Maybe it’s because of the summer season coming up, but the idiocy of certain portions of TSM is really starting to shine through. The most recent example of this would be over the number of buys that One Night Stand got. The first estimates of the number of buys are out, and ONS is pegged at around 265,000 to 275,000 buys, and there are people who are proclaiming, almost gleefully, that this means it was a flop. I’m wondering if these people even have a clue what they are talking about, or if they’re so determined to see ONS as a flop, for whatever reason, that they fail to apply even simple logic to the evaluation that the buy rate was a flop.
The entire PPV was sold on WWE TV over WWE ‘crusaders’ invading a PPV that was being held under the banner of a promotion that not a lot of people at home knew anything about. Sure, WWE fans might have heard the ECW initials chanted from time to time on TV, and there might have been some holdover fans from ECW that have stuck around, but how many WWE fans today do you think have any real clue about who or what ECW was? And how many of them that are aware of it even have the emotional attachment to ECW to want to tune into a PPV to see them fight off the ‘crusaders’ from WWE?
RRR pointed out, and it was something that either went over the heads of the naysayers or something they desperately tried to play down to make their shaky point look good, not one match was announced or promoted on television. It was never pushed that you would see Lance Storm take on Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio take on Psicosis, Chris Benoit take on Eddie Guerrero, and so on. Now, unless you’ve got a Wrestlemania or Royal Rumble PPV that has huge name value, what PPV is ever going to draw big numbers without one match announced?
As for promoting and pushing the ECW name and concept on television, WWE did a generally piss poor job. They didn’t show any interviews from people involved in ECW to talk about it. They didn’t show matches from ECW, either in full or in clip packages, to give people a true idea of what ECW about. They did nothing like that. All they did was promote a series of ‘ECW rules’ matches on Raw, which were really just glorified ‘Hardcore’ matches, that neither showcased the true spirit of ECW, nor featured ECW wrestlers. It was WWE wrestlers who either happened to be part of ECW or were going to be part of the ‘crusaders’ group that was going to invade ONS. Now, with angles that came across as WWE wrestlers attacking a single WWE wrestler, how does that make the PPV look any different, and more attractive, to any other standard WWE PPV? People are already picking and choosing what WWE PPV’s they want to buy, so why should they treat any differently a PPV that, on the surface, which is as far as most casual fans look, looks just like every other PPV WWE offers up?
Sure, the last Raw and Smackdown shows before ONS ended with a group of ECW guys fighting off the ‘crusaders’ that would be at the PPV, and as stand alone angles go they were enjoyable, but those two angle were not enough to counter what had been, up to that point in time, a terrible job of building a PPV that was depending on strong promotion to get the numbers of buys that it had the potential to achieve.
With the bulk of the promotion of ONS ignoring the fact that the majority of people at home didn’t have a real clue about who or what ECW was, something that really needed to be hammered into the brains of people in order to make them emotionally invested into wanting to see this PPV, is it any wonder that a PPV which, going into it, felt like every other WWE PPV got the same number of buys as every other WWE PPV?
I enjoyed this PPV a great deal, and more so than any wrestling PPV for a very long time. The last PPV of any kind that I've been this excited about both while watching and afterwards was UFC's Unfinished Business from last year. As far as wrestling goes, the last PPV to have this kind of buzz about it was WM X7. Since then, wrestling has been totally lacking the kind of emotional connection that allows for this kind of reaction, and the fact that a promotion that has been dead for five years elicited such a response while WWE is getting so apathetic that the people who hate it can't even be bothered to rip into it is sad in so many ways.
The matches were mostly secondary, which would have been obvious going in had people thought about it. The only real standout matches were Tanaka v Awesome and Dreamer and Sandman v The Dudley's. The rest were just kind of there, with Storm v Jericho was the most enjoyable of the undercard matches. Benoit v Guerrero was a letdown in some ways, and really came off as filler, but in no way was it bad. I know some people have torn into that match something fierce, but those people should take a look at themselves and think about things a little more clearly, rather than trying to be some sort of 'super smart smart fan' or whatever their gimmick is.
The highlights were easily RVD and Paul Heyman's promo's, with RVD shattering the myth that he can't speak. If anyone thinks RVD can't talk after his promo at ONS, then must be really wanting to believe a myth that everyone else has had the good sense to see through. Heyman's speech was great stuff, and, again, showed how great someone can talk if you let them talk about a subject they are genuinely into and really want to talk about.
Joey Styles was great on commentary, while Foley wasn't all that hot, which you could tell he was aware would be the case going in, and he stayed in the background for most of the PPV. The highlight for Styles was his shooting on Mike Awesome during his match, and when Eric Bischoff was at the commentary table for the show ending angle, and Styles just tore into him with, "You are without a doubt the worst goddamn color commentator I ever heard in my life.” For me, that was the line of the night, as it came out of nowhere, and there was no real set up to it, unlike with RVD's and Heyman's stuff, though that was still great.
There were a few minor points I didn’t like about the PPV, most notably Steve Austin leading the ECW charge against the WWE ‘Crusaders’ and him getting the last attack on Bischoff, but they were minor enough, and the strong points strong enough, such as Sabu showing up, that this PPV is the easiest thumbs up I’ve given to a wrestling PPV for so many years that I don’t even remember the last one.
NOAH Destiny
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Mitsuo Momota and Katsuhiko Nakajima v Masashi Aoyagi, Takashi Sugiura and Suwa
This was an enjoyable opener, with good moves from both teams. Finish saw Suwa pin Kikuchi with a pedigree, that looked great.
Tamon Honda and Go Shiozaki v Takeshi Morishima and Mohammed Yone
Shiozaki looked good here, and he should do really well in the future. The match itself was decent enough, with Yone pinning Shiozaki after a kinniku buster.
Masao Inoue, Kishin Kawabata, Akitoshi Saito and Shiro Koshinaka v Akira Taue, Takuma Sano, Jun Izumida and Haruka Eigen
Not bad, but kind of just 'there', Inoue pinned Izumida after an ax bomber lariat.
Black Mask v Mushiking Terry
This match had some great high flying moves, but little in the way of transitions or psychology. These were two characters aimed at kids, and to that end it did it's job, as they kids were into it. Terry won with a german suplex.
KENTA v Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Jr title
This was good stuff, and it included a sick looking spot with Kanemaru coming off the second rope and catching KENTA with a leaping DDT and KENTA coming straight down on his head. The other highlight of the match was KENTA hitting Kanemaru with a flying knee and Kanemaru taking a 360 bump. KENTA picked up the win, and the GHC Jr Title, with another flying knee.
Jun Akiyama and Makoto Hashi v Minoru Suzuki and Naomichi Marafuji for the GHC tag titles
This was a really great match, that went over 20 minutes. Nothing too wild in terms of moves, but the story of the match was Akiyama and Hashi fighting to not only win the tag titles, but to stay a team, as they vowed never to team again if they lost. The crowd really got into this near the end, and there were some great near falls. In the end, Marafuji nailed Hashi with a shiranui off the top rope to get the win.
Hiroshi Tanahashi v Takeshi Rikio for the GHC title
This was above average, but that was all down to Tanahashi who worked his ass off to get something out of Rikio. Rikio just does not have it to be GHC champion, and he absolutely is not main event material. Sad to say that Rikio picked up the win with his muso, and while it's understandable why Rikio retained, they have to get the belt off of him fast, because he's doing less than nothing to make the title mean something.
Genichiro Tenryu v Yoshinari Ogawa
Fun stuff, all due to Tenryu being the greatest 53-year old badass on the planet. Tenryu picked up the win after shotgun lariat.
Kensuke Sasaki v Kenta Kobashi
OUCH!!! These two just beat the piss out of each other, with the highlight being a five-minute portion in the middle of the match where they just stood there, going back and forth with super stiff chops. After that was done, you could see bruises and welts on both their chests, and it even looked like Sasaki's chest was getting scarred. The big spot of the match was Sasaki hitting Kobashi with a Northern lights bomb off the apron. The finish saw Kobashi hit 4 spinning chops, get this weird smile on his face before hitting a fifth one, and then finally hitting a stiff lariat for the pin. Both men got a standing ovation after the match, which was more than deserved. This is one to go out of your way to see.
Toshiaki Kawada v Mitsuharu Misawa
Kawada and Misawa were in a bad position having to follow the previous match, and they couldn't rise to the occasion. The match was ok, with all of their usual spots, but it wasn't ever going to live up to the reputation of their previous matches, and coming right after a MOTY candidate didn't help things. The finish saw Kawada kick out of a some hard elbows, before Misawa hit a final super hard elbow to get the win. Another standing ovation followed, though it was borne more out of nostalgia and respect than the quality of the match.
Overall, I'd give Destiny a solid thumbs up, and it's easily the best major event of the year so far.
HTQ on Jeff Jarrett regaining the NWA Title
Last night in Windsor Ontario, as part of a combined TNA/BCW show, Jeff Jarrett beat Raven to win the NWA Title.
And with that, TNA’s hopes of growing into something special were dashed.
Let me make it clear that I don’t hate Jeff Jarrett. I think he’s a decent worker, with decent charisma, and decent mic skills. And therein lies his biggest problem; he’s thoroughly decent, and there is absolutely nothing about him that stands out in any way, shape, or form. He doesn’t have anything mind-blowing in his repertoire, he doesn’t have superstar charisma, and he can’t talk people into the building. While it would be great for someone to have all three of those qualities, the top guy of a promotion, especially a promotion that is about to make a bid to go national, should have at least one of those qualities, and Jarrett has none of them.
So, why is someone with such obvious flaws at being a top guy being promoted as a top guy?
