Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY" movie's plot was that Mankind finds a mysterious, obviously artificial, artifact buried on the moon and, with the intelligent computer HAL, sets off on a quest. Today in 2001, the economic situation in Japan still remains serious, and the nation faces a host of social problems. In the 2000's, the Digital TV era has just started. About 10 years ago, Dave Meltzer of The Wrestling Observer said, "You have to figure that 90 percent of today's fans became fans since 1985." Now, we may have to figure that 90 percent of today's fans have become fans since the WWF-WCW Monday night TV wars started in 1995. History is being made every day. New fans have just come in, and tired fans have just gone every day. Where will Puroresu go? This week's View From The Rising Sun will look back 10 years ago.
January 2, 1991---Johnny Ace won All Japan's battle royal at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Johnny is instrumental behind the WCW scenes now.
January 4, 1991---Tokyo Sports' 1990 Puroresu Awards was held at Ginza Tokyu Hotel in Tokyo. Atsushi Onita was awarded both "MVP" and "Match of the Year" (Onita vs. Tarzan Goto in "No Rope Barbed Wire Explosion Match" in Shiodome, Tokyo on August 4, 1990).
January 17, 1991---Yokohama Bunka Gym, Kanagawa
IWGP Heavyweight title match: Big Van Vader beat Tatsumi Fujinami (12:57)---Vader became the 10th champion
January 19, 1991---Matsumoto City Gym, Nagano
Triple Crown Heavyweight title match: Jumbo Tsuruta beat Stan Hansen (15:49)---Tsuruta became the eighth champion
March 4, 1991---Yoshiaki Fujiwara started the UWF Fujiwara-gumi (later Pro Wrestling Fujiwara-gumi) with Masakatsu Funaki (Hisakatsu Funaki), Minoru Suzuki, and Yusuke Fuke (Takaku Fuke). Funaki beat Bart Vale (17:36).
March 21, 1991---New Japan and WCW held an interpromotional show, "Starrcade at Tokyo Dome," that drew 64,500 fans to the Tokyo Dome:
(11) NWA World/IWGP Heavyweight double title match: Tatsumi Fujinami beat Ric Flair (23:06)
Fujinami beat Flair to defend his IWGP title and win the NWA World Heavyweight title. Later, the decision was reversed by WCW, and Flair kept the WCW title, while Fujinami was recognized in Japan as NWA World champion. The WCW and NWA World Titles were acknowledged as separate championships in Japan unlike the United States. In the summer of 1991, the NWA Board officially recognized the match as a title change. Flair beat Fujinami in St. Petersburg, Florida on May 19 to end the dispute over the World Heavyweight title.
(10) Riki Choshu beat Tiger Jeet Singh (11:07 Knock Out)
(9) Great Muta (Keiji Muto) beat Sting (11:41)
(8) Big Van Vader & Bam Bam Bigelow beat Doom (Ron Simmons & Butch Reed) (13:17 Vader beat Reed)
(7) El Gigante beat Big Cat Curtis Hughes (2:16)
(6) IWGP Tag Team title match: Rick & Scott Steiner beat Hiroshi Hase & Kensuke Sasaki (12:56 Scott beat Sasaki)
(5) Arn Anderson & Barry Windham beat Masa Saito & Masahiro Chono (9:17 Arn beat Saito)
(4) IWGP Junior Heavyweight title match: Jushin "Thunder" Liger beat AKIRA (Akira Nogami) (16:08)
(3) Scott Norton beat The Equalizer (2:23)
(2) Shiro Koshinaka, Kuniaki Kobayashi, & Takayuki Iizuka beat Z-Man (Tom Zenk), Brian Pillman, & Tim Horner (12:10 Iizuka beat Horner)
(1) Animal Hamaguchi, Kengo Kimura, Osamu Kido, & Kantaro Hoshino beat Strong Machine (Junji Hirata), Tatsutoshi Goto, Hiro Saito, & Norio Honaga (12:08 Kimura beat Goto)
March 23, 1991---Cactus Jack (Mick Foley) had his first Japan tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling from March 23 to April 20.
March 30, 1991---SWS (Super World Sports) and WWF had an interpromotional show, "WrestleFest," at Tokyo Dome:
(11) L.O.D (Animal & Hawk) beat Hulk Hogan & Gen-ichiro Tenryu (14:03 Hawk beat Hogan by countout)
(10) Yoshiaki Yatsu & Ishinriki beat Jimmy Snuka & The Barbarian (10:00 Yatsu beat Barbarian)
(9) Intercontinental title match: Kerry Von Erich beat Curt Hennig (6:59 Disqualification)
(8) Masakatsu Funaki beat Naoki Sano (10:23)
(7) Ultimate Warrior beat Sgt. Slaughter (7:14)
(6) Ted DiBiase & Haku beat Great Kabuki & Takashi Ishikawa (15:16 DiBiase beat Ishikawa)
(5) John Tenta beat Koji Kitao (6:10)---Kitao made an inappropriate comment using a mic after a match against John Tenta in Kobe, Hyogo on April 1 and was fired by SWS on April 4.
