New Japan held a press conference on the fifth floor of it's offices today. Kazunori Tanaka, vice-chief of the publicity department, cleared up some things.

- There WILL be an IWGP Tag Team Titles Tournament, featuring 8 teams, which will run on the next tour. Teams are TBA, but likely are Chono & Tenzan, Silva & Singh and Suzuki & Tanahashi.

- New Japan's 3/6 Korakuen Hall show will be part of the 30th year anniversary. A one night young lions tournament will take place on the show, featuring Katsuyori Shibata, Wataru Inoue, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kenzo Suzuki, Katsushi Takemura and Blue Wolf. Pairings will be announced later on.

- Details regarding the IWGP Tag Team Titles Tournament should be released soon. The tournament is expected to run through the March tour.

- Antonio Inoki returned to his home in America yesterday, leaving Masahiro Chono in charge. Chono has been given full power to invite wrestlers from outside of New Japan to the big 5/2 Tokyo Dome show soon. Inoki will be bringing in PRIDE and K-1 fighters for the show, hopefully kicking each others heads in and not the wrestlers. There is talk that Shinya Hashimoto and Naoya Ogawa will be on the super-show.

- Kendo Ka Shin showed up in All Japan's dojo yesterday and shook hands with mentor, Hiroshi Hase (who was ironically wearing a New Japan tracksuit. See below). Ka Shin is going to be forming a tag team with... Abdullah The Butcher. Yes, you read that right.


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NJPW, 2/8/02 (TV)
Gifu Industrial Hall

1. Chris Candido vs. Katsushi Takemura
2. Wataru Inoue vs. GOKU-DO
3. El Samurai & Tiger Mask 4 vs. Masahito Kakihara & Katsuyori Shibata
4. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Giant Silva & Giant Singh
5. Yuji Nagata, Kenzo Suzuki & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto
6. Shiro Koshinaka & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Masahiro Chono & Koji Kanemoto
7. Kensuke Sasaki & Dan Devine vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Rick Steiner
8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Jado & Gedo (c) vs. Minoru Tanaka & Masayuki Naruse

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NJPW, 2/16/02 (PPV/TV)
Tokyo Sumo Hall

1. Katsuyori Shibata vs. Daijiro Matsui
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura
3. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Manabu Nakanishi
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Minoru Tanaka vs. Masahito Kakihara (decision match)
5. IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament - Semi Final: Masahiro Chono vs. Tadao Yasuda
6. IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament - Semi Final: Yuji Nagata vs. Rick Steiner
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament - Final: Winner of Chono/Yasuda vs. Nagata/Steiner

NOAH, 2/6/02
Tokai Citizen Gymnasium
1,100 Fans

1. Masao Inoue beat Yasuhiro Suzuki (9:45) with a crab hold.
2. Haruka Eigen & Masashi Aoyagi beat Rusher Kimura & Mitsuo Momota (10:25) when Aoyagi used an inside cradle on Momota.
3. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & KENTA beat Mohammed Yone & Ray Gordy (12:39) when KENTA used a Texas Cloverleaf on Gordy.
4. Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru beat Juventud Guerrera & Superstar Steve (12:18) when Shiga used a modified reverse DDT on Steve.
5. Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan beat Takuma Sano & Makoto Hashi (14:21) when Morgan used the Sayonara on Hashi.
6. Daisuke Ikeda, Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio beat Akira Taue, Jun Izumida & Kishin Kawabata (15:03) when Ikeda used the Ikeda Lock on Kawabata.
7. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito beat Scorpio & Richard Slinger (13:22) when Akiyama used an Exploder on Slinger.
8. Takao Omori, Yoshihiro Takayama & Takashi Sugiura beat Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa & Naomichi Marufuji (17:15) when Omori used an Axe Bomber on Marufuji.

- Keiji Muto, although expected to sign with All Japan on 2/24, seems to be thinking about the possibility of becoming a freelancer. Coincidentally (or maybe not) the day when he is speculated to sign the contract is the same one where he will face Toshiaki Kawada. Muto said he is considering the possibility of freelancing and has shown interest in wrestling for the WWF. Muto seems to want some guarantees before joining All Japan and has hinted that he would like to be All Japan's president.

- Muto will "represent BATT" (freelance? This will be after 2/24) on Michinoku Pro's 3/10 Tokushima show. Muto may work a tag match on the show.

