Tag: tiger hattori

NJPW holds ceremony honoring Hulk Hogan

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Shortly after WWE’s tribute to Hulk Hogan on SmackDown, another promotion on the other side of the world honored him with their own 10-bell salute.

NJPW — where Hogan was a superstar in the 1980s along with the success he had in the United States — held a memorial ceremony for Hogan prior to the start of Saturday’s G1 Climax event in Tokyo. Company president Hiroshi Tanahashi and former referee Tiger Hattori stood in the ring with a picture honoring Hogan. The roster surrounded them at ringside for a 10-bell salute.

Backstage, Hattori spoke about his history with Hogan — which dates back to before Hogan even entered the wrestling business.

“Personally, I can’t believe it. It was too soon, to be honest,” Hattori said about Hogan’s death. “Before he became a professional wrestler, I lived in Tampa, Florida for 17 years, and Hogan’s mother happened to live near my house. So I was about 17 when I first met him. I was in my second year of high school or something like that.

“So I was teaching amateur wrestling at Hiro Matsuda’s gym. He came there as a student, but after about six months he broke his leg. I thought he had disappeared, but then he started coming back. After a while he went to Georgia to make his debut, and then he came back to his hometown of Tampa.”

Hattori remembered Hogan as a wrestler he had a lot of respect for.

“He was definitely outstanding, more than your average wrestler. He was big in size, but I don’t know, I think he was just a little different,” Hattori said. “He had such great success so it’s sad that he passed away so early, but I have a lot of respect for him as a professional wrestler.

“I bet he’s up there again wrestling in heaven. We’ve lost a truly wonderful person. I hope we’ll see another wrestler like him. I want to say thank you for all the great times we had.”

Hogan first wrestled for NJPW in 1980 and competed for the promotion until 1985 before returning in the early 1990s. He returned again in 2003 for his final NJPW match, facing Masahiro Chono.

The 71-year-old Hogan died on July 24 of cardiac arrest after weeks of complications stemming from a neck fusion surgery.

NJPW reveals IWGP Committee members

Posted on by Joseph Currier

NJPW has named five members to its IWGP Committee, a group that oversees championship matches and tournaments in the promotion.

The restructured group was announced by NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi at the company’s pre-G1 Climax press conference. Tanahashi said that, while the committee has always been a vague concept to fans, he wants the audience to understand more about it. The committee will consist of the following five people:

  • Former IWGP Champion Yuji Nagata
  • NJPW legend Jushin Thunder Liger
  • Former referee Tiger Hattori
  • NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi
  • NJPW board member Hitoshi Matsumoto

Tanahashi said the committee members will work closely with NJPW’s wrestlers and referees. There is no committee president, but group members “will attend various events and be on hand whenever required for decisions in [the] future.”

In December of last year, Tanahashi was named the new president of NJPW. He still competes in the ring but isn’t part of NJPW’s G1 Climax this year, marking the first time he hasn’t been in the tournament since 2001. Tanahashi lost to Oleg Boltin in NJPW’s G1 qualifier tournament.

NJPW reveals cards for Hattori and Nakanishi retirement events

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Cards have been released for NJPW’s two retirement events taking place later this month.

Tiger Hattori’s reitrement event will take place on February 19th at Korakuen Hall. Hattori previously had a retirement tour in the US last fall.

Hattori will take part in two final matches, the first being an eight man tag team match. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Toru Yano and Colt Cabana will face Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jay White and Bad Luck Fale.

The final match he will be a part in is a six-man tag match, with Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto facing Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and SANADA.

Manabu Nakanishi’s retirement ceremony will follow on February 22nd, also at Korakuen Hall. Nakanishi will team up with Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan to take on Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi and Hirooki Goto in a battle of NJPW generations.

Here are the full cards for both events:

Tiger Hattori Retirement Event – February 19 in Korakuen Hall

  • Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto vs. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and SANADA
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Toru Yano and Colt Cabana vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Jay White and Bad Luck Fale
  • Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Juice Robinson, David Finlay and YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI
  • YOH, SHO and Will Ospreay vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Rocky Romero and Tiger Mask
  • Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma and Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura and Gabriel Kidd

Manabu Nakanishi Retirement Event – February 22 in Korakuen Hall

  • Manabu Nakanishi. Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi and Hirooki Goto
  • Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI and Will Ospreay vs. Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi and EVIL
  • Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Jay White, Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa
  • SHO, YOH and Toa Henare vs. SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI
  • Toru Yano, Colt Cabana, Ryusuke Taguchi and Rocky Romero vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Tiger Mask and Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji and Yuya Uemura