[ZERO-ONE] 2002/03/09 Kourakuen Hall

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

• Yuusaku vs. Kohei Satoh
• Ryoji Sai vs. Sean McCully [L.A. Boxing Gym]
• Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. TBA
• Yoshiaki Fujiwara [Fujiwaragumi] vs. TBA
• Jossie Dempsey [L.A. Boxing Gym] vs. Tom Howard [UPW]
• NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title Match: Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka [champions] vs. Native Blood [challengers, UPW]
• NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Shin'ya Hashimoto [champion] vs. Dan Severn [challenger]

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

• Steve Corino [NWA/PWF] & Sean McCully [L.A. Boxing Gym] (16'14" TKO) Wagyuta Kuroge (Yuusaku) & Tumuji Fugoh (Fujisaki)
• Yoshiaki Fujiwara [Fujiwaragumi] & Tatsuhito Takaiwa (15'35" TKO) Kouhei Satoh & Wataru Sakata
• Ryoji Sai (5'30" cross arm scissors) Paul LeDuc
• Kazuhiko Ogasawara [Kyokushin Ogasawara Dojo] (4'25" TKO) Naohiro Hoshikawa
• Tom Howard [UPW] (4'40" la magistral) Jossie Dempsey [L.A. Boxing Gym]
• NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title Match: Shinjiro Ohtani & Masato Tanaka [champions] (17'23" spiral bomb) Native Blood [challengers, UPW]
• NWA World Heavyweight Title Match: Dan Severn [challenger] (16'14" german suplex) Shin'ya Hashimoto [champion]
  * During the match, NWA president Jim Miller talked to the special referee Fredric G. Rubenstein, who gave a fast count for Severn. The angry audience started throwing things into the ring.

[Tradition Rules]

This is a dissapointing result.Not just because Hashimoto lost the title,but mainly because of the way he lost the title.A fast count/screw job ending? I'm sorry,but this is why the NWA(whose history I love)will remain minor league.Its stupid endings to a mactch like this,IN JAPAN OF ALL PLACES,for the World Heavyweight title that will keep it from gaining new found respect.

Pro wrestling in Japan used to be very much like pro wrtestling in the U.S.; lots of screw jobs,heels and faces were almost presented like superheros/villians, gaijn were always heels,and sometimes silly endings to marches.But back in the '80s, things started to change.It was always treated much more like a sport in Japan,but now heels were more individuals with disrespectful attitudes than guys who always bit their opponents or pulled a foreign object out of their trunks.Also,almost all of the matches ended with a "clean" finish-almost no screw jobs or count-outs.In the U.S.,pro wrestling also evolved...but in a totally opposite direcation.

With the WWf's TV ratings steadily dropping,you would hink the NWA would at least TRY to presant a more serious product.But with guys with names like "Destruction" working house shows,it just proves that most peole in the business still have an "80s American Mentality". Japan was the last place that still had respect for the NWA name and history,and by the way the fans reacted to this match(much the same way they reacted to the Sasaki vs Ogwawa match in January),it is obvious that they felt this ending was a slap in the face.

Its not like the Japanese fans would be unhappy with Hashimoto losing to a respected fighter like Dan Severn.In Japan,as long as the match is solid,the fans are usually happy,so what did Jim Miller and the NWA have to gain by making Severn look like he needed outside assistance to win?Just a compleatly stupid move with a total lack of vision...which leads me to wonder,is it possible this is more than an angle ala Brett Hart/Shawn Michaels? I know this is a far fetched idea,but I can't think of any benefit for this type of outcome,unless they are looking for some cheap heat in a rematch.

Any opinons?

T.R!

[highpriest]

Anyone that knows me knows that I am a diehard supporter of the National Wrestling Alliance. In all honesty, when I first heard of what happened during the Severn/Hashimoto bout I was dissapointed and shocked. But the more I thought about it, the more ingenius it sounded. If they build this like I think they are going to, this will be the first of many steps needed to put the NWA in front of an International audience once again. Then again, if they do nothing with it, and this turns into a wcw style forget the deal and move on angle, I will once again be disapointed. I think the reaction they were looking for was indeed, SHOCK. And thats what they got!!! Fans throwing things into the ring! Keep in mind, this didnt happen in Philly, but in Japan! As long as they don't go to the well to many times (meaning not making these 'screwjob' finishes the norm) than I don't think the recent events will make a negative impact on the alliance. Only time will tell what will come of it, but I believe there is a place for the NWA at the top. It will just take some time to get there again.....

