* Kingdom of Japan Pro-Wrestling kicked off the start of its official
Prologue series, FINAL STAGE ~ IGNITION!! in front of a modest crowd in
Kobe. While a nasty Thunderstorm deterred the walk up crowd from buying
tickets, the 700+ that did attend were very enthusiastic for the
product. The gong sounded promptly at 3:00PM, leading to Ring Announcer
Eizou Hayakawa reading off the night's match card one-by-one. All of the
big names were given a large ovation -- including Kenji Tanamura who
makes his home in Kobe, and has become something of a cultural figure.
Fans were also taken in by the elaborate light and ring display. KJPW's
emblem was emblazoned on the canvas. The shining lights only
heightened the grandeur. Finally, Hayakawa welcomed fans to "THE KINGDOM
OF JAPAN!", and promised everyone would work hard to give the fans a
good show.
* Within mere moments of Hayakawa's opening introduction, the familiar
rookie tune of "THE SHOWDOWN" began playing, ushering Shinji Uchikawa
and Tsutomu Nishioka to the ring. The two rookies were charged and ready
to meet their biggest challenge to date in their short careers in the
form of Double Goodwin, James Goodwin Jr. and "BIG" Jon Goodwin. The
Kobe fans were taken aback by the overwhelming size of the aptly named
"BIG" Jon, while equally mesmerized by the charisma of the elder
Goodwin brother, James. Uchikawa and Nishioka however were unimpressed,
and took to Double Goodwin with a bold kamikaze strategy of DIVING onto
the them on the outside! While momentarily catching Double Goodwin off
guard, the powerful foreigners quickly came back, and punished the
rookies by violently throwing them into the steel guard rails. After
getting the young boys in the ring, the match began proper. James
Jr. punished Uchikawa with his grounded offense early on. Despite some
support from the sympathetic fans, Uchikawa found it difficult to combat
James' speed and finesse, which constantly kept Uchikawa on his toes.
However, the real trouble came as James tagged out to his little
brother, the 207cm "BIG" Jon Goodwin! There was nothing pretty about
"BIG" Jon's offense, as he relied on brute strength to break down
Uchikawa's defenses with FIVE consecutive body slams. Upon going for a
sixth however, Uchikawa found a way to slide down Goodwin's back, before
crawling between his legs to make the desperation tag to Tsutomu
Nishioka! With his now infamous hot pink trunks, the former bodybuilder
caught the oncoming Jon Goodwin with a dropkick beautifully executed
for a rookie! Unfortunately for Tsutomu however, he'd soon be swatted
down like a fly after trying to land a sledgehammer attack (double axe
handle) from the middle rope! Uchikawa came back in to try and make up
the difference -- only to be caught off by the older Goodwin! With no
where to go, Tsutomu found himself defenseless for "BIG" Jon's 207cm
tall CHOKE SLAM! With no hope of kicking out, Tsutomu was soundly pinned.
After the match, "Junior" took the microphone and spoke to-the-point in English, declaring that he and "BIG JON" were the "baddest tag team in the world," and vowed to prove it by winning the HEC Tag Team Title Tournament, which begins tomorrow in Osaka. Handing the microphone to "BIG" Jon, the younger Goodwin spoke much faster -- and louder than his methodical brother, calling their first round opponents Chikao Kessin and Masafuji Yoshida out in the process! This naturally brought the Sumo Brothers out, who attempted to confront the foreigners in the ring -- only to be held back by rookie Yutaka Awano and other unidentifiable trainees. Eventually using his girth to push past the young boys, Kessin took the microphone and said he couldn't understand anything that "meat head" was saying, and promised to teach him proper Japanese in their first round match on 4/06 in Korakuen Hall!
