–> “ROAD TO TOKYO DOME 2014 (12/12/14 to 12/20/14)” <--

NJPW, 12/20/14 (TV Asahi ch2)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. El Desperado beat Yohei Komatsu (5:44) with the Guitarra de Angel.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat KUSHIDA & Sho Tanaka (9:43) when Liger used a brainbuster on Tanaka.
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Captain New Japan (9:35) when Taguchi used an ankle hold on Captain.
4. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Kazushi Sakuraba, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado (12:23) when Taichi used a Taichi-style Gedo clutch on Jado.
5. Toru Yano beat Takashi Iizuka (6:15) by DQ.
6. Special Tag Match: Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata beat Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma (13:08) when Shibata used a PK on Honma.
7. Road to TOKYO DOME Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Kota Ibushi beat Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (23:53) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Ishii.

–> “ROAD TO TOKYO DOME 2014 (12/12/14 to 12/20/14)” <--

NJPW, 12/19/14 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,974 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Yohei Komatsu beat Sho Tanaka (10:03) with a crab hold.
2. Taichi & El Desperado beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (9:30) when Desperado used the Guitarra de la Muerta on Liger.
3. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & BUSHI beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma (9:33) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Honma.
4. Toru Yano, Kazushi Sakuraba & YOSHI-HASHI beat Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku (10:39) when Sakuraba used the Sakuraba Lock on TAKA.
5. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata beat Tetsuya Naito & Captain New Japan (13:52) when Goto used the Shouten Kai on Captain.
6. Road to TOKYO DOME Special Elimination Match – Jado Return Match: Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Kota Ibushi, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (29:39). Makabe and Ishii went over the top rope (16:43). Taguchi used an ankle hold on Jado (18:42). KUSHIDA used a Japanese leg roll clutch hold on Gedo (20:09). Okada used the Red Ink on KUSHIDA (21:30). Tanahashi and Okada went over the top rope (25:00). Nakamura threw Ibushi over the top rope (26:35). Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Taguchi (29:39).

–> G1 CLIMAX 24 (7/21/14 to 8/10/14) <--

NJPW, 8/1/14 (TV Asahi ch2/iPPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima [6] beat Shelton Benjamin [8] (10:11) with a lariat.
2. G1 Climax – Block B: Lance Archer [6] beat Toru Yano [6] (4:38) with the Blackout.
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Karl Anderson [6] beat Yujiro Takahashi [4] (7:45) with the Gun Stun.
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. [6] beat Doc Gallows [4] (10:08) with a Sharpshooter.
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] beat Hirooki Goto [6] (11:46) with the Anaconda Max.
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Bad Luck Fale [8] beat Tomoaki Honma [0] (6:40) with the Bad Luck Fall.
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe [6] beat Tetsuya Naito [8] (12:02) with a King Kong kneedrop.
8. G1 Climax – Block B: AJ Styles [8] beat Minoru Suzuki [6] (16:20) with the Styles Clash.
9. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata [6] beat Katsuyori Shibata [8] (13:31) with a backdrop hold.
10. G1 Climax – Block A: Shinsuke Nakamura [10] beat Tomohiro Ishii [6] (15:14) with the Boma Ye.

Block A:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura [10]
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi [8]
- Katsuyori Shibata [8]
- Bad Luck Fale [8]
- Shelton Benjamin [8]
6. Yuji Nagata [6]
- Satoshi Kojima [6]
- Tomohiro Ishii [6]
- Davey Boy Smith Jr. [6]
10. Doc Gallows [4]
11. Tomoaki Honma [0]

Block B:
1. Tetsuya Naito [8]
2. Kazuchika Okada [8]
3. AJ Styles [8]
4. Togi Makabe [6]
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
- Hirooki Goto [6]
- Toru Yano [6]
- Minoru Suzuki [6]
- Karl Anderson [6]
- Lance Archer [6]
11. Yujiro Takahashi [4]

–> YOSHINOYA PRESENTS KIZUNA ROAD 2013 <--

NJPW, 7/5/13 (Samurai! TV/iPPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Super Strong Machine beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado (9:08) when Iizuka was DQ’d.
2. Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA beat Yuji Nagata, Hirooki Goto, Captain New Japan & Takaaki Watanabe (11:02) when KUSHIDA used a reverse cross armbreaker on Watanabe.
3. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Tomohiro Ishii, Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (11:38) when Taichi used the Low Fly Flow on Koslov.
4. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi beat Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma & La Sombra (12:52) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Honma.
5. Karl Anderson & Bad Luck Fale beat Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI (9:22) when Fale used the Grenade on YOSHI-HASHI.
6. CMLL World Tag Team Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger beat El Terrible & Tama Tonga (c) (12:12) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Terrible to become the 34th champions.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) beat Gedo (18:11) with the Bloody Sunday (4th defense).

* Prince Devitt had a peculiar task tonight of defending his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title just 2 weeks before he challenges for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. As stipulated when Okada accepted his challenge, Devitt first had to make his V4 defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Okada’s sidekick Gedo. Gedo was hugely popular at Korakuen against Devitt, who has gone from heroic junior ace to one of the most despised wrestlers in the company since his betray of Taguchi and formation of the BULLET CLUB. But great fan support couldn’t carry him to the title as Devitt dropped him with the Bloody Sunday to complete another successful defense. Next target: Okada.

* You can’t keep Hiroshi Tanahashi away from gold for too long! Tanahashi and the legendary Jushin Thunder Liger today ended the 8 month reign of El Terrible & Tama Tonga to become the new CMLL World Tag Team Champions. Tanahashi pinned Terrible with the High Fly Flow to add yet another trophy to his bulging cabinet. They rarely team up but if they head to CMLL to defend these belts, Tanahashi & Liger will make an instantly recognizable team of New Japan stars. This is the third CMLL title Liger, now 48, has held in his career and yet another accolade for this living legend.

* G1 Climax 2013 participants and blocks have been announced! Take a look at Block A! The only ‘surprise’ names this year are Shibata and Ibushi but New Japan has so many stars these days that outsiders aren’t needed as much as they once were. Plus, after some great performances this year Ishii is rewarded with a place in the big one.

Block A:
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Togi Makabe
- Hirooki Goto
- Satoshi Kojima
- Kazuchika Okada
- Tomohiro Ishii
- Lance Archer
- Davey Boy Smith Jr.
- Prince Devitt
- Katsuyori Shibata

Block B:
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan
- Yuji Nagata
- Tetsuya Naito
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Toru Yano
- Yujiro Takahashi
- Minoru Suzuki
- Shelton Benjamin
- Karl Anderson
- Kota Ibushi

–> BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XX (5/24/13 to 6/9/13) <--

NJPW, 6/9/13 (TV Asahi ch2)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Titan beat Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov, Brian Kendrick, Ricochet & Baretta (7:39) when KUSHIDA used the Midnight Express on Kendrick.
2. Manabu Nakanishi & Hiromu Takahashi beat Yuji Nagata & Takaaki Watanabe (9:18) when Takahashi used a crab hold on Watanabe.
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Jado (9:45) when Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Jado.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Prince Devitt beat Kenny Omega (9:09) with a reverse Bloody Sunday.
5. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Alex Shelley beat TAKA Michinoku (10:14) with the Automatic Midnight.
6. Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii beat Minoru Suzuki & Taichi (11:13) when Ishii used a brainbuster on Taichi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto beat Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga (8:07) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Tonga.
8. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo beat Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma (11:14) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Honma.
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Final: Prince Devitt beat Alex Shelley (18:25) with the Bloody Sunday.

* Prince Devitt made history in the 20th Best of the Super Jr. with complete victory while reigning as IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion. Only Jushin Thunder Liger in 2001 had previously ever won the tournament unbeaten but he had four less matches and wasn’t the title holder. Devitt stormed through the group stage with ease ahead of today’s semi finals which saw a major twist before they even began. Ryusuke Taguchi, who had worked so hard after a poor BOSJ start to reach the semis, had to pull out because of injury. Taguchi had sought revenge over his betrayer Devitt but that will have to wait as TAKA stepped in as his replacement and fell to the popular Alex Shelley. Devitt defeated Kenny Omega in the other semi, setting up an all-foreigner final.

The final was quite chaotic for a time with seconds interfering and fighting each other. “All of Korakuen is the enemy of Devitt” said one fan, the Bullet Club leader having quickly become one of the most hated figures in New Japan since betraying Taguchi and the fans. And there was to be no happy ending for the fans as Devitt dropped Shelley with the Bloody Sunday to win his second Best of the Super Jr. tournament – seemingly the invincible figure of New Japan’s junior division.

The question now rises – is Devitt too strong for the junior division and should he move into the heavyweight division? We may get a clue soon as he expressed his wish to face Tanahashi which would be the ultimate challenge of Devitt’s ability to face top heavyweights.

* Manabu Nakanishi will challenge Rob Conway for the NWA World Heavyweight Title on the big 6/22 Osaka show, hoping to do what Kojima couldn’t and bring the title to New Japan.

* Hiromu Takahashi said farewell to the fans after the second match with the young lion now set to head to the UK on his traditional learning excursion after finishing the BOSJ tournament without a single win.

–> BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XX (5/24/13 to 6/9/13) <--

NJPW, 6/6/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,620 Fans

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Jado [6] beat TAKA Michinoku [8] (7:27) with the Crossface of JADO.
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Baretta [6] beat Taichi [8] (9:23) with an Axe Guillotine Driver.
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Brian Kendrick [8] beat Alex Koslov [8] (9:47) with the Sliced Bread #2.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Titan [6] beat Rocky Romero (7:14) with the Titanics.
5. Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma beat Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (14:40) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on YOSHI-HASHI.
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [10] beat Tiger Mask [8] (7:17) with a Tiger suplex hold.
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Prince Devitt [16] beat Jushin Thunder Liger [8] (6:27) with the Bloody Sunday.
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Kenny Omega [10] beat KUSHIDA [8] (16:10) with the Katayoku no Tenshi.
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Alex Shelley [10] beat Ricochet [10] (16:33) with the Automatic Midnight.

* An eventful final day of group stage matches determined who would join Devitt in the semi finals. Devitt himself finished a flawless run by beating Liger to leave Block A with a perfect 8-0 record. He will be joined by Alex Shelley who defeated DRAGON GATE’s Ricochet in the main event and decisive match to determine who would take 2nd spot. Block B, so close throughout, still managed to finish with five of the nine members on 8pts, but Taguchi with a win over Tiger Mask and Kenny Omega with a win by KUSHIDA left the pack behind. And so the semis are Devitt vs. Omega and Taguchi vs. Shelley.

