Top of the Super Juniors Tourney

Pro wrestling, like most sports, is universal. In just about every corner of the globe, be it Europe, Africa or Australia, promoters are staging wrestling cards with a host of international talent. Due to the differences in culture, the quality and emphasis of wrestling presented in countries around the world differs greatly from what we've come to identify as pro wrestling in Canada and the U.S.

The difference holds true when compared to pro wrestling in Japan and perhaps not so more pronounced during the month of May when New Japan Pro Wrestling, the number one organization in Japan, presents its Top of the Super Junior Tournament.

The Top of the Super Junior Tournament provides a showcase and platform for the elite junior heavyweight (cruiserweight in American wrestling lingo) wrestlers from around the world, allowing them to exhibit their enormous skills before appreciative crowds across Japan for three weeks.

Over the past several years, New Japan promoters have established the tournament's credibility by bringing in the top junior heavyweight workers from around the world to compete against the very best Japan has to offer. Every year the tournament boasts an international field, as the premiere junior heavyweight workers from Mexico, the U.S., Canada and all over Europe come together and put on what are traditionally the very best wrestling matches of the year in a country that is wrestling crazy.

Unlike their counterparts in the WWF and WCW, New Japan promoters have long celebrated the talents of their junior heavyweight workers. This tournament is a symbol of that celebration. For fans of true, athletic based pro wrestling, this tournament is the Holy Grail. It is truly one of the very last bastions of pro wrestling in the world, unspoiled by the shock and titillating antics commonly used today by American promoters such as Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff.

Needless to say you won't find any stripper matches, cartoon-type gimmicks or hotshot angles in this tournament. What you will find is quality wrestling presented as hard fought athletic contests, a concept that is completely foreign to American promotions. You will find honour, and blood and sweat, and most of all tradition.

That tradition was built on the sweat and toil of Japanese wrestlers such as Shiro Koshinaka, El Samurai, Norio Honaga, Shinjiro Otani and current IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Koji Kanemoto, pound for pound the best wrestler in the world today. It is a tradition built on the exemplary matches of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and several other North American wrestlers.

Above all else, though, it is a tradition built on the hard work and unparalleled booking of the wrestler who best symbolizes this tournament and what it stands for; the wrestler who has come to be most identified with the Top of the Super Juniors Tournament, Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

The most influential junior heavyweight wrestler in Japan in the 90s, Jushin "Thunder" Liger has earned critical acclaim over the years for his booking of New Japan's junior heavyweight division. Liger has the uncanny ability to weave and braid several storylines over several matches involving his crew of wrestlers, making for some compelling wrestling.

The Top of the Super Juniors is his time to shine. Each year, he wields his magic and produces some of the most simplistic yet intriguing booking ideas in wrestling today. Fans who shake their heads at the hot shot story telling of the WWF and the complete idiocy of WCW's booking, would salivate at the opportunity to watch three weeks worth of matches that make sense, have a purpose and follow a logical progression.

Liger's booking of this tournament each year should be in a wrestling textbook and studied by aspiring bookers. Three of Liger's booking trademarks come to full fruition each year in this tournament, all of which, no doubt, would prove to be illuminating for Kevin Nash and WCW's gaggle of clueless bookers.

One, by staging matches that are so evenly contested, Liger has created a tournament where the fans believe anybody can beat anybody. Liger preaches that doing the job and putting some one over is honorable and good for business because it makes the entire roster more competitive. Two, Liger has created a number of new stars and elevated other wrestlers to the next level by giving them significant wins over established veterans of the tournament. Third, Liger is a selfless booker. He puts into practice the virtues he extols to his crew. Time and time again he has put people over and in the process has elevated workers to the next level.

Not since the revolutionary Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) changed the landscape of Japanese pro wrestling with his legendary series of matches in the early 80s with the Dynamite Kid, has a junior heavyweight wrestler had such an impact and influence on wrestling. Jushin "Thunder" Liger, through his work in this tournament as a wrestler and a booker, will no doubt go down in history as the greatest junior heavyweight wrestler Japan ever produced.

The Top of the Super Junior tournament has become New Japan's signature event and by raising the bar for of what passes as exciting and excellent wrestling, it has set the standard for years to come. All other promotions worldwide are simply playing catch up.

The Top of the Super Junior Tournament draws not only the best junior heavyweight wrestlers from across Japan but also from the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Europe. For three weeks, wrestling's elite set Japan on fire, competing before the most appreciative wrestling fans in the world.

Chris Benoit. Eddie Guerrero. Jushin 'Thunder' Liger. Dean Malenko. Negro Casas. Chris Jericho. Owen Hart.

