Peria

NJPW 1992-2012 October. First off, love seeing another NJPW player, love the company and actually learned a massive amount about Puro in general thanks to this save. The G1 Climax has been concluded, as well as Destruction! But before that, I lost some talent, as I always try and 50/50 the bidding war to make me kind of act on the fly. It can suck, but it does keep the game fresh. One that hurt was Cibernetico, he was actually meant to win the tag titles with Mil Muertes but well, that just didn't happen obviously. Sucks. I also lost Matt Sydal, which stinks as well because he had a solid showing in the BOSJ and reached pretty good pops in the mid 80s. He also formed a team with Ricky Gibson. With departures come new talent though! Kurt Angle announced his new protégé: Jake Hager. Hager has announced his independence from all NJPW factions as well, which is a huge risk, but one Angle himself did. Hager also debuted the same time a vignette aired where the "Last Outlaw" was coming. That man was revealed at G1 Climax 22, Dustin Rhodes. A man who has won every single title in WCW came out and challenged Kensuke Sasaki, citing their similar career paths, and how both men represent the last of their generations. East vs. West style! G1 Climax Results: A Block: Osamu Nishimura - 6 Pts: He declared this could be his last G1 and now it looks apparent it very well could be. Nishimura has been in NJPW since 1995, after his 3 year excursion to Europe was over. He has seen it all, and has done everything he feels he can achieve. A sad sendoff to a man who could have easily been IWGP Heavyweight champion. Nishimura bids farewell to the G1, outside of any shocking developments by next July. Yuji Hino - 6 Pts: Hino's debut G1 was... not ideal. He started off very strong though, defeating Hirooki Goto in Night 1. He also defeated Paul Wight, and Shinsuke Nakamura. Yuji Hino punched up hard and knocked some big names back a few steps. Sadly, he was unable to consistently take his momentum and ride that to the top. Daisuke Sekimoto - 8 Pts: Sekimoto's 2nd G1, and his first since 2004, ends a lot better than before. But... still not the best showing, especially since many thought Sekimoto would be a break out star come this G1. He did well, but he has a long way to go. Curiously enough, with Sasaki getting up in age, Sekimoto could be the next heir to Sekigun leadership... which could be a bad sign. Umaga - 8 Pts: Umaga started off hot, but fizzled out, as he is very much a one dimensional competitor, albeit a hard hitting and entertaining one. The matches with Umaga were short, fast, and brutal, and Umaga has never cared for winning or losing, just hurting and fighting. Ever since Dwayne left NJPW, the Samoan Dynasty stable has been ice cold, with only Umaga and Maluta representing the faction. That will change soon. KENTA - 8 Pts: A man who always struggles in the G1, and has always hovered around 8 points. This is no different. If he doesn't have a good performance soon, KENTA could very well be excluded from future G1s. If he isn't already. He might need to enter July as a champion of some kind to weasel his way back in. Hirooki Goto - 9 Pts: Goto has lost 4 out of his 5 Night 1 matches since entering NJPW. Much like Tetsuya Naito, Goto was expected to do big things. He won the New Japan Cup 3 times, and looked so great each time, but when the G1 comes around? He just... falls apart. His draw was against Shinsuke Nakamura who shook his hand and hinted at a future rematch, which is a strange display of sportsmanship for the CHAOS Leader. John Cena - 10 Pts: Cena, like Goto, never does well in these tournaments. Well, I guess they both have a winning record, they just aren't finalists. Cena never gives up in the face of adversity and he keeps his head down and does what he needs to do, and he excels. Since becoming a babyface Cena has become the de facto face of the United States title hunt. Naomichi Marufuji - 10 Pts: Marufuji did pretty well, as IWGP Heavyweight champion, it has become custom for fans to just know the champion isn't winning. He looked strong and only lost to Nakamura, Paul Wight, and Goto. Nothing else to say, good job Marufuji, who has slowly proved he wasn't just a transitional champion. Shinsuke Nakamura - 11 Pts: His 30 minute draw against Goto was a bit of a surprise and showcased Nakamura's eye for talent as he shook Goto's hand post match. A rarity since he has been heeling it up quite hard as of late. Nakamura took 2 bad losses vs Umaga and Yuji Hino, and that is probably why he isn't in the finals. Regardless, Nakamura seemed disinterested regardless, as he wasn't in the same block as Tanahashi. He was more focused on building CHAOS. A Block Winner: Paul Wight - 14 Pts: It was only a matter of time. Paul Wight was bound to go to the finals at least once given his massive size and agility for a big man. 14 points is nothing to scoff at either, as he only lost to Hirooki Goto, and Yuji Hino. Strangely enough, both matches many wrote off as a win for Paul Wight. He isn't unbeatable, evidently, but whoever faces this man in the finals has a massive disadvantage. B Block: Kota Ibushi - 4 Pts: Ibushi... is not afraid to push himself to his limits. He is a Junior Heavyweight competitor, moreso an Openweight, and is the current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion! After a BOSJ tournament, a hellacious Dontaku match with KUSHIDA, and a 30 minute draw vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima on his first defense, Ibushi entered the G1 Climax broken and battered. Nobody blames Ibushi for losing to some of the best Heavyweight talent in the World. Fans just.. wished he focused on his current successes instead of doing too much. Jay Briscoe - 8 Pts: Jay is a surprise success story, extremely talented in a tag team where both men are talented, Jay surpassed many expectations and earned a spot in the G1 Climax. Tag Team wrestlers rarely get that honor, TenKoji, and STOIC (Sasaki/Hase) were two notable examples. Rhino is another one, who is not in this G1 however. Regardless, Jay did well enough for his first time involved, and many expect to see him back sooner rather than later. Mil Muertes - 8 Pts: Mil entered the G1 Climax with the biggest "question mark." How good is Mil? He was only seen in multiman matches and while his strength and speed can match the fastest or the strongest, Mil was not used to the tournament structure, and he did lose to Kota Ibushi. At times Mil felt tired and overwhelmed, through that mask you saw the mortality of the man. He will only get fiercer with experience in NJPW, and fans really took to him. Tetsuya Naito - 8 Pts: Naito is a frustrating case. The man entered NJPW and by Tanahashi himself hailed Naito as a potential future ace. This put an immense pressure and strain on Naito. Since then, he has been struggling, for 3 years, Naito has tried to get to that level where Tanahashi is, and it has derailed him. The fans like Naito, but they aren't crazy for Naito. Everybody wants to be the Ace, of course, but when the Ace himself says you're next in line, and you're incapable of even coming close? Naito is likely not in the best headspace. Especially considering he is now 0-2 vs Tanahashi. Chris Jericho - 9 Pts: Jericho on night 1 drew with Hiroshi Tanahashi, both men actually started the first 3 night the same going 1-1-1. Jericho did not recover as well as Tanahashi did though, and like Samoa Joe, he now has a plethora of challengers waiting and ready to claim his title. The BC member isn't concerned however. Randy Orton - 10 Pts: Orton was the first to defeat Okada, Night 2 actually. Okada didn't respect the RKO or how quick Orton can be with it, and lost at the last moment. For Orton that was great, but in a twist of fate perhaps caused Orton himself to get a bit cocky. He began to over rely on the RKO and smarter and older opponents had it scouted. Tanahashi, and Jericho defeated Orton without issue, whereas he defeated Tenzan with a roll-up. Regardless, Orton is still one of the best gaijin talents, and one day maybe he will win the G1 Finals. Samoa Joe - 10 Pts: Joe has done well, he defeated Tanahashi, and the Intercontinental Champion Chris Jericho, and that alone is worthy of a pat on the back. Despite that, Joe is the US Champion, and he didn't win the whole thing. This means one simple thing: There are a lot of new challengers knocking on the door for his title. Mil Muertes being the big one. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 10 Pts: A great tournament, and Tenzan's best. Sadly, he was in the same block as Tanahashi and Okada, who he just was unable to defeat. Tenzan was the dark horse for the finals, and he didn't disappoint his fans, but at his age, and with his wear and tear, this might be the best Tenzan we'll get... it might also be short-lived. Hiroshi Tanahashi - 11 Pts: A shocking turnabout, as Tanahashi versus Okada on Night 9 looked like an easy 2 points at the start of the tournament... this was before of course Okada showcased a miracle-esque run, vanquishing nearly everybody in his block. Tanahashi had to take Okada seriously, and he did. Though he wasn't "the best" he could have been, the match itself was fantastic and an easy MOTY candidate. There isn't much to say, the Ace is in a slump, and even then he nearly excels. Also, side note: his contract just came up and he is now earning 700k a month lmao. B Block Winner Kazuchika Okada - 12 Pts: Okada has been a hot topic since debuting at Invasion Attack, where he interrupted Marufuji. He didn't look untouchable, but man he looked pretty damn close at times. He lost to Randy Orton, which was largely because he wasn't respecting the RKO. He lost to Chris Jericho thanks to Bullet Club interference, and he lost to Mil Muertes, who for all intents and purposes absolutely battered Okada and defeated him in less than 15 minutes. This doesn't matter though, as Okada is entering the G1 Climax grand final, after vanquishing Hiroshi Tanahashi on Night 9. His opponent is Paul Wight, and many Japanese fans almost seem forced to cheer for Okada, despite his overly cocky young persona. G1 Climax Special 22: Special Tag Match: CHAOS (Nakamura, Ishii, Nishimura, Naito) def. SkirMish (Goto, Shibata, Rated RKO) A returning Shibata gets a nice pop, as he had previously broken his neck last year. Sadly, the match falls in favor of Nakamura, who challenged Goto once more to a match. Goto would accept but would eat an RKO out of nowhere, and Shibata would get speared. CHAOS would leave SkirMish to dissolve when the leader Masahiro Chono tried to break it up, Chono would eat an RKO for his efforts, as Rated RKO have officially left the stable. IWGP United States: Samoa Joe (c) def. Mil Muertes Joe does not waste time. He lost to Mil in the G1? Well, he wanted his rematch ASAP. These two man slugged it out for close to 30 minutes before Samoa Joe hit a muscle buster on an exhausted Mil. We saw two men who had just been through a hellacious G1 give us one last gasp of life as if they were in the finals. Mil looks great as a singles guy, and is likely to hold gold sooner rather than later. G1 Climax 22: Kazuchika Okada def. Paul Wight Okay, nobody expected Okada to lose. I wanted to make Okada the goofy cocky heel that debuted, but didn't want to really make it about the Rainmaker shock, which was iconic of course, but didn't want to 1:1 history. I had Okada instead defeat Tanahashi on Night 9, which isn't as pivotal, but Okada's first matches in NJPW being a G1 Climax victory? I feel that's pretty significant as well. I also wanted it to be realistic, Okada going against a BC guy lets him play face and get crowd support for a more tweener role. Nobody would boo Okada over Paul Wight in 2012, especially after being in a heated and hated stable like BC. Anyways, I usually stick to the match but yeah. NJPW Destruction: IWGP Openweight: Rhino def. Suwama (c) This title has been a hot potato as of late. Makabe managed 0 defenses, Suwama only one, and now Rhino is champion. It is his 1st singles title, and truthfully Rhino is that guy that I can't realistically push as a top guy, despite reaching mid 90s popularity at times. No kidding, the guy is so over, that I use him as a guy to make my other guys look good. So this is his reward, with many more to come as he is only 36 and hopefully ways away from decline. I should note, that this match had Randy Orton come in and without Rhino knowing, hit Suwama with an RKO, furthering causing problems with SkirMish. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura def. Nikki Bella (c) A predictable result, but Nikki Bella offered her best. I enjoyed booking Nikki far more than I thought I would, and almost had Nikki win. Satomura lost her title technically because of a knockout by Kana, but in reality it was her maternity leave.. I've been rebuilding (read: building, it was never great) this division, and now an influx of gaijin workers are talented/popular enough to actually do something, I feel motivated to finally book this title, largely thanks to Nikki/Kana/Satomura. The Joshi Cup is in November, and Nikki has one shot to get her rematch. Special Singles Match: "The Last Outlaw" Dustin Rhodes def. Kensuke Sasaki This was an interesting match. I had played it out in my head a few times. I know where to take Dustin's storyline, and Sasaki (like Dustin) is at the twilight of his career. Sasaki can't even wrestle at non-events anymore. He just does tours in multiman matches and the big match rarely. A lot of wrestlers in their 40s end up like that thanks to NJPW's rough toll on the body. Sasaki is 45. He isn't in decline. I'm enjoying his twilight years as a faithful and stalwart leader of Sekigun but now we need to transition this loss into a "successor" story for the one who will lead. As for Dustin Rhodes, well the Tag League is coming up, and he does have a brother, but I painted myself in a corner with the Last Outlaw moniker lmao. Either way, these two aren't done, and barring injuries or decline hitting hard, they'll see each other again. IWGP Intercontinental: Chris Jericho (c) def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan To be denied a chance at redemption, glory, greatness... who else but Bullet Club to once again dash the hopes of many? Tenzan knows this all too well. First a feud with the Briscoes alongside Kojima, followed by an unexpected defeat by Nakamura and Minoru Tanaka. Tenzan would trek the climb solo this time, and find himself against an always bitter Chris Jericho. After the match Bullet Club would attempt a beat down, but RED members Shingo Takagi & Zeus made a shocking save! The two men helped Tenzan to the back, implying Tenzan might have just become a member of RED!? Who knows! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: BxB Hulk & CIMA (c) def. OverCraze Mazada and Hooligan have not held tag team gold since 2009. The two were extremely successful before then but with the uprising of new teams and a more cohesive division... OverCraze has simply not evolved. But hasn't that been MAZADA to a tee? The man is excellent at what he does but what he doesn't do? Well. Neither CIMA nor BxB Hulk had to grapple with MAZADA and because of that, they won without much issue. This is their second attempt this year too. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team: The Briscoes (c) def. RED Yuji Hino has been an interesting case, he had a pretty poor G1 showing but managed to defeat Nakamura and Paul Wight... it isn't to say this is all Hino's fault, but fans are frustrated at seeing a big man with potential come up short. In the end, RED has shown flashes of greatness as a team, but they've always been incapable of winning the gold. Placing them at 0-3 for the title... something has to change for them. Special Singles Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Mil Muertes A rematch from the G1 Climax, Okada looked pretty even against every single opponent at worst. He got obliterated by Mil. It was a 12 minute match, even. Mil just hammered Okada into oblivion and the cocky upstart never had a chance to showcase his overpowering fundamentals. At the end of it all, Okada managed to get redemption and showcased his insane resilience here, which bodes ill for the IWGP Heavyweight champion. He also was able to show his Rainmaker finisher here, something he had not done yet. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Kota Ibushi (c) def. Jushin "Thunder" Liger Not many chances for Liger left, if any. Liger answered the open challenge from Kota Ibushi as he felt he needs to push himself further after his terrible G1 performance. He believed a surprise opponent would force him to work on adapting to any opponent on the fly. This was an interesting challenge as Liger has been done with singles matches and titles, so for him to come out was a huge surprise for NJPW fans new and old. Liger had barely missed a step and the match was fantastic. At the end, Liger shook Ibushi's hand. IWGP United States: John Cena def. Samoa Joe (c) The rivalry between Cena and Joe continues as John Cena has captured his third US title. Cena has become synonymous with the title and has expressed great interest in defending this title in the United States more. Cena once again being champion could very well showcase that more often. The two are now tied at 1-1 each for singles matches, but this is just the start. Cena is also a 3x champion! IWGP Heavyweight: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. Paul Wight Paul Wight lowkey being my personal MVP for 2012 is fun. He made Okada look fantastic, and because he beat Marufuji, while remaining at 93+ overness, was able to make the main event of Destruction feel good to book. I can't just give anyone a world title reign, you know? It's why I can't just give Rhino a world title despite his 95+ overness at times, it just doesn't make sense to me. Paul Wight? 7'0"+ foot giant who can move and isn't marred by weight and health issues? Yeah that's alright with me. Of course I'm a hypocrite and also bend the rules to fit my own narrative as well, but that's just my thought processes on it all. It's not perfect, but I don't try to make it so. Regardless, this was the last great hurdle before Wrestle Kingdom, although Power Struggle is next, Marufuji doesn't have any opponents lined up yet, and will likely be in a tag match against Okada. The Tag League is next, which I'll refrain from making a massive wall of text. I'll be back once the new year (in-game) starts. Thank you for reading always!

