nWo Japan - Sports - http://maxpages.com/nwowrestling/nWo

Although he had never been embraced by the masses, fans in Japan hated seeing Masahiro Chono join the New World Order. To the Japanese audiences, traditional values and respect for ones opponents are top priority and the NWO went against everything they believe in. International manager to the stars Sonny Onoo showed up on a WCW Monday Nitro telecast in late 1996, claiming to have successfully negotiated Chono’s contract extension with New Japan Pro Wrestling. Unbeknownst to Onoo, WCW exec Eric Bischoff had also been negotiating with Chono and Bischoff's offer was definitely more profitable. Bischoff had guaranteed him lucrative pay, exposure on American pay-per-views and television programs and the lead in the New Japan invasion. Chono saw this opportunity as too good to pass up, and in turn Bischoff kept up his end of the deal. After gaining some impressive wins over Chris Jericho early in 1997 and competing in the NWO’s inaugural PPV "Souled Out", Masahiro Chono ended his tour in the States and headed back to New Japan alongside Marcus "Buff" Bagwell and Scott Norton under orders from Eric Bischoff to kick off their international takeover. On January 27th of that year, Bagwell and Norton walked into Fukushima with the specific intent of taking over. The Japanese audience recognized them as members of the NWO but had no idea of what was about to happen. Both Bagwell and Norton were regulars in Japan and Norton, who had spent the majority of his wrestling career overseas, had always been a favorite. Later in the night they crushed two of New Japans top fan favorites in Satoshi Kojima and former WCW U.S. Champion Kensuke Sasaki. The following night in Yamagata, they continued with Tadao Yasuda and Chono’s childhood friend Keiji Mutoh. One day later in Sendai, Masahiro Chono stepped out of the shadows to recruit his longtime tag team partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan into the crew. One of New Japans "young lions" with the potential for greatness, Tenzan joined Bagwell and Norton in defeating Takashi Iizuka, Junji Hirata and IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shinya Hashimoto. On February 2nd in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, Chono invited Hiro Saito into the mix. A longtime veteran of the sport and 1/3 of Chono’s "Wolves" team with Tenzan, Saito was always game to rage against political interests in professional wrestling. Earlier in the evening, Tatsumi Fujinami and Kengo Kimura of Heiishin-gun dealt NWO Japan their first loss through defeating Saito and his younger counterpart. However, Chono made his return to the ring in the main event, teaming with Bagwell and Norton against New Japans mainstream Keiji Mutoh and soon-to-be IWGP Tag Team Champions Manabu Nakanishi and Satoshi Kojima. The NWO showed awesome power and good team work as Bagwell disgusted the crowd with his arrogance and endless posing. While Chono and Bagwell got medieval with Nakanishi and Kojima on the floor, Norton spiked Keiji Mutoh with a spinning powerslam to get the win at 12:43. Post-match, Chono called in his pals Tenzan and Saito and the five of them brutally attacked their fallen adversaries. The following day, Keiji Mutoh walked onto the same venue and declared that he would fight to stop the New World Order in New Japan. Having taken the beating personally, Mutoh felt he needed to save face and the New Japan promotion while he was at it. Chono’s betrayal had affected him on a more personal level. The two had grown up together and attended the same training camp before their pro careers took them in different directions. While Chono remained in Japan, Mutoh traveled abroad and through the U.S. in his dreaded Muta persona. Three days later in Hokkaido, Mutoh teamed with Tadao Iizuka and one of Chono’s most hated rivals Junji Hirata in an attempt to get even. They failed. Chono and his American comrades pounded Mutoh mercilessly, repeatedly driving his shoulder into the ringpost and attacking him with chairs. His partners were dealt more of the same with Chono nearly decapitating Iizuka with a Yakuza Kick and Hirata being taken out of the match all together. NWO Japan had sent a message to New Japan and all the wrestlers competing in it: they were taking over by any means necessary! Chono and his minions became notorious for their ruthless tactics in New Japan, and were dubbed "MURDER INC" by the Japanese public largely in part due to their brutal attack on the then pre-NWO Keiji Mutoh. With the officials' aversion to calling for disqualification, the NWO members were able to incorporate chairs, television cables, the timekeeper's bell and anything else they could get their hands on. Through fear of suffering their wrath, Japanese officials had the tendency to allow the nWo’s no-holds-barred attitude to run roughshod over their opponents as NWO Japan's interdependence proved to be the supreme factor New Japan would have to counteract if they were to survive. Mainstream