairing that got one of their matches (from 10/30) on the national show because it was so good. Yamamoto has been starting to get the upper hand over Goto, but Goto won today. This means three losses on the trot for Yamamoto after pinning Wolf in that Korakuen tag, so he has been brought back down to earth somewhat. New Japan announced that it will hold a ten count for Eddie Guerrero at the 12/10 Osaka show. Perhaps they have delayed this so that Brock, Morgan, and Jindrak can be involved in the ceremony. NJPW, 11/30/05 Tatebayashi Citizen Gymnasium 1,200 Fans - Super No Vacancy 1. Hirooki Goto beat Naofumi Yamamoto (8:10) with a cross armbreaker. 2. Blue Wolf beat Katsushi Takemura (5:24) with a lariat. 3. Toru Yano beat Hiro Saito (6:16) with an inside cradle. 4. Osamu Nishimura beat Hiroshi Nagao (7:50) with a figure-four leglock. 5. Koji Kanemoto & Masayuki Naruse beat Minoru & Akiya Anzawa (12:01) when Naruse used a kneel kick on Anzawa. 6. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai beat Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:06) when Samurai used a chickenwing armlock on Taguchi. 7. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka beat Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi (16:05) when Nakanishi used the Hercules Cutter on Tanahashi. 8. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura (20:30) when Tenzan used the TTD on Nakamura. - Riki Choshu returns to action in Kyoto after another break in the tour (after this one its almost one show per day up to the tour climax), facing off against the anti-Choshu army. Whether Machine makes this match or we get another card change remains to be seen. The foreigners also join up, Morgan & Jindrak returning to the heavyweight ranks, while the returning Sangre Azteca and first timer Safari from CMLL bolster the already stacked junior division. Yanagisawa, Jado, and Gedo are scheduled to return on this show too, so the roster should be strengthened even more if that happens. NJPW, 12/3/05 (Samurai! TV) Kyoto City Gymnasium 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 2. Manabu Nakanishi & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 3. Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi 4. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine Weekly Fight and other notes by Stuart - 29 Nov 2005 Notes from Weekly Fight and elsewhere due to the lack of any other news until later today when the tour resumes. - Chris Benoit plans to break away from WWE after his contract expires and make Japan, probably New Japan, his main battlefield in 2006. The Japanese press has a reputation of saying things like this with no proof, so until you hear something like this from Dave Meltzer or similar, I wouldn't put too much stock in it, as nice as it would be. - Choshu suggested cutting the ring crew New Japan uses, and making young wrestlers do it as an extra activity for them. He thinks a ring crew as large as New Japan's is unnecessary and a way of flaunting their "major league" status. - Choshu claimed to have forgotten Tenzan exists when booking the tour-opening Korakuen card, hence the lack of Tenzan on that. Tenzan "blushed" when he heard this and plans to destroy Choshu in Kyoto and bury him dead or alive in a graveyard. - Choshu gave Yanagisawa a scolding over a motorbike accident he was in recently. This accident is what is keeping Yanagisawa off the tour until 12/3 when he was needed to make up numbers due to many injuries. - Makabe told Choshu that he should be over his injury in the next few months and be back in the ring. Makabe is an old pupil of Choshu, so is likely to be received warmly by the site foreman. - Josh Barnett has no intent of signing a new contract in January according to Fight, so may transfer to DSE for good unless circumstances change. - Despite rumours surrounding him, Nishimura has yet to resign or show any sign that he will completely leave the company in January at his own will. - Kendo Kashin will most likely find himself shut out of New Japan, or if he does return, demoted. Choshu is not interested in giving Kashin the protective treatment he got previously. - Tanahashi called Hiro Saito's "defensive positioning" (which I think is selling, bumping in a less business-exposing way of saying it) a work of art and the very best in the business. - Yoshie's excursion between tours was to Yamaki Dojo in Los Angeles. It is a pretty famous karate dojo run by Kenji Yamaki, and Yoshie trained there. Yoshie wants to fight Choshu rather than team with him. - There was a mixed feeling from wrestlers on the recent Korakuen tour opener. The fans were said to be like a 1980s New Japan crowd, very hot, but with some hooters in there. Some wrestlers think this is a sign of a returning passion in crowds, others think is is disrespectful and bad. - The New Japan/Lawson canned coffee tie-up has been an incredible success. Over 4,000,000 units are already nearing sell out. Reading message boards yesterday, there were some crazy people who bought as many as thirty cans to get all thirteen figures (you have to open the can before knowing who you have, so its like one of those card collection addictions). - Fight suggested that there may no longer be extensive restructuring in New Japan, but a cut of annual salaries instead. Yuke's immediate move to cancel all of New Japan's debt and continue funding the promotion has taken a big weight off its shoulders, but refinements will still be made to prevent the same thing happening again, as sloppy management more than anything led to the debt. Despite all this, some wrestlers are still worried about their futures. Fight also suggested that New Japan could use only 4-5 regular veterans next year and push New Japan as a youth-oriented product. - A lot of wrestlers were genuinely surprised at the Tokyo Dome lineup, as Choshu announced it suddenly without telling almost anyone to see what the reaction would be. Many wrestlers admire Choshu for this though, saying it showed how strong willed he is. - There has been consideration into changing Tanahashi vs. Shibata to Hirooki Goto vs. Shibata and giving Tanahashi another big match, which would probably only happen if Goto upset Tanahashi on 12/25 (this is by no means going to happen, just a consideration). Some feel this match would have more meaning, as they're former university classmates, while Tanahashi vs. Shibata is a generation fight, but has already been done a lot. New Japan wants to push Goto hard next year to make him "the young man who can challenge Nakamura and Tanahashi", as the company is very high on him, due to his natural ability, charisma, and work ethic. - Minoru provoked ZERO1-MAX after beating Naruse the other day, hinting at some kind of match involving him against them at the Tokyo Dome. - Kakihara is out of action until at least the December Korakuen shows. He injured his neck against Kanemoto, and yes, it was a legitimate injury. This could be the same injury that kept him out long-term before, but he may work hurt on the December shows, as Choshu's eyes will be on them. 12/18 & 12/25 Korakuen cards! by Stuart - 28 Nov 2005  New Japan hits Korakuen Hall twice in December, with two specially themed shows. On 12/18, its "Judgement Day" in Korakuen Hall. No one is sure what this means, but many speculate it will be the day that Choshu makes his final assessment of what wrestlers he wants to keep next year. Four matches have been announced, including a New Japan vs. CTU eight man tag, plus Nakanishi & Iizuka vs. Yoshie & Nakamura. After all the recent build, Taguchi and Hirooki Goto will finally have their first singles match since Taguchi's return from Mexico, going one on one. Naruse & Kakihara, whose careers have taken a dive lately, team up and look to defeat heavyweights Blue Wolf & Yanagisawa, and in doing so prove their worth to Choshu. Three or four more matches are planned, involving Nagata, Tenzan, Tanahashi, Nishimura, Machine, Hiro, Tatsutoshi Goto, Yano, Yamamoto, Nagao, and Takemura. Dreams will be realized on Christmas Day when "DREAM * WIN" returns with a live broadcast on ESPN International. The tradition of creativity and fresh chances continues. There will seven singles matches and another match that is quite unique. Hirooki Goto's dream of challenging Tanahashi for the IWGP U-30 Openweight Title is finally realized. Tanahashi at last makes his V1 defense of the title he founded and won back in a tournament earlier this year, giving Goto the opportunity to headline Korakuen Hall by the looks of it. Two veteran heavyweight vs. veteran junior matches take place, the biggest of which is Nagata vs. Liger, the other one being Tenzan vs. Samurai. The other singles matches follow the theme of giving big chances to young wrestlers against higher ranking opponents, and although the winners seem obvious in each, when this concept has been done before in Korakuen, there has almost always been at least one upset. For the first time ever, 2002 dojo class graduates, Nakamura and Yamamoto, meet in a singles match. With Nakamura's quick rise to fame and Yamamoto's slow crawl up the ladder, rank has separated them, but now they get the chance to meet. In a rematch from last October, Nagao gets the chance to face Nakanishi in a singles match. Nakanishi destroyed him quickly last time, so Nagao will be out to show his growth. A match often done returns, Yoshie vs. Yano, but Yoshie won't be facing the drunkard this time, instead the serious Yano. And Taguchi faces Iizuka in the other singles match. No Yujiro, so looks like he won't be back until the New Year. New Japan presents the first 14 Man Elimination Match in history (at least they say it is), when Nishimura, Wolf, Kanemoto, Tiger Mask, Kakihara, Takemura & Anzawa battle Machine, Hiro, Goto, Minoru, Naruse, Jado & Gedo. This seems to have a regular army vs. Blond Outlaws & CTU & Naruse theme and hopefully the ring will be reinforced for it. NJPW "DEAD OR ALIVE? JUDGEMENT DAY IN KORAKUEN HALL", 12/18/05 (Samurai! TV) Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1. Masayuki Naruse & Masahito Kakihara vs. Blue Wolf & Ryushi Yanagisawa 2. Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto 3. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura 4. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask, El Samurai & Akiya Anzawa vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru, Jado & Gedo NJPW "DREAM * WIN", 12/25/05 (SXW LIVE) Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1. Takashi Iizuka vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 2. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Toru Yano 3. Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Nagao 4. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. El Samurai 6. Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 7. Elimination Match: Osamu Nishimura, Blue Wolf, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask, Masahito Kakihara, Katsushi Takemura & Akiya Anzawa vs. Black Strong Machine, Hiro Saito, Tatsutoshi Goto, Minoru, Masayuki Naruse, Jado & Gedo 8. IWGP U-30 Openweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Hirooki Goto [Results] New Japan, 11/27/05 by Stuart - 27 Nov 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- Today's SXW taping in Fujisawa saw more late card changes, with Black Strong Machine missing again. The top two matches that ended up happening were far bigger than the ones announced previously. Instead of a trios match, the main event saw IWGP Tag Team Champions, Chono & Tenzan, again face a very tough non-title challenge, this time from the reunited Nakanishi & Yoshie. A popular team from times gone, this was Nakanishi & Yoshie's first match as a tandem since 2003, and the first time this match has happened since 4/16/02 at Korakuen. Chono & Tenzan won that day, and did so again today. Despite these tough challenges day after day, the champions keep winning, Chono handing Yoshie his first loss in a while today with a Shining Yakuza kick. Chono finally broke his silence about what has been going on, holding a press conference before the show. Chono said that the theme of 1/4 gives New Japan a chance to win every match, so that everyone can be a "pillar", unlike a selected few like Choshu seems to expect. Chono said that it doesn't matter who is in charge, Choshu or anyone else, they are still New Japan wrestlers and New Japan wrestlers are the elite and should crush the outsiders on 1/4. Chono is impartial to the idea of defending the IWGP Tag Team Title on 1/4, and will do it if the situation calls for it. About the Yuke's takeover, Chono said the company stockholders and company site foreman (Choshu) changed around the same time, and that obviously has caused a situation, but Mr. G1 said his duty is in the ring and that is his main concern right now. While Tenzan is going on a verbal rampage, Chono seems to be very calm and collected about things, a complete change of roles from several months back. Nagata & Nakamura are emerging as potential challengers for Chono & Tenzan, and in fact those teams meet in a non-title match at the "TOUKON FESTIVAL" on 12/6. Nagata and Nakamura are by no means great friends, and Nakamura has been refusing to shake Nagata's hand, but their teamwork is unquestionably good. They went 3-0 on the tour, beating Iizuka & Tanahashi today. The reason why this was a bigger match than the originally tag (Nagata & Nishimura vs. Iizuka & Tanahashi) is because it was a rare Nakamura vs. Tanahashi confrontation, their first since the G1. After Nakamura won the first two matches, Nagata got his own win today, submitting Iizuka with... the original Nagata Lock! Yes, the saluting crooked figure-four is finally back, and Nagata is trialing it going into the Lesnar match, where he plans to attack Brock's knees and possibly use the Nagata Lock to win. Nakamura's new suplex that he trialed at Korakuen is apparently a modified Northern Light suplex of some sort. Tanahashi said he was really happy to fight Nakamura today, because he thinks facing fellow young wrestlers is just as important as facing seniors. Tanahashi admitted that he is weaker in many ways than Nakamura at the moment, but pointed out progress made today, and that was escaping the cross armbreaker that has defeated him in two high profile singles matches between the two this year. Nakamura said he found it more interesting fighting Tanahashi than teaming with him, and said this is the beginning of a new theme, so it could start to happen more soon. Liger & El Samurai were another old team to reunite today, the former IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions actually losing to Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto. Tiger Mask used a crucifix hold on Samurai for the win, and got a little something back on Liger after Liger pinned him at Korakuen, as the build to their Osaka singles match continues. Liger & Samurai will continue to team regularly into January, facing Tiger Mask & Taguchi (11/30), Minoru & Hirooki Goto (12/16), then Takaiwa & Ishii (1/5). Two junior bouts today, obviously set up with similar themes, revived notable matches from recent years. Masayuki Naruse's debut in New Japan at the Sapporo Dome on 7/20/01 saw him lift the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title from Minoru Tanaka in a shocker. Although Minoru would go on to avenge that loss in the 2002 Best of the Super Jr., today's match was of particular interest, as Naruse has since graduated to the heavyweight division, and has wins over "giants" like Yasuda and Jan Nortje to his name. Stepping back down today, Naruse was confronted by the strength of the "Big 4" junior system, and was completely beaten by Minoru! The IWGP Jr. Tag Title co-holder put away Naruse in under 8 minutes with a cross armbreaker, and gained his own momentum going into matches with Kanemoto (12/10) and Liger (12/11). The other one saw a rematch of the 2003 Best of the Super Jr. final. Back then, Kakihara found the form of his life and upset Kanemoto to win the tournament in what many thought would be his New Japan breakthrough. However, he failed to beat Tiger Mask in the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title shot he earned from that tournament win, and would soon drop down the ranks again. Lately, it has been a nightmare for Kakihara, singles losses to Yamamoto, Nagao, and Black Tiger on the last tour dropping his value more than ever in New Japan and raising questions about his future, with cuts probably on the way in January. He looked to bounce back today and what better way than to repeat his 2003 feat against Kanemoto? Well, Kanemoto had Kakihara tapping out to a cross armbreaker in just 93 seconds, perfect revenge at last for two and a half years ago. Nishimura had trouble beating Tatsutoshi Goto+hair dye today, barely overcoming the heel masters' tricks, and getting the pin when Goto went for his backdrop suplex, but Nishimura turned over in mid-air and landed on top of Mr. Backdrop for the three count. Despite his recent progress, Yamamoto is now being brought back down to earth a little. Yano got revenge for his buddy Blue Wolf from Korakuen, winning a singles match over Yamamoto today with the Oni Koroshi, and continues to show a senior's temper after defeating another 2002 dojo class graduate, Taguchi, yesterday. Takemura's return tour is not going well at all. Three opening match losses in a row now, Takemura again losing to a less experienced junior today, this time Taguchi, after Goto beat him yesterday. It all seemed to be going well for Takemura before his absence, after he made a strong challenge for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title on 9/25. There is still time for him to find his form on the tour, though. NJPW, 11/27/05 (SXW) Fujisawa City Akiba Bunka Gymnasium 2,000 Fans 1. Ryusuke Taguchi beat Katsushi Takemura (6:44) with the Dodon. 2. Toru Yano beat Naofumi Yamamoto (7:11) with the Oni Koroshi. 3. Blue Wolf & Hiroshi Nagao beat Hiro Saito & Akiya Anzawa (12:20) when Wolf used a lariat on Anzawa. 4. Minoru beat Masayuki Naruse (7:50) with a cross armbreaker. 5. Osamu Nishimura beat Tatsutoshi Goto (10:17) with a backdrop suplex turnover. 6. Koji Kanemoto beat Masahito Kakihara (1:33) with a cross armbreaker. 7. Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto beat Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai (10:59) when Tiger used a crucifix hold on Samurai. 8. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Takashi Iizuka & Hiroshi Tanahashi (16:51) when Nagata used the Nagata Lock on Iizuka. 9. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie (16:11) when Chono used a Shining Yakuza kick on Yoshie. - NJPW, 11/30/05 Tatebayashi Citizen Gymnasium 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi 2. Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Osamu Nishimura 3. Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine [Results] New Japan, 11/26/05 by Stuart - 26 Nov 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- Today's house show in Saitama saw a late card alteration, with the planned trios match switched to a tag. Nakanishi & Iizuka went 0-2 on the tour, falling to IWGP Tag Team Champions, Chono & Tenzan. With Black Strong Machine absent, ChoTen were given another workout, but their superior teamwork guided them to victory. Nagata & Nakamura went 2-0 on the tour, quite the opposite of Nakanishi & Iizuka, beating the old guard, Hiro & Goto. Nakamura is known for his submission finishes, but pinned Hiro with a German suplex hold today. Tanahashi and Kakihara had their first singles match since the original U-30 tournament in 2003. Although they have gone opposite directions on the ladder since then, Kakihara lasted a couple of minutes longer against Tanahashi than two and a half years ago, fighting hard before falling to the Sling Blade in about 10 minutes. Today's junior match was another thriller, in which Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Anzawa defeated Liger, Minoru & El Samurai. After Liger pinned Tiger Mask at Korakuen to build up their 12/10 Osaka match, Kanemoto today pinned Minoru to heat up their match on the same show. Kanemoto hasn't been able to win a singles match over Minoru since 2002 and their most recent was also in Osaka (on 6/13 this year), where Minoru won a close one, so Koji is out for revenge next month (especially since Kanemoto hasn't managed to win his big singles matches lately in Kansai regions like Osaka and Kobe). Nishimura got some quick revenge on Naruse from Korakuen in a tag today, but wasn't able to do it himself. Instead, the Flying Tank got the job done, Yoshie crushing Naru with his diving body press and continuing his sublime form of late. Three young generation singles matches opened the show today. Nagao and Yamamoto's rivalry continues, even though they are teaming up a lot, and Nagao chokeslammed the very on-form Yamamoto for the win today. This match was third on the card, a sign that their level of importance is starting to go up. Despite his progress this year, Taguchi wasn't able to defeat his senior, Yano, in their first singles match for over two years today. Yano went 10-0 over Taguchi in singles matches, pinning him after the Oni Koroshi. Hirooki Goto, on the other hand, did overcome a senior, beating Takemura for the first time in a singles match. These two have feuded throughout the year as part of the New Japan vs. CTU war, and Takemura's only win of his trial series during the "NEW GENERATION LIVE 2005 ~NEW JAPAN JR. SUMMER~" tour was over Goto. Goto has continued to progress fast since then though, and today beat Takemura, making him tap out to a cross armbreaker. Morning Update: Nishimura put forward his name to team with Fujinami in the Tokyo Dome 5 vs. 5, and if Fujinami accepts (which he surely will), Nishimura is already making plans for the team that contradict Fujinami's idea of filling it with young men. Nishimura wants to make it the strongest Muga anti-lariat group in history. He is content with Tanahashi being in it, and thinks Takemura would be a good idea. He is also considering speaking to legends Dory Funk Jr. and Tony St. Clair about coming in and teaming with them. Nishimura also hinted at advancing on HUSTLE in the New Year after the incidents with Kenzo & Hiroko in Germany. To announce his rebellion against Choshu, Tatsutoshi Goto returned to his dyed blond hair heel look last night. He used all of his heel moves in the semi, and there was no more Mr. Nice Guy by him. Goto declared that he has begun Choshu hunting. NJPW, 11/26/05 Koshigaya Katsura Studio 1,100 Fans - No Vacancy 1. Hirooki Goto beat Katsushi Takemura (8:09) with a cross armbreaker. 