Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura vs. Jado & Gedo
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Heat vs. Tiger Mask
Amaresu Exhibition Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuhiko Nagata
Minoru Suzuki vs. Takashi Iizuka
Satoshi Kojima vs. Osamu Nishimura
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 24:45. Another key step toward reclaiming puroresu from the crotchety and broken, NJPW didn't bother having their top title defended at all, and instead has their two young studs headline the Tokyo Dome in a battle over the under 30 title, just recently recognized as an IWGP belt. The bout was an excellent showcase for both men, based in Nakamura's more credible style, but with plenty of flourishes of action from Tanahashi. The structuring was a bit abnormal in that they used more highspots early to get the crowd into it, and let some of the big moves set up a very submission oriented finishing segment, getting over the idea that submissions gave them the best chance to achieve victory. Tanahashi did a suicida early where he wound up coming down on a chair and DDT'd Nakamura on the apron, but the match was more about his aggressiveness and Nakamura's submission skills than these sort of maneuvers. Tanahashi had an attitude throughout, refusing to shake Nakamura's hand at the outset and slapping him around when he got the chance, which eventually led to Nakamura losing his temper and tackling Tanahashi. Nakamura sustained a bloody mouth, but was generally the one hitting harder and devoted plenty of time to teasing and setting up the eventual armbar finish. It was an intense, evenly contested contest where Tanahashi kept narrowly avoiding the armbar. They didn't exactly tear the house down, but certainly did a damn good match where they stayed true to themselves and proved they could deliver in the big spot without a veteran presence. ***3/4
Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura vs. Jado & Gedo
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Match: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Heat vs. Tiger Mask
Amaresu Exhibition Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Katsuhiko Nagata
Minoru Suzuki vs. Takashi Iizuka
Satoshi Kojima vs. Osamu Nishimura
8 Man Ultimate Royal:
Round 1: Ron Waterman vs. Masayuki Naruse
Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano
Round 1: Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar vs. Mitsuya Nagai
Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs. Blue Wolf
Semifinal: Ron Waterman vs. Manabu Nakanishi
Semifinal: Yuji Nagata vs. Dolgorsuren Sumiyabazar
Final: Ron Waterman vs. Yuji Nagata
Dogfight: Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Riki Choshu
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 24:45. Another key step toward reclaiming puroresu from the crotchety and broken, NJPW didn't bother having their top title defended at all, and instead has their two young studs headline the Tokyo Dome in a battle over the under 30 title, just recently recognized as an IWGP belt. The bout was an excellent showcase for both men, based in Nakamura's more credible style, but with plenty of flourishes of action from Tanahashi. The structuring was a bit abnormal in that they used more highspots early to get the crowd into it, and let some of the big moves set up a very submission oriented finishing segment, getting over the idea that submissions gave them the best chance to achieve victory. Tanahashi did a suicida early where he wound up coming down on a chair and DDT'd Nakamura on the apron, but the match was more about his aggressiveness and Nakamura's submission skills than these sort of maneuvers. Tanahashi had an attitude throughout, refusing to shake Nakamura's hand at the outset and slapping him around when he got the chance, which eventually led to Nakamura losing his temper and tackling Tanahashi. Nakamura sustained a bloody mouth, but was generally the one hitting harder and devoted plenty of time to teasing and setting up the eventual armbar finish. It was an intense, evenly contested contest where Tanahashi kept narrowly avoiding the armbar. They didn't exactly tear the house down, but certainly did a damn good match where they stayed true to themselves and proved they could deliver in the big spot without a veteran presence. ***3/4
Hirooki Goto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 9:04
Ayako Hamada & Hikaru vs. Amazing Kong & Saki Maemura 8:21
Hiroyuki Ito vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 5:53
Blue Wolf vs. Toru Yano 6:32
HERO! & KUDO vs. Daichi Kakimoto & Kota Ibushi 11:42
Katsuhiko Nakajima & Yujiro vs. Akiya Anzawa & Hiroshi Nagao 13:10
Hirooki Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa 9:28
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yujiro 6:56
Wataru Inoue vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:33
Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Nagao 5:52
Mitsuya Nagai vs. Osamu Nishimura 13:33
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka & Manabu Nakanishi 18:43
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Blue Wolf & Yuji Nagata 18:36
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 6:22
Hiroshi Nagao & Masahito Kakihara vs. Akiya Anzawa & El Samurai 6:15
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Katsushi Takemura & Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask 13:25
Harry Smith vs. Hiro Saito 8:01
Wataru Inoue vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 7:56
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto 4:59
Asia Tag Title Match: Masayuki Naruse & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Blue Wolf & Toru Yano 22:29
Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Togi Makabe & Yutaka Yoshie 19:40
Manabu Nakanishi & Minoru Tanaka vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Koji Kanemoto 22:38
Yujiro vs. Akiya Anzawa 7:08
Hirooki Goto vs.Hiroshi Nagao 7:21
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 3:56
Ryusuke Taguchi Farewell Match #2: Ryusuke Taguchi & Taiji Ishimori vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai 11:17
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Katsushi Takemura 14:28
6. New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Gedo 13:42
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 5 vs 5 Singles Elimination Match: Yuji Nagata & Osamu Nishimura & Togi Makabe & Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Mitsuya Nagai & Minoru Tanaka & Harry Smith 65:14
European Catch Rules Match: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Osamu Matsuda R4
European Catch Rules Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsushi Takemura R3
European Catch Rules Match: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Takashi Iizuka R6
European Catch Rules Match: Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger R4
European Catch Rules Match: Hiro Saito vs. Gedo R3
European Catch Rules Match: Minoru Suzuki vs. Osamu Nishimura R6
Akiya Anzawa vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
El Samurai vs. Taiji Ishimori
Mitsuya Nagai & Masayuki Naruse vs. Takashi Iizuka & Hirooki Goto
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura vs. Minoru Tanaka & Jado & Gedo
Jushin Thunder Liger & Harry Smith vs. Tiger Mask & Hiroshi Nagao
Osamu Nishimura & Togi Makabe vs. Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yutaka Yoshie
Masahiro Chono & Minoru Suzuki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima
IWGP Tag Title Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuji Nagata
Yujiro vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:02
Hirooki Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa 6:48
Masayuki Naruse & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Yutaka Yoshie 11:50
Katsushi Takemura & Osamu Nishimura vs. El Samurai & Hiro Saito 11:06
Harry Smith & Minoru Tanaka vs. Togi Makabe & Wataru Inoue 12:22
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Koji Kanemoto & Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask 13:38
Katsuhiko Nakajima & Kensuke Sasaki vs. Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata 14:50
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Masahiro Chono & Mitsuya Nagai 18:46
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Akiya Anzawa 6:52
Jado vs. Hiroshi Nagao 5:12
Masayuki Naruse & Takashi Iizuka vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Yujiro 11:18
Gedo vs. Katsushi Takemura 10:48