forces nearly stopped them at the shore with a huge 6-man tag team win by Hashimoto, Sasaki and Iizuka over Chono and the newest recruits on February 7th, and another victory by Sasaki, Satoshi Kojima and Riki Choshu the following night in Sapporo. However, NWO Japan fought back with a decisive win by Scott Norton and Masa Chono over Hashimoto and Nakanishi with Manabu's submission to Chono's lethal STF. The next day, Chono led the way for Tenzan and Norton into the squared circle against Kensuke Sasaki, Satoshi Kojima and the returning Keiji Mutoh. Mutoh had been pulled from the tour for a few days to recover from the beating in Hokkaido. Seeing him as the weak link, the NWO targeted Mutoh's injured shoulder using the extreme style they had become noted for. Once Mutoh was out of the way, Tenzan and Norton tied up Kojima while Chono punished Sasaki with the STF, eventually getting a submission victory. As the tour passed through Gifu, Shizuoka and Kanagawa over the next three days, NWO Japan continued with massive wins in tag team and 6-man bouts over New Japan's heaviest hitters while suffering few losses. On the 16th of that month, the New World Order ran into the ring following Mutoh's win over Shiro Koshinaka in Ryogokus Sumo Hall. Chono tendered an NWO T-shirt and offered Mutoh a spot within the organization. Mutoh simply walked off without any comment, leaving everyone wondering where his allegiance truly laid. In the days that followed, Masahiro Chono agreed to sign a contract with NJPW to face Keiji Mutoh on April 12th on one condition; if Chono wins, Mutoh must join the NWO! Rising heat between New World Order Japan and the New Japan promotion escalated into a 10-man elimination bout to be held in the sold out Aichi Prefectural Gym on March 20th, 1997 in Nagoya, Japan. WCW's Lord Steven Regal was on tour and offered his assistance against this growing menace that plagued both companies. Meanwhile, Eric Bischoff had flown in their phony Sting to be the fifth man for Chono, Tenzan, Bagwell and Norton's team against New Japan's advertised team of Mutoh, Hashimoto, Sasaki, Nakanishi and Regal. As he and his team walked to ringside, Masa Chono stopped off at the announcers table and shook hands with an NWO T-shirt clad Tsuji, the regular announcer for New Japan television and house shows. NWO Japan surprisingly dominated the majority of the match considering the amount of high-price talent New Japan had on their team. At 9:08, Hiroyoshi Tenzan pinned Keiji Mutoh and he was forced back to the locker room as he had been the first to be eliminated. One by one, Chono and his men carved through New Japan with the only cuts from the NWO being Tenzan and NWO Sting by Steven Regal. Once the blue blood had been eliminated, they had singled out New Japan crusader Shinya Hashimoto. As Hashimoto did his best to fight off the numbers, Keiji Mutoh stalked down the aisle in full Muta garb. Everyone in the ring and fans alike stood transfixed on Muta, wondering what he would do. In a strange turn of events, Muta blinded both Chono and Hashimoto with his trademark green mist before leaving the ring like nothing had happened. Seizing the opportunity, Scott Norton powerslammed Hashimoto to seal the victory. With everyone still unclear as to where he would side, Keiji Mutoh officially declared himself a member of New Japan Pro Wrestling two days later in Armagasaki. However, Chono had other ideas as he set in motion a plot to draw Mutoh into the New World Order. Earlier in the day, the NWO had claimed some serious wins, that being Tenzan and Saito's win over Regal and Black Cat as well as the NWO Sting's submission win out of Satoshi Kojima to the "Scorpion Deathlock." In the main event, Mutoh joined Manabu Nakanishi and Shinya Hashimoto in their battle against Chono, Bagwell and Norton. While Hashimoto had put aside his differences with Mutoh for the good of New Japan, it seemed strange that Chono and his men stayed clear of Mutoh seeing that he was still suffering from an injured shoulder. He would have been the easy mark but they chose to focus their assault on the champion and Nakanishi with Norton grabbing a pinfall on the later. Over the next few days, NWO Japan gained several 8-man tag team wins but more impressively was NWO Sting overcoming some of New Japans top stars and quickly becoming a star attraction. On March 27th, the Tokyo Dome hosted "Total War" between New Japan and the NWO in six singles matches with the victors being decided by the cumulative point system. With tensions high, NJPW went 1-0 out of the chute when Satoshi Kojima pinned Hiro Saito after the veteran missed a top rope diving senton. Hiroyoshi Tenzan evened it up by headbutting a win over Kojimas regular tag team partner Manabu Nakanishi. After Bagwell put the NWO ahead with a "Buff Blockbuster" on WCW’s Lord Steven Regal, Kensuke Sasaki strangled the NWO Sting to tie it up once again but that marked the end for New Japan. Before the bell had sounded, Keiji Mutoh had attacked Masahiro Chono and choked him out with his own T-shirt. Once the match had officially started, Mutoh and Chono traded control until a viscous Yakuza Kick allowed for the pinfall. Post-match, Chono dished out some tough love to his boyhood friend as he and his gang violently stomped him before tagging him "NWO." Shinya Hashimoto charged in to make an assist but he got pounded as well. Scott Norton tortured him before knocking the man unconscious with a Powerbomb and proving NWO superiority over New Japan's finest. 