Back to the Yokohama Arena

[Defrost]

Other than Ishii vs Ibushi I have no idea what is going to be on this card

[Tainted Eclipse]

Makabe/Tanahashi vs. Shibata/Goto?

Nakamura vs. Gracie 1 and Sakuraba vs. Gracie 2 seems possible.

[Defrost]

So Shinsuke vs Daniel Gracie seems likely. And something out of the three way dueling challenges between Makabe and Tanahashi challenging Anderson and Gallows, Goto challenging Makabe and Tanahashi and Anderson and Gallows and Shibata challenging Tanahashi.

No idea who Styles defends against. Figure Okada vs Yujiro. So who is left?

[Tainted Eclipse]

I just don't get this Gracie stuff. Are the Japanese fans really into it? I know a mix of pro wrestling and MMA has always been an NJPW motif but god this isn't the way to do it.

[Defrost]

The owner of New Japan is into it

[Defrost]

NJPW "BACK TO THE YOKOHAMA ARENA", 25.05.2014 (TV Asahi Ch. 2)
Yokohama Arena

1. Road to BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. XXI: Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Máscara Dorada & El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & BUSHI
2. Special Eight Man Tag Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan vs. Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga
3. NWA World Tag Team Title, 3 Way Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) vs. Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Rob Conway & Wes Brisco
4. Special Tag Match: Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka vs. Minoru Suzuki & Shelton and Benjamin
5. Special Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Bad Luck Fale
6. Pro-Wrestling vs. Jiu-Jitsu Different Style Fight: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Rolles Gracie
7. NEVER Openweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
8. IWGP World Tag Team Title Contendership: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe vs. Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata
9. IWGP Intercontinental Title - Pro-Wrestling vs. Jiu-Jitsu Different Style Fight: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) vs. Daniel Gracie
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: AJ Styles/Michael Elgin (17.05.) (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada

[Tainted Eclipse]

Wow. I thought an Okada/Styles rematch was likely but doubted it since it would mean either making AJ's win literally meaningless or jobbing their top guy two shows in a row. Doesn't look like the best card on the planet, obviously thanks in no small part to the Gracies. Ishii/Ibushi could be great though.

[Defrost]

Yeah beyond Ishii and Ibushi and the Tag Title #1 Contenders match this card is iffy.

[Ringo]

I'm losing interest in New Japan, have to be honest. Still looking forward to the inevitable Okada/Nakamura clash and enjoying Ishii as a champion but beyond that...

[DDT]

The Suzuki/Yano feud needs to end. Yesterday.

[Defrost]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcSaUb7XfXs

[Defrost]

Not looking good. From the newest Observer


For a number of reasons, things are not looking good for the 5/25 return to the Yokohama Arena show, the first time New Japan has run the 17,000-seat building just outside of Tokyo. As of 5/16, they had only sold 3,000 tickets. Most of New Japan’s PPV shows this year, aside from the Tokyo Dome and Sumo Hall in Tokyo, have been advanced sellouts. New Japan returning to the building isn’t that big of a deal because people see the Seibu Dome show in August as the big one. In addition, it wasn’t until 5/18 in Japan that they could announce the main event, since A.J. Styles was defending the IWGP title in New York.

[Tainted Eclipse]

As of 5/16, they had only sold 3,000 tickets.

woooooow

The logic of booking an unknown gaijin to take the title with no build right before one of your biggest shows of the year truly escapes me.

[Tainted Eclipse]

all those empty seats

[Defrost]

According to live reports the cheap seats up top are nearly sold out and everywhere else there are empties. 60% full is what I am hearing.

[Defrost]

http://i.imgur.com/Lfl9FWl.jpg

[Tainted Eclipse]

new bullet club theme :no: :no: :no: :no:

[Defrost]

Wes Brisco is not very good

[Tainted Eclipse]

no but that match was better than i thought it would be. this exact same nwa stuff show after show needs to end. also applies to the coming up match.

[Tainted Eclipse]

also lol at the dubbing work on this show

[Defrost]

Best Suzuki vs Yano match so far

[Tainted Eclipse]

i guess chaos needs to get some better t shirts if they want to keep their members

[Tainted Eclipse]

Best Suzuki vs Yano match so far

to be fair i really liked their match at day 9 of the g1. but then it just kept happening.

[Defrost]

Crowd size looks fine

[Tainted Eclipse]

hahahaha what

why

[Defrost]

Ishii rules

[Tainted Eclipse]

great match. pretty interested in yujiro/ishii, yujiro's seemed pretty good when i've seen him actually get time to work a match. i thought he looked really good vs. naito at king of pro wrestling.

[Defrost]

Super into that last tag match. Super not into what's up next.

