{"id":67590,"date":"2020-04-28T09:23:19","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T13:23:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=67590"},"modified":"2020-04-28T09:23:19","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T13:23:19","slug":"wrestling-summit-wwf-njpw-ajpw","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/04\/28\/wrestling-summit-wwf-njpw-ajpw\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling Summit: How A Joint WWF, NJPW & AJPW Show Failed & Changed the 90s"},"content":{"rendered":"

Thirty years ago this month, on April 13, 1990, three of the world’s most powerful wrestling promotions, Japan’s All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW)<\/strong> and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)<\/strong> and US juggernaut the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)<\/strong>, united together for the\u00a0Wrestling Summit<\/strong><\/em>, <\/em>that\u00a0would combine the talents of all three companies rosters for one giant event of international proportions. Instead, it would end up a mostly forgotten spectacle that would ultimately lead to fractured alliances that would re-shape the wrestling landscape.<\/p>\n

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Photo: WWE\/NJPW\/AJPW<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Through the end of the 1970s and much of the 1980s, Vince McMahon Jr.<\/strong> had managed to secure an alliance with NJPW for when they did tours of Japan. Meanwhile, AJPW had remained faithful to the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)<\/strong>. For two decades, they stood as the pillars of Japanese\u00a0puroresu<\/em>, battling for superiority like Coke vs Pepsi. But in 1984, a group of New Japan wrestlers, led by Akira Maeda<\/strong>,\u00a0<\/strong>quit the promotion and started up the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF)<\/strong>. UWF lasted a year, with most returning to NJPW. But in 1988, most of the same group once again quit New Japan and restarted UWF, taking some top Young Lions like Minoru Suzuki<\/strong> and Masaharu Funaki<\/b>, and bringing in\u00a0gaijin\u00a0<\/em>like Ken Shamrock, Norman Smiley<\/strong>, and former WWF World Champion Bob Backlund<\/strong>. With their “shoot style” martial arts-based style, UWF got off to a hot start in their second run. On November 29, 1989, UWF held U-Cosmos<\/strong><\/em> at the Tokyo Dome, which became the fastest sell-out for pro wrestling at the Big Egg, 50,000 people, with no TV promotion. Suddenly New Japan and All Japan were taking more serious notice.<\/p>\n

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Eager to knock the new kids off the block quickly, New Japan founder Antonio Inoki<\/strong> booked a show at the Tokyo Dome for that February 10, determined to create a monstrous SuperShow to break UWF’s record. Inoki had big plans to feature the top four World Champions in pro wrestling, with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Vader<\/strong>, WWF World Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan<\/strong>, AWA World Heavyweight Champion Larry Zbyszko<\/strong>, and NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair<\/strong>, all competing on the same card. Hogan fell through and although originally slated to face The Great Muta<\/strong>, Flair would ultimately withdraw (reportedly due to pressure from Turner Broadcasting). Down both Hogan and Flair, Inoki reached out to arch-rivals AJPW, who agreed to join the SuperShow, called Super Fight in Tokyo<\/strong><\/em>. New Japan’s Masa Saito<\/strong> beat Zbyszko for the AWA World title, while Vader fought All Japan’s Stan Hansen<\/strong> to a double count-out in his iWGP title defense (most famous for being the match where Hansen gouged out Vader’s eye<\/a>), and Super Fight\u00a0<\/em>packed 53,900 into the Tokyo Dome.<\/p>\n

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Vince McMahon (WWF) & Giant Baba (All Japan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A few weeks prior to Super Fight<\/em>, on January 27, 1990, WWF owner Vince McMahon showed up at an All Japan show at K\u014drakuen Hall in Tokyo, where he met AJPW owner Shohei “Giant” Baba <\/strong>in the ring\u00a0to announce that the WWF live event on April 13, 1990, would now be a united SuperShow featuring stars from WWF, AJPW, and NJPW calling the Wrestling Summit<\/em><\/strong>. Despite some New Japan talents like Keiji Muto<\/strong> working for WCW since 1989 as The Great Muta (and earlier with the NWA), WCW was not invited to the event.<\/p>\n

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Vince McMahon with Jushin Thunder Liger<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The card for Wrestling Summit<\/em> was as follows:<\/p>\n

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  • Can-Am Express (Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas) & Joe Malenko vs. Revolution (Samson Fuyuki, Tatsumi Kitahara & Toshiaki Kawada)<\/li>\n
  • Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger vs. Akira Nogami<\/li>\n
  • Kenta Kobashi & Masanobu Fuchi vs. “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka & Tito Santana<\/li>\n
  • Bret “Hitman” Hart vs. Tiger Mask II (Mitsuharu Misawa)<\/li>\n
  • Greg “The Hammer” Valentine vs. The Great Kabuki<\/li>\n
  • Jake “The Snake” Roberts vs. Big Bossman<\/li>\n
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship:<\/strong> Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto (c) vs. Masahiro Chono & Riki Choshu<\/li>\n
  • Jumbo Tsuruta & Haku vs. Mr. Perfect & “The Model” Rick Martel<\/li>\n
  • “Macho Man” Randy Savage w\/ Sensational Sherri vs. Genichiro Tenryu<\/li>\n
  • WWF World Heavyweight Championship:\u00a0<\/strong>Ultimate Warrior (c) vs. “Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase<\/li>\n
  • Giant Baba & Andre the Giant vs. Demolition (Ax & Smash)<\/li>\n
  • Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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    Bret “Hitman” Hart vs Tiger Mask II at Wrestling Summit, 1990<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Hulk Hogan’s original opponent for the main event was Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy <\/strong>(as seen in the original poster up top), but once Hogan lost his WWF World Championship to WrestleMania VI<\/strong><\/em> thirteen days earlier, Gordy backed out last minute (some suspect he didn’t want to look weaker in a non-title match). Reportedly All Japan wanted former All Japan Triple Crown winner Genichiro Tenryu <\/strong>to face Hogan, but McMahon insisted his star face another American, so Stan Hansen<\/strong> became the replacement and Tenryu got a nice consolation prize in Randy Savage <\/strong>instead. Ultimate Warrior<\/strong>‘s World title defense against The Million Dollar Man<\/strong> was also his first defense since defeating Hogan less than two weeks before.<\/p>\n