Guide to Japanese Wrestling 2010

[PUNQ]

666 on COMM - December 5, 2010, Warabi City - (1 3/4 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 5, 2010, Warabi City

 

 

1. Shinobu -vs- Tochigi [1/2*]

--- More boring then bad, but it did feature Shinobu stiffing the fucker unbelivably! On the finish placing a dusty cardboard in front of his face and kicking him legit OUT COLD as dust was flying!!!

9:39 of 9:40 - Shinobu pinned Tochigi after a cardboard facekick

 

 

 

2. Yuko Miyamoto & Young Man -vs- Konaka Pale One & The 101 [1/4*]

--- This was just there and with a lame ending with the referee wanting to win the match too and a simple backslide with for Young Man.

11:45 of 11:45 - Young Man pinned 101 with a backslide

 

 

 

3. Chii Tomiya -vs- Sayako Obihiro [1/2*]

--- Had some very mildly entertaining parts with the cradle action and that. Obihiro looked to do ok for herself until she found herself trapped in that Tomiya cradle.

8:56 of 8:57 - Tomiya pinned Obihiro with a modified leg-hook cradle

 

 

 

4. Dinasty -vs- K666 [1/2*]

--- Nah....I wasn't getting interested in this one.....tried some fancy indy-listic moves. Didn't stop it from becoming a meaningless competitive match. Didn't help that Dinasty tried an overly fancy Swanton Bomb to finish it off and kind of missing his target....

13:40 of 13:41 - Dinasty pinned K666 after a Swanton Bomb

 

 

 

5. 8-Man Royal Rumble [1/4*]

--- Never try and make sense of 666's show-end entertainment.....

12:44 - 7-Wrestlers fought to a Time Limit Draw. The 101 lose the dropkick competition

 

 

 

COMMENTS: 666 quality......

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

STYLE-E on COMM - December 5, 2010, Tokyo - (1 1/2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 5, 2010, Tokyo - Shin-kiba 1st RING

 

 

1. Taro Yamada & Takao Soma -vs- Tatsuhiko Yoshino & Kotaru Nasu [* 1/4]

--- Average young mans wrestling with the last minute featuring some real nasty drops! Yamada's top rope double-kneedrop and most of all Natsu's backdrop suplex on Yamada. Didn't manage to put him away as a short while later Nasu went for a running kick and Yamada blocked it taking him down and did some leg arrangement cradle for the pin.

11:23 - Yamada pinned Nasu with a modified cradle

 

 

 

2. Daisuke -vs- Masato Shibata - (E-1 Climax - Block B ) [3/4*]

--- Shibata did what he usually do. Squash the small ones. But then Daisuke leeped out of a Dragon Suplex and planted a Sliding D light to stun Shibata enough to get the flash pin!!!

3:04 - Daisuke pinned Shibata after a Sliding D

 

 

 

3. Kazuhiro Tamura -vs- Takaku Fuke - (E-1 Climax - Block B ) [1/2*]

--- Ha ha ha. I was expecting a slow and long submission fight by these two UWF influenced wrestlers. And it started that way with careful feeling out and some locks. But then Tamura out of nowhwere did a speedy La Magistral to get the win!

5:21 - Tamura pinned Fuke with a La Magistral

 

 

 

4. Chango & Hanimoto Oyaji & ? -vs- Hide Kubota & Yasu Kubota & Spark Aoki [1/4*]

--- Just stupid-wrestling......

5:37 - Oyaji pinned Aoki after a second rope doubel-team legdrop

 

 

 

5. Minoru Fujita -vs- Chou-un Shiryu - (E-1 Climax - Block A) [* 1/4]

--- ....hardly classic wrestling. But with the interference against Shiryu it got quite chaotic and fun at the end until Fujita finally got him win.

11:51 - Fujita pinned Shiryu after a spear

 

 

 

6. Toshihiro Sueyoshi -vs- Masashi Takeda - (E-1 Climax - Block A) [* 1/2]

--- Sueyoshi is lacking quite a bit in his technique and it kept the match down a notch, but Takeda made sure there was quality making it a good match for the both of them and making it competitve. And then the shit happend. Sueyoshi got the undeserving win driving Takeda down in an almost double-arm Tombstone.

10:20 - Sueyoshi pinned Takeda after a double-arm high-angle facebuster

 

 

 

COMMENTS: One of the weaker Style-E shows.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

OSAKA PRO on SKY-A - December 5, 2010, Osaka - (1 1/2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 5, 2010, Osaka Minami Move On Arena (272 fans)

 

 

1. Miracle Man & Daiasuke Harada & Zeus -vs- Orochi & The Bodyguard & HAYATA [*]

--- Quick action match where HAYATO jumped himself straight into a German Suplex and was beat. Cool seeing Zeus with that badass beard.

4:24 of 5:35 - Harara pinned HAYATA with a German Suplex

 

 

 

2. Black Buffalo & Tigers Mask & Tadasuke -vs- Kuishinbo Kamen & Ebessan III & Takoyakida [1/2*]

--- Mostlty clowning around until the real joke came with Takasuke just punching down Kuishinbo and beating him in 3 minutes.

3:05 of 2:48 - Tadasuke pinned Kuishinbo after a Michinoku Driver II

 

 

 

3. Kanjyouro Matsuyama -vs- Ultimate Spider Jr - (Ten-No-Zan '10 - Round 1) [*]

--- Strange watching Matsuyama in a serious bout with near falls and that kind of formula. And winning I might add! Hardly a classic, but much better then majority other Matsuyama stuff.....

9:15 of 12:10 - Matsuyama pinned Spider with a Tiger Suplex

 

 

 

4. Tsubasa -vs- Atsushi Kotoge - (Ten-No-Zan '10 - Round 1) [**]

--- A long struggle. Not always super exciting, but they got some hot moments out of it with Kotoge getting to be competitive with the veteran, but in the end Tsubasa was too strong dropping Kotoge down in nasty Emerald Frosion style drops before finally getting trapped with nowhere to go in a Dragon Sleeper after that.

