Yutaka Yoshie & Akebono vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiro Saito 9:18 when Yoshie used a diving body press on Hiro.
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 8:58
Giant Bernard vs. Manabu Nakanishi 9:53
Yuji Nagata vs. Kazunari Murakami 13:11
Shinjiro Otani vs. Koji Kanemoto 10:47
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 11:59
IWGP Tag Title Match: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Takao Omori 19:28
Riki Choshu & Kohei Sato & Takashi Uwano & Kamikaze & Yoshihito Sasaki & Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Takashi Iizuka & Osamu Nishimura & Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto & Hiroshi Nagao 12:16
Ryoji Sai ZERO1-MAX vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 8:18
Tiger Mask & Minoru vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Tomohiro Ishii 12:11
Masato Tanaka ZERO1-MAX & Kintaro Kanemura & BADBOY Hido vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo 10:03
Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Hiroshi Nagao 6:45
El Samurai vs. Katsushi Takemura 10:18
Takashi Iizuka vs. Masayuki Naruse 13:43
Naofumi Yamamoto & Osamu Nishimura vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 10:50
Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Wataru Inoue 18:06
Gedo & Jado & Minoru vs. Akiya Anzawa & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 16:56
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiro Saito & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 15:04
Black Strong Machine & Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie 23:47
Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 4:29
El Samurai vs. Wataru Inoue 11:41
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Takashi Uwano 9:42
Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto & Minoru 13:29
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. BADBOY Hido & Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda 6:39
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 19:51
Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie 23:25
Takashi Uwano vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:35
Takashi Iizuka vs. Tomohiro Ishii 7:18
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 15:58
Black Tiger vs. Jado 10:47
Giant Bernard vs. Togi Makabe 1:41
Manabu Nakanishi & Riki Choshu vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Toru Yano 12:14
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Shinsuke Nakamura 19:15
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 16:23
Riki Choshu & Akebono vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 7:17
Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:54
Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Black Tiger & Minoru 12:37
Tomohiro Ishii & Takashi Uwano vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado 15:30
El Samurai vs. Hirooki Goto 5:30
El Samurai vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:11
Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Jado & Tomohiro Ishii 10:32
Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 9:40
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Riki Choshu & Takashi Uwano 7:56
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 12:10
Giant Bernard & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Black Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto 7:31
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka 15:22
Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:43
Hirooki Goto vs. Jado 9:43
Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 12:00
Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 10:17
Giant Bernard & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 9:26
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata vs. Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto 14:10
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 14:58
Koji Kanemoto vs. GENTARO 6:39
Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo vs. Kintaro Kanemura & BADBOY Hido & Tetsuhiro Kuroda 15:13
Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 9:23
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Minoru & Hirooki Goto vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi 26:29. It's weird watching this match in 2011 because Goto is almost unrecognizable and world's better today, whereas Taguchi, who is clearly the better of the two in this match and theoretically in his prime now, not only looks a lot lamer these days but was actually more entertaining here. It was one of Taguchi's first big matches after his return from a useless Mexican excursion, so he was highly motivated. He made more of an effort to fly here, doing a few dives and a missile kick from the same corner with Samurai. As expected, the best stuff by far was from Samurai vs. Minoru and the worst from Taguchi vs. Goto, but apart from a lengthy dead stretch after the hot opening it's consistently good. The story of the match was Minoru & Goto working Samurai's arm, which Minoru injured by slamming the guard rail down on it. Samurai was selling his arm well throughout, holding his arm the whole time he was on the apron. Minoru kept after it well, kicking it, going from a body press pin attempt into the arm bar. It all built to the logical finish where Minoru hit his Minoru special, except Samurai not only survived, he came back and inexplicably made Minoru submit to a chickenwing armlock out of nowhere. The finish was so out of left field you almost felt as though they missed their time que and someoene said you have to go home now. ***1/2
IWGP Junior Heavyweight & NWA Junior Heavyweight Double Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger 14:57
