Rising Sun Soliloquy Newsletter #38
September 4, 2009
By: Hunter Golden of WrestleView.com
New Generation Tour Cards Announced
The full cards for the next tour have been announced. It looks as if there may be a big program being built to between Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Gotoh as they’re opposite each other in a ton of matches. Tanahashi is going to be making special appearances at both the Gifu show on the 23rd and the Kobe World Hall show on the 27th. They’re expecting him back in mid-October.
The tour will kick off with the Yuji Nagata produced ?Blue Justice? Show and culminate on the 27th at the Kobe World Hall where G1 Climax winner Togi Makabe will face Shinsuke Nakamura to decide who will be the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion.
NJPW ?NAGATA PRODUCE – BLUE JUSTICE! 2009″, 9/12/09 (Samurai! TV)
Togane Arena
1. Kazuchika Okada vs. Nobuo Yoshihashi
2. Milano Collection AT & Taichi vs. Jado & Gedo
3. Super Strong Machine, Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Prince Devitt & Mitsuhide Hirasawa
4. Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii
5. Masahiro Chono & AKIRA vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori
6. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
7. Yuji Nagata & Akebono vs. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson
NJPW, 9/13/09 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1.Super Strong Machine & Koji Kanemoto vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kazuchika Okada
2. Tomoaki Honma vs. TAJIRI?
3. Masahiro Chono, Tiger Mask & AKIRA vs. Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomohiro Ishii
4. Yuji Nagata vs. Wataru Inoue
5. Hirooki Goto, Milano Collection AT & Taichi vs. Masato Tanaka?, Jado & Gedo
6. Togi Makabe, Manabu Nakanishi & Takao Omori vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka
7.?IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt (c) vs. Alex Shelley??& Chris Sabin?
NJPW, 9/14/09
Chichibu Cultural Sports Center
1.Wataru Inoue vs. Takao Omori
2. Hirooki Goto, Milano Collection AT & Taichi vs. Masato Tanaka?, Jado & Gedo
3. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Giant Bernard
NJPW, 9/16/09 (SXW)
Chikuma City Togura Gymnasium
1.Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano
2. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Masato Tanaka?, Jado & Gedo
3. Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka
NJPW, 9/17/09
Iwaki City Gymnasium #2
1. Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt vs. Masato Tanaka?, Jado & Gedo
2. Togi Makabe, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma vs. Shinsuke Nakamura, Toru Yano & Giant Bernard
Mistico Makes First Successful Defense of IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Mistico made his first successful title defense this past weekend, defeating Negro Casas in a match held in CMLL under their 2/3 Falls rules. The plans for now are to send Jushin Liger to Mexico to challenge Mistico in the very, very near future.
Jado & Gedo Anniversary Show Deemed a Success
Jado and Gedo held their 20th Anniversary show at the Korakuen Hall last Sunday, drawing a sell-out crowd of 1,900 fans. Masato Tanaka pinned Hirooki Gotoh in the semi-main event, which seems to be building to some sort of program between the two. Jado & Gedo defeated NOAH mainstays Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Genba Hirayanagi in the main event.
NJPW ?GET OUT OF MY WAY ~JG20FTW~?, 8/30/09 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,900 Fans?- Super No Vacancy
1. Milano Collection AT & Taichi beat Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi?(9:45)?when Milano used a Gedo clutch on Yoshihashi.
2. Tomohiro Ishii beat Tomoaki Honma?(10:04)?with a brainbuster.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka beat Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa?(10:23)?when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on Hirasawa.
4. Manabu Nakanishi beat Wataru Inoue?(11:28)?with the Dai*Nakanishi German.
5. Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Great Sasuke??& Kota Ibushi??beat Koji Kanemoto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku??(15:58)?when Tiger used a crucifix hold on Taguchi.
6.?Across 4 Soul – Hardcore Rules Match: Toru Yano & Masato Tanaka??beat Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto?(16:40)?when Tanaka used the Sliding D on Goto.
7.?This is our way -JG 20th STYLE-: Jado & Gedo beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru??& Genba Hirayanagi??(23:29)?when Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Hirayanagi.
Sumo Hall Show Delivers big crowd, big matches
All Japan returned to the Sumo Hall last Sunday to celebrate Keiji Muto’s 25th anniversary as a pro wrestler. The show was perhaps All Japan’s biggest success in years, drawing a 10,000 paid gate with the last 1,500 papered. All Japan hasn’t drawn a crowd even close to this number in quite some time.
The show was stacked from top to bottom, with both Masahiro Chono and Masakatsu Funaki making returns to the promotion. Kenta Kobashi was also on the card, making his first All Japan appearance since the 2000 NOAH-All Japan split. The show was said to be very strong and the crowd was said to be the rowdiest its been for an All Japan show in a long time, which is a really good sign.