NJPW 1992-2012, June New Japan Pro-Wrestling continues to thrive as many stories litter the card as Invasion Attack comes to a conclusion! Before we talk about the Invasion Attack card, this title match took place on the build up show! NEVER Openweight: SUWAMA (c) def. Heimo the Wildman A surprise appearance by Heimo the Wildman, the former ECW and WWC Television champion, Heimo also won the WWC World Tag titles with Pete Dunne. Heimo answered Suwama's international call for the NEVER Openweight title. An excellent brawl that saw Heimo convincingly look capable of dethroning SUWAMA. Alas, the crafty SUWAMA managed to sneak a roll-up pinfall for the victory. Invasion Attack 2012 NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag: Bullet Club (Paul Wight + The Young Bucks) def. SkirMish (Goto/Kenso/Suwama) Right out the gate, a title change! The Young Bucks are new to NJPW but already have a Jr. Tag reign together. Now they can add another title. Paul Wight is a former IWGP United States champion and has been quite the late bloomer for NJPW. Regardless, despite two juniors taking on three heavyweights... Paul Wight more than made up the difference. Factor in the usual BC malarky that SkirMish had to deal with and you have a recipe for disaster. Chono's old faction is stale, and a few years ago they'd be the heels here. Though in their defense they've been an active stable with no new members since its inception in 2005. IWGP United States: Samoa Joe (c) def. Daisuke Sekimoto Daisuke Sekimoto has really come into his own since his NEVER Openweight title reign. His first title shot since then is against Samoa Joe, a fellow Sekigun member. Sekimoto put up a valiant effort and the two exchanged some heavy blows. Unfortunately, Samoa Joe's brutality and killing instinct was the difference maker. Sekimoto perhaps held back because he thinks Sekigun is a faction, when in reality it is not. Joe knew that and showed no mercy. #1 Contender for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: BxB Hulk & CIMA def. Rock Hard (Matt Sydal & Ricky Gibson) Matt Hardy is injured for 12 more days and instead of vacating the title, two teams vyed to compete and earn a title shot. The winner here is at a massive advantage, as Matt's injury could very well be the deciding factor. Rock Hard is a newly formed team of Matt Sydal and Ricky Gibson and have been making an impact, and for once, aren't gaijin heels. Unfortunately, the more experienced team of BxB Hulk & CIMA earn them the rights to face The Hardyz in 2 weeks. IWGP Intercontinental Title: Chris Jericho (c) def. Tomohiro Ishii The fans have been reallying behind the stalwart Tomohiro Ishii lately, who has had an excellent career in the midcard. Jericho promised to put down this fake hype of Ishii. That he isn't a main event star like he is. Jericho did just that, Ishii fell valiantly and the arena hushed followed by respectful clapping as Jericho gloated. IWGP Joshi: Nikki Bella (c) def. Amazing Kong Nikki Bella has been on a hotstreak lately and tonight she manages to survive an amazing onslaught from her opponent. Amazing Kong has managed to be an underdog despite her size advantage, but still she was unable to win the title she covets so badly. When Nikki gave her post match speech, it was instantly interrupted by a returning Meiko Satomura! IWGP Tag Team: The Briscoes def. Cibernetic Death Squad & CHAOS (Tanaka/Nakamura) (C) A three way for the IWGP Heavyweight titles concluded when The Briscoes booted Nakamura out of the ring and pinned Cibernetico. After the match Mil Muertes lost control of himself and beat down Cibernetico viciously, ending the team, as Nakamura and Tanaka stared down a retreating Jay and Mark. Bullet Club has once again laid claim to 3 titles in NJPW. A scary thought. Fun fact, CDS was actually meant to win this match as I was super high on them, especially because I wanted to give CMLL some love. Cibernetico signed to WWE a week before Invasion Attack. I leave the offers 50/50 90% of the time, and this time it went against me. Good for WWE, good for him, bad for me. The good news here is Mil is at 89 popularity and was always the star, though Cibernetico was at 85 so it wasn't that big of a disparity. I just need to do something with Mil now. IWGP Heavyweight: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. Edge Edge and Marufuji draw a lot of similarities. Both were, and still are, reasonable choices to be main event stars, yet are also dark horses. Both were in the upper midcard and could seriously beat anyone on the roster but never managed to win the big one. For Marufuji, that stopped at 32 years old. For Edge? He is almost 40 (38). Of course Edge has had a HoF (HoI too) career, a 3x IWGP Tag Team champion, and 2x IWGP US champion, Edge wants so bad to not be another "could have been." When I think of "guys that could have been" in this save, I think of Osamu Nishimura, Chris Jericho, Minoru Tanaka, and maybe even Hirooki Goto. Marufuji manages to stomp on Edge's hopes, as he finally garners some fan sympathy, and as he was going to give his speech, another interruption? But by a nobody named Kazuchika Okada who has announced he is entering the G1 this year and plans to defeat Marufuji or whoever at Wrestle Kingdom. I admit this entry was mostly filler, injuries plaguing my roster at the worst times mixed with a stale main event scene has caused a few issues. I've been working on SkirMish disbanding, thus I want Edge to have a face run before he gets in time decline. Orton is going to be important in the future as well. Bullet Club isn't a one-note villain group like previous groups, much like real life, and are going to be having highs and lows. Tanahashi is being cooled down intentionally but on the card he actually wrestled against Suzuki-gun with Go Shiozaki and won. Just wasn't worth writing too much about. Thanks regardless for reading! And before I go, allow me to give you the G1 Climax blocks! A Block: Naomichi Marufuji (RED) - The IWGP Heavyweight champion could very well transcend beyond what many thought possible if he can achieve a G1 Climax tournament win while holding the title. It has yet to be done before. Shinsuke Nakamura (CHAOS) - The leader of CHAOS and as of Invasion Attack, a former tag team champion with Minoru Tanaka, and also last years G1 Climax winner. Nakamura is always a threat, and his descent into being the second fiddle to Hiroshi Tanahashi has definitely changed him. He feels unhinged and fans speculate what could become of Nakamura if he were to lose the G1, or worse, win the G1 and lose for a 3rd time at Wrestle Kingdom! Paul Wight (Bullet Club) - The first member of the BC announced. Paul Wight is never an easy opponent. His first G1 was last year and he acquired 10 points. Which does mean he can be beaten, but that doesn't mean he is a rest day or an easy break. Many dread the match up, and this time Wight is going to terrorize the A Block, and if he makes it to the finals? Well, the first gaijin winner might very well be decided. John Cena (Sekigun) - John Cena has been synonymous with the IWGP United States championship ever since he shed his evil persona and became more about hustle, loyalty, and respect. 35 years old, and Cena has expressed interest in holding the IWGP Heavyweight title. This is ideal for John, as he is in the same block as Marufuji, and also in the G1. This could very well be his big moment. Hirooki Goto (SkirMish) - Goto enters the G1 Climax on the A Block for the 4th time, this is his 5th appearance. Last year was Goto's first time being more even at 10 points. The last 3 years he was at 8. Goto has been learning, those New Japan Cup wins and subsequent title losses have helped shape Goto and the improvement is there. Is this his year? Or are the fans dosed up extra on copium? KENTA (Sekigun) - Kenta enters the G1 in the A Block for the first time in his 3 appearances. 6 points 2010, 8 points 2011. KENTA is a dark horse but his style and ruthless fighting spirit makes him exciting to watch regardless. If KENTA can at least get 10 points, he will have improved, and of course, KENTA finds himself in the same exact block once again as his rival, who is also the IWGP Heavyweight champion. Daisuke Sekimoto (Sekigun) - Sekimoto has finally managed to get back into a G1 Climax, his last being all the way back in 2004! He was still a young rookie on the rise then. He finished with 6 points. Sekimoto has been finding himself lately after a great NEVER Openweight title reign and the fans are behind him now more than ever. It is a stretch to think he could walk away with this tournament, but anything can happen. What is important for Sekimoto is he can finally prove that he can hang with the top of the top in NJPW. Osamu Nishimura (CHAOS) - Nishimura may not be retiring yet, as he continues to display technical prowess few can match, but he did announce that he very little G1s left in him, even alluding to this one potentially being his last. Although it is unlikely Nishimura will ever hold the IWGP Heavyweight title. Umaga (Samoan Dynasty) - Umaga has been a dominant force representing Pacific Islanders, namely Samoans. A former IWGP Intercontinental champion, NEVER Openweight, and New Japan RAMBO winner Umaga has had solid success in NJPW. He only has had a losing record once (2010) and perhaps this could be very well his year! Yuji Hino (RED) - Yuji Hino is the new comer, the odd one out. Many wrestlers have already voiced they do not feel Hino is spectacular enough to be in the G1. Already, Hino has a lot to worry about, let alone winning, Hino needs to do well. If he does poorly, perhaps it'll prove to NJPW management that the wrestlers know best of who belongs in the Grade-1 Climax. B Block: Chris Jericho (Bullet Club) - The IWGP Intercontinental champion has always been first slot in the B Block. The position doesn't really matter it just influences when you're announced, though for Jericho you know it strokes his ego. Jericho first entered the G1 in 2001, and in fact, is the oldest competitor in the tournament at 43! He has never made it to the finals. Could this be his year? Or is the clock running out on Y2J? Kota Ibushi (Sekigun) - Kota Ibushi has been a very busy man this year. He won the BOSJ and defeated KUSHIDA at Dontaku, and then announced his entry into the G1. Ibushi has flirted with the idea of being a full time Heavyweight before, when he and Tetsuya Naito entered the Tag League together last year. This is not the same, but many are wondering how well he can do in this setting. He also is the first ever Junior Heavyweight champion to enter the Round Robin format of the G1! Hiroshi Tanahashi (Unaffiliated) - The Ace has been less than stellar as of late. A rare loss to Naomichi Marufuji at Dontaku, after he lost his tag titles to his archrival Nakamura and Minoru Tanaka. Tanahashi knows better than anyone that he must earn his way back into the spotlight, and the Ace does not plan on waiting long. Tetsuya Naito (CHAOS) - Many believed Naito would usurp Tanahashi, so much was Naito's hype into NJPW. Perhaps it was that pressure that spiraled Naito to join CHAOS and to even have a bit of a struggle to the top. The fans seem apathetic towards his plight and his underdog storyline, and now Naito finds himself once again in a G1 Block with his "predecessor." This is more than a G1 to Naito. Randy Orton (SkirMish) - Orton is the sole entrant in the Rated RKO team to join the G1. Edge announced a short break after his crushing defeat at Invasion Attack, and will return in time for the Tag League in October. With Edge gone, Orton can focus firmly on his singles career, which has been a mixed bag. Orton has all the tools, and has been to the finals before. Mil Muertes (CMLL) - After decimating Cibernetico after their match, Muertes has had every fan wondering what he was planning on doing. At first, they assumed he would return to CMLL and continue his story there. Instead, he announces entry into the G1 Climax and will be working with NJPW full-time! His debut G1, many have struggled to make a name for themselves, but with Muertes size and agility, he might be an outlier. Samoa Joe (Sekigun) - The United States champion is in the B Block. This doesn't phase Joe, as Joe has been very no nonsense about things like popularity or deeper meanings in things. Joe has one directive, and that is to kick ass, and win titles. Many fans respect that about Joe, and he has become somewhat of the modern day Hansen or Vader. Jay Briscoe (Bullet Club) - Jay Briscoe enters the G1 Climax with a bit of hype. A tag wrestler who has spurts of singles action that showcased his skill. Jay Briscoe is now a 2x Heavyweight Tag Team champion as well, and is looking to maybe shock everybody and exceed expectations in his first ever G1 Climax. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (Unaffiliated) - Tenzan has been around for a longggg time, and he is only 41! His first G1 was in 1995! And he has sporadically appeared in G1s all throughout the last 2 decades. Tenzan has never been amazing at G1 Climax matches, let alone singles matches, but with Kojima officially slowing down Tenzan has had ample time to hone his skills. This could very well be his last shot at impressing the fans in singles action. As for tag action? Tenzan is widely regarded as one of the best tag team partners of all time, right next to Hiroshi Hase! Kazuchika Okada (Unaffiliated) - At Invasion Attack, a brash young man, at 24 years of age, interrupted Marufuji's speech and declared his entry into the G1 Climax. He promised to win the whole thing, and dethrone whoever was champion at Wrestle Kingdom. The crowd was stunned, some even laughed, as Okada made a grand total of zero appearances for NJPW. Just what is Okada planning? How big of a catastrophe could befall him should he end up underdelivering on his promises? Thoughts? Predictions? Thanks for reading I appreciate it all! Edit: Bonus Question - What skin do you guys use for TEW 2020? I use the Football Manager one, and as great as it is, I'm thinking of being experimental and trying a new one! Any reccomendations?

And rise she will continue! Nikki was a talent that got really good towards the end of her career and it kind of sucked it looked like a case of her being held back, because she was actually good. I was never a massive fan of hers but appreciated her last few matches. Thanks man! I try pretty hard to keep it fresh/interesting. You'd be happy to know... the most popular wrestler in the world is... a 52 year old Rayo de Jalisco Jr. employed to CMLL with a 98 average popularity. Of course Hiroshi Tanahashi is #2 at 98 average popularity as well. So interchangeable, but seeing Tana at #2 is hilarious. The most popular worker overall was Vince McMahon at 100 overall everywhere. But he has passed away, and with that all said and done... BOSJ and Dontaku are concluded! An intense and interesting tournament which, while I admit has been a bit of a slog to run partially because getting people popular enough to even compete is difficult! Thankfully it is enjoyable to flood the game world with more over workers, like Matt Sydal, who is on a PPA deal with 84 popularity now just from this tournament alone. He started at 72! Anyways.... A Block: PAC: FORFEIT (2 pts) - PAC continues a new tradition perhaps? He broke his neck. Ultimo Dragon ended his career early off a broken neck last year and now PAC, whose in the prime of his life, with the opprotunity of his life, is out for over a year. PAC started out hot as well, defeating BxB Hulk before freakishly injuring himself against Jayson Paul the next night. Matt Sydal: 8 Pts - Matt Sydal was an unknown to most NJPW fans. He appeared sporadically for the company as an enhancement talent or a stand-in for injured talent, and while he was always impressive, this BOSJ was his first real test for the company. Many believe he passed with flying colors and is more than enough over with the crowd to see a return appearance. Perhaps even a full-time contract? CIMA: 8 Pts - A middling BOSJ for CIMA has become routine around this time. Though he did break even compared to last years performance (4-5) but both years he was in the block where an injury occurred and gave him two free points. In 2010, in his debut for BOSJ, he earned 6 points... see what I'm getting at? Is CIMA the worst of the 4 (BxB Hulk/Yamato/Cima/Naruki Doi) or has he just not found his footing quite yet? Jayson Paul: 8 Pts - A disappointing BOSJ but a step up from last year. Jayson Paul might have finally found his footing in the company, and has perhaps finally stepped out of Devitt's shadow. He garnered sympathy with the fans after the injury PAC sustained, and how devastated the young athletes were. Jayson Paul began fighting slightly more face and even on the final night urged Bullet Club to let him do his final night solo. He would lose unfortunately, and that caused an irate Bullet Club to help him to the back. BxB Hulk: 10 Pts - A huge tournament for BxB Hulk who missed last years BOSJ due to injury. BxB Hulks night 9 was capped off when he bested the IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion KUSHIDA, which prevented the champ from going to the finals. BxB Hulk played an important role in history and all things considered did well! Perhaps next year, by Night 9 is he a contender and not a spoiler. MAZADA: 10 Pts - A curious case always, the tired and true performer MAZADA has never not been solid. His story has been told numerous times. Elite mat wrestler who has the rudo attitude that gets the fans easily rooting against him. But what else? He is a former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion, a finalist in the tournament... but I mean, he is almost 40 now. MAZADA has not evolved, he won't evolve. He'll always be great. But he'll never be the greatest. 10 points for a younger wrestler is exceptional. MAZADA has been in the BOSJ since 1999. The guy deserves all the credit for consistency, but... is that all he is? Hayabusa: 11 Pts - Hayabusa, the Phoenix, the last man standing after Liger, and Ultimo Dragon have bowed out of the tournament. Hayabusa still remains extremely strong and talented for a man in his early 40s. At 43 years old he still remains one of the best highfliers and still proves problematic for newer and older guys alike. He had a time limit draw with KUSHIDA night 2 and is itching to perhaps wiggle himself into a title shot because of it. Hayabusa is 43, and with his style, he is barely hanging on as an active performer. A 4x IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion and a 2x winner of BOSJ is a HoF career easily, but the man wants, and perhaps deserves one or two more accolades before finally joining Liger and Ultimo Dragon. KUSHIDA: 11 Pts - A draw with Hayabusa and a Night 9 defeat in the tournament has to sting, as KUSHIDA was fast becoming the ultimate Junior Heavyweight. Of course, losing BOSJ as champion isn't surprising or even rare. It's been mentioned how only one man has done it. Had KUSHIDA bested BxB Hulk on Night 9 he'd be into the finals. Sadly he is not. Not much else to say, he did exceptionally well. 11 points. Last year he did 12, but a draw isn't as bad as a loss, right? YAMATO: 12 Pts - Yamato squeaked by. Some argue he didn't even deserve to go to the finals, as he needed a LOT to go his way to even get by. He needed Hayabusa to lose on Night 9, and KUSHIDA as well. Plus he needed to beat Jayson Paul, who has become a bit of a dark horse fan favorite throughout the tournament. Jayson Paul would injure his shoulder in this match and YAMATO would show his true colors, blasting the target with as much as he can. A rare shock that YAMATO gets out booed over Bullet Club, especially given their history. MAZADA would submit Hayabusa in an old rivalry that has been going on since the 90s, while KUSHIDA would choke and lose to BxB Hulk in the main event with YAMATO coming out to thank BxB personally. Indeed YAMATO is your A Block winner, like it or not. B Block: Hayato Jr. Fujita: 4 Pts - No, he wasn't injured. Fujita just struggles in BOSJ. He might not be ready, he might not be good enough even... though the fans seemed to have finally begun to root for this underdog in a big way. Fujita gained fans and he gained popularity, and that might count for something in this early stage of his career. He is after all only 25. Will he get another shot next year? Hard to tell, but with the fan support he has now, it could happen. Rey Misterio Jr: 6 Pts - A tragedy. Rey has not been the same and has even talked about leaving NJPW and closing his career back over in CMLL. It's hard to tell with Rey, who has been billed as the ultimate underdog since his debut, but 6 points is abysmal, and without Eddie or Chavo tormenting him, he has no drive or chapter heading into Dontaku. He just... lost. That's it. Can he even recover in NJPW? Will he just go back to CMLL? Anyone's guess. SUGI: 6 Pts - A tragedy. Seeing Rey at 6 points is heartbreaking but Rey has had an excellent career. SUGI has yet to even really have a career. The 28 year old has only one a NEVER 6 Man title, alongside Yoshi Tatsu and Naruki Doi back in Blue Justice. This was in 2007. 5 years ago. SUGI has always been close, real close to breaking out and becoming a top contender. Now? It looks like he slipped and fell back a few steps. Hopefully this is a freak accident and not the norm as SUGI continues to struggle to find himself in NJPWs harsh landscape. Ricky Gibson: 8 Pts - The Rock God himself has always been solid, he is sort of like MAZADA but obviously younger. Which... can be a compliment or an insult depending on how you look at it. Gibson can go out and beat anyone, and if not, hell give you a MOTN contender. But with 8 pts, a 4-5 record, is that good enough? Ricky has been teaming with Matt Sydal recently on the Dontaku tours so perhaps the Rock God already has ideas on how to stay fresh and relevant. This BOSJ is behind him, easy peasy. Shingo Takagi: 8 Pts - Shingo is actually in a pretty good spot. He was always Marufuji's deputy and despite being a Jr. Heavyweight he showcased amazing power, so why is 8 points good for him? Because he outperformed. Fans really caught on to Takagi and are already clamoring for more. His moveset is explosive, and his spirit is undeniable. Takagi has all the tools to be a big star, and it looks like hes finally putting them together. Bryan Danielson: 10 Pts - There were times where it felt like Danielson was going to win the block. He did lose to Hayato Jr. Fujita, but he still looked impressive throughout. He even defeated Prince Devitt on Night 9 which forced Devitt to assault Danielson after the match. Bryan might not have won, but his consolation prize is now Bullet Club is frothing at the mouth to beat his ass. Prince Devitt: 10 Pts - Devitt had impossible shoes to fill, and they were his own! He won last year, he was champion last year! He is 1 of 1. He is a made man. So why is he pissed? Because the man wants it all, always. He doesn't want to share he wants to control. Him losing to an outsider in Bryan Danielson on Night 9, AS *the* outsider infuriated him. It is no wonder he struck Danielson after the match repeatedly. Either way Devitt has clear motivations and while a BOSJ repeat would have been the stuff of legends, Devitt will survive. Jeff Hardy: 12 Pts - Jeff Hardys BOSJ is interesting actually. He realistically should have won the entire thing, as all of his losses were against people many had him beating. While he beat the people many thought he would lose against. Jeff lost to Nakajima, Takagi, and Ricky Gibson. Jeff surely is upset about the losses and the shortcoming but he is a tag team champion and heads into Dontaku defending that title against Aero Star & Drago, two guys who were unable to partake in this years BOSJ despite being announced intially. Katsuhiko Nakajima: 12 Pts - I mean, not many debut better than this. Nakajima's first match was a vicious referee stoppage against Jeff Hardy. He went 4-0 before choking a little bit and gassing himself out, many thought this was the classic case of the tournament and newcomers, strong start, fall apart. Nakajima recovered! He did lose 3 straight but then ended strong with two back to back wins. Nakajima is a problem, and already has many factions vying for his attention. Kota Ibushi: 14 Pts - B Block's winner is Kota Ibushi! The man who somehow ended last years BOSJ at just a pathetic paltry 6 points is now facing YAMATO in the grand finals! How? Nobody is really sure, he just kept his head down and improved his overall game and showed up nearly unbeatable! His only two losses were against Jeff Hardy and Shingo Takagi. Many people began to believe and rally around him after besting Devitt on Night 3 and since that night Ibushi has cashed in and asserted as one of the best to watch. NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 22 BOSJ22 Finals: Kota Ibushi def. YAMATO Kota Ibushi shocks everyone when he defeats YAMATO! Many assumed this was YAMATOs destiny, he would dethrone KUSHIDA after wiping Ibushi off the map and moving onward to a healthy reign. Sadly, for YAMATO this was not the case! Ibushi somehow comes out of nowhere with a shock victory and is facing KUSHIDA at Dontaku! YAMATO on the other hand, is left absolutely stunned and speechless. His ego most likely bruised once more. (Truthfully, YAMATO was meant to win, but he took an MMA fight a few months ago!) NJPW Dontaku! NEVER Openweight: Suwama def. Togi Makabe (c) A zero defense NEVER Openweight reign is not that surprising, you know? But it stings especially bad because Togi Makabe has suffered through a lot to get to champion status and losing it against the cocky and unlikeable Suwama makes it all the worse. IWGP Joshi: Nikki Bella (c) def. Misae Genki Nikki Bella has been an interesting but welcome champion, especially after she caused a massive upset in defeating the legendary Megumi Kudo. Misae Genki, the bridesgroom of the Joshi scene, has once again found herself unable to claim glory. Nikki continues her dominance, and whilst this feud felt very one-and-done, many fans look forward to what Nikki has next. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: CHAOS (Nakamura/Tanaka) def. TenKoji This was TenKojis final tag match together... as Kojima is no longer capable of performing at a level he deems worthy of Tenzan. Meanwhile, Tenzan is better than ever honestly. He has gained considerable stats in the past decade and it's kind of cool to see. Maybe he has a Dan Severn-like run and has a killer G1 performance? Who knows. Tenzan is now officially a singles guy, or well, he could be, with Kojima taking a backseat like Nagata did a few years ago. After this match however, CHAOS was unable to celebrate much as The Briscoes came out declaring they want their titles back. Even more shocking when Cybernetic Death Squad (CDS, Mil Muertes/Cibernetico) assaulted The Briscoes and declared their intentions as well! IWGP Intercontinental: Chris Jericho (c) def. Osamu Nishimura This is actually an old feud and rivalry that started way back in the 90s. 92 to be exact, when Nishimura was a young lion, Jericho was the lion tamer. He abused Nishimura, despite only being a year older NJPW had systems and rules and Nishimura always respected them. So in 2001, when Nishimura finally got a 1 on 1 with Jericho? Nishimura would run Jericho down and submit him. Jericho would return the favor in the G1 that year and submit Nishimura. 4 years later Jericho would do it again. Fast forward to 2011? Jericho is submitted by Osamu Nishimura. So of course Jericho took pleasure in obtaining this victory and setting the score to 3-2 in favor of Jericho. IWGP United States: Samoa Joe (c) def. Bryan Danielson Bryan Danielson clicked with his latest performance in the BOSJ, and during the marquee event, Danielson scored a pinfall victory against Samoa Joe in a multiman match! This would somewhat embarass Joe and though Joe has been a babyface for a little while now, he snapped. Danielson since then was egging Joe on to fight him one on one. That Danielson is an Openweight competitor, and can take on anyone no matter how much bigger. The match was made and Samoa Joe vastly underestimated Danielson, and honestly, if Joe didn't have the Muscle Buster in his repetoire many wonder if this match would have favored Danielson... IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Kota Ibushi def. KUSHIDA (c) An absolute amazing month for Kota Ibushi, who has had a huge up and down career since arriving in NJPW. First he was instantly thrusted into a tag team with Tetsuya Naito, where both men failed to get along. This culminated in a WK match that Ibushi barely won! He would fail to challenge for the IC title and lose to Marufuji. After a decent New Japan Cup performance, Ibushi entered the BOSJ. He is definitely an openweight but Ibushi showed he can hang with both divisions in terms of speed or power and has bested KUSHIDA in an amazing match. Ibushi cites Takagi, Hardy, and Hayabusa as three dream opponents for this title. IWGP Heavyweight: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi Marufuji himself said entering Dontaku as champion against Tanahashi makes him (Marufuji) the challenger. As for Tanahashi? Well, sometimes you see people, who have always tried their best, and never give up, just lose. One Shiranui, after 45 minutes of psychological warfare, and many fans didn't even count 3. They had some instinctual habit of knowing Tanahashi doesn't go down that easily on the big stage, when it matters most! But he did. He just didn't kick out. Marufuji is beloved by fans and they clapped, they cheered even, because Marufuji has done something not many have been capable of doing. Marufuji celebrates with RED flanking him, and he thanked Tanahashi for the fight, and for what he has done for NJPW. Tanahashi is only 35, but is he finally beginning to just... crack? A little? Surely there will be a rematch? As Marufuji is now 2-6 Tanahashi, he continues his ascent to the very top. Thanks for reading, Invasion Attack is next alongside the G1 Climax brackets being revealed! Thanks again for taking the time out of your day just to even skim this, it means a lot to me.

