New Japan Pro Wrestling

[gordi]

 

Wow. No internet. It's hard to explain just how much harder life in Japan is without easy access to information in English. I'm *way* more reliant on Yuka now, it's a huge change in the power dynamics of our relationship. Fortunately Doria-mon pops in from time to time. Generally, he's a pretty big help. He gave Yuka a doll that gives good advice, and that's been a real life-saver as we adjust to life in Tokyo in 1985.

 

The relationship between Yuka and Doria-mon has been a little strained the last couple of days, mainly because she keeps trying to feed him dorayaki (a kind of pancake stuffed with sweet bean paste) which he doesn't seem to care for. "I am a completely different character!" he keeps yelling at her. Different from whom, I don't know. His favourite food is doria, a kind of faux-Italian buttery, creamy rice dish served with meat sauce or seafood. It's a specialty of the hotel where we are staying, which I assume is why we are based here for now.

 

Doria-mon is a time-travelling robot cat from the 22nd Century. He has brought us back in time from 1995 in order to try and prevent a disaster in his timeline. So, it's just like... Terminator, I guess.

 

Apparently, the merger of Asahi Beverages and Asahi Media into one giant Mega-corporation, combined with Inoki leaving New Japan and trying to start a Martial Arts promotion, combined with New Japan being folded into the Asahi Group eventually leads to a series of tragedies that utterly devastate Japan in the distant future.

 

At first, of course, I didn't believe him. I mean, would you? But then he brought back future me, future Yuka, and our daughter (!) little Kyoko. They convinced us.

 

 

Apparently, life in the dystopian future makes *everyone* angry.

 

So, our mission (which we chose to accept) is to come back here in time to 1985, take over the booking of New Japan Pro Wrestling, try to get Inoki's ego under control, and try to keep New Japan strong enough that the promotion is never sold off and the Asahi Group merger never happens. According to Doriya-mon, the best hope for the future is a "President Nakamura" and his rise to power depends on New Japan remaining strong.

 

Whatever. We'll do our best.

[SirEdger]

I'm already sold.

 

SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!

[gordi]

Hahaha. Thanks!

 

The first step was absolutely arduous. We had to go back to 1995, convince 1995 Kensuke that this whole thing isn't just ridiculous made-up nonsense, bring 1995 Kensuke to 1985, and have him convince 1985 dojo boy Kensuke to help Yuka and I out as much as possible. Then, we repeated that process with every wrestler from our timeline that we figured might be able to help us in 1985: Dos Caras, Tatsutoshi Goto, Keiichi Yamada (AKA Jushin Liger in our timeline), Mutoh, Chono... in a couple of cases they just phlegmatically took us at at our word. In others, we were forced to bring future versions of some wrestlers back to 1995 and convince them that way. Quite a few of the wrestlers tried to give Doriya-mon bean paste pancake treats, and were nonplussed when he got upset about that.

 

The key guys were Koshinaka and Fujinami. The support of a few dojo boys and a luchadore were not going to be enough to get our foot in the door. Unfortunately, near-future Fujinami was a major player in Inoki's 2005 coup attempt, and also one of the first casualties in the resulting Civil War, so we couldn't go that route in trying to convince him to help us. Fortunately, 1995 Koshinaka was very easy to convince (and also the only wrestler who immediately understood that Doriya-mon likes to eat doriya) and it was 1985 Koshinaka's efforts that convinced Fujinami to get us a meeting with Inoki and to have our backs at that meeting.

 

With the help of Kosh, Fujinami, Doriya-man and the good-advice doll I put together a list of four ideas for New Japan's future:

 

1) Run a major show in Tokyo every year on January 4th. A lot of people are still on their New Year's holiday then and, generally, their family and social obligations have been taken care of. It's a golden opportunity to draw a huge house.

 

2) Keep the Jr. Heavyweight Division strong. Build around Kosh, Hoshino, and The Cobra for now, and steadily bring up the young boys like Yamada, Funaki, Sano, Kosugi, dojo boy Yoshihiro Asai, and so on. By the dawn of the 90s, this division should be a real strength of the company.

 

3) Similarly, there are three NJPW Dojo graduates who could be the long-term future of New Japan: Hashimoto, Chono, and Mutoh. Let them fight each other on the undercard for a year or so, then bring them up slowly but steadily so the whole company can be strong in the 1990s. Build up the roster from within with an eye toward moving away from absolute dependence on outside stars in the Main Events.

 

4) Keep New Japan a pro wrestling company first, foremost, and always. Focus on building up the fine young pro wrestlers coming out of your dojo rather than bringing in Martial Arts fighters from outside.

 

I also wanted to suggest starting up a Joshi division, but Fujinami and Kosh figured it would be best not to bring that up at the first meeting. Even points number 2 and 4 seemed to carry some risk of infuriating Inoki.

[SirEdger]

This is so different & out there. That's gonna be a really fresh alternative to our territories!

