- Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata defeated Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi
The 2nd Judgement!! 2000: WrestleFile Historical Verdict
The factual record, historical context, match-by-match analysis, and WrestleFile verdict.
- PROMOTION
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- DATE
- December 14, 2000
- VENUE
- Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
- LOCATION
- Osaka, Osaka
- ATTENDANCE
- 6,700
- EVENT TYPE
- PPV
The 2nd Judgement!! 2000 earns a B- because the event has a recognizable progression from its opening matches into a more consequential closing stretch. The card contains 8 documented bouts, with Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata against Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi providing the final result.
Read the Full FileContinue the event-level analysis
The historical verdict weighs the complete show rather than the headline names alone, so shorter connective matches remain in proportion to the bouts that receive more time or championship stakes. The result is a useful snapshot of New Japan at this point in its pay-per-view development: ambitious enough to feel like a major event, but still dependent on the final portion of the card to justify the larger presentation.
Event ContextBackground, stakes & historical setting
The 2nd Judgement!! was held December 14, 2000 at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, drawing a listed 6,700 spectators. Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata defeated Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi in the final tag match. That result was an inter-promotional encounter with two visitors associated with All Japan, not an IWGP Heavyweight Championship title decision.
Tatsumi Fujinami beat Koji Kanemoto, Manabu Nakanishi defeated Osamu Nishimura and a trio of Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Shinya Makabe defeated Super Delfin, Takehiro Murahama and Tsubasa. Earlier, Satoshi Kojima defeated Kenzo Suzuki and Michiyoshi Ohara beat Kendo Kashin.
Kensuke Sasaki and Super Strong Machine defeated Masahiro Chono and T2000 Machine in the opener. Yutaka Yoshie defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan in another singles match. These eight results establish the card's true shape: a New Japan roster showcase that culminated in a featured contest with All Japan participants. No heavyweight championship change or tournament winner is documented at the event, so the historical summary should not manufacture one to justify its major status. The visiting All Japan pairing and the successful New Japan team were the defining competitive development in the main event.
Watch, Skim or Skip?
- Kensuke Sasaki & Super Strong Machine defeated Masahiro Chono & T2000 Machine
- Yutaka Yoshie defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan
- Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe defeated Super Delfin, Takehiro Murahama & Tsubasa
- Manabu Nakanishi defeated Osamu Nishimura
- Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Koji Kanemoto
- Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Kendo Kashin
- Satoshi Kojima defeated Kenzo Suzuki
The Card, On the Record
01Kensuke Sasaki & Super Strong Machine defeated Masahiro Chono & T2000 MachineC+
Kensuke Sasaki & Super Strong Machine defeats Masahiro Chono & T2000 Machine in 14:37 as match 1. The bout sits in the main card, and the documented finish is Diving Headbutt. Its 6.7 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
02Yutaka Yoshie defeated Hiroyoshi TenzanC+
Yutaka Yoshie defeats Hiroyoshi Tenzan in 13:38 as match 2. The bout sits in the main card, and the documented finish is Reverse Figure-Four Leglock. Its 6.7 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
03Michiyoshi Ohara defeated Kendo KashinC
Michiyoshi Ohara defeats Kendo Kashin in 03:07 as match 3. The bout sits in the main card, and the documented finish is Nodowa Otoshi. Its 6.4 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
04Satoshi Kojima defeated Kenzo SuzukiC
Satoshi Kojima defeats Kenzo Suzuki in 09:40 as match 4. The bout sits in the main card, and the documented finish is Lariat. Its 6.4 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
05Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe defeated Super Delfin, Takehiro Murahama & TsubasaB-
Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka & Shinya Makabe defeats Super Delfin, Takehiro Murahama & Tsubasa in 16:46 as match 5. The bout sits in the main card, and the documented finish is Tanaka Cross Armbreaker on Tsubasa. Its 7.0 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
06Manabu Nakanishi defeated Osamu NishimuraB-
Manabu Nakanishi defeats Osamu Nishimura in 11:48 as match 6. The bout sits in the closing stretch, and the documented finish is Argentine Backbreaker. Its 7.0 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
07Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Koji KanemotoB-
Tatsumi Fujinami defeats Koji Kanemoto in 10:34 as match 7. The bout sits in the closing stretch, and the documented finish is Figure-Four Leglock. Its 7.0 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
Useful supporting material that works best in context.
08Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata defeated Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu FuchiB
Takashi Iizuka & Yuji Nagata defeats Toshiaki Kawada & Masanobu Fuchi in 30:00 as match 8. The bout sits in the closing stretch, and the documented finish is Time-limit draw. Its 7.9 score reflects how much the match contributes to this specific card through time, stakes, placement and result rather than through later reputation alone. The match earns more credit when it creates a tangible consequence or gives the event a clear change of pace, while a shorter or largely connective slot stays closer to supporting-card territory. That approach keeps the verdict tied to the actual running order. It also gives the longer late matches room to separate themselves without treating every main event or championship appearance as an automatic recommendation.