65,000-plus packed into the Tokyo Dome on April 12th, for the 1997 Battle Formation tour and one of the most anticipated matches ever in the sport. It was Judgment Day for Keiji Mutoh as he stepped into the ring with Chono where if he lost, he would become a faithful servant to the New World Order. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, hot off a solid win over Manabu Nakanishi via submission to a modified Boston crab, led Masahiro Chono and NWO Japan to ringside. With this special stipulation, Mutoh gave everything he had and then some, trading massive amounts of punishment with his now bitter rival. At 14:09," Mutoh successfully landed his brilliant moonsault press and got the pinfall, thus avoiding Chono's grasp and remaining New Japan's leader in their fight against the New World Order. Post-match, Mutoh and Chono shook hands to the shock of the Japanese audience. Although they were on opposite sides of the battle line, this common custom showed the great deal of respect each man had for the other. Throughout Chono's pursuit of Keiji Mutoh and the confusion surrounding the whole situation, Hiroyoshi Tenzan stood out as one of the nWo’s greatest assets. He had recently snagged two impressive wins over Manabu Nakanishi, the tag team partner of his arch-rival Satoshi Kojima, while always ready to team in any combination to bring NWO Japan into the forefront. On the May 3rd broadcast of New Japan TV from Kumamoto, Shibata, a reporter for Tokyo Sports, confirmed this sentiment while announcing that Tenzan would team with Hiro Saito later in the night against Riki Choshu and former UWF and UWFI superstar Kazuo Yamazaki. Even though they lost the battle, Tenzan gained a good deal of respect for himself. These were two of the top stars in the world and Tenzan and his partner gave them everything they could handle. May 17th's telecast from Osaka began New Japan's yearly Strong-Style Evolution tour and the NWO came in full force. Although suffering an early loss by Tenzan in singles competition to Tatsumi Fujinamis grapevine stranglehold, the New World Order bounced back with three awesome tag team victories. As part of an international trading agreement, Eric Bischoff unleashed the wrath of the North American assemblage upon NJPW. Once a major jr. heavyweight attraction overseas, Syxx tagged with NWO Sting to defeat Tadao Yasuda and Takashi Iizuka, who was subbing for the injured Junji Hirata, when Syxx scored the pin on the later with a Northern Lights Suplex. WCW's Lex Luger and the Giant had things well in hand in their match with "Buff" Bagwell and Scott Norton when Luger muscled the massive Norton up into the "Torture Rack" after controlling the majority of the bout. Norton refused to give and this allowed time for Tenzan and Saito to run in and bring the pain. Hiro surprised the "Total Package" with a clothesline which set up for Tenzan's diving headbutt. Norton followed up with an elbow and got the pin. When Masahiro Chono made his entrance with the Outsiders for their 6-man tag with Keiji Mutoh and the Steiners, he escorted Eric Bischoff from ringside and to the broadcast booth to commentate for their match. Once the bell had sounded, Mutoh and Chono unloaded on each other with punches and kicks before taking their dispute to the floor for a brief while. When Rick Steiner and Scott Hall were tagged in by their respective partners, Hall tried to bully Steiner but was caught with a series of suplexes and near falls. Hall came back with a fallaway slam but narrowly escaped being pinned seconds later after a "Steinerline." Kevin Nash ran in and made the save but was powerslammed for his efforts. Chono received a clothesline upon his arrival as well. After a good offensive run by Mutoh, Scott Steiner came in and after being caught with a double clothesline by the Outsiders was toppled with Chono's Yakuza Kick. Nash dropped him with a side suplex and Chono followed up with the STF. When Steiner failed to submit, Chono released the hold and tagged in Scott Hall who began to slug it out with the younger Steiner sibling. At one point, the two dropped each other with clotheslines and left the match in limbo. Scott would eventually make the tag to his brother and hit their double team bulldog from the top rope but before Rick could make a cover, Nash came in with the big boot. Scott "Steinerlined" Nash to the floor and after falling prey to a German suplex by Rick Steiner, Chono was chased to the floor as well. Seeing that their team was in trouble, the rest of NWO