STRONG STYLE 20001 ~No.1~ 4/9 Osaka Dome 27,000
Hashimoto TKO's Sasaki at 7:52.
Kazuyuki Fujita captured the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken, forcing Norton to submit to a sleeper hold at 6:43.
Chono & Tenzan & Kojima defeated Muto & Kea & Shinzaki when Chono pinned Shinzaki at 14:57 following his kenka kick.
Nagata earned the right to be next challenger for the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken when he pinned Nakanishi at 9:29 following a right high kick.
Choshu & Koshinaka beat Kawada & Fuchi when Choshu used his lariat on Fuchi at 8:53.
Liger beat Murakami via DQ at 1:47.
Johnston made Kashin submit to a front neck lock at just 2:20.
Yoshie made Makabe submit to a Canadian backbreaker at 8:59.
Iizuka made Tanaka submit to his sleeper hold at 9:37.
With less than 72 minutes of wrestling (not even an average of 8 minutes per match) and by far a record low attendance for NJ in this building, this doesn't sound like it'll go down as one of their classic dome shows.

Antonio Inoki announced that the Tyson vs. Ogawa match was "postponed indefinitely" because Tyson is boxing in June instead. He also mentioned that he'd already missed some of the broadcasters deadlines for June programing (since Tyson "couldn't decide").

Hiroyoshi Tenzan thinks the BATT name for Muto's unit is stupid (he's right) and says he'll destroy the group.

Keiji Muto is going to expand BATT during the next series. He's invited Jushin Thunder Liger, who he is opposing in the series opener on the 19th, to join the group.

Mike Tyson is supposed to have a boxing match on 6/17 in Sydney, Australia so that should finally put an end to the Tyson/Ogawa escapade.

Naoya Ogawa will intrude on the 4/9 Osaka Dome show unless New Japan gives him a major match.
Inoki would like Fujita vs. Norton to be changed to an unlimited time no rule match.

Yuji Nagata left for Korea for special training in tai kwon do. He also wants to learn how to kick to defend against tackles (a Nakanishi specialty) like Silva.

Antonio Inoki decided the 4/9 Norton vs. Fujita match would be for the IWGP heavyweight title, but NJ Director Katsuyoshi Nagashima emphasized that it's still a non-title match and they have no plans of changing that. Previously New Japan would pretty much always go along with Inoki's public angles, but now that it's NJ vs. Inoki International, they'll probably keep going against him to build the rivalry.

The revamped lineup for the 4/9 Osaka Dome show is as follows:
Sasaki vs. Hashimoto
Norton vs. Fujita
Nagata vs. Nakanishi
Choshu & Koshinaka vs. Kawada & Fuchi
Chono & Tenzan & Kojima vs. Muto & Kea & Shinzaki
Liger vs. Murakami
Kashin vs. Johnston
Iizuka vs. Tanaka
Yoshie vs. Makabe

New Japan is training a 24-year-old Mongolian named something like Dolgolslen Serjibute. He won two amateur wrestling championships in his home country. He got interested in pro wrestling by watching the American junk on satellite. He will be the first Mongolian wrestler if he survives the New Japan dojo. Along with the Mongolian, Masaaki Saimaru & Tooru (?) Yano, have entered the training camp. These three are the first discoveries of scout the scout department headed by Kimura.

3/20 Tokyo Kokuritsu Yoyogi Kyogijo Dai-nitaiikukan 2 4,500 sellout
Antonio Inoki demanded the 4/9 Osaka Dome card be changed to reflect the Inoki International vs. New Japan war. This will probably lead to some major changes in the card because all the big names were already in matches, but now at least one of them has to face Hashimoto.
Tenzan & Kojima retained the IWGP Tag Senshuken, defeating Choshu & Makabe when Kojima lariated Makabe. The match time was 9:37, so they succeeded in winning in under 10 minutes this time. This was their 4th defense. They mentioned Norton & Frye as someone they'd like to defend against.
Iizuka & Nagata beat Muto & Frye when Nagata backdropped Frye at 16:36. Muto announced that he'd intrude on the 3/23 AJ show. He wants a title match with Tenryu after he beats Kawada.
Sasaki pinned Nishimura following his lariat at 11:13.
Nakanishi made Hall submit to his Argentine backbreaker in just 4:42.
Norton pinned Yoshie with a powerbomb at 4:15.
Liger & Samurai defeeated Tanaka & Kashin when Liger used his suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster on Kashin at 14:46. Murakami attacked Liger after the match to build heat for their 4/9 match.

