The Reality of Wrestling: Titles in Japan’s Big 3

The Reality of Wrestling: Titles in Japan’s Big 3
By Phil Clark & Mike Campbell

Don’t worry (seriously), be happy

With Misawa’s two-day trip to ROH and his recent Budokan Hall main-event title defense with Samoa Joe, it seemed like it was time to examine the title situation in the biggest three of Japan’s wrestling promotions—New Japan, All Japan, and NOAH. One would think that it was only in America’s Big Two where weird title bookings and injury-plagued champions have occurred in 2007; this isn’t true. A look through the role call of champions in Japan through this year would show some weird happenings and impromptu bookings the likes of what we have seen with Vince and Vince this year. The job of Black Tiger and myself is to sort out the clutter.

ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING

All Asia Tag Champions: Vacant
M.C.: Well they’ve been dormant for over a year now. The last champions, Sasaki and Nakajima, vacated them on 10/29/06. They’ve got a very rich history in Japan, so I’d hate to seem the simply abolished. For the last few years, they’ve pretty much been used for lower card and younger wrestlers, and I can’t think of a better use for them. With young wrestlers like Suwama, Raijin, Soya, T28, Joe Doering, and veterans like Fuchi, Araya, and Arai, there’s no reason they still need to be missing in action.

P.C.: I couldn’t agree more with Mike on this one as there are plenty of old veterans with no place but the undercard or curtain jerking and plenty of young guys looking to move up. Both of these types of wrestlers need a title and why not this one?

AJPW Tag Champions: Satoshi Kojima & TARU
M.C.: Currently in the possession of TARU and Kojima of the Voodoo Murders, I like where these are at the moment. I don’t like that TARU and Kojima aren’t teaming together in the tag league, nor do I like that the title haven’t been defended since August. But there’s not any real teams to challenge at the moment. The tag league winners will more than likely get a title shot. I don’t think any of the teams really scream out ‘CHAMPIONS’ except for Kawada/Kensuke, who don’t need the win. But that’s how you make stars.

P.C.: I love the fact that the Voodoo Murderers finally have a tag title (why not have “brother” YASSHI and another member of the group take the All-Asia belts?) as they are probably the coolest thing in Japanese wrestling today. While I think Kojima could be better used as a singles wrestler in this fed (as opposed to the TenKoji days), AJPW doesn’t have the deepest tag pool at the moment so having these guys keep the belts until Nakajima comes back or the Kensuke/Kawada superteam challenges for them or something can’t be a bad thing.

AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Vacant
M.C.: Currently vacated after an injury to Nakajima. AJPW’s junior division can be fun, but they’ve not added many people to the division in a while, and like in NOAH, juniors are more used as fall guys in tag matches. Shuji Kondo has shown that he can steal the show in junior matches, but after a 20 month reign, it’s not time for a second. Ryuji Hijikata is experienced and talented enough to hold the title and fend off challengers. I’d personally like to Hijikata get the gold, but you could make a valid argument for pretty much anyone.

P.C.: My guess is that Nakajima/Super King will have a rematch for the belt after the controversial finish to their title match at AJPW’s 35th Anniversary show. However, I do like another possibly for the belt that being that one of the battle royals at AJPW’s New Years Korakuen shows would be for the vacant title. It would be a change of pace and would create a number of new challengers for whomever wins the belt (I’m betting on Nakajima gaining it back).

Triple Crown Champion: Kensuke Sasaki
M.C.: Currently held by Kensuke Sasaki after downing longtime rival Minrou Suzuki. I’m expecting Sasaki to have a long title reign. Who takes the titles from him, I’m not sure yet. Mutoh seems to know his time is past, Kawada finally got the long glorious reign he was always denied, Kea could be built back up, but it’d take lots of work. A Kojima reign as a hell could be what Satoshi needs to finally be accepted as a major player. But it’s too soon to tell.

P.C.: With his win over Kawada, Sasaki doesn’t have a whole lot in the line of challengers. Mutoh lost to Suzuki earlier this year and I’m not seeing another challenge in his future, Nishimura might be a possible challenger for one of the smaller tour ending shows, and it would capitalize on the shock value of his jump. Past that, there isn’t a whole lot as Suwama isn’t a credible challenger yet, Fuchi is too old, and I really would go against Sasaki getting a V2 or V3 win over Kea as they have a chance to rebuild him with a revenge chase against Kojima for putting him out. I’m think Kojima takes the belt back as a heel at the first Sumo Hall show (whenever that is) that AJPW runs next year leading to the Kea/Kojima showdown later next year or in the beginning of ’09.

NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING

IWGP Jr. Tag Champions: Dick Togo & TAKA Michinoku
M.C.: Currently held like the outsider team of TAKA Michinoku and Dick Togo, who’ve been champions for months and haven’t defended the titles in a good long while. Usually that’s an indication of a title change coming soon. They’re being challenged by former champions Gedo and Jado pretty soon. Gedo and Jado already have several title reigns under their belt, I’d rather see ‘The Italy Brothers’ Minoru Tanaka and Milano Collection AT with the gold, but New Japan seems to have bigger plans for Milano.

