Logo of the NEVER events
NEVER was a series of professional wrestling events held by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) between August 2010 and November 2012. On July 12, 2010, NJPW officially announced the NEVER project, which was to highlight younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion.[1][2] It was explained that the name of the project was an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal" and "Radical".[1] For the events, NJPW recruited several freelancers as well as wrestlers signed to promotions such as Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and Kaientai Dojo. Some outsiders who became NEVER regulars included Daisuke Sasaki, Kaji Tomato, Madoka, Ryuichi Sekine and Shinobu. Kushida, who entered NEVER as a representative of the Smash promotion in February 2011, signed a NJPW contract the following month and returned to the project the following September, now representing NJPW.[3] Three NJPW trainees; Hiromu Takahashi, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, made their professional wrestling debuts at NEVER events. Takahashi, who debuted at NEVER.1, was the only wrestler who wrestled on all thirteen NEVER events.
On October 5, 2012, NJPW announced that NEVER was going to get its own championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship.[2][4][5] The title was originally scheduled to be defended exclusively at NEVER events, but this plan was quickly changed and since its foundation, the title has been defended on the undercards of NJPW events.[4][6] NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since the tournament, which crowned the first NEVER Openweight Champion on November 19, 2012.[7] A second NEVER title, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016.[8]
On July 18, 2015, NJPW announced "Lion's Gate", a project with a theme similar to NEVER,[9] which held its first show on February 25, 2016.[10]
NEVER.1
The first NEVER event was held on August 24, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[11] The event featured five matches, which involved six outsiders; Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo, Kazuhiro Tamura from Style-E, Yusuke Kodama from Smash, Shinobu from 666 and freelancers Osamu Namiguchi and Madoka.[11] The opening match of the event featured the professional wrestling debut of Hiromu Takahashi.[11]
NEVER.2
The second NEVER event was held on September 16, 2010, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[12] The event featured five matches, which involved five outsiders; Takuya Tomakomai from Dragon Gate, Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke from Osaka Pro Wrestling and freelancers Yohei Nakajima and Yosuke Takii.[12]
NEVER.3
The third NEVER event was held on October 8, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[13] The event featured six matches, which involved seven outsiders; Keisuke Ishii from Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), Keita Yano from Battlarts, Shinobu from 666, Kaji Tomato and Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki and Madoka.[13]
NEVER.4
The fourth NEVER event was held on November 18, 2010, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[14][15] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Keisuke Ishii from Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), Jun Ogawauchi from Secret Base, Shinobu from 666 and freelancers Antonio Honda, Madoka and Daisuke Sasaki.[14] The event featured Hiroyoshi Tenzan's return match, after being sidelined for fifteen months with a back injury.[14][15]
NEVER.5
The fifth NEVER event was held on February 24, 2011, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[16] The event featured seven matches, which involved six outsiders; Kazuki Hirata from Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), Shigehiro Irie from Team Dera, Shinobu from 666, Kushida from Smash and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki and Madoka.[16] In the opening match, Hiromu Takahashi, six months after his debut match, picked up his first professional wrestling win over Hirata.[16]
NEVER.6: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament
The sixth NEVER event, subtitled "Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament", was held over two days on April 7 and 8, 2011, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[17][18] During the events, NJPW held two single-elimination tournaments, with both winners earning spots in the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[17][18] Both events featured eight matches and thirteen outsiders; Kazuki Hirata, Keisuke Ishii, Ken Ohka and Shinichiro Tominaga from Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) / Union Pro Wrestling, Kaji Tomato, Marines Mask and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Shinobu from 666, Kazuhiro Tamura from Style-E and freelancers Daisuke Sasaki, Madoka, Osamu Namiguchi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.[17][18]
- April 7
No. |
Results[17][19] |
Stipulations |
Times[17] |
1 |
Keisuke Ishii defeated Hiromu Takahashi |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
08:18 |
2 |
Ryuichi Sekine defeated Kyosuke Mikami |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
08:56 |
3 |
Shinobu defeated Kaji Tomato |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
08:32 |
4 |
Madoka defeated Kazuki Hirata |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
08:53 |
5 |
Kazuhiro Tamura defeated Marines Mask |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
04:21 |
6 |
Daisuke Sasaki defeated Shinichiro Tominaga |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
10:08 |
7 |
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Ken Ohka |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
08:18 |
8 |
Taichi defeated Osamu Namiguchi |
Singles match; first round in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
08:48 |
- April 8
No. |
Results[18][20] |
Stipulations |
Times[18] |
1 |
Daisuke Sasaki defeated Ryuichi Sekine |
Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
05:52 |
2 |
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi defeated Kazuhiro Tamura |
Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
07:14 |
3 |
Taichi defeated Keisuke Ishii |
Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
04:15 |
4 |
Madoka defeated Shinobu |
Singles match; semifinals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
09:13 |
5 |
Hiromu Takahashi and Kyosuke Mikami defeated Kazuki Hirata and Shinichiro Tominaga |
Tag team match |
10:11 |
6 |
Chaos (Gedo, Jado, Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Kaji Tomato, Ken Ohka, Marines Mask and Osamu Namiguchi |
Eight-man tag team match |
15:50 |
7 |
Daisuke Sasaki defeated Tsuyoshi Kikuchi |
Singles match; finals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A |
14:26 |
8 |
Taichi defeated Madoka |
Singles match; finals in the Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B |
17:45 |
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B
NEVER.7: Go to the Next Level
The seventh NEVER event, subtitled "Go to the Next Level", was held on September 21, 2011, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[21] The event featured six matches and for the first time included no outsiders.[21]
NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level
The eighth NEVER event, also subtitled "Go to the Next Level", was held on February 10, 2012, in Osaka at the Sekaikan theater.[22] The event featured seven matches, which involved one outsider; freelancer Shoichi Uchida.[22] The event featured King Fale's farewell match, before going on an overseas learning excursion.[22]
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st.