-

Final standings…

Block A:
1. Prince Devitt [16]
2. Alex Shelley [10]
3. Ricochet [10]
4. Taichi [8]
5. Rocky Romero [8]
6. Jushin Thunder Liger [8]
7. Baretta [6]
8. Titan [6]
9. Hiromu Takahashi [0]

Block B:
1. Ryusuke Taguchi [10]
2. Kenny Omega [10]
3. Tiger Mask [8]
- KUSHIDA [8]
- TAKA Michinoku [8]
- Alex Koslov [8]
- Brian Kendrick [8]
8. BUSHI [6]
9. Jado [6]

-

NJPW, 6/9/13 (TV Asahi ch2)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Prince Devitt vs. Kenny Omega
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Alex Shelley
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Final:

–> NEW JAPAN CUP 2013 (3/11/13 to 3/23/13) <--

NJPW, 3/23/13 (WPW/iPPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & BUSHI (10:07) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on BUSHI.
2. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (11:13) when Kojima used a lariat on YOSHI-HASHI.
3. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hirooki Goto beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8:14) with the Goto Shiki.
4. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada beat Toru Yano (10:42) with the Red Ink.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado beat Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku (14:04) when Ishii used a brainbuster on TAKA.
6. Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (13:22) when Devitt used the Bloody Sunday on Captain.
7. New Japan Cup – Final: Kazuchika Okada beat Hirooki Goto (23:52) with the Rainmaker.

* The incredible Kazuchika Okada has done it! In little more than 14 months after returning from his overseas excursion he has now won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, G1 Climax, and New Japan Cup! Okada today completed the hat-trick by winning the 2013 New Japan Cup, first defeating CHAOS comrade Yano in the semi final while Goto beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. Then the two native big guns collided in the final with Okada overcoming Goto (the winner in 3 of the last 4 NJC tournaments before today) using his Rainmaker! And so destiny draws Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada back together and they faced off after the match with their fourth big match since Okada’s return now set for 4/7 at Sumo Hall. Tanahashi is 2-1 going into it having beaten Okada in the Tokyo Dome main event… will Okada continue to make history and defeat the man who took the title from him last June?

* IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title co-holder Alex Shelley challenged Prince Devitt to a match for his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title on 4/7 at Sumo Hall after the semi final.

* Tomoaki Honma returned to New Japan after the second match to save former GBH pal Togi Makabe from a CHAOS beatdown. Honma was fired by New Japan for some allegedly dodgy reasons looks to have been allowed back.

* Nakamura & Ishii challenged the Killer Elite Squad for a match for the IWGP Tag Team Title with Archer & Smith accepting but at the same time Davey Boy Jr. challenged Shinsuke for a match for his IWGP Intercontinental Title! Ishii’s improved results on this tour look to have been rewarded if he’s given a shot at the tag belts.

* It was announced that the NWA will send an “assassin” to the 4/7 Sumo Hall (video) and he is NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Rob Conway, who wrestled in the WWE for 7 years and held the WWE Tag Team Title three times with Sylvain Grenier as La Résistance. Kojima has requested a title match and looks to be the the first line of defense against the NWA “invasion”.

* Yuji Nagata has requested a singles match with Kazushi Sakuraba on 4/7 after they collided in a tag match on 3/17 in Amagasaki. These two were youngsters during the legendary New Japan vs. UWFi feud and first met around 18 years ago.

* So after all those challenges “INVASION ATTACK” on 4/7 is shaping up very nicely with a possible card of Tanahashi vs. Okada (IWGP Heavyweight), Nagata vs. Sakuraba, Conway vs. Kojima (NWA World Heavyweight) Nakamura & Ishii vs. KES (IWGP Tag) OR Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (IWGP IC), and Devitt vs. Shelley (IWGP Jr.).

–> NEW JAPAN CUP 2013 (3/11/13 to 3/23/13) <--

NJPW, 3/11/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Tomohiro Ishii beat Satoshi Kojima (13:37) with a brainbuster.
2. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hirooki Goto beat Tama Tonga (9:37) with the Shouten Kai.
3. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Toru Yano beat Manabu Nakanishi (6:18) by pinfall.
4. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Karl Anderson beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (8:42) with the Gun Stun.
5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat Captain New Japan, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:09) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Captain.
6. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Yujiro Takahashi beat Togi Makabe (10:45) with a Bukko Nuki German suplex hold.
7. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Minoru Suzuki beat Yuji Nagata (10:24) with a Gotch-style piledriver.
8. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Kazuchika Okada beat Lance Archer (10:14) with the Red Ink.
9. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Shinsuke Nakamura (13:06) with a jumping powerbomb.

* Upsets galore on day one of the 2013 New Japan Cup mean that the second round will be missing several of the company’s biggest names. Davey Boy Smith Jr. got some revenge for his tag partner Lance Archer’s recent IWGP Intercontinental Title match loss to Shinsuke Nakamura by pulling off a huge win in the main event. This could also lead to Smith challenging for Shinsuke’s title in the near future.

* Kazuchika Okada is looking at add the New Japan Cup to the IWGP Heavyweight Title and G1 Climax that he has won since his return just over a year ago. Okada defeated Archer in another CHAOS vs. Suzuki Gun match with his new finisher, the Red Ink, which he claims he has abandoned the Rainmaker for.

* The eternal rivalry between Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki continued two months after Nagata pinned the Suzuki Gun leader at the Tokyo Dome. As has been the case throughout their rivalry they continued to trade wins today as Suzuki pinned Nagata following a Gotch-style piledriver to advance.

* Yujiro Takahashi avenged his loss to Togi Makabe from “THE NEW BEGINNING” in February by beating him today as their grudge continues. A very big win for Yujiro who has taken big steps in recent months and gave Tanahashi a tough fight in his first ever IWGP Heavyweight Title shot back in November.

* Last year’s NJC semi finalist and last year’s G1 Climax runner-up Karl Anderson advanced by beating Tenzan while one day after winning the GHC Tag Team Title with Iizuka, Yano pinned Nakanishi to ensure qualification. Hirooki Goto, looking for his 4th NJC tournament win in 5 years, defeated Tama Tonga to the surprise of no one. But the opening match saw the biggest shock of them all as perennial midcarder Tomohiro Ishii stunned Korakuen Hall by beating Satoshi Kojima with a brainbuster! Deemed not high profile enough for the G1, Ishii has been a regular entrant in the NJC but the only time in five previous attempts he won his round one match was in 2009 when he beat Wataru Inoue by countout during their feud that year.

-

A rematch of the 2012 G1 Climax final is the pick of the bunch in round two next Sunday as Anderson and Okada lock horns again. CHAOS vs. Suzuki Gun continues in two of the four matches with Yano vs. Suzuki and Yujiro vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr., while you would expect Goto to defeat Ishii but after Ishii’s win today you can’t be too sure…

NJPW, 3/17/13 (Samurai! TV)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium

1. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Hirooki Goto vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
3. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
4. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Karl Anderson 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.

–> “ROAD TO THE NEW BEGINNING” <--

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

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & BUSHI beat Tama Tonga, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (8:44) when BUSHI used a Firebird splash on Watanabe.
2. Hirooki Goto, Wataru Inoue, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat YOSHI-HASHI, Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov & Jado (13:23) when Goto used the Shouten Kai on YOSHI-HASHI.
3. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (11:23) when Smith used the Killer bomb on Captain.
4. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi (12:45) when Iizuka was DQ’d.
5. Minoru Suzuki, Kengo Mashimo & Hiro Tonai beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Gedo (16:55) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Gedo.
6. Special Tag Match: Karl Anderson & Prince Devitt beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryusuke Taguchi (15:43) when Devitt used the Bloody Sunday on Tanahashi.
7. NEVER Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka (c) beat Tomohiro Ishii (23:27) with the Sliding D (2nd defense).

* Masato Tanaka overcomes Tomohiro Ishii in a brutally stiff battle of CHAOS fighters to retain the NEVER Openweight Title in the main event of a sold out Korakuen Hall show.

* In an incredible outcome to the semi final, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion pinned the IWGP Heavyweight Champion! Yes, Prince Devitt teaming with Tanahashi’s next challenger Karl Anderson pinned Tanahashi himself, who was teaming with Devitt’s regular tag partner Taguchi. A huge upet.

* Yujiro again dropped Makabe on his head after the fourth match as their new rivalry continues to gain steam.

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

NJPW/CMLL, 1/20/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Special Singles Match: Taichi beat Maximo (8:40) with a small package hold.
2. 6 vs. 6 Torneo Cibernetico: Tomohiro Ishii, Jado, Gedo, Misterioso Jr., OKUMURA & YOSHI-HASHI beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada, Diamante, Titan & BUSHI (19:41) when Ishii used a lariat on BUSHI.
3. Special Singles Match: Rush beat Rey Escorpion (9:38) with the Rush Driver.
4. NWA World Historic Middleweight Title: La Sombra beat Dragon Rojo Jr. (c) (11:58) by pinfall to become the 6th champion.
5. Mexican National Light Heavyweight Title: La Mascara (c) beat Volador Jr. (14:40) with the La Campana.
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Atlantis beat Kazuchika Okada, Mephisto & Euforia (9:58) when Atlantis used the Atlantida on Mephisto.

* A successful tour that brought in 5,350 fans over three days at Korakuen Hall to see New Japan and CMLL stars ended today with two title matches including a switch as La Sombra lifted the NWA World Historic Middleweight Title from Dragon Rojo Jr., who had won the belt off New Japan’s own Prince Devitt in Mexico last year.

–> “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”.

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

NJPW/CMLL, 1/18/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,650 Fans

1. Tama Tonga & Titan beat Euforia & OKUMURA (8:17) when Tonga used the Headshrinker on Euforia.
2. Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & Rey Escorpion beat Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Diamante (8:29) when Escorpion used the Aguijon Mortal on Diamante.
3. Rush beat YOSHI-HASHI (11:08) with the Rush Driver.
4. Volador Jr., TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat La Mascara, Mascara Dorada & Maximo (9:38) when Volador used an avalanche-style Sliced Bread on La Mascara.
5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Mephisto, Jado & Gedo beat Atlantis, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (11:21) when Mephisto used the Devil’s Wings on Atlantis.
6. Special Singles Match: Prince Devitt beat Dragon Rojo Jr. (10:21) with the Bloody Sunday.
7. Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Misterioso Jr. (13:41) when Sombra used a senton bomb on Misterioso.

* The first of three shows in three days at Korakuen for the expanded “FANTASTICA MANIA” helped set up some of the title matches on the next two shows.

* New Japan has signed BUSHI full-time from All Japan. The move was originally a “loan” like you would see in football/soccer for BUSHI to gain experience in a new environment but New Japan has been so impressed by the masked man that they spoke to All Japan president Masayuki Uchida about it and an agreement was made. A press conference was held with New Japan president Sugabayashi, All Japan president Uchida, and BUSHI himself where the harmonious transfer was announced.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ ROAD TO TOKYO DOME” <--

NJPW, 12/23/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Tiger Mask & BUSHI beat Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (6:53) when BUSHI used a Firebird splash on Takahashi.
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi, Wataru Inoue & Captain New Japan beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado (10:57) when Yano was DQ’d.
3. Road to TOKYO DOME 1: Hirooki Goto beat TAKA Michinoku (6:32) with the Shouten Kai.
4. Road to TOKYO DOME 2: Shinsuke Nakamura beat KUSHIDA (9:02) with the Boma Ye.
5. Road to TOKYO DOME 3: Togi Makabe beat Tomohiro Ishii (12:15) with a King Kong kneedrop.
6. Road to TOKYO DOME 4: Minoru Suzuki beat Jushin Thunder Liger (11:16) with a Gotch-style piledriver.
7. Road to TOKYO DOME 5: Yuji Nagata beat Taichi (6:22) with a backdrop hold.
8. Road to TOKYO DOME 6: Kazuchika Okada beat Ryusuke Taguchi (9:51) with the Rainmaker.
9. Road to TOKYO DOME 7: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Gedo (14:55) with the High Fly Flow.