2. Toru Yano beat Ryusuke Taguchi (10:00) with the Oni Koroshi. 3. Hiroshi Nagao beat Naofumi Yamamoto (7:11) with a chokeslam. 4. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie beat Blue Wolf & Masayuki Naruse (15:51) when Yoshie used a diving body press on Naruse. 5. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Akiya Anzawa beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru & El Samurai (18:42) when Kanemoto used a Tiger suplex hold on Minoru. 6. Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Masahito Kakihara (9:48) with the Sling Blade. 7. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto (10:40) when Nakamura used a German suplex hold on Hiro. 8. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka (18:23) when Tenzan used the TTD on Iizuka. - NJPW, 11/27/05 (SXW) Fujisawa City Akiba Bunka Gymnasium 1. Minoru vs. Masayuki Naruse 2. Koji Kanemoto vs. Masahito Kakihara 3. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto 4. Yuji Nagata & Osamu Nishimura vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hiroshi Tanahashi 5. Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine Chono's silence, Tenzan's outrage part 140, Nagata topics galore, more by Stuart - 25 Nov 2005 Chono remains silent on the Choshu situation, and the press has finally realized that he's keeping his mouth shut for a reason. They believe it is only a matter of time before Chono explodes with fury over the 1/4 booking, and think it could be on 12/3 in Kyoto when he, Tenzan, and Machine go opposite Power Hall in the ring. Tenzan continues to bark at Choshu, and his latest plan is to force Choshu to let he and Chono make their V1 defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title on the current tour. They managed to corner Choshu into letting them challenge Nakamura & Tanahashi for the belts in Kobe on 10/30 (it was originally non-title, if you recall) and are now taking applications for challengers. Tenzan continued to express his disgust at having to face Omori & Koshinaka at the Tokyo Dome, saying they can find stronger opposition in New Japan, and saying that the 1/4 match will be digest style (a quick win). The New Japan vs. ZERO1-MAX verbal war is getting extremely nasty. Days after ZERO1-MAX official Yoshiyuki Nakamura and several wrestlers put down New Japan, Nagata got involved, despite not being involved in this interpromotional feud. Nagata said that no Z1 wrestler has the aura of a major league pro wrestler, and that they are inferior talents. The outside groups appearing on 1/4 have been trying to put together an Allied Forces army, but things haven't been going well due to arguments between the likes of Uei (BML boss) and Nakamura (Z1 boss). Meanwhile, the neverending verbal battle between Nagata and Akira Maeda continues. Maeda refused Nagata's polite demand to sit at ringside during his match with Murakami at the Tokyo Dome, and Nagata accused Maeda of running away from him again. Neta-san Nagata plans to inflict pain on Brock Lesnar like the IWGP Heavyweight Champion has never felt before on 12/11 in Nagoya. Nagata expanded on his plan to attack what he considers to be Brock's weak point, the legs, saying he would damage them so badly that Brock wouldn't be able to stand up to execute his killer power moves. Mr. Saikyo plans to neutralize Brock with low kicks, low-altitude dropkicks (Muto style), and dragon screw leg whips. As for what he will submit Lesnar with, Nagata is trying to decide whether to use a figure-four leglock or his original Nagata Lock, which he doesn't pull out as much anymore, but which could be useful in this situation. If Nagata defeats Brock, he plans to re-enter the IWGP front next year and challenge either the American superstar or Fujita to a title match. Ryusuke Taguchi told Tokyo Sports the other day that with his mixture of international wrestling styles, he is aiming to become the Japanese Eddie Guerrero. Taguchi was a big fan of Eddie and aspires to reach his level of excellence. New Japan showed an old Eddie vs. Benoit match (I believe) from New Japan right after Kanemoto vs. Black Tiger last week on WPW. President Taniguchi of Yuke's told Tokyo Sports that he has paid off New Japan's debt and moved them back into black figures. Now he hopes over the next couple of years that they can sort out the finances well enough to stay in black figures, then as I mentioned in a previous report, he thinks the potential is there for all-time highest sales within half a decade. There was no mention of Yuke's or even any sign of their logo at Korakuen, since they plan not to interfere with the wrestling side. Choshu explained why he selected Yamamoto, Hirooki Goto, and Nagao to compete on his Riki Pro indy show on 1/5. Since he has been very impressed by all three of them since returning to New Japan, he wants to assess them in another ring. Yamamoto & Nagao will get chance to show their fire against ZERO1-MAX's Sai & Sasaki, while Goto has a trial match against a heavyweight in the form of Koshinaka, which Choshu hopes will give him some learning experience despite his inevitable defeat. Yujiro said in his blog that due to being hospitalized for so long, his weight has now dropped to 216lbs (98kg). He isn't happy, saying muscles are a wrestler's "trade tools", and wants to bulk up again as soon as possible. Here is a photo of Yujiro around the time he was hospitalized, his jaw all bandaged up. For the second year running, "DREAM * WIN" at Korakuen Hall will air live on ESPN International as an SXW LIVE special. The Christmas Day show kicks off at 6:30pm and if it follows tradition, will have a theme of giving young men big chances. Last year's show on 12/23/04 was one of the hottest of the year. Some new dates to go with the Dome and Amagasaki for the 2006 schedule (first tour schedule should be announced pretty soon). Thanks to Mr. Tomozo (who is lucky enough to be going to the 12/10 Osaka, 12/11 Nagoya, and 1/4 Tokyo Dome shows!) for sending me this information. 1/4/06 "TOUKON SHIDOU CHAPTER 1" @ Tokyo Dome (55,000) 1/8/06 "2006 FAN THANKSGIVING DAY" @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall (2,000) 2/10/06 @ Osaka Rinkai Sports Center (3,500) 4/30/06 @ Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium (6,500) New Japan World Pro Wrestling on TV Asahi content for 11/26: 11/23 Korakuen Hall Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono & Black Strong Machine Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi 2005 Strong Style Spirit Awards! by Stuart - 24 Nov 2005 It's time for the fourth annual Strong Style Spirit site awards! Each year, visitors of the site get to vote on several categories relating to the year's events in New Japan. The 2002, 2003, and 2004 awards both had tremendous turn-outs, and I'm hoping for the same this year. Like the previous two years, there is an incentive for entering. Two entrants will be chosen at random, and they will receive an excellent quality DVDs (all region, anyone from anywhere can enter) of New Japan's 1/29/05 Muga show from Sapporo (which was great fun) and 4/9/05 Ebina SXW taping, with a 33 1/2 minute Kanemoto & Wataru vs. El Samurai & Kakihara main event. This does not mean enter just to get the DVDs. Like last year, there are ten awards to vote for, with no new additions this time. Please send at least a top five (in order of preference) for each category, as that makes it easier for me to tally the votes then (I use a points system). All submissions should be sent to me by email, with the deadline being 12/25. Like the previous two years, I will announce them around the same time as New Japan's official awards, which are always announced on the "DREAM * WIN" Korakuen show. If you still have footage to watch, there is no hurry, just remember the deadline. Unlike recent years, there is a change to the voting calendar. In previous years, it has been almost impossible to vote for matches from December, because there isn't enough time to view them. So the timeframe for voting this year is December, 2004 to November, 2005. Below are the categories. - Heavyweight MVP (the best heavyweight of the year, in terms of talent, success, and contributions to New Japan) - Junior Heavyweight MVP (the best junior heavyweight of the year, in terms of talent, success, and contributions to New Japan) - Tag Team MVP (the best tag team of the year, in terms of talent, success, and contributions to New Japan) - Singles Best Bout (the singles match you enjoyed the most) - Tag Team Best Bout (the tag match you enjoyed the most) - Young Lion Prize (the young lion who made the biggest impression on you) - Foreign MVP (the best foreigner of the year, in terms of talent, success, and contributions to New Japan) - Technique Award (the best technician of the year; consider their mat wrestling and ability to piece a match together) - Fighting Spirit Award (the wrestler who showed the most energy and spirit in matches) - Image Award (the wrestler with the best character or look) For a comprehensive list of candidates, visit the extended Awards page (its important you read these, to see who is and is not eligible for certain awards), which can be accessed at all times on the left panel. Check the comments thread for a brief preview of the categories, who the frontrunners will be, and so on. New Japan coffee, Tanahashi x2 on 1/4?, Tenzan outrage, Z1 arrogance by Stuart - 24 Nov 2005  New Japan and Lawson Inc. held a press conference at the Tokyo Dome Hotel today to announce a new business tie-up. Ichiro Kijima, deputy chief of Lawson, announced the release of a new canned coffee range, attached to which will be figures of thirteen IWGP Heavyweight Champions (Inoki, Fujinami, Vader, Choshu, Muto, Tenryu, Chono, Nagata, Kensuke, Tenzan, Kojima, Nakamura, and Hashimoto). As you can see in the photo above, small figures will be put on top of the cans, and this will be a nationwide promotion to promote both companies. Kijima said around four million units will be dispatched and expects them to be sold out within a week. Apparently there will also be ways to win special goods, such as a Fujinami jersey, Chono's sunglasses, Nakamura's Ultimate Crush gloves, and small replica title belts. Ring announcer Tanaka introduced four New Japan wrestlers to the podium, and each gave comments. Nakamura said his hair is dyed brown on the figure, and it brings back memories for him. Nagata said