NJPW 2001 - Gedoism

cbacon87 · May 8

The tumultuous start to 2001 in professional wrestling continues, as another major shakeup took place over the past week, this time in Japan.

Hot off the heels of the demise of both ECW and WCW, followed by the internal decision within the WWF last week not to relaunch WCW as a separate brand or rival force and instead to integrate the new talent into the current show, news broke last week of a split between New Japan Pro Wrestling and owner Antonio Inoki. Inoki, who founded the company in 1972, had been coming under increased pressure over his style of booking in recent years, revolving around his focus on mixed martial arts and shoot fighting and integrating elements from that world into the New Japan product. It's not clear yet what caused the decision for Inoki to step aside and part ways, but rumours of a sale to video game development company Yuke's had been swirling recently and Inoki is known to be a headstrong individual, so any attempts to talk him around from his style of booking probably would have been met with strong resistance. Whatever did happen, it's said that the split between the sides is now irreparable, leaving the future for both Inoki and his former company up in the air.

For New Japan's part, they quickly moved to name Tatsumi Fujinami as the new CEO of the company, a move that appears to be popular with the native talent, at least privately. The original talk was that Jushin Liger would be put in charge of the booking process, however Liger has reportedly turned down the position, not feeling it to be in the best interests of himself or the company. Instead Liger recommended FMW stars Jado and Gedo to Fujinami, with Liger having worked closely with the pair during the 1995 Super-J Cup, in which Liger defeated Gedo in the final. Jado and Gedo were imminent arrivals in the company, scheduled to participate in the upcoming Best Of Super Juniors tour before joining the roster full-time afterwards and it's expected that the tour will be used as a test for the pair as bookers too, before a decision is made longer term on who takes the book.

What this means for the company is unclear. With WCW and ECW out of business there are suddenly a lot of wrestlers on the market, with few places to work. A strong landing spot in either Japan or Mexico will be important for a lot of talent and the likes of Vader, 2 Cold Scorpio and Steve Williams have made homes in NOAH and AJPW, with NJPW using a number of former WCW names like Scott Hall, Scott Norton and Jeff Farmer already. It's known that Gedo is a fan of the southern American wrestling style already, with him being noted as a big fan of Dusty Rhodes in particular, which could bode well for American talent looking for opportunities. The loss of Inoki as a figurehead, despite the complaints about his booking style, could be an issue for the company however, as Inoki's name still carries tremendous weight in the country. Pro Wrestling NOAH have made a strong start to their launch, with All Japan still reeling from the loss of their main stars, meaning Japan is now in almost as much of a state of flux as we're seeing in the US, but with no monopoly and no clear #1, where-as the WWF are now the be-all and end-all in Amercian wrestling. For those on the outs with the WWF, there will be a lot of eyes on what happens in Japan right now and which of the three major companies are going to be looking for gaijin workers to bolster their rosters.

-----

This save is using Mr. Canada's excellent Here Comes The Money May '01 data, but instead of keeping WCW open with Shane as owner I decided to go with the WWF buyout route but with no Invasion storyline (because getting the AI to book that might be more impossible than real-life). So, the WCW guys that got signed are mostly signed, but no ECW and a few less people sent to HWA to do nothing.

Is there a goal here? Well, I've never booked a Japanese promotion in TEW before, so wanted the challenge. The first goal is to fend off NOAH, then see how building the kind of New Japan that Gedo did a few years earlier with different outside talent works. I'm far enough in that ROH opens and I basically had to hire their roster for them for immersion purposes (AI Gabe likes ECW midcarders like Bill Wiles and Danny Doring, apparently), so we'll see who develops and who doesn't. None of the owner goals I got were particularly big - maintain pop, keep Kensuke over, no high-fliers or daredevils. I'm glad it's not gaining pop, because it might take some consolidating first...

cbacon87 · May 8

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING Presents...

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001

BLOCK A:
Jushin "Thunder" Liger - 6th entry, '94 Winner '96 Runner Up, IWGP Jr. HV Tag Team Champion
El Samurai - 8th entry, '97 Winner, IWGP Jr. HV Tag Team Champion
Dr. Wagner Jr [CMLL] - 5th entry, '98 Runner Up
Gran Naniwa [AJPW] - 2nd entry
Gedo [FMW] - 1st entry
Chris Candido - 1st entry
Wataru Inoue - 1st entry

BLOCK B
Minoru Tanaka - 3rd entry, IWGP Jr. HV Champion
Kaz Hayashi - 2nd entry
AKIRA - 1st entry
Silver King [CMLL] - 1st entry
Jado [FMW] - 1st entry
Shinya Makabe - 2nd entry
Katsuyori Shibata - 1st entry

BOSJ N1- BLOCK A: Liger/Candido, Samurai/Naniwa BLOCK B: AKIRA/Shibata, Minoru/Jado
BOSJ N2- BLOCK A: Gedo/Inoue, Wagner Jr/Candido BLOCK B: Minoru/Makabe, AKIRA/S.King
BOSJ N3- BLOCK A: Samurai/Wagner Jr, Liger/Inoue BLOCK B: Hayashi/Shibata, S.King/Jado
BOSJ N4- BLOCK A: Liger/Naniwa, Gedo/Samurai BLOCK B: Hayashi/Makabe, AKIRA/Minoru
BOSJ N5- BLOCK A: Candido/Inoue, Gedo/Naniwa BLOCK B: S.King/Shibata, Jado/Makabe
BOSJ N6- BLOCK A: Wagner Jr/Inoue, Samurai/Candido BLOCK B: Hayashi/AKIRA, S.King/Minoru
BOSJ N7- BLOCK A: Liger/Gedo, Wagner Jr/Naniwa BLOCK B: Jado/Hayashi, Shibata/Makabe
BOSJ N8- BLOCK A: Liger/Samurai BLOCK B: S.King/Makabe
BOSJ N9- BLOCK A: Gedo/Wagner Jr, Naniwa/Inoue BLOCK B: S.King/Hayashi, Jado/Shibata
BOSJ N10- BLOCK A: Samurai/Inoue, Naniwa/Candido BLOCK B: Minoru/Shibata, Jado/AKIRA
BOSJ N11- BLOCK A: Liger/Wagner Jr, Gedo/Candido BLOCK B: Minoru/Hayashi, AKIRA/Makabe

cbacon87 · May 9

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 1
1. Mad Dogs (Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki in 6:44 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Kenzo Suzuki. [53]
2. Gedo and Katsushi Takemura defeated Shinya Makabe and Wataru Inoue in 6:59 when Gedo pinned Wataru Inoue with a Complete Shot. [50]
3. Shiro Koshinaka and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Junji Hirata and Rob Rage in 8:45 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned Rob Rage with a Big Splash. [42]
4. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [2] defeated Chris Candido [0] in 8:52 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [62]
5. B BLOCK: AKIRA [2] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 5:44 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [51]
6. A BLOCK: El Samurai [2] defeated Gran Naniwa [0] in 14:13 by pinfall with a Samurai Bomb. [52]
7. B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka [2] defeated Jado [0] in 13:02 by submission with an armbar. [58]
8. Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Super J) in 15:08 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Super J with a Lariat. [66]
9. BATT (Keiji Muto and Taiyo Kea) defeated Osamu Nishimura and Manabu Nakanishi in 18:08 when Keiji Muto pinned Osamu Nishimura with a Moonsault. [64]
[63]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 2 [1-0], Jushin Liger 2 [1-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 0 [0-0], Gedo 0 [0-0], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-0], Chris Candido 0 [0-1], Gran Naniwa 0 [0-1]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 2 [1-0], Minoru Tanaka 2 [1-0], Kaz Hayashi 0 [0-0], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-0], Silver King 0 [0-0], Jado 0 [0-1], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-1]

Wins for the three Junior Heavyweight champions on opening night, while AKIRA gets past the young lion Shibata. Gedo gains a psychological advantage on Inoue who he faces on night two, picking up the fall over him in tag team action.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 2
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki defeated Katsushi Takemura and Katsuyori Shibata in 11:21 when Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Katsushi Takemura. [34]
2. A BLOCK: Gedo [2] defeated Wataru Inoue [0] in 5:48 by pinfall with a Complete Shot. [48]
3. B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka [4] defeated Shinya Makabe [0] in 6:44 by pinfall with a 450 Splash. [53]
4. A BLOCK: Dr. Wagner Jr. [2] defeated Chris Candido [0] in 10:17 by pinfall with a Michinoku Driver II. [50]
5. B BLOCK: AKIRA [4] defeated Silver King [0] in 14:28 by submission with an STF. [52]
6. El Samurai and Kaz Hayashi defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Gran Naniwa in 13:14 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Gran Naniwa. [63]
7. Mad Dogs defeated Junji Hirata and Shiro Koshinaka in 10:07 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Junji Hirata. [51]
8. G-EGGS (Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata and Yutaka Yoshie) defeated TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Super J) in 15:23 when Yuji Nagata pinned Hiro Saito with a Backdrop Hold. [58]
9. BATT (Keiji Muto and Taiyo Kea) defeated Scott Norton and Satoshi Kojima in 12:48 when Keiji Muto pinned Satoshi Kojima with a Moonsault. [61]
[60]

A BLOCK: Dr. Wagner Jr 2 [1-0], Gedo 2 [1-0], El Samurai 2 [1-0], Jushin Liger 2 [1-0], Gran Naniwa 0 [0-1], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-1], Chris Candido 0 [0-2]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 4 [2-0], Minoru Tanaka 4 [2-0], Jado 0 [0-1], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-1], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-1], Silver King 0 [0-1], Kaz Hayashi 0 [0-0]

A fourway tie forms early on in A Block as Gedo pins Inoue for a second night in a row and Candido is the first to drop to 0-2 in his BOSJ debut. B Block sees both AKIRA and Minoru move to 2-0 meanwhile, with a clash set for Night 4. The Jr. HV Tag Champions are on opposite sides for once in tag team action, but it's B Block's Kaz Hayashi who gets the pin over AJPW's Gran Naniwa as Samurai holds Liger from the floor. AJPW's Muto and Kea win two nights in a row against NJPW opposition in the main event.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 3
1. Junji Hirata and Takashi Iizuka defeated Kenzo Suzuki and Shiro Koshinaka in 9:28 when Takashi Iizuka submitted Kenzo Suzuki with a Sleeper. [52]
2. B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi [2] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 6:55 by pinfall with an Air Raid Crash. [34]
3. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [4] defeated Wataru Inoue [0] in 11:41 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [68]
4. Minoru Tanaka and Gran Naniwa defeated Gedo and Chris Candido in 10:26 when Gran Naniwa pinned Chris Candido. [57]
5. B BLOCK: Jado [2] defeated Silver King [0] in 12:41 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. [50]
6. A BLOCK: El Samurai [4] defeated Dr. Wagner Jr [2]. in 14:32 by pinfall with a Samurai Bomb. [59]
7. Rob Rage defeated Yutaka Yoshie in 7:49 by submission. [46]
8. Mad Dogs defeated Osamu Nishimura and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 11:16 when Michiyoshi Ohara submitted Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Guillotine Choke. [56]
9. TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Super J) defeated Tatsumi Fujinami, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi in 12:55 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Tatsumi Fujinami with a Lariat. [65]
[64]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 4 [2-0], Jushin Liger 4 [2-0], Gedo 2 [1-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 2 [1-1], Gran Naniwa 0 [0-1], Chris Candido 0 [0-2], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-2]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 4 [2-0], Minoru Tanaka 4 [2-0], Kaz Hayashi 2 [1-0], Jado 2 [1-1], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-1], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-2], Silver King 0 [0-2]

