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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 5, 2023 20:10:24 GMT 1
With 2001 coming forward, New Japan was struggling, due to the new direction pursued by his founder, Antonio Inoki, who envisioned Puroresu as a way to provide clashes between wrestlers and martial artists.
We were all aware of the mistakes being made by Inoki, but he was the boss, so we had to endure.
Until I received a phone call...
"Chono? How are you? I have a proposition..."
It was the President of New Japan, Tatsumi Fujinami. I was surprised, and I was curious to hear what he was going to say.
He told me that I was going to be promoted to the booking team.
"We are facing hard times, therefore I need someone that has deep relationships within the roster. We will find a way to keep the ship afloat."
I was in. With the January 4th show soon ahead, I know I'd have to give my all.
Actually, I had find a way to take advantage of the so-called... Inoki-ISM.
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 5, 2023 20:28:12 GMT 1
 ROSTER
Main Event:
Riki Choshu
Masahiro Chono
Kensuke Sasaki
Keiji Mutoh
Upper Midcard:
Kazuyuki Fujita
Don Frye
Satoshi Kojima
Yuji Nagata
Tatsumi Fujinami
Hiroshi Hase
Scott Hall - under contract with WCW
Midcard:
Naoya Ogawa
Osamu Kido
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Osamu Nishimura
Tadao Yasuda
Hiro Saito
Kendo Kashin
Super J Negro Casas - under contract with CMLL
Dr. Wagner Jr. - under contract with CMLL
Jushin Thunder Liger
Takashi Iizuka
Scott Norton - under contract with WCW
El Samurai
Manabu Nakanishi
Koji Kanemoto
Junji Hirata
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Minoru Tanaka
Jinsei Shinzaki
Shiro Koshinaka
Jado
Gedo
Taiyo Kea
Lower Midcard: Brian Johnston
Katsuyori Shibata
Shinya Makabe
Tatsutoshi Goto
Michiyoshi Ohara
Robbie Rage
Kengo Kimura
Yutaka Yoshie
Kenzo Suzuki
Silver King
AKIRA
Kazunari Murakami
Chris Candido
Enhancement Talent:
Katsushi Takemura
Wataru Inoue
Gran Naniwa
Staff:
Kotetsu Yamamoto
Kuniaki Kobayashi
Dory Funk Jr.
Antonio Inoki
Seiji Sakaguchi
Announcer(s):
Yoshinari Tsuji
Takashi Nakano
Ichiro Furutachi
Referee(s):
Norio Honaga
Masao Tayama
Hiroyuki Unno
FACTIONS
TEAM2000
Masahiro Chono (LEADER), Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Scott Hall, Scott Norton, Gedo, Jado, Hiro Saito, Michiyoshi Ohara, AKIRA, Super J, Tatsutoshi Goto
BATT (Bad Ass Translate Trading)
Keiji Mutoh (LEADER), Hiroshi Hase, Jinsei Shinzaki
Fighting Club G-EGGS
Yuji Nagata (LEADER), Manabu Nakanishi, Yukata Yoshie, Brian Johnston
STARTING CHAMPIONS**dated January 1st, 2001
IWGP Heavyweight Championship
Vacant
Since: October 9th, 2000 (84+ days)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Vacant
Since: October 29th, 2000 (64+ days)
IWGP Tag Team Championships
TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima)
Since: July 20th, 2000 (165+ days)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka)
Since: June 25th, 2000 (165+ days) |
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 5, 2023 20:34:24 GMT 1
Hi guys, I just wanna point out a couple of things!
I'm kinda new here, so I hope to entertain y'all in some way or another.
Now, the few things I wanted to clarify:
1) Although I'm not using a game for this diary, I'm looking up to a 2001 database for PWS (2001 - Changing History) to keep track of the wrestlers, the events, and also to include some news from the wrestling world in this diary.
2) Due to the database I'm using, which is a What If?, WCW and ECW are both alive and well in this diary.
3) I hope that my style of writing doesn't bother you!