* Given the uneven amount of wrestlers on the tour, various handicap and
3WAY matches have been spread out across the tour to make sure that every
wrestler is given ring time. One of those such matches was next as
Seikigun's Kazuki Sendo and Yukio Kisanuki faced off against one
another, in addition to ARMADA's Harumi Sakai. The match type had some
novelty appeal with the fans, as 3WAY matches and similar variants
aren't commonly seen in Japan. Naturally, Sendo and Kisanuki aimed to
form a "Senpai/Kouhai" union against Sakai. However, problems
immediately arose between Senpai and Kouhai as neither could come to an
agreement as to who would strike first. Sendo finally made the decision
for both of them by booting Kisanuki in the stomach and throwing him towards Sakai -- who dodged the rookie bullet, and
caught Sendo with a kneel kick! This allowed Kisanuki to get the jump
on Sakai however, leading to a flurry of HARD body kicks from the
rookie. However, Sakai would thwart Kisanuki's ipponseio with a simple
Backdrop! This brought Sendo back in, who broke up the preceding pin
attempt, leading to Sendo and Sakai going at it one-on-one. The two
traded a fiery exchange of forearms and kicks, followed by a slick
exchange of holds on the mat. Just as it seemed the match was
establishing a slow pace however, Kazuki Sendo charged things up by
countering out of a grounded headscissors by rolling to his feet and BLASTING Sakai in the face with his Nice Hit! knee strike! Sendo covered Sakai -- only for Kisanuki to pull him off!
Sendo was NOT happy with this act of insubordination from his kouhai,
and chastised him in the corner. Not satisfied with Kisanuki's attitude,
Sendo SLAPPED the rookie across the face! The blow struck
Kisanuki so hard, the children and women in the audience immediately
gasped in shock! While taking a moment to hold his face, Kisanuki ERUPTED
with a slap of his own, catching Sendo by surprise! After two follow up
shots, Kisanuki anticipated Sendo's counterattack by pulling down the
bottom rope, propelling the charging Sendo to tumble over the ropes, and
to the floor! The Kobe fans gave the rookie a big ovation for his bold
move. The momentum helped him keep up with Sakai's advances, leading to a
quick grappling exchange. Kisanuki surprisingly found himself in a
position to go for his Kimura Lock, a move he gained some
notoriety for as a Judoka. However, Sakai would use his experience and
added size and strength to easily escape Kisanuki's attempt -- before
sinking in a Chickenwing Facelock! With Kisanuki's face and neck
contorted, he was forced to submit and surrender the match to Harumi
Sakai!
* After briefly appearing earlier in the night, Chikao Kessin and Masafuji Yoshida returned for tag team action against the veteran/rookie team of Yujiro Higuchi and Yutaka Awano. Awano started, hoping to challenge himself against the much more experienced Chikao Kessin, who obliged gladly with POWERFUL kesagiri chops that came down across Awano's collar bone! However, just as it seemed Awano was going to fall, the plucky rookie fired back with a fiery battle cry, and an equally volatile volley of elbows! After giving his best efforts, Kessin seemed to take joy in throwing ONE forearm to the side of Awano's head, INSTANTLY KNOCKING HIM TO THE GROUND! This brought in Masafuji Yoshida, who punished the rookie with ground offense such as knee drops, stomps, and chin locks. Awano however showed guts, and caught Yoshida coming into the corner with a boot to the face. With the Nise Sumo stunned, Awano tried to take him down to the mat with a Lou Thesz press -- however, Yoshida kept his footing slightly. Awano rained down blows to keep Yoshida staggering backwards, which allowed Awano to tag out to Yujiro Higuchi! The 121kg/194cm Higuchi blasted Yoshida with thudding knees, elbows, and chops to provoke an equally charged counterattack. Yoshida almost took the Nagoya Tower down with a lariat, only to eat Higuchi's right foot after going for a second! After getting the tag from Yoshida, Kessin came in to face Higuchi head in, leading to the two trading heavy chops. After a flurry of Kesagiris, Kessin tried to finish Higuchi once and for all with the Sekai Ichi no Backdrop (World's #1 Backdrop). Higuchi however escaped with hard downward elbows to the back of Kessin's neck! As he came off the ropes with another big boot however, Kessin blocked the shot, before landing a staggering BACK BLOW! The powerful short-ranged backfist stunned Higuchi enough for the SEKAI ICHI NO BACKDROP! The devastating suplex sent Higuchi tumbling into his corner, where Awano boldly tagged himself in! At the same time, Kessin tagged out to Yoshida, who braced himself for the spunky rookie's oncoming assault of elbows. After weathering them however, Yoshida SMACKED Awano across the face with a jarring slap, opening him up for a powerful Belly-to-Belly slam, keeping Awano down for a 2.5 count! After a hearty body slam in his corner, Yoshida climbed to the top rope ever so carefully! With Kessin coming in to cut Higuchi off the apron, Yoshida plummeted from the top, using his 129kg frame to crush Awano with a diving body press! With Higuchi knocked to the outside, Yoshida picked up the three count to give the Sumo Brothers Returns team the victory!