Both Samurai and Liger improve to 2-0 in A Block, despite Inoue pushing Liger to the limit. Jado and Hayashi get on the board in B Block with the two leaders not in tournament action ahead of their potentially pivotal meeting. Outside of the tournament, Mad Dogs win a 3rd tag team match in a row, while their fellow Team 2000 members and Tag Team Champions Tencozy win in the main event.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 4
1. Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata in 10:03 when Silver King pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Moonsault. [57]
2. Tadao Yasuda and Rob Rage defeated Osamu Nishimura and Junji Hirata in 11:22 when Tadao Yasuda pinned Junji Hirata. [57]
3. B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi [4] defeated Shinya Makabe [0] in 6:22 by pinfall with a Cannonball Senton. [37]
4. A BLOCK: El Samurai [6] defeated Gedo [2] in 12:07 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [51]
5. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [6] defeated Gran Naniwa [0] in 14:08 by pinfall with a Liger Bomb. [62]
6. B BLOCK: AKIRA [6] defeated Minoru Tanaka [4] in 15:03 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [56]
7. TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Super J and Tatsutoshi Goto) defeated Shiro Koshinaka, Takashi Iizuka and Yutaka Yoshie in 11:41 when Super J pinned Shiro Koshinaka with a Choke Slam. [49]
8. Yuji Nagata defeated Michiyoshi Ohara in 7:07 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [58]
9. Tencozy defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Manabu Nakanishi in 14:02 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Lariat. [66]
[64]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 6 [3-0], Jushin Liger 6 [3-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 2 [1-1], Gedo 2 [1-1], Chris Candido 0 [0-2], Gran Naniwa 0 [0-2], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-2]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 6 [3-0], Kaz Hayashi 4 [2-0], Minoru Tanaka 4 [2-1], Jado 2 [1-1], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-2], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-2], Silver King 0 [0-2]

The big match in B Block sees AKIRA pick up a victory over Minoru, putting him two points ahead and securing the tiebreak over the IWGP Jr. HV Champion. Hayashi moves level with Minoru with a win over Makabe. A Block is dominated by the Jr. Tag Champs, both moving to 6 points and opening up a four point gap. Their match on Night 8 could be crucial.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 5
1. Hiro Saito and Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki in 9:26 when Hiro Saito pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Senton. [51]
2. B BLOCK: Silver King [2] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 6:14 by pinfall with a Death Valley Driver. [53]
3. A BLOCK: Chris Candido [2] defeated Wataru Inoue [0] in 7:31 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [54]
4. B BLOCK: Jado [4] defeated Shinya Makabe [0] in 9:18 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. [51]
5. A BLOCK: Gran Naniwa [2] defeated Gedo [2] in 10:46 by pinfall. [46]
6. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Kaz Hayashi defeated AKIRA, El Samurai and Dr. Wagner Jr. in 14:46 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Dr. Wagner Jr. with an Air Raid Crash. [63]
7. Rob Rage and Tadao Yasuda defeated Osamu Nishimura and Yutaka Yoshie in 11:03 when Rob Rage pinned Yutaka Yoshie. [57]
8. Manabu Nakanishi defeated Super J in 11:25 by pinfall with a German Suplex. [55]
9. Tatsumi Fujinami and Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 15:24 when Yuji Nagata pinned Tatsutoshi Goto with a Backdrop Hold. [61]
[56]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 6 [3-0], Jushin Liger 6 [3-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 2 [1-1], Chris Candido 2 [1-2], Gedo 2 [1-2], Gran Naniwa 2 [1-2], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-3]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 6 [3-0], Kaz Hayashi 4 [2-0], Jado 4 [2-1], Minoru Tanaka 4 [2-1], Silver King 2 [1-2], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-3], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-3]

Three men secure their first points of the tournament on Night 5, with Silver King and Candido winning the battles of 0-2 competitors and Gran Naniwa staying in touch by beating Gedo. Jado joins the chasing pack in B Block with victory over Makabe, with the young lions all yet to get off the mark. A Block leaders Liger and Samurai meet again in six man action and Hayashi again takes the glory before a meeting with AKIRA.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 6
1. Mad Dogs defeated Junji Hirata and Yutaka Yoshie in 10:47 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Junji Hirata with a Goto Facebuster. [51]
2. Osamu Nishimura defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 8:25 by submission with an Octopus Hold. [53]
3. Gedo and Jado defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Shinya Makabe in 9:10 when Gedo pinned Shinya Makabe with a Complete Shot. [61]
4. A BLOCK: Dr. Wagner Jr. [4] defeated Wataru Inoue [0] in 7:55 by pinfall with a Michinoku Driver II. [58]
5. A BLOCK: El Samurai [8] defeated Chris Candido [2] in 11:16 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [54]
6. B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi [6] defeated AKIRA [6] in 8:39 by pinfall with an Air Raid Crash. [52]
7. B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka [6] defeated Silver King [2] in 12:56 by submission with an armbar. [60]
8. TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) defeated Takashi Iizuka, Tatsumi Fujinami and Shiro Koshinaka in 14:07 when Hiro Saito pinned Shiro Koshinaka with a Senton. [58]
9. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Scott Norton and Super J in 13:07 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned Super J with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [62]
[56]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 8 [4-0], Jushin Liger 6 [3-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 4 [2-1], Gedo 2 [1-2], Gran Naniwa 2 [1-2], Chris Candido 2 [1-3], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-4]
B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi 6 [3-0], AKIRA 6 [3-1], Minoru Tanaka 6 [3-1], Jado 4 [2-1], Silver King 2 [1-3], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-3], Shinya Makabe 0 [0-3]

El Samurai tops A Block with an extra match over Liger, who warms up for his bout with Gedo by watching him beat Makabe and motion for Liger's Tag Team Titles. Dr Wagner Jr. remains in contention, but Candido and Inoue are eliminated. B Block sees Hayashi remain perfect at 3-0 with a win over AKIRA and Minoru join them at the top on 6 points.

Edited May 9 by cbacon87

sonny912 · May 10

Are you gonna try to introduce a brand extension at some point? I read on wikipedia that njpw tried to doing something similar to wwe during the mid 2000s dividing the roster into 2 sub brands, wrestle land and lock up but that's all I know.

cbacon87 · May 10

22 hours ago, sonny912 said:

Are you gonna try to introduce a brand extension at some point? I read on wikipedia that njpw tried to doing something similar to wwe during the mid 2000s dividing the roster into 2 sub brands, wrestle land and lock up but that's all I know.

Maybe if the roster gets too stacked. A version of NJPW Strong might work, if I can start expanding into the US.

cbacon87 · May 10

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 7
1. Mad Dogs defeated Osamu Nishimura and Shiro Koshinaka in 7:49 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Shiro Koshinaka with a Powerbomb. [57]
2. Kensuke Sasaki and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 9:54 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Lariat. [61]
3. B BLOCK: Shinya Makabe [2] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 8:21 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [37]
4. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [8] defeated Gedo [2] in 7:59 by pinfall with a surprise Thesz Press pin. [64]
5. El Samurai and Minoru Tanaka defeated Chris Candido and Silver King in 12:07 when El Samurai pinned Chris Candido with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [58]
6. B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi [8] defeated Jado [4] in 12:05 by pinfall with a Wrist-Clutch Kryptonite Krunch. [47]
7. A BLOCK: Dr. Wagner Jr. [6] defeated Gran Naniwa [2] in 12:16 by submission. [57]
8. Yuji Nagata defeated Super J in 9:34 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [56]
9. Manabu Nakanishi and Takashi Iizuka defeated AKIRA and Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 13:14 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned AKIRA with a German Suplex. [62]
[55]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 8 [4-0], Jushin Liger 8 [4-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 6 [3-1], Chris Candido 2 [1-3], Gedo 2 [1-3], Gran Naniwa 2 [1-3], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-4]
B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi 8 [4-0], AKIRA 6 [3-1], Minoru Tanaka 6 [3-1], Jado 4 [2-2], Shinya Makabe 2 [1-3], Silver King 2 [1-3], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-4]

It's a tie at the top of A Block with Liger ensuring his match with El Samurai on Night 8 is for the outright lead. Gedo and Naniwa's defeats rule them out of contention, but Dr. Wagner Jr. is still alive with his win. Hayashi goes clear in B Block with victory over Jado and can only be caught by AKIRA or Minoru. Makabe wins the battle of the 0-0 young lions to avoid the goose egg before his match with Silver King.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 8
1. Chris Candido, Jado and Gedo defeated Dr. Wagner Jr., Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata in 10:26 when Chris Candido pinned Wataru Inoue with a Diving Headbutt. [53]
2. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Katsushi Takemura in 5:42 by pinfall with a Lariat. [68]
3. TEAM2000 (Michiyoshi Ohara, Tatsutoshi Goto and Hiro Saito) defeated Junji Hirata, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki in 7:39 when Hiro Saito pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Diving Seated Senton. [54]
4. B BLOCK: Silver King [4] defeated Shinya Makabe [2] in 7:58 by pinfall with a Moonsault. [57]
5. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [10] defeated El Samurai [8] in 16:21 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [67]
6. Scott Norton and AKIRA defeated Shiro Koshinaka and Minoru Tanaka in 10:01 when Scott Norton pinned Shiro Koshinaka. [58]
7. Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated Osamu Nishimura and Tatsumi Fujinami in 14:54 when Yuji Nagata pinned Osamu Nishimura with a Backdrop Hold. [65]
8. Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Tencozy in 17:07 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned Hiroyoshi Tenzan with a German Suplex. [69]
[68]

A BLOCK: Jushin Liger 10 [5-0], El Samurai 8 [4-1], Dr. Wagner Jr 6 [3-1], Chris Candido 2 [1-3], Gedo 2 [1-3], Gran Naniwa 2 [1-3], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-4]
B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi 8 [4-0], AKIRA 6 [3-1], Minoru Tanaka 6 [3-1], Jado 4 [2-2], Silver King 4 [2-3], Shinya Makabe 2 [1-4], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-4]

Liger defeats his tag team partner and goes top of A Block, meaning Dr. Wagner has to beat Gedo to have a chance and then Liger on the final night to prevent a clean sweep victory. Nakanishi and Yoshie pick up a surprise victory over the IWGP Tag Team Champions in the main event, setting themselves up for a title shot in the future.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 9
1. Jushin Thunder Liger and Shinya Makabe defeated Chris Candido and Katsushi Takemura in 9:52 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Liger Bomb. [62]
2. Hiro Saito defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 6:28 by pinfall with a Diving Seated Senton. [45]
3. Mad Dogs defeated Osamu Nishimura and Junji Hirata in 8:25 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Junji Hirata with a Goto Facebuster. [59]
4. B BLOCK: Jado [6] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 8:56 by pinfall with a Backdrop Driver. [47]
5. A BLOCK: Gran Naniwa [4] defeated Wataru Inoue [0] in 7:49 by pinfall. [50]
6. A BLOCK: Dr. Wagner Jr. [8] defeated Gedo [2] in 10:18 by pinfall with a Michinoku Driver II. [47]
7. B BLOCK: Silver King [6] defeated Kaz Hayashi [8] in 11:50 by pinfall with a Death Valley Driver. [52]
8. Kensuke Sasaki and Shiro Koshinaka defeated Super J and AKIRA in 10:15 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Super J with a Three-Quarter Nelson Suplex. [58]
9. TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Scott Norton) defeated Yuji Nagata, Takashi Iizuka and Yutaka Yoshie in 14:49 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Koji Cutter. [63]
[61]

A BLOCK: Jushin Liger 10 [5-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 8 [4-1], El Samurai 8 [4-1], Gran Naniwa 4 [2-3], Chris Candido 2 [1-3], Gedo 2 [1-4], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-5]
B BLOCK: Kaz Hayashi 8 [4-1], AKIRA 6 [3-1], Minoru Tanaka 6 [3-1], Jado 6 [3-2], Silver King 6 [3-3], Shinya Makabe 2 [1-4], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-5]

Step one complete for Dr. Wagner, setting up a straight shootout for the A Block on the final night between he and Liger, unless Samurai wins against Inoue and keeps alive a three-way tie. Hayashi's perfect record ends in B Block though, with Silver King's win opening the door for AKIRA and Minoru. The tiebreaker means Jado can't pass Hayashi, but he can play spoiler for AKIRA. Shibata and Inoue remain winless with one match left.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 10
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Katsushi Takemura in 9:49 by pinfall with a Senton. [26]
2. B BLOCK: AKIRA [8] defeated Jado [6] in 6:42 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [48]
3. A BLOCK: Chris Candido [4] defeated Gran Naniwa [4] in 9:02 by pinfall with an Avalanche Powerbomb. [34]
4. A BLOCK: El Samurai [10] defeated Wataru Inoue in 10:02 [0] by pinfall with a Samurai Bomb. [51]
5. B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka [8] defeated Katsuyori Shibata [0] in 9:47 by pinfall with a 450 Splash. [56]
6. Jushin Thunder Liger and Kaz Hayashi defeated Gedo and Silver King in 12:22 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Silver King with a Final Cut. [59]
7. Satoshi Kojima and Tatsutoshi Goto defeated Yutaka Yoshie and Kenzo Suzuki in 10:24 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Koji Cutter. [51]
8. Scott Norton and Hiro Saito defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Shiro Koshinaka in 9:36 when Scott Norton pinned Shiro Koshinaka. [57]
9. Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Super J and Michiyoshi Ohara) in 12:40 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Lariat. [61]
[60]

