(ALL JAPAN) This will make the Denen Coliseum final fight ten times easier! The much anticipated Tiger Mask finally arrives! These are the highlights!

Weekly Pro
21st August 1984 (Issue No.55)

All Japan Pro Wrestling's August 26th Denen Coliseum showdown is the first step in a major offensive strategy that gave birth to the 2nd generation Tiger Mask and aims to take the initiative and win the era of the three promotions* of pro wrestling. Four major matches will be held on the day, including the debut match of the much talked about new Tiger, but could there be even more amazing happenings lurking on August 26th? Advance tickets are booming with the arrival of the new Tiger!

With The Tiger, aka Satoru Sayama, joining UWF, it seemed as if Japanese wrestling had descended into a state of complete war this summer. However, in an effort to break out of this pro-wrestling maze as quickly as possible, Giant Baba's All Japan Pro Wrestling launched one scheme after another. First Gran Hamada joined All Japan, then they formed a business partnership with UWA, and then Tiger Mask II was reborn in All Japan. All Japan have thrown away their old title of "defensive", and have taken a very aggressive approach. All of these mechanisms will come into full bloom at a special event on August 26th at the Denen Coliseum in Tokyo. There is no doubt that Baba's plan is to end this special event with great success, reverse the balance of power with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which has lagged behind in popularity in the past, in the events from this summer through the latter half of the year, and then retaliate by delivering a powerful counter punch to the new promotion UWF. At the same time, making the August 20th event at the Coliseum a success will be of great significance to New Japan, as the event on that day will be the first in the promotions partnership with All Japan, and President Naoki Otsuka is extremely enthusiastic about it. Thanks to that, "We actually started promoting the 26th August event on the 30th July, but the advance tickets sales began on the 23rd at the ticket agencies, and by the 30th, we had sold twice as many tickets as we had expected, without prior advertising. As of today (August 4th), all of the special ringside seats that we were selling have been sold out. At this rate, we'll probably sell out all 7,000 advance tickets within the next few days", he said, crying with joy. As a fan service for this special event, New Japan is giving away autographed fans of popular wrestlers such as Hansen, Brodie, The Funks, Baba, Tsuruta and Tenryu to the first 2,000 people who arrive, showing unprecedented enthusiasm and dedication to measures to attract fans.        

Something big will happen at the August 26th Denen Coliseum showdown!

As for the much-anticipated show at Denen Coliseum on August 26th, it has been announced that the following matches will take place on that day, billed as "The Big Four Showdowns."

NWA INTERNATIONAL JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Mighty Inoue vs Atsushi Onita

SPECIAL MATCH
Tiger Mask vs ? (Opponent TBA)

SPECIAL MATCH
Jumbo Tsuruta & Genichiro Tenryu vs Crusher Blackwell & Jimmy Garvin

PWF WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody vs Giant Baba & Dory Funky Jnr

Looking at this card, the most anticipated match will undoubtedly be the debut of the second Tiger Mask. It goes without saying that if the second Tiger's debut is well received by the fans, it will put tangible and intangible pressure on The Tiger, (also known as Sayama Satoru), who will be taking part in UWF's "Victory Week" starting three days later. It will also be an effective way to shake up UWF, which plans to hold events centered around The Tiger. However, while the remaining three matches are certainly interesting when viewed individually, on the flip side, aren't they also very orthodox matches that seem like an extension of the All Japan route so far? At the very least, there doesn't seem to be any surprise that will take fans by surprise, but that's what makes Baba so tricky. He surprised fans and the media with his shocking idea of ​​"reviving Tiger Mask II," and in effect declared a long war against New Japan and UWF. It is possible that there is another two or three shocking ideas being secretly worked on for the August 26th Denen Coliseum, and with that in mind, it becomes clear that there are hidden elements in this great battle that could lead to some unexpected happenings. For example, there is the special tag match in the semi finals. Foreigner Crusher Blackwell teamed up with Brody during the Super Power Series to win the title, and regarding this, "Tenryu's next title defense opponent will probably be Killer Khan." This rumor has been floating around for a while now. The source of this strange information comes from Khan's close relationship with New Japan, and currently Khan is active in Dallas as a heel, and coincidentally, Jimmy Garvin, who is visiting Japan at this time, is a fellow heel from the same area. This fact also seems to be the source of the rumor that he will appear at the Denen Coliseum on August 26th. In response to these rumors, Otsuka said, "No, that's not possible. I've heard from him that he'll be participating in a big event in Dallas on the 27th, so it shouldn't be possible for him to participate, given the schedule." They completely deny it, but they are a strong team scheduled to participate for the vacant tag titles, and while there is some buzz that Jim Garvin will also enter the ring accompanied by his female manager Precious, I don't think they are a team with enough name value to justify labeling this as "a special match". However, Khan's face was on the poster for the upcoming "Bloody Fight Series" following this match, but his name was later omitted from the list of wrestlers distributed by New Japan to media companies, so there is certainly a strong whiff of mystery surrounding him. 

Meanwhile, the main event, the PWF World Tag Team Championship, is a fateful match following the first PWF Tag Team Championship Match held at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on April 25th of this year.   

