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“It used to be better.” – The Lapsed Fan Pro Wrestling Podcast
Previously on The Lapsed Timeline:
The Lapsed Journeyman – September 2000 (AJPW/NJPW)
Brief note: the past six months since the previous entry in this timeline have been chaotic, resulting in so much time passing by. This passion project has never once been a diminished priority, and from this point on, there should be no major lapses again between entries.
In addition, I am no longer completely lapsed thanks to AEW’s acquisition of CM Punk and Bryan Danielson, the two acts that have defined my fandom since the deaths of Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero.
Last time on this timeline, we took a look at the crossover promotion between AJPW and NJPW thanks to NOAH’s creation. Let’s take a look at what’s going on in the land of puro, courtesy the dirtsheets.
“Because of a threatened lawsuit by Motoko Baba, Nippon TV is continuing the wrestling and shoot news format on its Wednesday night shows so NOAH is also without television, which at this point is a major blow to the fledgling group. At this point it appears the earliest date NTV could begin showing NOAH would be in April. Mitsuharu Misawa has begun negotiations with TV Tokyo, another of the Japanese networks, but they are not believed to be close to a deal at this point” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Date September 25, 2000)
“All Japan announced on 9/25 that Genichiro Tenryu had signed a full-time contract with the company. Tenryu, 50, wrestled with All Japan from debuting after being a big star in sumo, to much fanfare in 1976, through 1990, when he quit while being one of the hottest wrestlers in the business to join Super World Sports, a huge money production that was poorly received by the fans. He’s managed to keep his career alive through his name value from his All Japan glory days, and parlayed it into drawing some huge houses for dream matches against New Japan wrestlers doing an outsider gimmick as well as a program with Nobuhiko Takada… For box office, of course it’s a big deal to come to a town and have a recognizable name like Tenryu on the bill because for mainstream star power, the native side was only Kawada” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated October 1, 2000)
Also, while these earliest chapters of the timeline are primarily focused on puro, by no means is this going to blindly ignore what’s going on the other side of the Pacific. Let’s leave it to one of the most notorious carnies of all-time to speak on the biggest story happening in the entire business, even bigger than the AJPW mass exodus that birthed NOAH.
“A rumor of WWF buying WCW was fueled by of all people, Antonio Inoki. When Inoki flew to Japan this past week from his home in Los Angeles, when he got off the plane, he told reporters that WWF was buying WCW, although Inoki likely has no inside knowledge of anything going on since he’s not a major player in the American scene these days. Most of the serious reporters in Japan dismissed the story as just Inoki talking without knowing what he was talking about, but since it was Inoki who said it, it got substantial media play in Japan anyway.” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated October 9, 2000)
As stated, Inoki is the carniest of carnies. So obviously he must be full of shit and not even be (accidentally) right on the money about the mainstream American scene… right?
With the table-setting done, it’s time for another chapter in the AJPW vs. NJPW crossover. We head to the Tokyo Dome, making this chapter another entry in The Lapsed Lion King of Sports!
IWGP Tag Titles Match
Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi
NJPW Do Judge!!
October 9, 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
The match doesn’t heat up until Kojima and Nagata take turns hitting their fantastic strikes. At this point in his career, Nakanashi is already looking slow and probably worn down, although he hits some impactful strikes. His chops are particularly fantastic.
After Nagata makes a comeback on Tenzan, Nakanishi does a good job of popping the crowd like “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, although his bump for a heel kick is quite sloppy. Kojima shows great fire when doing Kobashi chops. However, he eventually is placed in a Torture Rack by Nakanishi, while Nagata is really the glue keeping his team together.
TenKoji gives Nakanishi a 3D for a near-fall, only for him to kick out shortly afterward following a lariat. However, another lariat puts him down, perhaps showing Nakanishi had too many miles on his body to keep up as Nagata was held at bay. Good match with solid heat, but nothing special for the Tokyo Dome when placed under the test of time.
Rating: ***¼
We shift over to the main event of the evening, a non-title crossover involving NJPW’s top champion and one of AJPW’s “Four Pillars” of the 1990s.
Dream Match
Kensuke Sasaki vs. Toshiaki Kawada
NJPW Do Judge!!
October 9, 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
Sasaki is the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, and as stated this match is non-title.