19:40 of 25:35 - Tsubasa made Kotoge submit to a modified Dragon Sleeper

 

 

 

5. Kuuga -vs- Masamune - (Ten-No-Zan '10 - Round 1) [* 1/2]

--- Hardcore rules with this one as Kuuga is known for working the garbage environment while Masamune is not so used to it. And there was a bunch of bumps on ladders, chairs and buckets. Had it's moments, but I wasn't drawn in too much by all this. But at least it gave the Oska Pro Champion an excuse to win dropping Masamune down on some metal to win.

13:00 of 19:19 - Kuuga pinned Masamune after a Gamen Stamp on a bucket

 

 

 

6. Hideyoshi -vs- Billy Ken Kid - (Ten-No-Zan '10 - Round 1) [**]

--- Kind of the same deal as Kotoge vs Tsubasa except both are more established. However Billy had the support, but Hideyoshi is a lot bigger and powerful. And they sold it like a grueling battle without really doing enough to prove that, so when it came time to sell the pain and exhaustion it didn't really feel the same way as a fan and it became a lot of laying around after gimmick drops as Billy dropped Hideyoshi down on the apron side and also had a partial Vertigo landing without making the cover. So in the end Hideyoshi fought Billy off and locked him in a grounded Cobra Clutch of sorts with Billy tapping.

22:12 of 26:49 - Hideyoshi made Billy submit to a modified Cobra Clutch

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Fairly good show with long matches trying take make them sepcial as the annual Ten-No-Zan tournament starts.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

AJPW on GAORA TV - December 7, 2010, Sendai - (2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 7, 2010, Sendai Sun Plaza (1,800 fans)

 

 

1. Taiyo Kea & Tamon Honda & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi -vs- Seiya Sanada & Manabu Soya & BUSHI [* 1/4]

--- For fun match with Kikuchi facials and other personalities. A little bit of solid action aswell before Kea managed to beat the little BUSHI by catching him and delivering a straight Samoan Drop on impact.

11:11 of 14:11 - Kea pinned BUSHI after a Samoan Drop

 

 

 

2. Kaz Hayashi & Shuji Kondo & Akebono -vs- TARU & Minoru & Rene Dupree [*]

--- Some easy wrestling to fill the day and keep a few feuds lightly alive as Minoru wants a shot at Hayashi's title and made it sure Hayashi knew. Other then that Akebono beat Dupree silly.

8:35 of 9:50 - Akebono pinned Dupree after a chokeslam

 

 

 

- Prelim highlights

- Real World Tag League Review (11/28 - 12/5).

 

 

 

3. Kohei Suwama & Ryota Hama -vs- Minoru Suzuki & Masakatsu Funaki - (RWTL '10 - Play-Off) [**]

--- KENSO & KONO won the league part of the tournament with 12 points, but for second position and a place in the final both these two teams ended on 11 points and have a play-off semis here. And it's not the best way to warm up for a final knowing you'll face fresh opponents in the final. Especially not when your name is Hama and have just had two shooters kicking apart and locking in his legs for so long! Cause that's what happend here. Suzuki & Funaki was rutherless towards the sumo wrestler and looked to on their way to winning isolating Hama a lot. But a change in tide made sure Hama with the help of Suwama would get the big comeback and win the match with Hama dropping Funaki down in the Jackhammer for a near fall before Suwama powerbombed Funaki setting him up for a big splash by Hama for the three count and place in the final!

17:53 of 17:53 - Hama pinned Funaki after a bodypress

 

 

 

4. KENSO & KONO -vs- Kohei Suwama & Ryota Hama - (RWTL '10 - Final) [* 3/4]

--- And Hama becomes the natural weak link which the heel attack. One thing that struck me was how little significent involvment Suwama had in these matches. Sure he made some saves and was the one to even things out a little, but the story and the memorable stuff was almost all Hama's. And him having KONO beat when the referee was down was heart-sadning because he just wasn't getting any justice. And then when the rest of the Voodoo Murders came out and crapped on him and with TARU smashing a chair over his head, you had to feel for poor Hama. And soon after it was all over with a Giant Kneedrop! The match struggled to really get going a lot of the time thanks to the heels slow approach.

20:44 of 20:44 - KONO pinned Hama after a top rope kneedrop. KENSO & KONO win the Real World Tag League '10.

 

 

 

COMMENTS: The annual real World Tag League comes to an end! And like with AJPW all of 2010, the stories are well done. The wrestling not.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

MR.GANNOSUKE PRODUCE on COMM - December 9, 2010, Tokyo - (1 3/4 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 9, 2010, Tokyo - Shin-Kiba 1st RING (285 fans)

 

 

1. Kazuhiro Tamura -vs- Keita Yano [*]

--- Keita, we already know you are a clown, so you don't need to dress like one. The match was decent. Not too much clowning around except for a disguisting moment from Yano where he kept spitting in one place in the ring and dropped Tamura face first there! Otherwise there was a lot of submission and forcus on the technical aspect before Tamura managed to streach out the arm for the tap.

11:44 of 11:44 - Tamura made Yano submit to a cross-armbreaker

 

 

 

2. Masamune & Makoto -vs- Kenichiro Arai & Chii Tomiya [3/4*]

--- Osaka Pro, Dragon Gate and Ice Ribbon in one match! Well, 2 Ice Ribbon girls which guarantees it'll stay down to ground level quality. They tried to make something out of it, but it dwelled mostly at mediocre until Masamune effectively made Tomiya tap.

14:31 of 14:30 - Masamune made Tomiya submit to a ankle hold

 

 

 

3. Masato Tanaka -vs- Masashi Takeda [** 1/4]

--- You recognize it. It's a Tanaka match! Stiff and hard on for punishment. And Takeda took as well as he got. He didn't have as total control as Tanaka had, like on that lifting bomb-type move he did toward the finishing streach which could have hurt Tanaka badly, but Tanaka isn't a sissy and loves to bump like they did in the good old days. So after a lot of brutal attacks from both guys Tanaka got his win with one of his sliding elbows. The main problem is that it's the same formula for most Tanaka matches.