El Samurai & Hiro Saito vs. Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask 12:51
Togi Makabe & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Harry Smith & Mitsuya Nagai 13:13
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata 14:09
Jushin Thunder Liger & Manabu Nakanishi & Minoru Tanaka vs. Koji Kanemoto & Osamu Nishimura & Wataru Inoue 23:19
Akiya Anzawa vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:24
Hirooki Goto & Wataru Inoue vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Yujiro 9:52
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiroshi Nagao 6:48
Gedo & Jado & James Gibson vs. El Samurai & Masahito Kakihara & Taiji Ishimori 11:43
Katsushi Takemura & Osamu Nishimura vs. Black Strong Machine & Mitsuya Nagai 15:58
Koji Kanemoto & Shinsuke Nakamura & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Tanaka & Manabu Nakanishi 12:30
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Togi Makabe 8:33
Masahiro Chono & Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yuji Nagata 19:31
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 7:19
Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 7:05
Katsuhiko Nakajima & Taiji Ishimori vs. Akiya Anzawa & El Samurai 9:12
Black Strong Machine & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Katsushi Takemura & Masahito Kakihara 13:59
Jado & Minoru Tanaka vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 11:00
Tiger Mask vs. James Gibson 10:48
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe & Yutaka Yoshie 20:48
Manabu Nakanishi & Masahiro Chono & Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Yuji Nagata 20:50
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Akiya Anzawa 7:16
Wataru Inoue vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 7:19
Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro 7:41
James Gibson vs. Hirooki Goto 10:28
Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Katsushi Takemura & Osamu Nishimura 16:49
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Masahito Kakihara & Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask 15:30
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masayuki Naruse & Mitsuya Nagai 16:52
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Koji Kanemoto & Yuji Nagata vs. Black New Japan Black Strong Machine & Manabu Nakanishi & Minoru Tanaka 19:56
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa vs. Yujiro & Katsuhiko Nakajima
Togi Makabe & Masayuki Naruse vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Masahito Kakihara
Minoru Tanaka & Jado & Gedo & James Gibson vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura & Taiji Ishimori
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 16:07
Osamu Nishimura vs. Riki Choshu
New Japan vs. Black New Japan - Singles Elimination Match: Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Minoru Suzuki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Yuji Nagata & Kensuke Sasaki & Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Heavyweight & Triple Crown Title Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima 59:49
Young Lion Cup: Akiya Anzawa vs. Hiroshi Nagao
Young Lion Cup: Hiroyuki Ito vs. Yujiro
Young Lion Cup: Hirooki Goto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Minoru Tanaka & Puma & Tommy Williams vs. Tiger Mask & El Samurai & Taiji Ishimori
Mitsuya Nagai & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Togi Makabe & Masayuki Naruse
Takashi Iizuka & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Yuji Nagata & Masahito Kakihara
Minoru Suzuki & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Osamu Nishimura & Katsushi Takemura
Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Scott Norton vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Gedo
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Hiroshi Nagao [2] vs. Yujiro [0] 8:47
Hiro Saito vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 5:43
El Samurai & Masahito Kakihara vs. Katsushi Takemura & Tatsutoshi Goto 9:46
Masayuki Naruse & Togi Makabe vs. Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie 20:00
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Puma 11:34
Jushin Thunder Liger & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata 12:41
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Osamu Nishimura & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Scott Norton & Minoru Tanaka 19:17
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Hiroyuki Ito [4] vs. Naofumi Yamamoto [0] 6:56
Hiroshi Nagao & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Akiya Anzawa & Yujiro 9:17
Gedo & Jado & Minoru Tanaka vs. El Samurai & Katsushi Takemura & Wataru Inoue 15:36
Jushin Thunder Liger & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Hiro Saito & Takashi Iizuka 14:12
Tiger Mask vs. Puma 4:09
Manabu Nakanishi & Scott Norton vs. Masayuki Naruse & Togi Makabe 13:55
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Masahito Kakihara & Osamu Nishimura & Yuji Nagata 16:48
Minoru Suzuki vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 8:46
IWGP Tag Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Scott Norton 22:04
Takashi Iizuka vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 2:26
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Hiroyuki Ito [7] vs. Hiroshi Nagao [4] 3:54
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Akiya Anzawa [8] vs. Hirooki Goto [7] 8:51
El Samurai & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Puma & Yujiro 10:55
Gedo & Jado & Minoru Tanaka vs. Katsushi Takemura & Taiji Ishimori & Wataru Inoue 10:49
Masayuki Naruse & Osamu Nishimura vs. Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa 13:56
Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Suzuki vs. Koji Kanemoto & Yuji Nagata 17:57
Manabu Nakanishi & Masahiro Chono & Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie 19:02
Katsuhiko Nakajima & Taiji Ishimori vs. El Samurai & Naofumi Yamamoto 8:57
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Yujiro [4] vs. Akiya Anzawa [8] 10:04
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 3:05
Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Masahito Kakihara & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Minoru Tanaka & Puma 13:02
Black Strong Machine & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hiro Saito & Yutaka Yoshie 12:09
Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka vs. Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata 14:59
Manabu Nakanishi & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Togi Makabe vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Masayuki Naruse & Shinsuke Nakamura 16:08
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Hiroyuki Ito [9] vs. Tommy Williams [0]
Young Lion Cup 2005 Match: Naofumi Yamamoto [4] vs. Yujiro [4] 6:05
El Samurai vs. Hiroyuki Ito 4:06
Akiya Anzawa & Hiro Saito vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Yutaka Yoshie 11:36
Katsushi Takemura & Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Jado & Minoru Tanaka & Puma 10:58
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka vs. Black Strong Machine & Manabu Nakanishi & Togi Makabe 11:46
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru Suzuki 11:27
Masayuki Naruse & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata 19:09
Katsushi Takemura vs. Yujiro 3:23
Tiger Mask & Taiji Ishimori vs. Minoru Tanaka & Puma 9:41
Hiro Saito & Yutaka Yoshie & Masayuki Naruse vs. Black Strong Machine & Togi Makabe & Jushin Thunder Liger 9:44
Young Lion Cup: Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 6:03
Young Lion Cup: Hiroyuki Ito vs. Akiya Anzawa 7:59
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Minoru Suzuki 20:00
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 11:19
Yuji Nagata vs. Takashi Iizuka 17:31
Masahiro Chono & Ron Waterman vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura 13:55
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Jado & Gedo 44:09 (about 18 min shown)
Tatsumi Fujinami Return Match: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Osamu Nishimura 15:00
Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Taiji Ishimori
Tiger Mask & El Samurai & Masahito Kakihara vs. Masked CTU-L & Masked CTU-T & Masked CTU-G
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe & Ryushi Yanagisawa
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Tournament Semifinal: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Manabu Nakanishi
Young Lion Cup Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroyuki Ito
