(ALL JAPAN) Tsuruta, Tenryu, Tiger - The "3T Era" begins with a new system established!

Weekly Pro

7-14th January 1986 (Issue no.126)

Just like in 1985, the All Japan Pro Wrestling ring in 1986 is likely to be centered around factional rivalry. 

Naturally, Naturally, Tsuruta, Tenryu, and Tiger Mask must form a tight scrum and defend All Japan's stronghold to the death. Fans are looking forward to seeing even greater growth from these three. 

In 1986, the focus on the All Japan Pro Wrestling mat is the rivalry between the wrestling factions. This can be seen from the lineup of foreign wrestlers participating in the '86 New Year's Wars, but even Giant Baba, the company's leader, made it clear: "The Tsuruta-Choshu match got better viewership than the match between the NWA and AWA world champions. We'll give the fans what they want. Neither Tsuruta-Choshu nor Tenryu-Choshu will be decided in just one or two matches. The faction rivalry will likely continue for some time. We'll be focusing on that in '86"

This is the policy they have set out.

In addition to All Japan and Japan Gundan, the former International Pro duo Ashura and Hara, who held back the Kakuryu* duo in the Strongest Tag Team Match, will be a formidable presence if they continue to work alongside the International Blood Alliance. Furthermore, the Calgary Hurricanes will be joining this three-way conflict. It's certain that the All Japan Pro Wrestling ring will see even more intense factional rivalries than last year, thanks to these three pillars. "Tsuruta, who can overpower both Flair and Martel, is a wrestler who can be proudly presented anywhere in the world. Tenryu and Tiger will really come into their own in 1986. They say that three generations of tigers bring prosperity. Tenryu and I were born in the Year of the Tiger, and Tiger is a tiger too," Baba emphasized, highlighting that "1986 is the year of All Japan." 

When Choshu first faced Tenryu in the New Year of 1985, he said, "This year looks like it's going to be Tenryu's year." While Tenryu put on a great fight in the ring, it seems there was something he couldn't quite shake off mentally. In 1986, the year of his zodiac, it is expected that he will unleash that energy and take some kind of action. Whether that will be directed at the newly participating Calgary Army or other factions, or whether it will explode within his own faction, remains to be seen, but Baba has said, "It's up to the wrestlers themselves to figure out what to do and how to do it. If I can see the results of that, I'll put together any match."

Tiger Mask will clash with Dynamite Kid from the start of the New Year. It's fair to say that all the foreign wrestlers participating in the New Year Wars were selected specifically for Tiger Mask.

While Kuniaki Kobayashi and Hiro Saito will also be involved, Baba seems to have adopted a "strike while the iron is hot" strategy for Tiger Mask.

Wrestler Baba is non partisan!?!?

Tsuruta will be fully embarking on a faction rivalry, but of course, he will also be aiming to "conquer the world." If he captures the NWA World Championship, he will achieve the great feat of conquering both worlds, and he will surely have a chance. 

There's also a possibility that Stan Hansen will enter the US as the AWA World Champion.

Baba revealed, "Hansen is an assassin I sent to AWA. I have a yearly contract with him. If he becomes AWA champion, he will take the belt and come to our promotion."

His annual number of matches decreased slightly from approximately 200 in 1985.

In 1985, Japan Pro Wrestling hosted three series, each lasting one week. However, in 1986, they abolished this, and began hosting events within All Japan Pro Wrestling's series, thus unifying it into a single format. In his own final match of 1985, Baba showed his full energy and sought a non-partisan structure as a wrestler. "The Japan Army's cards won't feature Killer Khan if they stay the way they are. I'm the only one who can bring out his strengths. I could team up with Khan and take on Kakuryu, Choshu, and Yatsu. Khan won't get the recognition he deserves if things stay the way they are." He's even considering forming a non-partisan 'Echigo* Tag'. 

His approach to developing new talent is also non-partisan. Regarding Hiroshi Hase, a promising wrestler in the Japan Army, he said, "I believe it's my responsibility to help him succeed." During the 1985 series, he coached Hase by taking him in hand in the ring before the arena opened, completely captivated by his potential. Like Tsuruta and Tenryu, the idea is to entrust him to Dory Funk Jr. Baba's plan is to settle him in Puerto Rico, where Dory also works as a booker, so he will likely be heading there in the spring. In the fall, his long awaited Japanese debut is likely to take place.

Hiromichi Fuyuki, who returned to Japan at the end of 1985 after a rapid rise in popularity, was immediately chosen for a major event, and it seems that Fuyuki's popularity will skyrocket in 1986. The International Army and Hara have been sending him offers, but he himself is determined to remain "pro-Baba." His youth at just 25 years old makes him an exciting prospect, and while their return to Japan in 1986 is undecided, the growth of Tarzan Goto and Toshiaki Kawada is highly anticipated.      

With All Japan Pro Wrestling unifying with Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling merging with UWF, 1986 marks a clear era of rivalry between the two major promotions in the Japanese wrestling scene. All Japan, with its abundance of both Japanese and foreign wrestlers, seemed poised to continue providing plenty of interesting topics.

Notes

Kakuryu: The name came from "Tsuru" (crane) and "Ryu" (dragon). However, “Tsuru" is pronounced "Kaku" in the Chinese reading, which is used in compound words. Tsuruta didn't like this as “Kaku” was/is not his surname, but the name stuck as it sounded better.

Echigo: A former province of Niigata. Niigata was Baba's home prefecture.

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