Our second PPV event of the year has arrived, with New Japan Pro Wrestling landing back in Tokyo for a STACKED card of action. All titles are on the line, Michinoku Pro gets a chance to showcase some of their greatest talents, and the arena is SOLD OUT with twenty thousand fans on hand!
NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING PRESENTS:
FIGHTING SPIRIT ’95
Date: February 19, 1995
Tokyo, JPN || Local Arena
Attendance: 20,000 [SOLD OUT]
Broadcast: TV ASAHI [ 857,011 total viewers ]
Interpromotional Battle Tag Team Match
[O] Yoshihiro Tajiri & Último Dragón vs. SATO & Shiryu [X]
Singles Match
[O] Manabu Nakanishi vs. Gran Hamada [X]
Singles Match
[O] Flying Scorpio vs. Shinjiro Otani [X]
Singles Match
[O] Osamu Kido vs. Junji Hirata [X]
M-Pro Showcase Singles Match
[O] The Great Sasuke vs. TAKA Michinoku [X]
Tag Team Match
[O] Iron Titans (Gary Albright & Scott Norton) vs. Satoshi Kojima & Masa Saito [X]
Singles Match
[X] Dean Malenko vs. Yuji Nagata [O]
Singles Match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
[X] (c) Norio Honaga vs. Tiger Mask III [O]
Six-Man Tag Team Match
[O] Hiro Saito, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, & Masahiro Chono vs. Riki Choshu & J J JACKS (Akira Nogami & Takashi Iizuka) [X]
Tag Team Match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship
[X] (c) Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto vs. The Steiner Brothers (Rick & Scott Steiner) [O]
Singles Match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
[O] (c) Shinya Hashimoto vs. Hawk Warrior [X]
02/19/1995 – 03/06/1995
- A NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion was crowned with Tiger Mask III’s win over Norio Honaga at FIGHTING SPIRIT ’95. (02/19)
- NEW IWGP Tag Team Champions were crowned with The Steiner Brothers’ win over Hiroshi Hase & Keiji Muto at FIGHTING SPIRIT ’95. (02/19)
- With Shinya Hashimoto continuing to stack up title defenses, perhaps his toughest challenge will be when he meets the #1 Contender for his IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Keiji Muto, at NJPW’s next PPV event early next month! (02/19)
- Much like many of NJPW’s foreign talents as of late, Canadian star “Lionheart” Chris Jericho has been confirmed to be one of Japan’s newest residents. It seems he and the NJPW office are looking well forward to his continued role in the company. (02/21)
- Following his recent successes on the undercard, rising star, Último Dragón has requested a push up the card. He has become more and more popular with audiences across the country and he is expected to see a push in the coming months. (02/23)
- After weeks of visible wear and mounting concern from staff, TAKA Michinoku has been officially pulled from all bookings and granted an extended period of rest, with sources citing total burnout as the reason for the unexpected time off. No return date has been announced, but the tone internally is supportive. (02/26)
- As of the beginning of March, both Akitoshi Saito and Shiro Koshinaka have decided to leave NJPW, niether choosing to renew their contracts. This will effectively end Heisei Ishingun’s activity within the company, with the NJPW office left to figure out new positions for the remaining members. For example, reports suggest that The Great Kabuki has already agreed to a staff / match agent role, stepping back from active competition. (03/06)
- There’s been a noticeable shift in how Michiyoshi Ohara is performing in the ring lately, and insiders say it’s no coincidence… Michiyoshi has been regularly training with Tatsumi Fujinami behind the scenes! Fujinami has reportedly taken Michiyoshi under his wing, with results showing immediately. (03/06)