POST Wrestling

Episode 12 sees Chris Charlton and Joe Gagne look at 2000, a turbulent year in wrestling history. Mitsuharu Misawa and a swathe of wrestlers defect from AJPW to form NOAH, leaving Toshiaki Kawada and crew to mend fences with NJPW and leading to a Tokyo Dome classic with Kensuke Sasaki.

Episode 11 sees Chris Charlton and Dan Lovranski look at 1999, which saw one of Japanese wrestling’s most controversial moments occur inside the Tokyo Dome when Shinya Hashimoto faced Naoya Ogawa. 1999 also saw AJPW return to the Tokyo Dome for the second year running, though under sad circumstances as the company mourned the death of Giant Baba.

Episode ten sees Chris Charlton and Kim Justice look at 1998, including two huge retirements as Riki Choshu and Antonio Inoki withdrew from active involvement in NJPW. Also, AJPW return to the Tokyo Dome for the first time in eight years for a memorable show with Hiroshi Hase vs. Jun Akiyama in a featured position.

Episode nine sees Chris Charlton and Nate Milton look at 1997, which saw NJPW have the biggest business year in its history to date, thanks in large part to the hugely successful nWo Japan faction. Nate talks about how the faction related to the WCW product at the time, and also talks about his own experiences living in Japan in the late 1990s.

Episode eight sees Chris Charlton and Damian Abraham look at 1996, which saw NJPW and UWFi’s inter-promotional feud continue, and Jinsei Shinzaki return to Japan after his stint as Hakushi in the WWF.