The Navigation Log 10.19.08: New Japan Fallout, KENTA vs. Marufuji Gets Bigger, and Tozawa-juku in Peril

For the first time in a long while I had an easy week. Got to watch Bound For Glory, most of Raw, ECW, Impact, and Smackdown! It feels like ages since I’ve managed to pull off a feat like that. Make sure to check out Chris Lansdell’s A Brace for Impact review, by the way as it features yours truly joining in for some real-time play-by-play with Mr. Lansdell. It was a fun way to spend the two hours of Impact and gave some extra incentive to get back into watch the show every week. The format is still in the beta stages you could say, but definitely look out for it every week. But enough of the cheap plugs.

Onto the Navigation Log!

New Japan: Sumo Hall Fallout
Monday night was a big night for New Japan. They had put together a big card for their return to Sumo Hall with title matches, inter-promotional matches, and battles between the old generation and the new generation of stars. It was an impressive looking show on paper and from the matches I’ve been able to catch thus far, it didn’t disappoint.

The show opened with the red hot young team of Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito, collectively known as NO LIMIT, challenging Minoru & Prince Devitt for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. These tag titles are by no means the most prestigious belts among the IWGP titles, and a lot of people expected the belts to be hot shot over to the rising young stars. This proved to be the case as NO LIMIT has finally walked out of a match with gold of their own. The match itself was a good opener for the show as a whole. Very fast-paced, lots of dives, and the up-and-comers got the win. I definitely hope NO LIMIT is given a chance to defend the titles. Minoru & Devitt only got in a single defense months ago, so they weren’t exactly setting the world on fire as champions since they traded the belts with Jushin Liger & AKIRA. But what this will do is give the spotlight to Yujiro & Naito. They might not elevate the titles to epic new heights, but it will get people to notice them. And with the G1 Tag League coming up there will be even more chances for them to shine.

Next up for the big matches was the grudge match between Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Takashi Iizuka. This all stemmed from Iizuka betraying Tenzan in April and joining GBH. The stipulation this time was that the two would be chained together. Tenzan beat Iizuka bloody in a Lumberjack Death Match, but this time it was a completely different outcome. Both men bled a lot, but Iizuka came out on top after ref stoppage as he choked Tenzan with the chain. There was a copious amount of interference from GBH throughout this match, which greatly contributed to Iizuka’s win. This feud will press on though. Tenzan vs. GBH will be a big story to watch during the G1 Tag League coming up, but I don’t see Tenzan getting his hands on Iizuka again until next year. We’ll wait and see, but I can only wonder what kind of gimmick they’ll go with to finish this feud. I’m hoping for a very rare Japanese cage match, but whatever they go with, it’ll deliever.

Masato Tanaka also put up his ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title on the line against Yuji Nagata. Not only was the belt on the line, but being the undisputed ace of ZERO1, Tanaka was putting his pride and the pride of his entire promotion on the line in this defense. This was made very clear by his entrance, as he came to the ring accompanied by his ZERO1 compatriots carrying the ZERO1 Fire Festival Sword that he’s held for the past three years. He fought hard, taking Nagata to the floor early and using some of the hardcore-style he’s famous for to gain an advantage. It was no use though as Mr. IWGP, being backed up by an extremely pro-New Japan crowd, defeated Tanaka to become the second ZERO1 Heavyweight Champion. It was a good match, but I can’t help but be disappointed in the outcome. Nagata really gets nothing by winning the ZERO1 Title, while Tanaka could have benefited a whole lot more from a win on big scale like Sumo Hall. However, Nagata does bring a lot of name value with him, so holding the title might not be all bad for ZERO1. Either way the stage is set for a new star in ZERO1 to eventually step up and save his promotion’s main title. The first guy to get a shot at Nagata will be Kohei Sato, who has had fairly good success against New Japan wrestlers in this on-going feud between promotions. Sato gets his title shot at the 10/30 Korakuen Hall show on friendly ZERO1 territory.

