No Gimmicks Needed
Vol. 2 - No. 2
Stand at the Brink of the Abyss

Opening Bell

Two major title changes took place in All Japan Pro Wrestling on Sunday, September 28 at the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium, as first reported by PuroresuFan.com.

It was the final show in the promotion’s FLASHING TOUR 2008 and also featured a shocking unit defection as Joe Doering betrayed the All Japan army to join the Voodoo Murders. In the fifth match of the evening, Naomichi Marufuji of Pro Wrestling NOAH defeated Ryuji Hijikata to claim AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In the seventh and main event match, The Great Muta dethroned Suwama to captured the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.

Let’s begin with the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. It’s a very interesting story unto itself as the new champion is not just an active, under contract member of Pro Wrestling NOAH. He was one of the original All Japan students who took part in the mass exodus in 1999 that resulted in the creation of NOAH. He, along with fellow junior heavyweights KENTA and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, felt they were not getting opportunities to grow or shine in their rookie years, thereby making the jump from All Japan to NOAH.

As many of you probably know by now, Marufuji is an eventual ace for NOAH. He competes in both junior heavyweight and heavyweight divisions, participating in learning excursions outside of NOAH and even outside the country. He won the most recent Super J Cup in 2004 and is the first, and thus far only, wrestler to achieve the NOAH grand slam, winning every title the promotion has. You can bet somewhere down the road he’s going to be the number one guy.

So his appearing in All Japan and winning their World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a big deal. A major deal, if you will. In the eyes of many, most especially the All Japan junior heavyweights, its a virtual slap in the face. These guys had been speending nearly ten years trying to help bring the promotion back to a respectable spot in the public consciousness following its near collapse as a result of the 1999 exodus.

They had also been spending years trying to prove to the All Japan offices that the junior heavyweight division was something to hang onto and not dispose, given that it was given barely any sort of focus during the 1990s when the heavyweights reigned supreme with their awesome matches. Now he was a guy, who defected from All Japan to help kickstart a rival promotion, coming in and taking their belt while still under contract with his home promotion. It’s more than just an insult. It’s the ultimate in dishonor.

Almost immediately after Marufuji won the belt, he received challenges from Kaz Hayashi, NOSAWA Rongai and Shuji Kondo. Marufuji vowed he would not run, rather he would make return visits to successfully defend the title against all comers so long as he was still the champion. Nevertheless, it lit a fire into the junior heavyweights.

They wanted the belt back where it belonged, in All Japan. The junior heavyweights were filled with such determination that it even led to Kondo leaving the Voodoo Murders unit, a faction he helped TARU and “brother” YASSHI create following his departure from Dragon Gate at the end of 2004. While he noted that he was growing tired of the recent antics being made by the group, he had a burning drive to bring the World Junior Heavyweight Championship back to All Japan and would focus himself in being the one to achieve this goal.

That’s not to say Hayashi, Rongai, and any other All Japan junior heavyweight would be less determined. Think about the top story of my last issue of “No Gimmicks Needed.” More specifically, what achieving a major feat would do for someone who would benefit the most from it.

The same thing applies here.

Any All Japan junior heavyweight who takes the championship back from Naomichi Marufuji, a former GHC World Heavyweight Champion and future ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH, is going to experience a surge in rank. It will be a major deal for that wrestler and will become a major star. While El Villano V could not benefit all that much from taking Blue Panther’s mask because of his being well past his prime, just about any junior heavyweight in All Japan would truly gain from taking the title off of Marufuji. They still have plenty of years left in their bodies and a number of them could really use the feat as a major boost in rank. Just so long as he doesn’t lose the belt to someone else in NOAH, against whom the All Japan junior heavyweights wouldn’t benefit as much from.

Even if that other name happened to be someone like KENTA, he’s still not as important of a deal as Marufuji.

Now over to the Triple Crown. In winning the title, Keiji Mutoh became only the second wrestler in history to hold both All Japan’s Triple Crown and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at the same time. The first being Satoshi Kojima back in February 2005.

