Bushiroad, the new owners of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, today held a live presentation to announce some details on the future direction of the company. Here are the main things revealed at the event:

- “WRESTLE KINGDOM 7 IN TOKYO DOME” has already been confirmed for 1/4/13. They seem to have dropped the Roman numeral numbers for various concepts such as this so it’s listed as 7 instead of VII.
- The “G1 CLIMAX 22″ was also announced with two dates revealed: 8/3 Korakuen Hall and 8/12 Sumo Hall (the final).
- The yearly Sumo Hall event in October has been given a “more intelligible name” and from now on will be called “KING OF PRO WRESTLING IN RYOGOKU”, named after a new card game Bushiroad will be releasing.
- The historic “G1 TAG LEAGUE” name is no more and the concept will be renamed to the “WORLD TAG LEAGUE” while the end-of-year tour will be called “ROAD TO TOKYO DOME” to make it more of a coherent lead-in to the January super-show.
- Other minor tours will be renamed such as the January/February series becoming “NEW YEAR GOLDEN ROAD”.
- The most intriguing one is that something called the “WORLD WAR LEAGUE” will begin in Spring 2013, hinting at something new, possibly international based and a replacement for the New Japan Cup?

- New Japan will begin to produce a new 60 minute show on BS Asahi with the tentative name of “WORLD PRO WRESTLING RETURNS”.
- New Japan will begin to produce a new late-night radio show on AM1422 with the tenative name of “NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING RADIO”.
- TOKYO MX will beging to rebroadcast the famous “Tiger Mask” anime with the idea it could reach young kids who would then become interested in New Japan, where of course the fourth generation of Tiger Mask has wrestled for years now.

- As mentioned, Bushiroad will release a new trading card game called “KING OF PRO WRESTLING”, a release that has been planned for some time, even before the company bought out New Japan. The first booster pack is scheduled to come out around the time of the 10/8 Sumo Hall show and players will be able to discover combos with tag teams and many other cool features.

- The well known Good Smile Company have began making a brand new range of New Japan figures and the president of the company, Aki Takanori, had some banter with wrestlers present today – such as being politely asked by Tenzan to make his head smaller than on usual Tenzan action figures! Kojima wants people to be able to press a button and hear his voice.

- New Japan wrestlers will begin to use the power of Twitter more, to communicate with fans. Ace Hiroshi Tanahashi can now be found @tanahashi1_100. Others are already on Twitter such as Nagata, Naito, Devitt, Nakamura, Captain New Japan, and Kanemoto.

- Sumo legend Akebono will return to New Japan from the summer and by the sounds of it will make New Japan his main home from that point onwards. He said he is looking forward to returning and dying New Japan the colour of Akebono.

The ultimate aim of New Japan under Bushiroad seems clear – to become bigger, better, and more accessible to new fans. And not just Japanese fans as it is clear that Bushiroad wants to make New Japan more of an international company and expand beyond the comfort zone of Japan. The renaming of shows/tours, the release of card games and action figures, the rebroadcast of Tiger Mask… all point towards a new direction for New Japan with new names and ideas, without changing the traditional feel of the company too much.

NJPW/AJPW/NOAH “ALL TOGETHER”, 2/19/11 (PPV)
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall
3,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match – CHEER UP NIPPON: The Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori beat Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi (11:12) when Sasuke used the Sasuke Special 10 ver10.2 Segway on Nohashi.
2. HERO IS COMING!!: Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga beat Captain New Japan , Captain All Japan & Captain NOAH (10:27) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Captain New Japan.
3. SHINE ON TOMORROW: Yoshinobu Kanemaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Jushin Thunder Liger , Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI (14:38) when Kondo used a King Kong lariat on KAI.
4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi beat Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya (11:46) when Sugiura used an Olympic slam on Soya.
5. SUN PLAZA QUARREL FESTIVAL: Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata , Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji beat Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Taichi & Masayuki Kono (13:58) when Akebono used a running body press on Taichi.
6. BE STRONG JAPAN: Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki beat Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (13:30) when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Iizuka.
7. Double Main Event I – THIS IS “PROWRESTLING”: Keiji Muto & Kenta Kobashi beat Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori (20:20) when Muto used a moonsault press on Akiyama.
8. Double Main Event II – FIGHTING TOGETHER NOW: Hiroshi Tanahashi , Suwama & Takeshi Morishima beat Tetsuya Naito , Seiya Sanada & Go Shiozaki (23:13) when Morishima used a backdrop suplex on Shiozaki.