Well, TNA was originally formed by Jeff’s father, Jerry Jarrett, and the idea behind TNA from day one was for it to be a vehicle to push Jeff as a superstar. Now, Panda Energy might be the majority stockholders, and Dixie Carter, who is a member of the family that owns Panda, might be taking a more hands-on approach to running TNA, but make absolutely no mistake about the fact that Jeff and Jerry still have considerable stroke. The title change should be proof enough of that. The booking in TNA is currently being done by a committee headed by Scott D’Amore, with Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash, Dixie Carter, and Dutch Mantell. The astute amongst you will note that nobody on that list has the last name Jarrett, and might think that means he has no say over creative. Think again. Jeremy Borash and Dutch Mantell are long-time friends of Jeff, with Dutch even being brought as booker for a brief period last year. You can bet that Borash and Mantell are going to be looking out for Jeff’s best interests, whether or not they are TNA’s best interests.
So, why is someone with such obvious flaws at being a top guy being promoted as a top guy?
Panda Energy and Dixie Carter are believers in star power; the more power the better. They want to have a star on top of TNA heading into their debut on Spike TV, and in their minds Jeff Jarrett is the biggest star they have. The problem with this mindset is that, outside of Jeff and his immediate family, nobody considers Jeff a star. When Jeff was last seen on national television he was on top of WCW when it was getting some really shitty buy-rates and was slowly and painfully dying right before our eyes. Even before that, Jeff was last seen in the WWF doing a midcard gimmick of hitting women over the head with guitars, and his last night saw him get pinned by Chyna. Jeff had been in the WWF for two years at that point, and it wasn’t until he got the women beating gimmick that he began to get even the smallest glimmer of a reaction from the fans, and that was with his best friend at the time, Vince Russo, being heavily involved in the creative direction of the WWF. Quite how someone who has had such miserable and pathetic run on national television can be seen as the guy to take TNA to the next level, I don’t know.
HTQ on Day Two of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Two of the G1 Climax Tournament saw a few upsets, and an unfortuante injury that hopefully won't affect the overall tournament too much.
An expected result, if a going a little longer than I thought it would.
Reports are that Makabe tore his left achilles tendon, and it looks certain he will miss the rest of the tournament, which means he forfeits the remainder of his matches.
Another expected result, and if Goto is going to pull off a trademark upset, it looks like it will be a big one, based on who he still has to wrestle.
Not really an upset, though I was hoping Nishimura would win.
This was a bit of an upset, as Suzuki was a favorite of the former New Japan director, so one would expect him not to do so well, but with Suzuki being one half of the GHC tag team champions in NOAH, I presume New Japan are not wanting to upset NOAH a lot by having Suzuki doing too many jobs.
A match anticipated more for the atmosphere than the quality. I still expect this one to be a good match, though, and I can't wait to see it.
I felt this one could have gone either way, but with Tenzan getting the win, it might mean he is beginning his big comeback. Or it could be just another tease of a Tenzan success.
Another expected result, with Fujita brutalizing Tanahashi, and adding humiliation by refusing to pin him when he easily could have done, and instead taking advantage of Tanahashi's injuries with the use of a single-leg crab to get the tap-out victory.
After two days, this is how things look:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [4]
2. Minoru Suzuki [3]
3. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2]
5. Masahiro Chono [2]
6. Kendo Kashin [2]
7. Osamu Nishimura [1]
8. Yuji Nagata [0]
Block B:
1. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [4]
3. Kazuyuki Fujita [4]
4. Manabu Nakanishi [2]
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi [1]
6. Toru Yano [1]
7. Tatsutoshi Goto [0]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
Kawada leads Block A, with Suzuki close behind, and four guys all in third, with Nishimura in seventh place, and Nagata surprisingly in last place for the Block. Could he be the one to make the big comeback, and not Tenzan?
Block B sees a tie between Yoshie, Nakamura and Fujita on top. Fujita looks likely to end up winning that one, with either Nakamura or maybe Tanahashi in second place. Makabe is in last place with zero points, and his injury may mean he never leaves that position this year.
Day Three is tomorrow, with Goto v Makabe (a likely forfeit win for Goto), Yoshie v Nakanish (Nakanishi to win), Tenzan v Nishimura (I think Tenzan will win, but I would not be surprised with a Nishimura victory), Fujinama v Nagata (Nagata could win to begin his comeback, but don't rule out a Fujinami victory), Fujita v Yano (Fujita to win), Kawada v Kashin (Kawada to win), Chono v Suzuki (I expect Chono to win, but think we might see a draw as well), and Nakamura v Tanahashi (Nakamura to win).
I was 7-1 for Day Two, with the only result I didn't call being Suzuki's victory over Nagata, so I'm doing well so far.
HTQ on Day Two of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Osaka was the venue of Day Two of the G1 Climax Tournament as the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium played host to the first card of back-to-back events at the facility. There were no upsets today, but we got a really heated main event.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie [4] beat Toru Yano [0] in (7:14) after a diving bodypress
Yutaka once again relies on his girth, and it scored him a win against Yano, who at least tried hard.
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [2] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [0] in (10:31) after a Hercules Cutter
Goto lasting longer than you might think, but Nakanishi was too strong and determined, and he ended the match just past the ten minute mark with a Hercules Cutter,
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura [2] beat Kendo Kashin [0] in (14:46) with a ground cobra twist
MUGA~ won out in this match, as Nishimura reversed an attempted guillotine choke, and scored the pin with his patented ground cobra twist.
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [4] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [2] in (12:17) after a shotgun lariat
The most intriguing match of the night saw the legendary Fujinami able to hold his own against Dangerous K, but Toshiaki Kawada turned things up after the ten minute mark, and levelled Fujinami with a hard shotgun lariat to get the victory.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [3] beat Minoru Suzuki [2] in (18:40) after a wrist clutch exploder suplex
This was the best wrestling match of the night, as Nagata and Suzuki battled back and forth on the mat, with both men apprently looking to get a submission win. Nagata changed strategy though, and it got him his first win of the G1, as a wrist clutch exploder put Suzuki down for the three count.
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (8:56) with a cross armbreaker
Makabe putting up a fight against Nakamura, but the former IWGP Champion was too much for him, and Nakamura took Makabe down into a cross armbreak to get the submission win.
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] beat Masahiro Chono [1] in (19:03) with the Anaconda Vice
Former tag team partners went at it in this match, as Tenzan and Chono battled it out in a fiercely competitive match. They met in the 2003 G1, and Tenzan won the match there, and Tenzan was victorious here as well, being able to put Chono down with his Anaconda Vice.
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [4] beat Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] in (12:12) after a knee strike
The most heated match of the night, with Tanahashi putting up the fight of his life against the man who beat him for the vacant IWGP title last year. The crowd really got behind Tanahashi, but the might of Fujita was too much for Tanahashi today, and Fujita knocked Tanahashi silly with a brutal knee to the jaw to get the win. After the match Tanahashi needed to be helped to the back, as the knee appeared to have knocked him for a loop.
After two days, the standings in the G1 Climax Tournament look like this:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [4]
2. Yuji Nagata [3]
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2]
4. Osamu Nishimura [2]
5. Minoru Suzuki [2]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
7. Masahiro Chono [1]
8. Kendo Kashin [0]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [4]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [4]
3. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2]
5. Manabu Nakanishi [2]
6. Togi Makabe [0]
7. Tatsutoshi Goto [0]
8. Toru Yano [0]
Toshiaki Kawada leads Block A with two wins, while Yuji Nagata is in second place with one draw and one win. Tenzan, Nishimura, Suzuki and Fujinami are all tied behind them on two points, with Chono in seventh place with one point, and Kendo Kashin in last place. In Block B, there is a three-way tie for first place, with Kazuyuki Fujita, Shinsuke Nakamura and Yutak Yoshie all with four points. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Manabu Nakanishi are behind them with two points each, and Togi Makabe, Tatsutoshi Goto and Toru Yano anchoring the table with all three yet to score.
Tomorrow sees Day Three action, and it once again takes place in Osaka:
NJPW, 8/7/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Togi Makabe
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Kendo Kashin
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Toru Yano vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Yuji Nagata
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Day Three is headlined with a rematch from January's big Dome event, as the IWGP tag team champions face off with Shinsuke Nakamura taking on Hiroshi Tanahashi. A win for Nakamura would cement his status as contender to win the Block, while a win for Tanahashi would put him in contention at last. The biggest match in Block A as far as standings go is Hiroyoshi Tenzan v Osamu Nishimura, with a win for either man placing them right near the top of the table. Tatsumi Fujinami takes on Yuji Nagata, and a win for Nagata will see him in at least second place, and if Toshiaki Kawada falls to Kendo Kashin, Nagata would top Block B. The most interesting match from an atmosphere and personality standpoint will be Masahiro Chono v Minoru Suzuki, as both men are great heels, and this one could split the crowd.
HTQ on Day Three of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Three of the G1 Climax Tournament saw one of the strangest booking decisions of the tour so far, and probably all year, as well as the usual hot matches you expect from the most prestigious tournament in wrestling.
Goto getting the forfeit win, as Makabe tore his achilles tendon on Day Two.
Yoshie suffers his first loss here, and Nakanishi boosts his chances of finishing high up in the rankings.
Tenzan continues his march to a potential third G1 tournament win, while Nishimura, sadly, continues to stay firmly at the bottom of Block A.
Nagata scores his first win of the tournament in what should be another match with a hot atmosphere, and in what could herald the beginning of a big comeback by Nagata.
Fujita scores his second sub-five minute win of this years tournament, but Yano still reportedly put up a heck of a fight.
This one is mind boggling. If Kawada was to lose in the group stage, I sure would not have had it be to Kashin. Kashin is really popular in Japan, but I still think it would have been better to save the loss for someone else, possibly even Nagata, as they main event Day Four of the tournament.
Not a real surprise, this match was said to be not that hot, but I still want to see it, as the collective charisma should be off-the-charts.
This was a rematch of their main event at the January Dome Show, and again it was Nakamura picking up the win. This match was not as long, due to Tanahashi being injured, but still pretty good from all accounts.
With three days of competition gone so far, this is how the rankings look:
Block A:
1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4]
2. Masahiro Chono [4]
3. Toshiaki Kawada [4]
4. Kendo Kashin [4]
5. Minoru Suzuki [3]
6. Yuji Nagata [2]
7. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
8. Osamu Nishimura [1]
Block B:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura [6]
2. Kazuyuki Fujita [6]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [4]
4. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
5. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi [1]
7. Toru Yano [1]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
A four-way tie at the top of Block A, although it seems unlikely that Kashin will stay in that position for long. Things a little clearer in Block B, with Nakamura and Fujita ahead of the pack, and looking likely to stay there. Makabe will stay at the bottom of Block B and wind up with zero points due to his injury.
