The Junior*Stars reunited today for Masaaki Mochizuki’s 15th anniversary special show and were victorious over very tough opposition, Mochi and Kanemoto’s old friend Shinjiro Otani. Kanemoto submitted the host of the show with an ankle hold for the win. Mochi called for all three outsiders in the main event to take part on his 1/23 show back at Korakuen, proposing he and Minoru reform the B’s, Kanemoto face a young wrestler from DRAGON GATE, and Otani battle Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa.

Buyuden “MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI 15TH ANNIVERSARY”, 12/27/08
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

- Koji Kanemoto & Minoru beat Masaaki Mochizuki & Shinjiro Otani (22:48) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Mochizuki.

PREMIUM, 12/26/08 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,200 Fans

1. PREMIUM FUTURE I: Shinjiro Otani beat Kazuchika Okada (5:12) with a camel clutch.
2. PREMIUM FUTURE II: Manabu Nakanishi beat Shito Ueda (5:08) with an Argentine backbreaker.
3. PREMIUM FUTURE III: Yutaka Yoshie beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (4:16) with a crab hold.
4. ROAD to SUPER J-CUP “PREMIUM APPETIZER”: Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Ikuto Hidaka beat Milano Collection AT & El Samurai (13:45) when Hidaka used the Iwami Silver Mine on Samurai.
5. PREMIUM ENTRÉ: Riki Choshu & Daisuke Sekimoto beat Kohei Sato & Osamu Namiguchi (10:55) when Sekimoto used a German suplex hold on Namiguchi.
6. ROAD to SUPER J-CUP “PREMIUM POISSON”: Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA beat Ultimo Dragon & Mineo Fujita (15:23) when AKIRA used a Musasabi press on Fujita.
7. PREMIUM VIANDE ~ Ookami Gundan vs. Complete Players: Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiro Saito beat Masato Tanaka , Jado & Gedo (14:57) when Chono used a Shining Yakuza kick on Jado.

Here’s the final, complete card for the 1/4/09 Tokyo Dome blockbuster, with a dark match added. Nearly all of the most expensive seats have been sold out, with only cheaper ones left in any significant quantities.

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM III IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/09 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome

0. Mitsuhide Hirasawa, Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Taichi Ishikari
1. Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO: Mistico, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno, Jado & Gedo
2. Jushin Thunder Liger 20th Anniversary Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Tread on!!~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: Low Ki (c) vs. Tiger Mask
5. Fighting Holdings Competition: Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson
6. World Heavyweight Title ~Crusade for Justice~: Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Masato Tanaka
7. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama
8. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Hardcore Match ~Three correct answers~: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. “Team 3D” Brother Ray & Brother Devon
9. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Keiji Muto (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

The IWGP Tag Team Title 3WAY Match has had the stakes pushed up with the addition of a stipulation - Hardcore Rules. That will make it a direct sequel to the 1/4/08 match between Makabe & Yano and Team 3D, which the TNA team won in their natural environment. This stip seems to put TenKoji at a disadvantage, but they are known for fighting against the odds with success.

Sorry for the site’s downtime, there was a DNS issue. Forum regulars may already have noticed that a few days worth of data have disappeared, hence while I’m also posting the 12/20 and 12/22 results below.

NJPW “THEORY ~CHAOS OF CHRISTMAS~”, 12/23/08 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans

0. Tomoaki Honma beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (8:24) with a diving headbutt.
1. Minoru beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (7:50) with a single-leg crab hold.
2. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Kazuchika Okada (11:40) when Milano used a super scrap kick on Okada.
3. Tiger Mask beat AKIRA (13:32) with a Tiger suplex hold.
4. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto beat Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (11:23) when Iizuka was DQ’d.
5. Special Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Tag Scramble: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano beat Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (15:01) when Makabe pinned Yujiro after a union King Kong kneedrop.
6. Special Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Tag Scramble: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Jado & Gedo (15:46) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Gedo.
7. Special 6 Man Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Chaos of Trinity: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger (20:34) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Liger.

