Hunter's Torn Quad

Sid kicked out of the legdrop because Papa Shango missed his cue to get to the ring. Sid only kicked out because he was meant to be DQ'd and not pinned and he really had no choice but to kick out. Sid was kept around for a while after WM VIII, even though he failed a steroid test just before the event. He wound up walking out not long after during a house show run against Warrior as he was unhappy over, not only Warrior winning so quickly, but also Warrior kicking out of his powerbomb.

Nakanishi losing to Liger isn't a surprise when you consider he was the one to put over Kanemoto two years ago in the G1. Bernard winning isn't a major surprise as it did seem likely that Tanahashi would have at least one loss in order to set up a future title match. The double count-out finish for Nagata vs. Makabe is disappointing, as it would have been better, and gone over better, if it had gone the full 30:00. POINT STANDINGS A BLOCK - Tanahashi (4 pts) - Bernard (3 pts) - Kojima (3 pts) - Liger (2 pts) - Nakanishi (0 pts) B BLOCK - Tenzan (4 pts) - Makabe (3 pts) - Nagata (3 pts) - Kanemoto (2 pts) - Yamamoto (0 pts) The next matches are: I think Tanahashi vs. Kojima might go to a draw or we'll see Tanahashi win. Bernard seems likely to beat Nakanishi, Tenzan is sure to beat Yamamoto while Makabe vs. Kanemoto could go either way.

The two main bits on TNA from this weeks Observer are that Sen Shi is a lot closer to signing his deal, and the heat with Monty Brown continues. It's due both to his not signing a new deal and also that they want him to change his promo style to being more serious and less goofy but he still goes out and does them goofy anyway.

Austin is never coming back full time. His neck is screwed up so much that he might have one match, maybe two, left, but that is it.

Triple H lost to Umaga but Umaga was not put over at all. Umaga would have lost if not for Vince pulling the referee out and he only hit his big move when Triple H was distracted. Hunter did the job, but there is a big difference between doing a job for someone and putting them over.

One item from the Observer I missed was the story behind Gunner Scott/Brent Albright being demoted. When he was called up they had no idea what his strengths were. They tried to make him Benoit's protege but after Benoit was put out of action Albright was lost and, apparently, Finlay buried him for some reason.

Bernard looks to be Kojima's lone blemish before what seems like the inevitable loss to Tanahashi. POINT STANDINGS A BLOCK - Tanahashi (4 pts) - Kojima (3 pts) - Bernard (1 pt) - Nakanishi (0 pts) - Liger (0 pts) B BLOCK - Tenzan (4 pts) - Nagata (2 pts) - Makabe (2 pts) - Kanemoto (0 pts) - Yamamoto (0 pts) The next matches are: I think we'll see Tanahashi beat Bernard, Nakanishi beat Liger most likely, Nagata beat Makabe and Kanemoto vs. Yamamoto could go either way.

Dupree was someone who he could do the mechanics and looked like he knew the basics but didn't know what to do beyond the basics. He was definitely someone who would have benefited tremendously from the old territorial system, because he was not ready for prime time when he was called up.

The latest WO.com update says that Dana White has confirmed that Ortiz and Shamrock have come to verbal terms for a rematch, likely at the UFN special in October.

The point that Dave was actually making is that UFC and baseball fans don't understand the incentives to take steroids while wrestling fans do.

Because...? And Bischoff's contract has expired or will expire very soon.

From Puroresupower.com: No surprises at all on the first day. Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi: 2 Satoshi Kojima: 2 Giant Bernard: 0 Manabu Nakanishi: 0 Jushin Liger: 0 Block B: Yuji Nagata: 2 Hiroyoshi Tenzan: 2 Makabe: 0 Naofumi Yamamoto: 0 Koji Kanemoto: 0 The next matches are: I think we'll see wins for Kojima (or maybe a draw), Tanahashi and Tenzan, with Makabe vs. Yamamoto I think having the potential to go either way.

Bill Watts had nothing to do with Mabel getting pushed. Watts didn't get to the WWF until September of 1995, which was long after the Mabel push started.