his face looks pretty on his figure, and thanked Lawson for that. He used to collect Ultraman and other figures as a youngster, and is hoping to begin a new collection of these figures. Tenzan said his face looks square and nose small, but thanked Lawson also. Chono has white hair on his figure, but likes it, and thinks it makes him look young. A large photo of goods on offer. Tanahashi formally accepted Fujinami's request to join what could be the new Dragon Bombers at the Tokyo Dome in the 5 vs. 5, meaning, if this is made official, Tanahashi will be pulling a double header on 1/4! Not only will he do battle with Choshu's crew (which could be comprised of Riki Pro young men), but will then have to face what is certain to be a grueling fight against Shibata. Fujinami is planning to recruit young lions for his team, and will scout them on the current tour when he makes some special appearances. After being left off yesterday's Korakuen show by Choshu, Tenzan said he would TTD Choshu to a Kyoto graveyard when they meet in a six man tag on 12/3. Chono has been very quiet about the Choshu situation, allowing Tenzan to take the lead rebel role. Choshu didn't book Tenzan yesterday as punishment for speaking out against him recently. Tenzan's wife, Rie, is threatening to appear and put an end to Choshu's grudge against her man. ZERO1-MAX young generation ace, Kohei Sato, trashed Nakamura yesterday, and left Korakuen during Nakamura's match to show how "uninterested" he was in Shinsuke's match. Earlier in the day, Sato proposed a MMA rules fight with Nakamura at the Tokyo Dome, which Nakamura laughed off, saying Sato has no qualifications whatsoever to make such a challenge. Takaiwa, also apparently pushing for a spot on the Dome show, said the New Japan he saw yesterday is completely different than the New Japan he left almost five years ago, and no longer feels the same fire. Yoshiyuki Nakamura continued the merciless provocation, saying he had bought ten tickets yesterday as a congratulatory gift for the debut of Pro Wrestling Yuke's. He said he didn't feel "Strong Style" yesterday and was disappointed. (Shinsuke) Nakamura showed early signs of bulking up yesterday, although hasn't added much weight yet. He used some "trial" suplexes though, part of what he hopes will be an extended offensive arsenal soon. Naruse said after beating Nishimura yesterday that if anyone underestimates him on this tour, he will break their jaw like he did Yujiro's. Ryushi Yanagisawa is off shows injured until 12/3 Kyoto. This explains why yesterday's Korakuen show was a seven match card instead of eight, as Yanagisawa was supposed to face Tatsutoshi Goto in a singles match. Yoshie & Tanahashi vs. Nagata & Tanahashi on the upcoming 11/26 Saitama show has been changed to Nagata & Tanahashi vs. Hiro & Goto to reflect Yanagisawa's absence. Riki Pro 1/5 card; heavy New Japan participation by Stuart - 24 Nov 2005 New Japan will dispatch many wrestlers to Riki Choshu's indy show in January, which takes place the day after New Japan's Tokyo Dome show. In a three organization tag match, Liger & Samurai take on Ishii (Riki Pro) & Takaiwa (ZERO1-MAX), while youngster Hirooki Goto (not Tatsutoshi Goto) gets a big chance when he takes on veteran, Shiro Koshinaka! Jado & Gedo are reunited with former W*ING and FMW friends, when they take on Kanemura & Hido in a trip back in time for the New Japan juniors. The New Japan vs. ZERO1-MAX young lion war continues when Yamamoto & Nagao tackle Ryouji Sai & Yoshihito Sasaki in what could be a lead-in or follow-up to a Yamamoto vs. Sai singles match. There will also be a battle royal with wrestlers from no less than five promotions involved. Additionally, Riki Choshu and Akira Maeda go to war, one-on-one, in the ring... with a talk show! The two will debate pro wrestling in what should be a hot verbal battle. Riki Pro, 1/5/06 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1. Daisaku Shimoda vs. Takashi Uwano 2. Naofumi Yamamoto & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Ryouji Sai & Yoshihito Sasaki 3. Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda 4. Jado & Gedo vs. Kintaro Kanemura & Hido5. Hirooki Goto vs. Shiro Koshinaka6. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Tatsuhito Takaiwa 7. 5 Organization Battle Royal [Results] New Japan, 11/23/05 by Stuart - 23 Nov 2005 --> "BATTLE FINAL 2005" <-- New Japan's last tour of 2005 began with Riki Choshu's first fully booked show since returning. With most alignments reset, the show began a new theme of showing pure New Japan style wrestling and developing new friendships through that over time. New Japan hit Korakuen Hall for a Fighting TV SAMURAI! "Near Live" broadcast, with injured Mitsuya Nagai appearing at last in the commentary booth. Former IWGP Tag Team Champions, Yoshie & Tanahashi, reuniting after a long time today, facing their seniors Nakanishi & Iizuka in the main event. Iizuka was said to have looked off in the match, with some wondering if the serious head injury he suffered in 2001 (one that will never fully heal) is still causing problems, as he made a few mistakes and looked groggy (maybe he just had a night on the town yesterday). Korakuen rose most when the two bulls, Nakanishi and Yoshie, flung themselves at one another, striking with all of their might. Tanahashi secured the win for the young generation team, pinning Iizuka after the Sling Blade. This was a solid match, but the concensus was that it would have been better as the semi main event, as the actual semi main made a greater impression. Yoshie said that he wants to face an important figure at the Tokyo Dome, and apparently has been overseas recently, saying he experienced many things (anyone spot him?). Tanahashi expressed disgust at Shibata, and said that if Shibata really left New Japan to find his "ideal pro wrestling" he should show it at the Tokyo Dome, or be proven a fraud. The "reunion" theme also applied to the semi final, with the former teacher and pupil pair of Nagata & Nakamura teaming up for the first time since 10/19/04. These two had a very good record as a team in the past, including a winning streak on the "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. X" series back in 2003, when Nakamura was still new to wrestling. That form was back today when they defeated Chono & Black Strong Machine in what was called a very good match. When the bell rang, the fans chanted "Chono", so Nagata threatened to walk out... prompting "Nagata" chants. Then Chono left the ring, also threatening to walk, so it was back to "Chono" chants. Although Nakamura took a lot of punishment in the match, Nagata was as aggressive as the opposition, going for Machine's mask more than once. A furious Machine then tore off his mask, revealing his true character, and Korakuen exploded with "Hirata!" calls, as Junji Hirata showed his true self in the New Japan ring for the first time since 6/2/01 (which was ironically in a city called Hirata). He put the mask back on and landed a chairshot so hard that the chair broke. The finish saw Machine go for a lariat on Nakamura, but Nakamura take the arm with a spectacular flying takedown into his cross armbreaker. Machine tapped out and somewhere in Korakuen, Choshu smiled. By the way, Tenzan was mysteriously absent today, but will be back in the ring for the next show. New Japan's renowned "Big 4" junior veterans, Kanemoto, Tiger Mask, Liger, and Minoru, clashed today in the first of two tag matches of identical pairings, before four big singles matches over the two WPW tapings that end the tour. After much emphasis on the young juniors lately, the established veterans are back in focus on this tour, and it began today with a match that pleased the crowd as expected. ZERO1-MAX's Director Yoshiyuki Nakamura (originally of New Japan), Kohei Sato, Ryouji Sai (who provoked Yamamoto at today's Z1 show in the same building), and Tatsuhito Takaiwa watched quietly from the south seating area (they stood up briefly during the semi). Jado & Gedo returned from Mexico early due to Jado's injury, seconding Liger & Minoru, meaning what was CTU was out in force (minus Black Tiger). Many fans wore CTU shirts or waved CTU flags in protest at Choshu for ordering the extremely popular faction to split up. The crowd was heavily into this match, and Jado & Gedo made their presence felt, interfering on behalf of Liger & Minoru more than once. Liger capitalized on this, dropping Tiger Mask with his CTB finisher to get a big win leading into their Osaka singles match, where Liger will be looking to undo two singles losses to Tiger this year. The five went into a full state of rebellion against Choshu's demands after the match, holding up a CTU banner and announcing that CTU would continue. Despite this, the group is quite mixed up on upcoming shows, often teaming with regular army members against each other. Jado & Gedo gave an interview backstage, saying they had come back due to various situations (Jado's injury not even mentioned), such as Choshu taking over booking and Yuke's buying out Inoki, and declared war on just about everyone. Jado said that despite the changes, he and Gedo wouldn't change, and talked about Choshu inviting indy wrestlers to the Tokyo Dome. The two then formally challenged a strong indy team to come to the Tokyo Dome and face them, saying they may have originated on the indies, but now they are big league New Japan wrestlers and want to prove that to Choshu. Masayuki Naruse struck back at his critics after an embarrassing loss to young lion Yujiro at the end of the last tour, showing fresh motivation today against Nishimura. In what was called a very interesting singles match, Naruse kicked Nishimura's legs until they were red raw and he had trouble standing. When Nishimura tried to get back in the ring late on, Naruse sent him off the apron twice with vicious kicks, Nishimura going down and not being able to beat the 20 count, giving Naruse a surprise win! What does this mean for Naruse? Choshu has been blunt in saying that certain wrestlers are fighting for their jobs, and Naruse hospitalizing Yujiro and showing a vicious streak against Nishimura today may be a sign of his determination to stay in New Japan. 