* New Japan finished an exciting and successful 2012 today at a packed Korakuen Hall with a series of special singles matches, mostly following the heavyweight vs. junior theme with heavyweights winning all of them as expected. Akebono turned up to help the New Japan team in the second match and looks likely to be added to the planned six man Tokyo Dome tag match where CHAOS plan to add Bob Sapp. Sapp vs. Akebono was once a huge rivalry in K-1 that made lots of money and while both have long since fallen out of mainstream fame, if they are added it will turn a formula six man tag into something with a little more Tokyo Dome worthy novelty.

-

The 1/4 Tokyo Dome will be available worldwide at a cost of US$35 on USTREAM. This is higher than the previous iPPVs but this is the biggest event on the Japanese calendar and is likely to be 4-5 hours long and good value for money. Click here for New Japan’s channel where you can order it (right near the bottom under “Upcoming Shows”). Here is the card but as mentioned the official opening match is now likely to feature Sapp and Akebono so may become 4 vs. 4.

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

0-1. Wataru Inoue, Tama Tonga & Captain New Japan vs. Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Jado
0-2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA & BUSHI
1. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Manabu Nakanishi, MVP & Strong Man vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
2. NEVER Openweight Title: Masato Tanaka (c) vs. Shelton Benjamin
3. IWGP Tag Team Title: Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson
4. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title – 3WAY Match: Prince Devitt (c) vs. Low Ki vs. Kota Ibushi
6. Special Tag Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Keiji Muto & Daichi Hashimoto
7. Special Singles Match: Togi Makabe vs. Katsuyori Shibata
8. Double Main Event I – IWGP Intercontinental Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
9. Double Main Event II – IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ ROAD TO POWER STRUGGLE” <--

NJPW “~SUPER JR. TAG TOURNAMENT SEMI FINAL & FINAL~”, 11/2/12 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans

1. Super Jr. Tag Tournament – Semi Final: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (8:13) when Shelley used the Automatic Midnight on TAKA.
2. Super Jr. Tag Tournament – Semi Final: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov (9:19) when Taguchi used the Dodon on Koslov.
3. Low Ki, Brian Kendrick, Jado & Gedo beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Negro Casas & BUSHI (11:26) when Ki used a diving footstomp on BUSHI.
4. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue beat Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (8:50) when Inoue used a German suplex hold on Iizuka.
5. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata (13:16) when Archer used the Killer bomb on Tenzan.
6. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Manabu Nakanishi, Karl Anderson & Captain New Japan (16:22) when Ishii used a brainbuster on Captain.
7. Super Jr. Tag Tournament – Final: KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (16:42) when KUSHIDA pinned Taguchi after the I-94.

* “Time Splitters” KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley wasted no time in earning a second shot at Rocky Romero & Alex Koslov’s IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title by winning the Super Jr. Tag Tournament in today’s finale at Korakuen. They overcame Suzuki-gun’s TAKA & Taichi in their semi final while Apollo 55 defeated the champions in the other to show they also meant business. And so it came down to two fan favourite teams as Devitt & Taguchi faces KUSHIDA & Shelley in an exciting final. But it was the newer team who triumphed as on a big day for him KUSHIDA pinned Taguchi following the I-94. The winners immediately challenged Forever Hooligans for a title shot on 11/11 in Osaka and that is certain to take place.

* New Japan announced that it’s popular collaboration with Mexican giants CMLL will expand in 2013! “FANTASTICA MANIA 2013″ will run over three shows next January instead of two after the concept has been such a success so far.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ G1 CLIMAX XXI ~THE ONE AND ONLY~” <--

NJPW, 8/1/12 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,020 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Rush [2] beat Hirooki Goto [0] (8:02) with the Rush Driver.
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Minoru Suzuki [2] beat Yujiro Takahashi [0] (8:05) with a Gotch-style piledriver.
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson [2] beat Yuji Nagata [0] (11:28) with the Gun Stun.
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Lance Archer [2] beat Togi Makabe [0] (9:55) with the Blackout.
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Naomichi Marufuji [2] beat Satoshi Kojima [0] (11:37) with a huracanrana.
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Kazuchika Okada [2] beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] (11:20) with the Rainmaker.
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito [2] beat Shinsuke Nakamura [0] (13:39) with a Stardust press.
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] beat Shelton Benjamin [0] (13:54) with the High Fly Flow.

* An exciting first day of the 2012 at an again packed Korakuen Hall saw plenty of surprise results and some expected ones, Tanahashi closing the show with a victory over Shelton Benjamin. Naito scored another big win over Nakamura in the semi final, while Okada defeated Tenzan in their first ever singles match. Marufuji stunned Kojima with a quick huracanrana to ensure it was a bad opening day for the IWGP Tag Team Champions, while Archer upset Makabe and Anderson did likewise to Nagata. The first match of the 2012 G1 saw yet another surprise in what was a rematch from January’s “FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″ with a reverse result, CMLL’s Rush pinning Hirooki Goto.

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ LAST REBELLION”, 7/29/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Captain New Japan & KUSHIDA beat Jado & Gedo (7:22) when KUSHIDA used a Buzzsaw kick on Gedo.
2. Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Ryusuke Taguchi, BUSHI & Tama Tonga (9:09) when Inoue used a German suplex hold on BUSHI.
3. Karl Anderson, MVP, Shelton Benjamin & Rush beat Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (10:15) when Benjamin used the Paydirt on Taichi.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (10:09) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Ishii.
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (17:12) when Naito used a Stardust press on YOSHI-HASHI.
6. Double Main Event I – IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kota Ibushi beat Low Ki (c) (19:30) with a Phoenix splash to become the 30th champion.
7. Double Main Event II – NWA World Historic Middleweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) beat Volador Jr. (13:05) with an avalanche-style Bloody Sunday (2nd defense).

* The final show before this year’s G1 Climax was the junior-centric “LAST REBELLION” and was a complete sell out at a packed Korakuen Hall.

* NWA World Historic Middleweight Champion, Prince Devitt, is unfamiliar with the idea of not holding a title these days so having lost the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title back in May had to make sure he overcame the tough challenge of CMLL star Volador Jr. in part two of the double main event. This was a good match with many exciting high-flying moves although the fans were a little burned out from what came before it, but New Japan wanted one of its own stars in the final match of the card. And Devitt came out on top, sinking Volador with an avalanche-style Bloody Sunday to complete a successful V2 defense.

* The most anticipated match of the show was the first of the two main events and saw dominant IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Low Ki, take on DDT star and former champion Kota Ibushi in something of a modern day junior dream match. This was Ibushi’s first singles match in New Japan since defeating Taguchi in a title defense in his last reign just under a year ago, after which he was forced to vacate the title with a badly dislocated shoulder. Having not long returned Ibushi has quickly returned to New Japan and put on a wildly exciting match with Ki today in what was Ki’s V2 defense of the title. And Ibushi picked up where he left off in New Japan, sinking Ki with a Phoenix splash to capture the title for the second time. KUSHIDA, who upset Ki in a non-title match a week ago, appeared afterwards to issue a challenge to Ibushi which could set up another match with great potential. Hopefully Ki’s quick back-to-back losses don’t mean he is on his way out so soon as he has boosted the junior division a lot since his New Japan return.

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

NJPW, 7/8/12 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, KUSHIDA & Maximo beat Rocky Romero, Alex Koslov, Jado & Gedo (9:38) when KUSHIDA used the Midnight Express on Gedo.
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI went to a double countout (11:40).
3. Low Ki beat BUSHI (7:36) with a diving footstomp.
4. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku beat Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (11:11) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Taguchi.
5. NWA World Historic Middleweight Title: Prince Devitt (c) beat Taichi (17:42) with a diving footstomp (1st defense).
6. Tetsuya Naito, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga beat Kazuchika Okada, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii (16:04) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Ishii.
7. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (18:20) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Goto.

-

Participants and lineups for the 2012 G1 Climax were announced today. NOAH star Naomichi Marufuji who was supposed to enter the 2010 G1 but pulled out because of an injury and was replaced by Devitt is in the tournament, and is joined by fellow G1 debutants Shelton Benjamin and highly rated CMLL star Rush. The rest are New Japan regulars who make up a typically strong cast. The blocks are below and perhaps the most notable thing is that CHAOS’ top two, Okada and Nakamura, are in the jaw-dropping Block B meaning they will face each other! Having seen every G1 Climax I believe if this one reaches its full potential it could be among the best in history.

Block A:
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi
2. Yuji Nagata
3. Satoshi Kojima
4. Karl Anderson
5. Shelton Benjamin (free)
6. Toru Yano
7. Yujiro Takahashi
8. Minoru Suzuki
9. Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH)

Block B:
1. Togi Makabe
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
3. Hirooki Goto
4. Tetsuya Naito
5. MVP
6. Rush (CMLL)
7. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. Kazuchika Okada
9. Lance Archer

NJPW, 8/1/12 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Rush
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Yujiro Takahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Karl Anderson
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Lance Archer
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shelton Benjamin

NJPW, 8/3/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax – Block B: Rush vs. Lance Archer
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Minoru Suzuki
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Naomichi Marufuji
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. MVP
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW, 8/4/12 (J SPORTS)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. MVP
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Rush vs. Kazuchika Okada
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Naomichi Marufuji
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima

NJPW, 8/5/12 (WPW)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Yujiro Takahashi
2. G1 Climax – Block B: MVP vs. Rush
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Lance Archer
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Shelton Benjamin
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Tetsuya Naito
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuchika Okada
8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji

NJPW, 8/7/12 (Samurai! TV)
Sendai Sun Plaza Hall

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Rush
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Yujiro Takahashi
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Karl Anderson
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hirooki Goto
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Lance Archer vs. Kazuchika Okada
6. G1 Climax – Block B: MVP vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Minoru Suzuki vs. Naomichi Marufuji
8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano

NJPW, 8/8/12 (Samurai! TV)
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Naomichi Marufuji
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Rush
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Lance Archer
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. MVP
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Yuji Nagata
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Minoru Suzuki

NJPW, 8/10/12 (J SPORTS)
Niigata City Gymnasium

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Tetsuya Naito vs. Lance Archer
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Shelton Benjamin
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. MVP
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Rush
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Karl Anderson vs. Toru Yano
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yujiro Takahashi
8. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Kazuchika Okada

NJPW, 8/11/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. G1 Climax – Block B: Rush vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Shelton Benjamin vs. Minoru Suzuki
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yujiro Takahashi
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tetsuya Naito
6. G1 Climax – Block B: MVP vs. Kazuchika Okada
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto
8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata

NJPW, 8/12/12 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. G1 Climax – Block B: MVP vs. Lance Archer
2. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
4. G1 Climax – Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuchika Okada
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Toru Yano
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shelton Benjamin
8. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson
9. G1 Climax – Final: Block A 1st place vs. Block B 1st place

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~” <--

NJPW, 6/10/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,050 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jado & Gedo beat Angel de Oro & Daisuke Sasaki (5:39) when Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Sasaki.
2. Rocky Romero, Alex Kozlov & Brian Kendrick beat KUSHIDA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (7:33) when Kozlov used the Russian Strike on Takahashi.
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Ryusuke Taguchi beat PAC (10:38) with the Dodon.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Low Ki beat Prince Devitt (8:00) with a Sharpshooter.
5. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan (9:50) when Yano used the Akakiri on Captain.
6. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Togi Makabe, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (12:53) when Taichi used a Taichi-style Gedo clutch on Liger.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Tetsuya Naito beat Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (15:47) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Ishii.
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Final: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Low Ki (17:01) with a Milano–saku Dodon’s Throne.