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata 21:11. Intense, hard fought battle mainly in Nagata's stiff and credible style. It was very well executed, but had no particular story or psychology beyond the veteran trying to impose his will to beat the young star down, so it didn't develop the sort of drama that would have made such high quality action memorable. They missed all the big strikes early, so they were forced to wear each other down on the mat. The first big spot came when Tanahashi hit a suicida, but Nagata blistered him with kicks against the guard rail then laid him out with a brainbuster on the floor. From here, Nagata went to town with his kicks, repeatedly trapping Tanahashi in the corner and loading up. Nagata's kicks were extra ferocious, but Tanahashi withstood the big beating and was finally able to use his suplexes and sling blades to upset the ace. ***3/4
Brock Lesnar & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Riki Choshu & Akebono 12:49
IWGP Tag Title Match: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Giant Bernard 19:55
Yujiro vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 5:45
Gedo vs. Takashi Uwano 9:41
Black Tiger & Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 17:07
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger 12:14
Black Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Togi Makabe vs. Scott Norton & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 11:46
Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka 12:05
Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Akebono & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata 16:08
Takashi Uwano vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:13
Tiger Mask & Yujiro vs. Hirooki Goto & Minoru 11:46
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 20:00
Black Tiger & Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. BADBOY Hido & GENTARO & Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda 7:34
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii 18:51
Scott Norton & Toru Yano vs. Giant Bernard & Togi Makabe 14:01
Akebono & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto 20:11
Yujiro vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 7:05
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Black Tiger 9:17
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Takashi Uwano 6:22
Gedo & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hirooki Goto & Jado 12:21
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi 14:42
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata 18:07
IWGP Junior Heavyweight & NWA World Junior Heavyweight Double Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Minoru 13:41 of 27:24
Giant Bernard & Togi Makabe vs. Scott Norton & Toru Yano 12:11
Akebono & Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono 12:28
Takashi Uwano vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:12
Minoru vs. Yujiro 5:38
Gedo & Jado vs. Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger 13:39
Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto 7:31
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 14:30
Takashi Iizuka vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 13:32
Giant Bernard & Tatsutoshi Goto & Togi Makabe vs. Scott Norton & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 11:49
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono 17:59
Takashi Uwano vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:24
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro 8:37
Giant Bernard & Togi Makabe vs. Scott Norton & Toru Yano 11:49
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takashi Iizuka vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Yuji Nagata 14:51
Akebono & Riki Choshu vs. Black Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto 4:51
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto 19:53
Ten Man Tag Elimination Match: Black Tiger & Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 29:02
Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 9:08
Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Tiger Mask & Yujiro 14:29
Eight Man Tag Elimination Match: BADBOY Hido & GENTARO & Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Black Tiger & Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger 13:52
Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano 10:55
Giant Bernard vs. Scott Norton 13:30
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 19:53
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazushi Miyamoto 13:34
IWGP Tag Title Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata 23:07
(from TV Asahi) IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Brock Lesnar vs. Akebono 10:35
Yujiro vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 6:51
Black Strong Machine & Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 7:37
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Takashi Uwano 7:56
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 11:20
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata 12:21
2/3 Falls: Masked CTU-G & Masked CTU-H & Masked CTU-J & Masked CTU-L & Masked CTU-M vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 24:59
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yujiro 10:34
Toru Yano vs. Takashi Uwano 8:19
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto 9:34
Gedo & Jado vs. El Samurai & Tiger Mask 13:11
Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Riki Choshu 12:19
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 17:56
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Togi Makabe 11:33