3/19 Shizuoka 2,100 sellout
Tenzan & Kojima & Goto beat Sasaki & Nakanishi & Yoshie when Tenzan used his diving headbutt on Sasaki at 14:16.
Tanaka & Kashin & Katsuyori Shibata defeated Liger & Samurai & Wataru Inoue when Kashin made Inoue submit at 12:07.
Black Cat beat Negro Casas via DQ at 9:07.

Shinya Hashimoto would like to fight on the 4/9 Osaka Dome show because Antonio Inoki wants him to.

Antonio Inoki supposedly contacted Mike Tyson himself (as opposed to dealing with Tyson's people) and is now confident that the Ogawa/Tyson fight will take place.
Inoki announced that his corps would begin raiding New Japan. Tadao Yasuda will appear on the 3/20 show, and Naoya Ogawa will appear on the 4/9 Tokyo Dome show. Inoki would like Hashimoto to fight with his side. Although Hashimoto isn't in Inoki's army, he should be in a feud against New Japan since they "dismissed" him last year. In other words, another of New Japan's interpromotional feuds within their own promotion is starting.

3/17 Nagoya Aichi-ken Taiikukan 9,000 sellout
Scott Norton captured the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken, pinning Sasaki at 11:49 following a jumping lariat to become the 28th holder of the title. Norton worked over Sasaki's left knee most of the match, which T 2000 "injured" the previous night. It's hard to envision the day when I'm not glad to see Kensucky lose the title, but it's upon us because Norton deserves it that much less than Sasaki. The only way it can be turned into a positive is if he turns right around and loses it to one of the younger guys. Yuji Nagata, who gets a shot if he beats Manabut Nakanishi on 4/9, would be the best candidate because he suffered a crushing loss to Norton in a title decision match on 9/23/98. One interesting thing about this title is that of the 28 holders, the only guys that only held it once were Inoki (he was the first champ, but he was in his mid 40's when the title was created), Chono, and outsiders Hashimikov, Takada, & Tenryu.
Muto & Frye defeated Tenzan & Kojima when Frye made Kojima submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 20:04. Hiroshi Hase, who hasn't been in New Japan rings for over 5 years, saved Muto & Frye from a post match beating, and was then announced as the newest member of Mutos unit. The unit is being called BATT, which stands for Bad Ass Translate Trading. .
Nagata & Nakanishi beat Hall & Goto when Nakanishi made Goto submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 12:29.
In a non-title match, champion Tanaka made Liger submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 16:01.
Kashin & Makabe defeated Samurai & Casas when Makabe pinned Casas in his German suplex hold at 10:54.

Antonio Inoki said he can't wait forever for an answer, so he's put a time limit on Mike Tyson. If Tyson doesn't accept the fight with Ogawa by the coming weekend (which of course he won't), then the fight won't take place on 6/16 or 6/17 in the Tokyo Dome like Inoki wanted. Inoki hasn't said whether the fight is totally dead (of course) or it's just "postponed" if Tyson doesn't accept by the deadline. Realistically, they'd be insane to pay Tyson $40 million or whatever no matter how long they had to promote the fight, much less when they'd have less than three months to set up PPV broadcasts world wide. I What we're seeing here is Inoki is manipulating the press so instead of him looking bad for bullshitting everyone, Tyson will look bad for "saying he'd fight" (through the infamous fax) and then backing out.

Keiji Muto is going to announce the newest member of his group at the 3/17 show.

3/14 Hiroshima Higashi Hiroshima Undo Koen Taiikukan 2,000
Tenzan & Kojima & Norton beat Sasaki & Nakanishi & Nagata when Tenzan used his Tenzan tombstome driver on Nagata at 15:19. Nakanishi & Nagata are bickering and criticizing each other to build heat for their 4/9 match.
Yoshie made Hiro submit to his reverse figure 4 at 9:07.
Tanaka & Kashin & Casas defeated Liger & Wataru Inoue & Katsuyori Shibata when Tanaka made Inoue submit to a hizajujigatame at 14:03.
Kido made Samurai submit to an udegatame at 7:03.