Victory Road: Thumbs up: 50 (54.9%) Thumbs down: 27 (29.7%) Thumbs in the middle: 14 (15.4%) Dave called VR a mediocre PPV “from a promotion that can’t gain position in the crowd PPV marketplace producing anything less than very good to excellent”. Says TNA has changed from a promotion that made its name by consistently putting on the best PPV matches anywhere to being more personality and storyline based, with almost no booking done based on whether the match produced will be anything above average. Dave says that generally the storyline and personality stuff is what draws, but doing that makes the promotion seem like WWE with lesser stars and there are three WWE brands. Dave says TNA has lost their niche. Dave said that apart from the LAX tag match unexpectedly stealing the show, there was nothing memorable about it. Said the crowd was once again burned out from having to wait so long in the sun to get in. A lot of the regular fans didn’t go because they used to get a special line and the best seats, but that got taken away, so most of the people are park guests. One person there said that the lines to get in were the shortest for any PPV in a long time. In regard to the main event and Sting’s big comeback, he said the lack of reaction to his return and his big win was depressing. He called Joe the crowd favorite and that they appeared to see Sting winning as “Joe not winning”. Dave points out that Sting’s deal has not got long to go, and with them building to Sting vs. Jarrett all year then the time to go to it is now. Says Joe has more time and the more they build to his title run the more it will mean. Said there was no real storyline for Joe, and said he came across as an afterthought, when the fans reacted to him as the biggest star on the show. Says that after the lengthy build up, now they are hitting the singles match program with Sting and Jarrett, that there doesn’t appear to be any interest in it. The feedback to the Observer, which has been very consistently matched how TNA’s PPV’s have wound up drawing, was down 23% on the very low levels it had already reached as of late, and is less than half the level it was at when Sting first arrived. Dave thinks a lot of it is down to TNA no longer ending PPV’s with a MOTY-level bout, which was their lone calling card in getting people to pay for a PPV in an already crowded market. Dave thinks a lot of it is also down to the amount of competition, and that competition among viewers with similar interests for more high profile seemingly more important events. Dave says he can’t think of a single category where a TNA PPV delivers better than anything a bigger promotion does. Dave was also bothered to a degree about the lack of instant replays. He said there a lot of high risk moves on the PPV, and showing them again not only gets the spots over but the wrestlers over too, and with the lack of replays, he doesn’t know if anybody got over with them. The PPV drew the usual full house of 900 fans. Right now, Hard Justice will see: Sting vs. Jarrett for the NWA Title most likely with Christian and Scott Steiner in their respective corners, Styles and Daniels vs. Homicide and Hernandez for the tag titles, Joe vs. Rhino vs. Monty Brown, Sirelda vs. Gail Kim and Kevin Nash vs. Chris Sabin, but Dave says that may be changed to a tag match involving Jerry Lynn because Sabin ‘shockingly’ hasn’t gotten over a bit in this angle, which was meant to be for him). There might also be something with the James Gang as faces against AMW and Sen Shi against Dutt or Lethal and possible The Naturals against Shelly and Devine. Naturals vs. Skipper and Diamond: *. Called Shane Douglas’s insulting of Flair bad timing with Flair having just popped a rating and tearing the house down five nights before. Rhino vs. Monty Brown: *1/4. Says it was clear they were going to start a win streak for Brown so they likely changed the finish from him going over to a DDQ as Rhino got himself over with fans and management with his anti-ECW promo’s, and this was not the time to beat him. Homicide and Hernandez vs. Sonjay Dutt and Ron Killings: ***1/2. Said instead of dropping Dutt down Hernandez “just heaved him halfway to Tampa”. Said the segment with Team Canada was good but that it went too long. Also