Peria

NJPW 1992-2010, March, Post-Sakura Genesis. The New Japan Cup took place just a day before Sakura Genesis, and the winner, and the first ever man to win it twice, is.... Hirooki Goto! In a 100 rated match with KENTA! The best final in the New Japan Cup's history! The rest of the card was merely set up matches and aren't TRULY worth going over since I can just cover Sakura Genesis. So... let's do that! Like always, I'll cover just the major matches/feuds/etc. NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag: CHAOS (Minoru Tanaka, Ishii, Gedo) (c) def. The Headshrinkers (Alofa, Afa Jr., Yokozuna) The rivalry between these two factions continues, in fact CHAOS finds itself flanked by both Headshrinkers and Chono's nefarious SkirMish faction, but the show began with a victory at retaining against The Headshrinkers, and the rivalry between these two teams can finally rest. NEVER Openweight: Kevin Thorne (c) def. Shuji Ishikawa Shuji Ishikawa is a talented guy who has toiled with Zero-1 for a LONG time. I hired him because Shuji actually kind of rules in the real world. While he is still a relative newcomer he has shot up in popularity and earned a shot to dethrone Kevin Thorne, who I admittedly have a soft spot for. Thorne's the most recent addition to CHAOS, and the night continues to prove that CHAOS could be the most dominant stable in NJPW today. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: The HitMarker (Devitt/JTG) (c) def. Los Traumas La Sombra and Los Trauma's were a menace in NJPW in March, mainly feuding with Headshrinkers, and Suzuki-gun. But of course Los Traumas' had an agenda. They wanted their titles back. HitMarker gladly obliged, despite being relatively safe from the trio. This match came to fruition at Sakura Genesis and HitMarker were the better team. Simple story. Still rebuilding this division so. Special Singles Match: Jushin "Thunder" Liger def. Koji Kanemoto, Koji Kanemoto retires from NJPW. It is always tragic when a wrestler whom I actually loved booking, Kanemoto had won everything there was to win in NJPW, and he retires facing down his biggest rival. I actually don't retire guys because they hit time decline right away, of course I do start shuffling them down the card, but 9/10 times.. it's because they can't work regular shows and only events, which are tours and PPVs. Tours are fine, but I do both a tour and a weekly show. So.. I just "retire" them from NJPW in general. IWGP United States Title: Kurt Angle (c) def. Paul Wight Since returning to New Japan, Kurt Angle has submitted everyone he has faced in singles competition. Enter "The Giant" Paul Wight, who has been sporadically appearing for NJPW for a decade now. A man slowly rising in popularity, The Giant challenged Kurt Angle claiming there was no feasible way Kurt could submit him. Unfortunately for The Giant, Kurt Angle is a freak athlete who won Gold at the Olympics with a broken freakin' neck, and did just that. Who can stop Kurt Angle? IWGP Tag Team: GoAce (Hiroshi Tanahashi& Go Shiozaki) (c) def. Wild Justice A story of realization, as both members of Wild Justice are simply too far into decline to be relevant. Nagata has been steadily helping younger guys like Naruki Doi, Yoshi-Tatsu, and... well a few others that have failed to make an impact tbh, reach greater heights. Nakanishi was never a good worker in this save (and kind of in real life...) and without Nagata... well, yeah. Regardless GoAce are responsible for ending MSC (Lesnar/Benjamin's) record setting tag team title reign, the team managed to defend the title 8x and held it for over a year! IWGP Intercontinental: Umaga (c) def. La Sombra I should also mention, as NJPW likes to co-host shows with CMLL, you can consider this to be part of that as well. CMLL challenged some NJPW guys, and they've been feuding on and off throughout the month of March. La Sombra actually was feuding with Suzuki-gun, and beat Takashi Sugiura, the man who lost to Umaga a month prior. La Sombra is not done with NJPW as he faces Suzuki next! Umaga on the other hand, calls out Kensuke Sasaki, as Sasaki eliminated him from the NJ Cup. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Shinjiro Otani (c) def. Mistico Mistico is one of the best talents in CMLL, and he challenged Shinjiro Otani as an outsider from La Sombra's "invasion" to CMLL. He didn't wish to be problematic, just laid out a simple challenge. Shinjiro Otani accepted. Since YAMATO's scathing promo about Otani being a "guy on the right side of history" Otani has been reverting back to a more babyface role, and has been accepting all comers for his title. A hunger to prove himself against the very best CMLL has to offer would surely prove he is not just some guy whose gotten by on luck. Otani defeated Mistico and shook his hand afterward. IWGP Heavyweight: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) A title bout that Nakamura had to lose. You see, Tanahashi in his 2nd reign, which occurred in 2007, fell to his own hubris. He challenged two men in a rare triple threat match. This allowed Yuji Nagata to etch his name in the history books. Nakamura, while he did lose in a singles match, fell to his own hubris in his second title reign. Since he defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, he vowed that he was going to have a reign even longer, even more dominant than Tanahashi had. Tanahashi broke records. Nakamura, forming Chaos, and becoming unstoppable had allowed the Rock to fake out Nakamura. The Rock vowed to not get any outside help IF Nakamura did the same. Nakamura must have forgotten that CHAOS was instrumental in Nakamura winning. The Rock never lied, and if this was even 2 years ago, before CHAOS formed, Nakamura perhaps would have defeated The Rock. Sadly, Nakamura forgot how to get it done by himself. Sure CHAOS wasn't running interferences in every match, they were still in his corner, helping him up to beat the 20 counts, giving him water, and even words of motivation. Here though, at Sakura Genesis 2010, Nakamura was all alone. Similar to how he was when Tanahashi soared to roaring heights while he languished in the midcard after falling so hard from his first IWGP title reign. There was nobody but The Rock, there to pick apart Nakamura and finally become IWGP Heavyweight champion.

Out of curiosity, and this is more of a mod question in general than yours specific, could I just download the new databases and move all workers over from the new one to my old one and generally get most the updates/missing works you've added since I've downloaded your '92 mod.. say, years ago?

