NJPW - резултати от 2 May 2007

[nWoHulkster]

Day two of the Korakuen triple header and day one of the main brand Korakuen double header was a great success in all respects. Fans had to be turned away after they filled Korakuen as much as possible without breaking fire laws, with at least three rows of people stood up. From the start of the show there was a great atmosphere, and it would climax later on. Kakutolog, which has esteemed numerous New Japan shows this year, called it the company's best performance of 2007 so far. The sensation of 2007 so far has been Shiro Koshinaka, who has become the most popular pro wrestler in Japan after mainstream TV fame, and the result was his first IWGP Heavyweight Title shot in over 11 years tonight. Five years to the day after defeating Yoshihiro Takayama in the V1 defense of his first IWGP Heavyweight Title reign, Nagata made the V1 defense of his second reign. The crowd had been hot prior to this match, but this was on another level, with one reporter saying it may have been one of the most heated matches in Korakuen history (and that is saying something). A video package of the "Koshinaka boom" played, leading into his entrance, and he was dressed in a spectacular robe as he entered, the "Koshinaka" chants deafening. Nagata entered second and Koshinaka's large fanbase booed him, but another segment tried to overwhelm them with "Nagata" chants. However, during the match Koshinaka enjoyed more popularity, simply because no one is more popular than him at the moment. Koshinaka put up a great fight, coming close to capturing the title for the first time in his career on several occasions. When Nagata dunked him with a backdrop, Koshinaka kicked out at one, stubborn as always. Nagata unleashed a flurry of kicks though, then landed his backdrop hold and Koshinaka stayed down. Nagata bypassed a very difficult V1 defense, and chaos followed. Makabe stormed into the ring, demanding Nagata stop running away from him and let him challenge next. Then came Nakamura, Bernard, and Tomko, with Shinsuke telling Makabe that he wants to challenge Nagata first. This may have essentially made Nakamura vs. Makabe tomorrow a #1 contendership match. Iizuka then began to fight with Bernard ahead of tomorrow's IWGP Tag match, and Nakanishi (who many thought might make his long awaited appeal to challenge for the title, but didn't) played mediator between the armies, saying, "Enough for today, fight until your heart's content tomorrow." Nagata gave his victor's interview next, saying he understood how Tanahashi felt now when the fans supported the opponent. He called to the fans who they want to see challenge and received answers like "Sasaki (Kensuke!)", "Minoru (Suzuki)!", "Koshinaka!", and "Jun Akiyama!". He ended the interview soon after and there was a big shout of joy in Korakuen, meaning that although fans supported Koshinaka today, they also support Nagata as champion.

In what was described as one of the very best matches of 2007 to date, the former Kaientai DX team of Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku struck gold, capturing the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title from champions, Jado & Gedo! It was Jado & Gedo's V3 defense in a fourth reign that lasted about ten months, and was a tremendous match that was particularly explosive towards the end, with the fans supporting the outsider team, as they were sort of underdogs and are also aligned with Jr. Sekigun after betraying CTU earlier this year. The finish saw TAKA drop Gedo with his Michinoku Driver II and Togo follow with a diving senton for the three count! The prestigious IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title has new champions at last, Togo & TAKA the 18th generation kings. Jado & Gedo are now left with only their IJ Tag Team Title, and DRAGON GATE will want to change that soon if they keep throwing challengers at the famous tandem. TAKA said that in honesty, he didn't think he and Togo could beat Jado & Gedo twice in a row (they won a non-title match on the 3/6 Korakuen show to earn today's shot), and said he's always yearned to win an IWGP belt, as they are so valuable. He said he had learned so much about pro wrestling from today's opponents and said "Thank you Mr. Akiyoshi and Mr. Takayama", using their real names. They are looking forward to defending against New Japan teams, but also want to raise the title's value by defending it around Japan. Like Koshinaka, 2007 has been a big year for another veteran so far: Takashi Iizuka. Unable to find the form that took him a whisker away from the IWGP Heavyweight Title in 2000 and made him a Tokyo Dome hero when he choked out Kazunari Murakami repeatedly there, Iizuka had sunk down the card in recent years, but has returned to some prominence recently, if not quite the same as seven years ago. Iizuka has his first IWGP shot in a long time tomorrow, and showed why he and Nagata are challenging Bernard & Tomko when he and Nakanishi defeating 2006 G1 Tag League winners, Chono & Nakamura. This was Chono's return after missing the April series(x2) due to the death of his mother-in-law, and he tapped out instantly when taken down into Iizuka's cross kneelock! Iizuka said his feeling is "MAX!" going into tomorrow's match, and is 100% confident of title capture from the American giants. Choshu and Yano continued their feud in an undercard match, and when interviewed after the match, it was suggested to Choshu that Yano was deliberately trying to anger him. Choshu said Yano can keep testing his patience, but if he keeps it up, there will be major retaliation.

