Wrestling World 1997

Last updated
Wrestling World 1997
Antonio Inoki IMG 0398-2 20121224.JPG
Antonio Inoki, who defeated Willie Williams at the event.
Promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
DateJanuary 4, 1997 [1]
City Tokyo, Japan
Venue Tokyo Dome
Attendance62,500 [1] (official)
52,500 (claimed)
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show chronology
← Previous
Wrestling World 		Next →
Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome
New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology
← Previous
Battle Formation 1996 		Next →
Battle Formation 1997

Wrestling World 1997 was a professional wrestling event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) promotions. It took place on January 4, 1997 in the Tokyo Dome. Officially, the show drew 62,500 spectators and $5,000,000 in ticket sales. [1] The show featured 12 matches, including four matches that were promoted jointly with the BJW promotion and presented as a rivalry between the two promotions. The show featured 12 matches in total, including three title matches, two of which saw new champions crowned.

Contents

Production

Background

The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl". [2] [3]

Storylines

Wrestling World 1997 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. [4]

Event

Preliminary matches

The first match of the show was an eight-man tag team match which on one side featured Junji Hirata, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi and Osamu Nishimura going against Takashi Iizuka, Osamu Kido, Yuji Nagata and Kazuo Yamazaki. The contest lasted for 11:21 before Junji Hirata pinned Yuji Nagata after striking him with a lariat. [1] [5] This was the last match Nagata wrestled in Japan before travelling to the United States to work for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as part of an "educational tour" that a lot of young Japanese wrestlers undertake to learn various styles of wrestling. [1]

The second match of the night featured the debut of a character called "Super Liger", a silver and white version of Jushin Thunder Liger played by Chris Jericho. Super Liger wrestled Koji Kanemoto in what Power Slam Magazine correspondent Rob Butcher called "A super aerial battle". Super Liger won after 11 minutes and 11 seconds of action by using a bridging tiger suplex to pin Kanemoto. [1] [5] NJPW intended to use "Super Liger" character as a storyline enemy of Jushin Thunder Liger, hoping to create a rivalry similar to the Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger rivalry. [1] However, the character was so poorly received that it was never used again. [6]

In the third match freelancer Jinsei Shinzaki defeated longtime NJPW midcarder Michiyoshi Ohara after using the Nenbutsu powerbomb. [1] [5]

Matches four, five, six and seven featured a "NJPW vs. BJW" premise as wrestlers representing the two companies wrestled against each other. In previous years NJPW had great success promoting "inter-promotional rivalries" against UWF International, only this time they were working with the much smaller BJW. [1] In the first match Shinjiro Otani defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri after a flying heel kick in what was described as the best contest of the NJPW vs. BJW series. [1] Kendo Nagasaki defeated Tatsutoshi Goto to even the score to 1–1. [1] [5] NJPW headliner Masahiro Chono made very short work of BJW wrestler Shoji Nakamaki, defeating him with a Yakuza kick in just over a minute. [1] [5] The final match of the series saw NJPW veteran Masa Saito defeat BJW president Shinya Kojika, who wrestled under the ring name The Great Kojika, to win the series 3 to 1. [1] [5]

Match number eight was billed as a Mixed martial arts match although it was still as predetermined as all the other matches of the night. NJPW founder Antonio Inoki took on karateka Willie Williams in a rematch of a highly publicized match from 1980. In the end Inoki forced Williams to submit to a ground cobra twist after 4:19. [1] [5]

The ninth match of the evening was originally supposed be for nine championships in total, but at the last minute WCW had not allowed Último Dragón to put the WCW World Cruiserweight Championship on the line in the match, Dragón still defended the J-Crown Championship, a championship consisting of eight unified titles. His opponent of the night was Jushin Thunder Liger, the driving force behind NJPW's very successful Light Heavyweight division and multiple time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship holder, a belt that at the time was part of the J-Crown. [1] Liger and Dragón had previously wrestled at the 1993 January 4 Tokyo Dome show called Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome . After over 18 minutes of high flying wrestling Liger pinned Dragón following a Steiner Screwdriver to become the fourth J-Crown holder. [1] [5]

