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Tokyo Budokan Hall (not Tokyo Nippon Budokan), one of the buildings New Japan first advanced on during it's early days, played host to "INOKI ISM - FIGHTING SPIRIT SPECIAL", an important event with four big singles matches. Three of them were "IWGP Ranking" matches, a concept designed to help determine the top contender for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. The main event saw a rematch from February, as Yuji Nagata challenged IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Tadao Yasuda, and attempted to end a singles match slump by capturing the prized title.
NJPW "FIGHTING SPIRIT SPECIAL", 4/5/02 (WPW)
Tokyo Budokan Hall
3,000 Fans
1. El Samurai beat Masayuki Naruse (8:46) with a la magistral.
2. Hiro Saito beat Blue Wolf (7:16) with a senton bomb.
3. Tatsutoshi Goto beat Hiroshi Tanahashi (6:45) with a backdrop suplex.
4. Koji Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Masahito Kakihara (15:05) when Kanemoto used a Falcon Arrow on Kakihara.
5. IWGP Ranking Match: Kensuke Sasaki beat Yutaka Yoshie (9:24) with a Northern Light bomb.
6. IWGP Ranking Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan went to a draw (20:00) when the time limit expired.
7. IWGP Ranking Match: Masahiro Chono beat Osamu Nishimura (19:06) by pinfall after a Butterfly Lock.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata beat Tadao Yasuda (c) (15:01) with the Nagata Lock II to become the 31st champion.
Points of note:
In the first IWGP Ranking Match, two power fighters, Kensuke and Yoshie, clashed. It was a physical war, but Sasaki's strength was just too much for a bold Yoshie today, a Northern Light bomb sealing him the win.
Eternal rivals, Nakanishi and Tenzan, had their latest match, a desperate struggle lasting 20 minutes. With the new time limits imposed, this meant that they fought to a draw, their long rivalry unchanged by this battle.
In the final IWGP Ranking Match, the man behind the idea, Chono, took on Nishimura in a very technical bout. They exchanged classic holds for much of the duration, and when Hidekazu Tanaka announced that 19 minutes had gone, it looked destined to be another draw. However, Chono released his Butterfly Lock and pinned Nishimura for the three count, with just 54 seconds remaining.
After a slump in form, resulting in a vale tudo loss to Mirko Cro Cop, and pro wrestling defeats at the hands of NOAH's Jun Akiyama in January and Tadao Yasuda in February's IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament final, Nagata finally bounced back, and in a major way. Yasuda's V2 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title went wrong, as Nagata dropped him with an Exploder, then applied the Nagata Lock II as the crowd screamed in support. Yasuda tapped out, making Nagata the 31st IWGP Heavyweight Champion, his first reign as king of New Japan! Nagata's victory parade was cut short though, as freelancer Yoshihiro Takayama, a NOAH regular, intruded and demolished Nagata with a knee kick and German suplex. An outraged Nagata quickly called for his V1 defense to be against Takayama at the Tokyo Dome on 5/2, the IWGP executive committee making an urgent decision and consenting it!
Back to: "EXCITING BATTLE IN NAEBA 2002" (3/29/02 to 3/30/02)
Forward to: "EXCITING BATTLE IN OKINAWA" (4/13/02)
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