NJPW “NEXT ~CATCH THE VICTORY III~”, 12/22/08 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans

0. AKIRA beat Tomoaki Honma (8:10) with a backslide.
1. Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Taichi Ishikari (10:56) when Inoue used the Oracion Flame on Minoru.
2. Bullet Sanction: Masato Tanaka beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (8:42) with an elbow smash.
3. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Tiger Mask beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (5:56) with a chickenwing facelock.
4. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Hirooki Goto beat Yujiro (10:24) with the Shouten.
5. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Kazuchika Okada (6:00) with a sleeper hold.
6. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tetsuya Naito (13:13) with a Texas Cloverleaf hold.
7. Street Fight Anywhere Fall Match: Kantaro Hoshino beat Gedo (12:38) by pinfall.
8. Third Generation vs. GBH Elimination Match ~ Proceed to Next: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima , Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Koji Kanemoto beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado (28:07) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Ishii.

NJPW “ONLY ONE NIGHT ~AREA K~”, 12/20/08 (Samurai! TV)
Koshigaya Katsura Studio
1,100 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari went to a draw (20:00) when the time limit expired.
2. Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Minoru & Nobuo Yoshihashi (13:36) when Taguchi used a cross armbreaker on Yoshihashi.
3. Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & Kazuchika Okada beat Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii (11:09) when Tiger used a moonsault kneedrop on Gedo.
4. Manabu Nakanishi won the 15 Man Battle Royal Koshigaya (8:34) with an Argentine backbreaker on Jado. Participants: Yujiro, Tetsuya Naito, Milano Collection AT, Taichi Ishikari, Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Minoru, Nobuo Yoshihashi, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask, Kazuchika Okada, Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Kuniyoshi Wada.
5. JUSTICE SANCTION: Yuji Nagata beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (9:21) with the Nagata Lock II.
6. Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomoaki Honma (14:27) when Tenzan used the TTD on Honma.
7. Special Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Signal Red: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Wataru Inoue (16:42) when Goto used the Shouten on Inoue.

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Former IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA, ventured into Big Japan today to challenge power fighters Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki for the BJW Tag Team Title. Both of the heavyweights have plenty of experience against big leaguers, Sekimoto having had that somewhat unsuccessful series against Nakanishi and Mammoth representing Apache Army against GBH, and it showed as they scored a big win. Sekimoto pinned AKIRA, but Liger wasn’t satisified and challenged him to a singles match next year! Sekimoto accepted, so a match against Liger is likely to be booked some time soon.

BJW, 12/19/08
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
2,400 Fans

- BJW Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki (c) beat Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA (18:07) when Sekimoto used a German suplex hold on AKIRA (6th defense).

Tarzan Goto missed yesterday’s Showa Puroresu show, meaning the “New Japan vs. All Japan” tag match became “New Japan vs. All Japan & New Japan” as Liger stepped in. The heavyweight legends won a sweeping “double victory” as Chono pinned Liger after a Shining Yakuza kick just as Fuchi ate a Riki lariat and then suffered in a Scorpion Deathlock.

Showa Puroresu, 12/18/08
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,850 Fans - Super No Vacancy

- Opening Special Tag Match ~ New Japan vs. All Japan: Kotetsu Yamamoto & Kantaro Hoshino vs. Great Kojika & Great Kabuki went to a draw (10:00) when the time limit expired.
- Special Tag Match: Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono beat Masanobu Fuchi & Jushin Thunder Liger (7:46) when Chono used a Shining Yakuza kick on Liger.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling seems to be on course to finish 2008 in black figures. This means it would be a profitable company, quite an inspiring feat when you both consider how things were not so long ago, plus the state of the industry tied in with the global economy - the latter of which has cost NOAH its national TV deal as of March ‘09 and doesn’t put New Japan out of danger with TV Asahi.

New Japan made a surprising profit in Q1 2008 with the Tokyo Dome and Sumo Hall shows, but went on to make an even larger deficit (loss) in Q2 2008. Q3 2008 saw a big jump though, with a ¥40,000,000 (US$455,000) profit posted, compared to a LOSS of ¥23,000,000 (US$260,000) this time last year.