[gordi]

 

The meeting with Inoki was a little unnerving. Thanks to The Great Sasuke, I have experience working with a guy who thinks that he is a legitimate "Worlds Greatest Martial Arts Warrior" type rather than a mere pro wrestler. Thanks to Hogan, I have experience working with a guy who genuinely deep down thinks that he as an individual is bigger and more important than Pro Wrestling in general. Choshu, Delfin, Hawk... a lot of the guys I have worked with in this business are marks for themselves, a bit delusional and challenging to work with in one way or another.

 

But Inoki absolutely takes the cake.

 

He made me wait for almost three hours before granting access to his absurdly palatial office in the House of Councillors, despite the fact that Fujinami and Koshinaka were waiting with me. Both men brough books with them, so I guess this is S.O.P with Mr.Moeru Toukon. He didn't bow or shake my hand. He didn't stand up. He didn't make eye contact. He didn't look at me. He mumbled an order in Japanese. Fortunately, Doriya-Mon had given me a piece of Honyaku Konyaku (Translation Jelly) before the meeting, so I understood that he was saying I had one hour to produce a rough outline of my plan for everyone on the current NJPW roster. I had come prepared, and handed him a printed copy of my outline immediately. If he was at all surprised, he didn't show it.

 

Roughly translated, it reads like this:

 

Roster Report for Mr. Inoki

 

The Top Guys- Generally work the Main Event or Semi-Main. Protected. Only lose to one another or to superstar visiting wrestlers.

 

Antonio Inoki – The Ace

Seiji Sakaguchi – The Ace’s right-hand man, Judo stylist

 

Tatsumi Fujinami - #2 Guy

Kengo Kimura – Fujinami’s right-hand man, cagey veteran

 

 

The “Kikuchis” – “Third man” in Main Event trios matches. Work face in peril, do the job when needed. In mid-card and/or Jr. Hwt. matches, generally win.

 

Shiro Koshinaka – Still a top Jr. Heavyweight at this point, in addition to being Fujinami and Kimura’s third man.

Kantaro Hoshino – Very talented mid-carder, frequently teams with Inoki and Sekiguchi in the “Kikuchi” role

 

 

The Machines – Versatile puzzle pieces, can work technico or rudo, almost anywhere on the card. Strong Machine 1 is generally protected, Strong Machine 2 and 3 can be used to put over gaijin visitors on their way to meeting the top guys.

 

Strong Machine 1

Strong Machine 2

Strong Machine 3

 

 

Native Heels – The Ninja Express, often cheat to win, use Asian Mist and Fireballs, draw good heat, can work anywhere on the card, useful for making techincos more sympathetic.

 

Mr. Pogo – Legendary Brawler

Kendo Nagasaki – Brawler.

 

 

NJPW Dojo Young Lions – Hwt. Division – Will mostly fight one another on the lower card, and put over visiting gaijin, for a year or so. If groomed properly, should be ready for Main Events in just 4 or 5 years.

 

Shinya Hashimoto – The Future, tough, stiff, charismatic.

Masahiro Chono - The Future , athletic and cool.

Keiji Muto – The Future, flashy and larger-than-life.

 

 

NJPW Dojo Young Lions – Jr. Hwt. Division –Possibly our best bet to stand out in comparison to AJPW in the 1990s. AJPW’s young lions – Misawa, Kawada, Kobashi, etc. – have the potential to be every bit as good as our young lions in the 90s. Yamada, Funaki, and Sano give us a chance to re-capture some of the excitement of the Tiger Mask glory years. As with the Hwts, will mostly fight one another on the lower card for a year or so. Should be ready to move up the card a bit even sooner than the Hwt young lions..

 

Keiichi Yamada – The Future of the Jr. Division

Masakatsu Funaki – The Future of MMA Style.

Naoki Sano – Basically a jobber at this point… but not for too long, good match-up for both Yamada and Funaki

Akira Nogami - Basically a jobber at this point.

 

 

Mid-Card Natives

 

Umanosuke Ueda – Big blonde brawling heel

Tatsutoshi Goto – Still young, takes after Ueda, in time, Ueda and Goto could take over for Pogo and Nagasaki as out top Native bad guys.

Shunji Takano – 6’7” midcarder, younger brother of George “The Cobra” Takano. The two of them could be good as a mid-card tag team.

Tiger Toguchi – AKA Kim Duk, Basically winding down at this point.

Don Arakawa – Comedy act doing a Rikidozan gimmick.

Shunji Kosugi – Jr. Heavyweight technician, useful puzzle piece in that division.

Hirokazu Hata – Anonymous opening match job boy.

 

 

Gaijin Regulars

 

Canek – Lucha Libre Legend no. 1 – The strong one

Dos Caras – Lucha Libre Legend no. 2

Fishman – Lucha Libre Legend no. 3 – Should be protected against everyone but our top guys and superstar visiting gaijin. Can work midcard or upper card, can work vs. visiting gaijin, and can work against our top natives. Might be worth building a tag division around the three Lucha Legends.

