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NJPW, 2/2/03 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet) (Buy)
Tsukisamu Green Dome 6,000 Fans - No Vacancy
1. Naofumi Yamamoto beat Ryusuke Taguchi (7:25) with a single-leg crab hold.
The first of two major shows on "FIGHTING SPIRIT 2003" took place on 2/2 at the Tsukisamu Green Dome in Sapporo. This was New Japan's first show in this building since a double header there back in February, 2000. This was a stacked lineup, ten matches, most of them with some sort of backstory or purpose. The opener saw Yamamoto submit Taguchi in a basic young lion match. Taguchi throws a great dropkick! The second match was Yano vs. Goto, and the veteran schooled the rookie, beating him after a few scares. What I like about Yano is that he is leaning towards such a pure pro wrestling style, not the shoot-influenced style that quite a few young lions are these days (well, Nakamura and maybe Yamamoto), so the next generation should be quite diverse. He has good power and technique, and is looking like another major prospect for New Japan. Kengo & Makabe vs. Makai #1 & Makai #2 was somewhat forgettable, but it was good to see Kengo back. A miscommunication late on saw him strike Makabe, and Super Strong Makai quickly followed up with a Makai Windmill suplex hold on Kimura for the win. Makabe walked off without even checking on Kengo, continuing his disrespectful young punk act. Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo vs. Fujita, Crazy & Curry was really good, and heightened anticipation for Kanemoto vs. Fujita. Good bell-to-bell action, with Jado & Gedo continuing to impress, and Kanemoto excellent as ever. The opposing team was comprised of outsiders, but worked together well. In particular, there was one beautiful and very innovative spot, where Kanemoto was hanging upside-down in the corner (or "tied to the tree of woe" as some say), and both Crazy and Curry slid at him with dropkicks, connecting. Fujita went to make it three, but Kanemoto caught his foot and applied an ankle hold, while upside-down! He quickly flipped down to his feet, and nearly finished Fujita off with the hold. I really got the vibe that Fujita could be a perfect disciple for Kanemoto from this match, as he has the same punkish attitude, and approach. The New Japan trio won the match in the end, when Gedo dropped a perfect Superfly splash on Curry. Iizuka, Wolf & Nakamura vs. Yanagisawa, Makai #4 & Makai #5 was another good match, and also really stiff. The Makai Club trio were brutal, especially with Nakamura, as they beat him down relentlessly. Iizuka again rocked, all fired up, and losing his cool often. He looked like a true leader in there, guiding two young prodigies to a competitive match. Nakamura mostly took a beating, so we again didn't get to see much of his offense. One thing I noticed is that at 6'2", Nakamura looked huge in there, and I believe he's New Japan's second tallest contracted wrestler behind Nagao. The finish was awesome, and breathtaking in it's brutality. Harimao'z forced Nakamura to his knees, and one of them threw knee shots to the back, while the other showered Nakamura with kicks to the chest. Nakamura kept slumping forward like he'd been shot, but Harimao'z kept punishing. Finally, they lifted him up by the hair, and Yanagisawa nearly took his head off with a jumping knee kick for the win. Total destruction on "Super Rookie" at the end. Harimao'z are one awesome, not to mention evil team! The second junior match was again very good, as the freshening up process continued. Murahama made a special appearance, teaming with Liger and Sammy against Heat, Kakihara & Tiger Mask. Again, almost non-stop action, and Tiger Mask shined in this match, standing out. His exchanges with Murahama were tremendous, and I'd love to see a singles match between them at some point. Samurai looked revitalized, much like Jado and Gedo, after a spell where he seemed unmotivated, and was really good in there. I think besides freshening up the division as a whole, the alignment shake-up has fired up the wrestlers involved. The finish was a bit of a surprise, as it saw Murahama submit Tiger with a cross armbreaker. I wonder what Sasuke thought of Osaka Pro's new ace beating his disciple. :) The first of two round one IWGP Tag Team Title #1 Contender Tournament matches saw Hiroshi Nagao debut, teaming with Takayama against Yasuda & Murakami. Nagao is a big prospect just because of his huge frame, but his debut was ruined by the injury he suffered on 1/30. His knee was all bandaged up, and the match was short, with no real impression made by Nagao. He looked really bad in there; awkward and clumsy, and there was very little force behind his strikes. But he was injured (he struggled to get to his feet), and he was against two wrestlers who aren't really ideal for a one match pro to go against, so it's unfair to judge him yet I think. He was destroyed by Makai, and took a straight punch to the face from Murakami. Yasuda threw his own, paused, then casually covered Nagao with one foot for the win. Hopefully, Nagao can recover soon and start touring. The second tournament match was a lot better. In a rematch from