That's all, thank you for the attention 
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 6, 2023 12:00:13 GMT 1
Heading towards the Tokyo Dome Show, we had to crown a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
A single-elimination tournament was already announced in December, alongside the participants:
Masahiro Chono
Yuji Nagata
Scott Hall
Kensuke Sasaki
Riki Choshu
Naoya Ogawa
Kazuyuki Fujita
Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Unfortunately, the tournament will take a large part of the card, therefore we won't crown a new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion... just yet. We will see after January 4th.
For now, let's focus on Wrestling World. Here's the full card for the event:
WRESTLING WORLD 2001 in Tokyo Dome
@ Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, JP - January 4th, 2001
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match
Riki Choshu vs Masahiro Chono
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Naoya Ogawa
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match
Yuji Nagata vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match
Scott Hall vs Kensuke Sasaki
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Semifinal A Match
Choshu/Chono vs Fujita/Ogawa
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Semifinal B Match
Nagata/Tenzan vs Hall/Sasaki
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Final Match
Winner of Semifinal A vs Winner of Semifinal B
Six Men Tag Team Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Kenzo Suzuki vs Gedo, Jado & Chris Candido
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka (c) vs Negro Casas & Dr. Wagner Jr.
Single Match - KO & Submissions Only
Don Frye vs Kazunaru Murakami
"BATT Formation" Six Men Tag Team Match
BATT (Keiji Mutoh, Hiroshi Hase & Jinsei Shinzaki) vs TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Satoshi Kojima & Super J)
Card for Predictions:
Choshu vs Chono
Fujita vs Ogawa
Nagata vs Tenzan
Hall vs Sasaki
Semifinal A: Choshu/Chono vs Fujita/Ogawa
Semifinal B: Nagata/Tenzan vs Hall/Sasaki
Final: Winner of A vs Winner of B
Tanahashi, Shibata & Suzuki vs Gedo, Jado & Candido
Kanemoto & Tanaka (c) vs Casas & Wagner Jr.
Frye vs Murakami
BATT vs TEAM2000
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Post by Asaemon on Sept 6, 2023 18:43:37 GMT 1
Choshu vs Chono
Fujita vs Ogawa
Nagata vs Tenzan
Hall vs Sasaki
Semifinal A: Choshu/Chono vs Fujita/Ogawa
Semifinal B: Nagata/Tenzan vs Hall/Sasaki
Final: Winner of A vs Winner of B
Tanahashi, Shibata & Suzuki vs Gedo, Jado & Candido
Kanemoto & Tanaka (c) vs Casas & Wagner Jr.
Frye vs Murakami
BATT vs TEAM2000
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 7, 2023 22:02:08 GMT 1
 WRESTLING WORLD 2001 in Tokyo Dome
@ Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, JP - January 4th, 2001
ca. 58.000 in attendance
Six Men Tag Team Match Gedo (O), Jado & Chris Candido def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata & Kenzo Suzuki (X) in 8:46 via Pinfall The three Young Lions open the show, and they’re put in front of a hard challenge, surrounded by 58.000 fans in attendance. The three have a good showing, mostly Shibata and Tanahashi, and the latter actually comes close to pinning Candido, but in the end, Gedo & Jado resort to their antics, stealing a quick victory via Rollup.
Shibata seems disappointed in his partners, and quickly leaves to the back, while Tanahashi helps Suzuki to get back on his feet.
It is now time for the tournament to crown a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion to get under way!
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match Masahiro Chono w/Tatsutoshi Goto def. Riki Choshu in 6:51 via Pinfall A confident Chono steps into the ring with veteran Riki Choshu, who wants to show everyone that he still belongs inside a wrestling ring. The Revolution Warrior gives his all in this fun sprint match, mostly pulling off his greatest hits, but a distraction from Goto allows Chono to hit the Yakuza Kick for the win.
After the match, Chono leaves alongside Goto, while Choshu gets a standing ovation, having lost what probably was his last chance at chasing IWGP gold.
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match Kazuyuki Fujita def. Naoya Ogawa in 5:22 via Count-Out Two guys with legit MMA backgrounds go at it in pure Inoki-ISM fashion. Fujita and Ogawa don’t waste any time, starting hot from the ringing of the bell, exchanging strikes and trying to take each other down. The fight soon spills outside, where Ogawa tries to Roundhouse Kick Fujita, who catches the leg and answers with a Beast Bomb on the outside, making sure Ogawa isn’t able to get back into the ring for the 20 count.