Ron Waterman & Minoru Suzuki vs. Kensuke Sasaki & Takashi Iizuka
Tsuyoshi Kosaka vs. Yuji Nagata
IWGP Heavyweight Title #1 Contender Tournament Final: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Masahiro Chono 19:02
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 60:00
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 8:25
Hiro Saito vs. Hiroshi Nagao 6:32
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Akiya Anzawa & Taiji Ishimori & Tiger Mask 13:54
Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Masayuki Naruse & Takashi Iizuka 10:53
Togi Makabe vs. Yutaka Yoshie 13:56
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hirooki Goto & Yuji Nagata 15:24
Manabu Nakanishi & Minoru Suzuki & Minoru Tanaka vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Katsushi Takemura & Osamu Nishimura 18:59
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. El Samurai & Masahito Kakihara 33:26
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiroshi Nagao
Jado & Gedo vs. Masahito Kakihara & Akiya Anzawa
Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Tournament Semifinal: Shinsuke Nakamura & Wataru Inoue vs. Togi Makabe & Minoru Tanaka
Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Tournament Semifinal: Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto
Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yujiro
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask vs. Black Strong Machine & Jushin Thunder Liger
Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Tournament Final: Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Wataru Inoue
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Koji Kanemoto vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa 8:19
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hirooki Goto 7:34
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Minoru vs. Osamu Nishimura 16:47
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Scott Norton 9:07
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Masahiro Chono vs. Tiger Mask 10:29
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Kendo Kashin vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 8:55
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 15:54
New Japan Cup 2005 First Round Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yuji Nagata 24:12
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Akiya Anzawa 6:34
Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Katsushi Takemura & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 15:39
Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Scott Norton vs. Hiro Saito & Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka 12:32
Togi Makabe vs. Tomoaki Honma 11:49
New Japan Cup 2005 Second Round Match: Kendo Kashin vs. Yutaka Yoshie 15:48
New Japan Cup 2005 Second Round Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura 20:47
New Japan Cup 2005 Second Round Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Masahiro Chono 14:16
New Japan Cup 2005 Second Round Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Koji Kanemoto 17:38
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 8:33
Akiya Anzawa & Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Wataru Inoue 11:29
Jushin Thunder Liger & Scott Norton vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Tiger Mask 11:58
Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Togi Makabe vs. El Samurai & Takashi Iizuka & Tatsumi Fujinami 12:24
New Japan Cup 2005 5th Place Match: Osamu Nishimura vs. Koji Kanemoto 17:07
New Japan Cup 2005 5th Place Match: Masahiro Chono vs. Yutaka Yoshie 16:31
Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura 23:58
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Yujiro 6:59
Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Masked CTU-M vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 20:00
New Japan Cup 2005 Semifinal Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Kendo Kashin 10:20
New Japan Cup 2005 Semi Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 19:45
Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima 3:59
Satoshi Kojima vs. Togi Makabe 13:47
Elimination Match: Masahiro Chono & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Scott Norton & Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura & Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie 23:53
New Japan Cup 2005 Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi 19:21
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie 5:36
Minoru Suzuki vs. Alexander Otsuka 4:46
IWGP Junior Tag Title Match: Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Minoru & Hirooki Goto 14:42
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Black Tiger 9:28
Yuji Nagata vs. Tsuyoshi Kosaka 8:35
Keiji Muto vs. Ron Waterman 11:16
IWGP Tag Title Match: Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Kendo Kashin 17:59
Super Dream Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger 14:49
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 19:34
NJPW 05/26/05 taped 5/14/05 Tokyo Dome
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title: Minoru & Hirooki Goto vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue
6/3/98: Koji Kanemoto vs. Dr. Wagner Jr.
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Satoshi Kojima
NJPW 6/2/05 Jushin Thunder Liger Special
6/13/94: Super Delfin vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
6/12/96: Black Tiger vs. Jushin Thunder Liger
5/16/98: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa
5/14/05, Super Dream Tag Match: Tatsumi Fujinami & Mitsuharu Misawa vs. Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger
Minoru & Jado & Gedo vs. Tiger Mask & Masahito Kakihara & Katsushi Takemura 11:55
Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Hiro Saito & Naofumi Yamamoto 10:55
Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Black Tiger vs. Akiya Anzawa 6:13
Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Hirooki Goto vs. El Samurai 10:08
Best of the Super Jr. - Block A: Koji Kanemoto vs. Stampede Kid 9:34
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 15:41
Best of the Super Jr. - Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Wataru Inoue 16:50
Masahiro Chono & Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka & Blue Wolf 19:39
Blue Wolf & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Naofumi Yamamoto & Takashi Iizuka 8:47
Black Strong Machine & Stampede Kid vs. El Samurai & Hiro Saito 10:20
Best Of The Super Junior XII Block B Match: Black Tiger [4] vs. Katsushi Takemura [0] 6:46
Best Of The Super Junior XII Block B Match: Wataru Inoue [2] vs. Gedo [0] 15:13
Best Of The Super Junior XII Block A Match: Masahito Kakihara [2] vs. Minoru [0] 10:04
Best Of The Super Junior XII Block A Match: Koji Kanemoto [4] vs. Hirooki Goto [2] 11:28
Best Of The Super Junior XII Block B Match: Tiger Mask [2] vs. Jushin Thunder Liger [2] 8:58
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe & Toru Yano 22:37
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League Match: Naofumi Yamamoto [2] vs. Hiroshi Nagao [0] 8:10
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League Match: Toru Yano [2] vs. Blue Wolf [0] 10:22
CTU Masked CTU-M Super Strong Machine & Masked CTU-G & Masked CTU-J & Masked CTU-L vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Tatsutoshi Goto & Wataru Inoue 17:39
CTU Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Katsushi Takemura & Tiger Mask 15:24
European Catch Rules Match: Masahiro Chono & Minoru Suzuki vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka R4 2:27
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 22:42
6/2/05
Koji Kanemoto & Ultimo Dragon vs. Jado & Toru Yano 10:52
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe 10:27
European Catch Rules: Osamu Nishimura vs. Yuji Nagata R5 3:00
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yutaka Yoshie 11:15
Tiger Mask vs. Gedo 10:08
Jushin Thunder Liger & Masahiro Chono & Scott Norton vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura & Wataru Inoue 11:36
6/3/05
Koji Kanemoto & Ultimo Dragon vs. Gedo & Jado 10:54
Masahiro Chono & Togi Makabe vs. Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka 13:12
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Toru Yano 8:55
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura 16:00
Jushin Thunder Liger & Scott Norton vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask 10:57
Gedo & Jado vs. Erik Isaksen & Koji Kanemoto 10:16
Togi Makabe vs. Osamu Nishimura 11:24