P.C.: Togo and TAKA winning definitely spiced up a title that has basically been the Jado & Gedo show for the last few years (not that that’s a bad thing). Ironically, it looks like Jado & Gedo will take the belts back this coming weekend at Sumo Hall. Past that, I’m thinking that either Inoue will get revenge on Jado & Gedo for brutalizing him in their Korakuen epic back in 2005 with a partner that could be just about anybody. Filling in some title defenses with outsider teams (Zero-One MAX anyone?) could add something to the titles in preparation for the next change. But I might be getting ahead of myself.

IWGP Tag Champions: Giant Bernard & Tyson Tomko
M.C.: Currently held by the monster gaijin team of Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko, who just proved their dominance by winning the G-1 Tag Leage. Right now I think they’re fine where they are, Bernard and Tomko are frequently touring, so the titles aren’t just in limbo. As to where I think they should go, that’d be to a young gun team. Nakamura and Goto would make a fine team, or NJPW could really put GBH over the to and go with Makabe and Yano, and really make 2007 to be Makabe’s year.

P.C.: This is interesting as Bernard & Tomko have beaten everyone NJPW has thrown at them, and now they don’t have anyone left. ChoTen is dead, TenKoji only reunites for big shows, Nagata & Iizuka had their shot, as did Nagata & Nakanishi. Tanahashi & Nakamura is a possibility, but I wouldn’t hold my breath on it. I’d have to side with Mike on this one as Yano & Makabe after strong years would seem to be a good fit and it would be nice to give Makabe a belt in New Japan. However, if that were to happen, wouldn’t it seem odd for a heel Japanese team to win a major title over a monster foreign team? Maybe it’s just me.

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Rysuke Taguchi
M.C.: Currently held by young gun Ryusuke Taguchi, and being shown as the perfect example of how to get a young gun over the top. Since his title win over Minoru Tanaka, he’s been able to hold back the former champion in a rematch, and two fixtures of the divison, Kanemoto and Tiger Mask. A feud with Wataru Inoue could be on the horizon, as he’s on his way back to NJPW, but for now, I’m content with Taguchi.

P.C.: I have not seen most of Taguchi’s title defenses, but the people seem to have given him their seal of approval and from what I have seen of this guy, he seems fit for the job. Not only that, but he has wins over almost every staple of the jr. division (Tiger Mask, Minoru, Kanemoto) with only Liger remaining. A win there puts this title reign over the top.

IWGP Champion: Hiroshi Tanahashi
M.C.: Currently held by Hiroshi Tanahashi, defeating the man who took it from him in April, Yuji Nagata. Now I’ve got no problem with pushing young guys, as long as they’re ready (a big reason I disliked 2004 NJPW so much, because they weren’t ready). But Tanahashi had a nine-month reign where he was hugely lacking in fan support and overall crediblity. I’m hoping Tanahashi is being better received as champion than last time, but I’d rather Nagata still had the belt until Nakamura (who was supposed to get the win, but became injured), Goto, or Makabe was ready to be champion. But hopefully Tanahashi can prove me wrong.

P.C.: I honestly think that Nagata should still have the belt for two reasons: Nagata/Angle would be a better unification match both qualitatively and financially (plus I did call for it a while back) and Tanahashi got his win back when he beat Nagata for the G-1 (his first and not a bad consolation prize). But New Japan seems content with Tanahashi getting a second reign—most likely to drop it to Nakamura. Tanahashi did silence a lot of critics and won more fan support than most thought he would with his first title reign and with one of his three against Nagata likely to win Tokyo Sports’ match of the year, he does have momentum coming into this one.

PRO WRESTLING NOAH

GHC Hardcore Openweight Champion: Kentaro Shiga & Kishin Kawabata
M.C.: I actually wish NOAH would just seal this title. It started off in 2004 as a cool idea, with special rules, but then they were phased out, and the title became just another title and was more or less forgotten. It was made into a tag title to hopefully draw some interest, which it didn’t, and it’s going back to a singles title, when Kentaro Shiga and Kishin Kawabata have their decision match. It doesn’t seem to serve any real purpose and isn’t needed at all.

P.C.: I really haven’t paid attention to this belt, so I’ll let Mike do all the talking.

GHC Jr. Tag Champions: Kotaro Suzuki & Ricky Marvin
M.C.: They’re currently being held by the young gun team of Ricky Marvin and Kotaro Suzuki, but their reign looks to be ending soon. It’s telling that they have yet to defend the titles against an all NOAH team. NOAH hasn’t been shy about hotshotting the junior titles onto outsiders to build up some interest and with Yoshino and Doi from Dragon Gate challenging yet again, I’m thinking the MO’Z will finally get the job done.