Although most would like to play up to the idea that Keiji Mutoh and The Great Muta are two different personalities and not the same person, with Mutoh holding the IWGP Championship and Muta holding the Triple Crown, it’s still such a remarkable feat that even the Japanese media are recognizing it as official.

It pretty much stated that Mutoh’s legend was still being written into the history books as we speak.

That he remains as active as ever no matter how much the business around him changes.

Some will wonder if this was done simply because Mutoh was in position to do so since he is the reigning president of All Japan. It might have a small part to do with that, but remember a couple things. Mutoh last held the Triple Crown way back on February 23, 2003, more than five-and-a-half years ago, when he lost it to Sinya Hasimoto. Just because he was the boss and had the power to make himself champion didn’t mean he had enough understanding that in order for the business, as well as All Japan in general, to grow, he had to give other talent chances to carry the ball and run with it.

Additionally, claiming New Japan’s IWGP Championship was not his call. He had no stroke in that company. They were the ones who decided to put the belt on him back on April 27. It was an amazing accomplishment he got the belt at all given that the last time he held it was more than eight years prior to the date, back on December 10, 1999 when he lost it to Genichiro Tenryu.

Now that I think about it, it’s even more amazing that Mutoh accomplished this feat given how long it had been since he last held either one of the two titles. That it had been five years since he last held a top title in any of the four major promotions in Japan adds to my earlier statement of his being able to stay as relevant while the industry evolves. Simply put and whether you like it or not, Keiji Mutoh just added a new persona to his collection of alter-egos. A true living legend.

The following are the results of the show according to PuroresuFan.com:

1. Manabu Soya and Masanobu Fuchi defeated Nobukazu Hirai and Nobutaka Araya in 9:01. Fuchi pinned Araya with an inside cradle.

2. Shuji Kondo defeated Hiroshi Yamato in 8:23. Kondo pinned Yamato with the King Kong Lariat.

3. Kaz Hayashi and Osamu Nishimura defeated TOKYO Gurentai of NOSAWA Rongai and TAKEMURA in 8:07. Nishimura pinned Rongai with a backslide.

4. Voodoo Murders of “brother” YASSHI, TARU and ZODIAC defeated Joe Doering, Phil Atlas and Seiya Sanada in 13:56. YASSHI pinned Sanada after Doering nailed him with the Revolution Bomb. After the match, Doering completed his betrayal of the All Japan army to the shock of fans and those backstage by officially joining the Voodoo Murders.

5. For the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, Naomichi Marufuji defeated Ryuji Hijikata to become the new champion in 25:30. Marufuji pinned Hijikata with the Pole Shift. Following the match, Marufuji received challenges from Kaz Hayashi, NOSAWA Rongai and Shuji Kondo. Marufuji vowed he would not run and would successfully defend the title against all comers.

6. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, KAI and Satoshi Kojima defeated TOKYO Gurentai of MAZADA, Minoru Suzuki and Taiyo Kea in 24:20. Kojima pinned MAZADA with a lariat.

7. For the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, The Great Muta defeated Suwama to become the new champion in 24:52. Muta pinned Suwama with a moonsault after a mist spray to the eyes. After the match, Minoru Suzuki snuck into the ring and choked out Muta. He challenged him for the title on November 3 in Sumo Hall. Muta accepted by saying, “I KILL HIM.”

Around the Ring

2008 Ted Petty Invitational

The annual 24-man tournament, which took place on Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27 in Joliet, Illinois got off to an interesting start when it was announced that last year’s tournament winner Mike Quackenbush pulled out at the last second because of a family emergancy. So they were forced to reshuffle the card a little, throwing in a surprise replacement match in the actual tournament itself.