On the Dailymotion upload, footage from the match buildup is shown, including the challenge and press conference confirmation.
Before this match begins, the NJPW World upload shows more crossover stuff being teased. Admittedly, I don’t recognize most of these puro stars, only being able to identify Tenzan and Masahiro Chono. The heat for this is pretty good though, one of the positive contributions to the tribalism genre of wrestling storylines.
For music entrances, the Dailymotion upload has to be viewed. It’s worth it for this major crossover Tokyo Dome main event.
As the match begins, both combatants have the crowd totally glued, so this should be electric. After a great lock-up, the champ gets the first one-up, knocking Kawada down while running the ropes to a great pop. Holy shit, one forearm from Sasaki hit the challenger on the back of the head, causing Kawada to have a minor collapse.
I absolutely love Sasaki shrugging the ref off to continue dishing out punishment, pissing Kawada off. These are two mean motherfuckers who aren’t here to trade wrist-locks. Their alpha males exchange of chops and hamstring kicks is truly gripping, the crowd getting more fired up when they dare each other to keep dishing.
Sasaki’s slaps are no joke, delivered with such believable ferocity, but Kawada knocks him down with a punch and follows up with his textbook Enzuigiri. Sasaki does a great job of selling and bumping for Kawada’s control segment, keeping the crowd invested the entire way.
Sasaki has a hope spot, losing a brief strike exchange to Kawada and falling down to a knee. Kawada follows that up with an Arm Twist Hook Kick that Western fans will recognize thanks to Booker T. Sasaki eats a head drop too thanks to a Saito Suplex, and while obviously unnecessary to bump that way, it sure ain’t killing this excellent crowd.
They have a great submission tease via a lengthy Leg Hook Standing Dragon Sleeper by Kawada. The champ teases an adrenaline rush after the tease, only to collapse before even getting on his feet, getting totally outclassed by the invader.
Sasaki’s comeback occurs thanks to him deadweighting and deadlifting Kawada on a Powerbomb attempt, and once again the crowd is just awesome. Sasaki’s Scorpion Death Lock is also a thing of beauty, something that I wish Dwayne Johnson had studied back in these days. This is a very good submission tease, with it going so long that the exhausted champ has to break it and collapse.
As they try no-selling each other on a lariat exchange, it’s clear they’re struggling to keep standing. Sasaki wins it but eats a big boot from Kawada, resulting in both men collapsing as the drama just keeps escalating.
Kawada blocks a suplex attempt by Sasaki, who just collapses and eats a knee to the face to collapse once again. However, Sasaki is able to absorb multiple Enzuigiris and counters one with a lariat to knock down the challenger. As Kawada’s right knee is in pain, he hits one last-ditch knee to the champ’s face on a running lariat attempt. With Sasaki having nothing left, he’s unable to kick out.
Excellent, excellent dream match worthy of such a historic stadium. A terrific crowd with two Hall of Famers at their peak, this absolutely delivered in the ring, and I certainly wouldn’t mind rematches later on in this timeline. In addition, this is the match that made Sasaki into the legendary special attraction he’d be throughout the 2000s.
[As a result of this match, Kawada would forfeit the title, making it vacant and the obvious crowning penciled on for the Tokyo Dome return on the annual January 4 marquee date. Announced shortly afterwards, an 8-man tournament was booked for the show, including Sasaki, Kawada, Chono, Tenzan, Nakanishi, Shinya Hashimoto, Genichiro Tenryu, and Keiji Mutoh (returning from WCW excursion.)]
Rating: ****1/2
Before getting to the next match, let’s take a quick look at what’s going on in NOAH less than three months into running shows…
“With the bloom off the rose as far as the novelty of seeing a new group, Mitsuharu Misawa had gone into dropping traditional Japanese booking in favor of American booking, introducing run-ins, blading and DQ finishes
The company has booked the Ariake Coliseum for its first major Tokyo show on 12/23, noting that Gaea was able to sellout the building this year for the Crush Gals reunion show. The idea is to book something along the lines of a Misawa vs. Vader and Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama double headliner on the show.
The group ran its biggest show to date on 10/11 at the Nagoya Aiichi Gym and it wasn’t a success, drawing 4,200 fans which was less than half a house for the Kobashi vs. Takao Omori grudge match and the introduction of the blade.” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated October 23, 2000)
Jesus fucking Christ, this industry really is the World Wrestling Federation and nobody else by this point. Anyway, the AJPW Triple Crown Championship has been vacant, so we now head to the tournament final taking place at the Budokan Hall. This now becomes The Lapsed King’s Road.
