Guide to Japanese Wrestling 2010

[PUNQ]

ZERO-ONE MAX on Samurai TV - March 2, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 2, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall

 

1. Shota Takanishi -vs- Yoshikazu Yokoyama - (Lion King Cup - Semi-Final)

--- Yokoyama, Zero-One's latest rookie having made his debut 2 days earlier does ok, but is naturally green at this stage of his career. Looks about the same level as the other rookie Z-1 has come with in recent years and thats a good thing. Shota takes care of him here though with a crab hold.

1:29 of 7:08 - Takanishi made Yokoyama submit to a single leg crab

 

 

2. Kenta Kakinuma -vs- Yuzuru Saito - (Lion King Cup - Semi-Final)

--- This match is most notable for probable being Kakinuma's first win! He's been on the winning side in tags a few times on house shows, but this is the first fall he's ever won himself! And he did so with the German Suplex.

1:35 of 8:01 - Kakinuma pinned Saito with a German Suplex

 

 

3. Kohei Sato & Kamikaze -vs- Kintaro Kanemura & Rikiya Fudo [*]

--- Solid stiff action made to make Sato look strong with him beating the powerful Fudo with a 'Polestar' aka Northern Light Bomb.

4:09 of 9:20 - Sato pinned Fudo after a Northen Light Bomb

 

 

4. Fujita Jr Hayato & Kei Sato -vs- Minoru Fujita & Takuya Sugawara [* 1/4]

--- Where there is one Sato Twin, the other isn't far away. And Shu was there to interfere and distract so that his side could pick up the win. Decent work, but nothing too extravagant

7:33 of 13:34 - Hayato pinned Fujita after the Helm kneekick

 

 

 

5. Masato Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki -vs- Ikuto Hidaka & Munenori Sawa [***]

--- A war.....simple as that. At first it wasn't anything special, but about half way it started picking up speed and only went faster and faster with a fury of finishers and near falls. Over-kill and not too much thought into selling the many deadly finishers. But man, what spirit! And Sawa was king of them all taking the Sliding D's and busters like a man, only to get up at the next moment after being saved hungry to win the match before the time limit would expire. But naturally nobody won no matter how many D's and devestating blows they took and we had a climax frenzy because of it.

25:07 of 30:00 - Tanaka & Mochizuki wrestled Hidaka & Sawa to a 30:00 Time Limit Draw

 

 

6. Kenta Kakinuma -vs- Shota Takanishi - (Lion King Cup - Final) [*]

--- Rookie tournament final! And Kakinuma picks up his second single win with the German Suplex he had to do two of to win. The match was a very rookie style match. Energy, but execution fairly shakey and basic. But congrats to Kakinuma on the win!

9:15 of 19:12 - Kakinuma pinned Takanishi with a German Suplex to win the Lion King Cup.

 

 

 

7. Shinjiro Otani & Akebono © -vs- The Predator & Bambi Killer - (NWA Intercontinental Tag Title) [** 1/4]

--- Otani & Akebono defend their newly won NWA Intercontinental Tag Titles against two longtime regular foreigners in the company in The Predator & Bambi Killer! And this was a half freakshow! Think about it. Akebono vs the Bruiser Brody wannabe The Predator! Slow giants clashing! I love that kind of thing. Nothing too awkward though. Otani and Chris brought more the speed, but this was more the fans match as they actually cared for the champions and especially Otani cheering him on against the evil foreigners. And he greatfully answered back doing the unthinkable and backdrop suplexing the big Predator 3 times to pin the monster!

16:24 of 15:00 - Otani pinned Predator after 3 backdrop suplexes. Otani & Akebono retain the NWA Intercontinental Tag Title in their 1st defence.

 

 

 

8. Toshiaki Kawada © -vs- Ryuji Sai - (Zero-One Title) [* 3/4]

--- A lot of kicking at first, then Kawada did his old hurting leg trick and Sai worked over it for a long time. Seen this before in many Kawada matches. Not exactly a fresh approach. And on top of that Sai ended up being the heel in front of his own crowd as he kept pushing the referee away to attack the old beloved veteran. And when all the leg work didn't go anywhere. Kawada was back on his feet kicking Sai dead.....

20:52 of 21:48 - Kawada pinned Sai after a headkick to retain the Zero-One Title in his 3rd defence.

 

 

COMMENTS: Sadly the main event left something to deseire, but with two, in different ways, strong tag matches before it we did get some good wrestling on this show.

 

 

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[neil's bitch]

for those looking to keep up, I do believe to NOAH news feed site is back up and running!

 

check my sig for links to dragongate/New japan and Noah news sites.

[PUNQ]

NJPW on ESPN - March 5, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 5, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (2,000 fans)

 

 

 

- Shinya Hashimoto (represented by his son) and Animal Hamaguchi get included in New Japan's Hall of Fame - the NJPW Greatest Wrestlers Awards. Hamaguchi is mad on the mic!

 

 

1. Ryusuke Taguchi -vs- Nobuo Yoshihashi [* 1/4]

--- Taguchi wrestling in rookie black trunks and not his usual 'Funky Weapon' trousers. And he had a solid rookie style match with the last to debut from the New Japan dojo in Yoshihashi who powered himself out of the Boston Crab nicely and even landed a leeping elbow. But after getting some lucky near falls Yoshihashi was tapping to the cross-armbreaker

6:56 of 6:24 - Taguchi made Yoshihashi submit to a cross-armbreaker

 

 

2. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask -vs- Dick Togo & Gedo [* 1/2]

--- Liger & Tiger against the heels. Fairly decent standard with Liger and Gedo getting verbal at one and other in english! The end was a cradle battle with Liger flying in with a Lou Thesz Press for the count!