These are just some of the wrestlers that have competed in the prestigious tournament over the past 13 years; wrestlers that helped establish it as the premiere showcase event for junior heavyweight wrestlers in the world. Behind the scenes stands the one man who is responsible for making the tournament such a critical success.

Jushin 'Thunder' Liger.

Multiple-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion, Liger doubles as the booker for New Japan's junior heavyweight division. It is a division that produces more quality matches each year than the WWF, WCW and ECW combined.

The Top of the Super Juniors is Liger's annual platform to display just how great he is at what he does. Liger's precision booking of this tournament has been superlative over the years to the point that it should be put in a wrestling textbook and studied by aspiring bookers.

His attention to detail in mapping out the tournament is awe-inspiring. Liger has shown he has the unique ability of booking it so that each match means something. He uses this important event to draw attention to up and coming stars and books it in such a way that he can elevate someone in the mid-card to the upper tier of the division.

Like he did one year when he had then-mid carder Kendo Ka Shin go over division top dog Koji Kanemoto. The tournament win by Ka Shin instantly elevated him to super star status, breathed new life into the division and provided New Japan with more depth at the top of their division.

Liger's booking of this tournament reads like a story. Each match acts as a chapter, leading into the following chapter, coming together to comprise one master novel. Each match means something in this tournament. Liger uses each match to move from point A to point B in the storyline, making for one of the most simple, yet at the same time, compelling jobs of storytelling in all of wrestling.

The Top of the Super Juniors tournament was born in 1988. While Big Van Vader was tearing up New Japan rings feuding with Tatsumi Fujinami and Riki Choshu, the junior heavyweight took centre stage for one month between January 4th and February 7th. Twelve of the best junior heavyweights in wrestling competed in a single-division, round robin tournament. That initial field consisted of Japanese upstarts Hiro Hase and Nobuhiko Takada, Europe's Tony St Clair, Canada's own Owen Hart and Keiichi Yamada, a Japanese sensation that went on to greater fame under a mask as Jushin 'Thunder' Liger. In the final, Shiro Koshinaka beat Hase to become the first champion.

The tournament was a smashing success, in large part due to its international complexion. The presence of Hart and St. Clair, both regarded as the best junior heavyweights from their part of the world at the time, gave the tournament instant credibility and made the Japanese wrestling community take notice.

After a two year hiatus, the tournament returned in April of 1991, this time drawing not only the best junior heavyweight s from Japan, Europe and Canada, but also Mexico and the U.S. The U.K.'s David 'Fit' Finley, Mexico's Negro Casas and Too Cold Scorpio made that year's tournament a truly melting pot of international wrestling.

The '91 tournament was an amalgamation of foreign wrestling culture and styles, bringing together the high flying speed of Japanese Puroresu, the grace and beauty of Lucha Libre, the hard-hitting stiffness of English and Canadian wrestling, and the flash and showmanship of American grappling.

This tournament was also the first for former World Champion, Chris Benoit, a regular with New Japan at the time wrestling under the name Pegasus Kid. Just before the tournament, Liger vacated the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, putting it up for grabs to the winner of the tournament. In a bit of a surprise, Norio Honaga upended Liger in the finals to win the tournament and the title.

The following year, the presence of Eddie Guerrero and Koji Kanemoto gave the tournament an infusion of excitement. Fans were treated to a series of incredible matches between Liger, Benoit, Casas, Guerrero and Too Cold Scorpio. Liger claimed his first of two tournament championships defeating El Samurai in a memorable match.

The 1993 tournament started out with tremendous hope and promise. New talent in the form of Dean Malenko, The Lightning Kid and Japanese youngster Shinjiro Ohtani made this a highly anticipated event.

Things took a drastic turn for the worse, however, when Liger broke his ankle during a match with Too Cold Scorpio, forcing his early exit from the tournament. Plagued by the withdrawal of one of the wrestlers who made the tournament so special, the rest of the group pressed on as Benoit became the first non-Japanese to win the tournament, defeating El Samurai in the finals.

A year later Liger was back and determined to put his stamp back on the tournament. Super Delfin and Taka Michinoku from the Michinoku Pro Wrestling office were invited to this tournament and Eddie Guerrero donned a mask as Black Tiger, reprising a character from New Japan in the '80s made famous by Mark Rocco.

The '94 tournament stands as a testament to the ingeniousness of Liger's booking acumen. The top nine finishers in the eleven man single division were separated by no fewer than six points, displaying Liger's incredible ability to make virtually everybody in the tournament look strong and make each match mean something.

In the end, Liger became the first man to win two tournament championships defeating Delfin in the finals.

The 1995 tournament welcomed newcomers Alex Wright and Brian Pillman from WCW and Gran Hamada from Michinoku Pro Wrestling. This was also the first tournament that Liger did not participate in. Miraculously, his absence was barely missed as Benoit, Malenko, Black Tiger, Kanemoto and Ohtani put on a wrestling clinic for the Japanese faithful. Benoit became only the second man ever to win two tournament championships, defeating Ohtani in the finals.