3/13 Fukuoka Nishi Nippon Sogo Tenjido Shinkan 2,000
Sasaki & Koshinaka & Nagata beat Norton & Kojima & Ohara when Koshinaka powerbombed Kojima at 15:13.
Tenzan & Hall & Goto defeated Nakanishi & Kido & Yoshie when Tenzan used his diving headbutt on Kido at 11:58. Tenzan criticized Choshu for missing the show due to his body already breaking down from trying to wrestle full time. He said he'd cut his hair if Choshu beat him in the upcoming tag title match. Then again, he was going to vacate the titles if they couldn't beat Choshu's team in 10 minutes on 2/18 and you see how far that went.
Liger & Samurai beat Tanaka & Kashin when Liger pinned Kashin at 11:40 following his suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster.

Naoya Ogawa had a car accident. He wasn't injured, but a 32-year-old woman on a bicycle was. Both were crossing an intersecton that didn't have a traffic light. He hit the rear wheel of the woman's bicycle and she broke a bone in the side of her face and her wrist. The woman needs surgery on her wrist, which she'll have on the 16th. The police are investigating the incident, but so far no charges have been filed. Ogawa visited the hospital that day to appologize to the woman.

3/11 Saitama Kichikawa Shi Sogo Taiikukan 2,200 sellout
Sasaki & Nagata beat Frye & Rob Rage when Sasaki used his northern lights bomb on Rage at 14:35. Sasaki reinjured his left side (ribs, I think), which was a big problem for him last June.
Choshu & Koshinaka & Iizuka defeated Tenzan & Kojima & Hiro Saito when Iizuka made Hiro submit to his sleeper hold at 10:37.
Tanaka & Kashin & Casas beat Liger & Samurai & Makabe when Tanaka made Samurai submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 12:35.

3/9 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,557
Choshu & Sasaki & Koshinaka beat Tenzan & Kojima & Norton when Choshu lariated Tenzan at 11:15.
Hall pinned Yoshie at 8:21 with the Outsiders edge.
Iizuka & Johnston & Liger defeated Hiro & Goto & Ohara when Johnston made Goto submit to a standing heel hold at 14:10.
Tanaka & Casas beat Samurai & Kashin when pinned Kashin in a doublearm suplex hold at 11:40.

The following matches were added to for the 4/9 Osaka Dome show:
Sasaki vs. Kazuyuki Fujita in a match that's supposed to be a shoot under PRIDE rules.
Liger (subbing for injured Kanemoto) vs. Murakami
Kashin vs. Johnston
Iizuka vs. Tanaka (they were going to team against SS Machine & Liger)
Yoshie vs. Makabe
The biggest matches will air on TV Asahi from 8:00 pm -9:48 pm that night.

3/8 Tochigi Kanuma Sogo Taiikukan 1,800
Nakanishi & Nagata & Johnston beat Tenzan & Hall & Norton when Nakanishi made Tenzan submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 16:39.
Tanaka & Kashin defeated Liger & Samurai when Tanaka used his Minoru special on Samurai at 10:58.

Pre 30 Shunen Kinen Jiai (30th anniversary memorial match) ~Birth of Strong Style~ 3/6 Tokyo Ota-ku Taiikukan 2,900
Hall & Norton beat Sasaki & Nakanishi when Hall used his Outsider's edge on Nakanishi at 16:59. I don't know about anyone else, but I find it rather disgusting that Hall is in the main event of the 30th anniversary show (technically this is the 29th anniversary, but since that number means nothing they promoted the show using the 30 since it's the beginning of the 30th year. On this day next year they'll have a major 30th anniversary show that I'm sure Hall won't headline), much less being put over in it. Obviously, not too many people cared to see this match. It's not saying much for NJ when AJW smoked their attendance figure in the same arena, but they tried while NJ is just buying time figuring people will soon accept guys like Hashimoto & Otani as "outsiders" coming back for "interpromotional matches." Hall's modified catch phrase is, not surprisingly, "Hey, yo! Team 2000 is in the house!"
Liger & Samurai captured the IWGP Junior Tag Senshuken, defeating Tanaka & Kanemoto when Liger defeated Koji at 8:17 via doctor stop. I guess Kanemoto separated his shoulder wrestling on 3/4, but they popped it back in only to have it come out again today. In any case, we essentially have Kawada & Kanemoto going down in consecutive days. Ugh.
Muto & Frye beat Choshu & Kido when Frye used the Nagata lock II on Kido at 15:23. Kido, who is in his 5th decade as a pro, gets to be in one of the main matches today since he's the only original member of the promotion that still wrestles full time. Ironically, Kido announced his plan to retire on 11/2 at Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan. He will stay on as a coach for the young wrestlers though. Muto wants to challenge Tenryu for the Sankan Heavykyu Senshuken, so I guess that answers the question of how AJ plans to draw without Kawada. The thing is these guys have fought numerous times over the past 4 years so it's not a fresh match or anything. What they have in their favor is that they've been most of Muto's best matches, and they Tenryu won the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken from Muto the last time they met so that bodes well for Muto becoming the first NJ wrestler to hold AJ's top titles. Muto's new nickname is "Cross Wizard," which is supposed to mean "a magician who trancends genius."
Nagata made Iizuka submit to a front sleeper at 13:06.
Kashin made Negro Casas submit to a nadare shiki no udehishigigyakujujigatame at 8:35.

