Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome
| Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| Date | April 24, 1989 |
| City | Tokyo, Japan |
| Venue | Tokyo Dome |
| Attendance | 43,800[1] |
Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 24, 1989 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the first major professional wrestling event held in the Tokyo Dome, with wrestlers from the United States, Japan, and the Soviet Union.
The event saw a one night single-elimination tournament for the vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship, the debut of the Jushin Liger character in NJPW, and Antonio Inoki versus Shota Chochishvili a no rope martial arts match for the WWF World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship.
Background
The Tokyo Dome opened on March 17, 1988. At the time, NJPW looked to use the Dome to hold the first major wrestling event of the Heisei period.[2]
Storylines
The event featured fourteen professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]
Aftermath
Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome was a great success for NJPW, and the Dome would be a home for many years to come for puroresu. Starting in 1992, NJPW returned to the Dome to hold the first of what has become an annual tradition and their biggest show of the year, the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show.
Results
IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament bracket
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | ||||||||||||
| Big Van Vader | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Masahiro Chono | 5:52 | |||||||||||||
| Big Van Vader | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tatsumi Fujinami | 14:37 | |||||||||||||
| Tatsumi Fujinami | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Vladimir Berkovich | 4:51 | |||||||||||||
| Big Van Vader | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Shinya Hashimoto | 9:47 | |||||||||||||
| Victor Zangiev | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Buzz Sawyer | 3:56 | |||||||||||||
| Victor Zangiev | 7:28 | |||||||||||||
| Shinya Hashimoto | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Shinya Hashimoto | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Riki Choshu | 3:41 | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "NJPW Tokyo Dome Shows". www.prowrestlinghistory.com.
- ^ NJPW. "The Story of the Tokyo Dome's First Pro Wrestling Match | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved 2014-01-05.
- ^ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=3119
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