9:09 of 9:09 - Liger pinned Gedo with a Air Scissor Drop

 

 

3. Manabu Nakanishi & Tomoaki Honma -vs- Wataru Inoue & Mitsuhide Hirasawa [* 3/4]

--- Funniest part of this was Honma making a super late save AFTER Nakanishi had kicked out! Considering the amount of losers in this match they got some good spirit into it with Hirasawa fighting for his life as both Nakanishi & Honma crapped on him. Inoue came in for a hot tag showing more personality then usual and getting the fans behind him, but with Hirasawa back in Nakanishi wasn't too troubled and just lifted the guy up for a Argentine backbreaker.

9:58 of 9:58 - Nakanishi made Hirasawa submit to a Argentine backbreaker

 

 

4. Yuji Nagata & Yujiro Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito -vs- Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson [** 1/4]

--- Yujiro has taken his sirname back, so Mr.Takahashi and Naito were quite awesome in this refusing to co-operate with the establsihed Nagata and only wanted to run their own show. Nagata didn't like that and he liked it even less when the IWGP Tag champs wanted to use the championship belts as weapon so he booted his own partner down and then went on to win the match by himself and in a clean way using the backdrop suplex hold on Machine Gun. This was was both entertaining with Naito and Anderson being real characters and also wild starting out as a brawl.

10:49 of 13:32 - Nagata pinned Anderson with a backdrop suplex hold

 

 

 

5. Naomichi Marufuji © -vs- Koji Kanemoto - (IWGP Junior Title) [*** 1/2]

--- The epic! Marufuji and Kanemoto style! One critizism I have is that the execution of the action spots wasn't perfect. Kind of rushed and careful at the same time, but the ideas was real good and that's where the quality was. Got to love Kanemoto when he hung Marufuji upside-down in the corner and then sat down and continued to slap his face! A badass moment right there! And when Kanemoto was in full control dropping Marufuji from the top turnbuckle again and again hoping to get the win. And when the big drivers didn't work Kanemoto went for the ankle holds which was when the excitement really crept in. As for Marufuji, in some of the aspects he was nearly doing lucha locking in unique submission holds. He did quite a bit of his bigger spots too, but let Kanemoto take the spotlight as he was losing in the end. And Kanemoto was looking pissed most of the way as he went after Marufuji in this 30+ minute battle. And after getting the crap beat out of him Marufuji made his big comeback with a moonsaulting Shiranui and then the hard Pole Shift! That makes it successful defence #2 for the NOAH wrestler. Poor Kanemoto. He was really getting the fans behind him in this one and he failed to bring to belt back to New Japan.

31:42 of 31:44 - Marufuji pinned Kanemoto with the Pole Shift to retain the IWGP Junior Title in his 2nd defence.

 

 

 

6. Shinsuke Nakamura & Masato Tanaka & Toru Yano -vs- Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Togi Makabe [**]

--- A fairly wild main event, but only with trademark stuff filled out this one without establishing too much new. What became clear was that Makabe is going after Nakamura now as the two were fighting the finishing streach with the champion getting the better of Makabe right now with the Boma Ye's.

17:49 of 17:49 - Nakamura pinned Makabe after the Boma Ye kneekick

 

 

COMMENTS: NJPW's 38th Anniversary show and only one match mattered and that was the IWGP Junior Title match between Marufuji and Kanemoto and that one delivered!

 

 

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[PUNQ]

NJPW on ESPN - March 7, 2010, Hamamatsu - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 7, 2010, Hamamatsu - Act City Hamamatsu (2,150 fans)

 

1. Ryusuke Taguchi -vs- Kyosuke Mikami - (Mikami's Debut Match) [3/4*]

--- 26 year old Mikami making in pro-wrestling debut! Didn't get to show too much as most of this was your basic rookie against a veteran match with the new guy having to fight himself out of holds until he submits to a crab hold. Mikami looks average for a rookie. Looks fairly strong, but he's on the short side to really make it big.

6:46 of 6:45 - Taguchi made Mikami submit to a Boston Crab

 

 

2. Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask -vs- El Samurai & Atsushi Aoki [* 1/2]

--- Outsider team of NOAH's Aoki and freelancer El Samurai. This was more Samurai then Aoki I'm affreaid. And for someone who's worked decades with Liger & Tiger he sure had to be carried a lot in this match! And it was fun to watch in a near-trainwreck kind of way as poor lost Samurai get beat up and seemingly not getting much of a break. He kept trying the turnbuckle Frankensteiner, but both Tiger and Liger blocked it. He did get it on the third try which of course was the moment of the match. And not long after Sammy was jobbing to Liger's Thesz Press.

11:23 of 11:22 - Liger pinned Samurai with the Air Scissor Drop

 

 

3. Riki Choshu & Manabu Nakanishi -vs- Yuji Nagata & Mitsuhide Hirasawa [* 1/4]

--- Hirasawa continues to struggle with the veterans being in trouble non-stop with Nagata having to come in and save the big cluts without any hope of him improving or getting things right. And true was that here too as he was lifted up high in a Argentine backbreaker with nowhere to go or someone to save him.

10:03 of 10:02 - Nakanishi made Hirasawa submit to a Argentine backbreaker

 

 

4. Takashi Iizuka & Tomohiro Ishii & Karl Anderson -vs- Tetsuya Naito & Yujiro Takahashi & Wataru Inoue [*]

--- Nah, didn't click much. Ordinary stuff and sadly No Limit couldn't lift it enough to make it more fun. With this many men they should have made it more interesting. Inoue as usual sucks the life out of it and thankfully does the job to Anderson of all people!

14:24 of 14:23 - Anderson pinned Inoue after the Gun Stun

 

 

5. Masato Tanaka & Dick Togo -vs- Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma [* 1/4]

--- Should have been more crazy then what it was as this felt kind of average and none of the guys brought anything special to the game which is a shame when you bring in guys like Tanaka and Togo who are known for bringing it if needed. No, this was just a house show brawl with Honma getting a kendo stick buster over his head before Tanaka ran him down.