Day Four is tomorrow, and sees Fujita getting a forfeit win over Makabe, though he will have a match against a mystery wrestler. Actual tournament matches will see Nakamura v Goto (Nakamura winning), Nakanishi v Yano (Nakanishi winning), Tenzan v Kashin (Tenzan winning), Nishimura v Chono (Chono winning, but I hope Nishimura wins so he isn't bottom of the block), Tanahashi v Yoshie (I expect Tanahashi to win, but I would not count out a Yoshie win), Fujinami v Suzuki (I think either man could win, but I'm going with Suzuki), and Nagata v Kawada (I expect Kawada to win here after his loss to Kashin today)
I was 6-1 for Day Three, with Goto's forfeit win not counting either way.
HTQ on Day Three of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Osaka hosted its second consecutive card of action in the G1 Climax Tournament, as Day Three saw a great main event, and some very heated undercard matches.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Tatsutoshi Goto [2] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (10:11) after a backdrop hold
The veteran Goto gained his first points of the tournament, with a victory over Makabe, who has yet to gain any points.
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [4] beat Yutaka Yoshie [4] in (13:55) after a Hercules Cutter
Nakanishi handed Yoshie his first loss of the G1 with a Hercules Cutter, and both men now have four points each.
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [6] beat Kendo Kashin [0] in (12:50) after a high kick
The self styled shooter putting forth another strong effort, but Kashin came up short again, as Dangerous K powered out of a cross armbreaker, and struck Kashin hard in the back of the head with a high kick to gain the pinfall victory.
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [6] beat Toru Yano [0] in (2:11) after a knee strike
Fujita wasted no time in disposing of young Toru Yano, destroying him with heavy strikes and knees before nailing him sqaure in the jaw with a big knee strike, which knocked Yano out, and getting the win. Yano, like others before him who have faced Fujita in the G1, needed help leaving the ring.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] beat Osamu Nishimura [2] in (18:35) after a TTD
Tenzan again in a rematch from the 2003 G1, as he and Osamu Nishimura battled each other in a keenly fought contest. Mr MUGA~ gave Tenzan a hard match, but Tenzan came out on top, using his TTD to put Nishimura down.
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono [3] beat Minoru Suzuki [2] in (14:56) after a shining Yakuza kick
The match I'm most looking forward to seeing just for the atmosphere, as two of the best heels in wrestling went at it in this one. Heel tactics were in full effect here, with both men giving the referee cause to warn them repeatedly during the match. In the end Chono picked up the win, after a back heel kick to the groin left Suzuki vulnerable to the shining Yakuza kick.
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [5] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [2] in (12:44) after a spinning heel kick
The legend Fujinami gave another great performance here, showing that he could still match skills with the younger talent, but Nagata was still too strong for Fujinami, and a stiff looking spinning heel kick levelled Fujinami and was enough to get the win for Nagata.
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [5] v Hiroshi Tanahashi [3] went to a draw (30:00) when the time limit expired
The big main event was a rematch from January's big Dome event, as Shinsuke Nakamura took on tag team championship partner Hiroshi Tanahashi. The Osaka crowd started quietly for this one, but they soon got into it as Nakamura and Tanahashi pulled out all the stops, and wrestled a match that some were saying exceeded their match in January. The match was very even, as Nakamura and Tanahashi proved to be equal to the challenge of the other and neither man could seem to gain any real advantage. Nakamura and Tanahashi were fighting over a superplex, and when the bell rang to signify the time limit expiring, they finally fell succumbed to exhaustion, and fell to the mat, showing how hard they had fought. The Osaka crowd gave them a standing ovation, and the tag team champions shook hands after the match, and left the ring together.
After three days of action, the Blocks in the G1 Climax Tournament look like this:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [6]
2. Yuji Nagata [5]
3. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4]
4. Masahiro Chono [3]
5. Osamu Nishimura [2]
6. Minoru Suzuki [2]
7. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
8. Kendo Kashin [0]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [6]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [5]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [4]
4. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi [3]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
7. Togi Makabe [0]
8. Toru Yano [0]
Toshiaki Kawada has the lead in Block A, but Yuji Nagata and Hiroyoshi Tenzan are both close behind him, and Masahiro Chono could still be a potential contender as well. Over in Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita is on top, with Shinsuke Nakamura and Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie all within striking distance of the top spot. After Day Four, things may become a lot clearer.
NJPW, 8/8/05 (SXW)
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kendo Kashin
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yutaka Yoshie
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura vs. Masahiro Chono
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Toshiaki Kawada
Day Four is headlined by a dream match, as Yuji Nagata faces Toshiaki Kawada for the very first time. A win by Nagata would put him atop Block A, but a win by Kawada would firmly place him as Block A leader. Osamu Nishimura takes on Masahiro Chono, with a win by Nishimura almost essential to keep his G1 hopes alive, while a win for Chono would keep him very much in the hunt. Tatsumi Fujinami battles Minoru Suzuki, in what could prove to be the most interesting match of the night. In Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita would seem to have an easy match against Togi Makabe, but this is the G1, and never count anything out. Shinsuke Nakamura takes on Tatsutoshi Goto, and if Goto pulls off one of the upsets he is infamous for, then Nakamura could see his G1 quest hit a big hurdle. Manabu Nakanishi takes on Toru Yano and Yutaka Yoshie takes on Hiroshi Tanahashi, and wins by either man would keep their G1 hopes alive, though a win by Tanahashi would give his G1 the boost it really needs to get going. Elsewhere, Hiroyoshi Tenzan takes on Kendo Kashin, which should be very heated, given that Kashin left New Japan three years ago with Tenzan's best known tag team partner, Satoshi Kojima, and Tenzan isn't one to forget something like that.
HTQ on Day Six of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Six saw a collection of hot matches, and an upset match in terms of length, as Masahiro Chono just destroyed Kendo Kashin.
Tanahashi gets a forfeit win due to Makabe's injury, though he wrestled a non-tournament match later in the night, beating El Samurai.
Goto getting the expected win over the young Yano.
Nakamura continues his march to the Block B finals. By not keeping the match short, this means that Nakamura's injury from yesterday was a badly thought out work, or legit, and Nakamura wasn't that injured after all.
One of two matches on Day Six that I can't wait to watch. I was hoping for another time-limit draw between these two, but I'll settle for almost 20 minutes.
I can see them wanting to keep Chono strong, but if Kashin was going to go down in less than two minutes, did he have to beat Kawada? Couldn't Kashin have beaten someone else, allowing Kawada to lose to someone else? I'd rather Kawada only have lost one match, but if the intricate booking required two losses, I wouldn't have had one of those losses be to Kashin if he was going to get squashed like this.
The most interesting match of the night in terms of style and content, this is the second match of Day Six that I cannot wait to see.
No surprises here, with Tenzan keeping his campaign strong and looking set for the finals.
Reportedly a hard fought match in the main event, Fujita gets the win, but Nakanishi not being a pushover.
After Day Six, this is how things look:
Block A:
1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8]
2. Masahiro Chono [8]
3. Toshiaki Kawada [8]
4. Yuji Nagata [6]
5. Osamu Nishimura [5]
6. Minoru Suzuki [5]
7. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
8. Kendo Kashin [4]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [12]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [11]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [8]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [7]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [4]
7. Toru Yano [2]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
Block A is a three-way tie between Tenzan, Chono and Kawada, with it being virtually certain that two of the three will be in the finals stage. Nagata has a theoretical chance of making it to the finals, but it would require him to beat Tenzan, Chono to lose to Fujinami, and Kawada to lose to Nishimura on Day Seven. Block B is headed by Fujita and Nakamura, who are both assured of entry into the finals stage, with the only question being which one will finish the group stage on top, and that question will get answered in two days as they face off in the main event of Day Seven.
Day Seven will see Yoshie v Goto (Yoshie to win), Suzuki v Kashin (Kashin to win), Tanahashi v Nakanishi (Nakanishi to win), Nishimura v Kawada (Kawada to win), Fujinami v Chono (Chono to win), Tenzan v Nagata (Tenzan to win), and Fujita v Nakamura (Fujita to win).
For predictions, I was 6-1 on Day Six, which is a return to form after a bad Day Five.
HTQ on Day Six of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Day Six of the G1 saw some hot matches, and cleared up things as far as the top of Block A is concerned, but left everything else wide open.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Toru Yano [2] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] in (8:45) with a high angle cradle
Yano gained his first points of the G1, with a minor upset of the veteran Goto
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [9] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (9:34) with a dragon sleeper
Tanahashi continued his march to the top of Block B with a win over Makabe, leaving Makabe with no points so far in the G1
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [11] beat Yutaka Yoshie [4] in (13:21) with a cross armbreaker
Nakamura had some trouble with the girth of Yoshie, but in the end he was able to take the mighty Yoshie down and get the win with a cross armbreaker
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono [5] beat Kendo Kashin [2] in (14:56) after three Yakuza kicks
Mr August made his points total more respectable with this win over Kashin, who looks set to finish Block A last.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [4] in (16:09) after a TTD
Fujinami gave Tenzan a tough match here, using his experience to keep Tenzan down, but Tenzan was able to bounce back and hit a big TTD to get a much needed win
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [7] beat Osamu Nishimura [4] in (20:04) with a Nagata Lock III
The best pure wrestling match of the night, as Nagata and Nishimura traded holds and submissions looking for the win, and it was Nagata who was able to pull out the victory, using his Nagata Lock III to get the win
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [12] beat Minoru Suzuki [6] in (17:41) after a shotgun lariat
Toshiaki Kawada was sternly tested by Minoru Suzuki, as Suzuki seemed to confound Kawada with his unique ring style. Suzuki almost pulled out the win a few times, but Kawada turned things up, and was able to put Suzuki down for the count after a very loud shotgun lariat
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [12] beat Manabu Nakanishi [8] in (10:03) after a series of knee strikes
This match was short, but very brutal, as Fujita and Nakanishi just pounded away with some very hard chops and kicks. Nakanish tested Fujita, using amaresu to try and take Fujita down and tire him out, but Fujita powered up like a rising beast, and struck Nakanishi with a series of big knee strikes, before finally hitting one to the face of Nakanishi, putting down and firmly out for the win. Nakanishi was another victim of Fujita's brutal style, as he needed help to leave the ring, like all of Fujita's opponents have so far.
