The holiday period in Japan is also coming to a close after the big celebration that surrounds New Year over in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’ although most of the wrestlers over there didn’t have much of a holiday anyhow…
New Japan ran a couple of shows over the Christmas period on the 23rd and the 24th of December before most of the roster rested up ahead of the BIG show that will have taken place just before you read this (you’ll have to wait until the next update for my feedback on it). The main roster members who didn’t take a full break where Yujiro (who wrestled at the Professional Wrestling Summit IN KORAKUEN on New Years Eve), Kanemoto, Taguchi and Nakanishi (who declared war on Zero-One MAX on the companies New Years Day show) Milano Collection AT (who fought and defeated Milanito Collection at the El Dorado show on the 29th) and finally Makabe and Ishii who appeared in Apache on that promotions show on the 30th.
Dragon Gate also ran a show over this period, in fact quite a few with the company running a show on Christmas Eve that saw Susumu fight Yoshino for the Open the Brave Gate title (and losing) as well as the ‘GRAND FINAL GATE’ show on the 29th which saw SpeedMuscle (Doi and Yoshino) make a successful first defence of their GHC Jr Tag belts against Kanemaru and Aoki of NOAH. Also on this day El Dorado ran a show in which Kota Ibushi defeated KAGETORA in the third defence of his Independent World Junior Heavy Title using a Dragon Suplex Hold.
Funnily enough the GHC Titles will be defended later on this month by Doi and Yoshino and for the first time since June 2006 (when Hidaka and Fujita of Z-1 Max held them) the titles will be defended in a match that contains no one from NOAH as SpeedMuscle take on the New Hazard team of Shingo Takagi & BxB Hulk on the 15th.
Speaking of NOAH they ran not one but TWO festive shows this year with the SEM rookie and young lion roster getting a go of it on the 23rd and the youngsters where given a special gift… the chance to fight against the cream of the NOAH crop as Aoki began his ‘Atsushi Aoki Ten Match Trial Series’ against Jun Akiyama, Kanemaru taking on Ito, Taniguchi facing Yone, Hirayanagi facing Taue and Ota facing Misawa. Also on the card where Ishimori v Kentaro Suzuki and in the main event KENTA alongside Marufuji facing off against Morishima and Go Shiosaki in a match that once more ended with Mori dropping KENTA on his head with the BACCCCKKKKDDRRROOOPPPAAAAAAHHHH!
Then on the 24th the main roster rolled in Differ for the NOAHful Gift in Differ which had a few matches but nothing of note really aside from the fact that Akiyama and Misawa where once more teaming together…