After the match, Yoshida and Kessin briefly addressed Double Goodwin once more. Yoshida said that he and Kessin would strengthen their bond even further by winning the HEC Tag Team Title Tournament, and vowed that no team could surpass the power of the Sumo Brotherhood. Kessin was more direct, and promised to utterly crush the foreign team and firmly establish Japan's superiority, and promised that this would be his year, beginning by winning the HEC Tag Team Title Tournament.
* After a brief intermission, the Japanese fans were treated to a special mixed tag team match presented by KJPW's official American partner EXODUS Pro-Wrestling, which sent four of its best and promising athletes for most of the coming series, beginning tonight as EXODUS's top star and Champion Fiona Rourke teamed with the physically indomitable Steve "Big L" Lenton to take on the man Rourke is scheduled to defend her Title against on EXODUS's "Invincible" iPPV, Magnus Gunner, along with Abby Park. Unbeknownst to most of the live crowd, the Gunner/Park team created an unfortunate dynamic, as Gunner represents the anti-EXODUS faction known as LEGION, while Park has proudly aligned herself with EXODUS's home army. Unfortunately, due to KJPW's rules regarding Inter gender wrestling, another female was needed to accompany Gunner to Japan. While unhappy about teaming with a member of the faction she despises, the opportunity for experience could not be refused by the Korean-American. Ring Announcer Eizou Hayakawa explained the Inter-gender policies of both company's to the live audience, along with reiterating that rules of a Mixed Tag match. When a female is tagged in on one corner, the other female is automatically tagged in on the opposite corner.
The four were warmly received by the Kobe fans. Fiona especially had a small following for herself with several "FIONA!" calls rising from the crowd. With his natural charisma shining through, Lenton had earned his supporters as well. The match kicked off with the two women, as Fiona circled Abby Park. The two engaged in some brief mat work. The EXODUS Champ was able to stay one step ahead of Park, who quickly grew frustrated with being shown up. After being forced by Fiona to use a rope break after succumbing to a wakigatame, Abby quickly let her emotions get the better of her, and shoved Fiona to her rear! This prompted the two females to lit the other up with hard strikes back and forth! This time, it was Abby who pushed the pace, as she bombarded Fiona with slaps, elbows and chop -- forcing the EXODUS Champion into a turtled stance! As Park stepped back for a measured blow however, Fiona struck, blasting Park with a THRUST KICK (Superkick)! The shot staggered Abby, who tried to keep her footing -- only to fall. After taking a moment to recover, Fiona tagged out to The Big L, which automatically brought in Magnus Gunner, who actually jumped into the ring before Fiona tagged, allowing him to meet Lenton in the center of the ring with a hard knee to the body! Magnus quickly took the match to the outside, where he quickly began choking Lenton with microphone cables! It got even worse for Lenton, as Magnus took a steel chair from the audience before smashing it across Lenton's broad back! Magnus chuckled as he held the broken chair in the air. After carelessly tossing the renments into the crowd, Magnus began searching under the ring... Seemingly finding what he wanted, he emerged from under the ring from a smile -- and an AMERICAN STYLE STEEL CHAIR! The fans reacted with appropriate awe and concern as Magnus brandished the weapon above Lenton's back, before FOLDING IT IN HALF ACROSS LENTON'S SPINE! This IMMEDIATELY got the attention of Referee Hideki Kajiwara, who dealt a serious warning to Magnus, and threatened a prompt DQ if he used the chair again. While teasing another shot, Magnus relented and forced Lenton to crawl back into the ring at the count of 15. In the ring, Magnus continued to work over Lenton's back and midsection with a series of holds and submissions. Not to be held down though, The Big L powered his way back to a standing position, before forcing Magnus to send him off into the ropes. Upon returning, Lenton ducked a wild lariat, before coming off the ropes and turning the tables with a Jumping Elbow Smash! As both men hit the mat, Lenton POPPED to his feet in an amazing display of