Osamu Nishimura vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 8:10
Young Generation Cup: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Shinya Makabe 13:20
Young Generation Cup: Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Kenzo Suzuki 9:23
Makai Mask #1 Junji Hirata & Daimajin Giant Silva vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito 7:50
Makai Masks #4 & #5 Mitsuya Nagai vs. Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara 10:54
Koji Kanemoto & Takehiro Murahama & Jushin Liger vs. Masayuki Naruse & Tiger Mask IV & Heat 16:10
Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Yutaka Yoshie 6:48
Shinsuke Nakamura & Michiyoshi Ohara vs. Tadao Yasuda & Kazunari Murakami 7:12
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima vs. Masa Chono & Manabu Nakanishi 23:18
Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Tsuyoshi Kohsaka 10:19
IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Josh Barnett 10:40
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Jado & Gedo vs. Super Crazy & Curry Man
Makai #4 & Makai #5 vs. Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano
IWGP TAG TITLE #1 CONTENDER TOURNAMENT QUALIFYING MATCH: Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Gotoh vs. Makai #1 & Makai #2
Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask
12 MAN NEW JAPAN RUMBLE: Masahiro Chono & Minoru Fujita & Kengo Kimura & Yutaka Yoshie & Shinya Makabe & Jim Steele & Mike Barton & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Manabu Nakanishi & Tadao Yasuda
Yoshihiro Takayama & Perry Saturn vs. Yuji Nagata & Blue Wolf
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 7:25
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Toru Yano 4:15
Makai #1 & Makai #2 vs. Kengo Kimura & Shinya Makabe 7:35
Gedo & Jado & Koji Kanemoto vs. Curry Man & Minoru Fujita & Super Crazy 12:01
Makai #4 & Makai #5 & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Blue Wolf & Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka 7:53
El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger & Takehiro Murahama vs. Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask 12:18
IWGP Tag Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round Match: Kazunari Murakami & Tadao Yasuda vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Yoshihiro Takayama 3:02
IWGP Tag Title #1 Contendership Tournament First Round Match: Jim Steele & Mike Barton vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie 11:07
Josh Barnett & Perry Saturn vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono 12:49
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura 20:01
2/4/03 Iwate Chomin Taiikukan
Josh Barnett vs. Makai Club #2
Yoshihiro Takayama & Perry Saturn vs. Ryushi Yanigasawa & Makai #1
Tadao Yasuda & Kazunari Murakami & Makai #4 & Makai #5 vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka
2/7/03 Yamagata Sogo Sports Center: Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Fujita vs. Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Curry Man
2/12/03 Okayama-ken Taiikukan: Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Heat vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe & Minoru Fujita
2/15/03 Sanjo Wellfare Hall
Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Kazunari Murakami & Makai #1 & Makai #4 & Makai #5
Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe vs. Tadao Yasuda & Ryushi Yanigisawa
2/7/03: Mike Barton & Jim Steele vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Toru Yano
2/4/03
IWGP Tag Title Challenger Decision Tournament Round 1: Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara vs. Makai #4 & Makai #5
Yuji Nagata & Blue Wolf vs. Mike Barton & Jim Steele
2/7/03: Josh Barnett vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
Masahiro Chono & Yuji Nagata & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka vs. Kazunari Murakami & Makai #1 & Makai #4 & Makai #5
2/12/03
Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo vs. AKIRA & Tiger Mask & Super Crazy & Curry Man
Mike Barton & Jim Steele vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura
2/15/03: Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Mike Barton & Perry Saturn
Blue Wolf vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 5:25
Curry Man & Super Crazy vs. Gedo & Jado 10:54
Perry Saturn & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Osamu Nishimura & Toru Yano & Yutaka Yoshie 13:47
El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. AKIRA & Heat & Tiger Mask 13:10
Josh Barnett vs. Masahito Kakihara 5:44
Makai #4 & Makai #5 vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 6:44
Minoru Fujita & Shinya Makabe & Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Makai #1 & Makai #2 & Ryushi Yanagisawa 7:37
