Tear Jerker / Tiger Mask W

• The very start, with Yellow Devil beating Daisuke Fuji within an inch of his life and forcing his promotion to close down on their ten-years anniversary, with all experienced wrestlers except Mikasa retiring and his son joining Tiger's Den (the ones behind Yellow Devil) to become strong enough to have his revenge.
• Every time Naoto Date, the original Tiger Mask, is brought up, chance is that you'll cry:
  • When Ken first mentions him he explains that he betrayed Tiger's Den to help underprivileged children with the money he made from the matches, also admitting he had been one of Tiger's Den's assassins. He continues explaining he fought and defeated each and every one of the assassins, including him and even their leader, Tiger the Great... And concludes saying that, after being unmasked in the final match, he thought he lost the trust of the children and just disappeared.
    • The fact Ken has to explain who Tiger Mask was. Aside for Tiger's Den and a few others, most people have forgotten about him in spite of his many battles and efforts.
  • Naoto wanted to make a safe haven for children where his training facility was, but had to retire before he could complete it. The whole place, except the training area, is now in ruins.
    • This gets worse when it's compared to its counterpart from the original manga: Tiger Mask had to interrupt the construction when the bloody matches with the seven challengers for his NWA World Maskmen Championship led to his money running out, but, after building his training facility in it for the rematch with Miracle 3 (Tiger the Great's counterpart), he later managed to resume and even complete the place.
  • Naoto fought Tiger's Den, giving his blood, his sanity, and almost his life, and managed to make the organization crumble. Now, fifty years later, they're back, and Ken, the last of Naoto's fellow traitors of Tiger's Den, is too old to fight them even if he hadn't been crippled by the beating at the hands of Tiger the Great.
    • Again, this gets worse when compared to the original manga: while Mr. X and the admins escaped, Tiger's Den was completely destroyed, first weakened by Tiger Mask and his True Companions from the JWA and then hunted down and finished off by the Interpol thanks to the information recovered during the raid on their headquarters. They made one last attempt with the fake Tiger Mask and then the World Heel Championship, but once Tiger Mask won the promoter admitted defeat and that he was the last of Tiger's Den.
• The fate of Zipangu: this small wrestling promotion had endured for ten years, in their anniversary tournament they got the chance for a big break in the form of wrestlers from the far larger GWM offering to take part in it... And at the end of the night two of their wrestlers had been beaten to the point they couldn't go on the ring anymore, their star wrestler and owner had been beaten to the point he never regained the ability to walk and seems have suffered brain damage, and they had to close down. And then, to rub it in, Yellow Devil, the one who executed the beating, convinced Takuma, the owner's son, to join Tiger's Den, and thus GWM, to become strong enough to avenge his father. If nothing else, Mr. X decided to pay the cures for Takuma's father...
• Antonio Inoki's absence. Even if dictated by him not being with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (that is supporting the series) anymore, Inoki was one of the first Tiger Mask's friends and is still active on the MMA scene... But he's not there to help the new Tiger Mask.
• During his fight with Tiger Mask, Tiger the Dark, alias Takuma, is on the verge of victory when he sees his father shouting Tiger Mask to recover.
• The end of episode 13. After a hard fight, Tiger Mask beats Yellow Devil, unmasks him... And finds Billy the Kidman, who was with Yellow Devil when he first came to Japan. All for nothing..
• Mint and Milk, the diva tag team Candy Pair, faced GWM's Queen Elizabeth and Payne Fox in a world championship match hoping to make a break into world-level fights. For all their efforts, they are at the receiving end of a brutal Curb-Stomp Battle, and actually cry in their dressing room for their failure.
• Because of Global Wrestling Monopoly (Tiger's Den front promotion), Mexican pro-wrestling is on the verge of extinction due to all their best wrestlers being scouted away. The great world that gave us legends like Mil Mascaras (who actually appeared in the original manga and its anime) and El Santo is disappearing because of Tiger's Den greed.
• Kaioh Mikasa taking part in GWM's War Games tournament using Yellow Devil's gimmick. Worse still, the one who unmasked him was Tiger the Dark - alias Takuma, the son of Daisuke Fuji, who was crippled by Yellow Devil right when Mikasa worked for his promotion.