A BLOCK: El Samurai 10 [5-1], Jushin Liger 10 [5-0], Dr. Wagner Jr 8 [4-1], Chris Candido 4 [2-3], Gran Naniwa 4 [2-4], Gedo 2 [1-4], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-6]
B BLOCK: AKIRA 8 [4-1], Kaz Hayashi 8 [4-1], Minoru Tanaka 8 [4-1], Jado 6 [3-3], Silver King 6 [3-3], Shinya Makabe 2 [1-4], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-6]

Minoru and AKIRA's wins ensure that B Block is a three horse race on final night. AKIRA holds the tiebreak over Minoru, but not Hayashi. He needs to beat Makabe and hope Hayashi doesn't win. If not, Hayashi versus Minoru is for the block. Samurai is done in A Block, ending on 10 points, needing Wagner Jr. to beat his tag team partner to be back in. Inoue joins Shibata at 0-6, while Candido goes into his dead rubber with Gedo with a win.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - NIGHT 11
1. Wataru Inoue defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 6:16 by pinfall with a Cross-Legged Brainbuster. [51]
2. El Samurai and Gran Naniwa defeated Jado and Silver King in 10:36 when El Samurai pinned Silver King with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [52]
3. A BLOCK: Gedo [4] defeated Chris Candido [4] in 7:57 by pinfall with a Gedo Clutch. [43]
4. B BLOCK: Shinya Makabe [4] defeated AKIRA [8] in 10:43 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [51]
5. B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka [10] defeated Kaz Hayashi [8] in 16:50 by pinfall with a 450 Splash. [54]
6. A BLOCK: Jushin Thunder Liger [12] defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. [8] in 12:53 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [66]
7. Scott Norton defeated Shiro Koshinaka in 6:24 by pinfall. [53]
8. Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Hiro Saito and Tatsutoshi Goto in 9:43 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned Tatsutoshi Goto with a Diving Splash. [59]
9. Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated TEAM2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Michiyoshi Ohara) in 13:59 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Northern Lights Bomb. [67]
[65]

A BLOCK: Jushin Liger 12 [6-0], El Samurai 10 [5-1], Dr. Wagner Jr 8 [4-2], Chris Candido 4 [2-4], Gedo 4 [2-4], Gran Naniwa 4 [2-4], Wataru Inoue 0 [0-6]
B BLOCK: Minoru Tanaka 10 [5-1], AKIRA 8 [4-2], Kaz Hayashi 8 [4-2], Jado 6 [3-3], Silver King 6 [3-3], Shinya Makabe 4 [2-4], Katsuyori Shibata 0 [0-6]

Jushin Thunder Liger wins A Block with a perfect 6-0 record, heading into his third BOSJ final in unbeaten form. He meets the reigning Jr. HV Champion in the final, as Makabe's upset win over AKIRA ensures the winner of Minoru and Hayashi wins the block and Minoru capitalises on his opportunity with a win. The two men who finish 0-6 meet in the opening match, with Inoue restoring some pride with a victory over Shibata and avoiding the wooden spoon overall.

BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS 2001 - FINAL NIGHT
1. Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki in 7:44 when Tadao Yasuda pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Tiger Driver. [50]
2. El Samurai, Kaz Hayashi, Dr. Wagner Jr., Shinya Makabe and Wataru Inoue defeated Jado, Gedo, Silver King, Chris Candido and Gran Naniwa in 13:29 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Chris Candido with a Wrist-Clutch Kryptonite Krunch. [58]
3. TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Super J and Scott Norton) defeated Takashi Iizuka, Yutaka Yoshie and Junji Hirata in 9:47 when Scott Norton pinned Junji Hirata. [55]
4. Shiro Koshinaka defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 6:34 by pinfall with a Samoan Driver. [48]
5. Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura defeated Mad Dogs in 10:05 when Riki Choshu pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Lariat. [62]
6. Kensuke Sasaki and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated AKIRA and Masahiro Chono in 9:55 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned AKIRA with a Northern Lights Bomb. [72]
7. Satoshi Kojima defeated Manabu Nakanishi in 12:16 by pinfall with a Lariat. [70]
8. Yuji Nagata defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 18:12 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [75]
9. 2001 BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS FINAL: Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Minoru Tanaka in 24:54 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. Jushin Thunder Liger wins the 2001 Best Of Super Juniors. [69]
[69] [lost pop in 8 regions]

Jushin Liger clinches his second BOSJ title, seven years after the first, going undefeated throughout the entire tournament for the first time and defeating the Jr. HV Champion in the final. With the win Liger goes one better than Shinjiro Otani, who won every match in the block last year but not the final. Another shot at Minoru and a chance of becoming a double champion will come next month during the Summer Struggle tour.

Before that, Tag Team Champions TenCozy split wins with Nagata and Nakanishi in singles action, while Chono's return to action was spoiled by Kensuke Sasaki. In the ten man tag between BOSJ competitors it was B Block runner up Kaz Hayashi who scored the fall, completing an impressive return to New Japan rings for the former WCW star.

Edited May 11 by cbacon87

cbacon87 · May 11

-TOUR NOTES-
TITLE CHANGE: Jushin "Thunder" Liger wins his second BOSJ tournament.
BEST MATCH: Yuji Nagata defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan Final Night [75]
WORST MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsushi Takemura N10 [26]
BEST TOURNAMENT MATCH: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Tanaka Final Night [69]
WORST TOURNAMENT MATCH: Hayashi/Shibata N3 and Candido/Naniwa N10 [34]

- Rob Rage turned up high on soft drugs - after getting a couple of wins over Yoshie - and was immediately fired. He seemed very happy, although that might just have been the drugs.

- The WWF signed Scott Hall to a deal from us mid-tour, so I'm not going to be using him again before he leaves. Luckily I've got someone in mind to fill his spot in Team2000.

- Kenzo suffered a Broken Toe during the opening tag match on final night, but was only affected for 4 days.

- NOAH forced some changes by upping their Production Values, Music and Broadcast Quality mid tour, which hurt the rating of three of the middle shows.

- Lots of tag teams emerged during the tour. Minoru/Naniwa and Gedo/Candido both had Great Chemistry during their Night 3 match-up. Nishimura has Good Chemistry with both Choshu and Hirata, while Yasuda and Takemura make a Good star and young lion pairing, which could really help both of them find a role on shows, since Yasuda is an Inoki guy. Koshinaka and Yoshie had Awful Chemistry on Night 1 though.

- As far as opponents go, Takemura and Kensuke made for a Good pairing on Night 8, but Takemura's match with Tanahashi on Night 10 was Awful.

- Kojima showed up with a new Toned physique during the tour.

ELSEWHERE...
- WWF also signed Daffney and rose to Large.

- NOAH have got a new working relationship with AAA, countering our deal with CMLL.

sonny912 · May 11

Well it least Rob wasn't on steroids, then you'd have to rename him roid rage!

AboardTheArk · May 11

That NJPW 01 roster is super good, though how it ages will be questionable. You might have to spam Nagata vs Anyone at some point unless you get good luck with signings or Shibata/Nakamura/Tanahashi become super workers early on.

Inokiism rules but we all know its flaws at this point. Gedoism on that roster will be a whole different challenge though.

cbacon87 · May 12

SUPER-FORCE GROUP DECLARATION 2001
1. Mad Dogs defeated Yutaka Yoshie and Wataru Inoue in 9:44 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Wataru Inoue with a Powerbomb. [56]
2. AJPW VS. NJPW SERIES MATCH 1: Masanobu Fuchi [AJPW] defeated El Samurai [NJPW] in 10:10 by pinfall with a Bridging Belly-To-Back Suplex. [58]
NJPW 0 - AJPW 1
3. AJPW VS. NJPW SERIES MATCH 2: Minoru Tanaka [NJPW] defeated Masahito Kakihara [AJPW] in 12:27 by submission with an armbar. [66]
NJPW 1 - AJPW 1
4. AJPW VS. NJPW SERIES MATCH 3: Mitsuya Nagai [AJPW] defeated Takashi Iizuka [NJPW] in 8:09 by pinfall with a Nagai Driver. [56]
NJPW 1 - AJPW 2
5. AJPW VS. NJPW SERIES MATCH 4: Manabu Nakanishi [NJPW] defeated Mike Barton [AJPW] in 5:59 by submission with a Torture Rack. [65]
NJPW 2 - AJPW 2
6. AJPW VS. NJPW SERIES MATCH 5: Toshiaki Kawada [AJPW] defeated Satoshi Kojima [NJPW] in 14:39 by pinfall with a Brainbuster. [78]
NJPW 2 - AJPW 3
7. Taiyo Kea, Jinsei Shinzaki and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and AKIRA) in 15:58 when Taiyo Kea pinned AKIRA with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [75]
8. Keiji Muto defeated Hiroshi Hase in 26:36 by pinfall with a Shining Wizard. [72]
9. IWGP CHAMPIONSHIP: Yuji Nagata defeated Kazuyuki Fujita (c) in 11:44 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. Yuji Nagata wins the IWGP Heavyweight Title. [77]
[76] [gained pop in 1 region]

---

Post match comments

Tempers begin to flare between Team2000, as Chono questions Tenzan where he was at the end of the match. Tenzan points out that AKIRA was pinned, not him and tells Chono to get out of his face, before storming off!
Chono quickly brushes aside any questions of dissension and has other things in mind.

Chono - "Muto, you mother-f***er... this isn't over! Team2000 is the strongest force in all professional wrestling. All Japan, New Japan - across the world. You'll see. Next month, Team2000 grows even stronger... next month, we're bringing more. ROB VAN DAM! The most athletic wrestler on earth - someone who makes you look like an old man, Muto... he's coming to Japan, to Team2000... be ready... GOD DAMN!"

Edited May 12 by cbacon87

AboardTheArk · May 12

Nagai vs Lizuka... hold on this man is cooking

cbacon87 · May 14

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 1
1. Negro Casas and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Gran Naniwa and El Samurai in 11:42 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Gran Naniwa with a Brainbuster. [66]
2. Shiro Koshinaka defeated Katsushi Takemura in 8:35 by pinfall with a Samoan Driver. [44]
3. Riki Choshu and Junji Hirata defeated Mad Dogs in 10:10 when Riki Choshu pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Lariat. [52]
4. AKIRA defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 10:05 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [51]
5. Hiro Saito and Super J defeated King Of The Hills (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kenzo Suzuki) in 8:35 when Hiro Saito pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Senton. [51]
6. Tencozy defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Shinya Makabe in 12:01 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Shinya Makabe with a Koji Cutter. [67]
7. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) defeated Yuji Nagata, Takashi Iizuka and Yutaka Yoshie in 12:43 when Rob Van Dam pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Five Star Frog Splash. [75]
[71]

Team2000's newest member, Rob Van Dam, debuts in spectacular fashion in the main event, picking up the victory for his team and wowing the crowd with his innovative offence. It was a good night for Chono's men overall with 4 wins out of 5 - but interestingly, Tencozy weren't seen wearing the Team2000 colours before their win over Nakanishi and Makabe, adding further fire to talk of a rift between Tenzan and Chono.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 2
1. Yutaka Yoshie and El Samurai defeated Shiro Koshinaka and Katsuyori Shibata in 10:16 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Diving Splash. [51]
2. Super J defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in 8:51 by pinfall with a Cobra Clutch Slam. [52]
3. Minoru Tanaka and Kaz Hayashi defeated Negro Casas and Gran Naniwa in 12:11 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Gran Naniwa with an Air Raid Crash. [56]
4. Osamu Nishimura defeated Chris Candido in 8:20 by submission with an Octopus Hold. [56]
5. Tencozy defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 12:11 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Wataru Inoue with a TenKoji Cutter. [66]
6. Tatsumi Fujinami and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Masahiro Chono and AKIRA in 11:31 when Tatsumi Fujinami pinned AKIRA with a Dragon Suplex. [72]
7. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) defeated Shinya Makabe, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka in 13:28 when Rob Van Dam pinned Shinya Makabe with a Five Star Frog Splash. [73]
[71]