Vacant AJPW Triple Crown Championship Tournament Final
Genichiro Tenryu vs. Toshiaki Kawada
AJPW 28th Anniversary Show (October Giant Series 2000 Day 11)
October 28, 2000 – Tokyo, Japan
After a decent couple minutes to start, it gets interesting when Kawada delivers spinal kicks, which only irritates Tenryu as he no-sells them and stands up to a solid crowd reaction. Tenryu gives spinal kicks moments later, leading to Kawada irritation.
Tenryu has to take a powder to break up Kawada’s control. Back in the ring, Tenryu cuts off Kawada with punches to the jaw. However, Kawada regains control with kicks, delivering insulting strikes too that lead to him eating a Dragon Screw Leg Whip.
Tenryu follows up on Kawada’s left knee. He is relentless as Kawada struggles to break a leg lock, and Kawada’s facial expressions are excellent, ensuring that this isn’t just a rest hold for both men. After Tenryu delivers another punch to the jaw, he applies a beautiful Scorpion Death Lock, but can’t hold the follow-up one.
Tenryu still maintains control until losing a suplex struggle, which allows Kawada to make a comeback. Whatever damage his left leg took was minimal, as he delivers kicks with both legs. He wins another battle with the Arm Twist Hook Kick, only for them to have another strike exchange. Tenryu wins that one with a running lariat, but his pin is sloppy for an obvious near-fall.
Tenryu’s offense continues to be sloppy but connects. After failing to apply a submission, he delivers a spinal kick, annoying Kawada into a strike exchange to switch momentum. Kawada is ferocious as he goes his unique variation of the Dragon Sleeper. He eventually collapses to let go after a great struggle between them in that submission.
Tenryu deadlifts Kawada on a Powerbomb attempt to gain control, but is slow to follow up. Kawada looks to return the deadlift receipt, so he eats a Rolling Koppu Kick for his trouble from Tenryu. This leads to a great near-fall when Tenryu successfully hits the Powerbomb, and the crowd is totally invested at this point.
The next strike exchange ends with Tenryu eating a Saito Suplex, and thankfully he’s not dropped just directly on his head, nor is he on a follow-up one. Kawada delivers a big boot to Tenryu on the apron, causing him to fly towards the guard rail in a moment that brings back so many memories of the AKI era video games. Tenryu is busted open at this point too.
Back in the ring, Tenryu stands and tries shrugging off Kawada’s kicks, but it’s clear that he’s exhausted. He does evade an Enzuigiri, only to eat a Yakuza kick. However, Kawada gets brought down with a lariat, both men collapsing in exhaustion. Kawada ducks a lariat only to get clocked in the jaw again. With nothing left in the tank, he falls prey to Tenryu’s Scoop Brainbuster for the finish.
A shade below Kawada’s classic earlier in the month with Kensuke Sasaki, this had to earn its crowd heat and successfully did so. Another excellent match and I anticipate rematches on this timeline for sure, but I have my doubts this will mean anything for business..
Rating: ****¼
As AJPW and NJPW have delivered some ****+ gems, what about the land of green and white to steal some of that buzz? Well of course, it’s time for NOAH to make its first real attempt to work the marks and the wrestling media…
“Mitsuharu Misawa publicly talked about trying to get Shinya Hashimoto to work the company’s biggest show in its short history on 12/23 at the Ariake Coliseum. This may be possible only because New Japan is trying to position Hashimoto as having quit the company so he can be an outsider when he comes back to feud with everyone, so having him work a show with this group works to New Japan’s angle advantage” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated November13, 2000)
“Shinya Hashimoto, who headlined more big gates at the Tokyo Dome than any wrestler in history, was shockingly fired by New Japan Pro Wrestling on 11/13 after a weekend filled with turmoil after news got out he was negotiating with Pro Wrestling NOAH… There are some who are speculating all of this is an angle” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated November 13, 2000)
After two blistering classics from Kawada, let’s see what talents over in America are doing that may be influenced by someone like him. It’s time for the first-ever chapter in a rivalry that defined the Northeast indies throughout the early 2000s. This now briefly becomes Lapsed Days in Jersey.