The main event of the evening was IWGP Heavyweight Champion Keiji Muto defending against the man he defeated for the belt Shinsuke Nakamura. It was a generational battle that has in some ways come to embody the difference between Japan’s Old Guard and the rising stars throughout the country. Nakamura seemed to have the match well in hand, having learned a lot from his previous defeat to Muto. But you can always count on Muto to be the wily veteran and he surprised Nakamura with a Frankensteiner pin out of nowhere. Post-match, Muto praised Nakamura yet still took time to scold his younger opponent for not studying enough so as to anticipate the move used to beat him. Muto is starting to get more than a bit arrogant in his position holding the IWGP Title, but then why shouldn’t he be? He’s already resolved to take the title with him and defend it in Taiwan while at the same time demanding an opponent for the 1/4 New Japan Budokan show be named so he can properly prepare. Muto is almost mocking New Japan at this point going so far as to set the end of All Japan’s Strongest Tag League in December as a dead line for a new challenger. If no one is selected, then Muto will boycott the show. Not defending the title then will be a blasphemy that New Japan wouldn’t be able to stand, so I firmly anticipate a challenger named probably after the G1 Tag League but who they choose is unknown. Muto’s four defenses have come against very strong opponents and it’ll be a tough choice to pick one who can actually wrestle the title away. If Nakamura couldn’t do it, than who can?

NOAH: Title vs. Title
A lot of people have been clamoring for some kind of Jr. Heavyweight Title unification match ever since Marufuji won the All Japan Jr. Heavyweight Title. He was set to defend it against KENTA at the 10/25 Budokan show, but the situation has changed drastically for the better. KENTA had a shot at Bryan Danielson’s GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title on 10/13 and managed to defeat his long-time American rival for it. As such Marufuji vs. KENTA at the Budokan has become a Title vs. Title match for all the gold. We are guaranteed a double champion before the month is out. Leave it to NOAH pull something like this though. NOAH matches have won match of the year in Japan (Marufuji vs. KENTA, GHC Heavyweight Title in 2006 and Kenta Kobashi & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama in 2007) and it’s usually due to them putting on some very strong matches late in the year. They might do it, though I’m thinking the attendance will be very down for this show. The main event will be Akitoshi Saito & Bison Smith defending the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles against Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio, a team that never lost the belts. I expect that to be a great match-up, but Saito & Smith haven’t defended the title at all and I don’t see it drawing well. Maybe the Junior Title match will bring people in, but we’ll see.

The future GHC and All Japan Jr. Heavyweight Champions won’t have time to rest on his laurels though. All Japan has already tapped Shuji Kondo to fight for the title on the 11/3 show. He’ll either be facing Marufuji or KENTA and to be honest neither of those match-ups is a bad way to go. I do slightly object to Kondo going for a junior’s title because he’s kinda not a junior. But whatever, when you’re all but promised two great match-ups I find it hard to worry about things like that.

Dragon Gate: War in Osaka
Dragon Gate’s big Osaka show is starting to take shape and there’s a lot at stake. Typhoon’s Susumu Yokosuka won a four-way elimination match to face his stable mate Shingo Takagi for the Open the Dream Gate title on 11/16. Yokosuka hasn’t exactly taken to Takagi’s recent joining of the stable, especially after the way he acted turning on BxB Hulk and formed Real Hazard. The stage is set for this confrontation and could be one of Shingo’s more interesting defenses. Yokosuka has done very little this year outside of teaming with Ryo Saito and winning the Open the Twin Gate belts and a strong performance here could get him booked into more singles programs. Yokosuka is a former Dream Gate Champion himself, but he’ll have a tall order against Takagi here.

Akira Tozawa has really come a long way since swearing off his Metabolic character and losing all the weight he put on teaming with Yuki Ono. Now that Ono is “gone” and Tozawa is back to his old form, he’s starting to gain a bit of a cocky streak. He’s issued a challenge for the Open the Triangle Gate titles against the veteran team of Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji, & Magnitude Kishiwada. The problem with Tozawa is that he usually doesn’t know when to shut the hell up and has thus talked his way into making this an all or nothing match. If Tozawa-juku doesn’t win the titles here, then the stable will be forced to disband. I for one would be sad to see Tozawa-juku go. They’ve been around forever and while their win-loss record isn’t quite as high as it could be, it would a shame to lose a group that’s been through a lot of change and a lot of history. Only until recently have they started racking up big wins and titles. Truthfully, unless the stable was given a bigger push after winning the Triangle Gate match I don’t know where else they could go from here. Tozawa is still hanging around, though he’s had his problems in the past and might have a bright future. Arai is an old veteran from the Toryumon days and I image he’d be able to find a home among the veterans like Mochizuki and Fuji. Iwasa is easily the most talented of the bunch (as a younger guy anyway) and could be built as a real singles threat. The thing of it all though is that I’m so used to seeing these guys in their Tozawa-juku ring-gear and the school anthem that it would take some getting used to.