[Tradition Rules]

Hey 'priest,

As you can probably tell by my "handle"(Tradition Rules),I am also a supporter of the NWA...or at the very least its history and PLACE in history.

I have been hoping for the NWA to return to becoming a real force in the world of pro wrestling and was hoping the first time Naoya Ogawa won the title,being a serious athlete and working for New Japan,this would happen.Well we all know Ogawa ended up becoming a big spoiled baby who never "wanted" to lose,and then on top of that,his first title reign ended in a three way dance/triple threat match for the NWA World Heavyweight Title.Now I think a gimmick match CAN absolutly be great...but the most important title in the NWA should NOT change hands like this.NOR should it change hands on a screw job ending.I really don't mean to sound like a "wrestling snob" that throws my nose up in the air at gimmicks or angles,but I personally feel this is a step backwards.

The NWA will NEVER be as "good" as booking "modern" angles(both GOOD and MODERN are actually questionable decriptions...but you'll see where I'm going with this!)as the WWF.Now I'm NOT a fan of their product at all,but that is my point I guess.The WWf's rating are STILL dropping(Thursday's Smackdown! did a lousy 3.45 rating) and this is do to the current fad of wrestling popularity being over.The reason it had always maintained a certain high level of popularity in Japan is because it was always treated MUCH more like a serious sport, and thats why I really don't follow pro wrestling in the U.S./North America any more.I would LOVE to see another promotion,NWA or otherwise produce a more "Puro" style in the U.S.

Now I know what you're thinking..."The Japanese style will NEVER get over in the U.S.!" The truth of the matter is that the first two years of McMahons WWF national expantion,he lost money...alot of it!It took time for people to except the WWF in other regions of the country,but it did get excepted.How he did it is another whole story,but people watched it because the were told it is good and because in many places,it was(and still is) the only option.But before wrestling was "cool" to watch,it regularly sold out arenas and other venues and raked in records amount of cash,even in many small towns.Those were the die hard fans,they liked it because they liked wrestling and not because someone told them to.Most Japanese fans still have this pure love of wrestling,... and with the current fad of wrestling in the States on a decline,now would be a great oppertunity to build a fan base on people who would like it for the athletic performance in the ring.Oh sure you can still have "Mic work" and some angles for story telling purposes,but I don't want to see McMahon filling for divorce papers against his wife.The rematch,especally if held in Japan would have had plenty of heat WITHOUT the scew job. And I really don't believe it will help the NWA in North America either.


But please feel free to respond with your own opinions.


***** Sorry Hisa,I didn't mean to go on a rant that wasn't so PURELY New Japan on this forum board. *****


T.R!

[LizardKing]

I agree with everything you guys say. I was hugely disappointed with the way the title changed hands.

[Luds]

This type of endings is getting pretty lame... I mean, we've seen crap before and we'll see crap in the future, but at some point, too much is too much!

I can accept screwjobs/bad endings once in a while. For example, I always thought that the Hogan/Nash match when Hogan touched Nash and Nash went down was good (because of the whole nWo comeback angle)

But that was uncalled for. Why did they end it loke this? At least, have someone cheat and nail Hashimoto with a chair or something...

[highpriest]

I agree, its not something I would like to see alot of! I just want to think positive and hope that a) the NWA does not try an imitate the wwf and make these screw job finishes the norm ....and b) I want to give the b.o.d. a chance at making something good come out of this. I sincerly hope there is a rematch between Hashimoto and Severn and it goes to a clean finish.

[The Great Gouki]

I think Dan Severn is an awesome athelete. But I woul have like to hear about a LEGIT finish. This makes Severn look bad too. **** Americian influence.

[lonewolfsuarez]

I'm surprised the Zero-One officials haven't asked for an immediate rematch!