athleticism. Upon scrambling to his feet, Magnus was met with a scooping body slam, followed by a second! As Magnus scrambled up a third time, Lenton met him with a swift Blue Thunder Bomb to get a two count! Lenton further demonstrated his skill by sending Magnus into the ropes, and catching him with a perfectly-timed Spinebuster! Feeling the unanimous support of the crowd behind him, Lenton covered once more, only for Gunner to kick out once more! Looking over to Fiona as if to ask if he could finish this, the EXODUS Champ responded with an emphatic Thumbs up! Lenton sent Magnus off into the ropes once more... But before Lenton could follow through, Magnus suddenly held onto the ropes, and promptly tagged out to Abby before bailing to the outside! While within his legal rights, the move garnered a loud ovation of boos from the fans. Abby herself had some less than kind words for her partner, calling him a "chicken shit" upon climbing into the ring. Never the less, she met the game Fiona Rourke head on in another fiery exchange of blows. Just as it seemed the EXODUS Champ was getting control, Abby stopped her momentum dead with a hard Jumping Knee Park calls the "Seoul Train"! With Rourke flattened, Park followed with the Nashville Shores; a seated senton across the sternum! Seizing her big chance, Park covered EXODUS's Ace -- only for Fiona to kick out after two! After pulling the staggered Rourke to her feet, Abby lifted her across her shoulders, aiming to finish her with her Cropduster facebuster finish! However, as she hurled Rourke forward, Fiona landed on her feet! Using the confusion to her advantage, she BLASTED Park with her variation of the Jumping High Kick known as the SHINIGAMI! After the excited crowd quieted down, Fiona covered Park for the pin -- ONLY FOR MAGNUS TO PULL FIONA OUT OF THE RING! Due to the referee's position, he did not actually witness Magnus pulling Fiona, allowing the heel to get away with it. Fiona protested to the referee, who didn't seem to understand Fiona's complaint. This gave Park enough time to recover, who came from behind and CRADLED THE EXODUS CHAMP FOR 2.9 COUNT! The two females feverishly exchanged holds and shots in the ring -- all while Lenton pursued Magnus on the outside! After a fast series of close-calls and near misses, the EXODUS Champion caught Abby on the mat, before trapping her in Anaconda Vice; dubbed the Yawarakai-Te by Fiona! Despite putting up a good struggle, Park was eventually forced to submit to the painful submission and surrender the match!
The EXODUS offering was a resounding success, as the fans gave the competitors an big ovation afterwards. Fiona took the microphone afterwards, and spoke in Japanese, saying "EXODUS Champion Fiona Rouke desu! YOROSHIKU ONEGAISHIMASU! (I'm the EXODUS Champion, Fiona Rourke! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!)" Before she could get anymore out however, MAGNUS BLINDSIDED HER FROM BEHIND BY SMASHING THE AMERICAN CHAIR ACROSS HER BACK! Magnus bailed from the ring in one fluid swoop to the jeers of the Kobe crowd! Fiona was helped to her feet by both Lenton and Park, and promised that he would make Magnus suffer when she's legally allowed to get her hands on him... After calming down, Fiona thanked the Japanese fans for their generosity, and vowed to show the best EXODUS Pro-Wrestling had to offer... Handing the microphone to Abby Park, she formally introduced herself to the fans. She regretted losing tonight, but said people always say "there's no shame in losing to the Champion." She wished she had a better choice of company for the series, but promised to give her best... Finally, "The Big L" Steven Lenton spoke, specifically calling out the "WWA National Heavyweight Champion!" This naturally brought out the holder of the Belt himself, Riki Ichiro! With the champion emerging to confront his challenger, the two had a brief, but intense stare down. While the words exchanged were inaudible, Lenton made a clear "belt" motion around his waist to make his intentions clear! As if it needed to be stated, Lenton promised to bring Ichiro's belt back to the United States on 04/05 in Nagoya! He said he respected Ichiro, but added that heaven nor hell would stop him from winning! Ichiro understood enough to get the message, and responded to the declaration with a smile. The two shook hands as a mutual show of respect.