NJPW 1992-2012 The story continues with Marufuji vying to the top, whilst Bullet Club plots to regain traction they lost at Wrestle Kingdom. Hiroshi Tanahashi, for the first time, has to deal with the rising players around him, with a big challenge unbeknownst to him coming soon. Things are hotter than ever in NJPW with big stars rising to the top. Let us discuss Battle Formation (and the last Battle Formation from this point forward!) NEVER Openweight: Togi Makabe def. Jun Akiyama (c) An absolute upset? Togi Makabe won the Young Lion Cup back in 1997, and due to a variety of reasons, Makabe never caught fire. Sure, alongside Ishii and Yano he held the Six Man titles twice. But alone? He never could achieve much. This changed tonight as he finally won himself a singles title at 39 years old. Could this be a late bloom for Togi Makabe? IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardyz (c) def. KUSHIDA & Kagetora Kagetora has recently returned from excursion, and aligned himself with Sekigun. Jeff Hardy expressed interest in the Jr. Heavyweight title whilst Kushida made a deal. A classic trope that saw The Hardyz experience edge out a narrow victory. With Jeff having made good on his promise, in just two weeks, he has the chance to join rare company and become a double champion. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: CHAOS (Nakamura & Minoru Tanaka) def. TenKoji (c) Another upset that, unlike Makabe's win, was not met with cheers. Nakamura and Tanaka have ended, what could very well be, Ten-Koji's last run together. The 6x Heavyweight tag champs and 2x WCW Tag champs have confessed they are not entirely sure what happens after this, and now Nakamura can ego his way to the back and claim how he beat Ten-Koji when Tanahashi and Go Shiozaki could not. Fun fact, Shinsuke Nakamura is also now a Triple Crown holder, having won the Intercontinental, the Heavyweight, and the Heavyweight Tag Team titles. He joins the prestigious company of Triple H (2006), Minoru Suzuki (2008), and Kensuke Sasaki (2010.) Another accomplishment he'll likely goad about. IWGP Joshi: Nikki Bella (c) def. Megumi Kudo First of all, I personally loved typing this. Nikki Bella is a CMLL star come to NJPW and shocked everyone when she defeated Kana not once, but twice. After her victory she brazenly called out a Joshi legend in Megumi Kudo. This wasn't a retirement match, Megumi is still in her prime and is a bona fide legend. The longest reigning IWGP Joshi champion was slain by Nikki Bella, and in the co-main event? Perhaps Meiko Satomura's plight to raise the prestige of the title has had an impact after all. IWGP Intercontinental: Chris Jericho (c) def. Hirooki Goto It's not March-April without a failed Hirooki Goto title chase. Goto is perhaps one of the biggest mysteries in NJPW. Currently 0-4 for the Heavyweight, and 0-5 overall for a singles title... many wonder if Goto is just a really good tag team specialist. Or perhaps, even worse, he is a massive choke artist. Regardless, this match was made because Jericho felt offended that the remnants of SkirMish would take his Six Man titles away, and challenged Goto to pay for his crimes. Unfortunately for Goto, and the fans, Bullet Club closes the show happy. Hopefully Goto finds his footing soon. NJPW Presents: Showdown in Japan! IWGP United States: Samoa Joe (c) def. CM Punk CM Punk's first title match in NJPW, and it is against Samoa Joe. A legendary rivalry from 5SW, where Punk is the ultimate underdog. He only defeated Samoa Joe in their very first encounter. Overall however Samoa Joe is 5-1... well, now 6-1. CM Punk is the current 5SW Heavyweight champion, and is in his 3rd reign no less... still, with all the knowledge and skill he has gained, and the support from the fans, Samoa Joe will seemingly always be his kryptonite. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: KUSHIDA (c) def. Jeff Hardy Jeff is a man on a mission, already a 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion alongside his brother Matt. His most recent defense was against KUSHIDA and Kagetora, as a bit of Sekigun on Sekigun friendly rivalry. With KUSHIDA failing to capture the titles, Jeff had his very first chance at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. Unfortunately, KUSHIDA has been on fire since returning to NJPW and Jeff falls short. KUSHIDA isn't done though, as now it is BOSJ season and he has tons of threats awaiting him, as the Junior Heavyweight division has been rapidly improving. IWGP Heavyweight: Naomichi Marufuji def. Brock Lesnar (c) An absolute onslaught from Lesnar, as Marufuji was battered and bloodied. Lesnar grow increasingly more and more frustrated as this match went on, well over 30 minutes, a longer fight than anyone was expecting. Indeed, Marufuji may have tied their singles records at 1-1 but Marufuji in no way "won." He was barely able to stand and give his rousing promo about finally changing NJPW for the better. Marufuji's entire arc was about breaking out of the shadows of Hashimoto, Misawa, Kobashi, and more. In 2007, Marufuji would set out to prove that he can be more than a "dark horse/ace." He would challenge Tanahashi at Destruction and fall short. Marufuji would continue to vent his frustrations, believing that Tanahashi and Nakamura were handpicked, and those that were not handpicked wouldn't achieve the same success. A year later, Marufuji would lose in the G1 Climax to none other than Shinsuke Nakamura. 2009, Marufuji would actually win the G1 Climax, against Satoshi Kojima. He would lose in the main event of WK17, against - you guessed it - Nakamura. Absolutely fed up with it, Marufuji formed RED in 2010, the tweener faction that featured men who could be stars but are held down (think almost prototype LIJ) and Marufuji evolved. In 2011, he would capture the IC title and kick Mabel out of BC and NJPW. His 2nd New Japan Cup win had a hiccup, with him losing the Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho. Despite this, Marufuji could not be stopped, even against Lesnar, he defied him and NJPW and has finally become the IWGP Heavyweight champion. Adding on to this feat (to my knowledge) Marufuji is the first and only man to convert a New Japan Cup victory to a Heavyweight win, the last man to do something even remotely close was the inaugural winner Jun Akiyama, and the only reason for this was because the New Japan Cup was also for the Intercontinental championship! Indeed, Marufuji now sits on the top of the mountain. Thank you for reading! There were some other matches as well but nothing super significant or worth writing about to you, my friends. I look forward to writing up the BOSJ! In the meantime here are the brackets, with a little short introduction to them. A Block: Kushida - Kushida is the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion. Can he do what Devitt did just last year and win the tournament as the champion? Hayabusa - The last of the three - Ultimo Dragon is injured and likely done with his career, and Liger has dramatically slowed down. Can Hayabusa rise from the ashes and reclaim glory? Yamato - The self proclaimed Ace has become delusional as of late with his lack of progress in the division. Can Yamato finally get it together? Naruki Doi - Former BOSJ winner and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion had a successful run and is itching to reclaim that top spot. Can he do it? Or has he been eclipsed by more popular talent? BxB Hulk - For all his hype, BxB Hulk has underperformed, and a year long injury has stifled his momentum. A successful campaign is what BxB Hulk needs desperately. CIMA - The dark horse of the 4 (Yamato, Doi, BxB, Cima) though packed with talent. CIMA needs to make a statement after two previous mediocre BOSJ runs. Matt Sydal (5SW) - Sydal is the 5SW rep, and is one of the best high fliers in the world today. He has wrestled briefly in NJPW before but now he has a chance to ignite his name value and set the world on fire. MAZADA - "The Hardest Man to Beat" can only mean so much when you haven't won a BOSJ tournament. Can MAZADA finally achieve greatness? Jayson Paul - JTG has admitted he has had a crappy few BOSJ runs, but is now back and better than ever and promises to make it to the finals and bring glory to BC. PAC - The new NJPW signed wrestler PAC has been working multiman matches and such for a while now, but he finally gets to demonstrate who he really is. B Block: Jeff Hardy - Despite coming up short last month, Jeff is still motivated more than ever to achieve his goal of becoming a singles champion. Kota Ibushi - A man who just barely got into the BOSJ, as last year, Ibushi only managed to score six points. A terrible BOSJ might end his chances for good. Prince Devitt - The man everyone knows and hates. Prince Devitt is the previous winner and is an absolute monster in the tournament. Anyone in his block must dread his match up, as he holds the record for most points (17) and is the only man to win the tournament while champion. Shingo Takagi - The brawler who cannot be matched in intensity is just finding his footing with Marufuji's RED faction. Perhaps his recent successes rub off on Takagi? Ricky Gibson - The cocky loudmouth who is always a delight to watch. A dark horse but a potential finalist all the same. Drago (CMLL) - The first CMLL representative, his goal is simple, but the match he really wants is Aero Star. His desire to take their rivalry to the largest stage is finally real. Aero Star (CMLL) - Similar to Drago, they both want to win, but... beating the hell out of each other to prove supremacy could very well be a worthy consolation prize. SUGI - Some argue the best high flier today. SUGI has slowly become less predictable and one dimensional and seems like a hair away from greatness. Is this his year has perhaps become a common question amongst fans. Rey Misterio Jr. - Half a decade ago and Rey was the hottest Junior Heavyweight, he hasn't fallen too far, but he is no longer the star he used to be. Can he reclaim his glory? Hayato Jr. Fujita - The brash and arrogant Fujita wishes to become a household name, a star, a legend. His last attempt in 2010 ended at 4 points. This is his chance to redeem himself.

NJPW 1992-2012 (Fighting Spirit Unleashed to Sakura Genesis) The year has been going slowly but steadily. Let's just crack right into FSU. NEVER Openweight: Jun Akiyama (c) def. Nic Nemeth Nic Nemeth has arrived in NJPW to show off he is the best kept secret from the West. He quickly challenged Jun Akiyama in a statement and Akiyama, who has admittedly become something like Ziggler in his WWE years, accepted. Nemeth would fall here but this was a bit of a test. Nemeth went from 60 to 75 popularity, so we'll see if I can get that any higher. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: KUSHIDA (c) def. Ricky Gibson Nemeth's unofficial tag team partner actually earned a title shot the same way Nemeth did, by defeating both KUSHIDA and Akiyama in a tag match. It was Gibson who actually pinned KUSHIDA too! While Gibson has been a popular gaijin Jr. Heavyweight, he has struggled capture gold in NJPW, a failed attempt here isn't the worst for him, as he is only 25 years old. IWGP United States Heavyweight: John Cena (c) def. Umaga A rival in Umaga after Cena has bested Orton, the theme appears to be rivals for this title reign with John Cena, who has almost always called out his opponents instead of being challenged. Umaga was 2-0 (4-0 total in singles outside of NJPW too) against John Cena. Something Cena wished to rectify. The match was intense and hard hitting and an early MOTY candidate as Umaga continues to be the best representative of Samoan talent. Unfortunately, he falls short. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardy Boyz (c) def. Los Traumas Every year around FSU, CMLL talent raid NJPW with attempts to make their name. While most are unsuccessful, largely due to travel times, and jetlag, plus the impromptu nature of it all, others have done well. Atlantis has won the BOSJ on his first try, and the Jr. Heavyweight title. Los Traumas are former Jr. Heavyweight Tag team champions as well. Unfortunately for them, the Hardyz remained steadfast and thwarted the attempts. IWGP Joshi: Nikki Bella def. Kana Nikki Bella makes history, ending Kana's 200+ day reign on her 7th defense gone wrong. This is also the first time in the title's history that it would change hands in February! Nikki Bella was representing CMLL (what a world) and doubles down as being one of the few CMLL signed talents to win a title in NJPW (Los Traumas and Atlantis are the only two before her.) Kana will likely seek revenge but for now, it's Nikki's time to shine. Special Singles: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Jay Briscoe Jay Briscoe has been on a bit of a run. His stock has risen dramatically since arriving alongside his brother Mark. They would align with Bullet Club and win the Heavyweight Tag titles, holding them until WK. Throughout that Briscoe would challenge some Heavyweight megastars such as John Cena and Shinsuke Nakamura. Now he faces the Ace, a man who, in a tag match, would be in deep waters, as Jay is a masterful tag wrestler. Unfortunately for Jay, this singles match proved that while he is good... he isn't the Ace. IWGP Intercontinental: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. Kota Ibushi Marufuji might just be the hottest wrestler in NJPW today. He would be the first to actually dent Bullet Club's strength in getting rid of Mabel, while retaining his IC title. He would then defeat Minoru Tanaka, his old friend and rival, a day later defending his IC title again. After this, Kota Ibushi would challenge him at FSU, and Marufuji would humble the young upstart. He would then decree he would become the first ever IC/Heavyweight double champion, a feat a few have called out in the past but have failed to uphold. Of course, Chris Jericho of BC would come out and promise Marufuji that they'd be seeing each other again. Marufuji welcomed Jericho to try, as he already got rid of one old wrestler sticking to young and superior talent. IWGP Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar (c) def. Kensuke Sasaki 1-0 in favor of Kensuke Sasaki just 2 years ago in the G1 Climax. Sasaki was one of the few to defeat Lesnar in that G1. Two big boys just going at it? A great hoss fight, that Lesnar's age and explosive intensity seemed to favor more and more as this match went into the deeper innings. The story of the once legendary and indomitable Sasaki seems to be closing, as his body once again fails him. The fans always appreciate a Sasaki main event, because he can still put on a performance of a lifetime, but at 45 they know he has very few, if any left. Lesnar would take the microphone and scoff at Marufuji, calling him a nobody, and he should focus on his title. Challenge denied. Road to Sakura Genesis (March) Never Openweight 6-Man: SkirMish (Goto, Suwama, and Kenso) def. Bullet Club (Jericho, & The Briscoes) The 6-Man title have been around the waists of Bullet Club members since February of 2011, over a year ago. This was an upset, as Goto once again showcased talent and skill that would have won him the G1, or perhaps the ever elusive IWGP Heavyweight title. Despite BC interference, a rare thing occurred. RED, no allies to SkirMish, would show up and thwart BC members Paul Wight and Prince Devitt trying to get in way of things. Jericho looked furious, and despite losing, would charge Marufuji after the match. New Japan Cup: IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Ten-Koji (c) def. RED (Shuji Kondo/Yuji Hino) A tale old as time for RED. The young team always manages to earn the title shot but can never capture lightning in a bottle. Ten-Koji were unable to defend at FSU due to injuries but vowed a back-to-back defense at the New Japan Cup and Sakura Genesis which is tomorrow. RED was originally meant to have their challenge at FSU and you could argue the change of date might have disrupted their plans. They'll have their moment eventually, right? New Japan Cup Finals: Naomichi Marufuji def. Tetsuya Naito Marufuji is now undeniable. Brock Lesnar can say whatever he wants but in April, Marufuji will be in the main event against him for the IWGP World Heavyweight title. Of course, this is provided Lesnar successfully defends his title at Sakura Genesis against KENTA. After the match Jericho and BC came out and returned the favor for getting involved in their trios match, and Marufuji, battered and worn out, must face a ready and angry Jericho come tomorrow. Sakura Genesis: NEVER Openweight: Jun Akiyama (c) def. Toru Yano Toru Yano has always struggled to get over with the crowd, especially as a ruthless heel. Here we saw a different side of Yano, perhaps a bit more comedy. Lots of sneaky roll-ups and tricks but he unfortunately couldn't sneak away with a win. After the match, Yano's tag partner Togi Makabe challenged Akiyama. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Ten-Koji (c) def. GoAce This match was made a week before the New Japan Cup, as Go Shiozaki called out Ten-Koji. Go, who defeated his mentor and friend, Hiroshi Tanahashi in the 2nd round of the New Japan Cup, felt he was ready to prove he was more than the Ace's occasional tag team partner. The two always gelled excellently together but unfortunately that isn't enough when competing against the most decorated tag team in New Japan history. Ten-Koji would secure the win, only to have Nakamura and Minoru Tanaka call out Ten-Koji. Perhaps Shinsuke showing once again his obsession with beating Tanahashi, even indirectly. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag: The Hardy Boyz (c) def. OverCraze OverCraze are 4x former Junior Heavyweight tag team champions, tying with Gedo & Jado. They've been on a 3 year quest since losing those titles to break that record. This was another shot, they've almost gotten one every year, and have failed. This is hard to blame on one member though. MAZADA was a problem in his younger days, as his technical approach proved very difficult for high fliers. Times have changed, and high fliers aren't so one-dimensional. Hooligan has always been solid but unspectacular, and now he is being more exposed as MAZADA can't debilitate his opponents as easily. Regardless, the two fought valiantly and remain to be an elite team, they just need to go back and figure something out. IWGP United States: Samoa Joe def. John Cena (c) The John Cena revenge tour suddenly stops here. As he couldn't defeat his third rival in Samoa Joe. The two were never direct rivals though, both men joined NJPW around the same time, and both were heel. Neither really caught fire, though Joe did have some success as a heel. When they both turned face? They skyrocketed in popularity. Perhaps now? Maybe it is more apt to say that the parallels end here and the rivalry begins. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: KUSHIDA (c) def. CIMA Cima and BxB Hulk are the last two remain of the 4 that have yet to hold singles gold in NJPW. CIMA earned his shot by pinning KUSHIDA on the road to Sakura Genesis and promised to not be the last. This irked BxB Hulk, but he had no issues supporting his friend and was even at ringside to cheer him on. Unfortunately, Kushida was just a bit better this night. The story here isn't on KUSHIDA, and it is a slower burn but I got a few good ideas on where to take this. IWGP Joshi: Nikki Bella (c) def. Kana A rematch happening this soon is a bit rare but Kana was furious and determined. Unfortunately for her, she once again falls to Nikki Bella, who is now 8-0 this year alone. Nikki has always been good but she seems to now be better than ever and instantly calls out a huge challenger: Megumi Kudo. A sleeping giant in NJPW, if you will. Did Nikki just bite off way more than she could chew? Or is she setting herself up to be one of the future cornerstones of the Joshi division? IWGP Intercontinental: Chris Jericho def. Naomichi Marufuji (c) This was too obvious of an outcome, right? Marufuji, who hasn't lost a singles match since August of 2011 (11-0 since) finally suffers defeat, thanks to a plethora of Bullet Club interference no less. RED had already competed the day before and would not be on the card tonight. Takagi attempted to thwart BC with Zeus but both men were vastly outnumbered. Indeed, the chaotic cluster of run-ins always favor the sinister Bullet Club. Chris Jericho has shattered a dream and become a 3x IC champion. IWGP Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar (c) def. KENTA Kenta was a bit of an interesting challenge for Lesnar. Kenta is 0-1 against Lesnar in singles matches, so why? The answer is simple: Heyman. Paul Heyman accepted KENTA as a challenger because Marufuji and Kenta are rivals, big time rivals even. They are also similar in build and stature from one another. With Lesnar freely able to toss and suplex KENTA, dominating most of the match, Marufuji, who has just lost his title must watch and perhaps feel like this could very well be his fate. Though, as Marufuji saw, the match ended up being close, and if KENTA could have perhaps hit the G2S, it'd have been another epic addition to the Marufuji v. Kenta saga. Thank you all for reading. I have been updating my save a bit slower and with less write ups as I fear I'd be spamming this thread otherwise. Again, thanks for reading or just skimming. Relaying what has been going on in my save has definitely expanded its life by an unknown large quantity.

2 hours A 1 hour B Can add/remove 30 is how I always do it! Just +1ing really.