Masato Yoshino should change his name to Mr. Brave Gate, as last weekend he recaptured the title from Genki Horiguchi for a third title reign. Yoshino’s name has essentially become synonymous with the Open the Brave Gate championship as he is the longest reigning champion, has the most reigns, and successfully rescued the belt first from Gamma when it was the Open the Gamma Gate and not all of Real Hazard. Yoshino is a top notch wrestler and easily one my favorites in the promotion I don’t mind saying. There’s an awful lot of guys on the roster who would love a crack at Yoshino and the first one to make his intentions known was K-ness. The former Darkness Dragon has a long history against Yoshino, so much so that the two’s matches are the stuff of legend within Dragon Gate. Dragon Kid has also made a championship petition though and so an even bigger rivalry has been rekindled as Dragon Kid will battle once again with K-ness for the number one contender spot. These two go all the way back to the Toryumon days where Kid took the mask of Darkness Dragon, which led to a brief period before he turned into K-ness.

Champion’s Roster

All Japan Pro Wrestling

Triple Crown Champion: The Great Muta
-Defeated Suwama on 9/28/2008 to become the 38th champion

Next defense: 11/3/08 vs. Minoru Suzuki

All Japan Pro Wrestling Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Naomichi Marufuji (NOAH)
-Defeated Ryuji Hijikata on 9/28/2008 to become the 27th champion

Next defense: 10/25/08 vs. KENTA (NOAH)

All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champions: Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki
-Defeated Keiji Muto & Joe Doering on 6/28/2008 to become the 55th champions

-1st defense: defeated Suwama & Osamu Nishimura on 8/3/08
-2nd defense: defeated Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan on 10/11/08

Next defense: 10/11/08 vs. Satoshi Kojima & Hiroshi Tenzan (New Japan)

New Japan Pro Wrestling

IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Keiji Muto
-Defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on 4/26/2008 to become the 48th champion

-1st Defense: defeated Manabu Nakanishi on 7/21/08
-2nd Defense: defeated Hirooki Goto on 8/31/08
-3rd Defense: defeated Togi Makabe on 9/21/08
-4th Defense: defeated Shinsuke Nakamura on 10/13/08

Next defense: TBA

IWGP Tag Team Champions: Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
-Defeated Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko on 2/17/2008 to become the 51st champions

-No contest finish against Giant Bernard & Shinsuke Nakamura on 3/9/08
-1st Defense: defeated Takashi Iizuka & Hiroyoshi Tenzan on 4/27/08
-2nd defense: defeated Giant Bernard & Rick Fuller on 7/21/08
-3rd defense: defeated Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto on 9/5/08

Next defense: TBA

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Low Ki
-Defeated Tiger Mask on 9/21/2008 to become the 55th champion

Next defense: TBA

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito NEW CHAMPIONS
-Defeated Minoru & Prince Devitt on 10/13/2008 to become the 22nd champions

Next defense: TBA

Pro Wrestling NOAH

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kensuke Sasaki
-Defeated Takeshi Morishima on 9/18/2009 to become the 13th champion

1st defense: defeated Mohammad Yone on 9/27/08

Next defense: TBA

GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Akitoshi Saito & Bison Smith
-Defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura on 5/23/2008 to become the 17th champions

Next defense: 10/25/08 against Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion: KENTA NEW CHAMPION
-Defeated Bryan Danielson on 10/13/2008 to become the 16th champion

Next defense: 10/25/08 vs. Naomichi Marufuji

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Kotaro Suzuki
-Defeated KENTA & Taiji Ishimori on 7/13/2008 to become the 10th champions

