Essential Japanese Wrestling Discussion/News

[PlayerNinety_Nine]

Thinking I might get a walk up ticket for the 1st night in Toronto. ACH v Nakamura

Might see you there @trick

 

[trick]

Thinking I might get a walk up ticket for the 1st night in Toronto. ACH v Nakamura

Might see you there @trick

See ya there. I'll be with my lil cousin and we'll probably be the only Asians there, so I won't be hard to find

You might wanna cop your tickets now from the ROH site. Ted Reeve Arena is a hockey arena, you might end up having to sit behind glass if you cop your tickets on the day of

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

I'm way out of the ROH loop...I actually have no idea who that chest-tatted idiot is. And how the hell did Hanson make it into the company anyway?

Who was Hanson before though? I never heard of him before that top prospect tournament. S/N Who even won that tournament this year?

 

[Honga Ciganesta]

Dave on Morishima

If there ever was a modern wrestler who it appeared was destined to be one of the biggest stars of the modern era, who never got there, it would be Takeshi Morishima.

The longtime star of Pro Wrestling NOAH was a decade ago being thought to be the future top star of what at the time was probably the No. 2 pro wrestling promotion in the world, and in the ring generally considered No. 1.

It was clear that the top stars of the promotion, Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi, were at the tail end of their careers, and Jun Akiyama was missing that ingredient to enable him to carry a company.

Morishima had the size, at 6-foot-3 and 300 pounds, and incredible agility and athletic ability. He was also a tremendous seller, with the ability to work with men far smaller and in working a believable style, could give them a lot of the match in a way that didn’t look the least bit silly.

Morishima’s career ended quietly on 4/21 with the announcement by Pro Wrestling NOAH of his retirement, just days after he had pulled out of the Global tag team tournament, where he was to team with Mitsuhiro Kitamiya.

Morishima was told to retire by doctors after a blood test showed a seriously high HgA1C (glycated hemoglobin) rate/level and ruled that he was suffering from a severe case of diabetes.

Morishima had pulled out of the tag team tournament due to a series of injuries that included a rotator cuff injury in his right shoulder, and torn ligaments in both his left knee and left elbow that he had been working with.

Morishima was a high school judo champion whose sensei was good friends with Misawa, who at the time was the top star for Giant Baba’s All Japan Pro Wrestling. Misawa got Baba to bring him in and he started training in late 1997, just before his 19th birthday, and he debuted on March 22, 1998.

Almost immediately, there were comparisons made between Morishima and two of All Japan’s all-time biggest stars, Jumbo Tsuruta and Terry Gordy.

Morishima’s facial physical resemblance to Gordy was uncanny, looking like a Japanese version to the point that there was a running joke in wrestling that Gordy (who worked much of his career in Japan) could have been his father. They even had the same body mechanics and movements. Morishima was actually born on October 15, 1978, several years before Gordy stepped foot in Japan for the first time.

Like Gordy, he was a big, bulky wrestler who had tremendous agility and working ability. He even did moves in the ring like missile dropkicks, known as the scud missile, and even topes, that Gordy, and pretty much nobody in history at his size, would do. He even had a cartwheel into a hip attack move nto the corner and was also known for doing the Vader-style clubbing forearms. He was given Tsuruta’s back suplex (which Tsuruta was given by Lou Thesz) as a finisher, and at one point when Misawa tried to push him to the top, even had him use Tsuruta’s old entrance music.

Also like Gordy, his career faded early. Both started having physical problems and dropped weight in their 30s. While Gordy was a legitimate worldwide superstar, he was never as big in his home country as he could have been. The injuries were catching up to Gordy when he overdosed on a flight to Japan, was in a coma, nearly died and suffered significant brain damage to where he was never the same. Gordy passed away in 2001 at the age of 40.

Even though he was already a pushed star, winning the GHC tag team titles for the first time with former sumo Takeshi Rikio as the Wild II or Double Takeshi tag team when he was 23, he was sent overseas to train some with Harley Race.

His rise to the top was planned out long in advance. A deal was made with Ring of Honor where Morishima would come in, and win the ROH title. First, he’d fail against Misawa on January 21, 2007, at Budokan Hall when challenging for the GHC title. Then he’d win the ROH title a few weeks later, and defend it in the U.S. and Japan.

