For American fans, the most noteworthy events were Team 3D losing their IWGP Tag Team championships to Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito and Terry Funk, at 65 years old, returning to a Japanese ring after his knee replacement surgery last year in a Legends bout that also featured old nemesis Abdullah the Butcher. Former ECW regulars Yoshihiro Tajiri and Masato Tanaka teamed on the undercard as well.
Complete results, courtesy the great Japanese news website www.puroresufan.com, saw:
NJPW “WRESTLE KINGDOM IV IN TOKYO DOMEâ€, 1/4/10 (WPW/PPV)
Tokyo Dome
41,500 Fans
1. New Japan Pro-Wrestling 2010 Beginning: Super Strong Machine, Wataru Inoue
& Mitsuhide Hirasawa beat Jushin Thunder Liger, Koji Kanemoto & Kazuchika
Okada (4:59) when Inoue used the Triangle Lancer on Okada.
2. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title ~Amistad combativa~: Ryusuke Taguchi &
Prince Devitt (c) beat Ultimo Guerrero & Averno (9:07) when Taguchi pinned
Averno after the Black Hole Vacation (4th defense).
3. IWGP Tag Team Title - 3WAY Hardcore Rules Match ~Victim and Greed~: Yujiro
& Tetsuya Naito beat “Team 3D†Brother Ray & Brother Devon (c) and Giant
Bernard & Karl Anderson (13:28) when Yujiro pinned Anderson after the
Limitless Emotion to become the 55th champions.
4. Wrestle Kingdom Special Tag Match ~Blood Stream Blue~: TAJIRI & Masato
Tanaka beat Yuji Nagata & Akebono (9:37) when TAJIRI used a Buzzsaw kick on
Nagata.
5. Wrestle Kingdom Special 8 Man Tag Match ~The legend never rots~: Terry
Funk, Riki Choshu, Masahiro Chono & Manabu Nakanishi beat Abdullah The
Butcher, Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii (8:52) when Nakanishi used
an Argentine backbreaker on Iizuka.
6. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Wilderness~: Togi Makabe beat Mohammed Yone
(5:39) with a top rope King Kong kneedrop.
7. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title ~Highest sky~: Naomichi Marufuji beat Tiger
Mask (c) (14:14) with the Tiger Frosion to become the 59th champion.
8. NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Radiance~: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Go
Shiozaki (19:04) with the High Fly Flow.
9. GHC Heavyweight Title - NJPW vs. NOAH Battle Effusions ~Blast~: Takashi
Sugiura (c) beat Hirooki Goto (20:54) with an ankle hold (1st defense).
10. IWGP Heavyweight Title - The newest, The strongest: Shinsuke Nakamura (c)
beat Yoshihiro Takayama (15:51) with the Boma Ye (4th defense).
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