* At long last the “Funky Weapon” Ryusuke Taguchi wins the Best of the Super Jr. tournament! A momentous finale to the BOSJ saw Taguchi beat PAC in the first semi final then Devitt again fall to Low Ki and apparently get a legitimately injured knee in the process. Taguchi then did the seemingly impossible and stalled the Low Ki juggernaut, which had seen the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion win nine matches in a row in the tournament. Taguchi dug deep in a Rocky Balbao-esque performance after getting his eye injured, coming back to sink Low Ki with the Milano–saku Dodon’s Throne! It now looks almost certain that these two will clash in six day’s time for the title at “DOMINION 6.16″. Can Taguchi use this momentum to not only go on and win the title but finally escape from the shadow of his sworn friend and tag partner Devitt?

* TAKA & Taichi challenged Liger & Tiger Mask to a match for the vacant IWGP Jr. Tag Title during the show, so that could also be added to the upcoming Osaka card.

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~” <--

NJPW, 6/6/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Tiger Mask [8] beat Hiromu Takahashi [0] (6:50) with an avalanche-style double-arm suplex.
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov [8] beat beat Daisuke Sasaki [4] (10:05) with the Russian Strike.
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Taichi [4] beat KUSHIDA [6] (2:33) with a Taichi-style Gedo clutch.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [8] beat BUSHI [6] (7:10) with a brainbuster.
5. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga (16:37) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Naito.
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Rocky Romero [6] beat Angel de Oro [8] (10:38) with a diving double kneedrop.
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: TAKA Michinoku [6] beat Ryusuke Taguchi [8] (11:11) with the Heavy Killer #1.
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki [14] beat Brian Kendrick [8] (10:37) with the Ki Krusher ’99.
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: PAC [8] beat Prince Devitt [8] (17:24) with a Shooting Star Press.

* The dominant Low Ki wins Block B with two shows to spare after his seventh win in the Super Jr. tournament today. The second spot from that group looks to be between Tiger Mask, Taguchi, Kendrick, and Kozlov.

* PAC’s big main event win over Devitt means Block A is up in the air with four stars fighting for two places in the semi finals.

-

Block A:
1. Prince Devitt [8]
- Jushin Thunder Liger [8]
- PAC [8]
- Angel de Oro [8]
5. KUSHIDA [6]
- BUSHI [6]
- Rocky Romero [6]
8. Gedo [4]
9. Taichi [4]

Block B:
1. Low Ki [14]
2. Tiger Mask [8]
- Ryusuke Taguchi [8]
- Brian Kendrick [8]
- Alex Kozlov [8]
6. TAKA Michinoku [6]
7. Daisuke Sasaki [4]
8. Jado [2]
9. Hiromu Takahashi [0]

–> “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY TOUR ~ BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XIX ~THE DOOR TO THE GLORY~” <--

NJPW, 5/27/12 (Asahi Newstar)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: BUSHI [2] beat Rocky Romero [0] (5:23) with the Bushi Roll.
2. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Daisuke Sasaki [2] beat Jado [0] (8:57) with a Sasaki-style huracanrana.
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Alex Kozlov [2] beat TAKA Michinoku [0] (8:22) with the Russian Strike.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Brian Kendrick [2] beat Tiger Mask [0] (6:34) with the Sliced Bread #2.
5. Kazuchika Okada, Shinsuke Nakamura, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga (15:51) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Tonga.
6. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: Angel de Oro [2] beat Taichi [0] (9:28) with the Alas de Oro.
7. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: PAC [2] beat Jushin Thunder Liger [0] (10:20) with a 360 Shooting Star Press.
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Block B: Low Ki [2] beat Ryusuke Taguchi [0] (14:10) with a diving footstomp.
9. Best of the Super Jr. – Block A: KUSHIDA [2] beat Prince Devitt [0] (12:56) with the Midnight Express.

* Big wins for all of the special guests on day one of the Super Jr. as PAC, de Oro, Kendrick, Kozlov, Sasaki, and BUSHI record wins over familiar names. But the big surprise saw KUSHIDA pin long standing junior ace Prince Devitt in the main event to kick off his campaign with a huge victory.

* New Japan today announced the schedule for this year’s G1 Climax which promises to be a big one…

- 8/1 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall Asahi Newstar
- 8/3 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall SAMURAI!
- 8/4 @ Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium J SPORTS
- 8/5 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium WPW
- 8/7 @ Sendai Sun Plaza Hall SAMURAI!
- 8/8 @ Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium SAMURAI!
- 8/10 @ Niigata City Gymnasium J SPORTS
- 8/11 @ Tokyo Korakuen Hall
- 8/12 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan WPW/PPV

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

NJPW, 4/8/12 (WPW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & KUSHIDA beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (11:13) when KUSHIDA used a jackknife hold on Iizuka.
2. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga (12:01) when Archer used the Dark Days on Tonga.
3. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Karl Anderson (12:36) with the Sling Blade.
4. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hirooki Goto beat Togi Makabe (9:22) with the Goto Shiki.
5. Kazuchika Okada beat Captain New Japan (6:55) with the Rainmaker.
6. Tetsuya Naito, MVP, La Sombra & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (15:43) when Naito used a Stardust press on YOSHI-HASHI.
7. New Japan Cup – Final: Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (25:25) with the Shouten Kai.

* Hirooki Goto wins his third New Japan Cup in the past four years on what could be a momentous day for his career. He overcame Makabe in the semi final round while Tanahashi bypassed the on-form Karl Anderson, setting up a grand finale. And after a 25 minute blockbuster, Goto sunk Tanahashi with his Shouten Kai to add the 2012 NJC to his fast growing list of tournament wins. This was Goto’s first ever win over Tanahashi after numerous attempts so another big moment for him. His win means he marches on to challenge IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, in the main event of “WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012″ at the Fukuoka International Center on 5/3. This will also be an IWGP Heavyweight Champion vs. IWGP Intercontinental Champion match although the main title is only likely to be on the line.

-

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY ~ WRESTLING DONTAKU 2012″, 5/3/12 (WPW/PPV)
Fukuoka International Center

1. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

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

NJPW, 4/5/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii beat KUSHIDA, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (8:52) when Ishii used a lariat on Watanabe.
2. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (8:18) when Tiger used a Tiger suplex hold on Taichi.
3. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & YOSHI-HASHI beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi (10:34) when Yano used the Akakiri on Taguchi.
4. Kazuchika Okada, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi beat MVP, Captain New Japan & Tama Tonga (11:18) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Tonga.
5. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Hirooki Goto beat La Sombra (9:51) with the Shouten Kai.
6. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Karl Anderson beat Shinsuke Nakamura (15:22) with the Gun Stun.
7. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Togi Makabe beat Minoru Suzuki (13:34) with a King Kong kneedrop.
8. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Tetsuya Naito (18:21) with a small package hold.

* An exciting semi final round of the New Japan Cup was set up at a sold out Korakuen Hall today with a couple of huge upsets. New Japan ace Hiroshi Tanahashi stalled Naito’s runaway momentum by showing he is still the man to beat despite his recent title loss to Okada, pinning Naito with a small package hold. This set up a match with… Karl Anderson! Yes, the “Machine Gun” prevented the latest clash of eternal rivals with Nakamura by beating the CHAOS leader in a huge upset. He dropped Shinsuke with the Gun Stun and continues to impress as he looks to make a name for himself as a singles wrestler in the post-Bad Intentions era.

* The second semi final will see two fan favourites go up against each other. Hirooki Goto unsurprisingly put away CMLL star La Sombra with his Shouten Kai, while Makabe scored a big win over Minoru Suzuki meaning he has now taken out Suzuki Gun’s “big three” of Suzuki, Takayama, and Archer in singles matches this year. So Goto vs. Makabe will collide back at Korakuen in a few days for a place in the final against either Tanahashi or Anderson.

-

NJPW, 4/8/12 (WPW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & KUSHIDA vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
2. Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yoshihiro Takayama, Lance Archer, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
3. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Karl Anderson
4. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Togi Makabe
5. Captain New Japan vs. Kazuchika Okada
6. Tetsuya Naito, MVP, La Sombra & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI
7. New Japan Cup – Final:

NJPW “NJPW 40TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 3/4/12 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,040 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA beat Tama Tonga, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (11:10) when KUSHIDA used the Midnight Express on Watanabe.
2. YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii beat Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan (10:19) when YOSHI-HASHI used a Swanton bomb on Captain.
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Jado & Gedo (8:36) when Tiger used a Tiger suplex hold on Gedo.
4. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (12:35) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Taichi.
5. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (14:37) when Yano used the Kuro Kirishima on Kojima.
6. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Karl Anderson (14:18) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Anderson.
7. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuchika Okada (c) beat Tetsuya Naito (28:50) with the Rainmaker (1st defense).

* On the 40th anniversary of Japan’s longest standing and most famous pro wrestling group, two new generation stars headlined for the IWGP Heavyweight Champion with Kazuchika Okada, who shocked the world last month when he dethroned Tanahashi, facing the man who beat Tanahashi’s greatest rival Nakamura on the same show, Tetsuya Naito. Okada survived this grueling half hour challenge against the spirited Naito, pinning him after hitting the Rainmaker to complete a successful V1 defense. Okada declared himself the IWGP champion of a new era after the match. Fans are raving about this match, with the popular Black Eye blog calling it “Amazing amazing amazing! Legendary match.” and saying it was probably even better than the Tanahashi vs. Naito from last October.

* IWGP Tag Team Champions, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima, suffered an upset loss ahead of their upcoming title defense against Yoshihiro Takayama & Lance Archer, when they fell to CHAOS’ Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka in a non-title match, Yano pinning Kojima. Should TenKoji retain their belts against Suzuki Gun, it would appear likely that Yano & Iizuka would move into top contendership following this win.

* Hidekazu “Kero” Tanaka, New Japan’s most famous ring announcer of years gone by, made a return as a special guest.

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

NJPW, 1/29/12 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,000 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (6:45) when Taichi used the Dark Metamorphose on Takahashi.
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Captain New Japan beat Takashi Iizuka, Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo (8:45) when Captain used the Caribbean Death Grip on Gedo.
3. Masato Tanaka , YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii beat Tomoaki Honma, Tama Tonga & King Fale (10:34) when YOSHI-HASHI used a Swanton bomb on Fale.
4. Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata beat Toru Yano (11:01) with a backdrop hold.
5. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & KUSHIDA beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger (10:06) when Bernard pinned Tenzan after the Magic Killer.
6. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue (9:50) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Inoue.
7. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto beat Yujiro Takahashi (10:00) with the Shouten Kai.
8. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito (17:46) when Okada used the Rainmaker on Tanahashi.

* Okada’s domination of Tanahashi continues in spectacular fashion as the newly returned bad boy pins Tanahashi in today’s tag main event ahead of their IWGP Heavyweight Title match coming up in Osaka.

