The Navigation Log 11.09.08: G1 Tag Finals, Hama Debuts in All Japan, and Dragon Gate Preview

Onto the Navigation Log!

New Japan: Tenzan & Kojima Win the G1
The reunion of Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima as a tag team has been one of the most interesting stories in Japan this year. Tenzan had no one to fight GBH, the stable he created, so he enlisted the aid of his old tag team partner Satoshi Kojima from All Japan instead. They had a rocky start to their new run, failing in an attempt at All Japan’s World Tag Team Titles and just generally having a hard time getting off the ground against GBH. But it looks like the former 2-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and past Real World Tag League and G1 Tag League winners hit their stride at just the right time. The rallied late in the tournament to take first place in Block A after defeating the leaders, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hirooki Goto.

Nakamura & Goto’s loss put them in a very tough position. On the same day Giant Bernard & Rick Fuller managed to gain a win and so a playoff match was held to determine who would take second place in Block A and move onto the semi-finals. Nakamura & Goto managed to get past the gaijin team, but after such a tough match they didn’t have enough to get past the IWGP Tag Team Champions and Block B leaders, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano. Meanwhile, in Block B a win over the champions by Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie catapulted that team into second place when Jado & Gedo were upset by the team of Negro Casas & Rocky Romero.

With Makabe & Yano waiting in the finals, Tenzan & Kojima defeated Nakanishi & Yoshie to advance to the last match of the tournament. The feud that has been broiling between these two teams came to the full front here. The finals have gotten very strong reviews from fans already and just to highlight the importance of it, Tenzan busted out his Anaconda Cross, a beefed up version of the Anaconda Vice. Tenzan & Kojima have become two time G1 Tag League winners and are now likely in line for a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Titles.

The final months of New Japan are starting to be laid out now. While there’s a lot of people clamoring for Tenzan & Kojima to get their tag title shot, they will have to wait their turn. By virtue of pinning the champions during the G1 Tag League Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie have been granted a tag title shot on December 6th. They might be long-shot contenders, but have already proven they have what it takes to beat the champs. I don’t think they’ll win the titles though, New Japan realizes that they will have a money match in 2009 with Makabe & Yano vs. Tenzan & Kojima.

Also on tap for the ALIVE finale on December 7th, the name given to this final tour is an IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title match where Yujiro & Tetsuya Naito will defend against Jado & Gedo. Jado & Gedo are perhaps the most well oiled Jr. Heavyweight tag team in New Japan and have dominated the belts for most of the 00’s. They were able to defeat the champs during the G1 Tag League in order to earn this match. This is a huge test for NO LIMIT as they are going up against a team who has years of experience over them. At the same time, you would have to figure that Yujiro & Naito aren’t interested in losing their titles so soon after winning the gold they’ve been craving. Meanwhile, Low Ki will have his first IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title defense against Ryusuke Taguchi on the 7th as well. Taguchi was promised this title shot when Low Ki won the belt and he is sure to do his best to make good on this shot. It also bears noting that this will be counted as Low Ki’s first defense, as opposed to a match against 2 Cold Scorpio he’s having with the belt on the line. New Japan doesn’t seem interested in sanctioning this match as an official defense. And why would it? I don’t even know where this match is supposed to be happening and I can bet New Japan isn’t interested in having the IWGP brand being defended in a high school gym. Not that there’s anything wrong with indy feds in gyms (except the shitty indy feds), but the IWGP just seems… too good for that kind of treatment.

All Japan: Takayama Invades and World’s Strongest Tag League Announced
All Japan’s Pro Wrestling LOVE in RYOGOKU is in the books with more than a few surprises. First, we had the debut of former sumo wrestler Ryota Hama against Akebono. The bout only lasted about 5 minutes, but fans have described it as a very good 5 minutes. That’s somewhat amazing considering it was Hama’s first match ever and Akebono isn’t exactly famous for being the kind of guy who can carry matches like that. So the positive reviews perhaps speak both to Hama’s natural ability for wrestling and just how far Akebono has come in his career where he can help someone as inexperienced as Hama. If Hama keeps getting better, then it would be safe to call All Japan’s investment in the guy a success.

Also, Naomichi Marufuji journeyed from NOAH to defend his World Jr. Heavyweight title against Shuji Kondo. Kondo was heavily favored to take back All Japan’s title from the outsider Marufuji. Marufuji on the other hand had stated in a press conference that he had high hopes for his title reign and wanted to surpass the 14 successful title defenses of Masanobu Fuchi. His goal is to be known as the greatest junior in the world and to him that means beating Fuchi. He added victory number two this past week, after surprisingly beating Kondo to retain the belt. The two wrestled for almost 40 minutes before Marufuji hit the knockout blow with his Pole Shift finisher. I have actually seen this bout (I’ll probably put it in the column next week) and it was a very strong match. Fans called it the match of the night and I find it hard to disagree with that assessment. After the match, All Japan’s juniors cleared the locker room to issue challenges to Marufuji. For now it seems like NOSAWA Rongai will get the next shot judging just from the post-match events, but Kaz Hayashi has also made a strong appeal. Plans are unknown for now, but there are rumors of another defense in NOAH against Tsuyoshi Kikuchi before the year is out.