IWGP Tag Title #1 Contendership Tournament Final Match: Jim Steele & Mike Barton vs. Kazunari Murakami & Tadao Yasuda 4:49
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata 15:32
Hiroshi Tanahashi Return Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 7:36
Shinya Makabe vs. Toru Yano 3:41
Osamu Nishimura vs. Curry Man 10:11
Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Makai #4 & Makai #5 12:13
Kazunari Murakami vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 6:28
Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara vs. Tadao Yasuda & Makai #1 & Makai #2 0:53
Elimination Match: AKIRA & Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask & Super Crazy vs. Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai & Gedo & Minoru Fujita 26:56
American Dragon & Stampede Kid vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi 8:42
Kengo Kimura Inazuma Countdown #8: Kengo Kimura & Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 11:01
G2 U-30 Climax Block B Match: Blue Wolf [2] vs. Toru Yano [0] 9:53
Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Makai #4 & Makai #5 9:59
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. AKIRA & Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask 13:53
Yuji Nagata vs. Dan Devine 5:26
Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Makai #1 4:46
Scott Norton & Shinya Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi 12:21
Michiyoshi Ohara & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Kazunari Murakami & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Tadao Yasuda 11:26
3/9/03
Takashi Iizuka vs. Makai #5 0:54 & 0:26
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Koji Kanemoto & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. AKIRA & Heat 18:06
IWGP Tag Title Match: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe 17:29
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Manabu Nakanishi 60:00
3/23/03
Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuya Nagai (Makai #5) 8:02
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. AKIRA 17:52
NWF Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Scott Norton 5:46 of 15:37
Masahito Kakihara vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 4:53
G2 U-30 Climax Block B Match: Yutaka Yoshie [8] vs. Blue Wolf [4] 9:40
AKIRA & American Dragon & Heat & Stampede Kid vs. El Samurai & Gedo & Jado & Koji Kanemoto 14:19
Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 6:41
OPW Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Takehiro Murahama vs. Billyken Kid & Gamma 16:42
Kazunari Murakami & Makai #1 & Tadao Yasuda vs. Enson Inoue & Michiyoshi Ohara & Tatsutoshi Goto 3:38
Takashi Iizuka vs. Makai #5 3:21
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Makai #4 4:35
Masahiro Chono vs. Shinya Makabe 2:30
Manabu Nakanishi & Osamu Nishimura & Yuji Nagata vs. Dan Devine & Rick Steiner & Scott Norton 15:54
Ultimo Guerrero & Rey Bucanero vs. Jado & Gedo 11:00
Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara vs. Dan Devine & Super Crazy 8:12
Ryushi Yanagisawa & Makai #4 & Makai #5 vs. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie & Toru Yano 10:43
Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai & Minoru Fujita vs. AKIRA & Heat & Ryusuke Taguchi 13:44
Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi Ohara vs. Kazunari Murakami & Makai #1 & Makai #2 0:37
G2 U-30 Climax Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinya Makabe 12:44
Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Mike Barton 10:47
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 14:46. An enjoyable match, but one that didn't feel quite suited for the occasion. If this were a Super Jr. league match, I'd be saying how strong it was, but as a title change, it felt kind of short, incomplete, & underwhelming. They worked well together & what they did was good, but it wasn't memorable. Tiger is a good opponent for Kanemoto in that he's more than willing to mix some high spots into a match based on leg work & kicks. The match picked up when Tiger got his knees up to counter Kanemoto's moonsault then shifted to his aerial attack, including continuing to brutalize the stomach with his standing moonsault double knee drop. After nearly getting counted out, Kanemoto came back with a neat spinning drop to turn Tiger's Tiger suplex into his ankle hold. The last third minutes was hot action back & forth, but the finish of Tiger winning a kick exchange then hitting his Tiger suplex for the win seemed very early, almost to the point of being out of nowhere. I mean, it wasn't unearned, but had I not know the match was less than 15 minutes going in, I would have been positive Koji was going to kick out & the match would have lasted another 3 minutes at the least. ***1/2
