New Japan Cup Update!

NJ Cup Coverage

2011 NJC Brackets

Bracket A will take place on 2011.3.6

Bracket B will take place on 2011.3.13

Quarter finals will take place on 2011.3.19

Semi finals and final match will take place on 2011.3.20

New Japan Cup Announced!

This fresh from the NJP Facebook page:

"New Japan has just announced 16 wrestlers who will participate New Japan Cup 2011. MVP, Kojima, Tanaka etc. are included. The opening matches are held at Korakuen on Mar. 6 (Sun.) and they come to Ohta, Kasukabe, Hamamatsu. Tsubame, Mito, Kumagaya, Nagoya, and will end in Amagasaki on Mar. 20."

Here are the standings as reported by http://www.njpw.co.jp/

Togi Makabe
Shinzuki Nakamura
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
Takayuki Iizuka
Hiroshi Tenzen
Yuji Nagata
Takahashi Yujiro
Wataru Inoue
Tetsuya Naito
Manabu Nakanishi
Giant Bernard
Masato Tanaka
Satoshi Kojima
"Machine Gun" Carl Anderson
MVP

This year is bound to be one of the best on record.  I'm sure that most of us expected MVP to make the list this year, even though he's just debuted for the company.  I'm sure everyone has heard by now the ironic happenings of MVP's partner Nosawa being arrested for being drunk and stealing a taxi cab, after all of the hell MVP went through to get a work visa in Japan.  Yeah, the irony really sticks out there as Nosawa turns out to be the criminal of the two.  Yeah...

I'll have photos up as soon as possible of the standings of the New Japan Cup and I'll be sure to track it week to week, as this year's NJ Cup also marks one year of Rising Sun Sports in blog form.

Bad News is Everywhere it Seems .

悪いニュースは、それはそうどこにでもある.




For those of you puroresu fans of Koji Kanemoto, there is bad news on the horizon this year.  The 44-year-old, former five-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion may be scarse throughout 2011.  Kanemoto's new contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling stipulates he will be on a limited date basis with the company indefinitely. 

As many of you know, Kanemoto has had knee problems for the last few years, which is just a lingering injury that comes with the territory in his particular fast-paced and stiff style of wrestling.  The exact amount of dates that Koji will perform with the company is unknown as of this writing, but another note: he's also now able to take outside bookings during his time off.  However, it is very likely that he will be spending as much free time as he has at home, nursing his lingering injuries.  Kanemoto is also 44-years-old, which adds to the severity of the injuries, as they may need further treatment.

Kanemoto has blossomed throughout his career, and while I personally feel he is very underutilized these days, not in matters of dates but in matters of position and spot, I think most of us now really know why.  While the company could certainly use his leadership in the Jr. Heavyweight Division, I think it's common-place thinking to say that now is the time for him to coach the younger talent of the current division to blossom into the future talent of the division.  People like Prince Devitt, Ryusuki Taguchi, and up and coming DDT stars such as former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, Koto Ibushi and Kenny Omega; as well as a plethora of other talent, is seen as the future of the division, with which I would most certainly agree.

Kanemoto, being 21 years into his puroresu career must surely be thinking about when it's time to cool it, or even hang it up.  However, in the mind of this life-long puro-freak, I have to say that I hope he takes advantage of this time off and stays around for another ten.

NJP 2011.2.7

Ueda Sozokan

超満員

Match One:

Kyosuke Mikami beat Hiromu Takahashi (7:49) crab hold.

Match Two:

Wataru Inoue, Jushin Thunder Liger & KUSHIDA beat Toru Yano, Jado & Gedo (11:54) Inoue/Spear of Justice on Gedo.

Match Three:

Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson & Tomoaki Honma beat Manabu Nakanishi, Strong Man & King Fale (11:56) Anderson/Gun Stun on Fale.

Match Four:

Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Hirooki Goto & Tama Tonga (14:01) Takahashi/Tokyo Pimps on Tonga.

Match Five:

Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask beat Shinsuke Nakamura & Tomohiro Ishii (11:24) Tiger/flying crucifix hold on Ishii.

Match Six:

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Satoshi Kojima, TAKA Michinoku , NOSAWA Rongai & Taichi (15:08) Tanahashi/High Fly Flow on Taichi.

