Henry's World

 I've been interested in a return to reviewing New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and now felt like the right time, with interest in my WWE reviews waning, and no current way for me to view the AEW Dynamite library. We return to the biggest force in puroresu with Wrestle Kingdom 5, the next event on my list to cover, with most of the entire event intact and available on New Japan World. Despite now being in 2011, four years from the start of the Wrestle Kingdom shows, little has changed in terms of the business model New Japan is relying upon for their biggest event. Their alliances with other companies still have a noticeable effect on the Wrestle Kingdom card, most notably with TNA and CMLL, although wrestlers from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah, and Pro Wrestling Zero1 also put in appearances. The main event is another iteration of the classic formula; the New Japan "Ace" defending the company from an outside threat. In this case, the former is Hiroshi Tanahashi, while th...

 With many events from this time period missing matches, I've decided to jump forward two years, from the first Wrestle Kingdom to the third. By this time, New Japan's Tokyo Dome show had been completely invaded by members of other promotions, most notably TNA, who had basically become the American version of New Japan by this point. Say what you will about that decision, or the call to put the IWGP title on Keiji Mutoh, who was nearing 50 and only appearing sporadically in New Japan, but from the attendance numbers, it seemed like this trick was working. According to Dave Meltzer, the attendance for Wrestle Kingdom 3 was up 50% from two years prior. You could chalk that increase of interest up to the working agreements in place with TNA, All Japan, CMLL and others, but some credit should go to the main event, featuring Mutoh defending against his protegee, Hiroshi Tanahashi. Since our last trip to the Dome, Tana was defeated by Shinsuke Nakamura in the main event of Wrestle Ki...

 Since it's founding in 1972, New Japan Pro Wrestling, or Shin Nihon Puroresu in Japanese, quickly became the standard bearer for wrestling in the country. Antonio Inoki, founder and top star, played a massive role in legitimizing the new company, thrilling audiences with his brand of "strong style", putting on wars with the likes of Bill Robinson, Karl Gotch, Seiji Sakaguchi and Andre the Giant. In the eighties, junior heavyweight wrestling began to rise in popularity thanks to the battles between the Dynamite Kid and the first Tiger Mask, and in the nineties, the company produced new stars for a new generation, as the "Three Musketeers" of Keiji Mutoh, Masahiro Chono and Shinya Hashimoto were set to lead New Japan forward towards the new millennium. It's during this era that they formed a partnership with World Championship Wrestling in the States, with a supershow between the two in 1993 being New Japan's first foray into hosting an annual event in th...