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Post by henriquesser on Jul 30, 2021 4:30:58 GMT 1
December 8th, 2005 I was sitting in my office when the phone rang. I could hear Stacy, my secretary, speaking to someone and getting increasingly agitated. After a couple of minutes she shrugged at me and let the call through. Caller ID showed a number I didn't know, and it didn't seem to be from the United States. I'm intrigued, and I answer the call "Hello. Who is this?""First of all, I apologize for my insistence with your secretary. My name is Simon Inoki, I believe that's a familiar name to you.""Oh yeah, I heard you've taken over New Japan. But we haven't had business with you guys for years, so why are you calling?""Well, it's not just a courtesy call. I'm coming with you with an offer. You see, I've only been in wrestling for a few years, but I already know you can't succeed in this business alone.""So what, you want a partnership? I don't-" He quickly interrupts me "I'm sorry, I might've worded that poorly. That's not what I meant at all. I want you to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling."
I'm starting to get uneasy. "What? Why would I do that? I can't leave, I have a commitmen here... I have a future here, you know that. Everyone in the business knows that.""Do you? Do you really? I know who you're working for, and I know he's just like my father-in-law. He's never gonna let you be the number 1 guy until he's forced to. It's just like what happened to me. I'm only here because Antonio screwed up. You and I, we're a lot alike. We're two young, ambitious guys that were always doomed to stay in the shadow of the big egomaniacs. But I got lucky, I have a chance to change that. And that's why I'm giving you the same chance."
I'm speechless. He's saying what I've been thinking for a while, but was too afraid to admit. He takes advantage of my shock to continue talking "I'm an observant man. I know that every time you've tried to get an idea going, you get shut down. Because you're not a yes man. And that's why I want you here. I need someone with a vision, with the energy to turn this around. I know this is the opportunity you've been wanting for years now."
This time I'm the one that interrupts. "Ok ok, I'm listening. But I'm gonna need something more specific. You know I'm not gonna accept any run of the mill job, don't you?"
"Like I said, I know you're ambitious. I'm gonna match your current salary. As you might've guessed, my idea is for you to head creative. You're also an intelligent businessman, I know you can get the most out of our current partnerships. And on top of that, I'm prepared to offer you 5% ownership of the company. Yukes bought the old man's share so they have 50%, I have the rest. I'm offering you a part of my cut and making it uneven, that's how much I believe in you""Hmmm... well, you sure did your homework. I'll admit, I'm not fully happy here. And what you're offering is exactly the kind of thing I'm looking for... Make it 10% and I'm in"
"Greedy, aren't you? Ok, you got it. 10% ownership and your official title will be EVP of Creative and Talent Relations."
"Alright, I accept."
"I'll give your secretary all the contacts, and I'll send you the curent plans so you can get an idea of what we're building and work some ideas in. Your first show officially in charge will be on January 4th, the Tokyo Dome show"
"Sounds great to me. Thank you Simon, I'm excited for this opportinity"
"Good to know. We'll keep in contact for the rest of the month, while we figure out how to get you out of your contract. I'll send you a Japanese-English dictionary as a welcome gift, you'll find it useful. We can help with moving too"
"Haha, alright. It's gonna be a busy end to the year, I'm gonna have a lot of explaining to do."
"Oh, I'm sure you can handle it. I'm gonna go now, but this was a very productive call. Pleasure doing business with you, Shane."
"Alright, bye Simon."As he hangs up, I take a couple of minutes to process what just happened. In a 10 minute call, I just accepted an offer to leave a cushy job with the biggest wrestling company in the world and move to Japan and work against Vince McMahon. What the hell am I doing? On the other hand, this kind of power is all I've ever wanted. I finally get to show my ideas to the world. I suddenly have a smile that's equally nervous and excited, as I tell my secretary. "Stacy, please let my dad know I'm heading to his office."
Ok, so I've been planning this diary for a while. Basically FluffyTam's AJPW diary made me wanna book puro. Originally I wanted to do this as a playthrough on TEW, using the Shifting Sands database, but I advanced so far along in my booking plans that it'd be a chore to get through it.
We're at an interesting point for NJPW, right after Inoki left and with the company in some financial trouble. They're moving away from the Inokism philosophy.
I don't really have a set goal here, and I'm not even that familiar with how the NJPW product was around this time, but I've got some exciting ideas. Hope you'll all enjoy it! And I also hope I won't be too lazy to go through with this 
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Post by henriquesser on Jul 30, 2021 4:31:29 GMT 1
"Ok so, my dad might not have liked the news, but eventually he did agree to let me move. I'm now officially contracted to NJPW. I've had the chance to check what Simon sent me and wrote down my ideas"Booking Philosophy:- Focus on storytelling - The main drawback of Inokism is that it takes away what makes wrestling compelling, which is the the ability to tell good stories. Whatever the style of the product, what we do is tell stories. That's why we'll have factions, and also a face/heel divide... even if that won't be as strict as what you normally see in dports entertainment
- Use partnerships - We can't be WWE and keep a stronghold on our preformers, but we can work together with other companies and help eachother out. This can help us grow. We currently have working agreements with NOAH and AJPW in Japan, and TNA and CMLL abroad. Expect to see the occasional fresh face.
- Build the different divisions and titles - A good wrestling product needs variety. So yeah, the juniors can't be treated like jobbers and the tag teams can't be an afterthought. We'll try to make every title meanigful and with an identity.
- Talent matters - Inoki went against common wrestling logic by giving sudden pushes to guys that did well in MMA. I think wrestling needs to be continuous. Fans will respond to the most talented wrestlers, and we will build our product according to that. Of course, there's different types of talent... but respecting the identity of the company means in ring talent should come first.
Roster Assesment:"In all honesty, there seems to be some dead weight here, loaded midcard and overall not enough star power. We'll have to make a few signings to freshen up the roster."