• Tiger Mask's reaction when he wakes up after losing against Tiger the Dark, and missing the chance to face Tiger the Third. Especially when Fukuwara Mask reveals that Tiger the Third is likely the original Yellow Devil. He also has no idea why Tiger the Dark is always in his way.
  • In the meantime we have Tiger the Dark, who has found out from Hikari about The Third likely being Yellow Devil and is finally ready to take his revenge... But Tiger Mask managed to hit him with part of his finisher, leaving him injured while Kevin and Ruriko try and convince him not to go in the ring in that state. They only relent when he angrily reveals his backstory and The Third's possible identity.
  • Tiger the Dark's defeat and unmasking. Especially with Tiger Mask and Daisuke's reactions - and Kevin angrily chasing Tiger Mask off when he comes to his old friend's side, as he blames him for the defeat.
    • Daisuke's reaction is especially heartbreaking on so many levels. This is the first time he's seen Takuma in the three years since his career-ending match with Yellow Devil. For three years, he's been asking Naoto if he's gotten any word from him, and nearly crawled out of his room because of the possibility that Takuma had brought him pudding from his hometown. And then he has to watch as the same wrestler who crippled him does the exact same thing to his son, before unmasking him and leaving him in the ring like garbage.
    • Naoto crying while speeding through the streets on his motorbike, thinking back to his days training with his friend and wracked with guilt that his finishing move (which bruised Takuma's ribs) may have contributed to his loss and injury.
    • After the injury, Takuma is moved to the same hospital as his father, and can't say anything except apologizing for being unable to avenge him even as he joined Tiger's Den to achieve his goal.
• Haruna's inability to believe that Fukuwara Mask once went toe-on-toe with the real Yellow Devil has something sad, especially after she saw his serious moments more than once.
• After Takuma's Career-Ending Injury, Ruriko finds herself questioning her commitment to continue working in GWM medical staff, and asks Tiger Mask why he takes that risk.
• To have his fight against Tiger the Great the Third, Tiger Mask had to do one thing for Miss X: join the Miracles in their assault on NJPW. The reactions are heartbreaking.
  • Comes next episode, Ken and Takuma separatedly try and talk him out of it, but he's just too stubborn to listen. The only reason Haruna didn't as well, was that she knew he wasn't ready to listen.
  • At his first match with The Miracles, Tiger Mask is called by many 'Tiger the Traitor'. Even Ken agrees. Then the newspapers resurrect the "Yellow Demon" nickname...
  • When Naoto finally comes to his senses after attacking the Third when Miss X declares war on NJPW, Ken is quick to point out nobody trusts him anymore (nobody besides him and Haruna, of course). He's right: neither Miss X (who actually expected him to turn on GWM) nor NJPW, or even the fans, have any trust in him.
  • And as the final bit, it was all for nothing, as by attacking the Third before the war declaration Tiger Mask broke the contract and now has to fight for them more in various sanction matches (thinly-veiled attempts at executing him) without getting his shot. The fact Miss X sympathizes with Tiger Mask and Haruna when she states this only makes it worse.
• The return of the Arashi Juken Style from the old series, whose previous successor was an ally of the first Tiger Mask and helped him creating the Super Tiger Drop, shows that the current successor is using the school's reputation and fame to scam people, while Handa, the one candidate to succession that was worthy of the master, lost the contention and was expelled. Even if Tiger Mask and Fukuwara Mask help Handa expose the fraud and replace him, that's quite a sad reitroduction to the martial artists who may have helped the old Tiger Mask above even Baba...
• Haruna's reaction when she learns that Ruriko goes to Ken's training place with Takuma, even if she doesn't enter, when she isn't allowed to come there or know where it is.
• For all the series, Ryu Wakamatsu tried to court Haruna. In episode 34 he finally confesses to her-and that's when she admits she's in love with Tiger Mask.
  • Ryu's reaction: he demands that Haruna tells him the guy under the mask is a better man than him, so he'll have a reason to stand back.
• The shock of Miracle II, AKA Takuma's friend and old training partner Kevin, when Takuma enters the Final Wars on the NJPW side. Made worse because Takuma's whole motivation to be Miracle II is to avenge Takuma by defeating Tiger Mask for his perceived part in Takuma's crippling.
• Even if she wasn't in Japan when GWM first tried to expand in Japan, there's something sad in Miss X basing her new promotion in their old gym-and having no idea of what the sign she just removed meant.