Lesnar extends his hand to Inoki

[SinToxic 0]

While at an annual rice distribution event at Shinjuku Central Park with New Japan wrestlers, Antonio Inoki dropped a bomb, announcing that former WWE Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesnar, would attend and observe the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show from the ringside area! Inoki said that he and Lesnar once trained together in L.A. (the popular story being that Inoki made Lesnar tap out in a spar), and that Lesnar is a good wrestler who he has a very high evaluation of. Inoki said Lesnar is very interested in advancing on the New Japan ring soon, but New Japan faces tough competition from PRIDE and K-1, who are both chasing the services of who the Japanese call the hottest freelancer in the world. Inoki hinted that Lesnar could even intrude during a match, and suggested there might be other big surprises on the show.

 

credit: puroresufan.com

 

 

 

Is he a replacement for Waterman or Akebono? Yasuda is out of my mind.

 

2 ways this could go, an after match hit on Tenzan or Tanahashi who most likely will retain against Nakamura. Knowing that he will have to win anything he'll be apart of it baffles me on both counts and the possibility of Brock-Lock vs Anaconda Vice doesnt really stiffs me either.

[Precious Roy 0]

I think I read somewhere that Lesnar is free to work for another company at some point in 05, and if WWE is serious about freezing him out for a bit I think he'd be quite wise to go to New Japan, where he would no doubt get over HUGE, as Japan loves big gaijins who can work.

[Guest Ronnie755]

According to Meltzer, he's free to work elsewhere in March.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Brock wrestling in Japan = Holy shit!

[Guest LooneyTune]

Now he can actually be stiff instead of acting like a teddy bear with a giant tattoo on his back.

 

March 15th, 2005 is the date he's allowed to compete wherever he wants.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I think New Japan needs to do whatever they can to bring Brock Lesnar on as a full time wrestler. He might be their last chance at survival at this point.

[pgi86 0]

Holy shit!I guess I saw that one coming but still...holy shit.Lesnar in NJPW could be huge.

[Guest Jason]

I think New Japan needs to do whatever they can to bring Brock Lesnar on as a full time wrestler. He might be their last chance at survival at this point.

You made that statement as if New Japan Pro Wrestling was currently struggling, when they're anything but faltering. Currently - along with NOAH - NJPW is the biggest japanese wrestling promotion in the world. With superstars such as Jado, Gedo, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Masahiro Chono, and a personal favorite of mine: Curry Man, NJPW is at the top of their game. Should Brock Lesnar not sign with NJPW, how do you figure they wouldn't survive?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

New Japan would be hard pressed to not be the biggest Japanese promotion in the world, seeing as they're the biggest in terms of roster, star power, and area of operations. Not to mention they don't have any real competition for the spot.

 

And I won't point out that their Osaka Dome show last month didn't even draw half-full house, or the fact that their IWGP Title was booked into oblivion for most of the year. Oh wait. I just did.

[Guest Jason]

New Japan would be hard pressed to not be the biggest Japanese promotion in the world, seeing as they're the biggest in terms of roster, star power, and area of operations. Not to mention they don't have any real competition for the spot.

 

And I won't point out that their Osaka Dome show last month didn't even draw half-full house, or the fact that their IWGP Title was booked into oblivion for most of the year. Oh wait. I just did.

New Japan Pro Wrestling has plenty of competition in both AJPW - who are doing well, being carried by Toshiaki Kawada who's been their Triple Crown Champion for quite some time now - and especially NOAH, who is a very close second to NJPW with superstars like Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Jun Akiyama and Akira Taue. And not that it was at all a major event, the November show in the Osaka dome drew just fine, with a fantastic card featuring Kawada, Tenzan, Liger, Jado and Gedo, Sasaki and Nagata.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Drawing a legit crowd of around 20,000 or so to a Dome that holds 55,000 is not "just fine".

 

All Japan stopped being competition a long time ago. They might be doing ok right now, but they aren't even in New Japan's league. NOAH are doing well too, but they are still a couple of steps behind New Japan.

 

As for the Osaka Dome card, the two guys New Japan seems to want to build around did clean jobs to outsiders, with no real chance of them getting the wins back in the near future, so card quality aside, some of the booking was silly.

[Guest Jason]

Drawing a legit crowd of around 20,000 or so to a Dome that holds 55,000 is not "just fine".