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League: Hiroshi Tanahashi [2] vs. Toru Yano [2] 10:21
Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie 14:25
Tiger Mask & Ultimo Dragon vs. Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger 14:54
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Scott Norton 12:29
#7
6/4/01: Jushin Liger vs Masayuki Naruse
5/24/02 Super Jr: Jushin Liger vs Katsuyori Shibata
5/30/03: Jushin Liger vs Takashi Suguira
5/14/05 Tokyo Dome IWGP Tag Title: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs Manabu Nakanshi & Kendo Kashin
#8
6/4/05 Milan: Tiger Mask & Ultimo Dragon vs Jushin Liger & Black Tiger
4/20/01 IWGP Jr: Minoru Tanaka vs Takehiro Murahama
6/4/05: Gedo & Jado vs Koji Kanemoto & Erik Isaksen
Ikuto Hidaka vs. Takashi Sasaki 10:12
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ichiro Yaguchi 10:45
Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Dick Togo & GENTARO 15:10
Shiro Koshinaka vs. Takashi Uwano 10:23
Lumberjack Death Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Tetsuhiro Kuroda 15:46
Lumberjack Death Match: Kintaro Kanemura vs. BADBOY Hido 8:29
Enson Inoue & Riki Choshu vs. Kazunari Murakami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara 8:06
Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro vs. Masahito Kakihara & Akiya Anzawa
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League: Harry Smith vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League: Blue Wolf vs. Hiroshi Nagao
Yutaka Yoshie & El Samurai vs. Black Strong Machine & Stampede Kid
Best of the Super Jr. Block A: Minoru vs. Hirooki Goto
Best of the Super Jr. Block B: Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Katsushi Takemura
Best of the Super Jr. Block B: Wataru Inoue vs. Tiger Mask
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura & Osamu Nishimura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Koji Kanemoto vs. Yuji Nagata & Gedo 18:19
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Yujiro 7:39
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 3:13
Best of the Super Jr. Block B: Katsushi Takemura vs. Akiya Anzawa 7:46
Tiger Mask & El Samurai vs. Hirooki Goto & Stampede Kid 10:30
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title League: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Harry Smith 9:38
Masahiro Chono & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Takashi Iizuka & Wataru Inoue 13:01
Best of the Super Jr. Block A: Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto 19:38. Kick, suplex, and submission junior style. They had excellent chemistry and pulled everything off with explosiveness and fluidity. Kanemoto really worked Tanaka over with strikes, especially early on. Minoru came back attacking the left knee to set up his leg submissions. Kanemoto was tougher and Minoru was quicker with superior submissions, but there wasn't much story, and ultimately there was a lot of suplexes toward the end. They took everything they did from start to finish seriously though, and made the rope escapes dramatic. ***1/2
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura vs. Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi 25:48
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title Decision Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano 9:15 - TITLE CHANGE !!!
Koji Kanemoto & Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Hirooki Goto & Minoru & Masahiro Chono 13:52
Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie 21:36
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 2:43
Jushin Thunder Liger & Jado & Masked CTU-MZ vs. Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara & Katsushi Takemura 11:13
Best of the Super Jr. Semifinal: Tiger Mask vs. Minoru 12:03
Best of the Super Jr. Semifinal: Gedo vs. Koji Kanemoto 10:54
El Samurai & Akiya Anzawa vs. Hirooki Goto & Stampede Kid 18:48
Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Blue Wolf & Hiroshi Nagao 7:34
Masahiro Chono & Harry Smith vs. Hiro Saito & Yutaka Yoshie 8:05
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi & Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi 22:31
Best of the Super Jr. Final: Tiger Mask vs. Gedo 16:03
Alexander Otsuka vs. Yujiro 7:56
Blue Wolf vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa 6:33
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Shinsuke Nakamura & Koji Kanemoto VS. Yuji Nagata & Jado 14:54
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Hiro Saito & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Togi Makabe & Minoru 10:52
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Toru Yano & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara 13:02
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Manabu Nakanishi & Hirooki Goto vs. Osamu Nishimura & El Samurai 17:44
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tiger Mask vs. Black Strong Machine & Gedo 15:43
New Japan vs. BLACK NEW JAPAN 6 Openweight Tags: Masahiro Chono & Dick Togo vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Naofumi Yamamoto 15:53
Jado vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Gedo vs. Masahito Kakihara
Hiro Saito & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
Osamu Nishimura & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa
Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Blue Wolf & Masayuki Naruse
Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru & Hirooki Goto vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & El Samurai
Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka
Blue Wolf vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Jado vs. Hiroshi Nagao
Ron Waterman & Black Strong Machine vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Masayuki Naruse
New Japan vs. Black New Japan 5 Openweight Tags: Masahiro Chono & Gedo vs. Osamu Nishimura & El Samurai
New Japan vs. Black New Japan 5 Openweight Tags: Yuji Nagata & Kendo Kashin vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yujiro
New Japan vs. Black New Japan 5 Openweight Tags: Manabu Nakanishi & Hirooki Goto vs. Yutaka Yoshie & Tiger Mask
New Japan vs. Black New Japan 5 Openweight Tags: Jushin Thunder Liger & Toru Yano vs. Takashi Iizuka & Masahito Kakihara
New Japan vs. Black New Japan 5 Openweight Tags: Shinsuke Nakamura & Koji Kanemoto vs. Togi Makabe & Minoru
Toru Yano vs. Hiroshi Nagao 5:29
Togi Makabe vs. Masayuki Naruse 11:03
CTU Masked CTU-G & Masked CTU-J & Masked CTU-L & Masked CTU-MZ vs. Masahito Kakihara & Naofumi Yamamoto & Tatsutoshi Goto & Yujiro 16:12
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto 23:51
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match: Tiger Mask vs. Dick Togo 15:54
Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie 15:41
Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Masahiro Chono & Ron Waterman 11:08
IWGP Heavyweight Title Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuyuki Fujita 13:59
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie [2] vs. Togi Makabe [0] 12:33
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [1] vs. Toru Yano [1] 30:00
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura [1] vs. Minoru Suzuki [1] 30:00
G1 Climax A Block: Tatsumi Fujinami [2] vs. Kendo Kashin [0] 4:50
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [2] vs. Tatsutoshi Goto [0] 3:19
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [2] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [0] 14:38
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono [2] vs. Yuji Nagata [0] 17:02
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada [2] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [0] 19:08
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Akiya Anzawa
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie [4] vs. Toru Yano [1]
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [4] vs. Togi Makabe
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi [2] vs. Tatsutoshi Goto [0]
G1 Climax A Block: Kendo Kashin [2] vs. Osamu Nishimura [1] 15:07
G1 Climax Block A: Minoru Suzuki [3] vs. Yuji Nagata [0] 12:06
G1 Climax Block A: Toshiaki Kawada [4] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [2] 12:03
G1 Climax Block A: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [2] vs. Masahiro Chono [2] 18:33
G1 Climax Block B: Kazuyuki Fujita [4] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [1] 9:14
Hirooki Goto & Yujiro vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Naofumi Yamamoto 14:11
