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Post by floydthebarber on Mar 21, 2006 0:31:37 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar (c) defended his IWGP Title against former Sumo legend Akebono in a tough match, but was able to DDT the big man for the 1...2...3. However, if not for an injured ref, and some 'dirty tricks' by Brock he may have lost...so a rematch may be in the works down the line. Also of note, Tanahashi continued his great form, and Giant Bernard defeated long time Japan 'foreign monster' Scott Norton in a battle of the big men.
NJPW, 3/19/06 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
7,500 Fans
1. Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii beat Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka (9:08) when Ishii used a brainbuster on Iizuka.
2. Minoru & Hirooki Goto beat Tiger Mask & Yujiro (14:29) when Goto used the Jigoku Guruma on Yujiro.
3. Elimination Match: Kintaro Kanemura, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, BADBOY Hido & GENTARO beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Black Tiger, Jado & Gedo (13:52). Liger threw Hido out of the ring (3:30). Liger fell out of the ring (3:32). Kuroda used a lariat on Gedo (5:28). Tiger used a tombstone piledriver on Kuroda (10:33). Kanemura used a diving senton on Tiger (12:01). Jado used the Crossface of JADO on Kanemura (13:31). GENTARO pinned Jado after a chairshot from the outside (13:52).
4. Monster Battle - Japanese Edition: Togi Makabe beat Toru Yano (10:55) with a piledriver.
5. Monster Battle - U.S. Edition: Giant Bernard beat Scott Norton (13:30) with a lariat.
6. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title: El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) beat Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue (19:53) when Samurai used the Samurai clutch on Kanemoto (1st defense).
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Kazushi Miyamoto (13:34) with a Dragon suplex hold.
8. IWGP Tag Team Title: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan (c) beat Yuji Nagata & Naofumi Yamamoto (23:07) when Chono used a Shining Yakuza kick on Yamamoto (3rd defense).
9. IWGP Heavyweight Title: Brock Lesnar (c) beat Akebono (10:35) with a DDT (2nd defense).
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Post by LWPD on Mar 21, 2006 9:58:24 GMT -5
Akebono is horrible in the ring....but is a massive native draw due to his Sumo track record. I wonder how well the show drew (not including comps).
A Train has really come into his own overseas. I think Vince will eventually open the door for him again.
Like Watching Paint Dry (who remembers a time when New Japan was putting out some of the best wrestling in the world...and had the revenue levels to match)
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hawk
Prelim Bum
Posts: 12
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Post by hawk on Mar 21, 2006 14:51:35 GMT -5
For his lack of skill, and training, Akebono's downright GOOD given what he has to work with. There are way worse wrestlers out there that have trained for years. Dude's gotten a grand total of like...four days to completely train just for wrestling.
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Post by pikemojo on Mar 21, 2006 15:48:59 GMT -5
I have only seen one Akebono match and it was completely aweful. I am sure he is getting better and I really hope that he is able to bring up the popularity of pro wrestling in Japan again.
I really want to see Norton vs. Bernard. I am a big fan of both of them. Since when is Bernard in New Japan though? He had been with All Japan for as long as I could remember.
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hawk
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Post by hawk on Mar 21, 2006 16:17:40 GMT -5
I've seen Vs. Muta, and several tags. Akebono was passible in all of them.
Theres a difference between being passible/bad, where Akebono is at, and being godawfully bad that you make the watcher wanna burn his eyeballs out, which is where someone like Giant Gonzalez was at. ... Or Giant Singh, who WWE signed. He killed someone by messing up a move.
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Post by LWPD on Mar 26, 2006 18:44:27 GMT -5
Courtesy of WON
"NJPW drew disastrously in Sumo Hall Show on 3/19. The crowd was barely 4,500, but was announced at 7,500. Akebono vs. Lesnar was not received well. The whole buildup to the show was whether or not Lesnar could get Ake up for F5. Lesnar went for it early, but Ake hit a back suplex to block it. The rest of the match went okay, but the crowd wasn't into it, and in the end, Lesnar blocked Ake's low-chokeslam (nodowa), and then hit a DDT for the pin, deflating the crowd."
Like Watching Paint Dry (so much for the theory that Lesnar was a 'draw' who could turn around New Japan's fortunes)
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Post by floydthebarber on Mar 26, 2006 20:47:59 GMT -5
I guess the wrestling slump isn't unique to North America. Granted, New Japan is only a few months into a 'sea change' of sorts, but still...Brock v. Akebono should have been a bigger draw...but not having Brock on tour as well as questionable promotion isn't going to help them get over the hump. They may be better off focusing on the Junior division and what IS working for them...but I think they need to use Brock better.
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hawk
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Post by hawk on Mar 27, 2006 20:48:49 GMT -5
New Japan is just a mess...I think booking wise, their doing smart things, but it's just too late. I have the 1/4 Tokyo Dome Show, and it's actually a good show. I had heard horror stories, but it was far from a bad show.
There are only about two major promotions doing good. NOAH is still drawing great with their old style booking, and Dragon Gate is probably the uncontested #3 promotion now, despite being so criminally overlooked.
New Japan needs a good year or two of strong booking, and strong ownership to get out of this, and knowing their habits, that'll never happen.
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Post by STEVIE~! on Mar 29, 2006 6:05:00 GMT -5
Having just seen the match, I have a very mixed opinion on it.
First off, it's far from the worst match I've ever seen in New Japan. It wasn't even a BAD match. Not great, but passable. You sort of know what to expect when you're watching an Akebono match. You can either bitch about it, or just accept what he can do. Thankfully, the couple of things he does know, he can do somewhat decently.
The match was okay, but simply not up to par of a main event title match. Plus, New Japan took a BIG risk by using Americanized booking in Tokyo (Where they have lost so much credibility over the past few years due to terrible booking.), They booked a ref bump as Lesnar pulled referee Tiger Hattori into the corner as Akebono came crashing in, and then had Lesnar cork Akebono with the belt for a near fall. (Both of which are rarely seen in New Japan main events.)
It's clear that they're booking Lesnar as a cut throat heel who will do absolutely anything to win... I know this because in the post match interview, he declared he'd do absolutely anything to win... A reporter brought up Hiroshi Tanahashi's name as a potentional challenger, causing Brock to flip out and trash the conference room.
Like I said, not a bad match... Just not up to par. Risky booking in a building where attendence is rapidly falling.
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Post by LWPD on Mar 30, 2006 7:35:50 GMT -5
Brock Lesnar vs. Akebono tinyurl.com/j7e84I wonder how much Brock is getting paid per appearance with such little in the way of revenue being drawn with him working as the headliner.
Like Watching Paint Dry (who remembers top NJPW programs like Inoki/Brisco, Maeda/Fujinami and the Chono/Hashimoto/Muta triumvirate all bringing in packed houses....today you get Lesnar/Akebono  )
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