13:40 of 13:05 - Tanaka pinned Honma after a Sliding D

 

 

6. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto & Nobuo Yoshihashi -vs- Shinsuke Nakamura & Toru Yano & Gedo [* 1/2]

--- And the main event made sure that it really was just a house show with as normal main event is it gets in New Japan. This still had qualities, but not anything that'll be rememeberd long. Most interesting bit was young Yoshihashi actually putting up a fight against the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Nakamura! Good for him! And he didn't even have to do the job! That honor went to Gedo as the babyfaces ended the show on a happy note.

15:50 of 15:50 - Tanahashi pinned Gedo after a top rope bodypress

 

 

COMMENTS: Nothing out of the ordinary. Most interesting was that Kyosuke Mikami had his debut match and he's not going to show much for a few years.

 

 

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[PowerButchi]

DICK FUCKING TOGO! Is he still up to cop? Also, how was Joe Malenko the past few months? I only saw one match from the tag league, and him vs Nishimura, has he been sharp?

[lightningxlock]

When was the last time you saw Dick Togo? To say he's still upto cop would be an understatement! He's transformed his body into a lean, mean fighting machine. He's shedded shitloads of pounds. Dude looks incredible and is still producing high quality work

[PUNQ]

Yeah, Dick is still going strong, but isn't he retiring soon? 2011? That was the plan earlier this year at least. But since his slim-down he's been good and has two stand-out matches this year (I've only come to May '10 in my viewing so anything after that is unknown to me). His challenge for the IWGP Junior Tag Title against Apollo55 on Febryary 14th was real solid, but his best offering was the Osaka Title match with Billy Ken Kid a few days earlier on February 11th. That's one of the best bouts I've seen come from Japanj this year.

 

Can't say anything about Joe Malenko. Will be a few months before I get that far, but then again I wasn't much of a fan of him from the All Japan footage I've seen of him in the late 80's early 90's. Too mechanical in his technical style, but who knows how he'll look now.

 

 

 

 

AJPW on Samurai TV - March 7, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 7, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (1,200 fans)

 

1. NOSAWA Rongai -vs- Yasufumi Nakanoue [1/4*]

--- Simple simple simple squash win for NOSAWA.....

3:44 of 6:38 - NOSAWA mde Nakanoue submit to a Camel Clutch

 

 

2. Masa Fuchi & Shuji Kondo -vs- Minoru & Hate [1/2*]

--- Turned out to be a easy win for Kondo once he was alone with Hate.

3:47 of 6:32 - Kondo pinned Hate after a lariat

 

 

3. Taiyo Kea -vs- Seiya Sanada [* 1/4]

--- Not a match that created much reaction. Most exciting part was a series of cradle exchanges between the two before the veteran dropped Sanada down with the modified Emerald Frosion to beat him. Should have been better as Sanada is starting to look like somebody now and Kea is on the otherside of his prime.

11:28 of 11:28 - Kea pinned Sanada after the TKO34th

 

 

4. Keiji Muto & Super Crazy & BUSHI -vs- TARU & Rene Dupree & Toshizo [*]

--- With such a babyface team as Muto & Super Crazy and new favourite BUSHI, they sure didn't get the crowd all worked up. Average action and fairly disappointing experience. At least they keep pushing BUSHI.

6:49 of 9:52 - BUSHI pinned Toshizo after a Firebird Splash

 

 

 

5. Masakatsu Funaki & Hiroshi Yamato -vs- Minoru Suzuki & Mazada [* 1/2]

--- So the heat between Funaki and Suzuki continues trying to out-smart the other locking in the submission holds and beating up each others partners to be a little playful. Yamato looked hopeless against Suzuki and was slapped apart. Mazada however looked even more hopeless being trapped in a Funaki's trangle choke with Suzuki laughing as his partner gave up.

12:50 of 14:25 - Funaki made Mazada submit to a triangle hold

 

 

 

6. Kohei Suwama & Kaz Hayashi -vs- Masayuki Kono & KAI [* 1/4]

--- Focusing on the junior feud of Hayashi and his next challenger for the AJPW Junior Heavyweight Title in KAI and the generation heavyweight feud of Suwama and Kono as they'll face in a singles match on the same Sumo Hall show on March 21st. The match was a let-down. No real fire even if the focus was clear. The end Suwama managed to steal the win after Kono had done his top rope kneedrop Suwama rolled Kono up as he was going for the cover.

16:05 of 16:07 - Suwama pinned kono with a counter roll-up

 

 

 

7. Akebono & Ryota Hama -vs- Satoshi Kojima & Osamu Nishimura - (All-Asian Tag Title) [* 1/4]

--- Hama of all people getting a Triple Crown Title shot! So here comes the warm-up as he and Triple Crown Champion Kojima square off in a All-Asian Tag Title bout. Well, not too much of those two actually. Strange really. Kojima did lariat Hama down, but sadly there wasn't many big Kojima vs Hama moments and instead there was a lot of Nishimura who's got very little to do with any of the sumo boys. Except getting squashed by the weight....

20:08 of 20:08 - Akebono pinned Nishimura after a bodypress. Akebono & Hama retain the All-Asian Tag Title in their 3rd defence.

 

 

COMMENTS: Not a good show. They just couldn't bring or create the energy in Korakuen Hall.

 

 

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[PUNQ]

666 on COMM - March 7, 2010, Warabi City - (1 1/4 hrs)

 

 

March 7, 2010, Warabi City

 

1. Shinobu -vs- K666 [1/2*]

--- Shinobu beating some lame guy in leather. At least it was based around wrestling and not bullshit, but one can't take this black leather dude seriously even if he did pull out a Go 2 Sleep in there to gain some momentum for himself. No, he couldn't win and once Shinobu loaded up the Sex Bomber it was quickly over.

