Taking another trip to the Puro world
It’s been a while, so I decided to return to The Reality with something different. With the beginning of the summer comes the build to Summerslam for The E and TNA’s continued attempts to rise above their current position in the wrestling world. However, I’m going to take a look at the five major pro wrestling promotions in Japan as they all are currently in the build for a major show of some sort and each have their own resemblances to the American brand of wrestling as well as offering some things that American promoters are still looking to adapt into their product.
New Japan Pro Wrestling
Mutoh’s IWGP title win was one in a number of weird booking decisions that plagued the last week of April, but it was the one that left the most options. Mutoh & Tanahashi’s only singles match was a draw, so that is a potential future title match. It does look like the Nakanishi/Goto match at Korakuen in June will be for the #1 contendership. Neither match will draw a big number by itself, but it is the right move as Tanahashi has to return from injury, Makabe is a co-holder of the tag belts and really hasn’t been in the picture for a while. Nakamura is out because Mutoh beat him for the belt and he is thus on the backburner as far as title shots go. Nagata/Mutoh II is probably New Japan’s best option as far as a Sumo Hall main-event or even next year’s Tokyo Dome show is concerned, however should Nagata win the belt back and then drop it back to Tanahashi or Nakamura—the likely plan should Nagata get one more title reign—is the big question.
Looking at the other titles and feuds going on, things seem to be at a bit of a stand still. The Tenzan/GBH feud has been heating up since Tenzan’s forgone conclusion departure, but the Iizuka heel turn and shaving were both unexpected and haven’t fully given the feud the shot in the arm it needs to be anything more than another mid-card feud. However, a few more bloody and chaotic matches like we’ve seen as of late and that could very well change. Best of Super Juniors looks to be an interesting line up (Jimmy Rave, really) and should provide a challenger for Inoue as his title reign, after a much hyped and talked about comeback, has been pretty flat with two defenses against Christopher Daniels and one in a rematch against Taguchi (the man Inoue beat for the belt).
Still, the Zero-One feud has provided plenty of interesting doings for New Japan’s werestlers, evidence of that is Chono’s one night tournament with random teams for his next PREMIUM show. I’m sorry, but Ohtani & Tenzan on the same team even for one night has me intrigued.
All Japan Pro Wrestling
I’m still of the opinion that Suwama shouldn’t have won the Triple Crown from Sasaki to finish off April. The Champions Carnival win was good enough to show that he was in the big leagues alongside guys like Mutoh and Kojima, but giving him the belts seems to be a bit overkill. The 3,200 attendance for the show is more of a sign that people didn’t buy Suwama winning the title than Suwama not being able to draw by himself yet; that point will likely be made with his first title defense this weekend against Nishimura. As much as I enjoy Osamu Nishimura’s work (I do), it is known that he isn’t much of a draw outside of a certain level, but the fact that he got three falls on Suwama during the last tour means AJPW did do a good job in providing Suwama with a credible challenger for his first defense. This—a Triple Crown challenge—will also be the payoff for Nishimura’s shocking signing with All Japan last year. Suwama has to win this one or else the entire experiment will have been pointless.
For Suwama, a better slew of challengers needs to be made available or this title reign will accomplish nothing. Kea and Suzuki are in the tag division as of now, Sasaki seems to be focusing more and more on NOAH, and Doering isn’t nearly ready. Kawada seems to be the best option for the potential August Sumo Hall show as Mutoh will likely still have the IWGP belt, if not then Mutoh would be just as good a challenger if he doesn’t book himself to win that title too (I’m getting 2001 flashbacks, but in a bad way). Kojima would be a good challenger and I still say the man who should have the Triple Crown because as a heel it would be easier to create opponents for him.
In the tag ranks, Kea and Suzuki seem a natural fit for the tag titles as they would add some attitude to the belts as Mutoh will likely focus more on singles wrestling with his recent title win and Doering could use a few tours trying to hone his singles skills. With the junior belt, Hijikata/Nakajima is a must and Sumo Hall would be the right place for that match to steal the show.
Pro Wrestling NOAH
The tag league went off without a hitch, but a few aspects of the tourney seemed off to me. First off, there were too many finishes in the opening minutes, especially in a tournament with the group that this one had; finishes that quick in a tournament no less serve no real purpose and can’t even be used as a springboard win because the team that got the two-minute win on Monday could be the team that loses on Tuesday. Still, for Misawa & Ogawa to be basically nothing in the tournament until the final few matches and then springboard to the “final†and main-event at Budokan doesn’t seem right, especially considering the fact that NOAH had a better tournament match on tap for the Budokan show—Akiayma & Rikio vs. Sasaki & Nakajima—that not only was a better match, not only would’ve been a better choice for the main-event, but would’ve produced a better winner than what we got. I have nothing against Akitoshi Saito & Bison Smith, but they are both big brawlers who are only average at what they do. Both men have been tested in the past in throwaway GHC title matches and really haven’t measured up (Saito’s match can be cited as the downfall of Rikio’s title reign). However, NOAH did use this tournament as a way to build Saito back up and try to turn Smith into the big gaijin beast for this promotion before jobbing him out to Morishima. The fact that Saito & Smith won the tag belts soon after the tournament only furthers that argument.
