Destiny 4.08.07: New Japan PPV for April 13, 2007
Posted by Matt Adamson on 04.08.2007
New Japan has a Pay Per View coming up later this week and it involves Tomko, Albert and Orlando Jordan. That's right kids... TOMKO! You like Tomko, remember?
What a week! It all started with WrestleMania and the 411mania.com Post-WrestleMania party at the office. Everybody knows that at company parties you find out an awful lot about people you work with that you didn't know and wouldn't otherwise know had it not been for one of these parties. So, the party, fun as it was became mighty interesting when I strolled into the restroom (which STILL needs to be cleaned by the way, Rutherford I'm sure Mr. Csonka is disappointed in you) and saw one Arnold Furious leaning over the sink with both his hands gripping the walls. "Dude, not in the sink" I screamed at him. "Oh, don't worry man, nothings happening yet." I stood there amazed; surely he understood what I meant. So I went about my business and left the restroom to go enjoy the replay of WrestleMania on the corporate big screen TV in the conference room. As I'm sitting there watching the show again with the likes of Samuel Berman, Byers, and Steve Cook, I look through the blinds to see Bayani Domingo hitting on a woman who I could have sworn came to the party with Andy Clark. Later as hunger returned to me, I decided that it was time to hit the chips and guacamole. As I went to scoop the guacamole I realized that it wasn't the traditional green color. So I though maybe somebody put some food coloring in it for fun, so I scooped it onto my plate. Just them Domingo turned his focus from Andy's girl to me and said, "That's not guacamole Matt, it's vomit." Needless to say my appetite was gone and I needed to go cool off, so I went to my cube and popped in an old New Japan show from back in 2003 when Nakamura won his first IWPG title. Speaking of New Japan they have a Pay Per View coming up in a few days, should be interesting, much like my first 411Mania.com company party.
NOTE: Everything in the previous paragraph is a huge lie, except that New Japan is having a Pay Per View in a few days, which is exactly what I'll be discussing in this weeks column.
Wait, they have Pay Per View in Japan?
That's right there is Pay Per View in Japan, and they also eat more than sushi and noodles there (though some would beg to differ about the noodles). It's been a busy week starting with WrestleMania and a heck of a week of wrestling on TV as we come to a whole new week and are a mere seven days away from TNA's Lockdown. I was able to watch WrestleMania and I must say I was a little under whelmed. While I enjoyed a few of the matches, I felt myself wishing that every single one of them would have gone on a little longer. Not that twenty eight minutes isn't long enough for John Cena vs. Shawn Michaels, but I guess you could say I've been brainwashed by watching so much puro and enjoying their lengthy matches at all points in the card. Fifteen minutes isn't half of what Batista and Undertaker should have gone, I mean the show finished thirty minutes early, it's not like they were pressed to finish up at any point. I really enjoyed the Money in the Bank Ladder Match and felt that it lived up to my lofty expectations. It was slick and well paced and, gasp, it got almost twenty minutes. I feel as though that length was just about right for that particular match therefore it was my pick for match of the night. Now, since WrestleMania is done it's time to move on to the next big show on the menu, New Japan's April PPV this Friday from Osaka.
New Japan is taking big steps, just like All Japan seems to be in providing a more consistent schedule with big shows happening more often. While March was the only month this year for New Japan to not run a Pay Per View, we are privileged to have one in April and it's looking to be a pretty good show. All four IWGP titles will be on the line at the show and the main event is in my opinion the biggest challenge the champion has had in his reign thus far, but before I run through the card match by match, there is something else I want to discuss.
With this Pay Per View on Friday we may see the beginning of a new era in New Japan and potentially some changes in the way things are run. For the first time in a long… long time, in fact since its beginnings, the Inoki's are not in control of New Japan. In fact New Japan has completely disassociated themselves with the Inoki's. On the 26th of March it was announced that Simon Inoki had handed in his resignation and Naoki Sugehayashi was named as the new interim president of the company with potential to be named president officially at the next shareholders meeting. With this news comes the potential for major change in New Japan. While Sugehayashi has been associated with New Japan for many years, he is new blood at the top. What kind of change does this mean? I don't exactly know but I really hope that it means guys like Tanahashi and Nakamura stay where they are at the top and we begin to see new stars being made, which is something that has been happening recently, but is such a new concept for the company that things were beginning to feel stagnant regardless of those efforts and I have little doubt that the Inoki's played a role in that overall feeling. With all of that in the news, we have this Pay Per View, a turning point? Maybe. Limbo? Likely, so here's a match by match look at the big show on Friday from Osaka.