1992-2010 NJPW, Wrestle Kingdom 17! I will skip over the pre-show matches, as none of them have any significance or any relevance to future plans, most just involved young lions and guys with nothing going into WK. Happens. New Japan RAMBO (10 man battle royale) - Yoshi-Tatsu eliminated Tetsuya Naito & Go Shiozaki (both finalists) to win the New Japan RAMBO, Dave Finlay eliminated the most. Yoshi-Tatsu will get a title shot at the NEVER Openweight title. Naito is still a junior and very much irrelevant here in case anyone is curious but is on the NBT list! Go... is for now, stuck at 80 popularity. Hoping that changes. NEVER Openweight Trios: The New Headshrinkers (Alofa, Afa Jr, Yokozuna) (c) def. Masato Yakushiji, Takao Omori, KUSHIDA - It's a filler match, and one that will always be filler, until I guess I decide for it to not be filler, what more to say? Masato Yaksuhiji is likely getting released/sent back to developmental, Takao Omori is aging, but I want to give him some sort of run, and KUSHIDA is actually a "Next Big Thing" so, all is working accordingly. Special Singles: KENTA def. Kenta Kobashi - Kenta Kobashi's final singles match was vs. KENTA, rightfully so. There isn't much else to the story. After the match Kobashi disbanded the Holy Demon Army, the longest running stable in NJPW (1998!) and wished Akiyama and Ultimo Dragon good luck. Kobashi will have his final NJPW match at Orange Crush. NEVER Openweight: Kevin Thorne def. Randy Orton (c) - Randy has desperately eclipsed this title, he is now at 89 popularity and Thorne just joined CHAOS and needs momentum, easy enough. simple enough story, nothing fancy on the undercard okay? IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: The Hitmarker (Devitt / JTG) def. OverCraze (MAZADA & Hooligan) (c) - The new team of Hitmarker were an overnight success, snatching the titles quickly in early 2009 against OverCraze, unfortunately, in a three way tag match also involving Gedo & Jado, OverCraze would recapture the titles all the way back at Dontaku of 2009. A half a year later, the two teams finally meet after Hitmarker managed to defeat Gedo & Jado at Power Struggle to earn their rematch (can you tell I need to rebuild the Jr tag division just based on this alone?) regardless, big plans for Devitt obviously, and he is at a decent spot at 86 popularity cap for now. IWGP Intercontinental: Umaga (c) def. Osamu Nishmura - A rematch that Nishmura fumbled at Power Struggle in November. A slight upset, as Nishmura was finally hitting his stride. Umaga threw him off his gameplan and brutalized him and continued to do so at Wrestle Kingdom. Osamu continues to age, and this setback perhaps calls for a more drastic change in scenery... IWGP United States Heavyweight: Kurt Angle def. John Cena (c) - This one is also simple, but intentionally so. Cena is still his jerkwad heel self, and Angle is Mr. America basically. Angle had been in WCW for the past 6 years and finally returned to reclaim the title he won by vacated due to leaving for WCW in the first place. This starts Cena's face turn slowly, and will give Angle a good "retirement" run (he isn't in decline, but I wanted to give him the title before he was, as he is 41) Cena would defeat The Rock actually to win this title, and before that the Rock defeated Steve Austin, the title has been basically a #1 title all throughout 2009. IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team: Minnesota Stretching Crew (c) def. TenKoji - I had to pivot and give TenKoji the Tag League win after Rhino unfortunately tore his achilles. The result is still the same, though. I am also all for making TenKoji the GOAT tag team in NJPW too, since only really Kojima could reasonably win the Heavyweight title. IWGP World Joshi - Misae Genki def. Megumi Kudo (c) - Both older women, in a world where talented women are extremely rare. Not even saying that to raise eyebrows, it's just the hand the game is dealing me, sadly. Though I guess you could argue it is semi realistic. Genki will get a short reign after Kudo held the title for her 3rd time for the entire year. JWP is actually my developmental and that is where Joshi really takes place, this is for all intents and purposes very much like the real life counterpart. Loser Leaves NJPW: The Rock def. Steve Austin - Austin is declining and actually signed with WWE, so... perfect time to give these guys their final match. It's the Rock vs Stone Cold, what more do you want here? Damn it! IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Shinjiro Otani def. YAMATO (c) - YAMATO represents the new blood in NJPW's junior division alongside Naruki Doi, CIMA, BxB Hulk, and... well basically Dragon Gate, I guess. YAMATO had an absolutely terrible start to 2009's BOSJ tournament, going 0-5. His first win? Against the legendary Ultimo Dragon, suddenly YAMATO snapped and won his last 4, and earned himself a title shot against Hayabusa, who he defeated, and since then YAMATO looked unbeatable challenging every JHW legend in NJPW, including Liger. He omitted the 3x JHW Champ and 2003 BOSJ Winner Otani though, as he didn't consider Otani a legend but more of a "right time, right place" talent. This would be the ever growing arrogant YAMATO's downfall, as Otani would defeat him here. YAMATO will be doing an MMA match after this where he is 2-1 actually. Hashimoto's Final Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Shinya Hashimoto - Shinya Hashimoto is a legendary talent, and the last of three musketeers. He had a remarkable promo at the end of Wrestle Kingdom 13, four years ago, declaring the "old guard" isn't going anywhere, this promo, that embodied the stoic NJPW fighting spirit would perhaps be a curse placed onto the very old guard he was fighting for. That same year, Chono announced his retirement. The year after that, Kobashi would lose what would end up being his final chance at the Heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom 14 to Tanahashi. At WK 15, Hashimoto would be Mutoh's final singles match. WK 16... both Kobashi and Hashimoto are in their final matches. This marks Tanahashi's first time since WK 13, as well, where he is not in the main event! IWGP Heavyweight Title: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Naomichi Marufuji - Perhaps a story re-told, this time with Nakamura being the one to stand tall, as last year, he too, challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight title against his rival Tanahashi at WK and lost. Marufuji had done the same, mirrored Nakamura, winning the G1 and earning his spot, clamoring that now with the old guard falling a new era has began, and it won't be dominated by just 3 people (Shibata, Nakamura, Tanahashi.) Perhaps a harrowing realization for Marufuji as he failed to make good on his promise. Unable to defeat the CHAOS leader Nakamura, who continues his dominance into the year 2010.

Are you saying... that we can start a CV77 and finish all the way to modern day Cverse saves with style thanks to your (and others ofc, but for CV77 specifically) renders? My goodness gracious I might just start a CV77 save for the first time.

1992-2009 NJPW Post G1 Climax. G1 Results: Naomichi Marufuji has done the unthinkable when he defeated Satoshi Kojima in the finals of the 19th G1 Climax Special. Marufuji is one of 11 men to achieve this feat. Kojima, although not the winner, has gained considerable popularity, especially considering the A Block had both Tanahashi and Nakamura in it, with Kojima beating both men. Before the finals as well, Kojima had a 30 minute time limit finish against Kensuke Sasaki, preventing Sasaki advancing. Marufuji now takes on the man Kojima had to beat to get to the finals, Shinsuke Nakamura, at Wrestle Kingdom. Unless, of course, Nakamura does not walk into WK as champion. IWGP Heavyweight: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated friend and rival Hiroshi Tanahashi at Dontaku, after Tanahashi had managed a record shattering title in both length and defenses (13, previous record 9) now with Tanahashi slowly but inevitably working his way to the front of the line, Nakamura has a slew of hungry younger guys, and of course, the old stalwarts who refuse to go down quietly. Marufuji is the final stop of the yearly campaign, but before that he has losses to avenge from the G1, Hirooki Goto, Satoshi Kojima, and Jun Akiyama, were his 3 losses, and of course Nakamura doesn't believe a 30 minute draw with Tanahashi is enough to give his newly dubbed "arch-rival" a title shot. IWGP Intercontinental: The story is as old as time, Osamu Nishmura, the current Intercontinental title holder, has been constantly compared to his mentor, the legendary Tatsumi Fujinami. A shadow that almost seems to swallow Nishmura whole at times, as he settles in a role of mediocrity, and even then mediocre to Fujinami is perhaps a world champion anywhere else. Thankfully, as Nishmura reaches a mature age, he has stopped letting the comparisons and the legacy weigh on his shoulders, and he has seen an influx of success and perhaps motivation. Obtaining ten points in the G1 and vowing to represent the IC title with honor, he has done just that. His next stop at Destruction however, is a man who beat him in the G1, and a man who is no stranger to Fujinami, Shinya Hashimoto. With Hashimoto aging, to see Nishmura still lose to him is perhaps a massive ego death to the champion, or it might just be another spark to drive him forward and perhaps put him in the World Heavyweight title contention for the first time in almost a decade. IWGP US Title: The US title scene has perhaps been the most explosive since its inception, the sheer amount of talent that have returned from overseas to challenge for this title have seen the prestige of the US title soar to heights unimagined. With Triple H's departure to the WWF, and Stone Cold's return, the US title has seen the Rattlesnake and The Rock duel for the belt for over a year, with John Cena sweeping in and stealing the title, the three are set for a date at Destruction in a rare NJPW 3 way match, but lately vignettes of a true American hero have been playing after Cena's matches, and many already know who is set to return. I just wanted to over my main heavyweight titles here, because otherwise I'd be writing a wall of text and those are so hard/boring to read. I will say, Shinya Hashimoto is still declining decently, but Kobashi completely fell apart. Kensuke Sasaki is the last of the era now. Suzuki/Tenzan/Kojima/Makabe are all doing fine and not declining. Nagata and Nakanishi are now declining as well though. Thankfully many new stars have stepped up and perhaps kept the save even more interesting than I thought it could be. Though I do get tempted to do a C-Verse97 save with how great the renders are.