The following match is available on Independent Wrestling TV.
Low Ki vs. Xavier
JAPW Battle in Bayonne
November 17, 2000 – Bayonne, NJ (Metro NY/NJ)
Low Ki has already tremendously upgraded his wardrobe since the match against Homicide a few months before this.
It’s crystal-clear immediately that from a cosmetics, athleticism, technique, bumping, cardio, and charisma standpoint, these two are heads-and-shoulders above absolutely everyone else on the card (with only Homicide belonging in the conversation in terms of potential star power.) At this point, these two look like they’d fit in perfectly working WCW cruiserweight undercards at the time with the likes of Jamie Noble, Jimmy Yang, Shane Helms, Chavo Guerrero, Jr. etc.
Low Ki is precise with every strike, which Xavier does a great jump bumping and selling for. As everything they do clicks and gels, it is not hyperbole to think at the time that they could’ve been mixing it up in ECW with Psychosis, Tajiri and Super Crazy, or perhaps having a rivalry for the WCW Cruiserweight Title that would’ve drawn comparisons to the days of Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, Ultimo Dragon, and Eddie Guerrero. In the first 5 minutes, absolutely nothing is botched.
Xavier draws a “Rocky sucks!” crowd since he’s a spitting image of Dwayne Johnson, which makes me think that he would have potentially been a fantastic undercard heel champion on the mentioned bigger stages. He smartly plays the de facto heel, getting cocky and arguing with the ref. In something I’ve never seen, he does the Rolling Germans with an extra rotation on each. But he goes for a cocky pin, leading to the Dragon Sleeper submission, quickly submitting to Low Ki.
An impressive first chapter in this saga, and I eagerly anticipate bigger chapters for these two on this timeline. JAPW was blessed to have these guys back then, as these two performed almost like seasoned pros, looking like diamonds on this federation’s otherwise piles of shit for cards..
Rating: ***¼
We stay put in the indies, going just a bit south to the Mid-Atlantic for a match-up between two of the biggest names on the underground at the turn of the century. We turn to the first established state in American history for the first chapter of Lapsed Days in the First.
Reckless Youth vs. Christopher Daniels
ECWA Battle at the Bob
November 25, 2000 – Newark, DE
Daniels proclaims himself to be the King of the Independents, not Reckless Youth. He comes across as a polished star worthy of cable TV, especially compared to Youth, who is dressed like this is recreation and doesn’t command attention with his promo.
The match begins with quality mat work, Youth outclassing Daniels at first. After delivering an apron DDT on Daniels, Youth botches a dive to the outside, but he’s otherwise looking like he belongs with the Fallen Angel in terms of ring work.
Daniels is so fluid in this match with everything he does, it’s absolutely an indictment (one of about a million) towards WCW in its dying days that he was under contract and not utilized to anything resembling a substantial degree, especially on that depleted roster. Even the Arabian Press that accelerates a tad too quickly lands smoothly for him.
As the heel and far more interesting personality, it’s very smart for Daniels to lead the match and have the heat. Youth has good hope spots, but Daniels maintains a head lock, further antagonizing the Delaware crowd. Youth’s comeback is good, although the Corner Fame-Asser looks a bit contrived. Daniels eventually regains control with an excellent arsenal, including a Cataclysm and Best Moonsault Ever. Youth blocks the Angel’s Wings, only to eat it for a surprising near-fall. I’d love to know the thought process of not treating that as a finisher.
Youth hits a fantastic Brainbuster that would make Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero proud, but they don’t sell it at all. Instead, Daniels manages to win moments later with a flash cradle pin to the crowd’s disapproval. He doesn’t sell the Brainbuster at all, definitely bringing what was a very good match down a significant notch. I guess Daniels wasn’t coached on this kind of psychology while under WCW contract for 90 days, but as a 6-year veteran at this point, I’d expect better from him.
Rating: less than ***
Let’s take a look at how the last major card of the year is shaping up, as well as Inoki’s carny desire to be something more than a pretend fighting promoter.