After six days of action, this is how things look in the blocks:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [12]
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8]
3. Yuji Nagata [7]
4. Minoru Suzuki [6]
5. Masahiro Chono [5]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
7. Osamu Nishimura [4]
8. Kendo Kashin [2]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [12]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [11]
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi [9]
4. Manabu Nakanishi [8]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
6. Toru Yano [2]
7. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
Toshiaki Kawada has won Block A, and now cannot be caught. He has booked his place in the finals, with his opponent yet to be determined. The fight for second place in Block A is wide open, with either Tenzan or Nagata in a position to get that coveted second spot in the finals. In Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita is guaranteed to be in the finals, with the only question being if it will be as Block B winner or runner-up. Shinsuke Nakamura can win the Block still, and Hiroshi Tanahashi can still force a play-off for second place, depending on how Day Seven matches turn out.
Day Seven takes place the day after tomorrow in Tokyo, and we will find out the matches that will make up the G1 finals:
NJPW, 8/13/05 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kendo Kashin
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura vs. Toshiaki Kawada
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Masahiro Chono
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
The big main event is the first ever meeting of Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazuyuki Fujita. A win for Fujita would see him win the Block, and place him in the finals. A win for Nakamura would mean both Nakamura and Fujita make it to the finals. If Fujita wins and Hiroshi Tanahashi wins his match against Manabu Nakanishi, then Tanahashi and Nakamura would have to face each other again to decide who makes it through to the finals stage. However, should Tanahashi lose to Nakanishi, then Fujita and Nakamura will both go through to the finals, regardless of who wins their match. In Block A, Toshiaki Kawada takes on Osami Nishimura in a rematch of their Triple Crown title match from last year, and with Kawada already getting enough points to win Block A, and Nishimura only on four points, their match will have no bearing on who makes it through to the finals from Block A. Hiroyoshi Tenzan takes on Yuji Nagata. If Tenzan wins or draws, then he will make it to the finals as the runner-up of Block A. If Nagata wins, then he will be the runner-up of Block A, and make it to the finals. The other G1 matches will not have any bearing on who makes it to the finals, so only pride will be stake, though the matches will be no less intense. Togi Makabe must at least draw with Toru Yano if he is to get any points at all in this years G1, and Kendo Kashin must beat Minoru Suzuki if he is to finally move off of the bottom of Block A. If Nishimura upsets Kawada, and Fujinami can at least draw with Chono, then Kashin will end up bottom of Block A, regardless of whether he beats Suzuki or not. Rounding off the action, Yutaka Yoshie takes on Tatsutoshi Goto, who will be making one last attempt at pulling off one of his trademark upsets.
HTQ on Day Seven of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Seven saw hot matches, and some of the usual inane booking that seems to plague the G1 in recent years.
Yano getting some points via forfeit, as Makabe ends with no points due to his injury
Yoshie ending his tournament with a win, and Goto unable to score his traditional upset
And neither man could afford to be beaten because...? This years G1 has featured some really bad booking
Nakanishi ending his tournament with a strong win, and Tanahashi really falling short this year
This was a rematch of their Triple Crown meeting from last year, and a match I am looking forward to seeing
The expected result with Chono winning. Given his other results in this tournament, I'm guessing Chono had a big hand in the booking
This result isn't a surprise given the way Tenzan has been treated lately. New Japan seem to be making Tenzan into someone who they tease a big push with, and then pull back on at the last minute. Keep this up, and he'll forever be unover by the end of the year, if he isn't already
No surprise here, with Fujita both getting the win and doing so in a little over six minutes
The final standings after the group stage are:
Block A:
1. Masahiro Chono [10]
2. Toshiaki Kawada [10]
3. Yuji Nagata [8]
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8]
5. Minoru Suzuki [6]
6. Kendo Kashin [5]
7. Osamu Nishimura [5]
8. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [14]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [11]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [10]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [7]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [4]
7. Toru Yano [4]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
This gives us semi-finals tomorrow of Shinsuke Nakamura versus Masahiro Chono and Kazuyuki Fujita versus Toshiaki Kawada, with the two winners meeting later on that evening. I'll go with a final of Fujita v Chono, with Fujita getting the win.
For predictions for Day Seven, I was 5-2, which isn't that bad.
HTQ on Day Seven of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Day Seven of the G1 Climax Tournament saw the group stages completed, and we finally found it just who had made it through to the finals
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Togi Makabe [2] beat Toru Yano [2] in (10:08) after a flying hammer
Makabe picked up his only win of the tournament here, and finally scored points
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie [6] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] in (11:56) after a diving bodypress
Yutaka Yoshie ends his G1 with a win over the veteran Goto, using his girth to squash him for the three count
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki [8] beat Kendo Kashin [2] in (16:27) with a reverse cutback cradle
This was a battle of the submission masters, and Suzuki came out on top by countering a submission attempt into a cradle to get the win
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [14] beat Osamu Nishimura [4] in (24:29) after a running high kick
Nishimura attempted to out wrestle Kawada, looking to avenge his loss in their Triple Crown title match from last year, but Kawada got his second win over Nishimura here, putting Nishimura down for the count with a hard running high kick
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono [7] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [4] in (13:58) after a shining Yakuza kick
Fujinami gave as good as he got here, but the wily Chono was too much for him, and a shining Yakuza kick won the match for Chono
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [10] beat Yuji Nagata [7] in (17:12) after a moonsault
This match would dertermine who finished second in Block A, and so Tenzan and Nagata held nothing back, and the match was incredibly heated. In the end, it was Tenzan who manged to pull off the win, putting Nagata down with a TTD, and following up with a big moonsault to score the pin, and get into the finals
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [10] v Manabu Nakanishi [9] went to a draw (30:00) when the time limit expired
A win was vital for Tanahashi, if he was to keep his slime hopes alive of a spot in the G1 finals. Nakanishi knew this, and fought just as hard to try and spoil those hopes. As the match went on, the crowd rallied behind Tanahashi, the underdog, and were hopeful of seeing an upset. However, it was not to be, and the match wound up going the full 30 minutes, and as a result, Tanahashi would not make it to the finals
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [14] beat Shinsuke Nakamura [11] in (12:55) after a running knee strike
While both Fujita and Nakamura were assure of going through to the G1 finals, the winner here would win Block B, so there was still a lot of pride at stake. The match itself was very brutal, with both men using lots of strikes and submissions throughout, and it looked like it could go either way. In the end, Fujita hit a very wild looking running knee strike to the jaw of Nakamura, putting Nakamura down for the three count, and so Fujita not only won the match, but ended the group stages atop Block B with a perfect record of 7-0.
This is how the blocks finished up:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [14]
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [10]
3. Minoru Suzuki [8]
4. Masahiro Chono [7]
5. Yuji Nagata [7]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
7. Osamu Nishimura [4]
8. Kendo Kashin [2]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [14]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [11]
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi [10]
4. Manabu Nakanishi [9]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [6]
6. Toru Yano [2]
7. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
8. Togi Makabe [2]
Toshiaki Kawada ended as Block A winner, and had a perfect 7-0 record. Tenzan's win over Nagata means he finishes as Block A runner-up, and he gets the other Block A spot in the finals. In Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita also ended as the winner with a perfect 7-0 record. Second place in Block B went to Shinsuke Nakamura, who ended with a 5-1-1 record, which is a good to have. Hiroshi Tanahashi will be regretting not being able to put Manabu Nakanishi away, as beating Nakanishi coupled with Nakamura's loss would have forced a play-off between he and Nakamura. Tanahashi must now wait another year to see if he can make it back to the G1 final.
NJPW, 8/14/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
1. G1 Climax - Block A 1st place vs. Block B 2nd place: Toshiaki Kawada v Shinsuke Nakamura
2. G1 Climax - Block A 2nd place vs. Block B 1st place: Hiroyoshi Tenzan v Kazuyuki Fujita
3. G1 Climax - Final: Winner of Match 1 v Winner of Match 2
The G1 comes to and end tomorrow, as the semi-finals and final takes place at Sumo Hall. The first semi sees another dream match as Toshiaki Kawada meets Shinsuke Nakamura in a battle of former Triple Crown champion versus former IWGP champon. Kawada looks to maintain his perfect G1 record, while Nakamura looks to make it to his first ever G1 final. The other semi sees Hiroyoshi Tenzan take on the man who beat him for the IWGP belt last month, Kazuyuki Fujita. Fujita is going into the match with a perfect G1 record, while Tenzan is looking to make it his third straight G1 final, and win his third G1 in a row. The two winners meet in the finals, and we will see one of these possible matches:
Toshiaki Kawada v Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Toshiaki Kawada v Kazuyuki Fujita
Shinsuke Nakamura v Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Shinsuke Nakamura v Kazuyuki Fujita
Kawada v Tenzan would be their second match of the G1, and their third ever singles meeting. Kawada would go into this match with a 2-0 record over Tenzan, and Tenzan will surely be looking to finally beat Kawada, and win his third G1 tournament.
Kawada v Fujita would be the most interesting G1 final. Both men would go into this final with perfect records of 8-0, and it would see the 'ace' of New Japan take on the big outsider, which would guarantee a heated final.
Nakamura v Tenzan would be a rematch of the bout where Nakamura upset Tenzan for the IWGP title in December of 2003, and Tenzan would no doubt be eager to avenge that stunning loss.
Nakamura v Fujita would be a rematch of their match from Block B and would see Nakamura look to avenge that loss, and stake his claim to an IWGP title shot, by winning the G1 Climax Tournament.
