Old rivals Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata headline next month’s “POWER STRUGGLE” in Osaka as Shinsuke defends his IWGP Intercontinental Title against Shibata in the main event. Also on that show, Yoshitatsu (Naofumi Yamamoto who it appears will keep his WWE name) will make his in-ring return to New Japan after 7 years, facing AJ Styles in a singles match.

And to no surprise, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Title has been confirmed as the “WRESTLE KINGDOM 9″ main event. This will be the second time (previously in 2013) that this match has headlined the annual 1/4 show.

NJPW “POWER STRUGGLE”, 11/8/14 (WPW)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. Special Singles Match: Yoshitatsu vs. AJ Styles
2. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI
3. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Katsuyori Shibata

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 9 IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/15 (WPW)
Tokyo Dome

1. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW “DESTRUCTION IN KOBE”, 9/21/14 (WPW/iPPV)
Kobe World Hall
8,000 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov beat Yujiro Takahashi, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (7:51) when Romero pinned Nick after the Contract Killer.
2. Alex Shelley, Maximo & BUSHI beat TAKA Michinoku , El Desperado & Taichi (2:43) when Taichi was DQ’d.
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tomoaki Honma beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan (5:22) when Honma used the Kokeshi on Captain.
4. Special Tag Match: Kazushi Sakuraba & Toru Yano beat Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka (11:34) when Yano used the Akakiri on Iizuka.
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Ryusuke Taguchi beat KUSHIDA (c) (14:55) with an ankle hold to become the 69th champion.
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & Kota Ibushi beat AJ Styles & Tama Tonga (12:57) when Ibushi used a Phoenix splash on Tonga.
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows (c) beat Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI (11:42) when Gallows pinned YOSHI-HASHI after the Magic Killer (6th defense).
8. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe beat Hirooki Goto (14:38) with a King Kong kneedrop.
9. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Katsuyori Shibata (17:57) with the High Fly Flow.
10. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Bad Luck Fale (c) (19:13) with the Boma Ye to become the 10th champion.

* Three months to the day after dropping the IWGP Intercontinental Title to Bad Luck Fale, Shinsuke Nakamura today regained “his” belt to take the number of reigns for the upstart title into double figures. Nakamura sunk the big man with his Boma Ye to begin his third reign as champion and send the fans home happy.

* Tanahashi avenged his G1 Climax loss to Shibata in the semi, but the big story came after it when the two, known for their rivalry inside and outside of the ring, shook hands to perhaps put an end to their long-standing grudge.

* Anderson & Gallows reign as IWGP Tag Team Champions, which began on January 4th at the Tokyo Dome, continued with a successful V6 defense over CHAOS’s Okada & YOSHI-HASHI with YOSHI-HASHI, who has sprung to life this month (and still has a NEVER Openweight Title match in a couple of days), falling to the Magic Killer.

* A long and painful 7 year wait is over. Ryusuke Taguchi is the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion for the first time since 2007. Back then, he was the young breakout star of the junior division and beat the likes of Minoru, Tiger Mask and Koji Kanemoto when the three were in their stronger years. He ended KUSHIDA’s brief reign as champion today with an ankle hold and after being in Devitt’s shadow for so many years, now may have a chance to rule the junior division again.

Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi will headline “WRESTLE KINGDOM 8″ at the Tokyo Dome, the third time this combination has main evented the famous 1/4 show. On 1/4/05 the two young men were given the big responsibility of headlining an otherwise terrible Tokyo Dome show and did well, with Shinsuke winning. Then a more mature Tanahashi and Nakamura headlined again, this time for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, on 1/4/08, Shinsuke again winning. Now, the two are established superstars of the Japanese industry and won a fan vote with 20,422 votes to headline the show above Okada vs. Naito (11,886 votes), perhaps a sign that fans are not yet ready to accept Naito as a top guy.

The full card for 1/4 was announced today with a few big additions. Hirooki Goto returns from injury to resume his fierce rivalry with Katsuyori Shibata in a singles match. Togi Makabe and King Fale will meet in a “King of Destroyer Match” where there will be no pinfalls or submissions, only a KO or TKO finish.

Toru Yano will bring a mystery partner to the Tokyo Dome to face Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin. Satoshi Kojima gets a second chance at Rob Conway’s NWA World Heavyweight Title as the two meet. And World Tag League winners Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows cash on on their chance to take the IWGP Tag Team Title, as they face the Killer Elite Squad.

So, a stacked card, so stacked that there isn’t even space for the likes of Tenzan, Nakanishi, Yujiro, Liger, and Tiger Mask, although it’s possible there will be a dark match with these.

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 8 IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/14 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Tokyo Dome

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title – 4WAY Match: Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson (c) vs. KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi vs. Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov
2. IWGP Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
3. NWA World Heavyweight Title: Rob Conway (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima
4. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Daniel Gracie & Rolles Gracie
5. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano & X
6. King of Destroyer Match: Togi Makabe vs. King Fale
7. Special Singles Match – Hirooki Goto Return Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Katsuyori Shibata
8. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
9. Double Main Event I – IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
10. Double Main Event II – IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

La Sombra made a successful V1 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title at Arena Mexico last night, defeating Volador Jr. A full result isn’t available yet but Sombra won by DQ to hold on to the title.

Having retained the strap, there seems to be a big chance now that Sombra vs. Nakamura on the big 7/20 Akita show will become a title match with Shinsuke having the chance to regain the title from the CMLL star who took it from him at the end of May.

UPDATE #1: Full result (no match times given): La Sombra beat Volador Jr. by 2-1 (1st defense). Sombra used a Dragon Rana on Volador. Volador used a Spanish Fly on Sombra. Volador was DQ’d.

UPDATE #2: Sombra vs. Nakamura is now confirmed as Sombra’s V2 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title!

Seven titles will be defended across two shows as New Japan presents “INVASION ATTACK” on 4/7 at Sumo Hall and “ROAD TO INVASION ATTACK” two days earlier at Korakuen Hall. At Korakuen, the Killer Elite Squad will make their V4 defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title against Nakamura & Ishii after accepting a challenge from the CHAOS team yesterday. Prince Devitt makes his V3 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Alex Shelley and like the tag match this also leads into another title match two days later. Another match of note at Korakuen is GHC Tag Team Champions, Yano & Iizuka, facing the all-star Suzuki & Takayama duo (non-title).

On to Sumo Hall and there will be a triple main event featuring three title matches! Of course the biggest of them all sees Hiroshi Tanahashi make his V8 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title against New Japan Cup winner Kazuchika Okada. Tanahashi’s previous reign lasted from 1/4/11 to 2/12/12 before Okada took the belt off him. But Tanahashi then won it back on 6/16/12 and has held it since, and looks to continue his domination of Japan’s most prestigious title in April. Nakamura makes his V7 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against Davey Boy Smith Jr. in a direct sequel to the IWGP Tag Team Title match two days earlier, and of course he beat Smith’s tag partner Lance Archer in his previous defense. The NWA invasion begins with Rob Conway defending the historic NWA World Heavyweight Title against Satoshi Kojima, Kojima’s most high profile match for a while.

Nagata once again locks horns with Sakuraba but not in the singles match he requested, instead another tag as he and Goto face Saku & Shibata. In a rematch from the New Japan Cup second round, Minoru Suzuki looks to avenge his defeat to Toru Yano, while Tomoaki Honma makes his formal return by teaming with Makabe against Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi. The CMLL World Tag Team Title will be on the line as New Japan’s Tama Tonga and his partner El Terrible defend the belts against La Mascara & Valiente. Akebono and Bob Sapp return for the first time since 1/4 in another New Japan vs. CHAOS eight man tag, and the show opens with TIME SPLITTERS’ V3 defense of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title against 4-time champions Apollo 55. This show should be on iPPV like most other important New Japan events these days, but nothing announced just yet.

NJPW “ROAD TO INVASION ATTACK”, 4/5/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Road to INVASION ATTACK I: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA
2. Road to INVASION ATTACK II: Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan
3. Road to INVASION ATTACK III: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado
4. Road to INVASION ATTACK IV: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
5. Road to INVASION ATTACK V: Hiroshi Tanahashi & BUSHI vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Alex Shelley
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii

NJPW “INVASION ATTACK”, 4/7/13 (WPW)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (c) vs. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
2. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, Super Strong Machine & Akebono vs. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Bob Sapp
3. CMLL World Tag Team Title: El Terrible & Tama Tonga (c) vs. La Mascara & Valiente
4. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
5. Special Singles Match: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata
7. Triple Main Event I – NWA World Heavyweight Title: Ron Conway (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima
8. Triple Main Event II – IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
9. Triple Main Event III – IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW “ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 3/3/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Anniversary Opening Match: Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe beat Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu (8:43) when Takahashi used a crab hold on Komatsu.
2. Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Super Strong Machine & Captain New Japan (9:23) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Captain.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (c) beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (11:22) when Shelley used the Shelley clutch on Tiger (2nd defense).
4. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (12:27) when YOSHI-HASHI was DQ’d.
5. Elimination Match: Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Kengo Mashimo & TAKA Michinoku beat Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo (19:50) when Suzuki threw Okada over the top rope.
6. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Lance Archer (15:01) with the Boma Ye (6th defense).
7. Anniversary Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Prince Devitt (17:23) with the High Fly Flow.

* New Japan ran it’s 41st anniversary show before a packed house at Korakuen Hall today with a good show headlined by a Champion vs. Champion match. IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Hiroshi Tanahashi, faced IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt, in an exciting match between the undisputed leaders of New Japan’s two weight divisions. Tanahashi’s title wasn’t on the line and in the end it didn’t matter for him as he defeated Devitt with the High Fly Flow after 17 1/2 minutes. An irate Devitt left without a handshake after the match having failed in his big opportunity to beat New Japan’s leader.

