5/2 Tokyo Dome 57,500 sellout
Kintaro Kanemura pinned Daisuke Sekimoto at 8:03 following his diving senton.
Shibata made Wataru Inoue submit to a sleeper hold at 6:26.
Tiger Mask 3 & 4 beat Samurai & Black Tiger when 3 used a Tiger suplex hold on Samurai at 12:54.
Kaoru Ito & Momoe Nakanishi defeated Yumiko Hotta & Manami Toyota when Momoe pinned Toyota in her Momo*latch at 12:16. Way too short for these women (well, aside from Hotta) who are used to working longer than 18 minutes even on the small shows, but still the best match of the night. Great move on AJW's part having their young star go over their biggest name in front of possibly the biggest crowd she'll ever play before.
Liger & Tanaka captured the IWGP Jr. Heavykyu Tag Senshuken from Jado & Gedo when Liger pinned Gedo at 17:44. Liger's team are the 8th champs. NOAH's juniors were there to challenge the winners to a title match.
Ogawa & Hashimoto beat Norton & Tenzan when Hashimoto pinned Norton at 12:02.
Bas Rutten made Manabu Nakanishi submit to a sankakujime in 6:00.
Frye made Yasuda submit to an akiresukengatame at 1:51. Frye looks to get a title shot soon.
Steiner Brothers beat Sasaki & Tanahashi when Scott pinned Tanahashi at 14:38. Chyna did as "good" a job as you'd expect from her as special referee.
Nagata made his first successful defense of the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken, pinning Takayama at 15:36 following a knee high kick. Fujita challenged Nagata to a title shot as well.
Chono went to a 30:00 draw with Misawa. Another case of it taking so long for legends to meet that they couldn't deliver the match people wanted when they initially imagined the match.

The 5/2 Tokyo Dome show will also have:
Chono vs. Misawa. I assume Misawa will win this in exchange for Takayama putting over Nagata, which would be a great trade for NOAH.
Yasuda vs. Frye
Nakanishi vs. Bas Rutten
Sasaki & Tanahashi vs. Steiner Bros.
Shibata vs. Inoue
In a lineup change, Kanemoto will don the hood and move to Tiger Mask IV's team, so the new match is Tiger Mask III & IV vs. Samurai & Black Tiger

FIGHTING SPIRIT SPECIAL 4/5 Tokyo Budokan (not the place all the classic triple crown matches were held) 3,000
Nagata captured the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken from Yasuda when he forced him to submit to his Nagata lock II at 15:01. Nagata is the 31st champion. NOAH's Yoshihiro Takayama hit the ring after the match and took Nagata out to set up a title shot on the 5/2 Tokyo Dome show. This card looks incredibly week so far drawing wise, but obviously could still be improved. Aside from Nagata's no draw challenger (one might argue Takayama drew something for PRIDE, but forget it as a pro wrestler even with the intrigue of NJ vs. NOAH) there's a sure fire DUD in the giants matchup of Silva vs. Singh and a BJ match of Kanemura vs. Sekimoto. There are three good matches with no drawing power; Liger & Tanaka vs. Jado & Gedo, Samurai & Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger & Kanemoto, and an AJW match of Hotta & Toyota vs. Ito & Momoe which is a rematch of the very good '01 tag league final.
In an IWGP ranking matches, Chono made Nishimura submit to his butterfly lock at 19:06, Nakanishi drew Tenzan 20:00, & Sasaki pinned Yoshie at 9:24 with his northern lights bomb.
Kanemoto & Jado & Gedo beat Liger & Tanaka & Kakihara when Kanemoto used a falcon arrow on Kakihara at 15:05.
Samurai pinned Naruse in la magistral at 8:46.

3/21 Tokyo Taiikukan 6,200
Yasuda made his first sucessful defense of the IWGP heavyweight forcing Tenzan to submit to a front sleeper at 13:25.
Nagata pinned Norton following a middle kick at 14:51 to earn the next shot at Yasuda's title.
Fujinami & Liger defeated Chono & Kanemoto when Fujinami used his ground cobra twist on Kanemoto at 18:27.
Eddy Guerrero & Black Tiger & Jado & Gedo beat Tanaka & Samurai & Shibata & Inoue when Guerrero pinned champion Tanaka in his frog splash at 16:59.