Akebono - "Oh, the guy that had a sumo match with Big Show is an actual wrestler now? Interesting... I wouldn't say I have major plans for him right now, but I'm sure he can be an effective member of the roster"Akiya Anzawa - "He's what the japanese call a Young Lion. So yeah, very much a rookie, but we'll see how he develops. He's not big, but he's got a background in Judo."BADBOY Hido - "A low ranked member of the Apache Pro-Wrestling invading faction. They're freelance guys that came in from that company"Black Strong Machine - "A mainstay of the company's midcard for over 20 years. He's way past his prime now, so I'm planning on keeping him in the undercard. He's been training some of our younger guys, and is an important asset behind the scenes."Black Tiger IV - "The fourth incarnation of the Black Tiger character is a young Cuban named Rocky Romero. There's a lot of potential here, but it's a bit odd that they gave him the Junior Heavyweight title so soon. Anyways, the main point of the character is to be a foil for Tiger Mask, so most of what we do with him for now will have to do with that."Brock Lesnar - "Well... everyone in Stamford is very much aware he's here, and in breach of contract. Honestly, I don't care. He's the most important wrestler in the world and he'll be a huge asset for us. That's why Inoki gave him the title right away. We just have to keep Brock motivated and we'll be able to do some great stuff with him."Daisuke Sekimoto - "A talented preformer that's working on seemingly every indy promotion in Japan. Most likely he'll be used sparingly and be kept low on the card, but he'll be important in helping our relationship with smaller promotions."El Samurai - "One of the most important Junior Heavyweights of the 90's. Currently 39, he's very much slowed down now. He's not going to be at the top of the card, but he's still an important name and can help some of the younger guys"Gedo - "Him and Jado have been a cornerstone of the Junior Heavyweight division for the past few years. He's very charismatic and I'm told he's got a great mind for the business too, so I'm sure that'll end up being handy."GENTARO - "Apache's resident jobber. These guys won't be here for long, so I can't say he'll be a big part on any plans I have."Giant Bernard - "Albert has made something of himself since leaving WWE, huh? It's a shame my dad never really got behind him, but here he'll have a chance to be a real star."Hirooki Goto - "He's very much still a rookie, but anyone that looks at this kid for 5 minutes can tell he's got loads of potential. I'm sure he'll be an important player for us in the future. For now though, Simon tells me he's due for an excursion."Hiroshi Nagao - "A big young lion. Seemingly injury prone. I doubt he can have a real impact, and we'll probably let him go when his contract expires."Hiroshi Tanahashi - "One of the crowd's favorites. I hear JR likes him, he tried to sign him once. He's definetly a future megastar, and a contender for face of the company. Interesting to not that he has yet to win the title, though.l"Hiroyoshi Tenzan - "One of our main event stars, Tenzan has spent most of his time in the tag team division until he found singles success a few years ago. He's got value in both divisions, to be honest, which is why he's won the tag titles again with Chono. He'll be a big part of our plans."Jado - "One half of one of the best tag teams in Japan, Jado is an experienced wrestler that can get a decent match out of pretty much anyone. He's not a big star, but he's one of those dependable midcarders that every company needs."Jushin Thunder Liger - "No introductions needed. Probably the biggest Junior Heavyweight star of all time. At 42, he's a little bit past his prime but still able to put on good matches every night. Weirdly enough, he's currently a heel and the leader of CTU. It's an interesting role for him, and we'll see how it goes."KAMIKAZE - "A high-flying heavyweight, but a charisma vaccuum. I don't think he has much of a future here, but we can use him as an undercard guy."Katsuyori Shibata - "Not gonna lie, I love this guy. Stiff strikes, a gret moveset and an overwhelming air of coolness. But I'm told he's more interested in pursuing an MMA career, so he'll only wrestle as a freelancer"Kazunari Murakami - "A former MMA guy, he was brough in by Antonio Inoki a few years ago and was affiliated with the company for a while. Recently returned to the company as a freelancer, but he'll only be here for a short run"Kintaro Kanemura - "Another one of the Apache guys, he's more of a brawling junior heavyweight, which is an interesting combo. He adds some depth to the division"Kohei Sato - "Also a freelance former mixed martial artist, Sato has been popping up at various promotions all across Japan. Another member that will be gona soon."Koji Kanemoto - "He's probably the current junior ace, even if the divison has been an afterthought. Obviously, that's something I intend to change, and Koji will be a big part of that."Manabu Nakanishi - "This heavyweight veteran is a former olympian and has been a member of NJPW for over a decade. He's had a surprise G1 win, but was never fully backed by management to become a big star. Now 39, the time to become a consistent main eventer might be past him, but he'll still be an important member on the upper midcard at the very least."Masahiro Chono - "If New Japan has someone that can be called the face of the company, it's probably him. Chono is a name recognizable to any wrestling fan, and he was a big part of the partnership with WCW. Right now, he's the leader of the BLACK faction and one half of the Tag Team Champions. The downside is that he's in his early 40's now, and he's got at most a few years of top level preformances left."Masato Tanaka - "I think this guy is part of the reason I've taken so many crazy bumps on screen. I'm a big fan of him, and he could help us grab some of the jaded ECW fanbase. He's the leader of the Apache stable, but he's freelancing for us, so unfortunately his current run is about to end. Maybe we'll bring him back at some point, if we can find a role for him.Masayuki Naruse - "A junior heavyweight with MMA experience, Naruse is a former one time champion, having won it shortly since his debut. Since then, he's slid down the card and now seems to be eyeing a return to MMA once his deal expires."Minoru Tanaka - "A few years ago, he was earmarked as a