* Shinsuke Nakamura made a successful V6 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against one half of the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Lance Archer. Nakamura pinned Archer following his Boma Ye to make it three defenses already this year for Shinsuke against three wrestlers of completely different styles (Sakuraba, La Sombra, Archer) as he continues to give New Japan’s secondary title its own unique identity.

* CHAOS vs. Suzuki Gun also continued with an Elimination Match in which Suzuki himself ended it by throwing opposite team leader Okada over the top rope. New Japan allows over the top rope eliminations in these matches which often means the bigger names don’t get pinned or submitted.

* “TIME SPLITTERS” KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley made a successful V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title and what a big win it was as they defeated the masked junior legend team of Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask. After Shelley finished off Tiger, the masked duo asked for a rematch but backstage Taguchi also asked for a title match on behalf of Apollo 55 (he and Devitt).

A few of catch-up notes as I’ve been busy in recent weeks:

* Koji Kanemoto has confirmed that he is no longer a New Japan wrestler, a move that seemed long overdue as he’s had nothing to do with New Japan for a while now but continued to sign annual contracts perhaps out of old loyalty to the company he started and spent all of his career at before venturing out into other promotions (mostly All Japan). I’ve never really found out what has happened that made Kanemoto have problems with New Japan as seems to have been the case.

* Young lion Hiromu Takahashi is heading to the UK on a long-term learning excursion after this year’s Best of the Super Jr., as he looks to build a style and identity for himself like so many before him.

* MVP, Shelton Benjamin, and Low Ki have all left New Japan after stints with the company. MVP joined with much hype but was never really able to ascend to main event level and peaked by becoming the founding IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Low Ki was a key member of the junior division in the three way feud between he, Devitt, and Ibushi and I’m disappointed to see him go especially as the junior division isn’t exactly packed with big names.

* Having been bought out by Speed Partners, All Japan is now looking to lift itself again and the new owner of the company Nobuo Shiraishi has decided to provoke industry leader New Japan to get attention. Shiraishi said only Nagata and Nakamura are good wrestlers in New Japan which has upset a number of New Japan wrestlers who have lashed out at him on Twitter. Shiraishi seems to like MMA and may order All Japan wrestlers to fight in it, to which Bushiroad’s Kidani replied that he is 10 years out of date with his thoughts and that things have changed. Shiraishi also “threatened” to buy New Japan and Kidani was insulted by the blatant disrespect, saying this means war between New Japan and All Japan.

New Japan has announced the full card for its 41st anniversary show at Korakuen Hall on 3/3, which is completely sold out in advance. As expected it will be headlined by the big IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion match as company ace Hiroshi Tanahashi faces junior ace Prince Devitt in the battle of two men who have largely dominated their weight classes in recent years. However, despite Devitt’s calls for a shot at Tanahashi’s title this will be a non-title match.

What will be a title match is Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Lance Archer as Shinsuke makes his V6 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against the IWGP Tag Team Title co-holder. Nakamura is really giving the IC Title its own character with matches of all styles, and this defense against the tall American powerhouse will come after defenses this year against shoot legend Kazushi Sakuraba and lucha star La Sombra.

Along with Nakamura vs. Archer, CHAOS vs. Suzuki Gun also continues in the form of an Elimination match as Okada leads Ishii, Jado & Gedo against Suzuki, Davey Boy Jr., TAKA & Mashimo. As per usual with New Japan’s Elimination Matches over-the-top rope eliminations are allowed. “TIME SPLITTERS” KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley make their V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against the “junior legend duo” of Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask after accepting the challenge from the veteran masked men.

Aogi-gun reunites as Yuji Nagata brings his small group back together to face Goto, Anderson, Tama & Taguchi. Along with Wataru and Captain New Japan (who was a member under his original name Mitsuhide Hirasawa before going overseas), we see a very rare appearance nowadays of the legend Super Strong Machine (Junji Hirata, but he’ll deny it!) who has been with New Japan since 1978. The anniversary show opens in very traditional fashion as for the first time all four of New Japan’s active young lions appear in the same match.

New Japan has confirmed its first advance on Sumo Hall for 2013 in the form of “INVASION ATTACK” on 4/7. Whether the name foreshadows anything or is unclear at this stage. There will also be a Korakuen show leading directly into it two days before.

NJPW “ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 3/3/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Anniversary Opening Match: Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Sho Tanaka & Yohei Komatsu
2. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Super Strong Machine & Captain New Japan vs. Hirooki Goto, Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga & Ryusuke Taguchi
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (c) vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
4. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI
5. Elimination Match: Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo vs. Minoru Suzuki, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Kengo Mashimo & TAKA Michinoku
6. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Lance Archer
7. Anniversary Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Prince Devitt

Takaaki Kidani today announced his resignation as Chairman of the Board of New Japan. Rumours had been circulating for a while about his future after his decision to bring in Laughter7 turned out to be an unpopular one within the company. Kidani said he would continue to support New Japan from his post at Bushiroad but will no longer play a direct role in things. Kidani said he believes any hint of New Japan’s “Dark Age” came to an end on January 4th when 29,000 fans paid for a ticket, the largest in many years, and is excited by the future progress of the company.

President Sugabayashi held a presentation with Nakamura in attendance to discuss to global strategy of New Japan. New Japan wants to become better known around the world and the recent iPPVs are just part of the plan. Nakamura said he plans to defend his increasingly valuable IWGP Intercontinental Title around the world if possible to give it a true international feel and continue to differentiate it from the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Shinsuke talked of going to strange places such as the Amazon of Brazil or even North Korea to defend the title!

An English language version of New Japan’s official site will launch in April, giving the same information to English speaking people as Japanese. Spanish and Chinese versions of the site are also under development. Since 2001, I have run Strong Style Spirit and as far as I have seen it has been the only site in English solely focused on New Japan. New Japan did launch a Facebook in English but is now taking the next step of developing a full website. It’s quite possible the website may make this site obsolete, in which case perhaps my site will have outserved it’s purpose of providing information of the world’s best wrestling organization to people in English. If that is the case, for the first time I may have to consider it’s future but for now nothing will change and I fully support New Japan’s decision to launch a site that can reach more people than Strong Style Spirit.

Finally, New Japan announced some key dates for the next year including “WRESTLE KINGDOM VIII” back at the Tokyo Dome next January.

- 4/7 “INVASION ATTACK” @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
- 5/3 “WRESTLING DONTAKU 2013″ @ Fukuoka International Center
- 8/10 “G1 CLIMAX 23″ @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
- 8/11 “G1 CLIMAX 23″ @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
- 1/4/14 “WRESTLE KINGDOM VIII” @ Tokyo Dome

–> “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2013” <--

NJPW/CMLL, 1/19/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,750 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Tama Tonga & Maximo beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (10:07) when Maximo pinned Taichi.
2. Jado, Gedo & Misterioso Jr. beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Titan (9:42) when Misterioso used the La Misteriosa on Titan.
3. Mephisto & OKUMURA beat Mascara Dorada & Diamante (9:38) when Mephisto used an avalanche-style Devil’s Wings on Dorada.
4. Dragon Rojo Jr., Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI beat Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & BUSHI (9:29) when Rojo used a powerbomb on BUSHI.
5. Special Singles Match: Atlantis beat Euforia (7:30) with the Atlantida.
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Kazuchika Okada, Volador Jr. & Rey Escorpion beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush (10:44) when Escorpion used the Aguijon Mortal on Rush.
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat La Sombra (13:29) with the Boma Ye (5th defense).

* Nakamura successfully defends his IWGP Intercontinental Title in a completely different style of match than his 1/4 battle with Sakuraba, defeating CMLL’s La Sombra in the main event of day two of “FANTASTICA MANIA”.

Bushiroad president Takaaki Kidani is reportedly stepping down according to Tokyo Sports. Kidani apparently brought in Sakuraba and Shibata without even telling Jado and Gedo, while two of New Japan’s biggest and most influential stars Tanahashi and Nakamura opposed the move. Kidani is a big pro wrestling fan who enjoyed the ‘shoot’ influence of the 80s and 90s and tried to bring some of it back with Laughter7′s invasion. However it seems some in New Japan are not in favour of this and the pressure may lead to Kidani’s exit. There was also talk of Kidani becoming an on-screen heel owner ala Eric Bischoff with the idea of an nWo style group pitched. There is the possibility of this being some sort of storyline especially as Kidani has been quite an innovative and progressive head figure since Bushiroad bought New Japan with things like the internet PPVs that allow us foreigners to watch New Japan coming from him. And despite the apparent opposition to Laughter7′s arrival in New Japan, the storyline played out very well culminating with one of the best matches I have seen in years yesterday, Nakamura vs. Sakuraba.

New Japan today announced lineups for “FANTASTICA MANIA 2013″, the now annual shows run in conjunction with CMLL. Three titles will be defended on the triple header including Nakamura’s next defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against La Sombra in what should be a very different match to Shinsuke’s clash with Sakuraba. Masato Tanaka makes his V2 defense of the NEVER Openweight Title at Korakuen Hall on 2/3 against Tomohiro Ishii in what should be an excellent match. The next big show which is due to be on iPPV I believe is “THE NEW BEGINNING” and is headlined by Tanahashi’s V7 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Karl Anderson in a rematch from the G1 where Anderson upset Tana on the final day to reach the final. After their big win over Muto & Otani, Tenzan & Kojima return to #1 contendership for the IWGP Tag Team Title and challenge the Killer Elite Squad who won the belts off them and beat them again in a title defense last year. Apollo 55 collide as Prince Devitt makes his V1 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against his underachieving partner Ryusuke Taguchi. And “TIME SPLITTERS” KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley make their V1 defense of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title against the team they won them from, “Forever Hooligans” Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov.

