New Japan Pro Wrestling kicks off the spring of 1995 with the very first tour of the year, Heisei Ishingun Restoration Spirit Tour! This tour will focus on the heel group, Heisei Ishingun, alongside headliners like Kensuke Sasaki, Masahiro Chono, and current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Norio Honaga. Tonight is night one, and fans in Oita, Japan, will see a huge tag team match main event!
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING PRESENTS:
HEISEI ISHINGUN RESTORATION SPIRIT TOUR
Date: January 19, 1995
Oita, JPN || Prefectural Gymnasium
Attendance: 8,713
Broadcast: Unaired
Tag Team Match
[O] The Eliminators (Perry Saturn & John Kronus) vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri & Último Dragón [X]
Singles Match
[X] Akitoshi Saito vs. Flying Scorpio [O]
Tag Team Match
[O] Heisei Ishingun (The Great Kabuki & Tatsutoshi Goto) vs. Heart & Soul (Ricky Fuji & Chris Jericho) [X]
Singles Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
[O] (c) Norio Honaga vs. Damián 666 [X]
Singles Match
[O] Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kuniaki Kobayashi [X]
Singles Match
[D] Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Gran Hamada [D]
Tag Team Match
[O] Masahiro Chono & Takashi Iizuka vs. Heisei Ishingun (Michiyoshi Ohara & Shiro Koshinaka) [X]
01/05/1995 – 01/12/1995
- Gedo reportedly injured his hamstring during the Tokyo Dome Battle 7 show on 01/04, he is expected to be out until October. (01/05)
- Kengo Kimura was also injured during the Tokyo Dome Battle 7 show on 01/04, though he is expected to be back by the end of February with a less serious foot injury. (01/05)
- Chris Benoit has declined overtures from NJPW and has ultimately decided to sign an exclusive contract with AJPW. (01/05)
- Despite earlier an earlier contract declining, Mr. Gannosuke of FMW fame has turned a corner with negotiations with NJPW and has shockingly decided to sign exclusively with the bigger company. He is expected to leave FMW immediately. (01/05)
- The rumors backstage all point to Akitoshi Saito expecting a push up the cards this year, but it is unknown whether the NJPW office plans to do so. (01/05)
- Scott Norton has reportedly expressed interest in wrestling Yuji Nagata at some point during the upcoming spring tours. The NJPW office is rumored to be interested in seeing the match as well. (01/07)
- The war between AJPW and NJPW continues to be fierce, with fans seeing NJPW as a stronger promotion overall. This is hurting the popularity of AJPW. (01/09)
- Rising star Dean Malenko has notified the NJPW office of an expected booking fee increase of several hundred dollars per appearance, to which they have reportedly accepted. (01/12)