Sting-TNA Update, Year-End Awards, Styles/Tanahashi, More TNA Notes

Sting has now been added to the TNAwrestling.com roster page. Shocker was recently removed from the list.

The following two press releases were issued on TNAwrestling.com:

– TNA YEAR-END AWARD WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 14 EDITION OF iMPACT! The results are in for the TNA Year-End Awards, and the winners will be announced to the wrestling world during the Saturday, January 14 edition of Total Nonstop Action iMPACT! the night before the Final Resolution Pay-Per-View. TNAwrestling.com has also learned that TNA management will reveal the winner of the 2005 Mr. TNA MVP award during an in-ring ceremony on the broadcast. TNA Wrestling would like to thank all of the fans who voted in the Year-End Awards here on the website. Tune in January 14 on SpikeTV to see if your picks go home with the honors!

– NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING HIGH-FLYING STAR TANAHASHI TO FACE THE PHENOMENAL AJ STYLES AT FINAL RESOLUTION TNAwrestling.com has learned that it will be an International X Showcase at the TNA Turning Point Pay-Per-View on January 15 as one of the fastest rising stars of New Japan Pro Wrestling Tanahashi will travel to the United States to face X Division pioneer The Phenomenal AJ Styles. The bout will truly be another TNA Dream Match for fans of the high-flying X Division style, as two of the dominant stars from the United States and Japan face off at the Pay-Per-View. TNA Wrestling will feature a video highlight package of the New Japan star on the January 14 edition of iMPACT! , the night before the Pay-Per-View. The following is a bio of Tanahashi for fans in the United States unfamiliar with the New Japan Pro Wrestling star (courtesy of puroresufan.com) Hiroshi Tanahashi pursued baseball during his high school days, before entering amaresu competitions while at Ritsumeikan University. He played an active part in the 85kg class, with good results, and always yearned to be a professional wrestler. Growing up, his favourite wrestler was Kenta Kobashi, and his dream to wrestle became a reality when in April, 1999, he joined New Japan. He debuted in October, 1999, against Shinya Makabe, and aimed to be a Japanese-made Dynamite Kid early in his career. With a great physique that most young wrestlers take a long time to develop, Tanahashi was viewed as a big prospect in his early days by both fans and New Japan management. A victory over Mexican great, Negro Casas, in July, 2000, indicated that he was making progress. His most surprising victory came in September, 2001, when Tanahashi caught an overconfident Scott Hall with a cradle for a singles win over the nWo co-founder. In the 2002 G1 Climax, Tanahashi advertised his potential to the world by pinning brief mentor, Kensuke Sasaki, in just 100 seconds! Tanahashi formed a new generation team with fellow young lion, Kenzo Suzuki, and the two made the difficult, but rewarding climb up the ladder together. They struggled for victories, but by the middle of 2002, were making great progress. Tanahashi was always the more skillful and vibrant of the two, but in terms of success, was a step behind Kenzo. When Kenzo left New Japan in 2003, Tanahashi had the chance to break out at last. Progress was quick from 2003 and beyond, Tanahashi quickly starting to capture titles and tournaments, including his self-proposed U-30 Openweight Title (for wrestlers under 30), with which he passed ten defenses. In August, 2004, he won all but one match en route to his first G1 Climax final, where he lost a close, epic match to Tenzan. In January, 2005, he and Nakamura headlined the Tokyo Dome against each other, a historic match that showed the future of New Japan in the boldest fashion. A disciple of Tatsumi Fujinami and his "Dragon" system, Tanahashi has developed from a promising young lion into one of the best heavyweights in the world. His vibrant and energetic style has won him many fans, and his devotion to "pure" professional wrestling has made him one of Japanese pro wrestling's biggest hopes for the future.

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