After the match, the ring personnel and the Young Lions try to assist Ogawa, who angrily gets up and prefers to leave on his own feet.
Before the next match, we are shown a pre-taped interview with TenCozy outside the Tokyo Dome. Interviewer Ichiro Furutachi asks Tenzan if he is going to bring Kojima with him, and Tenzan replies by saying that both he and Kojima have important matches tonight, therefore they will focus on their respective bouts. Tenzan also says that it will be fun to meet his TEAM2000 partners in the later stages of the tournament, and wishes good luck to both Chono and Hall.
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match Yuji Nagata def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 13:08 via Submission A strategic match from both sides, since the two focus on the body parts targeted by their respective submissions: Nagata focuses on Tenzan’s legs, while the latter focuses on his opponents’ neck. Nonetheless, both are successful in avoiding each other submission maneuver, until the final stretch, where Tenzan is unable to pull off the Tombstone due to the pain in his legs, and Nagata takes him down, locking in the Nagata-Lock I for the win.
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament 1st Round Match Kensuke Sasaki def. Scott Hall in 10:35 via Pinfall Hall has the size advantage here, dwarfing the already impressive Sasaki. The two try to knock each other down, trading forearms, punches, chops and lariats. In the end, Hall gains the upper hand, raising Sasaki for an Outsider’s Edge, but Kensuke slips out of the grasp, knocking Hall down with a Running Lariat, and ending him with a Bridging German Suplex.
Sasaki’s celebration is cut short, because the Bad Guy strikes him from behind. Hall goes to the outside and brings a steel chair to the ring, ignoring the Young Lions that are asking for him to stop. Hall then drives the chair into Sasaki’s back multiple times, and he only stops when the chair is bent in half. Sasaki is then escorted to the back with the help of the YLs.
Before the next match, we are shown pre-taped interviews of both Don Frye and Kazunari Murakami. The two talk about how this match is to prove who the better man is, and they won’t hold anything back.
Single Match - KO & Submissions Only Don Frye def. Kazunari Murakami in 1:49 via KO Murakami immediately came at Frye, using his background as a judoka to take him to the mat, but The Predator got up every time he had the opportunity to do so. Frye dominated the standing bits of the match, which ended in shockingly quick fashion after a Elbow Smash that hit Murakami straight in the jaw.
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Semifinal A Match Masahiro Chono w/Tatsutoshi Goto def. Kazuyuki Fujita in 8:21 via Pinfall Fujita rapidly took Goto out, in order to prevent any cheating from Chono. The two then wrestled a clean match, with Fujita gaining the upper hand several ways, until Chono struck him with a chair shot to the head, busting him open. A bloody Fujita kept fighting, even resisting the STF, but he had to stay down after a Yakuza Kick from Black Charisma. Chono advances to the final!
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Semifinal B Match Kensuke Sasaki def. Yuji Nagata in 14:11 via Pinfall Nagata asked referee Norio Honaga to check if Sasaki was able to sustain the match. The former Power Warrior, in response, told Nagata to bring everything he had got. The two had what probably was the MOTN, trading blow after blow, hard hit after hard hit, with none of them seemingly wanting to give up. Nagata tried for the Backdrop Hold, but Sasaki freed himself, and hit a powerful Running Lariat. But that wasn’t enough, so Sasaki bounced on the ropes to hit a second Running Lariat for the 3-count. Sasaki will meet Chono in the final!
After the bout, Nagata and Sasaki shook hands, and Blue Justice raised his opponent’s arm.
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto (O) & Minoru Tanaka) (c) def. Dr. Wagner Jr. & Negro Casas (X) in 14:22 via Pinfall – TITLE DEFENSE! (V3) In what was a complete change of pace, the 4 juniors started the bout slow, focusing mainly on matwork, only to increase the rhythm with the passing of every minute, to the amazement of the crowd. Kanemoto ended this inter-promotional bout between NJPW and CMLL with a Falcon Arrow.