Night One results went as such: 1. Egotistico Fantastico defeated Prince Mustafa Ali to advance in the TPI; 2. Dave Taylor defeated Tracey Smothers to advance in the TPI; 3. 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Bobby Fish to advance in the TPI; 4. Sara Del Ray defeated Trik Davis to advance in the TPI; 5. Drake Younger defeated 2 Tuff Tony to advance in the TPI; 6. Cassandro defeated Chuck Taylor to advance in the TPI; 7. Sami Callihan defeated Chris Hero to advance in the TPI; 8. Eddie Kingston defeated Necro Butcher in the surprise tournament match to advance in the TPI; 9. Josh Raymond defeated Tyler Black to advance in the TPI; 10. Ace Steel defeated Ares to advance in the TPI; 11. Michael Elgin defeated Ricochet to advance in the TPI; 12. Claudio Castagnoli defeated Jimmy Jacobs to advance in the TPI; 13. For the IWA: Mid-South Heavyweight Championship, Dingo defeated Jaysin Strife to remain champion in a “Loser Leaves Town for a Year” Match.

Night Two results went as such: 1. Age of the Fall of Jimmy Jacobs and Tyler Black defeated Da Soul Touchaz of BLK OUT and Ruckus in an Open Invitation Match; 2. Egotistico Fantastico defeated Josh Raymond to advance in the TPI; 3. Dreake Younger defeated Michael Elgin to advance in the TPI; 4. Claudio Castagnoli defeated Dave Taylor to advance in the TPI; 5. Sara Del Rey defeated Cassandro to advance in the TPI; 6. 2 Cold Scorpio defeated Ace Steel to advance in the TPI; 7. Sami Callihan defeated Eddie Kingston to advance in the TPI; 8. For the IWA: Mid-South Light Heavyweight Championship, Jason Hades defeated Jayson Quick to remain champion in a Steel Cage I Quit Match with the added stipulation that Quick would no longer use the name “Jayson”; 9. Drake Younger defeated Egotistico Fantastico to advance to the finals of the TPI; 10. Claudio Castagnoli defeated Sara Del Ray to advance to the finals of the TPI; 11. Sami Callihan defeated 2 Cold Scorpio to advance to the finals of the TPI; 12. Bobby Fish, Dingo and Ricochet defeated 2 Tuff Tony, Ares and Prince Mustafa Ali in a six-man tag team match; 13. Trik Davis defeated Chris Hero in a Falls Count Anywhere Match; 14. Drake Younger defeated Claudio Castagnoli and Sami Callihan to win the 2008 Ted Petty Invitational, first eliminating Callihan then Castagnoli.

This was the first time in three years a homegrown talent won the tournament, the last being Evan Bourne as Matt Sydal.

2008 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup

In addition to the Ted Petty Invitational, another annual memorial tournament took place on Friday, September 26 and Saturday, September 27 in the form of the Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup in Port Richey, Florida. The annual tournament pays tribute to a young, gifted cruiserweight wrestling primarily in Delaware and Florida who passed away of cancer at the age of 21 on November 29, 2002. Proceeds from all the tournaments have been donated to charity over the years in Jeff’s name. Past participants include CM Punk, Roderick Strong, Colt Cabana, Evan Bourne as Matt Sydal, Jamie Noble as James Gibson, El Generico, Petey Williams, Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Delirious, Chris Hero, Jack Evans, Teddy Hart, and Milano Collection AT, just to name a few.

Night One results went as such: 1. Larry Sweeney defeated Tommy Taylor to advance in the JPMC; 2. Jaison Moore defeated Rhett Titus to advance in the JPMC; 3. Chasyn Rance defeated Icarus and Jerrelle Clark in a three-way; 4. Jon Davis defeated CJ O’Doyle to advance in the JPMC; 5. Gran Akuma defeated Craig Classic to advance in the JPMC; 6. The Heartbreak Express of Phil, Scott and Sean Davis defeated Austin Amadeus and The Lifeguards of Daron Smythe and Wade Koverly in a six-man tag team match; 7. Brad Attitude defeated Nooie Lee to advance in the JPMC; 8. Sal Rinauro defeated Chris Gray to advance in the JPMC; 9. 911 Inc. of Kory Chavis, Francisco Ciatso and Shawn Osborne defeated Bruce Santee and Sideshow in a handicap match; 10. Kenny King defeated Jigsaw to advance in the JPMC; 11. Eric Stevens defeated Chris Jones to advance in the JPMC.