13:44 of 13:43 - Tanaka pinned Takeda after a Sliding D

 

 

 

4. Jun Kasai -vs- Munenori Sawa - (Ladder Death Match) [* 1/2]

--- Ladder fight. Nothing hanging on the roof. Just the ladder as a weapon and you can bet they bumped on it! Sawa was bloodied up but wasn't being a quitter and tried his best to stay alive against the hardcore maniac. And he got him in trouble a little bit with the baseball punches and Octopus Hold being some of the moves he tried before Sawa crashed one too many times into the ladder and Kasai won it landing the Pearl Harbor Splash with the ladder on top of Sawa.

17:33 of 17:32 - Kasai pinned Sawa after a top rope ladder bodypress

 

 

COMMENTS: The last two matches had it's moments. The rest was typical filler wrestling. Might still be the best Gannosuke Produced show of 2010.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

REAL JAPAN on Samurai TV - December 9, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 9, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (1,621 fans)

 

 

 

1. Gran Hamada & Sanchu Tsubakichi -vs- Hayato Mashita & Akira Saito [* 1/2]

--- Wow, they're giving this Tsubakichi wins now as Saito had his back taped he was the natural taget and was picked on through-out the bout until he was such a easy target even Tsubakichi could beat him up!

14:09 of 14:09 - Tsukakichi made Saito submit to a armbar

 

 

 

 

2. Great Sasuke & Super Rider -vs- Ultimo Dragon & Kendo Nakazaki [* 1/4]

--- Sadly Sasuke madness didn't reach any hights in this one even if he's quite clearly a bit mad still. This ended up not being Nagazaki's night as Dragon's blow knocked him straight into Sasuke & Raider's arms and the rest is history....

12:49 of 12:49 - Sasuke pinned Nagazaki after the Sasuke Special

 

 

 

 

3. Tiger Shark & Black Shadow -vs- Alexander Otsuka & Black Tiger V - (Real Japan Tag Title Decision) [* 1/2]

--- This match was half-way to a thrianwreck, but it didn't matter. It kind of fit the story in there anyway as Black Tiger and Alexander wasn't really friends and their teamwork suffered because of it. Amusing rocky wrestling until Black Tiger found himself trapped in Shark's double armbar move.

14:53 of 14:53 - Shark defeated Black Tiger by Referee Stop with the Tiger Death By Lock. Shark & Shadow become the 1st Real Japan Tag Champions.

 

 

 

 

4. Minoru Suzuki & Super Tiger II -vs- Yuki Ishikawa & Yujiro Yamamoto [* 1/4]

--- Not a bad match at all, but this was one those that could have been so much more had they wanted to. My favourite moves of the match was Ishikawa's backdrop suplex and naturally the Gotch.....

12:23 of 12:23 - Suzuki pinned Yamamoto after a Gotch-style piledriver

 

 

 

 

5. Tiger Mask IV -vs- Tiger Mask I [* 3/4]

--- The original Tiger Mask against the current verson. Kind of a dream match, but it's 2010 so it's only going to be a tribute version of what could have been truly awesome. The wrestling wasn't spectacular and it was just the typical Tiger stuff, but still intriguing watching this. The twist in this was that Sayama hurt his leg doing a plancha out of the ring so as soon as he was back in the ring he was helpless and #4 just locked in the leg for a rather flat end to it.

10:14 of 10:14 - Tiger Mask IV made Tiger Mask I submit to a cross-kneebreaker

 

 

 

 

6. Genichiro Tenyru & Tatsumi Fujinami & Taiyo Kea -vs- Riki Choshu & Mitsuya Nagai & Hikaru Sato [* 1/2]

--- An all-star tag....almost as they bring in Sato to do the job to All Japan's Kea in the end. Kind of fun match, but it didn't bring any major highlights. Too many old guys for that, but a happy vibe.

12:40 of 12:40 - Kea pinned Sato after the TKO

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Not a great show. Interesting matches, but it wasn't the night where the big stuff happend.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[neil's bitch]

Kendo in japan? WHAT? Either he's really big over there or thats not the original Nagasaki?

 

Any ideas Punq?

[PUNQ]

No, it's NOT the ORIGINAL british Kendo Nakasaki. And it's not the 'original' Japanese Kendo Nagasaki. But it's a random Japanese wrestler doing the british Kendo Nakasaki Well, he's not really doing much of the gimmick. He's just wearing a mask wrestling without the 'powers' the british Kendo had. Filler guy. And I guess he's just there as a representative of the influence of 'the original Tiger Mask' Saturu Sayama background from his days wrestling in the UK. Don't think many in Japan has a clue about the british Kendo Nagasaki.

 

I guess the reason it's not a copy of the Japanese Kendo Nagasaki is that Sayama didn't have much to do with Kazuo 'Rambo' Sakurada, the Japanese Kendo Nagasaki, who did a different version of the gimmick in the US. Sakurada started out in the dying years of JWA and later joined All Japan before going to Stampede in 1976 and further down the American continent. During the early 80's started his version of the Kendo Nagasaki gimmick. Actually he copied Great Kabuki in gimmick. Facepaint and samurai stuff rather then mask and magic. Sayama started in 1976 and was a New Japan wrestler, so their paths didn't cross. Sayama left New Japan in 1983 and Kendo Nakasaki didn't return to Japan and NJPW before 1985 doing a few tours for them, by that time Sayama was working for the first version of UWF in Japan and quit the business for over a decade once that year was over. Sakurada would later wrestled for SWS along with promoting NOW and Big Japan shows after that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OSAKA PRO on COMM: MASAMUNE PRODUCE - December 10, 2010 - (1 3/4 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 10, 2010, Tokyo - Shin-kiba 1st RING

 

 

1. Yasu Urano -vs- Takeshi Takeshima [1/2*]

--- Osaka Pro's Masamune's produced show starts with DDT vs Battlarts as former K-Dojo veteran Urano meets hopeless Battlarts rookie Takeshima. And the best thing to hope for was Urano controling things in a dull technical manner to keep the match together. Which is what happened with him winning a uneventful match with a side headlock of all things.