Nagata made a successful V2 defense of his World Heavyweight Title at today’s ZERO1-MAX show at Shinjuku FACE. He downed the Tenka-Ichi Jr. Tournament winner and former dojo mate, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, after a pretty tough fight. Nagata was then confronted by who else but ZERO1-MAX ace and the man he took the belt from, Masato Tanaka, who demanded their Tokyo Dome match be a title defense. Nagata accepted and it looks all set! 01 also announced that from January their organization name will become just ZERO1.

ZERO1-MAX “ZERO1 DELIGHT ‘08″, 12/17/08
Shinjuku FACE

- World Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata (c) beat Tatsuhito Takaiwa (17:53) with a backdrop suplex (2nd defense).

New Japan has its tradition Sumo Hall show in February next year, with the winner of Muto vs. Tanahashi likely to have a big defense there. It will conclude the “CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN ISM“, which starts with a Korakuen Hall double header on 1/30-31. New Japan also returns to the island of Okinawa next March for “EXCITING BATTLE IN OKINAWA 2009″, the continuation of an old tradition to visit the region early in the year.

CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN ISM
- 1/30 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall SAMURAI!
- 1/31 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall SXW
- 2/1 @ Tomi Fureai Gymnasium
- 2/7 @ Tochigi Bunka Center Sub Hall SAMURAI!
- 2/8 @ Zepp Sendai SXW
- 2/10 @ Ota City Nitta Gymnasium Ex Arena
- 2/11 @ Act City Hamamatsu SAMURAI!
- 2/12 @ Toyohashi City Gymnasium #2
- 2/15 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan WPW

- 3/29 “EXCITING BATTLE IN OKINAWA 2009″ @ Okinawa Prefectural Budokan

One day later and we now have a complete Tokyo Dome card, jam packed with ten matches in an all-star like event. New Japan Pro-Wrestling vs. Pro Wrestling NOAH resumes at the Tokyo Dome with two matches announced today. The dream confrontation of Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Mitsuharu Misawa takes center stage in the series, but not as a singles match - yet. Nakamura teams with RISE second-in-command Hirooki Goto against Misawa and Takashi Sugiura. The other match is between former amaresu greats Nakanishi and Jun Akiyama, who is the GHC Heavyweight Title #1 contender after recently submitting Takeshi Morishima. Should Nakanishi win, he may invade the “Ark” and challenge old nemesis Kensuke Sasaki. Choshu, Chono, Nagata, Tanahashi, Nakamura, Muto, Misawa, Akiyama, TenKoji, Angle, Nash, Mistico, Team 3D - the “Japanese Wrestlemania” has a cast befitting of its billing.

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM III IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/09 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome

1. Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO: Mistico, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno, Jado & Gedo
2. Jushin Thunder Liger 20th Anniversary Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Tread on!!~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: Low Ki (c) vs. Tiger Mask
5. Fighting Holdings Competition: Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson
6. Crusade for Justice: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka
7. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the invasion~: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama
8. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Match ~Three correct answers~: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. “Team 3D” Brother Ray & Brother Devon
9. New Japan vs. NOAH Battle Tendencies ~the encounter~: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takashi Sugiura
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Keiji Muto (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Eight matches are now official for the January 4th Tokyo Dome show, seven of them added today! The debate on who should challenge Makabe & Yano is settled - why not both candidates? Yes, it will be a 3WAY Match when TenKoji and Team 3D, both famous teams, challenge for GBH’s tag crown in what is sure to be their greatest test yet. Tiger Mask’s promise to win back the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title from the man he lost it to, Low Ki, could become a reality when he challenges the GBH man for the belt. Young lion NO LIMIT face international opposition when they make their V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title against TNA Wrestling’s Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin). Legend and MEM unit! Titans from two continents go to war against GBH, when Choshu, Chono, Kurt Angle, and Kevin Nash do battle with Giant Bernard, Iizuka, Ishii & Anderson.

