After fifteen long years, the Super J-Cup tournament was back home, with New Japan Pro Wrestling. In an effort to reclaim the prestigiousness that once was held by this junior heavyweight talent showcase, NJPW sought to correct some of the wrongs of previous iterations that were held by other companies over the years. While NJPW struggled with its own identity in the mid-to-late 2000s, would it be able to gain a foothold in forward momentum by reviving this legendary tournament, or had time finally passed this tarnished event by? Let’s find out together in this breakdown and review of NJPW’s Super J-Cup: 5th Stage – Land of Confusion!
Tag: NJPW
Wrestlemania 2… What If?
Long-standing rumors surrounding the main event of Wrestlemania II have started to swirl up again this week on social media. The rumor in question? Allegedly, Bruiser Brody NEARLY signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 1986 and was to be programmed against WWF Champion, Hulk Hogan, for a dream showdown of epic proportions at Wrestlemania! Could it have really worked? What was the situation heading into April of 1986? We’ll take a look at all those questions, plus a little more ‘slightly tweaked’ history in this piece.
DA MAN in Japan: The Revival of Goldberg
By the spring of 2001, the professional wrestling landscape would forever change with the closure of one of the sport’s largest promotions, World Championship Wrestling. With opens limited in the United States, former WCW talent would be left to either ride out the remainder of their contract, wrestle on the independants, or be swallowed up by the WWE as supplemental talent. For Bill Goldberg, there was really only one place in pro wrestling he had yet to conquer… “Da Man” had his sights on Japan.
Rebooking WCW: Week 1, 1992
I know, I know… ANOTHER rebooking series!? Well, I have been inspired by Bob Colling Jr. and his WWF 1992 series being presented on YouTube. So, introducing my rebook of WCW, starting in January of 1992 and working forward. We start with the first week, including WCW Power Hour, WCW Saturday Night, and the huge WCW/NJPW Supershow II event held in Tokyo!
New Japan World Gems #5: Wild Pegasus vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
In this next installment of the NJPW World Gems series, we turn the clocks back to January of 2000. In one of the final WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING and NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING crossovers, Chris Benoit (widely known in Japan as Wild Pegasus) took on one of the promotions most beloved in Hiroyoshi Tenzan at the biggest show of the year held at the Tokyo Dome! With Benoit’s hands firmly in the WCW World Championship picture stateside and Tenzan tearing it up in the heavyweight ranks of NJPW, I was interested in how the former junior wrestler in Benoit had evolved in the main eventer he had become against a tried and true Japanese talent! Why was it worth the watch? Find out now!
2004 Super J-Cup Tournament: A Breakdown and Review
I purchased a copy of this tape from one of my tried and true sources on the world wide web a year or so ago, I figured it was about time I get around to reviewing it! I haven’t watched much Osaka Pro Wrestling (especially 2004-), but being honored as the host promotion of this 4th Stage of the interpromotional Super J-Cup had me interested in their version of this famous tournament. What did I think? How did this year’s matches stack up? Only time will tell!
2000 Super J-Cup Tournament: A Breakdown and Review
In a stroke of luck, someone has uploaded the 2000 edition of the Super J-Cup tournament onto YouTube. So, being something I had never seen before, I had to jump to watch it, adding to my previous J-Cup review lineup! What did I think of the 3rd Stage, hosted by Michinoku Pro this time around? Read on to find out!