The following matches were announced for the 4/9 Osaka Dome show
Nakanishi vs. Nagata for a shot at the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken
Norton vs. Frye
Kashin vs. Johnston
Kanemoto vs. Murakami
Choshu & Koshinaka vs. Kawada & Fuchi. Koshinaka is also interested in a singles match with Kawada, which would most likely be excellent.
Chono & Tenzan & Kojima vs. Muto & Kea & Shinzaki
SS Machine & Liger vs. Iizuka & Tanaka
Sasaki & Fujita's opponents are TBA

Mike Tyson's manager, Shelly Finkel, is denying that's there's any possibility of him wrestling/shooting in Japan and has sent a written complaint to Tyson's attorney, Michael Smith, who was the one that negotiated with Inoki and sent the fax saying Tyson would do the match.

The 2/18 PPV got around 20,000 buys. This is around half of what the first PPV with Choshu vs. Onita did, but double what the 2nd PPV with Nagata & Iizuka vs. Kawada & Fuchi did.

New Japan is forming a scouting division to try to find men playing other sports like judo, amaresu, sumo, and rugby that they could turn into wrestlers. Kengo Kimura is going to be the department manager.

Added NJ FIGHTING SPIRIT 2001 Saishusen 2/18/01 PPV Rundown

Antonio Inoki claims Mike Tyson will be payed 4,000,000,000-5,000,000,000-en for a fight against Naoya Ogawa on June 16 or 17 at the Tokyo Dome. The fight will be telecast on satellite, PPV, and the internet. The big range in Tyson's salary would be due to him getting a percentage of the revenue generated though PPV purchases. Luckily for him it's not a percentage of the profit because they wouldn't not gross 4,000,000,000 with PPV in Japan not being popular and Ogawa not having name value outside that country. Although Tyson has earned a lot more than he'd make on this fight in the past, his 5 recent non-title matches are supposed to be averaging somewhere between 1,000,000,000-1,500,000,000-en and 5,000,000,000-en would be about 1/6 of what he earned in his 53 career boxing matches (although Tyson rose to stardom quickly, the early fights still drastically reduce the per fight average) . Of course, if he fights Lennox Lewis instead, he'll also make a ridiculous amount (not that much obviously, but his real salary against Ogawa could not be $40 million or more) so there's almost no chance Tyson would do a shoot with Ogawa if he really does fight him. Inoki is supposedly confident that the fight will be under indiscriminate rules (this would be something like RINGS rules), but it could be a work under those king of rules as we've already seen from Ogawa every time he was supposed to be shooting. In order to stay sharp, Ogawa is going to fight one of the former candidates for the Tyson match on NJ's 4/9 Osaka Dome show.

Naoya Ogawa said he wasn't going to be too particular over the rules of the fight against Mike Tyson. The rules are supposed to be the biggest stumbling block for the Tyson camp, so Ogawa's position is he'd rather fight Tyson somehow than spend the rest of his life regretting missing the opportunity. This means that if they do fight, it won't be under regular MMA rules.

NJ officials are supposed to meet with Eric Bischoff on 3/20 in Hawaii.