G1 Climax 2005 Block B Match: Manabu Nakanishi [4] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [4] 12:40
G1 Climax 2005 Block A Match: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [4] vs. Osamu Nishimura [1] 18:46
G1 Climax 2005 Block A Match: Yuji Nagata [2] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [2] 9:37
G1 Climax 2005 Block B Match: Kazuyuki Fujita [6] vs. Toru Yano [1] 3:41
G1 Climax 2005 Block A Match: Kendo Kashin [4] vs. Toshiaki Kawada [4] 11:16
G1 Climax 2005 Block A Match: Masahiro Chono [4] vs. Minoru Suzuki [3] 17:50
G1 Climax 2005 Block B Match: Shinsuke Nakamura [6] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [1] 13:35
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Yujiro
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [8] vs. Togi Makabe [0]
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [8] vs. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi [6] vs. Toru Yano [1]
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] vs. Kendo Kashin [4]
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura [3] vs. Masahiro Chono [4] 20:55
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Hirooki Goto
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [3] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [4] 15:01
G1 Climax A Block: Tatsumi Fujinami [4] vs. Minoru Suzuki [3] 10:17
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada [6] vs. Yuji Nagata [2] 26:55
Hirooki Goto vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yujiro
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [9] vs. Toru Yano [2]
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi [5] vs. Tatsutoshi Goto [2]
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata [4] vs. Kendo Kashin [4] 13:08
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [10] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura [5] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [4] 11:29
G1 Climax A Block: Minoru Suzuki [5] vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan [6] 13:50
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono [6] vs. Toshiaki Kawada [6] 12:14
Naofumi Yamamoto & Yujiro vs. Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa
G1 Climax B Block: Tatsutoshi Goto [4] vs. Toru Yano [2]
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [11] vs. Yutaka Yoshie [4]
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata [6] vs. Osamu Nishimura [5] 19:34
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono [8] vs. Kendo Kashin [4]
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. El Samurai 7:22
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada [8] vs. Minoru Suzuki [5] 17:11
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan [8] vs. Tatsumi Fujinami [4] 12:49
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [12] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [8] 8:02
Naofumi Yamamoto & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa
G-1 CLIMAX League Matches:
B Block: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto
A Block: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kendo Kashin 12:17
B Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 13:50
A Block: Osamu Nishimura vs. Toshiaki Kawada 17:00
A Block: Masahiro Chono vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 11:08
A Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 16:55
B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 6:25
G1 Climax Semifinal: Masahiro Chono vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 11:35
G1 Climax Semifinal: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Toshiaki Kawada 6:23
Clips of G1 Climax league matches
G1 Climax Final: Masahiro Chono vs. Kazuyuki Fujita 8:52
Clips of the following G1 matches:
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada [8] beat Minoru Suzuki [5] (8/11/05)
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [12] beat Manabu Nakanishi [8] (8/11/05)
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura [3] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi [3] (8/07/05)
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita [2] vs. Tatsutoshi Goto [0] (8/04/05)
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie [4] vs. Manabu Nakanishi [4] (8/07/05)
Clips of Shinya Hashimoto's G1 matches
8/4/05 Fukuoka Kokusai Center
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Togi Makabe 12:23
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Toru Yano 30:00. Tanahashi did a nice job of carrying Yano to a good, solid 80's style technical match. Certainly nothing fancy, but very well done as they put the time and effort into executing as precisely as they were capable of and working the holds. Yano began to show his rudo style after the 10 minute mark, taking Tanahashi to the floor and using every object he could find. Tanahashi's left hand was reinjured in the process, so Yano began working it over with his stomps as well as various submission/leverage holds. The indifferent crowd hurt the match, as spots that should have garnered some serious reaction such as Yano taping Tanahashi's hand to the top rope and attacking it with an umbrella were greeted with near silence. As the inexperienced Yano lacked the offense to take the match to the next level, they had to settle for basic but effective, having Tanahashi injure his hip hitting his rolling senton off the apron to give Yano another point of attack. This worked out okay, but it wasn't a good idea to wait until the 25 minute mark to really try any near finishes, as by then there was a 90% chance it was going the distance. That said, the crowd did wake up at this point, and the final five minutes were pretty hot. ***
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura vs. Minoru Suzuki 30:00
G1 Climax A Block: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Kendo Kashin 4:50
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 3:19
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi 14:38
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono vs. Yuji Nagata 17:02. Credit to Chono for doing an intense and brutal match in Nagata's style that saw him on the receiving end of the majority of the malevolence. The impact of the strikes, particularly from Nagata, showed they meant business, and they were able to produce the stiffness and aura the Kawada vs. Tenzan main event, which absolutely should have blown them away, surprisingly lacked. Nagata did most of the work, but Chono showed more than his famous intelligence and timing here. It was a strong technical match, actually reminiscent of the long gone but not forgotten white Chono, minus the annoying stalling. The finish completely out of nowhere hurt the overall quality of the match as it lacked anything approaching a finishing segment, but the flash pin was at least a credible way for Chono to win in a style he was overwhelmed in that didn't steal something from Nagata's credibility or aura. ***1/2
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 19:08. Nowhere near the level of their 6/8/01 or 12/5/04 matches. They slugged it out, but that was all they did. When they are on, that's more than enough, but this wasn't the good Kawada with the electric strikes. It was quite obvious that they, especially Kawada, were holding back, particularly in the early portion. Tenzan really nailed Kawada once, but that was with one of his errant moonsaults. They did step up the impact and intensity in the final minutes, but by then it was obvious they were doing a routine match, and it didn't pick up a lot of heat or drama. ***
8/6/05 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Toru Yano 12:39
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Togi Makabe 2:30
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 7:26
G1 Climax A Block: Kendo Kashin vs. Osamu Nishimura 15:07
G1 Climax A Block: Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata 12:06
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 12:03
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Masahiro Chono 18:33. Chono was back to showing nothing here. It was sort of Tenzan's style match, but Chono didn't really do Tenzan's style. I mean, they exchanged, but without much conviction, and Tenzan wasn't using his power moves. With no real skill on display and pretty average striking, it was mostly standing or plodding. Outside of Chono kicking out of Tenzan's moonsault late in the match, the crowd was more or less dead throughout. *3/4
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 9:14
8/7/05 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Yutaka Yoshie 12:40