Two wins from two for Rob Van Dam, who impresses again. Chono isn't so lucky, as AKIRA is no match for the legend Fujinami. Hayashi continues his good BOSJ form with another win, alongside the man who beat him to make the finals Minoru.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 3
1. Chris Candido defeated Shinya Makabe in 8:20 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [39]
2. Negro Casas defeated Wataru Inoue in 9:30 by pinfall with a La Magistral Cradle. [51]
3. Tencozy defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 9:01 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Katsushi Takemura with a TenKoji Cutter. [62]
4. TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Tatsutoshi Goto and AKIRA) defeated Shiro Koshinaka and King Of The Hills in 10:59 when Hiro Saito pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Senton. [52]
5. Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai defeated Gran Naniwa and Minoru Tanaka in 14:21 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Gran Naniwa with a Brainbuster. [66]
6. Rob Van Dam and Super J defeated Takashi Iizuka and Junji Hirata in 9:48 when Rob Van Dam pinned Takashi Iizuka with a Five Star Frog Splash. [67]
7. G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Michiyoshi Ohara and Scott Norton) in 13:47 when Yuji Nagata pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Backdrop Hold. [71]
[69]

Ahead of their Jr. HV Title, BOSJ Final rematch, Liger and Minoru found themselves on opposite sides of tag action, with Liger sending a further message to the champion with a pin over Gran Naniwa.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 4
1. Katsushi Takemura defeated Wataru Inoue in 12:18 by pinfall with a Fireman's Carry Facebuster. [50]
2. Negro Casas defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 6:33 by pinfall with a La Magistral Cradle. [46]
3. Gran Naniwa defeated Chris Candido in 7:40 by pinfall with an Naniwa Bomb. [51]
4. Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura defeated Michiyoshi Ohara and Super J in 10:04 when Riki Choshu pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Lariat. [58]
5. Shiro Koshinaka and Shinya Makabe defeated King Of The Hills in 11:39 when Shinya Makabe pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Brainbuster. [52]
6. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Jado and Gedo) defeated Minoru Tanaka, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 16:29 when Masahiro Chono pinned El Samurai with a Yakuza Kick. [68]
7. Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Tatsutoshi Goto in 11:58 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned Tatsutoshi Goto with a German Suplex. [58]
8. Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated Satoshi Kojima and Scott Norton in 15:04 when Yuji Nagata pinned Satoshi Kojima with a Backdrop Hold. [62]
[62]

Tension continues between Tencozy and the rest of Team2000, as separate tag team matches see defeats and arguements post match over who was to blame. Not the best preparation for Tencozy's title defence against Nakanishi and Yoshie. After being opponents last time out, Liger and Minoru were team-mates here, a potential lack of cohesion seeing Team2000 win and Jado and Gedo again signal they want a shot at Liger and Samurai's gold.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 5
1. Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated King Of The Hills in 6:40 when Riki Choshu pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Lariat. [55]
2. Gran Naniwa and Minoru Tanaka defeated El Samurai and Negro Casas in 10:56 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Negro Casas with an armbar. [58]
3. Osamu Nishimura defeated Katsushi Takemura in 7:21 by submission with an Octopus Hold. [57]
4. Jushin Thunder Liger, Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata defeated TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) in 12:44 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Chris Candido with a Liger Bomb. [61]
5. Super Strong Machine defeated Tatsutoshi Goto in 7:56 by pinfall with a Machine DDT. [53]
6. TEAM2000 (Rob Van Dam, Hiro Saito and Super J) defeated Yuji Nagata, Shinya Makabe and Shiro Koshinaka in 11:37 when Rob Van Dam pinned Shinya Makabe with a Five Star Frog Splash. [67]
7. IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Tencozy (c) defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie in 19:02 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a TenKoji Cutter. Tencozy make defence V5 of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [65]
8. BATT (Keiji Muto and Taiyo Kea) defeated Masahiro Chono and Scott Norton in 12:35 when Keiji Muto pinned Scott Norton with a Moonsault. [67]
[66]

Tencozy make a successful defence of the tag team titles with rumours still swirling over their place in Team2000 - the champions were again not wearing the Team2000 t-shirts on the way to the ring. Chono's mood won't have been improved by falling to BATT again and watching Muto pin his enforcer Norton. Elsewhere, the surprise return of Super Strong Machine is too much for Goto, who was expecting to face a mysteriously absent Junji Hirata, while both Minoru and Liger pick up wins in tag action.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 6
1. El Samurai defeated Katsushi Takemura in 11:29 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [51]
2. Minoru Tanaka and Kaz Hayashi defeated Chris Candido and AKIRA in 10:49 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Chris Candido with an armbar. [52]
3. Mad Dogs defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 10:02 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Wataru Inoue with a Powerbomb. [56]
4. Jado and Gedo defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Katsuyori Shibata in 12:03 when Gedo pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Five Star Frog Splash. [62]
5. Osamu Nishimura and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Hiro Saito and Super J in 7:36 when Tatsumi Fujinami pinned Super J with a Dragon Suplex. [57]
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Riki Choshu in 11:29 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [59]
7. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) defeated G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) in 14:02 when Masahiro Chono pinned Manabu Nakanishi with a Yakuza Kick. [73]
[69]

With Kojima feeling the effects of their Tag Title match, Tenzan goes it alone, with no Team2000 in his corner. Their focus appears to be on Rob Van Dam, who's still undefeated, although Chono scores the fall this time.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 7
1. Super Strong Machine defeated Katsushi Takemura in 7:48 by pinfall with a Machine DDT. [46]
2. Negro Casas and Minoru Tanaka defeated Kaz Hayashi and El Samurai in 11:46 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Kaz Hayashi with an armbar. [56]
3. Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Tatsutoshi Goto in 6:53 by pinfall with a Dragon Suplex. [48]
4. Scott Norton and AKIRA defeated King Of The Hills in 8:49 when Scott Norton pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Powerbomb. [55]
5. Jado and Gedo defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Wataru Inoue in 12:29 when Gedo pinned Wataru Inoue with a Complete Shot. [64]
6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Shiro Koshinaka in 7:33 by submission with an Anaconda Vice. [58]
7. Yuji Nagata, Takashi Iizuka and Yutaka Yoshie defeated TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Super J and Michiyoshi Ohara) in 11:48 when Yuji Nagata pinned Super J with a Backdrop Hold. [61]
8. Masahiro Chono and Rob Van Dam defeated Keiji Muto and Jinsei Shinzaki in 14:38 when Rob Van Dam pinned Jinsei Shinzaki with a Five Star Frog Splash. [78]
[73]

Jado and Gedo defeat Jushin Liger and a partner for the second show in a row, building momentum towards their Jr. HV Tag Title shot. In the night's big main event, Chono's decision to add RVD to Team2000 pays off spectacularly, as he helps Chono to a victory over Muto in tag team action ahead of a now confirmed singles match between the two at the next Dome show.

Post show comments

The night's big development comes backstage though, as Tenzan announces he's had enough of following Chono in his post match interview and that he and Kojima are done with Team2000!

Tenzan - "Team2000, NJPW... we don't need anyone! Tencozy stand on our own. And anyone who stands in our way... just try and stop us!"

cbacon87 · May 15

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 8
1. Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Koshinaka defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 9:31 when Shiro Koshinaka pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Powerbomb. [52]
2. Dradition (Riki Choshu, Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine) defeated TEAM2000 (Chris Candido, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 10:08 when Riki Choshu submitted Chris Candido with a Sharpshooter. [57]
3. Rob Van Dam defeated Wataru Inoue in 7:47 by pinfall with a Five Star Frog Splash. [70]
4. Jado and Gedo defeated El Samurai and Minoru Tanaka in 13:26 when Jado pinned El Samurai with a Backdrop Driver. [59]
5. G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) defeated Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills in 11:57 when Yuji Nagata submitted Kenzo Suzuki with a Nagata Lock II. [63]
6. Tencozy defeated Super J and AKIRA in 9:45 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan submitted AKIRA with an Anaconda Vice. [63]
7. Keiji Muto, Jinsei Shinzaki and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Hiro Saito) in 13:38 when Keiji Muto pinned Hiro Saito with a Shining Wizard. [71]
[69]

The split between Tencozy and Team2000 is official, as Super J and AKIRA come up short in Chono's demands to deal with them swiftly. Chono's issues multiply as Jushin Liger helps Muto and Shinzaki to victory in the main event. RVD at least wins his first one on one match in NJPW, while Jado and Gedo's road to a Jr. HV Tag shot continues by defeating the other half of the champions, alongside singles champion Minoru. Meanwhile, Choshu, Nishimura and Super Strong Machine's formation under the banner of "Dradition" alongside Fujinami sees them pick up a win.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 9
1. Gran Naniwa defeated Katsushi Takemura in 8:38 by pinfall with a Naniwa Bomb. [46]
2. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Chris Candido in 12:13 by pinfall with a Flying Splash. [50]
3. Kaz Hayashi and Minoru Tanaka defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Shinya Makabe in 10:41 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Shinya Makabe with an armbar. [65]
4. TEAM2000 (Hiro Saito, Gedo and Jado) defeated Negro Casas, Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata in 9:42 when Gedo pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Complete Shot. [54]
5. TEAM2000 (Rob Van Dam, Scott Norton and Super J) defeated Shiro Koshinaka and King Of The Hills in 10:40 when Rob Van Dam pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Five Star Frog Splash. [64]
6. Tencozy defeated Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura in 12:02 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Osamu Nishimura with a TenKoji Cutter. [70]
7. Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata and Takashi Iizuka defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 12:46 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Lariat. [72]
[70]

Minoru gains one-up on Liger in tag team action, tapping out Makabe. Alone on an island, Tencozy are victorious over Dradition this time out, with Kojima looking back to full strength.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 10
1. AKIRA defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 10:25 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [51]
2. Shiro Koshinaka defeated Katsushi Takemura in 7:52 by pinfall with a Powerbomb. [45]
3. Kaz Hayashi and Negro Casas defeated Minoru Tanaka and Gran Naniwa in 9:37 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Gran Naniwa with an Air Raid Crash. [59]
4. TEAM2000 (Super J, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) defeated Yutaka Yoshie, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Wataru Inoue in 10:21 when Super J pinned Wataru Inoue with a Choke Slam. [56]
5. IWGP JR. HV TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Jado and Gedo defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai (c) in 13:47 when Gedo pinned El Samurai with a Gedo Clutch. Jado and Gedo win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [65]
6. Satoshi Kojima defeated Osamu Nishimura in 7:37 by pinfall with a Koji Cutter. [64]
7. Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Hiro Saito in 10:41 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [63]
8. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) defeated Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi and Takashi Iizuka in 13:49 when Scott Norton pinned Takashi Iizuka with a Powerslam. [77]
[73]

New champions are crowned as Jado and Gedo capture the Jr. HV Tag Team Titles from Liger and Samurai, bringing gold back to Team2000. The recently defected heavyweight champions, Tencozy, beat members of Dradition and Team2000 in singles action as they continue to take on all comers. And RVD continues to equal success in the main event.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 11
1. Wataru Inoue defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 9:24 by pinfall with a Spear. [52]
2. Rob Van Dam and Chris Candido defeated King Of The Hills in 12:25 when Rob Van Dam pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Five Star Frog Splash. [67]
3. Riki Choshu and Super Strong Machine defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 9:23 when Riki Choshu pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Lariat. [53]
4. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Tatsutoshi Goto in 5:17 by pinfall with a Lariat. [53]
5. TEAM2000 (AKIRA, Jado and Gedo) defeated Minoru Tanaka, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 11:34 when AKIRA pinned El Samurai with a Diving Splash. [59]
6. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Super J and Michiyoshi Ohara in 11:25 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned Super J with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [67]
7. Keiji Muto and Tencozy defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Hiro Saito) in 16:02 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Hiro Saito with a Koji Cutter. [73]
[70]