The show was jam packed full of talent and according to most, delivered. IN the main event, Yoshihiro Takayama successfully defended the Triple Crown defeating Suwama in his second major title defense since winning the belts back in February. In the other main event, Muto and partner Masakatsu Funaki defeated Minoru Suzuki and Masahiro Chono. NOAH’s mini-invasion was unsuccessful as well, as Kenta Kobashi and his supporting cast fell to Satoshi Kojima, Kai and Hiroshi Yamato in a six man tag match.
In storyline related news, it looks as if we’re headed to a Kono-Nishimura feud as the two had a major falling out after losing their tag match to Riki Choshu and Shiro Koshinaka. The other major news was what appears to be the breaking up of the Voodoo Murderers, or at least in their current incarnation. ZODIAC (Aaron Aguilera) refused to cheat during the match which led to the team being defeated. While there’s been no official announcement, it appears ZODIAC is being geared up for a baby face run.
AJPW ?PRO-WRESTLING LOVE in RYOGOKU vol. 8″, 8/30/09 (PPV)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
12,800 Fans?- Super No Vacancy Full House
1.Seiya Sanada beat Hate?(6:10)?with a Japanese legroll clutch hold.
2. Minoru & Toshizo beat NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA?(6:23)?when Minoru used the FIREBALL Splash on MAZADA.
3. Akebono, Masayuki Kono & Ryota Hama beat TARU, ZODIAC & Joe Doering?(8:50)?when Hama used the Ryota Hammer on ZODIAC.
4. Riki Choshu & Shiro Koshinaka beat Osamu Nishimura & Manabu Soya?(5:53)?when Soya used a lariat on Choshu.
5.?AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kaz Hayashi (c) beat Shuji Kondo?(30:14)?with a swan-dive jumping huracanrana (4th defense).
6. Satoshi Kojima, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato beat Kenta Kobashi?, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi??& Akihiko Ito?(29:13)?when Kojima used a lariat on Ito.
7.?Triple Crown: Yoshihiro Takayama (c) beat Suwama?(26:21)?with the Everest German suplex hold (2nd defense).
8.?Keiji Muto 25th Anniversary Special: Keiji Muto & Masakatsu Funaki beat Masahiro Chono??& Minoru Suzuki?(21:19)?when Muto used a moonsault press on Suzuki.
Funaki joins All Japan!
Masakatsu Funaki announced at an All Japan press conference that he has, in fact, signed a one year deal with the company. The deal includes both major shows and house shows and comes as a huge surprise to many people. Apparently, after the Sumo Hall show last weekend, Funaki felt and looked great in the ring. At the press conference he said ?I just felt too good in there. I’m absolutely in good enough shape and saved my body by taking substantial chunks of time off. I’m ready for one really solid, fun run.? Funaki promised to bring with him a ‘war aura’ that he felt the company has been lacking.
?I’m an intense dude and in the ring, that’s what I like to bring to the table. I think there’s been a gap for the kind of wrestler like me.? he stated.
Sumo Hall Fallout brings interesting match ups in the next month, Upcoming cards
Heading out of the Sumo Hall show last Sunday, All Japan has some interesting plans heading into the future. In addition to the signing of Funaki, it appears as if Satoshi Kojima has been injected back into the title scene. Kojima last held the belt in 2006 before losing it to Suwama. He is slated to challenge current Triple Crown Champion Yoshihiro Takayama for the belts in Yokohama at the Bunka Gymnasium on September 26th. The storyline seems to be centered around Takayama supposedly not having much stamina, and Kojima looking to press the action.
The other big piece of news was between Osamu Nishimura and Manabu Soya, who got into a scuffle after their tag team match against Riki Choshu and Shiro Koshinaka. The storyline is that Soya has left Nishimura and wants to learn Riki Choshu’s style. Nishimura has banned Soya from using his ?Muga? style but seems resigned to the fact that this is all karma catching up to him after he turned on Tatsumi Fujinami back in the late 80’s. Very bro-motional stuff.
Speaking of bro-motional, ZODIAC and Joe Doering finally got into a big fight, after ZODIAC refused to cheat in their match. They haven’t made any official announcements on ZODIAC leaving the Voodoo Murderers yet, but it seems like it should be made official soon.
AJPW, 9/13/09
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Osamu Nishimura vs. Manabu Soya
– TARU vs. ZODIAC
– Minoru Suzuki vs. Toshizo
– Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru
– Kaz Hayashi & Seiya Sanada vs. Masayuki Kono & Super Crazy
– Akebono & Ryota Hama vs. Joe Doering & Hate
– Satoshi Kojima, KAI & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, NOSAWA Rongai & MAZADA
– Great Muta & KIYOSHI vs. Suwama & Shuji Kondo
AJPW, 9/23/09
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1.Masakatsu Funaki vs. Masayuki Kono
2.?All Asia Tag Team Title: Minoru Suzuki & NOSAWA Rongai (c) vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama
AJPW, 9/26/09
Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium
1. Masakatsu Funaki vs. Minoru Suzuki
2.?AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Kaz Hayashi (c) vs. Super Crazy
3.?Triple Crown: Yoshihiro Takayama (c) vs. Satoshi Kojima
Major NOAH Tournament in the Works?