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Osamu Nishimura 18:46
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 9:37
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Toru Yano 3:41
G1 Climax A Block: Kendo Kashin vs. Toshiaki Kawada 11:16
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono vs. Minoru Suzuki 17:50
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 13:35. On the short side, but certainly a sprited effort. It was an offensive minded match, and it's certainly impressive seeing heavyweights do more of a junior style, especially when they mix in hitting each other so hard someone (Nakamura) accidentally gets a bloody mouth, but while the match was exciting, I felt the execution was pretty average. They weren't blowing spots, but it didn't always seem smooth or fluid in the early portion. The other disappointing aspect of the match is the offense seemed rather random. They seemed to find the story in the second half with Nakamura working over Tanahashi's taped back with his moonsaults as well as submissions, but he ultimately just won with an armbar. Of course, that's certainly realistic, but it just added to my feeling that it was an immature match where they were mostly out there to show off. ***1/4
8/8/05 Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 6:11
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano 5:17
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kendo Kashin 12:19
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura vs. Masahiro Chono 20:55
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Yutaka Yoshie 15:01. They worked pretty well together considering the size difference, but it wasn't particularly competitive or exciting. Yoshie dominated the match, using his size and strength to dominate an injured Tanahashi. Tanahashi tried to comeback with a reverse diving body attack, but hurt his injured back bouncing off Yoshie's gut. Tanahashi continued to get a move in here and there, but the match mainly consisted of Yoshie's tedious offense at his deliberate pace. Tanahashi finally put a few moves together that did next to no damage at the end for a win that wasn't particularly believable. **
G1 Climax A Block: Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Minoru Suzuki 10:17
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Yuji Nagata 26:55. A savage war of one-upsmanship that may well be the most brutal match of Kawada's remarkable career. It was that sick! It reminded me of the famous 4/8/95 Kawada vs. Akira Taue Carnival match where they just beat the living shit out of each other, but Taue can't strike the way Nagata can. And Nagata's ability to strike was the story of the match, in that both are the uber tough kickers who weren't willing to let the other do anything better than they did. They established the pattern of the match when at the outset when Nagata did a little Kawada style leg stretch, so Kawada had to follow with the same exact stretch. They proceeded to take every wicked blow their opponent could dish out like a tough man, and give back an even harder one of their own. They took their time, measuring every blow, and man did they sting. By the 8 minute mark, Nagata's chest was beaten so red it appeared he wore a tank top to the beach on a 100 degree day and fell asleep for way too long without any suntan lotion. And this was just the beginning! The match was all about ego. It was about surviving, about not being the one to cry uncle first. Kawada had a run then Nagata came back working his bad knee. After Kawada took every leg kick and submission in Nagata's arsenal, he popped up from a brainbuster then a backdrop, following each with his own version, and they laid into each other again. Both were wobbly and woozy, but as long as they had the insolence to continue standing, they weren't going to give each other an inch. When they couldn't stand, they forced themselves back up. It was last man conscious wins. ****1/2
8/10/05
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toru Yano 5:15
G1 Climax B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 9:09
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Kendo Kashin 13:08
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Yutaka Yoshie 8:45
G1 Climax A Block: Osamu Nishimura vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 11:29
8/10/05
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Minoru Suzuki 13:50
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Masahiro Chono 12:14
8/11/05
G1 Climax B Block: Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Toru Yano 4:16
G1 Climax B Block: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yutaka Yoshie 10:49
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Osamu Nishimura 19:34. Nice technical match, mixing UWF with Fujinami, thought he structuring was a bit peculiar. Nagata was still on fire from the Kawada match, and wasn't getting near that level of resistance from Nishimura, so he was just running through him. Nishimura tried to mix it up a little early, but that was a bad idea, and Nagata pretty much destroyed his arm with kicks, leverage holds, and submissions. Just when it was looking like a jobber match, Nishimura came to life attacking Nagata's knee. Nishimura controlled the final third of the match with this equally well focused attack. Just when Nishimura earned the credibility for his near finishes to get over, the momentary drama was quelled by Nagata finally, which now seemed more like suddenly, putting Nishimura away very easily. ***1/2
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono vs. Kendo Kashin 1:45
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Minoru Suzuki 17:11. Suzuki was up for major helpings of Kawada's brutality. It wasn't as sick as Kawada vs. Nagata from 8/8/05, but it was pretty nasty. Suzuki was at his pro style best here, pretty much doing a loose version of his old UWF/PWFG stuff. It wasn't so much what he did, but that he took it seriously, wrestling with intensity and focus rather than doing too much acting to try to get over or get a reaction from the crowd. He'd duck Kawada's strikes and fire back with his Pancrase open palms. Suzuki was never much of a kicker, but they had a good knee exchange. The one disappointing aspect of the match, which wasn't really their fault, is despite their efforts at realism, the fans weren't reacting to Suzuki's submissions holds, not even taking the rear naked chokes seriously. They kept raising the bar on the ferocity until they climaxed with a huge Kobashi/Sasaki exchange. This was actually meaningful because it was about putting everything they had into finishing the match by finally knocking the opponent out rather than just showing off. I also liked that the exchange developed, starting with slaps then moving to punches when the slaps couldn't do it then elbows, ultimately whatever it took. ****
G1 Climax A Block: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 12:49
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Manabu Nakanishi 8:02
8/13/05
G1 Climax B Block: Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 8:22
G1 Climax A Block: Minoru Suzuki vs. Kendo Kashin 12:17
G1 Climax B Block: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi 13:50
G1 Climax A Block: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Osamu Nishimura 17:00. They met each other half way with Nishimura wrestling much stiffer and Kawada doing a lot more technical wrestling. Nishimura's striking was considerably more impressive than what he showed against Nagata on 8/11/05. There was a big pop for Kawada trying to escape Nishimura's headscissors with a handstand. They eased into the body of the match, which consisted of Nishimura working Kawada's bad knee. Kawada came back, but the knee injury prevented the usual explosion and torque on his backdrop. They got the stretch Plum over by having Kawada go to it after trying to KO Nishimura with huge strikes and one or two of his favorite concussive moves. Nishimura survived it twice, and had hope spots pulling a counter into a pinning predicament for a big pop, but the third time was the charm for Kawada. ***1/2
G1 Climax A Block: Masahiro Chono vs. Tatsumi Fujinami 11:08