3/17 Nagoya Aichi-ken Taiikukan 8,500 sellout
Nagata & Nakanishi advanced to the finals of the IWGP tag champion decision tournament beating Silva & Singh when Nakanishi pinned Singh in a German suplex hold at 9:23. They'll face Chono & Tenzan on 3/24.
Tanaka successfully defended the IWGP Jr using his Minoru special on Gedo at 14:50.
Liger & Samurai & Shibata & Inoue defeated Kanemoto & Eddy Guerrero & Jado & Black Tiger when Shibata pinned Tiger in a German suplex hold at 16:53.

The 3/21 Yoyogi show has Yasuda defending the IWGP Heavyweight against Tenzan, Nagata vs. Norton in a match to decide the next challenger for the afformentioned title, & Fujinami & Liger vs. Chono & Kanemoto to decide the next challengers for the IWGP Tag Titles.

The IWGP Tag Tournament on 3/24 has 1st round matches of Chono & Tenzan vs. Sasaki & Koshinaka, Liger & Nishimura vs. Suzuki & Tanahashi, Nagata & Nakanishi vs. Yasuda & Devine, and Norton & J vs. Singh & Silva. This looks to set up a final of Chono & Tenzan vs. Nagata & Nakanishi, but who knows what's going through their minds these days?

Muto, Kojima, & Kashin goods will no longer be sold on NJ house shows starting with the the February tour, but can still be ordered through NJ's web shop.

Inoki's former brother-in-law Tetsu Baisho, who is currently Managing Director and may get promoted, came out strongly against the "selfish" wrestlers that left and announced a pending lawsuit. He was particularly critical of "stringpuller" Hiroshi Hase, who supposedly set up their transfer to All Japan.
Yasuda may get a contract from NJ that calls for him to fight on their bigger shows, similar to what Muto had last year.

The tournament for the vacant IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken looks pretty lame. In one half Yasuda meets Silva in the first round (can you say DUD) with the winner meeting Chono, who has a bye. In the other bracket there's the potentially good match of Nagata vs. Nakanishi and another stinker in Sasaki vs. Rick Steiner. A Nagata vs. Chono final, which is very possible, could be very good since Chono would pick that as one of his few times this year to go close to all out, but otherwise...

Hiroyoshi Tenzan is staying with NJ - at least for the moment - so countries best heavyweight tag team is no more.

Yuji Nagata, rumored to be leaving after major turn of the year losses, recieved a huge raise to renew his contract. Kojima officially didn't renew, but Tenzan hasn't announced his decision yet.

Keiji Muto, Satoshi Kojima, & Kendo Kashin did not renew their contracts and are rumored to be heading to All Japan. This means one of two things. If it's legit, Inoki's goofy shoot oriented stuff has hurt the company that much more, leading to the promotions top heavyweight/tag champ, their best tag wrestler, and junior heavyweight champ leaving for a promotion that had been struggling since Misawa & co. left. If it's another angle then this is one of the first steps to NJ taking over the promotion they've been killing off for the last year plus.

~PRO-WRESTLING 30TH ANNIVERSARY vol. 1~ WRESTLING WORLD 2002 1/4 Tokyo Dome 51,500
Akiyama retained the GHC Heavykyu Senshuken for the 3rd time, pinning Nagata at 19:58 after the emerald frowjion and two exploders. This expected loss for Nagata makes the one to Cro Cop seem that much worse because Nagata now had to withstand two HUGE losses in front of very large crowds within a 5 day period. Supposedly Nagata may be going freelance.
Tenzan & Kojima beat Chono & Singh when Tenzan pinned Singh at 10:47. Singh & Silva apparently split up here over a double lariat spot.
Sasaki went to a no contest with Ogawa in just 4:02 when the seconds and then just about everyone else ran in. Sasaki had grabbed the ropes for an escape, but Ogawa supposedly didn't here the referee call for the break so he kept hitting him. As you'd expect, fans absolutely loathed this result. Just a big ripoff.
Muto & Hase beat Fujinami & Nishimura when Muto used his shining wizard on Nishimura at 16:44.
Kashin made his 2nd successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavykyu Senshsuken, pinning Daijiro Matsui at 5:43. Sounds like a one-sided win for Kashin that's supposed to be a big victory of puroresu over shooting.
Nakanishi beat Silva via ring out at 6:49.
Liger & Sasuke & Tiger Mask defeated Jado & Gedo & Togo when used his suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster on Gedo at 20:12.
Murakami & Yuki Ishikawa beat Kenzo Suzuki & Tanahashi when the ref stopped the match at 8:00 because Murakami had knocked Tanahashi out with punches to the face.
Tanaka & Samurai beat Kanemoto & AKIRA in 12:31 when Tanaka took out AKIRA.
Kakihara & Naruse defeated Shibata & Inoue when Kakihara used his Kaki cutter on Inoue at 10:50.