11:40 of 11:39 - Urano made Takeshima submit to a side headlock

 

 

 

2. Kuuga & Hayata -vs- Great Takeru & Kamui [* 1/4]

--- Decent action filled bout. Didn't get me all excited but it had enough stuff going on to keep it watchable with some nice dives and some more brutal knocks. And once more Kuuga shows he's one of the top indy masked men trashing Kamui at the end with a little help from Hayata throwing powder to change the tide. Accidental brutal moment of the match was Takeru landing a summersault double-kneedrop instead of a splash.

14:22 of 14:31 - Kuuga pinned Kamui after a wrist-clutch fishermans buster

 

 

 

3. Antonio Honda -vs- Kuishinbo Kamen [3/4*]

--- Kind of charming in it's goofyness. Kuishinbo fooled Honda on the 'Michinoku Hop' and did a ton of schoolboys before Honda did a Lawler-perfect second rope fistdrop for the win!

9:48 of 9:51 - Honda pinned Kuishinbo after a second rope fistdrop

 

 

 

4. Masato Tanaka -vs- Black Buffalo [** 3/4]

--- This was quite awesome. Typical Tanaka formula with Buffalo as the underdog managing to surprise the Zero-One star several times with the lariat being his most effective weapon changing the balance. Tanaka on the other hand focused on bloodying the maskless Osaka Pro wrestler real bad. So much that the camera got a few drips as well on the impact strikes! The crowd naturally got hot for this as it was filled with intensity and near falls. Most to Tanaka who kept knocking Buffalo down with everything he had. Brainbusters, elbows and lariats until the final blow came. Yes, the Sliding D!

13:11 of 13:11 - Tanaka pinned Buffalo after a Sliding D

 

 

 

5. Masamune & Hideyoshi -vs- Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa [**]

--- Then for the main event with one of Osaka Pro's top teams against one of the top teams in Zero-One. A cool match produced by Masamune giving us a fine main event even if it didn't reach the drama the Tanaka vs Buffalo match did. This still had plenty of good action with the Osaka side looked a tad bit sharper nearly murdering Hidaka with a assisted Air Raid Crash before Masamune took care of the weak party of the team, Sawa, with his reversed DDT version.

20:00 of 20:00 - Masamune pinned Sawa after a modified reversed DDT

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Ended up being a good show with Buffalo vs Tanaka being the match to watch along with the main event.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

SMASH on Samurai TV - December 11, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 11, 2010, Tokyo - Shinjuku FACE (600 fans)

 

 

1. Takao Omori -vs- Yusuke Kodama [*]

--- Kodama is way too small to trouble someone like Omori, but they did the glamorized thing and let the kid get an early advantage flying in to attack the veteran and even duck the Axe Bomber and backdrop the big man, but Kodama was going to get murdered Axe Bomber style no matter what.....!

5:27 of 5:28 - Omori pinned Kodama after a lariat

 

 

 

2. Kaori Yoneyama & Commando Bolshoi -vs- Nagisa Nozaki & Shuri [* 1/2]

--- Joshi action with the JWP side of Yoneyama & Bolshoi showing the pretty girls how it's done. Well, Shuri got to land a few hard kicks and that kind of fighting, but Yoneyama is the queen of JWP now and added a little weight to get things her way.

8:30 of 8:29 - Yoneyama pinned Nozaki after a top rope senton

 

 

 

3. Kushida & Mentallo -vs- Lin Bairon & Golem Knight [* 1/2]

--- Cool moment of the match: Bairon leeping off Golem to make it an extra high plancha to the outside! There was other little things there too that was good, but I wasn't really feeling the match much. Only a basic entertainment match without importance. Only to give Kushida a lucky win over a heavyweight foreigner.

14:01 of 14:01 - Kushida pinned knight with a huracanrana

 

 

 

4. Minoru Suzuki -vs- Akira Shoji [* 1/4]

--- Suzuki giving Akira a lesson in serious wrestling. And while Shoji did get in some Oki headbutts, he got more then he could take from Suzuki. And I loved the big boot Suzuki gave Akira in there before finishing him with the Gotch driver.

11:07 of 13:35 - Suzuki pinned Shoji after a Gotch-style piledriver

 

 

 

5. Michael Kovac -vs- Hajime Ohara [* 3/4]

--- The new guy in town to get a push. Michael Kovac! And he's enimies with FCF's Starbuck, who is Ohara's running buddy in SMASH. So to present himself Kovac beats up Ohara landing a modified reversed facebuster of some kind to have him beat. Ohara did put up an fight, but this was Kovac's spotlight and he was always going to win.

9:25 of 9:25 - Kovac pinned Ohara after the Kovac Crusher

 

 

 

 

6. Tajiri -vs- Gypsy Joe [*]

--- Legend Revival match! And Tajiri goes all IWE on us bringing in old referee Mizuki Endo. That's the bold muscular referee that IWE used to have. And one of the top foreigners IWE used for their hardcore matches in the 1970's was Gypsy Joe.....so here he is at the end of 2010! Having just celebrated his 77th bithday (born December 2, 1933). He's wrestled for nearly 60 years and is still a tough son of a bitch! No one can claim that this was a wrestling masterpiece, but Joe wasn't totally lost. But of couse it all boiled down to the chairshots. The man is known for taking the hardest chairshots in the business and at the age of 77 he can still take 'em! Tajiri smashed a chair 5 times over the old mans head and he no-sold like a crazyman! Then Tajiri blew mist in his face and rolled the old guy up for the pin!