G1 Climax Day One
New Japan’s annual G1 Climax Tournament, undoubtedly the biggest annual tournament in wrestling, began yesterday, and we had the usual mix of hot matches and upsets on the first night of competition.
Totally expected. Makabe will likely end up with 0 points, but he may get a single point, if later results indicate a pattern.
This was a surprise, but it might not be a big one. With Tanahashi losing to Takeshi Rikio at the NOAH Dome Show, it’s possible that New Japan didn’t want a guy they plan on giving a big push to, Yano, losing to a guy who himself just lost to an outsider. With that said, I think the best Yano seems destined to get out of the rest of his matches his a win over Makabe, if that, and clean jobs in the rest. Tanahashi will probably win most of the rest of his matches. This is the result that makes it possible that Makabe could theoretically get at least one point, with a possible draw against someone.
This is the Day One match I want to see the most. I’m a big fan of Nishimura and Suzuki, and watching them wrestle for thirty minutes can only be a good thing.
The result isn’t that much of a surprise. The length of the match is, but I would put that down to them not wanting to risk Fujinami going long in matches that don’t need to go any length of time.
The result and length of the match is no surprise, as Fujita should only go long against super workers, which Goto is not, and any losses Fujita suffers in the G1 should be against potential challengers for the IWGP belt, and Goto doesn’t warrant a title shot by any stretch of the imagination.
No surprises here, as Nakamura seems set for another big push, as he prepares to take another foray into MMA, which is a terrible idea.
Not much of a surprise here, as both men seem assured of finishing well, so either man could have won here. Not a definitive win for Chono, as he got the pinfall with a cradle rather than a big move, but a win nonetheless.
The only logical result here, Kawada making an impact with his first ever G1 match with a win over Tenzan. This is exactly how the 2003 tournament began, with Tenzan losing to the outsider. Tenzan went on to win the 2003 tournament, and with Tenzan predicting a third consecutive G1 Climax win and being in dire need of being rebuilt, we could see the same results this year too.
The big matches of the second day, which takes place tomorrow, see Kawada take on Fujinami, Tenzan take on Chono, and, in a rematch of their IWGP Title match last June, Fujita takes on Tanahashi. I’m thinking we’ll see Kawada, Tenzan and Fujita walk out the victors, though it is possible Chono might win against Tenzan. Other bouts see Yoshie take on Yano (Yoshie winning or a draw), Nakamura take on Makabe (Nakamura winning), Goto take on Nakanishi (Nakanishi winning), Nishimura taking on Kashin (I have a feeling Kashin will win this, but I hope I am wrong), and Nagata v Suzuki (Nagata winning).
This years G1 started off well, and I’m hoping that continues, as this years G1 really needs to be kickass, not only for New Japan, but wrestling in general.
HTQ on Day One of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
The G1 Climax Tournament opened up in the Fukuoka International Center before a hot crowd, and they saw some hot matches, and the debut in the G1 Climax Tournament of Toshiaki Kawada.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie [2] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (9:02) with a diving bodypress
Yoshie getting his tournament off to a winning start, putting his girth to good use to put away a spirited Makabe.
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] beat Toru Yano [0] in (8:21) with a dragon sleeper
One of the new generation, Tanahashi begins with a strong win, beating the hot prospect Yano with a tight dragon sleeper.
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki [2] beat Osamu Nishimura [0] in (16:15) after a Gotch Piledriver
This match was an exhibition of MUGA~, with Suzuki and Nishimura trading holds and counters throughout the match. Suzuki wins after a unique counter to Nishimura's head stand.
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami [2] beat Kendo Kashin [0] in (10:04) after a cross armbreaker cutback cradle
Kashin was cocky in this one, and the experienced Fujinami made him pay, by countering a cross armbreaker into a modified cradle, and scoring somewhat of an upset win.
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata [1] v Masahiro Chono [1] went to a draw (30:00) when the time limit expired
Two of the main names in New Japan battled to a time-limit draw, in a match that really had the fans fired up. Nagata had Chono trapped in the Nagata Lock III right at the end of the match, but Chono was able to hold on until the bell, and both men walked away with one point each.
6. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [2] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [0] in (3:16) with a knee strike
This was a short and brutal match, totally controlled by Fujita, who ended it with a hard knee to the chest that left Goto needing help to leave the ring.
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] beat Manabu Nakanishi [0] in (14:59) with a shining triangle
MMA v Amaresu here, with Nakamura and Nakanishi using contrasting styles in their encounter, and it was Nakamura who won out, hitting a heavy knee on Nakanishi which left him open to the shining triangle.
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [2] beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] in (24:34) after a high kick
The most heated match of the night saw Dangerous K, Toshiaki Kawada, make his debut in the G1 Climax Tournament, against Hiroyoshi Tenzan, who was looking to win his third G1 in a row. Tenzan fought hard, but his quest for a third G1 win started on a loss, as Kawada stunned Tenzan with a pair of shotgun lariats, before finally ending the match with a high kick to the back of the head. After the match, Tenzan needed help to make it back to his feet, but was still able to shake hands with Kawada.
After Day One, the Block standings look like this:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [2]
2. Minoru Suzuki [2]
3. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
4. Yuji Nagata [1]
5. Masahiro Chono [1]
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0]
7. Osamu Nishimura [0]
8. Kendo Kashin [0]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [2]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [2]
3. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2]
4. Yutaka Yoshie [2]
5. Manabu Nakanishi [0]
6. Toru Yano [0]
7. Togi Makabe [0]
8. Tatsutoshi Goto [0]
There isn't a great deal to comment on so far with only one day gone, but I guess Kashin losing to Fujinami was a bit of an upset.
Day Two takes place the day after tomorrow, with the first of back-to-back cards in Osaka, and this is what we'll see:
NJPW, 8/6/05 (Samurai! TV)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Toru Yano
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Manabu Nakanishi
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura vs. Kendo Kashin
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Toshiaki Kawada
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Masahiro Chono
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
The main event sees Hiroshi Tanahashi take on Kazuyuki Fujita, which is a rematch from last June when Fujita beat Tanahashi to win the then-vacant IWGP title. Former IWGP tag team champions Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono collide, and that is a rematch from the group stage of the 2003 G1. Yuji Nagata takes on Minoru Suzuki which is the Day Two match I'm most looking forward to seeing. The most heated match, though, is likely to be Tatsumi Fujinami taking on Toshiaki Kawada, which is also a match I can't wait to see.
HTQ on Day Four of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Four saw a slight upset, a pretty surprising upset, and a great main event, that sadly lacked a little when it came to heat.
Another forfeit loss for Makabe, not that he would have won had he been able to wrestle.
It doesn't look like Goto is going to pull off his trademark upset this year, but you never know. Nakamura continuing his apparent march towards the finals.
No upset here, with Yano barely lasting past five minutes.
Tenzan keeping his comeback going, and still a possible finalist.
Not the result I expected, and I picked Chono to win. And I don't care, because it means Nishimura is no longer at the bottom of the rankings in Block A.
The Tanahashi win was mostly expected, but Yoshie still surprising us by being ahead of Tanahashi at this stage, though that will likely change soon.
Another upset, and again it is down to a submission hold getting countered. I still would have liked Suzuki to win, but we'll see how this plays out.
This match was reportedly great, but lacking in crowd heat, which is something that this region is apparently noted for. If Kawada was going to lose a match in the tournament, I would have had it be this one, but I guess they wanted Kashin to get the boost, and it does also leave open a rematch between these two, which should be even hotter, as it would likely take place in front of a better crowd.
After four days of action, this is how the rankings look:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [6]
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
3. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
4. Masahiro Chono [4]
5. Kendo Kashin [4]
6. Osamu Nishimura [3]
7. Minoru Suzuki [3]
8. Yuji Nagata [2]
Block B:
1. Shinsuke Nakamura [8]
2. Kazuyuki Fujita [8]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [6]
4. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
5. Hiroshi Tanahashi [3]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
7. Toru Yano [1]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
Block A is relatively open, with Kawada and Tenzan heavy favorites for the Block's spots in the finals, but Fujinami, Chono and Kashin all in a position to get a look in. Strange and sad to see Nagata at the bottom of the Block. Block B is more decisive, with Nakamura and Fujita all but locked into the finals portion, though Manabu Nakanishi could theoretically pull something off. Makabe will finish last due to his injury, though that was almost certain to happen anyway. Tanahashi being where he is does surprise me a little, but not totally, due to his injury and, for me, the politics concerning his match at the NOAH Dome Show.
They have tomrrow off, and come back Wednesday for Day Five. Tournament matches are Nakamura v Yano (Nakamura winning), Tanahashi v Goto (I expect Tanahashi to win, but I do not rule out a Goto win), Nagata v Kashin (I hope Nagata wins, but I think Kashin will get the win), Yoshie v Fujita (Fujita to win), Fujinami v Nishimura (Nishimura to win), Tenzan v Suzuki (Tenzan to win), and Kawada v Chono (Kawada should win, but I'm picking this one to go the distance).
For Day Four, I was 5-2, which isn't bad.
