crazedfan

Results - New Japan, 1/24/07

New Japan was back in action after some blockbuster news! Kurt Angle will be returning to New Japan on 2/18, and Koji Kanemoto picked his partner for his challenge for IWGP gold. But in the main event today, the BLACK duo of Masahiro Chono and Giant Bernard proved too much for the old chairman of the wrestlers, Takashi Iizuka, and his successor, and current IWGP Heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Sekigun team looked to have the match in control, taking firm control of an ageing Chono, but neither man could stand up to Giant Bernard. Tanahashi and Iizuka tried to retake the match with double teams, but after an unsuccessful double-suplex attempt, Tanahashi was cleared of the ring with a big bicycle kick, and Iizuka became the victim of a Bernard Bomb. After the match, Bernard and Chono sent out an invitation to Angle to join their BLACK faction, saying he would fit perfectly with his style alongside Shinsuke Nakamura (who had the day off today). Bernard says he remembers his days in the WWE with Angle, suggesting that he, Angle and Tomko could dominate New Japan as an ex-WWE group, alongside Chono's guidance and Nakamura's talent.

The semi-main saw a New Japan sekigun trio defeat the most senior GBH group of Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe and Shiro Koshinaka in the longest match of the show. Naofumi Yamamoto was once again the target for attacks by the heel group, Manabu Nakanishi and Riki Chosu both having to rescue the young fighter on several occasions. Chosu became enraged when Yamamoto could not get back to his own corner, so Chosu charged all three members by himself, hitting his patented Riki Lariat on each opponent, while Yamamoto was able to tag in Nakanishi! Nakanishi came in, throwing all of GBH out of his way, and hit the Hercules Cutter on Koshinaka to secure a victory. In the lockerroom, Chosu talked about Akebono's potential departure from not just New Japan, but pro wrestling in general. Chosu told his pupil to consider this decision long and hard, but must do what he feels is best. But the door to New Japan Pro Wrestling will always be open for a return.

The other BLACK team was successful today as well, as Travis Tomko and Black Strong Machine, in his second match back from injury, defeated Yuji Nagata and Takashi Uwano, who may finally be able to move up out of opening matches. As expected though, Uwano did not achieve the outcome he had likely hoped for, being pinned by Tomko's Jackhammer.

In a Fusion (openweight) tag match, the pending-retirement 64th generation Yokozuna, Akebono, teamed with Koji Kanemoto, who just a day earlier declared his tag team partner for his assault on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. They took on the young, brash, GBH team of Toru Yano and Tomohiro Ishii. Kanemoto once again showed the strength of the New Japan juniors, standing toe to toe with both men, with Akebono providing some back up here and there, but in the end it was Kanemoto getting a big submission win over Ishii with his ankle hold. Surely this victory over heavyweight competition will give Kanemoto the momentum he needs into the title match against the well-oiled machine that is Jado and Gedo.

The all-star CTU team of Minoru, Jushin Thunder Liger and Milano Collection AT went up against Tiger Mask, Wataru Inoue and Tetsuya Naito. Inoue was of course announced yesterday to be Kanemoto's tag team partner, but unfortunately his team fell short today. Naito continues to grow as a wrestler and has already perhaps surpassed his fellow young lion Hirasawa, he still has much to learn, and had to tap out to the Minoru Special.

In the other junior match of the day, CTU were again victorious, as champions Jado and Gedo teamed up with Hirooki Goto in just his fourth match since returning. Together they too proved to be too strong for the New Japan Junior Sekigun team of El Samurai, Ryusuke Taguchi and Yujiro, Gedo pinning Samurai after a Superfly Splash. And in the opening contest, Prince Devitt defeated Mitsuhide Hirasawa handily with a brainbuster.

NJPW, 1/24/07

Mito Citizen Gymnasium

1,600 Fans - No Vacancy

1. Prince Devitt beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (5:15) with a brainbuster.

2. Jado, Gedo & Hirooki Goto beat El Samurai, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yujiro (10:29) when Gedo used the Superfly Splash on El Samurai.

3. Minoru, Jushin Thunder Liger & Milano Collection AT beat Tiger Mask, Wataru Inoue & Tetsuya Naito (15:33) when Minoru used the Minoru Special on Naito.

