Battle Formation was an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place at the Tokyo Dome during the month of April in 1996 and 1997. It was a major event, drawing over 60,000 fans in attendance during both editions. Shinya Hashimoto headlined both editions, cementing his status as the ace of NJPW during that period.
Battle Formation was headlined by an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match in which NJPW representative Shinya Hashimoto defeated the defending champion Nobuhiko Takada, who represented UWFI. The match was significant for storyline purposes as the title change was responsible in bringing the title back to NJPW after Takada claimed the title by beating The Great Muta at Wrestling World and took the title to UWFI.[4] It has been considered as one of the best IWGP Heavyweight Championship title changes by Danny Djeljosevic of The Sportster, who reviewed it as "a classic where the stakes are so high that the crowd goes BALLISTIC any time Hashimoto lands a strike."[5]
The 1997 event took place on April 12, 1997 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was a massive success, drawing a crowd of about 60,000 fans and the revenue generated from ticket sales amounted to $5,000,000.[7]
It was headlined by a Different Style Fight, which featured the professional wrestling debut of former judokaNaoya Ogawa, who won seven medals in the World Judo Championships and a silver medal in the 1992 Summer Olympics. Ogawa was brought in as a replacement for Ken Shamrock and took on the IWGP Heavyweight ChampionShinya Hashimoto. Ogawa got a shocking upset win by knocking out Hashimoto with a choke. The result set the stage for a lengthy rivalry between the two that resulted in a series of matches.