“In a major surprise after all that has been said, Shinya Hashimoto will debut on the 12/23 Ariake Coliseum show… The main matches on the show are Kenta Kobashi vs. Jun Akiyama, which is their strongest in-ring match at this point, occupying the main event position over Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Vader, which theoretically because of the grudge and it being the biggest name native against the biggest name foreigner in Japan. Hashimoto debuts third from the top against Takao Omori…”
“The Tokyo Dome show on 1/4 is going to be headlined by a six-man tournament for the IWGP heavyweight title with Toshiaki Kawada, Kensuke Sasaki, Masahiro Chono, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima. Kawada is the only outsider. This makes sense from the All Japan perspective as they protect their world title (Genichiro Tenryu) by not having to do a job…” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated December 11, 2000)
“Antonio Inoki announced at a press conference on 12/9 in Los Angeles that the main event of his New Years Eve “Inoki Bom Ba Yae” Japanese PPV show from the Osaka Dome would be Great Muta & Nobuhiko Takada vs. Don Frye & Ken Shamrock in what has to go down as the weirdest big show main event of the year… The idea behind this, and everything relates to Inoki and public image, is that as the century ends (because technically the century ends at midnight), Inoki, who was the pro wrestler who was the pioneer of MMA with his matches with Muhammad Ali, Willem Ruska, Willie Williams, Chuck Wepner (all were actually pro wrestling matches except Ali, but the legend took on a life of its own), is joining the two sides together. ..”
“In a big surprise, Riki Choshu announced that he would be coming out of retirement on the 1/4 Tokyo Dome show. Choshu, who just turned 49, will team with Manabu Nakanishi against opponents to be named… Choshu coming back again without even a dream match situation like the match with Atsushi Onita for his comeback in August shows just how concerned New Japan is about this show…” – Wrestling Observer Newsletter (Dated December 18, 2000)
Our closing match for this chapter is said to be one for the ages, a crossover tag in the AJPW vs. NJPW saga.
Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka vs Masanobu Fuchi & Toshiaki Kawada
NJPW The 2nd Judgment!!
December 14, 2000 – Osaka, Japan
The match begins with the lesser stars of Fuchi and Iizuka, but the crowd head is definitely solid. The crowd pops huge when the bigger stars come in, and rightfully so as they’re far more charismatic at this point. Whereas the early mat work between Fuchi and Iizuki was top quality, it lacks the crowd electricity of Nagata and Kawada doing the same.
The crowd pops big when Nagata delivers a big boot to Kawada, as well as for Kawada’s big boot receipt and corner strikes. Holy shit, I could use a singles match between these two sooner rather than later on this timeline. Even the brief shrugging off of the strikes to sell the damage they do on each other is top-notch.
When the lesser stars are tagged in, Fuchi targets Iizuka’s left knee, all of it smooth and believable, Iizuka showing struggle to keep it from being a rest hold. In a great heat-building moment, Iizuka is placed on the middle rope in a corner and stood on, getting choked before Kawada is brought in to continue targeting the left knee.
As Kawada has Iizuka in a Bow-and-Arrow stretch, Fuchi walks in and steps on Iizuka’s throat, antagonizing Nagata. Iizuka shows great fire in a comeback attempt that turns out to just be a hope spot, only to continue to get the ring cut in half on him.
Nagata has enough and inserts himself, only to eat an Enzuigiri from Kawada to a great crowd reaction. Iizuka continues eating punishment, in what for a Western viewer almost feels like a callback to the match against the Steiners at Wrestle War 1992 (billed as Takayuki Iizuka back then.) The punishment continues as Kawada throws Nagata around on the outside, keeping him out of the equation. Fuchi goes after Nagata on the outside too to ensure Iizuka keeps eating punishment.
Iizuka makes another comeback attempt, getting Fuchi in a sleeper but being cut off when Kawada kicks him. The AJPW team is just relentless, but with each kick out by Iizuka, the crowd remains invested. Kawada’s Boston Crab admittedly looks as weak as Chris Jericho’s, and Nagata is too exhausted to follow through on a cut-off. Iizuka’s fire is just tremendous, but no matter what he does, he just keeps getting cut off.
Kawada mistakenly checks up on Fuchi, allowing Nagata to get the hot tag. They have a sensational exchange, the crowd totally in the palms of their hands. After multiple Enzuigiris that Kawada tries no-selling, he falls victim to a German Suplex near-fall that gets an incredible crowd reaction. Kawada sweeps Nagata in a great moment during some kicks, gaining control. Nagata takes an ugly-looking head-drop on a Backdrop Suplex, and the follow-up Standing Dragon Sleeper variation is pure fire, with Iizuka having to make the save.