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Yuji Nagata c vs. Tadao Yasuda 22:55
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 10:24
Ken Shamrock vs. Takashi Iizuka 11:44
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 4 & Heat 19:50
Vale Tudo Rules Match: LYOTO (Lyoto Machida) vs. KENGO 3R
Vale Tudo Rules Match: Tsuyoshi Kosaka vs. Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar R1 2:58
Vale Tudo Rules Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Jan Nortje Rd 2 3:12
Vale Tudo Rules Match: Josh Barnett vs. Jimmy Ambriz R1 & 3:05
Vale Tudo Rules Match: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Manabu Nakanishi Round 3 & 1:09
Enson Inoue vs. Kazunari Murakami 6:33
GHC Heavyweight Title Match: Kenta Kobashi vs. Masahiro Chono 28:27
IWGP Heavyweight Title & NWF Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama (NWF Champion) vs. Yuji Nagata (IWGP Champion) 18:17
5/25/03
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Makai #1 (Junji Hirata) & Ryushi Yanagisawa
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: AKIRA vs. Takashi Sugiura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto
Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazunari Murakami & Katsuyori Shibata
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe
5/30/03
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Ebessan vs. Gedo
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Takashi Sugiura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & AKIRA
Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe & Perry Saturn
Akira & Masahito Kakihara & Masayuki Naruse & Ebessan vs. El Samurai & Jado & Gedo & Minoru Fujita 11:14
Takashi Iizuka & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Shinya Makabe & Perry Saturn & Dan Devine 8:54
Takashi Sugiura & Stampede Kid vs. Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi 8:43
Osamu Nishimura vs. Tadao Yasuda 4:12
Enson Inoue vs. Kazunari Murakami 3:06
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Scott Norton & Rick Steiner 14:35
Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Blue Wolf 12:37
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Kotaro Suzuki 20:06
Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. El Samurai & Toru Yano
Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Gedo vs. Tiger Mask & Masayuki Naruse & Ebessan
Shinya Makabe & Minoru Fujita vs. Dan Devine & Stampede Kid
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Semifinal: AKIRA vs. Masahito Kakihara
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Semifinal: Koji Kanemoto vs. Takashi Sugiura
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Rick Steiner & Perry Saturn
Yoshihiro Takayama & Scott Norton vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi
Manabu Nakanishi & Enson Inoue & Blue Wolf vs. Yuji Nagata & Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Final: Masahito Kakihara vs. Koji Kanemoto
5/26/03 Fukushima City Gym
Block B: Jado [2] vs. Koji Kanemoto [0] 5:23
Block A: Takashi Sugiura [4] vs. Ebessan [0] 11:52
5/27/03 Kanuma City Gym
Yuji Nagata & Osamu Nishimura & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto 15:39
Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe & Takashi Sugiura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto 16:02
5/31/03 Awaji Labor Center
Block A: Minoru Fujita [6] vs. AKIRA [4] 12:34
Block A: Jushin Thunder Liger [4] vs. Gedo [2] 14:09
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Dan Devine 14:51
5/25/03 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Minoru Fujita vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: AKIRA vs. Takashi Sugiura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. El Samurai
5/30/03 Takamatsu Shi Sogo Taiikukan
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Gedo vs. Ebessan
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Takashi Sugiura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X League Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask
6/11/03 Kyoto Shi Taiikukan
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Semifinal: AKIRA vs. Masahito Kakihara
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Semifinal: Koji Kanemoto vs. Takashi Sugiura
BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. X Final: Masahito Kakihara vs. Koji Kanemoto. No cut
6/13/03 Tokyo Nippon Budokan: Minoru Suzuki vs. Masayuki Naruse No cut
6/10/03 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan, IWGP Junior Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Naomichi Marufuji & Kotaro Suzuki
6/10/03, IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
5/25/03: Yuji Nagata & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Kazunari Murakami & Katsuyori Shibata
6/10/03: Enson Inoue vs. Kazunari Murakami No cut