There would be press in Japan about him being a headliner and champion in the U.S., something few Japanese stars accomplished. Success in the U.S. was something Japanese promotions and fans liked. He would then finish up with ROH, and Misawa would put him over on March 2, 2008, for the GHC title. Even though he was past his prime by then, Misawa rarely lost, and never to someone who wasn’t already an established superstar like Kobashi or Akiyama.

Everything was going along fine. His year in ROH was tremendous. But on the other hand, it didn’t have great impact. Morishima tore it up in matches with ROH’s biggest stars, most notably Bryan Danielson, Samoa Joe, Claudio Castagnoli (Cesaro), Shingo Takagi, Austin Aries, Jay Briscoe, Roderick Strong and Nigel McGuinness. One could argue that no modern Japanese wrestler, not even Keiji Muto, came in and was a true headliner and had the quality of work that Morishima did. But it was in ROH and they were smaller house shows, so he’s hardly remembered like the Great Muta.

In 2007, Morishima finished fifth in the balloting for the Lou Thesz award, behind only John Cena, Danielson, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shawn Michaels. He placed eighth for Most Outstanding. His feud with Danielson placed a close second for Feud of the Year, he won Best Brawler and his August 25, 2007, match with Danielson in New York was that year’s Match of the Year. He had two other matches that year that also placed in the balloting, a September 15 match with Danielson in Chicago, and a August 10 match in Roxbury, MA, with Castagnoli.

That year was expected to build him for superstardom, but instead ended up as the peak of his career.

On March 2, 2008, after returning from the U.S., he pinned Misawa in 20:22 before 14,000 fans at Budokan Hall to win the title. But business fell badly under his watch, and the company moved the title to the more established Kensuke Sasaki on September 6, 2008, at a Budokan Hall show that drew 9,000 fans.

While champion, he wrestled two matches for WWE. They were dark matches at TV tapings, first beating Charlie Haas on August 18, 2008, in Chicago, and then beating Jamie Noble the next night in Moline.

The Haas match was very good, but Morishima was more than 320 pounds at the time of his WWE look. Those at the top in WWE, including Vince McMahon, couldn’t get past his flabby physique. It was remarked at the time by some key individuals that McMahon felt insulted that a wrestler would show up for a WWE look in such poor cosmetic condition. The reality is Morishima and NOAH were not so much interested in him going or signing with WWE, but just wanted the publicity and photos in Japan of him winning matches on WWE shows.

The promotion had other problems. Its biggest star and drawing card, Kobashi, was falling apart, between knee and elbow problems and a battle with kidney cancer, and he was irreplaceable.

Misawa was more limited, and the television show airing in the middle of the night made it difficult to make new stars.

Morishima’s big show numbers weren’t worse than some of Misawa’s weaker big shows as champion, but overall, Morishima didn’t connect as a superstar and business took a tumble. It’s telling that it wasn’t until 2012 that Morishima got a second chance as champion. By that time, NOAH was more like a regularly running independent, and they just gave the top guys turns with long title runs and business was no longer going to matter based on who was on top. Misawa had passed away and Kobashi’s career was for the most part over. They had lost network TV in 2009 and the company had struggled badly ever since.

In the end, it was a charisma issue that did him in along with bad timing. Weight issues probably didn’t help. He ballooned up to 350 pounds, and then had a period where he lost a ton of weight. But a guy of his size, after the weight problems, started to physically break down due to injuries. And in Japan, resting and taking care of injuries is not something they specialize in because of the mindset. And when a promotion is struggling, the idea of a worker taking time off becomes even more difficult. If it had been the hot promotion it was in the mid-00s, perhaps he’d have gotten enough stardom before enough people just due to being pushed as world champion that he’d have reached a level. Instead, it was the smaller wrestlers, KENTA and Naomichi Marufuji, who became the top stars of a more struggling promotion.

Morishima got his one-year run as GHC champion, dominating the title in 2012, beating Go Shiozaki for the title and retaining it against Marufuji, Maybach Taniguchi, Go Shiozaki, Akitoshi Saito, KENTA, Jun Akiyama and Kohei Sato, before losing to KENTA on January 27, 2013, in Osaka.

Few remember, but Morishima appeared regularly from 1998 to 2000 on sold out All Japan shows at Budokan Hall. He was usually in the first or second match. His biggest match before he joined most of the All Japan native roster in leaving for NOAH, was on June 9, 2000, when he was pinned by Stan Hansen’s lariat in just 2:05.

