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NJPW "HISTORY", 10/12/02 (SXW) (Buy)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,402 Fans - No Vacancy
1. Wataru Inoue beat Naofumi Yamamoto (debut) (6:34) with a cross armbreaker.
Tokyo Korakuen Hall hosted "HISTORY", which brought the short "FIGHTING SPIRIT SERIES 2002 PROLOGUE" tour to an end. Following the pattern set by the other two shows, this was very Showa themed, with no nonsense matches, and little in terms of storylines (although there were a few appearances, but more on that later). The opener was very special for SXW fans, because we had been following the progress of the dojo entrants (Nakamura, Nagao, Yamamoto & Taguchi) for months, and Naofumi Yamamoto made his debut. They showed him entering the building, and his trainer in the exercise hall, Kotetsu Yamamoto (not related), sat at ringside as always on SXW, doing colour commentary. Yamamoto faced Wataru, who didn't go easy on the debutant, as he himself is still trying to climb the ladder. Yamamoto made a VERY impressive debut, showing the early makings of an expert technician. He used several armbarring techniques, including a lightning fast wakigatame takedown that got a big cheer from Korakuen. Although he was eventually beaten, he made a strong debut and looked quite the part. Welcome Naofumi Yamamoto, standing 6'0" and weighing 225lbs, to the growing list of talented young New Japan prospects. The second match was supposed to have Ryusuke Taguchi making his debut, but he suffered a head injury and had his start-up match postponed. After Masakazu Fukuda's head injury-related death back in April of 2000, risks can't be taken. Anyway, the L.A. Dojo guys were still in town, even though they weren't scheduled to be on the card. Pinoi Boy ended up stepping in for Taguchi, and faced Samurai. We got to see a lot more of what Pinoi Boy can do here, as he spent much of the 10/6 tag opposite the Havana Pitbulls taking a beating. He seemed confident on the mat, using cross armbreakers and several other nice techniques, possibly taught to him by Inoki and company back in America. Samurai was in vintage grizzled form, matching Pinoi on the mat and often outdoing him on the stand-up. He eventually won with the Samurai bomb, and provoked the other L.A. Dojo imports following the match. Yano vs. Kurashima was somewhat similar to the opener, simple and solid old style technical wrestling. I thought Yano might pick up his first win here against the Muga man, and he did come pretty close, but lost by a narrow margin in the end, tapping out to a cross armbreaker. Kakihara vs. Nakano was major nostalgia time for fans of the old UWF-I. After dying at the end of 1996, the UWF-I spirit has taken a beating, with a lot of it's former stars either fading into obscurity (like Nakano), or finding little success in MMA promotions. The style has also been kind of lost, and it's rare you see a *true* UWF-I style match now. There are glimpses of it in many matches, but the PRIDE style has become far more dominant. Anyway, Kakihara and Nakano, who once had a bloodbath in UWF-I, fought to a really entertaining 15 minute draw. Unfortunately, about 6 minutes of it were cut out by the editors. Some vintage UWF-I action, with the open hand palm strikes, the submissions, the positioning, the 10 counts, and so on. Hopefully Kiyoshi Tamura's soon-to-launch U-STYLE promotion can revive this style and resurrect the missing niche. Nishimura vs. Tony St. Clair was Nishimura's second European Catch Rules Match after falling to mentor, Fujinami, in the first on 10/9. This was PURE old style for five 3 minute rounds. Nishimura wrestles classic style, but this was even older style, submissions applied for longer, and lots of technical depth. St. Clair is old and now unconditioned, but managed to huff and puff his way to a fine performance. One of the coolest parts of the match saw Nishimura break cleanly in the corner, but fire a quick Dory elbow, angering Tony. St. Clair backed Mr. Muga into the corner moments later, then clocked Nishimura with a slap to the face! A disgruntled referee Unno reached into his pocket, and produced the YELLOW CARD!, booking both men in a choice moment. They (the wrestlers) soon shook hands, putting aside their differences, and didn't break the rules again. Towards the end, with time ticking, they moved into a sequence of cradles, St. Clair having some problems keeping up. Nishimura wasn't able to put him away, a yellow signal, as he was now 0-1-1 going into his FIVE round match with former Pancrase and UFC star, Bas Rutten, at the Tokyo Dome on 10/14. Speaking of Bas, he had been observing from ringside, and entered the ring for a handshake. Nishimura wouldn't accept, so Bas flipped him off and walked off. Nishimura spoke into the microphone, preaching the ~PROWRES LOVE~, and Korakuen was his house. Fujinami & Tiger Mask vs. Liger & Heat had some symbollic importance. Fujinami was the greatest junior heavyweight of the 1970's, a pioneer and innovator, and Liger was the greatest junior heavyweight of the 1990's (and of all time for that matter), also a pioneer and innovator. With them here were two younger men, looking to make the 2000's THEIR time. Tiger Mask, the fourth generation of a persona that took the world by storm in the 1980's, and Heat, in his pre-debut match before his official debut at