(4) Hart Foundation (Bret Hart & Jim Neidhart) beat Rockers (Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty) (14:40 Bret beat Michaels)
(3) Demolition (Smash & Crush) beat Shunji Takano & Shin-ichi Nakano (5:22 Smash beat Nakano)
(2) Kendo Nagasaki (Kazuo Sakurada) beat Jim Duggan (2:49)
(1) Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara, Masao Orihara, & Apollo Sugawara beat Goro Tsurumi, Don Arakawa, Ken-ichi Oya, & Fumihiro Niikura (5:37 Fuyuki beat Oya)
April 6, 1991---Osaka Gym
All Asian Tag Team title match: Dynamite Kid & Johnny Smith beat Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (18:06 Kid beat Kikuchi)--- Kid & Smith became the 54th champions
Johnny Smith is still one of the most respected workers in All Japan Pro Wrestling today.
April 16, 1991---Aichi Prefectural Gym, Nagoya
11th Champion Carnival Tournament: Jumbo Tsuruta beat Stan Hansen (12:53)---Tsuruta won the Tournament
April 18, 1991---Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
World Tag Team title match: Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey beat Terry Gordy & Steve Williams (20:40 Hansen beat Williams)---Hansen & Spivey became the 15th champions
May 10, 1991---Nobuhiko Takada and Ken Suzuki's UWF International had its first card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Takada beat Tom Burton (10:46)
May 11, 1991---Akira Maeda's RINGS had its first card at Yokohama Arena in Kanagawa. Maeda beat Dick Vrij (11:05)
May 31, 1991---Tatsumi Fujinami had his 20th anniversary of his career and defended the IWGP Heavyweight title against Masahiro Chono at Osaka Castle Hall (18:33).
June 27, 1991---Dr. George T. Zahorian, a physician who formerly served as a physician at the WWF events in Pennsylvania, was convicted on 12 of 14 counts of selling anabolic steroids to four wrestlers and a weightlifter in a trial held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He was subsequently sentenced to three years in prison.
June 30, 1991---Duke Keomuka, 70, died of heart failure in Las Vegas, Nevada.
July 2, 1991---WCW / NWA World Heavyweight champion Ric Flair quit / was fired by the WCW. The NWA Board stripped Flair of recognition as the NWA champion on September 8. Flair wrestled his first WWF match, beating Jim Powers in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada on September 10. The first-ever match between Flair and WWF World Heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan took place in Dayton, Ohio on October 23.
July 4, 1991---Jushin "Thunder" Liger beat Pegasus Kid in a Mascara Contra Mascara (Mask vs. Mask). Pegasus unmasked as Chris Benoit, who was trained at New Japan's Dojo.
July 6, 1991---Yokosuka City Gym, Kanagawa
World Tag Team title match: Terry Gordy & Steve Williams beat Stan Hansen & Danny Spivey (20:38 Gordy beat Spivey)---Gordy & Williams became the 16th champions
August 3, 1991---Cactus Jack and Eddie Gilbert wrestled a best-of-three series in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first match was a fall-counts-anywhere match, the second was stretcher match, and the third was a cage match.
August 7, 1991---W*ING (Wrestling's International New Generations) had its opening show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Kazuyoshi Osako (former president of FMW) and Kiyoshi "Micky" Ibaragi (former magazine reporter, former vice-president of FMW) split with Atsushi Onita in the spring and quit FMW and founded W*ING. Victor Quinones, who had been a part owner of Capital Sports in Puerto Rico and a heel manager in FMW, helped them. He, Jose Gonzales, Mr. Pogo, El Gran Mendoza, and El Profe attacked Onita at the WWC office in San Juan, Puerto Rico on August 29, 1990. W*ING had a large cult following for three years, until March 1994.
August 11, 1991---Masahiro Chono won New Japan's first G1 (Grade One) Climax Tournament by beating Keiji Muto at Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall) in Tokyo.
September 4, 1991---Mitsuharu Misawa beat Jumbo Tsuruta with a facelock during the World Tag Team title match between Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada and Tsuruta & Akira Taue at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo to be the first Japanese to beat Tsuruta with a submission hold.
September 12, 1991---Chris Von Erich, 21, committed suicide by 9mm pistol gunshot in Edom, Texas.
October 24, 1991---Yoshikawa Town Gym, Saitama
Sudden Impact (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) beat The Gladiator (Mike Awesome) & Horace Boulder (Hogan) (9:51 Jericho beat Gladiator)--- Jericho & Storm had their first Japan tour from October 10 to 24, 1991.
October 31, 1991---Gene Anderson, 58, died of heart attack in Huntersville, North Carolina.
November 10, 1991---Dick "The Bruiser" Afflis, 72, died while lifting weights at his vacation home near Tampa, Florida.
December 6, 1991---Dynamite Kid announced his retirement at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
December 25, 1991---The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia
WCW Light Heavyweight title match: Jushin "Thunder" Liger beat Brian Pillman (12:32)---Liger became the second champion
Please address all comments to Masanori at
|
E-mail the site designer at smokyrobmoore@yahoo.com