As for Morishima, his title reign has started off lukewarm, but there are plenty of ways to turn up the heat. A defense against Takashi Sugiura isn’t one of them, but it should be a physical match where Morishima should ultimately look like a badass beast. Future title matches with Akiyama and Rikio are likely, but if I was in Misawa’s shoes, I would make Morishima/Kobashi happen as quickly as possible, with the promotion’s July 15 Budokan show being a perfect spot. We don’t know how much more Kobashi is going to be able to go in the ring, so getting the torch passing loss out of the way would be a good idea while Kobashi can still go. Kobashi gets the fall in the big tag match this Sunday (Kobashi & Kenta against Sasaki & Nakajima) by lariating Nakajima into mush earning a shot at Morishima and the GHC belt one more time. That win would jumpstart Morishima’s title reign and subsequent wins over high name opponents could deliver NOAH the start they’ve been trying to create since their inception.
Dragon Gate
I’ll be honest; I’m not as up to date with Dragon Gate as I am with the other big promotions in Japan. However, what I do know is that this promotion is better at keeping their biggest stars looking that way than any of the other promotions in Japan, have the fastest product of them all in Japan, and is also the most random with their selection of outsiders for their big shows. I’m referring mainly to the Kobe World Hall shows DG puts on every July, but they’ve also been very good about getting outside talent for other big shows—KENTA being in a high profile match at their Aichi show a month ago is a recent example. Since there’s no inter-promotional angle like Liger having the Open the Dream Gate Title, I’m going to throw out the idea of signing Liger and Ultimo Dragon to team up to take on any pairing of DG’s biggest stars. In the case of this dream tag (especially in this promotion), it won’t matter what two you select.
Zero-One MAX
As of now, this promotion is probably the best promotion in Japan. Their product may not be the best product in Japan, but they have variety like no other promotion in Japan. Death matches, the Sword/Axe Army feud, an almost constant influx of talent from other promotions, women’s wrestling, sometimes Special Rules matches ranging from martial arts to nunchucks all add up to a promotion putting out a product that will be different, but familiar at the same time.
Not only that, but the New Japan feud has basically made New Japan’s feud with TNA look like a joke with the matches that this feud has brought to both promotions and with ones still to come. I’m doubting that the Emblem/NakaGata 30-minute draw was anything less than entertaining and with Masato Tanaka turning everything he touches brutally into gold for the past year, this feud has just been captivating as the potential dream matches that are still left leave plenty of room for this feud. The best part: the feud was started around people who were either with New Japan currently or were there in the past and has since moved on to cover both rosters entirely with everyone from curtain jerkers to main-event players getting involved in the feud. This one has been done the right way and has given Zero-One that little shot in the arm in regards to their overall product, which has been offering variety for the last few years, but like NOAH’s has been a bit bland as of late. This could be feud of the year by year’s end if the quality matches keep coming.
And by the way, if I were in Zero-One’s shoes, I’d make more of Minoru Fujita’s heel turn(s) on The Great Sasuke as well as put Sai or Sato in higher profile matches as they stand to be the men to take over the top tier in the coming years. Until then, let the good times roll.
The Reality is…Japanese pro wrestling is built more around people than a whole promotion. While The E could still thrive for years on its name alone, Japanese promotions aren’t always as lucky or able: All Japan was still able to sell-out Budokan and Sumo Hall for a few years after NOAH’s formation, but after that they’ve spent years reforming their overall look and agenda as a promotion, New Japan nearly did go under because too many stupid booking choices can’t be saved by name value alone, and NOAH’s basically been floating along since Kobashi’s two-year title reign ended as they too are looking to create the next big star(s) in Japanese wrestling. What this all comes down to is that The E has always been the best at marketing their product and their stars—something Paul Heyman correctly pointed out in a column on TNA’s lack of doing this—to the point where they can create a new star almost out of sheer force of will (John Cena’s trip from acceptance to full-bodied hatred back to acceptance from the fans is an example). Like in America, Japanese promotions do have the luxury of being able to pick who they believe are going to be the next stars of their company, but unlike in America when they go about making the audience believe, it’s more about the booking and the wrestler in question’s own abilities to seal the deal. In America, the product usually comes before any specific star rising above, as that is usually something that happens as a result of the product instead of the wrestler’s own abilities or lack of.
