      NJPW 1/4/02 Tokyo Dome COMPLETE Edition
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Title History:
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title (11):
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles (2):
WCW Light Heavyweight Title (1):
British Commonwealth Jr. Heavyweight Title (2):
UWA Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
WWF Light Heavyweight Title (1):
WAR International Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
WAR International Jr. Tag Team Titles (1):
WWA Jr. Light Heavyweight Title (1):
NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title (1):
NWA World Welterweight Title (1):
World Heavy Middleweight Title (1):
Tournament History:
Super J Cup (2):
Young Lion's Cup (1):
Top of the Super Junior Tournament (1):
Best of the Super Junior Tournament (2):
G1 Jr. Tag League (1):
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title Contender League (1):
Naeba Tag Tournament (1):
Signature Moves:
- Brainbuster
Notes: Began his career maskless, under his real name, Keiichi Yamada. His style was similar to that of Dynamite Kid, his idol ... His career took off when on the 4/24/89 Tokyo Dome show, he became Jushin Liger, a majestic masked figure ... Defeated Kuniaki Kobayashi at the Dome and won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title the first of many times just a month later, defeating Hiroshi Hase ... Became a beast in January, 1990, calling himself Jushin Thunder Liger ... Ventured to the USA in December, 1991, having a much acclaimed series with Flyin' Brian Pillman and holding the WCW Light Heavyweight Title ... Won the Top of the Junior Tournament in 1992, winning a classic match against long-time rival, El Samurai ... Went on to defeat Michinoku Pro's Super Delfin in 1994, in the renamed version of the tournament, Best of the Super Junior ... Continued to trade the IWGP Heavyweight Title with other talent, getting involved in a classic feud with cocky young upstarts, Shinjiro Otani and Koji Kanemoto ... Won the second Super J Cup tournament in December, 1995, beating WAR's Gedo in the final ... Had one of the longest list of exceptional matches ever in the 1990's, battling Otani, Kanemoto, The Great Sasuke, Ultimo Dragon and others various times ... Discovered he had a brain tumor in 1996, but like many of his opponents, the disease was beaten by the inconquerable Liger ... Had many unique ideas as the leader of New Japan's junior heavyweight division, including the historic J Crown Tournament, where 8 titles were unified ... Although he didn't win that tournament, he did have a J Crown reign, defeating Ultimo Dragon on New Japan's 1/4/97 Tokyo Dome show ... Formed a dream tag team with Michinoku Pro's Sasuke, the two defeating Kendo Ka Shin & Dr. Wagner Jr. on the 4/10/99 Tokyo Dome show to capture the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles ... Had a short return stint in WCW in late 1999, being treated disgracefully and losing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title with Juventud Guerrera there ... Won the belt back from Psicosis, who was substituting for Guerrera, but the credibility of the belt was hurt ... An angry Liger returned to Japan and on 1/4/00 at the Tokyo Dome, wore a new black body suit and destroyed one of his greatest rivals, Koji Kanemoto, defeating him in a mere 3:56 ... Went on to destroy BattlARTS' Minoru Tanaka in 5:04 on 2/4/00, El Samurai in 8:00 on 3/10/00 and Shinjiro Otani in 8:44 on 3/19/00 ... Won the third Super J Cup in March, defeating Toryumon's young star, CIMA, in the final ... On the 4/7/00 Tokyo Dome Show, it was IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Jushin Thunder Liger vs. IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kensuke Sasaki. Liger was crushed in just 7:40 ... Continued to split his time between the heavyweight and junior heavyweight division, struggling to win matches as a heavyweight, but remaining a top star as a junior heavyweight ... Impressed by CIMA's fighting spirit in the J Cup, he invited CIMA and his friend, Sumo Dandy Fuji, to New Japan for a match ... On 5/5/00 at the Fukuoka Dome, Liger, CIMA, Sumo & Minoru Tanaka lost to Kanemoto, Otani, Ka Shin & Takaiwa ... Declined to take part in the 2000 Best of the Super Jr. tournament, wanting a fresh challenger ... Found that fresh challenge in the form of Tatsuhito Takaiwa and lost the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title to Takaiwa on 7/20/00 ... Although he continued to wear black and wrestle a more heavyweight style, Liger slowly reintroduced his former self and his overwhelming dominance on the junior division lessened ... Had little luck in the 2000 G1 Climax, finishing above only Tatsutoshi Goto in his block ... Koji Kanemoto gained revenge for the humiliating 1/4/00 loss, defeating Liger at the Kobe World Hall on 10/29/00 ... Found a new rival in 2001 in the form of Minoru Tanaka, now a New Japan wrestler ... He and El Samurai defeated Koji Kanemoto and Tanaka on 3/5/01, after a doctor stopped the match due to Kanemoto's severe shoulder injury, the two veterans capturing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles ... Submitted to Tanaka's cross armbreaker on 3/17/01, elevating the younger wrestler to the top level ... Fought outsider, Kazunari Murakami, at the Osaka Dome on 4/9/01, the two going to a quick no contest and Liger losing his mask during the intense brawl ... Gained revenge on Tanaka in the final of the 2001 Best of the Super Jr., defeating him and winning the tournament in a struggle that lasted over 25 minutes ... Began wearing the classic red and white suit once more, putting to rest the "Black Liger" alias ... Was invited into Keiji Muto's BATT (Bad Ass Translate Trading) group and even teamed with BATT members, Taiyo Kea and Jinsei Shinzaki, to defeat Team 2000's Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & AKIRA on 6/6/01 ... Shook hands with BATT members, but didn't end up joining the group, staying loyal to New Japan's home team ... He and Samurai developed a feud with newcomers to New Japan and Team 2000's latest recruits, Jado & Gedo ... Lost the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles to Jado & Gedo on the 7/20/01 Sapporo Dome show ... Ventured into the world of heavyweights once more, competing in the 2001 G1 Climax ... Performed stronger than the previous year, taking the likes of Keiji Muto, Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan the distance before losing. Scored a big upset win over Satoshi Kojima in the tournament and in his final group match, went to a 30 minute draw with Osamu Nishimura ... The "G1 TAG LEAGUE 2001" tour was an eventful one for him as he completed in both the junior AND heavyweight versions of the league ... He and Samurai defeated Jado & Gedo to win the junior version, then he and Osamu Nishimura performed well in the heavyweight version despite not making the finals, Tenzan falling to his shotei in one match ... Widely regarded as THE greatest junior heavyweight to ever wrestle and one of the most innovative and recognizable. Despite being past his peak, continues to deliver world class matches regularly.
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