future junior star. He's been important in the division, but I have a feeling he hasn't reached all that potential yet. He's 33 now, so if there's a time for him to reach it, the time is now."Mitsuhide Hirasawa - "Currently a young lion, he doesn't seem especially talented in ring, but he looks like he's got a knack to be more of a character worker. Not sure what his future holds, and he's probably got somewhat of a ceiling, but he could turn into something interesting."Naofumi Yamamoto - "Still a rookie, he's not exceptionally talented in the ring when compared to everyone else, but he seems to have some charisma"Riki Choshu - "Probably the most unhappy guy with my arrival, as I'm taking his job as head booker. Choshu is a legend, but he's also way past his prime, and retirement from in ring competition seems to be looming."Ryoji Sai - "A young big guy, who appears to have some potential. I don't know how significant he can be, but I'll keep an eye on him." Ryushi Yanagisawa - "Also a mixed martial artist, Yanagisawa is currently a member of Chono's faction BLACK and mainly competes in the midcard. He probably won't climb up the card much, but I think he's useful enough where he is now."Ryusuke Taguchi - "This young junior heavyweight combines good wrestling skill with an interesting comedic timing. I believe he can be a very valuable member of the division."Shinjiro Otani - "A pretty recognizable star nationally, Otani is a safe pair of hands that could pop up wherever needed. The big issue is he's too busy running ZERO-1, so we're not a priority for him. I'll probably end up using him sparingly."Shinsuke Nakamura - "One of the potential megastars on the rise here, he is one of the few that benefitted from Inokism, and he's the youngest heavyweight champion in NJPW's history. However, while he's very talented, the crowd hasn't seemed to warm up to him yet. I think he's close to that megastar status though, he just needs some little tweaks."Shiro Koshinaka - "The first ever Junior Heavyweight Champion. He's almost 50 now, and I'm kind of surprised he's on the active roster, if I'm honest. He's a veteran that can help some other guys improve though, and he can probably still have some meaningful matches."Takao Omori - "People say he's a tag team specialist in his prime. But everywhere he's been, it seems like he got stuck in the midcard, maybe because he's lacking charisma. but he's still a good preformer, so I'm hopeful we can find a role that suits him." Takashi Iizuka - "He's been a mainstay in the midcard for a long time, and a long tenured member of the company, having been in NJPW for almost 20 years. He's been going through the motions for a while, but he's still got a few years left in good condition so he could use a bit of a shake-up. He also been training younger guys at the dojo."Takashi Uwano - An 8-year pro, he got signed when Choshu became booker. I can't say I see much in him, but he'll be useful to fill the numbers in opening tags at least."Tatsuhiko Taikawa - "Currently a member of the junior heavyweight division, the veteran Taikawa is one half of the first ever IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions, and is one of several members that can be a steady hand in building the division back up." Tatsutoshi Goto - "A veteran midcarder who's been with New Japan for a long time. I don't really see anything major for him to do right now. He's expressed interest in going freelance soon."Tetsuhiro Kuroda - "The other Apache guy, and probably the best wrestler of the group that isn't Masato Tanaka. A former FMW guy, he looks like a useful short-term option."Tiger Mask IV - "The fourth incarnation of the Tiger Mask. he actually trained under the original himself, and has done the character for his entire career. He's one of the most popular junior heavyweights in the country, and currently one of the key members of the division. I'm counting on him to keep on being just that."Togi Makabe - "Having been in the company for almost a decade, Makabe has established himself as a fixture in the midcard. A tough guy with some good charisma, there's a chance he can become one of the company's biggest names soon, if he manages to break through."Tomohiro Ishii - "He's been a lower card guy here for a while, hasn't done much. Used to be a junior, but he's recently bulked up to heavyweight and that seems like a better fit. I'm particularly impressed with his selling, and I think there might be something there. I'll see if there's an opportunity for him."Toru Yano - "An accomplished amateur wrestler, Yano blends his skill with his incredible comedic ability, making him a very unique act. Although right now he's been more of a savage brawler and avoiding the comedic aspect as part of the Most Violent Players team with Makabe."Wataru Inoue - "A tough junior heavyweight, Inoue has been singled out as a possible future ace for the division. He's a part of my plans for sure."Yoshihito Sasaki - "A kid that was signed to fill the roster, been competing is openers here and there. His contract is expiring soon, and I'm prolly gonna let him go."Yuji Nagata - "I doubt anyone is happier Inokism is dead. This guy is Mr. New Japan, and he got screwed over by the weird direction the company took. Despaite that, he remains hugely popular. I intend on making him a key part of the product."Yutaka Yoshie - "A big man with a fun act, always a good hand to have on the roster. He's imposing enough to be an effective foil for guys we wanna get over."Tag Teams:Cho-Ten (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) Jado & Gedo Stables:BLACKMasahiro ChonoHiroyoshi TenzanBlack Strong MachineBlack Tiger IV
Ryushi Yanagisawa Control Terrorism UnitJushin Liger Gedo Jado Minoru Tanaka Hirooki Goto Apache Pro-Wrestling ArmyMasato Tanaka Kintaro Kanemura Tetsuhiro Kuroda BADBOY Hido GENTARO Champions:IWGP Heavyweight Champion - Brock Lesnar IWGP U-30 Openweight Champion - Hiroshi Tanahashi IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion - Black Tiger IV IWGP Tag Team Champions - Cho-Ten (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions - CTU (Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto)
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Post by henriquesser on Jul 30, 2021 20:03:38 GMT 1
"It's been hard work, but we've finally got to the first show where I'm officially in charge. The card is fully finalized, and I can't wait to start."
