Pushing Puroresu: Future of the Sport

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This edition of Pushing Puroresu will feature Charles Schaeffer, creator of Puroresu Spirit, giving his take on perhaps Japan’s strongest young lion Katsuhiko Nakajima. In the future, most articles will feature works from both Charles and me, but this week he takes center stage while I tell you what I thought of the puroresu I was able to watch this past week. Enjoy, or face the wrath of a Danshoku Driver.

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I thank Justin Houston for letting me partner up with him to try and help introduce Puroresu (Japanese for Pro Wrestling) to those who may be interested in watching, but have no idea where to start. Every week from now on (or as long as I have material) I will be introducing a wrestler, who seems poised to break out, or do so even more, in this new decade.
Who shall be carrying the spirit throughout this new decade?

Katsuhiko Nakajima

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Why do I see Nakajima becoming even better this decade? Well the answer is very simple. For one, he has been trained, and is still learning by one of the most solid Heavyweight wrestlers, still wrestling today, Kensuke Sasaki. Nakajima has many skills and talents that easily sets him apart from the competition. The greatest thing about Nakajima is that, right now, he is almost about to turn 22 years old. He, at such a short age, has already held titles in AJPW, NOAH, ZERO1, and Michinoku Pro. He is poised to have continued success, especially since he continues to get better in every match that in which he competes. He is very solid in his skill, he still lacks many of the traits that a seasoned competitor may have, but his skill in the ring is equal to or better than someone who is 10-15 years older than him.
I am going to try and write a quick, but detailed summary of the Career of Nakajima. He started wrestling when he was 14 years old, and his first “official” pro wrestling match would be against Tomohiro Ishii on Jan. 4th, 2004. Even though it was a losing effort he showed great promise. Within just a few months he would receive his very first title opportunity with his mentor Kensuke Sasaki, when they would go up against the team of Genichiro Tenryu and Masanobu Fuchi for the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Titles. A little over a year later, Nakajima would go on to win his first title ever, when he and Sasaki would defeat Shuji Kondo and “brother” YASSHI for the ALL Asia Tag Titles on July 26th, 2004. They would hold onto the titles for well over a year till Sasake would have to vacate them due to an injury in Late 2006. On August 31, 2005, Nakajima would go on to win his first singles title, when he would defeat Osamu Nishimura for the WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship in ZERO1. He would hold this title for almost a year, which is strongly unheard of, especially with him being so young and still green in the ring compared to other younger wrestlers.
He would finish out 2005 and most of 2006 strong and gaining more talent by the day. He would have many solid matches against the likes of Katsuyori Shibata, D-Lo Brown, and Kaz Hayashi. On February 17, 2007, Nakajima would defeat the power house of the Junior Division, Shuji Kondo, for the AJPW Jr. Championship. He would manage to hold onto the title for over a year till he would lose to Ex-WCW/CMLL wrestler Silver King on March 1st, 2008. It should be noted that Nakajima suffered one of his first major injuries during this title reign that caused him to be out of action for several months. In 2008, he would have some strong matches against Magnitude Kishiwada, Jun Akiyama, Mitsuharu Misawa, and even more notably KENTA on June 13th, 2008. This was a very solid match with both men going move for move and toe to toe with each other for much of the match. Nakajima would make his way to the United States, for the first time, on September 20th, 2008 to take on the current GHC Jr. Champion Bryan Danielson. I own this event on DVD, and I recommend that if you have the money that you definitely check out the Glory by Honor VII DVD. A few months later on February 11th, 2009, Nakajima would get the upset on KENTA and become the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion for the first time. I really do not want to say anything about this match, because I plan to offer this match as one of my pics for everyone to watch.
One thing I just noticed the other day while compiling results was that Kensuke-Office.com has posted that Nakajima is now weighing in at 95kgs. This is very interesting to note because this makes him even more so closer to being classified as a Heavyweight competitor. I would love nothing more than to see him take his talent up a notch a go after the likes of Takashi Sugiura, Go Shiozaki, and even on the AJPW level Satoshi Kojima for the Heavyweight Title in the next few years. There is only so much I can actually write to you all about relating towards the actual talent of Nakajima. So, I have went out of my way to compile my top favorite matches, that I could actually find on youtube, for you all to watch and hopefully see and understand why I think he is poised for greater success in this coming decade.
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6. Big Mouth Loud ~ Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Munenori Sawa (7/26/2006)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6i7K6N0mZJQ