NJ announced the lineups for the HYPER BATTLE 2001 tour that runs from 3/3-3/20. Scott Hall will be appearing on the tour on the Team 2000 side assuming he makes it there and isn't sent home before it starts. The title matches are Tanaka & Kanemoto defending the junior tag against Liger & Samurai on 3/6, Sasaki defending the heavyweight against Norton on 3/17, and Tenzan & Kojima defending the tag against Choshu & Makabe on 3/20. Liger has a singles match with Kanemoto on 2/20 and a non-title match with Tanaka on 2/17.

Antonio Inoki is claiming that Tyson's match will be 6/17 at the Tokyo Dome, but no opponent or salary has been agreed upon so who knows what will happen, if anything.

2/18 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan 11,000 sellout
Sasaki made his 1st successful defense of the IWGP Heavykyu Senshuken, pinning Otani in his northern lights bomb at 14:53. Sasaki surprised Otani by attacking his right arm. He used 5 lariats before the finish. Although he wasn't able to "leave" New Japan as their champion, Otani still "quit" the promotion and joined ZERO-ONE
Muto pinned Murakami at 6:01 following his hizagiri (knee to the head) in succession. Kea was in Muto's corner. The mysterious white masked man came out around the middle of the match and stalked around the ring. This time it wasn't Inoki in hiding though, and the guy was not on Murakami's side (although he didn't interject himself into the match one way or another). After the match the masked man entered the ring and shook hands with Muto, which means he's the newest member of Muto's group. Muto then signalled for him to unmask, and it was Jinsei Shinzaki.
Frye upset Chono, forcing him to submit to a sleeper hold at 12:27.
Antonio Inoki came out dressed like a bumb and announced that Mike Tyson had agreed to have a match in Japan in June. Naoya Ogawa will most likely be his opponent, although Kazuyuki Fujita is also a possibility and they may toss a few other natives into the mix like Yasuda (yeah, it's a joke that his name was even brought up) so they can have one of those two win a tournament for the right to fight Tyson. The show will probably be held in a large outdoor stadium. This match will draw huge and get a ridiculous amount of coverage. Inoki has wanted this match because Tyson is the most famous heavyweight of the current era of boxing (even though he's not close to the best anymore), just like Mohammed Ali was when Inoki fought him in 1976. Like that fight, this will be on PPV. If Inoki gets his way, it'll also be all around the world. Inoki threw out a 3,000,000,000 figure (about $30 million) as what he hopes to be able to pay Tyson if the fight is telecast worldwide on PPV. This figure sounds ridiculous since promotional costs will be huge and Tyson's opponent probably doesn't have much if any name value outside of Japan. Of course, Tyson fighting at all is probably ridiculous since he can make tons of money in boxing and, whether the sport is more or less dangerous as a whole, Tyson is definitely less apt to get injured doing so simply because he's been boxing all his life so he knows what he's doing and his body is used to the training and pusishment it entails.
Tenzan & Kojima beat Choshu & Makabe when Tenzan pinned Choshu in a moonsault press at 15:20. This result really surprises me, I was sure Choshu was "finally" going to pin someone here. Chono isn't wrestling on the next tour and Frye has defected, so Tenzan needed a big win because he's left to lead Team 2000. Still, Tenzan & Kojima may vacate the titles because they promised to do so if they couldn't win this match inside 10:00. Norton will probably be with Team 2000 on the next tour so they aren't so thin.
Iizuka & Nagata defeated the AJ team of Kakihara & Nagai when Iizuka made Nagai submit to his sleeper hold at 17:03.
Nakanishi made J submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 11:31.
Koshinaka & Yoshie defeated Liger & Nishimura when Yoshie made Nishimura submit to a reverse figure 4 at 14:14.
Goto & Ohara beat Johnston & Sledge Hammer when Ohara used a nodowa otoshi then an udehishigigyakujujigatame on Sledge at 7:16.
Tanaka & Kanemoto & Takaiwa defeated Samurai & Wagner & Silver King when Kanemoto pinned Wagner in his moonsault press at 14:55. Takaiwa "quit" New Japan after the match and has "joined" the ZERO-ONE promotion.
Heard the show was okay, with earlier matches being better than the key ones.