January 4th 2006, Tokyo Dome NJPW Toukon Shidou Chapter 1
Pre-Show:
Daisuke Sekimoto, Akiya Anzawa, Takashi Uwano and Ryoji Sai vs Naofumi Yamamoto, Wataru Inoue, Masayuki Naruse and Ryusuke Taguchi
Takao Omori and KAMIKAZE vs Kazunari Murakami and Kohei Sato
Main Card:
CTU (Hirooki Goto and Minoru Tanaka) (c) vs Apache Army (GENTARO and BADBOY Hido) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
CTU (Jushin Liger, Jado and Gedo) vs Apache Army (Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura)
Koji Kanemoto vs Shiro Koshinaka
Giant Bernard vs Yutaka Yoshie
Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi vs Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano)
Yuji Nagata vs Riki Choshu
Black Tiger (c) vs Tiger Mask (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Cho-Ten(c) vs ??? (IWGP Tag Team Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
I'll post the show soon, but I'll give some time if anyone wants to make predictions. Guessing first shows is hard, but the roster assessment could contain some hints about these results.
As for Cho-Ten's challengers, I can say that they are a tag team in a promotion that NJPW is partnered with. |
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Post by Asaemon on Jul 30, 2021 21:05:38 GMT 1
Pre-Show:
Daisuke
Sekimoto, Akiya Anzawa, Takashi Uwano and Ryoji Sai vs Naofumi
Yamamoto, Wataru Inoue, Masayuki Naruse and Ryusuke Taguchi
Takao Omori and KAMIKAZE vs Kazunari Murakami and Kohei Sato
Main Card:
CTU
(Hirooki Goto and Minoru Tanaka) (c) vs Apache Army (GENTARO and BADBOY
Hido) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship)
CTU (Jushin Liger, Jado and Gedo) vs Apache Army (Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura)
Koji Kanemoto vs Shiro Koshinaka
Giant Bernard vs Yutaka Yoshie
Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi vs Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano)
Yuji Nagata vs Riki Choshu
Black Tiger (c) vs Tiger Mask (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Cho-Ten(c) vs ??? (IWGP Tag Team Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship)
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
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Post by henriquesser on Aug 1, 2021 19:55:31 GMT 1
NJPW Toukon Shidou Chapter 14/1/2006, Tokyo DomeAttendance: 31 274
Daisuke Sekimoto, Akiya Anzawa, Takashi Uwano and Ryoji Sai vs Naofumi Yamamoto, Wataru Inoue, Masayuki Naruse and Ryusuke Taguchi
This 8-man tag match was simply a way to warm up the crowd. The two young lions worked mostly as underdogs, but the match took a bit of a turn when Ryoji Sai tagged in, dominating with his power game. Eventually he was controlled though, after some double team maneuvers by his opponents. The four junior heavyweights got the win when Wataru Inoue locked Anzawa in the Triangle Lancer. Time: 9:32 Winners: Naofumi Yamamoto, Wataru Inoue, Masayuki Naruse and Ryusuke Taguchi
Takao Omori and KAMIKAZE vs Kazunari Murakami and Kohei Sato This match saw an interesting clash of styles, the combination of power and speed offered by Omori and KAMIKAZE against the MMA based grappling and striking of Sato and Murakami. While Omori and KAMIKAZE had their moments, they seemed surprisingly innefective against the two shooters, and the finish came after a mistake by Omori, accidentally hitting his partner on the apron and getting caught from behind with a German Suplex from Sato. The two freelancers leave NJPW with a win. Time: 7:13 Winners: Kazunari Murakami and Kohei Sato
CTU (Hirooki Goto and Minoru Tanaka) (c) vs Apache Army (GENTARO and BADBOY Hido)
The opening contest of the main card was pretty one sided, as the two lower ranked mambers of the Apache Army looked out of their depth against the champs. Tanaka's superior experience was a big advantage and the promising Goto also looked good against the weaker opposition. While the challengers did get some offence in, they did succumb after 5 minutes after Tanaka locked Hido in the Minoru special. After the match, the two stables brawled, until the young lions and the referee managed to restore order so the 6-man tag could start.
Time: 4:24
Winners: Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto - 3rd title defence
CTU (Jushin Liger, Jado and Gedo) vs Apache Army (Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura)
The second match was much more even, with the crowd getting especially excited whenever Liger and Masato Tanaka would touch. Kuroda and Kanemura are no slouches either, and held their own against three wrestlers that can be considered key to NJPW's junior heavyweight division. Chaos wouldn't be gone for long however, with Minoru, Goto, GENTARO and Hido getting involved, and it would be the Apache Army that would take advantage, when Masato Tanaka took out Gedo with a vicious Roaring Elbow for the win. With the scored tied between the two groups, their rivalry doesn't seem to have ended just yet.
Time: 13:42
Winners: Masato Tanaka, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura
Koji Kanemoto vs Shiro Koshinaka
After the chaotic nature of the start of the show, it seems the crowd did appreciate a more traditional affair. The current ace of the junior heavyweight division faced off against it's first ever ruler in an anticipated bout, and while Koshinaka might be past his prime, he definetly managed to hide it well, making the match pretty competitive. Kanemoto did get the better of the more technical portions of the match though, managing to counter several of Koshinaka's grappling attempts, while the veteran would keep himself in the match with his resilience, his main weapon being the trademark hip attacks. Ironically, the same hip attack would be Shiro's downfall. After Kanemoto kicked out of a powerbomb, Koshinaka would take a chance and climb to thr top rop to try to hit a Diving Hip Attack, but the junior ace would avoid it and the veteran landed awkwardly. Kanemoto would immediately capitalize and hit a Falcon Arrow for the win. The two competitors would then shake hands in a nice show of sportsmanship.
Time: 12:46
Winner: Koji Kanemoto
Giant Bernard vs Yutaka Yoshie
Another short match, but one that was very different from anything we've seen so far, with power vs power being the main narrative. Giant Bernard might be only a few months into his career in New Japan, but he's been looking dominant since the start and this was no exception. We did have a stalemate at the start, with neither guy managing to knock the other over, until Bernard connected with a huge Lariat. A bright spot for Yoshie came when he successfully sulpexed the Destroyer, but it was only enough for a two-count. Bernard would then connect with an incredible Bicycle Kick, followed by the Baldo Bomb for the win.
