Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament

Last updated
Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament
Promotion All-Japan Pro Wrestling
DateApril 13-May 12, 2002
City Tokyo, Japan
Venue Nippon Budokan [1]
Iwate Prefectural Gym [2]
Niigata City Gym [1] [3]
Korakuen Hall [1] [4]
Attendance16,000 (April 13) [1]
2,100 (April 27) [1] [5]
2,700 (April 30) [1] [2]
3,150 (May 1) [1] [3]
chronology
 Previous
Giant Baba Memorial Cup
Next 
Last

The Giant Baba (Hai Sodatsu) Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament, or simply the Giant Baba Six Man Cup, was a professional wrestling memorial event produced by the All-Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion, which took place from April 13 to May 12, 2002, at the Nippon Budokan, [1] Iwate Prefectural Gym, [2] Niigata City Gym [3] and Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. It was the third and final event honoring AJPW founder Shohei "Giant" Baba, the previous shows being the Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular and Giant Baba Memorial Cup in January 2001 and 2002 respectively. Seven professional wrestling matches were held over a three-week period, [6] with both the tournament semi-finals and final match held at Korakuen Hall. [1] [4]

Contents

Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George Hines won the tournament by winning three matches all aired on pay-per-view. [7] Over the course of the tournament, they defeated Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma and Jimmy Yang in the quarter-finals, [5] Taiyō Kea, Mitsuya Nagai and Shigeo Okumura in the semi-finals and Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka Araya in the final match. [6] Earlier in the semi-finals, between Genichiro Tenryu's team and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Mike Rotunda and Yoji Anjo, Anjo accidentally hit Rotunda in the face with a back-fist punch which eventually led to their defeat. Blaming Anjo for the loss, Williams turned his back on Anjoh causing a split between the two former teammates. [4]

Results

No.Results [6] StipulationsTimes
1 "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Mike Rotunda and Yoji Anjo defeated Mike Barton, Jim Steele and CedmanGiant Baba Memorial Cup quarter-final match16:16 [1]
2 Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka Araya defeated Kendo Kashin, Johnny Smith and Abdullah the Butcher Giant Baba Memorial Cup quarter-final match19:11 [3]
3 Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George Hines defeated Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma and Jimmy Yang Giant Baba Memorial Cup quarter-final match13:35 [5]
4 Taiyō Kea, Mitsuya Nagai and Shigeo Okumura defeated Masa Fuchi, Hideki Hosaka and Gran Naniwa Giant Baba Memorial Cup quarter-final match18:50 [2]
5Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka Araya defeated Steve Williams, Mike Rotunda and Yoji AnjoGiant Baba Memorial Cup semi-final matchn/a
6Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George Hines defeated Taiyo Kea, Mitsuya Nagai and Shigeo OkumuraGiant Baba Memorial Cup semi-final matchn/a
7Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George Hines defeated Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka ArayaGiant Baba Memorial Cup final matchn/a

Tournament brackets

The tournament took place between April 13 and May 12, 2002. The tournament brackets were:

Quarterfinals Semifinals Final
         
Steve Williams, Mike Rotunda and Yoji AnjoPin
Mike Barton, Jim Steele and Cedman
Steve Williams, Mike Rotunda and Yoji Anjoh
Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka ArayaPin
Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka ArayaPin
Kendo Kashin, Johnny Smith and Abdullah the Butcher
Genichiro Tenryu, Arashi and Nobutaka Araya
Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George HinesPin
Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George HinesPin
Satoshi Kojima, Tomoaki Honma and Jimmy Yang
Keiji Mutoh, Kaz Hayashi and George HinesPin
Taiyo Kea, Mitsuya Nagai and Shigeo Okumura
Taiyo Kea, Mitsuya Nagai and Shigeo OkumuraPin
Masa Fuchi, Hideki Hosaka and Gran Naniwa

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Williams (wrestler)</span> American professional and amateur wrestler, football player and author

Steven Williams, better known by his ring name, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, was an American professional wrestler, collegiate football player, and amateur wrestler. He was best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Hansen</span> American professional wrestler

John Stanley Hansen II is an American retired professional wrestler.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Genichiro Tenryu</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Genichiro Shimada, better known as Genichiro Tenryu is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his shikona. He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project. At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case [that Tenryu was] between the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling.

Wrestle Association R was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 2000. The promotion initially established as Wrestle and Romance in 1992, had very few regular contracted workers, instead most of the workers were either freelance or employed in other promotions. Because of this WAR ran many all-star cards. It had inter-promotional feuds against New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, the new Tokyo Pro Wrestling, and UWF International. WAR also continued, albeit in a loose fashion, SWS's old working agreement with the World Wrestling Federation, when they backed the WWF's first Japanese tour, in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taiyō Kea</span>

Maunakea Mossman is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known under his stage name Taiyō Kea (太陽ケア). He is the only wrestler to have held the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, the World Tag Team Championship and the World Junior Heavyweight Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jumbo Tsuruta</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Tomomi "Tommy" Tsuruta, better known by his ring name Jumbo Tsuruta, was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, and unifying the three titles. He is also known for being one-half of the first World Tag Team Champions with Yoshiaki Yatsu, having won the NWA International Tag Team Championship and the PWF Tag Team Championship, and unifying the two titles.

Isao Takagi who goes by the ring name Arashi (嵐), is a Japanese professional wrestler from Moriguchi, Osaka Prefecture, who works for Dradition. He has previously worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Mitsuo Momota is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and executive, known for his work in the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and later in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is the son of wrestler Rikidōzan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiro Koshinaka</span> Japanese professional wrestler (born 1958)

Shiro Koshinaka is a Japanese professional wrestler who has competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Wrestle Association "R" (WAR) during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also the first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.