9:19 of 9:19 - Tajiri pinned Joe with a schoolboy

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Gypsy Joe!

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

ZERO-ONE on SAMURAI TV - December 11 & 21, 2010 - (3 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 11, 2010, Tokyo - Belle Salle Roppongi

 

 

1. Ryoji Sai & Shinsuke Jet Wakabata -vs- Don Gorman & Yuzuru Saito - (Furinkazan '10 - Block B ) [* 1/4]

--- The opening day of the Zero-One Tag League 2010 and I've got no idea who young Saito's team mate is. Didn't look bad or anything. Just a fairly typical indy wrestler I guess. Sai on the other hand team with former Z-1'er Wakabata who gets to guest his old home and even win the basic action match with a schoolboy on Saito.

9:55 of 9:41 - Wakabata pinned Saito with a schoolboy

 

 

 

2. Kohei Sato & Kamikaze -vs- Kintaro Kanemura & Takuya Sugawara - (Furinkazan '10 - Block A) [*]

--- Who was going to carry this one. The Kanemura & Sugawara side have already given up positive pro-wrestling life and Sato & Kamikaze are usually lazy and need someone to pull something out of them. But the Z-1 side had a lot more to offer then the losing Kanemura & Sugawara side. Kanemura just looks totally dead and was thankfully mercy killed by Kamikaze doing a twisting moonsault which didn't land perfect.

15:13 of 15:42 - Kamikaze pinned Kanemura after a Skytwister press

 

 

 

3. Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto -vs- Ikuto Hidaka & Fujita Jr Hayato - (Furinkazan '10 - Block B ) [**]

--- Solid long bout as two of the best teams in the tournament face. At one point if did seem like it was going to be a great match, but they didn't really pull off the climax portion well. Too many extra Sliding D's and not enough timed moments. Remember the days when the last minutes of time limit draw was always climatic fantastic. It's very rare that happens these days as most of the sprint ends lead to absolutely nothing interesting and they don't have the stamina to pull it off effectively enough. And it was like that here too. But besides that there was several parts of the match that was acceptable and near the level we hope from these guys.

24:52 of 30:00 - Tanaka & Sekimoto wrestled Hidaka & Hayato to a 30:00 Time Limit Draw

 

 

 

4. Shinjiro Otani & Akebono -vs- Munenori Sawa & Hikaru Sato - (Furinkazan '10 - Block A) [*]

--- Sawa had no confidence in his sumo against Yokozuna Akebono.....tsk tsk tsk..... However, no matter how many times Sawa and Akebono clashed this was truly boring and weakly executed. I had hoped for so much more but it never really got exciting and the crowd felt so too being more quiet here then in the other matches. Still this did feature Akebono so it had to have some good moments as he squashed the little guys.

16:43 of 18:32 - Akebono pinned Sato after bodypress

 

 

 

 

 

December 21, 2010, Nagoya - Zepp Nagoya

 

 

5. Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto -vs- Yutaka Yoshie & Sho Funaki - (Furinkazan '10 - Block B ) [* 1/4]

--- Some ok stuff here and there as they did their trademark spots and that like Sekimoto's German on big Yoshie, but this was nothing special which is nothing surprising as it also feature way-passed-his-prime former WWE'er Funaki. Only fitting that he was D'ed by Tanaka for the end.

10:31 of 9:24 - Tanaka pinned Funaki after a Sliding D

 

 

 

6. Kohei Sato & Kamikaze -vs- Shinjiro Otani & Akebono - (Furinkazan '10 - Block A) [* 1/2]

--- Took a while before it started getting interesting so they could have easily cut out 5 minutes of the early work to make it better. But at least it got fairly exciting at the end with Sato first getting double-squashed by the stars before he himself beat the crap out of Otani with Northern Light Bomb and Germans!

16:57 of 16:00 - Sato pinned Otani with a German Suplex

 

 

 

7. Munenori Sawa & Hikaru Sato -vs- Kintaro Kanemura & Takuya Sugawara - (Furinkazan '10 - Block A) [* 1/4]

--- Kanemura worked a little bit harder here. I guess working a week and a half straight on this tour helped him get his engine going a little. Still it's far from his old self and the most good came from Sugawara working with the two shooter stylists playing off a little on that with Sugawara wanting to do more regular pro-wrestling in those exchanges. In the end the submission fighting was Sugawara's downfall as Sawa slapped on a Inoki for the win to get their only points of the tournament.

13:30 of 14:12 - Sawa made Sugawara submit to a Octopus Hold

 

 

 

8. Ikuto Hidaka & Fujita Jr Hayato -vs- Ryoji Sai & Shinsuke Jet Wakabata - (Furinkazan '10 - Block B ) [* 3/4]

--- Fairly good as Sai & Hidaka loved to work with Wakabata and Hayato also added his thing even if he did play second-fiddle to Wakabata in the clash with the Zero-One guys. While it didn't get a true climax it did feature a lot of action that was good with Hidaka focusing on getting the Shawn Capture submission towards the end giviong the match some focus and getting them the win as Wakabata was trapped.

17:03 of 17:10 - Hidaka made Wakabata submit to the Shawn Capture

 

 

 

9. Kohei Sato & Kamikaze -vs- Masato Tanaka & Daisuke Sekimoto - (Furinkazan '10 - Final; NWA Intecontinental Tag Title) [* 1/2]

--- The winners of the group stages face off for the final! And the special prize is the NWA Intercontinental Tag Title previously held by Otani & Akebono, but vacated to make this tour more important. But sadly didn't make it feel more important to the wrestlers who only had a very standard match for a final. Not what we should expect for a tour ended like this, but that's what we got. We also got the star team of Tanaka & Sekimoto losing to Kamikaze & Sato. A little unexpected and unneccessary, but Kamikaze pinned the Zero-One champion Sekimoto with a small package to get the tournament and belts.

