The Navigation Log 5.25.08: Back From a Long Nap

While I really appreciate Jarrod stepping up and writing the column for me last week, I’ve got to clear up a few things, as I feel that he didn’t quite manage to represent all the facts equally. For one thing I wasn’t drunk last weekend and if I was I would certainly not do any of the things that Ashley has allegedly done. Furthermore, the tassels didn’t decapitate the kittens. I was just wearing them at the time. But this really isn’t about who stuck what into where/whom.

So onto the Navigation Log!

NOAH: Return to the North
The Northern Navigation rolled on for the past week with some big matches. Added at the last minute to last weekend’s Tokyo show was a trial series match for Shuhei Taniguchi, as he faced Yoshihiro Takayama in his third trial match. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who won that. Takayama rolled over Taniguchi in a little under 10 minutes. Taniguchi is now 0-3 in his trial series with seven more matches to go. Gots to pay your dues if you want to be a big heavyweight star in NOAH. If that means doing 10 jobs in a row on top of jobbing in tag matches, you better fucking do it. On the same show Yoshinobu Kanemaru retained his GHC Jr. Heavyweight title against freelancer Magnitude Kishiwada. I can only say goddamn to that, as the Kishiwada celebration here would have been spectacular. Even if he’s only a junior because of his rank as opposed to size.

The following night saw a big six-man elimination match for Kishin Kawabata’s Global Hardcore Crown. That was certainly short notice wasn’t it? Kawabata went up against former partner Kentaro Shiga, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Masashi Aoyagi, Genba Hirayanagi, and Ippei Ota. Kawabata ultimately retained his title, but it didn’t end without a surprise pin. Hirayanagi manages to pin veteran Kikuchi with a cradle before being counted out and eliminated himself. So we had a rookie pinning a veteran. I might be making more out of this than there should be. After all, as respected and popular as Kikuchi is, he’s not terribly high on the card. It’s not an earth shattering win for Hirayanagi, BUT it’s just another part of NOAH doing their best to get their rookies noticed this year. And that’s a good thing.

The biggest news of the week comes from the tag team division. Akitoshi Saito & Bison Smith turned their win in the Global Tag League into a title win as they unseated Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team titles. It’s obviously a great win for Saito & Smith, especially Smith who is getting his first taste of gold in NOAH. The best part of this title change was that Marufuji took the pin. Sugiura is usually the guy to take the fall in matches, yet he needs to be protected as he prepares for his up-coming title shot against Takeshi Morishima. While we had a really good team drop the belts, Saito & Smith are the way to go right now. They’re over, they have momentum, and they’re more traditional heavyweights. So what’s next for the champs? The smart money would be a defense against the former champs who were never pinned for the belts, Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio. It would be a big time heavyweight tag team match that would put a lot of asses in seats. With enough build it’ll be great to watch. Sugiura meanwhile is looking toward his title shot and depending on how that goes he may find himself in the main event more often. Truth be told, it’s easier to buy Sugiura as a heavyweight than it is for Marufuji.

Elsewhere, on the heels of their big UK debut, NOAH is planning on sending Kenta Kobashi to Germany’s wXw promotion as part of a NOAH vs. wXw show. The significance of this is that this wXw will be the first promotion to play host to Kobashi twice. Kobashi will team with his protégé Go Shiozaki to take on Bad Bones & Big Van Walter. I have no idea who the Europeans are in this match, but I will assume they mean a lot in wXw if they’re being picked to represent the company against Kenta Kobashi. NOAH is going to try to use Kobashi as much as possible in the coming months as he gets healthier and healthier, and that may potentially mean more trips abroad. Start praying for a second coming ROHbots, because there’s no telling how long Kobashi will be fit enough to keep on wrestling.

Meet Real Hazard
I was so disappointed about missing last week’s column because I really wanted to talk about the formation of Real Hazard in Dragon Gate. Like I said in Buy or Sell, the best heel turns are the ones you don’t see coming. Shingo Takagi blind-sided everyone when he turned on BxB Hulk two weeks ago a became the de facto leader of the new unit that has been christened Real Hazard. A new super unit of heels led by Shingo and comprised of Gamma, Cyber Kong, Yasushi Kanda, Genki Horiguchi, and YAMATO is going to wreak havoc through Dragon Gate. With the unit already holding the Open the Brave (Gamma) Gate and Open the Triangle Gate belts, they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with. Typhoon is in a weakened state right now as their leader CIMA is resting off some injuries. Tozawa-juku is as impotent as a stable as it ever way. As of next weekend though the new and unnamed unit of Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki, and a returning m.c.KZ will debut and announce their name. It’s going to be an interesting feud to watch as it is a really big shake-up for the Dragon Gate ranks.

A lot of focus is going to be on KZ in this unit. He’s being called up to the main roster after Doi specifically asked for KZ to join the new faction. We’ll see what he’s learned in Mexico and it would probably also be safe to assume he got some boot camp training from Jorge “Skyade” Rivera. He looked good in King of Trios, so let’s see what he’s got here. Tanisaki will also finally be in a unit for the first time since his Dragon Gate return. He still has yet to really prove himself since leaving El Dorado, but being featured in a big stable could do wonders for him.

At Home
William Regal’s suspension is probably the most depressing news all week for me. Like I said when Jeff Hardy got suspended, you can be mad at the guy for messing up big time but you also feel for him because it is so hard to really overcome an addiction. It might make me a bleeding heart or something, but I’m not going to be as quick to condemn guys like Hardy or Regal because while they keep seemingly falling off the wagon, you can’t say that they didn’t make the effort. The fact that they were at the height of some major pushes when they were suspended showed that they had been working their asses off to better themselves. I wish Regal the best and hope that when he comes back he can resume his push. And speaking of Jeff Hardy, maybe it was just me, but the guy seemed out of it this Monday. Not that I blame him with all the shit that happened to him over the past few months.

One Night Stand is starting to look a little decent. I’m a fan of hardcore matches and as long as they don’t come off really half-assed the show should be strong in the end. I can’t expect too much though really, as this is coming immediately after Judgment Day with almost no build. At least every match will have a different stipulation to it so there’s aren’t a lot of repeat matches.

Short Takes
-Number one match to see right now is Pantera vs. Skyade from Chikara’s Aniversarioma this weekend.

-Kennedy as a face is a breath of fresh air.

-The Velvet Sky and Angelina Love are really awesome as heels. I thought they were great on Impact this week. Plus they’re easy on the eyes.

-I really liked the six-person tag match on Smackdown this week. Somehow Jesse, Festus, & Cherry vs. Deuce, Domino, & Maryse entertained the hell out of me. The ending was pretty ugly though.

That’s all for this week. Hopefully by next week I’ll be fully sober and ready to get back into full swing. Peace!