Section 1- Results
Dragon Gate: Yoshino defended the Brave Gate title on Tuesday against Mori.
New Japan: Tenzan beat Chono at Sunday’s show, and they were both split up and stripped of the tag titles. Nakamura made an appearance, saving Chono from a Tenzan post-match attack. Tanahashi beat Kanemoto, and Tiger Mask retained his NWA junior title against Taguchi. Chono ‘attacked’ Simon Inoki at the show.
Section 2- News
All Japan: The next Triple Crown match will take place on 10/29 in the Fukuoka International Center, which is the largest non-Tokyo venue the company has booked in years. Sasaki is lining up for a Triple Crown challenge upon his return. He and Suzuki had an IWGP title match in late 2004, a match that was teased for some time beforehand. Now of course they’re part of the freelancer movement. NOSAWA plans not only to get a junior title shot against Kondo, but also to run a NOSAWA Genome show on 11/8. Chances of NOSAWA getting a card that actually takes place and doesn’t change a lot beforehand: almost 100%. Chances of the same for Inoki Genome: almost 0%.
Angle: “What will keep Angle out of Japan isn’t a Japanese fear of his health, or a fear of a Lesnar repeat; it will be cold hard cash.” — issue 82. That seems to be the case. Angle isn’t barred from competing in Japan, but it’s a heck of a lot less likely now and Japan tours are 100% out. If Angle has any sense left he’ll stick to TNA’s lighter schedule.
Dragon Gate: The 6-man titles will be defended on Saturday, a rematch of the tournament final (CIMA/Hulk/Evans vs Saito/Genki/Dragon Kid). Fujii will face no less than Kevin Steen on 10/22, the winner to get a shot at Yokosuka on 11/23. I think Yokosuka vs Steen would make my head explode. A Yoshino vs Mori rematch will happen on Sunday since the first match had some heel screwiness.
Great Sasuke: Michinoku Pro owner, junior-division legend and skull-cracking eccentric Great Sasuke is planning a mask vs mask match with Dos Caras, which is to say, Sasuke plans to unmask. The reason is that he plans to run for a seat in the Japanese Diet, and unlike his seat on the local council he wouldn’t be allowed to wear his mask. I bet Dos Caras wouldn’t have to unmask to get into congress in Mexico.
New Japan: Chono and Nakamura will be partners in the G-1 tag league, as well as a match on the 10/9 Sumo Hall show against Choshu & Nakanishi. Tanahashi’s tag league partner will be Kanemoto. The tag title situation is blurry, as there are signals that the Nakanishi/Omori team will bite the dust, but they were named the official champions.
NOAH: The tag titles have been vacated. A tournament will take place, with one set of matches on 10/13 and the rest on the year-end tour. Kobashi has been given the green light to resume weight training. Shiga will defend the openweight title against Kawabata on 10/20 and Meltzer should probably give that MOTY in advance just to be safe.
Section 3- Shills pay bills. Wait no they don’t
My take on an aspect of the Kurt Angle situation.
Phil had problems posting his new article. I hear that, as anyone who tried to follow my ‘links’ last Thursday can attest. He’s also pissed off about the Marufuji and Minoru Suzuki title wins. I hear that too.
Section 4- What’s 200 million yen between friends?
Perhaps at some point in the future, a Japanese wrestling promotion will go public. Somehow I very much doubt that, even if one were in a position to do so. For one thing none are in the position WWF/WWE was, using the IPO to generate cash to better expand its moneymaking operations worldwide. Puro doesn’t have a significant market outside Japan, it isn’t about to start on ambitious projects like movies, and so forth. For another, going public can expose the dirty little details that promotions would rather keep quiet. New Japan didn’t go public, but its details were dragged into the light when it was purchased by video game maker Yukes, a public corporation. Details like 200 million yen, or 1.8 million US, or 1.3 million Euros in loss for Shin Nihon Prowres in the last year.
That on top of $100,000 or more per month that Yukes has poured in over the last year to cover expenses. That on top of deep budget cuts each of the last three years, covering the number of wrestlers used and how much they get paid and what venues are used for their matches. Granted, the next fiscal year will have fewer dome shows (0 or 1 versus 2), no Brock Lesnar-sized bungles, and will reflect the big savings that were reaped in the early 2006 contract chaos. However it will also reflect a period that seems certain to have fewer ticket sales, less revenue from television and a roster that contains less-than-cheap names like Chono, Choshu and Akebono. Backstage leaders like Fujinami are gone, harming the nuts-and-bolts operation. Monies poured into ventures like the WrestleLand and Lock-Up projects could return a small profit or could go nowhere. Yukes’ most optimistic forecast is for profitability in 2008. Yukes itself has had its stock price plunge this year.
Into this situation steps the new, bulked-up Shinsuke Nakamura. Four years ago he was the hottest rookie debut New Japan had seen in over a decade. Between 1/4/04 and 1/4/06 he headlined on five of seven dome shows. He’s a former IWGP champion, a former IWGP tag champion, a two-time G-1 semifinalist, and he and Chono have to be the favorites in the G-1 tag tournament. Nakamura has shown flashes of brilliance and is much more likely to be a long-term company leader than previous super-rookies Nakanishi and Fujita turned out to be. With new power, time away from the fans (some of whom resented his hype) and a sense that the Tanahashi project has failed, Nakamura has a lot working in his favor.
He also has a lot working against him. The Japanese wrestling industry as a whole is in decline, so even if he leads New Japan back to the market share it used to enjoy it wouldn’t mean much. The roster is shallower than it used to be. Nakamura often lacks the fire that got fans behind previous Japanese superstars. If he gets handed the IWGP title quickly it could sour fans in a too-much-too-soon way, but yet the company can’t allow him to languish in the midcard right after his big return. Yukes could be pressured to take drastic measures to cut costs, or even to sell its majority stake.
I don’t want to be melodramatic, but the absence of the next breakout superstar in Japan has me scared for the future. In All Japan, Kojima’s reign did plenty for Kojima and next to nothing for the company. In Zero-One, the Sato/Sai/Yokoi group has fizzled. In NOAH, the reigns of Rikio and Akiyama (both of them) fell short of expectations. In New Japan, Shibata has left and Tanahashi lacks a connection with male fans. The ‘old guard’ is worn out physically, has run through most of the dream-match scenarios, and has passed about as many torches as they’re good for. There are three wrestlers out there who I think have a real chance to save Japanese wrestling from a fate of being confined to Korakuen Hall: Shibata (who needs a home), Morishima (who needs a push), and Nakamura. For Nakamura more than the other two the next twelve months will be crucial.
