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"BATTLE ZONE 6-7" was a special stand-alone show that took place two days after "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. IX" concluded, and was held at the famous Tokyo Nippon Budokan. It was a stacked show, with a wide range of wrestling styles, and two major feature matches in the form of Nakanishi vs. Takayama and Nagata vs. Kensuke for the IWGP Heavyweight Title. After dominating Nagata in singles matches for so long, Sasaki looked to win back not only the belt, but the "ace" rank that Nagata took from him while he was overseas in 2001.
Foreign participation:
Bas Rutten
Scott Norton (Team 2000)
Special participation:
Yoshihiro Takayama
Minoru Fujita (Kaientai Dojo)
Poison Sawada JULIE (DDT)
MIKAMI (DDT)
Takashi Sasaki (DDT)
Hebikage (DDT)
Lioness Asuka (ARSION)
Mariko Yoshida (ARSION)
Michiko Omukai (ARSION)
Rie Tamada (ARSION)
GAMI (ARSION)
Ai Fujita (ARSION)
noki-A (ARSION)
baby A (ARSION)
NJPW "BATTLE ZONE 6-7", 6/7/02 (WPW)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
9,000 Fans
1. El Samurai & Blue Wolf beat Katsuyori Shibata & Wataru Inoue (7:24) when Wolf used a Mongol slam on Inoue.
2. MIKAMI  & Takashi Sasaki beat Poison Sawada JULIE & Hebikage (14:39) when MIKAMI used a Swanton bomb on Hebikage.
3. Mariko Yoshida  , Michiko Omukai , Rie Tamada , Ai Fujita & baby A beat Lioness Asuka , GAMI , noki-A , Fabi Apache & Bionic J (19:02) when Fujita used a firebird splash on Apache.
4. Tadao Yasuda & Osamu Nishimura beat Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto (2:21) when Nishimura used a ground Cobra Twist on Goto.
5. Koji Kanemoto, AKIRA, Black Tiger & Gedo beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka, Tiger Mask & Curry Man  (12:36) when AKIRA used an STF on Curry.
6. Yutaka Yoshie beat Minoru Fujita  (6:16) with a back blow.
7. Bas Rutten beat Masayuki Naruse (6:37) by referee stop.
8. Masahiro Chono & Scott Norton beat Kenzo Suzuki & Hiroshi Tanahashi (11:59) when Norton used a Jackhammer on Suzuki.
9. Yoshihiro Takayama beat Manabu Nakanishi (17:50) with a left knee kick.
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata (c) beat Kensuke Sasaki (22:44) with a backdrop hold (2nd defense).
Points of note:
Hiroyoshi Tenzan missed the show due to a broken nose suffered on 6/5, and was replaced by Scott Norton.
Sanshiro Takagi's DDT (Dramatic Dream Team) was the first of two outside promotions to have their offer match on the show. DDT sent the high-flying MIKAMI and Takashi Sasaki to face former New Japan dojo entrant, Poison Sawada JULIE, and Hebikage. MIKAMI pinned Hebikage after hitting a Swanton bomb from a ladder.
ARSION sent a ten woman tag match, which featured the ARSION Japan army against Lioness Asuka's rival Ground Zero Federation. This was a fast paced match that barely beat the 20 minute time limit, and saw Mariko Yoshida, Michiko Omukai, Rie Tamada, Ai Fujita & baby A defeat Asuka, GAMI, noki-A, Fabi Apache & Bionic J.
Yasuda again showed up late, leaving Nishimura to fight alone against Hiro & Goto. Yasuda eventually showed up, and was jeered heavily by the outraged fans.
"Obscurity Man" Minoru Fujita returned to New Japan in-ring competition for the first time since the 2000 Best of the Super Jr., getting his wish after invading on 5/24, and having a match. It would be a tough lesson though, as Yoshie, who outweighed Fujita by 30kg, destroyed and finished him off with a back blow.
Former UFC star, Bas Rutten, went 3-0 in New Japan with another dominant victory. This time he knocked out Naruse with a vicious right high kick, and marched onward.
In a battle of German suplexes, Takayama bounced back from his Tokyo Dome loss to Nagata by defeating the ace's close friend, Nakanishi. A desperate struggle, the big men waged a physical war that could have gone either way, but a knee kick sunk Nakanishi into the mat and earned Takayama the victory. Nakanishi fought well, despite a knee injury suffered two days earlier during Gotch-ism's 60 minute draw with Chono & Tenzan.
Nagata made his V2 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title, and scored his first singles win over Kensuke since 8/14/99 (the 1999 G1 Climax), using a backdrop hold to pin the former ace after a Strong Style clash. Sasaki declared following the match that he would debut a new army corps featuring Tanaken and Blue Wolf on the next series, which would aim at both titles. Rutten challenged Nagata for a shot at his gold, and Nagata readily consented it with a "Yes" response.
Miscellaneous:
Nagata's win over Sasaki was very important, and also a symbollic message that he had truly grasped Kensuke's role as ace of New Japan. Going into their match, Sasaki had been recently dominate in singles meetings against Nagata, their record since Nagata's return from his overseas learning excursion looking as follows,
(1/27/99 @ Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2) Kensuke Sasaki beat Yuji Nagata (14:16) with a Northern Light bomb.
(8/14/99 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan) Yuji Nagata beat Kensuke Sasaki (14:43) with a cross kneelock.
(8/13/00 @ Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan) Kensuke Sasaki beat Yuji Nagata (15:12) with a Northern Light bomb.
(10/29/00 @ Kobe World Hall) Kensuke Sasaki beat Yuji Nagata (13:55) with a Northern Light bomb.
(10/28/01 @ Fukuoka International Center) Kensuke Sasaki beat Yuji Nagata (12:17) with a grounded headlock.
Back to: "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. IX" (5/18/02 to 6/5/02)
Forward to: "SUMMER FIGHT SERIES 2002" (6/20/02 to 7/20/02)
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