Japan TV 11-13-87 The first World champion is crowned!
Nov 13, 2021 18:30:27 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Nov 13, 2021 18:30:27 GMT
World Wrestling Kingdom; Lou Thesz, Chairman
Airs on Saturday, November 13, 1987 on:
Taped: November 7 at Korakuen Hall and October 31 at Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Takashi Yamada; Wakabayashi also performs ring announcer duties
Referees: Tiger Hattori, Joe Higuchi, and Kyohei Wada
While the opening theme plays, we see the following clip:
Tiger Jeet Singh picks up his first points of the tournament here in Budokan Hall. There’s nothing pretty about this one, as these two brawlers tear into each other, and throw the rulebook right out the window! At the end of the wild brawl, Singh gets the win when he locks Neidhart in the Cobra Clutch!
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and TAKASHI YAMADA open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s episode of World Wrestling Kingdom!
Wakabayashi says that at the top of the program, we saw the final moments of a recent Block B match in the King’s Road League, which took place on October 31 at Nippon Budokan Hall, where Tiger Jeet Singh earned his first points of the tournament, defeating Jim Neidhart.
This week, we’ll see some clips of some other King’s Road League matches from Budokan, as Riki Choshu meets Dick Slater in Block B, and both Dino Bravo and Ashura Hara look to earn their first points in the tournament when they meet in a Block A match!
Plus, Choshu will be in action against Tiger Mask II! Genichiro Tenryu challenges Kintaro Oki for the All-Asia heavyweight championship! Rick Martel defends the International title against Tatsumi Fujinami!
And, the finale of the King’s Road League, Block A winner Stan Hansen meets the winner of Block B Tatsumi Fujinami, with the World Heavyweight title hanging in the balance!
Could Tatsumi Fujinami finish this week’s show as the World AND International champions? We’ll find out!
VTR: Ashura Hara vs. Dino Bravo, taped 10-31-87 at Budokan Hall, JIP:
Neither man has any points so far in the King’s Road League, so one of them will pick up their only points of the tournament here!
They’re pretty much evenly matched, and neither man can get a clear advantage early on. However, as the match progresses, Hara overcomes Bravo’s power advantage, and ends up delivering a Samoan Drop for the 1, 2, 3!
END VTR
VTR: Riki Choshu (w/ Masa Saito) vs “Rebel” Dick Slater (w/ Cowboy Bob Orton), taped 10-31-87 at Budokan Hall, JIP:
In another Block B match, Riki Choshu moves into second place in the block, with a win over the gaijin Slater.
Choshu shocks the fans in attendance, as he’s accompanied to the ring by Masa Saito! This is the first we’ve seen of Saito in Japan in the last few years! Slater has “Cowboy” Bob Orton Jr with him.
Despite Slater’s fondness for brawling, he’s an incredibly talented technical wrestler as well, and he shows his skill here, going hold for hold with Choshu. When the match moves to the floor, though, Slater resorts to his usual brawling style, hitting Choshu with chairs, and even slamming Riki’s head into the announcer’s table!
That’s when Saito makes his presence felt, he attacks Slater, then holds Slater while Choshu attacks. This leads to a brief skirmish between Orton and Saito as well!
Back inside the ring, Choshu now has the upper hand, and after softening Slater up, Choshu locks on the Scorpion lock for the submission!
END VTR
Wakabayashi and Yamada talk about Masa Saito returning to Japan, and it looks like he’s joined forces with Riki Choshu and Genichiro Tenryu! We also saw Tenryu offer Ashura Hara a spot in his and Choshu’s group after a King’s Road League match between Tenryu and Hara last week.
Taped November 7 at Korakuen Hall:
TIGER MASK II beats RIKI CHOSHU (w/ Genichiro Tenryu, Masa Saito & Ashura Hara) by Disqualification.
