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[Complete Results]
"STRONG ENERGY 2003" began on 4/18 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall with Kengo Kimura's retirement show, and ran until 4/29 in Kagoshima, the march to the Tokyo Dome in full force. Four titles were defended, including the major IWGP3 and for the second successive tour, the Osaka Pro Tag Team Title. Additionally, after the group stage was completed in March, the G2 U-30 Climax would come to a close with semi finals on 4/18, then the big final on 4/23 in Hiroshima. Hiroshima would also host ace Yuji Nagata's V10 defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Title against Makai Club leader, Tadao Yasuda, as he looked to break Shinya Hashimoto's long-standing record of most defenses. On 4/28 in Hakata, Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan would also aim to break a record when they faced Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie, this one of the most defenses of the IWGP Tag Team Title. Also, the grudge feud between Takashi Iizuka and Mitsuya "Makai #5" Nagai would rage on in tag form after their singles series on the last tour failed to put their hate-fueled rivalry to rest.
Foreign participation:
Dan Devine: All shows
Mike Barton: All shows
Rey Bucanero (CMLL): All shows
Super Crazy (CMLL): All shows
Ultimo Guerrero (CMLL): All shows
Special participation:
Blue Wolf: 4/18 only
Kazunari Murakami (Makai Club): 4/18 & 4/23
Kengo Kimura: 4/18 only
Yoshihiro Takayama: 4/23, 4/28 & 4/29
Azteca (KAGEKI): 4/22 only
Ebessan (Osaka Pro): 4/28 only
Minoru Fujita: 4/18 to 4/25, 4/27 to 4/29
Takehiro Murahama (Osaka Pro): 4/28 only
Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro): 4/28 only
Points of note:
Manabu Nakanishi cancelled all of his scheduled appearances to train for his 5/2 Tokyo Dome vale tudo fight against Kazuyuki Fujita. Blue Wolf also missed all but one convention to assist Nakanishi with his training.
(4/18) The first match of the tour was an important one between Blue Wolf and Makai #4 to determine the second semi finalist from Block B in the U-30. Wolf put away the invader in little over 5 minutes, setting up a semi final clash with Makabe later on the show.
(4/18) One of Mexico's top tag teams, Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero, made their New Japan debuts in eight man tag action. The two were on the losing side, but had chance to show off their impressive lucha technique.
(4/18) Kengo Kimura's 31 year career as a professional wrestler came to an end in a European Catch Rules Match. Although Kengo's wish of facing old partner, Tatsumi Fujinami, didn't come true due to an injury Fujinami suffered, he faced Fujinami's disciple, Nishimura. The two battled to a draw in five rounds (15 minutes in total).
(4/18) Makabe became the first man to reach the U-30 final with a win over Blue Wolf. Having already wrestled earlier, Wolf was at a disadvantage, and Makabe exploited that to continue his good form in the tournament.
(4/18) Tanahashi scored one of the biggest singles victories of his career in the second U-30 semi final, upsetting Yoshie with a high-angle front cradle. Tanahashi avenged his 2002 G1 Climax loss to a man he had been feuding with since last summer, and also the man he would cooperate with in an effort to take the IWGP Tag Team Title later in the series.
(4/18) In a special farewell match for Kengo Kimura, IWGP Tag Team Champions, Chono & Tenzan, took on IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions, Kanemoto & Liger, in a non-title bout. The junior heavyweight titans pushed the heavyweights to a near-15 minute match in a good fight, before Kanemoto succumbed to Tenzan's TTD.
(4/18) In their first preliminary skirmish before clashing for the IWGP Heavyweight Title in Hiroshima, Nagata and Yasuda met in tag action, and the upcoming challenger overwhelmed the champion. Yasuda & Makai #5 earned a big win over G1 Tag League 2000 winners, Nagata & Iizuka, Yasuda stunning Iizuka with a koutoubu punch for the main event victory.
(4/18) Following the end of in-ring combat at Korakuen, Kengo Kimura's farewell ceremony was held. There was a very warm retirement parade for Kengo, and long "Kengo! Kengo! Kengo!" and "Inazuma! Inazuma! Inazuma!" calls from the fans. Wrestlers who presented him with flowers included NOAH's Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Sugiura (who expressed his intent to compete in the upcoming Best of the Super Jr.), former Heisei Ishingun ally, Masashi Aoyagi, and of course New Japan wrestlers. Fujinami hinted that when he has recovered from his injury, he might have a special match with Kengo. Former Japanese prime minister Tsutomu Hata (who reigned briefly in 1994) was also in attendance, handing Kengo a bouquet of flowers. Kengo gave a retirement speech, "The day came at last, and I have a most tense feeling. I considered retirement for three years before deciding, and today has finally arrived. What I tell young wrestlers is that New Japan's ring is a place that shows fighting. It became impossible for me to show good fighting, so naturally, I am retiring. New Japan Pro-Wrestling is the number one promotion in the wrestling industry. If it collapses, pro wrestling will fall. I'm hoping that from now on young people will support us. Moreover, I'm thankful to Inoki-san for teaching me fighting spirit. I'm thankful to CEO Sakaguchi who I followed [to New Japan] when I didn't know what to do. Since I was blessed with a good rival as a wrestler, I'm also thankful to Fujinami-san. And I'm also thankful to my wife of 27 years who rendered in the sun at the shadow, Ms. Yoko Kimura. Thank you. I think I'm going to cry. Please support New Japan!".