Fresh off their title win Jado and Gedo heap another loss on Liger and Samurai in six man action, as Liger and Minoru attempt to co-exist ahead of their upcoming Jr. Title match. Speaking of strange bedfellows, the main event sees Tencozy join forces with Keiji Muto, proving the adage of my enemy's enemy is my friend as they defeat Team2000.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 12
1. Kaz Hayashi defeated Wataru Inoue in 9:26 by pinfall with a Wrist-Clutch Kryptonite Krunch. [56]
2. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 10:19 by pinfall with a Senton. [38]
3. TEAM2000 (Rob Van Dam, Jado and Gedo) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Shinya Makabe in 13:26 when Rob Van Dam pinned Shinya Makabe with a Five Star Frog Splash. [69]
4. Super J defeated Shiro Koshinaka in 6:19 by pinfall with a Choke Slam. [50]
5. Kensuke Sasaki and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura in 11:52 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Osamu Nishimura with a Lariat. [61]
6. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Scott Norton and Hiro Saito in 12:25 when Yuji Nagata pinned Hiro Saito with a Backdrop Hold. [61]
7. Keiji Muto and Tencozy defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 11:33 when Keiji Muto pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Shining Wizard. [69]
[67]

A different combination provides no better result, as he and Mad Dogs fall to Muto and Tencozy again. It's also another loss for Liger and Minoru as team-mates. King Of The Hills team-mates Tanahashi and Kenzo square off earlier in the show, with Tanahashi gaining the better of his tag team partner.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 13
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Wataru Inoue in 11:51 by pinfall with a Senton. [55]
2. Osamu Nishimura defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 7:34 by submission with an Octopus Hold. [57]
3. Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Kaz Hayashi defeated TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) in 13:13 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Chris Candido with a Liger Bomb. [62]
4. Riki Choshu and Super Strong Machine defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 11:23 when Riki Choshu pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Lariat. [52]
5. TEAM2000 (Super J, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) defeated Takashi Iizuka, Yutaka Yoshie and Shiro Koshinaka in 10:36 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Double Choke Slam. [55]
6. Kensuke Sasaki, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and AKIRA) in 13:03 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned AKIRA with a Lariat. [73]
7. Masahiro Chono and Hiro Saito defeated Tencozy in 12:32 when Masahiro Chono pinned Hiroyoshi Tenzan with a Shining Black. [72]
[71]

Redemption is the theme of the night, with Liger scoring a fall over Team2000 opposition and Chono putting Tencozy to rights in the main event. RVD's undefeated start is also brought to an end, albeit with AKIRA taking the pin from Kensuke, who is amassing an impressive string of wins of his own.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 14
1. Minoru Tanaka defeated Katsushi Takemura in 7:27 by submission with an armbar. [62]
2. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Chris Candido in 8:18 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [51]
3. Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue defeated Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi in 11:05 when Wataru Inoue pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Spear. [60]
4. TEAM2000 (Rob Van Dam, Jado and Gedo) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Kaz Hayashi and Shinya Makabe in 12:07 when Rob Van Dam pinned Shinya Makabe with a Five Star Frog Splash. [68]
5. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 6:29 by pinfall with a Northern Lights Bomb. [70]
6. Mad Dogs defeated Riki Choshu and Super Strong Machine in 9:35 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Super Strong Machine with a Goto Facebuster. [58]
7. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Masahiro Chono and AKIRA in 13:21 when Yuji Nagata pinned AKIRA with a Backdrop Hold. [73]
8. Keiji Muto and Tencozy defeated TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Super J and Hiro Saito) in 13:07 when Keiji Muto pinned Super J with a Shining Wizard. [66]
[67]

Muto helps Tencozy return to winning ways, but there's a noticable distance during the celebrations that suggests the alliance isn't meant to last. There's another win for Kensuke too, with Kenzo bringing a real fight in defeat and seeming to impress Sasaki.

SUMMER STRUGGLE NIGHT 15
1. Kaz Hayashi defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 7:52 by pinfall with a Final Cut. [34]
2. Scott Norton defeated Wataru Inoue in 6:17 by submission with an Canadian Backbreaker. [56]
3. Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills defeated TEAM2000 (Michiyoshi Ohara, Tatsutoshi Goto and AKIRA) in 11:46 when Shinya Makabe pinned AKIRA with a Brainbuster. [55]
4. Super J defeated Shiro Koshinaka in 7:47 by pinfall with a Cobra Clutch Slam. [48]
5. Minoru Tanaka, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai defeated TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) in 16:24 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Jado with a Liger Bomb. [66]
6. Tencozy defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Takashi Iizuka in 13:11 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Takashi Iizuka with a TenKoji Cutter. [67]
7. Masahiro Chono and Rob Van Dam defeated Yuji Nagata and Yutaka Yoshie in 13:28 when Rob Van Dam pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Five Star Frog Splash. [74]
[70]

Last preparations for the Dome show see RVD, Chono and Tencozy victorious. Liger and Minoru set up their title match by putting away Team2000 once more. After his upset win on BOSJ Final night, Makabe sees lightning strike twice by pinning AKIRA again, securing a huge win for himself and King Of The Hills over more experienced opposition.

cbacon87 · May 15

-TOUR NOTES-
TITLE CHANGE: Jado and Gedo win the Jr. HV Tag Team Champions for the first time.
BEST MATCH: Chono and RVD vs. Muto and Shinzaki N7 [78]
WORST MATCH: Hayashi vs. Shibata N15 [34]

- RVD was brought in on a 2 year deal ahead of this tour and made a fantastic start to life in NJPW. Not only is he in amazing form, but his debut kicked off a groundswell of public support that has carried through the tour and elevated all of his matches.

- Kojima suffered Cracked Ribs during the Tag Title match on Night 5 against Nakanishi and Yoshie. He was able to work through it, but was given a couple of shows off anyway, with Tenzan working singles instead.

- El Samurai also picked up an injury, a Whiplash Neck Strain on Night 11 that bugged him for a week.

- Chono and Norton had Poor Chemistry in their match on Night 5, which is awkward since they're the two top guys in Team2000. Also awkward is AKIRA having Awful Chemistry with Candido. Samurai and Casas's teamwork was also Awful, but Casas and Naniwa worked Great together, as did Iizuka and Inoue, who will be paired more going forward.

- Kensuke Sasaki and Kenzo Suzuki had Great Chemistry in their Night 14 match, while Goto works Great against both Super Strong Machine and Fujinami.

- Kazunari Murakami was released, the first casualty of the move away from Inoki.

ELSEWHERE...
- The WWF have brought Mark Henry, D-Lo, Val, Stevie and Bull Buchanan back onto the main roster over the past few weeks, filling out a very deep roster with the WCW signings. Essa Rios, TAKA and D-Lo have all re-signed, despite the best efforts of us to tempt TAKA back to Japan.

- On screen, Kurt Angle won the King Of The Ring for the second year in a row, beating DDP in the final. The integration of the WCW talent and titles is the main story, with The Dudleys winning the WCW Tag Team Titles. Stone Cold has formed his own "Austin Alliance" in response to this, with Big Show, Scott Hall and The Dudleys joining his side.

-In indy sleaze news, Jasmin St. Claire and Blue Meanie are no longer together, after Jasmine cheated on Meanie with Trent Acid.

AboardTheArk · May 15

Nooooo not the Heisei Terrorist

sonny912 · May 15

3 hours ago, AboardTheArk said:

Nooooo not the Heisei Terrorist

Who's the herself terrorist?

cbacon87 · May 18

DOME QUAKE
1. Osamu Nishimura and Shiro Koshinaka defeated Hiro Saito and AKIRA in 9:24 when Shiro Koshinaka pinned AKIRA with a Samoan Driver. [65]
2. Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 8:01 by pinfall with a Choke Slam. [53]
3. Dradition (Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami and Super Strong Machine) defeated Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills in 9:33 when Riki Choshu pinned Shinya Makabe with a Lariat. [58]
4. TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) defeated El Samurai, Kaz Hayashi and Wataru Inoue in 12:11 when Gedo pinned Kaz Hayashi with a Five Star Frog Splash. [61]
5. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Tadao Yasuda in 8:07 by pinfall with a Lariat. [69]
6. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Super J) defeated Takashi Iizuka, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie in 12:31 when Rob Van Dam pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Five Star Frog Splash. [71]
7. IWGP JR. HV CHAMPIONSHIP: Minoru Tanaka (c) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in 17:04 by submission with a Minoru Special. Minoru Tanaka makes defence V3 of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. [73]
8. IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Tencozy (c) defeated Jinsei Shinzaki and Taiyo Kea in 15:56 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Jinsei Shinzaki with a TenKoji Cutter. Tencozy make defence V2 of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [76]
9. Masahiro Chono defeated Keiji Muto in 15:52 by pinfall with a Yakuza Kick. [79]
10. IWGP CHAMPIONSHIP: Yuji Nagata (c) defeated Don Frye in 11:39 by pinfall. Yuji Nagata makes defence V1 of the IWGP Heavyweight title. [66]
[68] [lost pop in 8 regions]

-SHOW NOTES-

- The main event was a major letdown. Not only was Frye really off his game, but the two had Poor Chemistry to top it off. I'm not sure Frye will be sticking around after this - another Inoki guy who's face might not fit with the move away from shoot style.

- With that, a slight tweak in the product to a slightly more Mainstream version of Puro will see the opportunity to run some occasional angles on the show from now on.

- Choshu took Tanahashi under his wing as a protege before the show.

- Hase and Shinzaki's loans are finished, but Dr. Wagner Jr. will be used more often after Fujinami re-upped him for 2 years.

ELSEWHERE...
- Both Chyna and Grandmaster Sexay are done with WWF.

- Ken Shamrock lost his latest MMA fight.

cbacon87 · May 19

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING Presents...

G1 CLIMAX 2001

A BLOCK:
Masahiro Chono - 11th entry, '91 '92 '94 Winner, '96 Runner Up
Keiji Muto [AJPW] - 10th entry, '95 Winner, '91 '99 Runner Up
Manabu Nakanishi - 5th entry, '99 Winner, '00 Runner Up
Riki Choshu - 4th entry, '96 Winner
Satoshi Kojima - 6th entry, IWGP HV Tag Team Champion
Takashi Iizuka- 4th entry

B BLOCK
Yuji Nagata - 3rd entry, IWGP HV Champion
Kensuke Sasaki - 8th entry, '97 '00 Winner, '94 Runner Up
Hiroyoshi Tenzan - 7th entry, '97 Runner Up, IWGP HV Tag Team Champion
Scott Norton - 5th entry
Osamu Nishimura - 3rd entry
Rob Van Dam - 1st entry

G1 CLIMAX N1

A BLOCK: Muto/Kojima, Chono/Choshu, Nakanishi/Iizuka

B BLOCK: Kensuke/Norton, RVD/Tenzan, Nagata/Nishimura

G1 CLIMAX N2

A BLOCK: Muto/Chono, Nakanishi/Choshu, Kojima/Iizuka

B BLOCK: Nagata/Kensuke, Norton/RVD, Tenzan/Nishimura

G1 CLIMAX N3

A BLOCK: Muto/Choshu, Chono/Iizuka, Kojima/Nakanishi

B BLOCK: Nagata/Norton, Kensuke/Tenzan, RVD/Nishimura

G1 CLIMAX N4

A BLOCK: Chono/Nakanishi, Kojima/Choshu, Muto/Iizuka

B BLOCK: Nagata/RVD, Norton/Tenzan, Kensuke/Nishimura

G1 CLIMAX N5

A BLOCK: Chono/Kojima, Muto/Nakanishi, Iizuka/Choshu

B BLOCK: Nagata/Tenzan, Kensuke/RVD, Norton/Nishimura

cbacon87 · May 22

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 1
1. El Samurai defeated Katsushi Takemura in 8:28 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [53]
2. King Of The Hills defeated Wataru Inoue and Shiro Koshinaka in 10:13 when Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned Wataru Inoue with a Frog Splash. [55]
3. A BLOCK: Takashi Iizuka [1-0] defeated Manabu Nakanishi [0-1] in 12:21 by pinfall with a Blizzard Suplex. [59]
4. B BLOCK: Yuji Nagata [1-0] defeated Osamu Nishimura [0-1] in 15:02 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [66]
5. B BLOCK: Rob Van Dam [1-0] defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0-1] in 12:48 by pinfall with a Five Star Frog Splash. [73]
6. A BLOCK: Masahiro Chono [1-0] defeated Riki Choshu [0-1] in 7:51 by pinfall with a Shining Black. [70]
7. B BLOCK: Kensuke Sasaki [1-0] defeated Scott Norton [0-1] in 9:49 by pinfall with a Lariat. [71]
8. A BLOCK: Satoshi Kojima [1-0] defeated Keiji Muto [0-1] in 18:17 by pinfall with a Lariat. [65]
[66]