Pitbull performs. What an insane logo... and these recent graphics/belts have been top tier.

NJPW 1992-2009. I didn't really post much throughout my saves 2008, was busy with travels among other things in life, but I'll happily recap as I kick off NJPW into the brand new year. I'll recap and go over the card best I can! The Main Event: First, the 2x Wrestler of the Year, and Ace of NJPW: Hiroshi Tanahashi amidst a legendary title reign as he takes on G1 Climax Winner Shinsuke Nakamura, who is in full swing to forming Chaos and becoming "The King of Strong Style" at Wrestle Kingdom 16. This rivalry has been friendly thus far, but both men have never faced off in a singles match before. Despite their constant praising of one another, this is match will be imperative for both men. If Tanahashi wins this match, he will have broken the record for most title defenses in a single reign, and will have defended his title since winning it all the way back at Destruction in 2007 10 times. The IC Title: Minoru Suzuki has held down the IC division. after he defeated Shawn Michaels in a shock at Dontaku 2008. Shawn Michaels had bested Shinsuke Nakamura, who was on a legendary reign himself defending the title a record 8 times, Shawn would have no such luck and since then Suzuki has defended the title against Daisuke Sekimoto, long-time rival Kensuke Sasaki, and KENTA, however losing the chance to go Tag League finals to the team of Samoa Joe & KENTA had left a bad taste in his mouth as he personally demanded he face Samoa Joe at Wrestle Kingdom. The US Title: I'll admit, I went a little crazy for this one. I blame WWE for never letting Hogan look bad (he won the Royal Rumble 10 times total so far!) as I re-signed a floundering Steve Austin and The Rock to allow them to finish their careers here, and have the rivalry they needed. Stone Cold defeated Minoru Tanaka all the way back at Dontaku, who actually shockingly defeated Triple H just 2 months earlier. Triple H was actually heading to WWE so... Tanaka right place right timed himself tbh. Regardless the two legends in The Rock and Stone Cold had a vicious 30 minute time limit draw at Power Struggle, and now Stone Cold is obsessed to defeat his biggest antagonist. A massive co-main event at WK, with the stakes just as high if not higher, as Stone Cold is 44, this could be his very last shot at keeping his glory. Tag Team Turmoil: Since returning from excursion at the start of 2008, Hirooki Goto has had no shortage of success. He would win the New Japan Cup on his very first shot, though he did fail to dethrone Tanahashi. He would join Chono's faction after his upsetting defeat and align closely with Katsuyori Shibata, where both men would go on to form Meiyu Tag. Goto's success would continue as the two would win the Tag League on their very first shot. The two men do not have an easy task though, as they both face down the last stalwarts of an old age, in Kensuke Sasaki and Shinya Hashimoto. With age slowing both down (actually just Hashimoto, Sasaki isn't in decline) the chance of an upset is very possible. It all harkens back to Hashimoto's bold proclamation just two years ago declaring that he will always remain at the top, and the old guard isn't so easily defeated. Time can be cruel. The Junior Heavyweights Don't Age: Ultimo Dragon is the current champion, and his opponent is one of his biggest rivals throughout the 90s, Hayabusa. Actually, Liger, Hayabusa, and Ultimo Dragon have been all on the same team and at odds many times throughout their career. Never have the three faced off in a triple threat though. Until... Wrestle Kingdom 16. All three men, legendary careers, one match. Will Liger achieve his 11th title? Will Ultimo Dragon, the most decorated champion ever, continue to prove his dominance? Or is Hayabusa, the ultimate underdog, going to light up the skies and shine brightest? Junior Tag Gets a New Ammo: The Bullet Club hasn't formed quite yet, but Prince Devitt and Jayson Paul (JTG) are poised to make a massive impact at Wrestle Kingdom as they take on MAZADA and Hooligan, a seasoned team known as OverCraze. The 3x JHW Tag Team champions both suffered losses way back at BOSJ to the new team during the tournament, and both want revenge, meanwhile Devitt and JTG have been hungry and both new additions to a very volatile NJPW roster, means there is a statement to be made. The NEVER Openweight/Trios Titles: Blue Justice Army (Yuji Nagata, Yoshi Tatsu, and Manabu Nakanishi) firmly control the Trios titles, but their opponents are their most dastardly rivals, whom they have been feuding with extensively the past two years, Masahiro Chono's SkirMish faction consisting of Suwama, Kenzo Suzuki, and Randy Orton all have seen each other in the ring several times. One last time, perhaps? Meanwhile, Jun Akiyama continues to hold the NEVER Openweight title, and had issued an open challenge to ANYONE. Who would have thought that Eddie Guerrero, would answer that call, and now Eddie vs Akiyama is set for WK 16. Goodbye Old Friends, Hello New Stories: With age lingering and the roster in a dramatic shift replacing workers has been hectic, especially finding a 1:1 replacement. Some... have been upgrades! I've talked about this almost every post, as to me, it is the most exciting part of the game when the game reaches a certain length. So whose stepping up? Minoru Tanaka and Marufuji have become main event guys, thankfully. I like them both and seeing them both reach high 80s is nice. I do have John Cena, who has also gained 88 popularity so far, but he is not quite ready. So for all intents and purposes, he isn't "main event" yet. Kevin Thorne is at 81 popularity and has room to grow, as well. Umaga has debuted and is firmly at 85. I've essentially succeeded in replacing most of my roster, but there are some guys harder to replace than others, Koji Kanemoto has hit decline, which is sad. Masakatsu Funaki as well. Yuji Nagata, Kenta Kobashi, and Mick Foley have hit time decline, as well as Shawn Michaels. The issue lies now in my tag division (always... it seems) for both Heavyweights and Junior Heavyweights, as I did lose Super Crazy to WWE, and Chavo Guerrero, two guys in my JHW tag division (Crazy was actually slated to win the JHW singles title too in 2009.) Nobody has stepped up to the main event scene of my Junior Heavyweight division, outside of Prince Devitt. We'll see. I'm in full "JHW repair mode" and will be attempting to patch the holes in my HW tag division, as I already have with Meiyu Tag. The Wrestle Kingdom 16 Card: IWGP Heavyweight: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) IWGP United States: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson vs. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin (c) IWGP Intercontinental Title: Samoa Joe vs. Minoru Suzuki (c) IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Hayabusa vs. Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Ultimo Dragon (c) IWGP World Tag Team: Meiyu Tag vs. Shinya Hashimoto & Kensuke Sasaki (c) IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: Hit Marker (Devitt/JTG) vs. OverCraze (c) NEVER Openweight Trios: SkirMish (Orton/Suwama/Kenzo Suzuki) vs. Blue Justice Army (c) (Nagata/Nakanishi/Yoshi-Tatsu) NEVER Openweight: Eddie Guerrero vs. Jun Akiyama (c) New Japan Rambo Special Singles Match: Shawn Michaels vs. Brock Lesnar Special Singles Match: Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji Retirement Match: Masakatsu Funaki (retiring) vs. Osamu Nishmura Retirement Match: Mick Foley (retiring) vs. John Cena Thank you for reading, I am happy to post these updates! This save is still so funnnn for me.

