NJPW 7/18/05 Results

And on the other side of the puroresu spectrum we have New Japan's big Green (ironic ain't it?) Dome show going up against NOAH's Tokyo Dome show. It was said to be a good show despite the less than half attendance (everyone was at the Tokyo Dome), but he big surprise came at the end of the show as once again Hiroyoshi Tenzan had his legs cut out from under him as he lost the IWGP title AGAIN, this time to Kazuyuki Fujita. I don't really give a flying f*ck about what people say about Fujita being the better man than Tenzan to be champion as he "best represents Toukon and Strong Style" and all that other Inoki brainstew hogwash. Remember, like all those guys released or buried by WWE, a wrestler can only be as good and go as far as he is is booked. In Tenzan's case, it's pretty obvious now he's the belt warmer for whoever NJPW wants to give the belt too as they see fit. For all the NJPW fans or marks who think all of Fujita's past antics of threatening to boycott shows and even showing no interest in wrestling (including both other times he was IWGP champion), let me remind you of that fraud of a match on 10/09/04 where he was pinned by Kensuke Sasaki in under THREE MINUTES in a fluke pinfall instead of putting on the competative bout everyone was expecting. Everyone praises him for his good work when he's on the winning side, yet are always optimistic when he takes a loss without putting over his opponent like Sasaki. "Pro Wrestlers Be Strongest" indeed.

NJPW Summer Fight Series 7/18/05
Tsukisamu Green Dome
3,500 Fans
1. Toru Yano beat Hiroshi Nagao (5:29) with a single-leg crab hold.
2. Togi Makabe beat Masayuki Naruse (11:03) with a lariat.
3. Masked CTU-MZ, Masked CTU-L, Masked CTU-J & Masked CTU-G beat Tatsutoshi Goto, Masahito Kakihara, Naofumi Yamamoto & Yujiro (16:12) when CTU-MZ used a senton bomb on Yujiro.
4. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: Minoru & Hirooki Goto (c) beat Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai (23:51) when Minoru used a cross armbreaker on Samurai (1st defense).
5. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title: Tiger Mask (c) beat Dick Togo (15:54) with a Tiger suplex hold (3rd defense).
6. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Kendo Kashin beat Takashi Iizuka, Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura (15:41) when Nakanishi used the Hercules Cutter on Iizuka.
7. Tatsumi Fujinami & Osamu Nishimura beat Masahiro Chono & Ron Waterman (11:08) when Fujinami used a reverse cradle on Chono.
8. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuyuki Fujita beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) (13:59) with a knee kick to become the 42nd champion.

If I were Hiroyoshi Tenzan, I'd consider leaving in January when contract renagotiations come up, cause company loyalty can only go so far. Just look at Misawa and Co. when they left AJPW and formed NOAH. It was all for the better for them. And more recently, even Toshiaki Kawada went freelance after literally carrying Mutoh's AJPW on his back for 4+ years.
I really had hope for New Japan this year when they caught my interest with the double title match back in February, but then they sort of pissed it away having Tenzan beat Kojima for the IWGP title in just 19 minutes after going almost 60 in their February match. Even more of an insult is Tenzan only barely lasting 14 minutes against Fujita as they had him KO'd to further cement Fujita as a "legitimate" fighter. What now for Tenzan? Oh, he'll probably rebuild himself AGAIN, learn a new move AGAIN, win the G-1 AGAIN, and NJPW will give him another shitty title run, AGAIN. Of course by the time that happens, the fans would have lost all faith in Tenzan since he can't hold a firm grip on the IWGP title. Here's a guy who's had FOUR title reigns in a span of 18 months and just TWO successful defences to show for it, and Minoru Suzuki and Scott Norton can't be considered threatening opponents. Kensuke Sasaki even managed to tie that number of defences in just TWO MONTHS on his fifth reign as champion.

So for now, I've probably given up all hope of NJPW ever winning me over as a full time fan. WWE's booking is weird at times, but New Japan seems to be about on the same ship when it comes to handling it's talent. If Brock Lesnar returns and instantly wins the WWE/World Title on his first attempt after screwig the company over last year, I'd defintely say McMahon and Inoki are drinking the same Cool-Aide.