17:35 of 18:52 - Kamikaze pinned Sekimoto with a schoolboy. Sato & Kamikaze win the Furinkazan '10 and become the 25th NWA Intecontinental Tag Champions.

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Average tour with not too much to offer.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

NJPW on PPV - December 11, 2010, Osaka - (3 3/4 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 11, 2010, Osaka Prefectural Gym (6,115 fans)

 

 

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan -vs- Gedo [* 1/2]

--- Former multi-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan back working after more or less being forced to take a long time-out because of injuries after a painful G-1 Climax tournament back in 2009. So after 16 months he's back in the ring trying to prove that his body can take it. And he looked better then he's been in years! But how long his body will last is a another matter. But now fresh, rested and managed to build up his body a little bit, he looks good. The match was more or less a standard singles bout for him, but not much more was needed at this stage. After defeating the little junior heavyweight prick, a heavyweight prick attacked him and put him in a sleeper. That was Takashi Iizuka.

8:44 of 8:43 - Tenzan made Gedo submit to the Anaconda Vice

 

 

 

2. Manabu Nakanishi & Koji Kanemoto -vs- Ryusuke Taguchi & Tama Tonga [* 1/2]

--- Easy quick fun as everyone did their bit to make this throw-away tag entertaining before it was time for Nakanishi apply the Argentine backbreaker.

9:25 of 9:25 - Nakanishi made Tonga submit to a Argentine backbreaker

 

 

 

3. Tomohiro Ishii -vs- Tiger Mask [* 3/4]

--- The fight started already out on the the rampway and they had a little heated battle out of this. Could have been more dramatic and special, but it was ok while it lasted with Tiger having Ishii beat when teh referee was down and Ishii trying to take off the mask before planting that lariet for the pin!

8:29 of 8:27 - Ishii pinned Tiger after a lariat

 

 

 

4. Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito -vs- Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin [**]

--- No Limit vs Motor City Machine Guns! A ok spot match, but didn't really feel all that important or great as it should have been. Some highlights, sure! Like the finish! Yujiro did some kind of Canadian backbreaker into a piledriver/facebuster move to win it. Looked quite good.

12:40 of 12:39 - Takahashi pinned Shelley after the Tokyo Pimps

 

 

 

5. Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson © -vs- Yuji Nagata & Wataru Inoue - (IWGP Tag Title) [** 3/4]

--- The Tag Title this year has been all about Bad Intensions, No Limit and Blue Justice. And here is another match where Bad Intensions face Blue Justice. Not a 3-way this time. Been too many of those. And it was refreshing that it was only 2 teams. And things had time to sink in without any distractions and they made a very good match out of it. Even if it featured Inoue. Bernard & Anderson is quite a team which is working better and better together. Bernard had the power, Anderson the speed, and that way they fill each other out. And they gave the challengers enough to chew on here. But they got some comebacks like Inoue's German Suplex being one of the hottest moments of the match. Same with Inoue kicking out of the Gun Stun. But then came the Bernard Driver and Inoue was dead.

17:23 of 17:23 - Bernard pinned Inoue after a Bernard Driver. Bernard & Anderson retain the IWGP Tag Title in their 3rd defence.

 

 

 

6. Prince Devitt © -vs- Davey Richards - (IWGP Junior Title) [** 1/2]

--- Strong match, but I had hoped for more. They just didn't have the climax portion they should have had. Some nice flying moves and stuff like that, but this was lacking the end drama and kind of just ended with a non-brutal version of the Bloody Sunday. But we did get Devitt flying big out of the ring, along with his top rope backdrop suplex while Richards tried his best to be a Dynamite Kid doing all that kind of manerisms.

13:05 of 13:04 - Devitt pinned Richards after the Bloody Sunday DDT to retain the IWGP Junior Title in his 3rd defence.

 

 

 

7. Toru Yano & Takashi Iizuka -vs- Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma [* 1/4]

--- A heavyweight tag to calm things down after two title matches. And it was just some random action before Honma getting the Iron Fingers from Iizuka making the job easy for Yano.

10:45 of 10:46 - Yano pinned Honma after a Oni Koroshi powerbomb

 

 

 

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi -vs- Hirooki Goto [** 3/4]

--- Far cry from their 2007 classic, but this one got real good aswell. Sadly I kind of hated the start as there wasn't enough happening and they didn't do anything special about it. Naturally Tanahashi is the king of the climax ending in Japan and they put together a very strong end to the match with the trapped German and splashes. Goto got in his wrist-clutch Death Valley and several other dangerous moves, but in the end Tanahashi is the main star of the two winning with the High Fly Flow!

16:44 of 16:55 - Tanahashi pinned Goto after a top rope bodypress

 

 

 

9. Satoshi Kojima © -vs- Shinsuke Nakamura - (IWGP Title) [***]

--- Turned quite interesting. It was that kind of match that was always bubbling and one didn't trully know what was coming. Like the arrogant amateur wrestling start were Nakamura just pushed Kojima away to show he's surperior. And Nakamura wanted to go for that lariat arm while Kojima liked going for the leg that was troubling the challenger. And they got a few hot spots out of it. Especially when Nakamura went for the cross-armbreaker! And the match kept on growing in a good slow pace getting more exciting as it went along until Kojima landed a few too many lariats for Nakamura to kick out of. Which makes this Kojima's V1 defence!

19:18 of 19:17 - Kojima pinned Nakamura after a lariat to retain the IWGP Title in his 1st defence.

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Strong show. Had hoped for one match to explode, but they were all well built anyway even if they didn't reach maximum boost. Was slightly disappointed with Devitt vs Richards, that one had the potential to be something awesome. But the IWGP Tag Title match went beyond expectations.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

NJPW on SAMURAI TV - December 12, 2010, Nagoya - (3 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 12, 2010, Nagoya - Aichi Prefectural Gym (8,000 fans)

 

 

1. Hiroyoshi Tenzan -vs- Jado [* 1/4]

--- Tenzan beat Gedo the day before, so now it's Jado's turn to get the Tenzan treatment. Well, Jado did get quite a bit of offence before the TTD and Anaconda Vice came. Still not a very exciting bout.