NJPW/CMLL, 1/18/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Tama Tonga & Titan vs. Euphoria & OKUMURA
2. Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Diamante vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rey Escorpion
3. Rush vs. YOSHI-HASHI
4. La Mascara, Mascara Dorada & Maximo vs. Volador Jr., TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Mistico, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Mephisto, Jado & Gedo
6. Special Singles Match: Prince Devitt vs. Dragon Rojo Jr.
7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Misterioso Jr.

NJPW/CMLL, 1/19/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Tama Tonga & Maximo vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Titan vs. Jado, Gedo & Misterioso Jr.
3. Mascara Dorada & Diamante vs. Mephisto & OKUMURA
4. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & BUSHI vs. Dragon Rojo Jr., Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
5. Special Singles Match: Mistico vs. Euforia
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, La Mascara & Rush vs. Kazuchika Okada, Volador Jr. & Rey Escorpion
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. La Sombra

NJPW/CMLL, 1/20/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Singles Match: Maximo vs. Taichi
2. 6 vs. 6 Torneo Cibernetico: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada, Diamante, Titan & BUSHI vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo, Misterioso Jr., OKUMURA & YOSHI-HASHI
3. Special Singles Match: Rush vs. Rey Escorpion
4. NWA World Historic Welterweight Title: Dragon Rojo Jr. (c) vs. La Sombra
5. Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title: La Mascara (c) vs. Volador Jr.
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Mistico vs. Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto & Euforia

-

NJPW, 2/3/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. NEVER Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

-

NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/10/13 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Hiroshima Sun Plaza

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (c) vs. Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
3. IWGP Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
4. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Karl Anderson

-

Plans to rename the New Japan Cup to the World War League seem to have been abandoned with the 2013 New Japan Cup announced. Six dates have been announced:

- 3/11 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall SAMURAI!
- 3/17 @ Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium SAMURAI!
- 3/19 @ Shirakawa City Central Gymnasium
- 3/20 @ Sendai Industrial Exhibition Hall Aztec Museum
- 3/22 @ Kumagaya Citizen Gymnasium
- 3/23 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall WPW

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM 7 ~EVOLUTION~ IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/13 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Tokyo Dome
29,000 Fans

0-1. Wataru Inoue, Tama Tonga & Captain New Japan beat Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado (5:58) when Tonga used the Headshrinker on Jado.
0-2. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & BUSHI beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi (7:12) when BUSHI used a Firebird splash on Takahashi.
1. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Manabu Nakanishi, MVP, Strong Man & Akebono beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Bob Sapp (7:53) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Iizuka.
2. NEVER Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka (c) beat Shelton Benjamin (6:41) with the Sliding D (1st defense).
3. IWGP Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) beat Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson (10:52) when Smith used the Killer bomb on Goto (2nd defense).
4. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata beat Minoru Suzuki (17:03) with a backdrop hold.
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title – 3WAY Match: Prince Devitt (c) beat Low Ki & Kota Ibushi (14:45) with an avalanche-style Bloody Sunday on Ibushi (1st defense).
6. Special Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani (15:36) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Otani.
7. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe beat Katsuyori Shibata (8:37) with a King Kong kneedrop.
8. Double Main Event I – IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Kazushi Sakuraba (11:12) with the Boma Ye (4th defense).
9. Double Main Event II – IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Kazuchika Okada (33:34) with the High Fly Flow (6th defense).

The “Wrestlemania of Japan”, New Japan’s annual January 4th Tokyo Dome super-show, lived up to its hype and then some more. For the first time ever a 1/4 show aired live for all of us outside of Japan on New Japan’s USTREAM channel and while the price was up from the other iPPVs at $35, it was full value for money. The PPV was about 4 1/2 hours long not including the dark matches.

Bushiroad owned New Japan really turned up the spectacle for this show with several pop culture tie-ins including musical acts and special entrances that I will go into a little more detail about below. If this was a glimpse of the New Japan to come, mixing a reasonable but not excessive amount of entertainment with the great wrestling and characters we’re used to, then I have no complaints.

New Japan claimed 29,000 paid for this show with an emphasis on “paid” which seemed to be a new standard of announcing an attendance, whether for just this show or not remains to be seen. Without doubt this looked to be the best Tokyo Dome attendance in years even though the listed attendance gave an almost opposite impression. I would guess under normal standards they would have claimed 50,000 if not more for this show. Next year 1/4 falls on a Saturday so if New Japan has another strong year it’s possible the company could edge closer to selling out the Dome again. UPDATE: President Sugabayashi confirmed the new practice of listing paid fans only, no more “sponsor announcements” (whether for just the Tokyo Dome or in general I don’t know). He also confirmed what I suspected that there were more fans than last year when the announced attendance was 43,000.

I missed the dark matches if they were screened at all but the show opened with an eight man tag. 9 years ago Bob Sapp vs. Akebono was watched by about 40% of Japan and was one of the biggest fights in history as Akebono the sumo legend was going up against Sapp the pop culture icon who had been a sensation that year not just as a K-1 fighter but as a celebrity in general. “Sapp Time” couldn’t be avoided, it was everywhere you looked. But many years later their star has faded, Sapp little more than a novelty act and Akebono a respectable pro wrestler who has kept his career going. They were added on to what looked a generic New Japan vs. CHAOS match to give it a little more of a “Tokyo Dome” feel. The match was lighthearted and entertaining enough for an opener. Sapp did hardly anything except take offense, he was a far cry from the invincible beast who held the IWGP Heavyweight Title many years ago and almost a self-parody. Nakanishi racked Iizuka with his Argentine backbreaker for the win.

The only major disappointment of the show was Masato Tanaka vs. Shelton Benjamin for the recently established NEVER Openweight Title. With the IWGP Intercontinental Title having an unexpected rise in status that would be accelerated further on this show, the NEVER title from New Japan’s sub-brand could be seen as a replacement for that. But what promised to be something of an ECW throwback was a basic sprint with no real excitement. A couple of nice moments but it was short and didn’t really feel like a title match. Tanaka won with his Sliding D to successfully defend the new title for the first time.

Thing started to pick up when the Killer Elite Squad defended their IWGP Tag Team Title against Goto & Anderson in a rematch of the 2012 World Tag League final. The Killer Elite Squad, comprised of Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr., appeared out of nowhere as a team late last year and won the belts off the famous Tenzan & Kojima duo before beating them again to really establish themselves. Today was their first post-TenKoji challenge against two more prolific singles wrestlers. Archer entered on a motorbike and along with his partner wore a cool mask to the ring. Goto & Anderson had a gimmicked entrance of their own as Anderson shot what looked to be t-shirts or something out of several bazookas along the Tokyo Dome rampway. The match turned out to be a good display of traditional tag wrestling with the KES coming out on top after two Killer bombs on Goto. So the Killer Elite Squad seem to have replaced Bad Intentions as the dominant foreign tag team of New Japan.

Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki had their third New Japan Tokyo Dome match. It could be seen as overkill but some rivalries in pro wrestling never get old. We saw TAJIRI vs. Super Crazy what felt like 100 times on ECW TV and PPVs back in the day and never got bored of them. These two wrestle as such a high level that you’re always guaranteed something good and this was very, very good. Once again we were treated to spectacle as Ayumi Nakamura performed Suzuki’s famous “Kaze ni Nare” entrance music live on stage. The match will be remembered mostly for some entertaining slapfest where they just delivered slap after slap, Nagata occasionally interupting them to throw some stiff kicks. They were 1-1 on Dome shows before this and I’d hazard a guess that this was the decider as it probably won’t happen again at the Dome. And it was Nagata who picked up the win with his backdrop hold and continued to be relevant long after the younger generation have taken over leadership in New Japan.

New Japan has rarely ever done a good 3WAY match in my memory. The Chono vs. Fujita vs. Lesnar one from the Dome in 2005 stands out as particularly bad. So I was a little worried that today’s IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title 3WAY match between three of the world’s most exciting juniors Prince Devitt, Low Ki, and Kota Ibushi would disappoint. My worries were unfounded as they put on one of the smoothest, slickest, and high quality junior matches I’ve seen in a long time. It was under 15 minutes long but wrestled at a great pace with many exciting moments including a couple of great dives, Ibushi’s the pick of them. Low Ki entered dressed as Agent 47 from Hitman and carrying two pistols… a cool look but jaws dropped when people realized he was going to wrestle in this suit which he did without any problems somehow. Towards the end you just couldn’t guess who was winning but Devitt hit a Bloody Sunday off the top rope on Ibushi to successfully defend his title for the first time. The junior title has lacked stability since Devitt’s previous reign having gone from him to Ki to Ibushi and back to Devitt within 6 months but I get the feeling this Devitt reign may last a while again.