The tournament was especially sweet for Benoit, Malenko and Guerrero. Arn Anderson and Ric Flair were both on tour with New Japan at the time and were impressed with their work. So much so that Anderson, involved in the booking of WCW at the time, convinced Kevin Sullivan and Eric Bischoff to make it their top priority to sign the threesome to WCW contracts that coming Fall. In many ways, the Top of the Super Juniors tournament opened the door for Benoit, Malenko and Guerrero to make their presence felt on a national level with WCW.

In 1996 the tournament changed to a two division format with the top two finishers in each division advancing to the semi-finals. Newcomers this year included Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Germany's Franz Schumann, Mexico's Emilio Charles Jr and Villano IV and WCW's Mr. JL (Jerry Lynn).

Eddie Guerrero scored the biggest win of his career in Japan defeating Liger in the finals.

Another year, another format change. The 1997 tournament saw the winner of each division meet in the finals. Liger imported Robbie Brookside and Doc Dean, two of England's best wrestlers, Scorpio Jr and Dr Wagner Jr from Mexico's EMLL office and Chavo Guerrero Jr and Chris Jericho from WCW to be a part of the tournament. El Samurai fought off the challenge of Jericho, Ohtani and current ECW star Yoshihiro Tajiri to win his division and beat Koji Kanemoto in one of the best matches in tournament history.

The 1998 tournament saw more newcomers. Michinoku Pro star Shiryu (WCW's Kaz Hayashi), Kendo Ka Shin, EMLL's Felino and Yuji Yasuraoka from Genichiro Tenryu's WAR outfit made their tournament debuts. It was a highly competitive tournament as Koji Kanemoto finally got the monkey off his back, defeating Dr Wagner Jr in the finals. The tournament not only solidified Kanemoto's standing in the Japanese wrestling hierarchy, but it also elevated Wagner into one of the top spots in the highly competitive junior heavyweight division. Once again, Liger proved his worth in gold as the leading the booker in the business.

In 1999, Liger used the tournament as an opportunity to elevate Kendo Ka Shin by having him defeat Kanemoto in the finals. Three months later Ka Shin was on top of the division as he defeated Kanemoto for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, cementing his position among Japan's top junior heavyweights.

TOP OF THE SUPER JR. WINNERS
1988: Shiro Koshinaka
1989-1990: No tournament was held
1991: Norio Honaga
1992: Jushin Liger
1993: Pegasus Kid (Chris Benoit)
1994: Jushin Liger
1995: Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit)
1996: Black Tiger (Eddie Guerrero)
1997: El Samurai
1998: Koji Kanemoto
1999: Kendo Ka Shin

2000: Tatsuhito Takaiwa

2001: Jushin Liger

2002: Koji Kanemoto

2003: Masahito Kakihara

2004: Tiger Mask IV

2005: Tiger Mask IV

2006: Minoru

2007: Milano Collection AT

2008: Wataru Inoue

Y2J Returns

At Wrestlemania 18, Chris Jericho lost the Undisputed Title to HHH. Afterward, he was sent back into the midcard. He kept busy with his talk show, the Highlight Reel, and winning the Tag Team Title with Christian, as well as winning the Intercontinental Title a couple more times. He was at his peak, many would say, though he was stuck in purgatory. With HHH on top, there was no room for Jericho in the main event scene. His career seemed quite pointless. By 2005, he appeared to be going through the motions. He had turned face and chopped off much of his hair. He was putting over less talented wrestlers, while the main event was filled with people like HHH, Batista, John Cena and so on. He seemed to be turning heel, in his short feud with Cena, but it didn't seem to take. He lost his title match and disappeared. It was a very unceremonious ending to a great career.

In late 2007, the rumours began. Word was that Y2J was coming back. It was telegraphed long before the actual return, making it seem a little lackluster. Immediately, I wanted him to turn heel and win the title back. These things were unrealistic, but it's what I wanted. But, in truth, I was just glad to see him back in the ring. So many had died. Just in the time that he had been away, Eddy Guerrero, Mike Awesome, Bam Bam Bigelow, John Kronus and Chris Benoit had all died, among others. The curse of ECW was claiming victims, left and right. I made many assumptions upon Jericho's return. I figured that he would come in and be jobbed out to everyone in the locker room. Naturally, I thought he was just back to promote his book and lay on his back a few times. Within a few months, I thought, he'd be long gone. A year from now, most fans would have already forgotten that he ever returned. Still, I didn't care. With so many dead, I was just relieved to see him in the ring again, healthy and alive. I wanted a lot for his return, but expected nothing.