NJPW 2011 Year-End Review: A great year full of motivation for me to book. In terms of time-decline, this year alone we had: Minoru Tanaka (38), Satoshi Kojima (40), Mabel (44), Kurt Angle (42), Jushin "Thunder" Liger (46), Minoru Suzuki (42), Ultimo Dragon (44, who also broke his neck), Takao Omori (41), Takashi Sugiura (41), Jun Akiyama (42), and Shinjiro Otani (38). The one that hurts the most is actually Minoru Tanaka, I think I mentioned before, in 2012 he was meant to win the IWGP Heavyweight title. This has been scrapped. The second one that hurts a lot is Satoshi Kojima, as I had Kojima ALSO winning the title in 2012-2013. Lastly, Minoru Suzuki declining at 42 feels... almost so unrealistic, and is a huge blow to the gut, but now I pivot from Suzuki having a murder grandpa run to him finding a "successor" to Suzuki-gun. Regardless the show must go on, right? I guess what I am saying is unfortunately, plans change, in fact a lot of plans have changed this year. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson was meant to beat Kurt Angle in a match at the Tokyo Dome to have John Cena beat him at Dontaku for a US title defense. Ultimo Dragon was meant to win the Junior Heavyweight Tag titles with Liger. Shibata and Goto were meant to win the Tag Titles off the Briscoes, but Shibata broke his neck at G1. Mabel was actually meant to stay around a little longer, but not much longer. He was meant to have a NEVER Openweight title reign before losing to Tetsuya Naito. Regardless. I figured I should recap the year and tell you guys what I was going to do or what I thought of doing that I never pulled the trigger on. In terms of people who have risen to the top or failed to meet my expectations: KENTA has reached 89 popularity in the G1 Climax. His previous highest was 86, which surprised me. Him and Joe benefitted tremendously teaming together. Both Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito have broke past 85, with Naito even hitting 91! Suwama on the other hand, has failed to break past 83 popularity. Which is a shame because Suwama would be such a great upper midcard heel contending for the title, similar to EVIL I suppose. That's okay, Suwama is still capable of being a midcard/NEVER competitor, which is always good. Go Shiozaki has also went up from a paltry 80 popularity to 84! Which is progress, took a few years but woohoo, maybe his GoAce team has helped. Speaking of tag teams, Cibernetic Death Squad (Mil Muertes and Cibernetico) have both thrived, with Ricky Banderas hitting 88 popuarltiy, and Cibernetico hitting 84. Jay Briscoe also thrived hard in his tag team with The Briscoes hitting 89 popularity! So while many guys will be leaving/retiring with NJPW soon, many are actually on the up! With this long wall of text, let us talk about Wrestle Kingdom! Minoru Tanka Wins the New Japan Rambo I admit, this was just to get Tanaka a Definite HoI induction. He is going to challenge Marufuji on the show after Wrestle Kingdom. This is just traditional and nothing special. You know how these go. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardyz def. The Young Bucks (c) The Hardyz are 2-0 at Wrestle Kingdom, and inaugural Super Jr. Tag League winners. It took them almost 20 years but now that they are in NJPW they plan to make the most of it, and so far they've been doing just that. They start the night hot as they deflate Bullet Clubs momentum as they march into WK19. Special Singles Match: Kota Ibushi def. Tetsuya Naito Naito has been hailed as the future ace for a while now... and well, time is ticking right? Suddenly Naito gets pushed to the side and Kota Ibushi comes into play and suddenly everyone is hailing Ibushi as the next ace. Has Naito failed? The two formed a tag team for the Tag League and did poorly, and this irked both men. They would become more and more at odds when Naito announced joining CHAOS. The two would battle here and Ibushi would get the better of Naito. This is the beginning of their rivalry. IWGP Joshi: Kana (c) def. Amazing Kong Amazing Kong shocked everyone when she won the Joshi Cup, but unfortunately for her she comes up short as Kana manages to keep the monster down. Kana shocked everyone when she dethroned Meiko Satomura who was on her way to seemingly hold the title for as long as possible, and this proves that she wasn't just a fluke winner as she retains at the biggest stage. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: TenKoji def. The Briscoes (c) GBH died for this. TenKoji suffered, Tenzan's year long torn rotator cuff injury. Kojima's singles push. The sacrifices TenKoji made just to achieve their goal of tying Sasaki's tag record (6) can not be understated. The Briscoes have already declared themselves as the ones to eclipse TenKoji, and all other tag teams but for now, they must contend with their current fate. 7 defenses (2nd highest) and a 7 month reign is a fantastic first run for the Briscoes, however. NEVER Openweight: Jun Akiyama def. Daisuke Sekimoto (c) Jun Akiyama has added another title to his collection for NJPW, at 42 years old and semi-active, Akiyama continues to prove why he should never be underestimated. After all, he wrestled amongst Gods and came out on top. The inaugural NJ Cup and IC title holder is now a 2x NEVER Openweight champion. If Akiyama had like 88 popularity or so, he would be IWGP Heavyweight champ. Sadly he is capped at like 82-83. Meanwhile, Sekimoto is on to bigger things, as he finally seems to be breaking past the 82 popularity barrier lol, as he is now at 84! I am a fan of Sekimoto and his rivalry with Ishii has been a fun undercard feud, so we'll see. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: KUSHIDA (c) def. Jushin "Thunder" Liger Liger entered Wrestle Kingdom last year as a challenger, and left as champion. This year? Liger had his final singles title match, as when Devitt defeated Liger he vowed to make sure Liger would never hold singles gold again. This... would be a cruel fate on one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time, and KUSHIDA, after defeating Devitt at NJPW Destruction, would declare he would love if Liger could face him at WK. Liger would, as his mentor, and the two would square off. KUSHIDA would receive the torch from Liger and continue his first ever title reign on one of the highest notes imaginable. Loser Leaves NJPW/IWGP Intercontinental: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. MABEL The first member of Bullet Club to be permanently defeated. Mabel grew desperate to stay at the top of the food chain and was furious Marufuji had brought him down a few notches. Mabel never recovered, and played himself into making it a Loser Leaves NJPW match. Marufuji won, and Mabel was escorted out of the building, with Bullet Club at ringside turning their back on Mabel showcasing their brutal "survival of the fittest" mentality. With that being said, Marufuji delievered a post-match speech, explaining to everyone else "This is how you get things done. Nobody else is risking it all like Marufuji is." This is a true statement, as Marufuji's RED faction has been on the frontlines against Bullet Club. After the match, Kota Ibushi challenged Marufuji to a match! Marufuji accepted and looks forward to humbling Ibushi for interrupting him. IWGP United States: John Cena (c) def. Randy Orton in a Last Man Standing Match A legendary rivalry as many know has been taking shape throughout the years, with Orton in NJPW being dominant against John Cena (2-0 as of writing this.) When Cena dethroned Paul Wight for the US title in September, Orton wasted little time to announce that The Viper was going to strike and kill this façade of Cena. Orton was shocked by Cena's undying resilience and his newfound crowd support and he buckled. John Cena has become the first and only man to kick out of the vicious RKO, and with that he has now put points on the board but Orton isn't done, and honestly neither is John Cena. Slightly off-topic, I've been preparing long lasting major feuds as all of the older stars are being phased out, and thus new epic feuds and tales need to begin, this is one of the easier ones to create. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Prince Devitt Tanahashi and Devitt had been brewing throughout the entire year. Devitt made it clear he was going to be the first ever Junior to win the Heavyweight title. Tanahashi was the champion at the time, and he targeted all of Tanahashi's icons and inspirations, with Liger being a main focus. Devitt admitted it was all to provoke Tanahashi and get a title shot, but Tanahashi was so useless that he couldn't hold up his end of the bargain. Lo and behold, Tana suddenly has more time on his hands and said if Devitt wants to prove he can defeat the Ace... the Tokyo Dome is the best spot. The stipulation? No Bullet Club. Devitt accepted but of course Jericho, and Paul Wight had both made appearances attempting to thwart the Ace. Tanahashi would not be outdone though, and he would hit the High Fly Flow and show Devitt why he is the de facto ace of NJPW. With Bullet Club losing every single match, many expect they'll perhaps fall to obscurity. Will they though? IWGP Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar (c) def. Shinsuke Nakamura Many can argue that Nakamura entered the main event already a losing man. He has been on a warpath to defeat and dethrone Tanahashi. Already 0-1 challenging for the Heavyweight title at the Tokyo Dome as he lost to the Ace, as he failed to convert his G1 win in 2008. Plus he is already 0-1 against Brock Lesnar (a 100 rated match at the G1 Climax in 2010) Nakamura was a dead man. This doesn't mean that he didn't give it his best against Lesnar, but the man who had a perfect record last year requires - no, demands 100% of your best and even that isn't always enough. Nakamura couldn't do it. He couldn't do it again. His obsession with Tanahashi is costing him his career, and with now two massive main event Tokyo Dome losses, will Nakamura finally give up this conquest to prove his superiority over the Ace? Or will he fully descend into madness? Regardless of that, Brock Lesnar enters 2012 as the reigning IWGP Heavyweight champion, with nobody dare calling him out after a dominant main event performance. End of Year Awards: 2011 WOTY: Chris Jericho (1x) 2011 Tag Team: Rated RKO (2x) 2011 Young Wrestler: La Sombra (4x) 2011 Veteran: Kensuke Sasaki (2x) 2011 Female: Megumi Kudo (4x) 2011 Independent: Cody Rhodes

NJPW 1992-2011: August-September Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has signed a huge money contract with World Wrestling Entertainment, his final match in NJPW was admist the G1 Climax against John Cena, who proved his work ethic by not only having to deal with the gruelling tournament but also going 41 minutes against "The Great One" and winning. I've always sort of used gaijin to build up and allow WCW or WWE to take, and The Rock has actually bounced between WWE/NJPW a few times. He'll likely finish his career in WWE, unless I bring him back for a year. Let's get into the G1 Climax results! G1 Climax Results: A Block Katsuyori Shibata (2 pts) - An injury against Osamu Nishimura revealed to later be a broken neck resulted in Shibata having to forfeit and end his run on just Night 2. His one victory was against Tetsuya Naito. Which is irritating for Naito. Osamu Nishimura (8 pts) - Osamu has been taken a backseat in NJPW, and was a surprise announcement for the G1, actually. He had a solid performance, but the wear and tear on his body was showing. His wins were against Jericho, who had a stellar performance, Kojima, and Tetsuya Naito. Tetsuya Naito (8 pts) - Naito had a frustrating G1. He was the only one who lost to Shibata which is devastating when you factor in everybody else got 2 free points while Naito had 0. Still, he had a great first G1 and 8 points whilst a losing record is still impressive. Naito also had a surge of popularity! (83 to 91!) Satoshi Kojima (8 pts) - On Night 9 Kojima admitted this was his last G1, as he wanted to end his career with Tenzan winning tag titles. Thoughtful and a bit sad, Kojima's era begins to wane as with Nagata completely gone, he perhaps might be the next to go. Despite this, his G1 performance was solid again, but not spectacular. A G1 Finalist overall too, Perhaps Kojima will go down as the greatest "could have been" in NJPW history. Suwama (8 pts) - Suwama had missed 2010's G1 Climax, which is interesting when you factor in he ended with 10 pts in 2009, but that was due to an injury. This year Suwama entered and had a solid showing, though Shibata being injured has helped everybodys point totals. Not much to say, Suwama's campaign was valiant, and many were looking forward to Shibata vs. Suwama as it was interfaction warfare. Rhino (8 pts) - Rhino is the ultimate G1 wrestler, despite his point totals. He is much like Goto in the sense that he can realistically be World Champion, in fact he even beat Tanahashi in this G1. But Rhino's headstrong full frontal assault approach means he is a bit one dimensional and he always struggles against technicians like Nishimura. Still, he is a delight to watch and Rhino will likely be in every G1 barring injury or retirement. Samoa Joe (10 pts) - Joe has really caught fire in NJPW as of last year, alongside his tag team partner KENTA. This G1 showcases just how far he has come as a fighter too. In fact, he was close to winning the whole thing a few times. Despite coming up short, Joe has nothing to be ashamed of and like Rhino, has secured his spot in the G1 for years to come. Chris Jericho (12 pts) - Jericho has had a chip on his shoulder since returning to NJPW. Feeling he has less time on his side than before, he aligned with Bullet Club and instantly targetted Tanahashi. His obsession earned him a shot at Dontaku, and he failed. In the G1, he only wanted to beat Tanahashi and get a title shot... he lost. Jericho's entire G1 was so deadset on that title shot, that he could've perhaps just won the G1 Climax and went to Wrestle Kingdom. But it ran deeper than that for him. Jericho wanted to beat the Ace. Hiroshi Tanahashi (12 pts) - Tanahashi is always in the hardest blocks, but he is also the hardest person to beat. His 3 losses were against Rhino, Kojima, and the winner of the A Block. Regardless of that, he ended his campaign not only as champion but second place in the entire block. Tanahashi is untouchable at times, but after his final match on Night 9 against Suwama, Lesnar came back out to remind him that at Destruction there is no more Ace. A Block Winner: Kensuke Sasaki (14 pts) - 44 years old. Sasaki has been in the business for 25 years. He wrestled against Masahiro Chono in the very first Wrestle Kingdom back in 1994. He went was the first and only to win the G1 Climax back to back in its current format. He faced the Hashimotos, the Misawas, he even teamed with them. Sasaki has had a career that very few, if any could be envious of. At 44 years old, he defeated the most popular wrestler in the world in Tanahashi, and is now heading to the finals to perhaps do the unthinkable and become the oldest G1 Climax winner ever. He hasn't held that coveted IWGP Heavyweight title since 2002, when he defeated his nemesis Kenta Kobashi. Nobody has said it, but everybody knows this will likely be the best, and the last shot Sasaki has. B Block Takashi Sugiura (2 pts) - Sugiura has had... an awful time at the G1 Climax. It wasn't like he wasn't competitive, realistically he could have ended at 10 points and nobody would bat an eye. Sadly, this tournament isn't always like that. Sugiura plain and simple was overwhelmed and washed away by a competitive block. KENTA (8 pts) - KENTA is a made man. This G1 saw fans rally behind Kenta like never before, and they were salivating at the future matches between Goto and Marufuji. Indeed it can be stated that Kenta has benefitted the most from this G1. Outside of winning, it couldn't have gone better. Umaga (8 pts) - Umaga is like Rhino from the A Block. He put on an excellent performance, but came up a little short. Regardless, Umaga had a good campaign and his focus has been creating a dynasty, a faction that can rival Bullet Club, and perhaps overtake them as the future of the company. Naomichi Marufuji (9 pts) - The IC Champion breaks even in the G1, a draw against Shinsuke Nakamura on Night 9 ensures he does not go negative, but his performance was mid compared to what he set out to do. Marufuji has had a Bullet Club problem though. Mabel has been a constant sight in Marufuji's G1 matches, and finally was banned from Ring Side or else Paul Wight would be removed from the tournament. Regardless the damage had been done, and the Bullet Club vs RED (And the World) continues. Paul Wight (10 pts) - Paul Wight enters his first G1 since joining NJPW. The Giant's size alone makes him impossible to beat in most cases, but the men that bested him relied on their wit and their quickness. Randy Orton, Marufuji, and Minoru Suzuki all out-smarted the large man, but it was John Cena who went toe-to-toe and overpowered the brute in spectacular fashion. This has irked Paul and the two seem to be set on a collison course at Destruction. Minoru Suzuki (10 pts) - The Former IWGP Heavyweight champion has always had a curious journey. Perhaps in the past, he would fall under the archetype of say... Osamu Nishimura, or Hirooki Goto, a guy that can be a world champion any day but just wasn't. Thankfully for Suzuki, he was indeed a former champion, even if it was short-lived. So maybe he falls under the rare company of Nagata. Regardless, Suzuki begins to wind down and pass his mantle - and his faction - to a protege. Randy Orton (10 pts) - Orton had a good G1 showing, and looked poised at any moment to win the block. He still needs some seasoning but his overall ring work has improved leaps and bounds and it just seems to be a "any day now" kind of thing. Still, 10 points is impressive, and Orton has plenty left at just 31. John Cena (10 pts) - John Cena was impressive this G1, never mind the fact he went 5-4, which is still great. He also wrestled a 41 minute match against Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson at The Rock's special event show in his farewell match. Cena looks more and more focused and determined to reach the pinnacle of this company. B Block Winner: Shinsuke Nakamura (13 pts) - Nakamura continues to improve. His obsession has been similar to Chris Jericho, except while Jericho covets the IWGP Heavyweight title, Nakamura has had a different obsession. Nakamura covets being better than his rival. His aloof, cool, killer demeanor betrays him at times, as you can see his hopes and desires to one day reach the heights of Tanahashi. It has been a lot of catching up for Nakamura, who himself, has already had a historic career. He still is the longest reigning IC champion, but Tanahashi is the longest reigning Heavyweight champion. Nakamura needs to win the G1 more than ever, as Tanahashi has already won a second G1. He once again plays catch up, and a loss here could be the final breaking point for the King of Strong Style. G1 Climax 21: NEVER Openweight 6-Man: Bullet Club (Jericho/The Briscoes) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru/Sugiura/Takao Omori) Suzuki-gun continues to fall apart, as the major players except Rhino begin to age and show signs of slowing down. With this in mind, Suzuki has been clamoring to find an heir to Suzuki-gun. A simple match that continues to show the dominance of Bullet Club. G1 Climax 21 Trophy : Shinsuke Nakamura def. Kensuke Sasaki for the G1 Climax Trophy Shinsuke Nakamura went into this match with a 5-2 singles record against Kensuke Sasaki. Kensuke Sasaki gave us his best impression of Kenta Kobashi, his archrival, as he fought and showed a fercious babyface spirit. Sasaki battled and tried his hardest to overcome the odds and defeat the healthier, and younger Nakamura. Sadly, for Sasaki, the King of Strong Style proved too much. Now with Nakamura's G1 Climax victory, he calls out Tanahashi and is ready to finally defeat Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom. It could be the very last time we see Sasaki in the G1 finals, as his record vs Nakamura is now 2-6. NJPW Destruction: IWGP Junior Heavyweight: The Young Bucks (c) def. Shinjiro Otani & SUGI Otani is with GBH, which has been discussed as "one foot out the door", while SUGI is a Sekigun member. Otani needed a tag team partner to combat the Bucks, and his best student SUGI stepped up to a great pop. The two showed great chemistry teaming together but the diabolical Bullet Club continued to tormnet and outplay the two men. Sadly, The Bucks continue to reign supreme. IWGP Joshi: KANA (c) def. Chikako Shiratori Kana managed to score a knockout backfist on Meiko Satomura back in June. Since then, Kana has proven to be a real champion and has taken on any and everyone, though Shiratori at times looked outclassed. The division is still God awful, I admit. Can't produce popular enough talent to challenge for the belt, though I confess I have not tried too hard. No older talent have really put over younger talent, and I need to fix that. But because I don't actually have a women's division, it's actually just the JWP roster getting called up to hold the title, it is harder to see who can really grow. NEVER Openweight: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) def. Fred Rosser Rosser is the 5SW Champion and has a pinfall victory over Sekimoto, so consider this a cross-over / filler feud, that I actually enjoyed booking more than I thought I would. Rosser is actually pretty swanky in this save, sporting good stats and 82 popularity. So... could be likely we see him rise up and join NJPW proper, which is awesome because I always had a soft spot for him. IWGP United States: John Cena def. Paul Wight (c) John Cena has had quite the character arc, originally a midcard heel gaijin psuedo-comedy act, Cena was popular but his ceiling was evident. He really embraced a new motto of "Hustle, Loyalty, Respect" and the fans began to appreciate his work ethic and his never die atittude. Paul Wight, was actually his tag team partner when he was being a menace, and to see them now at odds, one embracing the heel side, one 180ing and becoming a fan favorite, showcases just how different things can turn out. Cena managed to get a victory, like he did in the G1, and Bullet Club begins to show cracks. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: The Briscoes (c) def. Ten-Koji This match was 8 months in the making. Bullet Club relentlessly mocked Great Bash Heel, and laughed at how fans thought GBH was going to be a major faction. They were a footnote. What stings the most is the accuracy of their statements. Tenzan was also injured, but he returned valiantly to combat BC with Kojima and the two would earn a shot here. Sadly, with Tenzan recently returning, The Briscoes picked him apart and Ten-Koji fell quickly. Will Ten-Koji stay down is the question. IWGP Intercontinental: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. KENTA The rivalry has been in full swing since last year. Marufuji would defeat KENTA at Fighting Spirit Unleashed in 2010, they would clash in the New Japan Cup that same year with KENTA returning the favor. Their final clash would be at the G1 Climax in 2010, with Marufuji once again securing a win. KENTA in 2011, would achieve his revenge and defeat the IC Champion in the G1. This left them at 2-2. Marufuji would skew this in his favor with a victory here, but KENTA looks more determined than ever to upstage his rival in Marufuji. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: KUSHIDA def. Prince Devitt (c) This was hell for KUSHIDA, you see, at Invasion Attack in June it was KUSHIDA who challenged Devitt next. But Devitt dismissed him as a weaker, less charismatic Liger. YAMATO still wanting a title shot due to a 60 minute draw, was also dismissed as YAMATO couldn't beat Devitt, not the other way around. Devitt goes in champ, leaves champ, thus Devitt calls that a win. KUSHIDA was to prove himself to Devitt as a perverted "number one contender's" match. YAMATO vs. KUSHIDA, winner gets a title shot. KUSHIDA defied the odds and defeated YAMATO only for Paul Wight and Mabel to brutalize KUSHIDA post match. Devitt would "apologize" and say YAMATO wasn't the test, but the US Champion, Paul Wight, is the test. KUSHIDA would miraculously (with the help of Liger and Sasaki) defeat Paul Wight and earn his shot against Devitt. In the match? Sekigun surrounded the ring and Devitt was isolated and he would inevitably fall in a miracle comeback from KUSHIDA. An absolutely awful night for Bullet Club. IWGP Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar def. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) Hiroshi Tanahashi was 2-0 against Lesnar in singles action. Despite that, Tanahashi has never felt like a winner in either match. Lesnar takes Tanahashi to his max limit and then some. This time? Tanahashi had absolutely nothing left and the Ace crumples after a single F-5, showing just how brutal Lesnar really is. Lesnar was never not in control, but Tanahashi always managed to avoid the F-5, but this time Lesnar hit a homerun, allowing him to secure his second Heavyweight title reign. One that hopefully does not end in a broken neck like the last one. For Lesnar, this was 5 years in the making, for Tanahashi, this was an unthinkable loss, as his Wrestle Kingdom main event has been for all intents and purposes, snatched away. But Tana's loss can be felt throughout, as Nakamura, who was hellbent on achieving his Tokyo Dome main event win against Tanahashi is gone. Little bonus fun fact: This is the best show I've ever had from a wrestling standpoint, ever. The Heavyweight Tag, the US title, and the IC title were all rated 100. The Heavyweight, Junior Heavyweight, and the Openweight were 99s. The Joshi title was the only dud, and even then it was an 84. Thanks for reading! The next post will be Wrestle Kingdom! I will be skipping the Tag League blocks/results, as I hate cluttering the forum!