the Tokyo Dome against Kanemoto. Having listened to it in more extended form, I can now safely say that Heat's Liger-esque entrance music just rules. Heat seemed really nervous here, awkward early on. He gradually gained confidence as the match went on though, working very well with Tiger. Liger vs. Tiger was great, hopefully a sign of some classic singles matches between the two to come. Fujinami couldn't keep up with the three speed-wise, but worked his bulk on the mat, using such classic submissions as the bow-and-arrow hold. I don't think the fans were expecting the finish, which saw Heat use a regular Fisherman buster on Tiger for the win, but they applauded after they realized it was over. Nice match, a good chance for Heat to test out his new mask. The SXW special segment was about AKIRA, and his latest acting gig. Since he spends far more time acting than wrestling now (one and a half tours ALL year in 2002!), it was good to see him again and get more insight into his work. They showed him and other members of the cast spending an entire day doing grueling physical training. AKIRA survived the New Japan dojo though, so this was a walk in the park for him compared to the others. They acted out their lines, and AKIRA showed was a great actor he is, very convincing with his delivery. It's great that he has found success in such a lucrative industry, but I can't help miss him in wrestling. There is no doubt that if he put all of his efforts into wrestling, with his charisma and skill, he could be a huge star whether as a small heavyweight or junior. Koshinaka and Goto reunited their old Heisei Ishingun alliance for one night, facing former nWo Japan rivals, Chono and Tenzan in tag action. This was originally supposed to be a six man tag featuring the returning Kengo Kimura, but Kengo got injured training for his comeback, so plans were changed. Before the match, an unfortunate scene saw Joanie Laurer tarnish this traditional convention by showing up. The fans were really unhappy with her being there, booing. She insulted Chono in Japanese, so he tore her shirt off, and she got carted to the back. The lights went out, and when they came back on, GREAT MUTA was fighting with Tenzan. Koshinaka & Goto arrived, taking advantage of the situation and attacking the IWGP Tag Team Champions. They controlled for much of this match, displaying their old teamwork, and neutralizing Tenzan with such things as an assisted spiked piledriver on the exposed floor at ringside. The tag champs fought back though, and in the end Tenzan had little trouble putting Goto away, doing so with the TTD. The main event saw three men who will make history tomorrow get the chance to shine today. Veteran Nakanishi teamed with young lion Blue Wolf against Kenzo & Tanahashi, two men approaching the end of their young lion days. This was an awesome, very fast paced 11 1/2 minutes, with major heat from the crowd. Although Wolf was in there for much of the match, often taking a beating, whenever Nakanishi was tagged everyone was excited, because he was in really good form and pummeling Tanaken (moreso Kenzo than Tanahashi). Although Nakanishi and Tanahashi were really impressive, Wolf gets my MVP of the match vote for some of his explosive flurries. I forgot who took what move, but during his comeback after being isolated, he mauled one of his opponents with a beautiful lariat, and instantly hit the second with an effortless Exploder. The fans were in awe. Nakanishi was then tagged, and the fun started, spears, jumping knees, lariats for the opponents. The finish was just amazing, as Tanahashi enzuigiri'd Wolf, and before Wolf had even dropped to his knees, Kenzo was on the run, and nearly took his head off with his best modified Shining Wizard (Hakagure) yet! He pinned Wolf, and that was it. Tanaken looked like major superstars with this win, and this was an excellent finish to the show. Shinya Makabe, who had walked to the commentary booth before the match in his first New Japan appearance since 8/12/01, when he announced he was going overseas to become a heavyweight and learn more, was provoked by Tanaken. He sat quietly, and ignored them... until they turned around. He rushed into the ring, struck Tanahashi with a lariat, then took a walk, his work done. Tanahashi did another great interview after the match, and this was all quite awesome. The show didn't finish there. Host Takeshi Kagino and Kotetsu were ready to give their regular wrap up, and sign off, when suddenly Kagino started singing "Happy Birthday"! The fans joined in, the target of the song being Kotetsu, who turned 61, and was totally taken by surprise. He received a cake and several gifts, including a custom made mask, some flowers, and a Giant Silva t-shirt. Great show, two hours of wholesome fun. Along with 10/6, probably the most pure, no nonsense wrestling show I've seen for ages. The appearance of Joanie, who really had no place on such an old school show, dampened it just a little, but not nearly enough to neutralize all the goodness. Almost every match had old school stylings, but mostly in different forms. The main event is definitely worth checking out, and the UWF-I match will bring back some memories. Two days before "THE SPIRAL" at the Tokyo Dome, New Japan graced Korakuen Hall with this refeshingly no nonsense show.
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