The Reality of Wrestling: New Japan Pro Wrestling
By Phil Clark & Mike Campbell
Well, this week I decided to take off from the awards and go to something a little more personal. For a while now, I’ve been a fan of the puroresu scene. For those of you who don’t know, puroresu means pro wrestling in Japan. I’ve been a fan of it and have wanted to do an installment of “The Reality of Wrestling” for a while, so I got some help from one of my favorite wrestling reviewers, Mike Campbell. Mike was all too willing to do the article as he enjoys ranting and raving about one Japanese wrestling organization in particular: New Japan Pro Wrestling. New Japan has fallen into a WWE-like slump creatively and financially as of the last couple of years, and since their annual January 4th Tokyo Dome show just passed, it all fits. The future of New Japan is very much in doubt as of late with different promoters, owners, etc. coming into play, so here’s our take.
M.C. Says: he’s not sure where New Japan will end up
First off I’d like to thank Phil for giving me a forum for this bit of venting, as well as asking me to contribute to his column. And people think that 411 and Inside Pulse hate each other.
The beginning of the year is usually a fun time to be a wrestling fan. The Road to WrestleMania starts at the Royal Rumble. Taking a look at the fallout from Starrcade, and being impressed/horrified at exactly how WCW was able to screw up such an obvious moneymaking angle. For fans on the other side of the Pacific it’s no different. Ever since 1992 New Japan has held their biggest show of the year on January 4. Unfortunately New Japan isn’t exactly a bed of roses right now. Things do appear to be looking up for them with Riki Chosyu booking for them again. Chosyu was the man in power during the 1990’s when NJPW was seemingly untouchable as the best promotion ever. In the last few years a lot has gone on, and Chosyu-san is going to have his work cut out for him.
Before we look at the past, and to the future, let’s look at the present. The attendance to this year’s 1/4 show was listed as 43,000 and if you’re not familiar with wrestling promoters, here’s a scoop . . . they lie. Actual attendance is said to be in the 25-30,000 range. Which is about half full, which isn’t too terrible considering some of their other bombs, but it’s not too terribly impressive when you consider that NOAH put a legit 50,000 in the same building about six months ago. The results aren’t too surprising, except for Manabu Nakanishi jobbing to Giant Bernard (you know him at A-Train, The Hip Hop Hippo, etc.) just after jobbing to Brock Lesnar last month. But that’s not shocking either, because Nakanishi is one of the most erratically booked wrestlers on the whole roster. Brock Lesnar retaining the title over Nakamura was expected, but doing so in less than ten minutes doesn’t say a whole lot about Nakamura (who is one of New Japan’s top prospects for future stars).
Now I’ve not seen any of the matches, so I can’t say for certain what was good and what wasn’t. But I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that it looks like a fun at times show. Undercard matches like Ohtani vs. Kanemoto, the twelve-man tag, Ryouji Sai vs. Naofumi Yamamoto, and the obligatory junior tag match all looks like they could be fun. Plus some of the higher profile stuff looks entertaining; Lesnar vs. Nakamura, and Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata both are examples of that. Now a card stacked up like this back in the 1990’s would probably get ripped to shreds. How did New Japan go from the greatest promotion in the world, to having a card like that half fills the Tokyo Dome, be praised as a success? Well if I was to go over every aspect of that and all the history, this would turn into something akin to The Death of WCW. And I don’t want to write all that, and I’m sure Phil wouldn’t want me to turn his column into my personal soapbox.
The problems lie in two main areas, shooters and the IWGP Title. If you don’t know about Antonio Inoki, he’s got this fetish with legit fighters. During Inoki’s heyday he’d take on legit fighters in what he called Different Style Fights to prove that Pro Wrestling was the strongest style of fighting. Ever hear about Inoki vs. Muhammad Ali from 1976? That’s an example of that. Now that Inoki can’t do that himself, he brings in MMA fighters to NJPW and sends NJPW wrestlers to K1 and PRIDE. The shooters run roughshod over the wrestlers, usually have horrible matches, and nothing good ever comes out of it. The only wrestler who seemed to have any success in shoots was Nakamura, and it’s done nothing for him in terms of drawing power. Yuji Nagata’s lack of success however certainly did affect his drawing power. Even Shinya Hashimoto, the top draw of the 1990’s had his drawing power killed off by losses to Judo Champion Naoya Ogawa.