 

Anoaro Atisanoe – Very large Hawaiian-born Japanese-Samoan. Brother of Sumo legend Konishiki.

 

Kim Su Hong - JTTS

Enrique Vera – Lucha Libre “just-a-guy” no. 1

The Cobra – Actually Japanese, real name George Takano, but billed from Uganda. One of our top Jr. Hwts. at this point.

Black Tiger – Mark "Rollerball" Rocco, a top Jr. Hwt heel

Black Cat – Talented undercard Jr. Hwt luchadore, useful to help develop our Jr. young lions.

Dave Taylor – 3^rd-generation British wrestler. Catch as Catch Can stylist.

David Morgan – Veteran British Jr, Hwt. Also useful in helping develop Yamada and co. - Having our Jr. Hwt. young lions work both lucha style and catch style should help them to really stand out in the future.

 

 

Implicit in that plan is the idea that our top guys should be willing to eventually transition into more of a "Giant Baba in the mid-to-late-80s" kind of role, but for obvious reasons that isn't made explicit in the version that was presented to Mr. Inoki.

 

He read it through, slowly and carefully, twice. Finally, he looked at me. "You have four suggestions for our future." I acknowledged that I did.

 

"Tell me... your best one."

 

I told him about running a big show in Tokyo on January 4th. "Fine," he said. "Book the show. If it succeeds, I will hire you as booker. If it fails, I will never speak to you again."

[SirEdger]

No pressure, right?

 

Love that plan you gave Inoki. Pretty much draws the hierarchy of your roster clearly & precisely.

[kevinmcfl]

Agree with Edger. Love the hierarchy of your roster. Something I really need to work on.

[LowBlowPodcast]

I am so excited about New Japan coming in. I am going to insert that comment for every new promotion because it is truly making this game better than it has ever been.

 

With the hierarchy, with the tours, with the customization, this could be a great way for Japan to take over the wrestling world in 1985.

[gordi]

When I went down to the hotel restaurant for breakfast this morning, Inoki was there, waiting for me. "What do you have for me?" he asked, in English. Fortunately, I had brought my rough notes for the January 4th show with me so I could work on them over breakfast:

 

Main Event: Inoki, Sakaguchi, and Hoshino vs. The Lucha Libre Legends (2 out of 3 falls match) - Epic Main Event.

 

​Semi-Main Event: Fujinami and Kimura vs. Dave Taylor and David Morgan - Technical Battle.

 

Semi-Main Event: The Machines vs. The Ninja Express and Umanosuke Ueda - Classic Heel vs, Face Battle.

 

** Break **

 

WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: The Cobra vs. Shiro Koshinaka - Shunji Takano interferes to save his brother, setting The Cobras up as a heel tag team for future battles.

 

Anoaro Atisanoe and Shunji Takano vs. Kim Su-Hung and Kim Duk - A semi-squash to help build Atisanoe as a monster and Takano as a heel.

 

Hashimoto, Chono, and Mutoh vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Shunji Kosugi, and Enrique Vera - Showcase for our young heavyweights.

 

Yamada, Funaki, and Nogami vs. Black Tiger, Black Cat, and Sano - Give them a decent amount of time, allow Yamada and Black Cat to show off their technique and Funaki and Sano to show off their stiff and realistic style.

 

Don Arakawa vs. Hirokazu Hata - A pleasant comedy match to start the evening off.

 

 

 

 

[gordi]

As is his apparent habit, Inoki read it over carefully, twice. He chuckled. He made eye contact with me, and shook my hand very firmly. "We will run this show." he said. "It will be our first show in the new Ryōgoku Kokugikan. Konishiki and perhaps Chiyonofuji will help to promote it."

 

He stood up and went to get some more tea and miso soup from the buffet, while I took a moment to digest what had just happened. When he returned, he told me to go and get some breakfast for myself. I briefly considered copying him and getting tea, soup, rice, and fish... but I went with my usual: Fresh omelettes from the omelette station and black coffee.

 

Inoki looked at my breakfast. "In Japan, it is customary to follow your boss's lead." There was along silence. "Good." he finally said. "Good for you. I do not need a booker who will only do what he thinks will please me." I tucked in to my omelette.

 

When I was finished he spoke again. "I believe your idea to run a big show in Tokyo on January 4th will prove to be successful. I can see that you want to build up our dojo boys into future stars. Give me three more ideas for the future of New Japan Pro Wrestling." I asked if I could get some more coffee. "You may." I asked if he would like some more tea. "I would."

 

My three ideas were this:

 

1) Continue our relationship with the WWF, but move away from having them sanction our titles. Have the IWGP sanction the following belts in some time in 1985: The IWGP Heavyweight Title, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title, and the IWGP Tag Team Titles.

 

2) Move away from DCOR and DDQ finishes. In particular, eliminate the "Out of Fence DQ" finish entirely. Move toward having mostly clean pinfall or submission finishes.