HTQ on Day Four of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Day Four of the G1 at the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium was headlined by a real dream match, which capped off a really strong card of action that saw both Blocks still remain relatively wide open.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [6] beat Toru Yano [0] in (7:02) after a Hercules Cutter
Nakanishi continued his strong G1 showing with a win over Toru Yano, who is still without points
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [7] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] in (8:22) with a cross armbreaker
Nakamura outwrestled the veteran Goto en route to a submission win, as Goto was unable to pull off the upset
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] beat Kendo Kashin [0] in (13:55) after a TTD
Tenzan powered past Kashin, hitting a TTD to get the win, and leave Kashin firmly at the bottom of Block A
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [8] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (4:04) after a knee strike
Fujita scored another brutal victory, overpowering Makabe with heavy strikes before hitting Makabe with a big knee to the jaw which knocked Makabe out for the win, and left Makabe needing assistance to leave the ring
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] beat Yutaka Yoshie [4] in (12:17) with a dragon sleeper
Tanahashi overcame the girth of Yoshie with pure wrestling, and took Yoshie down with a dragon sleeper to get the win, and move ahead of Yoshie in Block A
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki [4] beat Tatsumi Fujinami [2] in (12:48) after a Gotch piledriver
Suzuki and Fujinami engaged in a real mat war here, with both men showcasing their technical skills, and it was Suzuki who got the win after managing to counter a headstand from Fujinami into a Gotch piledriver
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Osamu Nishimura [4] beat Masahiro Chono [3] in (18:14) with a backslide
Nishimura pulled off a bit of an upset here, catching Chono off of a Yakuza kick attempt and managing to hold him down with his patented backslide for the three count
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [8] beat Yuji Nagata [5] in (25:47) after a running face kick
The main event of the night was the most heated match of the night. Nagata and Kawada held nothing back, and they had a real war of a match. The finish came off of dualling running kicks, when Kawada ducked a kick from Nagata, and hit a back heel kick, which stunned Nagata enough for Kawada to hit a pair of running face kicks, and get the pin
After four days of action, this is how things stand:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [8]
2. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
3. Yuji Nagata [5]
4. Osamu Nishimura [4]
5. Minoru Suzuki [4]
6. Masahiro Chono [3]
7. Tatsumi Fujinami [2]
8. Kendo Kashin [0]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [8]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [7]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [6]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [5]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
7. Togi Makabe [0]
8. Toru Yano [0]
In Block A, Dangerous K holds the lead, but Tenzan and Nagata are hot on his heels, with Nishimura and Suzuki still firmly in contention for now. In Block B, things are little closer. Fujita holds the lead in that block, but Nakamura, Nakanishi and Tanahashi are only a few points away, and could easily get the lead soon.
This is how Day Five looks, Wednesday in Shizuoka:
NJPW, 8/10/05 (SXW)
Twin Messe Shizuoka North Pavillion
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Togi Makabe
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Kendo Kashin
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura
5. G1 Climax - Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masahiro Chono
With tomorrow off, the G1 resumes Wednesday, as the main event sees another dream match. Toshiaki Kawada faces Masahiro Chono, in what is sure to be yet another incredibly heated main event. A win for Chono would place him back in contention for Block A, while a win for Kawada would cement his top dog status. Hiroyoshi Tenzan faces Minoru Suzuki, and a win for Tenzan would keep his goal of a third consecutive G1 alive. Teacher meets Student as Tatsumi Fujinami wrestles his protege Osamu Nishimura. A win for Nishimura keeps him in the hunt for the G1 championship, while a win for Fujinami would keep his slender G1 hopes alive. Block B 'ace' Fujita meets the mighty girth of Yutaka Yoshie, in what might should literally be Fujita's biggest test of the G1.
HTQ on Day Five of the G1 Climax Tournament
Day Five didn't see any breakout matches, but it did feature some very questionable booking, and either another unfortunate injury or a badly thought out worked-shoot.
Nakanishi getting the forfeit win over Makabe due to Makabe's injury. Nakanishi did have a non-tournament match, though, with a win over Yujiro
If this isn't a legit injury, then this is a strange and terrible decision. If it is legit, then I guess they didn't want Yano getting the win for some reason, and they weren't able to work a count-out win for Nakamura.
No upset for Goto, and Tanahashi should at least finish in a respectable position.
If Kashin had won, I would have spat nails.
With Yoshie lasting almost 10 minutes, I think it shows that Yoshie is someone they are high on, or at least is someone they don't want to totally squash.
The right finish, showing that the pupil is still better than the teacher.
This was a bit of an upset, but parity booking does that from time to time.
I guess parity booking to make sure no one person looks better than the rest is more important than getting people over so more money can be made.
After Day Five, this is how things stand:
Block A:
1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
2. Masahiro Chono [6]
3. Toshiaki Kawada [6]
4. Osamu Nishimura [5]
5. Minoru Suzuki [5]
6. Yuji Nagata [4]
7. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
8. Kendo Kashin [4]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [10]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [9]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [8]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [5]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
7. Toru Yano [2]
8. Togi Makabe [0]
Thanks to the ultra annoying parity booking, Block A is wide open, with five people in realistic contention for the two slots in the finals. That isn't the way I would have done it, but I guess New Japan wanted one Block to have a parity to it, and with Fujita in Block B, it had to be Block A. Block B sees Fujita on top, to no surprise, with Nakamura and Nakanishi fighting it out for the second spot in the finals. Tanahashi being so far down is a bit of a surprise, but I still put that down to the political fallout from his loss to Rikio at the NOAH Dome Show.
Day Six takes place tomorrow in Nagoya, with Goto v Yano (Goto to win), Nakamura v Yoshie (Nakamura to win), Nishimura v Nagata (draw), Chono v Kashin (Chono to win), Kawada v Suzuki (Kawada to win), Fujinami v Tenzan (Tenzan to win), and Fujita v Nakanishi (Fujita to win, but I suspect a potential surprise here).
If the matches go the way I predict, then Tenzan, Chono and Kawada will head Block A, keeping up the parity that New Japan are so fond of. Fujita, Nakamura and Nakanishi will remain in that order for Block B, which would keep Fujita and Nakamura on course to claim the Block B slots in the finals.
As far as predictions went, I was 3-4 for Day Five, which is my worst record so far.
HTQ on Day Five of the Fantasy G1 Climax Tournament
Day Five of the G1 Climax Tournament took place in Shuzuoka today, and it saw a few upsets, and another heated main event, as Toshiaki Kawada and Masahiro Chono faced off for the first time ever.
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Manabu Nakanishi [8] beat Togi Makabe [0] in (9:15) after a Hercules Cutter
Nakanishi giving his G1 hopes a big boost with a win over Makabe putting him further up the table
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura [9] beat Toru Yano [0] in (8:56) with a shining triangle
Nakamura disposed of Yano with relative ease, ending Yano's brief comeback with a shining triangle, which got the submission win
3. G1 Climax - Block A: Kendo Kashin [2] beat Yuji Nagata [5] in (13:00) with a flying armbar
The first upset of the night as Kendo Kashin caught Nagata off-guard with a flying armbar to get his first win of the G1, and Nagata's G1 hopes taking a real hit
4. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [10] beat Yutaka Yoshie [4] in (4:42) after a knee strike
Yoshie's girth did him no favors against the brutal Fujita, who assaulted him from the start, and knocked Yoshie down for the easy three count with a brutal knee to the jaw. Yoshie needed help leaving the ring, as Fujita's brutal style claimed another victim
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami [4] beat Osamu Nishimura [4] in (12:56) with a ground cobra twist
Another upset here as the Teacher Fujinami proved that he could still teach the student a few things, as he was able to take Nishimura down with his patented ground cobra twist and gain a popular, if unexpected, victory
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Minoru Suzuki [6] beats Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] in (17:52) after three Gotch piledrivers
The second upset in a row and the third of the whole night, as Minoru Suzuki proved he wasn't someone to ever rule out with a stunning win over Hiroyoshi Tenzan, though it took three Gotch piledrivers to finally put Tenzan down for the count
7. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi [7] beat Tatsutoshi Goto [2] in (9:37) with a dragon sleeper
Tananshi put his G1 back in good stead with a win over the veteran Goto, who has been unable to pull off one of his trademark upsets this year
8. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [10] beat Masahiro Chono [3] in (18:59) after a high kick
Another dream match in the G1, and this one was just as heated as Kawada v Nagata. Kawada and Chono went all out as Chono looked to be the one to hand Kawada his first loss in the G1, but it was not to be as Kawada fired off with a brutal shotgun lariat that saw Chono fall to one knee, and Kawada followed up with a precision high kick to the back of Chono's head and Kawada won his second dream match in a row.
After five days of action, the Block standings look like this:
Block A:
1. Toshiaki Kawada [10]
2. Minoru Suzuki [6]
3, Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6]
4. Yuji Nagata [5]
5. Osamu Nishimura [4]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami [4]
7. Masahiro Chono [3]
8. Kendo Kashin [2]
Block B:
1. Kazuyuki Fujita [10]
2. Shinsuke Nakamura [9]
3. Manabu Nakanishi [8]
4. Hiroshi Tanahashi [7]
5. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
6. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
7. Togi Makabe [0]
8. Toru Yano [0]
Toshiaki Kawada stands firmly atop Block A, and with only two days of group action left, seems a lock to get a spot in the finals. The battle for second place is close, with Minoru Suzuki and Hiroyoshi Tenzan both on six points, and Nagata on five points. Any one of those three could gain the second place spot, so it's a really close race. In Block B, Kazuyuki Fujita leads, but he is by no means certain to win the block or even gain a spot in the finals, as Shinsuke Nakamura, Manabu Nakanishi and Hiroshi Tanahshi are all within three points of him, and any two of them could steal the first and second place spots in Block B, and put the IWGP champion out of the G1 finals stage.
Day Six of the G1 takes place tomorrow in Aichi, and it will make the G1 picture look more clearer.
NJPW, 8/11/05 (Samurai! TV)
Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium
1. G1 Climax - Block B: Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Toru Yano
2. G1 Climax - Block B: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe
3. G1 Climax - Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yutaka Yoshie
4. G1 Climax - Block A: Masahiro Chono vs. Kendo Kashin
5. G1 Climax - Block A: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
6. G1 Climax - Block A: Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura
7. G1 Climax - Block A: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Minoru Suzuki
8. G1 Climax - Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Manabu Nakanishi
The main event of Kazuyuki Fujita v Manabu Nakanishi will play a big part in how Block B could end up. A win for Fujita would assure him of a place in the finals, while a win for Nakanishi will put him in first or second place along with Fujita, depending on how Shinsuke Nakamura fares against Yutaka Yoshie. Toshiaki Kawada faces Minoru Suzuki. A win for Kawada would guarantee his place in the finals, while a win for Suzuki would almost ensure his place in the finals, if other results go his way. Yuji Nagata takes on Osamu Nishiura, and a win for Nagata would give him a great chance of scoring the second place in Block A and a spot in the finals, while a win for Nishimura would theoretically make it possible for him to get the second place spot, but that would still be unlikely. The legend Tatsumi Fujinami takes on Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and if Fujinami can upset Tenzan, he too would have a theoretical if unlikely chance at the second place spot. A win for Tenzan would almost assure him of the second place spot, depending on the result of Kawada v Suzuki. Masahiro Chono faces Kendo Kashin, and with neither man able to make it to the finals, this match is more about making sure they don't finish at the bottom of the table. Hiroshi Tanahashi faces Togi Makabe, and if Tanahashi can avoid the upset then he will keep his hopes alive of a berth in the finals. The action is rounded off with Tatsutoshi Goto v Toru Yano, with at least one man guaranteed of gaining their first points of the tournament.