New Japan’s most famous tag team of the last 15 years, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima, squared off against the legendary Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani in a special tag match. All four are New Japan dojo trained wrestlers with Tenzan, Kojima, and Otani from the same era, but only Tenzan and Kojima belong to New Japan now so it was a reunion. Initially designed to showcase the son of the late, great Shinya Hashimoto, Daichi, it had to be altered when Daichi broke his arm and Otani stepped in. In a match full of nostalgia and goosebump-inducing moments, Otani entered to Hashimoto’s old theme, now used by his son Daichi who seconded him. Then Muto entered to one of his famous New Japan themes and the crowd was really excited and emotional. TenKoji then entered to their remixed theme and the match began. It wasn’t one of the better matches on the show but the quality of the event was so high that it was still good with Otani showing he still has much to offer. Years pass but like Liger, Keiji Muto somehow keeps going strong despite his knees having been shot since the 90s. Despite the individual brilliance of Muto & Otani, the teamwork of Tenzan & Kojima was the difference maker as Otani succumbed to Kojima’s lariat followed by Tenzan’s moonsault. Daichi Hashimoto was irate after the match and got into a little scuffle with the winning team but it was brief and didn’t lead to anything. Hashimoto’s New Japan debut will have to wait but will definitely happen when he is healthy again.

Laughter7′s invasion of New Japan has been a great highlight of recent months. Laughter7 is comprised of Kazushi Sakuraba the pro wrestler who became a legend in MMA with his “Gracie Hunter” persona and his protégé Katsuyori Shibata, a New Japan trueborn who walked out on the company years ago just as they were pushing him to superstardom with Tanahashi and Nakamura. He embarked on a thoroughly mediocre MMA career and was largely forgotten by pro wrestling fans before his sudden return last year. The two had dominated every match for months leading to this show with Shibata the man in focus but today would be Sakuraba’s turn in the main spotlight as Shibata was placed just outside of the main event against one of New Japan’s “enforcers” Togi Makabe. This was a fight from the start and entertaining but not quite as intense as I expected. They traded offense in a good brawl but the finish was quite surprising as Makabe beat Shibata in rather dominating fashion with his King Kong kneedrop. I had expected Shibata to beat Makabe and Nakamura to beat Sakuraba to set up the big Nakamura vs. Shibata reunion match, but was wrong. My feeling that may or may not be right was that this was belated punishment for Shibata’s betrayal of a company that put so much faith in him. I really hope he sticks around as there is so much he could offer, feuds with Tanahashi, Nakamura, and Goto – all of whom he has history with – haven’t even been explored yet.

The first of the “double main event” saw Shinsuke Nakamura defend the IWGP Intercontinental Title against Kazushi Sakuraba. Nakamura is such a character who oozes charisma, style, and likeability. Even as the co-leader of New Japan’s top heel group he is just impossible to hate. After their recent awkwardness in a tag match together, there was a legitimate fear this could be a disaster though. Sakuraba has very little recent pro wrestling experience and Shibata had been doing much of the work in tags. What a surprise then this was. In the USTREAM chat people were going nuts over this match and for good reason, it is one I will remember for years and already a frontrunner for my 2013 match of the year. There was a tense and special atmosphere as they faced off just like the old New Japan vs. shoot-style outsider matches during the New Japan vs. UWF, New Japan vs. UWFi, and New Japan vs. UFO feuds. In the 2000s we had the shoot-style outsiders but it was ugly and awkward most of the time with the exception of some good matches (mostly featuring Kazuyuki Fujita), this was the opposite of that and was “shoot-style pro wrestling” rather than “a messy clusterf*ck of pro wrestling and MMA”. I was disappointed when they shook hands at the start because I thought it could lead to a boring “polite” match. After a feeling out process, Nakamura slapped Sakuraba in the face and BOOM we had lift-off. It turned into a pro wrestling masterclass with Sakuraba finally stepping out of Shibata’s shadow in this New Japan stint and coming across as a lethal, dangerous fighter who Nakamura struggled to compete with. The match had one of the most brutal knees to the face I’ve ever seen which replays showed caught Nakamura full force. I could feel my heart racing as I watched this, willing Nakamura to win but sensing it was Sakuraba’s for several reasons – Shibata having already lost, Nakamura missing the Boma Ye, and how dangerous Saku’s arm submissions came across as. The drama was immense. Nakamura escaped the chickenwing armlock but a while later was back in it, which convinced me it was game over. But somehow he escaped it and also survived a cross armbreaker and won with his Boma Ye to an enormous Tokyo Dome pop. They shook hands and hugged afterwards, showing great respect to each other. I felt this match elevated Nakamura even more than he already has been. There are almost no “New Japan vs. outsider” matches that could do this anymore but this did, while at the same time his IWGP Intercontinental Title also moved much further away from the midcard belt it originally seemed to be. An absolutely amazing match, a throwback to old times and a style Bushiroad boss Kidani seems to love and will hopefully ask to see more of in New Japan. 30 minute classics are great as we’d find out right after this but the true feel of Strong Style is in matches like Nakamura vs. Sakuraba.

New Japan went back a year to show Okada’s abysmal return from TNA Wrestling on the 1/4/12 show where he and YOSHI-HASHI (in a dark match today that highlighted their contrasting fortunes) had a real dud of a match. Okada later challenged Tanahashi to a title match and was largely laughed at or booed as no one took him seriously. What would follow would stun the Japanese wrestling scene as within a year Okada became one of the industry’s biggest stars and won the Tokyo Sports MVP award. His title reign so soon after returning could have bombed hard but he turned himself into a star with the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Since losing the title back to Tanahashi in June the build to the big rematch has been great with the two clocking up important wins as the time drew near for their clash of destiny. J-Pop band BREAKERZ performed live on the stage just before the main event as New Japan continued to crank up the spectacle value and implement pop culture into the product, which is one way of trying to get pro wrestling back into the mainstream consciousness. The band would accompany Tanahashi to the ring shortly after but Okada’s entrance was the best of the lot as he slowly descended on an elevator looking like the perfect bad boy, a new Tokyo Dome remix of his theme playing. As he hit the ring money rained down on the crowd, signalling the arrival of the new superstar, the “Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada. The match began slowly as you could tell it was going to be long but was never anything less than great. With a double main event you expect both matches to offer something different and these were complete opposites. This was modern pro wrestling at its best and a match worthy of its hype. The last 15 or so minutes were out of this world and the Tokyo Dome crowd was red hot as you just couldn’t guess who was winning. Okada kicked out of the first High Fly Flow and survived Tana’s Texas Cloverleaf hold despite his hand flapping and coming so close to tapping out. Okada fought back but could never hit the Rainmaker, not even once, and always seemed one step behind Tanahashi to me. Tanahashi eventually won with a perfectly executed High Fly Flow and proved yet again he is the king of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The match was almost 35 minutes long but was not boring at all. I was really disappointed Okada didn’t win, I was expecting it to catapult him to new levels, but you just can’t deny what a great champion Tanahashi is. Time and time again he delivers in these matches and wins over the crowd. And while I wanted Okada to win, I do think Tanahashi was the better performer on the day and showed his greatness. He is about 11 years older than Okada and this match established that he still has the edge but unless the rumours of Okada going to WWE are true (which I hope they are not, New Japan will cultivate his potential far better than WWE possibly could), he will be the star of New Japan in years to come.

The big surprise after the main event is that no new challenger showed his face and Tanahashi did his routine air guitar performance to send everyone home happy. No titles changed hands on the entire show and it felt much like closure for 2012. Perhaps “THE NEW BEGINNING”, New Japan’s next big show in February, is where new things may happen. Despite the lack of shake-ups this was a January 4th show for the ages and certainly one of the best I have ever seen. New Japan had a fantastic 2012 and 2013 has started even better as this year’s 1/4 show was much better than its equivalent last year. The event is available on VOD (video on demand) until 1/11 5pm JST if you want to watch it on New Japan’s USTREAM channel.

New Japan presents one of its strongest lineups in a long time at “KING OF PRO-WRESTLING”, the new name of New Japan’s October show at Sumo Hall. From top to bottom this is a loaded card with all five IWGP titles being defended, and will be topped by the Tokyo Dome rematch of Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. Tanahashi successfully defended the title against Suzuki in January in his previous reign as Okada has of course had a memorable first reign since then, but Suzuki hit back in the G1 Climax by beating Tanahashi. Speaking of Okada, he is willing to risk his number one contendership for the belt which he is contractually entitled to and will put it on the line against the on-fire “Machine Gun” Karl Anderson in a rematch of the 2012 G1 Climax final which Okada won.

Hirooki Goto is given chance to win back the IWGP Intercontinental Title against the man who took it from him, Shinsuke Nakamura, in the semi final while Sakuraba & Shibata face a tougher level of opposition this time with no young lion to bully as Makabe leads Wataru Inoue into war against the duo. NO LIMIT collide again as the former tag partners continue their endless grudge after Yujiro attacked Naito’s injured knee yesterday, leading to a big singles match between them at Sumo Hall. TenKoji finally make their V1 defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title after regaining them in July, taking on Suzuki Gun’s Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr., the latter being Harry Smith who has decided to rename himself in tribute of his late father.

And of course the juniors can’t be forgotten as the junior dream match is repeated, Kota Ibushi making his V3 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against the man he won the belt from Low Ki. Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov make their V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title against the Japan-USA alliance of KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley. And what better way to start the show than with the return of the hugely popular Manabu Nakanishi? Nakanishi finally returns to action and teams with old friend Yuji Nagata and 2010 Tokyo Sports Tag Team of the Year partner Strong Man, who of course formed Muscle Orchestra with Nakanishi.