Sweet Jesus....

Excellent! Thanks so much!

Ah that is embarrassing, I genuinely didn't know how it works. It wasn't really a desperation to cheat though, more just misinformed rambling and my (albeit irrelevant) solutions to a non-issue. I apologize sincerely.

I got a challenge for you guys... 2008, Jayson Paul (JTG) and Prince Devitt have good chemistry as a tag team and both are pretty over. Need a good name, not picky about the theme. Just something that is a bit on the "cooler" side. Also, adding on: I need a KENTA / Samoa Joe tag team name.

Fantastic work as well Bison, you've gotten so much better over the time I've seen you do these, which is funny because your older style was also great. Thanks for doing this as it breathes SO much life into Cverse games.

TL;Dr: Allow the player some control over the destiny rolls, as it stands now, they have nothing they can do but say "darn this guy is capped" and that is it. In the small questions thread, I asked a question that was as basically summed up as "Is there anything I can do to circumvent the destiny roll" but I believe I already figured it out: there is nothing you can do to circumvent this, it's really disheartening that in a game that's pretty much a sandbox there are hardcore limitations without any way around them. I can't even edit their popularity, as if they lose once it'll plummet if the guy has even 1 point less popularity than the guy in question. It makes promises pretty lame too. For example: Hashimoto has 98 pop and just offered to put over a guy that is obviously capped at 81 popularity. There is no point in just tanking Hashimoto's popularity. I keep trying to see if I am missing anything, if its tied to anything else other than a silly invisible metric that cannot be altered, changed, anything. But I am afraid there is not. If they bulk up, resulting in a boost in their star quality, if they invent a new move, even (to my knowledge, I've never seen it actually happen in-game) groundswell of support doesn't increase their destiny roll. It's just hard locked at the very start, and what confuses me is TEW2016 HAD the option to alter the destiny roll! You just raised their popularity and suddenly the destiny roll was like "Alright this is their new cap!" It was 'cheating' sure but it was still a non-issue! If I wanted John Cena to not be stuck at 71 popularity I could just edit it, lower it back to 71 and build him normally. Now, I do understand the counterargument, I really do. I have to just use guys I'd normally not use, it spices up the game world. It creates a dynamic world where maybe John Cena doesn't become this massive star. I understand that. My major issue is that there is nothing the player can do to even create a Bryan Danielson situation, where most people agree, he isn't the "biggest" star out there. But he was loveable and an underdog, and that created this main event star. Or even more recently, Sami Zayn. My issue isn't "let me cheat." I don't even think cheating in this game is really cheating to begin with, the editor is there for a reason. But at the very least allow some control over the destiny roll while in a save.

I think that's a great idea. Largely in part because it just adds more life to the game. I'm all for more elements of the game that adds life, even more so I wish the random things like social media and relationships forming/falling out were even more common. So, yeah. Would you make it random? An investment? I assume the requirement would be they must have a high respect stat for the seminar. Or perhaps the higher respect stats (with worker stats like basics/psych etc, similar to a road agent) being the main factors? Regardless, yeah +1 for me.

Requesting a few things, so sorry if I seem disrespectful... can anyone with more talent than me (read: everyone) perhaps create a title dubbed "New Japan Rambo" in a similar style to the Royal Rumble etc. Would like to make it a yearly event starting now and just thought a title logo would be neat. Thanks in advance. The second request I have is... can anyone cut a good Kenzo Suzuki picture? I swear every picture is either him from like the late 90s/early 00s or him looking absolutely dorky/terrible, I know he sort of failed to live up to his potential, but am trying to do something for him in my current save! Thank you for those who read it and doubly thanks for anyone who tackles this.

Is popularity linked to anything other than a random roll of the die? Can it be circumvented in any way? I remember in TEW2016 you could just set their popularity in the editor, and the game would assume that was their potential. It doesn't seem to be that way in TEW2020, which is really unfortunate. Just wondering, seeing guys historically do well getting stuck at 73 popularity is just weird for me.

That Dragon Claw logo definitellllyyy needs some titles, it's kind of one of the coolest logos I have seen. But in all seriousness fantastic work man!

The G1 Climax is about to begin but first let's rewind back to Dontaku. Special Singles Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Shawn Michaels Hiroshi Tanahashi lost his title in a triple threat match, a rarity in NJPW, and the first to actually lose the Heavyweight title in a triple threat, to Yuji Nagata, who pinned Chris Jericho. Tanahashi's own ego had gotten the better of him, and someone who knows ego better than anyone, Shawn Michaels publicly challenged Tanahashi after shaming him and declaring that the Ace was wasting his prime making stupid rookie mistakes. Tanahashi accepted, but during the build-up to Dontaku, it was clear that Shawn demanded the match opens, largely because Tanahashi spent practically zero time as a young lion. Tanahashi would defeat Shawn, but also gain a valuable lesson, and now we can see the Ace finally coming into his own. Special Singles Match: Samoa Joe def. Jun Akiyama Samoa Joe has been targeting the weakened Holy Demon Army since debuting in NJPW this year, first taking out Kawada, and now Akiyama falls. This has fallen on deaf ears though, as Holy Demon Army isn't a hierarchy, so even though Joe has beaten both Kawada and Akiyama, Kenta Kobashi doesn't feel obligated to a match with him. This has infuriated Samoa Joe.. and since then, it felt like this was Joe's fate. Until.. Night 1, the G1 Climax brackets reveal the main event is Samoa Joe vs. Kenta Kobashi. Joe wants to prove he is a main event player? This is his best chance. NEVER Openweight: Yoshi-tatsu def. Suwama (c) A miracle. For months, Chono's nefarious faction has bullied Blue Justice members. All of them, really. Chono mocked Nagata, saying while Nagata chose guys with "heart" Chono chose guys with talent. And... this is true. Nagata's only reliable recruit has been Nakanishi, which... isn't great, considering Nakanishi is Nagata's long-time tag team partner, and has had little singles success. After most of Blue Justice has fallen, Yoshi-tatsu finally went up to bat, and while others were spoken about having a legitimate chance, nobody expected this outcome. Finally, Suwama eats his words, and Blue Justice acquires a badly needed win. IWGP Heavyweight Tag: Ten-koji def. RAMPAGE (c) Rampage had been a successful team riding waves of momentum since their Tag League win back in 2006. Sadly... it came crashing down, when the much more experienced Ten-koji picked apart Rampage's weaknesses, making it apparent that Kuroda's own insecurities allowed him to be singled out, and Rhino's brutal smashmouth offense was easily countered. It wasn't a great showing for Rampage, and with their teamwork figured out, they'll need to adapt. Meanwhile, Ten-Koji now ties STOIC (Sasaki & Hase) for most title reigns with the same teammate, at 5. IWGP United States Champion: Edge def. Osamu Nishmura (c) For a while, Edge and Christian Cage were best known as DX goons. They would acquire two quick tag title reigns together, and when DX disbanded amicably, they both decided to team still. They would join forces with Chris Jericho this year and continue to focus on their singles career. Cage would come up short against Nishmura which prompted Edge and Jericho rock-paper-scissoring who would get the next attempt. Edge would actually defeat Nishmura though, and is now the first of the three since forming to win a singles title. IWGP Joshi: Bull Nakano (c) def. Manami Toyota Pains me to say that Toyota is actually in time decline. At 36. This was supposed to be a Toyota win, due to their last match being a draw just 3 weeks before Dontaku, then I realized that Toyota was in deep decline. Normally I kayfabe/tell the stories, but I legit was so frustrated that she could be in decline at 36 that I just lost like a year of plans for this title. So yeah, no story, just upsetti spaghetti. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Koji Kanemoto (c) def. BOSJ Winner Hayabusa Since Mutoh-gun's disbanding, nobody has benefitted quite like Koji Kanemoto. Kanemoto prior to his title win would side align with Suzuki-gun. He would instantly acquire the title off of Rey Misterio Jr, who was white hot just defeating Hayabusa, Liger, and Sasuke in a fatal four-way at Wrestle Kingdom. He would then defend it against elite talent, proving he was simply helping NJPW out by building the Junior tag division alongside Jinsei Shinzaki, who he is still on good terms with! After an extremely strong showing in BOSJ, only losing his block by 2 pts, Kanemoto would defeat Hayabusa at Dontaku. What's next? Kanemoto has a match with the legendary Jushin Liger at Destruction in September. IWGP Intercontinental: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Triple H A rivalry and match that spawned thanks to Shawn's and Tanahashi's ego. Triple H would call Nakamura the silver medal to Tanahashi, while both HHH and Shawn were gold. Nakamura was called lazy and someone who would coast on by thanks to the guy he stuck around with. The match and story were simple, and after Nakamura won he vowed to keep the IC title for as long as possible, and make it synonymous with his name. IWGP Heavyweight: Brock Lesnar def. Yuji Nagata (c) A lot has happened. Nagata would win the title after pinning Chris Jericho in the aforementioned triple threat with Tanahashi. He would then defeat Jericho in a singles match to retain the title a month later. After that, Chono would come out, who has been feuding with Blue Justice on and off for the past year, and unleash Brock Lesnar on Nagata. Fast forward, and it does indeed look like Lesnar was unleashed, as he bested Nagata and ended his dream of finally being IWGP champion. Of course, Lesnar now faces a more ready than ever before Tanahashi at Destruction, who will come out on top? First! We have the G1.