 

3) Keep New Japan a pro wrestling company first, foremost, and always. Focus on building up the fine young pro wrestlers coming out of your dojo rather than bringing in Martial Arts fighters from outside. Except for very special occasions, move away from presenting "Different Style Fights" as Main Events that are treated as being more important than the pro wrestling matches underneath them.

 

Inoki's face was very hard to read. I was pretty sure that suggestion number three would make him very angry, but there was no change in his demeanor at all.

 

He barked an order at one of the wait staff. The young man ran into the kitchen and came back to our table with a stainless steel bowl filled with water. Inoki pulled out a piece of paper. "This is New Japan's planned touring schedule for 1985," he said. He lit the paper on fire, and held it over the bowl of water until it was burned up. He handed me a business card. "Meet me at this restaurant for lunch at 1pm. Wear a necktie. Bring me a schedule with a plan for each month of the coming year. Your secretary will come, too."

 

(I assume that by secretary he meant Yuka)

 

He got up and walked away.

[gordi]

Have you ever seen the Shōhei Imamura film Vengeance Is Mine? Remember how the killer's wife was attracted to his father? Well.. the actress, Mitsuko Baisho, who played the killer's wife in that movie is Inoki's wife in real life. I can't tell you how much effort it took to keep from making a joke about her and Inoki's father.

 

The restaurant was just a little hole-in-the-wall steakhouse around the corner from our hotel. I guess Inoki wanted me to wear a tie because I'd be meeting his wife. The steakhouse seemed pretty casual. We had big steaks served with butter and garlic on hot iron plates, with a nice little salad on the side and cold beer. You could choose rice or fries, but I declined. Mitsuko asked for rice, cut her steak neatly in two, and gave the bigger half to Inoki. Yuka followed suit.

 

I told Inoki that I'd worked with LowBlowPodcast and Grimmas in the past, that we have a good working relationship now, and that I assumed NJPW would be happy to continue working with the WWF and with CMLL. He nodded assent. I continued that I feel comfortable working with other promoters, like SirEdger and kevinmcfl, but that I knew SirEdger's promotion had joined the NWA... Inoki put up his hand to stop me.

 

"It may be possible to work with both the WWF and the NWA. It may not be. This will be negotiated." I'd eaten some Honyaku Konyaku before the meeting, but I think he was speaking in English anyway.

 

"I'd like to use the following plan," I passed him a couple of printed sheets, "and I'd like to send this letter to all the promoters in America, Canada, and Mexico:

 

January 11-26th: NJPW New Year Golden Series, culminating in a big show in Osaka on January 26th. Confirmed to participate: WWF wrestlers Haku, Tonga, and Barbarian will be coming in for the whole tour. Big Machine, Strong Machine #4 and GIANT MACHINE will also be coming over. The Fabulous Freebirds (Hayes, Jimmy Garvin and Buddy Roberts) will be on the whole tour. JYD will be on the whole tour!.Hulk Hogan will be coming in for the Kobe (23rd), Nagoya (24th) and Osaka (26th) shows at the end of the month, In the Osaka show, all four are going to work as Machines. (Hulk Machine, Giant Machine, Big machine, and Strong Machine #4). Mr. Pogo will be going to the USWA for the month of January.

February 3rd through 27th: Tag Team Tournament, to crown the first ever IWGP Tag Team Champions. If it’s OK with the WWF and NWA Boards of Governors, I’d like to open this up so that any and every other federation is welcome to send (at least) one team of their choice over for February. If they want the team protected, we’ll need to keep them over here longer. If they don’t mind being eliminated in the first week (double elimination rules so everyone can get at least one win over here) then we will only need them for one week. We’d like to get at least two of: British Bulldogs, Hart Foundation, Dynamic Duo (Adams and Hernadez), and/or the Islanders from the WWF, for three weeks or more (making it into at least the quarter-finals) Semi-finals and finals will be held on the 25th and 27th in Tokyo.

Confirmed to particpate: From MACW: The Grapplers, The Windhams. From CCW: The Guerreros, The Strongbows, The Super Destroyers. From Lutte Int. The Caribbean Connection, The Samoans, and The Sheepherders. From USWA: The Assasins, The Bruise Brothers, The Fort Bragg Brotherhood, and The Freebirds. From the WWF: The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, The Killer Bees, The Youngbloods. From the AWA: Can-Am Express, and Buzz Sawyer and "Doctor D" Dave Schultz. From Memphis: The Rock and Roll Express and the Bolsheviks.From CMLL: Tony Acre y Vulcano

March 8th through 23rd: Regional tour and Young Lions Cup. Two weeks in the middle of March, focusing on building up our young lions. We will put out feelers to see if we can get a few gaijin young lions like Sting, Mick Foley, Sabu, 2 Cold Scorpio, Owen Hart and/or Chris Benoit to come over… but with the understanding that the final four are all going to be our boys. We could use up to six big-name gaijin for the final big show in Fukuoka on the 23rd of March. At the end of the month, we'd be happy to send a couple of our bigger names over to America to help with the run-up to WrestleMania.