Night Two results went as such: 1. Brad Attitude defeated Jaison Moore to advance in the JPMC; 2. Larry Sweeney defeated Sal Rinauro to advance in the JPMC; 3. Gran Akuma defeated Jon Davis to advance in the JPMC; 4. Erick Stevens defeated Kenny King to advance in the JPMC; 5. Bums R’ Us of Milo Beasley and Ray Beez defeated House of Vitale of Lou The Fixer and Raymond Snow in a TLC Match; 6. CJ O’Doyle, Craig Classic, J-Rod and Jigsaw defeated Chasyn Rance, Icarus, Moonshine McCoy and Rhett Titus in an eight-man tag team match; 7. Erick Stevens defeated Larry Sweeney to advance to the finals of the JPMC; 8. Brad Attitude defeated Gran Akuma to advance to the finals of the JPMC; 9. The Biritsh Lions of Chris Gray and Tommy Taylor defeated The Loggers of Manley and Mighty Dagon, The Lifeguards of Daron Smythe and Wade Koverly, The Heartbreak Express of Phil and Sean Davis, House of Vitale of Damballah and Mad Man Mandrak, Jerrelle Clark and Nooie Lee, and Fantastic Dantastic and K-Dizzy in a tag team gauntlet; 10. Erick Stevens defeated Brad Attitude to win the 2008 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup; 11. The Black Market of Joey Machete and Shawn Murphy, Bruce Santee, Sedrick Strong and Sideshow defeated 911 Inc. of Francisco Ciastro, Kory Chavis, Mike Shane, Ron Niemi and Shawn Oscorne in a WarGames Match.

Dragon Gate

On the same night All Japan had the previously mentioned major title changes, Dragon Gate was running a major show in the form of this year’s MEMORIAL GATE at Sun Dome Fukui. A big difference this year from the previous years, as I reported in the last issue of “No Gimmicks Needed,” was that this event did not air on pay-per-view. Rather, it was taped with at least the main events and highlights from the other matches being shown on the Dragon Gate Inifity show to air on October 10.

Results went as such, courtesy of DGUSA: 1. Typhoon of Anthony W. Mori, PAC and Ryo Saito defeated Tozawa-juku of Akira Tozawa, Keni’chiro Arai and Taku Iwasa in 11:52 when PAC pinned Tozawa with the 360 Shooting Star Press; 2. In a “Three-Way” Match for the Open The Owarai Gate Championship, K-ness defeated Jackson Florida, Hollywood Stalker Ichikawa and Syachihoko Machine in 9:46 when he made Ichikawa submit to a crab hold. Florida retained the title, however, through audience approval; 3. Naoki Tanisaki defeated Cyber Kongcito in 5:36 with the Casanova; 4. Typhoon of Dragon Kid and Susumu Yokosuka defeated WORLD-1 of BxB Hulk and m.c.KZ in 14:30 when Yokosuka pinned KZ with the Mugen; 5. WORLD-1 of Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi defeated Real Hazard of Cyber Kong and Genki Horiguchi in 15:05 when Yoshino pinned Horiguchi with the Lightning Spiral; 6. For the Open The Triangle Gate Championship, Don Fuji, Magnitude Kishiwada and Masaaki Mochizuki defeated Real Hazard of Gamma, YAMATO and Yasuhi Kanda to become the new champions in 17:45 when Mochizuki pinned YAMATO with the Shin Saikyou High Kick; 7. For the Open The Dream Gate Championship, Shingo Takagi defeated TAKA Michinoku to remain champion in 19:50 with the Pumping Bomber. After the main event, Shingo received challenges from Gamma, Masaaki Mochizuki, Naruki Doi, and fellow Typhoon member Susumu Yokosuka. It was later decided that at the Korakuen Hall show on October 10, oddly the same day the episode of Dragon Gate Infinity that covers this show airs, all four will battle in a Four-Way Match to determine the next challenger.