7:14 of 7:19 - Shinobu pinned K666 after a lariat

 

 

2. Makoto -vs- Riho [1/2*]

--- Cute joshi action. Nothing to take serious, but watching the 12 year old Riho get a grasp at doing spots and being adorable about it is just charming. And the clue is not to take this shit seriously and just let it flow on by. And how cheated was Riho on that decision. A dubious 3 count of a cradle reversal for Makoto that the crowd was not pleased with!

6:15 of 6:15 - Makoto pinned Riho with a reversed cradle

 

 

3. Tochigi -vs- The 101 [1/4*]

--- It started out serious with 101 the blind man jumping and running in all the wrong directions on the criss-cross rope running spots, but then it turned ridiculous.....

10:05 of 10:08 - Tochigi pinned 101 with a schoolboy

 

 

4. Yuko Miyamoto & Shinobu -vs- Konaka Pale One & Dinasty [3/4*]

--- I lost interest in this tag match for a while once they started doing double-leg crossing wrestling al

[PUNQ]

FREEDOMS on COMM - March 10, 2010, Tokyo - (1 3/4 hrs)

 

 

March 10, 2010, Tokyo - Shin-Kiba 1st RING (227 fans)

 

1. The Winger & Antonio Honda & Kamui & Keita Yano -vs- Abdullah Kobayashi & Great Kojika & Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei [* 1/2]

--- All kinds of fun with old Great Kojima being the worlds most dangerous man it seemed and Abby and Antonio clashing in a wonderful way. Everybody had their own kind of spice to add to this one and while it was hardly the most serious bout ever, it was in many ways entertaining in it's own way. After being on the right track most of the match Kojika ended up being pulled on top of Honda when Abby came down crashing with an elbow and that's how Honda stole the win after trying to avoid the old man the entire fight.

13:31 of 13:31 - Honda pinned Kojika after Abdullah had accidentally dropped a top rope elbow drop

 

 

2. Ricky Fuji -vs- Kazuhiko Ogasawara [1/2*]

--- Boring like only Ricky can be. And he was trying to do a more MMA style against martial artist Ogasawara with it all ending with him locking in a submission hold out in the crowds for the double count out.

8:34 of 8:34 - Fuji wrestled Ogasawara to a Double Count Out

 

 

3. Tatsuhito Takaiwa -vs- Masashi Takeda [** 3/4]

--- This one got quite exciting and....shocker!..... the fans cared! They were so into Takeda trying to cope with a veteran brutalist like Takaiwa that they kept screaming majority of them fight. And they gave the fans something to care about too. A little slow at the very beginning, but then they busted out the killer moves nearly non-stop for the rest of the 30-min match. Sure, a little repetitive as their arsenal is sort of limited, but we got a bunch of powerbombs, Death Valley and MDII's from Takaiwa as he was trying to destroy the young punk who wouldn't give up. In return Takeda was close to winning with his Olympic Slam and German Suplex aswell as working over Takaiwa which was the resson the veteran was slow on some of the pinfall attempts which saved Takeda from losing. I was totally not expecting such a strong fight, but sadly no winner as it went to a time limit draw. But had Takeda won I think Shin-kiba 1st RING would have exploded.

30:05 of 30:00 - Takaiwa wrestled Takeda to a 30:00 Time Limit Draw

 

 

4. Tajiri & Minoru Fujita & Magnitude Kishiwada -vs- Takashi Sasaki & Jun Kasai & Madoka [* 1/2]

--- Why the hell do they let Fujita survive so much and then win?! He's the most washed up guy in the bout and yet he gets to kick out of the Pearl Hardbor Splash and so much more. Beating Madoka is no task, but all the other things leading up to it. Why?! Anyway they a ok match with that even if the win was undeserved. Great Kojika and his clan came out after the match just to make some noise. But there was more noise when Mammoth Sasaki came out to annouce his comeback from injury soon.

14:31 of 14:31 - Fujita pinned Madoka with a schoolboy

 

 

5. GENTARO © -vs- Taka Michinoku - (Independent Junior Title) [*]

--- GENTARO matches are so slow and boring. I know that's part of his cool, but it's really limiting his offering. Very standard technical wrestling working over Taka's leg to make him submit when the time had come......

19:06 of 19:05 - GENTARO made Michinoku submit to a Scorpion Death Lock to retain the Independent Junior Title in his 6th defence.

 

 

COMMENTS: Where the main event failed the Takaiwa vs Takeda match was a success. Otherwise the tag matches were fun in their own little ways, so not a bad show really.

 

 

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[PUNQ]

BATTLARTS on COMM - March 14, 2010, Tokyo - (1 1/4 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2010, Tokyo - Kitasenju Theater 1010 (121 fans)

 

1. Keita Yano -vs- Yoshinori Narita [1/2*]

--- And the show starts with the Yano match. Or the 'yawn' match. Haha, bad joke~~~ Well, the ground battle wasn't very interesting. Not horrible as the rating might suggest, but it just didn't offer me anything. And Yano was the man running things and I rarely like anything he does. He won too.

8:12 of 8:11 - Yano made Narita submit to a modified Crippler Crossface

 

 

2. Sanchu Tsubakichi -vs- Takeshi Takeshima [1/2*]

--- Takeshima has no busiess being in the ring, that's for sure. And Tsubakichi looked clueless on attack even if the entire match consisted of him kicking and slapping this hopless non-stop. Not good at all even if a couple of the slaps and some kicks connected well. There was just too much mediocrity in this one for it to ever look like a credible fight. A one-sided win for Tsubakichi.

