Still in Okinawa, since I guess New Japan is running a stretch of shows here, the marquee main event for this episode features Tiger Mask and \u201cBookerman\u201d Yuji Nagata in a tag team bout against YOSHI-HASHI and Okada, in the seldom-seen babyface vs. babyface house show tag match. Meanwhile, with GWM, they\u2019re putting on a show at a dome in Texas (yes, that Texas), where Tiger the Dark is fighting for the United States title against Bosman. It\u2019s a hard bout that ends with Dark countering a cross-body with knees to the gut, landing the Darkness Driver, and getting the 3, and the US title belt. And already, he\u2019s a better US Champion than Roman Reigns. (Darkness Driver > Superman Punch. Fight me.) He\u2019s met backstage by the boys, who are congratulating him on his victory, while Miss X finds Bosman and hands him an edict to \u201cstrengthen the local markets.\u201d One such wrestler exclaims, in his own words, \u201cOh s**t!\u201d A big man like Bosman going into local indie feds? That\u2019s gonna be a disaster waiting to happen.<\/p>\n
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Back in Japan, it\u2019s gearing up for showtime, and an old food stand owner just so happened to see an ad for the New Japan show, and take extra notice at one Tiger Mask. Who is this old geezer, anyway? He\u2019s either a really old mark or something bigger, but it\u2019s time for the show, and it kicks off with resident jobber Wakamatsu defeating\u2026 well, a fellow resident jobber. Fast forward to the main event, and it\u2019s babyface tag team versus babyface tag team, but this old man isn\u2019t getting into this new Tiger Mask quite yet. Nagata and Hashi lock up and give each other SLAPS, and stiff ones at that. Both men tag out, and both Tiger and Okada step in. Both men are evenly matched, countering each move and forming a standoff; the old mark is pretty impressed. Next sequence, Okada hits Nagata with a flapjack (a front-facing suplex throw), and Nagata rolls to the outside, only for Hashi to meet him with a\u2026 cane? Quite heel-like, right there. Tiger comes in for the save, and Hashi runs off, before they lock up in the ring, with Tiger being given a chin crusher for his trouble, but is able to escape out of an inverted DDT attempt. Tiger hits a swinging DDT, then lands a perfect Tiger Suplex for the win. And in the crowd, the old Tiger Mask mark is somewhat impressed. And his granddaughter was pretty into the show, too, with this being her first wrestling event. I still remember my first wrestling show pretty fondly, a SmackDown house show in December 2009. Fun show, overall. Pretty solid episode, on to the next one.<\/p>\n
Episode 8 – \u201cTiger\u2019s Den Bares Fangs\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Flashback time again, as we take a look at Naoto\u2019s beginnings as a professional wrestler in the former Zipangu (or Jipang, what\u2019s the official translation for this?) Pro-Wrestling; it all started when Naoto went to a show, and was so moved that he pleaded with two of the top stars, backstage, to join their federation. He\u2019s told to go home, but he doesn\u2019t have a home, because of the\u2026 earth\u2026 quake\u2026 ooooooooooh, that\u2019s a little too soon, show. People died, you know. Anyway, Naoto pleads and pleads, and so their champion, Daisuke Fujii (the man who Yellow Devil attacked in the first episode), gives a nod and takes him in. But back to the present, Naoto and Haruna are at a pretty special gym for the next New Japan show, the very same gym where Naoto decided to become a wrestler, all those years ago. For this show, Tiger Mask is teaming up with\u2014AHH YEAH, the ACE of New Japan, Hiroshi Tanahashi! Nice. They\u2019re teaming up for their bout against\u2014(BULLET CLUB. FO-FO-FO-FO-FOR LIFE.) AWWWWWW YEAH, BULLET CLUB UP IN HERE! Bad Luck Fale and Tama Tonga of the baddest stable in all of wrestling, Bullet Club\u2026 yeah, I\u2019m a Bullet Club mark. No apologies, they\u2019re awesome. Unfortunately, the writing staff of this show has no idea how\u00a0Gedo books them, so Tiger and Tanahashi beat them in pretty swift fashion. I was not impressed. God help us if the Young Bucks or Kenny Omega get treated like this. Anyway, \u201cTO THE BACK!\u201d – Yuji Nagata, impressed by their performance in the ring, decides the time is right for Tiger Mask and Tanahashi to go after the IWGP heavyweight tag belts. Quite the program to be in, not too shabby.<\/p>\n From there, we go to current-day Takuma, \u201cworking\u201d with a Tiger\u2019s Den recruit, and by working with, I mean he and some of his fellow wrestlers are beating the crap out of some poor dude. Miss X comes in and says they\u2019re all going to be a part of a tournament in Japan, along with some hand-picked opponents, a fellow GWM wrestler, and Yellow Devil himself, their Intercontinental Champion. In news headlines, GWM has built themselves a dome stadium for their own in the country, the \u201cMax Dome.