6/13/03: Enson Inoue vs. Tadao Yasuda No cut
6/13/03: Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuyori Shibata No cut
6/13/03, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Takehiro Murahama
6/13/03, IWGP Tag Title Match: Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi
6/13/03, NWF Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
7/15/03 Akita Prectural Gym
Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask vs. Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita 12:04
G1 Special Block A-B vs. Block A-B Tag Match: Masahiro Chono & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata 18:01
7/19/03 Sapporo Teisen Hall, Teisen Hall Cup Heavyweight Eight Man Tag Elimination Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Masahiro Chono & Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mike Barton & Scott Norton & Shinya Makabe & Yoshihiro Takayama 25:21
7/20/03 Sapporo Teisen Hall, Teisen Hall Cup Junior Eight Man Tag Team Elimination Match: Masahito Kakihara & Masayuki Naruse & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita 25:00
Minoru Suzuki vs. Koji Kanemoto
G1 Climax Entrance Match: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Shinya Makabe
Osamu Nishimura vs. Mike Barton
Wataru Inoue Return Match: Tiger Mask vs. Wataru Inoue
Losing Captain in a Doghouse Elimination Match: Tadao Yasuda & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Makai #1 & Makai #5 vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto & Michiyoshi
Heat vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
Kazunari Murakami vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Strongest Foreigner Decision Match - Different Style Fight: Josh Barnett vs. Scott Norton
Yuji Nagata vs. Enson Inoue
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Masahiro Chono
G1 Climax Block B: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Katsuyori Shibata 7:06 of 10:14
G1 Climax Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Yuji Nagata 7:57 of 12:51
G1 Climax Block A: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 5:42 of 14:04
G1 Climax Block A: Osamu Nishimura vs. Masa Chono 7:28 of 24:08
G1 Climax Block B: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Tadao Yasuda 11:16
G1 Climax Block A: Jun Akiyama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 19:43
8/11 G1 Climax Block B: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 8:26 of 12:31
G1 Climax Block B: Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tadao Yasuda 1:14
G1 Climax Block A: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 7:32 of 15:14
G1 Climax Block A: Jun Akiyama vs. Osamu Nishimura 15:33 of 27:17
G1 Climax Block A: Masa Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi 6:39 of 11:39
G1 Climax Block B: Yuji Nagata vs. Yoshihrio Takayama 12:21 of 14:05
8/10/03 Kobe World Kinen Hall
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] vs. Katsuyori Shibata [0] 10:14
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yuji Nagata [2] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [0] 12:51. Yoshie started out slow, getting sucked into Nagata's match, but he came on big in the second half. I wasn't too impressed with Yoshie kicking out of an avalanche style exploder at 1, but they were able to make it seem like Yoshie pushed Nagata, and the crowd definitely got behind him. Yoshie, of course, has no athleticism and didn't look particular good, basically just able to stand around throwing backhand blows and toss in a few suplexes. Nagata did a good job of working around him, and it was always competent, if nothing special. **
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Manabu Nakanishi [2] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [0] 14:04
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Masahiro Chono [2] vs. Osamu Nishimura [0] 24:08. Chono doesn't get much more disappointing than this. I mean, sure it's been years since I expected him to deliver more than a handful of times per year, and a midcard match on the 1st G1 show would never be one of them, but considering he's against a master technician who will work hard and is only doing technical wrestling and brawling/striking, I at least expected a more competent performance. Chono just lumbered around seeming hardly able to bend at the waist. Nishimura showed up, of course, and certainly had his moments, but there was only so much he could do as Chono didn't really want to counter him on the mat, and hardly seemed to have the flexibility to be capable of doing so. Nishimura did a fairly good, although not nearly his most consistent, job of working Chono's left knee, including a diving kneedrop when Chono was on one knee. After nearly 25 minutes, they went home in the most unconvincing fashion with Chono clumsily turning Nishimura's spinning toe hold into a small package. *1/2