HTQ on Brock Lesnar and Spike/UFC vs. USA/WWE
Brock Lesnar
The biggest international wrestling story this week concerns Brock Lesnar and his on again/off again status in regards to his working the October 18th Dome event for New Japan Pro Wrestling. His participation has changed from being rumored to assured to turning into a definite maybe. The biggest hold up is, of course, his ongoing lawsuit battle with WWE over the non-compete clause that he signed as part of the agreement to allow Lesnar to leave WWE last year. The actual non-compete clause is worded as follows:
That doesn’t seem so bad, until you find out that this clause lasts until June 30, 2010
Yes, Brock Lesnar is legally barred from participating in professional wrestling or MMA anywhere in the world for the next ten years. Such a clause seems excessive on the surface, and really it is, but the key point to remember is that Lesnar willingly signed such a clause, and you’d think he’d be bound by it no matter what, right? Well, not necessarily. While the non-compete clause seems airtight on the surface, a little checking into the legal facts and background show that Lesnar has a reasonable chance of winning this lawsuit.
The lawsuit is being held in Connecticut, and Connecticut law doesn’t hold up non-compete clauses if they are shown to be unreasonable in terms of length and geographical consideration, and preventing someone from working in their chosen profession anywhere in the world for ten years would seem to fit that bill.
Brock’s lawyers also have ammunition in WWE allowing Ultimo Dragon to work in Japan while still under contract, and when WWE released a number of talents recently their non-competes did allow them to work in Japan. If they can argue that WWE is being unfair in allowing others to work in Japan while still under contract, and point out that WWE has no trouble letting others work in Japan as part of their non-compete clause, then they may have a much stronger case than a lot of people are giving them credit for.
Spike/UFC vs. USA/WWE
The biggest story in the US wrestling scene is the impending war that sees Spike TV and UFC taking on the USA Network and WWE. With Raw moving back to USA on 10/3, it was a given they’d go the extra mile to make it special and they going to do that by bringing back Triple H. However, things got interesting when Spike TV decided to put a live UFC special on 10/3 to go head-to-head with Raw. This move was inspired when Spike got word that, for the first time ever, the 8/29 edition of Ultimate Fighter beat Raw in the Males 25-34 demographic, which is Spike’s key demographic age group. Not only that, but Spike are also adding a reply of the new TNA show to their Monday night line-up as well. USA and WWE very quickly fired back, and it was announced that Raw would start early at 7:55pm, and would be a three-hour ‘Night of Champions’ Special, with the returns of Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan, Triple H, Vince McMahon and Mick Foley (though Foley might not be there as he’s meant to be in Australia the next day, and unless he tapes something for WWE he won’t be able to take part). Not only that, but immediately after Raw, USA would be airing a one-hour special to highlight the best of Raw on USA.
When you add in the UFC Unleashed show and the UFC reality show Ultimate Fighter, which will now be kept on Monday’s, the line-up for 10/3 looks like this:
Spike
8-9pm: UFC Unleashed
9-11:05pm: UFC Live
11:05-12:05am: The Ultimate Fighter 2
12:05am-2:10am: UFC Live replay
3:10am-4:10am TNA Impact!
USA
7:55-11:05pm: RAW 'Night of Champions'
11:05-12:05am: RAW Exposed
For wrestling and MMA fans, 10/3 is going be a very historic night, as a potential new ‘Monday Night War’ could be starting out. How this all unfolds won’t really be known until the ratings come out. For this to be a true Monday Night War, then UFC has to do numbers that Spike are at least satisfied with. Anything less than a good rating will see Spike pull back from being behind UFC and going ahead with the new Monday night line-up. However, a really good rating, and a thrilled Spike, will undoubtedly see Spike get firmly behind UFC, and TNA in their quest to remain the kings of Monday Night cable. How Spike sees the UFC ratings will be in part determined by how they eat into Raw’s ratings, which themselves will be of importance. Anything less than 4 is going to be seen is a big disappointment, and you’ve got to believe that WWE are going to expect something in the high 4’s for this one.
Personally, I’m thinking the live UFC does a 1.8 but does strong in the Male 25-34 demographic, and that Raw will get a 4.2, with their peak being a 4.5 at best. That’ll lead to more UFC on Spike, TNA getting a good replay slot on Mondays, and a brand new Monday Night War for us all to watch and enjoy.
It's been a very busy week in WWE. Not only have almost two-dozen wrestlers and 'divas' been released, but Brock Lesnar appears to be returning as well, if he hasn't already.
First off, let's talk about Brock Lesnar coming back. It's not surprising that some people are still bitter and angry over Brock leaving last year, and while people can, and probably should be, upset over how Brock left, it's absurd to be upset over that he left at all. Brock didn't want to be in wrestling any more, so why should he stick around if he doesn't want to be there? It goes without saying that Brock could have handled his leaving better, in that he should have put a younger guy over on the way out to give that person a boost, but if he wasn't happy to be there and wanted to leave, who is anyone to say that he should have stayed and been miserable? Sure, his NFL aspirations didn't pan out as he'd hoped, but you know what? He took a chance that not many people would have taken, and he should be applauded for at least trying, because he at least made the attempt. And as for people saying Brock shouldn't be brought back at all, well, they'd make shitty wrestling promoters.
The main talk about Brock being back in WWE has revolved around how his return should be handled. For some reason, people are saying that Brock should lose some matches at first. While on the surface it can appear to make some sort of sense, in that it can tell the story of Brock having to work his way back up or work off the ring rust, anyone with an ounce of common sense should realise that Brock should not lose for a really long time when he comes back. When Brock comes back, he needs to be pushed hard, kept strong, and whether it upsets people or not, he needs to have people fed to him, to set up a potential showdown with Batista at, if they can hold it off that long, at Wrestlemania. Brock v Batista is a money match, even though a lot of people won't want to admit that, and for that match to draw the absolute most money that it can, both parties need to be protected leading up to it.
I know some people are saying that Smackdown doesn't need Brock, but those people need to pay attention to the business side of wrestling. While Smackdown does have a decent amount of talent when it comes to ability and/or personality, when it comes to draws and matches that could draw, Smackdown is severely lacking. Right now, Batista v JBL could draw decently on a 'B' PPV, and relatively strongly on an 'A' PPV with some significant build-up. You've also got Batista v Undertaker and, maybe, Batista v Orton which could draw something, but apart from that, Smackdown is rolling snake eyes when it comes to matches that could really make money in the main event. By bringing in Brock, you've instantly added a ton of potential matches that you can put on tv and PPV that could, not only deliver in the ring, but deliver at the box office as well. With Brock coming back, you've got the natural storyline of the other wrestlers being upset with Brock walking out on the company last year. Not only is the storyline natural, but it's one that the fans can easily believe, not only because it's true, but also because a lot of them still feel that Brock 'turned his back on them', and combining those two factors gives you a real potential goldmine when it comes to making money, because people are going to pay to see the 'turncoat' get his ass handed to him, and if they can build it up properly and hold it off long enough, when it comes to time for Brock to finally get his ass kicked by Batista at Wrestlemania, then people aren't going to just want to see Brock get his ass kicked, they're going to really want to see him get his ass kicked.
Moving on to the roster cuts, there have been some surprising and not-so surprising cuts made, and I'll give my thoughts on each cut that has been made so far, with more cuts set to come:
Joy Giovanni: One of the numerous nameless and faceless women in WWE, Joy is no big loss.
Kenzo Suzuki and Hiroko: Kenzo is, was, and likely always will be terrible. He only got hired because he has size, but that was all he had, and even with a hot looking wife, he wasn't safe. Again, this one is no big loss.
Matt Morgan: Morgan wasn't very good in the ring, but he could talk his ass off. So, naturally, he got given a gimmick that made him wrestle and made no use of his mic skills. Morgan getting cut is a bit of a surprise in that he was big, tall, had the look WWE likes, and he did have a lot of potential. Sadly, Matt is a victim of WWE not having the patience to wait until Matt is ready for the main roster to call him up, and he's been labelled as not being ready. He wasn't ready, but he could have been, and would have been had WWE not blown their load over his size and look.
Charlie Haas and Jackie Gayda: What a wedding gift this is. Gayda was just another face in the crowd of nameless, faceless women in WWE, so her getting axed was no surprise, but Haas getting canned is. Haas had the ability, but he was never given the the right push and gimmick to get him over based on his strengths, and he really suffered when Shelton Benjamin was moved over to Raw.
Marty Jannetty: With Shawn not wanting to be a Rocker again, there was no reason to bring him back in the first place, and that he even lasted this long is the real surprise.
Dawn Marie: Congratulations on soon being a mother Dawn. Now get the hell out of here, because you're fired. Understandable given there was nothing they could do with her, but it's still cold doing it when he's pregnant.
Mark Jindrak: That Mark got cut even though he was tall and had a good body is a bit of a surprise, but Mark had nothing going for him. He has no personality or charisma, is really mechanical in the ring, and when that was exactly how he was when he got brought in the first time four years ago, it's not hard to see why he was let go.
Maven: I know Maven wasn't that hot in the ring, but he could really talk, and when someone is that good at something. you really should find something to do with him, and I don't mean a stupid midcard gimmick that doesn't make use of his strong suit. That seems to be a habit of WWE.
Shannon Moore: A small guy with nothing making him really stand out, this one is no surprise.
