Following the match between Kojima and Makabe, Kojima walked away as the winner setting up another match between himself and Tanahashi. This will be the third encounter between these two here in less than a year, but the question is? Will Satoshi Kojima win back the belt or will Hiroshi Tanahashi remain at his place on top of NJPW? We will find out come Feb. 20th.
TAKA Michinoku came out of nowhere and challenged the IWGP Champion Prince Devitt following NOSAWA Rongai and himself challenging for the IWGP Tag Team Titles that Devitt also holds with partner Ryusuke Taguchi. Though there has been some issues since then because TAKA dislocated his shoulder and was speculated to be out of the title picture. The IWGP Tag Team Title match was announced to be changed to NOSAWA would be teaming with up and comer Taichi. TAKA made a statement that no matter what he will be competing on 2/20, this is to big of an opportunity for him and Devitt and that he has been hurt worse. Devitt has faced many wrestlers in the past couple years, but TAKA is known for one of the most modified styles in Japan and can beat his opponents with both submissions and slams. This is definitely going to be a test for Devitt as well as TAKA if he is not 100% going in.
Bad Intentions, “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson & Giant Bernard have been one of the strongest teams in Japan for a while now and they are finally getting the title reign that they have been working for years to get. Muscle Orchestra, Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman “Jon Anderson”, on the other hand was voted one of the best tag teams in Japan last year. Though that award is disputed here by a lot of people outside of Japan, in Japan they are very much so popular. Japan loves their bigger and powerhouse wrestlers and both of them together, well you can just tell how much love they get. Both teams have met in the past and just recently at the Wrestle Kingdom V with TNA’s Beer Money also involved. That match did it’s job of Bad Intentions getting their revenge on the TNA team, but it also left Muscle Orchestra with another opportunity. This match is aiming to have a split fan base down the middle, but New Japan knows when to cash in on popularity and that could leave this match going either way.
Also in regards to breaking news, as I reported earlier this week on my facebook page and twitter, NJPW has made it official that MVP is going to NJPW. He will be teaming with NOSAWA Rongai to take on Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe on 2/20.There is also talk/mentioning of a new faction possibly coming to NJPW as well, possibly all outsider related with Kojima and NOSAWA already forming it.
This has been a goal of MVP’s for a long time to go to Japan, just to let a lot of you know. He will have a lot to take on right from the beginning.
NJPW is teasing the debut of a new masked wrestler known as “Killer Rabbit” (キラーラビット). The picture below is the from the online community known as http://pigg.ameba.jp/. There is not much known from this new masked wrestler other than he aims to bring a new style that forms around Lucha Libre and that of the Japanese style.
He will also be coming in as a heel under CHAOS on 2/20 as he teams with Jado & Gedo to take on Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi and KUSHIDA [SMASH].
This is a match that is coming off what happened at the 1/30 show. Naito pulled off a shocker win when he pinned Goto following the Stardust Press. As with what happened between Naito and Tanahashi last year it seems we will be getting the same with him vs. Goto. Goto is coming off of being married just a few weeks back and has vowed to win the IWGP Heavyweight Title this year. Though if he even wishes for that to happen he is going to have to make sure he can beat the up and coming superstar Naito. Will Goto manage to get the win and go back to his title hunt or will Naito prove to be the crushing factor in Goto’s dream?
Full Card for the Feb. 20th show!
(1) Tama Tonga vs. Taichi
(2) Jushin Thunder Liger, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA [SMASH] vs. Jado, Gedo & Killer Rabbit
(3) Mascara contra Mascara (Mask vs. Mask): Tiger Mask IV vs. Tomohiro Ishii (CHAOS Tiger)
(4) Elimination Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue & King Fale vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tohru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi
(5) IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: [Champions: Bad Intentions] Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson vs. [Muscle Orchestra] Manabu Nakanishi & Strongman
(6) IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Prince Devitt [c] vs. TAKA Michinoku
(7) Special Tag Match: Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. MVP & NOSAWA Rongai
(8) Special Singles Match: Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito
(9) IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Satoshi Kojima
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NEVER.5 2/24/2011
The main event for NEVER.5 has been announced as Tetsuya Naito faces against KUSHIDA [SMASH]
The announced card for NEVER.5 at the Shin-Kiba 1st RING!