 

All Japan stopped being competition a long time ago. They might be doing ok right now, but they aren't even in New Japan's league. NOAH are doing well too, but they are still a couple of steps behind New Japan.

 

As for the Osaka Dome card, the two guys New Japan seems to want to build around did clean jobs to outsiders, with no real chance of them getting the wins back in the near future, so card quality aside, some of the booking was silly.

But as I mentioned before, the Osaka Dome card was not a major one in any way, shape or form. The superstars had no problem doing the job for outsiders because 80% of their fan base would never have even heard about the card itself. This is why, although it was booked in a large venue, it was not expected to draw 55,000 spectators. And they did sell plenty more then 20,000 at the Osaka dome in November. AJPW is still somewhat of a threat, as they are doing very well, and while NOAH may be on step behind of NJPW, they are still a major threat, however, NJPW is ahead of them - that is why they are the biggest wrestling promotion in Japan. My point of argument was to point out the foolishness of the statement "He might be their last chance at survival at this point."

[Guest Black Tiger]

Puroresu, as a whole is down right now. New Japan is arguably the top company, but they're still in a slump as well. The aforementioned Osaka Dome show was a horrible draw. They had to heavily paper their 12/11 and 12/12 shows. Their Tokyo Dome efforts this year are a combined 90,000 and that's going by their CLAIMED attendences. NJPW used to be able to sell out the dome at the bat of an eyelash. Hell, All Japan outdrew them at Sumo Hall.

 

Personally, I think Lesnar would be a big boost for New Japan. He'd fit much better into their role of the ass kicking foreigner than Bob Sapp did, and Lesnar has the benefits of knowing how to work.

[Guest Jason]

Puroresu, as a whole is down right now. New Japan is arguably the top company, but they're still in a slump as well. The aforementioned Osaka Dome show was a horrible draw. They had to heavily paper their 12/11 and 12/12 shows. Their Tokyo Dome efforts this year are a combined 90,000 and that's going by their CLAIMED attendences. NJPW used to be able to sell out the dome at the bat of an eyelash. Hell, All Japan outdrew them at Sumo Hall.

 

Personally, I think Lesnar would be a big boost for New Japan. He'd fit much better into their role of the ass kicking foreigner than Bob Sapp did, and Lesnar has the benefits of knowing how to work.

Purerosu is not very down at all. They're simply in a matter of transition. Purerosu's former superstars like Kawada, Misawa and Kobashi are aging and racking up injuries, therefore declining in the ring. However, they're making way for the superstars of the future like KENTA, Jado, Gedo and Marafuchi, similar to the way WWE needed to push the Goldberg's, Rock's, HHH's and Taker's out of the way to make room for superstars like Randy Orton and John Cena. However, I don't see anyone claiming that WWE is on the edge of survival. Bottom line, NJPW is doing perfectly fine and are no where near extinction.

[Spaceman Spiff 0]

Jado is already 36, and Gedo is coming up on 36 in February. How does that make them "stars of the future"?

 

And the WWE is pushing HHH and Taker out of the way?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I think we've established that Jason's grasp of Japanese wrestling is as woefully poor as his grasp of American wrestling. Japanese wrestling has been on the downturn for a while now, and to try and write it off as a 'matter of transition' shows how little he really knows.

[Guest Jason]

My grasp on purerosu wrestling is just fine. Jado and Gedo, as old as they are, have just broken out in the business, and although 36 years old is remotely old, they can be considered superstars of the future in Japan, where professional wrestlers in their 40's are on top.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I'm a big fan of Gedo and Jado, but they are strictly midcard talents. They won't be superstars in New Japan unless some mystical force causes about 20 to 30 other wrestlers to vanish off the face of the earth. They might have an ultra slim chance in All Japan, if Muto loses more of his booking marbles. And they have zero chance in NOAH. Unless a new promotion, long on money and short on talent comes along, Gedo and Jado won't be superstars for a promotion of any real size and standing.