Tiger Mask has his work cut out for him here, as not only does he have to contend with Choshu inside the ring, but he’s got to keep an eye on Tenryu, Saito and Hara on the outside as well! This becomes obvious early on, as Choshu locks TM2 in a leglock, and when the masked man reaches for the ropes, Tenryu pulls them back, just out of TM’s reach!
The battle eventually moves to the floor, where Choshu, Tenryu, Saito and Hara all gang up on TM2 and pummel him, before rolling him back inside the ring! Choshu immediately goes for the cover, but Tiger Mask gets a shoulder up at the last second!
Choshu stays on the attack, but can’t put the masked man away! Tiger Mask soon rallies, and looks to have things going his way, when Tenryu, Saito and Hara jump into the ring! Just as TM2 hits the Tiger Suplex on Choshu, the others attack him!
Referee Joe Higuchi calls for the bell, awarding the match to Tiger Mask II by Disqualification!
After the decision is announced, Choshu batters Tiger Mask with a vicious Lariat! Saito then drives him into the mat with the Saito Suplex! Hara picks the masked man up, and hits a Samoan Drop!
Tenryu delivers the final blow, hoisting Tiger Mask up and driving him into the mat with the folding Powerbomb!
Tenryu takes the house mic, and introduces the fans in attendance at Korakuen Hall, and watching at home on television, to the Revolution Army! He says that a new era is dawning in pro wrestling, and the four of them are going to be the ones to lead that new era!
An ad airs for upcoming shows. We see clips of some of the wrestlers that will be in action, as well as a list of the following shows:
November 19, the World Tag League kicks off at Korakuen Hall, and will be taped for TV!
November 21 in Mito, Ibaraki prefecture!
November 22 in Hachinohe, Aomori prefecture!
November 23 in Hakodate, Hokkaido prefecture!
November 24 in Sapporo, Hokkaido prefecture, at the Nakajima Sports Center!
November 26 in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall for another TV taping!
November 28 in Niigata at the City Gymnasium!
November 29 in Kanazawa, Ishikawa prefecture!
November 30 in Osaka, at the Prefectural Sports Center!
Taped November 7 at Korakuen Hall:
INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:
“THE DRAGON” TATSUMI FUJINAMI defeats RICK MARTEL (champion) (1st Defence) to win the title! The full match went almost 40 minutes, so it’s been edited down for TV.
Both men shake hands in a show of respect to kick things off. There’s a feeling-out process at the beginning of the match, neither man wants to be the first to make a mistake. Martel takes control first, taking Fuji to the mat, but the Dragon quickly reaches the ropes. Both men back to their feet, Fujinami attempts a hiptoss, but Martel blocks it, and turns it into an abdominal stretch! Fujinami manages to power out of that, flipping Martel forward, to the mat.
The match continues like that, every time one of them applies a hold, the other is able to get out of it, or is close enough to reach the ropes. We’re treated to a clean, scientific match!
As the match progresses, Martel gains the upper hand, and looks to be on his way to victory, but the Dragon gets a second wind, and battles back! Fujinami gains the upper hand, and soon after, hits the Dragon Suplex for the 1, 2, 3!
Tatsumi Fujinami is the new International heavyweight champion!!!
Taped November 7 at Korakuen Hall:
ALL-ASIA HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP:
GENICHIRO TENRYU (w/ the Revolution Army) defeats KINTARO OKI (champion) (1st Defence) to win the title!
Oki’s first defence of the title since winning it is not a successful one. Oki gains an early advantage, but Tenryu soon turns the tables, and gives Oki a vicious beating!
Tenryu’s Revolution Army stablemates watch on as Tenryu methodically takes Oki apart.
In the end, Tenryu hits an enziguri, then drives Oki into the mat with a brutal folding Powerbomb for the 1, 2, 3!
Genichiro Tenryu is the new All-Asia heavyweight champion!
The announcers talk about the fact that, so far, we’ve seen two title changes, as Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Rick Martel for the International title, and Genichiro Tenryu beat Kintaro Oki for the All-Asia title!