A lot has been going on in my NJPW save. Though I admit, it has mostly been the "beginning" of a new season, you know? Not the most exciting things. I'm going to go over the BOSJ tournament though, which I guess has a more international flair, who are also much younger. Prince Devitt was meant to debut here for NJPW but tore his rotator cuff and is out for another 6 more months. Sadly. In parenthesis I will speak what happened and why it happened, but I was trying to get a lot of younger guys over... and it pains me to say but I think it was a huge failure lol. I pivoted hard and had to make some changes mid tourney, but thankfully it was okay. Just a bit alarming to see my Junior Heavyweight roster stagnating. A Block: Koji Kanemoto (12 pts) The IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion rarely made any mistakes, only losing to Naruki Doi by fluke, he also lost to Rey Misterio Jr, which isn't shocking. What really hurt Kanemoto was his 2(!) draws! A 30 minute draw to Hayabusa, and on Night 9 to Ultimo Dragon, which had heavy final implications. Ultimo Dragon (13 pts) Throughout the tournament it almost seemed obvious that Ultimo Dragon was heading to the finals, but Ultimo would tie with the winner and end up losing out due to having been defeated to him earlier in the tournament. Where did Ultimo go wrong? He lost to Naruki Doi and Jinsei Shinzaki, two matches that Ultimo should have easily won. Masato Yoshino (6 pts) A debut that many were excited for, the Blue Justice Prodigy did his absolute best, but losing to his brethren in Naruki Doi and SUGI, plus falling to the veterans really hurt him. Still, 6 points in their debut isn't abysmal, considering this was one of the hardest blocks. (I couldn't get him over, I tried giving him wins early on but he seemed capped at 75. I'm not sure if I'll give up on him, but Blue Justice as a whole has been really a flop.) Rey Misterio Jr (10 pts) A frustratingly good performance but leaves a lot to be desired for Rey Misterio. Dropping a match to Yoshino didn't help, and he lost to everyone but Koji Kanemoto when it came to the veterans. Given his momentum last year, this was a huge downgrade for last years winner. Trauma I (6 pts) A debut, but Trauma I is also a seasoned tag wrestler and perhaps... he was a little exposed here. Still, being a former Junior Heavyweight tag team champion is impressive. (Couldn't get him past 76 popularity... sucks.) SUGI (10 pts) Sugi was looking dominant early on, even defeating Ultimo Dragon. But towards the end he slowed down badly and was unable to compete at his frantic high pace as he has become known for. (Out of the ones mentioned so far, I tried the hardest with Sugi.. and he seems stuck at 79... maybe he can be a tag team guy, but at this rate top champion is out of the question) Naruki Doi (10 pts) Vowing to avenge his 8 point debut, and proclaiming he will have a positive record, Doi really showed up. He impressed and looks like he has a nice future in NJPW. Sadly, he was in an extremely difficult block, because perhaps if he was in B block... maybe he'd be in the finals. (Doi... gained exactly 0 popularity in this tournament. Literally 0, and he beat Hayabusa and Kanemoto. That is such a bad sign. Hate the pop system in this game grrr.) Jayson Paul (4 pts) The worst of the debuts, Jayson Paul felt a little out of his depth throughout the tournament, which is a shame because the matches he won were the matches everything clicked. His match with Sugi and Jinsei Shinzaki, both wins, he was dominant and a well oiled all-arounder. Given he is a 2x OVW Heavyweight champion, many expected a lot more. (Okay, he actually gained popularity. 7 points to be exact, he is at 77. A scary number that doesn't tell me he is going to get more over... but I will try and continue with him because I love JTG.) A BLOCK WINNER: Hayabusa (13 pts) Hayabusa had a fantastic showing, looking pretty great throughout but looked more and more ready to become the 2nd place or even 3rd place runner up, drawing to Kanemoto early drained Hayabusa and he dropped matches to way easier opponents, while Ultimo Dragon swept the competition almost until the very end. Hayabusa may have won, but the way he won felt extremely low. He won by technicality and even if Hayabusa doesn't win at the finals, it is obvious he and Ultimo have unfinished business. B Block: Great Sasuke (10 pts) To many, Sasuke has had the biggest babyface return of anyone. He came back to NJPW and finally won the title, only to lose it instantly. Fast forward to BOSJ of 2006, and he loses in the finals. Fast forward to BOSJ 2007... and here he is. Solid. While his popularity remains strong, Sasuke has to be wondering what could he possibly do? Only one singular title to his name and with 0 defenses... Sasuke may need to shake up his attitude or align himself with a newer faction as with Sekigun he already looks stale, and he is amongst the likes of Liger, Rey, and Hayabusa. (Going to see if I can turn Great Sasuke heel, and give him a bit of revitalization but still waiting to pull the trigger.) Super Crazy (Replaced by KENTA) 4 pts (8 pts) Kenta managed to acquire 4 extra points, Super Crazy tore his quad, sadly. KENTA showed up and kicked ass, showcasing a brutal offensive style that is rare in the division. It is a shame for the injury, but also a shame that the replacement wasn't in his own spot, because who knows how well he'd have done in his debut. Trauma II (8 pts) Trauma II arguably did pretty well in his debut. He lost to people that were veterans and elite talents like Eddie Guerrero, and Liger and defeated those that were on his level, he even scored an upset on Great Sasuke! Trauma II might be a tag team guy, but he definitely can hang in singles action. (He got to 83 pop which made me decently happy, but he is capped at that. So close, but at least this confirms he'll have many title reigns in the tag division.) Naoki Sano (8 pts) Time continues to chip away at Naoki Sano, who is one of the most technically sound juniors in the division. But perhaps he looked a little exposed out there. He lost his faction in Mutoh-gun, he is getting up in age, and he quite frankly hasn't evolved. Sano has done better, well, Sano has won, in fact just two years again. So we'll see what might happen for his future, but at 42... how much longer can he continue? (Sano is great, just stale like Sasuke. Thinking of pairing them actually, or Makabe.) Eddie Guerrero (10 pts) If one person could be described as Eddie's enemy.. it'd be Eddie. His temper and his ego has been his undoing since forever. Able to beat the Ligers, the Hayabusas, and the Sasukes, but losing to new guys like Daniel Makabe? Eddie has done his best work with his nephew Chavo Guerrero, but you can see he still hopes for more singles action, though Eddie is already an extremely decorated champion. La Sombra (8 pts) The youngest entrant at 17, La Sombra impressed many with his high flying yet well rounded style. Even picking up a victory over Great Sasuke. Still, at just 17 it is hard to tell what the future has in store for La Sombra, and for now he will be back in CMLL after the tour. (He actually got to 85 popularity and is the biggest success, so I'm very excited to use La Sombra just because we all know he can be heavyweight too!) Daniel Makabe (8 pts) Daniel Makabe played no games in this tournament, he went in unheard of and impressed everyone. His technical prowess (hes got like 87 technical) blended well, and even seemed to be an evolved style of Sano's. 8 points isn't a bad debut, and the crowd now knows Makabe's name. (He went from 67 pop, to 80. I'm stoked and hoping he goes up from there.) Shinjiro Otani (10 pts) Otani has slowed down over the years, this isn't a secret. Injuries plague him. 10 points for Otani is 10 points for Rey Misterio Jr. You know they could have done better and they didn't. Regardless of why, not much needs to be said for Otani. Perhaps he will do better next time, when he is motivated. Or perhaps it is time for Otani to move up to heavyweight? It's been a long time since anything new has happened for Otani. Masaaki Mochizuki (6 pts) Mochizuki returned to NJPW in 2001, and... since then? Nothing. He has been a solid hand for Sekigun and that is all. It's a mystery why Mochizuki is still struggling to find his feet but 6 points is definitely a huge step back from his 10 points a year ago. (Mochizuki is capped at 75, tried for 5 years to see if I can somehow get him over and just can't. Either gonna put him in a tag team or just send him down to developmental and be a main event guy there as I like him a lot) B Block Winner: Jushin "Thunder" Liger (14 pts) This is the most dominant Liger we have seen in recent memory. Only dropping two matches, one actually being Mochizuki, and the other being to Otani. Liger won every other match convincingly and he now faces fellow Sekigun member Hayabusa in the finals. The two have been rivals, champions together, and now both stand in each other's way as they both vie to stay at the very top of the mountain! I accidentally posted my reply earlier than I wanted! So sorry for the weird edit.