said that Young was acting a lot like Eugene and “I already saw Eugene and how nuts everyone was for him and how well that played out”. Sen Shi vs. Frankie Kazarian: **1/2. Incognito was meant to be in the match but TNA couldn’t contact him for some reason. Called the match cold because Kazarian did nothing to be the babyface and didn’t do much in the comeback. Raven vs. Zbyszko: DUD. Said Larry has gained 30lbs since Morphoplex went out of business but luckily his stall doesn’t need good cardio. On the Nash promo, Dave said the only memorable thing was Nash using a line from Seinfeld 14 years ago. Dave also said Nash was mocking Hogan’s promo’s to try and be cool. “As if we don’t get enough DX for one week with 40-year-olds trying to act like high schoolers that TNA copies it with someone closing in on 50. Well, at least Nash looks younger than his age, which can’t be said for the other two. Chris Sabin and Jay Lethal vs. Kevin Nash and Alex Shelley: *1/2. “Nash was either trying to sell and doing it in a most unbelievable fashion or was trying to sell in a most unbelievable fashion.” Said the idea of the program was to get Sabin over as an X-Division star, but to no shock at all he’s just gotten buried and for all the reason everybody knew about going in. James Gang and Abyss vs. Team 3D and Brother Runt: **3/4. Penzer got ‘reamed out’ for announcing Abyss at 248. Styles and Daniels and Sirelda vs. AMW and Gail Kim: **3/4. Said the match wasn’t bad but not as good as it’s been the last few months. Said the first half was mostly comedy and that the momentum was killed whenever Sirelda was in. Dave called the second half of the match very good. Sting vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christian vs. Scott Steiner: **1/4. Said the problem with the match was Steiner being the focal point after Sting got taken out and that he was struggling very badly, and the most noticeable since joining. Said the crowd wasn’t into the match at all. Said Joe and Christian were both good. Other News: James Mitchell is under contract until May and says he’s very happy in TNA. He said there was no contact between him and WWE. There is heat amongst the wrestlers over Andy Douglas getting out of cutting his hair. The story is that Bob Ryder, who has almost no respect anymore, convinced Jeff Jarrett that the hair cut wasn’t needed. The booking committee wanted to give them a new push with a new look. They had minor haircuts as a concession but they look almost the same as before. (From me: Yes, the booking committee decided what they wanted happening but Jeff decided to change it. It might have been something minor, but if Jeff is willing to step in on something like a haircut, just think what he’ll be like when the committee make the call to have Jarrett put over Joe for the title) Some of those at TV looking for work were Brian Lee, Sean Waltman and Lance Hoyt. Joe was unhappy at the tapings. He had a large welt under his eye from a potato shot from Steiner. He was arguing with D’Amore about something in front of the wrestlers, D’Amore was on at Joe for something else and Joe was yelling back. Eventually, they calmed things down and D’Amore apologized. Monty Brown and Sen Shi have not signed new deals, but with Brown it might not even be considered a big issue. With Sen Shi, there was something in the deal he did not agree to. He was also unhappy at TV. He wasn’t happy about his PPV match not getting advertised and that he apparently only found about the match on the internet. He was also unhappy about, not only just working an Xplosion match at the TV taping, but also having to put over Sonjay Dutt. A rep from ESPN India was at the taping interviewing wrestlers for the station. He said ratings for TNA on the station are huge, and talked about TNA maybe touring there. Vignettes start soon for the Bobby Roode singles push. The angle will be that all the top managers are after him. Team 3D won’t be used for a while as their contract is running low on dates. The story behind the James Gang taking Eric Young under their wing is that they want the James Gang as faces and because they are the highest paid they need them over. In actuality, apparently, the hope is that it’s Young who gives them a rub from being so over himself.