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ KING OF PRO-WRESTLING”, 10/8/12 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Manabu Nakanishi Return Match: Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata & Strong Man vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (c) vs. KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. Low Ki
4. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
5. Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
6. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata
7. Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Karl Anderson vs. Kazuchika Okada
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

Before then…

NJPW “THE MEMORY MEETING OF KASABOKO SUMMIT IN NIIGATA ON NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR”, 10/6/12
Niigata Nishikawa Sports Center

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Captain New Japan & BUSHI
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado
4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI
5. Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ KIZUNA ROAD” <--

NJPW, 7/22/12 (WPW)
Yamagata Sports Center
3,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Captain New Japan, Tama Tonga, BUSHI & Maximo beat YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii (7:48) when Captain used the Caribbean Death Grip on Gedo.
2. KUSHIDA beat Low Ki (7:10) with a modified Japanese leg roll clutch hold.
3. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (c) (13:44) when Romero used the Contract Killer on Tiger to become the 33rd champions.
4. Special Elimination Match: Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (16:46). Makabe threw Taichi over the top rope (9:23). Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on TAKA (9:39). Archer threw Makabe over the top rope (10:41). Suzuki threw Nagata over the top rope (14:15). Archer threw Devitt over the top rope (15:41). Archer used the Blackout on Taguchi (16:46).
5. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (13:43) when Kojima used a lariat on Iizuka to become the 60th champions (decision match).
6. Special Tag Match: Tetsuya Naito & Karl Anderson beat Kazuchika Okada & Yujiro Takahashi (15:30) when Naito used a Stardust press on Takahashi.
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Hirooki Goto (c) (16:50) with the Boma Ye to become the 4th champion.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Masato Tanaka (26:15) with the High Fly Flow (2nd defense).

* In front of a yet another sold out crowd for New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi overcame the fierce challenge of CHAOS’ Masato Tanaka in an exciting match to complete his V2 defense, ensuring that he goes into this year’s G1 Climax as champion just like last year. It took close to half an hour for Tanaka’s bold challenge to be put to an end but once again the New Japan ace proved his ability when he hit the High Fly Flow for the win. Tanahashi has now won fifteen IWGP Heavyweight Title matches over two reigns in the last one and a half years.

* The IWGP Intercontinental Title scene was shaken up as in the biggest match in the title’s short history, Shinsuke Nakamura dethroned generation rival Hirooki Goto to become the 4th champion. Although considered a secondary title, this belt now certainly holds more prestige and worth than it did before and Nakamura adds another trophy to his well decorated cabinet. This is Nakamura’s first singles title for two years and two months.

* The seemingly endless TenKoji vs. Yano & Iizuka feud seemed to find some sort of resolution today as with four referees to avoid yet another non-finish, Tenzan & Kojima defeated the dastardly CHAOS duo in a decision match for the vacant IWGP Tag Team Title. The title was held up last month after a no contest while Yano & Iizuka were champions and New Japan officials deemed them unfit to reign as champions after that, demanding they earn the belts again in a fresh collision with TenKoji. But with four referees ensuring Yano & Iizuka could only bend the rules so much, the now 4-time IWGP Tag Team Champions came out victorious as Kojima sunk Iizuka with a lariat. It’s 13 1/2 years since the popular TenKoji duo first won these belts when they defeated Genichiro Tenryu & Shiro Koshinaka on 1/4/99 at the Tokyo Dome but they are stronger than ever in their latest reunion. Lance Archer appeared after the match to challenge TenKoji but didn’t say who his partner would be (Suzuki?).

* The IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title is back in CHAOS custody for the first time since Davey Richards & Rocky Romero were forced to vacate the belts in May after Richards couldn’t make a title match and his New Japan stay subsequently ended. Romero has since found a new tag partner in the impressive Alex Koslov and today they scored a huge win over Liger & Tiger Mask, who only won the belts themselves last month. Tiger Mask fell to the Contract Killer, meaning the last three champions have failed to even register one successful defense… a trend the new champions will be hoping to put an end to.

* In a huge upset on the undercard, KUSHIDA surprised the dominant Low Ki with a cradle to defeat the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion in a non-title match. This isn’t what Ki wanted ahead of his upcoming title defense against Kota Ibushi and for KUSHIDA, he will be watching that and could be the first to challenge the winner after today’s result.

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ NEW JAPAN LIVE”, 5/20/12 (J SPORTS)
Matsushita IMP Hall
857 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA beat Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (8:37) when Taguchi used the La Atatata on Watanabe.
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo (11:21) when Tenzan used a diving headbutt on Gedo.
3. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (13:10) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on TAKA.
4. Shinsuke Nakamura beat Tama Tonga (9:05) with the Boma Ye.
5. Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Captain New Japan (16:19) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Captain.
6. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hirooki Goto (c) beat Tomohiro Ishii (18:14) with the Shouten Kai (2nd defense).

“Rainmaker” Kazuchika Okada makes his V3 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title on 6/16 at the same building where he won it and against the very man he won it from, ace Hiroshi Tanahashi. This super-battle could spell the end of Okada’s reign if the record-breaking previous IWGP Heavyweight Champion can avenge his February loss. Another rematch set sees Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka make their first defense of the IWGP Tag Team Title against TenKoji, with Tenzan & Kojima granted a quick rematch after dropping the belts to the CHAOS tandem in Fukuoka days ago. And still another rematch sees the ongoing feud between Togi Makabe and Minoru Suzuki continue as they collide in singles action. Also revealed for this show are the return of DDT’s former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Kota Ibushi, the return of Shelton Benjamin, and MVP’s involvement.

Before the big Osaka show is a smaller one later this month and a title match has been announced for that too, as Hirooki Goto makes his V2 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against CHAOS member Tomohiro Ishii. These had quite an entertaining feud several years ago and this should be a good match, with Goto hoping to get back on track after coming just short of winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title from Okada in Fukuoka.

Finally, block division and match schedule for the upcoming Best of the Super Jr. has been announced, with lots of enticing matches set. New Japan has warned that Davey Richards is not 100% certain to be in the tournament after his recent car accident and his involvement is pending a medical check. This tournament also marks the start of BUSHI’s one year loan from All Japan.

-

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ NEW JAPAN LIVE”, 5/20/12 (J SPORTS)
Matsushita IMP Hall

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

-

NJPW, 5/27/12 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jado vs. Daisuke Sasaki
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov vs. TAKA Michinoku
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Low Ki
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Davey Richards
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Angel de Oro vs. Taichi
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI vs. Rocky Romero
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. KUSHIDA
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Pac

NJPW, 5/28/12
Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov vs. Black Tiger
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki vs. Daisuke Sasaki
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Davey Richards
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. BUSHI
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Gedo
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Taichi

NJPW, 5/30/12
Shinshu Sky Park Gymnasium

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jado vs. Alex Kozlov
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Black Tiger
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Gedo vs. Angel de Oro
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Pac
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Rocky Romero

NJPW, 5/31/12
Wel Sunpia Tsuruga

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Davey Richards vs. Black Tiger
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jado
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki vs. TAKA Michinoku
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI vs. Gedo
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Angel de Oro

NJPW, 6/1/12
Iwade Municipal Citizen Gymnasium

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jado vs. Black Tiger
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Alex Kozlov
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Daisuke Sasaki
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Pac vs. Angel de Oro
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Taichi
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. BUSHI

NJPW, 6/2/12 (J SPORTS)
Kyoto KBS Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov vs. Davey Richards
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki vs. Black Tiger
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. TAKA Michinoku
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Pac
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Gedo
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rocky Romero

NJPW, 6/3/12 (Samurai! TV)
Akashi Municipal Industrial Exchange Center

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Jado
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Daisuke Sasaki
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Low Ki
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Gedo vs. Pac
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Angel de Oro
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. KUSHIDA

NJPW, 6/5/12
Kasukabe Convention Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Davey Richards
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki vs. Jado
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Black Tiger
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Pac vs. Rocky Romero
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi vs. Gedo
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI vs. Angel de Oro

NJPW, 6/6/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. Alex Kozlov
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki vs. Davey Richards
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. TAKA Michinoku
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Angel de Oro vs. Rocky Romero
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Taichi
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. BUSHI
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince DEvitt vs. Pac

NJPW, 6/7/12
Tochigi Bunka Center Sub Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki vs. TAKA Michinoku
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Davey Richards vs. Jado
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Alex Kozlov
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Rocky Romero vs. Gedo
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI vs. Taichi
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Angel de Oro

NJPW, 6/9/12
Nagoya International Conference Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku vs. Black Tiger
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov vs. Low Ki
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask vs. Jado
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Davey Richards
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Rocky Romero vs. Taichi
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI vs. Pac
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA vs. Gedo
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

NJPW, 6/10/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Block B 1st place vs. Block A 2nd place
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Final:

-

NJPW “DOMINION 6.16″, 6/16/12
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. IWGP Tag Team Title: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (c) vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
2. Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki
3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi

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

NJPW, 3/11/12 (Samurai! TV)
Act City Hamamatsu
2,600 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Wataru Inoue beat Takaaki Watanabe (7:44) with the Spear of Justice.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Jado & Gedo (8:09) when Tiger used a crucifix hold on Jado.
3. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka beat Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (11:06) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Tonga.
4. Davey Richards, Rocky Romero & Tomohiro Ishii beat Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (11:54) when Richards used the Contract Killer on KUSHIDA.
5. Togi Makabe, Riki Choshu, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (14:40) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on TAKA.
6. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma (16:19) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Honma.
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Hirooki Goto (c) beat Yujiro Takahashi (17:08) with the Shouten Kai (1st defense).

* Goto overcame a tough challenge in the form of Yujiro today as he made a successful V1 defense of his IWGP Intercontinental Title. In doing so scored his second win of the year over Yujiro following a victory on 1/29 at Korakuen. The up-and-coming CHAOS man has chance for quick retaliation though as they meet again on 4/1 in the New Japan Cup first round.

* Choshu’s special appearance was a very rare stop in New Japan for the legendary Power Hall nowadays but shows that relations are still good between New Japan and one of its favourite sons.

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.