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st. was held on April 13, 2012, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[23] The event saw the start of a single-elimination tournament, where the winner would earn a spot in the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[23] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kaji Tomato and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Yusuke Kodama from Wrestling New Classic (WNC) and freelancers Black Tiger and Madoka.[23]
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final
NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final was held on April 15, 2012, in Tokyo at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring.[24] The event featured the semifinals and finals of a single-elimination tournament, where the winner would earn a spot in the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[24] The event featured six matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kaji Tomato and Ryuichi Sekine from Kaientai Dojo, Yusuke Kodama from Wrestling New Classic (WNC) and freelancers Black Tiger and Madoka.[24] The winner of the tournament, Black Tiger, never entered the 2012 Best of the Super Juniors, as on May 25 NJPW publicly fired the character's performer Kazushige Nosawa, a day after he had been arrested under suspicion of smuggling cannabis.[25]
- Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament
NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament 1st Round
NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament 1st Round ("First Generation NEVER Openweight Championship Determination Tournament 1st Round") was held on November 15, 2012, in Tokyo at Shibuya-Ax.[26][27] The event featured the start of a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion.[26] The event featured nine matches, which involved six outsiders; Hiro Tonai, Kengo Mashimo, Ryuichi Sekine, Shiori Asahi and Taishi Takizawa from Kaientai Dojo and freelancer Daisuke Sasaki.[26] Technically, Masato Tanaka was an outsider, being signed to Pro Wrestling Zero1, but due to having been a regular for NJPW for several years, he was co-billed as a representative of the NJPW stable Chaos.[28] The opening match of the event saw the professional wrestling debut of Sho Tanaka.[28]
NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament Final
NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament Final ("First Generation NEVER Openweight Championship Determination Tournament Final") was held on November 19, 2012, in Tokyo at Shibuya-Ax.[28][29] The event featured the second round, semifinals and finals of a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion.[28] The event featured ten matches, involving the same wrestlers who had taken part in the "1st Round" event four days earlier.[28] The opening match of the event saw the professional wrestling debut of Yohei Komatsu.[28] In the main event of the show, Masato Tanaka defeated Karl Anderson to win the tournament and become the first NEVER Openweight Champion.[28][30][31] NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since.[7]
- NEVER Openweight Championship tournament
References
- 1 2 "Nextジェネレーション育成 新プロジェクト「NEVER」シリーズがスタート!!". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). July 12, 2010. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 Caldwell, James (October 5, 2012). "News items: Velvet Sky launches clothing line, Details on Nash's next int'l tour, NJPW introducing new title". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ "Kushidaの“新日本入団会見”にTajiri&酒井代表も出席! 3.18Smash後楽園には棚橋が来場!!". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). March 8, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 "あの『NEVER』がリニューアル!! "無差別級王座"も新設!! 11.15&11.19Shibuya AXで再出発!!". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ 新日若手興行NEVERで王座決定戦開催. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ 復帰の内藤 標的はNEVER王座. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). May 24, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 内藤「俺の使命はNEVER復権」. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ 【WK10】1.4東京ドームは“8大選手権”! 第2試合は初代NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座戦! 第3試合はROH世界選手権に! NJランボー参戦選手も追加!. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). December 21, 2015. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
- ↑ 木谷オーナーが「ファーム設立プラン」「21世紀のIWGP構想」、そして「新日本プロレスは株式上場を目指す」と宣言! 【7.18戦略発表会】. New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). July 18, 2015. Retrieved July 18, 2015.
- ↑ Rose, Bryan (February 25, 2016). "Lion's Gate Project 1 results: Nagata vs. Kitamiya; NJPW and Noah rookies shine". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved February 25, 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NEVER.1". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NEVER.2". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NEVER.3". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NEVER.4". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 天山がどん底から1年3カ月ぶりに復帰!ファンの大声援を受けて男泣きした天山だが、次なる標的に小島聡を指名!. Battle News (in Japanese). November 18, 2010. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NEVER.5". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "NEVER.6 ~Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 "NEVER.6 ~Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ "BOSJ予選トーナメント1回戦で菊地に敗れた大家、本戦出場の夢☆破れる!大物ルーキーの片鱗を見せた冨永だが、佐々木に惜敗!". Battle News (in Japanese). April 7, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ "2日間に渡る予選トーナメントを制してタイチとフリーの佐々木がBOSJ出場権を獲得!大家と対戦した内藤が健闘を称えたが...". Battle News (in Japanese). April 8, 2011. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "NEVER.7 ~Go to the Next Level~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "NEVER.8 ~Go to the Next Level~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 "NEVER.9 ~Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st.~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "NEVER.9 ~Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final~". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ 新日本がB・タイガーの欠場を正式発表. Daily Sports Online (in Japanese). Kobe Shimbun. May 26, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 "NEVER". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 "新生NEVERで新設された無差別級王座を争うトーナメント!田中や田口らが順当に勝ち上がる中、内藤が注目した選手は...". Battle News (in Japanese). November 15, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 "NEVER". New Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- 1 2 "田中将斗が石井との激闘を制したあと、G1準優勝者のアンダーソンを撃破して初代NEVER無差別級王者となる!". Battle News (in Japanese). November 19, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ 将斗 死闘を制して初代王座/新日本. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). November 20, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
- ↑ NEVER初代王者・将斗1・4でWヘッダーだ. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). November 23, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
External links