Wrestling World 1996
Wrestling World 1996 was a professional wrestling event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFi) promotions. The event took place on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome. Wrestling World 1996 was the fifth January 4 Tokyo Dome Show held by NJPW. The show drew 54,000 spectators and $5,400,000 in ticket sales.[1] The driving storyline behind the show was an "inter-promotional" rivalry between NJPW and UWFi, which saw wrestlers from the promotions face off in a series of three matches. Hiroshi Hase's retirement match against his former tag team partner Kensuke Sasaki was also part of the card. The main event of the show was IWGP Heavyweight Champion Keiji Mutoh losing the championship to UWFi representative Nobuhiko Takada. The undercard featured an additional title change as Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. In total the show consisted of 10 matches.
| Wrestling World 1996 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Koji Kanemoto, who lost his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Jushin Thunder Liger at the event. | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling UWF International | ||
| Date | January 4, 1996[1] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan | ||
| Venue | Tokyo Dome | ||
| Attendance | 54,000[1] | ||
| January 4 Tokyo Dome Show chronology | |||
| |||
Production
Background
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl".[2][3]
Storylines
Wrestling World 1996 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]
Results
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shinjiro Otani, Tokimitsu Ishizawa and Yuji Nagata defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara, Kazushi Sakuraba and Kenichi Yamamoto | Six-man tag team match: NJPW (1) vs. UWFi (0) | 10:15 | ||
| 2 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Satoshi Kojima | Singles match | 09:24 | ||
| 3 | Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto (c) | Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | 18:59 | ||
| 4 | Shiro Koshinaka defeated Masahiro Chono | Singles match | 09:49 | ||
| 5 | Hiromichi Fuyuki defeated Yoji Anjo | Singles match | 06:42 | ||
| 6 | Kensuke Sasaki defeated Hiroshi Hase | Singles match | 16:36 | ||
| 7 | Antonio Inoki defeated Big Van Vader via submission | Singles match | 14:16 | ||
| 8 | Riki Choshu defeated Masahito Kakihara | Singles match: NJPW (2) vs. UWFi (0) | 05:46 | ||
| 9 | Shinya Hashimoto defeated Kazuo Yamazaki | Singles match | 09:18 | ||
| 10 | Nobuhiko Takada defeated Keiji Mutoh (c) | Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: NJPW (2) vs. UWFi (1) | 17:51 | ||
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References
- "Wrestling War in Tokyo Dome 1996". ProWrestlingHistory.com. January 4, 1996. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
- "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- Keller, Wade (December 13, 2016). "New Japan's WrestleKingdom 11 to air on AXS TV starting Jan. 13 in four weekly special episodes with Ross & Barnett on commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
- Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
External links
- NJPW.co.jp (in Japanese)