New Japan has announced lineups for the upcoming joint New Japan/CMLL double header, the entire February tour, the latest edition of NEVER, and finally the big Osaka show in February where all roads lead. As expected it will be Kazuchika Okada who faces Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Tana’s V12 defense in this record-breaking reign. Some very big news is that Okada does after all appear to have joined CHAOS after he appeared at the press conference with Gedo and is teaming up with CHAOS for the entire February tour. This, plus the addition of Okada’s Tokyo Dome opponent YOSHI-HASHI, means New Japan’s heel faction is heavily strengthened.

The Osaka show will see three rematches, two from the Dome and one from last year, with Hirooki Goto challenging Masato Tanaka for the IWGP Intercontinental Title as he looks to follow up on his big win over Takashi Sugiura. “No Remorse Corps” Davey Richards & Rocky Romero continue their long-running feud with “Apollo 55″ Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi as they are granted an immediate rematch for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title, and finally “Bad Intentions” Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson are also given a quick rematch against new IWGP Tag Team Champions, “TenKoji” Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima.

All in all, a very eventful start to the touring year and New Japan seems as loaded with talent and diversity as it has in many year, especially with Minoru Suzuki also appearing to stick around after his Tokyo Dome loss to Tanahashi. Also of note, Hideo Saito seems to have transformed permanently into Captain New Japan!

-

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″, 1/21/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Danshoku Dino & Maximo vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
2. Tama Tonga & King Fale vs. YOSHI-HASHI & OKUMURA
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Jado, Gedo & Misterioso Jr.
4. Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Rush & Mascara Dorada
5. Tetsuya Naito, Jushin Thunder Liger & Diamante vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi & Mephisto
6. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra vs. Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr.

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″, 1/22/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, Gedo & OKUMURA
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & Maximo vs. Misterioso Jr. & Taichi
3. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Mascara Dorada (c) vs. KUSHIDA
4. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Rush
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Diamante vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Mephisto
6. NWA World Historic Welterweight Title: La Sombra (c) vs. Volador Jr.

-

NJPW, 1/25/12
Shirakawa Central Gymnasium

1. King Fale vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku
3. Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Captain New Japan vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Prince Devitt
5. Yuji Nagata, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
6. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI & Rocky Romero

NJPW, 1/26/12
New Sunpia Tochigi

1. King Fale vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Gedo
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. Takashi Iizuka, Rocky Romero & Jado
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask
5. Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI

NJPW, 1/29/12 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

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

NJPW, 1/30/12
Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

NJPW, 2/3/12
Nagano Sports Park Gymnasium

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Rocky Romero
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo

NJPW, 2/4/12
Wing Hat Kasukabe

1. Wataru Inoue, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & King Fale
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii

NJPW, 2/5/12
Gifu Industrial Hall

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi

NJPW, 2/6/12
Takaoka Techno Dome

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & YOSHI-HASHI

-

NJPW “NEVER.8 ~GO TO THE NEXT LEVEL~”, 2/10/12
Osaka World Hall

1. KUSHIDA vs. Shoichi Uchida
2. Takaaki Watanabe vs. YOSHI-HASHI
3. Captain New Japan vs. Gedo
4. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano
5. Karl Anderson vs. Tama Tonga
6. Yuji Nagata vs. King Fale
7. Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi

-

NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/12/12 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
2. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
3. IWGP Tag Team Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
4. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM 1ST”, 12/23/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Kyosuke Mikami beat Hiromu Takahashi (6:20) with a crab hold.
2. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hideo Saito beat Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo (10:41) when Saito used the Caribbean Death Grip on Gedo.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (10:25) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Fale.
4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima beat Karl Anderson (9:23) with a lariat.
5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Giant Bernard (9:28) with a side cradle.
6. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA beat Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (15:50) when KUSHIDA used the 9469 on Taichi.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) beat Rocky Romero (18:35) with the Bloody Sunday (3rd defense).
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) beat Tomoaki Honma (22:40) with the Sliding D (3rd defense).

* Both IWGP titles defended successfully and both were said to be very good matches, especially Tanaka vs. Honma which saw the underdog Honma push Tanaka quite far in a 20+ minute match before ultimately succumbing to the Sliding D.

* TenKoji bested Bad Intentions in two singles matches but can they do the same for the IWGP Tag Team Title on 1/4?

* Jushin Thunder Liger made his long awaited return before the show after a very lengthy stay in CMLL.

* New Japan also paid tribute to the late Umanosuke Ueda, who passed away at the age of 71 the other day. Ueda was a top heel in the 1970s and was the inspiration for Tatsutoshi Goto, Mr. Gannosuke, and Toru Yano’s heel personas.

Full cards for the remaining shows of New Japan’s 2011 have been announced, including the fan voted dream match show, Kojima’s 20th anniversary show, ahd the Korakuen double header around Christmas time. Naito has been removed from the main event of Kojima’s show where he was to team with FUNAKI, due to an injury he has been carrying that has forced him off shows. Singles matches between TenKoji and Bad Intentions appear to confirm suspicions that the most dominant IWGP Tag Team Champions in history, Bernard & Anderson, will face one of the most beloved tag teams in history, Tenzan & Kojima, at the Tokyo Dome. Two titles will be defended on the first Xmas show at Korakuen with Devitt making his V3 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Rocky Romero, while in what would have once been an indie dream match, Masato Tanaka makes his V3 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against Tomoaki Honma. Cards also reflect Hideo Saito being booted out of CHAOS as he goes up against members of the group.

NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH”, 12/9/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. Hirooki Goto, Tomoaki Honma & King Fale vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Jado & Gedo
4. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku
5. J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH ~ Worst Voted: Hideo Saito vs. Taichi
6. J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH ~ #3: Togi Makabe vs. KUSHIDA
7. J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH ~ #2: Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. J SPORTS CROWN DREAM MATCH ~ #1: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi

NJPW “NEW JAPAN LIVE IN YOKKAICHI”, 12/11/11
Yokkaichi Australia Memorial Hall

1. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. King Fale & Hiromu Takahashi
2. Hideo Saito vs. Jado
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Takashi Iizuka & Gedo
4. Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii
5. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi

NJPW “SATOSHI KOJIMA 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW ~ RUSH!!”, 12/14/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kyosuke Mikami
2. Hideo Saito vs. Tomohiro Ishii
3. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi
4. Special Tag Match: The Great Sasuke & The Great Kosuke vs. Jado & Gedo
5. 3rd Generation vs. Hamaguchi Dojo Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Koji Kanemoto vs. Yutaka Yoshie, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
2. Satoshi Kojima 20th Anniversary Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs. FUNAKI & X

NJPW “NEW JAPAN LIVE IN TOKOROZAWA”, 12/18/11
Saitama Kusunoki Hall

1. Tomoaki Honma vs. King Fale
2. Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi
3. Hideo Saito vs. Gedo
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Takashi Iizuka & Jado
5. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
6. Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM 1ST”, 12/23/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo
3. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson
5. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
6. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Rocky Romero
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Tomoaki Honma

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS~”, 12/24/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Special Singles Match I: Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka
3. Special Singles Match II: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
4. Special Singles Match III: Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard
5. Special Singles Match IV: Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Special Singles Match V: Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
7. Special Singles Match VI: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
8. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama

NJPW “NEW JAPAN LIVE IN AKITA”, 12/25/11
Akita Terrsa Hall

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Rocky Romero & Gedo
3. Tomoaki Honma & Hideo Saito vs. Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Hirooki Goto vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & King Fale
5. Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi

Ten big matches make up the last major show of 2011 for New Japan in Aichi, the tour climax of the upcoming “NEW JAPAN ALIVE 2011“. All eyes are on the most prestigious prize in Japanese pro wrestling, the IWGP Heavyweight Title, as Hiroshi Tanahashi looks to equal Yuji Nagata’s defense record of ten by making his V10 defense of the belt against the man himself. Tanahashi vs. Nagata is the centerpiece of the entire tour, meaning every main event has a New Japan vs. New Japan look to it, rather than the typical New Japan vs. enemy faction setup. The G1 Climax final is revisited in Aichi also as Tetsuya Naito tries to take down Shinsuke Nakamura, while following on from the IWGP Tag Team Title match in Osaka, Giant Bernard and Minoru Suzuki go to war in singles action.

After bypassing the challenge of Hirooki Goto, Masato Tanaka makes his V2 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against the founding champion MVP, while Prince Devitt again treads on familiar ground by making his V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against one of the men who took the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title from he and Taguchi recently, Davey Richards. Of course Richards pinned Devitt in that match and so earns another shot at singles gold as he did during Devitt’s first reign. Special tag matches are also set up including the revival of an old feud between Hirooki Goto and the most successful GHC Heavyweight Champion in its history, NOAH’s Takashi Sugiura. Since their singles series these two have sporadically met in tag action, suggesting another singles match could be on the cards at some point.

Satoshi Kojima reforms his “KojiKaz” team with Kaz Hayashi on 12/14 at Korakuen as part of his 20th anniversary show. They team up against the special Animal Hamiguchi Dojo pair of Tetsuya Naito and FUNAKI in the main evemt. Kojima will also revive his old Great Kosuke persona to team with The Great Sasuke again Jado & Gedo. More matches to be announced for that show.

