Tenryu and Kawada to WJ?

[El Fiasco]

Although Kawada was booked to return at the All Japan 4/12 Nippon Budokan show, Weekly Fight newspaper reports this week that Kawada and Tenryu will transfer to Riki Choshu's WJ Pro league. Although Tenryu is already booked to face Choshu at WJ Pro's debut show, he and Kawada are planning to leave AJPW alltogether.

credit: www.puroresupower.com

Well...this isn't good news for All Japan. Still, if Kawada and Tenryu do indeed show up, it could mean some great business for WJ Pro. A Kawada\Choshu match would be interesting, even after all these years.

[Jason]

If this rumor is true and AJ loses both of these guys I truly think that AJ will not last the rest of the year. Especially with Kea out for a lengthy period of time they would be left with Kojima, a broken down Mutoh, and that's about it. It seems hard to believe that Kawada would leave AJ after all his past loyalty but maybe he sees the writing on the wall. Very, very sad.

[Muiyan]

Normally, i would frown upon Kawada stepping out from All Japan. However, since AJ is but a dying circus nowadays, he better run while he still has the chance!

WJ should be cool.

[El Fiasco]

If they bring in Sapp full time and maybe get some talent from New Japan they might survive without Kawada and Tenryu.

[The Great Maijin]

If Kawanda and Tenyu leave for WJ pro I believe AJ will try to unfiy with ZERO-ONE.

[Jason]

They might survive but it would depart even futher from what All Japan used to be. Sapp will certainly never be a high workrate wrestler and I think most of NJ's top guys recently signed contract extensions. It's crazy enough that Muta and Hashimoto (2 guys who would never have won it when Baba was alive) were fighting over the TC. If Sapp were to win the TC it would be a joke.

[Muiyan]

If Sapp would win the TC, i'd cry.
Hey, i love Sapp and all, but i also love the All Japan tradition! Mutoh having the belt was already a mistake, now with Hashimoto, it's only a bit better. I still want the 100% pure AJ talent of old to hold the title!

[El Fiasco]

I was by no means suggesting that Sapp could pull off some amazing matches, but a man of his draw-power would give All Japan the ratings boost they need right now.

[Muiyan]

El Fiasco, you sure?
Last i checked, Bob Sapp was in Wrestle-1 and it drew horrible!

[El Fiasco]

Well, to be fair, the rest of the card was very weak. Sapp's appearence at the New Japan Spiral show in late 2002 was a big hit, and he gets a lot of recognition in Japanese sports press.

He couldn't save All Japan alone, but he would definately add some draw to their roster...maybe...

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

Originally posted by Muiyan
Last i checked, Bob Sapp was in Wrestle-1 and it drew horrible!

True, but I heard that the TV rating was good for the 2nd W-1.

[Muiyan]

I dont understand the difference between the "rating" and the "attendance". Didn't the 2nd Wrestle-1 basically have to hand out free tickets to fill the arena (and even then it still wasn't filled)?

[TRZZXQ]

Well, attendance is how many people actually showed up to the event itself, and ratings (in really simplified terms) are how many people watched it on TV. Also, buyrate is how many people bought a PPV.

[Luds]

Well Mutoh giving the TC to Hashimoto is a good start...

[Pheonix_Chi25]

If Bob Sapp ever entered into All Japan, that's it that's the proverbial funeral there. Mutoh has already erased everything Baba san has set, and now if Tenryu and Kawada jumps to WJ, it's game set match my friends. Sapp should have stayed in football.