In the time that he has been back, he has already headlined a PPV in the main event, for the WWE Title. Of course, he was screwed out of that, but it led to another feud, so the booking made sense. Well, now, he is an 8-time Intercontinental Champion, breaking his own record. It's not what I wanted, but it is more than I expected. It's a pleasant surprise to see him back and doing well. Hopefully, things only go up from here.

Aesthetics of Wrestling

Much discussion has gone on regarding wrestling attire and so on, but what about the surroundings? For example, I remember when ECW switched from the dark blue ring to the very light, sky blue ring that had a nauseating effect. Nothing felt the same, even when something cool was going on. I also liked the dark gray rings used by WCW in the late 90s. When it comes to ring ropes, I prefer black. Actually, I don't even like the WWF ropes. I prefer the cables used by ECW and WCW.

Also, the lighting has a way of adding to, or taking away from, the atmosphere. Personally, I miss the 80s. I liked it when the house light were dimmed and the main focus was on the ring. I'd rather the crowd just be a dark background, instead of seeing people acting like idiots and so on.

Just some random thoughts.

The Death of Territories: Why Pro Wrestling Is Doomed

When I was growing up, there were several wrestling promotions that had TV time, throughout the country. Granted, as a child of the 80s, the territories were dying out already, but they still had some impact. WWF was growing larger and larger, but we wrestling fans could still watch the various NWA programs. If you had ESPN, you could also see AWA. Then there was UWF, PNW and even USWA. Generally, the way things worked was that the larger companies would scout talent in the various territories and pick up the top stars to bring in to their organization. So, these wrestlers that they brought in were already somewhat established. Whether they had worked Portland for a couple years or even passed through Stampede, up in Calgary, they had honed their craft and done something that had gotten them noticed. This continued on with ECW, which was really like the last great territory. These days, who does WWE or TNA bring in? Well, for the most part, WWE brings in talentless, cookie-cutter guys that have done nothing. Most of them are in their early 20s, at best, and haven't paid their dues. It's no wonder that they get on TV and bore the hell out of everyone. The thing is, they're unpolished and have no business being in televised matches and having their own gimmicks. If anything, they should be doing jobber matches on TV. I hated the Hardys, but at least they got squashed, week in and week out, for a few years before they were given characters and pushed like hell.

Look at someone like John Cena. People like to compare him to Hogan, in an attempt to justify this lame character. However, Hogan was red hot in AWA before Vince Jr. brought him in and Hulkamania got underway. Hogan had wrestled in various territories, and even in New Japan, and was ready for the spotlight when he was put in the main event. Cena, on the other hand, was brought up through WWF's pathetic developmental system. He was right out of training, practically, when he got called up. He paid no dues. He was still in diapers, more or less. He got a ridiculous gimmick that managed to get over because most of the American population are into the thugged-out Jerry Springer anti-culture that this country is known for. Then, they push this bastard to the moon and force-feed him because, whether the guy is worth a damn or not, they need their next big star. The problem is, guys like Hogan, Hart and Austin, who had all worked their way up the ladder over many years and were ready for that spot... this type was gone. In its place was the manufactured superstar, who was simply forced down the throats of the fans. The got lucky with Rock, though he was a big failure as the Blue Chipper.

At this point, the business is being carried by the few vets left and will soon die once left to the hands of these inexperienced rookies, getting to main event Wrestlemania in their third year as a wrestler. It's pathetic. Another large part of the problem has been the booking since 2002. Around this time, they were losing Rock, Austin and Foley. Instead of truly giving the ball to Jericho, RVD or even Goldberg and Booker T, they buried them to keep pushing HHH during his Reign of Terror. Anyone that doesn't think RVD and Jericho were over enough to carry the company are either clueless or in denial. They were white hot. Then they were fed to HHH. So, once their heat was killed, who was next? Green rookies like Cena, Batista and Orton. This, of course, alienated the remaining fans from the so-called attitude era and ushered in the Green Age; the years of forcing unpolished jobbers down our throats as main eventers.

Wrestling Magazines

I was looking through the magazines, at Wal-Mart, and it seems so pathetic that all there was for wrestling mags was WWE and the PWI 500. In the late 80s/early 90s, I used to go to the grocery store and there were tons of wrestling magazines to choose from. I'd stand there and read several and then buy all the ones I didn't read in the store. Pro Wrestling Illustrated, The Wrestler, Sports Review Wrestling, Wrestling Superstars, Inside Wrestling, WWF Magazine, WCW Magazine, Wrestling World, Wrestling All-Stars and several more that I can't remember. Where the hell did they all go? Now, I'm lucky if I even see the lame ass WWE magazine on the rack.

Did the internet kill them off or was it the death of kayfabe that made them less popular?