The Reality of Wrestling: Tournament Time

Columns, Top Story

All the fun without the brackets for work

August is usually an interesting time in Japan’s wrestling world, but this year’s eighth month is loaded with tournaments. And while most may not see why this is a big deal, the fact is that each of the major promotions—New Japan, All Japan, NOAH, and Zero-1—have a tournament that either stretched into August this past weekend or is going to take place in August. Not only do each of these promotions have tournaments this month, but each apparently are trying to one-up the other by loading these tournaments with as much talent as they can. The results so far have been a mix of the inspired and intriguing and the remainder of the month brings a rarely seen curiosity with no real cut and dry winners pre-tournament. In other words, take the thinking caps off and just kick back and watch.

P.C. Says: August may be this year’s best month of wrestling with all of Japan’s tournaments

This past weekend All Japan’s third junior league and Zero-1’s Fire Festival both concluded with one winner being a complete surprise and another not so much. Masato Tanaka took home his third straight Fire Festival katana completing his passing of Shinjiro Ohtani as the promotion’s ace (if he hadn’t already) and KAI shocked many by defeating MAZADA and Silver King on the final day to win the tourney and likely a shot at Ryuji Hijikata and the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title.

While this year’s junior tourney didn’t provide All Japan with the great matches that the past two had, it made up for that with some outside-the-box booking as none of the big names in the tourney (El Samurai, Shuji Kondo, Kaz Hayashi) didn’t make it to the final match instead doing notable jobs to the younger and/or less known wrestlers. That along with the notion that at least one big name would be in the final made the final day all the more shocking, but ultimately puzzling. The puzzlement comes with the fact that a new crop of talent was allowed to break through in the tournament, but if you look, the time given was less this year than either of the previous tournament and the final going only thirteen minutes didn’t allow for the epic final that most tournaments (New Japan’s first G-1 most notably) that feature the proverbial coming out party for younger stars sees.

In the case of the Fire Festival, I don’t think there’s anyway that someone can look at this year’s Fire Festival and not call it a complete success. Masato Tanaka won his third straight Fire Festival, and while I knew he would after the second to last day, the tournament had one of its most talented fields in years and allowed for even more New Japan/Zero-1 goodness. Togi Makabe bloodying Ohtani and Nakanishi & Tanaka brawling to a 30-minute draw highlighted the opening day, I repeat, the OPENING DAY. The rest of the tourney featured Makabe acting as the heel foil from the rival promotion (he is a heel after all) running through the field before losing in a shocker the day before the final while Omori finally beat Nakanishi after losing to him three times during the year and more Tanaka goodness against pretty much everyone along with Ohtani, Seikimoto, and Sai providing good stuff as well. And of course, the inevitable Makabe/Tanaka final, which carried on the tradition of intense Fire Festival finals that was even more fitting as the tourney was not only based around the inter-promotional feud, but played out like a great action movie with the evil invader finally being vanquished by the hero in the end after destroying basically everything else in his path. Feud of the year? I’m thinking so.

NOAH’s NTV tag league was a hit in terms of in-ring action last year as the teams were good and the matches backed up the depth of the field involved. This year, it’s basically like a sequel, but it’s one that you really want to see without the notion in the back of your head that it’s not going to live up to the original. The teams are basically the same as last year with The Briscoes, Bryan Danielson & Davey Ricards, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori having teamed in last year’s tourney. While some teams are different, the only participants that didn’t wrestle in last year’s tourney are Eddie Edwards, Katushiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara, and Akihito Iko. And while losing Rocky Romero is a loss in the in-ring quality department, the fact that there are two more teams than last year and you get a junior powerhouse team in the form of Nakajima & Kota Ibushi more than makes up for it. The downside is that the tourney is structured as it was last year as a standard tournament with matches on every card on the tour including the finale at Budokan Hall, but no set final meaning—like last year—the winner will be decided strictly by the points and not by a final match like most tournaments do. The reason for it is that the promotion has matches on the final show to help promote the show and add importance to the show by having these matches and only these matches decide the tourney’s outcome. The only problem is that any tournament, no matter how good (and last year’s was), misses something without having a final to decide the winner.

Masahiro Chono’s PREMIUM has had two Korakuen Hall shows that have provided what he promised when he started the off-shoot brand: new matches with people of all promotions. His second show featured a dream-team of mine, Shinjiro Ohtani & Hiroyoshi Tenzan, winning a one-night tournament where teams were made (basically) at random. On the heels of that tournament, Jushin Liger announced plans for a one-night J-Cup-like tournament. So far it has only been a dream, but the assortment of talent from multiple promotions put together by Liger for PREMIUM’s next Korakuen outing shows that he still has the reach that started the J-Cup in the first place. Should it happen, there are plenty of juniors out there for Liger to choose from; Zero-1 has Minoru Fujita, Ikuto Hidaka, Takua Sugawara, and Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Dragon Gate has too many to count, New Japan has plenty, All Japan has their bunch, plus there’s The Great Sasuke, TAKA Michinoku, Dick Togo, and the possibly of an A.J. Styles or Christopher Daniels (Curry Man or Fallen Angel) or Jimmy Rave representing TNA, not to mention the possibility of Liger using his many Indy contacts in Japan to give some younger guys more exposure. While it isn’t finalized that it’ll even happen, if Liger’s tournament does come to fruition, be prepared for plenty of different promotions being represented and a one-night return to the days of old in junior heavyweight wrestling, even if it’s not on the same scale as it once was.