Of course, Inoki has no more power in New Japan. YUKES (a video game company) now own the majority of the promotion. Chosyu also certainly doesn’t share Inoki’s shooter craze, so the odds of seeing any more fighters from PRIDE or K1 in New Japan, seeing New Japan wrestlers in PRIDE and K1, or see MMA fights on New Japan shows, are very slim.
The IWGP Heavyweight Title has been very badly booked in the last couple of years. Consider that from 2000 until the end of 2003, there were nine title changes. In 2004 alone there were six, and another four in 2005. Here’s a quick recap of the title’s activity since 2004.
Shinsuke Nakamura: Vacates in January 2004 due to injury.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan: 2/15/04 -3/12/04
Kensuke Sasaki: 3/12/04 – 3/28/04
Bob Sapp: 3/28/04 – May 2004 (vacated)
Kazuyuki Fujita: 6/5/04 – 10/9/04
Kensuke Sasaki: 10/9/04 – 12/12/04
Hiroyoshi Tenzan: 12/12/04 – 2/20/05
Satoshi Kojima: 2/20/05 – 5/14/05
Hiroyoshi Tenzan: 5/14/05 – 7/18/05
Kazuyuki Fujita: 7/18/05 – 10/8/05
Brock Lesnar: 10/8/05 – Current
Only Fujita and Sapp really had decent length runs with the title, and neither of which worked tours, and drew big houses. Sapp’s lone headline of Dome show was one of the most embarrassing Dome shows ever, both from a wrestling standpoint and an attendance standpoint. Fujita has held the title three times and only lost the title in the ring once (10/9/04) and it was a case of him laying down for Sasaki rather than an actual match. Yuji Nagata and Hiroyoshi Tenzan both seemed like the obvious choices to carry the title into the next millennium. Nagata’s lack of success in shoots killed his drawing power, despite holding the title for over a year, and setting the defense record. When Tenzan got the title in 2003, it seemed like he was finally breaking out of Chono’s shadow, but the booking of him has stuck him with the choker label. Kojima’s run actually unified the title with All Japan’s Triple Crown title, and should have made Kojima a superstar as well as the man who beat him. But Kojima did nothing with the title, and lost it back less than three months later to the man who he took it from in the first place.
The usual answer to a monster gaijin or outsider champion like Fujita, Sapp, and now Brock, is to give whoever takes the title off him a big rub. Fujita’s three runs never had that happen, nor did Sapp’s time with the title. Brock is a different story, as he is a pro wrestler first and foremost, and not an MMA Fighter. Brock shouldn’t have any problems with laying down when he’s told, and for whom he’s told. Brock is also their best choice for a current champion, Tenzan, Nagata, and Nakanishi have all been irreparably damaged by the horrible booking and shoot fighting nonsense, the next generation of wrestlers like Tanahashi and Nakamura aren’t yet ready, and Chono is far too broken down.
New Japan has also relied very heavily on outsider participation in the last few years, with wrestlers from NOAH, All Japan, Zero One, K1, and Big Mouth Loud, all making appearances. Nothing wrong with a little cross promotion, but New Japan mostly got raked over the coals in terms of who benefited. Outsiders went over NJPW wrestlers on New Japan shows, and NJPW wrestlers jobbed on outsider shows. Chosyu is also planning on ending outsider relations for the time being, as well as a little housecleaning to remove some of the dead weight from the roster. Which can only be a good thing for them.
Can New Japan return to their old ways of being the best promotion ever? Who knows? Chosyu was the man who led them to prominence before, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. Look at what putting the WWF Title on Hogan did in 2002. All that can be said for now is to keep an eye on NJPW in the next few months, if nothing else, it’s sure to be interesting.
P.C. Says: a better T.V. deal means better things for New Japan
In the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, Tommy Dreamer said, “You can have the best product out there, but if no one knows where you are, they’re not going to watch.” This quote was directed towards ECW in the late-90’s, but it is right on the money in regards to New Japan right now. While New Japan isn’t the best product out there or even in Japan (NOAH takes that title), they still have their good days. However, too many people aren’t really seeing those good days. As of right now, New Japan has slots on three different networks in Japan, but is being aired at 3 a.m. minus their live slot for last week’s Tokyo Dome show. This is a recipe for doom in a place like Japan where just about everything in wrestling and MMA is ratings orientated since the turn of the century. If a match can bring in a big quarter-hour rating, it will get bigger billing even if it won’t be well received by the live crowd or doesn’t deserve that spot on the card.