Dragon Gate

Results for 2010.4.4 and 4.5

April 04 2010 - 2010.4.4 KING OF GATE 2010

4/4/2010 Kyoto

Kzy{o}, Kenichiro Arai VS Kotoka{x}, Super Shenlong
YAMATO{o}, KAGETORA, Akira Tozawa VS Masaaki Mochizuki, Super Shisa, Anthony W. Mori{x}
King of Gate 2010 B Bracket: Genki Horiguchi over Don Fujii
King of Gate 2010 B Bracket: Shingo Takagi over Takuya Sugawara
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino{o}, Naoki Tanisaki VS CIMA, Gamma{x}, Dragon Kid
King of Gate 2010 B Bracket: BxB Hulk over Cyber Kong
King of Gate 2010 B Bracket: K-ness over Susumu Yokosuka


April 03 2010 - 2010.4.3 KING OF GATE

4/3/2010 Hyogo

Takuya Sugawara{o}, Yasushi Kanda, Kzy VS Don Fujii, Super Shisa, Genki Horiguchi{x}
K-ness{W}, Susumu Yokosuka VS Akira Tozawa, Super Shenlong{L}
King of Gate 2010 A Bracket: Dragon Kid over KAGETORA
King of Gate 2010 A Bracket: Gamma over Naruki Doi
Shingo Takagi{o}, Cyber Kong VS BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki{x}
King of Gate 2010 A Bracket: Masato Yoshino over CIMA
King of Gate 2010 A Bracket: Masaaki Mochizuki over YAMATO


Here are the upcoming shows for the Dragon Gate King of Gate Tournament:

2010.4.9 Gifu, Hida Earth Wisdom Center
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Anthony W. Mori
Kzy, Yasushi Kanda vs. Naoki Tanisaki, Kotoka
King of Gate B Bracket 2nd Round: Shingo Takagi vs. Genki Horiguchi
King of Gate B Bracket 2nd Round: K-ness vs. BxB Hulk
YAMATO, KAGETORA, Akira Tozawa vs. CIMA, Gamma, Dragon Kid

2010.4.10 Shizuoka, Act City Hamamatsu
K-ness, Susumu Yokosuka vs. CIMA, Genki Horiguchi
Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong vs. Don Fujii, Super Shisa
King of Gate A Bracket 2nd Round: Dragon Kid vs. Gamma
King of Gate A Bracket 2nd Round: Masato Yoshino vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
YAMATO, KAGETORA, Akira Tozawa vs. Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk, Naoki Tanisaki

2010.4.11 Mie, Tsu City Gym
Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk vs. Dragon Kid, Gamma, Anthony W. Mori
Susumu Yokosuka vs. Daisuke Masaoka
CIMA vs. Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa
Super Shisa vs. Genki Horiguchi
Shingo Takagi, Cyber Kong vs. Yasushi Kanda, Kzy
Open the Triangle Gate: Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fujii, Akebono vs. YAMATO, KAGETORA, Akira Tozawa

20104.18 Osaka, Appla Takaishi
-Open the Brave Gate: Super Shisa vs. Tigers Mask (Dragon Gate VS Osaka Pro)

Dragon Gate Weekend Schedule 2010.4.3-4 (King of Gate First Round)

Dragon Gate Weekend Schedule:

2010.4.3 Hyogo, Kobe Sambo Hall

Sugawara, Yasushi Kanda, Kzy vs. Don Fujii, Super Shisa, Genki Horiguchi

K-ness, Susumu Yokosuka vs. Akira Tozawa, Super Shenlong

King of Gate 2010 Bracket A: KAGETORA vs. Dragon Kid

King of Gate 2010 Bracket A: Naruki Doi vs. Gamma

King of Gate 2010 Bracket A: CIMA vs. Masato Yoshino

King of Gate 2010 Bracket A: YAMATO vs. Masaaki Mochizuki


2010.4.4 Kyoto, KBS Hall

Kotoka, Super Shenlong vs. Kzy, Kenichiro Arai

YAMATO, KAGETORA, Akira Tozawa vs. Masaaki Mochizuki, Super Shisa, Anthony W. Mori

King of Gate 2010 Bracket B: Don Fujii vs. Genki Horiguchi

King of Gate 2010 Bracket B: Shingo Takagi vs. Takuya Sugawara

CIMA, Gamma, Dragon Kid vs. Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki

King of Gate 2010 Bracket B: BxB Hulk vs. Cyber Kong

King of Gate 2010 Bracket B: K-ness vs. Susumu Yokosuka

KING OF GATE 2010 BRACKETS

So, here are the brackets for the King of Gate Tournament happening within the span of 2010.4.3 to 2010.4.14.