2/17 Saitama Koshigaya Shiritsu Sogo Taiikukan 2,000 sellout
Sasaki & Nagata & Liger beat Frye & Otani & Sledge Hammer when Sasaki lariated Sledge at 11:57.Otani attacked Sasaki's arm again.
Tenzan & Kojima defeated Nakanishi & Yoshie when Kojima lariated Nakanishi at 13:56.
Choshu's losing ways continued, as J & Hiro & Goto beat Choshu & Iizuka & Makabe when Goto used his backdrop on Makabe at 8:09. Kenzo Suzuki's left wrist turned out to be broken so Makabe is replacing him as Choshu's partner on tomorrow's PPV. Suzuki was getting a very good push considering his experience level (especially when you consider how not good he is) so it's a tough break for him. The match will be a lot better with Makabe involved though. Makabe also resplaced Suzuki here, which gave him an excuse to lose since he'd already beat Shibata in the opener.
Samurai & Wagner, Jr. & Silver King beat Tanaka & Kanemoto & Takaiwa when King used his moonsault press on Takaiwa at 13:50.

2/15 Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu 1,800
Nakanishi & Iizuka & Yoshie beat Tenzan & J & Goto when Nakanishi made Goto submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 10:19.
Otani & Sledge Hammer defeated Sasaki & Nishimura when Otani made Nishimura submit to his cobra hold at 6:35. Otani once again attacked Sasaki's bad arm every chance.he had.
Nagata & Johnston beat Kojima & AKIRA when Nagata made AKIRA submit to his Nagata lock II at 14:39.
Hirata & Suzuki defeated Choshu & Makabe when Suzuki tackled Makabe at 6:35. Choshu is being awful generous all of a sudden. Suzuki hurt his left wrist landing on a missile kick. It's probably not broken, but he won't know until he has it examined tommorow.
Tanaka & Liger beat Wagner, Jr. & Silver King when Tanaka used his Minoru special on Wagner at 13:10.
Kanemoto & Takaiwa defeated Samurai & Kashin when Takaiwa used his Mochizukibomb on Kashin at 14:41.

2/14 Gifu Sangyo Kaikan 3,600
Tenzan & Kojima & AKIRA beat Sasaki & SS Machine & Liger when AKIRA used his Dragon suplex hold on Liger at 14:55. Sasaki's elbow is in really bad shape, supposedly pain runs up and down his arm everytime he bends it so he can't even concentrate much less wrestle effectively.
Nagata & Johnston defeated Otani & Hammer when Johnston pinned Hammer at 12:07 following a jumping knee attack.
Tanaka & Kanemoto & Takaiwa beat Samurai & Wagner, Jr. & Kashin when Takaiwa used his Death Valley bomb on Samurai at 18:38.

2/12 Okayama-ken Taiikukan 3,500
Tenzan & Kojima beat Sasaki & Yoshie when Tenzan used his Tenzan tombstone driver on Yoshie at 13:00.
Nakanishi & Nagata defeated Otani & Sledge Hammer when Nakanishi made Sledge submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 11:57. Otani surprised Nakanishi by using his cobra hold on him after the match. This prompted the G-EGGS to criticize the new Muto, Frye, & Otani group and call Otani a pitiful male.
Choshu & Koshinaka & Iizuka beat J & Ohara & AKIRA when Choshu lariated AKIRA at 8:15.
Hirata & Suzuki defeated Goto & Hiro when Suzuki tackled Goto at 11:01.
Liger & Samurai beat Wagner & Silver when Liger used his suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster on Silver at 13:31.
Takaiwa & Kashin defeated Tanaka & Kanemoto in a non-title match when Kashin made Tanaka submit to a victor shiki no jujigatame at 12:06.

2/11 Osaka Maeshu? Arena 4,000
Muto & Otani beat Sasaki & Koshinaka when Otani made Koshinaka submit to a cobra claw at 12:55. Otani attacked Kensuke's injured right arm during the match to try to further weaken it for their title match on 2/18. Frye was at ringside and after the match the new Muto, Otani, & Frye unit shook hands in the ring.
Iizuka & Nakanishi & Nagata defeated Tenzan & Kojima & AKIRA when Nagata made AKIRA submit to his Nagata lock II at 16:10.
Super Delfin & Takehiro Murahama & Tsubasa beat Tanaka & Samurai & Makabe when Delfin used his Osaka midosuji stunner on Samurai at 15:37.
J & Goto & Ohara defeated Choshu & Yoshie & Nishimura when J lariated Nishimura at 8:46. Choshu refused to comment about losing two consecutive matches (not that this one was a big deal since he didn't do the job).
Liger & Kashin beat Wagner, Jr. & Silver King when Liger used his suichoku rakka shiki no brainbuster on Wagner at 15:14.
Suzuki pinned Hiro with his tackle at 6:36.