In other Dragon Gate news, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi became the first two-time Open The Twin Gate Champions on Friday, September 26 when they defeated Ryo Saito and Susumu Yokosuka for the titles at Osaka Prefectura Gym 2nd Stadium. Yoshino and Doi were the first to hold the titles on October 12, 2007. The belts which were created to eventually replace the IJ Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Dragon Gate had adopted for a number of years. The storyline was that in becoming the winners of the first Summer Adventure Tag League that year, Yoshino and Doi pooled the yen they won into the creation of the belts. Interestingly enough, Yoshino and Doi were once again victorious in this year’s Summer Adventure Tag League, though they jokingly pooled the money this time into getting a better ring after it broke in the opening match on the first night of the tournament in Korakuen Hall back on August 9. Yoshino and Doi will have their first defense in their second reign with the belts against Real Hazard of Cyber Kong and YAMATO on Sunday, October 5 at Hakata Star Lanes in Fukuoka.

Mixed Martial Arts

Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Online reported that Ultimate Fighting Championship sister promotion World Extreme Cagefighting announced last week that they will be dropping the light heavyweight and middleweight divisons at the end of the year. Fighters in both divisions will be absorbed into the UFC roster as a result and the titles will be dropped as opposed to being carried forward or unified with the UFC titles.

The next WEC event, which was postponed from its original September 10 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida due to the threat of Hurricane Ike and will now take place on November 5, will feature what will likely go down as the last Middleweight Championship fight for the promotion as Paulo Filho defends against Chael Sonnen. The fight is a rematch from December 12, 2007, where Filho won in controversal fashion when the referee stopped the fight in mistaking Sonnen’s screams of pain for a verbal submission. The rematch was previously scheduled to take place on June 1 for WEC 34, but Filho checked himself into rehab for substance abuse a few months before.

WEC 36, which will air live on the Versus Network, features in the main event Urijah Faber defending the Featherweight Championship against Mike Brown. Also scheduled on the main card is Jens Pulver vs. Leonard Garcia in a featheweight fight. WEC 37 has been announced for December 3 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas with the main event being Miguel Torres defending the Bantamweight Championship against Manny Tapia.

Light Heavyweight Champion Steve Cantwell will have a rematch with former champion Brian Stann on the UFC Ultimate Fighter Night 16: Fights for the Troops special on December 10 at Fort bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Since this is a UFC card and not WEC, it is unknown if the championship will be defended for the final time then.

Watch out for the first of my pieces in ‘The Meltzer List’ on the front page of the site here at iFight365.com later today. Not long ago, I engaged in a little venture that I’m half way through at the present moment.

Since first using the star rating system in reviewing the matches he watches, Dave Meltzer has only given 65 a full five-star rating. 65 out the thousands, dare I say a million, matches he has seen. Why should any one care about the opinions of one man? They don’t have to. But there’s just this mystical aura around it.

It’s very rare for a wrestling match to receive that rating, meaning there probably is something special to the 65 that did get five-stars. With the help of a number of folks on the Internet who were just as intrigued by the quest I had set myself out on doing, I will be watching all 65 matches in chronological order and providing my own personal opinion about them.

Remember, the point is not to figure out why it is that Meltzer gave these matches five-stars. It’s me watching these matches and seeing how it ranks in my perspective of how I rate wrestling matches. It’s turned into quite the fun journey, really. So be on the look out as the next 65 issues of this column, if it does manage to go that far, will include the next entry on the list of matches that were give a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer.

First Up will be the WWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship match - Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask from New Japan Pro Wrestling on April 23, 1983.

Finishing Move

The other guys here at iFight365 recently did another Roundtable discussion over the weekend. I guess I joined up too late to participate this time around. So I’ll just use this space the share my thoughts on the topic.