But a year later, at the age of 22, he was a star. On the first NOAH show at Budokan Hall on July 27, 2001, which sold out, he was second from the top, teaming with Rikio, to lose to the team of No Fear, Yoshihiro Takayama & Takao Omori, underneath a Misawa vs. Akiyama single match that drew a sellout of 16,500 fans. While he didn’t reach the top as fast as Gordy, who was on top at the Superdome in New Orleans before his 19th birthday, the Gordy comparisons were prevalent by that time for his look, size and rapid rise to the top. He was clearly the company’s best young heavyweight.

It was at Budokan Hall on February 27, 2002, that he and Rikio beat Takayama & Omori to win the tag team titles before another sold out crowd with many turned away, also second from the top underneath the legendary Misawa & Kobashi vs. Akiyama & Yuji Nagata tag team match.

In 2003, he was given a little singles push as NOAH introduced the WLW championship from Harley Race’s promotion, with him beating Ron Harris for it. That gave him some featured singles matches in Japan, although he was kept low-key during the two-year Kobashi title run, never appearing near the top of the card like he had years earlier, or groomed to be one of Kobashi’s many victims. During that period the feeling was that they were saving him for his day.

It wasn’t until March 5, 2005, that he had another major Budokan Hall match, being the obvious job guy in a Genichiro Tenryu & Minoru Suzuki win over Akiyama & Morishima.

Even more memorable was his November 5, 2005, match where he and Mohammed Yone retained the GHC tag title second from the top before a sold out Budokan beating KENTA & Katsuyori Shibata.

Another key match was July 16, 2006, a 30:00 draw on a sellout house second from the top with Rikio & Morishima facing KENTA & Marufuji. This was part of a clear transition period, as Rikio was near 300 pounds and Morishima was well above that, while KENTA & Marufuji were both less than 200 pounds. Previously in Japan, such a match probably would have lasted less than ten minutes, with little but maybe a brief comeback by the smaller guys showing their moves. Morishima’s ability to go long and sell for the smaller guys made his matches with KENTA in particular great. Still, he didn’t get his first Budokan main event until the loss to Misawa.

AWARDS

2006 Wrestling Observer Most Improved

2007 Wrestling Observer Best Brawler

2007 Wrestling Observer Match of the Year vs. Bryan Danielson August 25, 2007 New York

2007 Tokyo Sports Fighting Spirit Award

2012 Tokyo Sports Outstanding Performance Award

From what I’m told, one of the reasons there hasn’t been a turnaround is that the loyal NOAH fans don’t like the Suzuki-gun invasion. Fans have pretty much figured out that the old NOAH is dead and this promotion is now the “Smackdown brand” of New Japan, with Jado as booker. So there are some new fans in but a lot of the regular fans of the group are gone, and crowds overall are not good.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

They need to understand that KENTA, Kobashi, and Misawa being gone wasnt going to give them long to survive. They never made Marufuji a big enough star to hold this down on his own.

Not that the Suzuki-gun storyline is lighting the world on fire, but it isnt terrible.




Side note, how many times has Shelton Benjamin been demoted to the B show now?

 

[PlayerNinety_Nine]

Achievement Unlocked: Gods

 

[Honga Ciganesta]

RevPro upped this for free today, see Nak do his thing in the UK (skip to 12:00 for the match to actually start)



That's a small ring Sabre is good though and Nak is Nak so it should be a cool match.

 

[JohnB]

Official ROH vs NJPW cards

[Lineups] New Japan in Nordamerika (von Sternness am 28.04.2015)
NJPW/ROH "WAR OF THE WORLDS 2015 NIGHT 1", 12.05.2015
Philadelphia 2300 Arena, USA

1. Delirious vs. Gedo
2. Jay Lethal vs. Takaaki Watanabe
3. Roderick Strong vs. KUSHIDA
4. 3 Way Match: Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven
5. Michael Elgin vs. Tetsuya Naito
6. Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Jushin Thunder Liger
7. AJ Styles vs. Adam Cole
8. Marc Briscoe & Jay Briscoe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Kazuchika Okada


NJPW/ROH "WAR OF THE WORLDS 2015 NIGHT 2", 13.05.2015
Philadelphia 2300 Arena, USA