A BLOCK: Chono 2 [1-0], Iizuka 2 [1-0], Kojima 2 [1-0], Choshu 0 [0-1], Muto 0 [0-1], Nakanishi 0 [0-1]
B BLOCK: Kensuke 2 [1-0], Nagata 2 [1-0], RVD 2 [1-0], Nishimura 0 [0-1], Norton 0 [0-1], Tenzan 0 [0-1]

Opening day sees a surprise loss for Muto in the main event to Kojima, while Kojima's partner Tenzan is pinned by Rob Van Dam, making his G1 debut. Chono puts away Choshu with a variation of Muto's Shining Wizard, sending a message before their rematch from Dome Quake on Night 2. Also on the board are Iizuka, who beats twice-finalist Nakanishi, Kensuke and the IWGP Champion Nagata.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 2
1. El Samurai defeated Wataru Inoue in 8:57 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [54]
2. Shinya Makabe and Yutaka Yoshie defeated King Of The Hills in 9:24 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with a Diving Splash. [53]
3. B BLOCK: Osamu Nishimura [1-1] defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0-2] in 6:35 by pinfall with a quick cradle. [64]
4. A BLOCK: Riki Choshu [1-1] defeated Manabu Nakanishi [0-2] in 8:24 by pinfall with a Lariat. [64]
5. B BLOCK: Rob Van Dam [2-0] defeated Scott Norton in 7:07 [0-2] by pinfall with a surprise roll up. [70]
6. A BLOCK: Satoshi Kojima [2-0] defeated Takashi Iizuka [1-1] in 12:26 by pinfall with a Lariat. [63]
7. A BLOCK: Keiji Muto [1-1] defeated Masahiro Chono [1-1] in 15:37 by pinfall with a Frankensteiner. [79]
8. B BLOCK: Yuji Nagata [1-1-0] drew with Kensuke Sasaki [1-1-0] in 30:00 when the time limit expired. [62]
[65]

A BLOCK: Kojima 4 [2-0], Chono 2 [1-1], Choshu 2 [1-1], Iizuka 2 [1-1], Muto 2 [1-1], Nakanishi 0 [0-2]
B BLOCK: RVD 4 [2-0], Kensuke 3 [1-1-0], Nagata 3 [1-1-0], Nishimura 2 [1-1], Norton 0 [0-2], Tenzan 0 [0-2]

Dropped points for Nagata and Kensuke, as Sasaki takes the champion to the limit, leaving them both on 3 points. That puts RVD at the top of B Block, as he catches his Team2000 ally Norton by surprise and goes to 2-0. Tenzan is winless after a rollup of his own by Nishimura. His partner Kojima is the only undefeated man left in A Block though, with a logjam behind him on 1 win, including Muto, who avenges his defeat to Chono.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 3
1. Shiro Koshinaka defeated Shinya Makabe in 10:04 by pinfall with a Powerbomb. [43]
2. El Samurai and Kaz Hayashi defeated Wataru Inoue and Katsuyori Shibata in 12:23 when El Samurai pinned Wataru Inoue with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [56]
3. B BLOCK: Rob Van Dam [3-0] defeated Osamu Nishimura [1-2] in 15:30 by pinfall with a Five Star Frog Splash. [81]
4. A BLOCK: Masahiro Chono [2-1] defeated Takashi Iizuka [1-2] in 7:57 by pinfall with a Shining Black. [70]
5. B BLOCK: Yuji Nagata [1-2-0] drew with Scott Norton [0-1-2] in 9:10 following a double count out. [50]
6. A BLOCK: Keiji Muto [2-1] defeated Riki Choshu [1-2] in 11:26 by pinfall with a Shining Wizard. [70]
7. B BLOCK: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [1-2] defeated Kensuke Sasaki [1-1-1] in 11:37 by pinfall with a TTD. [66]
8. A BLOCK: Manabu Nakanishi [1-2] defeated Satoshi Kojima [2-1] in 13:02 by pinfall with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [67]
[69]

A BLOCK: Chono 4 [2-1], Kojima 4 [2-1], Muto 4 [2-1], Choshu 2 [1-2], Iizuka 2 [1-2], Nakanishi 2 [1-2]
B BLOCK: RVD 6 [3-0], Nagata 4 [1-2-0] ; Kensuke 3 [1-1-1], Nishimura 2 [1-2], Tenzan 2 [1-2], Norton 1 [0-1-2]

One man remains perfect after Night 3 and it's Rob Van Dam, after a hard fought victory over Nishimura in the match of the night. Nagata is his closest challenger, but is involved in another controversial draw, while Tenzan's first points come at the expense of Kensuke. Kojima is reeled back in in A Block after losing to previously winless Nakanishi in the main event, allowing Muto and Chono to draw level with victories.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 4
1. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Katsushi Takemura in 7:08 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [48]
2. Minoru Tanaka and El Samurai defeated Wataru Inoue and Kaz Hayashi in 15:04 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Wataru Inoue with a Minoru Special. [60]
3. B BLOCK: Kensuke Sasaki [2-1-1] defeated Osamu Nishimura [1-3] in 11:42 by pinfall with a Lariat. [66]
4. B BLOCK: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2-2] defeated Scott Norton [0-1-3] in 8:44 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [70]
5. A BLOCK: Satoshi Kojima [3-1] defeated Riki Choshu [1-3] in 8:14 by pinfall with a Cutter. [65]
6. A BLOCK: Manabu Nakanishi [2-2] defeated Masahiro Chono [2-2] in 13:40 by pinfall with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [79]
7. A BLOCK: Keiji Muto [3-1] defeated Takashi Iizuka [1-3] in 12:18 by pinfall with a Shining Wizard. [69]
8. B BLOCK: Yuji Nagata [2-2-0] defeated Rob Van Dam [3-1] in 18:18 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [78]
[77]

A BLOCK: Kojima 6 [3-1], Muto 6 [3-1] ; Chono 4 [2-2], Nakanishi 4 [2-2], Choshu 2 [1-3], Iizuka 2 [1-3]
B BLOCK: RVD 6 [3-1], Nagata 6 [2-2-0] ; Kensuke 5 [2-1-1], Tenzan 4 [2-2], Nishimura 2 [1-3], Norton 1 [0-1-3]

Eight men remain alive heading into the final block matches, with the four in each block in direct competition. RVD takes his first fall of the tournament to Nagata, preventing him from clinching a top two spot, while Choshu, Iizuka, Nishimura and Norton are all eliminated with defeats.

In A Block Nakanishi's win over Chono keeps him in contention for a third successive final appearance. Nakanishi faces Muto and Chono faces Kojima, with the winners advancing to the semi finals, but draws being good enough for Muto and Kojima. B Block sees Kensuke needing to defeat RVD and Tenzan looking to come back from an 0-2 start and beat IWGP Champion Nagata, who just needs a draw.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 5
1. Wataru Inoue defeated Katsushi Takemura in 10:43 by pinfall with a Cross-Legged Brainbuster. [42]
2. Shiro Koshinaka, Yutaka Yoshie and Super Strong Machine defeated Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills in 9:51 when Super Strong Machine pinned Shinya Makabe with a Machine DDT. [52]
3. B BLOCK: Scott Norton [1-1-3] defeated Osamu Nishimura [1-4] in 5:54 by pinfall with a Flashback. [62]
4. A BLOCK: Riki Choshu [2-3] defeated Takashi Iizuka [1-4] in 8:54 by pinfall with a Lariat. [56]
5. B BLOCK: Yuji Nagata [3-2-0] defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2-3] in 14:45 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. [65]
6. B BLOCK: Kensuke Sasaki [3-1-1] defeated Rob Van Dam [3-2] in 12:36 by pinfall with a Northern Lights Bomb. [80]
7. A BLOCK: Keiji Muto [4-2] defeated Manabu Nakanishi [2-3] in 16:23 by pinfall with a Moonsault. [71]
8. A BLOCK: Masahiro Chono [3-2] defeated Satoshi Kojima [3-2] in 15:12 by pinfall with a Shining Black. [82]
[79]

A BLOCK: Muto 8 [4-2], Chono 6 [3-2] ; Kojima 6 [3-2], Choshu 4 [2-3], Nakanishi 4 [2-3], Iizuka 2 [1-4]
B BLOCK: Nagata 8 [3-2-0], Kensuke 7 [3-1-1]; RVD 6 [3-2], Tenzan 4 [2-3], Norton 3 [1-1-3], Nishimura 2 [1-4]

The semi finals are set, with Chono and Kensuke snatching second spots. Muto tops A Block with his win over Nakanishi, while Chono's win against Team2000 defector Kojima earns his way in. IWGP Champion Nagata wins B Block as the only undefeated competitor, topping the block despite two early draws. After leading all the way, RVD is denied right at the end in his first G1, beaten by Kensuke. Norton avoids going winless with his defeat of Nishimura, while Iizuka's opening day win is followed by 4 losses.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 NIGHT 6
1. Tatsumi Fujinami, Super Strong Machine and Shiro Koshinaka defeated TEAM2000 (AKIRA, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 10:28 when Tatsumi Fujinami submitted AKIRA with a Dragon Sleeper. [55]
2. Super J defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 8:15 by pinfall with a Cobra Clutch Slam. [49]
3. El Samurai defeated Kaz Hayashi in 14:36 by pinfall with a Lifting Reverse DDT. [52]
4. Tencozy defeated Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura in 10:40 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Osamu Nishimura with a TenKoji Cutter. [68]
5. Jado and Gedo defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Wataru Inoue in 11:43 when Gedo pinned Wataru Inoue with a Complete Shot. [64]
6. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) defeated Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie in 13:08 when Rob Van Dam pinned Takashi Iizuka with a Five Star Frog Splash. [70]
7. G1 CLIMAX SEMI FINAL: Kensuke Sasaki defeated Keiji Muto in 18:49 by pinfall with a Lariat. [77]
8. G1 CLIMAX SEMI FINAL: Masahiro Chono defeated Yuji Nagata in 16:23 by pinfall with a Shining Black. [77]
[76]

Both block winners are upset in the semi finals, setting up a rematch of the 1994 final, seven years on. Chono knocks out the IWGP Champion in the main event, once again using the same move he's secured all of his victories with in the tournament to get the pin. He doesn't get the chance to use it again on Muto though, as Kensuke defeats the AJPW star.

G1 CLIMAX 2001 FINALS
1. Tadao Yasuda defeated Shinya Makabe in 6:07 by pinfall with a Tiger Driver. [67]
2. Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Kaz Hayashi and Gran Naniwa in 11:47 when Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Gran Naniwa with a Wagner Driver. [61]
3. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 8:03 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [55]
4. Minoru Tanaka, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai defeated TEAM2000 (Chris Candido, Jado and Gedo) in 16:25 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Chris Candido with a Brainbuster. [67]
5. King Of The Hills defeated Super J and AKIRA in 9:38 when Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned AKIRA with a Frog Splash. [58]
6. Mad Dogs defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 10:29 when Michiyoshi Ohara pinned Wataru Inoue with a Choke Slam. [58]
7. Keiji Muto and Tencozy defeated Dradition (Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura) in 12:27 when Keiji Muto pinned Riki Choshu with a Shining Wizard. [67]
8. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam in 12:49 when Yuji Nagata pinned Rob Van Dam with a Backdrop Hold. [73]
9. G1 CLIMAX FINAL: Masahiro Chono defeated Kensuke Sasaki in 26:02 by pinfall with three consecutive Yakuza Kicks. Masahiro Chono wins the G1 Climax. [85]
10. Chono Post Match Celebration w/TEAM2000, Coming For Nagata [65]
[80] [gained pop in 1 region]

Mr. G1 strikes again, adding a 4th G1 Climax to his resumé in a titanic final, before calling out Yuji Nagata during his trophy presentation and making it clear he's coming for his IWGP Title next time. Kensuke manages to do what no-one else could and kicks out of the Shining Black, but Chono eventually does enough to put him down again.

cbacon87 · May 23

-TOUR NOTES-
TITLE CHANGE: Masahiro Chono wins his fourth G1 Climax tournament.
BEST MATCH: Masahiro Chono vs. Kensuke Sasaki G1 Final [85]
WORST TOURNAMENT MATCH: Yuji Nagata vs. Scott Norton N3 [50]
WORST MATCH: Wataru Inoue vs. Katsushi Takemura N5 [42]

- Fans really didn't like the double count-out finish to Nagata/Norton. Anything that's not completely clean is really off the table.