8:26 of 8:27 - Tsubakichi defeated Takeshima by KO after a bodykick

 

 

3. Tiger Shark & Akifumi Saito -vs- Baisen Tagai & Hayato Mashita [3/4*]

--- This one had at least some potential after weak opening matches. But no, this one had no life either. Only some nice holds and otherwise slow(e)motion(less) fighting with guys who doesn't look like could fight or hurt anybody. Tiger Shark was clearly the best, but it was limited what he could get out of the others. At least he was the one to pick up the win.

16:41 of 16:40 - Tiger Shark made Mashita submit to a Crippler Crossface

 

 

4. Yujiro Yamamoto -vs- Super Tiger II [*]

--- This one looked a little more professional, but still it wasn't anything special regards to attacks or locks. More Yamamoto trying to withstand Super Tiger's attacks blocking and attempting to get some in on the actrion himself. He had to fight hard because Tiger was a a level above him here and was the one who looked like the likely winner. But Yamamoto wanted it differently and scored a upset win locking in the arm behind Tiger's back using the legs. A surprising result.

13:52 of 13:50 - Yamamoto made Super Tiger submit to a modified armlock

 

 

5. Yuki Ishikawa & Munenori Sawa -vs- Katsumi Usuda & Ryuji Walter [* 1/4]

--- As you'd expect. Tired old wannabe shoot style fighting. Not too inspiring and not too many highlights. I liked the times Usuda surprised Sawa with submission locks as he was trying his unorthodox and Muto fighting. Besides that Ishikawa and Walter was doing their stubborn battling until the veteran and promotor had Walter trapped in a sleeper.

20:32 of 20:31 - Ishikawa defeated Walter by Referee Stop with a sleeper

 

 

COMMENTS: Not a show I'd be pleased to see live. A lot of weak fighting without much passion. Nice to see Yamamoto get a solid with over the 2nd generation Super Tiger, but otherwise nothing else stood out for me.

 

 

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[PUNQ]

Osaka Pro on SKY-A - March 14, 2009, Osaka - (1 1/2 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2009, Osaka Minami Move On Arena (240 fans)

 

1. Hideyoshi -vs- Takoyakida [3/4*]

--- Takoyakida trying a serious fight looking very hopeless while he did get some offence in. But it was not like Hideyoshi was ever in real trouble and took this one comfortably regardless of Takoyakida's effort.

6:38 of 9:37 - Hideyoshi pinned Takoyakida after a Pedigree

 

 

2. Masamune -vs- Takumi Tsukamoto [*]

--- Big Japan rookie Tsukamoto gaining some experience working for Osaka Pro. And Masamune gave him a good lesson and Tsukamoto followed well with the idea limping along after his foot was worked over. Tsukamoto looked credible when on offence, but he's only got some 6 months experience so still a rookie doing rookie duty with Masamune using the ankle hold to beat the kid.

6:39 of 9:18 - Masamune made Tsukamoto submit to a ankle hold

 

 

3. Tigers Mask & Tadasuke -vs- Daisuke Harada & Kazuaki Mihara [* 1/2]

--- While not an explosive match it was fun to watch the heels beat up Harada & Mihara in cocky way. And it was made even more fun when the faces made thir comeback with Mihara using his weight to sit himself down on Tadasuke! But the comeback couldn't last as Tigers Mask & Tadasuke were just too dominant and eventually got the expected victory.

15:14 of 14:11 - Tadasuke pinned Mihara after the Outkast

 

 

4. Billy Ken Kid & Asian Cougar -vs- Black Buffalo & Orochi [* 3/4]

--- Poor Billy & Cougar. They were out-numbered by the heels who had their pals there at ringside interfering and distracting the referee. Tigers Mask even pulled out the referee as he was about to count the three and threatend to punch him. It really looked hopeless for the fresh Osaka Pro champion, but Billy is champion for a reason and got the win anyway using the high drop MDII ob Buffalo.

17:31 of 17:31 - Billy pinned Buffalo after the Vertigo

 

 

5. Atsushi Kotoge & Kanjyouro Matsuyama & Kuishinbo Kamen -vs- Tsubasa & Miracle Man & Ebessan III [1/2*]

--- And a otherwise serious small show ends with.....the comedy!

13:47 of 13:46 - Kotoge pinned Ebessan III after a moonsault

 

 

COMMENTS: A typical smaller Osaka Pro show. The storylines are there, but the greatness is not.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

DDT on Samurai TV - March 14, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (1,554 fans)

 

 

 

1. 15-Man Ladder Battle Royal for KO-D #1 Contendership [* 1/4]

--- A big Rumble with several prizes and everything DDT has to offer on nonsense. First one to climb a ladder and get some was Hikaru Sato. He won Aika Ando and I can only imagine what happend after he carried the screaming girl backstage. 'CEO' Michael Nakazawa became the..... CEO....ok.... And stupid Owashi blind traded his prize with Ken Ohka and got a fat stripper. As for the actual Rumble and the prize of getting a KO-D Titleshot, that honor went to Masahiro Takanashi who out-fooled the Italian 4 Horsemen to win the silly thing.

22:53 of 23:05 - Masahiro Takanashi win the 15-Man Ladder Battle Royal

 

 

 

2. Daisuke Sekimoto © -vs- Sanshiro Takagi - (KO-D Title) [** 1/2]

--- Two dark lumps of meat. It was almost difficult to tell them apart. Funny just how much alike these two are as they crashed into each other landing the lariats and what not. And part of that fasination made this match intriguing to watch the way these two over-muscled guys would go for their hard impact stuff. And they had a fairly well-thought match too within their style so it got fairly exciting too. Takagi splashed Sekimoto though a table with a splash and there was plenty of nice clashes. Takagi even landed the Clothesline from Heaven and in return Takagi kicked out of a German. Though all that was needed was one more German and Sekimoto had retained in his 1st defence. Entertaining title bout even if the drama wasn't of the highest.