NJPW, 11/18/11
Sun Village Shibata

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hideo Saito
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & King Fale vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Hirooki Goto, MVP, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 11/19/11
Odawara Arena

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
3. Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & King Fale vs. Jado, Gedo & Hideo Saito
4. Satoshi Kojima & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Tetsuya Naito, MVP, Tomoaki Honma & Prince Devitt vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Rocky Romero
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 11/20/11
Tatebayashi Citizen Gymnasium

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Rocky Romero
2. Tama Tonga & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jado & Gedo
3. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
4. Hirooki Goto, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Takashi Iizuka, Hideo Saito & Tomohiro Ishii
5. King Fale vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. Togi Makabe, Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, MVP, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA

NJPW, 11/23/11
Tottori Industrial Gymnasium

1. King Fale vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Buffalo vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
5. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
6. Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & MVP vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 11/24/11
Onohara Hall

1. Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Jado & Gedo
2. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hideo Saito
3. King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka
4. Tomoaki Honma, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, MVP & KUSHIDA vs. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & Tiger Mask

NJPW, 11/26/11
ITEM Ehime

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Jado & Gedo
3. King Fale vs. Yujiro Takahashi
4. Hirooki Goto, Satoshi Kojima & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Tetsuya Naito, MVP, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 11/27/11
Tex Port Imabari

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Takashi Iizuka, Hideo Saito & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Giant Bernard & Tama Tonga vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
4. MVP, Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Masato Tanaka , Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
5. Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yujiro Takahashi
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 11/28/11
Yamaguchi Butterfly Arena

1. Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Jado & Gedo
2. Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
3. Satoshi Kojima, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
4. Togi Makabe, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
5. Tetsuya Naito, MVP, Tomoaki Honma & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask

NJPW, 11/29/11
Wakayama Arita Municipal Gymnasium

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
3. Karl Anderson, Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga vs. Davey Richards, Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
4. Giant Bernard, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
5. Satoshi Kojima, Tetsuya Naito, MVP & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto vs. Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 12/4/11 (WPW/PPV)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

1. Karl Anderson & Killer Rabbit vs. Jado & Gedo
2. Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano, Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rocky Romero
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Sugiura & Atsushi Aoki
5. Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Davey Richards
7. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka vs. MVP
8. Special Singles Match: Giant Bernard vs. Minoru Suzuki
9. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Yuji Nagata

-

NJPW “SATOSHI KOJIMA 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW ~ RUSH!!”, 12/14/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Special Tag Match: The Great Sasuke & The Great Kosuke vs. Jado & Gedo
2. Satoshi Kojima 20th Anniversary Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi vs. Tetsuya Naito & FUNAKI

Hiroshi Tanahashi makes his V9 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title at “POWER STRUGGLE” next month against the man who stole it from him yesterday, CHAOS’ Toru Yano. Tanahashi had accepted a challenge from IWGP Heavyweight Title defense record holder Yuji Nagata before Yano attacked Tana and ran off with his belt, in doing so luring the ace of New Japan into agreeing to a title match against the super-heel. The show name is fitting as four title matches have been announced and all have a theme of New Japan army vs. rival faction. In addition to Tanahashi vs. Yano, CHAOS’ Masato Tanaka makes his V1 defense of the IWGP Intercontinental Title against old rival Hirooki Goto who he had a lengthy series of matches with not so long ago.

Prince Devitt makes his V2 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against TAKA Michinoku, who challenged Devitt unsuccessfully in February during the Irishman’s previous reign. And new IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions, Davey Richards & Rocky Romero, make their V1 defense against Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA. KUSHIDA has yet to hold a title in New Japan while Tiger Mask, once the dominant ace of the division, hasn’t held any IWGP gold since losing the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title at the beginning of 2010. TenKoji collide again as old friends and rivals Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima have another singles battle, going into this match 1-1 after recent matches.

Also announced today were full G1 Tag League cards. New Japan also runs a charity show on the 15th at the Miyako Fish Market for victims of the earthquake earlier this year. This will be free admission and will have just a few matches.

NJPW “NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING IN MIYAKO FISH MARKET ~ EAST JAPAN EARTHQUAKE CHARITY”, 10/15/11
Miyako Fish Market

1. Tetsuya Naito vs. King Fale
2. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo

NJPW “NEW JAPAN LIVE IN YAMAGATA”, 10/16/11
Yamagata Sports Center #2

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku
2. Yuji Nagata & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
3. Tetsuya Naito, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & King Fale vs. Satoshi Kojima & Tama Tonga
5. Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Taichi
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii

NJPW, 10/22/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi
2. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. G1 Tag League – Block B: Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
5. G1 Tag League – Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
6. G1 Tag League – Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue
8. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano

NJPW, 10/23/11 (J SPORTS)
Kuki City Gymnasium

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
2. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi
3. G1 Tag League – Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
5. Tetsuya Naito, Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado
6. G1 Tag League – Block B: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue

NJPW, 10/24/11
New Sunpia Tochigi

1. Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku
2. Yuji Nagata, King Fale & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Strong Man, Tama Tonga & Kyosuke Mikami
3. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. G1 Tag League – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
5. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Taichi
6. G1 Tag League – Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo

NJPW, 10/26/11
Chiba Port Arena Sub Arena

1. Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
2. G1 Tag League – Block A: Strong Man & Tama Tonga vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
3. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Jado
6. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito

NJPW, 10/30/11 (J SPORTS)
Nishio City Gymnasium

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
2. Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Strong Man, Tama Tonga & Kyosuke Mikami
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Hideo Saito, Jado & Gedo
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
5. G1 Tag League – Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
6. G1 Tag League – Block B: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii

NJPW, 11/3/11 (J SPORTS)
New Sunpia Gunma

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Yuji Nagata, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami
3. G1 Tag League – Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson vs. Strong Man & Tama Tonga
4. G1 Tag League – Block B: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii
5. G1 Tag League – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
6. G1 Tag League – Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo

NJPW, 11/4/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. Takaaki Watanabe vs. Hideo Saito
2. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Tomohiro Ishii
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Strong Man & Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer
5. G1 Tag League – Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
6. G1 Tag League – Block A: Yuji Nagata & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
8. G1 Tag League – Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima

NJPW, 11/6/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. G1 Tag League – Semi Final: Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place
2. G1 Tag League – Semi Final: Block B 1st place vs. Block A 2nd place
3. G1 Tag League – Final:

NJPW “POWER STRUGGLE”, 11/12/11 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero (c) vs. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt vs. TAKA Michinoku
3. Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
4. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Hirooki Goto
5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Toru Yano

NJPW “DESTRUCTION ’11″, 10/10/11 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
6,500 Fans

0. Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi beat King Fale & Takaaki Watanabe (8:47) when Mikami used a crab hold on Watanabe.
1. Schwarz, Weiss, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Killer Rabbit beat Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Hideo Saito (7:53) when KUSHIDA used the 9469 on Gedo.
2. Yujiro Takahashi beat Tomoaki Honma (8:22) with the Tokyo Pimps.
3. Lance Archer beat Wataru Inoue (7:39) with the Dark Days.
4. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero (11:03) when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Guerrero.
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Davey Richards & Rocky Romero beat Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) (13:29) when Richards used the Contract Killer on Devitt to become the 29th champions.
6. Satoshi Kojima Return Match: Satoshi Kojima beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (10:08) with a lariat.
7. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata beat Toru Yano (12:08) with a reverse Nagata Lock III.
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Masato Tanaka beat MVP (c) (12:30) with the Sliding D to become the 2nd champion.
9. Special Singles Match: Minoru Suzuki beat Togi Makabe (13:15) with a Gotch-style piledriver.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Tetsuya Naito (29:19) with the High Fly Flow (8th defense).

* Tanahashi edges ever closer to Nagata’s defense record of ten by defeating G1 Climax runner-up Tetsuya Naito in a scintillating half hour main event at Sumo Hall. Naito continued to show he is now a threat to the upper echelon of New Japan but not quite there yet, pushing Tanahashi before succumbing to the High Fly Flow. Nagata himself appeared after the match and issued a challenge that Tanahashi seemed to accept before Yano appeared and hit Tana with a chair before running off with his belt.
* Minoru Suzuki downs Makabe with his patented Gotch-style piledriver and moves into contention for Tana’s IWGP Heavyweight Title. Suzuki’s sworn friend Yoshihiro Takayama showed up after the match and delivered an Everest German suplex to Makabe.
* Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Masato Tanaka, adds another international themed belt to his collection by defeating founding IWGP Intercontinental Champion, MVP, to become just the second holder of the recently established title in its history. Tanaka’s long-time rival Hirooki Goto issued a challenge after the match.
* Satoshi Kojima makes his formal return to New Japan as an affiliated wrestler for the first time in nearly a decade and avenges his G1 Climax loss to sworn friend and former tag partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
* Apollo 55′s record-breaking third reign as IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions that lasted close to ten months finally comes to an end as gaijin tandem Davey Richards & Rocky Romero, who failed to lift the belts from Devitt & Taguchi back in May, become the 29th champions. Their win as well as Tanaka’s mean that CHAOS now have two IWGP belts in their custody after a recent title drought for the group. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA challenged the new champions after the match while TAKA Michinoku wants a shot at Devitt’s IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title.

Tetsuya Naito’s massive year continues at Sumo Hall on October 10th when he challenges Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Title and attempts to break into the upper tier of New Japan. Naito reached the G1 Climax final and lost narrowly to the man Tanahashi beat yesterday, Shinsuke Nakamura, so will have to go to a new level in order to defeat the ace of New Japan. Ten matches were announced for the October super-show today with this match topping it.

Underneath, Makabe faces Suzuki while MVP finally defends his IWGP Intercontinental Title against someone other than Yano as he faces a man with much international experience, former ECW World Heavyweight Champion, Masato Tanaka. Nagata vs. Yano is set as expected, while Apollo 55 make their V8 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title against Davey Richards & Rocky Romero. They already beat this team in their V4 defense but aren’t afraid to beat the same team twice as they did TAKA & Taichi (V2 and V7).

