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Post by piowski on Sept 22, 2023 7:59:27 GMT 1
NJPW FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 - DAY 3
@ Hokkaido Sports Center, Sapporo, JP - February 4th, 2001
ca. 6.400 in attendance
Special Single Match
Scott Hall def. Robbie Rage in 3:25 via Pinfall
After the match, Hall walked to the back, and decided to stare straight into a camera to leave an unexpected message... "CHONO! THIS IS HOW IT'S DONE!" It seems that there is some tension within TEAM2000.
Young Lions Cup 2001 Half-Time Exhibition Match Hiroshi Tanahashi (O) & Wataru Inoue & Kenzo Suzuki w/Riki Choshu def. Shinya Makabe & Shinsuke Nakamura & Katsuyori Shibata (X) in 12:42 via Pinfall Suzuki showed more confidence, due to the surprise appearance of Choshu, whom arrived to stay in the faces' corner. Shibata mocked Tanahashi during the bout, reminding him of his loss on Day 1 of the tour, bringing out a more vicious and focused side of Tanahashi, who avenged that loss, becoming the first to pin Shibata in the whole tour!
Shibata smiled, as the rivalry between the two Young Lions is just getting started, before leaving to the back, along Nakamura. Makabe, instead, took advantage of the situation, laying a sneak attack on Tanahashi, launching him against the barricade! These two will face off on the next stage of the tour, and it seems that Makabe has already set his mind on his next target!
Eight Men Tag Team Match Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka & Taiyo Kea & Riki Choshu (O) def. Naoya Ogawa & Kazunari Murakami & Chris Candido & Osamu Nishimura (X) in 9:58 via Pinfall Nagata had a goal in his mind, and that was to avenge Nakanishi, and that motivated him throughout the whole bout. Choshu, on the other hand, was on a road to show everybody that he wasn't done yet. Same as Ogawa, both wrestler had to recover from big losses in the Tokyo Dome, and Ogawa hated that, somehow, Choshu was succeeding in reaching that goal, unlike him.
After the match, a furious Ogawa challenged Choshu to a match, and while the Revolution Warrior was about to accept, somebody else made their way down the ramp... Kazuyuki Fujita!
Fujita stood beside Choshu, with both accepting the challenge!
Special Single Match
Kendo Kashin def. Gran Naniwa in 8:36 via Submission
Six Men Tag Team Match
TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & AKIRA (O) ) def. Negro Casas & Dr. Wagner Jr. & El Samurai (X) in 13:17 via Pinfall
After the match, TEAM2000 attacked their opponents to prove utter dominance, until G-EGGS ran to the ring, chasing off the three! Nagata picked a mic, saying that they made it personal after what they did to Nakanishi, and declared a war between the two groups!
Eight Men Tag Team Match
Don Frye (O) & Yoshiaki Fujiwara & Junior Stars (Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Tanaka) def. Kensuke Sasaki (X) & Jushin Thunder Liger & TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono & Scott Norton) in 12:26 via Pinfall
Before the bell was rung, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team champions declared themselves as participants in the Junior Rumble!
After a hard-fought encounter between the two teams, Frye finally succeeded in pinning Sasaki, proving himself as real trouble for the IWGP Heavyweight champion.
After the match, Frye picked up a mic, going towards a battered Sasaki, and telling him that their feud isn't just about the gold. It's bigger than the IWGP Heavyweight title. It's bigger than New Japan itself. The crowd started booing Frye. The Predator explained that this feud is about divergent philosophies, it's about proving that pro-wrestlers aren't real fighters, and they can't survive in a world full of martial artists. Frye & Fujiwara want to change Puroresu, and they want to do so by demonstrating to everyone how real fighters should look like and behave as...
Therefore, they mirror the image of a perfect fighter... they are HERCULES!
FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 - DAY 4
CARD FOR PREDICTIONS:
MAIN EVENT - Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 60 Minutes Time Limit
HERCULES (Don Frye & Yoshiaki Fujiwara) vs Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata
Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
Jushin Thunder Liger & Kendo Kashin vs TEAM2000 (Gedo & Jado)
Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
Kazuyuki Fujita & Riki Choshu vs Naoya Ogawa & Chris Candido
Six Men Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
G-EGGS (Yukata Yoshie & Brian Johnston) & Takashi Iizuka vs TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Tatsutoshi Goto)
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Shinya Makabe vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Katsuyori Shibata vs Wataru Inoue
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kenzo Suzuki
Lucha Libre Rules - 2 Out of 3 Falls / No Time Limit
Negro Casas vs Silver King
FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 PREDICTION CONTEST:
Asaemon: 10/14
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Post by Asaemon on Sept 22, 2023 19:35:05 GMT 1
FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 - DAY 4
CARD FOR PREDICTIONS:
MAIN EVENT - Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 60 Minutes Time Limit
HERCULES (Don Frye & Yoshiaki Fujiwara) vs Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata
Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
Jushin Thunder Liger & Kendo Kashin vs TEAM2000 (Gedo & Jado)
Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
Kazuyuki Fujita & Riki Choshu vs Naoya Ogawa & Chris Candido
Six Men Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
G-EGGS (Yukata Yoshie & Brian Johnston) & Takashi Iizuka vs TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Tatsutoshi Goto)
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Shinya Makabe vs Hiroshi Tanahashi
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Katsuyori Shibata vs Wataru Inoue
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Shinsuke Nakamura vs Kenzo Suzuki
Lucha Libre Rules - 2 Out of 3 Falls / No Time Limit
Negro Casas vs Silver King
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Post by piowski on Nov 13, 2023 21:26:52 GMT 1
Hi everyone! I'm back, I'm sorry for the absence but I've been very busy between attending college and going to work. I'll try my best to spare some time for this diary, because I have lots of fun in writing it. Since it's been almost two months, I'll do a quick recap of what happened until now.
Where we at?
We are currently in the midst of the Fighting Spirit Series, precisely at Day 4. The last stop will be the 11th Day, with the already confirmed main event being:
Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs Don Frye - IWGP Heavyweight Title Match
Champions Recap
IWGP Heavyweight Champion - Kensuke Sasaki
IWGP Tag Team Champions - TenCozy (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion - VACANT*
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions - Junior Stars (Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto)
*a new champion will be crowned on Day 10, where the title will be assigned to the winner of the first ever Junior Rumble.
Factions Recap
FIGHTING CLUB G-EGGS - Yuji Nagata (LEADER), Manabu Nakanishi, Brian Johnston & Yukata Yoshie
New Japan's resident face group, will usually team up with other faces, as they are doing during this tour with IWGP champ Sasaki and Takashi Iizuka.
TEAM2000 - Masahiro Chono (LEADER), Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Scott Hall, Scott Norton, Tatsutoshi Goto, Super J, AKIRA, Gedo & Jado
The top heel group, TEAM2000 was wrecking havoc on NJPW's biggest babyfaces, but now they are facing some adversities, due to some tensions brewing amongst members of the group, especially Chono and Hall.
Bad Ass Translate Trading/BATT - Keiji Muto (LEADER), Hiroshi Hase & Jinsei Shinzaki
A new faction created by Muto en route to his NJPW return, BATT's goal is to win as more gold as possible, and reach the top not only of New Japan, but of puroresu as whole.
HERCULES - Don Frye & Yoshiaki Fujiwara
The newest of the bunch, since it has been created by Frye and Fujiwara on the 3rd day of the FSS. HERCULES is reserved only to those which mirror the image of a perfect fighter, with that being current/ex martial artists. Frye and Fujiwara are ready to revolutionize New Japan, brining an influx of "real fighters" to destroy the pro-wrestlers.
Personal Opinions
Honestly, my initial idea was to be faster with the earlier days of the tour, in order to be more detailed when it comes to the later and most important stages.
Although I'm trying to keep it short, writing the days of a tour can take away a lot of time, and I'm thinking that I'm yet to come across a precise style of writing.
It's fun to test different things, therefore you might expect exactly that.
It's funny to grow and improve as I'm writing, so you can see that growth as you are reading. I guess we'll see with time.
So, with that being said... I'll see you all on the next day of the Fighting Spirit Series!
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Post by piowski on Nov 13, 2023 22:09:40 GMT 1
NJPW FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 - DAY 4
@ Sports Center, Yokosuka, JP - February 6th, 2001
ca. 2.000 in attendance
Six Men Tag Team Match
TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima (O) & Tatsutoshi Goto) def. G-EGGS (Brian Johnston & Yukata Yoshie) & Takashi Iizuka (X) in 10:24 via Pinfall
Kojima ended the bout with a thunderous Cozy Lariat on poor Iizuka.
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match
Katsuyori Shibata (6) def. Wataru Inoue (2) in 6:31 via Pinfall
After being pinned by the first time in this tour by Tanahashi, Shibata had to prove it was just a lucky day for Tana.
He took a vicious approach against his opponent here, dominating the majority of the bout before the three count.
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match
Shinsuke Nakamura (6) def. Kenzo Suzuki (0) w/Riki Choshu in 9:15 via Submission
The presence of Choshu really gave Suzuki a confidence boost, allowing the YL to show off, having his best performance until now.
Nonetheless, that wasn't enough to stop Nakamura, whom choked Suzuki with a Triangle, forcing him to give up.
Suzuki was this close to victory, and Choshu saw it, therefore he helped him to get back to his feet, and went with him all the way to the back, leaving behind a crowd that finally has shown support for Suzuki.
