Puroresu Pulse, issue 54

Archive

My condolences to the family of Victor “Black Cat” Mar, who died suddenly of a heart attack on Saturday. Though he wasn’t known as a great wrestler, he was a quality human being and a family man who loved the business and contributed greatly to it. He was a liaison between wrestlers and promotions around the world thanks to his knowledge of the three key languages in wrestling (Japanese, English & Spanish). When I spoke to him briefly in Japan he was amazingly courteous, especially for someone who would soon be needed in the ring to ref a match. He was training for an in-ring return, even though it would have meant a small pay increase (if any) and the same menial undercard work as before. Such was his dedication. Victor is the sort of man who toils behind the scenes to make things work, and like so many in his position he never asked for much in return. He’ll be genuinely missed by all who worked with him. Vaya con dios, Victor.

Section 1- Results

Dragon Gate: Anthony W. Mori got a big fall on Magnitude in an impromptu Captains Fall match on Friday, winning with a triangle choke that caused ‘dislocated shoulder’ (not really). Following Mori’s cradle win in the December tournament this sets up a Mori vs Magnitude title match on the 11th.

Section 2- News

Korakuen 2: The building will open in 2008 and will be about 1,000 seats bigger than Korakuen. It will be called ‘Meets Port’, which is about the least badass name I can imagine. Then again Korakuen might mean ‘spring breeze’ for all I know.

New Japan: Tatsutoshi Goto is gone, with Hiro Saito likely joining him. Wataru Inoue is probably gone, along with Nagai. Both of the ring announcers, including long-time icon Hidekazu Tanaka (shortish guy with glasses), are gone, with rumors that Tanaka will start a new promotion. Other office workers left with Tanaka. Minoru Tanaka and El Samurai are staying. Riki Choshu-related indy wrestlers like Ishii, Uwano and the FMW-spawned ‘Apache Army’ are filling in card spots as expected because there aren’t enough contracted New Japan wrestlers to do so. Akebono has been brought in (aren’t they cutting costs?!) for the tour.

The tour’s big matches have been hastily announced. Tanahashi defends the U-30 title against heavily-pushed young lion Yamamoto on the 12th. Booked for Sunday’s show are Nakamura vs Tanahashi, Chono & Tenzan vs Choshu & Akebono, and the New Japan debut of Albert. Booked for the 2/19 Sumo Hall show are Lesnar & Nakamura vs Akebono & Choshu, Nagata vs Tanahashi, Chono & Tenzan vs Albert & Nakanishi, Black Tiger vs Tiger Mask, and a junior tag title match of Minoru Tanaka & Hirooki Goto vs Ishii & Taguchi. The tag main event could be a big seller, but then again it might not. I can understand betting the proverbial pot on it.

NOAH: They announced the creation of ‘Shem’, a new promotion based around juniors, young lions and outsiders. It will likely be an irregular thing akin to BIG MOUTH or Kings Road, but it could produce quality matches thanks to the presence of KENTA, Marufuji, and the Kensuke Office crew.

Section 3- Random Things

A. I got a chance to watch ROH’s ‘Straight Shootin with Liger’, and a couple things struck me. First, Liger was very kayfabed, taking about matches in terms of his performance and not wanting to badmouth anyone. Second, Liger’s translator was Simon Inoki, and that meant hearing a three-way conversation with Liger, current New Japan head Simon, and The Gabe. If you ever have a chance to talk to Simon (hint: you won’t) don’t hesitate to speak English because he’s as much a product of America as Japan.

B. I received an email from Pulse writer Phil Clark correcting something I said in the Akiyama rant. According to Meltzer, the correct attendance for NOAH’s 2004 dome show was closer to 37,000 paid instead of the 20,000 I listed. That makes sense considering how loaded the card was. However it was still viewed as a sign of Akiyama’s weakness that he couldn’t do better with the strongest undercard in the history of NOAH and maybe even All Japan as well.

Section 4- ‘New Japan in crisis’ is getting old but it’s still happening

All Japan survived the cracking open of its world five and a half years ago, but it was never the same. New Japan’s situation over the same time period is about equivalent, albeit in phases. As I’ve discussed many times they’ve lost an assortment of wrestlers over the years, from young lions to old stalwarts to hot stars to main-eventers. The problem now is that they don’t have the depth in any area to shake off losses like they used to, as evidenced by new regulars like Badboy HIDO who wouldn’t get the time of day before.

I’m not about to say that losing Goto, Saito, Nishimura, Yoshie, Nagao, Naruse, Kakihara, Takemura, Anzawa, Yanagisawa and potentially Kanemoto, Nagai and Wataru Inoue will mean the end of New Japan any time soon. A promotion with Chono, Tenzan, Nagata, Liger, Choshu, Nakamura, Tanahashi, Nakanishi and (when he appears) Lesnar simply cannot go out of business in today’s Japan.

What I am saying is that when you take into consideration the loss of Tanaka (lead announcer), Black Cat (a main ref) and several office/arena workers, losing half of the undercard is a lot more than just a talent issue. It’s a sign of a ship that’s taking on water. New Japan hasn’t sold out Korakuen since June (and that was with the Best of the Super Junior tournament final). They have a champion who doesn’t tour, again. Their main feuds are with small indies, and those feuds are done as much to fill empty card space as sell tickets. Top names not under contract to All Japan, K-1, NOAH or PRIDE would rather have the freedom of freelancing than a New Japan deal. Even the potential of mega-matches with BIG MOUTH-affiliated names like Maeda and Funaki has fallen through.

All Japan was able to fill Korakuen and the Budokan even with a gutted roster in late 2000 due to Tenryu’s return, the New Japan feud and the return of a main event level Kawada. On paper they were in worse shape but they did much better than New Japan is currently. If things keep going like this (especially with rumors of a Tanaka or Fujinami promotion), by year’s end New Japan could be a TNA to NOAH’s WWE rather than a WWF vs WCW-like peer. When you consider that NOAH wasn’t recognized as the top dog until last July’s dome show… that’s quite a ways to fall.