Part One – July 31st Bobby Lashley and the Great Khali have been diagnosed with liver problems and removed from the active roster for the time being. In testing both men WWE found conclusive liver problems and had no choice but to take them off the road. The damage was enough that were was real fear that one or both could have Hepatitis. Super Crazy was pulled off the Bash at the last minute for similar liver problems. Jimmy Korderas was also pulled off the road for health problems found during his physical exam. Lashley’s problems were known at least two weeks back, and the US Title was taken off of him due to preliminary testing showing the potential problem that, if further testing showed them to be accurate, Lashley would be not be available to wrestle for some time. The change was done on TV because they knew there was a good chance he would not be able to work the PPV. Lashley and Khali were rushed on the roster too soon because of their unique physiques. Lashley might have been a hopeful for Olympics at wrestling but it wasn’t his wrestling that put him on the fast track. Like with Chris Masters, Lashley and Khali were brought up far too soon because of their look, and now all three have been taken off the active roster, and off the big pushes, because of what it took to achieve that look. While it is not yet proven that the liver problems are steroid related, there are steroids that greatly affect the liver, and a number of wrestlers who have used steroids have had kidney problems too. Rick Martel had similar issues that came out during the Zahorian trial. Masters suspension and rehab was down to painkiller use without prescription, and his health issues are psychological in nature rather than physical. There is not set time for Lashley or Khali to come back. They join RVD, Kurt Angle and Joey Mercury has either being suspended, for RVD and Angle, or in rehab, with Mercury. Of them all, if it were not for the more stringent testing in the wake of the death of Eddie Guerrero, the only ones likely to not be on the road now would be Van Dam, because got arrested, and Mercury. There have also been a number of recent failures of the steroid test, and there will be suspensions shortly. The names could get released by the company as the names will get out at some point anyway. No names have yet been confirmed as failing the test, but the suspensions will likely begin after the 7/26 Smackdown taping. At least one more Smackdown wrestler will be suspended soon. (I assume this would be Tatanka) Matt Hardy’s suspension is not necessarily for failing the steroid test. Hardy wasn’t involved in anything major, but his loss makes Smackdown barley able to fill a house show card. Lashley, Khali and Crazy being taken off the roster was unavoidable due to significant health issues. If there is one good thing about all this, it’s that the new policy caught the problems early enough that there is an increased chance of people recovering. Regarding Canadian TV: Raw will never air live, but on a tape delay from 10pm. TSN cancelled Raw after the Edge and Lita live sex show but Vince was able to get a reprieve. The show got cancelled for real after the 7/3 show with the Hunter/Candice Michelle blow job skit. It was not a ratings issues. At the press conference that announced this, a couple of the wrestlers took shots at TSN over the changeover, even though TSN tried to keep things looking amicable. For Raw on 7/17, the biggest segment gain was for Cena being interviewed by Matt Striker and Cena’s match with Umaga, which gained over 1 million viewers (1,021,000). Referee Mickey Jay was moved to ECW because after getting rid of all the ECW ref’s, they were left with Mike Posey and a couple of rookies. It’s bad deal for Jay, because referees are paid on a percentage of the gate, so he’s going from a percentage of $90,000 to $200,000 gates to a percentage of $15,000 to $30,000 gates. The Diva Search finale will take place on 8/16 on USA. Part Two – August 2nd The problems for the Smackdown roster exploded over the past week. The scorecard of names taken off the active roster is now: Great Khali, Bobby Lashley and Super Crazy for liver enzyme issues, Jimmy Korderas for health reasons, and Matt Hardy and Kid Kash suspended for 30 days. Neither Hardy nor Kash have known medical issues that would cause their suspension, despite what has been said elsewhere, and Kash’s suspension had nothing to do with behavior. There was talk on 7/25 that a few more names would be added to the list of suspensions after TV, all of them believed to be on Smackdown, and none would be from the Raw brand. While there has been talk of a feared Hepatitis outbreak, due to three liver issues, the company didn’t believe that, and there is apparently evidence to support that conclusion. There is internal fear among the wrestlers that the liver problems are not coincidence. As far as the suspensions go, a number of them were for violating the steroid test, as several failed the first test before Wrestlemania and levels did not decrease in subsequent tests. At least three or four fit the criteria, not all of whom would be known right now. Not all of the suspensions are for steroids, but some of them are. Dave has spoken to doctors who have headed steroid testing for major sports organizations. The secretion of steroids is not an even handed process, in that if you take steroids and stop it is possible for levels to not drop, and even be elevated if you’re tested on the wrong day. Generally, this style of testing can be accurate, but it is not foolproof in showing of people are off steroids or are getting off them. Says steroids are such a strong part of the culture that all the deaths and controversies of the past 15-years can’t stop it. Dave knows of many wrestlers who were told flat out by doctors that certain health issue were steroid related and the wrestlers simply took the view the doctor didn’t know what they were talking about. All people are different, but there is the belief held that how can these things that can do so much for you be so bad. In addition, you are judge by management, and fans, by how you look. At the 7/24 taping, there were a very vocal segment of fans getting on Edge and calling attention to what appeared to be a loss of upper body size in Edge, and some people were upset about this feeling that this kind of response will get in the heads of some people. While Smackdown will be decimated for a while, ECW should be back to almost full strength very soon. Rob Van Dam will be eligible to come back at either the 8/5 house show or the 8/8 taping in