Time: 5:25
Winner: Giant Bernard
Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi vs Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano)
It was an interesting clash of styles in this match, with the power and technique combo of the Nakanishi and Iizuka duo up against the brutal violence of Makabe and Yano. This turned the match into mostly a high tension brawl, with a few technical sequences sprinkled in courtesy of Iizuka and Yano, who people sometimes forget has a background in amateur wrestling. Everyone managed to get some offence in, and it was a well disputed match. The Most Violent Players did look like the more cohese team though, which is not surprising given that Iizuka and Nakanishi only occasionaly team up, and that cohesion coupled with their viciousness gave them the edge. Makabe would pick up the win after following a German Suplex on Iizuka with his King Kong Knee.
Time: 15:23
Winners: Togi Makabe and Toru Yano
Yuji Nagata vs Riki Choshu
Akin to the Kanemoto vs Koshinaka match, this was also a case of a wrestler in their prime facing off with an ageing veteran with something to prove. However, while Koshinaka was very competitive against Kanemoto, the same wasn't the case here. The Revolution Warrior actually starter better, using his heavy strikes and suplexes to overpower his opponent, but that didn't last long. Either Choshu's stamina didn't hold up or Nagata's ability was just too much for him, with Blue Justice getting the better of his larger foe on most occasions. Nagata was sharper in just about everything, making up for his size disadvantage by going at Choshu with sheer intensity, and while the veteran tried to stay in the match it seemed only a matter of time until Nagata clinched the win. And he ended up doing just that, following up a Wrist-Clutch Exploder by locking in the third version of his Nagata Lock and forcing Choshu to quickly submit.
Time: 10:14
Winner: Yuji Nagata
i.imgur.com/7TB3m4y.png
Black Tiger (c) vs Tiger Mask
In a card mostly dominated by more technical based matches, these two eternal foes presented the crowd with a more fast-paced match, and the 30 thousand plus present in attendance absolutely loved it. A big contributing factor to this was that Black Tiger wrestled a suprisingly clean match, going toe to toe with Tiger Mask instead of his usual dirtier tactics, even if some more questionable moments did pop up here and there. The match was very much 50/50 though, with neither man staying on top for long or gaining much momentum until the latter stages. Both guys would withstand most of the other's offence and get pretty worn out, with Tiger Mask kicking out of a Black Tiger Bomb and Black Tiger kicking out of a Tiger Driver. The finish would come when Tiger Mask would go for a Tiger Suplex, and as the crowd was expecting the win for their hero, Black Tiger would reverse the move by landing on his feet, much to everyone's shock. The young antagonist would follow this up with a jumping knee strike and a Death Valley Driver, followed by a second DVD for the clean win. Most people expected Black Tiger's title win in October to backfire, leading to an important triumph for Tiger Mask at Tokyo Dome's big stage, so the villain's win was a big surprise. His post match celebration was also a point of interest, with Tiger Mask getting up slowly after the match and the two masked man having a staredown to a standing ovation, in a tense moment that was maybe also a sign of some begrudging respect.
Time: 22:15
Winner: Black Tiger - 1st title defence
i.imgur.com/c8RhlRW.png
Cho-Ten (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (c) vs ???
The champs unusually come out first, but there's the usual air of confidence about them. If Chono and Tenzan are worried about not knowing who their opponents are, they're doing a good job of showing it. That's when a familiar intro hits:
Cho-Ten (Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan) (c) vs The James Gang (BG James and Kip James)The crowd appreciated the surprise, greeting the popular TNA tag team with loud cheers and clapping along with BG as he did their intro. While Cho-Ten didn't seem intimidated ny their opponents, they were a bit overwhelmed at the start as BG and Kip would do their usual shtick. Eventually the champs wouls catch on though, and the match became more balanced with each team having periods of control, with the match breaking down at the end with Chono and BG taken out. Kip would miss the Fame Asser and Tenzan would catch him with his trademark sitout piledriver. The challenger would manage a gutsy kickout, but Tenzan would immediately lock in the Anaconda Vise for the submission win and Cho-Ten would look very convincing against an iconic tag team. Time: 18:05 Winners: Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 1st title defence i.imgur.com/MmUwKj2.pngHiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Katsuyori Shibata
Out of every rivalry presented on the card tonight, there was perhaps none as fierce as the one between these two young men. The title on the line even seemed secondary, with Tanahashi taking it upon himself to battle for the honor of NJPW against the man that walked out on the company a year prior. This was Shibata's return match and he looked as vicious as ever against the resilient Tanahashi, and the animosity between the two added some tension to the match, with every move being excetuted seemingly with an extra bit of venom. Every time Shibata would knock Tanahashi down, he would get back up with more fire in his eyes, and every time Tanahashi would get the better of Shibata he would take the punishment with his usual toughness. Both men would wear eachother down as the match went on, each getting more vicious and desperate with time, but every time unable to but the other away. Crucially, neither man would be able to hit their trademark finisher, with Tanahashi countering the PK and Shibata avoiding the High Fly Flow several times. Shibata would however be able to prevent Tanahashi from hitting a Straightjacket German Suplex by getting his arm free and attacking him with vicious elbow strikes. As Tana let go of his grip Shibata would lock in a sleeper hold, putting the champion in position for the PK. However, as Shibata was running he would get caught with a Sling Blade, and Tanahashi would follow it by finally hitting the High Fly flow for the win. Both men would remain collapsed on the floor for a while as the crowd applauded their gigantic efforts, and eventually, as Shibata slowly walked off alone, refusing the help from the young lions, a battered Tanahshi would thank the crowd and get loud cheers as he posed with his title. Time: 27:54 Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi - 2nd title defence i.imgur.com/Yt9a257.pngBrock Lesnar (c) vs Shinsuke Nakamura
Lesnar came into New Japan looking dominant from the start, unprecedentally winning the title on his debut, but there was some hope in the air that Shinsuke Nakamura would be the one to end that dominance. He is, afterall, the Super Rookie and his unique atributes seemed to match up well against the champion. Contrary to what was expected, Nakamura actually started the match quite cautious, taking his time to study Lesnar. And Brock took advantage of the challenger's hesitation, dominating the match from early on by using his superior size and freakish strength. Brock was starting to look like he would walk all over Nakamura, but Shinsuke would manage to gain some momentum as Lesnar got overconfident, slipping out of the Verdict and landing a flurry of strikes and an Enzuigiri to gain some separation. The match would then see a series of dominant periods from Lesnar and comebacks from Nakamura, with the challanger looking to lock in his Armbar, but getting countered every time by Lesnar before getting the full extension. As time went on Nakamura's comebacks would get shorter and shorter and Lesnar would stop the last one on it's tracks hit a crushing lariat that flipped the Super Rookie inside out, following it up by hitting the Verdict for the win.
