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Serving as a bridge between "WRESTLING WORLD 2001", the successful Tokyo Dome super-show on January 4th, and "FIGHTING SPIRIT 2001", the annual tour opener of the year, "NEW CENTURY DASH 2001" took place before a rabid crowd in Okinawa, New Japan's first event in the region for four years. Shinjiro Otani wrestled his first singles match since returning at the Tokyo Dome as a heavyweight, facing Team 2000's wily veteran, Hiro Saito. In the main event, ace Kensuke Sasaki, hot off regaining the IWGP Heavyweight Title, teamed with G-EGGS' Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie against the Team 2000 foursome of Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara in a 2/3 Falls Match.

NJPW "NEW CENTURY DASH 2001", 1/19/01 (WPW)
Okinawa Prefectural Budokan
4,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Shinya Makabe beat Katsuyori Shibata (7:46) with a crab hold.
2. El Samurai & Kendo Kashin beat Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto (15:15) when Samurai used a vertical drop reverse DDT on Kanemoto.
3. Takashi Iizuka beat Kenzo Suzuki (11:21) with a sleeper hold.
4. Junji Hirata & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Shiro Koshinaka & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (12:31) when Liger used a brainbuster on Takaiwa.
5. Shinjiro Otani beat Hiro Saito (8:44) with a cobra hold.
6. Kensuke Sasaki, Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara (22:06) in a 2/3 Falls Match. Kojima used a lariat on Yoshie (8:43). Nagata used a backdrop hold on Kojima (10:09). Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on Goto (3:14).

Points of note:

  • The IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions, Tanaka & Kanemoto, after beating Takaiwa & Makabe at the Tokyo Dome, lost a non-title match to El Samurai & Ka Shin. Samurai used a deadly vertical drop reverse DDT, a dangerous modification of his regular reverse DDT, to pin Kanemoto.

  • After a very progressive rookie year, in which he shot past fellow young lions, Kenzo Suzuki began his second year as a wrestler with a singles match against Submission Master, Takashi Iizuka. Kenzo took the technician past 10 minutes, before being put to sleep.

  • In his first singles match as a heavyweight in New Japan, Otani faced Hiro, and didn't have an easy time. Hiro controlled much of the match on offense, but Otani survived Hiro's patented sentons, and submitted him with the same move he put Liger away with at the Tokyo Dome, a cobra hold.

  • A hot main event saw the combined New Japan/G-EGGS effort of Sasaki, Nakanishi, Nagata & Yoshie overcome Team 2000's Tenzan, Kojima, Goto & Ohara in a 2/3 Falls Match. Kojima lariated Yoshie to take the first fall, but after 10 severe minutes, Nagata pinned Kojima with a backdrop hold. A few minutes later it was over, the newly married Nakanishi raising Goto into an Argentine backbreaker for the submission and 2-1 victory for New Japan/G-EGGS! Team 2000 lacked full leadership without Chono, and were subsequently defeated, despite a good effort.

    • Back to: "WRESTLING WORLD 2001" (1/4/01)
    Forward to: "FIGHTING SPIRIT 2001" (1/31/01 to 2/18/01)