Confirmed to participate in YLC: Owen Hart, 2 Cold Scorpio, Sting, Steven Regal, Rick Steiner. For 3/23: One Man Gang, Great Kokina, Pat Patterson, and Ray Stevens

April 8th through 26th: Winner of the Young Lions Cup gets to choose a tag team partner and compete for the belts on the 26th in Tokyo. It would be nice to have a few gaijin heels come in for the tour in April, and at least two big names for the Tokyo show on the 26th. Will be happy to send a team or two over for the Crockett Cup if there is one this year, and to send representatives to WrestleRock or a similar show if AWA decides to have one (and if negotiations prove fruitful).

Confirmed to participate: Bad News Allen, Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine for the tour. Ricky Steamboat and Don Muraco for the 26th in Tokyo.

May 8th through June 21st.: Festival of Champions. From the Second week of May through the third week of June (pending negotiations), we invite any champion from any federation to come and defend their belts in Japan. (Their guys will either go over our undercard guys cleanly, or lose by DQ or CO to upper-card guys, or if anyone is willing: Lose the belt(s) during the tour, but get the belt back at the big show in Sapporo at the end of May or in Yokohama at the end of June). We want as many foreign/outside champs as possible for the big shows in Sapporo on May 29th and in Yokohama on June 21st. Might be possible to cross-promote with the WCCW Parade of Champions or a similar event if one is held this month.

Confirmed for May 29th: Jerry Lawler, Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, and Abdullah the Butcher

Confirmed for June 21st: Abdullah the Butcher and Mil Mascaras

July 1st through 28th: IWGP CLIMAX TOURNAMENT! Month-long tournament climaxing in the crowning of the first ever IWGP Champion (Inoki or Fujinami, most likely) in Tokyo on the 26th and 28th of July. Gaijin wrestlers and outsiders are invited to compete, but we will need almost a full month commitment. Our Juniors will be available for bookings this month, as the tournament will focus mainly on Heavyweight wrestlers.

Featured Guest Participants: Andre the Giant and Bruiser Brody.

August 8th through 22nd: Regional Tour, climaxing in Osaka on the 22nd. Gaijin visitors welcome but not necessary. Relaxed schedule should allow us to participate in cards overseas as needed.

August 22nd through 31st: Super Juniors Tournament, climaxing in Tokyo with the crowning of the first ever IWGP Jr. Hwt Champion. We will definitely be looking for gaijin juniors to participate. A good time to book NJPW Heavyweights if you want to.

September 7th through 27th: Now that we have our three IWGP titles. Let’s show them off with three big cards. In Fukuoka on the 9th, in Saitama on the 16th, and in Osaka on the 27th. Gaijin contenders for the IWGP Heavyweight, Tag, and Jr. Hwt titles will all be welcome. They’ll go over a mid-carder on TV before putting over our champ(s) on the big card. Hope to have some of our boys participate in the CMLL Anniversary show this month, if they have one.

Confirmed Challengers: Stan Hansen - IWGP Hwt Title, Sept. 27th.

October 14th through 28th: Overseas tour, hitting The Philippines, Taiwan, and either Korea or India. Gaijin guests welcome but not necessary.

November 10th through 24th: The calm before the storm. A regional tour with gaijin welcome but not needed, finishing in Tokyo on the 24th with a big card that we could use some guests for. We are hoping to send some representatives to participate in Starrcade if negotiations with the NWA go well.

Special Guests: Mil Mascaras and Stan Hansen November 20th through 25th

December 3rd through 23rd: The Road to January 4^th Need to solidify big-time contenders for all three titles to build up to the big Tokyo January 4^th Show of 1986! Final card of the tour will be in Osaka on the 23rd. Lots of gaijin participation will be needed for the first three weeks of December, peaking in Osaka.

Confirmed to participate: Andre the Giant, Bruiser Brody, Abdullah the Butcher.

 

Inoki read everything through carefully, twice. He ordered two more steaks, four small salads, and four more glasses of beer.

[SirEdger]

Holy crap, this got me excited big time! The Festival of Champions could be a huge deal! Pretty much an All-Star game of the best wrestlers from all territories!

[gordi]

Holy crap, this got me excited big time! The Festival of Champions could be a huge deal! Pretty much an All-Star game of the best wrestlers from all territories!

 

That's absolutely what I'm hoping for!

[Grimmas]

So it wasn't just that you had a great topic, it's that you are an amazing writer? This is right up there with your M-Pro stuff, I hope more of the robot appears, but I'm hooked.

[gordi]

Thanks man,I've got two (half-Japanese) daughters, aged 3 and 5 - and it's too cold and dark to play outside now - so I have been watching a ton of Doraemon and Anpanman (with my girls) lately. That directly affects the way I experience life in Japan. Mostly it makes everything seem even more bizarre and hilarious than it already is. I'm really pleased to be able to have an outlet for that here.