[Guest Jason]

It's true that Gedo and Jado may never elevate to a main event status, but they are great characters within NJPW and are a great draw for the company. I do stick by my statement, however, that this is a matter of transition, no matter how old Jado and Gedo are. In purerosu in its entirety, their main event superstars of the past are growing old and must be replaced. And it would be farfetched to say that Japan does not have the superstars to replace them, because they do. But like I've said over and over again, it's also farfetched to say that NJPW is on the edge of survival, because even you contradicted your original statement when you said that NJPW has no competition[even though I may not agree with that.] They are on top of the wrestling world in Japan and are NOT in any way nearing extinction.

[Precious Roy 0]

Jado and Gedo weren't even "future superstars" 10 freakin' years ago when they first started getting pushed, how the hell do they qualify now? HTQ is right, they're midcarders, nothing more nothing less.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Ok, now we know you're clueless. By no stretch of any sane imagination are Gedo or Jado great draws for New Japan. Even New Japan's top stars aren't great draws; at best they are good ones. If they were any better, they wouldn't have struggled to barely fill up half the Osaka Dome. And I still get a laugh about your insistence that Japanese wrestling isn't down, it's just in a state of transition. I suppose the American wrestling scene from 1992-1996 was in a state of transition as well(!) While it is true that New Japan aren't currently near death, it is also true, despite how you seem incredibly desperate to spin it, that New Japan is not doing that well. Sure, they aren't bombing, yet, but they don't show any signs of business turning around and sparking up any time soon.

 

And where did I contradict my statement about New Japan not having any competition ? They don't. All Japan are a very distant third, and NOAH are firmly entrenched in second place, with no signs that they are going to move up or down.

 

Do us all a favor, and stop posting without first getting something approaching a clue.

[Precious Roy 0]

ouch!

[Guest Black Tiger]

However, they're making way for the superstars of the future like KENTA, Jado, Gedo and Marafuchi

 

If Gedo is just starting to break out, what exactly was he doing back in 1995 when he was in the finals of the Super J-Cup? All four of those guys you named are Juniors and unless your name is Jyushin Thunder Lyger. You're not likely to be much of a draw in Japan, being a junior. Lyger himself isn't much of one, unless he's working an indy show like Osaka Pro or KAGEKI.

 

You'd be more accurate to list names like Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata, and Shinsuke Nakamura. But New Japan has always been big on pushing the young guys to take over down the road. They spent much of the late 90's and early 00's doing that with guys like Nagata, Tenzan, Kojima, Nakanishi, and Nishimura.

 

professional wrestlers in their 40's are on top.

 

This statement is true, but you're putting the wrong spin on it. Because guys like Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Mutoh, Chono etc were big stars long before they hit their forties. Misawa was thirty when he first won the Triple Crown. He was twenty eight when he first pinned Tsuruta and cemented himself as the next big superstar and #2 Native in All Japan. So its an accurate statement, but your mis interpreting what it means.

 

They're simply in a matter of transition.

 

You keep dwelling on this, but have yet to say exactly what we're transitioning to. There has been MMA influence since New Japan first formed due to Inoki's fights. New Japan has always been the best at making new stars due to their dojo. (Although All Japan's was a lot slower but produced some better workers, so its a 50/50 shot of who's is really better).

[SinToxic 0]

I'll just say this that all the hate for Jado and Gedo that has been circulating for years in the U.S. is almost non existant between the fan boys in Japan. As a matter of fact love em or hate them, J and G are seen as guys who have been through it all and still are at least 5 years away from people shitting on them like they shit on Kishin Kawabata and Chocoball Mukai.

 

To get back on topic Chono just stated that he would love to welcome Lesnar to the black New Japan along with with Mad Man Pondo. Maybe they'll form a team and take the All Asia belts from Nagai and Naruse. Dread over dread over dread.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

It's true that Gedo and Jado may never elevate to a main event status, but they are great characters within NJPW and are a great draw for the company.

 

Juniors don't draw in Japan. Don't you think Liger would've had a few IWGP Title reigns if he was such a big time draw. People in Japan are there to see the heavyweights and the juniors are just a sideshow for the most part.

[Guest JebusNassedar]

Juniors don't draw in Japan. 

 

But they dont count, right? Since they market to women?

 

Juniors do draw. They just have to be certain kinds. Listen to any recent Marufuji match. Main pop for him? Female. It's just that Misawa has finally caught on and is putting juniors in main events and on the same level with the rest of their workers in NOAH. Because they draw a niche audience that they cant get many other ways. Unlike New Japan, which is quite segregated in that sense.