Heavyweight champion Kazuyuki Fujita is likely out for 6 months due to having surgery to repair a torn right Achilles' tendon. One would assume that he'll be forced to vacate the title.

12/11 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan 6,500 sellout
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima won the G1 Tag League. The finals tournament had 4 teams, but it was not the traditional setup. Instead, the third place team from the league Sasaki & Devine (8 pts) met the 4th place team in the league Nagata & Nakanishi (8pts). Nagata beat Devine with his Nagata lock II, so they went on to face the 2nd place team in the G1 Tag League Tenzan & Kojima (8pts). Kojima pinned Nakanishi following his lariat at 17:25, so they went on to face the 1st place team in the league Barton & Steele. Tenzan pinned Steele in his moonsault press at 24:02 to win the league.
Muto made his 4th successful defense of the Sankan Heavykyu Senshuken, taking out Fujinami at 15:32 with his shining wizard. It's really doing AJ lots of good to have Muto defend their title on NJ shows against NJ wrestlers. I don't know what's worse, having the title not be defended in the main event or having it defended against a burned out nothing like Hall.
Liger & Kashin & Tanaka & Black Tiger beat Kanemoto & Jado & Gedo & GOKU-DO when Tanaka used his Minoru special on Gedo at 17:22.

A partial lineup for the annual 1/4 Tokyo Dome show, called New Japan 30th Anniversary Vol. 1 Wrestling World 2002, was announced. All of the following matches should air on the live TV special.
Fujita defends the IWGP Heavyweight against Nagata
Sasaki vs. Naoya Ogawa
Kashin defends the IWGP Junior vs. Daijiro Matsui
Samurai & Minoru Tanaka vs. AKIRA & Kanemoto
Shibata & Wataru Inoue vs. Naruse & Kakihara
Liger & Sasuke & Tiger Mask 4 vs. Jado & Gedo & Togo

The G1 Junior Tag League has been resurrected. When they ran such a league for the first time in '94 it was not only much better than the heavyweight league, but also outdrew it. Unfortunately, they didn't run one in '95 with Liger out injured and then it just kind of fell by the wayside or something. The round robin league will run from 11/16-11/24 with the final on 11/25 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. The six teams are Liger & Samurai, Shibata & Inoue, Jado & Gedo, Tanaka & Naruse, Kashin & Black Tiger, and Kakihara & Naniwa.

The annual G1 Tag League will run from 11/30-12/9 with the final on 12/11 at Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan. The eight teams are Nagata & Nakanishi, Nishimura & Liger, Chono & Silva, Norton & J, Sasaki & Dan Devine, Kenzo Suzuki & Tanahashi, Tenzan & Kojima, and Barton & Steele.