* Koji Kanemoto has renewed his contract with New Japan under the same terms as last year. He is free to pick and choose when he wants to wrestle and can wander around freely under the New Japan banner. Kanemoto’s body has been feeling the effects of age and injuries in recent years so he isn’t able to wrestle full-time anymore.

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″, 1/22/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga beat YOSHI-HASHI, Jado, Gedo & OKUMURA (10:11) when Tonga used the Headshrinker on OKUMURA.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger & Maximo beat Misterioso Jr. & Taichi (8:15) when Maximo used the TeAmo Maximo on Misterioso.
3. CMLL World Welterweight Title: Mascara Dorada (c) beat KUSHIDA (13:22) with a Dorada-style huracanrana (4th defense).
4. Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto beat Rush (9:49) with the Shouten Kai.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada & Mephisto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Diamante (14:24) when Mephisto used an avalanche-style double-arm face buster on Diamante.
6. NWA World Historic Welterweight Title: La Sombra (c) beat Volador Jr. (21:47) with a moonsault*moonsault (3rd defense).

* Two successive sell outs made the second edition of “FANTASTICA MANIA” an even bigger commercial success than the first, despite much weaker cards on paper.

NJPW/CMLL “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″, 1/21/12 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Danshoku Dino & Maximo (8:04) when Taichi used a cradle on Dino.
2. YOSHI-HASHI & OKUMURA beat Tama Tonga & King Fale (11:27) when YOSHI-HASHI used a Swanton bomb on Fale.
3. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask beat Jado, Gedo & Misterioso Jr. (12:50) when Devitt used a diving footstomp on Gedo.
4. Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA beat Rush & Mascara Dorada (10:24) when KUSHIDA used the 9469 on Dorada.
5. Tetsuya Naito, Jushin Thunder Liger & Diamante beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Yujiro Takahashi & Mephisto (13:33) when Naito used a Stardust press on Mephisto.
6. Special Tag Match: Kazuchika Okada & Volador Jr. beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & La Sombra (12:33) when Volador used the Volador Spiral on Sombra.

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS~”, 12/24/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo beat Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA (7:53) when Romero used a rolling front cradle on Taguchi.
2. Special Singles Match I: Takashi Iizuka beat Hideo Saito (10:05) by referee stop.
3. Special Singles Match II: Karl Anderson beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (9:29) with the Gun Stun.
4. Special Singles Match III: Giant Bernard beat Satoshi Kojima (12:18) with the Bernard Driver.
5. Special Singles Match IV: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Wataru Inoue (9:50) with the Boma Ye.
6. Special Singles Match V: Yujiro Takahashi beat Hirooki Goto (10:00) with the Tokyo Pimps.
7. Special Singles Match VI: Toru Yano beat Yuji Nagata (10:00) by pinfall.
8. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Yoshihiro Takayama beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe (15:15) when Takayama used an Everest German suplex hold on Makabe.

* Suzuki and Takayama hold the edge over Tanahashi and Makabe going into the Dome after today’s main event win which saw Takayama pin Makabe.

* There were two huge upsets at Korakuen for CHAOS as Yano pinned Nagata while Yujiro downed Goto with his Tokyo Pimps.

* Bad Intentions struck back against TenKoji immediately from yesterday, winning both singles matches to make the singles contest 2-2 going into the Tokyo Dome.

* Manabu Nakanishi made his long awaited return today, not in the ring but on the microphone where he promised he would be back as soon as possible from a serious neck injury that has kept him out for half a year so far.

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.

NJPW “SATOSHI KOJIMA 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW ~ RUSH!!”, 12/14/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,000 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Kyosuke Mikami beat Tiger Mask & Hiromu Takahashi (9:00) when Taguchi used the La Atatata on Takahashi.
2. Hideo Saito beat Tomohiro Ishii (5:52) by DQ.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Yujiro Takahashi beat Togi Makabe, Hirooki Goto & King Fale (11:11) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Fale.
4. Special Tag Match: The Great Sasuke & The Great Kosuke beat Jado & Gedo (12:21) when Kosuke used the CCD on Gedo.
5. 3rd Generation vs. Hamaguchi Dojo Special 6 Man Tag Match: Yutaka Yoshie, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma beat Yuji Nagata, Osamu Nishimura & Koji Kanemoto (13:52) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Kanemoto.
6. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & KUSHIDA (16:47) when Taichi pinned KUSHIDA after Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver.
7. Satoshi Kojima 20th Anniversary Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kaz Hayashi beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & FUNAKI (19:38) when Kojima used a Western lariat on FUNAKI.

* Special guests such as Keiji Muto, Toshiaki Kawada, and Stan Hansen appeared as Kojima celebrated his 20th anniversary in style by winning two matches.

* Hiroshi Tanahashi has been named Tokyo Sports MVP, Japanese pro wrestling’s most valuable player. The ageless Yuji Nagata also picked up the Fighting Spirit Award but to the shock of most Bad Intentions were not named Tag MVPs despite a record-breaking year and continuing to reign as IWGP and GHC Tag Team Champions. Yano & Iizuka vs. Muto & Kobashi from “ALL TOGETHER” was also quite surprisingly named 2011 Best Bout in the awards.

–> “G1 TAG LEAGUE 2011” <--

NJPW, 11/6/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans – No Vacancy

1. Takashi Iizuka, Hideo Saito, Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii beat King Fale, Kyosuke Mikami, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (9:02) when Fujii used the Nice German on Takahashi.
2. Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (7:54) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Taichi.
3. G1 Tag League – Semi Final: Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano (12:08) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Nakamura.
4. G1 Tag League – Semi Final: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (12:10) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Goto.
5. Masato Tanaka , Yujiro Takahashi, Jado & Gedo beat Tetsuya Naito, Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA (11:12) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Honma.
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue beat Satoshi Kojima, Strong Man & Tama Tonga (13:20) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Tonga.
7. G1 Tag League – Final: Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (17:42) when Archer used the Dark Days on Anderson.

* Minoru Suzuki and foreign giant Lance Archer are the 2011 G1 Tag League winners! The tandem defeated Nakamura & Yano in the semi finals with Suzuki earning a big scalp by pinning CHAOS leader Nakamura. In the other semi, IWGP & Ghc Tag Team Champions Bad Intentions defeated Tanahashi & Goto to set up a final with just one Japanese fighter. Suzuki & Archer then pulled off the near impossible by beating one of the most dominant tag teams in Japanese pro wrestling history, Archer really making a statement by pinning Anderson to lift the trophy and move the two into top contendership for the IWGP Tag Team Title.
* New Japan announced the sequel to this year’s colourful and entertaining New Japan and CMLL joint shows. “NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICA MANIA 2012″ will be a double header again at Korakuen Hall, taking place on January 23rd and 24th. Top stars from CMLL will head to Japan and mix with New Japan juniors to put on big shows with title matches and all.

–> “G1 TAG LEAGUE 2011” <--

NJPW, 10/22/11 (J SPORTS)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans – No Vacancy

1. TAKA Michinoku beat Kyosuke Mikami (7:35) with the Just Facelock.
2. Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA beat Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiromu Takahashi (11:51) when KUSHIDA used the 9469 on Takahashi.
3. G1 Tag League – Block B: Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii [2] beat Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito [0] (10:17) when Iizuka was DQ’d.
4. G1 Tag League – Block A: Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi [2] beat Yuji Nagata & King Fale [0] (11:49) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Fale.
5. G1 Tag League – Block A: Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma [2] beat Strong Man & Tama Tonga [0] (11:56) when Naito used a Stardust press on Tonga.
6. G1 Tag League – Block A: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson [2] beat Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer [0] (11:50) when Bernard used the Bernard Driver on Archer.
7. G1 Tag League – Block B: Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima [2] beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue [0] (14:20) when Kojima used a lariat on Inoue.
8. G1 Tag League – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano [2] beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto [0] (16:56) when Yano used the Akakiri on Tanahashi.

-

Block A:
1. Tetsuya Naito & Tomoaki Honma [2]
- Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson [2]
- Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi [2]
4. Yuji Nagata & King Fale [0]
- Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer [0]
- Strong Man & Tama Tonga [0]

Block B:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano [2]
- Satoshi Kojima & Togi Makabe [2]
- Tomohiro Ishii & Don Fujii [2]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto [0]
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue [0]
- Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito [0]

NJPW “HIROYOSHI TENZAN 20TH ANNIVERSARY SHOW”, 10/3/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,000 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Rocky Romero, Jado & Gedo beat Kyosuke Mikami, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe (8:22) when Romero used a diving double kneedrop on Mikami.
2. Hideo Saito beat Taichi (5:59) with the Caribbean Death Grip.
3. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii beat Tomoaki Honma, Tama Tonga & King Fale (10:18) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Fale.
4. Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku beat Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue (14:10) when TAKA pinned Inoue.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano beat Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto (14:22) when Yano used the Kagamiwari on Nagata.
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA beat Tetsuya Naito, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:54) when KUSHIDA used the Midnight Express on Devitt.
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 20th Anniversary Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Masahiro Chono & Hiro Saito beat Osamu Nishimura, Koji Kanemoto & Shinjiro Otani (22:53) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Nishimura.

* An emotional 20th anniversary for Tenzan which saw several returns to New Japan, including his sworn friends from the Ookami Gundan era, Masahiro Chono and Hiro Saito. This was Chono’s first in-ring appearance for the company where he became a legend since his harmonious departure at the beginning of 2010. On the other side, Nishimura returned to his old haunt after leaving the company at the beginning of 2006, while Otani also made a return although this was one of many for him since he left New Japan to help found ZERO-ONE at the beginning of 2001. Tenzan scored the win by unleashing his moonsault press on former tag partner Nishimura to seal a 20th anniversary victory.
* Keiji Muto, Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, and others sent video messages wishing Tenzan a happy 20th anniversary.

NJPW “NAGATA PRODUCE ~ BLUE JUSTICE.3″, 8/30/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans

1. Hiromu Takahashi beat Kyosuke Mikami (7:42) with a Fisherman’s suplex hold.
2. Wataru Inoue & King Fale beat Hideo Saito & Gedo (10:37) when Inoue used the Spear of Justice on Gedo.
3. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask (12:55) when Taguchi used the Dodon on Liger.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Tomoaki Honma (11:55) with the Anaconda Vice.
5. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi beat Togi Makabe & KUSHIDA (14:44) when Taichi pinned KUSHIDA after Suzuki used a sleeper hold.
6. Tama Tonga Return Match: Hirooki Goto, Tetsuya Naito & Tama Tonga beat Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tomohiro Ishii (16:36) when Naito used a Stardust press on Ishii.
7. Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Jun Akiyama beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano (15:52) when Nagata used a Dai*Nakanishi backdrop hold on Yano.