1. Adam Page vs. Takaaki Watanabe
2. Michael Elgin vs. KUSHIDA
3. Kyle O'Reilly vs. Tetsuya Naito
4. Roderick Strong vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
5. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian vs. Kazuchika Okada & Gedo
6. 4 Way Match: Jay Lethal vs. Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Mark Briscoe vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
7. ROH World Heavyweight Title: Jay Briscoe (c) vs. Bobby Fish
8. AJ Styles, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Adam Cole, Michael Bennett, Matt Taven


NJPW/ROH "GLOBAL WARS 2015 NIGHT 1", 15.05.2015
Toronto Ted Reeve Arena, Kanada

1. Silas Young & Takaaki Watanabe vs. Gedo & Moose
2. Chris Sabin vs. KUSHIDA
3. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Matt Sydal
4. 4 Way Match: Rocky Romero & Baretta vs. Kyle O'Reilly & Bobby Fish vs. BJ Whitmer & Adam Page vs. Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian
5. ACH vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
6. Cedric Alexander vs. Kazuchika Okada
7. ROH World Television Title: Jay Lethal (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
8. Michael Elgin vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
9. Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe, Roderick Strong, Raymond Rowe & Hanson vs. AJ Styles, Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson


NJPW/ROH "GLOBAL WARS 2015 NIGHT 2", 16.05.2015
Toronto Ted Reeve Arena, Kanada

1. Will Ferrara vs. KUSHIDA
2. Michael Elgin vs. Gedo
3. Dalton Castle vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
4. Michael Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
5. Matt Sydal & ACH vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tetsuya Naito
6. Roderick Strong vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
7. AJ Styles, Matt Jackson & Nick Jackson vs. Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero & Baretta

 

[ZEB WALTON]

 

[DoubleJ13]

Delirious having a match

 

[The Rainmaker]

Spoiler

 

[Honga Ciganesta]

Hot off the presses, Sekimoto & Okabayashi vs Irie & Ishii

 

[HollywoodP]

can't believe it brehs...

Spoiler

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Wrestling Dontaku at Fukuoka
May 3, 2015

Two big title changes here at Wrestling Dontaku, with the Young Bucks regaining their belts before the Ring of Honor co-produced shows this summer, and Shinsuke Nakamura dropping the Intercontinental title to Hirooki Goto.

Next up is the Best of the Super Juniors tournament kicking off at Korakuen Hall on May 22nd. And of course, NJPW Dominion is what we’re building towards on July 7th, with AJ Styles vs. Okada for the world title.

(1) SIX MAN TAG. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask def. Manabu Nakanishi, Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan.

(2) Kota Ibushi & Komatsu def. Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka.

(3) SIX MAN TAG. Honma, Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall).

(4) IWGP JR. TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH. The Young Bucks def. RPG Vice (c) & reDragon in a triple threat match to become the new champions.

(5) IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH. Kenny Omega (c) def. Alex Shelley. Tons of interference from the Young Bucks. Kushida tried to even the odds, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. Omega did a post-match promo about beating everyone there is to beat, and teases entering the Best of the Super Juniors tournament out of boredom. Great heel work. He says he can’t join the tournament because he’s already champion of the juniors division, so the winner gets him and the title shot on 7/5.

(6) INTERGENDER TAG. Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven def. The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Amber Gallows). This furthered the Anderson/Maria flirting thing, but ended up with Anderson turning on her and throwing her into a punch from Gallows.

(7) SIX MAN TAG. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shibata & Togi Makabe def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba. This was your standard “throw all the singles programs in a big tag match to get everyone on the card” semi-main event. Shibata and Sakuraba was the best of the three programs by far. Tanahashi got the win with a hair pull and small package, like Yano has been doing to him. Sweet justice.

(8) AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI. The build to Styles vs. Okada is coming along nicely. They had a post-match scuffle with Styles trying to DDT him on the belt, Okada escaping and trying for the Rainmaker, Styles escaping and bailing up the ramp. Okada tried to pose with the IWGP title but the ref took it and gave it AJ.

(9) IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH. MAIN EVENT. Hirooki Goto def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to become the new champion!

 

[TrueEpic08]

can't believe it brehs...

Spoiler

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Wrestling Dontaku at Fukuoka
May 3, 2015

Two big title changes here at Wrestling Dontaku, with the Young Bucks regaining their belts before the Ring of Honor co-produced shows this summer, and Shinsuke Nakamura dropping the Intercontinental title to Hirooki Goto.

Next up is the Best of the Super Juniors tournament kicking off at Korakuen Hall on May 22nd. And of course, NJPW Dominion is what we’re building towards on July 7th, with AJ Styles vs. Okada for the world title.