Minoru Tanaka wants to defend one or both of his IWGP titles against Osaka Puroresu's Takehiro Murahama. This shows the value of drawing with a Gracie, as well as that Osaka Puroresu is thin in names since Togo, Hoshikawa, etc. left. Don't get me wrong, Murahama is good, it's just that in the past you'd never see a rookie (or close) from another promotion getting anywhere near any IWGP title.

2/9 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,715 sellout
Sasaki & Iizuka & Suzuki beat Nakanishi & Nagata & Yoshie when Iizuka slipped out of Nakanishi's Argentine backbreaker and applied his sleeper hold at 18:41.
Tenzan & Kojima defeated Otani & Sledge Hammer when Tenzan pinned Hammer at 17:00 following his diving headbutt.
SS Machine & Liger beat Goto & Ohara when Machine pinned Ohara at 8:57.
Wagner, Jr. & Silver King defeated Kashin & Takaiwa when Wagner used his Michinoku driver II on Kashin at 14:57.

Muto's mystery opponent on 2/18 was announced as Kazunari Murakami. That ends the shady advertising that made people think it might be Inoki, but now they have a semifinal that everyone knows isn't that enticing.
The tag match with Choshu got more interesting though because if Tenzan & Kojima lose, they'll return the titles and there will be a decision tournament on the 4/9 Osaka Dome show. Hopefully this won't happen, but I can't see Choshu not booking revenge for himself here.

2/8 Fukushima Taiikukan 2,100
Sasaki & Iizuka & Nagata & Johnston beat Tenzan & J & Hiro & Ohara when Johnston made Ohara submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 15:47.
Nakanishi & Hirata defeated Otani & Sledge Hammer when Nakanishi made Hammer submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 12:42.
In his first house show match in more than two years, Riki Choshu actually did a job. Choshu & Koshinaka were upset by Kojima & Goto in 11:59 when Kojima lariated Choshu 7 times in a row. Choshu has the excuse of not being in top form because he's suffering from the flu, but this seems to be the first attempt we've seen from NJ in quite a while to make the house shows meaningful again. The late announcement that Choshu would appear in some match on the show apparently didn't do much for sales because this number wouldn't be good for NJ if Choshu wasn't appearing on the show.
Yoshie & Liger beat Nishimura & Suzuki when Yoshie pinned Suzuki in a German suplex hold at 12:52.
Wagner, Jr. & Silver King defeated Tanaka & Takaiwa when King used 3 consecutive moonsault presses on Takaiwa at 11:29.

2/7 Kanagawa Yokosuka Shi Sogo Taiikukan 2,000
Tenzan & Kojima & J beat Sasaki & Nakanishi & Yoshie when Kojima lariated Yoshie at 18:49.
Otani & The Sledge Hammer defeated Nagata & Suzuki when Hammer used his Sledgedriver on Suzuki at 14:49.
Tanaka & Kanemoto & Takaiwa beat Liger & Kashin & Wagner when Takaiwa used his Death Valley bomb on Wagner at 14:23.
Nishimura made Makabe submit to his cobra twist at 13:26.
Silver King pinned Samurai in a moonsault press at 11:36.

UFO's Kazunari Murakami gave notice that he would do another "terrorist attack" on NJ. Murakami is pissed that NJ is advertising Keiji Muto's mystery partner on 2/18 as Mr. X. On the second Rikidozan Memorial show, Mr. X was Antonio Inoki posing as a white masked second from the UFO promotion. Everyone knew it was Inoki, so NJ wants people to think that it'll be him again since Inoki vs. Muto would sell a lot of tickets. I think NJ may have even put a picture of Inoki next to white mask in their advertising. Murakami says it's a publicity stunt that wrongly uses the UFO name to sell tickets for the NJ show, so he's going to show up on 2/18 and make someone pay.

NJ changed the lineups for the current tour to reflect Don Frye no longer being with Team 2000, but all Choshu's matches are being kept secret. Supposedly this is because they aren't sure if Choshu's body will hold up, especially since Tenzan is going to attack him at some point.

