Wrestling World 1996

Wrestling World 1996 was a professional wrestling event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and UWF International (UWFi) promotions. The event took place on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome. Wrestling World 1996 was the fifth January 4 Tokyo Dome Show held by NJPW. The show drew 54,000 spectators and $5,400,000 in ticket sales.[1] The driving storyline behind the show was an "inter-promotional" rivalry between NJPW and UWFi, which saw wrestlers from the promotions face off in a series of three matches. Hiroshi Hase's retirement match against his former tag team partner Kensuke Sasaki was also part of the card. The main event of the show was IWGP Heavyweight Champion Keiji Mutoh losing the championship to UWFi representative Nobuhiko Takada. The undercard featured an additional title change as Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. In total the show consisted of 10 matches.

Wrestling World 1996
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
UWF International
DateJanuary 4, 1996[1]
CityTokyo, Japan
VenueTokyo Dome
Attendance54,000[1]
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show chronology
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Wrestling World

Production
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
English Commentators Kevin Kelly
Chris Charlton
Rocky Romero
Japanese Commentators Shinpei Nogami
Milano Collection A.T.
Katsuhiko Kanazawa
Kazuyoshi Sakai
Togi Makabe
Ring announcers Makoto Abe
Kimihiko Ozaki
Referees Kenta Sato
Marty Asami
Red Shoes Unno

Background

The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl".[2][3]

Storylines

Wrestling World 1996 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]

Results
No. Results Stipulations Times[1]
1 Shinjiro Otani, Tokimitsu Ishizawa and Yuji Nagata defeated Hiromitsu Kanehara, Kazushi Sakuraba and Kenichi Yamamoto Six-man tag team match: NJPW (1) vs. UWFi (0) 10:15
2 Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Satoshi Kojima Singles match 09:24
3 Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto (c) Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship 18:59
4 Shiro Koshinaka defeated Masahiro Chono Singles match 09:49
5 Hiromichi Fuyuki defeated Yoji Anjo Singles match 06:42
6 Kensuke Sasaki defeated Hiroshi Hase Singles match 16:36
7 Antonio Inoki defeated Big Van Vader Singles match 14:16
8 Riki Choshu defeated Masahito Kakihara Singles match: NJPW (2) vs. UWFi (0) 05:46
9 Shinya Hashimoto defeated Kazuo Yamazaki Singles match 09:18
10 Nobuhiko Takada defeated Keiji Mutoh (c) Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship: NJPW (2) vs. UWFi (1) 17:51
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

References
  1. "Wrestling War in Tokyo Dome 1996". ProWrestlingHistory.com. January 4, 1996. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  2. "GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. December 23, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  3. Keller, Wade (December 13, 2016). "New Japan's WrestleKingdom 11 to air on AXS TV starting Jan. 13 in four weekly special episodes with Ross & Barnett on commentary". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  4. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
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