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Tadao Yasuda [2] vs. Yoshihiro Takayama [0] 11:16
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Jun Akiyama [2] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] 19:43
8/11/03 Nagoya Aichi-ken Taiikukan
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yutaka Yoshie [2] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura [2] 12:31
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Katsuyori Shibata [2] vs. Tadao Yasuda [2] 1:14
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] 15:14
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Osamu Nishimura [2] vs. Jun Akiyama [2] 27:17
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Manabu Nakanishi [4] vs. Masahiro Chono [2] 11:39
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yoshihiro Takayama [2] vs. Yuji Nagata [2] 14:05. The effort was mostly there and they delivered some brutal shots, but the match was really inconsistent, even from an intensity standpoint. Nothing looks smooth with Takayama, and he's just so awkward it's hard to feel like the match has any sense of rhythm or flow. Nagata's technique was impressive as always, but Takayama was all over the place. His arm strikes and knees were generally good, but it's like it's too much effort for him to lift his leg and torque his hip for a kick, so they're either slow and/or off target. The funniest part was this guillotine choke Takayama was supposed to be doing, except he never had control of Nagata's neck once he dropped to the mat. They had a short but exceptionally nasty exchange just before the finish, and I think this is where Takayama's eye was cut hardway. The upper lid was already swollen pretty badly during the post match interview. **
8/15/03 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan: Josh Barnett & Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru Suzuki & Masayuki Naruse 11:29
8/12/03 Gran Ship Shizuoka
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Katsuyori Shibata [4] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [2] 9:17
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Masahiro Chono [4] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] 13:11
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yoshihiro Takayama [4] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura [2]
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] vs. Osamu Nishimura [2] 25:56
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Tadao Yasuda [4] vs. Yuji Nagata [2] 12:21
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Jun Akiyama [4] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [4] 16:35
8/14/03 Sendai Miyagi-ken Sports Center
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] vs. Tadao Yasuda [4] 7:38
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Osamu Nishimura [4] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [4] 13:45
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yoshihiro Takayama [6] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [2] 12:31
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yuji Nagata [3] vs. Katsuyori Shibata [5] 13:17
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Jun Akiyama [6] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] 16:08
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] vs. Masahiro Chono [4] 21:21
8/12/03: El Samurai vs. Josh Barnett 1:38
8/16/03 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan: Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Ensen Inoue & Michiyoshi Ohara 12:00
8/15/03 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yutaka Yoshie [4] vs. Tadao Yasuda [4] 13:01
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [4] vs. Osamu Nishimura [4] 14:03
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yuji Nagata [5] vs. Shinsuke Nakamura [4] 11:32
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [4] 14:50
G1 CLIMAX B Block: Yoshihiro Takayama [8] vs. Katsuyori Shibata [5] 6:38
G1 CLIMAX A Block: Masahiro Chono [5] vs. Jun Akiyama [7] 30:00
8/16/03 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan
G1 CLIMAX Semifinal: Jun Akiyama vs. Yuji Nagata 16:11
G1 CLIMAX Semifinal: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshihiro Takayama 21:13
8/17/03 Tokyo Ryogoku Kokugikan, G1 CLIMAX Final: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jun Akiyama 31:43
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Blue Wolf
Masahito Kakihara & Heat & Tiger Mask IV vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Wataru Inoue & Koji Kanemoto
Osamu Nishimura vs. Shinsuke Nakamura
U-30 Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Makai #2
