Note: This article was written in 2017 2005: Heat © vs Tiger Mask – IWGP Junior Heavyweight titleToukon Festival: Wrestling World 2005 (attendance: 46,000 / 36,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00165_1_3 It’s been six articles since we looked at the junior heavyweights, and you may be wondering why that is. In 2000 the role of booker in New Japan was taken over by Riki Choshu, […]
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh… Sorry. On the latest instalment of Roadtrip Music we’re looking at the 1985 classic Tarzan Boy by Italian group Baltimora. It is the group’s debut single from their debut album Life in the Background (which isn’t awful). The group peaked early with Tarzan Boy establishing them as a one hit […]
Our second podcast! On this episode Chris and Greg have a chat about wrestling. Topics we cover include the NWA Women’s title, Chris’s issues with Ring of Honor, New Japan and COVID, early FMW and WING, deathmatches and Greg’s discovery of ECW, Dark Side of the Ring and more. We even talk about WWE for once! There’s a little bit […]
Note: This article was written in 2017 2004: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Yoshihiro Takayama © – IWGP Heavyweight and NWF Heavyweight title unification matchWrestling World 2004 (attendance: 40,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00164_1_15 After re-establishing the NWF Heavyweight title a year ago, here we are back in the Tokyo Dome to unify it with the IWGP Heavyweight title. After defeating Tsuyoshi Kohsaka last year, Yoshihiro […]
Born: June 22, 1963 (John Anthony Tenta Jnr.) | Birthplace: Surrey, British Columbia, CanadaDied: June 7, 2006 (Bladder Cancer)Billed Hometown: Multiple | Billed Weight: 468 lbsOther Aliases: Earthquake Evans, Canadian Earthquake, Avalanche, The Shark, GolgaSumo Names: Kototenta, Kototenzan Born in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada, John Tenta pursued amateur wrestling at a young age, and was good enough to receive a scholarship to […]
Note: This article was written in 2017 2003: Yoshihiro Takayama vs Tsuyoshi Kohsaka – vacant NWF Heavyweight titleWrestling World 2003 (attendance: 30,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00162_1_10 Who? Tsuyoshi Kohsaka is a mixed martial artist who as of this writing has a record of 29-19 which includes losses to Mark Hunt, Randy Couture, Bas Rutten and Frank Shamrock (among others). Brought in to NJPW as […]
Born: May 7, 1965 | Birthplace: Calgary, Alberta, CanadaDied: May 23, 1999 (Blunt Force Trauma)Billed Weight: 227 lbsOther Aliases: “Cowboy” Owen Hart, Blue Angel, Blue Blazer, The Rocket, The King of Harts Owen was the youngest of twelve children to Stu and Helen Hart. He was an amateur wrestler in high school, where he also met his future wife, Martha. Naturally, […]
Born: November 15, 1952 (Randy Mario Poffo) | Birthplace: Columbus, OhioDied: May 20, 2011 (Heart Disease)Billed Hometown: Sarasota, FL | Billed Weight: 250 lbsNicknames: The Macho Man, The Macho KingOther Aliases: The Spider Randy Poffo was a second generation star, whose father was Angelo Poffo, who competed in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He first broke into professional wrestling in 1973, […]
May 23 (tomorrow as of writing) marks the first anniversary of the passing of joshi star Hana Kimura. Had things panned out differently, star would be insufficient – Hana was headed towards being a bona fide superstar. I could talk for days about Hana Kimura, and likely will in either a podcast or article at some point – but for […]
Note: This article was written in 2017 2002: Jun Akiyama vs Yuji Nagata – GHC Heavyweight titleWrestling World 2002 (attendance: 52,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00159_1_10 GHC Heavyweight title? Yes, New Japan continues the co-operative approach with Pro Wrestling NOAH guest Jun Akiyama defending the Global Honoured Crown against NJPW’s Yuji Nagata. Jun Akiyama came through All Japan’s system and debuted against Kenta Kobashi in […]
