NJPW 2001: King of Sports Forever

Kensuke Sasaki defeated Satoshi Kojima to advance to the semifinals
RATING: 83 B
Kojima put up a good fight but ultimately Sasaki is more seasoned and came away with the win.

Yuji Nagata defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan to advance to the semifinals
RATING: 82 B
Tenzan came dangerously close to beating Nagata but got caught with an exploder and fell short. 

Team 2000 (AKIRA, Gedo, & Jado) defeated El Samurai, Kendo Kashin, & Shinya Makabe
RATING: 56 C-
AKIRA gets the pinfall victory over the younger less experienced Shinya Makabe.

Minoru Tanaka defeated Kazunari Murakami in a Special Singles Match
RATING: 70 C
Minoru Tanaka stepped up to the plate in a last minute match up against the "Terrorist of Heisei" Kazunari Murakami.

Yuji Nagata defeated Masahiro Chono to advance to the finals
RATING: 85 B+
Yuji Nagata used his superior grappling to takedown the older and slower Chono.

Kensuke Sasaki defeated Toshiaki Kawada to advance to the finals
RATING: 79 B
This match was an 11 minute sprint and Sasaki's determination to redeem himself willed him into this victory.
The finals are set, Kensuke Sasaki looking for redemption will face Yuji Nagata looking to lead the charge of New Japan's third generation

Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Riki Choshu in a Special Singles Match
RATING: 79 B
Kazuyuki Fujita sent a message and absolutely destroyed the crowd favorite and legendary Riki Choshu

BATT (Keiji Mutoh, Hiroshi Hase, & Jinsei Shinzaki) defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka, & Jushin Liger
RATING: 83 B
BATT has made their presence known in NJPW, Mutoh wins another match at the January 4th Tokyo Dome show with a pinfall on Liger

Yuji Nagata defeated Kensuke Sasaki to become the 27th IWGP Heavyweight Champion
RATING: 82 B
Despite Sasaki's best efforts, Yuji Nagata has won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career and is the first of the third generation to do so.
Sasaki and Nagata share a hug in the middle of the ring in exhaustion as both men had wrestled over an hour in total throughout the night, Sasaki wraps the Heavyweight title around Nagata's waist and raises Nagata's arm before leaving to the back so Nagata can continue his celebration


The crowd is loudly chanting NA-GA-TA! and while he's celebrating with confetti falling from the sky a familiar theme plays and out comes...



ANTONIO INOKI!
His future with the company was up in the air due to him no longer being the owner, is the 57 year old Inoki coming out of retirement to challenge Yuji Nagata?! Inoki is halfway down the ramp until he points back up the ramp and his usual theme turns into an orchestral version and from the entranceway comes...

The Last Disciple of Antonio Inoki, Kazuyuki Fujita.
The two of them get to the ring, Inoki stands on the ring apron with a microphone whilst Fujita gets into the ring and has an intense stare-down with Nagata. 
Inoki speaks, "Congratulations on your victory Nagata, I'm very happy for you. However, what I'm not happy about is people omitting MY star pupil when they talk about who's the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling, you said that you were the one that plans on leading the next generation in NJPW but, I have an eye for talent and while I do admit you're a great wrestler, you're no Kazuyuki Fujita. His fighting style is an impeccable mixture between MMA prowess and my skill from the training I gave him. While I may no longer be in charge of running this company that I built for the last 29 years, I still have a plan to continue to shift it into MY image, and that doesn't involve you."
Inoki stops speaking and smiles before signaling for someone else to come out, but it's not just one person that comes out but four more men come to the ring and they're revealed to be...


KAZUNARI MURAKAMI, NAOYA OGAWA, TAKEHIRO MURAHAMA, & YUKI ISHIKAWA!
They each hop on a side of the ring apron to surround Nagata in the middle of the ring as Inoki continues, "What do you think of the army that I've put together, Nagata? Don't worry, they have no intention of attacking you right now, so don't be so nervous. They're all the type of wrestler that I love to see in the ring, and Fujita is superior to you in every way, however if you disagree then how about you accept my challenge and take on Fujita for your first ever title defense?" Inoki slides the microphone into the ring for Nagata's answer, Nagata calmly picks up the microphone all while maintaining eye contact with Fujita, "Of course I accept, there is NO challenge I won't take on I don't care who it is!" Nagata shouts, and the crowd cheers and breaks out into NA-GA-TA chants. Inoki nods and signals to his army to leave and they all leave Nagata in the middle of the ring to finish his celebration.

  RATING: 87 B+