Junji Inazuma vs. Shota Takanishi 7:26
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. MORI Bernard 10:31
Kentaro Shiga vs. Yuto Aijima 12:06
Genichiro Tenryu & Koki Kitahara vs. Tadao Yasuda & Tomohiko Hashimoto 8:11
Mitsuharu Misawa & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Ricky Marvin & Shiro Koshinaka 18:56
Daisuke Ikeda & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Kazushi Miyamoto & Taichi Ishikari 23:10
Takashi Uwano vs. Yujiro 8:34
El Samurai vs. Prince Devitt 8:09
Jushin Thunder Liger & Sangre Azteca vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 13:29
Manabu Nakanishi & Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka vs. Black Strong Machine & Tatsutoshi Goto & Togi Makabe 9:20
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title #1 Contendership Match: Gedo & Jado vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 20:31
Scott Norton & Toru Yano vs. Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 12:08
New Japan Cup 2006 First Round Match: Ryoji Sai vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 13:59
New Japan Cup 2006 First Round Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii 9:57
New Japan Cup 2006 First Round Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono 25:12
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Takashi Uwano 5:50
Takashi Iizuka vs. Yujiro 9:21
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Tiger Mask & Prince Devitt 14:24
Scott Norton & Togi Makabe vs. Giant Bernard & Toru Yano 10:12
Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine vs. Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto 12:08
Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Sangre Azteca 13:09
New Japan Cup Semifinal: Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 18:49. Tanahashi beat Nagata at the February Acceleration PPV, so everyone knew Nagata was getting his revenge here and preventing Tanahashi from repeating as New Japan Cup champion. Perhaps this was the biggest difference from their 2/19/06 match, or maybe it was just that it was a small show rather than a big, well attented major show, but the atmosphere wasn't really there. I felt the early portion was better with Tanahashi asking for a technical match, but Nagata refusing to comply, beating the crap out of him with his strikes and saving the armwork for after he'd already injured Tanahashi's arm with a series of blistering kicks. Tanahashi eventually made a big comeback, using his arm a little as possible. He turned it into his style match with a big stretch of running and jumping moves, but I feel that's where this one went wrong because the more they shifted to athleticism and fireworks, the more the left the storyline and turned it into a big finisher oriented spectacle. They were doing such a good job of selling, but by the end Tanahashi was popping up from an avalanche style exploder! I felt this should have exceeded their previous match, but they just rushed the final third so badly, awkwardly transitioning out of the body too soon and into a somewhat goofy series of burning through their best moves. ***1/2
Yujiro vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 7:36
Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Uwano 10:01
Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Prince Devitt & Sangre Azteca 11:16
Tiger Mask vs. Gedo 11:02
Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka 10:40
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi 19:35
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Scott Norton & Toru Yano 11:06
New Japan Cup 2006 Final Match: Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata 19:40
2/3 Falls: Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Diablo & KUROKAGE vs. Azteca & El Samurai & KAZE & Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi & Wataru Inoue 16:19
Shiro Koshinaka vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 8:11
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomohiro Ishii 11:16
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano 12:36
Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe 11:41
Manabu Nakanishi & Riki Choshu vs. Black Strong Machine & Masahiro Chono 9:55
4/23/03 Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 14:46
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Koji Kanemoto 19:27
Kenta Kobashi vs. Naomichi Marufuji
4/28/06 New Japan Cup Semifinal: Giant Bernard vs. Manabu Nakanishi
4/29/06 New Japan Cup Semifinal: Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
4/30/06 New Japan Cup 2006 Final Match: Giant Bernard vs. Yuji Nagata
GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match: KENTA vs. Taiji Ishimori
5/3/06 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Brock Lesnar vs. Giant Bernard
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 9:23
Takashi Iizuka vs. Takashi Uwano 13:36
El Samurai vs. Gedo 10:10
Jado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 10:42
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Sangre Azteca 17:29
Black Strong Machine & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 5:20
Black Strong Machine & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 0:34
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe 19:26
Prince Devitt vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 6:52
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Hirooki Goto & Sangre Azteca 12:27
Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 11:01
Shiro Koshinaka vs. Togi Makabe 7:12
Kohei Sato & Ryoji Sai & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Takashi Uwano & Yujiro 16:46
Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 8:41