I sound like such a broken record but the quality of these renders are at an all-time high, and it's so awesome

Wrestler of the Year last 5 years, go.

Thanks for all the kind words guys, one of my favorite communities. The New Japan Cup and Sakura Genesis has concluded, and I had to pivot hard by a simple mistake! I forgot to put Yuji Nagata, the supposed winner, in the actual tournament! Oh my Gosh, I hate when that happens. Still, I got it all sorted out! The 2007 New Japan Cup Winner is.... Minoru Suzuki Suzuki, was actually the original planned winner of the 2007 NJ Cup, which I penned in all the way back in 2003, however, the changed winner was going to be Yuji Nagata. That is alright, it worked out because Suzuki is sort of Tanahashi's biggest rival outside of Kobashi. Can't believe I forgot! Also on the New Japan Cup card was IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: Los Traumas (c) def. Suzuki-gun (TAICHI & Taka Michinoku) Their 5th defense with the titles, it looks like Los Traumas has evolved the division, and is destroying any and everyone. The current record defenses in a singular reign is 8, held by Koji Kanemoto & Jinsei Shinzaki. Are they going the distance? Or is it only a matter of time before guys like Liger & Hayabusa or even Kanemoto & Shinzaki come for the title? With that out of the way, Sakura Genesis 2007 is also in the books, and it was a great event! I think. I always sort of coast until after the New Japan Cup, where a lot of the stuff starts to pick up and new storylines get firmly placed. So let's go over the major matches. NEVER Openweight: SUWAMA (c) Def. Masato Yakushiji I know, this isn't a repost, this is the night of rematches, I promise it has a point. Without the help of Chono's nefarious goons, SUWAMA was alone to fend with Masato Yakushiji, and with Blue Justice backing up, this was a closer back and forth affair. Sadly, Yakushiji came just shy of defeating the cocky champion. IWGP United States Heavyweight: Osamu Nishmura (c) def. Chris Benoit Benoit's second attempt already at the title, and he falls 0-2 on the year for it. This match was nearly impromptu, with a week before the event, Benoit and Jericho would defeat Nishmura and Funaki (and injuring Funaki damn you!) thankfully, Nishmura showcased his prowess, and as a champion he begins to look more and more like Fujinami. IWGP Intercontinental: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Tomohiro Ishii An easy match to book when Ishii is the one who knocked Nakamura out of the New Japan Cup. Not much of a story beyond that, but it did end with some justice and retribution! To make matters worse, Ishii sustained a major concussion, and will have to vacate the Six Man titles. Sucks.. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Koji Kanemoto (c) def. Rey Misterio Jr. See? Rematches. Koji and Rey weren't done after their first match, and similar to SUWAMA, Kanemoto did have help. Sadly, unlike the Openweight title match, Kanemoto continued to receive support from his new faction mates Suzuki-gun. Misterio falls further down the pecking order after having a fantastic 2006. Perhaps the BOSJ tournament will be the spark that ignites him! IWGP Heavyweight Tag: RAMPAGE (c) def. Two Cool Dudes (Dave Finlay/Mick Foley) I really did name them Two Cool Dudes, it was originally "Two Old Dudes" but I didn't want Two Old Dudes beating my entire roster. So... I had to change it. Plus I think Mick would legitimately name a tag team this, as he is no longer the Cactus Jack of old, or even Mankind. He is just goofy Mick. Regardless, Rhino continues to carry the team and continues to achieve new heights. It's going to take a well established team at this point to knock off Rhino and Kuroda. IWGP Joshi: Bull Nakano (c) def. Michiko Omukai Seriously, this made me sad three times I've booked it. Well, not this specific match but Michiko losing all 3 times. She defeated Bull Nakano so she had a legitimate shot here, but sadly after 3 attempts especially so close together, Michiko is unlikely to receive a title shot again anytime soon, and will likely return to JWP (where she is tag team champ, and booker so, yknow.) IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Minoru Suzuki 2-1 for Tanahashi, much to Suzuki's frustration. New Japan Cup winner is cursed, where so far NOBODY has converted. Either way with Tanahashi's victory, and Suzuki now looking to face a returning Stone Cold, his next opponent is none other than Chris Jericho, but I have major plans for this and it isn't so simple. Because Jericho just lost a match to Yuji Nagata last week (it was supposed to be in the freaking New Japan Cup damn it) and Nagata wants a shot if Jericho thinks he deserves it. Nagata is special as he was Tanahashi's first real feud when he returned from a short excursion. For the first time in a very long time (1996, and 2000, both involving Mutoh, fun fact!) a triple threat for the title has been made!