The competitors this year are Shingo Takagi, Takuya Sugawara, Genki Horiguchi, Don Fujii, Cyber Kong, BxB Hulk, Susumu Yokosuka, K-Ness, YAMATO, Masaachi Mochizuki, Masato Yoshima, CIMA, Naruki Doi, Gamma, KAGETORA, and Dragon Kid. Below is the official bracket...



First round; First bracket: Takagi VS Sugawara, Horiguchi VS Fujii, Cyber Kong VS BxB Hulk, Yokosuka VS K-Ness.

First round; Second bracket: YAMATO VS Mochizuki, CIMA VS Masato Yoshina, Naruki Doi VS Gamma, KAGETORA VS Dragon Kid.

And as an extra, how many of you caught Wrestlemania on Sunday? If you did, then why? Dragon Gate had an incredible show that night that I'll be putting up in it's entirety as soon as Vimeo stops having issues. I think they're under site maintenance for X amount of time.

Dragon Gate Results

Sorry, peeps. A few days late on this one. Dragon Gate 3/28/2010 results NEX Premium 13 at the Dragon Gate Arena.

March 28 2010 - NEX Premium 13, Dream Gate

Super Shisa over Takuya Tomakomai at 9:04 - Cross Heel Hold

Don Fujii over Kotoka at 5:44 - HIMEI

Anthony W. Mori over Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa at 10:23 From - Vertical Drop Brainbuster

Cyber Kong over Super Shenlong at 7:19 - Power Bomb

Akira Tozawa and KAGETORA over Yasushi Kanda and KZY at 13:00 - Ikkitousen

New Japan Pro Wrestling presents "New Dimension"

I hope everyone is excited for New Dimension on 4/4, which will be the inaugural night of the Super J Tag Tournament. The lineup has been announced, and as usual, I'm here with the story.

NJPW “NEW DIMENSION”, 4/4/10

Tokyo, Korakuen Hall

1. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi
vs.
Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Kyosuke Mikami

Manabu Nakanishi
vs.
King Fale (debut)

Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & Wataru Inoue
vs.
Masato Tanaka *ZERO1*, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo

Togi Makabe
vs.
Tomoaki Honma

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito
vs.
Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match
Naomichi Marufuji *Pro Wrestling NOAH* defends against multiple-time champion, Jushin Thunder Liger

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
Shinsuke Nakamura defends against the 2010 New Japan Cup Winner, Hirooki Goto

NJPW Press Conference and Contract Signing.

This past Sunday, the match and date were officially set, as both 2010 NJ Cup winner, Hirooki Goto and NJPW's IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Shinsuki Nakamura, officially signed the contract for the IWGP Championship match to be held on 4/4 at Korakuen Hall. This is Hirooki Goto's second year in a row winning the coveted NJ Cup, and although last year's attempt to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship was unsuccessful, he is planning otherwise this year.

At the press conference, Hirooki stated, "The New Japan Cup is a symbol of strength, while the IWGP Championship is a symbol of excellence. Having won the cup again, I intend to prove myself by winning the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Korakuen this year."

The champion replied, "Goto won the NJ Cup this year and proved himself a strong competitor for my title. However, Goto needs not to blab so much. I'm not looking for a war of words. He may have won the tournament, but he will not win my championship."

Also, following their statements, Goto was asked in a Q&A session about his injury from last year. Goto replied, "My injury is over and I am fully recovered."

Indeed 4/4 at Korakuen Hall is shaping up to be an incredible event. I will also be keeping you updated as word filters down about the other tournaments coming up in New Japan Puroresu, including the Super J, and this year's inaugural Super J Tag Team Tournament.

Some Coverage of the New Japan Cup

NJPW and ZERO1 News

In light of Hirooki Goto's recent victory in the New Japan Cup Tournament, the IWGP Heavyweight Championship bout between Hirooki Goto and the current champion, Shinsuki Nakamura, along with an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship bout between Jushin Liger and Huzimaru Masamiti, have been scheduled for April 4, 2010 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

In other NJPW news, the first ever New Japan Super J Tag Team Tournament has been set for May 8, 2010. Tournament brackets have yet to be announced, but I will update as soon as they are.