(1) SIX MAN TAG. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask def. Manabu Nakanishi, Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan.

(2) Kota Ibushi & Komatsu def. Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka.

(3) SIX MAN TAG. Honma, Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall).

(4) IWGP JR. TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH. The Young Bucks def. RPG Vice (c) & reDragon in a triple threat match to become the new champions.

(5) IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH. Kenny Omega (c) def. Alex Shelley. Tons of interference from the Young Bucks. Kushida tried to even the odds, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. Omega did a post-match promo about beating everyone there is to beat, and teases entering the Best of the Super Juniors tournament out of boredom. Great heel work. He says he can’t join the tournament because he’s already champion of the juniors division, so the winner gets him and the title shot on 7/5.

(6) INTERGENDER TAG. Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven def. The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Amber Gallows). This furthered the Anderson/Maria flirting thing, but ended up with Anderson turning on her and throwing her into a punch from Gallows.

(7) SIX MAN TAG. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shibata & Togi Makabe def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba. This was your standard “throw all the singles programs in a big tag match to get everyone on the card” semi-main event. Shibata and Sakuraba was the best of the three programs by far. Tanahashi got the win with a hair pull and small package, like Yano has been doing to him. Sweet justice.

(8) AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI. The build to Styles vs. Okada is coming along nicely. They had a post-match scuffle with Styles trying to DDT him on the belt, Okada escaping and trying for the Rainmaker, Styles escaping and bailing up the ramp. Okada tried to pose with the IWGP title but the ref took it and gave it AJ.

(9) IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH. MAIN EVENT. Hirooki Goto def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to become the new champion!

Had to happen eventually, I suppose. He's monopolized the belt for 3 years now. Let him do something else.

 

[3Rivers]

can't believe it brehs...

Spoiler

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Wrestling Dontaku at Fukuoka
May 3, 2015

Two big title changes here at Wrestling Dontaku, with the Young Bucks regaining their belts before the Ring of Honor co-produced shows this summer, and Shinsuke Nakamura dropping the Intercontinental title to Hirooki Goto.

Next up is the Best of the Super Juniors tournament kicking off at Korakuen Hall on May 22nd. And of course, NJPW Dominion is what we’re building towards on July 7th, with AJ Styles vs. Okada for the world title.

(1) SIX MAN TAG. Yuji Nagata, Jushin Liger, Mascara Dorada & Tiger Mask def. Manabu Nakanishi, Kushida, Ryusuke Taguchi & Captain New Japan.

(2) Kota Ibushi & Komatsu def. Tetsuya Naito & Sho Tanaka.

(3) SIX MAN TAG. Honma, Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. The Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga & Cody Hall).

(4) IWGP JR. TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH. The Young Bucks def. RPG Vice (c) & reDragon in a triple threat match to become the new champions.

(5) IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH. Kenny Omega (c) def. Alex Shelley. Tons of interference from the Young Bucks. Kushida tried to even the odds, but it ultimately wasn’t enough. Omega did a post-match promo about beating everyone there is to beat, and teases entering the Best of the Super Juniors tournament out of boredom. Great heel work. He says he can’t join the tournament because he’s already champion of the juniors division, so the winner gets him and the title shot on 7/5.

(6) INTERGENDER TAG. Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett & Matt Taven def. The Bullet Club (Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows & Amber Gallows). This furthered the Anderson/Maria flirting thing, but ended up with Anderson turning on her and throwing her into a punch from Gallows.

(7) SIX MAN TAG. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shibata & Togi Makabe def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Kazushi Sakuraba. This was your standard “throw all the singles programs in a big tag match to get everyone on the card” semi-main event. Shibata and Sakuraba was the best of the three programs by far. Tanahashi got the win with a hair pull and small package, like Yano has been doing to him. Sweet justice.

(8) AJ Styles & Yujiro Takahashi def. Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI. The build to Styles vs. Okada is coming along nicely. They had a post-match scuffle with Styles trying to DDT him on the belt, Okada escaping and trying for the Rainmaker, Styles escaping and bailing up the ramp. Okada tried to pose with the IWGP title but the ref took it and gave it AJ.

(9) IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL TITLE MATCH. MAIN EVENT. Hirooki Goto def. Shinsuke Nakamura (c) to become the new champion!

Spoiler

goto better do the belt justice