Nashville and will apparently be back at that time. His suspension was something forced on the company, as he got arrested rather than failing a test. Kurt Angle returns on the 8/1 show at the Hammerstein Ballroom. The suspensions were without pay, so Van Dam is out around $20,800, minus whatever else it might cost him to take care of the legal issues. With Angle, due to his downside of $1 million per year, he’s out to the tune of around $83,300. The wrestlers taken off due to liver issues will similarly be earning their downside money, though it’s possible there might be an exception. WWE’s handling of the situations has been inconsistent, to no surprise. Van Dam and Lashley’s issues were acknowledged, while nothing was said about Angle, Masters or Mercury. As a rule-of-thumb, the 30-day suspensions are going to be for steroid violations or public situations they cannot ignore, while the longer disappearances for rehab are for painkiller issues. Disappearances for an unspecified amount of time that do not include rehab are more likely going to be down to health issues. It’s not known how they’ll handle the latest suspensions, but they’ll probably be inconsistent yet again. Lashley’s liver problems are a major concern and he is not expected back any time soon. Khali’s problems are said to be not as bad, and he was kept strong because of the belief he may be able to get his levels down to where he can be brought back. Super Crazy is also not expected back soon, and there is fear that he and Lashley’s issues are serious. Great American Bash Thumbs Up: 57 (32.2%) Thumbs Down: 83 (46.9%) Thumbs in the Middle: 37 (20.9%) Best Match Poll London and Kendrick vs. Kash and Noble: 82 Worst Match Poll Undertaker vs. Big Show: 97 Said the Bash was a show that didn’t click, that there was little heat for the undercard bouts that didn’t get pushed, but that the matches themselves were not bad. Said Matt Hardy replacing Super Crazy likely made the match better, and said that as bad as Undertaker vs. Show was that it’s mind boggling to think how bad it would have been had Khali wrestled instead. Said that Batista vs. Mark Henry probably would have had more heat than Batista vs. Mr Kennedy, but it’s unlikely it would have been as good. Said that while Finlay vs. Regal without Lashley looked better on paper the lack of crowd interest meant the match didn’t get over as well as the original match would have done. King Booker winning the World title was changed again over the last week. The scenario itself had been planned for quite some time and would have happened at Judgment Day had JBL not taken himself off the road due to injuries. Said Mysterio is hardly the prototypical WWE Champion and was booked like no other champion before him with numerous television losses that never lead to title programs. The title change had nothing to do with the other changes that were made to the show. The show drew about 9.750 fans, with 8.750 paying $490,000 Said JBL’s announcing had good and bad points. Said his non-stop talking takes over every show and while he clearly does his homework he is so dominant that, like with Smackdown, it felt like it was the JBL show, and that when it was over you don’t remember the matches as much as you remember hearing JBL commentate for three hours. Said his going off on tangents hurt some of the matches, most notable Finlay vs. Regal, although that match was already hurt by the crowd. London and Kendrick vs. Kash and Noble: ***1/4. Dave noted there some funny signs in the audience about livers, and brought up one that read, “I came to see who is left”. Fit Finlay vs. William Regal: **1/4. Said the match didn’t work on both storyline levels, as Finlay was playing face and Regal the heel but nobody caught on, and Cole never directed things to set that storyline up. Said the crowd was dead except for “boring” chants which Cole said was because fans wanted to see Lashley. Dave jokes that he didn’t know Lashley’s nickname was “boring”. Gregory Helms vs. Matt Hardy: ***1/4. Called the angle with Show and Khali attacking Undertaker shockingly weak for what it was meant to do, that being set up Show replacing Khali, but says they didn’t want Undertaker hurt so much that he’d have to sell the whole match, and that they also wanted to protect Khali. Says they got lucky, because putting Khali in there for 20:00 would have made for one of the worst matches of all time plus he would likely have lost, but now he can come back for the program and still be untouched. Undertaker vs. Big Show: -*. Said that after JBL compared Undertaker to Michael Jordan in his final year with the Washington Wizards, and how he used to be the greatest and he’s only showing flashes of it, when Undertaker won he said he was like Jordan in his prime. To which Dave commented, “Yeah, maybe Orlando Jordan. Four-Way bra and panties match: DUD. Said Dean Malenko got a lot of heat for this one, as he tried to book a wrestling match out of it. Mr Kennedy vs. Batista: **1/2. Booker T vs. Rey Mysterio: ***. Other News As well as Hunter and Vince not being at Raw, Brian Gewirtz was not there having taken a week off for a vacation. Vince did not like the Bash and wanted to re-evaluate everything on television that week. Vince rewrote Raw after the Bash and when he left the show had to be rewritten again. Vince was in constant cell phone contact with the writers, approving the new show as it was being written. Chris Benoit is expected back in the fall, although there is no timetable set. Dave said he liked the DX stuff for the first two weeks but that is now become unbearable. He called the segment with Michaels that opened the show the single worst one he can recall Shawn being a part of. Dave also said that when Shawn was rolling around laughing that almost nobody was laughing with him and that he went from cool to the epitome of uncool. There was talk of sending some of the Spirit Squad to Smackdown to bolster their roster. Said Foley’s promo’s are so good that while they are not turning Flair heel that a number of anti-Flair signs are showing up. Also said that Flair really needs a great promo right now but that he is not getting the chance to give one. Said the gimmick with Batista and Mr Kennedy is that Batista can’t find a way to pin him even though he dominates. There were problems between WWE and the staff of the Joe Louis building over the Smackdown and ECW tapings, among them being the building staff not being told about the pyro testing, and when they tested the pyro some security staff from the outside rushed in thinking that a bomb might have gone off.