A strong supporting match worth watching in full.
BOOKING VERDICTB-
Iizuka and Nagata defeating Kawada and Fuchi received B and 7.9, clearly ahead of the remaining singles and tag matches in the surviving review. Nakanishi over Nishimura and Fujinami over Kanemoto were each rated B-, as was the Liger-Tanaka-Makabe junior six-man victory. These marks make the upper card a useful collection of different competitive styles even without a title change.
The early Tenzan-Yoshie result was graded C+, and the Kojima-Kenzo Suzuki bout received C. The B- overall event score reflects a better-reviewed closing attraction surrounded by modest undercard results. A viewer interested in inter-promotional competition should start with the Iizuka-Nagata tag and then watch the Fujinami and Nakanishi singles bouts for the New Japan context.
CROWD & PRESENTATIONB-
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium hosted the eight-match card before a listed attendance of 6,700. The opening section included Kensuke Sasaki and Super Strong Machine defeating Masahiro Chono and T2000 Machine. Yutaka Yoshie later beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and the middle part included Michiyoshi Ohara and Satoshi Kojima winning singles matches.
The program grew toward junior six-man competition, Manabu Nakanishi against Nishimura, Fujinami against Kanemoto and Iizuka-Nagata versus Kawada-Fuchi. The last match stands apart because of the visitors' All Japan association. The record shows that progression and who won; it doesn't establish a backstage narrative for why the guests appeared. The Osaka venue and 6,700 figure provide factual event scale without borrowing attendance from a different tour stop.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCEB-
The 2nd Judgement!! on December 14, 2000 concluded with Takashi Iizuka and Yuji Nagata defeating All Japan's Toshiaki Kawada and Masanobu Fuchi at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. The inter-promotional pairing created a distinctive closing attraction and earned the event's highest match review, B and 7.9. The card therefore finished with New Japan wrestlers beating recognized visiting opponents rather than with a world-title switch.
Earlier, Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Koji Kanemoto and Manabu Nakanishi beat Osamu Nishimura. The junior trio of Jushin Thunder Liger, Minoru Tanaka and Shinya Makabe won against Super Delfin, Takehiro Murahama and Tsubasa. Those concrete matchups identify this December show and its roster range. Its historical story concerns the New Japan-All Japan conclusion alongside a sequence of smaller singles and junior team matches, not the generic hierarchy of annual Tokyo Dome events.
WHAT AGED WELL
- The documented running order gives the event a clear hierarchy from opening support to the closing matches.
- The paid-broadcast identity and match times are independently corroborated rather than inferred from later reputation.
- The strongest matches still have enough time and consequence to stand apart from the connective portions of the card.
WHAT AGED POORLY
- Some supporting matches are more useful as historical record than as essential modern viewing.
- Early paid-event cards can contain abrupt changes in style and pacing that feel less unified than later New Japan major shows.
- A few shorter bouts depend heavily on roster context that is less obvious to a viewer approaching the event decades later.
RESEARCH VERDICTWhere the Evidence Lands
The specialist event records identify Osaka on December 14, 2000 and the Iizuka-Nagata versus Kawada-Fuchi closing tag. They separately record the Fujinami, Nakanishi and junior-six-man results. Those outcomes explain the inter-promotional context without a claim that all these wrestlers contested the same championship program.
The overall B- grade and the higher B rating for the main event are WrestleFile's existing evaluations. The winner data support a New Japan team victory, while the ratings assess performance. Distinguishing the event's special tag from title records prevents a confusing history in which Kawada's appearance is mistakenly treated as an IWGP championship match.
RESEARCH SOURCESSources & Methodology5 sources
These sources support the event record, historical context, critical reception, and streaming information used throughout this Event File.
- SmackDown Hotel - NJPW The 2nd Judgement!!PPV type, SKY PerfecTV network, identity, attendance, ordered results
- PUROLOVE NJPW 2000 Resultsindependent PPV/WPW label, venue, attendance, full card, match times and finishes
- WWF Old School - NJPW 2000third-domain corroboration of PPV/WPW classification, venue, attendance, full card and times
- Wikipedia historical cross-checkindependent chronology, identity or card cross-check
- CAGEMATCH Events by Broadcast Date - 2000independent broadcast-date listing includes The 2nd Judgement on 2000-12-14
WHERE TO WATCHStream This Event
Stream This Event
No current territory-safe direct viewing provider is asserted at this stage; availability should be rechecked immediately before publication.
WrestleFile lists only streaming options we have specifically confirmed. Availability varies by country and can change.