G1 Climax A Block: Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan 16:55. Tough, showy match, exchanging their hardest strikes and best moves. They encouraged each other not to hold back, and Tenzan's mouth was busted open hardway. They worked really hard and were clearly trying for a high end match, but they didn't tell much of a story or put the effort into selling, so it left me feeling kind of cold and empty. What makes Nagata the best NJ heavyweight of his generation is he thinks his way through the match, but I didn't get that feeling at all today. It felt more like Tenzan drained Nagata's finesse and reflection, in favor of Tenzan's straightforward brawling style. They went to the big moves halfway through, but aside for Nagata having answers to Tenzan's anaconda vice, the whole thing just seemed to have a lazy, I'll do a strike or big move then you do a strike or big move sort of structuring. I certainly enjoyed the match, but I guess I feel as though I should have enjoyed it more than I did. ***1/4
G1 Climax B Block: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 6:25
8/14/05
G1 Climax Semifinal: Masahiro Chono vs. Shinsuke Nakamura 11:35
G1 Climax Semifinal: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Toshiaki Kawada 6:23. A Kawada miracle, finding a way to get a memorable match out of Fujita. Fujita is an amateur wrestler who could sort of do MMA by virtue of blocking strikes with his thick skull and could never do pro wrestling, so Kawada made it easy for him and pretty much just told him to hit him for real. Fujita isn't really accurate, but 75% of the time he cold cocked Kawada and 25% of the time he did little more than graze. Still, it was some of the sickest and most brutal stuff you'll ever see. It was easily the most intense match of the tournament, with the fans immediately reacting to the impact of the strikes. It was short, but it's a good thing because if they tried to go on like this for 27 minutes the way Kawada and Nagata did, one of them would probably have wound up in the hospital. ***1/2
G1 Climax Final: Masahiro Chono vs. Kazuyuki Fujita 8:52
Ichiro Yaguchi vs. Mammoth Sasaki 11:35
GENTARO & Takashi Sasaki vs. Asian Cougar & Dick Togo 11:06
Tetsuhiro Kuroda vs. Takashi Uwano 13:50
Shiro Koshinaka & TAKA Michinoku vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Tatsuhito Takaiwa 10:01
Tomohiro Ishii vs. BADBOY Hido 16:39
Kazunari Murakami & Yoshiaki Fujiwara vs. Enson Inoue & Yuki Ishikawa 9:05
Riki Choshu vs. Katsuyori Shibata 9:49
El Samurai vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 9:05
Ryushi Yanagisawa & Toru Yano vs. Masayuki Naruse & Takashi Iizuka 13:07
Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Akiya Anzawa & Masahito Kakihara 11:00
El Texano Jr. & Lizmark Jr. vs. Hiro Saito & Tiger Mask 8:38
Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie 18:50
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 19:41
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Kazuyuki Fujita & Yuji Nagata 13:17
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Yujiro 9:44
Masahito Kakihara & Masayuki Naruse vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa & Toru Yano 13:01
Akiya Anzawa & Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue vs. Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado & Minoru 19:24
Osamu Nishimura vs. Takashi Iizuka 13:18
El Samurai & Yutaka Yoshie vs. El Texano Jr. & Lizmark Jr. 11:12
Tatsumi Fujinami & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & The Great Sasuke 13:26
Eight Man Tag Elimination Match: Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono & Hiro Saito 20:39
Akiya Anzawa vs. Yujiro 10:48
Hiro Saito & Masayuki Naruse vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Ryushi Yanagisawa 11:10
Gedo & Jado vs. Masahito Kakihara & Wataru Inoue 12:53
Lizmark Jr. vs. El Texano Jr. 8:35
Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 18:50
Masahiro Chono & Toru Yano vs. Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka 16:11
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yutaka Yoshie 18:17
El Samurai vs. Yujiro 7:38
Toru Yano vs. Takashi Iizuka 11:31
Black Strong Machine & Harry Smith vs. Hiro Saito & Masayuki Naruse 11:39
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hangman 7:35
Elimination: Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Masahito Kakihara & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 20:23
2/3 Falls: Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Minoru Suzuki & Osamu Nishimura 21:26
Hangman vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 7:44
Toru Yano vs. Masayuki Naruse 8:42
Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Masahito Kakihara vs. Hirooki Goto & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 6:30
Black Strong Machine & Harry Smith vs. Hiro Saito & Hiroshi Nagao 12:00
Minoru Suzuki vs. Takashi Iizuka 12:13
Black Tiger & Gedo & Jado vs. El Samurai & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 14:33
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 18:18
Yujiro vs. Hiroshi Nagao 6:18
Masayuki Naruse vs. Hangman 8:38
Takashi Iizuka vs. Masahito Kakihara 10:45
Black Tiger & Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue 14:14
Osamu Nishimura vs. Harry Smith 11:51
Minoru Suzuki & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto & Toru Yano 11:39
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Akiya Anzawa & Katsushi Takemura 28:53
Hiro Saito & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 17:12
Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa 2:25
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiroshi Nagao 7:22
Takashi Iizuka vs. Masayuki Naruse 10:45
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Masahito Kakihara & Wataru Inoue & Yujiro 18:22
Minoru Suzuki vs. Toru Yano 14:47
Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Naofumi Yamamoto 17:09
El Samurai vs. Hiroshi Nagao 7:24
Naofumi Yamamoto & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Hiro Saito & Yujiro 10:33
Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Akiya Anzawa & Katsushi Takemura & Masahito Kakihara 15:10
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Takashi Iizuka & Toru Yano 13:21
Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Osamu Nishimura & Yutaka Yoshie 14:25
Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami vs. Riki Choshu & Tomohiro Ishii 8:37
Tatsuhito Takaiwa & Yoshihito Sasaki vs. Koji Kanemoto & Wataru Inoue 9:03
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Naofumi Yamamoto & Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Kamikaze & Kohei Sato & Ryoji Sai & Shinjiro Otani 15:05
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Title Match: Hirooki Goto & Minoru vs. Felino & Negro Casas 10:11
Kendo Kashin & Manabu Nakanishi vs. Charlie Haas & Mark Jindrak 9:41
Matt Morgan vs. Yuji Nagata 7:00
IWGP Junior Heavyweight & NWA World Junior Heavyweight Double Title Match: Black Tiger [NWA] vs. Tiger Mask [IWGP] 12:01
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Yoji Anjo 18:11
IWGP Heavyweight Title: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Brock Lesnar vs. Masahiro Chono 8:08
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 9:58
Ryushi Yanagisawa vs. Yujiro 8:36
Masahito Kakihara & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hirooki Goto & Sangre Azteca 13:19
Black Tiger & Minoru vs. Akiya Anzawa & Koji Kanemoto 13:20
Tiger Mask vs. Starman 8:01
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Blue Wolf & Takashi Iizuka 14:27
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan & Scott Norton 16:15
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami 18:33
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Starman 5:17
Black Strong Machine vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 5:18
Black Tiger vs. Masahito Kakihara 8:29
Koji Kanemoto vs. Sangre Azteca 10:00
Takashi Iizuka & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Blue Wolf & Osamu Nishimura 13:13
Masked CTU-H & Masked CTU-L & Masked CTU-M vs. Akiya Anzawa & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 17:45
Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan & Scott Norton vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Shinsuke Nakamura 15:02
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 17:22
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:24
Blue Wolf vs. Yujiro 6:10
Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Hirooki Goto & Sangre Azteca 8:39
Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Akiya Anzawa & Koji Kanemoto & Masahito Kakihara 15:35
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan 11:39
Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa & Scott Norton 12:28
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka & Tatsumi Fujinami 16:09
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Yujiro 5:52
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hirooki Goto 8:58
Akiya Anzawa & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru & Sangre Azteca 9:59
Osamu Nishimura & Takashi Iizuka vs. Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa 14:15
Yuji Nagata & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan 10:26
IWGP Junior Heavyweight & NWA World Junior Heavyweight Double Title Match: Black Tiger vs. Koji Kanemoto 20:12
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Scott Norton 0:53
IWGP Tag Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono 29:31
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hirooki Goto 8:03
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Hiro Saito 8:22
Osamu Nishimura vs. Toru Yano 10:38
Blue Wolf & Takashi Iizuka vs. Masahito Kakihara & Ryushi Yanagisawa 11:39
Black Tiger & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 15:36
Sangre Azteca vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 8:46
Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan & Scott Norton 10:15
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata 24:06
Hiro Saito vs. Katsushi Takemura 7:42
Akiya Anzawa & Hirooki Goto vs. El Samurai & Ryusuke Taguchi 9:39
Hiroshi Nagao & Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Blue Wolf & Toru Yano 10:30
Masayuki Naruse vs. Osamu Nishimura 13:37
Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask 14:14
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata vs. Black Strong Machine & Masahiro Chono 16:53
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 17:31
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Katsushi Takemura 6:44
Toru Yano vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 7:11
Blue Wolf & Hiroshi Nagao vs. Akiya Anzawa & Hiro Saito 12:20
Minoru vs. Masayuki Naruse 7:50
Osamu Nishimura vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 10:17
Koji Kanemoto vs. Masahito Kakihara 1:33
Hirooki Goto & Tiger Mask vs. El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger 10:59
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Takashi Iizuka 16:51
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Yutaka Yoshie 16:11
Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 7:58
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Akiya Anzawa 8:10
Toru Yano vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:34
Hiro Saito vs. Masayuki Naruse 10:13
Safari & Sangre Azteca vs. Gedo & Jado 10:48
Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 10:29
Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 10:57
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Osamu Nishimura & Tatsumi Fujinami 16:17
Riki Choshu & Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono & Tatsutoshi Goto 14:50
Toru Yano vs. Hiroshi Nagao 8:15
Hiro Saito vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 8:52
Masayuki Naruse & Osamu Nishimura vs. El Samurai & Takashi Iizuka 17:55
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 8:38
Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru vs. Safari & Sangre Azteca 8:49
Gedo & Hirooki Goto & Jado vs. Koji Kanemoto & Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask 12:57
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yuji Nagata vs. Mark Jindrak & Matt Morgan 11:33
Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Masahiro Chono vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Manabu Nakanishi 20:45
12/10/05
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Hiroshi Nagao 8:07
Hirooki Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa 8:33
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiro Saito 10:22
Jado & Gedo vs. Sangre Azteca & Safari 11:09
Takashi Iizuka & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Tatsumi Fujinami & Yutaka Yoshie 14:07
Koji Kanemoto vs. Minoru 16:46. A tribute to the late, great Eddie Guerrero, who passed away on 11/13/05. Though Eddie was the inspiration, they weren't mimicing him, they did their own match, which of course stood out most for their technical proficiency and the quickness of their slickness of their counters. The incorporated big moves into their kick and submission base when they were available, but at heart this was Koji's ankle holds against Tanaka's armbars. Excellent back and forth junior U-Style action, but somewhat lacking in drama and just kind of ending. ***1/2
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Tiger Mask 4:19
Riki Choshu & Yuji Nagata & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto 12:54
12/11/05
Hiroshi Nagao vs. Hirooki Goto 8:08
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 6:00
Takashi Iizuka vs. Toru Yano 8:23
El Samurai & Sangre Azteca vs. Jado & Gedo 10:32
Osamu Nishimura vs. Hiro Saito 11:33
Koji Kanemoto vs. Tiger Mask 7:42
Minoru vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 19:23. Top drawer late Liger, delivering a super solid well laid out psychology driven heavyweight style match pitting his power against Minoru's submissions. Not as quick, flashy, or exciting as Minoru's match against Kanemoto the night before, but a far more substantial match. It was logically built and the selling was fantastic throughout, so it was quite dramatic, with even a few late counters into basic pinning predicaments getting good mileage. The crux of the match saw Liger lay Minoru out with a powerbomb on the floor early, which Minoru sold like he was dead. Liger continued tossing Minoru around, but when he tried to advance to knocking him out with his shotei, Minoru turned a running shotei across the apron into a wakigatame to the floor, which didn't quite come off the way they wanted, to begin his arm attack. Minoru spent the majority of the match trying to take the shotei arm away, but Liger eventually came back and sucked it up, withstanding the pain of throwing the shotei to try to get himself home. Liger had his chances, but ultimately Minoru was too crafty, and the match logically concluded with the younger star catching the legend in the Minoru special. ***3/4
Tatsumi Fujinami & Yutaka Yoshie & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Masahiro Chono & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto 14:00
Naofumi Yamamoto vs. Hiroshi Nagao 8:56
Toru Yano vs. Katsushi Takemura 5:41
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Tatsutoshi Goto 6:47
Koji Kanemoto vs. Akiya Anzawa 6:10
Tiger Mask vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 7:38
El Samurai & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Hirooki Goto & Minoru 13:58
Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Osamu Nishimura 15:54
Manabu Nakanishi & Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Black Strong Machine & Hiroyoshi Tenzan 10:35
Hirooki Goto vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 9:17
Osamu Nishimura vs. Katsushi Takemura 1:54
Blue Wolf vs. Ryushi Yanagisawa 5:26
Yuji Nagata vs. Chocoball Mukai 4:38
Shinsuke Nakamura & Yutaka Yoshie vs. Manabu Nakanishi & Takashi Iizuka 14:52
Black Strong Machine & Hiro Saito & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Hiroshi Nagao & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Naofumi Yamamoto & Toru Yano 16:11
Akiya Anzawa & El Samurai & Koji Kanemoto & Tiger Mask vs. Gedo & Jado & Jushin Thunder Liger & Minoru 25:38
Takashi Iizuka vs. Ryusuke Taguchi 9:17
Yutaka Yoshie vs. Toru Yano 7:23
Manabu Nakanishi vs. Hiroshi Nagao 10:12
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Naofumi Yamamoto 9:33
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. El Samurai 11:42
Yuji Nagata vs. Jushin Thunder Liger 11:24
14 Man Tag Elimination Match: Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa & Gedo & Jado & Minoru & Hiro Saito & Tatsutoshi Goto vs. Akiya Anzawa & Blue Wolf & Katsushi Takemura & Koji Kanemoto & Masayuki Naruse & Osamu Nishimura & Tiger Mask [6:7] 32:50
IWGP U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Hirooki Goto 11:36
Koji Kanemoto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
12/25/05 Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Naofumi Yamamoto
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Yuji Nagata
U-30 Openweight Title Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi v Hirooki Goto
Hiratsuka City Gymnasium: Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Takashi Iizuka & Blue Wolf
8/8/05 Kanagawa Yokohama Bunka Taiikukan, G1 CLIMAX League Match A Block: Yuji Nagata v Toshiaki Kawada