This might explain most of it. It's from the thread regarding money matches that never happened and covers the main event to Wrestlemania VIII.

The problem with ECW Title matches being under extreme rules is that, unless every match ends with a million run-ins to cause a no-contest, then it leaves them no 'out' to avoid having to do a finish. The way it is now, they can get out of beating people they don't want losing.

He's set to be part of the build to Orton vs. Hogan, so it should be very soon.

Hardy could simply be bad at cycling off. Long story short, Barnett was UFC Champion but stripped of the belt after testing positive for steroids. Part of his defense, which did not go over well with the Nevada State Athletic Commission, saw his manager literally say to the Commission, "Does he look like he's on steroids?". He didn't look like he was, but he was. You need not look like you're on them to be on them.

He could just have bad genetics. Some guys can take tons and tons of steroids but if they have bad genetics then they'll never have the body you'd think a steroid user would. Josh Barnett tested positive for steroids and he certainly never had the kind of body you'd think a steroid user would.

Matt Hardy is a lot bigger than people think. He looks small compared the huge guys around, but when you put him next to a normal looking guy, like Chris Daniels, he looks huge. Nobody thought Jeff Hardy was big but when he was in the ring with AJ Styles he made AJ look small.

I just watched the ending again and it took 24 seconds for Hunter to make the cover after hitting the pedigree. As for whether Booker should have won or not, once they started the racism storyline he had to win. At least then, while the storyline would still have been stupid, the racist would have been proved wrong and the babyface been triumphant. If Booker wasn't going to go over, and he was meant to when the deal started, they should never have done the racism part.

From the latest F4W Weekly: Important stuff has been bolded. Looks like the webmaster of Matt Hardy's site is keen for people to just accept his story and not question him at all.