- Antonio Inoki, who is taking a firm stance in the reborn war against All Japan, ordered Masahiro Chono to grasp the IWGP Tag Team Titles from Muto & Kea. Kea wants to defend them in New Japan, but Muto isn't as keen on the idea it seems. The main person against this idea in New Japan is President Fujinami, but there has been talk that Muto could return to New Japan as a freelancer if he chooses that path. The most likely possibility is a tournament for the belts. Chono & Tenzan and Silva & Singh are the only definites for such a tournament, but Nagata, Nakanishi, Suzuki, Tanahashi and even Shibata have been listed as likely participants in such a tournament.

- Kensuke Sasaki and Manabu Nakanishi, who are at odds right now, argued during the Teisen Hall 6 Man Tag Team Tournament. The two will meet in a singles match on New Japan's 2/16 tour climax at Tokyo Sumo Hall. Both suffered first round losses in the IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament, so are free to wrestle each other on that show. Nakanishi has never defeated Sasaki in a singles match. Their three most recent matches saw Sasaki defend his IWGP Heavyweight Title on the BOSJ 2000 tour, Sasaki win the G1 Climax 2000 final and Sasaki win in the 10/28 PPV tournament.

- Naoya Ogawa is looking to expand the UFO group. Currently, it's really just he and Kazunari Murakami. He wants to build on that foundation so that "UFO may create a sensation on the pro wrestling community". Ogawa has also targetted Misawa's Pro Wrestling NOAH, since he's not the most popular guy in New Japan after some recent happenings. Misawa was surprised by Ogawa's humble approach and will decide next week whether to let him compete in NOAH. Ogawa has shown interest in fighting Kenta Kobashi.

Blue Wolf returned to action today, so his feared head injury was not as bad as expected it seems.

NJPW, 2/3/02 (NJTV Internet)
Sapporo Teisen Hall
1,350 Fans (Sell Out)

1. Hiro Saito beat Blue Wolf (7:54) with a senton bomb.
2. GOKU-DO beat Chris Candido (9:36) with the Complete Shot.
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Wataru Inoue beat Masahito Kakihara & Katsushi Takemura (10:02) when Tanahashi used a half-hatch suplex hold on Takemura.
4. Teisen Hall Cup 6 Man Tag Team Tournament - Semi Final: Masahiro Chono, Giant Silva & Giant Singh beat Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Nishimura & Jushin Thunder Liger (16:15) when Silva used a Giant press on Nishimura.
5. Teisen Hall Cup 6 Man Tag Team Tournament - Semi Final: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Rick Steiner beat Kensuke Sasaki, Yutaka Yoshie & Dan Devine (9:38) when Steiner used a Death Valley Bomb on Yoshie.
6. Koji Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo beat El Samurai, Minoru Tanaka & Masayuki Naruse (21:00) when Jado used a crossface hold on Samurai.
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto beat Shiro Koshinaka & Kenzo Suzuki (13:32) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Koshinaka.
8. Teisen Hall Cup 6 Man Tag Team Tournament - Final: Masahiro Chono, Giant Silva & Giant Singh beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Rick Steiner (14:35) when Singh used a Giant bomb on Nakanishi to win the tournament.

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NJPW, 2/8/02 (TV)
Gifu Industrial Hall

1. Kensuke Sasaki & Dan Devine vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Rick Steiner
2. Shiro Koshinaka & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Masahiro Chono & Koji Kanemoto
3. Yuji Nagata, Kenzo Suzuki & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Jado & Gedo (c) vs. Minoru Tanaka & Masayuki Naruse

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NOAH, 2/3/02
Akishima Messe
2,300 Fans

1. KENTA beat Ray Gordy (8:13) with a Texas Cloverleaf.
2. Haruka Eigen, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kishin Kawabata beat Rusher Kimura, Mitsuo Momota & Yasuhiro Suzuki (11:21) when Kikuchi used the Fireball bomb on Suzuki.
3. Scorpio & Richard Slinger beat Juventud Guerrera & Superstar Steve (14:06) when Slinger used the Chattanooga Choo Choo on Steve.
4. Akira Taue & Jun Izumida beat Daisuke Ikeda & Mohammed Yone (11:16) when Izumida used a lariat on Yone.
5. Yoshinari Ogawa & Takuma Sano beat Tamon Honda & Masao Inoue (17:49) when Ogawa used a backdrop suplex hold on Inoue.
6. Takeshi Morishima & Takeshi Rikio beat Michael Modest & Donovan Morgan (13:02) when Rikio used a powerbomb on Morgan.
7. Takao Omori beat Makoto Hashi (10:05) with an Axe Bomber.
8. Yoshihiro Takayama beat Naomichi Marufuji (4:54) with a head clip.
9. Mitsuharu Misawa beat Takashi Sugiura (8:10) with a running elbow smash.
10. Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito beat Kentaro Shiga & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (18:57) when Saito used the Death Sickle on Kanemaru.