The following matches have been added to the 10/8 Tokyo Dome card
Sasaki vs. Fujita
Nakanishi vs. Yasuda
Choshu & Nishimura vs. Tenzan & Kojima
Naruse defending the IWGP Jr. vs. Kashin
Ohara vs. Goodridge
Giant Silva & Giant Singh vs. Yoshie & Tanahashi & Inoue & Suzuki
Liger & Tanaka & Samurai vs. Jado & Gedo & AKIRA

2001 GI WORLD 9/16 Nagoya Rainbow Hall 10,000 sellout
Nakanishi made Goodridge submit to a front sleeper at 4:38
Don Frye won the G1 WORLD league, forcing Norton to submit to a front neck lock in the final at 6:11
Tenzan & Kojima beat Kawada & Nagai when Tenzan used his moonsault press on Nagai at 21:36
Kokushi (Muto) & Hakushi (Shinzaki) beat Chono & Barton when Kokushi used his shining wizard on Chono at 14:45
Nagata made Nishimura submit to his Nagata lock II at 21:10
Naruse made his 1st successful defense of the IWGP Junior Senshuken, pinning Samurai at 7:35 with his crazy cyclone
Jado & Gedo made their 2nd successful defense of the IWGP Junior Tag Senshuken, defeating Shibata & Inoue when Jado used his crossface of Jado on Shibata at 11:39
Kashin made Minoru Tanaka submit in just 1:14
Wagner & Silver King beat Liger & Naniwa when King used his moonsault press on Naniwa at 10:27
Silva & Hiro beat Yoshie & Suzuki & Tanahashi in a handicap match when Silva pinned Tanahashi with his Giant press at 8:45

Kensuke Sasaki returned to Japan after months of MMA and boxing training in America. He has a new look now as he cut almost all his hair off and has trimmed down from 115kg to nearly 100kg. Sasaki will return to the ring on the 10/8 dome show to avenge his big loss to Hashimoto earlier in the year.

9/9 Chiba Togane Arena 3,000 sellout
Nagata & Nishimura beat Tenzan & AKIRA when Nagata made AKIRA submit to his Nagata lock at 13:52.
Norton & Kojima beat Nakanishi & Yoshie when Norton powerbombed Yoshie at 12:53.
In a G1 WORLD league match, Frye defeated J via ref stop at 4:47.
Giant Silva & Jado & Gedo beat Liger & Suzuki & Samurai when Silva used a giant press on Suzuki at 10:07.
Tanahashi upset Hall at 4:20.
Wagner & Sliver King beat Tanaka & Naniwa when Wagner used his Michinoku driver II on Naniwa at 11:28.

The 9/16 PPV at Nagoya Rainbow Hall has:
Kokushi (Muto) & Hakushi (Shinzaki) vs. Chono & Barton
Nagata vs. Nishimura
Nakanishi vs. Goodridge
Kawada & Nagai vs. Tenzan & Kojima
Minoru Tanaka vs. Kashin
Naruse defending the IWGP Junior against Samurai
Jado & Gedo defending the IWGP Junior Tag against Shibata & Inoue
Final of the G1 WORLD league

Fujinami has proposed Fujita vs. Ogawa and Sasaki vs. Hashimoto (rematch from 4/9) to Inoki as the big matches for the 10/8 Tokyo Dome show. Fujinami's debut 30th anniversary match was added. He'll team with Bob Backlund against Terry & Dory Funk.

Brian Johnston was feeling somewhat better yesterday. He was able to sit up and had feeling in both arms.

Brian Johnston's condition has improved some as he was able to lift a leg and an arm. The stroke was caused by thrombosis (blockage) of a blood vessel in his head.
The 10/8 Tokyo Dome card called INDICATE of NEXT will be headlined by Muto & Hase against the new team of Nagata & Akiyama. I love the matchup, but this is the wrong venue for it. It should headline Tokyo Nippon Budokan or Ryogoku Kokugikan where you have the hardcore fans looking for an excellent match. This match lacks the drawing power for this venue and the quality will be wasted and probably compromised by the casual fans who would rather see Ogawa and Choshu.

The 10/8 Tokyo Dome card called INDICATE of NEXT will be headlined by Muto & Hase against the new team of Nagata & Akiyama. I love the matchup, but this is the wrong venue for it. It should headline Tokyo Nippon Budokan or Ryogoku Kokugikan where you have the hardcore fans looking for an excellent match. This match lacks the drawing power for this venue and the quality will be wasted and probably compromised by the casual fans who would rather see Ogawa and Choshu.

Brian Johnston, 32, had a stroke while at the K-1 show. He was in attendance because he trains Fujita & Yasuda among others for their shoots. He collapsed backstage and although he remained conscious he was unable to move or speak.