4. Fusion Tag Match: Akebono & Koji Kanemoto beat Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii (9:47) when Kanemoto used an ankle hold on Ishii.

5. Travis Tomko & Black Strong Machine beat Yuji Nagata & Takashi Uwano (11:27) when Tomko used the Jackhammer on Uwano.

6. Manabu Nakanishi, Riki Chosu & Naofumi Yamamoto beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Togi Makabe & Shiro Koshinaka (18:49) when Nakanishi used the Hercules Cutter on Koshinaka.

7. Masahiro Chono & Giant Bernard beat Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takashi Iizuka (16:01) when Bernard used the Bernard Bomb on Iizuka.

Oh god I want Lesnar in an MMA or K-1 fight.... it's also worth noting that Hong Man Choi beat Akebono in K-1 3 times... Choi also won his MMA debut in 16 seconds, and is 9-2 in K-1. So he's a decent fighter at least. I'd love to see Lesnar get absolutely destroyed.

As for Heath Herring, he looked like shit at the Fight Night. He'd better redeem himself against Imes.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson - Decision

Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz - TKO, Round 1

Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig - TKO, Round 2

Kazuo Misaki vs. Frank Trigg - Decision

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou - Submission, Round 1

Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem - TKO, Round 1

Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland - TKO, Round 2

Sergei Kharitonov vs. Mike Russow - KO, Round 1

.... I don't like that I picked all the first column... but whatever.

Edited with the new fight.

Ugh, I'm starting to get so tired of this show... shit had better pick up soon. Everything is just taking way too long to develop. 3 secrets will be answered next episode? Yeah. Right.

What. The. Fuck.

What, strangling your opponent with your own innards didn't work? Darn. That was one of the weirdest things I've ever seen. But bad dubbing is always fun. The Ultimate Showdown video is golden, though.

Kurt Angle Returns, Koji Kanemoto chooses partner - 1/23/07

It was announced today that Kurt Angle will indeed make his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling! This will be Angle's second appearance, as the TNA star was victorious at the Tokyo Dome over Yuji Nagata. Nagata has long been demanding a rematch with Angle, almost immediately following his loss on 1/4, and has even been holding out from signing a new contract. President Simon and Angle have both agreed that a tag match would produce the best possible match; Nagata and Angle are both expected to announce their partners soon. Angle has hinted that he will bring another fighter from TNA over to Japan with him to prove how strong American wrestling is.

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Speaking of unannounced tag team partners, Koji Kanemoto has decided who his partner will be in challening for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. His partner will be his friend and pupil, Wataru Inoue! Kanemoto has said that he knows what to expect from Inoue, and knows that they can be victorious as a team. Kanemoto and Inoue won the titles back in 2005, defeating current champions Jado and Gedo! Kanemoto and Inoue also made their first successful defense against the same team, so they have had success against the CTU tag specialists in the past. Whether they can recapture this form remains to be seen.

NJPW, 2/18/07 (WPW/PPV)

Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Keiji Mutoh & Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko

2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Jado & Gedo © vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue

3. Nagata vs. Angle - Battle II: Yuji Nagata & X vs. Kurt Angle & X

4. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

Here's my take on the Gracie/Shamrock situation... Shamrock was obviously trying to get Gracie off him in the mount, and was bringing down the knees. Obviously they were illegal, but I don't think he was intentionally trying to like, end the fight, or whatever. Shamrock didn't come off very classy though, and didn't help his case, making some pretty cocky remarks, but Gracie looked pretty messed up after those knees. I don't know if I would have DQ'd Shamrock, maybe a no contest, but it was a fair result and can agree with the decision.

Gina Carano can kick my ass any night

Concussed janitor was almost as good as concussed Dwight. Almost.

Well, here goes... considering I don't recognize any names below the main card, this should be interesting.