18:10 of 22:28 - Sekimoto pinned Takagi with a German Suplex to retain the KO-D Title in his 1st defence.

 

 

3. Keisuke Ishii -vs- Kazuki Hirata - (Hirata's Debut; Ironman Title) [3/4*]

--- Hirata now making his debut, but he's already won the Ironman belt before ever having a match. He's up against Ishii who's of similar size and style, so we get a half-decent basic energy match in which Ishii naturally wins and gets the Ironman Title aswell. Hirate looked ok, but he's of the same small structure as Ishii and Abe in the company so he'll never be more then just a filler guy who'd ok to put in tags for boosting up the energy.

5:17 of 6:52 - Ishii pinned Hirata with a German Suplex

 

 

4. MIKAMI & Showa & Showa-ko -vs- Poison Sawada & Exciting Yoshida & Yuki Miyazaki [3/4*]

--- Just some weird character match. Highlight saw MIKAMI slip while doing a face-scrape. Poor Sawada. Ok, there was better moments in the bout and it was not as dreadful to watch as first feared. But it did feature a lot of stupid indy sleeze stuff too. MIKAMI gets honored with a win.

8:44 of 8:47 - MIKAMI pinned Sawada with a flying leg roll-up

 

 

5. Tiger Toguchi & Hoshitango -vs- Tomomitsu Matsunaga & Gota Ihashi & Takao Soma [*]

--- Fat, slow old veterans bullying the smaller, younger generation! And how awkward and clumsy this all looked. Toguchi would hardly sell any of the terribly weak offence Ihashi or Soma would come with and Ihashi messed up most of what he did because he couldn't make out how to work with someone who wasn't co-operating to the fullest. What a ugly mess with 62 year old Tiger Toguchi/Kim Duk/Tiger Chung Lee beating Soma easy with a big Tombstone.

7:05 of 7:09 - Toguchi pinned Soma after a Tombstone piledriver

 

 

 

6. Togi Makabe -vs- HARASHIMA [** 1/2]

--- DDT brings in motherfukin' Togi Makabe to face HARASHIMA! Now, this is a special match and they also made it special. Not too much early on as it was tradisional New Japan mat work before the explosion of big moves and finisher came. HARASHIMA would have to fight hard against a mainstream wrestler like Makabe, but did land in the Somato double-knees for a great highlight for him! But HARASHIMA was mostly on the receiving end and was occupied mostly with kicking out of Makabe's lariats. And Makabe layed the beating into the DDT wannabe star, and it had to end with a New Japan victory which happend after Makabe landed the King Kong Kneedrop from top to HARASHIMA's face!

16:17 of 16:18 - Makabe pinned HARASHIMA after a top rope kneedrop

 

 

COMMENTS: DDT's 13th Anniversary Show! Yes, they've been around that long!

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

NOAH on Samurai TV - March 14, 2010, Tokyo - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2010, Tokyo - Differ Ariake (1,800 fans)

 

1. Ricky Marvin -vs- Satoshi Kajiwara

--- Only highlights as they traded their cradles of close wins until Marvin got the win. Looked ok.

1:26 of 11:41 - Marvin pinned Kajiwara with a La Magistral

 

 

2. Bull Takeshi(Morishima) -vs- Punch Shiga (Kentaro Shiga)

--- NOAH does joshi!!! Shiga being a terrible Aja Kong clone and Morishima looking awesome as BULL NAKANO with the hair straight up! Nearly a squash as Shiga couldn't put in the power in the uraken or any of the other Aja offence. And a second rope legdrop from Bull Morishima ended it.

1:58 of 3:01 - Morishima pinned Shiga after a second rope legdrop

 

 

3. Takeshi Rikio & Mohammed Yone -vs- Takashi Okita & Kento Miyahara [*]

--- They gave the Kensuke Office guys a chance. They could win with a 2-count. And there was a few close 1-count kick outs, but even with the handicap rules they lost to the GHC Tag Champions. Someone who might have a better chance at the tag gold is Big Murakami who attacked Rikio & Yone after the bout!

6:39 of 13:22 - Yone pinned Miyahara after a Muscle Buster

 

 

4. Katsuhiko Nakajima -vs- Makoto Hashi [* 1/4]

--- Annoyingly edited, but the action looked fine. Almost spectacular at times as Hashi kept dropping Nakajima in Takaiwa-like fashion, including a side dropped MDII straight down. But Nakajima and his damn kicking put an end to the part-timer with the Death Roll kick being the end of it.

6:16 of 16:04 - Nakajima pinned Hashi after the Death Roll

 

 

5. Kensuke Sasaki & Akitoshi Saito -vs- Takuma Sano & Yoshihiro Kikuyama - (KO/Submission Only) [3/4*]

--- Sasaki made Kikutaro submit within seconds. Not good for a guy that was doing a Takayama gimmick for this bout. They got it restarted though and with Kikurato out on the apron letting Sano start it so the team wouldn't lose again so quick. But when Kikutaro was back in he tried to get KO'ed and tapped a hell of a lot without the referee caring letting the match continue. But eventually he was KO'ed when Sasaki Northern Light Bomb'ed him.

0:06 of 0:06 - Sasaki made Kikutaro with the strangle hold gamma

6:45 of 10:58 - Sasaki defeated Kikutaro by KO after a Northern Light Bomb

 

 

6. Y2P (Yutaka Yoshie) -vs- Taiji Ishimori [1/2*]

--- A masked Yoshie with transvetites Bachiko & Reika humiliate one of the new GHC Junior Tag Champions. Ishimori didn't deserve this.