After the match, the champs kept attacking their challenger, in a way to show dominance, until a familiar theme song played in the Dome… It’s LIGER! Jushin Thunder Liger rushes to the ring, forcing Kanemoto and Tanaka to escape through the crowd. The legendary jr. heavyweight helps Wagner Jr. and Casas to their feet, and then challenges Junior Stars for a future match!
“BATT FORMATION” Six Men Tag Team Match BATT (Keiji Muto (O), Jinsei Shinzaki & Hiroshi Hase) def. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Super J (X) & Satoshi Kojima) in 8:38 via Pinfall In the semi-main we see the return of Keiji Muto, who has spent the majority of 2000 on an excursion in the US. Before Wrestling World, a interview with Muto was released to japanese wrestling media, in which the Pro Wrestling Genius not only announced that his return was going to take place at the Tokyo Dome show, he also announced that he was gonna return with a new group, BATT, leaded by him, and also formed by Hiroshi Hase and Jinsei Shinzaki. The crowd was eager to see Muto again, even if this one was very different from his last appearance in New Japan. He was sporting a new look, with a bald head and a goatee, and was also more vicious in the ring. The same aggression was displayed by the other two members of BATT, Hase and Shinzaki, and in the end, this was no match for TEAM2000. Mutoh ended the bout with a Shining Wizard.
After the match, Muto asked for a mic, and greeted the fans, for the first time in months and months. Muto also explained that, although he’s back in NJPW, the fans won’t see him as often as they did before, and that’s because BATT is going to assert dominance in other promotions. Muto in fact explained the meaning behind the acronym, Bad Ass Translate Trading, saying that this group aims to dominate the whole puroresu landscape.
It is time for the Main Event, and NJPW President, Tatsumi Fujinami, is coming to watch the match from ringside! Fujinami also took the time to announce a little change before the bout, saying that TEAM2000 members are banned from ringside, in order to guarantee a clean fight…
IWGP Heavyweight Title Decision Tournament Final Match Kensuke Sasaki def. Masahiro Chono in 9:33 via Pinfall – TITLE CHANGE! Even though Chono should’ve been angry following Fujinami’s announcement, he was actually very relaxed, and that’s because he knew his opponent was bruised and battered. Black Charisma targeted the already damaged back of Sasaki, making him wince in pain every time. Kensuke played the underdog supported by the crowd, finding the inner fire to bounce back at Chono’s offense, making him go from relaxed to desperate. Chono pulled some brass knuckles from his tights, but Sasaki kicked the weapon out of Chono’s hand, and drove him into the mat with a devastating Northern Lights Bomb! 1! 2! 3!!! Sasaki is the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion!
A hurt and gassed out Sasaki celebrated with confetti falling out of the sky. Fujinami entered the ring and awarded the new champ with the title belt. Although, Sasaki’s night was not over… yet. TEAM2000 members entered the ring and raised their leader, with Chono and Sasaki still looking at each other, before leaving to the back. Sasaki started celebrating again, but he was interrupted once again by… Yoshiaki Fujiwara? What is he doing here? Fujiwara looks at Sasaki from the stage, until another theme song plays… It's Don Frye! Frye and Fujiwara shake hands, and The Predator runs into the squared circle. Frye and Sasaki square off, and the American points at the title, with Sasaki raising the IWGP belt in the air to close the show!
WRESTLING WORLD 2001 - POST MATCH COMMENTS
1st Match - Tanahashi, Shibata & Suzuki vs Gedo, Jado & Candido
Tanahashi walks into the press room:
“I’m a bit disappointed in the result, sure, but I know I gave a lot. I don’t agree with Shibata-san's frustration, but I can see where he’s coming from. Therefore, I won’t keep my head low… Gedo, you pinned me tonight, I want a chance to do the same to you. 15 days from today, at the New Century Dash, I want a one on one match against you.”
Later, Gedo & Jado walk into the press room.
G: “So the little cub has grown a pair, uh? I already embarrassed you, but you are asking for more?”
Jado interrupts his brother.
J: “You had your share of fun, let me take on the kitty.”