Masato Tanaka looks for sweet, sweet revenge when he battles World Heavyweight Champion, Yuji Nagata, in a rematch from October. Nagata’s belt is not currently on the line as he has an upcoming defense against Tatsuhito Takaiwa, but should he bypass that, his match against the ZERO1-MAX ace could be a defense. Jushin Thunder Liger celebrates his 20th anniversary year in the guise of Liger when he teams with one of his greatest rivals, Takuma “Naoki” Sano, against Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto. And Mexican sensation Mistico will kick off the show when he teams with Taguchi and Devitt against Averno, Jado & Gedo. Eight matches in all, by no means complete, with probably two more to be added. What will they be? One is likely to be Nakamura & Goto vs. Misawa & X and the other may well be Manabu Nakanishi vs. Jun Akiyama if new rumours have any truth.

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM III IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/09 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome

1. Wrestle Kingdom Grand Opening VIENTO DORADO: Mistico, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Averno, Jado & Gedo
2. Jushin Thunder Liger 20th Anniversary Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Takuma Sano vs. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
3. Crusade for Justice: Yuji Nagata vs. Masato Tanaka
4. Fighting Holdings Competition: Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono, Kurt Angle & Kevin Nash vs. Giant Bernard, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Tread on!!~: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Ballistic interception~: Low Ki (c) vs. Tiger Mask
7. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Match ~Three correct answers~: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. “Team 3D” Brother Ray & Brother Devon
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Keiji Muto (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

Christmas comes early for New Japan fans this year with two intriguing Korakuen Hall shows to finish the year. On the 22nd we have the “NEXT” matches previously announced, but also a Street Fight between oldster Kantaro Hoshino, who made sure Jado & Gedo couldn’t cheat their way to victory over NO LIMIT in Osaka. Then in the main event, the third generation unites in force, with Kojima joining old comrades Tenzan, Nagata, Nakanishi, and Kanemoto against GBH! Day two has a series of interesting matches such as Tiger Mask vs. AKIRA and the first ever battle of two famous teams, TenKoji and Jado & Gedo.

NJPW “NEXT ~CATCH THE VICTORY III~”, 12/22/08 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Taichi Ishikari
2. Bullet Sanction: Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Masato Tanaka
3. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Tiger Mask vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
4. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro
5. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada
6. NEW JAPAN NEXT: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
7. Street Fight Anywhere Fall Match: Kantaro Hoshino vs. Gedo
8. Third Generation vs. GBH Elimination Match ~ Proceed to Next: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima , Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Koji Kanemoto vs. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado

NJPW “THEORY ~CHAOS OF CHRISTMAS~”, 12/23/08 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Nobuo Yoshihashi vs. Minoru
2. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari
3. Tiger Mask vs. AKIRA
4. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
5. Special Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Tag Scramble: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
6. Special Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Tag Scramble: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Jado & Gedo
7. Special 6 Man Tag Match ~ Wrestle Kingdom Chaos of Trinity: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger

The TenKoji tradition is alive and well! The 2008 G1 Tag League champions completed a 2-crown of major tag tournaments today when they won All Japan’s annual tag league by avenging their earlier loss to Suwama & Shuji Kondo. Kojima, who was surprisingly pinned by Kondo in their previous match, lariated the junior heavyweight to win the same tournament TenKoji also captured in their 2006 reunion. Now their eyes will be on both the IWGP Tag and AJPW World Tag titles, and it remains to be seen if they will be given a shot at Makabe & Yano on January 4th, with TNA Wrestling’s Team 3D also waiting for their chance.

AJPW, 12/8/08
Hiroshima Sun Plaza
2,400 Fans

- Real World Tag League - Final: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Suwama & Shuji Kondo (28:36) when Kojima used a lariat on Kondo.