[Tainted Eclipse]

wow, i liked both gracie matches tonight.

the tag was really good. feels like a long time since japan's had a meaningful heavyweight main eventers tag. fale/naito was pretty good too. much better show than expected. now okada just has to win the title back.

[Defrost]

via puroresufan


NJPW “BACK TO THE YOKOHAMA ARENA”, 5/25/14 (WPW/PPV/iPPV)
Yokohama Arena
7,800 Fans

1. Road to BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. XXI: Ryusuke Taguchi, Alex Shelley, KUSHIDA & BUSHI beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, Mascara Dorada & El Desperado (8:25) when BUSHI used the MX on Desperado.
2. Special 8 Man Tag Match: Karl Anderson, Doc Gallows, Yujiro Takahashi & Tama Tonga beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi, Tomoaki Honma & Captain New Japan (9:03) when Takahashi used the Miami Shine on Captain.
3. NWA World Tag Team Title – 3WAY Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima (c) beat Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Rob Conway & Wes Brisco (11:38) when Tenzan used a moonsault press on Brisco (2nd defense).
4. Special Tag Match: Minoru Suzuki & Shelton Benjamin beat Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka (8:00) when Suzuki used a Gotch-style piledriver on Yano.
5. Special Singles Match: Bad Luck Fale beat Tetsuya Naito (12:05) with the Bad Luck Fall.
6. Wrestling vs. Jiu-jitsu MMA Fight: Kazushi Sakuraba beat Rolles Gracie (5:33) by referee stop.
7. NEVER Openweight Title: Tomohiro Ishii (c) beat Kota Ibushi (19:22) with a brainbuster (4th defense).
8. IWGP Tag Team Title #1 Contenders Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe beat Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata (17:22) when Makabe used a King Kong kneedrop on Goto.
9. IWGP Intercontinental Title – Wrestling vs. Jiu-jitsu MMA Fight: Shinsuke Nakamura (c) beat Daniel Gracie (10:24) with the Boma Ye (1st defense).
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title: AJ Styles (c) beat Kazuchika Okada (26:05) with the Styles Clash (2nd defense).

* New Japan returned to the Yokohama Arena for the first time since November 3, 2003, today, drawing 7,800 fans. Ticket advances were poor and so was the final attendance after so much success in recent times. This will probably be considered the first New Japan box office disappointment for a major show in quite a few years.

* New Bullet Club leader AJ Styles retained the IWGP Heavyweight Title in the main event as CHAOS boss Kazuchika Okada failed in an attempt to regain the belt he lost to AJ in Fukuoka earlier this month. Okada had been unstoppable in his latest reign as champion but the arrival of Styles has turned Bullet Club into an even bigger force and despite some early help from Bullet Club members, he beat Okada cleanly with his Styles Clash in a 26 minute match. The Bullet Club occupied the ring after the match to a chorus of boos.

* The Gracie rampage was finally cut short as the alliance of Shinsuke Nakamura and Kazushi Sakuraba completely defeated members of the famous fighting family. In the bigger of the two matches, Shinsuke avenged an MMA loss to Daniel Gracie from many years ago and successfully defended his IWGP Intercontinental Title, pinning Daniel after the Boma Ye. Bad Luck Fale, who had earlier beaten Tetsuya Naito, issued a challenge after the match. Earlier on, the grizzled veteran Sakuraba trapped Rolles Gracie in his Sakuraba Lock, forcing a referee stoppage. The Gracies were beaten by the Japanese heroes, a throwback to the early 2000s when Saku was the “Gracie Hunter” in PRIDE.

* The ‘ace’ team of Hiroshi Tanahashi and Togi Makabe became #1 contenders for Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows’ IWGP Tag Team Title with a hard fought win over Hirooki Goto & Katsuyori Shibata. This was a heated match, with Tanahashi and Shibata in particular having beef with each other. Tanahashi dropped his High Fly Flow on Goto and Makabe followed with a King Kong kneedrop to earn them the right to challenge the Bullet Club’s IWGP Tag Team Champions in the near future.

* NEVER Openweight Champion met IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion as Tomohiro Ishii made a successful V4 defense of the NEVER belt against junior Kota Ibushi in a great match. These are considered two of Japan’s most exciting performers and didn’t disappoint in a 20 minute Blockbuster that saw Ishii spike Ibushi with a brainbuster for the win. Fresh off betraying CHAOS, Yujiro attacked Ishii after the match and looks set to challenge him next.

* Legendary tag team Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima retained the NWA World Tag Team Title in a 3WAY Match against the returning Killer Elite Squad and the NWA duo of Rob Conway & Wes Brisco. Kojima hit Brisco with a lariat and Tenzan showed he can still fly by dropping a moonsault press for the win. Kojima’s monopoly of the historic NWA titles continues as he also still holds the NWA World Heavyweight Title.