The storyline going into the tenth match of the evening was that of the first ever holders of the IWGP Tag Team Championship wanted "one last chance at the title that made them famous" before retirement. Fujinami and Kimura took on Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono (who had already wrestled that night, albeit in a very short match) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. While the age of the challengers prevented the match from being a good wrestling match the antics of Tenzan and Chono and the emotion of the challengers "last stand" created a match the crowd in the Tokyo Dome enjoyed. [1] The end came after Tenzan accidentally hit his partner, allowing Fujinami to apply a dragon sleeper on Chono to force him to submit. [1] [5] With this victory Fujinami and Kimura became four-time tag team champions and the 29th overall champions. [1]

The semi-main event of the evening was billed as a "battle of the alter egos" as Keiji Mutoh reverted to his "Great Muta" character and Kensuke Sasaki wrestled as "Power Warrior". While Mutoh and Sasaki tended to wrestle a more scientific style their face painted alter egos tended to brawl more. The match quickly turned into more of a brawl than a wrestling match with both participants using the ringside tables and a steel chair during the match. Power Warrior won after moving out of the way of a Moonsault from Muta allowing him to drive Muta into a table with his Northern Lights bomb for the victory. [1] [5]

Main event

The main event of the show featured the same "last stand" storyline that was used in the tag team title match as NJPW veteran Riki Choshu challenged Shinya Hashimoto for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. In August, 1996 Choshu had surprisingly defeated Hashimoto during the 1996 G1 Climax tournament. Unlike their encounter in 1996 and unlike the tag team championship match the "legend" did not prevail in this match as Hashimoto pinned Choshu after a brainbuster following 18:04 of wrestling.

Results

No.Results [1] StipulationsTimes [5]
1 Junji Hirata, Manabu Nakanishi, Osamu Nishimura and Satoshi Kojima defeated Kazuo Yamazaki, Osamu Kido, Takayuki Iizuka and Yuji Nagata Eight-man tag team match 11:21
2 Super Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto Singles match 11:11
3 Jinsei Shinzaki defeated Michiyoshi Ohara Singles match09:17
4 Shinjiro Otani defeated Yoshihiro Tajiri Singles match: NJPW (1) vs. BJW (0)08:30
5 Kendo Nagasaki defeated Tatsutoshi Goto Singles match: NJPW (1) vs. BJW (1)09:23
6 Masahiro Chono defeated Shoji NakamakiSingles match: NJPW (2) vs. BJW (1)01:07
7 Masa Saito defeated Shinya KojikaSingles match: NJPW (3) vs. BJW (1)04:25
8 Antonio Inoki defeated Willie Williams Mixed martial arts match04:19
9 Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Último Dragón (c)Singles match for the J-Crown Championship18:21
10 Kengo Kimura and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Cho-Ten (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Masahiro Chono) (c) Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship 16:10
11 Power Warrior defeated The Great Muta Singles match16:09
12 Shinya Hashimoto (c) defeated Riki Choshu Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship 18:04
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keiji Muto</span> Japanese professional wrestler (born 1962)

Keiji Muto is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive. He is known for his work as The Great Muta in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) during the 1980s and 1990s, and from his runs in other Japanese, American, Puerto Rican, and Mexican promotions. He was the president of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) from 2002 to 2013 and representative director of Wrestle-1 (W-1) from 2013 to 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jushin Liger</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Keiichi Yamada, better known as Jushin Liger and later Jushin Thunder Liger, is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since his debut in 1984 until his retirement in January 2020. Throughout his career, which spanned three-and-a-half decades, he wrestled over 4,000 matches and performed in major events for various promotions across the globe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Masahiro Chono</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Masahiro Chono is a Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26-year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for much of his career, beginning in 1994 when he adopted a yakuza inspired gimmick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinjiro Otani</span> Japanese professional wrestler (born 1972)

Shinjiro Otani is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury sustained in April 2022. A product of the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) dojo, Otani is best known for his longtime association with Zero1, a promotion he founded in 2001 along with Shinya Hashimoto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tatsumi Fujinami</span> Japanese professional wrestler

Tatsumi Fujinami is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Known for his fluid catch wrestling submission style, he was famously nicknamed "The Dragon", and is credited for inventing the dragon sleeper and the dragon suplex.

