Guest Dynamite Kido Report post Posted October 10, 2004 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kensuke Sasaki beat Kazuyuki Fujita © (2:29) by pinfall to become the 39th champion Less than 3 minutes too.............New Japan booking......WTF? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slayer 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2004 So Nagata and Takayama hold the belt combined for a little under two years, and now how many times has it changed since then? Fucked up indeed Looks like year long championship reigns have become as passe in New Japan as they are in the WWE Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Black Tiger Report post Posted October 10, 2004 I would classify the move as being good for business, but bad for title credibility. From 2000-2003 the title changed hands a total of nine times. In 2004 alone we're already at five. However, the title change being so short shows fans that MMA won't get you everything, and after Fujita basically took whole tours off, at a time when business is down, I'd say it serves him right, although I'm a little biased against NJPW at the moment. But if Kensuke is transitioning the title to Tenzan, then its another full circle for Hiroyoshi and he can hopefully get a proper reign with it. For now, I'm just glad it off of Fujita. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest SoZe Report post Posted October 10, 2004 Why would they book a title match, let alone a tile change, to go only 3 minutes? I'm not asking in a retorical manner, I'd really like to know. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2004 In case anyone is wondering, it was the old person-who-has-the-sleeper-on-has-his-shoulders-down finish. While I can see how it looks like it shows MMA won't get you everything, I would have preferred it, even though it would have never happened, if Sasaki had just squashed Fujita, with Fujita getting in almost nothing. At least that way, the guy winning the match would have actually be doing something offensive to get the win. As for where the belt goes from here, I'm guessing to Tenzan as well, but I wouldn't rule out Nishimura getting it somewhere down the line, seeing as he was meant to get the belt from Sapp in the first place. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Joe_G Report post Posted October 10, 2004 If you go to Stuart's site, in the New Japan section of the message board someone uploaded the match. Just look for the Sasaki vs. Fujita thread. The match is way too short to be worth anything (with Sasaki looking Ultimate Warrior-esque). The finish is just beyond awful and does nothing for anyone. I understand getting the belt off Fujita, who was doing nothing for the company, but why Sasaki? Especially when he just lost clean to Taiyo Kea two weeks ago on an AJPW show? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Black Tiger Report post Posted October 10, 2004 If you go to Stuart's site, in the New Japan section of the message board someone uploaded the match. Just look for the Sasaki vs. Fujita thread. The match is way too short to be worth anything (with Sasaki looking Ultimate Warrior-esque). The finish is just beyond awful and does nothing for anyone. I understand getting the belt off Fujita, who was doing nothing for the company, but why Sasaki? Especially when he just lost clean to Taiyo Kea two weeks ago on an AJPW show? If you go to Stuart's site, in the New Japan section of the message board someone uploaded the match. Just look for the Sasaki vs. Fujita thread I'm kinda sorta banned from Stuart's site Water under the bridge as far as I'm concerned. I'll hit him up with a NJ related question now and then, and he's always been courteous enough to reply with some help. Fujita apparently LAUGHED at losing the title, talk about a surefire way to flush credibility down the commode. HTQ: Just outa curiosity, where did you hear about Nishi getting the gold? NJPW booking has literally been all over the place this year? I wouldn't be surprised if he was meant to, I just never heard that particular tidbit. I think the Kea loss was more of a fluke, I know it was a "horizontal cradle" ending. Which that usually signifies. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SinToxic 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2004 I don't remember anyone actually beating Fujita destructively anyway, Nagata although in little over 10 min also beat him in a fast "i can't believe he did it" sort of way by consecutive back dropping him and then holding him down on his last breath. This was the same doing but in a faster manner just showing that Sasaki got lucky. I would have rather seen Takayama beating Fujita in under 5 min, I see Yoshi as more of a killer than Sasaki is. And I'm guessing they're teasing Tenzan's title shot for something big, maybe after he gets through with Chono cleanly he will finally get a 8 month reign. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Salacious Crumb Report post Posted October 10, 2004 This company seriously makes no sense to me right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Black Tiger Report post Posted October 10, 2004 Takayama went through Fujita pretty decicively back in August of 2002, during the NWF Title Tournament. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hunter's Torn Quad 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2004 HTQ: Just outa curiosity, where did you hear about Nishi getting the gold? NJPW booking has literally been all over the place this year? I wouldn't be surprised if he was meant to, I just never heard that particular tidbit. I heard it first from Meltzer, but I'm sure I saw it talked about on the SSS boards too at some point, and Stu never shot it down, so I'd say it was safe to assume it was true. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Black Tiger Report post Posted November 7, 2004 Kensuke going over Tanahashi at least gives some credibility back to the title, and its a safe bet to say he'll go over Minrou Suzuki at the Osaka Dome. Assuming Tenzan wins the title from him (which is how I think it'll play out, the IWGP title is essentially going backwards). Tenzan Sasaki Sapp Fujita Sasaki Sapp vacated and Fujita more or less filled in for him as the champion. Winning the title, in the match that was scheduled to be Sapp's next title defense. No way Tanahashi was going to get the title. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SinToxic 0 Report post Posted November 7, 2004 I was actually buying Tanahashi as the person who could beat Sasaki in a good long match. And no I didnt care if they would sink the belt even lower with a fast switch because storyline wise Tanahashi would make a better champ. He at least is fighting the war against BNJ alongside Nagata/Tenzan and the young guns where Sasaki hangs in somewhere between top faces and Chono's group with a little convincing army of Tenryu and Nakajima. Outside of the bloodfest match with Nagata Sasaki's comeback to me felt very useless. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J.B. Buzzkill 0 Report post Posted November 8, 2004 Whew, thank God this is old. I was about to go "AGAIN???" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