El Samurai & Yujiro vs. Taichi Ishikari & Tetsuya Naito - This match is a typical opener for a big New Japan show. It's got the established guy in El Samurai teaming with the promising young lion in Yujiro against the HUSTLE and All Japan guy Ishikari and a yet unproven young lion Naito. This match should be a fun little opener as most are in New Japan. Both of the young lions look hungry and Yujiro from what I've seen has a great deal of potential and if they are smart I think they'd exploit that and give him and El Samurai the win.
Tiger Mask, Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Milano Collection AT & BxB Hulk - It's pretty much a given that this match is going to be a lot of fun and will likely be pretty good. Wataru Inoue has been one of my favorite juniors in New Japan for quite a while and I look forward to seeing him at every opportunity. BxB Hulk comes to New Japan from Dragon Gate and can be expected to bring a little flare to the match. This is a real all-star list of Junior Heavyweights and will meet all expectations I have. With BxB Hulk involved in this as well as Liger being Dragon Gate's Open The Dream Gate Champion, I'm going to go with Liger, Milano Collection AT and BxB Hulk for the win.
Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Tomoaki Honma - I'm at the point where I can't take Choshu seriously anymore. This is a standard old school New Japan vs. GBH match and with GBH being the buzz in New Japan for a while now I can see very few scenarios that don't have them picking up the victory. GBH will need to come out looking strong but at the same time I think this is going to be a tough show for the other GBH members so this match is where GBH will go over to maintain their strength.
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Orlando Jordan - Nakanishi vs. the flamboyant gaijin Orlando Jordan isn't exactly something I'd be looking forward to seeing. I hope Jordan's opportunities in Japan really help him develop into a tremendous in ring talent. He has the look as well as the potential, but I personally think he has a long way to go. I think there is a distinct possibility that Nakanishi will fall victim to the flamboyant one, but I'm hoping against that scenario and am going with Nakanishi in this one.
Masahiro Chono & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe & Tomohiro Ishii - Sadly as the result of the death of Chono's Mother In-Law, this match is not going to happen as Chono is scheduled to miss this show. As of finishing this (editing it actually since I'd already written a blurb about the match) there has yet to be a replacement announced for the match. If they keep Nakamura and Makabe in the match it will still be quite good and I will remain excited for this one. Here is what I originally wrote about this match and I hope, with exception of Chono's involvement that it remains consistent. - "Oh, I'm looking forward to this match a whole heck of a lot. Nakamura and Makabe have an incredible feud going into this match and it's brutal and can only get better. The hatred is intense and the Black vs. GBH feud continues with this. Watch for Nakamura and Chono to come out on top as I feel they should here. Nakamura has a huge future still, as do Makabe and Ishii, so this is another one of the matches that will pave all their ways to greatness, I just hope my boy Nakamura does some manhandling of those swine."
Jado & Gedo vs. Masaaki Mochizuki & Yasushi Kanda – IJ Tag Team Title - Everybody's favorites junior heavyweights Jade and Gedo (that's sarcasm for those who don't know any better) who are the champs against Dragon Gates stiffest striker (no, not Matt Striker) and Yasushi Kanda. Funny thing about this match, when somebody from one Japanese promotion wins a title in another promotion, typically somebody from that promotion then in turn gets to hold the title of the other. That is exactly what I think the case is going to be here. Jade & Gedo have been here before and are beatable. Mochizuki is fierce and the audience believes he is fierce and that's important for him holding half of the belts when this match is over. If this goes as I feel it will, count on them to drop their title around the same time Liger drops his Open The Dream Gate title.
Minoru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi – IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title - I have a sneaking suspicion that Minoru is getting prepped for a big feud with somebody that will be getting their first big shot soon, so I feel Minoru will be hanging onto his title here. Who is the fabled person who will be getting their first shot? Potentially Yujiro, who is really getting pretty interesting to watch and may be the next big junior heavyweight in New Japan. Of course CTU may play a role in this match but I'm thinking it will be a quality match of back and forth wrestling, balanced and satisfying in the end. Seems generic I know, but while I'm expecting this match to be good, I don't think it's going to do much to stand out.