4:04 of 9:49 - Yoshi pinned Ishimori after a top rope bodypress

 

 

7. Super Strong Machine & Dynamic Machine #2(Y.Takayama) & Strong Machine Jr.(A.Aoki) -vs- Jun Akiyama & Masao Inoue & Yoshinari Ogawa [*]

--- Takayama and Aoki joining Super Strong Machine as Strong Machines for a special tag match. However this match was as stale as the Super Strong Machine gimmick has been for decades. It did however feature two lovely moments. Both of Takayama. 1) Takayama doing a SENTON! 2) Takayama winning with the Devil Windmill Suplex!

17:36 of 17:36 - Takayama pinned Inoue with the Devil Windmill Suplex Hold

 

 

 

8. Naomichi Marufuji & Tiger Mask I -vs- Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Genba Hirayanagi [* 1/2]

--- Marufuji wrestling with a Tiger mask teaming with the original Tiger Mask and winning with Tiger wrestling~~!!! Could have been more awesome had they tried, but this had it's moments with Genba being the little prick that he is and old Sayama stiffing him down! Hit a very nice sawate kick straight in Genba's face! Otherwise the Tiger team did a double top diving headbutt and Marufuji pinned Genba after using the Tiger Frosion. Not a nice day for Genba this.

15:11 of 15:12 - Marufuji pinned Hirayanagi after the Tiger Frosion

 

 

COMMENTS: Naomichi Marufuji Produce. Hardly a great day for wrestling, but with a lot of gimmicks for a fan friendly show.

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

NJPW on Samurai TV - March 14, 2010, Tokyo - (2 3/4 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2010, Tokyo - Korakuen Hall (1,900 fans)

 

1. Toru Yano -vs- Tomoaki Honma - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [* 3/4]

--- This one started to get quite good as I was getting behind Honma as the babyface trying to get the upset. Loved it when Honma tried for a sunset flip with Yano out on the apron side and wouldn't give up on trying to get Yano to fall. Sadly for him Yano did block it, but back in the ring Honma tried more cradle attempts for near falls and the match really started to grow..... and then they messed up the finish. Yano was supposed to counter with his Oni Koroshi powerbomb. However he got Honma laying too much pressure and they fell backwards instead. So the finish was kind of flat when Yano went back and did the Oni Koroshi and won without any other transission to cover up the mistake.

10:36 of 10:34 - Yano pinned Honma after the Oni Koroshi powerbomb

 

 

 

2. Tetsuya Naito -vs- Karl Anderson - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [**]

--- Anderson looked good here getting quite close with his attacks which included a tope con giro, driving one-leg dropkick and a top rope neckbreaker. Anderson tried his best to weaken the IWGP Tag Champion down, but in the end Naito was the stronger of the two and got the win dropping down the Skytwister press for the three!

10:04 of 9:52 - Naito pinned Anderson after the Stardust Press

 

 

3. Wataru Inoue -vs- Giant Bernard - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [* 3/4]

--- As long as Bernard was dropping, driving and pressing Inoue down to the mat it put a smile on my face! Bernard seemed to enjoy it too, not caring how he won it as long as he hurt the son of a bitch. There was a couple of slippy parts, but otherwise it was fine.... until the end which was ruined. Not because of a fuck-up or anything. Just that Inoue won the damn thing rolling Bernard up with a crucifix hold.

7:40 of 7:39 - Inoue pinned Bernard with a crucifix cradle

 

 

 

4. Yujiro Takahashi -vs- Yuji Nagata - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [** 1/4]

--- Nagata was stiffin' Yujiro quite bad and was so in control. Yujiro did try to fight back, but was in many ways a little too passive for it to work perfectly because he came across as Nagata's little bitch a lot of the time. He even had it won with the neckscrew, but referee Tiger Hattori had been knocked down so no win on that one. And that would mean Takahashi would get a career win of high degree. With a sour taste though as Naito distracted everybody so that Yujiro could attack Nagata with the IWGP Tag championship belt knocking him down with it twice before landing thge moonsault to beat the milti-time heavyweight champ!

13:41 of 13:41 - Takahashi pinned Nagata after a moonsault

 

 

5. Riki Choshu & Hirooki Goto & Jushin Liger -vs- Shinsuke Nakamura & Gedo & Takashi Iizuka [* 1/2]

--- This made the fans happy. It was basic and normal in it's approach, but it was also motivated in it's trademarkness with Nakamura and Goto colliding hard, Gedo & Iizuka cheating their way through the match and it all ending on a happy note when Liger Thesz'ed Gedo down.

11:58 of 11:57 - Liger pinned Gedo with the Air Scissor Drop

 

 

6. Togi Makabe -vs- Tomohiro Ishii - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [* 3/4]

--- Not as explosiove or violent as it could have been. They did trade hard powerbombs and clash effectively, but it was not a climax end and not as intense as one could have hoped for with rivals like these. And once the King Kong Kneedrop landed it ended up being a simple win for Makabe.

11:47 of 11:46 - Makabe pinned Ishii after a top rope kneedrop

 

 

 

7. Masato Tanaka -vs- Manabu Nakanishi - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [***]

--- This one featured one of the most awkward top rope table presses you'll ever see and Nakanishi attempted one in a wonderful manner nearly falling off the top rope a couple of times before flying off and landing a near-standing bodypress on Tanaka who was laying on the table! This has a lot of the same ingredience as their two great 2008 singles matches in Zero-One with a motivated Nakanishi working well with Tanaka. And though it did not reach the climax of the '08 bouts it was still a damn fun match to watch. The finishing streach was Nakanishi Germans vs Tanaka's Sliding D's with many attempts. Some countered. Some taken. And Nakanishi took too much getting his skull knocked silly from both sides.

