Wrestling World 2001 was a professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took plave on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome. Wrestling World 2001 was the tenth January 4 Tokyo Dome Show held by NJPW. The show drew 52,000 spectators.[1] The focal point of Wrestling World 2001 was a tournament to crown a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion, which accounted for five of the nine matches on the show. No other championships were defended in 2001, marking the first year that only one title was on the line. The show saw Toshiaki Kawada wrestle twice; Kawada had previously been one of the main event wrestlers of NJPW's biggest rival All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Production
Edit
BackgroundEdit
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual even 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]
StorylinesEdit
Wrestling World 2001 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]
ResultsEdit
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kensuke Sasaki defeated Satoshi Kojima | Singles match: IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament quarter-final | 16:33 |
| 2 | Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Yuji Nagata | Singles match: IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament quarter-final | 16:45 |
| 3 | Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka defeated Shinya Makabe and Tatsuhito Takaiwa | Tag team match | 18:02 |
| 4 | Takashi Iizuka defeated Kendo Kashin | Singles match | 06:12 |
| 5 | Kensuke Sasaki defeated Masahiro Chono | Singles match; IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament semi-final | 11:28 |
| 6 | Toshiaki Kawada defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Singles match; IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament semi-final | 10:45 |
| 7 | Keiji Mutoh and Shinjiro Otani defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Manabu Nakanishi | Tag team match | 05:44 |
| 8 | Riki Choshu vs. Shinya Hashimoto ended in a no contest | Singles match | 15:20 |
| 9 | Kensuke Sasaki defeated Toshiaki Kawada | Singles match; IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament final | 10:30 |
| |||
IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament bracketEdit
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||
| Satoshi Kojima | Sub | ||||||||||
| Kensuke Sasaki | 16:33 | ||||||||||
| Kensuke Sasaki | Sub | ||||||||||
| Masahiro Chono | 11:28 | ||||||||||
| Kensuke Sasaki | Pin | ||||||||||
| Toshiaki Kawada | 10:30 | ||||||||||
| Yuji Nagata | Pin | ||||||||||
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | 16:45 | ||||||||||
| Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Pin | ||||||||||
| Toshiaki Kawada | 10:45 | ||||||||||
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wrestling World 2001 . ProWrestlingHistory.com (2001-01-04). Retrieved on 2010-04-13.
- ↑ GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details . Pro Wrestling Dot Net (2014-12-23). Retrieved on 2017-10-09.
- ↑ Keller, Wade 2016-12-13. 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 on 2017-10-09.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . HowStuffWorks, Inc.. Discovery Communications. Retrieved on 2017-10-09.
External linksEdit
- NJPW.co.jp (Japanese)