G: “Sure!”
J: “I’ll put you to sleep kitty, you don’t f**k with Gedo & Jado, and you’ll soon find out why!”
2nd Match - Chono vs Choshu
Choshu walks into the press room. He stays quiet for a bit.
“I’ve lost. That’s all. I shouldn’t have lost, but I did.”
Choshu leaves the room.
Fujita and Ogawa didn’t leave interviews.
8th Match - Nagata vs Sasaki
Nagata walks into the press room.
“I didn’t take the gold home, that’s true. Sasaki proved to be the better man tonight. But I have submitted Tenzan, didn’t I? I guess it’s time for G-EGGS to come and take those IWGP Tag Titles… what do you say?”
9th Match - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match
Junior Stars walk into the press room.
K: “Liger is a party crusher, we can all agree on that. That’s the news for ya, a guy dressing like some Saint Seiya character doesn’t know how to have fun!”
M: “He said he wants a match against us. How silly.”
K: “He should be proud of us! We are keeping the Jr. division alive!”
Kanemoto holds the title belt up towards the camera.
K: “Look at this. We defended the Jr. Tag belts. WE did. Not even the Heavyweight Tag Belts were on the line tonight. But OUR belts? They were. We’re fighting champions.”
Tanaka smiles.
M: “Liger, we’ll see you in Okinawa.”
10th Match - BATT vs TEAM2000
BATT members walk into the press room.
K: “I missed all of this. I missed the fans, I missed NJPW, I missed Japan. Now, as I said, we have places to go. Opponents to defeat. Goals to fulfill. Titles to win. There are lots of things to do. We are just getting started. Heck, tomorrow is ZERO1’s debut show. Maybe we should go there, maybe I should pay big Hash a visit. Who knows. When we will be onto something, you will know, trust me.”
Scott Norton storms into the press room.
S: “You have goals to fulfill? Opponents to beat? Guess what, you didn’t pin me tonight! You were gone for a year, and now you talk all this big talk, and you expect us to lay down the red carpet for you? You a***ole! I will send you straight back on excursion. Fight me!
K: “I’ll fight you. You’re on, on the 19th!”
11th Match - Chono vs Sasaki
Kensuke Sasaki walks into the press room.
K: “What a night. I’m still hurt, I’m still aching for all the hits I’ve taken. But it was worth it. Chono is a fierce opponent, and had he not lose his mind, he would’ve probably beaten me.
Another fierce opponent is the one that got in my face earlier. Don Frye, I’m not afraid of you, and probably I should. They don’t call you The Predator for nothing. I know you’ll hunt me. I know you’ll hurt me. But I’ll hurt you just as bad. I’m a fighting champion, and if you want a shot at the gold, I’ll give it to you. But first, I want to know what you’re made of. You brought Fujiwara with you, and, as far as I’m concerned, you already made an impact. Therefore, I want to fight you both on the 19th. I’ll bring a tag team partner myself, but you’ll know who he is when time’s due.”
OPINIONS AND AFTERMATH Fujinami was happy with the event. We had a long card to run, 11 matches in total, and therefore we had to keep some of the bouts short, especially those in the first round of the tournament. Inoki wasn’t happy with how far Fujita and Ogawa went in the tournament, but I want to focus on our core roster, not the MMA guys. Still, I have some plans for them. Also, head booker Riki Choshu suggested that I went to the finals, since I would’ve been a great fit for Sasaki’s underdog run. And having named him, Sasaki was the best choice to put the belt on. Now, the next step is New Century Dash on January 19th, and then we’ll kick off the Fighting Spirit tour.
PREDICTIONS
Asaemon: 6/11 (it was a lot of matches  ) |
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 8, 2023 13:33:25 GMT 1
In the following days after Wrestling World, the final card for New Century Dash was announced to the press:NJPW NEW CENTURY DASH 2001
@ Prefectural Budokan, Okinawa, JP - January 19th, 2001
Special Single Match - Scott Norton vs Keiji Muto
Kensuke Sasaki & X vs Don Frye & Yoshiaki Fujiwara
G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Yukata Yoshie & Brian Johnston) w/Tatsutoshi Goto vs TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Hiro Saito & AKIRA)
Junior Stars & Chris Candido vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Negro Casas & Dr. Wagner Jr.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Jado w/Gedo
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Michiyoshi Ohara
Shinya Makabe vs Kenzo Suzuki
After that, Fujinami also announced the new edition of the Young Lions Cup, which will take place during the Fighting Spirit Series, from January 31st to February 18th.