Frank Shamrock vs. Renzo Gracie - Decision

Antonio Silva vs. Wesley 'Cabbage' Correira - 2nd round TKO

David Loiseau vs. Joey Villasenor - Decision

KJ Noons vs. Charles Bennett - 1st round TKO

Gina Carano vs. Julie Kedzie - 1st round TKO

Prelims

Seth Kleinbeck vs. Riki Fukuda - 1st round KO

Bo Cantrell vs. Tim Persey - 2nd round TKO

Adriano Periera vs. Javier Vazquez - 2nd round submission

Mike Pyle vs. Ross Ebanez - Decision

Edson Berto vs. John Shackelford - 1st round submission

Akebono leaving? Angle returning? - 1/19/07

While Akebono is not a contracted New Japan wrestler, he came in to discuss his future with New Japan Pro Wrestling today. As it stands right now, it is a possibilty that the 64th Yokozuna could be leaving professional wrestling all-together, and his final match could indeed be at the Sumo Hall on 2/18, but nothing is confirmed at this point. It has been rumored that his departure is because he wants to focus on his K-1 and MMA career, which up to this point has been largely unsuccessful, thus far managing just 1 win total in both endeavors. Tokyo Sports is also reporting that Akebono may be unhappy with his position in the company, from being a legitimate threat to a midcard novelty act; an official announcement from the former sumo wrestler could be made soon.

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As was noted earlier, contract talks are still continuing, with two big names re-signing. IWGP Heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi signed with no hesitation today, saying the contract was more than fair, and had no thoughts of leaving his company. Hiroyoshi Tenzan was the other big name, and also signed after only one talk. This is quite an accomplishment, considering Tenzan needed 5 rounds of negotiating during last year's tumultuous contract season. Young Lions Tetsuya Naito and Takashi Uwano both signed today also.

Yuji Nagata also came in again for a second round, but Nagata left almost as quickly as he entered, once again citing that he will not sign any contract until he receives his match against Kurt Angle. After Nagata stormed out, President Simon came out and said, rather matter-of-factly, that Nagata is a key figure in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and losing him would be a big blow to the company. Simon said that he is always looking to accomodate his fighters, and the fans, for matches they want to take place, and that he is working hard on bringing Kurt Angle back to New Japan and is doing all he can to negotiate with TNA.

Ryan finally did something funny! Swatting the bouquet away from Kelly was solid.

"We were a good team..."

"The Celtics were a good team."

"Yes they were... Robert Parrish..."

Plus Michael quoting The Princess Bride was awesome.

I just threw out names of MMA companies that I knew of, since I'd never heard of this Elite XC until just now.

I'd certainly try... although I have much more knowledge of UFC than a company like PRIDE, or K-1 HERO'S.

Results - New Japan, 1/17/07

New Japan Pro Wrestling was in action in the Sub Hall of Tochigi Prefectural Bunka Center. It was a small, but near sell-out crowd that saw only 6 matches, but was still said to be a fun show overall. The main event was a 6 man tag match between IWGP Heavyweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka against the BLACK squad of Shinsuke Nakamura, Giant Bernard and Black Strong Machine. This is Machine's first match back from injury, and while Machine wasn't exactly the most mobile man pre-injury, he showed a bit of ring rust, being pinned by Nagata with a backdrop hold. This was the second straight encounter between Tanahashi and Nakamura, of course leading up to their eventual title match. There was, however, limited interaction between the two, neither man ever inside the ring with each other, they did have an altercation on the outside, exchanging some blows. In the lockerroom, Nagata said he would destroy any man who gets in his way, until he gets his hands on Kurt Angle, and tonight Black Strong Machine was his first victim.

In the semi-main, it was a six man tag of GBH vs. BLACK. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, along with Shiro Koshinaka and Toru Yano against Masahiro Chono, Travis Tomko and Milano Collection AT. Milano was obviously at the disadvantage in this match full of heavyweights, and not small heavyweights either. GBH abused Milano in this match, and in the end, Milano couldn't sustain any longer and was pinned by Yano with the Oni Koroshi.

Togi Makabe continued with his growth still, gaining another pinfall, this time against Naofumi Yamamoto. Makabe even stood toe to toe with Manabu Nakanishi, not backing down at all. But in the end, it was his lariat that has earned him a number of victories as of late, that put Yamamoto down.

There was also a big 8 man junior tag match, as Koji Kanemoto teamed with the rest of the potential candidates for his IWGP Junior Tag Team title shot. Once again though, just like on the last show, CTU took the win in the match, one half of the tag team champions, Jado submitting young lion Yujiro. After this match, Kanemoto has teamed with all members of the New Japan Junior Sekigun, and we could see an answer as soon as tomorrow from him, Kanemoto does have, in theory, up until the day of the 2/18 Sumo Hall show though. All we can do is wait and see.

