720 Days – Kazuchika Okada’s 4th IWGP Title Reign (NJPW, 2016-2018)

On June 19, 2016 at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Dominion 6.19 event in Osaka-jo Hall Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to capture his fourth IWGP Heavyweight Championship. What followed was a reign that cemented Okada’s position at the top of the company, one of the greatest title reigns of the modern era, both for longevity and match quality. Star ratings […]

NJPW Wrestling World 2004 – Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Yoshihiro Takayama

Note: This article was written in 2017 2004: Shinsuke Nakamura © vs Yoshihiro Takayama © – IWGP Heavyweight and NWF Heavyweight title unification matchWrestling World 2004 (attendance: 40,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00164_1_15 After re-establishing the NWF Heavyweight title a year ago, here we are back in the Tokyo Dome to unify it with the IWGP Heavyweight title. After defeating Tsuyoshi Kohsaka last year, Yoshihiro […]

NJPW Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome – Kensuke Sasaki vs. Keiji Mutoh (January 4, 1998)

Note: This article was written in 2017 1998: Kensuke Sasaki © vs Keiji Mutoh – IWGP Heavyweight titleFinal Power Hall in Tokyo Dome (attendance: 55,000)http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00150_1_9 Final Power Hall was the last stop on the Riki Choshu retirement tour and the departing star wrestled a series of matches dubbed the Riki Road Final Message 5. These were a short series of […]

NJPW Battlefield – Shinya Hashimoto vs. Masahiro Chono (January 4, 1994)

1994: Shinya Hashimoto © vs Masahiro Chono – IWGP Heavyweight title Battlefield (attendance: 48,000) Yesterday we looked at Mutoh and Chono, today we throw the third musketeer into the mix. Shinya Hashimoto. The Three Musketeers each used a different style of wrestling. For Mutoh it was speed, Chono used a more power-based game and Hashimoto the strike-based strong style. Between […]

NJPW Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome – The Great Muta vs. Masahiro Chono (January 4, 1993)

1993: The Great Muta © vs Masahiro Chono © – IWGP Heavyweight & NWA World Heavyweight title Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome (attendance: 63,500 / 53,500) http://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00114_1_7 From looking to the past, to looking to the future (as of the time of the match anyway, it’s all looking to the past for us). Keiji Mutoh and Masahiro Chono (alongside Shinya […]