Satoshi Kojima makes his official return as a New Japan wrestler, his first match as a fully affiliated member of the roster since 1/24/02 when he faces eternal friend Hiroyoshi Tenzan in a rematch from the G1 Climax. CMLL superstar Ultimo Guerrero also makes a special appearance as he teams with CHAOS leader Nakamura against Goto & Tama Tonga in a special tag match.

The opening match features “Schwarz” and “Weiss” who seem to be based on anime characters as President Sugabayashi mentioned that they are “special athletes” who are appearing as part of a tie-up with Bushiroad.

NJPW “DESTRUCTION ’11″, 10/10/11 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Schwarz, Weiss, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Killer Rabbit vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Hideo Saito
2. Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi
3. Wataru Inoue vs. Lance Archer
4. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Ultimo Guerrero
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Davey Richards & Rocky Romero
6. Satoshi Kojima Return Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
7. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: MVP (c) vs. Masato Tanaka
9. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe vs. Minoru Suzuki
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito

NJPW “NEW JAPAN LIVE IN UONUMA”, 10/8/11
Koide Village Gymnasium

1. Hiromu Takahashi vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Rocky Romero, Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi
5. Yuji Nagata, King Fale & Tama Tonga vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma

NJPW “HIROYOSHI TENZAN 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 10/3/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Kyosuke Mikami, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo
2. Taichi vs. Hideo Saito
3. Tomoaki Honma, Tama Tonga & King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku
5. Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA vs. Tetsuya Naito, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 20th Anniversary Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Masahiro Chono & Hiro Saito vs. Osamu Nishimura, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani

* Tetsuya Naito is the latest big name from New Japan to head to CMLL in Mexico, where he along with now former partner Yujiro have been before. Naito will return to New Japan close to the end of July, so will stay a month or so just like Nakamura.
* Some changes to the six man tag tournament that begins tomorrow. Brian Kendrick replaces Killer Rabbit to continue his team with Jado & Gedo that surprisingly formed in Osaka. With Nakanishi having been badly injured recently, he is out so Kanemoto leads the young lion tandem of Kyosuke Mikami and Hiromu Takahashi. And with Naito out of CHAOS and heading to CMLL, the soon to retire Dick Togo replaces him and teams with Yujiro and Tanaka.
* MVP returns for the summer tour, while Strong Man, Minoru Suzuki, Masato Tanaka, and CMLL star Hector Garza are other guests. Nakamura is also back from his CMLL expedition to lead CHAOS.
* Mitsuhide Hirasawa, permanently using his new ring name of Hideo Saito it appears, returns to New Japan on the tour and begins a feud with former teacher Nagata. Hirasawa or Saito as he will now be known is now a member of CHAOS.
* Yutaka Yoshie makes a rare return home on the 7/10 house show in his local Maebashi.
* Tanahashi vs. Bernard is the focus of the tour, with Tana & Goto challenging Bad Intentions for the IWGP Tag Team Title at Korakuen on 7/3 before Tanahashi defends his IWGP Heavyweight Title against Bernard on the big tour climax.

NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN 6 MAN OPENWEIGHT TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT”, 6/21/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament Prelude: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger
2. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament Prelude: Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
3. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 1: Koji Kanemoto, Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Madoka & Shinobu
4. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 1: Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & Tiger Mask vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo
5. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 1: Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Mascara Dorada vs. Brian Kendrick , Jado & Gedo

NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN 6 MAN OPENWEIGHT TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT”, 6/22/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 2: Winner of Team Tanahashi/Team Kendrick vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger
2. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 2: Winner of Team Kanemoto/Team Kikuchi vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
3. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 2: Winner of Team Nagata/Team Tanaka vs. Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
4. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Round 2: Winner of Team Makabe/Team Archer vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & King Fale

NJPW “J SPORTS CROWN 6 MAN OPENWEIGHT TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT”, 6/23/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final:
2. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Semi Final:
3. J SPORTS CROWN 6 Man Openweight Tag Team Tournament – Final:

-

NJPW, 7/3/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Kyosuke Mikami vs. Jado & Gedo
2. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. Strong Man & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
5. MVP vs. Tomohiro Ishii
6. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto

NJPW, 7/8/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Differ Ariake

1. Takaaki Watanabe vs. Jado
2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Kyosuke Mikami & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Hector Garza
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi , Daisuke Sasaki & Madoka
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
5. Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
6. Togi Makabe & MVP vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Strong Man vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & King Fale

NJPW, 7/10/11
Green Dome Maebashi Sub Arena

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
2. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Strong Man, Yutaka Yoshie & Tomoaki Honma vs. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Hector Garza

NJPW, 7/13/11
Sapporo Teisen Hall

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii
2. MVP & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Toru Yano & Hector Garza
3. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson

NJPW, 7/14/11
Asahikawa Local Industry Promotion Center

1. MVP, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
3. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask

NJPW, 7/15/11
Muroran City Gymnasium

1. MVP, Strong Man & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Hector Garza
2. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask

NJPW, 7/16/11
Yakumo Town Gymnasium

1. MVP, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo
2. Strong Man, Tomoaki Honma & KUSHIDA vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi
3. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Hector Garza

NJPW, 7/18/11 (WPW/PPV)
Makomanai Sekisui Heim Ice Arena

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Kota Ibushi , Kenny Omega & Daisuke Sasaki
2. Yuji Nagata vs. Hideo Saito
3. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
4. IWGP Intercontinental Title: MVP (c) vs. Toru Yano
5. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Giant Bernard

-

NJPW, 7/19/11
Obihiro City Gymnasium

1. Hirooki Goto, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, KUSHIDA & King Fale
2. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & MVP vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito

NJPW, 7/20/11
Shiranuka Town Gymnasium

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & Hideo Saito
2. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii

NJPW, 7/22/11
Hakodate Citizen Gymnasium

1. Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
2. Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & MVP vs. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito

NJPW, 7/23/11
Aomori Industrial Hall

1. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito
2. Satoshi Kojima & MVP vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo

NJPW, 7/24/11
Akita Terrsa Hall

1. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo
2. Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima vs. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito

NJPW “DOMINION 6.18″, 6/18/11 (WPW/PPV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
6,200 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Koji Kanemoto beat Hiromu Takahashi (3:04) with a single-leg crab hold.
2. Brian Kendrick , Jado & Gedo beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (8:33) when Kendrick used the Sliced Bread #2 on KUSHIDA.
3. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Mascara Dorada beat Ryusuke Taguchi (c) (8:26) by pinfall to become the 26th champion.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka & Tomohiro Ishii (9:12) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Ishii.
5. Special Singles Match: Yujiro Takahashi beat Tetsuya Naito (11:12) with the Tokyo Pimps.
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi beat Prince Devitt (c) (13:49) with a Firebird splash to become the 61st champion.
7. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer beat Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima (12:39) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Kojima.
8. IWGP Intercontinental Title: MVP (c) beat Toru Yano (10:50) with a leg roll clutch hold (1st defense).
9. Double Title Match – IWGP Tag Team Title & GHC Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) beat Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano (c) (12:03) when Bernard used the Bernard Driver on Sano (8th defense) to become the 22nd GHC Tag Team Champions.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) beat Hirooki Goto (25:28) with the High Fly Flow (5th defense).

* A packed house of 6,200 fans saw another great show by New Japan in the hotbed known as Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.
* TNA Wrestling’s Brian Kendrick, who became popular in Japan earlier in the 2000s as Spanky in ZERO-ONE, made a surprise appearance in the second match in the place of Killer Rabbit, teaming with Jado & Gedo.
* Taguchi’s half year reign as CMLL World Welterweight Champion ended at the hands of the man he won it from, Mascara Dorada, the Funky Weapon failing in his V3 defense of the belt.
* AKIRA returned to his old haunt after the fourth match to continue his feud with former JJ Jacks tag partner Iizuka from TAJIRI’s SMASH promotion. After the same match, Mitsuhide Hirasawa made his long awaited return to Japan, surprisingly betraying his Blue Justice mentor Nagata and possibly (awaiting confirmaiton) joining CHAOS!
* Yujiro drew first blood in what is likely to be a lengthy grudge feud with former NO LIMIT partner Naito, and Naito was gang attacked after the match before Honma made the save.
* Best of the Super Jr. winner, Kota Ibushi, ended Prince Devitt’s one year reign as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion in an emotional match. After several high profile losses to Devitt, including the 2010 BOSJ final and a title match at this year’s Tokyo Dome show, Ibushi finally rose to the peak of the junior scene to capture the prestigious IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title. Although Devitt’s memorable reign came to an end on the same day his close friend Taguchi also dropped gold, Apollo 55 do still hold the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title remember.
* MVP retained the newly founded IWGP Intercontinental Title in a rematch of the tournament final where he won it, pinning Toru Yano with a cradle for a successful V1 defense.
* Bad Intentions made history twice over with one three count, smashing Chono & Tenzan’s IWGP Tag Team Title defense record while at the same time taking the GHC Tag Team Title from NOAH to become double champions. Bernard & Anderson cement themselves as one of the most dominant teams in Japanese tag wrestling history.
* Tanahashi retained the IWGP Heavyweight Title over Goto in what is being called an epic match. Goto came closer than ever to winning the title that has eluded him so far but disappointingly still wasn’t able to surpass Tanahashi and the wait continues. The two shook hands out of respect after the match, despite their recent bitter. After making history in the match beforehand, Giant Bernard appeared after the match and challenged Tanahashi! Tanahashi counter-challenged Bernard for a shot at the tag belts, with Goto as his partner. If the singles match is realized, Bernard has the chance to become a 3-crown champion.