The main event saw The Great Muta defend the Triple Crown against Minoru Suzuki. This was the shot Suzuki had been clamoring for, but despite his best efforts he came up short. The outcome isn’t all that surprising, but the real shock came post match when freelancer Yoshihiro Takayama appeared behind Muta. It seems as though Takayama will be the next opponent for The Great Muta, but details are very sketchy right now. If Takayama gets the next shot, it more than likely won’t happen until 2009 as the World’s Strongest Tag League is expected to dominate the rest of the year.

Speaking of the World’s Strongest Tag League, here are the participating teams:

-Keiji Muto & Ryota Hama
-Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima
-Osamu Nishimura & Kaz Hayashi
-Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya
-Taiyo Kea & Minoru Suzuki
-TARU & Hate (formerly Nobukazu Hirai)
-Joe Doering & ZODIAC

Not nearly as impressive a field as the G1 Tag League, but there’s always the chance for good matches in there. Tenzan & Kojima have to be considered favorites after their performance in the G1, and that would cap off a seriously impressive year for them. Kea & Suzuki are All Japan’s World Tag Team Champions though and won’t be pushovers though. Nishimura & Hayashi could be a dark horse, as could TARU & Hate (loving Hirai’s name change). Doering & ZODIAC should make for an interesting pair of heel gaijin too. Of course the real thing people are buzzing about this is Muto’s decision to team with Hama. Here we’ve got one of the most experienced guys on the All Japan roster teaming with the least experienced. There’s a couple ways to think about this: in a positive way or a cynical way. If you’re going to think positively, then you’ll say that Muto is teaming with Hama to guide him to his full potential and give him a rub by teaming with a legend. The cynic would say that Muto saw how much press Hama is getting and how well received his debut was and decided to cash in. I prefer the positive view, though I can see where the cynics are coming from.

Dragon Gate: Showdown in Osaka
Next weekend Dragon Gate will be putting on a big show in Osaka, and while it’s packed to the rafters with title matches, it doesn’t have a cute name like GATE OF LIGHT or GATE OF FLIPPY-DOS. That’s alright though. Every title (minus the Owari Gate) is on the line.

Dragon Kid will look to take the Open the Brave Gate Title from Masato Yoshino, while Yoshino will try to further add to his legacy as one of the best to ever hold that title. Kid got to this spot by beating his old rival K-ness and while he’ll make the most of it, Yoshino will retain because he’s that awesome. When you look at his record as Open the Brave Gate champion he’s held the belt on three separate occasions and successfully defended it 10 times. Look for him to add another notch to his belt in this.

Cyber Kong & YAMATO will make their first Open the Twin Gate defense as well, taking on Naoki Tanisaki & Naruki Doi. The World-1 combo does not have quite the same record as a team like… I dunno Speed Muscle has. This should prove to be a successful first defense for the champions, but this would be a good chance for Tanisaki to make a good accounting of himself. He’s done so little since rejoining Dragon Gate, so he would be wise to use this time to shine.

The Triangle Gate is on the line as Masaaki Mochizuki, Don Fuji, & Magnitude Kishiwada defend against Akira Tozawa, Taku Iwasa, & Kenichiro Arai. There’s a lot at stake for Tozawa-juku here, because if they lose this match then the entire unit will be forced to break up. While the idea of some of these members finding homes among the other units would be a refreshing change of pace in some aspects, it just seems wrong to break up Tozawa-juku. The group has been around for so long that it just wouldn’t be right without them in Dragon Gate.

Shingo Takagi will also be putting his Dream Gate belt up for grabs against his stable mate from Typhoon, Susumu Yokosuka. While I don’t see Yokosuka winning the belt it does set up some interesting tensions inside of Typhoon. Yokosuka has not exactly taken to Takagi, especially after the way he betrayed BxB Hulk at the end of New Hazard. While the story might end up being more interesting than the match, it will probably be worth a look.

Last bit of Dragon Gate news this week is the official lineup for the King of Gate tournament has been released. Unlike the past two years there are no outsiders, making this an all Dragon Gate affair. The participants are:

-Shingo Takagi
-Dragon Kid
-Susumu Yokosuka
-Ryo Saito
-Anthony W. Mori
-Gamma
-Genki Horiguchi
-Cyber Kong
-YAMATO
-Masaaki Mochizuki
-Don Fuji
-Taku Iwasa
-Naruki Doi
-Masato Yoshino
-BxB Hulk
-Naoki Tanisaki

My pick? Doi.