Time:16:23 Winner: Brock Lesnar - 1st title defence The champion looked dominant in his showing, and Shinsuke Nakamura was so out of it that he needed to be woken up by the young lions, with, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii coming out to check on him and help bring him to the back. As Lesnar stood dominant in the ring, title in hand, the Tag Team Champions would come out and get in the ring. After exchanging glances with each other, it would be Tenzan that would step forward and confront Brock Lesnar, making his challenge clear.
Predictions:
Asaemon - 6/12
Honestly it's kind of a challenge to start with a show this big, but it was still a nice way to set up what I've got going forward. I'm always open for tips on how to make it more appealing, though.
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Post by JoeyOhCanada on Aug 2, 2021 1:03:08 GMT 1
Excellent show and excellent setup, looking forward to seeing what comes next!
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Post by henriquesser on Aug 3, 2021 4:15:21 GMT 1
NJPW Toukon Shidou Chapter 1 Backstage CommentsMasato Tanaka: "LIGER! How did you guys like getting your ass kicked all over Tokyo Dome tonight? Your boys might've kept their titles, but we proved Apache can beat you guys up anytime! So we're challenging you again for New Beginning, and this time we'll sweep you!" Koji Kanemoto: "That was a tough match wasn't it? That old man... he really made me work tonight. But in the end, what matters is I won, right? So now I'm gonna sit back and watch the Junior Heavyweight title match... and whoever wins that, I'm coming for them next!" Katsuyori Shibata: "It was nice seeing the New Japan fans again. They might hate me now, but I guess I still missed them. And Tanahashi... I know he hates me too, but we had a hell of a fight. Aghhh! I'm gonna feel sore tomorrow! But I don't regret coming back to NJPW tonight. For now I'll be going away again though, but who knows when I'm coming back, right?" Shinsuke Nakamura: "Owwww... thank you Taguchi-kun, Ishii-kun... you can let go, I think I'm just gonna sit. Ahhhh ... that was rough! That was really rough! I'm barely even conscious right now... I'm not even sure I can get out of bed tomorrow. I'm disappointed though, because I really wanted that title... but I learned that right now I'm not good enough. I need to be better, and I need to do things differently. Nakamura's pro-wrestling has to evolve... and I don't think I can evolve on my own. But I have some friends that can help me... I have these two here... and maybe I'm gonna make a few calls too. Just you watch, Shinsuke Nakamura is hurt, but he's far from dead!" Hiroyoshi Tenzan: "So tonight was fun, wasn't it? Me and Chono, we kicked the DX guys' ass. Aren't they a legendary team or something? They didn't look like legends to me. And if we made legends look like that, that means there's no tag team that can beat us. But Brock Lesnar... he was really scary tonight, wasn't he? He was so dominant, anyone would be scared of him, right? Tenzan isn't scared, though. I'm not scared of Brock Lesnar, and that's why I challenged him. I'm gonna beat him and I'm gonna take his title, and I'm gonna prove everyone wrong."
Some changes are coming to the roster. Shibata, Murakami and Sato are all done with us for now as their freelance deals expired. After the show I got the chance to call Jeff Jarrett and thanked him for loaning us Jesse and Billy for the night. It's important for us to keep these partnerships going strong, they're an important asset for the promotion to grow. We also talked about bringing in a few other guys for future tours, and two of those were LAX, who will be in action in the next one. For that reason, we sent Tanahashi to do a quick trip to Impact, where he beat a jobber and was then confronted by them to set up the matches for this tour. It's not all TNA guys we want though. I said we'd be looking to make some signings too, and there are some guys ready to come in. We've also called up this kid named Karl Anderson from the LA Dojo. I've got interesting plans for him. With all these new faces, New Beggining is a coincidentally appropriate name for the next tour, which will have 3 different shows.
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/NJPW_The_New_Beginning.jpegThe New Beginning in SendaiGiant Bernard vs Daisuke SekimotoKoji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs Black Tiger, Black Strong Machine and Ryushi YanagisawaMost Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Akebono and Yutaka YoshieCTU (Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) (c) vs Apache Army (Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)Hiroshi Tanahashi and Naofumi Yamamoto vs LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii vs Riki Choshu, Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhiko TaikawaThe New Beggining in OsakaRyoji Sai, Akiya Anzawa and Daisuke Sekimoto vs El Samurai, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi NagaoJado and Gedo vs GENTARO and BADBOY HidoTakao Omori vs ???Karl Anderson vs Masahiro ChonoBlack Tiger (c) vs Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Homicide (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship)The New Beggining in SapporoTakao Omori, Masayuki Naruse and Daisuke Sekimoto vs Akyia Anzawa, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi Nagao
Akebono vs Ryoji Sai
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
Jushin Liger vs Masato Tanaka
Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Taikawa and El Samurai vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii, ??? and ???