[gordi]

NJPW is proud to announce the culminating show of the New Year Golden Series, to be held in Osaka at the Furitsu Taiiku Kaikan on January 26th:

 

MAIN EVENT: Once-in-a-lifetime Mega Gauntlet match:

 

Seven Machines: Strong Machine #1, Strong Machine #2, Strong Machine #3, Strong Machine #4, Big Machine, Hulk Machine, and Giant Machine

 

versus

 

The Fabulous Freebirds, The Cobras (George and Shunji Takano), Umanosuke Ueda, and Anoaro Atisanoe

 

*** Break ***

 

 

SPECIAL CO-MAIN EVENT: Inoki, Sakaguchi, and Hoshino vs. The Barbarian, Haku, and Tonga

 

 

Fujinami, Kimura, and Koshinaka vs. Kim Su-Hong, Kim Duk, and Tatsutoshi Goto

 

Kendo Nagasaki vs. Junkyard Dog

 

The Young Lions (Mutoh, Hashimoto, and Chono) vs. The Lucha Libre Legends (Canek, Dos Caras, and Fishman)

 

Yamada and Funaki vs. Black Tiger and Sano

[gordi]

Also: In Nagoya at the Aichi-ken Taiikukan on the 24th of January:

 

Main Event: Hulk Hogan, Antonio Inoki and Junkyard Dog vs. Atisanoe, Kendo Nagasaki, and Umanosuke Ueda

 

Special Singles Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Dos Caras

 

Special Tag Match: Andre the Giant and Keiichi Yamada vs, The Cobras

 

*** Break ***

 

Three Special Trios Matches:

 

1 - KImura, Koshinaka, and Hoshino vs. The Barbarian, Haku, and Tonga

 

2 - The Strong Machines (nos. 1, 2, and 3) vs. The Freebirds

 

3 - Sakaguchi, Strong Machine #4, and Big Machine vs. Canek, Fishman, and Black Cat

 

Hashimoto and Funaki vs. Goto and Sano

 

Chono, Mutoh, and Shunji Kosugi vs. Black Tiger, Akira Nogami, and Enrique Vera

[gordi]

And, in Kobe at the World Hall on the 23rd:

 

Main Event: Hogan, Andre, and Inoki vs. The Lucha Libre Legends (Canek, Dos Caras, and Fishman)

 

Co-Main Event: Fujinami, Kimura, and Koshinaka vs. The Freebirds

 

** break **

 

Sakaguchi and Hoshino vs. Atisanoe and Nagasaki

 

The Strong Machines (nos. 1 through 4), and Big Machine vs. Ueda, Goto, Kim, Kim, and Hata

 

Hashimoto, Chono, and Mutoh vs. The Barbarian, Haku, and Tonga

 

JYD vs. Don Arakawa

 

Yamada, Funaki, and Kosugi vs. Black Tiger, Black Cat, and David Morgan

[Grimmas]

Those are some crazy main events! The lucha trios vs NJPW trios sounds amazing.

[SirEdger]

Those 3 cards will be insanely good!

[gordi]

New Japan Pro Wrestling is pleased to announce that there is going to be an astounding collection of outside talent coming to our federation in February to participate in our Tag Festival. We hope to demonstrate the depth and richness of the Art of Tag Team Wrestling. The NJPW Tag Festival will take pace February 3rd through 27th, at various arenas throughout Japan. Semi-finals and Finals will be held on the 25th and 27th in Tokyo.

 

The winner of the Tournament will be crowned the first-ever IWGP Tag Team Champions,

 

Confirmed to particpate:

 

From MACW: The Grapplers, The Windhams.

From CCW: The Guerreros, The Strongbows, The Super Destroyers.

From Lutte Int. The Caribbean Connection, The Samoans, The Sheepherders.

From USWA: The Assassins, The Bruise Brothers, The Fort Bragg Brotherhood, The Freebirds.

From the WWF: The Hart Foundation, The Islanders, The Killer Bees, The Youngbloods.

From the AWA: Can-Am Express, Buzz Sawyer and "Doctor D" Dave Schultz.

From Memphis: The Rock and Roll Express, The Bolsheviks.

From CMLL: Tony Acre y Vulcano

 

Note: If there appear to be any errors or omissions in the above list, please contact NJPW booker "gordi" by pm, letter, or fax.

[gordi]

To me, the way Christmas and New Year are celebrated in Japan feels like the reverse of the way they're celebrated in Canada. What I mean is, in Japan New Year is when the whole family gathers together and eats a big traditional meal and watches seasonal special TV programs. Christmas is more of a night where it's important for single people to find a date, and go out somewhere nice.

 

When I told Yuka that I really wanted to back to that little steakhouse where we had that meeting with the Inokis, she immediately agreed. She said she wanted to eat her whole steak this time. "You should wear the jacket," she told me.

 

The last time we went there, the owner told me my steaks were on the house (only mine... Maybe it's a thing they do for first-timers, or gaijin, or something) and he brought out three cheap-looking shiny satin jackets with the restaurant's logo on them. One was baby blue with red print, one was black and red, and one the one Yuka chose for me was silver with black lettering.