Japan along with Syxx, Bagwell and Norton ran out and attacked Scott Steiner on the floor. Meanwhile, Hall had hit Rick with the "Outsiders Edge" but Mutoh ran in and made the save. Chono jumped him from behind and threw him out to the wolves. Nash came in, "Knifed" Rick and allowed Hall to score the pinfall. The NWO continued their mob beating on the Steiners but when Norton caught Mutoh in the aisle, Chono ordered him to let him go. Norton complied and Mutoh went on his way, leaving the Steiners to fend for themselves. Two days later, Masahiro Chono made a triumphant return to the United States on a WCW Monday Nitro telecast. Haunted with the embarrassment of Chono's betrayal, Sonny Onoo felt that he was owed a debt. As Chono made his way backstage following a win over Dave Taylor, Onoo confronted him in the aisle and promised that he would unveil Chono's worst nightmare on the following weeks program. May 26th, Memorial Day 1997 not only marked the one year anniversary of the Scott Hall's declaration of war but also a monumental turn for the worse for pro wrestling as we know it. At the end of Nitro's first hour, Onoo announced that his surprise was none other than the Great Muta, Keiji Mutoh's alter ego. As the traditional green mist fell over Nashville's sold out audience, Sonny Onoo grinned with delight, feeling he had finally found redemption in Chono’s greatest fear. Once Masahiro Chono had arrived, he shared a long staredown with Muta before chasing Onoo around the ring. As both Onoo and the WCW broadcast team urged him on, Muta seemed unsure as to why he was there. Onoo ordered him to attack and Muta answered by catching Chono with a weak side headlock. Onoo entered the ring and started berating Muta like a small child. Muta released Chono and shocked everyone in the arena and every wrestling fan worldwide when blinding Onoo with red mist. It was a sad day for professional wrestling and the international sports world; in this single instant, the Great Muta had ripped the heart out of New Japan Pro Wrestling and sent the promotion into complete and utter disarray. Chono and his newest disciple tore into Onoo, unleashing a beating that could only be ended with the arrival of WCW Security. Chono awarded Muta with an NWO T-shirt and the two posed for their Japanese viewers watching on telecast. Meanwhile, NWO Sting continued to draw the attention of Japanese fans and even legendary grappler and traditionalist, Masa Saito, now a regular commentator for New Japan TV. "Sting" gained a lot of notoriety with his strong performance in a 6-man tag with Saito and Tenzan against Takashi Iizuka, Kensuke Sasaki and Shinya Hashimoto on May 31st in Ueda, Japan. He proved he could work well within the group as he paired off with Tenzan throughout the match, and saved his partners from several near pinfalls. The NWO was able to capitalize effectively through quick tags and double, sometimes, triple teaming, the most notable instance being when Tenzan and NWO Sting double teamed Iizuka with the Powerbomb to set up for Saitos senton splash. Tenzan and "Sting" closed things out by ascending to the top rope where the imposter dropped Iizuka with a clothesline, which set up the pin by Tenzan following a diving headbutt. This was a big win for NWO Japan due to the fact that Hiroyoshi Tenzan, NWO Sting and Hiro Saito are all considered mid-card attractions, yet they were able to overcome a team consisting of both the IWGP World heavyweight champion and the number one contender for the crown. However, on the heels of this landmark win, New World Order Japan underwent a major setback on June 5th, when New Japan Pro Wrestling struck back in front of a 14,000-plus crowd in Nippon Budokan, as they were able to shut out the NWO in all three of their matches that evening. In the first, the veteran duo of Junji Hirata and Takashi Iizuka plowed through Tenzan and Saito, which has to be considered an upset as the NWO pairing should have been able to beat them. Iizuka had been wrestling for eleven years and is still just a mid-card attraction and while still incredibly powerful, Hirata is a twenty year veteran himself. Granted, the same can be said for Hiro Saito, but the youth factor was with the New World Order as Tenzan is half his opponents ages, stronger and faster. Hell, Tenzan was just seven years old when Hirata turned pro. From there, Masahiro Chono and NWO Sting fell short on bringing the IWGP International tag team title home to NWO Japan even after they managed to turn the champions against each other. Even while at each other's throats, Nakanishi and Kojima were a more fluent combination than the NWO representatives. Chono and Nakanishi went to the floor early and an attempted double team backfired when Chono hit his partner with the Yakuza Kick. The champions double teamed with a backdrop, setting up for Kojimas diving clothesline from the top rope. While Nakanishi tangled with "Sting," Kojima hit a somersault splash on Chon

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