(1) Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yoshikazu Harata [DDT]
(2) Tomoaki Honma vs. Shigehiro Irie [TEAM DERA]
(3) Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Daisuke Sasaki [FREE]
(4) Yujiro Takahasi vs. Shinobu [666]
(5) Taichi vs. Madoka [FREE]
(6) Tetsuya Naito vs. KUSHIDA [SMASH]
The Rest of the NJPW cards leading up to the PPV
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/3/2011
Shirakawa City Central Gymnasium
(1) King Fale vs. Kyosuke Mikami
(2) Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & KUSHIDA vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger
(3) Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
(4) Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
(5) Yuji Nagata, Wataru Inoue, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Satoshi Kojima, NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/4/2011
Fukushima City Gymnasium
(1) Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hiromu Takahashi
(2) Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
(3) Hirooki Goto & KUSHIDA vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
(4) Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Jado & Gedo
(5) Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Wataru Inoue & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/6/2011
Gifu Industrial Hall
(1) Tomoaki Honma & Hiromu Takahashi vs. King Fale & Kyosuke Mikami
(2) Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Jushin Thunder Liger & KUSHIDA vs. Takashi Iizuka, Jado & Gedo
(3) Hirooki Goto, Tiger Mask & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Tomohiro Ishii
(4) Togi Makabe vs. Taichi
(5) Special Singles Match: Strong Man vs. Karl Anderson
(6) Special Singles Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Giant Bernard
(7) Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
(8) Special Six Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku & NOSAWA Rongai
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/7/2011
Ueda Sozokan
(1) Kyosuke Mikami vs. Hiromu Takahashi
(2) Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & KUSHIDA vs. Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo
(3) Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma
(4) Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
(5) Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii
(6) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku , NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/11/2011
Texpia Osaka
(1) KUSHIDA vs. Hiromu Takahashi
(2) Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
(3) Hirooki Goto & Tomoaki Honma vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
(4) Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
(5) Togi Makabe vs. NOSAWA Rongai
(6) Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga
(7) Hiroshi Tanahashi, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku & Taichi
NJPW “NEW JAPAN ISM”, 2/12/2011
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2
(1) Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA vs. Jado, Gedo & Tomohiro Ishii
(2) Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & Koji Kanemoto vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Jushin Thunder Liger
(3) Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
(4) Handicap Match: Togi Makabe vs. NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi
(5) Special Singles Match: Wataru Inoue vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(6) Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Toru Yano
(7) Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Takashi Iizuka
(8) Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt vs. Satoshi Kojima & TAKA Michinoku
NJPW “THE NEW BEGINNING”, 2/15/2011 (Tues)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
(1) Hirooki Goto, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Tomohiro Ishii
(2) Kota Ibushi & KUSHIDA vs. Jado & Gedo
(3) Special Singles Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Karl Anderson
(4) Special Singles Match: Giant Bernard vs. Strong Man
(5) Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi
(6) Special Singles Match: Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano
(7) Special Singles Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka
(8) Special Singles Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
(9) Special Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Prince Devitt vs. Satoshi Kojima & TAKA Michinoku
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Takashi Sugiura vs. Giant Bernard for the GHC Heavyweight Title has been made official today. Sugiura made a special appearance at the NJPW show on 1/30 and made the call out to Bernard. It has been set in stone today and both men will face off on March 5th at the Ariake Colosseum for Sugiura’s 9th title defense.
We will get a preview of what we may see from the two on 2/16 as Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson face of against Takashi Sugiura & Akitoshi Saito at the Korakuen Hall.
Also it has been announced that Kotaro Suzuki will be defending his GHC Junior belt against Genba Hirayanagi on 2/16 as well. Genba made the statement, by rushing and laying out Suzuki following Suzuki vs. Eddie Edwards match. This will definitely be one of Genba’s biggest matches to date, but Suzuki has been on a role as of late is going to make Genba regret every action.