10:41 of 10:40 - Tenzan made Jado submit to the Anaconda Vice

 

 

 

2. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Davey Richards -vs-Giant Bernard & Karl Anderson & Tiger Mask [*]

--- A mish-mash. Random action to the point it got too chaotic to follow. The main thing was Tiger's mask getting pulled and the behind the referees back Iizuka' planted his Iron Fingers up Tiger's throat and Ishii could make the easy cover. The mask was pulled off after the bout, but Tenzan came out for the rescue.

10:45 of 10:35 - Ishii pinned Tiger after Iizuka's Iron Fingers From Hell

 

 

 

3. Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin -vs- Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi [** 1/4]

--- Motor City Machine Guns against Apollo 55 and this time there is no belts on the line, so it's safe to give MCMG their win back. As they won using the neckbreaker Ligerbomb double-team move to beat Devitt. The match had it's moments of spectacular wrestling, but it also had a slow start where it wasn't so exciting. And it was a little too indy motion-like to really feel the excitement. But overall a entertaining experience in the end.

13:53 of 13:52 - Sabin pinned Devitt after the Made in Detroit

 

 

 

4. Yuji Nagata -vs- Yujiro Takahashi [**]

--- Stiff motherfucker! Yujiro naturally on the receiving end of the worst. Didn't think the match was very good besides the brutality, but sure that in itself brings enough entertaining. Nagata backdrop to finish Yujiro off. Suzuki was on the attack after the bout to set-up their match for the Tokyo Dome show.

10:42 of 10:41 - Nagata pinned Takahashi with a backdrop suplex hold

 

 

 

5. Shinsuke Nakamura -vs- Wataru Inoue [* 3/4]

--- They really are too nice to Inoue getting to look competitive with guys he shouldn't look good against. The German was Inoue hot moment as usual, but soon after Nakamura landed his Boma Ye and it was all over for Inoue.

9:44 of 9:44 - Nakamura pinned Inoue after a Boma Ye kneekick

 

 

 

6. Masato Tanaka & Toru Yano -vs- Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma [**]

--- Oh my, Makabe got a trashing from Tanaka here. Vicious kendo stick stots before planting the D. It was a fairly trashy match and sort of fun, but not anywhere a fresh match. Just a way to keep the Makabe vs Tanaka feud alive for the Dome.

13:55 of 13:54 - Tanaka pinned Makabe after a Sliding D

 

 

 

7. Hiroshi Tanahashi -vs- Tetsuya Naito [** 1/2]

--- Didn't like the start. It was couldn't-care-less wrestling done very uninspiring. And then they put on their working boots for a few minutes at the very end for a hot climax of suplexes, dives and what not until Tanahashi landed the High Fly Flow to have the No Limit wrestler beat.

17:38 of 17:37 - Tanahashi pinned Naito after a top rope bodypress

 

 

 

8. Satoshi Kojima -vs- Hirooki Goto [** 1/4]

--- Bad start here too. That's one of the main downside to todays New Japan. They have only one way of doing things. Same damn forumla for nearly every singles match. Dull and slow start with no hint of fire and then an explosion the final minutes to make up for it. No real meaning or things to keep it interesting all the way. Well, here Goto was on a roll and then ran himself into a lariat and was beat by the IWGP Heavyweight Champion.

18:57 of 18:57 - Kojima pinned Goto after a lariat

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Good show, but not enough variation and it was clear the show wasn't of the highest importance even if it was a fairly big one.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

AJPW on Samurai TV - December 12, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 12, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (2,000 fans)

 

 

 

1. Heat(Minoru Tanaka) -vs- BUSHI [*]

--- Heat is back! For one night only as this is a Fan Appreciation Day fun show and Minoru put his old mask back on to face All Japan's own masked junior heavyweight BUSHI. The match was nothing special. A couple of hot moves and Heat winning with the Heat Clutch.

5:50 of 10:37 - Heat pinned BUSHI with the Heat Clutch

 

 

 

 

2. Seiya Sanada -vs- KAI [* 1/2]

--- Fairly solid singls bout, but hardly too exciting apart from the time limit expiring. Cool thing was KAI try and beat Sanada with the Japanese leg roll clutch hold which is Sanada's speciality. Sanada tried the move himself at the end, but couldn't get a count before the time.

12:19 of 20:00 - Sanada wrestled KAI to a 20:00 Time Limit Draw

 

 

 

 

3. Kaz Hayashi -vs- Osamu Nishimura - (Rope Match) [**]

--- Hayashi's annual rope match, and it was funny how they used the ropes in all tha traditional wrestling having it play apart in the Cobra Twists, the figure-fours and all that stuff. And how Nishimura meditated himself out of the rope. Not to mention the rope magic at the end that stunned Nishimura so much that Hayashi could roll him up for the backslide pin!

13:44 of 15:14 - Hayashi pinned Nishimura with a backslide

 

 

 

 

4. Keiji Muto & Kannazaki -vs- Ryota Hama & Small Riki Choshu - (F-1 Tag Title) [1/4*]

--- Holy shit! Ryota Hama dressed as a mega hugh Riki Choshu!!! Well, this is the type of match where making impersinations are more important then the wrestling so most of the match was them on the mic. And then they had a tiny wrestling match at the end where we got NEW F-1 TAG CHAMPIONS!!! Muto & Kannazaki has held these belts since December 15th 2006! So their 4 year comedy reign comes to an end!

20:12 of 20:13 - Choshu pinned Kannazaki after a lariat. Hama & Chochu become the 2nd F-1 Tag Champions.