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Kazunari Murakami
Tadao Yasuda & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Enson Inoue & Yuji Nagata
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Shinya Makabe
IWGP Heavyweight Title, Cage Death Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Masa Chono
Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano. 6:37
Koji Kanemoto & Minoru Fujita vs. Heat & Ryosuke Taguchi. 12:42
Ryushi Yanagisawa & Makai #5 vs. Masahito Kakihara & Masayuki Naruse. 6:30
Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito vs. Ryota Chikuzen & Makai #1. 8:48
IWGP Junior Heavykyu Senshukenjiai: Tiger Mask vs. Katsushi Takemura. 4:49
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Perry Saturn. 7:31
Tadao Yasuda vs. Katsuyori Shibata. 1:30
Scott Norton & Rick Steiner & Jimmy Ambriz vs. Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie. 13:59
Yoshihiro Takayama & Shinya Makabe vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Thunder Liger. 16:00
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hirooki Goto 7:16
Heat & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask vs. El Samurai & Minoru Fujita & Ryusuke Taguchi 11:03
Rick Steiner & Scott Norton vs. Toru Yano & Yutaka Yoshie 8:42
Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Masayuki Naruse 5:27
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Gedo & Jado 6:28
Makai #1 & Ryota Chikuzen & Tadao Yasuda vs. Blue Wolf & Enson Inoue & Kotetsu Yamamoto & Osamu Nishimura 8:06
Minoru Suzuki vs. Katsuyori Shibata 6:44
Masahiro Chono & Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Shinya Makabe & Yoshihiro Takayama 10:11
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata vs. Jun Akiyama & Takeshi Rikio 30:00
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi 20:03
Ryosuke Taguchi vs. Akiya Anzawa. 5:29
Heat & Masahito Kakihara vs. Tiger Mask & Masayuki Naruse. 9:02
Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue. 15:27
Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito vs. Tadao Yasuda & Makai #1 & Ryota Chikuzen. 10:22
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Toru Yano. 16:59
Kazunari Murakami vs. Shinya Makabe. 5:46
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Blue Wolf. 18:32
NWF World Heavyweight Title Match: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Minoru Suzuki. 6:43
Super Junior New Japan Rumble IWGP Junior Heavykyu Shin Oza Ketteisen. Entrants are Liger, Kanemoto, Samurai, Tiger Mask, Heat, Naruse, Kakihara, Jado, Gedo, Takemura, & Togo. 22:47
U-30 Musabetsukyu Oza Jiki Chosensha Ketteisen: Blue Wolf vs. Yutaka Yoshie. 10:01
TOA vs. Shinya Makabe. 5:40
Tadao Yasuda vs. Osamu Nishimura. 4:45
Ultimate Crush 1: Osami Shibuya vs. Khaliun Boldbaatar. 9:46
Ultimate Crush II: Tsuyoshi Kosaka vs. Ricardon (Ricardo Morias). 3R
King of Pancrase: Josh Barnett vs. Yoshiki Takahashi. 2R 2:52
Kazunari Murakami vs. Katsuyori Shibata. 4:58
Super Dream Match: Masahiro Chono vs. Hulk Hogan. 19:46
Ultime Pro-Wrestling Shin Nihongun vs. Shin Inokigun Elimination Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Seiji Sakaguchi vs. Bob Sapp & Yoshihiro Takayama & Kazuyuki Fujita & Minoru Suzuki & Shunsuke Nakamura. 39:54
Hirooki Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa
Tiger Mask & Heat & Masahito Kakihara vs. Wataru Inoue & Super Crazy & Ryusuke Taguchi
Mike Barton & Jim Steele & Shinya Makabe vs. Blue Wolf & Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano
Manabu Nakanishi & Enson Inoue vs. Tadao Yasuda & Ryushi Yanagisawa
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Jushin Thunder Liger & Koji Kanemoto vs. Gedo & Katsushi Takemura
Minoru Suzuki vs. Kazunari Murakami
New Generation Match #1: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Masahiro Chono
New Generation Match #2: Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
G1 Tag League: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama & TOA
Ryosuke Taguchi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto. 9:11
Koji Kanemoto & El Samurai vs. Heat & Super Crazy. 10:29
Mike Barton & Jim Steele & Shinya Makabe vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Hiro Saito & Toru Yano. 14:30
3 vs. 1: Jado & Gedo & Katsushi Takemura vs. Tiger Mask. 13:48
Tadao Yasuda & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Osamu Nishimura & Enson Inoue. 4:40
Minoru Suzuki vs. Katsuyori Shibata. 7:53
Kazunari Murakami vs. Yutaka Yoshie. 4:52
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Blue Wolf. 10:42
Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura. 4:39
Osamu Nishimura & Jinsei Shinzaki & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tadao Yasuda & Makai #1& Ryota Chikuzen. 14:01
Kazunari Murakami vs. Koji Kanemoto. 5:41