Thanks so much for your interest by the way, it is greatly appreciated! I forgot to mention as well that Vince McMahon has passed away and Shane is in control of the WWE now. Pretty wild stuff. Plus a year long plan for a certain title had to be completely reset since something happened, so interesting write up! Invasion Attack has been booked and dusted, and everything is shaping up more and more for what I hope is going to be the most jam packed Wrestle Kingdom of the save! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Young Bucks (c) def. Los Traumas Los Traumas are an elite team in the Junior Heavyweight division and they represent CMLL. The Bucks are out to prove that they don't need the Bullet Club name tag to dominate the division. They beat The Hardy Boys, they can beat anyone. This was an excellent match and a good proving point for the Bucks as they got the match done simple and clean. They call out the ailing division and pray for more talent to step up otherwise they'll retire with the belts. IWGP Joshi: Kana def. Meiko Satomura (c) An absolute shock to the fans, but an expected outcome for anyone behind the scenes. Satomura and Marufuji are expecting a child, and in a month Satomura is taking the time off, Kana stepped up and took the title in an excellent match via sudden knockout. Satomura was supposed to carry the title well into 2012, but we will see, as her short time with the title still saw the title gain prestige and intrigue. NEVER Openweight: Daisuke Sekimoto (c) def. Togi Makabe Makabe was never a major player in NJPW, but he was also fairly content with being a supporting one throughout his career. Now at 38 years old, Makabe admits he doesn't want to quietly fizzle out and become forgotten. He made a bold claim promising to jumpstart his career off a win of the young and hopeful Daisuke Sekimoto. Makabe has never been a singles champion, and Sekimoto is the ace of W*NG. The 8 year age gap didn't prove to be any advantage whatsoever. IWGP Intercontinental: Naomichi Marufuji (c) def. Mabel Marufuji has defeated Mabel, and didn't just stop there. Out of character, Marufuji began to attack and assault Mabel well after the match, calling him a demon and an omen on NJPW. His very existence in NJPW makes the company reek, and even vowed to remove this stench from NJPW entirely, with the rest of Bullet Club. This feud doesn't look to be fully over. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: The Briscoes (c) def. Los Asesinos (Banderas/Cibernetico & Meiyu Tag This was supposed to be a 2 vs. 2 match but during the build to Invasion Attack would saw The Briscoes cost Meiyu Tag a match. This would backfire however, as because it was noticed from the referee after the match, the match would be restarted with Meiyu Tag as the winners. Because of their punishment, they had to defend the titles in a 2 vs. 2 vs. 2 and would still manage to come up on top after Goto hit the GTR on Banderas, with Jay capitalizing and pushing Goto out of the ring to also hit the Jay Driller for the match. IWGP United States: Paul Wight (c) def. Kensuke Sasaki After Minoru Suzuki fell to the Giant gaijin, Paul Wight had a man who feared no one - Kensuke Sasaki. Sasaki is a legend in the company, and at 44 years old, has had many rivals. One of those rivals is Minoru Suzuki, their first match singles match dates all the way back to 1998, where Paul Wight was irrelevant. Sasaki stepped up, despite Suzuki being in a different faction, out of respect. Sasaki was unable to get the job done sadly. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Prince Devitt (c) drew vs. YAMATO An extremely rare outcome, a 60 minute time limit draw between two junior competitors. Neither known for their super daredevil style, yet to see it go this long was something neither the fans nor the competitors expected. YAMATO had Devitt a few times, though. But Jayson Paul and other members of the BC were there to back him up. Meanwhile? YAMATO was alone. So alone from his cocky alienation of his mates who came up in wrestling with him. No BxB Hulk, who was injured, no CIMA or Naruki Doi. Nobody. Post match, in a rage Devitt and BC hammered away at YAMATO while absolutely nobody saved him. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Satoshi Kojima Satoshi Kojima is very well respected by his peers as one of the best to never get a fair shot. Kojima wasn't like other younger guys who have gotten numerous title shots and failed, a fact Kojima himself brought up. But he knows, even as his body fails, he can become champion. Tanahashi was in awe at Kojima's resolve, and couldn't disagree. A rarity in NJPW as of late, that no match had malice or the expectation that someone was going to interfere. Kojima lost and many believed this was almost like saying it was his final chance at the title. The moment was quickly ruined when Brock Lesnar returned in fighting form and stared a hole right through Tanahashi. With that done and dusted, thanks for reading! But just to avoid spamming this thread, I will also post the G1 Climax participants! A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi (Heavyweight Title / Unaffiliated) Kensuke Sasaki (Sekigun) Katsuyori Shibata (SkirMish) Samoa Joe (Unaffiliated) Chris Jericho (Bullet Club) Osamu Nishimura (CHAOS) SUWAMA (SkirMish) Tetsuya Naito (CHAOS) Satoshi Kojima (GBH Co-Leader) Rhino (Suzuki-gun) B Block: Naomichi Marufuji (IC Title / RED Leader) Paul Wight (US Title / Bullet Club) Hirooki Goto (SkirMish) Umaga (Samoan Dynasty) John Cena (Sekigun) Shinsuke Nakamura (CHAOS Leader) Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-gun Leader) Randy Orton (SkirMish) Takashi Sugiura (Suzuki-gun) KENTA (Unaffiliated)

BOSJ through Dontaku have been concluded, and I'd like to go over the tournament, and discuss Dontaku! Here we go! Some important news here though: Vince McMahon has died in this save, and Ultimo Dragon broke his neck at 45 and is likely retiring on return! Both awful. A Block: Sean Maluta: 6 pts - A 2nd time BOSJ entrant, and 6 points each. Maluta has shown tremendous improvement since his last BOSJ event several years ago, and picked up some major wins from Otani and La Sombra. Matt Hardy: 6 pts - Matt's first BOSJ was a rough start, suffering an injury (a theme this tournament.) Many opponents took advantage of that. Matt wanted to prove he wasn't "The Other Hardy" but definitely came up short in that goal. Shingo Takagi: 6 pts- Shingo's first BOSJ ended in 6 points, which looks terrible until you realize Mabel from BC specifically targetted the Young Dragon. That is a shame. Shingo still showed impressive potential when he was allowed, and on Night 9, Shingo shocked everyone when he lefted Mabel up and slammed him, demanding an Intercontinental title match at Dontaku! Ricky Gibson: 8 pts - Gibson is another victim of a clear and easily exploitable injury early on. Thankfully for both Takagi and Gibson, the injury wasn't as bad as Ultimo Dragon's... but it was bad enough to hurt both of them tremendously in this tournament. He stayed true to his word and did not join BC either. CIMA: 8 pts - CIMA rejoined NJPW last year and had a measely 6 points.. this year CIMA ended at 8 points. He did well and looked better, but still lacked the killer instinct to finish a lot of matches against the more experienced wrestlers. 8 points is respectable and the clear improvement is there. Shinjiro Otani: 10 pts - Otani was the only man who could have reasonably won the block all the way until Day 7... before day 7, Otani stood at 10 points. After day 9? He ends at 10. Otani choked hard, as his last three opponents were the easiest of the block.. and with a loss to Devitt, Otani was doomed. La Sombra: 11 pts - La Sombra entered the tournament on day 2 at 0 points due to Ultimo Dragon's injury, and lost to Sean Maluta due to jet lag and the shortness of it all. La Sombra then went crazy and only dropped two more matches after. If La Sombra was in a different block... perhaps he would've won the block. KUSHIDA: 12 pts - Kush did well, really well. Another example of La Sombra, wrong place wrong time. Not much else to say but Kushida narrowly lost to Devitt and anyone else he looked amazing. Kushida is one to watch. A Block Winner: Prince Devitt: 17 pts - Nearly perfect. Prince Devitt was nearly there. He nearly made history... if it wasn't for a day 3 draw against La Sombra, who showed immaculate skill and resilience as he had just arrived in Japan the night before and lost to Sean Maluta. Devitt has made it clear who he plans to face if he wins the whole thing... but at this rate, can anyone in B Block even reasonably stand up to Devitt?! B Block: Pete Dune: 4 pts - Okay, Pete Dunne didn't make an impact, but nobody truly expected him to do so. The tournament is gruelling and Dunne is extremely young. Not many historically do well in their first go, and while Dune is assuredly disappointed, his stock has risen regardless. Jayson Paul: 6 pts - Paul has actually done worse each BOSJ. 6 points is atrocious, especially considering everyone in Bullet Club has instantly found success... Jayson Paul has floundered. This is fine. Nobody in BC really cares, and him having a bad run is whatever. Hopefully... right? MAZADA: 6 pts - MAZADA has always had the benefit of being an anti-air kind of guy, and has thrived and been one of the toughest opponents to beat in BOSJ. In 2009 MAZADA struggled with just 6 points... and in 2011 he repeats this abysmal feat. MAZADA has been doing BOSJ since 1999, and to continue as strong as he is, being a former finalist, is exceptional. But has he fizzled out? Does MAZADA need to evolve as the high-fliers today become more well-rounded? Jushin "Thunder" Liger: 8 pts - Liger's worst performance in BOSJ has arrived at just eight points. That's right. Liger has NEVER had a losing record in BOSJ. Liger has racked up injuries and age and is clearly slowing down. But it is the mental battle he lost with Devitt that has really hindered him. What is left for Liger? What could be left? What else does he even need to do? Jeff Hardy: 10 pts - Jeff's first BOSJ went swimmingly compared to Matt's which probably didn't help their family dinners. While Matt's biggest issue was winning, Jeff was inconsistent. He'd beat guys like Liger and Misterio but come up short to MAZADA who had a rough year, simply because he couldn't fly and wouldn't adapt. Still Jeff is a welcome addition to the tournament and will likely be a highlight for years. Naruki Doi: 10 pts - Former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion & last years BOSJ winner, Doi had an overhaul last year that saw his stock rise up to the elites. While nobody has ever won BOSJ back to back, Doi still attempted the impossible task. He did great ending at 5-4, but 5-4 doesn't cut it in this block. His friendly yet seemingly hostile rivalry with friend YAMATO will likely be his focus. Rey Misterio Jr.: 10 pts - Rey had an awful BOSJ, by day 5 he was 1-4. Something wasn't clicking and he was struggling against everybody. Rey has always been like this, his underdog charisma gives him the fans support but sometimes he just..fizzles. One of the best of all time when he is the best of all time if that makes any sense. Still, he ended 5-4 and can be proud he wasn't negative. But you know he expected more of himself. YAMATO: 12 pts - The returning self proclaimed future "Ace" of the division. YAMATO has been a controversial figure. He carries himself like a heel and an arrogant jerk, and even treats his friends CIMA, BxB Hulk, and Doi a bit callously, but yet he fights fair and just oozes charisma. It's tough to hate a guy like him, despite his cockiness. YAMATO didn't win BOSJ nor did he win his block however.. and you know his ego is bruised beyond measure. B Block Winner: SUGI: 14 pts - The dark horse of the Jr. Heavyweight division has finally achieved greatness! SUGI has won his block and is now going head to head with one of the most dominant men in NJPW today. Prince Devitt will likely use his numbers advantage and well rounded approach, but SUGI is one of the premier high fliers today. SUGI might be the underdog but him winning against Devitt isn't exactly impossible! Best of the Super Juniors (Important Matches Only) NEVER Openweight 6-Man: Bullet Club (c) def. Suzuki-gun (Fujita/Omori/Sugiura) The Bullet Club defended their titles against Suzuki-gun members as the two factions have appeared to lock horns. Bullet Club being the de facto heel faction right now fighting a group of punks who have somehow become babyfaces is interesting, unfortunately though the B team of Suzuki-gun does not stack well against the A team of the Bullet Club. BOSJ 2011: Prince Devitt def. SUGI Devitt has become the first man to win the tournament while Jr. Heavyweight champion and wasted absolutely none of his team declaring his opponent to be La Sombra... I admit this was obviously going to be Ultimo Dragon's spot, and congrats on ALMOST guessing what Devitt was going to do. He was always going to draw with Ultimo, but La Sombra is literally a 1:1 stand in. Regardless the match is now set. SUGI is a great talent and deserves a BOSJ win, and I think outside of early decline or injuries he will be champion too. Now we go to DONTAKU and it was a stacked card! IWGP Intercontinental: Mabel (c) def. Shingo Takagi Mabel had been targetting Shingo for weeks, and even got in the way of Shingo's matches during the tournament. Bullet Club had been provoking every faction lately and some would assume Mabel's job was the newly formed RED. After the match, Mabel had continued to bully the young Takagi until Marufuji had finally had enough. NEVER Openweight: Daisuke Sekimoto def. UMAGA (c) A massive upset perhaps? Daisuke Sekimoto has become a 2x NEVER Openweight champion, and finally wins his second singles title in the company. His first was 5 years ago in 2006. Umaga has been a workhorse and an absolute beast this year, and will likely enter the G1, with a massive chip on his shoulder. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura (c) def. Cynthia Moreno Another personal call out for Satomura. Cynthia had arguably one of the weaker title reigns, largely due to bad opponents or bad chemistry. This caused outrage and many suspected perhaps this was why the title wasn't treated as well it could have been. Simply put Satomura had business here, and since becoming champion she has been on a tear, already on her 5th defense. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Young Bucks def. The Hardy's (c) Nobody expected The Young Bucks to win, but with the Bullet Club backing them? It's never a doubt. Thanks to about... oh, everyone, in Bullet Club, the The Hardy's finally crumbled and were unable to survive the onslaught. Nevermind they were both in a tournament while The Bucks were lounging and preparing. Special Singles Match: John Cena def. Kurt Angle Kurt Angle was always the ultimate American athlete, and this was definitely a passing of the torch, as Angle shook and raised Cena's after. Cena looks solidifed and more focused than ever. Nothing else to say, this is an iconic match okay? I can run this as many times as I want. IWGP United States: Paul Wight (c) def. Minoru Suzuki You ever see a Gotch-style Piledriver on a 7 foot tall giant? Well, that is how Suzuki earned this title match. After decimating Bullet Club in a match and feuding with them throughout the month, Suzuki-gun, the scummy heels have been instrumental in resisting Bullet Club. Unfortunately here, Suzuki had come up just a bit short but the faction, known for its rule breaking had tried to fight it straight and this was likely an egregious mistake! IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team: The Briscoes (c) def. RAMPAGE An amazing effort by RAMPAGE, Rhino and Kuroda, long time partners. However, it's the same old tale now, except The Briscoes are genuinely elite. One of the best teams seen in NJPW. After The Briscoes win, they continue to mock TenKoji's careers and promise to become the greatest tag team in NJPW history. Until... not TenKoji, but Meiyu Tag come out! Goto and Shibata, members of SkirMish the once dastardly heel faction that terrorized NJPW, has returned as heroes. Can Meiyu Tag survive the numbers game or do they have a trick up their sleeve? IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Prince Devitt (c) def. La Sombra Devitt won BOSJ, and in anger declared his opponent be La Sombra, the only man he did not beat in the tournament. Devitt also promised that Bullet Club would never interfere, and he kept his word. The match was vicious and even but Devitt squeaked on by and dodged a massive bullet himself. He is about to say he is sick of carrying a weak division until YAMATO comes out... the two have a staredown. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Chris Jericho A bitter veteran, Chris Jericho, had always felt like he was the main event. The Canadian had worked in NJPW from 1992 to 2008, and he worked his ass off. He returned in NJPW in 2010 with a chip on his shoulder and one goal in mind: The top. This was his moment. He wanted it so bad. Even with the help of the Bullet Club... it was still unobtainable. Tanahashi is left tall in the ring, while Jericho, even as a heel, feels relatable in his conquest and sacrifices ending in nothingness.

The two PPVs in April are done, and now we're heading towards Dontaku and BOSJ! I will go over some major story elements, as we shift into a newer era of NJPW! Bullet Club have rightfully called themselves workhorses, as they've been heavily featured on practically every show, and they've made their intentions clear: to take NJPW over in a way that hasn't been done before. They want every faction gone, anarchy amongst the Japanese talent, and they want to hold every single title in the company! Rapidly gaining popularity, Bullet Club looks to be the biggest threat to NJPW ever. Let's go over the PPVs! Side note: I have no idea why I haven't changed the April schedule of 2 PPVs, I kind of like it and honestly prefer it over the 1 PPV per month. Anyways: NJPW Battle Formation: NEVER Open Six Man: Bullet Club (Jericho/Briscoes) (c) def. CHAOS (Gedo/Thorne/Ishii) Well, Bullet Club continues to hold on, they've been feuding with Sekigun, SkirMish, and CHAOS heavily with GBH and Suzuki-gun have been relatively safe. Though this changed when The Briscoes called out TenKoji but then mocked them stating GBH hasn't been relevant for years and Tenzan is on the shelf. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito def. Kurt Angle Kurt had a legendary US title reign, but he is now in decline at 42. His job will be primarily to put over younger future stars, but this one does have a story. Angle mocked Naito during a match citing he has done nothing with his time in NJPW and better stars (Goto/Shibata/Kushida/YAMATO/Doi/BxB etc) have eclipsed him. Naito, still in a desperate phase to prove himself, answered Angle's heckling and thus this match was made. The past few years I've carefully presented Naito (I mean carefully in my own brain, obviously) as almost like a Goto. Choke-artist and underwhelming when given a big spot. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura (c) def. Combat Toyoda Toyoda's last NJPW match, as she is retiring. Satomura made quick work of her sadly, and Toyoda had her send off before Bull Nakano's music hit. Nakano doesn't want to wait until Dontaku in May, and challenges Satomura at the UK event later this month. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardy's (c) def. Bullet Club (Devitt/JTG) The Hardy's have been given a wide berth in NJPW since BC's formation. Nobody trusts them, a lot of gaijin are not trusted right now in their factions. But the Hardy's and Cena have proven themselves to not be of their ilk. Another man quickly earning back the trust of his peers is Rey Misterio Jr. who was adamantly preventing interference in this match. The Hardy's did win but Devitt was quick to take a mic and said he only lost because hes focusing on his Junior Heavyweight title, and prepping for the BOSJ. Says he knows two guys that can fix this Hardy problem. IWGP Intercontinental: Mabel def. Minoru Tanaka (c) Yeah, this wasn't the plan from the start. Mabel is just too good to not give him the strap as a quick thank you for giving me a free 6 months of fun booking (he is in decline.) Tanaka is in decline at 38 and it breaks my heart because Tanaka has been my favorite guy to book past few years. Tanaka is still super good, and he is at 95% to HoI so I will probably toss him another reign somewhere soon. Fun fact, he was going to win the IWGP Heavyweight in 2013 and he was my #1 pick for the G1 Climax this year (2011) as well. Grrr. I'd like to note, I leave most filler matches left unsaid because it isn't super significant at the time of writing! NJPW Presents: Showdown in the UK! NEVER Openweight: Umaga (c) def. Pete Dunne A shock opponent for Umaga appears in Pete Dunne. 18 years old, and getting his debut in a NJPW ring for a title? Not bad. Unfortunately, Umaga is hungry and more focused than he has ever been. Dunne goes down in a hard hitting but quick match, which calls for Sekimoto, the last of the three in Ishii, Takagi, and Sekimoto, whom did not get a one on one match. Takagi almost won the four way, Ishii was the champion before, but Sekimoto, finally gets his shot at Dontaku! IWGP Heavyweight Tag: The Briscoes (c) def. CHAOS (Ishii & Kevin Thorne) This MIGHT look like a throwaway match but ohoho, not so fast! Ishii & Thorne defeated The Briscoes in a random match before they joined BC way back in February. Then later on, Jay and Mark called out GBH for being absent during their hostile takeover. Ishii & Thorne in a press discussed their victory over the Briscoes prior to their treachery, and here we have it. Unfortunately while The Briscoes did underestimate the "team" then, when the title was on the line they just lacked the experience and were dispatched without too much effort. IWGP United States: Paul Wight def. Edge (c) Kurt Angle had broken Edge's defense record (6) and brought the record to 8. Edge would reclaim the title at Wrestle Kingdom this year and attempt to "set things straight" and start strong by defeating Abyss, and John Cena. Unfortunately, Paul Wight is a giant and also a giant cheater. Even without Bullet Club, it would be a monumental task for Edge to come out as the winner. Now? Well... new champion. Ironic, that Edge's last feud vs. Cena was about trying to bring Cena back down to Edge's nefarious tactics only to suffer an unfair fate by a man much larger, and with a much more chaotic group. Special Singles Match: John Cena def. Kurt Angle Kurt Angle's heel run has ended and his retirement tour has begun. Longest reigning US champion now loses to the man who will be carrying that division for a while. There is no real build or story, and this match-up doesn't need one, so there. Hmph. Angle won't lose every single match, just wanted to prepare to push Cena and needed this match for later. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Prince Devitt (c) def. Rey Misterio Jr. A brutal performance, which Devitt mocked Misterio throughout. Misterio was there defending Sekigun members, but here he was entirely alone as Bullet Club picked him apart. While Devitt is known for his more technical high-flyer approach, he was much heavier here showcasing more power than before. After the match, Bullet Club dumped Misterio Jr. out the ring, while Devitt proclaimed the BOSJ tournament will be his. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura (c) def. Bull Nakano Satomura getting the co-main event spot within a short timeframe was definitely not to be expected, but thanks to Nakano, this was possible. The story here was Satomura grabbing the microphone and declaring she is tired of fighting the "past." Nakano and Toyoda were greats, but they represented an era of Joshi that was thriving. Satomura wants the present. The ones responsible for causing it to falter. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Hirooki Goto This is the 3rd time in April that Goto has not been crowned IWGP Heavyweight Champion. His fourth attempt total. In 2008, Goto would thwart Go Shiozaki and prove he was the rising star of that time. He was defeated in Canada by Tanahashi. In 2009, at Destruction in Tokyo, Shinsuke Nakamura put an end to Goto's uprising and popularity surge from the G1 Climax. In 2010, Goto would be mocked incessantly for failing to get the job done and would lose to The Rock. Now? Tanahashi, a much friendlier face than The Rock, and yet the message delivered all the same. Hirooki Goto lacks the killer instinct. He can win any match, defeat anyone, and he has! He has wins over Tanahashi. But... when it is do or die, Goto just cannot do. 4 losses is enough to break a man, who is on the cusp of greatness, but a 5th loss signals perhaps it is not just a coincidence. Goto's in a very precarious position. Next up is Best of the Super Junior and Pro-Wrestling Dontaku! I'll reveal the participants in this post for BOSJ just to avoid spamming/posting too rapidly alongside a quick mini-descriptor to give you guys a reason to care about them/their motives. BOSJ A Block: Prince Devitt (Bullet Club) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight) - Devitt has become the number one de facto guy to beat in this tournament thanks to forming Bullet Club. Ultimo Dragon (Unaffiliated) - His final BOSJ appearance, Ultimo Dragon has the luxury of being in the A Block, where he will have to face rising star and wily veteran alike. Can he defy the odds? KUSHIDA (Sekigun) - The premier rising star aforementioned. KUSHIDA impressed everyone last BOSJ and even had a rivalry with Liger that ended up seeing him just lose at the last second to face Doi at WK. Still, he hasn't slowed down and improves constantly. Ricky Gibson (Unaffiliated) - Gibson is a threat no matter what. Ending last years BOSJ at 5-4 shows just how good he can be. Gibson is a darkhorse to win the whole thing. Shinjiro Otani (GBH) - Great Bash Heel was mocked by BC for losing members to CHAOS and then floundering. Otani has a chance to earn some redemption here as he finds himself in the block as Prince Devitt. Can Otani restore some prestige to a dying GBH? Sean Maluta (Samoan Dynasty) - The Samoan Dynasty was quietly formed by The Rock in January, and was eclipsed by BC's formation. Umaga has been scouting and Maluta is no stranger to the BOSJ, though he performed subpar (3-6 in 2008) this was years ago. Maluta might not be a favorite going in, but he is in the best block to make a name for himself. Shingo Takagi (RED) - Takagi makes his debut in the BOSJ in the A Block, and he isn't the Takagi you might be used to seeing in NJPW, this is still Dragon Gate era Takagi. Regardless, Takagi is still a threat and can make a massive name for himself here. Matty Hardy (Sekigun) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag) - Matt Hardy makes his BOSJ debut at 37, and although he has been a force since debuting back in January, he has always had the stigma of being "Not Jeff Hardy." This tournament is a massive chance to prove he can stand on his own. CIMA (Unaffiliated) - Cima's had a weak BOSJ last year, only tallying up 6 points total. Luckily for him, he was in a tough block where other athletes such as the Great Sasuke and Jayson Paul, also scored 6 points. With Sasuke retiring, CIMA got to remain a part of the BOSJ, well aware he narrowly dodged a bullet. Kota Ibushi (Unaffiliated) - Kota Ibushi marks his BOSJ debut, and many see great things in this young man. He took Naito's spot after Naito announced he would be going heavyweight. Because of this, Ibushi has to deal with quite a lot of pressure of the higher-ups. BOSJ B Block: Jeff Hardy (Sekigun) (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag) - Jeff Hardy gets the first spot in the B Block, an instant fan favorite, Jeff Hardy went from relatively unknown in Japan to the #1 pick by most to win the tournament! Rey Misterio Jr. (Sekigun) - Misterio has been a staple in the BOSJ for a while now. He has always delievered and put on stellar must see matches and is a former winner. Misterio is attempting to achieve vengeance by winning and defeating Devitt at Dontaku. Jushin Liger (Sekigun) - Liger is in his twilight years, there is no doubt about it. His reign as the Junior Heavyweight ace has gone, but how can someone as iconic as Liger simply lay down and Naruki Doi (Unaffiliated) - The previous winner of the BOSJ, Doi also converted and won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight title against none other than Devitt. This is huge for Doi if he can repeat and perhaps bring BC to its knees before it gets further out of control. SUGI (Unaffiliated) - SUGI is a bit of a wildcard, and has shown he can be an elite Jr. Heavyweight. At just 27 years old, and gaining popularity slowly but surely, this could be SUGI's year. MAZADA (Suzuki-gun) - MAZADA is a snake, and he is one of the hardest opponents to beat in the BOSJ. Extremely effective with his technical anti-air strategy, the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champ has even reached the finals before. Hayabusa (Sekigun) - The ever radiant Hayabusa continues to march through time with zero issues and showcase a brilliant flourish of aerial perfection. Still, Hayabusa has always sort of lived in Ultimo and Liger's shadow. Perhaps he cares little for BC, but he cares more for becoming the de facto #1 Junior Heavyweight before it is too late. Pete Dunne (WWC Representative) - All jokes aside, I had no idea I had him WWC. Pete Dunne makes his debut in the BOSJ after a gutsy performance against Umaga. Those who were foolish enough to not study that match is going to be in huge trouble against this rookie. Jayson Paul (Bullet Club) - Jayson Paul has had both a great BOSJ and a poor one. While many do not wish for him to become a winner in BOSJ... the idea of Bullet Club imploding would be fantastic news for die-hard fans. YAMATO (Unaffiliated) - Yamato makes his triumphant return after a successful MMA bout. The former champion and perhaps the biggest star in the Jr. division looks to make a massive splash and perhaps conquer Bullet Club. Thanks for reading! (It is getting difficult as hell to book a 20 man tournament with juniors who can all reasonably win this thing.)

Haha, I saw Mabel just doing nothing, and with his stats and the fact he was early 40s not declining? Why the hell not? But it gets better, just wait. Dude, I know right? The only person I lost in this save that was supremely relevant to me was AJ Styles. Died super young, and it actually killed my motivation a little bit because I just lost like half of Bullet Clubs early history. No! This did not happen. I try to follow real life in some regards but everything is fictional for the most part! It is just an excuse for me to make a pseudo-shoot on how awful I am at booking the Joshi belt, while giving Meiko Satomura a dominant character. The New Japan Cup has concluded, and there were two major matches on the card that I will cover before going straight into Sakura Genesis! Never Openweight 6-Man: Chris Jericho & The Briscoes (c) def. Two Calamities as One (Kenta/Samoa Joe) & Hayabusa So this match was sort of the conclusion of Joe and Kenta's heel run. They've been heel for a while, and both got over in the G1 last year, so why not right? Joe also won Wrestler of the Year, with Kenta getting #2... despite not winning Tag Team of the Year. Anyways, The Briscoes agreed to let TCAO challenge if they could somehow find a third that tolerated them. Lo' and behold, the great Hayabusa showed up, in a great effort. The point was, I took the ultimate babyface and sided with the two villains to show its cool. It wasn't like Briscoes & Jericho are heels, they're good people. Trust me. Of course since TCAO lost... Sakura Genesis just got its Heavyweight Tag match. New Japan Cup: Hirooki Goto def. Katsuyori Shibata And this years Cup winner... two straight wins in a row... and three total: Hirooki Goto! This is bittersweet for Goto, as he has not once held a singles title and yet has the most New Japan Cup wins and the only one to win it back to back. Unfortunately Goto either faces Kensuke Sasaki or Hiroshi Tanahashi, both men he has struggled to beat. He has beaten them both, but with a losing record against both men... Goto continues to somehow be the underdog who has achieved the most in such a short span. Despite this, Goto has proven to be a main event talent that just can't quite finish his conquest to the very top. Perhaps third times the charm? Lets discuss Sakura Genesis! Sakura Genesis: NEVER Openweight: Umaga (c) def. Shingo Takagi This year the theme for the NEVER Openweight title is "guys you didn't know you wanted to see beat eachother senseless Umaga edition" Umaga almost lost his title in the 4 year at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. So.. naturally this is the match that happens. Of course that doesn't mean Sekimoto or Ishii are done. But for now.. Takagi is, as he prepares for the BOSJ and Umaga continues his year of putting on bangers. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura (c) def. Etsuko Mita Another mismatch for Satomura. The older Mita was heavily expected to have an experience advantage, and despite being a fierce competitor to the likes of Megumi Kudo, Manami Toyota, and the like, Satomura used her as an example. Combat Toyoda came out and issued a challenge to Satomura and walked off. (Toyoda is retiring in 3 months, but didnt want to make it a career vs title match but I did want Satomura to beat her so..) IWGP Intercontinental: Minoru Tanaka (c) def. Paul Wight Paul Wight is getting a LOT of title shots thanks to the Bullet Club practically destroying NJPW in a day. Unfortunately for the Giant, Tanaka is an excellent competitor who had the relief of knowing every other BC member but Jayson Paul was in action tonight, and Tanaka had the ever reliable and loyal (heh) Gedo to thwart JTG from interfering. Unfortunately though, after the match Mabel would beat down Tanaka and raise the IC title, so Chaos vs BC continues. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardy's (c) def. Brazo de Oro Jr. & Brazo de Plata Jr. CMLL is massively helpful for Junior Heavyweight bouts, and though I have rewarded them quite well in the past, the new team on the block is The Hardy's, and they've looked damn good, outside of Matt's crippling painkiller addiction which I finally talked him out of. The star is Jeff, and always has been, though, who went from 80 to 90 popularity almost instantly. Regardless this title bout was filler at best. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: The Briscoes def. TCAO (c) Well, this one was a bit interesting. The Briscoes did indeed beat Samoa Joe and Kenta, but why did Jericho interfere? A face team cheating just moments after Joe and Kenta turned a new leaf almost seems like an intentional plot by the Trios champs. There isn't much to say about this one.. TCAO got their title reign cut massively short thanks to some outside play. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Prince Devitt def. Jushin "Thunder" Liger (c) End of an era, really. Not quite the final showing of the greatest Junior of all time, but it will be his last singles title reign. Liger has done me a massive service by being the easiest fallback plan ever. Booking him, Ultimo, and Hayabusa was just free 99s/100s for practically two decades. With Ultimo and Liger in decline though, and Hayabusa 42 years old... the newer generation is going to need to step up. Thankfully, like the Heavyweight division, I've had a few rising stars ready in Kushida, Devitt, and YAMATO. IWGP United States: Edge (c) def. John Cena Remember how Wyatt was trying to get Cena to become a heel in their WM match? Think of that, but if Wyatt won. This was literally "we're the same kind of scumbag" storyline where Edge was constantly interfering and getting in Cena's way. Cena remained steadfast and true to his word, but the heelish Edge made this match unwinnable. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Kensuke Sasaki Kensuke Sasaki has been a dark horse for my favorite guy to book, and I could write paragraphs about the storylines and growth he has had as a character. He is now very much in his New Japan Dad phase, but still isn't in decline despite being 44. Tanahashi would challenge Sasaki after he was beaten by him in the New Japan Cup. A simple feud between two who have nothing but respect for one another. The record between the two is now 4-4, with Sasaki winning the first three and being Tanahashi's biggest and first major rivalry. After the match, though, Devitt and BC would try to upstage Tana's moment but get stopped thanks to Sasaki and Sekigun. Until of course Jericho and The Briscoes would show up as reinforcements for BC and lay Tanahashi and co. down and out.

NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed (2011) is here, and the year has been hectic already. Bullet Club has officially blossomed and everybody seems to be on edge. But before we get all into that let us go over the card! IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura (c) def. Kyoko Inoue Satomura personally requested to be the opener, as she believes the Joshi Scene has been killed. Blames NJPW and AJW & JWP for stagnating the division, so until Joshi wrestling is serious again she finds this as her motivator. I'm sort of making this up as I go, but I've been real bad at booking the women's division in EVERY save I've ever played, so this is first real hard attempt at fixing it. Something general. Satomura wins decisively, and an aging Kyoko Inoue perhaps proves Satomura's point. NEVER Openweight Six Man: Chris Jericho & The Briscoes def. Suzuki-gun (RAMPAGE & Hayato Jr. Fujita) (c) The team that just sort of was thrown together after stringing a few wins together manage to secure the belts from Suzuki-gun veterans and newcomer in Fujita Jr. Jericho is unfortunately dealing with his tag partner Mabel joining Bullet Club (yes I made Mabel join BC, it's my story damn it) but has recovered nicely over the past month with the Briscoes. IWGP Intercontinental: Minoru Tanaka (c) def. SUWAMA Since returning from a back injury Suwama has not really felt like a rising star, more of an established midcard veteran. However, his recent string of victories over CHAOS, specifically Tanaka, showed a younger and healthier Suwama. Sadly, he just didn't have the tools he needed and Minoru Tanaka's strength in being able to do just about everything worked out and secured him a victory. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Two Calamities As One (Kenta/Samoa Joe) (c) def. Suzuki-gun (Takao Omori/Shuji Ishikawa) A feud born out of the previous one, with Suzuki-gun leader Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Sugiura falling at Wrestle Kingdom, Omori and Ishikawa looked to make a splash and a massive upset victory against TCAO. This feud was, I admit, filler, but it was also a test to see if either man could get over as well! Despite this, TCAO now has their hands full as the legendary team of TenKoji has called them out! IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Jushin "Thunder" Liger (c) def. Jayson Paul JTG is the secondary of Bullet Club, and had a huge opportunity tonight to rocket BC off to greatness. It was not meant to be. Of course, this doesn't stop Devitt and co. assaulting Liger after the match while Devitt screams in his face telling him he has to worry about The Prince now. When they ripped Liger's mask off, Kishin Liger would re-appear, viciously beating down Jayson Paul and Devitt. Kishin Liger hasn't been released in over a decade! Finally, the Ace of the Junior division has snapped and is going to try and kill Bullet Club before they can really get going. NEVER Openweight: Umaga (c) def. Shingo Takagi, Daisuke Sekimoto, & Tomohiro Ishii A NEVER Openweight match co-main eventing?! Well, imagine this match. The meat. Of course Shingo is very much "Openweight" and a bit smaller than he is in real life now, but that's okay. This is going to be the NEVER Openweight division for the next year or so. It was originally set to be Ishii vs. Umaga but Shingo called out the ever stalwart Ishii to a match and caused a massive upset! Sekimoto, Ishii's rival, was baffled by this and challenged Shingo and defeated him. Simple. This mucked up who gets a real shot, and Umaga, being an absolute badass promised to defeat all three of them at the same time. He made good on his promise, and without the Headshrinkers holding him back, looked unstoppable. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Mabel I love that I can book this match, and it do fantastic because Mabel is somehow a God in this save and I just never noticed until I re-signed Jericho. Mabel would betray Jericho and Tanahashi in a six man match a month back and align with Bullet Club. This was revenge, due to Tanahashi somewhat mocking Devitt saying he is a bit to skinny to be a heavyweight. So the super heavyweight ended up being Tanahashi's opponent. Of course with resilience like the Ace, it was no issue but one cannot help but wonder just what Prince Devitt and the rest of Bullet Club have planned, as Devitt did promise Tanahashi that his comments would be his undoing. Next Week IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hardy Boys (c) def. MCMG in a special where New Japan goes to America! This match already happened in my save, but y'know, pretending as if it didn't because I don't name the weekly shows. I actually had a year long plan for the tag titles here, which is rare for the Jr. division. So I'm happy for that. The Hardy Boys debuted at WK and won the titles, and are looking to be the cornerstone of helping me revitalize this division. IWGP United States: Edge (c) def. Abyss in a special where New Japan goes to America! Again, this match already happened in my save, I just posted it here as if it hadn't. There is no story, it's just part of the special of me doing a show in America just to breathe some life into the game for myself. The US title is sort of in need of actual credible challengers. It happens, when half your roster retires at around the same time, massive holes get created. Though John Cena would come out after and challenge Edge to a match for that title, so all is good. The title will remain relevant. Thank you for reading!

NJPW 1992-2011 Pretty big post, covering Tag League (October) all the way to Wrestle Kingdom! Though I admit I will be glossing over everything until WK but still... Tag League 2010 (October) The A Block was intense but fairly even throughout. Though some failed to do much of anything noteworthy; The Headshrinkers were only able to get 2 points, for example. This would begin Umaga once again being beside himself seeing his faction poorly represented. (Alofa, who is 40, was poached by WWE so this is why this storyline is technically repeating itself) but besides that the Briscoes would debut full time for NJPW and do pretty well, even beating the Heavyweight champs, Suzuki and Sugiura. The winners of the A Block however, was the CHAOS team Nishimura and Ishii, who shocked everyone only dropping a single match. The B Block was fantastic, and easily the hardest block in Tag League history. Ten-Koji, Meiyu Tag, Rated RKO, Two Calamities as One (Samoa Joe/Kenta), the returning Chris Jericho with his heavy Mabel, the CMLL super team of Ricky Banderas and Cibernetico, Cena & Sasaki, the point is, anyone could win this block. The team Two Calamities as One would be the ones to actually do it, and not only that they would win the Tag League full stop when they defeated Ishii & Nishimura. Tl;Dr: Two Calamities as One (Samoa Joe & KENTA) def. CHAOS (Osamu Nishimura & Tomohiro Ishii) for the 2010 World Tag League Power Struggle (November) Samoa Joe had won the Tag League with KENTA a month ago but he also pinned "The Great One" in the G1 Climax. The main event for Power Struggle was set, and Samoa Joe, like a handful of others, had the rare chance of leaving Wrestle Kingdom a double champion. Samoa Joe would unfortunately come up short in a brutal match, and arguably the Rocks best match as champion. Elsewhere on the card, Kurt Angle defeated Randy Orton, and then called out Edge, Rated RKO had been giving Angle hell since G1, and he even lost to the team in Tag League. This was him avenging his losses, but promised that after he defeated Edge at Wrestle Kingdom, that he will never face another NJPW employed wrestler again! The reigning Junior Heavyweight champion defeated rival Ricky Gibson, a man who pinned him at BOSJ. Naruki Doi has been doing exceptionally well as champion and has found his stride. His problem now is KUSHIDA just lost to Liger on the same card and Liger has one goal in mind: One more title reign. Tl;Dr: Everyone retained their titles, The Rock vs Tanahashi is destined. Wrestle Kingdom 18: The Full Card NEVER Openweight 6 Man: Suzuki-Gun (RAMPAGE + Hayato Jr. Fujita) (c) def. The Headshrinkers (Yokozuna / Alofa / Afa Jr.) This was The Headshrinkers (bar Afa Jr.) last match in WK. New Japan RAMBO Winner: Umaga Umaga will get a title shot for the NEVER Openweight Title against either Tomohiro Ishii or Jun Akiyama, which is the match coming up next. After winning the Rambo, defeating Mabel last, he declared Alofa, and Yokozuna are gone for good. Afa and Umaga beat up the two members, and Umaga promised "big changes" in 2011. NEVER Openweight: Tomohiro Ishii (c) def. Jun Akiyama Jun Akiyama has lost "it." He is the last survivor of the AJPW group, and since then he hasn't really had that same spark. Ishii tried to get it out of Akiyama, despite being rivals, and Akiyama just couldn't pull the trigger and tap into the killer. Umaga vs. Ishii is established. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team: The Hardys def. Jung Dragons (c) James Gibson is heading to WCW.. and unfortunately Kaz Hayashi must suffer as a debuting Jeff and Matt Hardy surprised everyone at the Tokyo Dome. There is no real story here, just new debuts as I rebuild my always abysmal tag divisions. IWGP Joshi: Meiko Satomura def. Gail Kim (c) Satomura made a promise when she won the Joshi Cup in 2010. She decreed women's wrestling is pathetic, and Gail Kim is a weak champion. A bold claim, but within that claim was a sense of killer instinct that almost seemed lost as of late. Satomura vowed that when she won the title, she'd never lose it unless she is pushed to her limit, and nobody in the world can do that today. Will we see another legendary reign that rival the likes of Megumi Kudo or Bull Nakano? Vignette: Shinya Hashimoto & Kenta Kobashi Inducted Into the Hall of Fame I usually leave vignettes off the thread but I figured I'd just put this here. IWGP United States: Edge def. Kurt Angle (c) Kurt Angle has been on an absolute run since rejoining NJPW last year. He won the United States title at Wrestle Kingdom 17, and sadly, he loses it exactly a year later at WK18. Edge had been getting the better of Angle, beating him in the Tag League, and the G1 Climax, and after Angle had been decreeing he was going to have the "greatest US title reign of all time." Kurt did indeed lose, and his title was indeed legendary. After 8 defenses the Olympic Gold Medalist was bested by a fiery and passionate Edge. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Jushin "Thunder" Liger def. Naruki Doi (c) This match was the present vs. the future, though Doi tried to play it up like it was "the past vs. the present." It worked mostly. Liger attempted to challenge for the title after Doi had won it back at Dontaku 2010. Doi cleverly told Liger "I think it is time to let the newer generation grow" while also reminding Liger he had not earned a title shot and just because he IS Liger doesn't mean he can just jump the line. Throughout the year Liger had challenged himself, beating the "present" stars like SUGI and Kushida to earn himself a spot here. Unfortunately, after Liger had conquered Doi... Devitt had come out alongside Jayson Paul and Paul Wight and viciously attacked him, spray painting "Bullet Club" on his attire and leaving Liger a mess. Out of kayfabe, Liger JUST hit his decline at 46 and I wanted to celebrate him with a final title reign making it 11, which is just how many he had irl! IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Two Calamities as One def. Brutal Landslide 2.0 (c) If you have gotten this far and have finally realized "Every single title but the 6 man titles are changing hands tonight" then bravo. I try not to do that, just because it is the final big show doesn't mean every single challenger has to overcome this obstacle, but I do enjoy it. Regardless this is just Tag League winners vs. Defending Champions. Nothing special here. IWGP Intercontinental: Minoru Tanaka def. Kensuke Sasaki (c) I love Minoru Tanaka in this save, a lot. He is legitimately supremely talented, and is over as hell. There has been an overarching feud with CHAOS & Sekigun lately, and this spilled over. Tanaka pinned Sasaki during the road to Power Struggle and Sasaki was unable to compete in November. (I forgot to book the match and Sasaki can't work TV shows.... teehee) Tanaka has done CHAOS proud and has taken home their leaders former championship. Special Singles Match: John Cena def. Shinsuke Nakamura An absolute shock of the night, when John Cena had turned over a leaf from being a lowlife scum heel to a man of honor, respect, and all that other stuff. Cena bested Nakamura and offered Nakamura a handshake from which he declined of course. It is hard to say that Nakamura is through with Cena or Sekigun as a whole. But Cena will likely be gunning for the IC title now that Tanaka had just won. As for Nakamura, the leader of CHAOS has been struggling lately. IWGP Heavyweight: "The Ace" Hiroshi Tanahashi def. "The Great One" Dwayne Johnson (c) Of course Tanahashi, the G1 winner, was going to best The Rock. Why wouldn't he? He is the Ace. This match has been fun to build up to, because the Rock was able to trash talk Tanahashi all throughout the year. Refusing to wrestle him in tag matches, outright no-showing events. All the things that a "true champion" like Tanahashi would despise. When push came to shove however, The Rock had no where to go but forward and Tanahashi was more than ready. Tanahashi was able to celebrate peacefully as well. Overall I enjoyed booking the show, it felt a little loose in terms of storytelling, and that is mostly because I've been very busy and have been trying to scramble together a "new starting point." Starting mid Tag League was befuddling, and I had to power through. So thanks for reading this massive wall of text or thanks for at least scrolling past it and not saying mean things.

Its perfect!!! Thank you so much!

Hello, requesting a stable/faction graphic dubbed "The Samoan Dynasty." Or if you have a better name please take liberties. Thanks for the help!

Thank you very much! East Meets West is almost perfect but gosh do I hate running storylines. I keep everything stored off game and just find that much better than anything else. I am almost admittedly very rusty in even using the storylines in game! Can't recall the last time I did use it, hehe. I appreciate the compliment and the quick reply though. And since I posted... the Tag League Blocks are below. A Block: Brutal Landslide 2.0 (Suzuki/Suigura) (c) GoAce! (Tanahashi/Shiozaki) RED (Yuji Hino/Shuji Kondo) The New Headshrinkers (Alofa/Afa Jr.) RAMPAGE (Rhino/Tetsuhiro Kuroda) CHAOS (Osamu Nishimura/Ishii) Minnesota Stretching Crew (Benjamin/Lesnar) The Briscoe Brothres (5SW rep) B Block: Ten-Koji (Last Years Winners) Two Calamities As One (Kenta/Samoa Joe) Meiyu Tag (Shibata/Goto) Team Angle (Haas/Angle) Rated RKO Cena & Kensuke Sasaki Chris Jericho & Mabel Cibernetico & El Mesias (fka Ricky Banderas) (CMLL rep) This Tag League is unlike the previous Tag Leagues for one reason - I have absolutely no plans on the winner. It's not that I forgot, it's that I had Brutal Landslide winning it and defeating Rated RKO at WK for the titles, but then I just said "screw that, I want Orton and Edge in singles matches at WK" and completely shifted. So the winner is even going to be a mystery to me!