Upcoming NOAH Cards
NOAH “THE NAVIGATION SUNDAY 2011 IN SHIMIZU” 2/13/2011
Shimizu Marine Building
(1) Kotaro Suzuki vs. Takashi Okita
(2) Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
(3) Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Taiji Ishimori
(4) Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akitoshi Saito & Tamon Honda
(5) Jun Akiyama & Masao Inoue vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara
(6) Takashi Sugiura, Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki vs. Mohammed Yone, KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi
NOAH “THE WEEKDAY NAVIGATION 2011 IN KORAKUEN” 2/16/2011
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
(1) Mohammed Yone & KENTA vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Kento Miyahara
(2) Atsushi Aoki vs. Ricky Marvin
(3) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
(4) Yoshihiro Takayama, Takuma Sano & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Go Shiozaki, Shuhei Taniguchi & Taiji Ishimori
(5) Special Tag Match: Takashi Sugiura & Akitoshi Saito vs. Giant Bernard & “The Machine Gun” Karl Anderson
(6) GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Kotaro Suzuki (c) vs. Genba Hirayanagi
NOAH “THE NAVIGATION SATURDAY 2011 IN MAEBASHI”, 2/19/2011
Green Dome Maebashi Sub Arena
(1) Kotaro Suzuki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
(2) Atsushi Aoki vs. Yoshinari Ogawa
(3) Naomichi Marufuji vs. Ricky Marvin
(4) Mohammed Yone, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara
(5) Takuma Sano & Masao Inoue vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
(6) Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Jun Akiyama, Yoshihiro Takayama & Akitoshi Saito
NOAH “THE WEEKDAY NAVIGATION 2011 IN ASHIKAGA” 2/21/2011
Ashikaga Citizen Plaza Small Hall
(1) Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Masao Inoue
(2) Go Shiozaki & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Jun Akiyama & Atsushi Aoki
(3) Takashi Sugiura & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Taiji Ishimori
(4) Mohammed Yone, KENTA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara
NOAH “THE WEEKDAY NAVIGATION 2011 IN UTSUNOMIYA” 2/25/2011 (Fri)
Tochigi City Bunka Center Sub Arena
(1) Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Satoshi Kajiwara
(2) Jun Akiyama vs. Kento Miyahara
(3) Kotaro Suzuki & Kentaro Shiga vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki
(4) Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Okita
(5) Takashi Sugiura & Masao Inoue vs. Go Shiozaki & Shuhei Taniguchi
(6) Takeshi Morishima, Yutaka Yoshie & Taiji Ishimori vs. Mohammed Yone, KENTA & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
NOAH “THE NAVIGATION SUNDAY 2011 IN MITO” 2/27/2011 (Sun)
Mito Citizen Gymnasium
(1) Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito vs. Akira Taue & Takashi Okita
(2) Kotaro Suzuki & Taiji Ishimori vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Aoki
(3) Takashi Sugiura vs. Masao Inoue
(4) Takeshi Morishima & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mohammed Yone & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
(5) Yoshihiro Takayama & Takuma Sano vs. KENTA & Genba Hirayanagi
(6) Go Shiozaki, Yoshinari Ogawa & Ricky Marvin vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kento Miyahara
NOAH “GREAT VOYAGE 2011 in Tokyo”, 3/5/2011 (Sat) 17:00
Ariake Colosseum
(~) GHC Heavyweight Championship Match: Takashi Sugiura vs. Giant Bernard
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IGF News: Well there has been yet again another change to who Suzukawa will be facing. Due to injury Kimbo Slice will not be able to make it to Japan to compete for the show. Though the man who “will fight for money” Bob Sapp has been announced Suzukawa’s opponent.
Announced Card:
IGF “GENOME14”, 2/5/2011 (Sat) 17:00
(9) Main Event Special Match: Shinichi Suzukawa vs. Bob Sapp
(8) IGF Championship First Round Tournament Match: Josh Barnett vs. Montanha Silva
(7) INOKI BOM-BA-YE SUPER FIGHT: The Predator “Sylvester Terkay” vs. Keith Hanson (Festus/Gallows)
(6) Fujinami’s 40th Anniversary Match ~ DRAGON vs Sky High: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Mil Mascaras
(5) First Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger
(4) Shelton Benjamin & Bobby Lashley vs. Eric Hammer & Atsushi Sawada
(3) Masked Genome vs. The Hurricane “Shane Helms”
(2) Taka Kunou vs. Hikaru Sato
(1) Kento Miyahara [Kensuke Office] vs. Akira Jo
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So that is it for this week in Puroresu, for all your updates, news, results, and more check out Puroresu Spirit facebook page and follow the site and myself at twitter.com/PuroresuSpirit. The main site is where you can find the news bundled together, results and info for the promotions.
I am looking at the Dojo to become a bi-weekly post here on the main PWP page. Unless there is a lot of news to digest like all that was released this week. But the links above can help you stay in the loop and is aimed to keep things easily accessible at anytime.
Thanks for checking out the latest Dojo and remember “Puroresu Love” – Keiji Mutoh