Young Lions Cup 2001 3rd Round Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi (4) def. Shinya Makabe (0) in 12:38 via Pinfall
A taped up Tanahashi marched to the ring, knowing he wasn't about to have a match, rather a fight. And a fight he got, with Makabe toying around with the Young Lion, throwing him around the ringside area for several seconds.
In the end, the fierce Tanahashi stood tall, fighting through the pain and ending the bout victorious.
Tag Team Match
Jushin Thunder Liger (O) & Kendo Kashin def. TEAM2000 (Gedo (X) & Jado) in 9:42 via Pinfall
G&J tried every dirty trick in the book to stop the two masked juniors, who were successful in undermining every illegal tactic.
Liger brought Gedo down to Earth with a nasty Vertical Brainbuster.
After the match, Gedo & Jado tried to ambush their opponents, but Liger and Kashin fended them away.
Nonetheless, Kashin went straight to Liger's face, reminding him that on Day 10, in the Junior Rumble, he won't have any partner, but only opponents to beat.
Liger answered to the provocation, causing a fire exchange between the two.
Everyone wants the Jr. Heavy belt.
Lucha Libre Rules Match
Negro Casas def. Silver King 2-0 in 12:56 via Pinfall
Casas went laser-focused to this match, which allowed him and King to show off their natural style.
The lucha libre legend amazed the crowd, taking the victory fair and square, with 2 caidas.
Casas then cut a promo, declaring himself as a participant in the Junior Rumble!
Tag Team Match
Kazuyuki Fujita (O) & Riki Choshu def. Naoya Ogawa & Chris Candido (X) in 13:23 via Pinfall
Fujita and Ogawa's feud continues, as Ogawa was able to escape the Ol' Ironhead's wrath, causing him to lay out Candido with a Jackhammer instead.
Tag Team Match
HERCULES (Don Frye (O) & Yoshiaki Fujiwara) def. Kensuke Sasaki (X) & Yuji Nagata in 16:24 via Pinfall
Once again, for the shock of the crowd, after an hard fought match, Frye was able to pin an exhausted Sasaki.
It's the second time in a row that Sasaki is pinned by The Predator, who keeps becoming a bigger and bigger threat to Sasaki fairly new title reign.
After the match, Frye gave a good look at the IWGP belt, with a satisfied smile on his face.
Before he was able to talk, however, "Hard Crush" blasted in the arena! Chono is here!
The Black Charisma stormed to the ring, wielding a steel chair, fending away Frye and Fujiwara.
Frye picked a mic, saying that he's not afraid of Chono, but he's also not stupid, therefore he won't face a guy with a chair days before an important title match. Both Frye and Fujiwara said that they are tired of Chono and his antics, therefore they want to shut him up once and for all.
Chono accepted the challenge, saying that's exactly what he was looking for.
Regarding the predictions...
I thought to scrap the predictions contest. I will keep it for the final day of any tour, since it's the most important show of the series, but that's about it.
I'm sorry for Asaemon whom kept giving his predictions after every stage, but I prefer to do as I stated.
Thank you all 
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Post by piowski on Nov 14, 2023 21:04:35 GMT 1
NJPW FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2001 - DAY 5
@ City Gymnasium, Fukushima, JP - February 8th, 2001
2.100 in attendance
Chono opens the show!
Mr. August walks to the ring, focused as never before, alongside TEAM2000's member Scott Norton. Chono picks up a mic, warning both Frye and Fujiwara to be prepared tonight, because they are going to face their toughest challenge yet.
Surprisingly, Chono was interrupted, but not by the members of HERCULES; instead, Scott Hall came out. The former Razor Ramon said that Chono is avoiding the real problem, and that ain't Frye... the real problem is that Chono isn't being a leader to TEAM2000 anymore, and instead he's happy fighting as Kensuke Sasaki's lackey in his feud against Frye. Tension began to rise as Hall got in his leader's face, saying that he isn't afraid of repercussions because Chono isn't menacing anymore. Norton tried to act as the peace maker between the two, but the confrontation ended when Hall, furious, left to the back.
Young Lions Cup 2001 4th Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Shinya Makabe (2) def. Wataru Inoue (2) in 8:06 via Pinfall
A determined Makabe brought its A-game against Inoue, successfully taking his first 2 points in the tournament.
Although it's late since we are in the closing stage of the YLC, a win is still a win and Makabe won't close the tournament empty-handed.
Young Lions Cup 2001 4th Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Katsuyori Shibata (8) def. Kenzo Suzuki (0) w/Riki Choshu in 9:33 via Pinfall
Similar to what happened on the last stage of the tour, Suzuki was very close to the victory, but in the end he was put down by Shibata's brutal PK.
Nonetheless, the crowd is growing more and more supportive of Suzuki.
Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 20 Minutes Time Limit
Kazunari Murakami (O) & El Samurai def. Negro Casas & Gran Naniwa (X) in 5:20 via Pinfall
The heel team gained the upper hand since the first moments of the bout, forcing Casas and Naniwa to take the part of the underdogs. In the end, Casas' comeback was stopped, and Murakami pinned Naniwa for the victory.
After the match, both Murakami and Samurai declared for the Junior Rumble.
Additionally, Murakami, being the ZERO1 Jr. Heavyweight Champion, announced that, after he wins the Rumble, he will defend both Junior belts on the last day of the Fighting Spirit Series!
Young Lions Cup 2001 4th Round Match - 1 Fall / 15 Minutes Time Limit
Hiroshi Tanahashi (5) vs Shinsuke Nakamura (7) ended in a Time Limit Draw after 15 minutes
Tanahashi knew that this was his occasion to conquer a spot in the finals, since Nakamura was the second participants with the more points, after Shibata.
Tana gave his all, entering the bout with the arm still injured by Makabe's previous attack, arm that Nakamura cleverly targeted during the whole match.
Tanahashi endured the pain, putting down the opponent several times, but never in a final way. In the end, Tanahashi soared through the sky with a beautiful High-Fly Flow, but he didn't have enough time left to make the cover.
After the match, the two opponents shook their hands in respect, before bowing to the roaring crowd.
Six Men Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 30 Minutes Time Limit
Kensuke Sasaki & G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata (O) & Brian Johnston) def. TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima & Super J (X) ) in 12:13 via Pinfall
After two back-to-back losses against Frye, Sasaki had to get back on track, and he managed to do so in this bout, helping G-EGGS get their revenge on TenCozy.
In the closing moments of the match, Super J was put down by a Lariat from Sasaki, before being pinned after a Backdrop Driver, courtesy of Nagata.
After the match, Nagata asked for a mic, and challenged TenCozy one more time!
Tenzan accepted the challenge on behalf of the team, saying that they will put the tag titles on the line at the last day of the tour!
Special Single Match - 1 Fall / 60 Minutes Time Limit
Jushin Thunder Liger w/Kendo Kashin def. Koji Kanemoto w/Minoru Tanaka in 19:04 via Pinfall
A surprising balanced fight who put two of the best juniors against each other.
Kanemoto kept getting back to his feet, surprising the masked legend and the whole Fukushima crowd.
During the end, Tanaka distracted the ref, allowing Kanemoto to try and rip off Liger's mask. Kashin stepped up, chasing off Tanaka, and allowing an angered Liger to put away his opponent after a devastating Liger Bomb.
After the match, Liger was handed a mic, but the lights immediately went off... only for them to be turned on again, and showing JINSEI SHINZAKI in the ring with Liger!
Shinzaki looked at Liger before spraying his green mist on the canvas; then, with his fingers, he wrote something using the mist as ink: "Junior Rumble... I'm in".
Liger nodded, while Shinzaki went to the back.
MAIN EVENT - Tag Team Match - 1 Fall / 60 Minutes Time Limit
HERCULES (Don Frye (O) & Yoshiaki Fujiwara) def. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono & Scott Norton (X) ) in 8:44 via Submission
While Frye and Fujiwara tried to keep the contest in the ring, Chono threw Yoshiaki out of the ring, causing a brawl at ringside that involved all 4 participants.
In the end, Frye brought Norton back into the ring, where he ended things after a vicious Juji-gatame, which forced Norton to tap out.
After the match, Frye and Fujiwara kept attacking Chono and Norton.
Scott Hall arrived on the stage, but he stopped there, uncertain on what to do next, as his stablemates were being beaten down.
Kensuke Sasaki ran to the rescue, passing through Hall and fending away both HERCULES' members to close the show.
Confirmed participants in the Junior Rumble (not in order of entrance):
Jushin Thunder Liger
Koji Kanemoto
Minoru Tanaka
Negro Casas
Kendo Kashin
Kazunari Murakami
El Samurai
Jinsei Shinzaki
Fighting Spirit Series 2001 - Day 11
Match Card:
IWGP Title Match - Kensuke Sasaki (c) vs Don Frye
IWGP Tag Team Title Match - TenCozy (c) vs G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata & TBD)
Young Lions Cup 2001 Final Match - TBD vs TBD
Naoya Ogawa vs Kazuyuki Fujita
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Post by sonny912 on Nov 14, 2023 23:53:15 GMT 1
Hey it's mentioned that wcwcand ecw survived their shut down but what about fmw? And does misawa still form Noah leaving all Japan crippled?
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Post by piowski on Nov 16, 2023 9:54:19 GMT 1
Yes, FMW is still alive, in its post-Onita era. Regarding NOAH, also yes, the mass exodus of AJPW already happened and Misawa already founded his promotion.
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