Hiroyoshi Tenzan can't wait until 2/18 to get his hands on Riki Choshu, so he's going to do a "terrorist attack" on him sometime between now and then. Choshu matches are going to be added to some if not all the shows on the current tour that he wasn't originally scheduled for (the only remaining scheduled appearance was 2/18, which might be changed to a tag title match).
Keiji Muto, Don Frye, & Shinjiro Otani have formed a group called Outsider. Don't they know the Outsiders were before the nWo? In any case, hopefully they won't be doing any polls...Since Muto isn't going to wrestle much, they could really use one more wrestler to fill out the six mans. Instead of tagging with Chono on 2/18, Frye will face him in a singles match.

2/4 Hokkaido-ken Sogo Taiiku Center 6,500
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima successfully defended the IWGP Tag Senshuken for the third time, defeating Manabu Nakanishi & Osamu Nishimura when Tenzan used the Tenzan tombstone driver on Nishimura at 25:25. Tenzan said this competition isn't good enough. Kojima suggested they defend against Choshu. Sasaki & Kawada's names were also mentioned. Tenzan said that Don Frye's actions (turning on Chono) have nothing to do with his & Kojima's feelings toward Chono, so now he's made himself their enemy.
Keiji Muto pinned Takashi Iizuka at 16:33 following a hizagiri (knee kick). Muto, Otani, & Frye may form an "outsider" group.
Kensuke Sasaki & Yuji Nagata beat Super Strong Machine & Jushin Thunder Liger when Sasaki used his northerns lights bomb on Liger at 14:10.
Riki Choshu & Kenzo Suzuki defeated Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito when Choshu lariated Goto at 8:25. Choshu is going to start wrestling more often, possibly full time, because he's not happy thrilled with his conditioning.
Shinjiro Otani made Michiyoshi Ohara submit to his cobra hold at 8:39. Even though Otani isn't beating any high ranking heavyweights, at least he's keeps beating whichever heavies he fights so it looks like he has at least a slight chance of beating Sasaki.
Brian Johnston & Yutaka Yoshie beat Shiro Koshinaka & Koji Kanemoto when used a half nelson suplex on Kanemoto at 12:18. Yoshie wants the next shot at the tag titles, doesn't care with what partner.
Minoru Tanaka & Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shinya Makabe defeated Kendo Kashin & Dr. Wagner, Jr. & Silver King when Tanaka used his Minoru special on King at 12:34. Takaiwa & Makabe will be the next challengers for the junior tag titles.
Masahiro Chono didn't wrestle due to a stomach injury he sustained yesterday. He may miss the 2/18 show as well.

2/3 Hokkaido-ken Sogo Taiiku Center 7,200 sellout
Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata beat Toshiaki Kawada & Masa Fuchi & Nobutaka Araya when Nakanishi made Araya submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 23:23. Even though Nakanishi scored the victory, he was angry over the content of the match and said that he was going to All Japan to hurt Kawada. This is supposed to take place on the 3/3 AJ show. Considering what little they have on the table and that most of their loyal fans are in Tokyo, if they are able to present Tenryu vs. Kea for the titles and the first Kawada vs. Nakanishi, they may as well have taken out Budokan.
Keiji Muto & Shinjiro Otani defeated Masahiro Chono & Don Frye when Muto pinned Chono at 12:43. Frye is more limited than usual because he's working with a torn muscle in his right thigh. He sustained this injury on 1/4, but has since reaggravated it. Frye is pissed at Chono for becoming a free agent since he can't lead Team 2000 if he's hardly ever around. Chono's chest was taped up to protect his rib, so Otani went right after it, stomping on him mercilessly. He took a lot of punishment here, but he lost because his teammate, Frye, betrayed him by laying him out with his deadly right straight punch. After Muto pinned the KO'd Chono, Frye fled to the locker room.
Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto made their 3rd successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavykyu Senshuken, defeating Dr. Wagner, Jr. & Silver King when Kanemoto used his moonsault press on King at 19:55.
In a match billed as EPILOGUE OF DRAGON 3rd, Tatsumi Fujinami made Yoshiaki Fujiwara submit to a figure 4 at 10:57. Fujinami is stopping/pausing his retirement countdown because he's not happy with his physical condition. He's going to get into better shape and then give Fujiwara a rematch.
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Kensuke Sasaki & Jushin Thunder Liger when Kojima lariated Liger at 16:48.
El Samurai & Kendo Kashin defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Shinya Makabe when Samurai used a nadare shiki no reverse DDT on Makabe at 10:33.