-1st defense: defeated Yujiro & Tetsuyo Naito (New Japan) on 9/27/08

Next defense: TBA

GHC Openweight Hardcore Champion: Makoto Hashi
-Defeated Kishin Kawabata on 10/6/08 to become the 8th champion

-Next defense: TBA

Dragon Gate

Open the Dream Gate Champion: Shingo Takagi
-Defeated BxB Hulk on 7/27/08 for the vacated title to become the 9th champion

-1st defense: defeated Cyber Kong on 8/31/08
-2nd defense: defeated TAKA Michinoku on 9/28/08

-Next defense: 11/16/08 vs. Susumu Yokosuka

Open the Brave Gate Champion: Masato Yoshino NEW CHAMPION
-Defeated Genki Horiguchi on 10/12/2008 to become the 10th champion

-Next defense: 11/16/08 vs. winner of K-ness vs. Dragon Kid

Open the Twin Gate Champions: YAMATO & Cyber Kong
-Defeated Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino on 10/5/2008 to become the 5th champions

-Next defense: TBA

Open the Triangle Gate Champions: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji, & Magnitude Kishiwada
-Defeated YAMATO, Yasushi Kanda, & Gamma on 9/28/2008

-Next defense: 11/16/08 vs. Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, & Kenichiro Arai

Open the Owari Gate Champion: Jackson Florida
-Gained enough fan support against K-ness and ICHIKAWA on 8/16/2008 to become the 8th champion

1st defense: fan support over Ryo Saito on 8/23/08

-Next defense: TBA

Weekly Puro
Much like I had misgivings about Takeshi Morishima vs. Kensuke Sasaki for the GHC Heavyweight Title, I’m just feeling something off about Masato Tanaka vs. Yuji Nagata. It’s a good match and I don’t think anyone expected otherwise. There’s just something keeping me from calling it one of the best matches of the year. Thoughts?

ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title: Masato Tanaka © vs. Yuji Nagata (New Japan)

At Home
As I mentioned before, this was a relaxing week. I got to watch all the wrestling programs from Raw to Smackdown and everything in between. Even made some time to check out the New Japan matches coming out of their Sumo Hall show. So while I can easily say that New Japan had the best show of the week, that’s not exactly fair due to the fact that it was of course the Japanese equivalent of a major PPV. Basic cable wrestling doesn’t stand up to it. But ECW gets my nod for show of the week. I base this off of the fact that it felt very much like the old ECW shows from back in the day that I could catch on Channel 48 (serving Delaware, Burlington, and Philadelphia Counties) where you’d have basically one hour of the show which was enough time to highlight two matches of average length with quality ranging from good to amazing. That’s what I felt watching this week. You had two very strong matches which were to set the stage for the Cyber Sunday voting. It was a good format for a show and while it won’t work every week since WWE wants to highlight more talent, it can be good every once and awhile.

I also can’t overstate how much I enjoyed watching Bound for Glory last weekend. I have been somewhat down on TNA lately due to being annoyed by a lot of the on-screen personalities. Not so much the wrestling or the storylines because the story leading into the PPV was good by all accounts. But damn if the backstage interviewers aren’t fucking annoying. Combined with Tenay and West being themselves a break was certainly needed. Bound for Glory should get me back into things. And fuck the Abyss table spot was fucking insane.

Short Takes
-Kizarny: everyone’s saying this will either be amazing or pure garbage. The promos are iffy at best, but like so many guys before if he’s given a proper chance to get the character over in the ring it may work.

-I’m sorry to hear about Lance Cade’s departure this week. I really liked the guy and while he might be gone for awhile, I think he’ll find his way back to the WWE.

-I think one of my favorite things WWE is doing right now is running TV spots for individual stars on ECW. I think the fact they’re running ads featuring Evan Bourne, Morrison, and Ricky Ortiz shows that they have plans for all of their futures and the fact that they run all the time means giving them exposure to an audience outside their base.

That’s all for this week. Tune in next week for fallout from NOAH’s Budokan Hall show where we WILL have a new double champion. Peace!