 

 

 

 

5. Kohei Suwama & Masa Fuchi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi & Kikutaro & Yasufumi Nakanoue -vs- Masakatsu Funaki & Akebono & Shuji Kondo & Manabu Soya & Hiroshi Yamato - (2/3 Falls) [**]

--- First fall ended funny with Kikutaro thinking he was clever against Funaki only to run himself into a sleeper and tapping like a bitch. Second fall had some sick moments with Kikuchi and Yamato! I was just watching with my mouth open in shock. Looking past Yamato shoving a older lady to the floor, Kikuchi and Yamato both started bleeding the hard way headbutting the ring bell! They were having a headbutting contest and it really got out of hand! Seriously insane moments there! The fall ended with Yamato getting taken care of by the Triple Crown Champion. Suwama's team wasn't that strong besides him so when Fuchi was fighting big Akebono for the ending it didn't really seem like much of a contest. But surprise surprise! Suwama lariated Akebono and Fuchi quickly followed up with a inside cradle to get the major upset beating Akebono! What a strange and happy match.

7:24 of 9:36 - Finaki made Kikutaro submit to a sleeper

8:14 of 8:15 - Suwama pinned Yamato after a Last Ride powerbomb

5:23 of 5:23 - Fuchi pinned Akebono with a small package

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Entertaining show, but all kinds of weird.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

NEO on COMM - December 12, 2010, Tokyo - (1 1/2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 12, 2010, Tokyo - Itabashi Green Hall (205 fans)

 

 

1. Tanny Mouse -vs- Miki Iida [1/2*]

--- Iida getting the rookie treatment from Tanny.....

7:31 of 7:31 - Tanny pinned Iida after a crawling headbutt

 

 

 

2. Mima Shimoda -vs- Lingerie Muto [1/2*]

--- And Shimoda has a fairly easy day beating Sawa in womens underwear.

9:10 of 9:07 - Shimoda pinned Muto with a small package

 

 

 

3. Aya Yuki & Ryo Mizunami -vs- Toshie Uematsu & Kagetsu [* 1/2]

--- The former NEO Tag Champion team of Yuki & Mizunami are still looking good and strong as they take care of Uematsu and Sendais Kagetsu in a somewhat impressive and aggressive manner. They almost displayed pro personality as they went to work throwing Kagetsu around. Mizunami was the one that got to pin Kagetsu as she's also a fellow Senmdai Girls wrestler.

16:52 of 16:50 - Mizunami pinned Kagetsu after a top rope legdrop

 

 

 

4. Cherry -vs- Tanny Mouse [1/4*]

--- ....Tanny and Cherry having their last shit-match......

14:08 of 14:08 - Cherry pinned Tanny with a modified La Magistral roll-up

 

 

 

5. Yoshiko Tamura -vs- Yuki Miyazaki [*]

--- The final singles bout between two longtime NEO members. Neither being what they once was so it became only a forced even bout which had little to offer except another ace win for Tamura with her Mount Cook driver.

15:20 of 15:20 - Tamura pinned Miyazaki with the Mount Cook

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Not too much to offer here except the Yuki & Mizunami looking like the gave a shit, which was more then what one could say about the others on this show.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

JWP on COMM - December 12, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

 

 

December 12, 2010, Tokyo - Cinema Club (148 fans)

 

 

1. Sachie Abe -vs- Masu-me - (Exhibition) [1/4*]

--- Just a little training session for Masu-me before she makes her official debut on the December 23rd Korakuen Hall show. Didn't seem to be anything special.

5:00 of 5:00 - Abe wrestled Masu-me to a 5:00 Time Limit Draw

 

 

 

2. Shimono Sawako -vs- Sayaka Obihiro - (JWP Junior/POP Titles #1 Contender Tournament - Final) [1/2*]

--- Not really better then the exhibition match, but kind of interesting to see how Obihiro would deal with the pain she got when she landed wrong and twisted her knee. She struggled to shake it off and it became a clumsy and easy win for Sawako who gets a shot at the JWP Junior & POP Titles at the next JWP show.

5:41 of 5:40 - Sawako pinned Obihiro after a Samoan Drop

 

 

 

3. Megumi Yabushita & Kazuki -vs- Tojuki Leon & Senri Kuroki [* 1/4]

--- Too much Kuroki to really become a good viewing, but at least they worked hard around her to get something out of it before it was time to make her tap.

14:15 of 14:15 - Kazuki made Kuroki submit to a cross-armbreaker

 

 

 

4. Kayoko Haruyama & Tsubasa Kuragaki -vs- Yoshiko Tamura & Tanny Mouse [* 3/4]

--- More final JWP vs NEO stuff with two of that's retiring facing JWP's strong side of Kuragaki & Haruyama for both laughs and struggles. There was some good stuff here, but not a complete experience. Hey, it featured Tanny! What did you expecxt? At least she did the expected job!

16:41 of 16:40 - Kuragaki pinned Tanny after a lariat

 

 

 

5. Commando Bolshoi -vs- Hamuko Hoshi - (ICEx60 Title) [*]

--- Bolshoi defending the Ice Ribbon based joke belt against one of those annoying Ice Ribbon girls. Hoshi brings the energy, but how serious can one take her. Not much so this title match becomes little more then a action filler with Bolshoi having this under control and making her tap to that special chin streach of hers.

12:23 of 12:20 - Bolshoi made Hoshi submit to the Sensei Hold II to retain the ICEx60 Title in her 3rd defence.

 

 

 

6. Kaori Yoneyama & Sachie Abe & Hailey Hatred -vs- Nanae Takahashi & Yumiko Hotta & Kazumi Shimouma [* 1/2]

--- Overload of action and so little stadning out! I don't understand how it's possible. So you can say execution wasn't on top. They were just executing and that was it. But at least there was life there and thats what the bout lived on. And Shimouma was the likely slaughter target with the JWP Champion taking care of her.

18:06 of 18:05 - Yoneyama pinned Shimouma after a Destiny Hammer

 

 

 

COMMENTS: Hmmmm.....it felt better then this, but they didn't deliver any magic.

 

 

--PUNQ--