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shiro Koshinaka – IWGP Tag Team Titles - One of the champs (Tomko) has other plans I'm sure for his future so that may factor heavily into the result of this match. Will they drop the titles here so he can pursue his career with TNA? It's hard to say but if it's going to be Tenzan and Koshinaka who take the titles from them it would be no surprise to me. Both Koshinaka and Tenzan have the history and the crowd respect to overcome these two huge gaijin and I think that's what the result of this match will be. Two title changes on one show? Maybe. The real question is can there be three title changes on one New Japan show? The answer… up next.
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yugi Nagata – IWGP Heavyweight Title - Nagata has put over Tanahashi in the media over the last couple week leading up to this match, but the media has been putting over Nagata as the guy to take the title and become the strongest champion again as he was in 2003. This of course is nothing new in the Japanese media for them to put over the challenger before the big match. The question I have is, if not Nagata then who will it be that dethrones Tanahashi? Funny thing though is that I don't think Nagata is going to come out on top, but if there is any match I'm predicting here that I feel my prediction has little merit it's this one. Tanahashi has really overcome the doubt that many had over whether or not he could hang with the IWGP title moniker. I think he has proven the doubters false and I think his reward is a continued title reign.
Well, there you have it, Fridays big New Japan Pay Per View. It really looks like it will be a good show with a lot of solid wrestling. There is a real possibility that more than one title could change hands and that would make this a really interesting show. I love the new way New Japan is doing things. They are taking a more American approach to their shows and running big shows more frequently and making them into a big deal which I think adds to the excitement. I'm really hoping the Black vs. GBH match meets my expectations, and that at least one of my title change predictions comes true. Either way, I'll be looking forward to seeing this show.
Catching up with Puro!
This is the part of the column where I will recommend a relatively recent puro show (within the last couple years). I realize that this is nothing new, and that I'll be recommending quite a few shows that people have already recommended numerous times throughout the recent history of the beloved/despised IWC. I hope you take my recommendation seriously and hunt down these shows and expose yourself to puro (please, don't be an exhibitionist) and find out what you're missing. You can typically find most of these shows from anywhere between $3 and $8 USD at a variety of places online.
New Japan 1/04/07
This is New Japans biggest show of the year and it's from the Tokyo Dome, but due to financial issues as well as New Japan's inability to sell a decent amount of tickets to the show (numbers have the show at about half full, so 35,000 empty seats or more), they enlisted the help of All Japan to boost those number and draw interest in the show. Well, as a huge fan of All Japan my interest was immediately grabbed. It's a really good show as Kawada vs. Nakamura, Suzuki vs. Nagata and Kea vs. Tanahashi all delivered and everybody really put forth their best effort. It's a very rare event in that it is a very balanced New Japan vs. All Japan show with both the IWGP Heavyweight and the Triple Crown on the line and both defended against members of the opposite promotion. The Tokyo Dome show really never fails but this is the most recent and I can't recommend it enough.
The Card:
1. Masanobu Fuchi El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Kikutaro & Nobutaka Araya & Akira Raijin
2. Jado & Gedo vs. NOSAWA & MAZADA
3. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. D-Lo Brown & Buchanan & Travis Tomko
4. Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. TARU & Suwama & Giant Bernard
5. Jushin Liger & Minoru & Milano Collection AT & Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Kaz Hayashi & TAKA Michinoku & Wataru Inoue
6. Toshiaki Kawada vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
7. Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata – Triple Crown
8. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taiyo Kea – IWGP Title
9. Keiji Muto & Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
Corrections and a plea for attention!
411writer Mike Campbell informed me that in my haste to get my column put together about the Champion Carnival last week that I had said that nobody else really factored into Mutoh's winning of the Carnival. While my focus may have been on the matches that the others were in and how they directly related to his win of the Carnival, the facts are that TAJIRI and his wild ways did have something to do with Mutoh getting the win as he became directly involved in a SCANDAL involving the Triple Crown by stealing it and other such crazy behavior. While it was not my intent to ignore this fact, I was more focused on how everything really pointed toward Mutoh winning, but TAJIRI's involvement should not be ignored. Mike, you just may have earned yourself a name drop in my bald faced lies next week.
Ok, now that I'm finished with my correction, I need you to send me real live emails, the kind that have actual words. Pick apart my column and chastise me. God knows I'm not all knowing about puro, but I do my best to keep up with it. I want to hear from you so click the little place below to contact me and type the little letters in the content area of your email. You can do it, I have faith in you. Thanks. Until next time.