- RVD continues to ride the wave of popularity he's got. His match with Nishimura was in the top 3 of the tournament, thanks to the surprisingly Great Chemistry the two have.

- Also unexpectedly good together are Yoshie and Shibata, who also have Great Chemistry. Koshinaka and Makabe had Poor Chemistry in their match though.

- Takemura ended up with Cracked Ribs from the match with Samurai, so was held off for a couple of shows.

- We ended up releasing Don Frye, since he wasn't fitting into future plans, even as someone to just use on big shows.

ELSEWHERE...
- BATT disbanded as a stable in AJPW. We still have dates on the loans of Muto, Kea, Shinzaki and Kashin, so they'll still have a role together somewhere.

- WWF are changing their figurehead from Austin to Rock, with Rock's return this month. The Austin and Big Show versus Rock and Kane main events on Raw were both super-heated MOTYCs.

- Austin is still WWF Champion, for now, beating Kane at Summerslam in another hot match.

- AJPW put their Tag Titles on Dr. Death and Rotundo.

cbacon87 · May 26

G1 WORLD NIGHT 1
1. Yutaka Yoshie and Shinya Makabe defeated Katsushi Takemura and EZ Money in 9:23 when Yutaka Yoshie pinned EZ Money with a Diving Splash. [47]
2. Kaz Hayashi and Minoru Tanaka defeated Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. in 14:37 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Silver King with a Minoru Special. [59]
3. Hiro Saito defeated Super Strong Machine in 7:04 by pinfall with a Diving Seated Senton. [50]
4. TEAM2000 (AKIRA, Jado and Gedo) defeated Wataru Inoue and Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 12:53 when AKIRA pinned Wataru Inoue with a Diving Splash. [66]
5. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Super J in 5:51 by pinfall with a Lariat. [67]
6. Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Mad Dogs in 12:51 when Yuji Nagata pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Backdrop Hold. [70]
7. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) defeated Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata in 12:44 when Masahiro Chono pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Yakuza Kick. [75]
[73]

The new G1 champion begins his road to an IWGP Title shot with victory in the main event over former team-mates Tencozy, who have taken youngster Shibata under their collective wing. Van Dam and Norton motion that they're next in line for the IWGP Tag Titles after the match. The debuting EZ Money takes the pin in the opener.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 2
1. Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Wataru Inoue and Shinya Makabe in 8:55 when Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Wataru Inoue with a Wagner Driver. [60]
2. Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Michiyoshi Ohara in 7:10 by pinfall with a Dragon Suplex. [53]
3. King Of The Hills defeated Katsushi Takemura and EZ Money in 9:40 by pinfall when Kenzo Suzuki pinned EZ Money with a Spear. [52]
4. Super Strong Machine defeated Tatsutoshi Goto in 6:33 by pinfall with a Sitout Powerbomb. [52]
5. TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger, Kaz Hayashi and Minoru Tanaka in 14:57 when Gedo pinned Kaz Hayashi with a Complete Shot. [62]
6. Kensuke Sasaki and Takashi Iizuka defeated Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura in 13:06 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Osamu Nishimura with a Northern Lights Bomb. [67]
7. Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata defeated TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and AKIRA) in 13:03 when Satoshi Kojima pinned AKIRA with a Koji Cutter. [70]
8. G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) defeated TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and Super J) in 13:29 when Yuji Nagata pinned Super J with a Backdrop Hold. [72]
[66]

G1 WORLD NIGHT 3
1. Chris Candido defeated Shinya Makabe in 9:47 by pinfall with a Diving Headbutt. [40]
2. EZ Money, Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Minoru Tanaka, Kaz Hayashi and Wataru Inoue in 11:06 when Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Wataru Inoue with a Wagner Driver. [60]
3. Tadao Yasuda defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 8:55 by pinfall with a Tiger Driver. [58]
4. Takashi Iizuka and Manabu Nakanishi defeated King Of The Hills in 9:54 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned Hiroshi Tanahashi with an Argentine Neckbreaker. [64]
5. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Michiyoshi Ohara in 5:19 by pinfall with a Northern Lights Bomb. [63]
6. Tencozy defeated Super J and AKIRA in 10:26 when Satoshi Kojima pinned AKIRA with a TenKoji Cutter. [66]
7. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) defeated Dradition (Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura) in 11:51 when Scott Norton pinned Riki Choshu with a Powerslam. [70]
8. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Jado and Gedo) defeated Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 15:49 when Masahiro Chono pinned Jushin Thunder Liger with a Yakuza Kick. [62]
[63]

Nagata and Chono trade wins across Nights 2 and 3, as Chono helps the Jr. HV Tag Champions towards another win, ahead of Liger and Samurai's upcoming rematch for the belts.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 4
1. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Katsushi Takemura in 8:30 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [46]
2. Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated Kaz Hayashi and Gran Naniwa in 11:27 when Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Gran Naniwa with a Wagner Driver. [55]
3. Shiro Koshinaka defeated EZ Money in 6:14 by pinfall with a Powerbomb. [44]
4. Minoru Tanaka, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai defeated TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) in 15:01 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Jado with a Brainbuster. [67]
5. Dradition (Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu and Super Strong Machine) defeated Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills in 11:28 when Riki Choshu pinned Shinya Makabe with a Lariat. [57]
6. Mad Dogs defeated Kensuke Sasaki and Wataru Inoue in 10:47 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Wataru Inoue with a Goto Facebuster. [66]
7. Tencozy defeated Rob Van Dam and AKIRA in 12:27 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan submitted AKIRA with an Anaconda Vice. [77]
8. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Hiro Saito) defeated Takashi Iizuka, Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi in 13:05 when Masahiro Chono pinned Takashi Iizuka with a Yakuza Kick. [76]
[74]

Dr. Wagner Jr. continues to rack up wins as he prepares to challenge Minoru for the Jr. HV Championship. AKIRA is once again the fall guy meanwhile, as Tencozy build momentum towards their title defence against Norton and RVD.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 5
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Chris Candido in 8:03 by pinfall with a Frog Splash. [55]
2. EZ Money, Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. defeated El Samurai, Kaz Hayashi and Shinya Makabe in 14:47 when Dr. Wagner Jr. pinned Shinya Makabe with a Wagner Driver. [56]
3. Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 10:58 when Osamu Nishimura submitted Wataru Inoue with an Octopus Hold. [61]
4. Kensuke Sasaki, Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu defeated TEAM2000 (Super J, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) in 10:06 when Riki Choshu pinned Super J with a Lariat. [65]
5. Satoshi Kojima defeated Rob Van Dam in 13:50 by pinfall with a Northern Lights Bomb. [78]
6. Scott Norton and Hiro Saito defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Katsuyori Shibata in 11:04 when Scott Norton pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Powerbomb. [64]
7. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Jado and Gedo) defeated Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger and Minoru Tanaka in 14:56 when Masahiro Chono pinned Minoru Tanaka with a Yakuza Kick. [77]
[76]

In a preview of the Tag Title bout, Kojima puts away RVD in a hard-fought singles bout, but Norton ensures Team2000 go in with some confidence by pinning Shibata in front of Tenzan. Tanahashi is also victorious and impressive in singles action.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 6
1. Mad Dogs defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 7:47 when Tatsutoshi Goto pinned Wataru Inoue with a Goto Facebuster. [60]
2. Kendo Kashin defeated Katsushi Takemura in 5:46 by pinfall with a Frankensteiner. [50]
3. TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) defeated El Samurai, Gran Naniwa and Kaz Hayashi in 11:35 when Gedo pinned Gran Naniwa with a Gedo Clutch. [56]
4. In a decent match, Dradition (Tatsumi Fujinami, Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine) defeated Shinya Makabe and King Of The Hills in 12:01 when Osamu Nishimura submitted Shinya Makabe with an Octopus Hold. [64]
5. IWGP JR. HV CHAMPIONSHIP: Minoru Tanaka (c) defeated Dr. Wagner Jr. in 18:07 by pinfall with a Wrist-Clutch Fisherman's Driver. Minoru Tanaka makes defence V4 of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. [59]
6. Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Tadao Yasuda in 9:29 by pinfall with a Soccer Kick. [69]
7. Kensuke Sasaki defeated Riki Choshu in 12:09 by pinfall with a Lariat. [71]
8. Keiji Muto and Jinsei Shinzaki defeated Hiro Saito and Super J in 10:06 when Keiji Muto pinned Hiro Saito with a Shining Wizard. [67]
9. Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Masahiro Chono and AKIRA in 13:22 when Yuji Nagata pinned AKIRA with a Backdrop Hold. [80]
10. Chono Lays Out Nagata and Liger, Coming For Nagata's Title [81]
11. IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam defeated Tencozy (c) in 14:56 when Rob Van Dam pinned Satoshi Kojima with a Five Star Frog Splash. Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [77]
[76]

Team2000 bring the IWGP Tag Team Titles back into the fold after Tencozy's recent defection, with Norton and RVD successful in their first attempt at the gold. Elsewhere Minoru holds off the challenge of Wagner Jr., while Chono makes a statement after defeat to Nagata.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 7
1. Shiro Koshinaka defeated Katsushi Takemura in 6:57 by pinfall with a Powerbomb. [46]
2. Minoru Tanaka, Kaz Hayashi and Shinya Makabe defeated Gran Naniwa, Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. in 12:05 when Kaz Hayashi pinned Gran Naniwa with an Air Raid Crash. [57]
3. Osamu Nishimura defeated Katsuyori Shibata in 16:29 by submission with an Octopus Hold. [57]
4. Kendo Kashin, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai defeated TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo and Chris Candido) in 12:43 when Jushin Thunder Liger pinned Jado with a Brainbuster. [65]
5. Tencozy defeated Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue in 10:52 when Satoshi Kojima pinned Takashi Iizuka with a TenKoji Cutter. [69]
6. Kensuke Sasaki and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Super J and AKIRA in 11:23 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned AKIRA with a Northern Lights Bomb. [67]
7. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) defeated G-EGGS (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) in 14:36 when Masahiro Chono pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Shining Black. [79]
[75]

The now former champions Tencozy are quickly back to winning ways, while their new understudy Shibata puts up an impressive fight against Nishimura in a lengthy technical bout that shows his clear promise going forwards.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 8
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated EZ Money in 8:04 by pinfall with a Frog Splash. [53]
2. Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Kenzo Suzuki in 8:09 by pinfall with a Powerbomb. [47]
3. Kendo Kashin and Minoru Tanaka defeated Silver King and Dr. Wagner Jr. in 17:18 when Minoru Tanaka submitted Silver King with a Minoru Special. [64]
4. TEAM2000 (AKIRA, Jado and Gedo) defeated El Samurai, Kaz Hayashi and Shinya Makabe in 10:17 when AKIRA pinned Shinya Makabe with a Diving Splash. [56]
5. Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata defeated Dradition (Riki Choshu, Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine) in 11:43 when Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Super Strong Machine with a Diving Headbutt. [66]
6. Kensuke Sasaki, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie defeated TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Super J) in 12:02 when Kensuke Sasaki pinned Super J with a Lariat. [73]
7. Masahiro Chono and Hiro Saito defeated Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger in 12:53 when Masahiro Chono pinned Jushin Thunder Liger with a Yakuza Kick. [77]
[75]

AKIRA finally comes up on the right end of a result on the tour and gets some revenge for his recent defeats at the hands of Makabe in the process. Chono is once again on top heading into his IWGP Title shot, while Nakanishi and Yoshie look to be the first challengers for Norton and RVD coming out of their six-man tag victory with Kensuke.