It’s time for the main event, and we’ll see if the Dragon can become a double champion, or will Stan Hansen leave Budokan Hall as the very first World Wrestling Kingdom World heavyweight champion?
WWK Chairman LOU THESZ is in the ring, holding the WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP belt! He says that we’re down to the final two participants in the King’s Road League, Tatsumi Fujinami and Stan Hansen! They will now square off to determine the very first WWK World Heavyweight champion!
Taped October 31 at Nippon Budokan Hall:
KING’S ROAD LEAGUE FINAL:
STAN HANSEN [12 points] defeats “THE DRAGON” TATSUMI FUJINAMI [10 points] to win the vacant World Heavyweight championship!
After Thesz leaves the ring, referee Tiger Hattori holds up the World title belt for all to see, and Hansen and Fujinami are presented with a bouquet of flowers.
As soon as the bell sounds, the two men tear into each other!
Hansen clearly has the size and power advantage, and the big Texan makes the most of that advantage! But the Dragon is no slouch, and he holds his own against Hansen!
The battle moves to the floor, where Hansen pummels Fujinami, hitting him with a chair and sending him into the guardrail. However, when he attempts to whip the Dragon into the ringpost, Fuji reverses it, and sends Hansen crashing into the unforgiving steel post!
Back inside, Fujinami continues on the attack. The Budokan fans are clearly behind him, and it looks like he might be on his way to becoming a double champion!
Hansen has other ideas though, and when Fujinami attempts a German suplex, Hansen blocks it by repeatedly driving his elbow into Fujinami’s head, then hiptosses him to the mat. Hansen puts the boots to Fujinami, and then pulls him up into a sitting position. Hansen, kneeling behind Fuji, repeatedly drives the point of his elbow into the Dragon’s forehead!
Once again, the fight moves to the floor, and this time, Hansen is able to send Fuji head-first into the steel ringpost, busting the Dragon open!
Back inside, with blood now streaming down his face, Fujinami continues to fight! The announcers put over his “fighting spirit”, no matter what Hansen throws at him, Fujinami just won’t stay down!
Hansen runs the ropes, and attempts a jumping kneedrop . . . but Fujinami rolls out of the way at the last second! Fujinami immediately goes after the knee that Hansen just hurt with that missed kneedrop! The Dragon bends and twists Hansen’s knee at all sorts of unnatural angles, but when he goes for a Figure-4 Leglock, Hansen kicks him off, with enough force to send Fujinami crashing into the turnbuckles in the corner.
Hansen gets back to his feet, and as Fujinami stumbles, dazed, out of the corner, Hansen adjusts his elbowpad, and charges! We all know what’s coming now . . . LARIATOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Hansen connects with the Lariat, and Fujinami crumbles to the mat!
Hansen covers the Dragon, and referee Tiger Hattori counts ONE . . . TWO . . . THREE!!!!
Stan Hansen is the winner of the King’s Road League, and the very first WWK World heavyweight champion!
Before the show ends, a graphic shows up on the screen, showing the FINAL STANDINGS of the King’s Road League:
Block A:
Stan Hansen: 12 Points (winner of the tournament, and new World heavyweight champion!)
Genichiro Tenryu: 8 Points
Antonio Inoki: 6 Points
Scott Hall: 4 Points
Ashura Hara: 2 Points
Dino Bravo: 0 Points
Block B:
Tatsumi Fujinami: 10 Points
Riki Choshu: 8 Points
Yoshiaki Yatsu: 6 Points
Dick Slater: 3 Points
Tiger Jeet Singh: 2 Points
Jim Neidhart: 1 Point
Wakabayashi and Yamada wrap things up, and hype next week’s show, which will feature the beginning of the World Tag League to crown the first World tag team champions!
Credits Roll
© 1987, World Wrestling Kingdom
Working on it now.