<i>Wrestle Kingdom 2</i> 2007 video game

Wrestle Kingdom 2: Pro Wrestling Sekai Taisen is a professional wrestling video game for the PlayStation 2. It is the sequel to Yuke's Wrestle Kingdom.

Team 2000 was a professional wrestling stable that competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Throughout its tenure, T2000 was New Japan's top heel stable.

Wrestling Dontaku 1993 was the first Wrestling Dontaku professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 1993, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka at the Fukuoka Dome. As part of working relationships between NJPW and American promotions World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF), WCW's Sting and WWF's Brutus Beefcake, Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart took part in the event. Professional wrestlers from Japanese promotion Wrestle and Romance (WAR) also appeared at the event.

Wrestling Dontaku 1994 was the second Wrestling Dontaku professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event was held on May 1, 1994, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Dome. The event featured thirteen matches; three of which were contested for championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome</span>

Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotions. The show took place on January 4, 1993 in Tokyo's Tokyo Dome. Officially, the show drew 63,500 spectators and $3,200,000 in ticket sales. This was the second year that the show was co-promoted by the American WCW promotion. The show featured 10 matches, including four matches that featured WCW wrestlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrestle Kingdom I</span> 2007 Japanese professional wrestling event

Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotions, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2007. It was the 16th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the first held under the new "Wrestle Kingdom" name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCW/New Japan Supershow II</span> 1992 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event


WCW/New Japan Supershow II took place on January 4, 1992, from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The show was the first NJPW January 4 Dome Show, something that would become an annual tradition in NJPW and would become their biggest show of the year. The show was also the second under the name WCW/New Japan Supershow. The show was broadcast on pay-per-view (PPV) months later in America. The US PPV broadcast did not include several of the matches of the 12-match show, with only six being broadcast in America out of a total of twelve matches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Do Judge!!</span> 2000 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Do Judge!! was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 9, 2000, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It marked the first major cross promotional matches between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) after the two had entered into a working relationship in August.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Ultimate Crush</span> 2003 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Ultimate Crush was a major professional wrestling and mixed martial arts event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 2, 2003, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The card contained a mixture of pro wrestling matches and mixed martial arts fights. The show was headlined by Yoshihiro Takayama defending the NWF Heavyweight Championship against Yuji Nagata, who also defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in a unification match.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Jingu Climax</span> 1999 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Jingu Climax: Battle of Last Summer was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on August 28, 1999, at the Meiji Jingu Stadium in Tokyo, Japan and was televised live on TV Asahi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NJPW Final Dome</span> 1999 New Japan Pro-Wrestling event

Final Dome was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on October 12, 1999 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan and was televised live on TV Asahi.

Battle Formation was an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place at the Tokyo Dome during the month of April in 1996 and 1997. It was a major event, drawing over 60,000 fans in attendance during both editions. Shinya Hashimoto headlined both editions, cementing his status as the ace of NJPW during that period.

The 1996 Battle Formation was the first Battle Formation event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The event was held on April 29, 1996 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was a major success with a crowd of estimated 60,000 people and an approximate revenue of $5,700,000 from ticket sales. The event featured competitors from various promotions including Michinoku Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Union of Wrestling Forces International, World Championship Wrestling and Wrestle Association R.

The 1997 Battle Formation was the second and final Battle Formation event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which took place on April 12, 1997 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was a massive success, drawing a crowd of about 60,000 fans and the revenue generated from ticket sales amounted to $5,000,000.

Strong Style Evolution was a professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on May 3, 1997 at the Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Butcher, Rob (March 1997). "The Money Factory". Power Slam Magazine. Lancaster, Lancashire, England: SW Publishing LTD. pp. 26–27. 32.
  2. ↑ "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ Keller, Wade (December 13, 2016). "New Japan's WrestleKingdom 11 to air on AXS TV starting Jan. 13 in four weekly special episodes with Ross & Barnett on commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  4. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications . Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Wrestling World in Tokyo Dome 1997". ProWrestlingHistory.com. January 4, 1997. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  6. ↑ Jericho, Chris. A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex . Grand Central Publishing.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.