Hiroshi Tanahashi also made an appearance at the Dainichi Universe in Osaka, Japan this past Sunday, March 21, where he met with fans, signed DVDs, collectibles and T-shirts. He also competed in a paper, rock, scissors tournament, in which he actually lost. What's worse is that flannel shirt that he wore to the event. However, he's still one of the best performers out there right now.

In ZERO1 News:

Hartley Jackson, the Australian Professional Wrestler, is going to be returning to Japan for ZERO1 in April for the "Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri" at the Yasukuni Shrine on April 11,2010 and the Hokkaido Tour from April 13 - April 15. The 10-year veteran of professional wrestling has wrestled in Australia, Japan and the USA in the past.

And a little late, but here are the results for ZERO1 VS. Nagoya Wakate Senbatsu Sen event at the Nagoya City Sports Center in Aichi, Japan on March 14, 2010:

Main Event

O Shinjiro Otani
(ZERO1)
VS
Kenta Kosugi X
(DEP)

(14:02 → Spiral Bomb)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tag Match

O Kohei Sato
(ZERO1)
KAMIKAZE
(ZERO1)
VS
Yasu Kubota
(Sportiva Entertainment)
Shigehiro Irie X
(DEP)

(13:12 → German Suplex Hold)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Single Match

O Ryouji Sai
(ZERO1)
VS
Akito X
(Sportiva Entertainment)

(11:55 → Nachi Waterfall)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Single Match

O Kintaro Kanemura
(XWF)
VS
Mammoth Soldier X
(Sportiva Entertainment)

(5:04 → Roundhouse Kick)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tag Match

O Minoru Fujita
(ZERO1)
Takuya Sugawara
(ZERO1)
VS
Michio Kageyama X
(DEP)
Touru Sugiura
(DEP)

(13:58 → Sasuke Segway)
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Tag Match

Shota Takanishi
(ZERO1)
X Yoshikazu Yokoyama
(ZERO1)
VS
Yuzuru Saito O
(ZERO1)
Kenta Kakinuma
(ZERO1)

(9:37 → Crab Hold)

New Japan Cup Finals 2010.3.22 Results (新しい日本をW杯決勝2010年3月22日結果)

■ SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH ■
○ Koji Kanemoto ○, Tomoaki Honma and Jushin Liger defeat × Mikami Yasushi ×, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask at 7 min 34 sec.

■ ONE ON ONE - 20 MINUTE TIME LIMIT ■
Yutaka Takahashi defeats Hirasawa Mitsuhide at 7 mins 47 secs with a moonsault.

■ NEW JAPAN CUP SEMIFINAL MATCH ■
Togi Makabe defeats Naitou Tetsuya to advance to the final round to face the winner of Masato Tanaka and Hirooki Goto

■ NEW JAPAN CUP SEMIFINAL MATCH ■
Last year's winner, Hirooki Goto, defeats Masato Tanaka at 11 mins 15 secs to advance to the finals to meet Togi Makabe

■ SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH ■
○ Hiroshi Tanahashi ○, Sutoronguman and Manabu Nakanishi defeat × "The Machine Gun" Karl Anderson ×, Giant Bernard and Toru Yano at 15 min 14 sec

■ SIX MAN TAG TEAM MATCH ■
○ Shinsuke Nakamura ○, Gedo and Iizuka Takashi defeat × Wataru Inoue ×, Yuji Nagata and Riki Choshu at 9 min 39 sec.

■ NEW JAPAN CUP FINALS ■
Hirooki Goto defeats Togi Makabe at 21 mins 42 secs to become the first-ever two straight year winner of the New Japan Cup Tournament.

2010.3.22

2010.3.20 New Japan Cup Results

Round Two of the New Japan Cup has arrived, and as the first night, this night didn't fail to entertain at an extraordinary level. Here are the results from round two, and as you'll see, one of my two picks, Hiroshi Tanahashi, is out, but Masato Tanaka is still holding on.