George Hines is a retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ringname Jackie Fulton, who competed in regional and independent promotions including the American Wrestling Association, East Coast Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and, most notably, his brief but memorable stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling where he teamed with his real life brother Bobby Fulton as The Fantastics.

The Rikidozan Memorial Show was a professional wrestling event held in 1996, and again in 2000, as a tribute to "the father of puroresu," Rikidozan. Both shows were considered major events in Japan and had involvement from virtually every major wrestling promotion at the time. The first show was held in Yokohama, Japan at the Yokohama Arena on June 30, 1996, with 16,000 in attendance. The show featured interpromotional matches of wrestlers from All Japan Pro Wrestling, Big Japan Pro Wrestling, Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, IWA Kakutoshijuku, International Wrestling Association, Japan Pro Shooting, Kitao Dojo, Michinoku Pro, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Professional Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, Samurai Project, UWFi, Wrestle Association R and joshi promotions GAEA Japan, JWP Joshi Puroresu and Ladies Legend Pro-Wrestling. In the main event, Genichiro Tenryu (WAR) and Tatsumi Fujinami (NJPW) defeated Koki Kitihara (WAR) and Riki Choshu (NJPW) in a tag team match. On the undercard, Keiji Mutoh & Kensuke Sasaki defeated Shinya Hashimoto & Junji Hirata and a "PWFG vs. UWFI" match between Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Yoji Anjoh resulted in a double-countout.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular</span>

The Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular was a professional wrestling memorial event produced by the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions, which took place on January 28, 2001 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The event's Japanese name translates to "Kings Road New Century 2001" but it was commonly referred to in the Japanese and English language press as the "Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular." The event was themed around memorializing AJPW's founder Shohei "Giant" Baba, who had died in 1999. It was the second Giant Baba Memorial event and was subsequently followed by the Giant Baba Memorial Cup and the Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament a year later. Ten professional wrestling matches were held on the event's card, including one that featured AJPW and NJPW champions.

The Giant Baba Memorial Cup was a professional wrestling memorial event produced by the All-Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion, which took place from January 2 to January 14, 2002 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Hakata Star Lane in Fukuoka, the Nagasaki NCC Studio, Sasebo Sports Bunka Hall, Kokura Northern Gymnasium, Kagoshima Prefectural Gymnasium, Osaka Central Gymnasium, and the Bunka Gym in Yokohama, Japan. It was the second event held in honor of AJPW founder Shohei "Giant" Baba preceding the Giant Baba Memorial Spectacular in 2001 and was followed by the Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament three months later. Thirty-one professional wrestling matches were featured on AJPW's "New Year Giant Series" tour over a three-week period, with the opening rounds, semi-finals and the final match airing on Gaora TV.

The Hustle King Memorial Six Man Tag Team Tournament was a professional wrestling memorial event produced by the HUSTLE promotion, which took place from July 9 to July 11, 2006 at the Pacifico Yokohama Kokuritsu Hall in Kanagawa and Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The first show, featuring the opening rounds and semi-final bouts, was attended by an estimated 4,420 fans and was aired on pay per view as part of "Hustle Vol. 18 – Hustle King Forever". It was held in memory of Shinya Hashimoto, who competed as Hustle King. Hashimoto died after suffering a brain aneurysm in Tokyo, Japan on July 11, 2005. It was the first Hashimoto memorial show held in Japan followed by the Shinya Hashimoto Legacy Memorial Cup Tournament in 2009. Ten professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card, five of which were tournament matches.

Revolution was a professional wrestling stable in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) led by Genichiro Tenryu.

Susumu Hara was a Japanese rugby player and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ashura Hara (阿修羅・原).

The Champion Carnival is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname Haru no Saiten and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since 1973 and is the longest-running singles tournament in professional wrestling, while also ranking as the most prestigious event in the AJPW calendar. It is considered a successor to the World League, held by Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) between 1959 and 1972, predating the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) G1 Climax tournament by a year.

WAR Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling event produced by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Wrestle Association R (WAR) to commemorate the anniversary of the promotion's founding by Genichiro Tenryu in 1992. The event to celebrate its anniversary was held between 1993 and 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus</span> Incident in Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling

The 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus was an incident in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) professional wrestling promotion that took place throughout May and June 2000, and culminated in 24 of the 26 contracted native wrestlers leaving the promotion. Led by Mitsuharu Misawa, they later formed their own promotion, Pro Wrestling Noah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit</span> Professional wrestling show

The Wrestling Summit was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event that was produced and scripted collaboratively between the US-based World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. The joint venture show took place on April 13, 1990 in the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan and reportedly drew 53,742 spectators. The event was the only time the three promotions produced a joint show, although NJPW and WWF had previously worked together in the 1970s and '80s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Cole, Brian (April 21, 2002). "411's International News Report #94 (Tons Of Japan News)". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Cole, Brian (May 4, 2002). "411's International News Report #100 (Special Milestone Edition!)". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cole, Brian (May 11, 2002). "411's International News Report #103 (Hakushi, Scorpio, Abby & More)". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Cole, Brian (May 14, 2002). "411's International News Report #104 (Lucha Report, All Japan News & More)". Video Reviews. 411mania.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Cole, Brian (April 27, 2002). "411's International News Report #97 (WWF/New Japan Teaming Up? & More)". News. 411mania.com.
  6. 1 2 3 "Giant Baba Memorial Six Man Tag Tournament". Misc. Events. ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  7. All-Japan Pro Wrestling (Producer) (2002). AJPW All Japan Pro Wrestling 2002 VHS DVD Zen Nihon Puroresu Tapes Videos (VHS). Tokyo: Quebrada.net.