Jushin Thunder Liger could hold two outside tag titles by the time 2009 comes around. We already knew that he and AKIRA would challenge heavyweights Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki for the BJW Tag Team Title this month, but he will also now be involved in CIMA’s return match on DRAGON GATE soil, as the two challenge YAMATO & Cyber Kong for the Open The Twin Gate Tag Team Title. This is one new interpromotional match announced involving NJ wrestlers, and here is a list of upcoming ones, including the famous New Japan “bad boy” junior trio reuniting on New Year’s Day…

AJPW “FAN APPRECIATION DAY”, 12/14/08
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

- Tiger Mask & Shisa Mask vs. Kiyonari Sanada & Manabu Soya

ZERO1-MAX “ZERO1 DELIGHT 2008″, 12/17/08
Shinjuku FACE

- World Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata (c) vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa

BJW, 12/19/08
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium

- BJW Tag Team Title: Daisuke Sekimoto & Mammoth Sasaki (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA

DRAGON GATE, 12/28/08
Fukuoka International Center

- Open The Twin Gate: YAMATO & Cyber Kong (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & CIMA

ZERO1-MAX “GENESIS 2009″, 1/1/09
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

- New Year Special Fight: Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Koji Kanemoto vs. Masato Tanaka, Jado & Gedo
- New Year Big Fight: Kohei Sato vs. Manabu Nakanishi

LOCK UP, 1/10/09
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

- Kazuchika Okada vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
- Jado & Gedo vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Tetsuya Naito

–> “CIRCUIT 2008 NEW JAPAN ALIVE” <--
Hiroshi Tanahashi today completed the rare feat of a "perfect tour" - that is, not only winning every match, but scoring the pin or submission in all of them. He faced another old rival today in the form of Togi Makabe and bled heavily en route to a heroic victory. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Keiji Muto, ahead of his V4 defense against Tanahashi, watched and confronted his former disciple after the match, Tanahashi’s form likely to present a great challenge for the legend at the Tokyo Dome. Shinsuke Nakamura downed the other half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions by avenging his upset G1 loss to generation rival Toru Yano, unbanning his highly dangerous double-arm piledriver for the win. With some similarities to Mitsuharu Misawa’s Tiger Driver ‘91 and being the move that defeated Misawa’s greatest rival Toshiaki Kawada in the G1, perhaps this was a message from Shinsuke, who again called out the NOAH president today. Hirooki Goto, Nakamura’s tag partner and the man likely to battle a NOAH tandem with him on 1/4, was unable to avenge his October loss to foreign ace Giant Bernard today, losing his second successive singles match to the American. Though Goto has really been unable to follow up on his G1 win with much, this is all vital experience for him as he’ll surely be looking to win his first heavyweight title in 2009.

Low Ki made a successful V1 defense of his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title by fending off a strong challenge from former champion Taguchi. After pinning Taguchi, he got into it with the man he dethroned, Tiger Mask, all but confirming their expected rematch for the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. Earlier in the event, NO LIMIT scored their biggest win yet, the young lions beating the world famous Jado & Gedo in the V1 defense of their IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title. Naito unleashed his Stardust press on Jado to secure a victory and quite possibly a defense against TNA Wrestling’s Motor City Machine Guns on January 4th.

NJPW, 12/7/08 (Samurai! TV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
5,000 Fans

0. Tomoaki Honma & Karl Anderson beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Nobuo Yoshihashi (7:00) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Yoshihashi.
1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (c) beat Jado & Gedo (18:25) when Naito used a Stardust press on Jado (1st defense).
2. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Kazuchika Okada beat Milano Collection AT, Minoru & Taichi Ishikari (11:11) when Tiger used a Tiger suplex hold on Ishikari.
3. Riki Choshu, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Masahiro Chono, Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA (8:34) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on AKIRA.
4. Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie beat Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (11:19) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Ishii.
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Low Ki (c) beat Ryusuke Taguchi (18:08) with a diving footstomp (1st defense).
6. Wrestle Kingdom Duel for Existence ~tempest~: Giant Bernard beat Hirooki Goto (13:55) with the Bernard Driver.
7. Wrestle Kingdom Duel for Existence ~sublimation~: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Toru Yano (13:13) with a double-arm piledriver.
8. Wrestle Kingdom Duel for Existence ~prominence~: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Togi Makabe (21:03) with the High Fly Flow.