Thank you so much! I do normally get invested but I am always hesitant to share what's been going on but I've been trying to be fairly transparent about this save. Not sure why but it has been really fun! It's even kept me MORE into this save, if that makes sense. For example, with the loss of Akira Taue, Dan Severn, Kazuo Yamazaki, and soon Toshiaki Kawada, my tag team division that I have been building up has woefully fallen apart in a sense. All four guys were essentially main event tag team guys (and Severn/Kawada were great solo acts too!) My plans to get The Headshrinkers over apparently flopped a bit, as Alofa is stuck at 77 and Afa Jr. is stuck at 70, which really sucks! On the plus side, despite my failing Heavyweight tag division, my singles divisions are all thriving and a lot of guys have found their spot and are comfortably rotating in and out of contention. My main event scene has almost fully shuffled now. Kobashi, Hashimoto and to a lesser extent Sasaki (though you could say he has been upper midcard for a while now) are the only ones left from the 90s/early 00s era. And truthfully, Hashimoto is done winning the main title. Kobashi might have another reign if he doesn't hit decline. Regardless of that February has arrived and that means Fighting Spirit Unleashed is here! Let's go over the important matches on the card/results! IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag: Los Traumas (c) def. Los Guerrero's A rivalry that has been on and off throughout the year. Los Traumas has been building up a steady resume of conquered opponents, including Gedo & Jado, Super Crazy & Cerebro Negro, and recently Pentagon Black (Jr!) and Ozz. Now to face the team they have never beaten and win? It's clear Los Traumas are setting themselves up to be a fixture in the Jr. Tag Team division. IWGP Tag Team: RAMPAGE (c) def. Wild Justice (Nagata/Nakanishi) A successful first defense for the newly crowned team in Rampage. Rhino continues to be massively over at 90+ pop, and I have plans for Nagata this year. Nakanishi is being carried at this point, he never developed into a good worker, and never got past 70 pop, and is now nearing 40. It's honestly my favorite part of Tag Teams though, Nakanishi can reliably lose, and Nagata can reliably beat any other team. So, I'm not really complaining. Special Singles Match: Samoa Joe def. Toshiaki Kawada Joe is here, yeah. He got called up after Wrestle Kingdom and immediately made an impact by targeting Kawada, who just saw his stablemate Akira Taue retire. This will eventually lead up to the iconic Kobashi vs. Joe match, just obviously under different circumstances. That is a ways away though, and for now I'm trying to push Joe in the hopes I can get a solid upper midcard/main eventer out of him. NEVER Openweight: SUWAMA (c) def. Masato Yakushiji Masato has been a victim of bullying by Chono's faction (which still needs a freakin' name, I've been using Skirmish) and it was on full display here. This was a match, yes. But the deck was so obviously stacked against Masato that he had no real chance of actually winning. Enough was enough though, when Blue Justice Army got involved to make the save on a beaten down Masato, who would find his home after leaving Mutoh-gun. IWGP United States: Osamu Nishmura def. Dave Finlay (c) Thanks Finlay for saving this title as Carlito left me as soon as he freaking won it at Dontaku last year. Gave Finlay a "right place, right time" then decided to reward him for being almost 50 and not in time decline. Nishmura has been "stuck" in Fujinami's shadow and has been in a holding pattern since then.. which is strangely a storyline going for 5 years now. Nishmura is probably his generations Goto for me... which hurts because I'm a Goto diehard fan. Either way, Nishmura is constantly at 85 popularity, can slot into any spot on the card, and needs to be rewarded damn it! IWGP Joshi: Bull Nakano def. Aja Kong (c) I still feel guilty about having Michiko lose at Wrestle Kingdom, AFTER defeating Nakano for the Joshi Cup, only to have Nakano win it 2 months later. But... Nakano has 90 popularity and is putting on banger after banger, and Aja Kong's reign has run its course. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Koji Kanemoto def. Rey Misterio Jr (c) Koji Kanemoto lost his home in Mutoh-gun, not only that but he was omitted from the list of "best Junior Heavyweights" when Misterio named the likes of Hayabusa, Ultimo, and Liger. Kanemoto took offense and aligned himself with the dastardly Suzuki-gun and attacked Misterio after a match the day after WK. This culminated here, and with the help of Suzuki-gun, allowed Kanemoto to obtain his 3rd reign, his first reign in 11 years! (He was helping build up my JHW tag division) IWGP Intercontinental: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) def. Kensuke Sasaki Nakamura has been Tanahashi's tag team partner through thick and thin, even when he looked set to join Chono's nefarious group, or when Mutoh attempted to lure him over. Of course this comes with the negative of facing the 1B to many 1A opponents, Shinya Hashimoto's 1B is of course Sasaki. A stalwart, and one of the most decorated champions in New Japan history. Sasaki would also be responsible for disbanding Mutoh-gun in the first place at WK. Nakamura survived, and showed he has the ability to hang with some of the best in the world. IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) def. Shinya Hashimoto Maybe it is fate, that in their epic 5 match rivalry, that Hashimoto's age and body fail him. Indeed, at 2-2 a piece in singles action, and running off a fantastic year prior, Hashimoto looked poised to "shock" everyone and end Tanahashi's reign at 0 defenses. Unfortunately, the quicker, more agile, and cocky Tanahashi would prove that strong style needs to evolve or else Tanahashi will reign supreme for a very long time. For Hashimoto it wasn't just a title loss, it was perhaps one of the final nails left in the coffin for the old guard. Post Match I rarely do these but Steve Austin's title expired, and I offered him a deal. Made sure that it'd be "one of the two offers" he'd accept, and he picked me over WWF, who I let him go to in the first place. They treated him like shit, but not the Rock, weirdly enough. Suzuki-gun came out and attacked Tana/Hashimoto after the match, Steve made the save. This is likely Steve's farewell tour as he is getting up there, but not in decline. Next post will likely be the New Japan Cup!

Since I just posted, I won't make this a long post. Results of WK14: IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Los Traumas (c) def. Super Crazy & Cerebro Negro NEVER Openweight Trios: Great Bash Heel def. Blue Justice Army (c) NEVER Openweight: SUWAMA (c) def. Akira Taue Special 5 Man Tag, if Mutoh-gun Loses They Disband: Sekigun def. Mutoh-gun IWGP United States: Dave Finlay (c) def. Chris Benoit IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Rey Misterio (c) def. Liger, Hayabusa, Great Sasuke IWGP Tag Team: RAMPAGE def. The New Headshrinkers (c) IWGP Joshi: Aja Kong (c) def. Michiko Omukai (this one felt bad, like I didn't strike while the iron was hot) Special Singles: Shinya Hashimoto def. Minoru Suzuki IWGP Intercontinental: Shinsuke Nakamura def. Jun Akiyama (c) IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Kenta Kobashi (c) Dan Severn, Kazuo Yamazaki, Akira Taue all retired and were inducted to the HoF the same year.