–> “G1 CLIMAX XXI ~THE INVINCIBLE FIGHTER~” <--

NJPW, 8/13/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax – Block B: MVP [12] beat La Sombra [4] (4:59) with the Oyasumi.
2. G1 Climax – Block B: Satoshi Kojima [12] beat Wataru Inoue [4] (9:51) with a lariat.
3. G1 Climax – Block B: Karl Anderson [6] beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] (9:39) with the Gun Stun.
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata [10] beat Lance Archer [6] (8:42) with a backdrop hold.
5. G1 Climax – Block B: Strong Man [2] beat Minoru Suzuki [12] (9:31) with a Blockbuster.
6. G1 Climax – Block A: Tetsuya Naito [10] beat Giant Bernard [8] (10:44) by countout.
7. G1 Climax – Block A: Yoshihiro Takayama [10] beat Togi Makabe [10] (12:14) with an Everest German suplex hold.
8. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto [12] beat Shinsuke Nakamura [12] (13:13) with the Shouten Kai.
9. G1 Climax – Block A: Toru Yano [10] beat Hiroshi Tanahashi [12] (16:57) with the Kagamiwari.

*** Apologies for the downtimes, the server I am on has been under DDoS attack and my host has been trying to stop it. I can’t say for sure if they have ended but hopefully it will be resolved soon if not. ***

* Today’s results, capped off by a huge win for Yano over Tanahashi, make things very, very intriguing going into the final day. From Block A, Tanahashi remains the favourite as he is in the lead but wrestlers like Naito (who he faces tomorrow) and Yano could sneak through. Tanahashi defeated Makabe and Takayama, yet if both were to win while Naito and/or Yano (who beat Tanahashi) did likewise, Block A would be in a state of confusion. Of the crew on 10pts, only Nagata has no chance whatsoever, having wrestled his last match of the tournament today.
* From Block B, Goto’s big win over Nakamura and Strong Man’s monster upset victory over Suzuki to break his G1 duck shook things up massively. Goto, Kojima, and MVP took advantage of these slip-ups by winning so that five men now sit on 12pts. All five have matches tomorrow although one suspects the Nakamura vs. Suzuki match could be the crucial one.

-

Block A:
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi [12]
2. Togi Makabe [10]
- Yuji Nagata [10]
- Tetsuya Naito [10]
- Toru Yano [10]
- Yoshihiro Takayama [10]
7. Giant Bernard [8]
8. Lance Archer [6]
9. Yujiro Takahashi [4]
10. Hideo Saito [0]

Block B:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura [12]
- Hirooki Goto [12]
- Satoshi Kojima [12]
- MVP [12]
- Minoru Suzuki [12]
6. Karl Anderson [6]
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
8. La Sombra [4]
8. Wataru Inoue [4]
10. Strong Man [2]

-

Tomorrow’s match order has been announced.

NJPW, 8/14/11 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. G1 Climax – Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Hideo Saito
2. G1 Climax – Block A: Giant Bernard vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax – Block A: Lance Archer vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
4. G1 Climax – Block A: Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi
5. G1 Climax – Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito
6. G1 Climax – Block B: Hirooki Goto vs. Strong Man
7. G1 Climax – Block B: Karl Anderson vs. MVP
8. G1 Climax – Block B: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
9. G1 Climax – Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki
10. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Kota Ibushi & Kenny Omega
11. G1 Climax – Final: Block A 1st place vs. Block B 1st place

–> “NEW JAPAN SOUL 2011” <--

NJPW, 7/3/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,950 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Jado & Gedo beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Kyosuke Mikami (8:51) when Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Mikami.
2. Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat KUSHIDA & Hiromu Takahashi (10:02) when Devitt used a diving footstomp on Takahashi.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Hideo Saito beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale (12:57) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Fale.
4. Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi beat Strong Man & Tomoaki Honma (10:27) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Honma.
5. MVP beat Tomohiro Ishii (12:10) with the TTB.
6. Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi beat Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask (12:11) when Taichi pinned Tiger after Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver.
7. IWGP Tag Team Title: Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (c) beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto (17:12) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Goto (9th defense).

* Bad Intentions’ record-breaking IWGP Tag Team Title reign continued with a successful V9 defense over the all-star team of Tanahashi & Goto. Much of the attention was on Tanahashi vs. Bernard ahead of their tour-ending battle for Tana’s IWGP Heavyweight Title, but it was Anderson’s Gun Stun on Goto that decided the match and ensured yet another victory for the team that has reigned since June 19th, 2010.
* Hideo Saito (Mitsuhide Hirasawa) made his in-ring return, back from Puerto Rico, along with his new CHAOS leader Nakamura, back from Mexico with some a new haircut and some new attire. Saito was a man transformed from the clumsy, obedient young lion that left for his overseas excursion, a wild bearded man who seems to have lost much of his sanity. He targetted his former mentor Yuji Nagata, who he meets in a singles match on the tour climax.

* All participants for the 2011 edition of professional wrestling’s biggest tournament, “G1 CLIMAX XXI ~THE INVINCIBLE FIGHTER~“, were announced with a staggering 20 wrestlers involved in what will be a huge tournament! Yoshihiro Takayama and Minoru Suzuki are big outside inclusions, while it will be G1 debuts for Hideo Saito, MVP, Lance Archer, and La Sombra. Blocks and match schedule will be announced in the near future.

- Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Heavyweight Champion / 2007 winner)
- Togi Makabe (2009 winner)
- Hirooki Goto (2008 winner)
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan (2003, 2004, 2006 winner)
- Yuji Nagata (2001 winner)
- Wataru Inoue
- Tetsuya Naito
- Shinsuke Nakamura
- Toru Yano
- Yujiro Takahashi
- Hideo Saito
- Giant Bernard (IWGP Tag Team Champion)
- Karl Anderson (IWGP Tag Team Champion)
- MVP (IWGP Intercontinental Champion)
- Lance Archer (free)
- Strong Man (CMLL)
- La Sombra (CMLL)
- Satoshi Kojima (free / 2010 winner)
- Minoru Suzuki (Pancrase MISSION)
- Yoshihiro Takayama (Takayama-do)

–> “BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XVIII” <--

NJPW, 6/10/11 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Kenny Omega , Daisuke Sasaki & TJP beat KUSHIDA, Mascara Dorada & Hiromu Takahashi (9:12) when Omega used the Croyt’s Wrath on Takahashi.
2. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka, Masato Tanaka & Yujiro Takahashi beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue, King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami (8:20) when Takahashi used the Tokyo Pimps on Fale.
3. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Kota Ibushi beat Davey Richards (11:17) with a Firebird splash.
4. Best of the Super Jr. – Semi Final: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Prince Devitt (8:29) by pinfall.
5. Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & The Great Sasuke beat Jado, Gedo, Tomohiro Ishii & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (10:28) when Tiger used a reverse double armbar on Jado.
6. Togi Makabe & Satoshi Kojima beat TAKA Michinoku & Taichi (5:04) when Kojima used a lariat on Taichi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata beat Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma (14:44) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Honma.
8. Best of the Super Jr. – Final: Kota Ibushi beat Ryusuke Taguchi (20:22) with a Phoenix splash.

* The outstanding Kota Ibushi goes one step further on last year by winning the 2011 Best of the Super Jr. tournament! Ibushi downed Davey Richards while Ryusuke Taguchi, who also had an excellent tournament, bested his tag partner and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Prince Devitt, setting up a rematch from the opening day at Korakuen where Taguchi won. Ibushi then won a 20 minute blockbuster that is being called one of the best matches of the year, defeating Taguchi with his Phoenix splash. Ibushi becomes the first man not affiliated to New Japan to ever win the Super Jr. tournament, showing just how highly he is regarded.
* Tetsuya Naito appeared today for the first time since he was betrayed by Yujiro and CHAOS. Naito demanded a singles match with Yujiro in Osaka on the 18th, vowing revenge. Both this and Devitt vs. Ibushi may be confirmed in the coming days.

NJPW “ROAD TO KINGDOM ~BATTLE XMAS!~”, 12/23/10 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma beat Toru Yano & Jado (10:24) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Jado.
2. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga (9:16) when Naito used a Stardust press on Tonga.
3. TAKA Michinoku , NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi (11:24) when TAKA used a side cradle on Taguchi.
4. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask beat Masato Tanaka , Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (14:06) when Ishii was DQ’d.
5. Special Tag Match: Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo (12:25) when Shiozaki used the Go Flasher on Gedo.
6. Special Tag Match: Yoshihiro Takayama & Minoru Suzuki beat Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue (14:46) when Takayama used a kneelift on Inoue.
7. Special Tag Match: Satoshi Kojima & Kota Ibushi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt (18:21) when Kojima used a lariat on Devitt.

* Wins for many of the outsiders in the big 1/4 build-up matches, the New Japan tag teams losing all three of the main matches including the heavyweight/junior ace team of Tanahashi & Devitt falling to their Tokyo Dome opponents, Kojima & Ibushi.
* Kojima, for really the first time since coming back to New Japan, went into full heel mode after the main event, KO’ing Tanahashi with a lariat and putting one foot on the fallen ace as he raised the IWGP Heavyweight Title. The fans booed him and told him to go home, and Kojima said to them, “I’ll go, you idiots!”. Tanahashi was carried out on a stretcher.
* Young lion Kazuchika Okada made a surprise appearance ahead of his Tokyo Dome return match, dropping Takayama with a German suplex to send a message that he is stronger than before and ready to go at the Dome!
* Taichi’s mystery partners turned out to be TAKA Michinoku and NOSAWA Rongai, the three beating Liger, Kanemoto & Taguchi.

* New Japan has launched a new website design that you can view here.
* WrestleTalk sent along word that they have an audio interview with Prince Devitt up that you can listen to here, with much insight into the Irishman’s time in Japan.

–> “CIRCUIT 2010 TRUTH ~G1 TAG LEAGUE~” <--

NJPW, 10/22/10 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,500 Fans

1. Super Strong Machine & King Fale beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Hiromu Takahashi (7:27) when Machine used a senton bomb on Takahashi.
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask beat Yujiro Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo (11:34) when Taguchi used a Gedo Clutch II on Gedo.
3. G1 Tag League - Block B: El Terrible & El Texano Jr. [2] beat Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka [0] (8:47) when Texano used the TT bomb on Iizuka.
4. G1 Tag League - Block A: Manabu Nakanishi & Strong Man [2] beat Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga [0] (10:38) when Strong Man used a powerbomb on Tonga.
5. G1 Tag League - Block A: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma [2] beat Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue [0] (16:13) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Inoue.
6. Special Tag Match: James Storm & Robert Roode beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (11:58) when Roode pinned Anderson after a union powerbomb.
7. Special Singles Match: Satoshi Kojima beat Tetsuya Naito (16:35) with a lariat.
8. G1 Tag League - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi & TAJIRI [2] beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Daniel Puder [0] (14:34) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Puder.

* Winning starts for Tanahashi & TAJIRI, GBH, Nakanishi & Strong Man, and Team CMLL in the G1 Tag League.
* Naito put up a great fight against Kojima, just as he did against Tanahashi at Sumo Hall, as his stock continues to rise.
* Tanahashi, Goto, and Makabe all confronted Kojima at once, all wanting a shot at his title. But Kojima still wants to face no one but Nakamura in his V1 defense.
* One of American pro wrestling’s top tag teams, Beer Money Inc., made a special appearance and defeated IWGP Tag Team Champions, Bad Intentions, in a non-title match. After their win, they taunted Bernard and the fans, and there were suggestions of a rematch - possibly at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th.