Akio: Like Shannon Moore, but with more ability. Again, not a surprise.
Gangrel: Was it even worth signing him back in the first place?
Kidman: A surprise, if only because he's married to Torrie Wilson, but even with that factor, it's not hard to see why he's been let go. Despite being really talented in the ring, WWE has totally sucked the charisma and personality out of Kidman, making him just another small guy, who was considered expendable.
Spike Dudley: This one was a surprise to me, purely because Spike can bump like a total madman, isn't afraid of taking the most insane of bumps, which all helps in getting the monsters that WWE love so much over. Still, Spike didn't seem to mind, given his statment on his site over his release.
Kevin Fertig: Not a surprise given his rep and standing with the locker room, both in WWE and OVW. I won't miss him.
The Dudley's: A surprise given their tenure, but not so much when you realise how stale they are; they've done everything that a team can do, and have nowhere else to go.
Benoit v Regal looked to be good stuff, but the flow was definitely ruined by the two commercial breaks, so it's hard to give it a fair rating. It didn't appear to be at the level of their 2000 Pillman Memorial match, but when I get to see the match without the breaks, I'll be able to say for sure.
The happenings surrounding the debut of The Boogeyman at a Smackdown house show were classic divine comedy. God had to be pissing on the gimmick, which I think most of us mere mortals will be doing should it hit the screens without some serious tuning up.
The initial buy rate for Vengeance is in, and it's a little higher than the first returns for ONS. Naturally, there are those who are gloating over this, which is both missing the point, and missing the fact that it didn't blow ONS out of the ballpark either, which is what I'd be most concerned about. I also note that some people are saying that the Cena v Jericho v Christian match drew more of the buys than Hunter v Batista. Quite how a major gimmick match between two of the biggest stars of Raw, complete with main event level push, would draw less buys than a match between one star and two perennial midcarders, without the main event level push, I don't know, but I guess you can't expect everyone to know what they're talking about.
Speaking of which, someone expressed the opinion that WCW having the better in-ring quality than WWE is a myth. I guess they missed out on WCW having a far better undercard than the WWF for 1996-1998, and some undercard matches that blew away most of what the WWF was putting out, even some of Bret, Shawn or Austin's work at some points. Main events aside, which were usually average to horrible, WCW had a more well-rounded and far superior in-ring product to WWF for a most of the late 90's.
I'm really looking forward to NOAH's Dome Show this weekend. The undercard is a little hit-and-miss, but the top three matches should be something else, if only from a spectacle standpoint. Naturally, the most anticipated match is the main event, with the first Mitsuharu Misawa v Toshiaki Kawada match in over five years, and their first ever match in NOAH. This will easily be the most heated and intense match of the night, and with Kawada being a free agent, I'm betting on him to get the win over Misawa, to set up a run against the top NOAH names, likely ending with a singles bout against Kenta Kobashi. Kobashi will be taking on Kensuke Sasaki, in what will be a hard hitting match, and I expect Kobashi to get the win there.
ROH shouldn't have used Matt Hardy. Their fanbase should be smart enough to know that Hardy is just there to further a WWE angle, and that is the absolute last thing that ROH fans want to see at an ROH show. And then to have Hardy make Chris Daniels tap out? Even with the interference of CM Punk, that one was just stupid. Sapolsky must be smoking something low grade if he agreed to that, not least because Daniels isn't getting his heat back from Hardy.
Cena v Edge? Cena right now, but I don't see him sustaining this level of overness for more than another year or so, so I would keep Edge strong so he can be the one to get the belt after. Of course, that doesn't take into account the fact that Hunter will want the belt not long after he returns, regardless of how over Cena is at the time, and so Edge is unlikely to be more than a transitional champion, like everyone not named HHH, even if he should be more.
Well, I didn't like how the real G1 Climax Tournament was booked this year, so I decided to give it a go myself. Let me preface this by saying that I laid this all out last week, so anything that anybody else has said about what should have happened since then, or even before, had no bearing on how I booked things. What I'll do is list the line-ups and running order of all right days of the G1, and then post the 'results' on a daily basis. Comments, questions or predictions are welcome.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, the Guest Booker DVD series is an idea from KayfabeCommentaries.com where a famous wrestling booker is given the task of booking a promotion or territory form a particular point in time with the idea that things didn’t go exactly as they did in real life and this is their chance to show us what they would have done were they the booker at the time. The first DVD featured Kevin Sullivan booking the WWF from the beginning of 1984 but without Hulk Hogan, who, for whatever reason, never made the big jump from the AWA. It’s a very interesting DVD, and while some of Sullivan’s ideas seem a little out of place, it still gives a lot of insight into the mechanics of booking and you still learn a lot of things about the art of booking that you probably won’t learn anywhere else.
With the concept explained, I shall set out the premise for this version of ‘Guest Booker’;
In late 1989, the NWA and Ric Flair were making a play to bring Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard back to the company, but there was also talk of other names being courted to jump to the NWA, specifically Ted DiBiase, Curt Hennig, Bret Hart, The Rockers, Roddy Piper and Randy Savage. Of course, we know that the only name of all of those to jump was Arn Anderson; Blanchard would have jumped back too but Jim Herd withdrew his contract offer when Blanchard failed a drug test for cocaine, which coincided with his decision to leave the WWF.
But what if Tully and Arn had returned together? And what if those other big names had made the history altering decision to jump to the NWA as well?
How would things have changed?
Well, this is where Guest Booker comes in, and I book the NWA in the 18-month period from August of 1989 to the end of 1990.
There will be six main parts:
NWA World Heavyweight title
US Heavyweight title
World Tag Team titles
US Tag Team Titles
World TV Title
New Arrivals (with each one talked about individually)
It wound up being a pretty long deal, so I'll be posting it in sections to make it easier to digest.
Constructive comment and debate over the decisions made is welcome.
Block A has: Jushin Liger, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Giant Bernard and Manabu Nakanishi
Block B has: Yuji Nagata, Naofumi Yamamoto, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Makabe and Koji Kanemoto
I think the semi's will be Tanahashi beating Kojima and Tenzan beating Nagata to set up Tanahashi beating Tenzan so he can avenge his loss in the 2004 finals. Liger and Yamamoto seem destined to be the respective jobbers of their groups, though one or both might get an upset win, with Yamamoto's being probably over Makabe or Kanemoto and Liger's possibly being over Nakanishi.
Buff Bagwell recently gave an interview where he said that Spike Dudley didn't belong near a wrestling ring. I guess that's why he lasted over 4 years in WWE Buff, while you got fired after less then 4 weeks. And how did you make use of your time in WWE Buff? You were late for every training session at Titan Towers, ruined what might have been a decent Invasion storyline by entering your typically sub-par performance, missed house shows and had your mother calling in sick for you, and, oh yeah; got bitchslapped by The Hurricane. So, while a guy who had 'no business' being near a wrestling ring was making a decent, albeit low-level, six-figure income for 4 years, you were restricted to making about $1,000 a shot on the Indy scene, when you could get booked. Life must suck for you Buff, knowing that Spike Dudley was on national television while you were scratching with the chickens.
Is it just a coincidence that some of the most nonsensical stuff posted is from people who clearly either don't know what they are talking about, or are desperately trying to hold onto some misguided bias?
Earl Hebner was fired this past week, apparently for selling merchandise without permission. I'm sure Hebner can find solace in the fact that, after Montreal, he got a raise to $500,000 a year, meaning he's earned around $3.5m or so since then.
After the huge negative reaction to the terrorist angle on Smackdown two weeks ago, UPN told WWE that Muhammad Hassan can no longer appear on Smackdown. Subsequently, it's now been confirmed that the Hassan character will be dropped altogether, with his match against Undertaker this Sunday presumably being his swan song. I'm probably going to talk about this one in a little more depth in a future blog entry, so I'll just say for now that the people who blindly defended this angle, and most of the people defending it were doing so blindly, probably have no clue how much damage that terrorist angle really did, but I doubt they even care about that.
Another RVD thread, and another round of people showing their bias and a lack of understanding of wrestling. This is another subject that I'll cover in a future blog entry, but suffice it to say that, yes, in some ways RVD is overrated, but to write him off for that is incredibly short-sighted. And the comparison to Shelton Benjamin is funny for all the wrong reasons,
There's a Smackdown PPV this weekend. No, really, there is a PPV this weekend, though you might not know it. There isn't one match on the card that I'm interested in seeing. I'm sick of JBL in the main event, and even if Batista beats the shit out of him and pins him clean, which he should, I don't want to see it, because I've zero desire to see JBL in the main event. Animal and Heidenreich v MNM? MNM should win, and they should beat Animal, but knowing Animal's hatred of doing jobs, it'll be the guy sticking around who does the job. Undertaker v Hassan might be interesting, in that with WWE having to drop the Hassan character, I'm wondering if Vince will try and get one last tasteless angle out of dropping the character.
I was sad to hear that Lord Alfred Hayes passed away a few days ago. For me, Hayes was the most underrated commentator of the 80's. He called the matches with an air of legitimacy, treating everything that was going on in the ring as if it was real, and he did it in a way that didn't insult your intelligence either. He made it a lot easier to listen to matches if Gorilla Monsoon was calling the action as well, because Gorilla was really terrible from around 1988 onwards, and Hayes was good at offsetting him.
Also sad to see the passing of Shinya Hashimoto. Hashimoto was a favorite of mine in the 90s, due to his punishing style of heavy kicks and chops, as well as his hot comebacks. One of my favorite matches of 1996 was his match against Riki Choshu in that years G1 Climax tournament. It didn't have any insane moves or crazy spots, but it was filled with intensity and emotion, and the crowd were going nuts as Choshu had to hit Hashimoto with I think it was 9 lariats before Hashimoto could get pinned. I remember that G1 for Hashimoto, who was the IWGP Champion at the time, doing the clean job in all three of his matches, and in doing so creating three fresh challengers for the IWGP Title, but the real beauty is that the nature of the matches meant Hashimoto was still crazy over with the fans, and so everybody won.