P.C.: I am a fan of both men for their spotfest ability (Marvin especially), but outside of the Dragon Gate feud, these belts haven’t been much since KENTAfuji disbanded. The brightest spots with these titles in the two years since have been Hidaka & Fujita’s reign and The Briscoes participation in NOAH. I think the answer is clear.

GHC Tag Champions: Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura
M.C.: Currently held by Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura, who won them in a hotshot match from Buchanan and D’Lo Brown in a tournament where ROD was pretty much a lock to win after Bison Smith got injured. Smith and Akiotshi Saito are the next challengers, so I’m thinking we’ll have new champions again, since from all accounts, Saito and Smith were supposed to win the tournament. I’d rather they not win, as this reign will help Marufuji and Sugiura prove they can play with the big boys.

P.C.: I’m hoping Mike is wrong about the likely loss Marufuji & Sugiura will have against Smith & Saito because a win against a big team like that would add credibility to the jr. team having a heavyweight belt. Not only that, but if they are serious about pushing Marufuji, this would be a place to do it as they didn’t give him much of a shot with the promotion’s top title, why not let him work his way back up? And Sugiura wrestles a more heavyweight style anyway, so a long title reign would benefit him as well. And if any Bison Smith fans out there are pissed, they could still lose to them down the road.

GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion: Yoshinobu Kanemaru
M.C.: Currently held by Yoshinobu Kanemaru, a former three time champion. His title reign just screams ‘holding pattern’ to me, like his previous title reign did, when they were prepping KENTA to be the top guy. Who he’s keeping it warm for is the question. Kotaro just held the title in his Mushiking Terry gimmick. KENTA, Marufuji, and Sugiura don’t need the title, and Ishimori and Aoki aren’t ready. The only person this leaves in Ricky Marvin, but then where do they go once Marvin is champion? Marvin vs. Kotaro would be nice, but that’s the only real match to have. It’s an indication to me that NOAH needs to work on expanding this divison, either by helping the younger ones get ready, or by bringing in some more freelancers.

P.C.: Kanemaru has always been a transitional champion in this division and this time probably won’t be any different. Then again, NOAH’s jr. division isn’t even close to New Japan’s and since most of the staples from NOAH’s are in the main-event circle and heavyweight division, there’s few people left. This could be a spot where more ROH or outsider participation is necessary to reestablish this title as one that means something. While this was the case with Takaiwa’s title reign, I’m still for Danielson challenging for the belt somewhere down the road.

GHC Champion: Mitsuharu Misawa
M.C.: Currently held by Mitsuharu Misawa, who’s on his third reign, which he doesn’t need. But Kobashi is out, and nobody else is ready, so he’s stuck. Kobashi is the obvious next champion. Morishima is the obvious future ace, if NOAH can ever figure out how to effectively book him (hint: needing three matches to beat KENTA isn’t it). Barring injuries, I see Kobashi taking the title next year, and then moving to Morishima who can hopefully carry the ball.

P.C.: Yes, we’ll probably see Kobashi/Misawa despite the claims back in ’03 that that was it. I’m aware it’s out of necessity, but rumors of an Akiyama/Misawa feud have me thinking that that is a better option. Kobashi is coming back from cancer and he’s going to win the world title? I think if Akiyama books himself better, a third reign could work with the payoff being Morishima’s coronation as ace of NOAH. I say it would work better because you would have another established veteran with the belt (stability) at which time Morishima finally gets wins over Kobashi, Taue, and Misawa on his way to the title match with Akiyama, somebody he’s already beaten, but that fact is irrelevant when a title is on the line.

The Reality is 2007 has been an interesting year in Japanese pro wrestling. NOAH had to go it without Kobashi and seemed almost catatonic during this time, All Japan returned to bigger arenas in Tokyo and Osaka, and New Japan may be beginning a new era after their best year since 2003. New Japan got a legit sell out at Sumo Hall—not easy these days—for their G-1 Final, they have another potentially stacked Tokyo Dome card coming up (oh the possibilities!) and did outdraw both of the other Big 3 for big shows in Osaka and Aichi this year. Not only that, but they seemed to be the only promotion willing to elevate talent and do things out of the ordinary and actually seem like they are giving 110% towards their fans, their roster, and their product. The others have began to get the picture as NOAH did have ROH participation spice up their undercard for a brief period and brought in Samoa Joe for a title match. All Japan has pushed the Voodoo Murderers to the moon and have an opportunity (please don’t let them screw up) of finally putting Kojima and Kea where they’ve wanted them to be for years. The same thing is happening in NOAH with Morishima and KENTA (and Marufuji?). So I’m looking forward to 2008 in the Puro world because for the first time in a while, there is a universal feeling of optimism and glee towards pro wrestling somewhere and I’m hoping it will stick around.