2010's NJPW Destruction is now booked, and with "The Great One" as the champion, NJPW has been slowly shifting to the more modern product some are more familiar with. Which, I ask anyone who reads my messages: Is No-Style Wrestling the best option for modern NJPW? NJPW is like weirdly "semi-western/modern Puro" and I can't really find the perfect fit. With that out of the way, let's go over the card! IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag: The Jung Dragons (c) def. Daniel Makabe & Alex Zayne A bit of a throwaway with Makabe and Zayne defeating Naito & Harashima in an upset on tour. Naito is on a bit of a decline after a raucous start in his career in NJPW. The Jung Dragons were able to survive the brutal onslaught of two guys who will likely make many BOSJ tournaments, and I believe both already have 1-2 under their belt. Special Singles Match: Jushin "Thunder" Liger def. SUGI Speaking of slums, Liger, at the young age of 45 hasn't been as dominant as he once was. Well, okay, sure he scored 12 points in this years BOSJ. But for years now Liger has been unable to "finish the job." His last BOSJ win was in 2004 (6 years ago) and his last title in general ended in 2008. Yeah, it's only two years ago, but shockingly enough it is the longest time Liger has ever gone without holding any title or winning any achievement. He challenged SUGI, a fellow member of Sekigun to help him sharpen up. But Liger isn't done, his end goal is Naruki Doi, the reigning IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion. NEVER Openweight: Tomohiro Ishii (c) def. Cibernetico Cibernetico made his debut at Destruction as a special challenger from CMLL to Ishii's Openweight title. It was a hard hitting slugfest and a massive hoss battle that Ishii narrowly escaped. The match was well received and while Cibernetico did lose, he announced he and Ricky Banderas (Mil Muertes) were coming to NJPW to compete in the upcoming Tag League in October. IWGP World Joshi: Gail Kim (c) def. Bison Kimura Gail Kim has been having a decent reign with the title, though the entire Joshi scene is currently rebuilding itself. Gail Kim has been facing newer and lesser known up and comers, or women that might've never gotten a fair shake at the title. Kayo Noumi, and Amy Dumas, who is a great competitor, aren't exactly the most over in Japan. So what happens when Bison Kimura, a much more popular and experienced wrestler challenges Gail Kim? An uphill battle that Gail Kim ultimately survives. From here on out, her challenges are only going to get more and more insurmountable. IWGP United States Heavyweight: Kurt Angle (c) def. Osamu Nishimura Kurt Angle continues his record-setting US title reign in NJPW, as he concludes his 7th defense against an experienced and masterful technician in Osamu Nishimura. The major issue Angle was having before the G1 was he had no opponents reasonably capable (his words) of besting him. So he went overseas and international. Now? He has a plethora of NJPW talent ready to usurp his throne but just because they beat once, as we see here, doesn't mean they can beat him twice. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Brutal Landslide 2.0 (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Sugiura) def. Rated RKO (c) An absolute shocking upset. On their very first defense, Rated RKO were unable to focus and the new Suzuki-gun team outplayed them at every step of the way. This wasn't particularly anything major for Rated RKO, perhaps just an off-night. Nothing will come from it (spoilers.) But to see them lose at any time sets Orton off as he was JUST in the G1 Finals. Both men are just too busy trying to establish their singles careers that they weren't focused on the prize they already had. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Minoru Tanaka (100 rated match!) Perhaps a one-sided rivalry. Tanahashi considers Tanaka an excellent wrestler but not "an ace." Tanaka believes he has the tools to be the main event star (he does, dude rocks in this save) and when Tanaka bested Tanahashi in the G1.. it got Tanahashi's attention, but first the Ace had to win the G1. After that? Tanahashi and Tanaka would have their rematch. Tanahashi would best Tanaka here, making the score 3-1 but this is their 3rd 100 rated match overall so that makes me happy. IWGP Junior Heavyweight vs. Singles Career: Naruki Doi (c) def. Gedo Gedo promised one last hurrah from him in the BOSJ, and he showed up when he obtained 10 points, his most in any BOSJ ever. He then challenged Naruki Doi, who declined Gedo as he wasn't a "credible threat." Gedo that if he were to lose, he'd never have a singles title match again. Naruki Doi accepted, and though Gedo, for the first time his nefarious career, fought as a babyface but ultimately come up short of dethroning Doi. Naruki Doi continues his ascent to the top of the Junior Heavyweight division at the expense of Gedo's career. IWGP Intercontinental: Kensuke Sasaki (c) def. John Cena I genuinely loved writing that out simply because of it is so zany. John Cena as of late has dulled his obnoxious foreign gaijin schtick and has been wrestling with honor and respect. The week before Destruction, CHAOS faced off against Sekigun and absolutely routed them, which prompted Nakamura to call Sekigun the worst it has ever been because of Sasaki. He said with Fujinami and Hashimoto far removed, Sasaki finally gets to prove what a leader he is (Sasaki & Hashimoto feuded over leadership! I think I even wrote about it!) and he has been garbage. John Cena remembered that and after his loss, with respect, requested to officially join Sekigun and simultaneously call out Nakamura. His face turn is complete. IWGP Heavyweight: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata, Hirooki Goto, and Brock Lesnar That's right! The first ever 4 Corners match for the IWGP Heavyweight title (I think.. I know I did triple threats before) and The Rock survives against his former SkirMish stablemates. This (finally) concludes the feud of The Rock vs SkirMish. I know you guys don't notice it, but even I was like "God this feud has run its course ages ago" but I stuck with it. The Rocks 4 defenses were only between these 3 guys. So, yeah. Regardless, The Rock vs Tanahashi is almost guaranteed for Wrestle Kingdom. But of course, Samoa Joe, who bested Dwayne in the G1 will have his big chance to ruin that at Power Struggle! Also!: Chris Jericho flanked by Mabel (lol, I have no idea why) has returned to NJPW! Jericho was unfortunately very naughty and caught a scandal but has now returned with the intent of finishing his illustrious career.

G1 Climax 20 is now booked! 1992-2010. August. Lets go over both the card and the results of the G1 Climax A Block and B Block. The A Block had an extremely close and difficult bracket, and the lowest point total ever with just 11 points qualifying to the finals! A Block: Hirooki Goto - 8 Points: It is always difficult to see where Goto will fall. He can win against virtually anybody and lose to virtually anybody. This time, unfortunately, Goto's inconsistency hurt him and much like last year, and the year before that, he wound up at just 8 points. This is the 3rd year in a row that Hirooki Goto has showcased mediocrity in the G1, and he really needs to amp it up in the future. Edge - 8 Points: Another notorious case of being a big deal and just falling apart in the tournament structure. Edge scored so low (just 6 points) in the 2008 G1 that he did not even qualify for the 2009 G1. Eight points is better, and Edge has improved drastically over the 2 years, so there is still plenty of hope, as the Rated-R Superstar also managed to dethrone GoAce! (alongside Orton) for the tag titles a month before the tournament. Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 8 Points: It feels like Tenzan has always peaked at 8 points. One of the best tag team wrestlers of all time, without a doubt, but as a singles competitor Tenzan has lacked that spark since his debut. Regardless, Tenzan is reliable and has always had a good showing from a match standpoint. It's just a shame Tenzan never reached his full potential, as injuries, wear and tear, and age pile up. Katsuyori Shibata - 8 Points: Fellow Meiyu Tag member (alongside Goto) and 8 pointer, Shibata had a lot more spark in the tournament than Goto did. His matches were fast paced and intense, and he wrestled his own reckless brutal stiff style. Still... while he looked to be in control more often than not, he struggled to finish his matches. Shibata and Goto both need time and guidance, and being in SkirMish for so long has probably damaged their development than it has helped it at this stage. Samoa Joe - 8 Points: Joe has recently surged in popularity and has earned his way back into the G1. But only because Suwama, who scored 10 points last year, was out with an injury. Samoa Joe didn't break double digits but he looked much stronger and more confident against his opponents. There is something there with Joe, the belief is he will achieve his greatness, but perhaps a G1 Climax Victory is a tough ask. Still, Joe is likely to be a mainstay in the G1 for years. Kurt Angle - 9 Points: His match with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (phew, mouthful) was a draw. But even then, Angle looks to be yet another gaijin that severely struggles in this long drawn out intense tournament. Until the G1, Angle was undefeated in singles competition since returning to NJPW late last year. Now? He has lost 4 matches. Two of them to Shibata and Tenzan. All this tournament has done to Angle is earn him more opponents and puts his "Greatest US Title Reign Ever" at risk. Osamu Nishimura - 10 Points: Osamu did fantastic, I mean everyone technically did fantastic. Osamu rose above the rest and realistically could have won the whole block if he had secured his Night 9 match against Goto. Unfortunately he faltered but Osamu continues to show immense growth in the later stages of his career. Minoru Tanaka - 10 Points: Tanaka defeated Joe on Night 9 to go 5-4 in one of the most difficult blocks ever. Tanaka wasn't even considered a top 5 finish, and ended up tied for 3rd. The "second" in the newly formed Chaos looks stronger than ever, and is likely to be turning a few heads and changing a few minds as he mixed heavyweight and junior heavyweight offense seamlessly. This varied offense has always made Tanaka difficult to plan for and he thrived in this tournaments. Dwayne Johnson - 10 Points: The Rock entered as the IWGP Heavyweight Champion. But each and every single opponent for The Great One was a main event PPV match at Dontaku or WK. Do not be fooled by his 10 points. The Rock only actually lost 3 matches. Yes, he had TWO back to back draws. One against Kurt Angle and one against the A Block Winner. Regardless, The Rock has proven without a doubt that despite the Japanese fans ire, he is the best wrestler ever. Although.... A Block Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi - 11 Points: A draw with The Rock on Night 9 allowed Tanahashi to squeak by in a ridiculous block. Tanahashi looked to be almost out of it, as he lost to Tanaka, Goto, and Kurt Angle, but he bounced back and managed to come up from behind and draw with The Rock. Allowing him a 1 point lead. Who does he face from the B Block? Well... B Block: KENTA - 6 Points: KENTA struggled, the New Japan Cup finalist really couldn't find his footing in another crazy stacked G1 Climax block, and its fully hard to blame him. KENTA is an "openweight" competitor fully, and could easily compete in the Junior Heavyweight division. But he has refused to do so since his debut, and has always been on the smaller side. If KENTA can bulk up, perhaps he can be a real force in the Heavyweight division. Minoru Suzuki - 8 Points: Suzuki struggled, on Night 9 he did defeat Nakamura but before that he was at a woeful 6 points. As the leader of Suzuki-gun, many wonder if Suzuki has just gotten weak. A massive fall from grace from when he entered Wrestle Kingdom as the IWGP Heavyweight champ 5 years ago. Still, Suzuki remains a deadly and experienced veteran who seems to get better with age, despite being his 40s now. So... perhaps Suzuki is only getting started? Satoshi Kojima - 8 Points: Imagine Osamu Nishmura, but somehow worse! Not talent-wise! Kojima is one of the best tag team wrestlers ever. But he is just unfortunately cursed. A G1 Finalist last year, Kojima had so much pressure on him, and he cracked. But everyone knows how difficult the 39 year old is to defeat. Everyone knows in any other company, like Nishimura, Kojima is a multi-time world champion. Kojima isn't in any other company though. One day, many believe, Kojima WILL have that big moment. Unfortunately time is telling a different story and each passing G1 Climax campaign the situation gets bleaker and bleaker. Rhino - 8 Points: Rhino getting 8 points is actually more impressive than not. You see, Rhino just returned from a Torn ACL. Mind you, Rhino's finisher is The Gore. Rhino had such a massive disadvantage entering the tournament only a few months back, and still managed to hit some insane Gores. Its always an interesting block with Rhino in it because at any moment that Gore can hit and end a match in 25 or 15 minutes. John Cena - 8 Points: Cena started out white hot, being the first to best the seldom competing Brock Lesnar, and even earned himself an Intercontinental title match. Cena has been stepping back as a scumbag gaijin heel and has been adopting a more honest and respectful wrestling style. And while it wasn't a smashing success - yet - Cena still earned some fans, and wrestlers respect. Naomichi Marufuji - 10 Points: Marufuji was last years winner. Sadly, he will not be repeating the extremely rare repeat that has only been done once since the G1 has switched to a 10 man block format. Regardless, he had a great showing and is representing the new stable only known as RED. Marufuji teased a new member reveal at the G1 Climax finals as well, and many are excited. Despite not winning the G1, or even his block, Marufuji remains white hot and is likely to be all okay despite the setbacks. Shinsuke Nakamura - 10 Points: The leader of CHAOS could be painted as 2nd or 3rd depending on how you look at it. He looked strong throughout the tournament, and even hit 10 points first. He choked. To put it bluntly. Losing to Marufuji, the man he beat at Wrestle Kingdom just 8 months before, saw him crumble. It killed his ego for some reason. Nakamura needs to regain himself and The King of Strong Style will likely find himself back in the main event. Kensuke Sasaki - 10 Points: Kensuke Sasaki almost did exactly what the B Block winner achieved, and that is to come back from an 0-3 tournament start. By the end of Night 5, Sasaki had only 2 points. By Night 9, the Intercontinental Champion managed to end the tournament at 10 points. The only man to win the new G1 Climax format twice in a row, almost set another milestone. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. Brock Lesnar - 10 Points: Lesnar is not one to accept the invitation to the G1 Climax. Stating it is a waste of his time, and it wasn't advised by his new manager Paul Heyman to even do it. The Beast entered strong, and decimated just about anyone in record time. The Beast unfortunately had never been in a G1 Climax. After the 6th Night, Lesnar was completely gassed and overwhelmed by many opponents who had trained and conditioned for the harsh intensity that this tournament brings. His desire to avenge his loss earlier to The Rock will go unanswered, as he is unable to make the B Block Finals and face off against rival Hiroshi Tanahashi. Instead... B Block Winner: Randy Orton - 12 Points: Randy Orton started the tournament 0-3. That was it. He never lost again. His stock rose to unforeseen heights, when he defeated Brock Lesnar in a MOTY contender, and ever since then Orton has carried himself as an Apex Predator. He seemed to no longer be that cocky brash kid that was always held back by his massive ego. One half of the IWGP Heavyweight tag team champions, impressed everyone when he bested his budding rival John Cena on Night 9 and punched his way to create history by becoming not only the first ever gaijin G1 Climax winner but to be the one to defeat The Ace in both singles and tag matches back to back. The Finals are set! Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Randy Orton, G1 Climax 20! Also on the card! IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team: HARASHIMA & Tetsuya Naito vs. Jung Dragons (c) NEVER Openweight: Shelton Benjamin vs. Tomohiro Ishii (c) IWGP Joshi: Amy Dumas vs. Gail Kim (c) and more!

NJPW 1992-2010 Invasion Attack (June) Been a while, finally got to Invasion Attack. Busy end of the year for me, sadly. NEVER Openweight Six Man: CHAOS (Ishii, Tanaka, Gedo) (c) def. SKIRMISH (Orton, Edge & Kenso) I always love booking Orton and Edge in NJPW because of wild matches like this. This match happened the day before Invasion Attack, so figured I'd post it here. SkirMish has been in dismay since The Rock and Brock Lesnar seemingly left after falling out in their main event last month. Lesnar has been MIA. Ishii takes on Kenso (FKA Kenzo Suzuki) at Invasion Attack for his NEVER Openweight title as well! Rated RKO take on GoAce! for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Titles! Everything is a mess for SkirMish. Special Singles Match: Naomichi Marufuji def. Yokozuna Marufuji left Sekigun, and formed RED with the tag team RED (Shuji Kondo, Yuji Hino) and instantly provoked the Headshrinkers led by Umaga. Marufuji made quick work of the aging Yokozuna (who isn't declining, wish his pop was a little higher) Marufuji makes a statement, calling out Umaga afterwards. NEVER Openweight: Tomohiro Ishii def. Kenso (c) A two night calamity for SkirMish, as their only title has been taken away. Ishii continues his dominance in the NEVER division. This marks his 3rd title reign, tied with his Six Man reigns for a total of 6. Kenso's name change was clearly not a great enough change for the Forgotten Ace to level up. Back to the drawing board, but for Ishii he returns from injury and hasn't been able to lose gold since. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team: HARASHIMA & Naito (c) def. CIMA & BxB Hulk BxB Hulk has had a rough string of events. First losing the BOSJ, and then losing a tag team shot with fellow brother-in-arms CIMA. Still, he refuses to let that get him down, as CIMA and Hulk walked away impressed that Naito got a flash pinfall on CIMA. Things look good for Naito! Until the 5SW team Jung Dragons came out and challenged the fledlging team to a match! HARASHIMA boldly accepted before Naito could say anything. IWGP Joshi: Gail Kim (c) def. Kayo Noumi A match that had very little momentum going into it, largely because the Joshi title has been in a bit of a rough patch with no extremely popular (talented yes) breakout talent coming through. I could just give the title to Kudo until she retires, or even Nakano, but I don't want to continuously give them 1+ year reigns. Manami Toyota has retired. Things are a bit dire right now. Thankfully a lot of women are surfacing that are both talented and can be popular, and I'm hoping this problem is short-term. Despite that, Noumi is 33 and has 83 pop. She isn't a slouch or anything. This wasn't just a throwaway, both women have loads to prove here and the match was great! IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Naruki Doi (c) def. Drago Drago earned a title shot by defeating his archnemesis Aero Star in a #1 Contender's match. While for many champions, fighting a CMLL luchador as good as Drago would be a great first defense, and of course, the chances of losing are there but for Doi it almost felt like a lose-lose. Doi is the "new breed" of Junior Heavyweights. YAMATO lost his title to a veteran in Shinjiro Otani. So if Doi lost here, to an outsider, and on his first defense? His career would have taken a massive downward spiral. Thankfully, for Doi, he managed to defeat Drago in an excellent match. A string or interruptions continue, as Gedo comes out, the man who Doi lost to in BOSJ, to challenge for a title match. Gedo promised "It'll be the best Gedo anyone has ever seen." IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Rated RKO def. GoAce! (c) This match was nearly unwinnable for GoAce! It was just two veterans taking out Tanahashi and then isolating the less experienced Go Shiozaki. Shiozaki had moments where he felt like he might even win the match solo! But a spear and then an RKO put Shiozaki down. Nothing more to say, SkirMish continues to hold a title despite Kenso's screwup earlier. IWGP United States: Kurt Angle (c) def. WALTER Kurt Angle's continuous US title reign rages on, as he now has accepted open challenges from anywhere on planet Earth (just in case Aliens show up) and unluckily for Angle he had to contend with the bruiser WALTER (who isn't quite the Ring General, as he is only 22! But 80 pop already!) and while WALTER absolutely caved Angle's chest in, the technical prowess of the "Greatest United States Champion Ever" has once again done it. IWGP Intercontinental: Kensuke Sasaki (c) def. Samoa Joe (100 rated match!) Samoa Joe's popularity, alongside KENTA as "Two Calamities as One" has drastically skyrocketed both men. Samoa Joe, no stranger to winning the IC title, as he has done it before, takes on a man he has beaten before. But Sasaki wasn't the leader of Sekigun. Now, with Hashimoto retired, he takes the mantle as the 3rd leader of Sekigun. He has vowed to remain as stoic as ever, and despite Joe having the upperhand throughout the slugfest, Sasaki would not yield and the 43 year old looked 13 years younger. IWGP Heavyweight: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (c) def. Katsuyori Shibata A month ago this would have been an inter-faction fight, but with The Rock leaving SkirMish claiming it was holding him back, perhaps those venomous words hold some weight. The Rock has bested now both of Meiyu Tag, and he continues his legacy. After the match, another former SkirMish member flanked by Paul Heyman - Brock Lesnar - shows up, absolutely obliterating both Shibata and The Rock before finally leaving. Lesnar was missing after The Rock attacked him post-match last month, but now he is back with his manager. What will Lesnar do? In NJPW he hasn't quite earned a title shot yet, but we will see what the future hold for the Beast Incarnate!