(4/19) Yoshie & Tanahashi began the march to their IWGP Tag Team Title challenge with a good win over fellow young wrestlers, Dan Devine & Makabe. Tentatively nicknamed "HIROSHI & YUTAKA", they displayed good teamwork and Yoshie sunk Devine with a back blow for the victory.
(4/19) Nagata, Iizuka & Nishimura's main event victory over Yasuda, Yanagisawa & Makai #1 gave Nagata a revenge win from yesterday, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion submitting Makai #1 with his Nagata Lock III. However, immediately after the match, seven members of the Makai Club attacked and bullied Nagata, and President Hoshino declared that there would be a new champion in Hiroshima.
(4/21) Days before their IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title match, Kanemoto and Tiger Mask met in six man tag action. After AKIRA was surprisingly pinned by Minoru Fujita (in his first match as a New Japan based freelancer since leaving Kaientai Dojo on 4/20), Kanemoto attacked Tiger and tore off his sacred mask. Tiger's face was covered by a towel to hide his identity, and Kanemoto's next challenger was severely humiliated.
(4/21) The Tanahashi vs. Makabe rivalry heated up after Makabe and Mike Barton's victory over Hiro & Goto. Tanahashi, doing colour commentary for the match, got into a scuffle with Makabe, and the two had to be separated.
(4/21) Nishimura wrestled his 12th anniversary match, facing the man he debuted against back on 4/21/91, Iizuka. In a rematch from their technical epic last October (Iizuka's return from injury) and their untelevised 15 minute draw from shortly after, the two fought to a 20 minute draw in a very Muga themed clash.
(4/22) The second of two action-packed junior bouts in Fukuoka saw Pro Wrestling KAGEKI boss, Azteca, return to New Japan. He scored his first win in the company, teaming with AKIRA and Super Crazy to defeat Liger, Fujita & Bucanero when AKIRA pinned Bucanero.
(4/22) The Iizuka vs. Mitsuya "Makai #5" Nagai grudge continued despite Iizuka's 2-1 victory over the Makai Club thug on the last series. The start of another specially themed three match series between the two, this time in tag form, saw Iizuka & Kakihara defeat Harimao'z when Iizuka put Makai #4 to sleep, forcing a referee stoppage.
(4/22) The final preliminary skirmish before their singles match saw Nagata gain an important psychological boost over Yasuda, when he and Nishimura defeated Yasuda & Makai #1.
(4/22) Another important preliminary skirmish factored directly into the main event finish. Tanahashi and Makabe again fought intensely in a six man tag match, and Makabe pinned his fellow U-30 finalist with a German suplex hold. Tanahashi suffered a dislocated left shoulder during the match too, making things worse for him going into tomorrow's summit.
(4/23) The G2 U-30 Climax final between Tanahashi and Makabe was a rematch of their opening day meeting, in which Makabe handed Tanahashi his only group stage loss. Makabe quickly aimed to exploit Tanahashi's new shoulder injury, attacking it fiercely. A hot fight brought the crowd to it's feet, and fans danced in joy when Tanahashi avenged his previous loss to Makabe by pinning him with a Dragon suplex hold to become New Japan's premier under-30 wrestler! With this huge win, Tanahashi not only earned an IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match against Tenzan at the Tokyo Dome, but a place in the prestigious G1 Climax in August. Additionally, it was announced that he would receive a title belt (under construction) for his victory.
(4/23) IWGP Tag Team Champions, Chono & Tenzan, picked up an strong non-title win. The two defeated the very imposing tandem of Takayama & Barton, Chono Yakuza kicking Barton for the victory.
(4/23) Kanemoto's V7 defense of the belt he dominated for over nine months, the IWGP Heavyweight Title, finally came to an end in a shocker, when he was dethroned by Tiger Mask. In his second attempt at taking Kanemoto's belt, Tiger surprised many fans by pinning Kanemoto exactly 22 years to the day after the original Tiger Mask debuted. Tiger said that he would become an invincible champion, and declared war on NOAH's juniors.
(4/23) Yuji Nagata did what Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu, Tatsumi Fujinami, Shinya Hashimoto, Keiji Muto, and other New Japan greats couldn't when he broke Hashimoto's record as the most successful IWGP Heavyweight Champion of all time. Nagata's V10 defense of his title took place against the man he dethroned a little over a year ago, Makai Club leader Tadao Yasuda. It was an epic blood festival, in which Nagata shed much blood, sweat, and tears to defend not only his title, but the company he led. After a flurry of blood-stained headbutts to Yasuda, Nagata defeated his strong challenger with a wrist-clutch Exploder to the delight of a boiling crowd. Nagata was attacked by the Makai Club post-match, but surprisingly his rival and upcoming Tokyo Dome opponent, Takayama, came to his assistance. However, Nagata, remembering a year before, when after defeating Yasuda and was attacked by Takayama, gave the big man a backdrop suplex. Sparks between the two erupted going into their Tokyo Dome double title match.