New Japan, 7/17/06 --> "CIRCUIT 2006 TURBULENCE" <-- 29-year-old Hiroshi Tanahashi today became New Japan's bright light after a dark couple of days. Tanahashi outlasted five bigger and older superstars today in the IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament to finally live out his dream of becoming the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. It was a tournament that occupied much of today's four hour show at the Tsukisamu Green Dome, which, in another bright point, was about 70% full, much better than expected after refunds were offered following Lesnar's disappearing act (and 3,955 was New Japan's highest number there since July, 2004). Round one started out with what you could argue was the biggest match of the entire tournament, Tenzan vs. Akebono. Tenzan's condition has been improving a little lately, and today he used a Superfly splash, taught to him by one of his coaches (Gedo), but had trouble handling Akebono's weight. A crushing loss for Tenzan right before the G1 saw him flattened by Akebono's body press, and the "King of Tournaments" exited in round one. He will look to continue his harder training of late and aim towards a better G1 campaign. Nagata fought off Travis Tomko, winning quite convincingly in the end. Nagata avoided Tomko's Swanton bomb, and won with a backdrop hold. The semis started with Bernard vs. Akebono, and not known for his stamina, Akebono couldn't last long with Bernard, who rather than try and take the former Yokozuna off his feet, eventually just cradled him for the win. The other semi was called a very good match between Nagata and Tanahashi, their third of the year. They were 1-1 going into this, and at a disadvantage, Nagata fought really well and controlled large portions of the match. In the end though, Tanahashi's freshness allowed him to advance, as he used the ground Cobra Twist (countering a knee kick), made famous of course by certain New Japan legends, to pin Nagata. So there was no heroic final march for any of the four round one participants, the two semis finalists with free passes advancing safely. The main event was then Tanahashi vs. Bernard, a rematch of their very heated Korakuen war last month. Tsukisamu Green Dome is known for being a tough crowd to please, but they were into much of today's show, and this one more than anything. There were huge "Tanahashi" calls, but also some "Bernard" chants from the crowd. Like last time, the gaijin overpowered the native, but at the same time had to be wary of his trickery. Bernard used an F5 (Verdict) during the match, but it had less effect than expected, I guess sending multiple messages, and Tanahashi also survived several of Bernard's other big moves, such as the Baldo bomb and corner splash. Bernard had help from the outside, Tomko interfering more than once. He was later banished by referee Tiger Hattori, ending a string of boos. Hattori also hit the ground briefly, after Tanahashi had countered the Bernard Driver with his Sling Blade, and no one was present to count when he covered. Tomko returned with a chair, but Tanahashi caught Bernard with a flying forearm, sending the chair into his face and causing bloodshed. Tanahashi then used his new Sling Blade off the top rope, followed by a regular Sling Blade, and covered for three perfect counts and one big gold belt! Tanahashi was in fact given the second generation title (Hashimoto's), because the other one is in America, and its former holder, Brock Lesnar, told Tokyo Sports (through someone else) that he isn't giving it back, because he is the true champion. Many fans rushed to ringside after the match, and the heat was said to have been absolutely incredible (hopefully comes off as well on TV). Tanahashi was interviewed in the ring, and said he'd done his best without giving up, and that the belt is heavier than he expected. Regarding Lesnar's last minute cancellation, Tanahashi again said he is sorry, in response to which many fans shouted "It isn't your fault!". Tanahashi smiled, and said from now on the kindness of fans will be repaid through is matches. He was asked to say something to the fans to end his interview, and Tanahashi replied, "I love you! And I love New Japan Pro-Wrestling!". He wants to make today the dawn of New Japan. Tanahashi will now greet the G1 Climax as the champion, a far cry from last August when he couldn't even beat Yano and lost to most of his seniors. The "future" that we talked about a few years ago may have arrived, and the other young generation ace should be making a move towards returning home soon... A tag team revolution is starting and the reason is Real Wild Child (or HOOOOOO FEAR! as they are nicknamed by the Japanese internet scene). Nakanishi & Omori today added another set of tag belts to their NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title (which wasn't on the line today, even though Tokyo Sports said it would be the other day), defeating the IWGP Provisional Tag Team Champions, Koshinaka & Makabe. The champions, who have been causing all sorts of problems on the current tour, used rulebreaking tactics, but despite that, Koshinaka was as popular as ever. RWC used some good teamwork, but so did Koshinaka & Makabe, at one point isolating Nakanishi at ringside with a union piledriver, leaving Omori in a terrible position. Makabe nearly had Omori, firing three running lariats at him, but Nakanishi was back by then, and the two hit the Washington Convention (McEnroe/Axe Bomber combination) that won them the NWA belts, and while Omori blew away his former friend