Oh no problem at all, I always am honored when someone takes a specific interest in my save. I don't expect anyone to even read what I write, so I always appreciate it. The BOSJ 2010 / Dontaku are concluded. Here are the major matches for both. I should note that Dontaku was very heavy on the angles, I won't separate them from the matches, they'll just be in the descriptions. I say "heavy" btw but I mostly mean heavy for NJPW. BOSJ 20 Finals: Naruki Doi def. BxB Hulk An excellent (99) match between friends and rivals that remained friendly throughout the match. Naruki Doi was pressured heavily and played the underdog in peril extremely well. He will now take on Prince Devitt at Dontaku! Speaking of Devitt.... IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: Tetsuya Naito & Harashima def. HitMarker (Devitt/Jayson Paul) The streak of losses continues. Devitt and Jayson Paul were run so ragged this tournament, it is hardly an upset here. The bigger surprise is Harashima's debut, returning to NJPW after 6 years. Harashima has had great success in AAA since then, but has finally returned to Japan and what a statement to make. Naito's first title as well, after an excellent tournament showing. Special Singles Match: KUSHIDA def. Jushin "Thunder" Liger A shocking result, Liger isn't exactly known as difficult to work with, and loves putting over younger guys. Kushida got a massive win and is full steam ahead on starting his career in NJPW right. Prowrestling Dontaku 2010 NEVER Openweight: KENSO (FKA Kenzo Suzuki) def. Rob Eckos Kenso's new look and name change might be what he needs to get out of being the failed Ace. A victory against foreigner Rob Eckos, who came alongside Bobby Lashley (who faced Angle) is a step in the right direction. The big issue however, is Tomohiro Ishii has issued a challenge for the title after the match. Ishii is no stranger to winning the NEVER titles, and is one of the hardest hitting fighters in NJPW today. NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag: CHAOS (Minoru Tanaka, Ishii, & Gedo) (c) def. Great Bash Heel (Tenzan, Yano, Makabe) GBH has had zero momentum since Nakamura took some of their members and split. Something needs to be done soon, with Otani losing the Junior Heavyweight title two months back, GBH might be the weakest faction in NJPW currently. This showing just proves Minoru Tanaka belongs in the main event scene, as he has had a massive glow up since leaving DDT. IWGP Joshi: Gail Kim def. Misae Genki (c) Misae Genki's title reign, was truthfully a "thank you" to her. She was always excellent. Gail Kim however, is the future of an extremely weak division (among a few other stand-outs) and with Kudo, Nakano, Kimura, etc all nearing or over 40... it's time for new blood. My Joshi division is unintentionally just like NJPW's in real life. So poorly booked. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team: GoACE! (Tanahashi & Go Shiozaki) (c) def. RED (Yuji Hino/Shuji Kondo) A massive opportunity for the fledging team of RED. Perhaps greater though is the post match intrigue being built up, as RED showed some heelish tendencies. Tanahashi thwarted it but Marufuji showed up to aid RED in calling Tanahashi out. Nothing violent, but Marufuji has been shown to be teaming with them more often than Sekigun members on tours. IWGP United States Heavyweight: Kurt Angle (c) def. Bobby Lashley Kurt Angle's return to NJPW has been dominant. A stranglehold on the title and the division has "forced" Angle to call out ANYONE whose actually living in America to come and dethrone the greatest USA champion of all time. Bobby Lashley answered the call, and the dream match was underway. Lashley showed great promise, perhaps even earned himself more appearances in Japan, but Angle's veteran IQ allowed him to win the match. Notable here, this is the first title match since returning that Angle did NOT win via submission. IWGP Intercontinental: Kensuke Sasaki (c) def. Minoru Suzuki Kensuke Sasaki has always managed to find himself in the greatest rivalries. His feuds with Kenta Kobashi, Shinya Hashimoto and now Minoru Suzuki showcase and justify why he has achieved so much. Both in their 40s, Sasaki and Suzuki practically being the last remnants of the NJPW of old, slug it out in spectacular fashion. This will very likely not be the last time we see these two square off. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Naruki Doi def. Prince Devitt (c) 2 months ago, Prince Devitt was on top of the world. A rare double champion in NJPW, rarer still as a junior. An abysmal showing in BOSJ, and losing both his titles in two days? Devitt's mental must be shredded to pieces. Jayson Paul was there to console him after the match, but something about that loss angered Devitt more than pushed him to sorrow... (4-4-4 lyfe) I should mention that Devitt has been a white meat babyface so far in NJPW. IWGP Heavyweight: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (c) DREW vs. Brock Lesnar (60 minute time limit) A rarity two-fold. This is the first ever Dontaku main evented by two non-Japanese wrestlers. Rarer still, a draw. Both men belong to Chono's SkirMish faction, and the rule is always they can wrestle each other for the titles but they MUST fight fair. More importantly, must pose/shake hands, etc after the match. There was no such respect here. The Rock constantly used underhanded tactics just to survive the onslaught of Lesnar, even resorting to knocking the referee out. Lesnar was unable to put the Rock away, and at the end of it all, Chono still wanted that hard fought handshake. Neither man budged, and The Rock hits the Rock Bottom on Lesnar to close the show, leaving SkirMish members baffled.

Title: The Fight for The New Japan Cup Synopsis: Ten matches for the prestigious New Japan Cup trophy that has shaped careers since the year 2000, take a peak back at the very first New Japan Cup finals, or relive Hirooki Goto's triumphant recent victory! 1. 2000: Jun Akiyama vs. Kazuo Yamazaki (Winner: Akiyama) Two men shock Japan, as both struggled to break out and become something more. Jun Akiyama fighting to prove he is more than just the dark horse of the Holy Demon Army. Yamazaki battles to prove he isn't just Dan Severn's tag team partner. This match is special as it is also for the inaugural Intercontinental Championship! 2. 2001: Yuji Nagata vs. Kurt Angle (Winner: Angle) Kurt Angle's meteoric rise to the top of the card practically began in the New Japan Cup! A rematch from the G1 Climax a year before, Yuji Nagata attempts to avenge his defeat. While neither man had a G1 campaign worth talking about, none of that matters now as both men fight to cement themselves at the top of the card. 3. 2002: Nobuhiko Takada vs. Chris Benoit (Winner: Takada) Nobuhiko Takada is definitely one of the biggest what-if's in New Japan, choosing to remain loyal to his own promotion UWFI until the very end, Takada never had time to prioritize his times with New Japan. However, in 2002, Takada proved he was an elite athlete, and could easily be the man in NJPW. His opponent? An openweight competitor who was on an absolute hot streak. 4. 2003: Dan Severn vs. Shinya Hashimoto (Winner: Shinya Hashimoto) The year 2003 might have been Severn's biggest year of his career. But before all that glory, he must face the Ace of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Shinya Hashimoto. 3 years after the New Japan Cup's creation, seeing Hashimoto in the finals felt right, it would be up to Severn to make a name for himself. (Fun fact: Hashimoto is the only one to win the title after winning the New Japan Cup! A bonus fun fact, Dan Severn's career would skyrocket after shockingly defeating Hashimoto at Dontaku of this year for the title.) 5. 2004: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Minoru Suzuki (Winner: Kawada) 2003 made the New Japan Cup must watch, it was apparent now that every fighter would do all they can to achieve glory, and with Hashimoto being the first to convert his tournament win to an IWGP Heavyweight title reign, the competition became somehow even more stacked. Minoru Suzuki, forming Suzuki-gun and becoming a top heel, takes on one of baddest men in the world in Kawada. Suzuki's technical prowess proved to be a lot, but his pride would be the deciding factor as Kawada simply batters through. 6. 2005: Naomichi Marufuji vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (Winner: Marufuji) A flashback almost to 2000, as two huge underdogs overcome all the odds imaginable and end in the biggest spot of their careers. Sekimoto's fighting spirit vs Marufuji's technical flashier offense. A contrast of styles that saw them do all they can to make a lasting impression. 7. 2006: Kenta Kobashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura (Winner: Nakamura) Shinsuke Nakamura was dubbed a super rookie, and had already captured the IWGP Heavyweight title. Meanwhile, Kobashi was an established megastar on the level of Shinya Hashimoto. This was a classic that saw Kobashi hammer and slam Nakamura. Nakamura's resilience and babyface fire, something he had yet to show to the crowd, powered him through, and allowed Nakamura to do the unthinkable: submit the legendary Kobashi. 8. 2007: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kensuke Sasaki (Winner: Suzuki) Minoru Suzuki was the first man to reach the finals twice. And this time, with more experience, he looked unbeatable. Mixing his submission-based offense with now a heavy striking skillset, this was not the same Minoru Suzuki from 2004. Meanwhile, while Hashimoto's and Sasaki's rivalry was always raging, the two remained friendly throughout their careers. This was Sasaki's valiant attempt to do what Hashimoto had already done. Both men had so much to lose, and so much to gain. 9. 2008: Hirooki Goto vs. Go Shiozaki (Winner: Hirooki Goto) Hirooki Goto made an instant impact returning from excursion. In fact, Goto had just returned from excursion the very same month he won the New Japan Cup! Goto was against a man who had a very similar career however, as Shiozaki just returned not 2 months prior. The two battled as hungry lions, cubs no more. The beginning of the new era of New Japan takes center stage in this match! 10. 2009: Minoru Tanaka vs. Kensuke Sasaki (Winner: Minoru Tanka) Kensuke Sasaki finds himself in the same exact situation as Minoru Suzuki just 2 years back. His opponent is Minoru Tanaka, a man who at times looks like he could be World Champion at any moment, with his perfectly balanced offensive flurries and high flying 450s. Sasaki, now in his older years, has very chances left to prove he can still be an elite athlete, Tanaka in his prime. Bonus: 2010: Hirooki Goto vs. KENTA (Winner: Goto) Hirooki Goto becomes the 1st ever to win the New Japan Cup multiple times. While this established Goto as an elite singles competitor, this match was pivotal for KENTA as, a heel for all of his career, KENTA rallied the crowd behind him and had a star-making performance (he shot up from 82 to 86 popularity during this tournament so that was cool!) By all accounts this is considered one of the best matches in New Japan, not just the New Japan Cup, and it is absolutely "can't miss" (Only 100 rated match in the New Japan Cup)

I'm not sure how much I speak for, obviously. But the only reason I haven't downloaded every single thing you've posted this year is because I've been locked into a NJPW save. When it comes time to go back to the Cverse you better believe I'm about to spend about the entire day downloading every singular thing you've done since.

He sure is! Just saw this! Thanks I am glad you enjoy it. Matt Sydal is currently thriving in CHIKARA, he has won pretty much everything there is to win. Alexy Shelley is also a distinguished member of CHIKARA, even winning the tag team titles with.... Frankie Kazarian of course. Chris Sabin is in my developmental 5SW, in the upper midcard and has held the 5SW Tap Out title one time. He won the OMEGA Heavyweight title once too, which means very little I admit. Paul London is actually with the WWF, and is now "Middleweight." He hasn't done too much in WWE yet, but he did just join them. The Brian Kendrick is in ROH, who grew so freaking quick it is insane. I do own a few developmental (Chikara, CMLL too, though I rarely permanently take luchadors) because I hate to see them die so soon, but ROH is actually not one of them, and I always let them poach my developmental workers unless it's like SANADA, or Naito, or something like that. Amazing Red is injured with a torn rotator cuff and is wrestling (or not) with XPW, right now. Adam Cole is with IWA-MS, on a written contract. I also do not own them. Ricochet is in CMLL. He isn't American, but PAC is with ASWUK. Bryan Danielson and CM Punk are in 5SW, Kenny Omega is in CMLL as well. Truthfully I planned on calling Omega up next year. CM Punk, I won't ever really call up... I'm not a huge fan but he is super over and does well enough. Surprisingly he has yet to be poached. Bryan Danielson also remains in 5SW, though he was in RoH for a bit. He did compete in the 2003 and 2004 BOSJ actually. ACH is in MLW. I'm missing obviously a few that aren't springing to mind, but yeah. A lot of the times I do bring in a few juniors when I can. Tommy End, Sean Maluta, and Matt Cross (Son of Havok) are just some examples.

NJPW May 1992-2010. I have been very busy with life among other things and finally got to play some. The last PPV was "Showdown in America" and no real titles changed place, except Minoru Suzuki was defeated by Kensuke Sasaki for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, making Sasaki the 2nd ever to become a Triple Crown Holder (Tag, Heavyweight, IC, needs US for the Grand Slam) the first? Was of course Minoru Suzuki! (Tag, Heavyweight, IC, same order.) Moving on, this years BOSJ is finally here and it looks to cause quite a shake up! A lot of brand new faces as many legendary Junior Heavyweight competitors rise up in age, younger, hungrier fighters rise up in the ranks! Let's talk about them! A Block: IWGP Junior Heavyweight & Junior Tag Team Champion: Prince Devitt - Devitt has, as you can see, been on a rampage as of 2010, he shocked everyone ending Otani's run short and managed to retain against "The Rock God" Ricky Gibson at Showdown in America. Meanwhile he has a tag team defense scheduled next week against The Jung Dragons. A busy two months might make Devitt a lot more vulnerable than he should be, considering his momentum! But time will tell! Jushin "Thunder" Liger: A man who needs very little introduction or explanation, a 10-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion, Liger is still going strong at 45! (Seriously, no time decline. God bless.) Despite his age, and his innovative style, the legendary Liger still persists and hasn't shown signs of slowing down quite yet. This block however is full of younger and maybe hungrier guys, Liger will never be out of his element, but Liger's last BOSJ win was in 2004, and perhaps with an even newer cast of fighters, Liger will continue his trend of just falling short. Ultimo Dragon: If Liger is the 1A of the JHW division.. Ultimo Dragon is also the 1A of the JHW division. Rarely defeated in singles matches, and a former 5x Junior Heavyweight champion... Ultimo Dragon has also recently won the BOSJ, back in 2008. Two years later, Ultimo Dragon has the honor to become the first ever 4x BOSJ winner (as well as Liger.) Despite all of his upsides, Ultimo Dragon still must conquer his archrival in Jushin Liger, a match that hasn't taken place in BOSJ in 5 years! The stakes are higher, and Ultimo and Liger both share very similar upsides and downsides in this young BOSJ block. MAZADA: The punk MAZADA has been around for quite a while in NJPW (1999) and has a resume that would impress anyone, especially considering where and when he rose up the ranks. He fought against the greatest of all time, and still is a 4x Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champion with fellow Suzuki-gun stablemate Hooligan, and is a 1x Junior Heavyweight champion. No slouch, his slow and thorough offense makes him extremely difficult to plan for, and he has beaten everyone there is to beat at least once. His strength may just be his weakness, as many younger talents take the field, perhaps MAZADA isn't quite the difficult match up as he was for the high fliers in Liger, and Hayabusa, but perhaps the more well rounded stars of tomorrow will be able to adapt. Naruki Doi: Though Naruki Doi has competed before in the BOSJ, he was under the tutelage of Yuji Nagata and a member of Blue Justice Army. He had very little singles success before 2009. His 2008 BOSJ was woeful, ending at just 6 points. After YAMATO won the Junior Heavyweight title and allying himself with CIMA, Naruki Doi, and BxB Hulk to form a new generation unnamed stable (YAMATO is competing in MMA right now, so) Naruki Doi's confidence significantly increased, and his 2009 BOSJ campaign ended just short of the finals with 12 points! Doubling his score. Mentally, Doi has all the momentum, but he has so much to lose. Confidence can only take you so far if you cannot achieve results, anything short of winning BOSJ might just be ego death for Doi. Gedo: The last of the veterans in the A Block, Gedo recently has joined Chaos alongside Jado. No stranger to the BOSJ, Gedo has always done mediocre in the tournament, but he also prioritized his tag team partner over his singles success. Jado, no longer a full-time wrestler, and nearing retirement, Gedo has announced he will go all out for this tournament. Though Gedo has always been talented, his rudo antics have made it difficult to see just how good he is. If he plays this tournament straight, maybe we'll see the most shocking outcome as Gedo raises the BOSJ trophy high. With Jado recently retiring, however; there is always the thought when will Gedo follow suit? Tetsuya Naito: The Stardust Genius, Tetsuya Naito is special in that he had to earn his spot in the BOSJ. Naito challenged Mochizuki to a match after suffering a loss to the man a few weeks back. Naito wanted Mochizuki to put his BOSJ spot on the line, in exchange if Mochizuki won, Naito would return to excursion for another year. The match was intense and arguably Naito's best match since returning. He withstood and survived Mochizuki. The major issue for Naito is he has had no time to prepare for the onslaught of this tournament, as his entire mental was on not shamed and sent on excursion. The stakes are high for the Stardust Genius, but perhaps he can continue his ascent to the top of the totem pole and achieve his destiny. Hayato Jr. Fujita: Perhaps the most surprising entrant, is the inclusion of Hayato Jr. Fujita. Originally signed to NJPW and sent to TNA in 2006, UWFI would come knocking taking huge interest in Fujita Jr. Without any bad blood, Fujita would go over to UWFI and last until the company would close its door in February 2010. Fujita Jr, is similar to Naito, in that he has a lot to prove here. Him leaving NJPW could have (and still might) been a huge gamble for his career. Will he have a good showing? For Fujita, at 23, it isn't so much about winning, it's more about hanging with some of the best veterans and brightest newcomers in a packed A Block. Kaz Hayashi (5SW rep): Kaz Hayashi is a journeymen, one who has tasted a myriad of success in NJPW's major sister company 5SW. Winning both the 5SW Tap Out title once, and winning the 5SW Tag Team titles with James Gibson as the Jung Dragons a record 4 times. Kaz Hayashi has one advantage over a lot of these competitors. He wrestles guys frequently above his weight bracket, as 5SW does not limit or force weight splits. Indeed, Kaz Hayashi is a "representative" and while only one representative has ever won a BOSJ (Atlantis back in 2001, repping CMLL) Hayashi poses a threat to any and all opponents in his bracket. And with Devitt in this block, Hayashi is definitely looking to win that, as it'll potentially allow him both a singles and a tag title shot with James Gibson. Drago (CMLL): The CMLL rep this year was meant to be Aero Star, but due to contract obligations, Aero Star could not make it. Drago stepped in. Drago should now have a chip on his shoulder. Aero Star and Drago are rivals in CMLL, and to be chosen as a back up to his rival must provoke the ire of the masked luchador. Many are unaware of Drago's talents in NJPW, and this could very well be his advantage, but it isn't unique to just him, as many representatives have this one. Drago is more of a technical luchador than a higher flier though, and as previously mentioned with MAZADA that could very well make Drago a dangerous opponents. The pressure is high on Drago to prove he could do what Aero Star could have done, but maybe a little better. B Block: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion: Jayson Paul: Jayson Paul has had huge success in NJPW alongside Prince Devitt. Many were fooled at first when Paul entered the BOSJ in 2008. He racked up 12 points. The next year? Perhaps a similar mistake, that Devitt carried this man. 10 points. Only a small difference. Now? Jayson Paul should not be underestimated, as this is his second time entering the BOSJ as champion. Perhaps Jayson has been "figured out" by now, especially considering B Block, while still boasting newer talent, has a lot of familiar foes that he will have to overcome to shut the haters up about Devitt being the "A" in their tag team. Hayabusa: A man who needs no real introduction. The legendary Firebird, Hayabusa is one of the best high fliers of all time, innovating the legendary Firebird Splash. Hayabusa is a 2x BOSJ winner, his latest being in 2007, a 4x Junior Heavyweight champion, and a 2x Junior Heavyweight Tag Team champion. Hayabusa, at 41 years old, is still showcasing his flying abilities, while Liger and Ultimo are more well-rounded, of the 3, Hayabusa remains true to his roots. This could prove to be a blessing or a curse, as Hayabusa looks toward his 3rd BOSJ win, tying his rivals in Liger and Ultimo. Shinjiro Otani: A month ago, Otani would be in the A Block, at the very top, as champion. Devitt made sure that was not to be, and now Otani is in the B Block. Though just being in the BOSJ is an honor, Otani can't help but feel bitter about the whole thing. Otani was excluded from YAMATO's great speech about how he will defeat the greatest competitors in the world, and that lit Otani on fire. He would shut YAMATO up, and win the title, as Otani would make his own proclamation: To defeat any and all "young guns" who think they're ready. Both men failed, and now with YAMATO unable to compete this year due to MMA obligations, it is on Otani solely to prove that Devitt winning was a fluke. The pressure is on. Great Sasuke: Perhaps the one man going in with absolutely nothing to lose. Sasuke had announced this year was his last, and thus this BOSJ would be his last. Still an elite competitor, and a huge threat to any, there is but one thing no man can beat, and that is time. Sasuke looks to cap his career off with a bang however. Rey Misterio Jr.: An excellent Luchador and one of the best. Rey Misterio Jr. has had iconic rivalries with Owen Hart, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Jushin Thunder Liger. With Liger in A Block, and Rey outlasting the other three men, Rey for the first time in a long time finds himself without a purpose. Still, winning BOSJ is the perfect solution, and Misterio finally can wrestle focused and without his rivals harrying his every move. SUGI: Since his arrival, it has been clear SUGI is one of the greatest young high fliers NJPW has seen in quite some time. SUGI has all the tools to be a major star. During his tenure with the short lived Blue Justice Army, alongside Naruki Doi and Yoshi-Tatsu, the three captured Six Man gold together, but since then nothing really noteworthy. This was 4 years ago. SUGI can only be a prospect for so long until many start to wonder what went wrong, and with SUGI that time is rapidly approaching. This is magnified more when wrestlers like YAMATO can just appear out of thin air and become sensations and champions. BxB Hulk: BxB Hulk is a force, wrestling in CMLL and having great success, BxB Hulk returned last year and competed in BOSJ. He finished extremely strong at 12 points but failed to make it to the finals. BxB Hulk was so close to being YAMATO last year it must make him mad. Despite this, BxB Hulk has remained steadfast and friendly, and looks forward to showcasing why he is going to be the future of the Junior Heavyweight division. KUSHIDA: Former TNA X-Division and World Heavyweight Champion, KUSHIDA was a force in Total Nonstop Action, KUSHIDA would return to NJPW at the very end of 2009, and even compete at Wrestle Kingdom 17 for the Never Openweight Six Man Titles. Though he did come up short, KUSHIDA was arguably the star of the match, and since then he has been chomping at the bit to prove his worth, and he does indeed have quite a lot to prove. Given his credentials, it isn't a stretch to say KUSHIDA will likely be entering this tournament already with a lot of eyes on him. This does mean many would likely have already studied him, so perhaps being the loudest one in the room could be a detriment. CIMA: Cima and Hayato Jr. Fujita have a very similar path, one left for UWFI, the other for PWFG. With both men returning you would hope (for their sake) that both men end up in the finals to prove to NJPW that they needed this "extended excursion." CIMA is closely allied with YAMATO, BxB Hulk, and Naruki Doi, and Fujita has been without an ally since he returned earlier this year. CIMA has been closely training with 3 other great Juniors. This might just give him an edge to succeed. Ricky Gibson (5SW): "The Rock God" Ricky Gibson has had a fantastic few years outside of NJPW and that alone deserves praise. At Just 23 years old, Gibson has been lighting every single arena he is in on fire, and his earlier match against Devitt last month for the title was as close to perfect in a performance you can ask for without announcing a title change. Gibson might be a representative, but unlike Drago, NJPW's fanbase is very fond of The Rock God, and Gibson has a very real chance of igniting the bracket and winning the whole damn thing. Closing: I apologize for the wordy post, I haven't posted in a while and wanted to offer something substantial.