After today's fourth match, there was some discussion of note between the losing GBH team. Ishii warned Honma that his weakness was hindering GBH, and Makabe told him to be prepared (for a beating from them?). Ishii then declared that GBH would establish an IWGP monopoly soon, and may also target other promotions' titles. Honma was finally allowed to speak, saying "Tomorrow, tomorrow! By the end of tomorrow, they will decide to let me in GBH! Watch tomorrow and find out!". CTU's Irish disciple, Prince Devitt, returned to action after suffering a bad injury on the first tour of 2007. He wore a new black costume and picked up where he left off, looking sharp. He made the difference and helped overturn some recent woes for CTU against Samurai Gym, debuting a new finisher called the Devitt Destroyer (some sort of modified powerbomb) on Taguchi for the win. Devitt trampled the stolen Samurai Gym signboard with Minoru and Liger after the match. Backstage, Samurai Gym had a conversation, Yujiro begging the leader to send him after Minoru and regain the signboard. Samurai said it might be Taguchi's turn, but Yujiro persisted and won over Samurai. As such, Yujiro will be granted a singles match with Minoru on the next tour, but whether he's given a chance at the title as well as the signboard is another question. Shortly before his one year anniversary as a wrestler (end of May), Tetsuya Naito again showed why he's a young lion phenom today, with a great performance when teaming with Tiger Mask against Kanemoto & Wataru. Naito's endurance and fighting spirit won the heart of Korakuen, but he eventually tapped out to the Triangle Lancer. Tiger Mask said he felt today's match was Naito's best so far, then discussed his excursion to America. He complained a little about the NWA's attitude, saying they will force him to defend the title around four times if he retains in each match, and thinks they badly want the title off him. He promised to do his best and bring the title back to Japan with him. Don Arakawa, who animated New Japan's opening matches in the early days, returned to his old haunt as part of a special two match series against today's young lions. His first opponent was former amaresu star, Mitsuhide Hirasawa, and Arakawa controlled the pace, charming the fans who loved his antics. Arakawa won in humorous fashion with a backslide, and an unhappy Hirasawa stomped him after the match, until the old timer escaped. Arakawa said it was the "highest feeling" to return to New Japan for the first time in 18 years. He sees great potential in Hirasawa, but thinks he needs to add about 10kg to become stronger.

NJPW, 5/2/07 (WPW)

Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. 35th Anniversary Match I ~ Young Lion vs. Rikidozan Zenza: Don Arakawa beat Mitsuhide Hirasawa (6:41) with a backslide.

2. Jr. Special Tag: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue beat Tiger Mask & Tetsuya Naito (14:42) when Inoue used the Triangle Lancer on Naito.

3. Samurai Gym vs. CTU: Minoru, Jushin Thunder Liger & Prince Devitt beat El Samurai, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yujiro (14:02) when Devitt used the Devitt Destroyer on Taguchi.

4. BLACK vs. GBH: Giant Bernard, Travis Tomko & Black Strong Machine beat Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii & Tomoaki Honma (10:59) when Tomko pinned Honma after the Magic Killer.

5. Riki Pro vs. GBH: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Toru Yano beat Riki Choshu & Takashi Uwano (8:57) when Tenzan used the TTD on Uwano.

6. New Japan vs. BLACK: Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka beat Masahiro Chono & Shinsuke Nakamura (13:20) when Iizuka used a cross kneelock on Chono.

7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku Kaientai Dojo beat Jado & Gedo © (19:57) when Togo used a diving senton on Gedo to become the 18th champions.

8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata © beat Shiro Koshinaka (14:11) with a backdrop hold (1st defense).

Всичко звучи идеално. Новите шампиони определено са изненада, но приятна изненада. Това шоу вероятно ще си го свалям цялото.

[Big Evil]

оле... Дик Того и ТАКА са отново в атака! All hail Kaientai Ето на това викам марк аут!