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Jado 30:15
Note: League matches 5/27/06-6/16/06 are digestes to about 10 min per show
5/27/06 Soka City Sports Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Ryusuke Taguchi [2] vs. Sangre Azteca [0] 12:50
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Fuego [2] vs. Minoru [0] 4:40
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Wataru Inoue [2] vs. Koji Kanemoto [0] 16:46
5/28/06 Korakuen Hall
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: El Samurai [2] vs. Fuego [2] 9:51
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Wataru Inoue [4] vs. Gedo [0] 13:17
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Tiger Mask [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 10:58
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [2] vs. Minoru [0] 21:20
5/29/06 Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Black Tiger [2] vs. GENTARO [0] 14:21
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: El Samurai [3] vs. Jado [1] - Time Limit Draw 30:00
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Sangre Azteca [2] vs. Fuego [2] 10:28
6/1/06 Fukui City Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Ryusuke Taguchi [4] vs. Fuego [2] 6:06
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Minoru [2] vs. Sangre Azteca [2] 12:26
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Koji Kanemoto [2] vs. GENTARO [0] 12:18
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Black Tiger [4] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 12:04
6/2/06 Ishikawa Industrial Exhibition Hall #3
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jado [3] vs. Fuego [2] 11:14
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Koji Kanemoto [4] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 9:49
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Tiger Mask [4] vs. Black Tiger [4] 9:36
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Ryusuke Taguchi [6] vs. Jushin Thunder Liger [2] 15:30
6/4/06 Chiba Movement Park Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: El Samurai [5] vs. Sangre Azteca [2] 11:08
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Minoru [4] vs. Jado [3] 12:54
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Hirooki Goto [2] vs. Gedo [0] 15:21
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Wataru Inoue [6] vs. Tiger Mask [4] 5:57
6/7/06 Osaka Prefectural Gym #2
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Gedo [2] vs. Black Tiger [4] 10:59
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: GENTARO [2] vs. Wataru Inoue [6] 14:31
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Tiger Mask [6] vs. Koji Kanemoto [4] 12:58
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: El Samurai [7] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [6] 12:02
6/8/06 Toyohashi City Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [4] vs. Fuego [2] 7:12
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Gedo [4] vs. GENTARO [2] 12:32
6/9/06 Mie Prefectural Dream Dome Ueno #2
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Wataru Inoue [8] vs. Hirooki Goto [2] 9:57
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jado [4] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [7] 6:01
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [6] vs. Sangre Azteca [2] 12:12
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Gedo [5] vs. Koji Kanemoto [5] - Double KO 15:06
6/10/06 Yokkaichi City Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: GENTARO [4] vs. Tiger Mask [6] 10:22
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Minoru [6] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [7] 19:18
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [8] vs. Jado [4] 15:19
6/14/06 Saku City Gym
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jado [6] vs. Sangre Azteca [2] 7:41
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Minoru [8] vs. El Samurai [7] 13:24
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Koji Kanemoto [7] vs. Black Tiger [4] 16:35
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Hirooki Goto [4] vs. GENTARO [4] 8:27
6/16/06 Kimitsu Aquamarine Studio
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Wataru Inoue [10] vs. Black Tiger [4] 11:41
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B: Tiger Mask [8] vs. Gedo [5] 12:59
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [10] vs. El Samurai [7] 12:16
6/17/06 Yamato Sports Center Best Of The Super Junior XIII Semifinal Match: Minoru vs. Wataru Inoue 18:42
6/17/06 Yamato Sports Center Best Of The Super Junior XIII Semifinal Match: Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 10:27
6/18/06 Korakuen Hall Best Of The Super Junior XIII Final: Minoru vs. Tiger Mask 22:52
Masahito Kakihara Retirement Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Masahito Kakihara 5:00
Yujiro vs. Tetsuya Naito 8:40
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe 14:21
Naofumi Yamamoto & Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Uwano 19:36
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A Match: El Samurai [2] vs. Fuego [2] 9:51
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Wataru Inoue [4] vs. Gedo [0] 13:17
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A Match: Jushin Thunder Liger [2] vs. Minoru [0] 21:20
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Tiger Mask [2] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 10:58
Gedo & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Wataru Inoue 10:55
Togi Makabe vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 7:36