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
3 shows, 4 title matches, 3 mystery signings... New Beginning is gonna be fun. Have fun speculating, feel free to do your picks and try to guess who's debuting.
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Post by Asaemon on Aug 3, 2021 8:50:48 GMT 1
The New Beginning in Sendai
Giant Bernard vs Daisuke Sekimoto
Koji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs Black Tiger, Black Strong Machine and Ryushi Yanagisawa
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie
CTU (Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) (c) vs Apache Army (Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Naofumi Yamamoto vs LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii vs Riki Choshu, Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhiko Taikawa
The New Beggining in Osaka
Ryoji Sai, Akiya Anzawa and Daisuke Sekimoto vs El Samurai, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi Nagao
Jado and Gedo vs GENTARO and BADBOY Hido
Takao Omori vs ???
Karl Anderson vs Masahiro Chono
Black Tiger (c) vs Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Homicide (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship)
The New Beggining in Sapporo
Takao Omori, Masayuki Naruse and Daisuke Sekimoto vs Akyia Anzawa, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi Nagao
Akebono vs Ryoji Sai
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
Jushin Liger vs Masato Tanaka
Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Taikawa and El Samurai vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii, ??? and ???
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
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Post by JoeyOhCanada on Aug 3, 2021 21:56:50 GMT 1
The New Beginning in Sendai
Giant Bernard vs Daisuke Sekimoto
Koji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs Black Tiger, Black Strong Machine and Ryushi Yanagisawa
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie
CTU (Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) (c) vs Apache Army (Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Naofumi Yamamoto vs LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii vs Riki Choshu, Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhiko Taikawa
The New Beggining in Osaka
Ryoji Sai, Akiya Anzawa and Daisuke Sekimoto vs El Samurai, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi Nagao
Jado and Gedo vs GENTARO and BADBOY Hido
Takao Omori vs ???
Karl Anderson vs Masahiro Chono
Black Tiger (c)vs Koji Kanemoto (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs Homicide (IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship)
The New Beggining in Sapporo
Takao Omori, Masayuki Naruse and Daisuke Sekimoto vs Akyia Anzawa, Mitsuhide Hirasawa and Hiroshi Nagao
Akebono vs Ryoji Sai
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi
Jushin Liger vs Masato Tanaka
Riki Choshu, Shiro Koshinaka, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhiko Taikawa and El Samurai vs Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii, ??? and ???
Brock Lesnar (c) vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
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Post by henriquesser on Aug 8, 2021 17:03:43 GMT 1
upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4f/NJPW_The_New_Beginning.jpeg
NJPW The New Beginning in Sendai28/1/2006, Sendai Sun Plaza HallAttendance: 3 178Giant Bernard vs Daisuke Sekimoto
The only singles match of the night, the opener was an interesting power vs power matchup, pitting the undefeated Giant Bernard against upstart rookie Sekimoto. While Sekimoto showed a lot of fire, the bulky American dominated the match from the start. However, a mistake from Bernard would open the door for his opponent, who would finally get the big man to drop to the canvas with a big lariat as the Sendai crowd roared. But as Sekimoto looked to put Giant Bernard away with a powerslam, he would slip out and hit a huge bicycle kick, followed by a Baldo Bomb to get the win.
Time: 6:41
Winner: Giant Bernard Koji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata vs Black Tiger, Black Strong Machine and Ryushi Yanagisawa
This match funcioned somewhat of a preview for the Junior Heavyweight title match between Kanemoto and Black Tiger at the Osaka show, as the challenger would ally himself with Nakanishi and Nagata against the BLACK faction. It started somewhat slowly, with frequent tags and an unremarkable pace, but excitement did pick up once Black Tiger and Kanemoto got in the ring, with the drowd excited to see them lock up. Kanemoto would have the edge on the technical aspect, trying to ground Black Tiger, but the young champion would create some distance and attempt to use his speed, and once again wrestle a pretty clean matchup. This wouldn't last long though, as once Kanemoto got a bit of the upper hand, Strong Machine would tag himself in, and him and Yanagisawa would actually wrestle the bulk of the match, keeping Black Tiger at bay. The champion would get frustrated though, tagging himself in as Strong Machine was setting up for his signature lariat. This wouldn't go down well though, as Black Tiger would eventually get pinned after a Backdrop from Nagata, with the disappointment being visible in his teamates' faces. After the match, Kanemoto and Black Tiger would once again stare eachother down, with the momentum very much on the side of the challenger now.
Time: 13:22
Winners: Koji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata
Most Violent Players (Togi Makabe and Toru Yano) vs Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie
An intimidating challenge for Makabe and Yano, having to face off against two huge heavyweights in Akebono and Yoshie. The match didn't really start their way, as both Makabe and Yano would get overwhelmed by their opponent's power, with Akebono especially looking dominant. Eventually the Most Violent Players would find a way to balance things out though, by targetting their opponents' legs, seemingly adding a layer of strategy to their usually violent style. All four wrestlers would get some offence in, but eventually Makabe and Yano's strategy would pay off, as Yoshie would go down after a chop block from Yano, allowing Makabe to hit the King Kong Knee Drop. This combo would grant the Most Violent Players the win, with Yano pinning Yoshie as Makabe held Akebono off. After the match, Yoshie would attempt to apologize to Akebono, but the former sumo wrestler would actually walk off on his partner, upset at the loss.
