| Do Judge!! | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuringMasahiro Chono | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | October 9, 2000 | ||
| City | Tokyo,Japan | ||
| Venue | Tokyo Dome | ||
| Attendance | 64,000 | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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Do Judge!! was a majorprofessional wrestling event produced byNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 9, 2000, at theTokyo Dome inTokyo,Japan. It marked the first major cross promotional matches between New Japan Pro-Wrestling andAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) after the two had entered into a working relationship in August.
Themain event was marketed as a "dream match", puttingToshiaki Kawada, the top star of AJPW, up againstKensuke Sasaki, then-reigningIWGP Heavyweight Champion and winner of that year'sG1 Climax. Despite Sasaki being champion at the time, the title was not on the line. Other talent representing AJPW on the show includedMasanobu Fuchi and"Dr Death" Steve Williams.
In other major matches on the event,Team 2000 (Satoshi Kojima andHiroyoshi Tenzan) defended theIWGP Tag Team Championship against Fighting Club G-Eggs (Manabu Nakanishi andYuji Nagata), andKoji Kanemoto challengedTatsuhito Takaiwa for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.Shinya Hashimoto also returned to faceTatsumi Fujinami, in his last match as a contracted NJPW performer.
After the2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, AJPW was left with a severely depleted roster, and relied onfreelancers and talent from other promotions to fill their cards. In August 2000 at theG1 Climax finals, All Japan mainstayMasanobu Fuchi appeared in aNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) ring for the first time ever, and announced his intentions to "break down the walls" between AJPW and NJPW, 2 companies who had only worked together a handful of times prior. Shortly after, Fuchi was joined in the ring by NJPW foremanRiki Choshu, and the two exchanged a firm handshake in ring, signalling the start of a working relationship between the two companies.[1] The first cross promotional match of the new relationship took place in September 2000's Amazing tour, with All Japan representatives Fuchi andTaiyo Kea defeating NJPW'sMasahiro Chono andTatsutoshi Goto.[2] Shortly after this, it was announced that the main event of the upcoming Tokyo Dome show would be All Japan'sToshiaki Kawada facing New Japan'sIWGP Heavyweight ChampionKensuke Sasaki in a non-title match. Though this was marketed as a "dream match", it was not the first time they had faced off - Kawada defeated Sasaki twice in AJPW in 1987.[3][4]
After losing a match to longtime rivalNaoya Ogawa in which he stipulated he would retire from pro wrestling if he did so,Shinya Hashimoto was absent from New Japan Pro-Wrestling for months afterwards.[5] A special one-off return match was announced for this show, where Hashimoto would faceTatsumi Fujinami.
Do Judge!! featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[6]
Despite the title not being on the line,Kensuke Sasaki was (inkayfabe) so disgusted with himself for losing to an outsider that he vacated theIWGP Heavyweight Championship shortly after the event. A tournament was later set up for the 2001January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, featuring Sasaki,Toshiaki Kawada,Satoshi Kojima,Hiroyoshi Tenzan,Yuji Nagata andMasahiro Chono. In the final of the tournament, Sasaki defeated Kawada to win the vacant championship.[7]
After defeatingTatsumi Fujinami,Shinya Hashimoto was officially released by NJPW in November 2000. He soon competed for rivalPro Wrestling Noah, and later formed his own promotion,Pro Wrestling Zero-One.
| No. | Results | Stipulations | Times | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shinya Hashimoto defeatedTatsumi Fujinami | Singles match | 14:18 | ||
| 2 | Jushin Thunder Liger defeatedSuper Delfin | Singles match | 13:44 | ||
| 3 | Don Frye defeatedTakashi Iizuka | Singles match | 10:47 | ||
| 4 | Tatsuhito Takaiwa (c) defeatedKoji Kanemoto | Singles match for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | 12:51 | ||
| 5 | Team 2000 (Hiroyoshi Tenzan andSatoshi Kojima) (c) defeated Fighting Club G-Eggs (Manabu Nakanishi andYuji Nagata) | Tag team match for theIWGP Tag Team Championship | 20:22 | ||
| 6 | Steve Williams defeatedScott Norton | Singles match | 12:56 | ||
| 7 | Team 2000 (Masahiro Chono andTatsutoshi Goto) defeatedMasanobu Fuchi andShiro Koshinaka | Tag team match | 12:28 | ||
| 8 | Toshiaki Kawada defeatedKensuke Sasaki | Singles match | 19:38 | ||
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