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5. Tomohiro Ishii, Takashi Uwano and Katsuhiko Nakajima Vs Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Yoshihito Sasaki and Osamu Namiguchi (2/19/2004)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XhoaNWK4io

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQxNWO92OzM

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS9XNAKyzHo

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4. AJPW Jr. Title: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs Chris Sabin (8/26/2007)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPt_2G1h7Ww

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJZat-JVerM

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5FgrM4-VxM

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3. NOAH ~ Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Kotaro Suzuki (10/15/09)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jv_94tztvs

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38iJbxfhtg4

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvGefugkP8c

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2. NOAH ~ Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiozaki (11/5/2005)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgU5tIxKaIs

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObjJwEircSw

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6sitg40Zgk

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1. NOAH ~ Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. KENTA (3/1/2009)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1hr40i4ugE

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly4U55yF0fg

Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLI_bdfWxL8

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Just for fun: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Hayato “Jr” Fujita (12/3/2004″Fujita’s Debut Match”)

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoPj3I9i3kU

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImdsdPacr8o

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What I Watched This Week

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Dragon Gate – Dream Gate: Naruki Doi vs. Susumu Yokosuka – ****1/2
. 2009-10-25 . I told you I’d review it, so here it is. This is the main event of DG Infinity 152. I should start by saying that I was in no way a fan of Susumu Yokosuka going into this. I never really got his appeal outside of some of his cool moves: World Liner, the Avalanche Kobe version, Jumbo no Kachi-gatame. Hell, he innovated the Yokosuka Cutter. You’re welcome, Chuck Palumbo. I feel his selling is in the bottom rung of DG (meaning he doesn’t sell…anything), as are his facial expressions. He still can’t sell or emote much, but for some reason it all came together in this match. Obviously, I’m already a humongous fan of Naruki Doi. I had this at four and a fourth stars, but upon another watch, a just HAD to bump it up a little bit more. Search for “Dragon Gate Infinity 152” and plenty of links pop up to watch and enjoy this masterpiece.
.                   . The story goes that Yokosuka challenged for Doi’s Open the Dream Gate title at a show and boldly claimed that the Muscular Bomb would not be enough to keep him down, the Muscular Bomb being Doi’s world-beating finisher that, since Doi began his dominating run at King of Gate in Dec. of ’08, no one has kicked out of. That list includes Shingo Takagi, Koji Kanemoto, Dragon Kid, BxB Hulk, Masaaki Mochizuki, Masato Yoshino, Bryan Danielson, and CIMA. Susumu would continue with his mind games on Doi by pinning WORLD-1 stablemate PAC with the Muscular Bomb during a six-man tag. Yokosuka persisted in his insults towards Doi, turning the bout into more than just another defense for Naruki Doi. To him, Yokosuka was the perfect example of a DG Veteran still not taking him and his New Generation stars seriously, much in the same way Mochizuki treats YAMATO and CIMA treats Akira Tozawa.
.                   . The match starts with a little of the sub-standard limb-work we’ve come to expect in DG title matches, but this time it actually makes sense. Doi works Yokosuka’s arm and Susumu returns the favor by working Doi’s leg. Neither guy can sustain the offense though, and neither could hit a big match-changing move on either limb, so it only slows them down a bit. Both Yokosuka’s lariats and Doi’s sliding kicks would suffer. Naruki Doi once again looks like a fucking beast in this, surviving an Avalanche Exploder, Mugan, Aikata, several Jumbo no Kachis, including a few Gatame variants. Once again, the “Is that all you got?” Sliding Kick spot shows up here, but because of the legwork earlier, I was OK with it. Plus, with Yokosuka not respecting Doi, it adds another wrinkle and the crowd eats it up.