The subject of their discussion was “How would you bring John Cena back into the WWE?” In case any one forgot, Cena went out over the summer after suffering a herniated disk in his neck. It required him to undergo surgery, which happened on August 25, was forced him out of the ring for an indefinite amount of time. As soon as he is cleared to wrestle and is able to do so, how do I think Cena should be brought back into the fold and hit the ground running?

Some of the guys here know that I’m one of the people who would like to see Cena somewhere down the road turn heel because I strongly feel it would help him. Guess what? That’s not the route I’m going to go. I agree with Phil in some aspect, that he should come back in a similar form to the way he made his main roster debut on SmackDown oh those many years ago. Not to mention he should flatout drop those ridicules poop jokes, the major weakness in his microphone skills. Work his way back into the mix, not going straight into it. The way I see it, I think he should team up with CM Punk and Kofi Kingston and feud with Cody Rhodes, Manu and Ted DiBiase Jr. Try to follow me on this one.

Rhodes, Manu and DiBiase are the brash young upstarts who feel they are above everyone because they are the sons of legendary wrestlers. Punk and Kingston represent the young, fresh faces who are literally trying to work their way into the spotlight. Rhodes, Manu and DiBiase are trying to shove them aside, under the belief that they can take the top spot any time they want to simply because of their names. Punk and Kingston try to fight them off, but the numbers are too great. Especially with the occasional help from Randy Orton, who I think should be feuding with Punk down the road. Any way, upon his return, Cena sees what is going on. Having had to earn his way into the top spot, Cena sympathizes with Punk and Kingston, thereby helping them even the odds.

This kind of set up, I feel, would work in that not only would it help get Cena rolling again and work his way back into the main event mix without simply just butting in. It also helps the other five out. It provides Punk with an opportunity to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Cena, giving him some additional credentials into being established as a main event wrestler. It helps Kofi Kingston in learning and maybe eventually flow with two former top champions. Most importantly, it gives Rhodes, Manu and DiBiase crediable opposition to battle against in their rise to the top. Have the six of them do battle for a few months once Cena returns, and I think all six will make each other into major contenders for years to come. At least, that’s the way I see it.

Closing Bell

It’s that time of the year. The new fall television season. Favorite shows like “Heroes” and “Lost” kickstarting a new season of exciting twist and turns. New shows like “Eleventh Hour” and “Life on Mars” get a shot at becoming the next hit show. Television shows, particularly in America, are a strange breed. For one to because a success, it must overcome a whole lot of obstacles. The first is, of course, the pitch. A producer pitches an idea for a television show to executives. The basic premise and what kind of genre it fits into, be it a situation comedy or an outright drama. The studio executives must decided whether they want to proceed with giving the ideas a shot. After all, a lot of money is spent just to make one episode of a show. When an idea is given the greenlight, they move on to filmming a pilot.

The pilot is essentially the first episode of the show. At this point, the idea is given life and is constructed in a manner that would make it work for television. The executives view this pilot and must then decide whether it will be worth it to spend more money to make more episodes. Generally a season runs at least thirteen episodes. A lot of money is spent just to make one show, so executives are spending billions on the risk of seeing whether or not the show will succeed. So they must decide in viewing the pilot if the show is worth it. If it is, they move on the filmming the rest of the show, revising the pilot if needed to present a proper first episode. After that, they leave the fate of the show in the hands of viewers. If ratings are good, the show stays alive. If they are not, the show is dead.

Some shows don’t make it out of the pilot stage. Executives feel, after watching it, that it’s not worth the risk of spending so much money on creating a full series. Such was the case for this 1991 television pilot. The title: “Tag Team.” The premise: Two ex-wrestlers become cops, using their wrestling knowledge to fight crime and uphold the law. The stars: “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and Jesse “The Body” Ventura. Sounds like a winner to me. Unfortunately, the studio executives didn’t seem to think so and instead passed on creating a full series. After watching this scene, showcasing the finale of the pilot episode, I get the feeling those executives passed up on television gold. At the very least it would have nabbed them an Emmy.

Dan Short
dan@ifight365.com