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Eight days after the important "FIGHTING SPIRIT SPECIAL" event, where a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion was crowned in the form of Yuji Nagata, New Japan made it's yearly trip to the Okinawa prefecture for "EXCITING BATTLE IN OKINAWA", before the typically active fans in this area. A "2 minute time lag" New Japan vs. Team 2000 Elimination Match was the feature bout, with many of New Japan's heavyweight and junior stars mixed together.
NJPW "EXCITING BATTLE IN OKINAWA", 4/13/02 (NJTV Internet)
Okinawa Prefectural Budokan
4,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy Full House
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Blue Wolf (8:40) with a crab hold.
2. Masahito Kakihara beat El Samurai (9:05) with the Kaki Cutter.
3. Osamu Nishimura beat Hiro Saito (8:57) with a ground Cobra Twist.
4. Tadao Yasuda beat Yutaka Yoshie (9:10) with a front sleeper.
5. Kensuke Sasaki beat Tatsutoshi Goto (5:10) with a Northern Light bomb.
6. Elimination Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Masayuki Naruse beat Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Koji Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo (36:24). Kanemoto used a moonsault press on Naruse (20:11). Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Tanaka (23:05). Nagata used an Exploder on Kanemoto (25:15). Liger used a front cradle on Tenzan (32:05). Chono used an STF on Liger (32:32). Nagata used the Nagata Lock II on Chono (33:56). Gedo used the Gedo clutch on Nagata (34:57). Nakanishi used a Northern Light suplex hold on both Jado & Gedo (36:24).
Points of note:
During his match with Yasuda, while trapped in a sleeper hold, Yoshie began vomiting blood. Despite a good fight from Yoshie, Yasuda was able to defeat him with a front sleeper.
The big feature match saw Nagata, Nakanishi, Liger, Tanaka & Naruse face Chono, Tenzan, Kanemoto, Jado & Gedo in an Elimination Match. Every IWGP champion was involved in the match, the Heavyweight (Nagata), Tag Team (Chono & Tenzan), Jr. Heavyweight (Tanaka), and Jr. Tag Team (Jado & Gedo) belt holders fighting it out. There were two minute intervals between entrances, and the match lasted over 36 minutes, with the packed Okinawa crowd boiling for it all. Two major upsets saw Liger cradle Tenzan, then Gedo surprise the new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Nagata, with his Gedo clutch, meaning two juniors eliminated heavyweights. The strength of the heavyweights was still evident though, with Nagata pinning Kanemoto, Chono submitting Liger, and then in one of the most visually memorable finishes ever, Nakanishi using a Northern Light suplex hold to pin BOTH Jado & Gedo simultaneously! A scorching finish to the match, Nakanishi taking down the IWGP Jr. Tag Champions single-handedly to win the match for New Japan!
Back to: "FIGHTING SPIRIT SPECIAL" (4/5/02)
Forward to: "BIG FIGHT SERIES 2002" (4/16/02 to 4/27/02)
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