The President said that the participants will be revealed on NCD.
Just a little note!
I think I will use the descriptive style only when it comes to bigger shows, for example Wrestling World, G1 Climax, and the final night of a tour, while I'll keep it shorter on less important shows.
Card for Predictions:
Norton vs Muto
Sasaki & X vs Frye & Fujiwara
G-EGGS vs TEAM2000
JS & Candido vs Liger, Casas & Wagner Jr.
Tanahashi vs Jado
Fujita vs Ohara
Makabe vs Suzuki
Bonus Question: who do you think X is gonna be?
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Post by Asaemon on Sept 8, 2023 19:44:08 GMT 1
Norton vs Muto
Sasaki & X vs Frye & Fujiwara
G-EGGS vs TEAM2000
JS & Candido vs Liger, Casas & Wagner Jr.
Tanahashi vs Jado
Fujita vs Ohara
Makabe vs Suzuki
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Post by El Dantoriu on Sept 11, 2023 13:07:46 GMT 1
The Wrestling Sunrise - News From Around The Wrestling World
Brought to you by Mike Denzel
Issue of January 9th, 2001
It’s a new year, and there is a lot of buzz in the global wrestling landscape.
Here are the major news of the week:
- Pro Wrestling NOAH is about to break boundaries? The promotion formed by Mitsuharu Misawa has offered contracts to joshis Cutie Suzuki and Bull Nakano. Could NOAH become the first japanese promotion to host both men’s and women’s wrestling?
- On the other hand, the newly founded Pro Wrestling ZERO1 has offered a contract to famous AJW booker Rossy Ogawa.
- Women’s wrestling seems to be the trend here. WWF is probably looking to revitalize its women’s division, having offered contracts to the likes of Shinobu Kandori and Takako Inoue.
- AJPW is trying to rebuild after the mass exodus, as they offered a contract to Karl Gotch.
- Another loss for All Japan. Akira Maeda officially resigned from the promotion.
- On ZERO1 debut show, Shinjiro Otani has defeated Tom “Zuma” Howard to become the first ever ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion.
- WCW made a deal with ABC Australia to broadcast both Monday Nitro and Thunder. |
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Post by sonny912 on Sept 11, 2023 15:53:01 GMT 1
The Wrestling Sunrise - News From Around The Wrestling World
Brought to you by Mike Denzel
Issue of January 9th, 2001
It’s a new year, and there is a lot of buzz in the global wrestling landscape.
Here are the major news of the week:
- Pro Wrestling NOAH is about to break boundaries? The promotion formed by Mitsuharu Misawa has offered contracts to joshis Cutie Suzuki and Bull Nakano. Could NOAH become the first japanese promotion to host both men’s and women’s wrestling?
- On the other hand, the newly founded Pro Wrestling ZERO1 has offered a contract to famous AJW booker Rossy Ogawa.
- Women’s wrestling seems to be the trend here. WWF is probably looking to revitalize its women’s division, having offered contracts to the likes of Shinobu Kandori and Takako Inoue.
- AJPW is trying to rebuild after the mass exodus, as they offered a contract to Karl Gotch.
- Another loss for All Japan. Akira Maeda officially resigned from the promotion.
- On ZERO1 debut show, Shinjiro Otani has defeated Tom “Zuma” Howard to become the first ever ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion.
- WCW made a deal with ABC Australia to broadcast both Monday Nitro and Thunder. Uh I'm pretty sure few was the first Japanese promotion that used male and female wrestler. Their was a reason why megumi kudo was one of their big stars alongside Masato Tanaka and hayabusa. Do you think njpw could sign Maeda back? How the hell did wcw get a TV deal when their about to get pulled? |
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