Koshinaka with an Axe Bomber, Nakanishi dropped Makabe with the Hercules Cutter for the three count and belts! After a title drought of around six years, Nakanishi is suddenly a double champion. Even though they are not the "real" tag champions, they now hold the old belts, while ChoTen have the new ones. Speaking of ChoTen, Chono was doing commentary for the match (more on him below), and he entered the ring post-match to congratulate the new champions. After feigning a handshake, he KO'd both of them and advertised himself as the "true champion". A collision between ChoTen and Real Wild Child is surely on the horizon now, once Chono returns from injury! Wataru Inoue's attempt to repeat his Super Jr. win over Tiger Mask failed today when he challenged for the NWA Jr. Heavyweight Title. This was said to be a fairly ordinary match, not one of the highlights today. The finish was very nasty and concerning, as Tiger dropped Inoue with a brutal avalanche-style backdrop, then finished him off with a Tiger suplex hold. Wataru, who missed much of last year with two separate concussions, wasn't very responsive after the match and had to be stretchered to the back. Once again, the veteran juniors win when it matters most, despite good efforts from the young generation. Tiger Mask is now returning his focus to Liger, who you may remember accepted Tiger's invitation to challenge for this title after their Super Jr. semi final. Tiger wants to receive Liger's challenge for his V3 defense. Yano & Ishii's sublime teamwork led them to a big win today, over Choshu & Yamamoto. Choshu declined to put himself in the tournament, so replaced Iizuka in this match, and at times treated Yano and his pupil Ishii like children, showing that he still has some of his old strength. Yamamoto's lack of stamina was conspicuous today, something he may want to sort out before the G1, and Yano, who isn't in the G1 despite having pinned Yamamoto regularly in recent months, pinned the young lion with his Oni Koroshi. Today's fourth match was said by some to be the best on the show, although others leaned towards Tanahashi vs. Bernard and Tanahashi vs. Nagata. This was a junior match that did deliver between the Japan/Ireland/Mexico junior connection and CTU, the finish of an exciting bout seeing Kanemoto (who, according to his blog, has remodeled his physique back to how it was during his Team 2000 days) pin Minoru again! Their inevitable title match is surely not too far off, but having originally been expected to take place today, the question is when? Today's opening match was also have said to be very good, much more than most expected from an opener. Team Hokkaido - Uwano, Ishikari & Hirasawa - overcame Iizuka (also from Hokkaido), Yujiro & Naito in a match where the young men showed lots of fire, while Iizuka just kind of stood back. Taichi Ishikari in his first match on the main New Japan brand, made a good impression, but it was Hirasawa who picked up the win, submitting Naito. Antonio Inoki appeared after intermission, hitting the ring for a scheduled interview. There were many cheers and although some tried to boo him, they had no chance. Inoki, who incredibly tried to subtly blame New Japan for the Lesnar incident in today's Tokyo Sports, completely avoided the issue, and talked about how often he flies from New York to Japan. Inoki then announced that all ¥380,000 (US$3,265) seats for his scheduled "INOKI GENOME" show on 9/1 have been sold out (even though tickets are not on sale to the public yet, it seems his acquaintances bought them). Inoki left with a patented "1-2-3-DAA!". Before the tag title match, Chono hit the ring for his long awaited showdown with Simon Inoki. Chono updated the fans on his condition, then went on another anti-Simon tirade, asking where "Simon Kelly" was. It appears that President Inoki is still in America though, busy organizing "INOKI GENOME 2006" while his company has a major show. Chono blamed Simon for certain problems, although didn't go into detail, then left for the commentary booth with an "I AM CHONO!". Not surprised to see Tanahashi get the belt. New Japan needed to start things afresh, and Tanahashi was the only real choice. G1 combinations announced Block combinations have been determined for this year's G1 and announced. There will be only half as many G1 matches per show as recent years, which some may consider a good thing and some a bad thing (New Japan felt eight matches tired out fans and lessened the impact of each match individually). This is very much going to be a "hard fight through contents", as the star power is significantly down on recent years, not only on the outsider side but on the New Japan side with Chono and Nakamura absent. Each show typically has two big matches and two smaller matches. Because the G1 was cut down from twelve to ten men, each wrestler will also get a day off. Its said that special matches will be constructed on each show, with Akebono (if he's healthy after K-1) and the juniors likely to have some interesting matches, and certain other names (including Takayama) having come up as candidates recently. The biggest test for Kojima back before New Japan fans is likely to be on the final two days of group stage matches, when he faces Tanahashi in Nagoya, then Nakanishi at Sumo Hall. The TV schedule is still not finalized, but I'd guess those current without any tapings listed may run on Samurai! TV. I see Tanahashi coming out with only one loss, if that, to set up a future title match. I think the final will be Tanahashi avenging his 2004 final loss to Tenzan.