Kawada maintains control, cutting off Iizuka from another save, only to get blocked on a Powerbomb attempt and eat a sweep from Nagata. After knocking down Kawada with hamstring kicks, Nagata applies a Figure Four Leg Lock, and Kawada’s facial expressions are just magnificent. Fuchi eventually breaks up the submission, but is so exhausted at this point that Nagata makes a tag to Iizuka.
Iizuka stays focused on Kawada’s leg as Nagata maintains control of Fuchi with a Figure Four Leg Lock. Kawada’s performance here is the stuff of legend as he struggles to get a rope break as Iizuka holds onto a leg and ankle lock. Once the bottom rope is reached, everyone is exhausted.
Kawada blocks a German Suplex and delivers a Pele Kick, making the tag to Fuchi. Due to his leg damage, he can’t quickly follow up on anything. Iizuka surprisingly kicks out after eating two backdrop suplexes, but is prey to a Sleeper submission as Kawada maintains control of Nagata.
The match becomes Nagata vs. Kawada again, once again sensational. The sweat flying thanks to each slap just elevates this, as does the mutual blocking of strikes. Fuchi immediately breaks up a Cross Arm-Breaker submission only for the time limit to expire, the crowd in absolute awe of this instant and timeless classic.
Perhaps a nit-pick, but Kawada channeling Jericho on the Boston Crab believable factor is the only thing that brings this down at all. This is otherwise a masterpiece in tag team wrestling, and easily stands as the best match so far on this timeline. A fitting end to this chapter.
Rating: ****3/4
This chapter has made it clear – match of the year contenders aren’t exclusive to the WWF in the year 2000, and perhaps anyone at the time sluggishly forcing themselves to keep tuning into WCW should’ve been doing some tape-trading. This particular chapter has turned me into a true Kawada fan, and like so many of his contemporaries, it’s scary to think that he was even better prior to 2000!
In addition, it’s astounding to see the likes of Low Ki, Xavier, Christopher Daniels, and even Homicide to a lesser degree toiling on the underground scene at a time when WCW and ECW have suffered such catastrophic talent losses throughout 2000. What they could be bringing to the undercards, potentially giving those promotions a stronger backbone, it’s maddening to think they’re so overlooked at this particular point in the timeline.
Next time, we close out 2000 with the final major puro event of the year – Great Voyage 2000! Hashimoto’s NOAH debut! Vader vs. Misawa! The rematch between Akiyama and Kobashi!
See you soon with the next edition of The Lapsed Navigation!
With the often-overlooked state of Delaware getting a spotlight on this timeline, let’s take a look at an organization in that region that goes above-and-beyond to give underprivileged children the opportunity to develop such an important life skill to hopefully lead them to better opportunities at education.
Today’s charity spotlight:
Reading Assist
https://readingassist.org/
Facebook – Instagram – YouTube – LinkedIn
An organization which has its roots dating back to 1979, this was founded by Virginia “Ginger” Biasotto, who wanted to have a curriculum to help children learn to read. Driven by her 12-year-old son’s struggles with reading, Reading Assist has grown to win numerous awards and serving multiple schools, and has been sought for guidance by the Delaware Board of Education.
Reading Assist provides one-on-one reading instruction for Delaware K-3 students in the lowest 10% for reading proficiency, with a focus on serving in schools where there is the highest need.
We recruit, train, and embed AmeriCorps members – known as Reading Assist Fellows – willing to commit a school year of service to provide our accredited, one-on-one intervention program to struggling readers.
We believe no child should struggle when success is within reach.
The Problem
For students with significant reading challenges like dyslexia, traditional classroom reading instruction often isn’t enough.
- Additional factors, such as being an English language learner or coming from a low-income household, can make it even more difficult for students to reach reading proficiency.
- Students with a language-based learning disability are more than twice as likely to drop out of high school.
The Solution
Reading Assist works in partnership with schools to identify and serve children in grades K-3 who are in the lowest 10% in terms of reading proficiency.
We recruit, train, and embed Reading Assist Fellows to provide our accredited, one-on-one reading intervention program to students from low-income backgrounds, English language learners, and students with dyslexia.