 

When we arrived, we were surprised to find Mutoh, Chono, Yamada, and a Dojo boy named Asai were already there. After making a big jokey fuss over me wearing the jacket, they and their (crazy hawt) dates made room at the table so that Yuka and I could join them. It was pretty tightly packed, but we stayed there for hours, eating and drinking and talking and laughing. Doriya-mon is busy with some other pressing business over the Holidays, so I had to make do without the Honyaku Konyaku, but I felt like I did OK keeping up,with the jokes and conversation in Japanese. It's amazing what a shared passion can do to help break down the language barrier. I miss the big Turkey dinner we always used to have in Canada, but steak and beer with a bunch of wrestlers was a pretty good Plan B.

 

This week's a little sad for Yuka. Without Doriyamon's help it's going to be impossible for her to spend New Year with her family this year, considering that they are 10 years in the future. I had a couple of lonely Christmases myself when I first came to Japan, so I can maybe kind of relate. Anyway, it looks like I'm her family this year. Knowing that there is at least one future timeline where we have at least one kid together makes things a little intense... but if things are going to get intense with anyone, it might as well be with the woman who is happy to spend Christmas drinking with a bunch of wrestlers.

[Grimmas]

A NJPW Christmas Special! My favourite of all specials!

[gordi]

NJPW in Tokyo, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, January 4^th, 1985

 

Live report as it happens. I’ve got nowhere to post this, so I guess I’m just doing it for my own benefit. Maybe Doriya-mon can help me get it out to the other bookers and so on…

 

Anyway, I have to give Inoki and Shinma credit. They got us into the brand new Ryōgoku Kokugikan, and they got Konishiki and Chiyonofuji and several other big names from the world of sumo involved in the promotion of the show, just as they said they would. The place is packed, the atmosphere is electric, and I’ve been given every reasonable opportunity to succeed.

 

It’s all up to the boys now. The show is already a success financially, and I’m sure New Japan will rake in more cash at the merch tables… so all that remains to be seen is if the card I’ve booked will be a critical success, and a hit with the fans, as well. There’s definitely some risk involved in running a show this big without a lot of outside participation, but I’m… cautiously optimistic.

 

Don Arakawa vs. Hirokazu Hata

 

Arakawa’s thing is that he looks a lot like puroresu pioneer Rikidozan. He comes to the ring dressed in the instantly recognizable long black tights and black boots that Rikidozan used to wear, and immediately drops down into the sumo splits. Hata is a solid hand with a fine grasp of the basics, but not much more. They battle for a wristlock, back and forth, for a few minutes, and then Arakawa gains the advantage with a basic slam. After that, he runs through a few of Rikidozan’s signature spots and mannerisms, and ends it with a Backslide.

 

It’s an inoffensive and mildly entertaining opening match, which is all we were asking for.

 

Keiichi Yamada, Masakatsu Funaki, and Akira Nogami vs. Black Tiger, Black Cat, and Naoki Sano

 

There are a lot of things that are weird about jumping ten years back in time to book New Japan. Probably the hardest thing for me, personally, is coming to terms with the fact that guys like Liger (AKA Yamada), Mutoh, and Chono are just young boys in 1985, rather than the huge stars that they were for Asahi Pro “back” in 1995. There’s a very real chance that, knowing what I do about their future, I could screw everything up by pushing them too far too quickly and not allowing their careers and their skills to develop naturally.

 

So, we give them 12 minutes here. Enough time for Yamada and Black Cat to dazzle the fans with some speed and technique, for Funaki and Sano to demonstrate just how much can be done with little stiffness and realism, and for Black Tiger Rocco to beat up on Akira and finish things with a Piledriver.

 

Hashimoto, Chono, and Mutoh vs. Tatsutoshi Goto, Shunji Kosugi, and Enrique Vera

 

A very similar situation here, with another 12 minutes for everyone to get just a little shine. Hash and Goto get all violent and angry, Chono and Kosugi slow it down with some holds and counters, and then Mutoh and Vera bring it back up with some flash and swagger, ending when Mutoh takes Vera out at the knees with a low Dropkick and then quickly slaps on the Figure Four.

 

Anoaro Atisanoe and Shunji Takano vs. Kim Su-Hung and Kim Duk

 

One of the main reasons that we were able to get Konishiki involved with promoting our debut in the new sumo hall is that this show is when we are starting Atisanoe’s push as a home-grown monster heel. Konishiki was born Saleva'a Fuauli Atisano'e, and Anoaro is the sumo star’s older brother.

Takano - who also has a well-known brother – stands a legit 6’7” and Atisanoe weighs in at a legit 330 lbs. so they make a pretty fearsome team, dwarfing the big Korean veterans. The Double Kims bump and sell like true pros, and Atsanoe in particular is made to look like a real killer, finishing things off with a Samoan Drop well before the ten minute mark.