The product itself isn’t that bad, but there has been irreparable damage done to some of the major stars in the promotion. Such stars include Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Manabu Nakanishi. However, these three (Nagata & Tenzan in particular) still have something to contribute in the ring and in angles with the return (apparently) of KILLER NAGATA! In other words, these are two of the guys that should be putting over the young guns in the mid-card in big feuds. Not only that, but also these guys can still help an attendance in the mid-card. That same should go to some of the old-timer’s like Chono who’s just been taking up space during the last year with his HHH-like run that’s gone nowhere. This should be a year where the younger guys like Tanahashi, Nakamura, Shibata, Murakami, etc. get their first really, REALLY big pushes, but instead this is the year where the product should (for better or worse) be centered around them because they are the future of the promotion.
Plus, New Japan does have Brock Lesnar. When it comes down to it, any success the promotion is going to have this year and probably next year in terms of the big shows may rely solely on Lesnar’s drawing power in Japan. This can work in New Japan’s favor if they will stop having Brock do Bob Sapp length matches and let Brock be the multi-talented wrestler that he is. With Brock, there are countless possibilities for what they can do with him. We all know that the 2/19 Sumo Hall title defense for Lesnar will be against either Fujita or A-Train. That one will need something in the undercard to help it sell-out. From there, you could have Brock go through the more established men of New Japan. Think about that: Brock/Chono, Brock/Tenzan, Brock/Nagata in an actual important match with build to it. I doubt they’ll have Brock defend the belt every week, so this should lead into summer. In honor of that, I’m saying that Tanahashi wins the G-1, but loses to Brock in a title match in September. Hell, if they could somehow swing it for Brock to defend on NOAH’s Tokyo Dome show (they like outsiders) against someone big say Taue or maybe (god willing) Kobashi, that would definitely help his drawing power in a big, big way. For October, if New Japan runs a Sumo Hall show, I think there’s no doubt that a Brock/Sasaki dream match could mean a sell-out. Also, at some point, I wouldâ€â€Âand I’m sure it would be well received in Japanâ€â€Âlike to see Brock/Nishimura because it would allow Brock to get on the mat the same way a match with Nishimura allowed Takayama to in the G-1 tournament back in 2002. And finally, the Lesnar/Kawada dream match. That’s right, I said it, and I want to see it happen. Trust me, if Choshu has anything left in the tank booking-wise, he will have Lesnar keep the belt through the year and have him and Kawada main-event next year’s 1/4 Tokyo Dome show (if there is one). That is a match that has money written all over it.
I also think that recent changes point to a sort-of renaissance for New Japan. The Yukes takeover, Choshu becoming booker, and the Inoki Office crumbling all point to a sense of stability in New Japan. Choshu was a very competent booker in the 90’s and has shown that he wants to bring New Japan back to the glory days. The one problem with Choshu’s approach is the lack of outside participation. Outsiders are what helps big shows seem bigger and what does that do with the TNA “talent exchange”? However, the Yukes takeover also ensures that the Inoki madness that dominated 2004 and 2005 should be over (at least when it comes to messing up New Japan’s booking plans). I think that all of these things do end up creating a positive for New Japan and instead of going in several different directions creatively like they’ve been going the last two years; they may have one set path in mind.
Now, I’m not on top of things in Japan like Mike is, but I do believe that New Japan has the tools to re-build. The only reason All Japan couldn’t after they lost their deal with Nippon TV back in 2000 was because they didn’t have the talent to and the deal with New Japan didn’t last long enough. New Japan has the talent throughout the promotion to produce solid cards. They have two MONSTER gaijin’s that should help things out, especially with one as champ, and they have one of the smarter bookers in the industry’s history. But, without T.V., it’ll be all for naught because, like the old axiom says, “if a tree falls in the woods and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?”
The Reality is…the wrestling industry in Japan is hurting right now. With NOAH’s Tokyo Dome outing being one of the few bright spots of last year, the people are looking for something to get them back into the events that they flocked to and in some cases, still do. The main problem is that the old guard from the 90’s botched it when it came to creating new stars as guys like Nagata, Tenzan, and Akiyama should be the next incarnations of guys like Muto, Chono, and Misawa, but instead are just case examples of misusage in the wrestling business. Ironically at this point, the one man who still has enough drawing power to help save the Tokyo Dome business as a whole in Japan is a member of the old guard. His name: Toshiaki Kawada.