And finally, we have the G-1 Climax, the tournament that has become a summer tradition in Japan and one that may set a new standard this year. And while there are only four outsiders participating—a sign of how far along New Japan’s talent pool has come in recent years—of those four, three began their careers in New Japan and the other (Kawada) participated in the ’05 G-1 tourney, so he is not exactly a stranger to this special week in August. And when I say this tournament is loaded, I mean it’s loaded. Block A has Hiroshi Tanahashi (last year’s winner), Manabu Nakanishi (just lost to Muto in title match, but nearly won Fire Festival and was on a big win streak before the title match), Wataru Inoue (shocked wrestling world with move to heavyweight in June and vacating junior title), Giant Bernard (has been in G-1 before and has been in New Japan Cup semi-final or final three times—won in 2006), Togi Makabe (lost in Fire Festival final), Shinjiro Ohtani (Zero-1’s representative in tourney, could be in final in a shock move), and Satoshi Kojima (All Japan’s representative in tourney). Block B has Hiroyoshi Tenzan (new Mr. G-1 with wins in 2003, 2004, and 2006. Could win it one more time as his feud with Iizuka has given him some momentum in the ring), Yuji Nagata (New Japan’s ace, lost in the final last year, could win tourney to set up Muto/Nagata II at Sumo Hall), Shinsuke Nakamura (was supposed to win last year before a freak injury, likely won’t win because of him losing the belt to Muto in April and a rematch unlikely right now), Hirooki Goto (lost to Muto twice this year, but still is a new face in the heavyweight division, could be in the final if he’s going to get a shot at a later date), Toru Yano (had a surprisingly good performance last year, New Japan likely hopes for the same this year without him being an actual threat to win it all), Toshiaki Kawada (could win to set up final singles match with Muto, but a non-New Japan wrestler has never won the tourney, so he likely won’t, but could still be in the final), and Yutaka Yoshie (could provide good matches, but not expected to do much standings-wise).

You see? There are just so many storylines and subplots going into this tournament that it might as well be a 64-team field in March. There are potential reasons for almost anybody to win with Nakamura, Yoshie, Nakanishi, and Yano being the only people who really have no shot of getting the win and the title shot at All Japan’s August 31 Sumo Hall show.

That is also something I take issue with. I knew that Muto having the belt one more time would mean something like this happening since he does book All Japan and they have a big show at Sumo Hall coming up with a Triple Crown title match (Suwama/Kea) that does make sense and should happen (Kea is a tag champ & former Triple Crown champ who’s team beat Suwama’s team recently at a big show), but doesn’t quite fulfill its obligations in the drawing department. What would be bigger than having two promotions world titles being defended on the same show, right? However, this likely wouldn’t be a problem if my original idea of Suwama/Kawada had become a reality instead of what we got. I’m a fan of Kea’s and like that All Japan hasn’t completely shit on him (like they did after his initial push), and I love the idea of Baba’s All Japan vs. Muto’s All Japan being represented for the biggest prize in the promotion, but wouldn’t the same thing happen with Kawada challenging instead of Kea? Plus, it would draw more with the old/new dynamic and it’s Dangerous K, come on! Plus, All Japan does have a Yokohama Bunka Gym show ending the following tour, and with a smaller building to fill wouldn’t Suwama/Kea be better there with Suwama having gotten the win over Kawada on a big, big show?

Also, it just doesn’t feel right that the winner of New Japan’s biggest tourney challenges for New Japan’s world title on an All Japan show; I’ve got no problem with multiple promotions’ titles being defended on the same show, but it’s how they came to be that’s bothering me and with New Japan venturing to Sumo Hall in October, it would seem to me that the G-1 winner (especially this year) and the champ getting around two months to hype their clash would be better than just striking while the iron is hot. But who knows, those two title matches could produce a sell-out, and with a Kobe World Hall show and a Sumo Hall show in the months following the G-1, you can be sure whoever loses in the final will likely get their shot at the title at one of those shows. In other words, a lot is on the line, and this is the first G-1 in recent memory that has that ultra-importance feel to it where every match counts and the fact that almost every match is a big match adds to it.

The Reality is…this is indeed a great month for wrestling in Japan. So many big matches, so little time. And the added importance of the Fire Festival and the G-1 have only upped the ante for the promotions and wrestlers involved to put on the best show they can. While All Japan’s effort may have flopped in comparison to what is to follow, the Fire Festival may have set the standard with a week of action packed matches, the New Japan/Zero-1 storyline continuing, and the prospect of Tanaka/Nagata at Sumo Hall creeping ever closer. The NTV Cup doesn’t have the name value or the depth that the G-1 does, but what it lacks in drawing it makes up for in ability and quality, two things that tournament will have no shortage of. What G-1 has that none of the other tournaments can touch is the atmosphere. Fire Festival is the biggest Indy tournament probably in the world every year, but G-1 is the big leagues with big league names, big league matches, and an atmosphere on that final day that can’t be touched no matter if the final isn’t what people expected or wanted (Fujita/Chono in ’05 instead of Kawada/Chono). It has just become a tradition and in the Puro World, traditions don’t fade as quickly or as often as they do elsewhere. Proof of that lies with All Japan’s Real World Tag League, the former indicator of tag-team excellence in the world has gone down in scale and stature, but still provides that atmosphere on that final day. Nevertheless, this month has already gotten off to a hot start with plenty of surprises in All Japan’s junior league, plenty of brutal action with the Fire Festival, and really can only go up with the G-1 providing that beautiful week of action in mid-August and NOAH providing what could be the best of all the tournaments in the ring with their junior tag league ending the month and leading us into the fall.

PLUGS
For up to date event results in the Puro World, check out PUROLOVE. It may be in German, but you’ll be able to deal.

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