>>12647740This gonna be a bit long but this entire Inoki vs Masa feud in 1987 that spanned a number of matches was supposed to be with Choshu, but Choshu was still bind by that shitty AJPW contract so he couldn't enter an NJPW ring, let alone wrestle there yet. Inoki knowing that, he sent a letter to Masa, Choshu's mentor, who was still in prison in the US, and asked him to do a feud with him after his release in preparation for Choshu's return. Masa said he accepted it and was training in prison for his return. In that year, Choshu was already mentally done from wrestling in AJPW and was asking for his release but they didn't accept it, so he kept giving excuses to them so he wouldn't wrestle there anymore. In the April match, he told them that he had a fever and diarrhea, but he was attending the Inoki vs Masa match. Choshu there was building up a feud with Inoki and Fujinami, which then evolved into the old generation (Inoki and Masa) vs the new generation (Choshu, Fujinami and Maeda), but even that didn't last long, which is another story. Everyone at that time knew Choshu is coming back to NJPW soon, NJPW, the wrestling fans, and AJPW themselves. Choshu returned to NJPW in June Babetty sent legal letters threatening Choshu, NJPW and TV Asahi from doing wrestling matches. Choshu did return in June, but his match couldn't be aired due to the legal issues with AJPW, and it wasn't until October that Choshu's matches began to be broadcast on TV Asahi. Overall, that year and the following years after it were extremely hot for NJPW with both Choshu's and UWF's wrestlers return to NJPW.