■ Match One ■
○ Jushin Liger, El Samurai and Koji Kanemoto VS × Mikami Yasushi, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tiger Mask

Jushin Liger pins Mikami Yasushi at 5 min 19 sec


■ Match Two ■
○ Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma and Riki Choshu VS × Gedo, Ishii Tomohiro and Iizuka Takashi

Nakanishi pins Gedo at 8 mins 33 secs

■ Match Three ■
○ "The Machine Gun" Karl Anderson and Giant Bernard VS × Hirasawa Mitsuhide and Yugi Nagata

Karl Anderson pins Mitsuhide at 12 mins 05 secs

■ Match Four ■
NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND TWO
Masato Tanaka Pins Wataru Inoue at 13 mins 05 secs to advance to the semifinals to face last year's winner, Hirooki Goto.

■ Match Five ■
NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND TWO
Togi Makabe Pins Toru Yano at 14 mins 26 secs to advance to the semifinals to face Naitou Tetsuya.

■ Match Six ■
Shinsuke Nakamura Pins Sutoronguman at 9 min 09 sec.

■ Match Seven■
NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND TWO
Last year's winner, Hirooki Goto, pins Yutaka takahashi at 15 min 04 sec to advance to the semifinals to face Masato Tanaka

■ Match Eight ■
NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND TWO
Naitou Tetsuya Pins Hiroshi Tanahashi at 23 mins 17 secs to advance to the semifinals to face Togi Makabe

Brackets

2010.3.14 NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND RESULTS

Yesterday's New Japan Cup opener was amazing. Some of the matches were a little short, but that is to be expected from the first round of the tournament. Seven first-round matches were held, along with a pretty fast but still impressive opener, and an incredibly fast but superbly impressive six-man tag match. Here are the results:

OPENER
Nobuo Yoshihashi defeated Mikami Yasushi at 6 minutes and 13 seconds.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH ONE
矢野通 Toru Yano defeated 本間朋晃 Tomoaki Honma at 10 min 34 sec to advance to round two to face Togi Makabe on 3/20.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH TWO
内藤哲也 Naitou Tetsuya defeated “ザ・マシンガン”カール・アンダーソン "Machine Gun" Karl Anderson at 9 mins 52 secs to advance to round two to face Hiroshi Tanahashi on 3/20.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH THREE
井上亘 Wataru Inoue defeated ジャイアント・バーナード Giant Bernard at 7 mins 39 secs to advance to round two to face Masato Tanaka on 3/20.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH FOUR
高橋裕二郎 Yutaka Takahashi defeated 永田裕志 Yuji Nagata at 13 mins 41 secs to advance to round two to face last years winner Hirooki Goto, who received a by into round two, on 3/20.

6-MAN TAG TEAM MATCH
獣神サンダー・ライガー Jushin Liger 後藤洋央紀 Hirooki Goto and 長州力 Riki Choshu defeated 外道 Gedo 飯塚高史 Iizuka Takashi and 中邑真輔 Shinsuke Nakamura at 11 mins 57 secs when Jushin Liger defeated Gedo.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH FIVE
真壁刀義 Togi Makabe defeated 石井智宏 Ishii Tomohiro at 11 mins 46 secs to advance to round two to face Toru Yano on 3/20.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH SIX
The debuting 田中将斗 Masato Tanaka defeated 中西学 Manabu Nakanishi at 18 min 01 sec to advance to round two to face Wataru Inoue on 3/20.

NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND MATCH SEVEN (FINAL)
棚橋弘至 Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated ストロングマン Sutoronguman at 8 mins 37 secs to advance to round two to face Naitou Tetsuya on 3/20.

The winners of the Round Two matches on March 20, will go on to the semifinals on March 22. The finals will be held the same night.

NJPW CUP: Tokyo Korakuen Hall

The action isn't long away now. It's Sunday morning at around 11:00 here in Tokyo and I'm anxiously anticipating the NJPW Cup Tournament today at Korakuen Hall (the only wrestling stadium that really matters if you ask me). Yesterday the officials of NJPW meet and held a press conference regarding the tournament, at which point a rather controversial statement was made by one Tobi Makabe who blatantly asked, "What is the New Japan Cup anyway?" His question was meant more as a statement of confidence, however, it was not taken that way by many. My personal prediction for the tournament this year: I'm actually rather torn between Hiroshi Tanahashi and Masato Tanaka, but my fear is that it may go to either Karl Anderson or Giant Bernard again. Let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we? I'll be live with results in the coming hours, as soon as I get some damn coffee in me that is.