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Uwano vs. Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata & Yujiro 16:48
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono 10:33
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A Match: Jado [3] vs. Fuego [2] 11:14
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Koji Kanemoto [4] vs. Hirooki Goto [0] 9:49
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Tiger Mask [4] vs. Black Tiger [4] 9:36
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A Match: Ryusuke Taguchi [6] vs. Jushin Thunder Liger [2] 15:30
Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Takashi Uwano vs. Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro 11:29
Hirooki Goto & Jado & Minoru vs. Fuego & Jushin Thunder Liger & Sangre Azteca 13:26
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata 15:12
Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 15:08
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block A Match: El Samurai [7] vs. Ryusuke Taguchi [6] 12:02
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Gedo [2] vs. Black Tiger [4] 10:59
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: GENTARO [2] vs. Wataru Inoue [6] 14:31
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Block B Match: Tiger Mask [6] vs. Koji Kanemoto [4] 12:58
Yujiro vs. Tetsuya Naito 7:50
Black Tiger & Fuego vs. GENTARO & Sangre Azteca 12:14
El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado 14:21
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Takashi Uwano 9:37
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 15:20
Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Togi Makabe vs. Akebono & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 15:49
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Semifinal Match: Minoru vs. Wataru Inoue 18:42
Best Of The Super Junior XIII Semifinal Match: Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 10:27
CMLL 5/12/06 Arena Mexico: Keiji Muto & Ultimo Dragon vs. Atlantis & Rey Bucanero
DRAGOMANIA 5/13/06 Arena Mexico, Revelos Super Increibles: Keiji Muto vs. Ultimo Dragon vs. Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Hijo Del Perro Aguayo vs. Atlantis
CMLL 5/14/06 Arena Coliseo: Great Muta & Ultimo Dragon & Johnny Stamboli & Mark Jindrak vs. Universo 2000 & Black Warrior & Brazo de Plata & Hijo de Lizmark
6/25/06
Hirooki Goto vs. Daisaku Shimoda 11:51
Takashi Uwano vs. Ichiro Yaguchi 13:06
Gedo vs. Osamu Namiguchi 12:55
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yujiro vs. Rikiya Fudo & Ryoji Sai 13:46
Togi Makabe vs. Daisuke Sekimoto 15:30
Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. GENTARO & Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda 12:25
Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Takashi Uwano vs. Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro 12:38
Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Hartley Jackson & Mikey Nicholls 10:56
IWGP Provisional Tag Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 10:08
IWGP Provisional Tag Title Tournament Semifinal Match: Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata 14:47
Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Black Tiger & Negro Casas 11:39
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi 13:16
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 13:41
IWGP Provisional Tag Title Tournament Final Match: Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko 11:15
NJPW TV taped 7/17/06 Tsukisamu Green Dome
45th IWGP Heavyweight Champion Decision Tournament 1st Round:
Akebono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Digest
Yuji Nagata vs. Travis Tomko. Digest
45th IWGP Heavyweight Champion Decision Tournament Semifinals:
Giant Bernard vs. Akebono. Digest
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata. Digest
45th IWGP Heavyweight Champion Decision Tournament Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Giant Bernard
NOAH TV taped 7/16/06 Tokyo Nippon Budokan
Jun Akiyama & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Kensuke Sasaki
TV show w/ guests Akira Maeda & Hideo Tokoro 8/1/06
Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Tetsuya Naito 8:49
Prince Devitt & Wataru Inoue vs. Black Tiger & Durango 9:51
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Takashi Uwano 12:41
Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Negro Casas & Tiger Mask 12:05
Black Strong Machine & Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka 10:39
Akebono & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Travis Tomko 14:42
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Jado 30:04
7/17/06 IWGP Heavyweight Title Tournament Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Giant Bernard 17:44
10/9/06 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 26:45
12/10/06 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 22:44
1/4/07 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taiyo Kea 17:09
2/18/07 IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Koji Kanemoto 21:52
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Wataru Inoue 12:13
Koji Kanemoto & Negro Casas & Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 10:35
CTU Ranger Blue & CTU Ranger Green & CTU Ranger Pink & CTU Ranger Red & CTU Ranger Yellow vs. Apple Miyuki & Daigoro Kashiwa & MIYAWAKI & PSYCHO & Teppei Ishizaka 11:28
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger & Hirooki Goto & TAKA Michinoku 20:05
Gedo & Jado vs. Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda 15:48
Kishin Liger vs. BADBOY Hido 12:22
Masaaki Mochizuki & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 21:43
Wataru Inoue vs. Yujiro