.                   . Speaking of the crowd, Hakata is RED FUCKING HOT for this. They really elevate the whole thing. As if surviving everything Yokosuka throws at him wasn’t enough, Naruki Doi attempts to put the nail in Susumu’s coffin with the M-Bomb…but ‘Suka reverses it in mid fucking air…HITTING A MUSCULAR BOMB OF HIS OWN. AND IT ONLY GETS FUCKING TWO! It sounds like overkilling overkill, but the crowd’s reaction and ‘Suka’s face had me in disbelief…in the best possible way. Plus, with Yokosuka using the Bomb himself, it’s reasonable to assume that he worked on it and figured a counter. THE fucking counter. But when was the last time you saw a wrestler hit a major finisher counter and it only get 2? Doesn’t that always get the three? I LOVE that they used it here, where it’s only the most effective near-fall I’ve seen in a long time.
.                   . The finish is awesome. Susumu goes for that final lariat…but it’s one too many. Doi counters with his V9 Clutch for three and Yokosuka is devastated. As I said before, ‘Suka is never this animated. For whatever reason, in this match…he showed up. The editing post-match annoyed me, as it looked like Doi just got up and was fine. Clearly, they cut a lot of time where he rolled on the floor in pain. After the match, I think Doi basically said, “Fuck you fucking DG Veterans. I’m the fucking man up in this piece. Who the fuck do you think you’re fucking with? I run shit around here. You just live here.” OK, so some of that is from Training Day, but CIMA, ‘Suka, and Gamma took offense, which has lead to the Generation Wars going on in Dragon Gate. Also, Susumu lost his mind after losing to Doi, and has since joined New Hazard and gotten a small measure of revenge on Doi in the form of causing his partner, Masato Yoshino, to have his head shaved in the Survival Cage Match.
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NOAH – Kings of Wrestling & Ricky Marvin vs. Kensuke Sasaki, Takeshi Morishima and Naomichi Marufuji – ***1/2
. 2010-01-16 . The Kings and Marvin start things out by rushing the opposing trio. They target Marufuji with a great triple team move, and Claudio hits the freakin’ Giant Swing on Morishima! Hero hits a dropkick while Mori spins. Sasaki comes in and drills both Kings with lariats to calm things down. Everybody regroups, and Claudio ends up in the ring with Sasaki. But Marvin wants in, so he gets his wish. Chops do not faze Sasaki, but Ricky gets one and scurries back to his corner. Claudio comes in and has some very nasty European Uppercuts for Kensuke. He returns fire with sick chops to Claudio’s chest. Mori comes back in and hits two running hip strikes on Castagnoli in the corner. Mori tries a suplex, but Claudio reverses it and takes him down. Hero gets the tag and he and Mori exchanges strikes. Takeshi gets the better of him with a jumping hip strike. Marufuji comes in, and Hero tags out to Marvin. Marvin and Marufuji have “who can break an armlock fanciest” contest, which I believe Marvin wins. All three guys hit a quad big boot on Maru, with Marvin hanging onto the giant fellows for a double boot. Claudio stays in and tosses Marufuji around like a child. Hero tags in and hits some really nice strikes on Marufuji and Sasaki on the apron. Marufuji manages to hit his runaround lariat, and a very pissed off Sasaki gets the tag. He beats the snot out of Hero with his lethal chops, the Ipponzeoi arm drag, and a big time lariat. 1…2…Hero kicks out.
.                   . Sasaki goes for Strangle Hold Gamma, but Claudio interrupts. Kensuke holds Castagnoli in place, and Mori hits a top rope dropkick. Another lariat from Sasaki to Hero! He tries to suplex Morishima onto Hero but Claudio pulls his partner away. The Kings hit a tandem death valley driver on Sasaki for 2. Morishima goes up against The Kings solo, but gets a Hart Attack-style elbow strike from Hero. The Kings try the KRS-1 on Sasaki, but he gets free and unloads chops on both men. Claudio stops this with a running bicycle kick. Springboard European Uppercut to Morishima! Ricola Bomb…is block and Mori just sits down on Claudio. Hero runs in with a nasty elbow. Sasaki comes back with another damaging lariat on Chris. Marufuji and Marvin get tags! Marvin gets a dropkick for 2. He hits a rope sitting hurricanrana for 2. He hits a superkick for yet another two! TRIPLE DROPKICK FROM ALL THREE MEN! Assisted Splash on Marufuji! 1…2…Sasaki breaks it up. His team hits several maneuvers on Marvin, but the Kings don’t allow a pinfall. Marvin hits another superkick on Marufuji and tries a Shiranui! Maru blocks and hits a front Shiranui for two. Suplex into a suplex for 2! SHIRANUI! 1…2…3~ Marufuji gets the pinfall. This was a crapload of fun. Everybody got time to shine, and Claudio’s feats of strength continue to impress.
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Didn’t have a ton of “Puro Time” this week, what with putting together parties for UFC 109 and the Super Bowl, school, and seeing a good friend for the last time until next year. He’s headed to Afghanistan for the Air Force, and he’s nuts, so you never know what might happen. He could come home in a box or ride back to America on a missile with Osama’s head tucked under his arm. Next week, I’ll get into some impossible fantasy booking and review the Kings of Wrestling vs. Sasaki & Morishima tag match, among other things. Happy weekend!
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