Montanha Silva vs. Yutaka Yoshie. 4:06
U-30 Musabetsukyu Senshukenjiai: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. TOA. 8:33
K-1 Rule: TOMO vs. Jadamba Narantongaragu. R2 1:58
K-1 Rule: Jan "The Giant" Nortje vs. Ivan Rudan. 0:19
K-1 Rule: Hiromi Amada vs. Katsuyori Shibata. R2 2:08
Bob Sapp & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Osamu Nishimura. 16:33
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki. 13:30
IWGP Heavykyu Senshukenjiai: Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan. 27:26. An ordinary heavyweight title match by puroresu standards, but one of the beter singles matches of Takayama's career. Tenzan carried the match with Takayama more than content to look on from the passengers seat. He kept it incredibly simple, but that helped Takayama because he didn't have much chance to screw up. The structuring was as basic as could be, keeping the transitions to a minimum and not doing anything with them that would require the least bit of ability. Tenzan dominated the match, but Takayama had a couple of good runs where he was able to distinguish himself with the impact of his kicks and knees. One of the big problems with the match is the knee provided the only semblance of a storyline, but once Takayama came back with a running knee after Tenzan had worked it over for a while, he sold a little but was able to maintain the offensive, and that was pretty much it. Another problem was the match was simply too long. They tried to build anticipation, or more accurately stalled to fill time early. I could live with that, but what really hurt is there was never any sense that the match could last less than 20 minutes. They worked deliberately, at a measured pace, and there wasn't really any sense of urgency or any attempt to finish until Tenzan hit his TTD around the 20 minute mark, which got the crowd reacting. From there it was serious, but if they could have instilled some intensity into their high impact wrestling about 10 minutes earlier, it would have come off as a much more important match. What they did looked fine, and I could live with the match not being the least bit dynamic because it's Takayama after all, but you need to do some things to give it depth, dimension, atmosphere, aura, something to make it memorable. It just seemed as though they felt going long and hitting each other hard was all it took to make it a big title match. They succeeded in what they tried, and admittedly trying little is probably the way to go with clumsy Takayama, but I never got the sense they were aiming high, and just felt as though it was a lazy match mentally, even if a competent match physically. **3/4
Heat & Masayuki Naruse & Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto & Naofumi Yamamoto & Ryusuke Taguchi
Blue Wolf & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto
Shinya Makabe vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa
Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka vs. Makai #1 & Tadao Yasuda
Elimination: American Dragon & El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger & Wataru Inoue vs. Dick Togo & Gedo & Jado & Katsushi Takemura 26:14
Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Josh Barnett
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. The Shadow
Scott Norton vs. Manabu Nakanishi
Akira Anzawa vs. Naofumi Yamamoto. 5:09
Wataru Inoue vs. Toru Yano. 6:19
Blue Wolf vs. The Shadow. 7:04
Jushin Thunder Liger & El Samurai vs. Hirooki Goto & Ryosuke Taguchi. 11:40
Takashi Iizuka & Tatsutoshi Goto & Masayuki Naruse vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Makai #1 & Ryushi Yanagisawa. 10:41
Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs. Scott Norton & American Dragon. 13:36
Yoshihiro Takayama vs. Shinya Makabe. 8:24
Shinsuke Nakamura & Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata & Josh Barnett. 12:21
IWGP Junior Heavykyu Senshukenjiai: Heat vs. Jado. 7:45
IWGP Tag Senshukenjiai: Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie. 38:08
American Dragon vs. Katsushi Takemura
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Gedo
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tiger Mask
Josh Barnett vs. Heat
Takashi Iizuka vs. Mitsuya Nagai
Minoru Suzuki vs. Blue Wolf
Manabu Nakanishi vs. The Shadow
Scott Norton vs. Yutaka Yoshie
Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Gedo vs. Akiya Anzawa
Wataru Inoue vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
El Samurai vs. Hirooki Goto
Heat vs. Ryosuke Taguchi
Takashi Iizuka & Hiro Saito vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Toru Yano
Shinya Makabe & Blue Wolf vs. Mitsuya Nagai & Ryushi Yanagisawa
Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Jushin Thunder Liger
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi