- With little hype and promotion other than announcing the initial card, along with teasing a special announcement from Kazuma Fujita, KINGDOM of JAPAN Pro-Wrestling made a noticeable impression among the 1,700+ fans that came to witness the company's inaugural event. Fans who attended were all given special gift bags that included a full-color program, a KJPW logo T-shirt of random color, and a special music CD of various KJPW wrestler's theme songs. The company took all of the extra measures to give KJPW a "major league" feel.
- At gong time, every wrestler belonging to the KJPW roster were introduced one-by-one beginning with the four rookies Uchikawa, Nishioka, Awano, and Kisanuki. While not apart of the KJPW roster, Seiji Ebisawa and the other members of SPIRIT International were introduced, and acknowledged as special guests. Finally, Kazuma Fujita was introduced to the largest ovation of them all. Fujita wasted no time in addressing the speculation that had formed earlier in the week following a tabloid report claiming would be announcing his retirement tonight. To the dismay of the Kansai faithful, Fujita confirmed what had been claimed, and stated that he would indeed be announcing his retirement tonight... While not exactly going into why, Fujita said that he had been struggling with the decision for many years... However, Fujita said that he had no intention of retiring TODAY, and stated that he would begin a "Final Road" of matches later this year that will culminate in his retirement. An emotional Fujita told the fans that his soul was still smoldering from Burning Spirit, and said until that fated day later this year, he would give EVERYTHING he had in the ring. Turning to both TAKU and Naoki in center ring, Fujita said that while they may have surpassed him in overall strength, he would do everything in his power to challenge their ability.
After that tense exchanged, the show appeared to be ready to begin as the wrestler's began to file out of the ring. Fujita however remained, asking the fans, "Oh... Did you think THAT was my announcement?" This got the usually reserved Japanese fans buzzing. Fujita stated that KJPW's borders were open to anyone willing to show their guts inside of the ring, and noted that upon KJPW's inception, he received a call from one of the many graduates from the Kazuma Fujita dojo; "Arguably my most successful student," Fujita added. After teasing it long enough, Former MMA star KENJI TANAMURA made a shocking appearance in the KJPW ring. All dressed in nice suits, Tanamura was followed by three other individuals: Yuichi Miwa, Harumi Sakai, and Yusaku Kitajima; all members of Tanamura's KT-Club dojo. Tanamura respectfully greeted the fans, and properly introduced himself, along with his three disciples. Tanamura said that he owed all of his accomplishments to Fujita, and said that after competing in his final Mixed Martial Arts bout early last year (a losing effort to Russian phenom Andrei Ishchenko), he wanted to see what he could accomplish in the battlefield he "left behind." He promised to work his way from the bottom, and earn the support of the fans. His three disciples did the same in properly introducing themselves, along with explaining their desires to join KJPW. All four men came across very well, and appeared to be accepted as members of the roster, as confirmed by Fujita himself. Tanamura vowed to greet the Osaka fans next time as an official member of the roster, and said he and his disciples would do their absolute best.
- Through out the night, KJPW would present a card of various styles and purposes, with laughter even on the agenda, as Hisai Tomagochi made a miraculous one night return to the ring to face infamous wrestler and comedian, Atsushi Ono! For years, dating back to Burning Spirit Pro-Wrestling, Ono provided much comedy relief to the otherwise intense atmosphere BSPW provided with his grandiose challenges (which he typically lost in hilarious fashion.) Hisai and Ono had brushed paths before several times in BSPW and Pro-Wrestling FURY. Upon the announcement of KJPW's creation, Ono began harassing KJPW Chairman Go Taniguchi, demanding to face the sealed away Hisai Tomagochi. It wasn't until Ono personally delivered a handwritten challenge to Taniguchi did he agree to unseal the "Satan of Comedy Hell." However, Go failed to be held responsible for the number of sides he ended up splitting... While a bit on the hyperbolic side, both men entertained the fans immensely with their antics from the beginning, when saw both men cosplaying as Kazuma Fujita. To make matters even funnier, this coincided with Fujita sitting at ringside as a guest commentator. In the end, "Hisaima" appeared to be sizing "Ojita" up for a lariat, only to suddenly poke Ojita between the eyes, causing him to blurt out "OW OW OW!!! THAT HURT!" Hisai easily caught Ojita with a backslide for the three count. There was some funny interaction between Hisai and Fujita after the match. Ono would eventually recover, leading to him challenging BOTH Hisai and Fujita to face him in a Barbed Wire Explosion Deathmatch. The two completely disregarded Ono by leaving; ignoring Ono's repeated "OI!!'s" The lights eventually faded on Ono. Dejected, he finally left the ring...
- In addition to the debut of KJPW itself, the event saw the debut of four young wrestlers; each with their own unique set of skills and attributes. The second match pitted two of these men against each other, as Yutaka Awano faced Yukio Kisanuki. Both men were rough around the edges, but shown great promise. While lacking in technique, Awano shown character and personality, and seemed to gain more popularity in losing to the more technically-skilled former Judoka, Kisanuki. The other two would make their debut as a team, facing the more experienced Mamoru Sekishima and Tetsujin. While having more in-ring time than their opponents, Sekishima and Tetsujin are still very young into their careers, and are just beginning to come into their own. Sekishima in particular had a star aura to him with his more muscular tone and freakish (for Japanese standards) height of 198cm. Shinji Uchikawa and Tsutomu Nishioka boldly attacked their opponents before the bell; something rarely seen by debuting rookies. Uchikawa appeared to be the most well-rounded of the four debutantes by having a good body, showing decent skill and an incredible amount of potential. Nishioka's skills stood out as well. However, it was his lean, muscular build that made him stand out. Naturally, Nishioka's performance was full of muscular poses; typically causing him to lose focus. Towards the end, both rookies had a catastrophic miscommunication, allowing Sekishima to devastate Uchikawa with a sickening knee kick to the body, leading to a one-footed pin. Despite their bold attack, Uchikawa and Nishioka were humble in defeat, and received commendations from their opponents.
- Despite being a 6th term graduate of the Kazuma Fujita dojo, Riki Ichiro has been a wandering spirit since the beginning of his career, and has found himself fighting in countless battlegrounds. However, after essentially being a Ronin for so long, Ichiro announced his desire to fight alongside his teacher, Kazuma Fujita. However, as a tribute to his old stomping ground, Pro-Wrestling DYNAMITE, Ichiro sent a challenge to one of DYNAMITE's top stars, Yujiro Higuchi. Having faced off many times within DYNAMITE's ring, both men knew each other extensively. Never wrestler gave an inch, and laid into the other with incredible force, displaying the full brutality of Pro-Wrestling with sickening chops, face slaps, and bone-crunching suplexes and strikes. In the end, Ichiro managed to evade Higuchi's H-Bomb, before nearly taking his head with an incredible "Riki Lariat" to secure the victory. After the match, Ichiro invited Higuchi to JOIN KJPW on his behalf! Showing amazing heart and intensity, the Osaka fans were very receptive to the idea. Without a battlefield to properly call his own, Higuchi accepted the invitation and clasped hands with Ichiro in a hint of a possible alliance.
- The semi final pitted the home trio of Chikao Kessin, Masafuji Yoshida and Kazuki Sendo against the outside team of SPIRIT International, Seiji Ebisawa, Katsumi Gakusha, and Shino Hiriyama in a fairly standard six-man tag match, and seemed to serve as more of a showcase for the SPIRIT International team than anything. Despite shaking hands with the home team, Ebisawa and company were very aggressive, and ended up TAPING Kessin and Yoshida to the ring posts, allowing them to triple Sendo for the victory. The KJPW team were naturally upset at SI's underhanded ways. Ebisawa took the microphone and gave a half-hearted apology, saying they meant no offense with their "joke." With a twinge of sarcasm, Ebisawa talked about how big of an honor it was to be in the KJPW ring, and said he and his associates hoped to be invited back. A hot-tempered Kessin pulled the microphone out of Ebisawa's hands, saying he didn't like his attitude. He stated that if Ebisawa wanted to come back, he and Yoshida would personally invite them in the form of a tag team challenge match. Sendo, who suffered the most as a result of SI's "joke" challenged Hiriyama to a singles match as well. Seemingly having the advantage in the situation, Ebisawa said they would "consult their schedule" before slinking away...
- Upon KJPW's formation, Naoki Fukuda and TAKU were immediately positioned as the two top wrestlers on the roster from the modern era. Fukuda spent almost three years as the unequivocal Ace of Pro-Wrestling FURY, while TAKU is largely known as one of the best tag team specialists in wrestling (due in part to his "CHOJIN POWERS" team with Fukuda himself.) However, TAKU has shown time over that he is a capable singles competitor, and made it clear at the initial company press conference that he intended to surpass Fukuda in strength, and firmly establish himself as the face of KJPW with a victory tonight. Unfortunately for TAKU, despite an incredible effort, Fukuda's strength would be too much to overcome in one try, as Fukuda secured the victory with his third consecutive "Mastodon Crash" Frog Splash to cap off an incredible "big match" level effort from both men. The passionate cries and calls from the 1,700 fans helped to create an amazing atmosphere. The match was clearly important to both men, who debuted brand new ring costumes for the match. Almost as if the two planned it this way, both wrestlers were contrasting colors, with Fukuda wearing a white costume with black trim, while TAKU wore slick black trunks with a mix of white and red trim...
After the match, Fukuda called everyone to the ring, and thanked the fans for their attendance. He praised everyone's efforts on the card, but said they would work even harder for the fans in the future; himself included. He glossed over the event, saying Hisai and Ono allowed him a brief moment of leisure amidst a tense afternoon. He pointed out some of the best features of the four debuting rookies, from Uchikawa's fighting spirit, to Nishioka's physique and strength, to Awano's curious personality, to Kisanuki's amazing technique to overcome larger opponents. Not to inflate their heads too much however, he told them their road was only just beginning, and that the decisions they make today will drastically affect their futures as Pro-Wrestlers... This led to him briefly speaking on Kazuma Fujita's impending retirement. He said it still felt like a lie to him, but he accepted Fujita's decision. He asked Fujita for a singles match down the road, much to the excitement of the fans. Fujita naturally accepted... Fukuda then turned his attention to Kenji Tanamura and his group of disciples. After teasing some apprehension, Fukuda removed all pretense and welcomed Tanamura to the roster. The two had some brief banter back and forth, until a challenge was laid down by Tanamura for the two to face off in a tag team match. Fukuda naturally agreed, and said that after tonight, he was feeling very nostalgic, and knew the perfect partner in mind, before turning his attention to TAKU, who was still recovering in the corner. To the delight of the crowd, Fukuda asked TAKU to re-form the "CHOJIN POWERS" for one night only! TAKU appeared to take a moment to think it over. He finally pulled himself up from the corner, BEFORE HITTING FUKUDA WITH A LARIAT! Without hesitation, TAKU followed it up with the CHOJIN BOMBER, adding a definitive exclamation in declining Fukuda's request! TAKU immediately left the ring, before exiting through the isle way; only to be confronted by Seiji Ebisawa, Katsumi Gakusha, and Shino Hiriyama of SPIRIT International. Words appeared to be exchanged between Ebisawa and TAKU, culminating in the two shaking hands, and heading backstage together... This left Naoki momentarily shaken in the ring. However, while expressing anger at TAKU, he chalked this up to the unpredictability of professional wrestling, and told Tanamura that he would face Tanamura and his disciple alone if he has to. This led to TAKU's best friend, Go Taniguchi stepping up as Fukuda's partner, and said he didn't understand what TAKU was thinking... To end the show, all of the wrestlers joined hands in the center of the ring in a show of unity, with everyone vowing to do their best in the coming year.
"KJPW Prologue FIRST STAGE"
January 24, 2013 (FIGHTING TV Samurai)
Osaka - BODYMAKER Colosseum Second Hall (1,800)
1,733 Fans (No Vacancy)
1. Comedy Deathmatch: Hisaima Tomagojita beat Atsuzuma Ojita (4:56) with a backslide.
2. Yutaka Awano/Yukio Kisanuki Debut Match: Yukio Kisanuki Yutaka Awano (7:07) with the Kimura Lock.
3. Shinji Uchikawa/Tsutomu Nishioka Debut Match: Mamoru Sekishima Tetsujin beat Shinji Uchikawa Tsutomu Nishioka (8:52) when Sekishima used a knee kick on Uchikawa.
4. Last of D: Riki Ichiro beat Yujiro Higuchi (15:26) with the Riki Lariat.
5. KJPW versus SPIRIT International: Seiji Ebisawa, Katsumi Gakusha Shino Hiriyama beat Chikao Kessin, Masafuji Yoshida Kazuki Sendo (14:19) when Hiriyama used the Picture Perfect German Suplex hold on Sendo.
6. Begin the New Age ~ MY CROWN, YOUR LIFE!!: Naoki Fukuda beat TAKU (32:16) with the Mastodon Crash.
"KJPW Prologue SECOND STAGE ~ Birth By Soul"
February 08, 2013
Tokyo - Differ Ariake (1,800)
- Kazuki Sendo vs. Shino Hiriyama
- Chikao Kessin Masafuji Yoshida vs. Seiji Ebisawa Katsumi Gakusha
- Naoki Fukuda Go Taniguchi vs. Kenji Tanamura Yuichi Miwa
No comments:
Post a Comment