In their previous match, Baba was hit with a lariat outside the ring, and then a double piledriver from the Super Beast Combo*, causing him to pass out. Baba, who sustained injuries to his head and neck in the match, is set to end his career as a wrestler. He was forced to miss his first match due to injury, and was then dealt a double blow by having to relinquish his Inter-Tag Title titles. For Baba, the August 26th rematch is a destined match to clear the biggest stigma of his wrestling career.
But what if a wrestler could step in and become the key to solving the mystery of Terry's visit to Japan? Moreover, if that wrestler is the one Tenryu mentioned on July 25th when he said, "My next opponent in the title defense will be a freelance Japanese wrestler in America!", then there's no better stage to double the interest in the upcoming United National* match. However, even here, there is a hint of something secretly happening, and that is the presence of Terry Funk, who will be coming to Japan for this series as Dory Funk's special manager. Since his retirement, Terry has visited Japan twice. Once as the manager of Baba and Dory in the World's Strongest Tag League match at the end of 1983, and once as the referee for Tsuruta and Nick's AWA World Championship match in February of this year...However, it's possible that Terry is using this special event as an opportunity, and that in both cases he has a clear purpose for visiting Japan. However, Terry's purpose for this visit is shrouded in mystery. Moreover, he will only be in Japan for the short period of a week, and the only thing that Terry, a manager, would want to do to promote himself in Japan is to appear in the main event of the match on for one night on August 26th, so there is feeling that he may be showing signs of making a return to the ring.

Since his retirement on August 31st of last year, Terry has been living a relaxed life in Amarillo, but in response to repeated enquiries from the media about his return to active duty, he has said, "I have never said anything about completely retiring." Although he was forced into retirement due to a chronic knee injury, he was not retiring due to a physical decline, so perhaps he was not ready to say goodbye to the wrestling world completely. Terry especially places great importance on his popularity in Japanese wrestling, and in his two previous visits to Japan after his retirement, it may be that he really wanted to keep the image of Terry Funk the wrestler in the minds of fans. As far as Japanese wrestling is concerned, if he can recover from his injured left knee to a certain extent, then there is a possibility that he will be able to return. However, if he makes a comeback too early or too late, he will not be able to make an effective impact on the fans. If that's the case, August 26th is the perfect comeback date to capture the attention of wrestling fans all over Japan, and if all goes well, it could even lead to the Funks' return as the world's strongest tag team at the end of the year. There is no doubt that Terry will be in Baba's corner for the main event on August 26th, but depending on how the match goes, there is a good chance that Terry will also be in the ring. 

And now the second Tiger Mask appears, who will be the center of attention in the four major matches. What kind of match will the New Tiger give on August 26th? For Giant Baba, the man behind the New Tiger, this is a match that he absolutely must succeed in. However, even at the All Japan press conference on August 6th, Giant Baba had not revealed who his opponent will be, and since this match is likely to have a major impact on All Japan's momentum after August 26th, they will likely have to be very careful in choosing the opponent. Let's hope Baba says that Tiger's opponent will be officially decided within the next day or two, and that this will be the only match. On the other hand, August 26th will be a test for the new Tiger as well. Only by living up to the expectations of those around him and putting up a fight that overwhelms the image of the original can the second Tiger become a true hero, so can he shake off the weight of responsibility? It's a debut match filled with a mixture of expectation and anxiety.
Also, it is worth noting that rumors are spreading that another Tiger Mask will appear as a second in this match.
Who is the other Tiger?
What is the purpose of his appearance?
It's an interesting debut match for New Tiger in every sense.

All Japan will also be competing in the "World's Strongest Junior Tag League" during the Super Power Series, with a prize of 5 million yen. The participating teams are Hector and Chavo Guerrero, representing Mexico's NWA,  Perro Aguayo and Fishman, representing UWA, All Japan/UWA Allied Forces Mighty Inoue and Gran Hamada, All Japan's Atsushi Onita and Masanobu Fuchi, Magic Dragon and Ultra Seven. This is a match to commemorate the partnership with Mexico's UWF, and it is proof that All Japan Pro Wrestling will be putting more effort into the junior route than ever before. 

There are many other big cards in this series. 

3rd September
Inter-Tag Championship match between Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu vs Bruiser Brody and Crusher Blackwell at Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium.

6th September
At the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, Tsuruta and Brody will compete for the Inter Heavyweight Championship, and Tenryu and Jimmy Garvin will compete for the UN Championship.     

September 12th
The NWA World Heavyweight Championship between Rick Flair and Tenryu will take place at the Mito City Gymnasium. The Junior Tag League final is also scheduled to take place on the same day.

All Japan goes for the win with sheer numbers and ideas.

Also noteworthy is Baba's statement that "Tiger Mask's next fight hasn't been decided yet, but he may participate in the Giant Series."

NOTES
Denen Coliseum: Stadium in Tokyo which in operation from 1936 to 1989. Ironically, it was on the doorstep of Ariake Coliseum, and thus not too far from Noah's first home, Differ Ariake.
Three promotions: New Japan, All Japan and the now defunct UWF. 
Super Beast Combo: Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody
United National: Now one of the belts that make up the Triple Crown