[Guest Jason]

If Gedo is just starting to break out, what exactly was he doing back in 1995 when he was in the finals of the Super J-Cup? All four of those guys you named are Juniors and unless your name is Jyushin Thunder Lyger. You're not likely to be much of a draw in Japan, being a junior. Lyger himself isn't much of one, unless he's working an indy show like Osaka Pro or KAGEKI.

 

You'd be more accurate to list names like Hiroshi Tanahashi, Katsuyori Shibata, and Shinsuke Nakamura. But New Japan has always been big on pushing the young guys to take over down the road. They spent much of the late 90's and early 00's doing that with guys like Nagata, Tenzan, Kojima, Nakanishi, and Nishimura.

 

Junior heavyweights aren't a draw in Japan? That could be the most inaccurate statement I've ever heard. Japanese wrestlers are pre-dominantly junior heavyweight. Perhaps you've failed to acknowledge that superstars like Mitsuharu Misawa, Keiji Mutoh and Satoru Sayama all fall into the junior heavyweight weight class and are some of the biggest japanese draws of all time. Guys like KENTA and Marafuji are the future of purerosu, growing rapidly in popularity and are both juniors.

 

This statement is true, but you're putting the wrong spin on it. Because guys like Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Mutoh, Chono etc were big stars long before they hit their forties. Misawa was thirty when he first won the Triple Crown. He was twenty eight when he first pinned Tsuruta and cemented himself as the next big superstar and #2 Native in All Japan. So its an accurate statement, but your mis interpreting what it means.

 

Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada, Mutoh and Chono all were big stars long before they hit their forties. But that has nothing to do with the fact that they still are very big stars, just like today's thirty-six year olds can be in four years.

 

You keep dwelling on this, but have yet to say exactly what we're transitioning to. There has been MMA influence since New Japan first formed due to Inoki's fights. New Japan has always been the best at making new stars due to their dojo. (Although All Japan's was a lot slower but produced some better workers, so its a 50/50 shot of who's is really better).

 

By no stretch of any sane imagination are Gedo or Jado great draws for New Japan. Even New Japan's top stars aren't great draws; at best they are good ones. If they were any better, they wouldn't have struggled to barely fill up half the Osaka Dome. And I still get a laugh about your insistence that Japanese wrestling isn't down, it's just in a state of transition. I suppose the American wrestling scene from 1992-1996 was in a state of transition as well(!) While it is true that New Japan aren't currently near death, it is also true, despite how you seem incredibly desperate to spin it, that New Japan is not doing that well. Sure, they aren't bombing, yet, but they don't show any signs of business turning around and sparking up any time soon.

 

Gedo and Jado are not huge draws, but they are very popular purerosu competitors in Japan who I'm fond of. And in 1992-1996, American wrestling was in a state of transition, namely the World Wrestling Federation, as their Hulk Hogan's and Ultimate Warrior's left them and they worked to push the newer Bret Hart's and Shawn Michaels into the main event. No matter how hard you work to prove me wrong, you're failing to acknowledge how stupid the statement "Lesnar may be their last chance at survival" really is, which is the basis of this argument regardless of how many times you try to change topic. And I've already made it clear that as the Kobashi's, Misawa's and Kawada's fall, they must slowly transition[push] their young and very talented superstars, like KENTA and Marafuji.

 

Purerosu right now lacks the big stars that they've seen in the Kobashi's and Misawa's who are now old and falling very prone to injury. But the slump that NJPW or purerosu wrestling as a whole is currently in is not nearly as bad as the one the WWE is in, and I don't see people ranting about how WWE may not survive much longer.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Dragon's Gate is an indy level promotion.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

New Japan's January Dome show is about a week away, and they've sold only about 12,000 tickets. They can't even give them away; people who are given freebies have been tossing them in the trash. Maybe Jason, whose knowledge of Japanese wrestling is clearly on a level far above us all, can use his great wisdom to tell us how this isn't a sign that Japanese wrestling is suffering, and is merely in a 'transition stage'.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Jason really likes to talk about things that he doesn't know a thing about.

 

That's pretty bad that they've only pulled in 12k for the show so far. That's almost unheard of for the 1/4 show but I can't really blame them with that shitty three way being the main event.