Earlier this weekend, we were informed by sources in Pro Wrestling NOAH that a major singles tournament akin to the G1 and Champions Carnival is in the works for the promotion, and is tentatively scheduled to take place next year. Naomichi Marufuji approached President Akira Taue with the idea and apparently it was an easy sell. For years, several within the company had been pushing Mitsuharu Misawa for this kind of an event, feeling it’d be a great way to create new stars, but for whatever reason, Misawa just wasn’t into the idea. The feeling in NOAH currently is that there aren’t any ‘big draw’ events, so they’ll have to create some. On the heels of Takashi Sugiura’s successful run in the G1 Climax last month, NOAH has become very hot to trot on the idea. Certainly, a singles tournament would be a great addition. There has been a lot of talk of bringing in outside talent to supplement the tournament as well.
NOAH ?Genesis?, 8/29/09
Tokyo Differ Ariake
1,800 Fans?(Super No Vacancy)
1. Akira Taue, Jun Akiyama & Yoshinari Ogawa beat Katsuhiko Nakajima, Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara?(12:12)?when Akiyama used the Exploder on Okita.
2. Takeshi Rikioh & Mohammed Yone beat Akitoshi Saito & Takuma Sano?(13:25)?when Yone used a Muscle Buster on Sano.
3. Kensuke Sasaki beat Tamon Honda?(13:57)?with a Northern Light Bomb.
4. Shuhei Taniguchi & Atsushi Aoki beat Go Shiozaki & Taiji Ishimori?(16:30)?when Aoki used a reverse cross armbreaker on Ishimori.
5. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Kotaro Suzuki & Genba Hirayanagi beat KENTA, Ricky Marvin & Akihiko Ito(19:59)?when Kanemaru used the Touch Out on Marvin.
6.?GHC Hardcore Openweight Title: Kenta Kobashi (c) beat Kishin Kawabata?(15:06)?with a short-arm lariat. (2nd defense)
7. Takeshi Morishima beat Takashi Sugiura?(14:13)?with a backdrop.
Dragon Gate
?Monkey Gate? continues to swirl around the Dragon Gate promotion in Japan. Police in Kobe, the city where Cora, the pet monkey of Dragon Gate star CIMA, was abused some five months back, are attempting to press charges against three of the company’s wrestlers and one former wrestler. Cora, a 10 year old female Japanese macaque that lived in the company dojo, was burned with a lighter, sprayed with deodorant in the faxce and subjected to several other abusive acts earlier in the year. Police began the investigation when both photos and video of the abuse surfaced over the Internet. On Wednesday, police announced they would be pressing charges, although the identities of those accused has been kept private.
Dragon Gate held a press conference the day after, as everyone appeared with shaved heads as a symbol of remorse for what had happened. CIMA was issued a 30% pay cut by the company, despite not partaking in any of the abuse himself. It was felt that because he left the animal in that condition, that he bore a measure of responsibility. Naoki Matsushita was the man photographed choking Cora, and was supposed to sign a contract with the company, but the offer was rescinded. Kagetora who was the person who sprayed the monkey, has donated a percentage of his pay to local animal shelters. Cora is currently living with a new family, and her care is paid for by the company.
IGF
IGF has announced its next string of shows, which are scheduled to take place at the JCB Hall in Tokyo on November 3rd. The show will be headlined by two major singles matches, the first being Naoya Ogawa vs Yoshihiro Takayama and Bob Sapp vs. Montanha Silva. Has this taken place, say, in 2002, this could have been a huge drawing card.
Dradition
Yutaka Yoshie’s ‘Dradition’ promotion will be holding a show on September 6th in Osaka. Tatsumi Fujinami will pair up with Riki Choshu and the Original Tiger Mask to face Gran Hamada, Hiro Saito and Masashi Aoyagi.
Hase Elected to Japanese Diet
Former New Japan star Hiroshi Hase was re-elected to the Japanese Diet (equivalent to the US House) in this past August’s elections. Hase is a member of the Liberal-Democrat Party in Japan, and survived a tough challenge in this election cycle, as many of his fellow LD’s were defeated by Conservatives almost across the board. Hase represents the Ishikawa prefecture.
Real Japan
Original Tiger Mask has been making the rounds of late, and will star on a 9/11 show at the Korakuen Hall, opposite Yoshihiro Takayama.
News and Notes
On an interesting side note, Etsuko Mita, the famous Josi wrestler and inventor of the Death Valley Driver, announced that she will be retiring this fall over the summer. According to sources around her, they have confirmed that November 1st will be her final match.
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