(4/26) Match two of the Iizuka & Kakihara vs. Harimao'z tag series went the way of the Makai Club duo. Makai #4 submitted Kakihara with a chickenwing hold, and Harimao'z said that after they wrapped up the series on 4/29 in Kagoshima, they would challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Title.
(4/26) Chono and Makabe met in the main event, a big rematch from their disappointingly short 3/21 clash. This one also ended up being very short, lasting just 3 1/2 minutes, but for different reasons this time. When Chono hit Makabe with a Yakuza kick, he damaged his left knee, with ligament damage immediately feared. Chono was counted out of the ring, unable to support himself enough to slide back in. Mr. G1 cancelled his appearance on the 4/27 show, and both his Tokyo Dome dream match with Kenta Kobashi, and IWGP Tag Team Title defense on 4/28, were put in jeopardy.
(4/27) One day before their challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Title, Yoshie & Tanahashi overwhelmed the team of Tenzan & Hiro in an important preliminary skirmish. The two again showed strong teamwork, and won after Yoshie clobbered Hiro with a back blow. The two didn't bother to hide their plan for the title match, revealing their intention to attack Chono's injured knee.
(4/28) The Osaka Pro Tag Team Title returned to New Japan, when Liger & Murahama made their V2 defense of the belts against Ebessan & Tigers Mask. Once again, the fans were charmed and entertained by a different style of junior wrestling, and the champions were expected victors when Murahama pinned Tigers. After the announcement that he would be in the upcoming Best of the Super Jr. tournament, Ebessan said he would challenge Liger to a singles match in an effort to avenge this loss.
(4/28) In a match originally scheduled to happen on 2/2 for the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Nagata and Yanagisawa met in a non-title match. Following his destruction of the Makai Club's top two men, Yasuda and Murakami, Nagata had few problems beating the former Pancrase, RINGS, and K-1 fighter, pinning the Makai Club henchman in under 5 minutes with a backdrop hold.
(4/28) The masked foursome of Makai #1, Makai #2, Makai #4 & Makai #5 were surprise victors over the strong freelance unit of Takayama, Barton, Makabe & Fujita in an Elimination Match. The big shocker was the elimination of Takayama, who was cradled by Makai #4, an ominous sign before his Tokyo Dome match with Nagata. Left to fight both Makai #2 and Makai #4, Makabe managed to pin #4 following a lariat, but 20 seconds later was pinned by #2, the Makai Club obtaining a huge win in Hakata.
(4/28) With only one man (Yoshie) at 100% health, the IWGP Tag Team Title match between champions, Chono & Tenzan, and U-30 challengers, Yoshie & Tanahashi, was a battle of ailing warriors. Chono forced himself to wrestle, and heavily taped up his injured knee. Tenzan fought alone for much of the match, and worked hard to take his opponents' stamina. When Chono was tagged, he was much fresher than both opponents, and managed to submit Tanahashi with his patented Butterfly Lock in close to 20 minutes for a successful V7 defense. Like Nagata with the IWGP Heavyweight Title days before, Chono & Tenzan broke a defense record, this one for their IWGP Tag Team Title, as they exceeded Hashimoto & Hirata and Tenzan & Kojima's record of six successful defenses. For Chono though, this victory was overshadowed by worry, as the condition of his knee was worsened in the match, days before his clash with Kobashi.
(4/29) Iizuka again reigned in victory over Nagai, when their second three match series came to a close. Iizuka & Kakihara made it 2-1 on the tour over Harimao'z when Kakihara pinned Makai #4 with an Inazuma leg lariat, a strike he mastered with the help of recently retired Kengo Kimura.
(4/29) The tour ended with Nagata and Takayama's first and last direct meeting of the tour before their Tokyo Dome double title summit. They met in six man tag action, and Nagata's brilliant form continued when he backdropped Makabe.
Miscellaneous:
Series two of the "Conclusion!" chain between Iizuka and Nagai ended with another 2-1 victory for Iizuka, who gained momentum for his Tokyo Dome match with major Makai Club recruit, Ken Shamrock. Whether the situation between Iizuka and Nagai had been settled was unclear leaving the tour, but their hot fighting suggested the war would rage on.
- Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara beat Makai #4 & Makai #5 (8:14) by referee stop (Iizuka beat Makai #4).
- Makai #4 & Makai #5 beat Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara (9:06) when Makai #4 used a chickenwing hold on Kakihara.
- Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara beat Makai #4 & Makai #5 (6:05) when Kakihara used an Inazuma leg lariat on Makai #4.
Back to: "EXCITING BATTLE IN NAEBA 2003" (3/29/03)
Forward to: "ULTIMATE FESTIVAL" (5/1/03)
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