Time: 10:53Winners: Togi Makabe and Toru Yanoimgur.com/rJzXlG7.pngCTU (Minoru Tanaka and Hirooki Goto) (c) vs Apache Army (Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura)
The first of three CTU vs Apache Army bouts in this tour, this match arguably had the most at stake, with gold being on the line. Kuroda and Kanemura would come out first, surprisingly alone, and called out the champions to also leave their stablemates on the back. Minoru and Goto obliged, but they ended up falling right into Apache's trap when Masato Tanaka, Hido and GENTARO would assault the defending champions as they made their entrance, that would end with Masato Tanaka hitting a vicious DDT on Goto on the entrance ramp, effectively taking him out of action. The other memebers of CTU would come out and they would brawl with the Apache guys, before the referee got everything under control and send everyone to the back. That being said, a beaten up Minoru had to start the match by himself against Kanemura and Kuroda who were still fresh. The two FMW alumni would get most of the offence, and while Tanaka did fight back, he would eventually fall to a Blast Yama Special from Kanemura, for the 1... 2... GOTO SLIDES IN THE RING AND BREAKS THE PIN AT THE LAST SECOND! The crowd roars as a bloodied up Goto finally manages to recover from the pre-match assault, as he takes both Kanemura and Kuroda out with Lariats. He then goes to his corner, begging for the tag, but Minoru is intercepted by Kuroda! The challengers work on Tanaka some more, but a miscommunication gives CTU an opening as Goto finally gets the tag! With Minoru basically out, the young champion will have to win this on his own, and he starts off well, once again taking out both guys with strikes. After a while Goto is seemingly in control of the match, he hits a big Midlle Kick right on Kuroda's chest for the 1... 2.... Kuroda kicks out! Goto is channeling up something now, he's going for something big... BUT WAIT! There's Masato Tanaka coming out on the Apron. Minoru and Masato now start arguing, and as the referee turns to them to send Masato out again... BAM! It's Kanemura from behind with a steel chair right on Goto's face. Kuroda hits a Shining Wizard and, as Masato Tanaka holds off Minoru behind the referee's back, pins Goto for the 1... 2... 3! We've got NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions! Kuroda abd Kanemura quickly slide out of the ring and grab the belts, hurrying off with Masato Tanaka as Liger, Gedo and Jado run into the ring looking to confront them. The new champions celebrate on the ramp as the CTU members check on an unconscious Hirooki Goto.
Time: 14:36Winners: Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura - [TITLE CHANGE] 16th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Naofumi Yamamoto vs LAX (Homicide and Hernandez)
On the other preview match in store for this card, we saw the debut of two TNA wrestlers in Homicide and Hernandez. Homicide is set for a U-30 title match against Tanahashi on the next show, and he went all out in trying to weaken the champion in this match with an agressive start. LAX showed off their chemistry too, using frequent tags and double team offense and focusing especially on Tanahashi, making their gameplan obvious. The U-30 Openvweight Champion would eventually manage to tag in Yamamoto, and the young junior heavyweight would get some good offence in, but he'd eventually get overpowered by Hernandez. The finish would come after Homicide took out Tanahashi with a Tope con Hilo, with Yamamoto being unable to deal with the numbers disadvantage and evetually getting pinned by Hernandez following a Border Toss. After the match, as Tanahashi looked to check on his partner, Homicide would lay him out with a Lariat, following it up with the dangerous Gringo Killa. He would then pose with the U-30 Openweight title, looking very much like a real threat.
Time: 19:07
Winners: Homicide and Hernandez
Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii vs Riki Choshu, Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhiko Taikawa
There was a lot of curiosity around Nakamura, and a lot of expectation to see how he'd come back from the crushing loss at the Dome. He did seem to be in good spirits though, as he teamed with his good friends Ishii and Taguchi. On the other side, the veteran Riki Chosu was also looking for some momentum following a loss to Yuji Nagata where he looked a step behind, and his partners were the veteran tag team of Otani and Taikawa, the first ever Junior Tag Team champions. However, much like in Choshu's singles match at the Tokyo Dome, experience was no match here, with the veterans merely providing a respectable foil as Nakamura, Taguchi and Ishii dominated most of the bout, which ended up being a good showcase of each man's set of abilities. Nakmura's great grappling and striking was in full display, as was Taguchi's creativity and Ishii's toughness and power. Nakamura would get the win with a move we haven't really seen from him before, using a Samoan Driver to put away Taikawa.
Time: 17:33Winners: Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomohiro Ishii
After the match, Nakamura would pick up a mic and address the crowd:
"Whew, than was fun wasn't it? I think we won that one by a landslide. And winning is what I want to keep on doing nowm and that's why I formed this group. I told you all that Shinsuke Nakamura had to evolve and this is the result. But I'm not the only one that evolved, Taguchi and Ishii evolved too. We evolved to become RISE. We are the young stars that will rise and become the most important unit in pro-wrestling. That's what we want, we want everyone to see our wrestling. But we are not complete yet, there's more to come. And in Osaka, you will see two more young stars rise along with us. So the older guys better be prepared, because we're here to dominate for a long time! Thank you everyone for coming to the show. Thank you Sendai!"
Predictions:Asaemon - 3/6 JoeyOhCanada - 2/6 If anyone wants to get some predictions in for the other two shows they're free to do so, and those that have already made them can edit them too if any result from a previous show has changed their mind.
Backstage Comments:Togi Makabe and Toru Yano: "Tonight, we proved again why we're the best team in NJPW. Two more guys got their heads bashed in, and many more are gonna follow. Cho-Ten! When are you two bozos gonna stop messing around and give us a title shot? It's about time we get some gold."
Kintaro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda: "We told you! We told you all that Apache would beat CTU, and this time we took their gold too! And just like we won tonight, we're also gonna win in Sapporo and in Osaka. Apache Army will break CTU!"
Hiroshi Tanahashi: "Homicide... that means murder, yes? Well, he didn't quite kill me, but I do feel pretty beat up... that move he hit on me, if he hits it in Sapporo, I think I'll lose. So yeah, that guy might be new to New Japan but he is quite a challenge, and I'm taking him very seriously. But I'm the future Ace of NJPW, and to be that I have to win matches like these. So Homicide should be taking me seriously too, because I'm coming at him with everything I've got to keep my title!" |
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