* The second chapter of “ALL TOGETHER” was again a great success with the building sold out and fans entertained by a huge variety of matches featuring combinations from the top three promotions in Japan as well as various others.

* After the main event, Tanahashi again closed the show with one of his microphone performances to send the fans home happy. No word as yet if there will be a third chapter of this charity concept.

Kazuchika Okada makes his V1 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title on March 4th at Korakuen Hall, in the main event of New Japan’s 40th anniversary show. A new generation steps into the spotlight when the 24-year-old new champion battles 29-year-old Tetsuya Naito in the main event. Soon after the March series, “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN GLORY 2012“, begins, and although full cards have not yet been announced, three title matches have. Prince Devitt continues his long-running feud with Davey Richards when the two meet for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title in Nagoya on 3/10. This will be the third match for the title the two have had, with Devitt 2-0 so far. A day later in Hamamatsu, Hirooki Goto makes his V1 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against rival Yujiro Takahashi, who like his former tag partner Naito will be looking for his first singles gold in New Japan. Then on the 18th in Iwate, TenKoji face the imposing challenge of Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer in their V2 defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title.

NJPW “40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 3/4/12 (WPW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Tama Tonga, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe
2. Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Jado & Gedo
4. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

NJPW, 3/10/12 (Samurai! TV)
Nagoya International Conference Hall

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Davey Richards

NJPW, 3/11/12
Act City Hamamatsu

1. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Yujiro Takahashi

NJPW, 3/18/12
Iwate Prefectural Gymnasium

1. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer

NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/12/12 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
6,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI beat Tomoaki Honma & King Fale (7:51) when Takahashi used the RCT on Fale.
2. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (8:35) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Tonga.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero beat Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) (15:10) when Richards used a powerbomb on Taguchi to become the 31st champions.
4. Elimination Match: Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (23:08). Archer used the Blackout on KUSHIDA (7:14). Archer used the Texas Tornado on Tiger (7:56). Archer threw Inoue over the top rope (10:32). Makabe threw TAKA over the top rope (11:11). Suzuki threw Nagata over the top rope (19:43). Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Nagata (23:08).
5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (17:47) when Kojima used a lariat on Bernard (1st defense).
6. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hirooki Goto beat Masato Tanaka (c) (13:26) with the Shouten Kai to become the 3rd champion.
7. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito beat Shinsuke Nakamura (17:38) with a Stardust press.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) (23:22) with the Rainmaker to become the 57th champion.

* The foundations of the Japanese pro wrestling industry have been shaken to the core after 24-year-old Kazuchika Okada ended the epic IWGP Heavyweight Title reign of Hiroshi Tanahashi today at a sold out Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. The scenario has been repeated a hundred times – young upstart returns from abroad to challenge the ace, fights bravely, before falling. But he didn’t fall! In a stunning outcome, Okada downed Tanahashi with his Rainmaker to end a 1 year, 1 month record-breaking reign and in doing so stunned New Japan fans worldwide. Few realized the show title “THE NEW BEGINNING” could be so literal and this wasn’t the only result that surprised people as Okada’s next challenger also pulled off a huge win…

* Tetsuya Naito, so often on the losing end in his feud with Shinsuke Nakamura, finally showed the results of his growth as a pro wrestler by beating the CHAOS leader today with his Stardust press. After defeating Nakamura and after Okada’s title win, Naito headed to the ring and challenged the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion to a match on New Japan’s 40th anniversary Korakuen Hall show on March 4th. And so on the day when the two men who brought New Japan out of the dark, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura, were beaten by two fast rising stars, a whole new generation announced its arrival in the biggest way possible.