–> “CIRCUIT 2008 NEW JAPAN ALIVE” <--
Hiroshi Tanahashi's ninth win in a row ensured he is in great form still ahead of his Tokyo Dome match with Keiji Muto. Today's opponent was a man he fought in the same building a year ago, Giant Bernard, and despite GBH's best effort, the result was the same, two High Fly Flows making the difference. MVP will still be tag kings going into the 1/4 show, after Makabe & Yano made a successful V4 defense of their IWGP Tag Team Title over Nakanishi & Yoshie, revenge from the G1 Tag League. Makabe landed his top rope King Kong kneedrop on old rival Yoshie, and the GBH team now look on a collision course with either or both of Team 3D or TenKoji on 1/4, the latter team having reached the final of All Japan's tag league today, in which they will face Suwama & Shuji Kondo on Monday. Masato Tanaka scored tag revenge for his singles loss to Nagata in October, that deprived him of ZERO1-MAX's World Heavyweight Title as Emblem bested Nagata & Kanemoto today. Tanaka's big win came following a Sliding D and he made demands for a rematch against Nagata to try and take the belt back to 01, with a 1/4 match seeming possible, moreso if Nagata defeats Takaiwa in his next defense of the title.

RISE's Nakamura & Goto, continuing to bounce back from their G1 Tag League disappointment, won big today by beating Legend's Choshu & Chono, Nakamura forcing Power Hall to submit to a cross armbreaker. Nakamura then made the challenge that the magazines suggested was coming, calling out NOAH boss Mitsuharu Misawa for a fight at the Tokyo Dome. Although a singles match seems unlikely at the present stage, what is likely is a Nakamura & Goto vs. Misawa & X (Jun Akiyama being the leading candidate) super tag match on January 4th.

NJPW, 12/6/08 (WPW)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
8,500 Fans - No Vacancy

0. Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (6:41) with the Hira Bottom.
1. Tomohiro Ishii, Tomoaki Honma & Karl Anderson beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & AKIRA (10:10) when Ishii used a brainbuster on AKIRA.
2. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari beat Minoru & Kazuchika Okada (12:13) when Milano used a super scrap kick on Okada.
3. Low Ki, Jado & Gedo beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (14:43) when Jado pinned Naito.
4. Takashi Iizuka beat Wataru Inoue (11:39) with a Jigoku Tsuki.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto beat Riki Choshu & Masahiro Chono (9:34) when Nakamura used a cross armbreaker on Choshu.
6. New Japan vs. ZERO1-MAX: Shinjiro Otani & Masato Tanaka beat Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto (14:50) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Nagata.
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano (c) beat Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie (21:11) when Makabe used a top rope King Kong kneedrop on Yoshie (4th defense).
8. HIGH FLYING STAR going to TOKYO DOME ~prominence~: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Giant Bernard (17:43) with the High Fly Flow.

–> “CIRCUIT 2008 NEW JAPAN ALIVE” <--
Hiroshi Tanahashi finished the main house show segment of the current tour with eight successive and direct main event wins today when he pinned Ishiii in a six man tag, and appears in unstoppable form. But in five days time, his real test before the Tokyo Dome begins, when he faces Bernard and Makabe in separate singles matches on the big show double header in Nagoya and Osaka.

NJPW, 12/1/08
Tokushima Municipal Gymnasium
868 Fans

1. Tiger Mask beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (7:59) with a V1 armlock.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA beat Minoru & Kazuchika Okada (10:58) when Liger used a brainbuster on Okada.
3. Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto beat Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari (14:26) when Inoue used a modified Triangle Lancer on Ishikari.
4. Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Takashi Iizuka, Tomoaki Honma & Low Ki (12:15) when Ki was DQ’d.
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson, Jado & Gedo beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Hirooki Goto, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (14:56) when Bernard used a running body press on Naito.
6. HIGH FLYING STAR come back to TOKUSHIMA!: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (17:49) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Ishii.