18:00 of 18:01 - Tanaka pinned Nakanishi after a Sliding D

 

 

 

8. Hiroshi Tanahashi -vs- Strong Man (Jon Anderson) - (New Japan Cup '10 - Round 1) [* 1/2]

--- Jon Anderson making his New Japan debut! He's a roided up gaijin of Scott Steiner like look who's been working for Antonio Inoki on his IGF shows. But here he'll be known as STRONG MAN!!! It's going to take one hell of a carrying job by Tanahashi to make this one good. And he did the right thing. Bump for him and let Strong Man show off his muscle. At least Strong man delivered his end of the deal powering Tanahashi down with authority. Still it was never going to be a classic with Strong Man's stamina issues and general wrestling quality, but it was a cool freakshow. Until Tanahashi simply stole the match with a inside cradle.....

8:37 of 8:37 - Tanahashi pinned Strong Man with a small package

 

 

9. Nobuo Yoshihashi -vs- Kyosuke Mikami [*]

--- And todays main event is rookies Yoshihashi and Mikami fighting. Joking.... I know, I'm very funny. It's the opening match that they had time to air once the show was over. Basic rookie stuff with Mikami getting in a little bit in his only 2nd pro-wrestling match before the more experienced rookie picked up the young lions win.

6:14 of 6:13 - Yoshihashi made Mikami submit to a Boston Crab

 

 

COMMENTS: A entertaining start to the 2010 New Japan Cup. Most of the matches didn't reach that ultimate climax, but had at least somethings going for them. Lovely to see Nakanishi and Tanaka battle again and the Strong Man experience....was something....

 

 

--PUNQ--

[PUNQ]

OZ ACADEMY on GAORA TV - March 14, 2010 - (2 hrs)

 

 

March 14, 2010, Tokyo - Shinjuku FACE

 

1. Dash Chisako -vs- Nao Komatsu [* 1/4]

--- Sendai's Dash against Oz Academy's own rookie girl! And it got fairly good for their level with Komatsu locking in holds and being close a few times. Naturally it ended up being a easy win for Dash leeping off the top rope a couple of times with dropkicks to beat the rookie who looked fine in this one.

9:05 of 9:10 - Chisako pinned Komatsu after a top rope dropkick

 

 

2. Carlos Amano -vs- Manami Toyota - (5-Match Single Series #4) [*]

--- Toyota started the match by singing Amano her birthday song! And Amano reluctantly blew out the candles on her cake. Then Amano got a ugly homemade plant of somesort as a gift. Didn't look to impressed with that one. The highlights was Toyota do a running headbutt instead of the dropkick with Amano hanging on the ropes. Probable hurt herself more with Amano's thick head and everything. Toyota landed her moonsault. Landed her Japanese Ocean Cyclon Suples Hold. But Amano kicked out and blocked the Queen Bee Bomb and came back with her strange headbutts to beat Toyota clean.

5:46 of 8:42 - Amano pinned Toyota with a running headbutt

 

 

3. Akino & Hiroyo Matsumoto -vs- Chikayo Nagashima & Sonoko Kato [* 3/4]

--- The action match. Oz Academy-style! Not one of their most intense matches, but it had it's entertainment value. Didn't feel too important either. More just to please the fans with some fun action with Matsumoto's kneedrops being one of the funniest bits as she did one with both Nagashima and Akino on her dropping all the weight down on Kato. Matsumoto even got the upset getting a lucky cradle with a little help from Akino who dropkicked Nagashima into Matsumoto's grip.

19:01 of 19:01 - Matsumoto pinned Nagashima with a counter cradle after a Akino dropkick

 

 

4. Dynamite Kansai -vs- Ran Yu Yu [* 1/4]

--- Some nice impact moves as they were going through their finishers like the backdrop suplex and Splash Mountain of Kansai. There was one strange miss-communication. Ran wanted her European Clutch, but Kansai didn't understand that and never gave Ran her legs to connect so Ran ended up laying there only holding the arms. Soon after Kansai wanted it over and used Ran as a trampoline.

7:04 of 14:47 - Kansai pinned Yu Yu after a top rope double-footstomp

 

 

5. Mayumi Ozaki & Takako Inoue & Yumi Ohka -vs- Aja Kong & Kaoru & Tomoka Nakagawa [* 1/2]

--- This made me dizzy. Now Ohka is a Ozaki follower joining the other badgirls she's got into the madness that is Oz Academy brawling. Table parts, chairs, chains and whips and tons of interference. It gets too ridiculous with the over-kill of trashyness. And in the end the chaos succseeded for Team Ozaki as Ohka finished off the weak one in the match as Nakagawa was thrown around neck-hanging style.

18:08 of 19:12 - Ohka pinned Nakagawa after a neck-hanging bomb

 

 

April 4, 2010, Tokyo - Shinjuku FACE

 

6. Carlos Amano -vs- Manami Toyota - (5-Match Single Series #5) [3/4*]

--- And to finish off their goofy little series Toyota comes out with a helmet to protect her from those Amano headbutts! Didn't help! Amano's head is no match for her helmet at Amano headbutted Toyota down! Amano even gave her one with the helmet along with several other leeping headbutts to beat the loved veteran! Well, almost beat. Their 5 match series ended with two wins for Amano, two wins for Toyota and one draw. So....a draw.

2:51 of 10:45 - Amano pinned Toyota after a leeping headbutt

 

 

7. Aja Kong & Kaoru & Tomoka Nakagawa -vs- Akino & Ran Yu Yu & Hiroyo Matsumoto [1/2*]

--- From the little that aired, this didn't look too impressive. Aja wins in a lazy manner over fellow Jungle Jack members. Things are looking messy in Oz Academy.

2:10 of 20:40 - Kong pinned Akino after a uraken

 

 

COMMENTS: Stuff is certainly happening here. But it's chaotic.....

 

 

--PUNQ--