* A man who has also been in Tanahashi and Nakamura’s shadow for so long, Hirooki Goto, also took a step forward on a tumultuous day by defeating Masato Tanaka to become the IWGP Intercontinental Champion. This long and competitive feud continued with Goto scoring a major victory for his career as it gives him the first heavyweight title of his career. Yujiro challenged him to a title match afterwards.

* On a day dominated by young generations, the revived and rejuvenated legendary tag team TenKoji also starred by making a successful V1 defense of their IWGP Tag Team Title against the team whose record-breaking reign they ended at the Tokyo Dome, Bad Intentions. Kojima sunk Bernard with his lariat to ensure he and Tenzan held on to the prestigious belts.

* Three of four titles changed hands today and the first saw the “No Remorse Corps” Davey Richards & Rocky Romero win back the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title from “Apollo 55″ Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi in the champions’ first defense since beating the gaijin tandem to regain them at the Tokyo Dome. This see-saw feud continued and may yet see more matches, but today’s came to a climax when Richards powerbombed Taguchi to make No Remorse the 31st champions.

NJPW “NEVER.8 ~GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL~”, 2/10/12
Osaka World Hall
220 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. KUSHIDA beat Shoichi Uchida (8:32) with the 9469.
2. YOSHI-HASHI beat Takaaki Watanabe (8:08) with a Swanton bomb.
3. Captain New Japan beat Gedo (7:46) with the Caribbean Death Grip.
4. Toru Yano beat Hiromu Takahashi (6:54) with the Oni Koroshi.
5. Karl Anderson beat Tama Tonga (9:59) with the Gun Stun.
6. King Fale Farewell Match: Yuji Nagata beat King Fale (8:14) with a cross armbreaker.
7. Yujiro Takahashi beat Tomoaki Honma (11:48) with the Tokyo Pimps.

* King Fale will be the latest New Japan young lion to head overseas after it was announced today’s match against his mentor Yuji Nagata would be his last before a learning excursion to try and reach the next level before returning to New Japan.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN ISM 2012” <--

NJPW, 2/6/12
Takaoka Techno Dome
1,000 Fans

1. Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiromu Takahashi (8:52) with a lariat.
2. Yujiro Takahashi beat King Fale (8:27) with a jackknife hold.
3. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka beat Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga
4. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask beat Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo (11:29) when Taguchi used the Dodon on Gedo.
5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA (12:40) when Kojima used a lariat on KUSHIDA.
6. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (11:17) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Taichi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & YOSHI-HASHI (13:37) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on YOSHI-HASHI.

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The superstars of Japanese pro wrestling reunite once more for chapter two of “ALL TOGETHER”, the charity event in aid of victims of last year’s terrible earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The show is set up much like last year’s, with a double main event, the first of which features well known veterans in a special tag match, then a mix of today’s stars and those not far off joining them in a six man tag main event. Reunions and interesting matches fill the undercard of what should be another great show.

NJPW/AJPW/NOAH “ALL TOGETHER”, 2/19/11 (PPV)
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall

1. ALL TOGETHER Opening Match – CHEER UP NIPPON: The Great Sasuke , Tiger Mask , Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori vs. Jado , Gedo , Kenou & Taro Nohashi
2. HERO IS COMING!!: Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Satoshi Kojima & Kentaro Shiga vs. Captain New Japan , Captain All Japan & Captain NOAH
3. SHINE ON TOMORROW: Jushin Thunder Liger , Kotaro Suzuki , Minoru Tanaka & KAI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru , Kaz Hayashi , Shuji Kondo & Katsuhiko Nakajima
4. BRAVE NEW WORLD: Togi Makabe & Manabu Soya vs. Takashi Sugiura & Yujiro Takahashi
5. SUN PLAZA QUARREL FESTIVAL: Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata , Akebono & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Taichi & Masayuki Kono
6. BE STRONG JAPAN: Hirooki Goto , Akitoshi Saito & Jinsei Shinzaki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura , Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
7. Double Main Event I – THIS IS “PROWRESTLING”: Keiji Muto & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama & Takao Omori
8. Double Main Event II – FIGHTING TOGETHER NOW: Hiroshi Tanahashi , Suwama & Takeshi Morishima vs. Tetsuya Naito , Seiya Sanada & Go Shiozaki

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN ISM 2012” <--

NJPW, 2/5/12
Gifu Industrial Hall
1,700 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Taichi beat Hiromu Takahashi (8:37) with a Spiral bomb.
2. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii beat Wataru Inoue & Tama Tonga (9:12) when Ishii used a brainbuster on Tonga.
3. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka beat Captain New Japan & King Fale (11:37) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Fale.
4. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo (10:49) when Devitt used a diving footstomp on Gedo.
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask (11:35) when Anderson pinned Kojima after the Magic Killer.
6. Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata beat Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku (8:39) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on TAKA.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi (17:26) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Takahashi.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN ISM 2012” <--

NJPW, 2/4/12
Wing Hat Kasukabe
1,300 Fans

1. Hiromu Takahashi beat Takaaki Watanabe (7:16) with a crab hold.
2. Wataru Inoue, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo (11:58) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Gedo.
3. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka beat Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (11:27) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Tonga.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & King Fale (12:15) when Kojima used a lariat on Fale.
5. Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA beat Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (10:30) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on TAKA.
6. Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma beat Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (11:00) when Goto used the Shouten on YOSHI-HASHI.
7. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Jushin Thunder Liger (17:41) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Liger.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ NEW JAPAN ISM 2012” <--

NJPW, 2/3/12
Nagano Sports Park Gymnasium
1,300 Fans

1. TAKA Michinoku beat Takaaki Watanabe (7:03) with the Super K.
2. YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiromu Takahashi (6:39) with a crab hold.
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Rocky Romero (10:25) when Iizuka was DQ’d.
4. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & King Fale (11:56) when Anderson pinned Fale after the Magic Killer.
5. Togi Makabe & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Minoru Suzuki & Taichi (11:24) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Taichi.
6. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii beat Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma (13:15) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Honma.
7. Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (15:07) when Okada used the Rainmaker on KUSHIDA.

New Japan has new owners! After seven years of being majority owned by Yukes, the company has changed hands and has been purchased by Bushiroad Inc.. Bushiroad appears to have no only bought out Yukes’ 51.5% majority of shares but the rest, and now owns 100% of the company (10,000,000 shares). The reasons behind the sale are not clear but it is thought that Yukes may be cutting costs.

Bushiroad, a relatively young company that has grown fast, is already quite famous for its collectible card games and has been a sponsor of New Japan events for several years now so is no stranger to the promotion it now owns. What special plans, if any, Bushiroad has for New Japan will be revealed at a special presentation on February 29th.

The president of Bushiroad did drop some hints though, suggesting they want to appeal to wrestling fans of all ages and perhaps grab the attention of more young people. And they are not content with New Japan being merely the domestic giant of professional wrestling, they want to company to be known around the world which could mean more overseas events. Bushiroad has sponsored WWE shows in Japan which raises the intriguing question of whether there could be a relationship between the the two famous organizations.

Encouragingly the president is a lifelong fan of pro wrestling, saying he was a big fan of Inoki and was obsessed with wrestling. New Japan wrestlers were very thankful to Yukes as fans also will be, as by purchasing the company they helped lay out a platform for a rebuilding process that has dragged New Japan from a bad state where extinction wasn’t out of the question into a very healthy state now. The Bushiroad-owned New Japan and Yukes will retain a close relationship.