1992-2007, Wrestle Kingdom is on the horizon, just a few days left to sim. I'd like to go over the card! IWGP Heavyweight: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kenta Kobashi (c) Tanahashi would suffer two defeats to Kobashi in 2006, one in the New Japan Cup, and another in the G1. A year prior to that, Tanahashi would retain his title, and survive in a 60 minute draw against Kobashi, making their singles record 2-0-1 in favor of Kobashi. Tanahashi would vow to get back on track and would do so by winning the G1, well, Tanahashi would just do that. Although it isn't a secret, in their 8 encounters total (incl. tag/multi) Kobashi is 8-2-1. This is Tanahashi's worst record both singles and total since debuting. Not only that, but Kobashi winning Wrestler of the Year 2006? Can the odds be against the Ace any harder? A battle of the best babyfaces of all time commences soon! IWGP Intercontinental: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jun Akiyama (c) A match between two men who have had major ups and downs the past few years. Nakamura would lose it all last year and take a short (kayfabe) hiatus after losing both his Heavyweight title shot earned through winning a New Japan Cup tournament win, and his Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho all in the same month (April.) Jun Akiyama would find himself battling Jericho all throughout the year, both before and after he was IC champion. In fact, Jericho's first IC title reign came at Dontaku 2005 when he defeated Akiyama. At Dontaku 2006... Akiyama would once again fall. Thankfully Jericho's arrogance finally gave Akiyama an opening to re-challenge after a victory vs. a returning Chris Benoit. This is Jun Akiyama proving he should be a top guy and Nakamura's confidence being once again put to the test. Can Akiyama get out Kobashi's shadow? Can Nakamura get out of Tanahashi's? Both men have so much to prove. Special Faction Warfare (if Mutoh-gun Loses, they MUST disband): Mutoh-gun vs. Sekigun Keiji Mutoh throughout the year has shown a more desperate side of himself, his body is failing, one of his greatest rivals in Chono retired. Mutoh desperate to keep his position at the top did everything he could and ended up at an all-time low. At Power Struggle in November, Keiji Mutoh offered Tanahashi a deal, a one vs. one match. If Mutoh were to win this, well, the main event would be a triple threat. As we can see... that was not the outcome Mutoh wanted. What would happen if he lost? Tanahashi could assemble a team of 5 and if Mutoh-gun lost they'd disband. The members are as follows: Mutoh-gun: Keiji Mutoh, Daisuke Sekimoto, Jinsei Shinzaki, Masato Yakushiji, and Naoki Sano, for Sekigun: Kensuke Sasaki, Naomichi Marufuji, Osamu Nishmura, Masakatsu Funaki, and Minoru Tanaka. Special Singles Match: Shinya Hashimoto vs. Minoru Suzuki A year ago, this main evented Wrestle Kingdom. An insult to both men? Or perhaps just a sign of times. Minoru Suzuki would hate either answer. As last year, Shinya Hashimoto dethroned him in the main event for the title. Hashimoto would go on to exclaim that the "old guard" isn't dead yet, as long as he still stands strong. With Chono gone and retired, and Mutoh in the spot he is in... perhaps Hashimoto's words rang true a year ago, but how quickly can things change. Meanwhile Minoru Suzuki needs to defeat Hashimoto, in fact, the winner of this match will likely be in the front of the line to challenge for whoever wins the main event. IWGP Junior Heavyweight: Jushin "Thunder" Liger vs. Hayabusa vs. Great Sasuke vs. Rey Misterio Jr (c) A match that sort of culminated by Misterio being unable to defeat Liger. The issue is, Misterio and Hayabusa were set to compete at Wrestle Kingdom. Misterio felt "deflated" by failing to defeat a rival and mentor in Liger. So why Great Sasuke? Sasuke has wins over Hayabusa and Liger, all from this year. It became a mess and since all members are on good terms and are in the Sekigun faction, they agreed to this. IWGP United States: Chris Benoit vs. Dave Finlay (c) Okay, being honest, this match is almost a throwaway. Benoit has returned for his final years in NJPW, the story is very simple, two absolute brutal gaijin want a wrestling match against one another. I figured with all the hype and story-centric matches at the top of the card, something with less "intensity" and a more simpler format would fit well. I'm half-bullshitting, but hey, it worked out. Finlay is 48, and not in time decline and Benoit is 39 and is. So that's how she goes. IWGP Joshi: Michiko Omukai vs. Aja Kong (c) Michiko Omukai is a name you probably wouldn't expect to read when it comes to a big spot at Wrestle Kingdom... and yet, she is here. She won the Joshi Cup (16 man elimination tournament held in November) by defeating a surprise entrant in Bull Nakano in the finals. Why? Truthfully... she is over as hell for some reason. 85 popularity just from the tourney alone, Nakano was going to be the real winner, but I pivoted, despite Nakano being more over. Aja Kong has been on an absolute monster run, plus she has already defeated Michiko before. Is this her chance to get her revenge? Or will Aja Kong continue to barrel through the competition? IWGP Tag Team: Rampage (Rhino & Tetsuhiro Kuroda) vs. The New Headshrinkers (Afa Jr. / Alofa) Rhino is a man on a mission. The man main evented Power Struggle against Kobashi! He managed to win the Tag League with Kuroda, as well, and thus he finds himself, while not IWGP Heavyweight champion, potentially a Tag Team champion. Funnily enough at 93 overness, the Tag League was Rhino's first title/accolade ever. In any promotion. Regardless, the Gore is nonstop, and it seems unlikely The New Headshrinkers cant stop the Tag League winners... or can they? This is the same team who scored just as well as Rampage in the Tag League, only losing to a tiebreaker to the A Block winners: Jericho and Benoit. They also defeated DX to even hold the titles in the first place. The New Headshrinkers might not be fan favorites, they might not be the hottest new team on the block, but they seemed to have found their groove and have beaten teams more seasoned and proven than Rampage. NEVER Openweight: Akira Taue vs. SUWAMA (c) SUWAMA has been a fast rising star in New Japan, defeating Yuki Ishikawa for the title in November at Power Struggle. He would target the aging Akira Taue throughout the year and finally lured the big man in by promising a title shot at Wrestle Kingdom. Perhaps a final shot for Taue to hold gold. Still, SUWAMA is backed by the ever cunning Masahiro Chono and it is unlikely Taue will have a fair fight ahead of him. NEVER Openweight Trios: Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Togi Makabe vs. Yoshi Tatsu, Naruki Doi, SUGI Since the introduction of the NEVER branch, Tomohiro Ishii has been a fixture. The only multi-time winner for the NEVER Openweight singles title, Great Bash Heel has been feuding with Yuji Nagata's newly formed Blue Justice Army all of last year, to see it reach its culmination in some form, is always a plus. These titles barely have any real story or weight to them, so I did my best alright? Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles: Super Crazy & Cerebro Negro vs. Los Traumas I admit... the JHW Tag titles have been the "CMLL showcase" title, or more specifically, the "Luchador" showcase. Eddie & Chavo, Los Traumas, and Super Crazy & Cerebro Negro have helped spark a division that was primarily being ran by... Gedo & Jado. I admit they still aren't perfect, but this is a simple Luchador rivalry, and I hope to expand these titles and treat them better like I have been with the Heavyweight Tag titles. Outside of "filler" or unimportant matches, these are the major ones worth mentioning/talking about. Excited to start a new year with New Japan especially as my roster continues to alter/change with the new generation of workers stepping up. Yes! I'd recommend highly to lock down guys you absolutely cannot afford to lose, and secure a bigger TV deal ASAP. I don't know your situation but the hardest part is generally surviving the price increases, though I do find them to be a bit easier in recent games, they can still sneak up on a newer or inexperienced player (not implying you are either btw!) So, basically, any guy(s) or girl(s) that are carrying your ratings, they are your must secures. SWF/USPW/TCW can and will snag them, and since they are larger they often more enticing the workers.