–> “G1 CLIMAX XX ~20TH YEARS ANNIVERSARY~” <--

NJPW, 8/13/10 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Wataru Inoue [2] beat Yujiro Takahashi [0] (8:19) with the Spear of Justice.
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Manabu Nakanishi [8] beat Strong Man [2] (8:41) with the Hercules Cutter.
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Satoshi Kojima [8] beat Giant Bernard [6] (11:44) with a lariat.
4. Special Tag Match: Go Shiozaki & Atsushi Aoki beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo (12:19) when Shiozaki used the Go Flasher on Gedo.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Togi Makabe [6] beat Karl Anderson [2] (11:07) with a King Kong kneedrop.
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Hirooki Goto [8] beat Yuji Nagata [6] (15:22) with a foot-arrangement cradle.
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Prince Devitt [6] beat Tetsuya Naito [5] (11:42) with the Bloody Sunday.
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi [7] beat Toru Yano [6] (14:49) with the Sling Blade.

* Tanahashi follows up on his Hair vs. Hair win over Yano by beating him today, moving ahead of Yano, Makabe, and Devitt into second place, behind only the on-fire Nakanishi.
* Goto and Kojima move ahead in Block B after both pick up huge wins today, Goto pinning Nagata in a reportedly excellent match and Kojima lariating Bernard, whose strong G1 Climax has slowed down a bit now.
* Wataru won the battle of the winless today, beating Yujiro in the opener to finally get off 0 points and leave Yujiro rock bottom, far behind the top six.

-

Block A:
1. Manabu Nakanishi [8]
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi [7]
3. Togi Makabe [6]
- Toru Yano [6]
- Prince Devitt [6]
6 Tetsuya Naito [5]
7. Strong Man [2]
8. Karl Anderson [2]

Block B:
1. Hirooki Goto [8]
- Satoshi Kojima [8]
3. Yuji Nagata [6]
- Giant Bernard [6]
- Shinsuke Nakamura [6]
- Go Shiozaki [6]
7. Wataru Inoue [2]
8. Yujiro Takahashi [0]

–> “G1 CLIMAX XX ~20TH YEARS ANNIVERSARY~” <--

NJPW, 8/6/10 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. G1 Climax - Block B: Giant Bernard [2] beat Wataru Inoue [0] (9:19) with a neck-hanging bomb.
2. G1 Climax - Block A: Manabu Nakanishi [2] beat Toru Yano [0] (7:30) with the Dai*Nakanishi German.
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Prince Devitt [2] beat Strong Man [0] (7:36) by pinfall.
4. Satoshi Kojima Return Match: Hirooki Goto & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Satoshi Kojima & El Samurai (13:50) when Taguchi used the Dodon on Samurai.
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Go Shiozaki [2] beat Yujiro Takahashi [0] (10:36) with the Go Flasher.
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Karl Anderson [2] beat Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] (11:42) by pinfall.
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Tetsuya Naito [2] beat Togi Makabe [0] (14:34) with a high-angle front cradle.
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Yuji Nagata [2] beat Shinsuke Nakamura [0] (17:43) with a backdrop hold.

* A day of surprises, even Nagata beating Nakamura in this day and age being quite an upset.
* Last year’s winner and IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Makabe, loses to Naito who you may remember also beat Tanahashi in the New Japan Cup.
* Tanahashi, after an unceremonious start last year too, was upset by Karl Anderson on day one this year.
* A day after being announced as Marufuji’s replacement, Prince Devitt scores a surprise win over the massive Strong Man.

–> “CIRCUIT 2010 NEW JAPAN ISM” <--
Prince Devitt's immense growth in the past year was still not enough as he again found himself "that" close to glory in a rematch of the SUPER J-CUP final today. New IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Naomichi Marufuji, made a successful V1 defense of the belt against the young Irishman in another closely contested bout. The experience of Marufuji was again enough to give him the edge though as he dropped Devitt with his Tiger Frosion for the win. His next challenger may be an even proposition though as veteran Koji Kanemoto appeared after the match and challenged Marufuji. Marufuji responded rudely to the junior legend, calling him a "deteriorated version of KENTA", heating up what should be a spectacular match in the near future.

CHAOS' Toru Yano took one of his biggest scalps lately in the semi final, a tag match designed more to build up Nakamura vs. Nakanishi, as Nakamura & Yano battled Nakanishi & Tanahashi. But it was the brewing rivalry between Tanahashi and a fellow young generation man typically placed a few notches below the "4 Heroes", Yano, that took center stage as Yano blocked the High Fly Flow with both knees and cradled Tanahashi for the flash three count. A singles match between the two is a possibility for the 2/14 Sumo Hall show, where neither is yet booked.

NJPW, 1/30/10 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Tomoaki Honma beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (4:47) with the Shalimarti.
2. Black Cat Memorial Match: Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & El Samurai beat Super Strong Machine, Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa (10:25) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Hirasawa.
3. Hirooki Goto beat Kazuchika Okada (9:46) with the Shouten.
4. Takashi Iizuka, Tomohiro Ishii, Jado & Gedo beat Riki Choshu, Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi & Taichi (8:28) when Gedo used the Gedo clutch on Taichi.
5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Yuji Nagata, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito beat TAJIRI, Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (13:30) when TAJIRI was DQ’d.
6. Special Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano beat Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi (16:49) when Yano pinned Tanahashi.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) beat Prince Devitt (20:19) with the Tiger Frosion (1st defense).

Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji today conquered the fifth Super J-Cup and in doing so earned the right to challenge New Japan’s strongest junior and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Tiger Mask, at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. Marufuji was the heavy favourite to win this tournament but the ever emerging Prince Devitt threatened to beat the odds by advancing to the final along with Marufuji. This was Devitt’s third junior tournament final of the year after narrowly missing out on the Super Jr. tournament and ZERO1’s own junior tournament. In what was described as a blockbuster finale, Devitt’s stock again rose in a big year for the Irishman but for the third time running he fell short, as Marufuji unleashed the Pole Shift to down him. Much like Makabe in the past, Devitt finds himself as a Mr. #2 but Makabe was able to go one better this year and Devitt will be hoping for likewise in 2010. Marufuji now marches on to the Tokyo Dome, his match with Tiger Mask entering the New Japan vs. NOAH series and creating an unrealized junior dream match between two of the biggest name juniors in Japan.

NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion Final~”, 12/23/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,020 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: YAMATO beat Gedo (8:36) by referee stop.
2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Prince Devitt beat Danshoku Dino (5:49) with a diving footstomp.
3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Koji Kanemoto (10:14) with an achilles tendon hold.
4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Naomichi Marufuji beat Tigers Mask (6:39) with an Aussie suplex hold.
5. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final: Prince Devitt beat YAMATO (8:41) with a vertical drop DDT.
6. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final: Naomichi Marufuji beat Ryusuke Taguchi (10:57) with the Shiranui.
7. SUPER J-CUP Special 8 Man Tag: Jushin Thunder Liger, AKIRA, Taichi & Kota Ibushi beat Gedo, Atsushi Aoki , GENTARO & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (17:41) when AKIRA used a la magistral on Gedo.
8. SUPER J-CUP - Final: Naomichi Marufuji beat Prince Devitt (18:06) with the Pole Shift.

-

NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM IV IN TOKYO DOME”, 1/4/10 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome

- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask (c) vs. Naomichi Marufuji

-

Earlier today…

NOAH/Naomichi Marufuji Produce “SHIRANUI IKOTENYOKU IKI ~TEN NO KAN - I MISS YOU~”, 12/13/09
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,800 Fans - Super No Vacancy

- NOAH vs. Machine-gun: Super Strong Machine & Super “S” Machine (Takashi Sugiura) beat Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki (13:28) when “S” Machine used a Devil Windmill suplex hold on Aoki.

NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion~”, 12/22/09 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,020 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Tigers Mask beat Taichi (6:41) with a ground Octopus hold.
2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Ryusuke Taguchi beat GENTARO (10:39) with the Dodon.
3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: YAMATO beat AKIRA (8:13) with a modified double kneelock.
4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Danshoku Dino beat Jado (10:14) with a Gedo clutch.
5. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Gedo beat Kota Ibushi (14:15) with a Gedo clutch.
6. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Prince Devitt beat Atsushi Aoki (10:51) with a vertical drop DDT.
7. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Koji Kanemoto beat Fujita “Jr.” Hayato (13:45) with an ankle hold.
8. SUPER J-CUP - Round 1: Naomichi Marufuji beat Jushin Thunder Liger (16:21) with the Pole Shift.

-

NJPW “SUPER J-CUP 5TH STAGE ~Land of Confusion Final~”, 12/23/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Gedo vs. YAMATO
2. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Prince Devitt vs. Danshoku Dino
3. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Koji Kanemoto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
4. SUPER J-CUP - Round 2: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Tigers Mask
5. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final: Winner of #1 vs. Winner of #2
6. SUPER J-CUP - Semi Final: Winner of #3 vs. Winner of #4
7. SUPER J-CUP Special 8 Man Tag: Jushin Thunder Liger, AKIRA, Taichi & Kota Ibushi vs. Gedo, Atsushi Aoki , GENTARO & Fujita “Jr.” Hayato
8. SUPER J-CUP - Final:

–> “BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XVI ~THE HARD LUCK SOLDIERS~” <--
The 2009 Best of the Super Jr. opened today before another packed house at Korakuen Hall. Three of the four tournament matches featured a New Japan vs. outsiders theme, with New Japan stars beating young men from DDT, NOAH, and DRAGON GATE on day one. The main event saw Koji Kanemoto submit Kota Ibushi in the follow-up to the Tanahashi & Kanemoto vs. Morishima & Ibushi tag from the same building earlier this month. Underneath, NOAH's Atsushi Aoki put up a spirited fight against Tiger Mask before expectedly losing, while Ryusuke Taguchi pinned the leader of DRAGON GATE's Real Hazard faction, YAMATO. The only in-house match saw Milano pin Prince Devitt, while the pick of the non-tournament matches served as the first of several build-up bouts for the Nakanishi vs. Tanahashi rematch, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion forcing the emerging Okada to tap out.

NJPW, 5/30/09 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,005 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (4:32) with the Fireball bomb.
2. Karl Anderson, Black Tiger & Jado beat Jushin Thunder Liger, AKIRA & Taichi (9:03) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Taichi.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe, Wataru Inoue & Tomoaki Honma (10:50) when Nakamura used the Landslide on Honma.
4. Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada (17:18) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Okada.
7. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Milano Collection AT [2] beat Prince Devitt [0] (15:22) with the Victoria Milanese.
5. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] beat YAMATO [0] (13:17) with the Shika Koroshi.
6. Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Tiger Mask [2] beat Atsushi Aoki [0] (10:27) with a Tiger suplex hold.
8. Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Koji Kanemoto [2] beat Kota Ibushi [0] (14:18) with an ankle hold.

–> “CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN CUP ~SOUL ON THE RING~” <--
More details later but the semi finals of the NJC Cup are set as Bernard vs. Yoshie and Nagata vs. Goto the rematch after Goto scored a big win over his RISE leader Nakamura. The other big news is that Takao Omori appeared after a lengthy break from pro wrestling to shake hands with Nakanishi, sparking the reformation of Wild Child who look set to challenge Team 3D for the IWGP Tag Team Title at Sumo Hall! Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger in a possible mask vs. title is also looking likely, as is Nakamura vs. Makabe in a rematch from the NJC.

