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KURT ANGLE BEATS BROCK LESNAR IN WRESTLEMANIA REMATCH IN JAPAN

Today in Tokyo, Japan, a rematch of the Wrestlemania 19 main event took place as Kurt Angle defeated Brock Lesnar in a ten minute bout with an ankle lock to win the IWGP Championship, sort of.  This will take some explaining. 

The IWGP Championship is the top belt for New Japan Pro Wrestling.  Brock Lesnar won the title on October 8, 2005 in a three way match with Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono at the Tokyo Dome.  However, that July, Lesnar refused to return and defend the title (it was expected he would be dropping the belt to Hiroshi Tanahashi).  Lesnar has claimed he is owed money by New Japan. New Japan held a tournament for the title, won by Tanahashi, who has since lost the title to Yuji Nagata.  

Meanwhile, Lesnar has retained physical possession of the IWGP title belt. Antonio Inoki, the founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling, recently severed ties with the company and created his own company, the IGF.  That company held their first show earlier today at Sumo Hall in Japan, headlined by Angle vs. Lesnar for Lesnar's IWGP championship.  The storyline around the belt is that Lesnar was never beaten for the championship.  New Japan reportedly has threatened to bring forth a lawsuit over Inoki using the term "IWGP", which is trademarked by New Japan Pro Wrestling. Lesnar did an interview prior to the Angle match daring Nagata to show up and face him. 

Thanks to Kinya Hashimoto for his help with this story.

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