\u201d Makes NXT\u2019s home at Full Sail Live look downright puny. This new dome will be the location of, what they\u2019re calling, the \u201cWrestle Max Masked World Tournament\u201d (geez, say that 3 times fast), with a top prize of $100,000\u2026 American\u2026 interesting little detail, I guess. And upon seeing Yellow Devil show up on the screen, Naoto decides that he has to be a part of this. And in an even more interesting development, the first match of this tourney is taking place at the same time New Japan is having their tag team title match. Quite the conundrum for Naoto, but he decides that the chance to fight Yellow Devil for vengeance is worth far more than a tag title match with Tanahashi. Bookerman Nagata has other plans, saying they won\u2019t send any of their guys to this tournament (sorry, Captain New Japan), but Tiger Mask walks in and says that he\u2019s going in, much to the begrudging acceptance of Tanahashi.<\/p>\n Before continuing, can I just say how weird it is that the same network in Japan that airs this show and outright OWNS New Japan Pro Wrestling is also airing, arguably, the hottest anime of the season, Yuri!!! on ICE<\/i>? Though, to be fair, wrestling can<\/i> be a bit homoerotic at times. So it\u2019s an even trade.<\/p>\n Episode 9 – “The Stormy Opening Match”<\/strong><\/p>\n The Max Dome, the new landmark of GWM\u2026 which also looks like something that Freeza would travel across the galaxy in\u2026 is kicking off their grand tournament promotion by touting their competitors, one of which is, of course, Tiger Mask. There\u2019s one other masked wrestler that has me curious, this \u201cIt\u2019s-the-Ace\u201d fellow. Just who is that? Hmmm\u2026 No time for dilly-dallying, though, as Naoto is busy training and pushing himself to the limit – insert the song from Scarface<\/i> here – while GWM is welcoming their ringer, Yellow Devil, who Takuma unsuccessfully provokes him for a fight. There was no fight to be found. You know, Miss X may be a vindictive you-know-what, but she\u2019s a dang good wrestling promoter. Maybe TNA should scope her out and finally ditch Dixie Cater for, you know, a GOOD promoter. How do I know she\u2019s a good promoter? She booked one 8-man tournament for their new stadium, and got a packed house out of it. And most importantly\u2026 ohhhh my God, we\u2019re doing Lethal Lottery rules, aren\u2019t we? Okay, for those who don\u2019t know, the Lethal Lottery was a terrible gimmick created by WCW in the early 1990s, where all the matches – which are normally planned out ahead of time – are decided completely at random, at that very moment. It\u2019s no wonder they\u2019re out of business. Anyway, Tiger Mask\u2019s opponent was chosen to be the \u201cEuro Champion,\u201d the man named Wagner, of whom this show completely destroys kayfabe toward and revealed, earlier on, that \u201cWagner\u201d is just a gimmick. It\u2019s Takuma\u2019s \u201cbuddy\u201d Kevin under the mask. Before the matches begin, though, both Tigers get into a shoot fight before getting broken up and pulled away from each other.<\/p>\n Now, I\u2019m assuming the Max Dome – which, interesting enough, is modeled after an early design for the new Olympic Stadium in Tokyo for the 2020 events – has the same kind of capacity as the Tokyo Dome, so that means they packed no less than 40,000 people inside this building, with hundreds, if not thousands, more outside watching it all on the big screens. As a reminder, this was built around a Lethal Lottery-style tournament; once again, Miss X is a great promoter. And speaking of, let\u2019s get to the first match: Tiger the Dark vs. Fukuwara Mask. Once again, this comedic jobber SUCKS. I\u2019ll spare you the trouble and just say how it ends: Darkness Driver, 3 count, Tiger the Dark wins. Next up, Tiger Mask vs. \u201cWagner,\u201d and for this occasion, Tiger comes out with a dapper new cape, since\u2026 well, his regular one ripped. Thanks, Fukuwara. But wait! Someone draped in white is standing on the turnbuckle – a new challenger has arrived, in the form of\u2026 Mister Question. Now, this name may be unfamiliar, but it\u2019s the name of the first opponent the original Tiger Mask ever faced, way back when. Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. But Wagner has none of this and goes on a shoot offensive against the intruder. Mr ? no-sells it and K\u2019s Wagner TFO. As a result of this, we still have to have a match, so it\u2019s going to be Tiger Mask vs. Mr ?, as a replacement match. This old foe wants to see if this new Tiger Mask really is just as good as the original, and we close out the episode with a small tease for what\u2019s to come.<\/p>\n Insert dramatic \u201cto be continued\u201d stinger here. Catch you all next time.<\/p>\n![\"screen-shot-2016-12-15-at-2-52-14-am\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.surrealresolution.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Screen-Shot-2016-12-15-at-2.52.14-AM.jpg?resize=747%2C421&ssl=1\")
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