2002 dojo class members, Yamamoto & Nagao, continued their sublime form, scoring a huge upset win over 2001 dojo class members, Blue Wolf & Yano, today. Although the 2002 class (Nagao isn't on that photo as he joined a little later) was heralded more than the 2001 class, since it was bigger and had Nakamura, Wolf and Yano have been firmly above Yamamoto and Nagao for a long time. That seemed to change today, as Yamamoto & Nagao showed that new fire and growth that was brought on by Choshu's return and fought through Wolf & Yano's superior power and experience, Yamamoto hitting his homicidal backdrop suplex, handed down to him from Tatsutoshi Goto, and pinning Wolf for the first time in his career! Although this is a great sign for those two (who are being compared to TanaKen now, with Yamamoto a bigger Tanahashi and Nagao a bigger Kenzo), it raises questions about Wolf and Yano, who are in danger of being engulfed by their younger generation members. Wolf kicked the rail at ringside out of frustration after the match. The Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto feud progressed in the second match today, when rivals Goto & Anzawa teamed up to face and defeat El Samurai & Taguchi. After showing a purely lucha style last time at Korakuen on 11/3, not using his dropkick or German suplex against Sangre Azteca, Taguchi displayed more of his Japanese style today against fellow natives, proving his versatility after spending much of the year in Mexico. The fans were into this as much as the bigger junior match later on, and late on Goto was able to counter Taguchi's suplexes with armbars, before finally turning a backdrop into a cross armbreaker for the tap, his first direct win over Taguchi since Taguchi's return (Taguchi has one over Goto from the last tour)! Katsushi Takemura returned in the opening match after missing the last tour for reasons not explained (extended honeymoon?). With Goto and Anzawa in the junior division, Yamamoto and Nagao up the card today, and Yujiro still injured, Takemura went back to 2001 and the opening match, facing Hiro. Takemura gave Hiro problems and looked like he could win, but a flurry of sentons and a German suplex hold, described as a "goosebumps-inducing work of art", got the win for Hiro. Josh Barnett headlined today's U-STYLE Axis debut show at Tokyo Ariake Colosseum. The show drew very poorly (20~40% full/2,000~3,000 fans, once again raising questions about whether this style has any pulling power left after the repeated deaths of these promotions), had no PPV telecast, and has received little press attention so far, so I don't have many details. Josh was upset by Kiyoshi Tamura in 16 minutes, so his post-injury slump continues. The finish was remniscent of Nakamura vs. Takayama last year, with Josh going for the kill with a Captured buster, but Tamura cutting it back with an armlock for the momentary victory. NJPW, 11/23/05 (Samurai! TV) Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,312 Fans - No Vacancy 1. Hiro Saito beat Katsushi Takemura (7:42) with a German suplex hold. 2. Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa beat El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi (9:39) when Goto used a cross armbreaker on Taguchi. 3. Naofumi Yamamoto & Hiroshi Nagao beat Blue Wolf & Toru Yano (10:30) when Yamamoto used a backdrop suplex on Wolf. 4. Masayuki Naruse beat Osamu Nishimura (13:37) by countout. 5. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru beat Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask (14:14) when Liger used the CTB on Tiger. 6. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura beat Masahiro Chono & Black Strong Machine (16:53) when Nakamura used a cross armbreaker on Machine. 7. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka (17:31) when Tanahashi used the Sling Blade on Iizuka. - NJPW, 11/26/05 Koshigaya Katsura Studio 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Akiya Anzawa 2. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryushi Yanagisawa 3. Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine Puroresu DVD Source update by Stuart - 21 Nov 2005 Puroresu DVD Source has updated with a brand new range of titles from Japan. First footage from Nakamura & Tanahashi's CMLL excursion is available, featuring the match where they teamed with Averno against Dr. Wagner Jr., Dos Caras Jr. & Negro Casas. On the New Japan side, there is recent stuff, including the 10/7 Korakuen show with Nakamura & Tanahashi's return match, plus a special New Japan Classics devoted to the late, great Shinya Hashimoto, featuring several matches, including Hashimoto & Masa Saito vs. Scott Hall & Punisher Dice Morgan (WWE's Undertaker) for the IWGP Tag Team Title from 1990. As always, there is also other stuff from around Japan, so check out Puroresu DVD Source for your Japanese pro wrestling footage. Choshu's WPW interview, Tenzan's outrage, Nakamura vs. WWE?, more by Stuart - 20 Nov 2005 Riki Choshu said he wants the interpromotional matches on 1/4 to have more impact than New Japan vs. UWF. These were his words from the WPW interview that aired on Saturday, where he discussed the Tokyo Dome show and beyond. Choshu said that even if New Japan won just one of the interpromotional matches, that would give the company and himself a pillar to build around in 2006. Choshu named Nagata, Nakanishi, Nakamura, and Tanahashi as the four men (each with a big singles match) that he has his eyes on. For those four, the results of their 1/4 matches could be crucial in determining their position in New Japan next year. The winners are likely to become those "pillars" that Choshu is talking about, and the losers may find themselves on the next level down, trying to catch up. Choshu didn't forget Chono and Tenzan, calling them just one pillar, and isn't sure whether that pillar will still be standing after 1/4. Tenzan is feeling completely bemused at having to face Takao Omori & Shiro Koshinaka on 1/4. He said this is the greatest example of the point he and Chono are trying to make, that Choshu is booking for his own convenience and not New Japan's. Omori & Koshinaka teamed in World Japan and while part of that company, won the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title from Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka. Tenzan sees this as Choshu's way of getting some of his favourites from the failed World Japan project on the show, and is disgusted by it. Tanahashi wasn't so critical of his booking when asked to comment at an event for yet another Nakamura & Tanahashi DVD release (this one covers their matches as a team), but isn't as excited about facing Shibata as many fans seem to be. Tanahashi said he has faced Shibata a thousand times (an exaggeration, but they did used to open every second show against each other, and have had two matches since Shibata became a heavyweight threat) and since Shibata has had a mere five matches since leaving New Japan, Tanahashi is feeling "nothing new" at having to face his old rival again. Taguchi is appealing strongly to be on the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. He had an autograph session at the Toukon Shop the other day, and said he worked hard to show his progress from Mexico on the last tour, and wants to at the Tokyo Dome. Taguchi has received extremely high praise from fans since returning, and sent a plea to Choshu to let him on the show. With seven matches already booked, many of which are singles, its almost a given that some New Japan wrestlers won't make the show, with only four more matches to be added. Tokyo Sports headline today: "Nakamura suggests a WWE confrontation war". Of course, these things almost never go anywhere. Nakamura said his match with Kohei Sato on 1/4 will be the start of a self-revolution for him. He has begun his "body remodeling" as he attempts to bulk up to around 245lbs in preparation for a hopeful match with Lesnar, and plans to make the theme of his match at the Tokyo Dome "attack". Since he is young, Nakamura is often dominated by seniors and has to use craftiness to come back, but by bulking up and becoming stronger physically, he wants to start attacking more now. Nakamura's work never ends, and he gave a wrestling classroom (many photos here) yesterday, teaching young children wrestling techniques and also appearing on a radio show, all to promote the 11/30 house show in Tatebayashi (where these events took place). Nishimura's future is a little unclear. Nishimura is in Germany now and there has been some comedy-esque "scandal" about him stealing Hiroko from Kenzo Suzuki over there. Nishimura said he is as "free as a bird" and may take that to another level by suggesting becoming more "free" in a wrestling sense next year. This doesn't definitely mean he'll become a freelancer (although it could), but he may ask for some things in a new contract, in particular the chance to travel around the world and wrestle, which is one of the things he loves to do in between New Japan tours. One possibility is that he could sign a spot contract with New Japan, appearing less frequently and clocking up frequent flyer points in the meantime. Nishimura doesn't think there is lifetime employment and stability as a pro wrestler, and I suppose that could be an early hint at retirement. He also said that Seiji Sakaguchi should run some wrestling shows at his new dojo, since he believes Sakaguchi has the mental ability to make something happen in the industry again. Nagata is demanding that Akira Maeda sit ringside and watch him fight Murakami on 1/4. This isn't the first time he has done this, but you have to feel there is a better chance on 1/4 of Maeda showing up than before, as he is the "symbol" behind BML, whose top two stars go to war at the Tokyo Dome. Young lion Yujiro has now been in hospital for fifteen days after having jaw surgery. There were some complications, such as an abrupt sharp pain in his left calf and a bad fever that made his face swell up. Yujiro is having to eat liquid food and gets charged �1,000 (about US$8.40) for every ten hours he watches the TV in the hospital, but is in good spirits. BML ready for war, WPW schedule by Stuart - 18 Nov 2005  Fumihiko Uei held a press conference today to announce matches for the second BIG MOUTH LOUD show (12/29 Korakuen, with the Murakami vs. Enson Inoue feud from New Japan revived), and formalized Murakami and Shibata's matches for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. Uei said he hadn't planned to comment on New Japan today, but when a journalist asked him about it, he looked furious and lashed out. Uei said Choshu calling BIG MOUTH LOUD (he did likewise with ZERO1-MAX) an indy promotion infuriated him, saying BML shouldn't be classified as a mere indy. Uei also resented how the matches were announced as "Riki Choshu's proposal" instead of as an official lineup like New Japan and BML agreed on prior. Murakami said that he is in combat mode and is ready for a war with Nagata. He claimed that he and others risked their lives to intrude on New Japan's 5/14 Tokyo Dome show, and provoked New Japan wrestlers to show up at BML's 12/29 show. Uei closed the interview, declaring all-out war on New Japan. He said the lion mark of New Japan is still in his heart, and called BML the "real New Japan", the group that will show true Strong Style when it invades the "hometown" on 1/4. New Japan World Pro Wrestling on TV Asahi content for 11/19: 10/30 Kobe World Hall - Black Tiger vs. Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title & NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title - "Black Tiger confronts the third generation Tiger Mask after dethroning the fourth generation Tiger Mask") - Riki Choshu interview about 1/4/06, Tokyo Dome card announced nationally 1/4 card official, wrestlers comment, some other notes by Stuart - 18 Nov 2005  With no outside interference, Choshu's proposed card was accepted by everyone and made 100% official today, and it was announced that there would be four more matches, taking it to an eleven match lineup. Nakanishi will also face a wrestler from another promotion, but who that is has yet to be determined. Kanemoto said facing Otani is just what he wanted, so maybe he will cut down on Choshu bashing in his blog now. Kanemoto didn't think he'd get this chance, with the talk of an interpromotional ban, and promised to crush ZERO1-MAX like he did Yoshihito Sasaki in October, and not lose. Nakamura has no objections to his match, although doesn't know a lot about his opponent judging by his comments. He trusts Choshu's judgement and wants to see the results of his matchmaking. Nakamura wants to focus on his match and hopes it can help him grow stronger and better as a pro wrestler. Nakamura's friend, Tanahashi, was mysteriously absent from the press conference. Nagata can't wait to fight Murakami, because he thinks Murakami has changed since their IWGP Heavyweight Title match back in 2002. Nagata said that Murakami has inherited "a certain someone's ism", obviously referring to his beloved rival, Akira Maeda. Nagata was angry at all of Choshu's changes to the pre-existing system, but said he has turned that anger into strength, and swore not to let the pillar of New Japan fall. Although Nakanishi doesn't know who his opponent yet, he is hoping Choshu will find someone suitable for him. He isn't fussed who it is, and just wants to be able to show the "starting point" of professional wrestling, as he plans to do against Lesnar in Osaka next month. Simon said New Japan wrestlers are elite, and so has no objections with Choshu's lineup. It was formally determined, and all seven matches will now go ahead without fail. Simon's new best friend, President Taniguchi of Yuke's, spoke to Tokyo Sports the other day. Taniguchi said he doesn't care if New Japan loses money for the time being, but wants them to reach black figures within two years, and after seeing the young wrestlers' potential, expects New Japan to be making its highest ever sales five years from now. He wants Antonio Inoki to cooperate with the company as a "symbol" and do his "1-2-3-DAA" at shows, but will promise nothing about dispatching wrestlers to Inoki's future events, namely the Korean MMA shows he plans. You can view footage of the open tryout from 11/3 Korakuen for free on IWTV. Click here and it is (at the moment) at the very top, with a photo of young prospects in the ring. After you launch it (I recommend the 500k stream, as the 64k stream is very low quality), a licensing thing will appear, with two grey buttons in Japanese. Click the left one, then you should be able to play it. The video shows some of the exercises, and I am almost certain the young man in a white shirt and red shorts, who does some nice exercises and gives a speech, is Tetsuya Naito (click the link for a screencap of him; watching the video you will see he is on another level as an athlete to the others, and looks like a fantastic prospect), the one who made it. You'll also see Hirasawa (the soon-to-debut rookie) in the video as a sparring partner, the big guy with bushy hair who takes kicks right at the end. Choshu and Simon comment by Stuart - 17 Nov 2005  Choshu, Simon, and Hideaki Yamanaka (long-time director) held a press conference to discuss Choshu's proposed lineup. The good news is that despite it being unofficial (besides Brock vs. Fujita), Choshu sounds confident that those matches will go ahead. He came up with the card a week ago and said that although it isn't exactly the "hometown" theme Simon wanted, the president gave his thumbs up to the lineup. Choshu said negotiations with ZERO1-MAX, BIG MOUTH LOUD, and other parties haven't gone easily, but they managed to reach agreements, so all of those names on the lineup seem a certainty to work the show (Koshinaka's return for this show is no great surprise, as he and Choshu are close and Koshinaka was Choshu's assistant booker after Hase left in 1996). Choshu said that three or four matches would be added to the proposed lineup, probably featuring juniors and possibly more interpromotional matches. Choshu set up this card to test the "castle" of New Japan and see who can stand tall as a pillar and protect the company. Matchmaking for 2006 tours will depend on the results and contents of each match, and those that win would likely be put in leading positions. Simon said the theme planned by Choshu wasn't his original plan, but thinks it is a good card and trusts the wrestlers of New Japan to deliver. He will assemble the wrestlers tomorrow for urgent interviews, where they can give their thoughts on the matches suggested for them. Choshu made another ruthless (and pretty funny) comment in reply to Goto's demands yesterday, saying "Since Goto is actually booked, he should consider himself lucky. This may be his last tour after all. The same goes for Hirata." 1/4 Tokyo Dome extended card (Riki Choshu proposal); New Japan vs. BML and ZERO1-MAX! by Stuart - 17 Nov 2005   Below is the 1/4 Tokyo Dome lineup... as proposed by Riki Choshu! I wrote a preview of sorts for it, but that was before I realized the lineup isn't 100% official yet. All of the matches besides Brock vs. Fujita, which was set in October, have been proposed by Choshu and are of course "subject to change". I suppose they want fan feedback, and it has been positive in Japan (most don't see it as "Tokyo Dome class", but see it as a strong lineup nonetheless), so feel free to post your thoughts. ts a promising card, although on paper definite lacks some drawing power, but with Sumo Hall shows coming up where it won't be as difficult to fill up the building, putting on a good card to set the tone for 2006 is important. There are still possibilities. Nakanishi, Yoshie, Nishimura, and Josh Barnett's names haven't appeared yet. Matt Morgan, Mark Jindrak, and Charlie Haas are not yet listed either, and New Japan has also been trying to set something up with NWA TNA (there is also a particular former New Japan dojo talent who could be out of WWE by then, although I don't know whether legalities would prevent him from appearing). Masakatsu Funaki, who many thought would appear, isn't on the proposed lineup, and a possibility is that he will second the BML guys (TV Asahi suggested him facing Minoru Suzuki a while back, but that was before managerial changes). Kawada also wanted on the card, and presuming the relationship with DSE hasn't soured, that is still a possibility. And there are plenty of juniors not listed on the proposed lineup. NJPW "TOUKON SHIDOU CHAPTER 1", 1/4/06 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Tokyo Dome 1. Tatsumi Fujinami, X, X, X & X vs. Riki Choshu, X, X, X & X 2. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takao Omori & Shiro Koshinaka3. Koji Kanemoto vs. Shinjiro Otani 4. Yuji Nagata vs. Kazunari Murakami 5. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata 6. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kohei Sato 7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Brock Lesnar (c) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita Goto's message to Choshu, front office news, NJ wants Eddie tributes by Stuart - 16 Nov 2005 Tatsutoshi Goto sent a message to Riki Choshu, and the official website posted it. Goto said he read his matches for the next tour in the newspapers this morning and isn't happy with Choshu's booking of him. Although they collide once (Choshu, Iizuka & Yoshie vs. Blond Outlaws on 12/6), Goto told Choshu that if he is expected to work the tour after Choshu dismissed him from his office job last month, then those two (Choshu and Goto) must face each other in some form on every show. BS Asahi will air a special end-of-year edition of the junior-centric "Toukon Super Battle" soon and conducted interviews with wrestlers in Tokyo earlier. All of them were sharply dressed: Hirooki Goto and Minoru, Tiger Mask and Kanemoto, Taguchi and Anzawa. Speaking of Toukon Super Battle, this month's schedule is/has been: 11/3 (airing Black Tiger vs. Kanemoto and Yujiro vs. Nagao from 10/30, and Liger vs. Tiger Mask Kanemoto from 1/4/94), 11/10 (airing Nakamura & Tanahashi vs. Chono & Tenzan from 10/30, and Liger vs. Hayabusa from the 1994 Super J Cup), and 11/17 (airing Tiger Mask, Taguchi & Anzawa vs. Liger, Minoru & Sangre Azteca from 10/30, and Fujinami vs. Dynamite Kid from 2/5/80). The massive company restructuring seems to be extending to the offices. Recent All Japan matchmaker, Watanabe, who was one of the crew who jumped with Muto, has quit All Japan and according to Weekly Fight is on his way back to New Japan's front offices. Another story even suggests that ZERO1-MAX boss, Yoshiyuki Nakamura, who left (or was sent away originally, and is known for hard negotiating, but also for keen business sense) with Hashimoto, Otani, and Takaiwa, could be on his way to New Japan as well, although this is harder to figure out, since New Japan and ZERO1-MAX seem to be on good terms and Nakamura leaving would be a crushing blow to Z1. New Japan has made an open call to fans to send in memories of Eddie Guerrero, which will presumably be posted in some form. There is an online form (the fields are "Name", "Email Address", and "Message"), and even if you can't type in Japanese and have something to say, I'd recommend sending a message, as New Japan likely has bilingual employees. 12/16 Okinawa card! by Stuart - 15 Nov 2005 Added to the tour lineups (in case you missed them, they're two posts down) is a partial lineup for the stand-alone show on the island of Okinawa. It sees 2000 G1 Tag League winners, Nagata & Iizuka, reunite against Fujinami disciples, Nishimura & Tanahashi. Also, more good junior action action, Taguchi getting a match to show his progress against Tiger and current IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions, Minoru & Hirooki Goto, facing former champions, Liger & El Samurai, in a non-title match. NJPW "2005 FINAL BATTLE IN OKINAWA", 12/16/05 (Samurai! TV) Okinawa Prefectural Budokan 1. Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 2. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Minoru & Hirooki Goto 3. Osamu Nishimura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka 4. Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine Nagata and Nakanishi comment on next tour, several wrestlers comment, Fujita off 1/4...? by Stuart - 15 Nov 2005  Nagata and Nakanishi were interviewed about the next series and their matches with Brock today. Nakanishi said he is honored at having the chance to fight such an amazing wrestler as Lesnar. Nagata said he met Lesnar three years ago in America, and ever since it has been a dream of his to face the American. Nagata called Lesnar "the highest peak in the world", and is looking forward to facing Brock in the last big match of the year for New Japan. When asked about it being a non-title match, Nakanishi said he would have loved the chance to win back the symbol of New Japan from Brock, but is quite simply just excited at having this match. He doesn't know how many times in his lifetime he'll have the chance to face such an amazing wrestler, and wants to throw his full Japanese power at Brock. Nagata said his appeal to challenge for the title on 1/4 was dismissed, but thinks Choshu saw his ability by watching him each day, and granted him this chance as a result. Nagata thinks the best flow would see Brock defeat Nakanishi, himself defeat Brock, then Fujita defeat Brock, to set up a tiebreaker between Nagata and Fujita in their series. When asked about his strategy, Nakanishi said he won't target any weak points. He'll simply throw himself and all of his power at Brock and see who the strongest man is. On the contrary, Nagata the scientific wrestler will scout Brock for a weak point and seek to exploit it, so two different styles of matches are promised. After watching his New Japan debut, Nagata thinks Brock's knees are weak and may go after them. Both men were asked about other matches on the next tour, specifically about being teamed with Nakamura, Tanahashi, and Yoshie a lot. Nagata said that it is similar to the situation before half a year ago, and thinks fighting them is more interesting than teaming with them, but understand why Choshu has put them together, to face the "anti-Choshu Army" as they're being called, led by Chono and Tenzan. Nagata isn't sure what ideas Choshu has, but hopes he can "activate" the New Japan ring. Nakanishi is hoping to show his power no matter who he is teamed with and put against. When asked about teaming with Choshu, Nagata said he teamed with Choshu in his young lion days, and would show in this match how far he has come since then. Nakanishi thinks that by teaming with wrestlers, Choshu's morale as site foreman will go up. Meanwhile, Nakanishi raided KFC(?) today. Tenzan accused Nagata and Nakanishi of being Choshu's pet dogs in Tokyo Sports, and said their true characters being revealed has just strengthened his bond with Chono and opened his eyes to many things in New Japan. Tenzan said he, Chono, Hirata, and Goto (and Hiro judging by lineups) will not accept any of Choshu's orders, and ordering armies to disband just ruined the flow of recent New Japan. Meanwhile, Yoshie told Tokyo Sports that he is happy with armies being abolished, as it will allow a strong individual like himself to shine more. Yanagisawa said "individual fights" is the starting point of fighting and will over time reveal true friendships in both the heavyweight and junior divisions, and lessen the amount of "false" armies. Yanagisawa is no longer aligned with Chono on the next tour, and teams with "regular army" members. The purchase of New Japan controlling interest spiked Yuke's stock prices yesterday, seeing shares go from �770 to �870, a growth of 12-13%. Meanwhile, "person's concerned" in the Inoki Office said that Inoki's "1-2-3-DAA" may be lost in the New Japan ring, and suggested that Fujita could be pulled off the 1/4 show (no mention of Lesnar being pulled, despite his apparent contract with them). Although Simon might have enough sway to prevent this from happening, if it did happen, I'd expect Antonio Inoki and Fujita to be permanently banished from New Japan. Were Fujita pulled off the show, the main event would possibly be changed to Nakamura vs. Lesnar. Everyone's favourite journalist, Tarzan Yamamoto, is happy that his enemy, Inoki, is out of New Japan, but since its New Japan, still had some complaints in his latest article. He said he won't be happy unless New Japan renames itself to Yukes Japan Pro-Wrestling. Still, he feels this could be the start of New Japan's true revival, as he always said that no matter what steps they took, Inoki's presence would unmotivate wrestlers and hold back the company. Next tour lineups! by Stuart - 15 Nov 2005   Riki Choshu presents his first fully booked tour since returning, "BATTLE FINAL 2005". Alignments are almost completely reset, except for Chono's crew, which consists of he, Tenzan, and the Blond Outlaws (Machine, Hiro & Goto). Most of the matches center on battles between peer "regular army" members and "regular army" (if that is what it is) vs. ChoTen Army matches, with the Chono, Tenzan & Machine trio on most shows. One interesting note is that there will be absolutely no title matches on the series (Nagata & Nakanishi have passed on their tag title chance for the opportunity to face Brock). Both Choshu and Fujinami will make special appearances on the tour, with Choshu in some big six man tags, including ones where he teams with Nakamura and Tanahashi! Once again, there are not many important heavyweight singles matches given away, except those two huge matches involving Brock. The closest thing to a Japanese outsider is Yanagisawa (who has a contract of sorts), showing how serious Choshu is of the "national isolation" route. Morgan and Jindrak are both back, but no sign of Charlie Haas yet. Meanwhile, the junior division is untouched by Choshu and it looks like an amazing tour for the juniors. The "Big 4" will go at it repeatedly, including tags on 11/23 Korakuen and 12/3 Kyoto (Liger & Minoru vs. Kanemoto & Tiger Mask). There will be many interesting tags with old enemies tagging (no sign of Takemura again, though...), leading to Osaka and Nagoya, where it all happens. In Osaka, the Kanemoto vs. Minoru and Liger vs. Tiger Mask gold cards are presented. Minoru has had Koji's number in singles matches these past couple of years, and Tiger Mask already has two singles victories over Liger this year, so both veterans could get revenge there. Then a day later in Aichi, Kanemoto faces Tiger Mask for the first time since the 2004 Super Jr. final and we see Liger vs. Minoru for the first time in ages (actually, if you don't count Heat, who defeated Liger twice in a row also, this is their first singles match since the 2001 Super Jr. final). Full list of outsiders and special participants: Brock Lesnar: 12/10 & 12/11 Matt Morgan: 12/3 to 12/11 Mark Jindrak: 12/3 to 12/11 Sangre Azteca (CMLL): 12/3 to 12/11 Safari (CMLL): 12/3 to 12/11 Tatsumi Fujinami: 12/3, 12/10 & 12/11 Riki Choshu: "Special participation schedule" Ryushi Yanagisawa: 11/23, 11/26, 11/30, 12/3 to 12/11 So as you see, there is no Black Tiger on this tour, meaning the double champion is absent. Quick note about Black Tiger (thanks to Dave Roche): He made a successful V3 defense of his NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title in Illinois on the 12th, pinning NOAH regular, Ace Steel, to retain his belt. Back to the tour, and CMLL is well represented again by the impressive Sangre Azteca, who got singles victories over Taguchi and Anzawa last tour, in addition to popular veteran, Safari, another colorful masked man. There may still be some interesting matches added to shows, as you'll notice that in addition to the luchadores' matches not being announced yet, there is very little non-Nakamura/Tanahashi/Yoshie youth presence in the heavyweight matches. Wolf (hopefully not another disappearing act, as he usually gets put in some bigger matches), Yano (besides a tag in Osaka), Nagao, Yamamoto, and Yujiro (he will miss at least some of the tour due to his injury) are not listed, which hopefully means they will build rivalries with each other if they are not up the card this tour. NJPW, 11/23/05 (Samurai! TV) Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 2. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi 3. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 11/26/05 Koshigaya Katsura Studio 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Akiya Anzawa 2. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryushi Yanagisawa 3. Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 11/27/05 (SXW) Fujisawa City Akiba Bunka Gymnasium 1. Minoru vs. Masayuki Naruse 2. Koji Kanemoto vs. Masahito Kakihara 3. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Tiger Mask & Hirooki Goto 4. Yuji Nagata & Osamu Nishimura vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hiroshi Tanahashi 5. Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 11/30/05 Tatebayashi Citizen Gymnasium 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi 2. Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Osamu Nishimura 3. Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 12/3/05 (Samurai! TV) Kyoto City Gymnasium 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 2. Manabu Nakanishi & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 3. Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi 4. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 12/4/05 (Samurai! TV) Hiroshima Green Arena Small Arena 1. Yutaka Yoshie vs. Black Strong Machine 2. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru, El Samurai & Hirooki Goto 3. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 4. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan NJPW "TOUKON FESTIVAL", 12/6/05 Fukuyama Big Rose 1. Jushin Thunder Liger, El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru, Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa 2. Riki Choshu, Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Black Strong Machine, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 3. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 4. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura NJPW, 12/7/05 Shunan Sports Center 1. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 2. Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata & Ryushi Yanagisawa 3. Riki Choshu, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 12/8/05 Tex Port Imabari 1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Masayuki Naruse vs. Koji Kanemoto & Akiya Anzawa 2. Takashi Iizuka & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 3. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine NJPW, 12/9/05 Tokushima Municipal Gymnasium 1. Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie 2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 3. Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto NJPW, 12/10/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Takashi Iizuka vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa 2. Osamu Nishimura & Toru Yano vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 3. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 4. Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru 5. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tiger Mask 6. Yuji Nagata, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine 7. Brock Lesnar vs. Manabu Nakanishi NJPW, 12/11/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 2. Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru 3. Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Matt Morgan & Mark Jindrak 4. Tatsumi Fujinami, Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine 5. Brock Lesnar vs. Yuji Nagata More on the takeover, Nakamura's thoughts, Yoshie's independence, Toukon Festival by Stuart - 14 Nov 2005 The news of the Yuke's takeover is everywhere in Japan today, even matching PRIDE's announcement of Naoya Ogawa vs. Hidehiko Yoshida for their New Year's Eve super-show. Even the country's public broadcaster, NHK news channel, known for its refusal to cover pro wrestling, reported it. Yomiuri's headline is the most adventurous, exclaiming, "The curtain is brought down on the Inoki era! Yuke's is the new largest stockholder!". Sponichi said, "New Japan has thrown away 'Toukon' and moved in a new direction". Most of the stories repeat what I posted last night, but one note of interest is that New Japan actually approached Yuke's about buying the stock to prevent the hostile takeover from an unnamed company. Yuke's is being heralded the savior of New Japan and President Yamaguchi said he would not see New Japan torn apart by a company wanting to buy it for its own uses, so Yuke's bought in to aid and protect it. Taniguchi said Yuke's has grown up with professional wrestling and wants to help the industry leader regain its footing. The media called it a "friendly takeover". Simon said that although Antonio Inoki's influence is now largely gone, he wants him to remain with New Japan as a "symbol", an honorary member like he was in the 1990s, when he would make special appearances. Taniguchi clarified that the takeover was to help New Japan and that Yuke's has no intention of interfering on the management side right now (of course, if there are no signs of progress by next March's stockholder meeting, things could change then). New generation ace, Shinsuke Nakamura, is the only wrestler who has been quoted in the press so far this morning. Nakamura was as always supportive of the company (some others should follow his example, especially one or two certain junior heavyweights), saying as a wrestler, he thinks the company is in a stronger position now than it was before. He also thinks this takeover will be good for fans, and that because he feels pro wrestling love from Yuke's, he has no uneasiness at all about the takeover. In one of the most bizarre things I've seen in a while, Nikkan Sports posted three separate articles about New Japan's dojo yesterday. The main theme is a total reformation of the dojo led by new coach, Kazuo Yamazaki. Yamazaki has introduced several new training techniques, and forced wrestlers to train for four hours yesterday, twice as long as usual. Yamazaki "grew up" in the New Japan dojo in the 1980s, a very tough time for dojo boys, but unlike Kotetsu Yamamoto, Yamazaki isn't wielding a bamboo stick and whacking people, he is using a "scientific" approach. Yamazaki's training style is similar to Karl Gotch's (minus the torture chamber-esque instruments, presumably), with stamina and striking (kicks, etc.) both priorities. Kotetsu Yamamoto, who I believe has retired from his dojo duties now and is focusing on his SXW commentary, sent a yell to Yamazaki, and said his own soul will forever dwell in New Japan's dojo. Kotetsu said New Japan would continue to pursue the strength and tradition of Rikidozan's era, and said that future young men of New Japan will all follow the same belief as their predecessors: "Accept any challenge from any fighter from anywhere at any time". The death of Eddie Guerrero has been covered in Japanese newspapers today. They said that Eddie was in part "raised" by New Japan and for this reason the Japanese fans, in addition to those across the world, are also proud of him and what he achieved. Yoshie acted as a one day supervisor at the relocated Toukon Shop in Suidobashi, Tokyo, the other day, with 162 fans turning up to see him. Yoshie said that despite the changes in New Japan, his fighting wouldn't change and said he would not listen to any instructions Choshu gives him. Regarding the lack of an announcement about Lesnar's matches from New Japan. The feeling is that New Japan postponed it yesterday, as it would have been swamped by the takeover news, so they may reveal it today. As mentioned earlier, despite the sale of his stock, Inoki will still be at the 12/6 "TOUKON FESTIVAL" in Fukuyama (Hiroshima). This could relate to Simon's comment about him staying close to the company as an "active symbol", but not wielding the same power he used to. This festival has a theme and will bring back memories for many Fukuyama natives. On 11/30/73, Fukuyama hosted the first ever Lumberjack Death Match on Japanese soil, when Inoki KO'd Tiger Jeet Singh. 20-odd years since his last appearance there, Antonio Inoki returns to the region to meet and greet the fans.  Brock Lesnar returns in December! by Stuart - 14 Nov 2005 This is the news I promised... it STILL hasn't been posted by New Japan, but the reputable Naigai Times today announced it. I first heard about it last week, when locals from Osaka and Nagoya reported it based on poster information, but since Kensuke was accidentally on the Hakata Star Lane double header poster last month, it was hard to confirm. Here Comes the Pain! IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, enters "BATTLE FINAL 2005", New Japan's last tour of the year! As a gift to two of its most supportive territories, New Japan presents huge special singles matches, with Lesnar having to face Nakanishi and Nagata back to back before defending his title against their ex-Team JAPAN friend, Kazuyuki Fujita, at the Tokyo Dome. When he sat at ringside for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show, Lesnar named Nagata as the wrestler he was most impressed by, and now the two collide. Both shows will be big World Pro Wrestling tapings, and Lesnar's involvement probably explains the sudden increased support by TV Asahi. NJPW, 12/10/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Brock Lesnar vs. Manabu Nakanishi NJPW, 12/11/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium 1. Brock Lesnar vs. Yuji Nagata Yuke's buys New Japan! by Stuart - 14 Nov 2005  Entertainment giant, Yuke's, today announced the purchase of Antonio Inoki's 27,800 shares, giving them controlling interest in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (51.5%). They are one of the most powerful media companies in Japan and are behind the Toukon DVD range and many famous New Japan video games, and their takeover of New Japan will have major ramifications. Antonio Inoki, who has forced many controversial decisions that many believe have held back New Japan in recent years, now has no power in the company, although may stick around as a presence, as New Japan announced his participation on the 12/6 "TOUKON FESTIVAL" today. The major restructuring in New Japan continues - new president, new matchmaker, new controlling company. More about Yukes in English.  Simon Inoki and President Taniguchi of Yukes held a press conference this afternoon at the Tokyo Dome Hotel to announce the sale. Taniguchi said this was in no way a hostile takeover, and in fact their purchase will end New Japan's financial crisis, which has happened due to sloppy management and become very serious in recent times. Taniguchi said Yukes has aimed for a long time (with their Toukon Retsuden series among other things, such as WWE titles) to enhance the pro wrestling industry through games, DVDs, and other products, and now it wants to lend its power to the Japanese industry leader, New Japan. Taniguchi said, "We are offering relief to the greatest professional wrestling organization in Japan, and will back New Japan in any way possible." Simon said that Yukes would have no influence on matchmaking, and that the company will still be run by he and Choshu, that TV Asahi would continue to support New Japan, and that the globalization attempt will continue. (Update: Very interesting comment from this whole situation. Yuke's purchase allowed New Japan to prevent being taken over by "a certain company" that would have presumably been bad for New Japan judging by how it was worded... could it have been WWE, DSE, or FEG?) R.I.P. Eddie Guerrero by Stuart - 13 Nov 2005  One of the best showmen in pro wrestling history, Eddie Guerrero, passed away today in Minneapolis, aged just 38. Guerrero was loved by fans all over the world, and became famous in the American, Mexican, and Japanese pro wrestling communities. Although his success in North America is well known, Eddie was also a hit in New Japan as the second generation Black Tiger and was a long-time wrestler in New Japan in the 1990s. He defeated Liger to win the 1996 Best of the Super Jr. tournament, but was never able to hold the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. After joining WCW, his New Japan dates became less frequent, but he still made appearances up until late 1998. His last New Japan appearance in that spell was a challenge for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title with Chris Jericho on 9/23/98. After many personal problems, it would be another stint in New Japan that helped get Eddie's career back on track before a hugely successful WWE return that lasted until his death. Eddie had one great tour in his final New Japan stay, that being "HYPER BATTLE 2002", before returning to America. Eddie's death comes in a tough year for wrestling fans, after the also untimely death of Hashimoto. R.I.P. Eddie "Black Tiger" Guerrero (1967-2005). (Update: New Japan has posted its own obituary for him) Some site updates by Stuart - 13 Nov 2005 Not much news this weekend. Goto vs. Yamamoto aired on WPW as scheduled and received immense praise, and could do great things for both of their careers. Tanahashi had his 29th birthday party at the Toukon Shop yesterday. Tanahashi said his target is Brock Lesnar (join the club) and feels a match with Brock would be vital for his ongoing study of pro wrestling. Tanahashi mentioned the U-30 belt, which he hasn't defended since winning it back in a tournament this June, and is considering his options with it right now. For the time being, he wants to start taking action on the next tour, and working himself up the ladder again. In the absence of news, I've made some updates to the site. I've updated nearly all affiliated wrestlers' profiles, including statistics (a lot have gained or lost weight since my last update) and positions. Due to the "reset", I've put most wrestlers under the regular army for now, and Chono, Tenzan, and Super Black Strong Love Hirata Makai Machine under "BLACK". I'm hoping to add profiles for some of the foreigners in the near future. Meanwhile, I've brought back an old feature from 2003 and 2004, the rankings. I got rid of it last year, as the concept of rank was almost eliminated under Uei's booking in 2004, but it is more intelligible for now. I've also included junior rankings, but no tag rankings for either weight class for the time being. The coming week should have some big news. I expect new lineups for the next tour and possibly more matches for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show (they are said to be nearing completion of the card already), plus that big news I promised the other day. |