Hirooki Goto for the second straight event gained another pinfall victory. On 1/10 at Korakuen Hall he pinned Tetsuya Naito, and today, pinned the much more experienced Ryusuke Taguchi, gaining another win for the CTU. Goto continues to impress with his new strength, and one can only wonder how much longer he will stay confined in the junior heavyweight division. And speaking of Naito, he was submitted today by Mitsuhide Hirasawa with a chickenwing armlock.

NJPW, 1/17/07

Tochigi Prefectural Bunka Center Sub Hall

850 Fans - Super No Vacancy

1. Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Tetsuya Naito (6:13) with a chickenwing armlock.

2. Hirooki Goto & Prince Devitt beat Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi (9:46) when Goto used the Jigoku Guruma on Taguchi.

3. Minoru, Jushin Thunder Liger, Jado & Gedo beat Koji Kanemoto, Wataru Inoue, El Samurai & Yujiro (17:02) when Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Yujiro.

4. Togi Makabe & Tomohiro Ishii beat Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto (11:39) when Makabe used a lariat on Yamamoto.

5. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Shiro Koshinaka & Toru Yano beat Masahiro Chono, Travis Tomko & Milano Collection AT (15:23) when Yano used the Oni Koroshi on Milano.

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka beat Shinsuke Nakamura, Giant Bernard & Black Strong Machine (18:08) when Nagata used a backdrop hold on Machine.

That and the Rock, Paper, Scissors one were my two favorites. This seemed to be a bad year for commercials though.

Anyone who likes Elvis NEEDS to listen to the Don and Mike Show. Elvis Death Day is always one of their best shows every year.

Well that's some crap, I always gotta pay 40 bucks... It's worth it so I shouldn't complain.

Dana White intimated that “Cro Cop” will fight on the April card in London and after that, provided he is victorious, will face the UFC heavyweight titleholder.

God, Cro Cop is just so composed in the ring, he is THE definition of badass.

So to all you Sox fans, who the hell is going to be closing for you? Papelbon is going back to becoming a starter, right? And now Foulke's gone... who's left?

That queer Lutter. Christ. So now both initially scheduled title matches are off. I hope Silva kills Lutter particularly quickly now.

That's why I suggested it, because they're hard...

>_>

I'd suggest for future cards that the guaranteed television matches be worth more points than non-televised ones.

Anderson Silva Vs. Travis Lutter - TKO 1st Round

John Halverson Vs. Roger Huerta - Decision

Mirko Cro Cop Vs. Eddie Sanchez - KO 1st round

Quinton Jackson Vs. Marvin Eastman - TKO 1st Round

Patrick Cote Vs. Scott Smith - Decision

Terry Martin Vs. Jorge Rivera - Submission 2nd Round

Frankie Edgar Vs. Tyson Griffin - TKO 1st Round

Sam Hoger Vs. Lyoto Machida - Decision

Diego Saraieva Vs. Dustin Hazelett - Submission 2nd Round

Mutoh & Kojima's opponents, more contract talks - 1-12-07

President Simon was back in the offices today with more news for 2/18, this time concerning Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima's opponents. The President of All Japan and 2006 G1 Climax champion will wrestle 2006 New Japan Cup winner Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko! Mutoh and Kojima are by no means small men, but they will most certainly be dwarfed by the American duo. Mutoh told Simon that he and Kojima are already practicing new double-team techniques to combat the obvious size disadvantage.

NJPW, 2/18/07 (WPW/PPV)

Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan

1. Keiji Mutoh & Satoshi Kojima vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko

2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Jado & Gedo © vs. Koji Kanemoto & X

3. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi © vs. Shinsuke Nakamura

-

Contracts continue to be signed, even while the wrestlers are on tour. Today, President Simon announced that Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask, and Yujiro all signed. The first snag in contract talks happened today though, as Yuji Nagata refused and will have to come back for second talks later on. Nagata told reporters that he refuses to sign any contract until he is assured that he gets another match with Kurt Angle. President Simon, who is a key figure in contract negotiations, had no comment.