December, Nakanishi & Yoshie took on Barton & Steele. This was pretty short, and entertaining, as the action never really stopped and both teams hit some good moves. This is the best way for a Barton & Steele match to go, as they have cool moves, but their best bouts are ones where they can hit them quickly, and keep things moving. I love the Nakanishi & Yoshie team, they define "credible" to me, two hard-hitting power fighters who you don't want to mess with. The fans enjoyed their double teaming, and were solidly behind them. When Barton pinned Yoshie, the crowd seemed disappointed, but no matter how much he loses, Yoshie always maintains the tough guy aura he has, which is a testament to his ability as New Japan's enforcer. The semi final was a big tag match, with IWGP Tag Team Champions, Chono & Tenzan, taking on Josh Barnett & Perry Saturn in a non-title clash. This was Barnett's tour debut for New Japan, after a good first performance in pro wrestling at the Tokyo Dome in January. This took a while to get going, and the teams never clicked as much as they might have, but turned into a nice match. Surprisingly, the pairing that clicked most was Tenzan and Barnett, despite their totally opposite wrestling styles. One exchange I liked was when Barnett missed a kneel kick, more or less landed on his feet, but ran into a Tenzan kneel kick, that caught him in the face. Chono & Tenzan's first defeat in a regular tag match (not counting the Triathlon Survivor) since 3/20/00 came when Barnett hooked on a sweet cross heel hold, and after a brief fight, Tenzan tapped out! Barnett is really making a positive impression, and with more seasoning in the pro wrestling ring, he could be a great addition to the upper tier. Finally, it was time for the much anticipated IWGP Heavyweight Title match between champion, Yuji Nagata, and challenger, Osamu Nishimura (wearing no boots!). These two drew in the 2002 G1 Climax, that result keeping Nagata out of the finals, and continuing Nishimura's ascent up the card, which climaxed with this big match. I'm not sure if technically this was as good as their G1 match, but I think it was far more effective and interesting overall. They quickly defined roles, with Nishimura as the major underdog, and Nagata suddenly as the grumpy, vicious champion, a role I love him in (he was similar against Murakami). Right away, when Nagata broke slowly at the ropes, fans booed him. It set the tone, with Nagata fighting an aggressive match, and Nishimura often defending, looking for errors to take advantage of. The technical work was typically beautifully, seamless and fluid mat wrestling, and a broad range of holds. The heat was also very good, apart from a while when they were on the mat, with fans pro-Nishimura, supporting the underdog as per tradition. Later on, it turned into a more high impact match, with Nagata throwing the big bombs, including an avalanche-style Exploder, which seemed like the only move out of place in a wonderfully crafted match, but was impactful anyway. The heat late on was tremendous, fans sensed an upset, and were roaring along to every Nishimura near fall. Whenever he was trapped in a submission, loud "Nishimura" calls rang out. After surviving one Nagata Lock II, he was placed in another, and Nagata transitioned quickly to his brand new Nagata Lock III. This looked painful, and despite support from the crowd, Nishimura had to tap out. The crowd seemed disappointed, but you could tell they enjoyed both men's performances when they cheered Nagata during his celebration. Nagata raised Nishimura's arm, and there was a loud applause. Although this was a minor defense for Nagata compared to his previous defense against Barnett, and upcoming defense against Nakanishi, it was the sort of match that helps define Nagata as one of the most versatile and technically brilliant IWGP Heavyweight Champions ever. During his reign, he's adopted to so many different styles, and to compare two of them, the wild fight with Murakami and traditional technical fight with Nishimura were totally different. He does lack certain intangibles of a Hashimoto-style ace, but this new mean streak he's been showing in some matches displays a much more fitting Nagata for the top role, than the one who won the title last April. For Nishimura, his second challenge for the belt again resulted in failure, but once more it was a top notch effort, and he came out of the match looking stronger than when he entered it. Excellent show, really what New Japan is about. Young lions, juniors, brawls, shoot style, power fighting, technical style, a little bit of everything thrown in there, leaving a sense of satisfication after watching the whole thing. Not every match was great, but after a slightly slow start, almost everything was entertaining and interesting. And to cap things off, another stellar title match with Nagata, who now found himself one victory away from tying Hashimoto's defense record.
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, Super Crazy & Curry Man 
(12:01) when Gedo used a Superfly splash on Curry.
& El Samurai beat Heat, Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask (12:18) when Murahama used a cross armbreaker on Tiger.