NJPW, 3/15/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans

1. Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt beat Jushin Thunder Liger & Kazuchika Okada (9:49) when Devitt pinned Okada after a Dodon & Prince’s Throne combination.
2. Toru Yano, Black Tiger, Jado & Tomoaki Honma beat Super Strong Machine, Tiger Mask, Koji Kanemoto & Taichi Ishikari (11:39) when Black Tiger used a tombstone piledriver on Ishikari.
3. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Giant Bernard beat Milano Collection AT (9:13) with the Bernard Driver.
4. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Yutaka Yoshie beat Tomohiro Ishii (13:38) with a diving body press.
5. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Yuji Nagata beat Takashi Iizuka (14:49) by DQ.
6. New Japan Cup Special 6 Man Tag Match ~ Soul of KORAKUEN: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Wataru Inoue beat Togi Makabe, Val Venis & Karl Anderson (13:53) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Anderson.
7. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hirooki Goto beat Shinsuke Nakamura (19:00) with a lariat.

-

NJPW, 3/22/09 (Samurai! TV)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium

1. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Giant Bernard vs. Yutaka Yoshie
2. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto
3. New Japan Cup - Final:

NJPW, 3/15/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Kazuchika Okada vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt
2. Super Strong Machine, Tiger Mask, Koji Kanemoto & Taichi Ishikari vs. Toru Yano, Black Tiger, Jado & Gedo
3. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Milano Collection AT vs. Giant Bernard
4. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yutaka Yoshie
5. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka
6. New Japan Cup Special 6 Man Tag Match ~ Soul of KORAKUEN: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Wataru Inoue vs. Togi Makabe, Val Venis & Karl Anderson
7. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto

New Japan celebrated its 37th anniversary today with a pretty straightforward show at Korakuen Hall. The main event saw today’s champions, Tanahashi & Tiger Mask, show that they are the generation(s) in charge these days as they beat legends Chono & Liger, Tanahashi pinning Liger. Appearances from alumni like Yoshie, Hiro, Koshinaka (no longer a regular), and Aoyagi highlighted the undercard. Before the show, New Japan helds its first ever “NJPW Greatest Wrestlers” ceremony with Akira Maeda, Shoji Kai, and Kuniaki Kobayashi, and the late Black Cat commended. Many optimists were expecting some sort of event from Maeda’s first appearance in years in his old haunt but times change and Maeda merely gave his thanks.

NJPW “STRONG STYLE 37TH ANNIVERSARY”, 3/6/09 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,800 Fans

0. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari beat Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi (7:37) when Milano used a thrust kick on Yoshihashi.
1. Super Strong Machine 25th Anniversary Match: Riki Choshu, Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito beat Shiro Koshinaka, Akira Nogami & Masashi Aoyagi (7:27) when Machine used a Devil Windmill suplex hold on Nogami.
2. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo beat Yuji Nagata, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (11:03) when Iizuka used a Jigoku Tsuki on Devitt.
3. Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie , Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma (14:46) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Honma.
4. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (12:29) when Nakamura used a flying cross armbreaker on Anderson.
5. 37th Anniversary Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tiger Mask beat Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger (17:22) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Liger.

Yuji Nagata’s eyes are back on the IWGP Heavyweight Title and today’s main event result was his declaration of intent. Like at Sumo Hall recently, Nagata pinned upstart Hirooki Goto, this time while teaming with Tanahashi against Chono & Goto. Nagata promised to win the New Japan Cup and meet the winner of Tanahashi vs. Angle on 5/3 at the Fukuoka International Center. Nagata has a bone to pick with both Tanahashi and Angle, who he lost big matches to, dropping the IWGP belt to Tanahashi on 10/8/07 at Sumo Hall then falling short against Angle on 1/4/08 at the Tokyo Dome. RISE’s Shinsuke Nakamura and Milano Collection AT make their first advance on Pro Wrestling NOAH today and with Wataru Inoue, defeated the GBH trio of Makabe, Yano & Ishii today, Milano cradling Ishii in what is his biggest result in a while. Nakamura fully intends to follow up on his and Goto’s win over Misawa & Sugiura by leading Milano into enemy territory tomorrow and winning. He promised to “engrave” Strong Style on the NOAH ring.

Former JJ Jacks tag partners, Takashi Iizuka and AKIRA, squared off in singles action today. AKIRA entered to the old JJ Jacks theme music and wore their jacket in what may have been an attempt to make Iizuka turn away from the dark side. Iizuka responded by trampling the jacket, beating AKIRA to a bloody pulp, and choking him out with a sleeper hold. Tomoaki Honma won a place in the New Japan Cup by pinning young lion Hirasawa today. Since they were fighting for the right to face Iizuka in the NJC, many suspected a Hirasawa upset here over Iizuka’s GBH cohort, but it wasn’t to be.

Akira Maeda looks set to return to forbidden territory - New Japan. New Japan announced that it will run a “NJPW Greatest Wrestlers” ceremony back at Korakuen on 3/6 for the 37th anniversary show. This sounds similar to WWE’s Hall of Fame concept and the four initiates will be Maeda, the late Black Cat, Kuniaki Kobayashi, and Katsuji Kai (a very old school NJ heel who joined Inoki in forming the company).

NJPW “NEW DIMENSION”, 2/28/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans

1. Ryusuke Taguchi beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (8:06) with a crab hold.
2. New Japan Cup Participant Match: Tomoaki Honma beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (10:29) with a diving headbutt.
3. Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto beat Tiger Mask & Kazuchika Okada (11:17) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Okada.
4. Manabu Nakanishi & Taichi Ishikari beat Jado & Gedo (15:48) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Jado.
5. Takashi Iizuka beat AKIRA (12:38) by referee stop.
6. New Japan Cup Special 6 Man Tag Match: Shinsuke Nakamura, Wataru Inoue & Milano Collection AT beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (14:48) when Milano used a jackknife hold on Ishii.
7. NEW DIMENSION Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata beat Masahiro Chono & Hirooki Goto (16:27) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Goto.

–> “CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN ISM” <--
Tanahashi vs. Nakamura continued to heat up at today's second show of the Korakuen double header, with Tanahashi's upcoming challenger again getting the better of him. It was a main event of two rivalries - Tanahashi vs. Nakamura over the IWGP Heavyweight Title and Taguchi & Devitt vs. NO LIMIT as both teams aim for IWGP Jr. Tag Title contendership - and a 25 minute battle ended when Nakamura pinned Yujiro. Nakamura declared war on Tanahashi after the match, promising to put his body and soul into winning back the belt. The semi final again saw two rivalries played out in tag form - Nagata vs. Goto and Tiger vs. Liger - with Liger scoring a big cradle pin over the man he will challenge for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title at Sumo Hall. Worringly, Goto had to be helped out with a knee injury after the match and may have to cancel some appearances.

Minoru made his expected appearance to greet fans before the show. He said after ten years as a New Japan junior he is becoming a freelancer, but wants fans to continue supporting New Japan juniors, who he considers the world's strongest. He thanked the fans and now takes a new path, but to where remains a mystery...

NJPW, 1/31/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,600 Fans - No Vacancy

1. AKIRA beat Nobuo Yoshihashi (9:34) with a Musasabi press.
2. Jado & Gedo beat Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari (11:40) when Gedo pinned Ishikari.
3. Takashi Iizuka, Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma beat Manabu Nakanishi, Koji Kanemoto, Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kazuchika Okada (15:25) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Okada.
4. Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Wataru Inoue beat Togi Makabe, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (12:02) when Ishii was DQ’d.
5. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask (11:50) when Liger used a cradle on Tiger.
6. Shinsuke Nakamura, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito (25:25) when Nakamura used the Landslide on Yujiro.

–> “CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN ISM” <--
"I will surpass the wall of Nagata!". Today's main event was supposed to build up Tanahashi vs. Nakamura, and did -- but it also revived the Nagata vs. Goto grudge after Goto surprisingly pinned the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion and then demanded a singles match with him. He wants to use Nagata as a step to greater glory and the two seemed destined to collide at Sumo Hall. Who will be the team given the chance to bring home the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title from TNA Wrestling's Motor City Machine Guns? Today's NO LIMIT vs. RISE tag ended in a stalemate 20 minute draw, and both teams were joined by Jado & Gedo and Taguchi & Devitt post-match, all four wanting a slice of the cake. It isn't clear how they will decide who gets the next shot yet -- perhaps a mini-tournament or four way tag dance at Sumo Hall?

A new year and another new belt as Tiger Mask was officially presented with the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title belt today ahead of his V1 defense against Liger at Sumo Hall. It has been three years now since Black Cat passed away but each January he is remembered by New Japan. A ceremony was again performed today with all of the wrestlers gathering, and after pinning Nagata, Goto held a picture of Cat to his heart.

NJPW “BLACK CAT MEMORIAL”, 1/30/09 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,300 Fans

1. Wataru Inoue, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt beat Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii (11:04) when Devitt used a cradle on Gedo.
2. Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito vs. Milano Collection AT & Taichi Ishikari went to a draw (20:00) when the time limit expired.
3. Tiger Mask & Koji Kanemoto beat Jushin Thunder Liger & AKIRA (11:24) when Tiger used a chickenwing facelock on AKIRA.
4. Togi Makabe, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomoaki Honma beat Riki Choshu, Mitsuhide Hirasawa, Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi (8:21) when Honma used a diving headbutt on Hirasawa.
5. Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi beat Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson (11:21) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Anderson.
6. Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata (21:38) when Goto used the Shouten on Nagata.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The TenKoji revival took a setback today as they failed to capture the AJPW World Tag Team Title at All Japan’s Korakuen Hall show today. In a half hour blockbuster, they fell to reigning champions Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki when Kea pinned Kojima. TenKoji are already looking for revenge, with the idea that they can win the G1 Tag League, possibly the IWGP Tag Team Title, All Japan tag league, and the belts they failed to take today.

AJPW, 10/11/08
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,100 Fans - Super No Vacancy

- AJPW World Tag Team Title: Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki (c) beat Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (32:17) when Kea used the TKO 34th on Kojima (2nd defense).

Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie go into the G1 Tag League on fire, having beaten another interpromotional team, Shinjiro Otani and Daisuke Sekimoto, in the main event of today’s PREMIUM show. Nakanishi pinned Sekimoto for the win, while just underneath Tanahashi and Kanemoto fought a red hot 20 minute war, with Tanahashi narrowly winning. It was announced that the fifth PREMIUM show will take place on 12/26 back at Korakuen Hall.

PREMIUM, 10/2/08 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,100 Fans

1. ROAD to SUPER J-CUP “J-unction”: NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA beat Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai (9:55) when NOSAWA used a front cradle on Samurai.
2. ROAD to SUPER J-CUP “J-ustice”: Masaaki Mochizuki beat Tetsuya Naito (9:33) with the Twister 2.
3. ROAD to SUPER J-CUP “J-udgement”: Tiger Mask beat TAKEMURA (10:22) with a modified armlock.
4. PREMIUM CAPITAL: Riki Choshu & Masato Tanaka beat Masahiro Chono & Kohei Sato (9:56) when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Sato.
5. PREMIUM CONTRACT: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Koji Kanemoto (20:40) with the High Fly Flow.
6. PREMIUM SURPLUS: Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie beat Shinjiro Otani & Daisuke Sekimoto (19:00) when Nakanishi used a German suplex hold on Sekimoto.