NJPW Road to Power Struggle: Day One

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Road to Power Struggle: Day One

25th October 2014, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Once again featuring translations by Yottsume! Be sure to check out his website as it's pretty much the only way you can get the proper New Japan merch with the Lion Mark.  

Don't worry, it's the 2010 design. No one needs to be fired.

It didn't take much or many changes for the complexion of NJPW to alter as we hurtle toward 2015. Kenny Omega signs. Katsuyori Shibata signs full-time. Kota Ibushi extends his deal and goes heavyweight. Jushin Liger indicates the winding down phase of his career. And new alliances are formalised to help Seikigun (New Japan Army) fight back against the menace of the three major factions: CHAOS, Suzuki-gun and Bullet Club.

DDT Special 2014

Dramatic Dream Team (DDT)
DDT Special 2014
26th October 2014, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Today DDT says goodbye to Kenny Omega.

Let's jump straight in.

NOAH Great Voyage in Yokohama

Pro-Wrestling NOAH
Great Voyage in Yokohama
12th October 2014, Cultural Gymnasium, Yokohama

After the relative stinker in Niigata, NOAH played their cards immediately correctly by announcing a hip and relevant main-event and a slew of major title bouts for the Yokohama supercard (here) and a very attractive line-up for the Global League (coming soon).

Your main event

These larger NOAH events seem to do quite well at the gate too, attracting a reported 3500 for this particular show. Admittedly New Japan dragged an extra 2000 bodies into the same building but let's not be churlish - NOAH still has some sex appeal remaining, even if it seems to have a kind of funereal tone in parts.

Matches of note vol. 1

FUJIWARA ARMBAR'S MATCHES OF NOTE VOL. 1

I can't review everything I watch. I can't even watch all of everything that gets put out there. I am but a man. However, Fujiwara Armbar Enterprises is all about spreading the word about the sport* we love. This is a new feature that will recap any interesting matches going on in various Japanese promotions with a general focus on recent activity, though I can't promise not to jump back in time now and again.

These aren't reviews as such, just little spoiler-free guides to maybe help you navigate through some chaff. This round-up covers everything from mid-September to early-October, with a couple just outside.
 

NJPW King of Pro-Wrestling 2014

New Japan Pro-Wrestling

King of Pro-Wrestling 2014
13th October 2014, Ryōgoku Kokugikan, Tokyo

Some supercards require me to witter away for 500 words before getting to the first match, but this is King of Pro-Wrestling, cast in stone as a big deal and the last real throw of the dice ahead of the Dome Show on January 4th. Sumo Hall is sold out and a whole heap of titles and briefcases are up for grabs.

Main event: AJ Styles (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Furthermore I come armed with translations from Yottsume, the ingenious entrepreneur slash fansubber extraordinaire, meaning that there's actually some grounding to my drivel this time.

fujiwara armbar investigates: Dragon Gate

An occasional series in which, in a bid to further my spotty knowledge of Japanese wrestling promotions, I watch a recent event and assess whether or not I'd watch regularly given the time, money and ability to access.

Promotion: Dragon Gate
Event watched: Summer Adventure Tag League 2014 Day 13, 23rd September 2014, Bodymaker Colosseum #2, Osaka (broadcast as Infinity #349)

What did I know about the promotion going in?: I have seen about half a dozen events and basically remember: names but not always faces, faces but not always names, sometimes both and sometimes neither. There aren't really any metrics that make such proclamations official but it seems like Dragon Gate are the #2 promotion of Japan right now, growing and increasing perception of their outfit by the year. 

DDT Dramatic General Election 2014

Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) 
Dramatic General Election 2014: Final Voting Day Last Hope Special
28th September 2014, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

A lot has happened in DDT since I last took a look into them and the lack of reporting on this blog at least is possibly my fault. You see, I had every intention of reviewing the big Sumo Hall show (Ryōgoku Peter Pan ~ Maybe Summer Will Change My Life), not least because it featured a couple of New Japan regulars. I'd prepared (stolen) some images and done some research on characters and factions. For example:

credit: Dramatic DDT

NOAH Great Voyage in Niigata

Pro-Wrestling NOAH
Great Voyage in Niigata: Great Voyage x Big Fireworks
23rd September 2014, City Gymnasium, Niigata

One of the Japanese workers with the most tenuous grasp on the status of 'legend' in the jaded and weary eyes of this blog is Atsushi Onita. Never really that good when he was allegedly good as part of All Japan's not-as-good-as-their-rival junior heavyweight division, he is known for his role in importing the deathmatch style into Japanese wrestling - as well as being a populist conservative member of the National Diet (parliament). Why do I bring this up? Well, he's here tonight, under the banner of a handful of cross-promoted matches with the near-dead ZERO1 promotion. 

But more on that later. Now for some housekeeping. Not a great deal has happened since this blog covered NOAH, and July's Great Voyage in Tokyo Pt. 2 event, but let me recap anyway. 

Company vice-president (SHOOT) Naomichi Marufuji, as you may recall, won the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Yuji Nagata in a bout that had a lot of hype leading in that met expectations both in ring and out of it. Stablemate Katsuhiko Nakajima challenged for the title immediately. It was a popular move and on the back of it I declared the company's soft reboot to be in full swing.