G1 WORLD NIGHT 9
1. AKIRA defeated EZ Money in 7:01 by pinfall with a Diving Splash. [53]
2. Shinya Makabe, Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue defeated Shiro Koshinaka and King Of The Hills in 10:39 when Takashi Iizuka pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Blizzard Suplex. [61]
3. Kendo Kashin and Kaz Hayashi defeated Minoru Tanaka and Gran Naniwa in 15:25 when Kendo Kashin submitted Gran Naniwa with a Minoru Special. [67]
4. Super J defeated Super Strong Machine in 6:14 by pinfall with a Cobra Clutch Slam. [53]
5. IWGP JR. HV TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Jado and Gedo (c) defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai in 15:11 when Gedo pinned El Samurai with a Gedo Clutch. Jado and Gedo make defence V1 of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [69]
6. Kensuke Sasaki, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie defeated Dradition (Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura) in 13:35 when Manabu Nakanishi pinned Osamu Nishimura with a German Suplex. [66]
7. Keiji Muto and Taiyo Kea defeated Mad Dogs in 11:49 when Keiji Muto submitted Tatsutoshi Goto with a Muta Lock. [61]
8. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) defeated Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata in 15:02 when Scott Norton pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Powerbomb. [73]
9. IWGP CHAMPIONSHIP: Yuji Nagata (c) defeated Masahiro Chono in 20:26 by pinfall with a Backdrop Hold. Yuji Nagata makes defence V2 of the IWGP Heavyweight title. [87]
[82] [gained pop in 3 regions]

After defeat in the G1 semi-final, Nagata successfully defends his IWGP Title against Team2000's leader Chono to close out the tour. Jado and Gedo are also successful in their rematch with Liger and Samurai. Tensions appear to arise between Tanahashi and Kenzo after another defeat for King Of The Hills, with Nagata seen talking with Tanahashi after recent shows.

Tencozy and Shibata also come up short, but it doesn't seem to affect their standing, as Tencozy boldly state Shibata is the only one in NJPW they see eye to eye with, as he is a fellow loner in the locker room.

Kojima - "...Shibata, you stick with us! Screw everyone else! Because from now on... IT'S... JUST...US!"

Edited May 26 by cbacon87

cbacon87 · May 27

-TOUR NOTES-
TITLE CHANGE: Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam win the IWGP Tag Team Titles, RVD's first NJPW title and Norton's 3rd Tag Title win with his 3rd partner.
BEST MATCH: Yuji Nagata vs. Masahiro Chono N9 [87]
WORST MATCH: Chris Candido vs. Shinya Makabe N3 [40]

- Nagata versus Chono is the best match of the year for NJPW so far, which isn't a surprise. Getting the IWGP Title back amongst the main players who can have long matches was the first priority and Nagata and Chono are our top two guys right now.

- Kensuke is probably third, even though he's not really had much to sink his teeth into - yet. The random singles matches on the tour worked out, with him having Great Chemistry with Ohara and Good Chemistry with Super J, who is doing better things than I expected generally.

- Ohara and Kenzo weren't so lucky, having Poor Chemistry in their Night 8 match.

ELSEWHERE...
- Kensuke's wife, Akira Hokuto, made local news after saving her neighbour from a fire.

- The Austin Alliance proved to be very short lived, as WWF have already split that group up and written it off as a failed experiment. The go-home show to Unforgiven saw Austin team with Angle to beat Rock and Kane in a MOTYC, ahead of Austin defending the WWF Title against Kurt.

- NOAH suffered a big blow as Yoshinobu Kanemaru tore his quad on the first night of the Departure tour, ruling him out for the next year and forcing him to vacate the Jr. HV Title. His tag team partner Kentaro Shiga quickly won the belt in a match against Marufuji to fill the void.

- In the wake of WCW and ECW closing, WWA have opened up in Australia and hired up a bunch of available names to tour with, most notably Jeff Jarrett.

cbacon87 · May 30

NJPW INDICATE OF NEXT 2001
1. Hiro Saito defeated Shinya Makabe in 8:27 by pinfall with a Senton. [54]
2. Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue defeated Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura in 9:55 when Wataru Inoue pinned Katsushi Takemura with a Cross Legged Brainbuster. [53]
3. TEAM2000 (AKIRA, Jado and Gedo) defeated El Samurai, Kaz Hayashi and Gran Naniwa in 11:58 when AKIRA pinned Gran Naniwa with a Diving Splash. [57]
4. Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine defeated Mad Dogs in 11:09 when Super Strong Machine pinned Michiyoshi Ohara with a Machine DDT. [63]
5. IWGP JR. HV CHAMPIONSHIP: Minoru Tanaka (c) defeated Kendo Kashin in 17:03 by submission with a Minoru Special. Minoru Tanaka makes defence V5 of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. [60]
6. IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam (c) defeated Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie in 14:15 when Scott Norton pinned Yutaka Yoshie with a Powerslam. Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam make defence V1 of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles. [66]
7. Keiji Muto, Taiyo Kea and Kendo Kashin defeated Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata in 16:28 when Keiji Muto pinned Katsuyori Shibata with a Shining Wizard. [68]
8. Masahiro Chono defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in 16:55 by pinfall. [80]
9. Yuji Nagata, Tatsumi Fujinami and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kensuke Sasaki, Riki Choshu and Kenzo Suzuki in 18:14 when Yuji Nagata pinned Kenzo Suzuki with a Backdrop Hold. [72]
[72]

-----

Post match comments

Kensuke seemingly isn't taking defeat lightly and isn't happy post match, accusing Nagata of always needing to be the centre of attention and blaming him for splitting up King Of The Hills by inviting Tanahashi to join his side, but not Kenzo.

Kensuke - "You represent New Japan Pro Wrestling as champion, but you pick and choose who stands with you? Maybe I need to step up and help the people you don't want to help. New Japan is mine as much as it is yours, Nagata... and soon, that IWGP Championship is going to be mine again as well!"

ELSEWHERE...

- The WWF re-signed a number of talents, with new deals for Eddie Guerrero, Jerry Lynn, Test, Mark Henry and Tori.

- The WWF's reality series Tough Enough was won by Maven Huffman, who was rewarded with a developmental contract.

- WWF Unforgiven saw a major change of course in the main event. Kurt Angle won the WWF Title from Steve Austin in a fantastic main event after using the belt as a weapon, solidifying a babyface turn for Stone Cold just months after his win at Wrestlemania X7. The show also saw DDP capture the IC Title from HHH in a Ladder Match and Edge and Christian win the WCW Tag Team Titles from The Dudley Boyz.

- Rikishi, Tazz, Kanyon, Mike Awesome and Shawn Stasiak have been paired up as The Outcasts, a group of lower card wrestlers frustrated at being overlooked.

cbacon87 · May 30

STABLE OVERVIEW - OCTOBER 2001

-TEAM2000-

Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam, Hiro Saito, Super J, Michiyoshi Ohara, Tatsutoshi Goto, Jado, Gedo, AKIRA, Chris Candido

-Blue Justice-

Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Yutaka Yoshie, Takashi Iizuka, Jushin Thunder Liger, El Samurai, Wataru Inoue, Hiroshi Tanahashi

-ERUPTIONS-

Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka, Minoru Tanaka, Kaz Hayashi, Shinya Makabe, Kenzo Suzuki

-IT'S JUST US!-

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Katsuyori Shibata

-Dradition-

Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, Osamu Nishimura, Super Strong Machine

-Unattached-

Tadao Yasuda and Katsushi Takemura, Koji Kanemoto, Dr. Wagner Jr and Silver King, Gran Naniwa, EZ Money

cbacon87 · May 31

NJPW SURVIVAL TOUR 2001 PREVIEW

The official formation of Kensuke Sasaki's ERUPTIONS faction has seen lines drawn in the sand of the New Japan roster, as Sasaki has wasted no time in challenging Yuji Nagata to pit their two sides up against each other. The two groups will clash multiple times over the course of October's tour, culminating in a 5 Match Series in Fukuoka where Sasaki and Nagata square off one on one in the main event.

Team2000 unsettled score with former members Tencozy also rages on with the return to NJPW of Keiji Muto as an unofficial ally of IT'S JUST US! highlighting later shows in the tour. Focus will also be split on Tatsumi Fujinami's Dradition group, with Fujinami and Riki Choshu next in line to challenge for Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam's IWGP Tag Team Titles.

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 1 - Ueda Citizen Gymnasium in Ueda, Nagano, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Katsuyori Shibata)
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger and Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Minoru Tanaka and Kenzo Suzuki)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 2 - Miyazaki City Gymnasium in Miyazaki, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) vs. Dradition (Riki Choshu and Osamu Nishimura)
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and Super J) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Katsuyori Shibata)
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Jushin Thunder Liger) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Kaz Hayashi and Shinya Makabe)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 3 - Kagoshima Arena in Kagoshima, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Rob Van Dam, Jado and Gedo) vs. Blue Justice (Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger and El Samurai)
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Wataru Inoue) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Kenzo Suzuki and Shinya Makabe)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 4 - B-Con Plaza in Beppu, Oita, Japan
. IWGP JR. HV TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: Jado and Gedo (c) vs. Minoru Tanaka and Gran Naniwa
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata and Jushin Thunder Liger) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kaz Hayashi and Kenzo Suzuki)
. Blue Justice (Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka and Wataru Inoue) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka and Shinya Makabe)
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and Rob Van Dam) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Katsuyori Shibata)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 5 - World Hall in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
. Scott Norton vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and Rob Van Dam) vs. Satoshi Kojima, Keiji Muto and Katsuyori Shibata
. 5 V 5 ELIMINATION MATCH: Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jushin Thunder Liger) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka, Kenzo Suzuki and Kaz Hayashi)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 6 - Matsue City Gymnasium in Matsue, Shimane, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and AKIRA) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Katsuyori Shibata)
. Kensuke Sasaki vs. Jushin Thunder Liger

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 7 - Strait Messe in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, Japan
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Kaz Hayashi and Kenzo Suzuki)
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) vs. Keiji Muto, Tencozy and Katsuyori Shibata

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 8 - Nakatsu Sports Center in Nakatsu, Oita, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton, Rob Van Dam and Hiro Saito) vs. Dradition (Riki Choshu, Osamu Nishimura and Super Strong Machine)
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono and AKIRA) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Katsuyori Shibata)
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Jushin Thunder Liger and Wataru Inoue) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka and Kaz Hayashi)

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 9 - Kumamoto City Gymnasium in Kumamoto, Japan
. TEAM2000 (Scott Norton and Hiro Saito) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Katsuyori Shibata)
. Blue Justice (Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Yutaka Yoshie) vs. ERUPTIONS (Kensuke Sasaki, Shiro Koshinaka and Kaz Hayashi)
. TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono and Rob Van Dam) vs. Satoshi Kojima and Keiji Muto

NJPW SURVIVAL NIGHT 10 - Fukuoka International Center in Fukuoka, Japan
(1) TEAM2000 (Jado, Gedo, Koji Kanemoto and Chris Candido) vs. EZ Money, Silver King, Gran Naniwa and Kendo Kashin
(2) TEAM2000 (Super J, Michiyoshi Ohara and Tatsutoshi Goto) vs. Blue Justice (Takashi Iizuka, Wataru Inoue and Yutaka Yoshie)

(3) Special Singles Match: Keiji Muto vs. Osamu Nishimura

(4) IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP: [Champions] TEAM2000 (Scott Norton and Rob Van Dam) vs. [Challengers] Dradition (Riki Choshu and Tatsumi Fujinami) ~ 2nd Defense

(5) TEAM2000 (Masahiro Chono, Hiro Saito and AKIRA) vs. IT'S JUST US! (Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Katsuyori Shibata)

BLUE JUSTICE vs. ERUPTIONS SURVIVAL GAUNTLET SERIES
(6) Manabu Nakanishi [BJ] vs. Kenzo Suzuki [ER]
(7) Hiroshi Tanahashi [BJ] vs. Shiro Koshinaka [ER]
(8) El Samurai [BJ] vs. Kaz Hayashi [ER]
(9) Jushin Thunder Liger [BJ] vs. Minoru Tanaka [ER]
(10) Yuji Nagata [BJ] vs. Kensuke Sasaki [ER]

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