 

WWF Junior Heavyweight Title Match: The Cobra (champion) vs. Shiro Koshinaka

 

Although the Cobra is billed as being from Uganda, he is actually Shunji Takano’s older (and smaller) brother, George. He and Kosh have good ring chemistry, and the match goes back and forth for ten minutes before the Samurai seizes control with a Bulldog. As Koshinaka is setting The Cobra up for a big Hip Attack, a tall (legit 6’7”) masked man rushes the ring and starts beating the challenger down. Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura charge the ring to save their frequent tag partner, and The Cobras roll out of the ring and escape through the crowd.

 

** Break **

 

So far I’d have to say it’s been a solid show, and we’ve achieved our goals of setting up a couple of young heels as potential future challengers and giving our young lions some shine. I think it’s safe to say, though, that the success or failure of the show (and my future with this company) is almost completely dependent on the last three matches. Either we’ve got enough talent on this roster to put on a big show in a big hall without any expensive outside guests, or we don’t. We are about to find out.

 

Semi-Main Event: The Machines vs. The Ninja Express and Umanosuke Ueda

 

 

The mentality of New Japan in 1985 is that big matches still follow the old Rikidozan formula of Japanese Good Guys fighting Foreign Bad Guys. I don’t feel any great need to completely change that right away. It’s still a reasonably effective formula. Thanks to Doriya-mon, I’ve been able to set up an efficient communication network with pretty much all of the major promoters around the world. I think New Japan might just be about to enter a new golden age of Gaijin participation.

That being said, I really want to keep my options open, and to expand the possibilities for how a show can be booked here in 1985. So, I want to be able to use the gaijin on our regular roster in upper-card roles, and I want to establish more than a few native Japanese wrestlers as serious Bad Guys. Pogo’s got his Fireballs, Nagasaki has got his Mist, Ueda has bleach-blonde hair and a cocky attitude. Given the right push, I think that they could eventually draw almost as well as a big-name gaijin up against Inoki or Fujinami in the Main Event.

 

They certainly do their best to show their worth in this match, heeling it up like crazy against the Machines, who fight back with teamwork and power moves. Eventually Strong Machines nos. 2 and 3 are laid out and Strong Machine no. 1 is being held with his arms pinned back by Ueda, as Nagasaki and Pogo prepare to hit him with a Mist/Fireball combo. At the last possible moment, #1 ducks out of the way and Ueda gets destroyed in a classic “malfunction at the junction” spot.

 

 

Semi-Main Event: Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura vs. Dave Taylor and David Morgan

 

I’m gonna be honest here: I booked this one for my own personal benefit. I really enjoy watching catch-as-catch-can style wrestling. Taylor is a third-generation catch stylist. Fujinami was trained in part by Karl Gotch. Watching them go in the ring is something that I can purely enjoy. The Double David’s role on our roster in 1985 is mainly going to be working with our young lions to give them a solid background in catch and European styles. All of those guys are gonna eat a Float-over Butterfly Suplex sooner or later.

 

Tonight is my chance to see Fujinami take one, and it is a real mark-out moment for me at least. I think Fujinami locking in the Dragon Sleeper on Morgan is more of a mark-out moment for the majority of the crowd, though.

 

Main Event: Inoki, Sakaguchi, and Hoshino vs. The Lucha Libre Legends (2 out of 3 falls match)

 

This building, this crowd, and this show all deserve an epic main event. Canek, Dos Caras, and Fishman have a chance to get themselves over as worthy of being in there with New Japan’s best. They work a straight-up technical style, with no cheating. The outsiders-vs.-natives, style-vs.-style, and living legends angles are enough to give the match the frisson it needs without having to add a good guys vs. bad guys dynamic on top of it all.

 

After a long back-and-forth, Canek catches Hoshino with a Gorilla Press into a Kneeling Argentine Backbreaker to take the primera caida. Sakaguchi evens things up quickly in the segunda caida, catching Fishman in a Backbreaker Rack then locking in the Cobra Twist.

 

Up until now, Dos Caras vs. Inoki have been teasing the crowd by avoiding their first lock up. Early in the tercera Canek and Fishman take Sakaguchi and Hoshino out with big dives, leaving no alternative but for Inoki and Caras to finally go at it. The action itself is maybe a little on the sloppy side… but the anticipation they had built up in the crowd leads to some pretty molten heat regardless. Dos Caras almost has Ionki pinned twice, but in the end it comes down to a battle over the Octopus Hold.

 

 

 

 

With Strong Machine #1, Fujinami, and then Inoki all going over clean, we send the Tokyo crowd home happy enough. We’ll be back here on the 25^th and 27^th of February for the semi-finals and finals of our Tag Festival. If we manage to draw well for those shows, I think my position with the company will be secure. In the meantime we have a ton of big names coming in and it’s up to me to use them right and put on the best shows possible.

 

Wish me luck.

[kevinmcfl]

Great start that is so well organized from top to bottom. I really enjoy your style of writing.