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Minoru & Tetsuya Naito
Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
Riki Choshu & Akebono vs. Giant Bernard & Black Strong Machine
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi
G1 Climax B Block: Koji Kanemoto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Takashi Iizuka
Satoshi Kojima & Akebono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe
G1 Climax A Block: Giant Bernard vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax B Block: Koji Kanemoto vs. Togi Makabe
Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
Riki Choshu & Akebono vs. Black Strong Machine & Shiro Koshinaka
G1 Climax A Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Giant Bernard
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Minoru & Prince Devitt vs. El Samurai & Wataru Inoue
Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Jado & Gedo
Black Strong Machine & Shiro Koshinaka vs. Takashi Iizuka & Takashi Uwano
Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Akebono & Naofumi Yamamoto
Masahiro Chono Return Match ~ BLACK REBORN: Masahiro Chono & Milano Collection AT vs. Riki Choshu & Hiroshi Tanahashi
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Manabu Nakanishi
Minoru & Prince Devitt vs. Wataru Inoue & Yujiro
G1 Climax Semifinal: Satoshi Kojima vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax Semifinal: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi
Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Takashi Iizuka & Naofumi Yamamoto
Yoshihiro Takayama New Japan Return Match: Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Akebono vs. Masahiro Chono & Yoshihiro Takayama & Milano Collection AT
G1 Climax Final: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
8/6/06 Niigata Shi Taiikukan
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi
8/8/06 Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
G1 Climax B Block: Togi Makabe vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax A Block: Giant Bernard vs. Satoshi Kojima
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata
8/9/06 Grand Cube Osaka
G1 Climax B Block: Koji Kanemoto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe
Summer Night Dream Tag Match: Bono Tiger (Akebono) & Tiger Mask vs. Jado & Gedo
Special Match: Satoshi Kojima & Akebono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Black Strong Machine
Special Match: Minoru & Jado & Gedo vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai & Wataru Inoue
G1 Climax A Block: Giant Bernard vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
8/10/06 Nagoya Aichi-ken Taiikukan
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
G1 Climax B Block: Koji Kanemoto vs. Togi Makabe
G1 Climax A Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Giant Bernard
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
8/12/06 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe
G1 Climax A Block: Satoshi Kojima vs. Manabu Nakanishi
G1 Climax - Semi Final: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
Masahiro Chono Return Match ~ BLACK REBORN: Masahiro Chono & Milano Collection AT vs. Riki Choshu & Hiroshi Tanahashi
8/13/06, Yoshihiro Takayama New Japan Return Match: Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi & Akebono vs. Masahiro Chono & Yoshihiro Takayama & Milano Collection AT
G1 Climax B Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax A Block: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Giant Bernard
8/13/06 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 Climax Semifinal: Satoshi Kojima vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax Semifinal: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Giant Bernard
G1 Climax Final: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yujiro vs. Daisaku Shimoda 9:29
Takashi Iizuka vs. Takashi Uwano 9:31
Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo & Prince Devitt 9:12
Tetsuya Naito Trial Series Match #1: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tetsuya Naito 4:08
Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 13:58
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Minoru 16:46
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Black Strong Machine & Giant Bernard 13:37
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono & Milano Collection AT vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto & Riki Choshu 14:18
Daisaku Shimoda vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 8:03
Black Strong Machine vs. Takashi Uwano 9:39
Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tiger Mask & Yujiro 11:14
Gedo & Jado & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 15:38
Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto 9:41
Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Thunder Liger 13:17
Masahiro Chono & Milano Collection AT vs. Riki Choshu & Takashi Iizuka 9:18
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 15:20
Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Takashi Uwano vs. Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro 11:34
Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Prince Devitt 13:17
El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 14:40
Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano 12:51
Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Black Strong Machine & Taichi Ishikari 15:06
Masahiro Chono & Milano Collection AT & Travis Tomko vs. Akebono & Manabu Nakanishi & Naofumi Yamamoto 13:58
Giant Bernard & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Riki Choshu 13:32
Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa & Takashi Uwano 10:37
Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Gedo & Jado 15:14
Milano Collection AT vs. Wataru Inoue 11:30
Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata 14:08
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 13:37
Akebono & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Giant Bernard & Travis Tomko 15:46
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Masahiro Chono 20:04
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Koji Kanemoto 25:06
Five Team Elimination Tag Match: Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. BADBOY Hido & Tomohiko Hashimoto vs. Kintaro Kanemura & Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Daisaku Shimoda & Riki Choshu vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Togi Makabe 20:46
Gran Naniwa & Tsubo Genjin vs. Makai Masked Hurricane 2 & Makai Rey Cobra 4 5:19
Makai Masked Canadian (Tomoaki Honma) vs. Pegasus Kid (Prince Devitt) 12:18
Makai 20 & Toru Yano vs. El Purpose (El Samurai) & Taichi Ishikari 8:24
Milano Collection AT vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 11:02
Gedo & Jado & Tanaka vs. Shuji Kondo & TARU & YASSHI 15:10
Manabu Nakanishi & Michiyoshi Ohara & Super Strong Machine vs. Big Van Vader & Makai Club Makai 11 & Makai 14 8:53
Masked Devilock (Hiroshi Tanahashi) vs. Makai Masked Devilock (Ryota Chikuzen) 12:11
Elimination: Gedo & Jado & Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tanaka vs. Makai Club Makai 11 & Makai Masked Canadian & Milano Collection AT & TARU & Toru Yano 12:02
National Area Tag League Semifinal Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Minoru 10:40
National Area Tag League Semifinal Match: Koji Kanemoto & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Manabu Nakanishi 12:33
El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Milano Collection AT & Prince Devitt 15:09
Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 10:47
National Area Tag League Final Match: Koji Kanemoto & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naofumi Yamamoto 19:57
Takashi Uwano vs. Mitsuhide Hirasawa 7:51
Yujiro vs. Tetsuya Naito 8:45
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru & Prince Devitt 13:06
Mexican Rules: El Texano Jr. & Negro Casas & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger 9:37
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Shiro Koshinaka & Tomohiro Ishii 11:54
Masahiro Chono & Travis Tomko vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 10:59
NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Milano Collection AT 19:04
Giant Bernard & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi 19:17
C.T.U KISS-JISS (Jado) & C.T.U KISS-GESS (Gedo) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi & Wataru Inoue 10:07
Tiger Mask & Xmas Tiger vs. C.T.U CATS-THUNDER.TAMA (Jushin Thunder Liger) & C.T.U CATS-MIKE.AT (Milano Collection AT) 7:16
Mitsuhide Hirasawa vs. Tetsuya Naito 7:18
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Takashi Iizuka 13:33
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi 14:08
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru 33:51. Kanemoto has always been a good opponent for Minoru because he can shift his style more toward the kicks & submissions, doing a more credible technical match without going outside his own box. Minoru is definitely a lot more patient than Koji, but the matches running so long tends to shift things in this direction by necessity. In fact, they broke the record they set on 10/9/06, once again delivering the longest IWGP Junior Title match ever. The match had a real old school feel to it, as UWF oriented matches had shifted more toward their technical pro wrestling roots of Thesz, Gagne, Robinson, & Gotch & less toward the wannabe MMA aspect, while still doing enough crazy & athletic stuff to satisfy the junior style requirements. Both men were laser focused on working a body part with Minoru first injuring Koji's arm on the outside after matadoring him to the floor & Koji later countering a suplex to the floor with a Dragon screw onto the top rope. They'd throw in a random junior style spot now & then, but during the first half they mostly kept on theme with Minoru stopping Koji's charge with a kick to the arm, but Koji then thwarting his suplex attempt with a Dragon screw. Suddenly, they started doing another match with Koji poping the crowd with his face scrapes & Minoru hitting insane suplexes with Kanemoto taking a flip bump on the German suplex off the 2nd then popping up after a fisherman buster off the 2nd as only Koji would have the nerve to do. The big moves signaled that the finishing sequence was potentially upon us, but as they shifted back to theme after Koji's Frankensteiner off the top with the Minoru special leading to a series of ankle lock counters the fans were now buying the threat of the submissions. The match was nowhere near over though, going roughly another 15 minutes, and the new pattern was Minoru using some of his suplexes & big moves to set up trapping Koji in yet another armbar. The amount of armbars Koji was surviving was getting a bit absurd, and definitely this was one of those matches where they really needed to see it through from start to finish. Luckily, Minoru finally twisted out of a Tiger suplex & hit the Minoru special in the center, & just as Kanemoto managed to throw the top leg off & get his knees to escape, Minoru rehooked the top leg & flattened Kanemoto out on his back to take the title. With the right finish, the match definitely came off a lot better, and one can now say it was the tenacity of Minoru in sticking with his gameplan from start to finish that earned him his fourth & final (?) IWGP Junior Title reign. ****