Kazuma Fujita, along with Mamoru Sekishima and Tetsuji Kawamura, "MONSTER HEAD DUO" faced ARMADA in the night's semi final match. Even with Kazuma Fujita on the other side, the ARMADA team was overwhelmingly beloved by the Kobe fans due to their leader and Kobe native Kenji Tanamura! "The Gladiator King" was greeted with a resounding ovation of cheers and applause, along with receiving several bouquets of flowers from sponsors and special guests upon entering the ring. The crowd was even more enthused as Tanamura himself opted to start the match for his team, before calling out Kazuma Fujita! After some good-natured comedy, Fujita climbed into the ring to face off against one of his most accomplished students. Trading holds on the mat, the more nimble Tanamura was able to stay one step ahead of Fujita, who eventually found himself being thrown over Tanamura's hip in an amazing display of Judo! Not to be outdone however, Fujita displayed his proficiency by grounding Tanamura, before cradling him with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for a two count! With tempers beginning to flare, Fujita and Tanamura engaged in trading heavy shots, with Fujita winning out! With Tanamura subdued in the corner, Fujita tagged out to the 197cm "Greco Superman" of MHD, Mamoru Seishima! Following Fujita's lead, Sekishima buried his knee into Tanamura's abdomen, before scooping him up and helplessly slamming him to the mat! Taking the more antagonistic approach, Sekishima jabbed Tanamura's body with kicks, while shouting things like "You're ground beef!" The poor insult only prompted Tanamura to teach the disrespectful Sekishima a lesson with a HARD slap to the face. Sekishima laughed the shot off however, and responded with a HARD slap of his own, staggering Tanamura! Sekishima followed with two more shots, ONLY TO BE CUT OFF ON THE THIRD WITH A HARD SHOT FROM TANAMURA! The swift blow left Sekishima staggered, allowing him to muster his strength to suplex Sekishima with a Backdrop! This brought in Yusaku Kitajima and Tetsuji Kawashima for their respective teams. Kitajima fought a calm, cockier style compared to Tetsuji's high-tension personality, but scored equally on the other. Kitajima's offense included stern kicks, slaps, and throws, compared with Tetsuji's blunt strategy of reckless power. Tetsuji was able to establish control after catching Kitajima's kick and countering with a headbutt! Kawamura made quick tags to Sekishima in a good show of teamwork. Sekishima would only be in long enough to drive both of his arms across Kitajima's back, before tagging out to Fujita, who further punished Kitajima with stinging knife-edge chops! A winder of opportunity presented itself as Fujita tried to whip Kitajima across the ring. Kitajima swiftly countered, sending Fujita into ARMADA's corner! However, upon rushing in, Kitajima ate a nasty boot from Fujita, who immediately followed with the Running Neckbreaker Drop! Fujita went for the cover, only for Kitajima to kick out after two! After peppering Kitajima with more chops, Fujita tagged out to Sekishima, who once more drove his big knees into the body his opponent! After regrouping however, Kitajima fought back with kicks to the body, before gathering his strength to GERMAN SUPLEX Sekishima! The big play allowed Kitajima to make the tag to his ARMADA senpai Yuichi Miwa, who unloaded on Sekishima with heavy knees to the body! Provoking a response, Sekishima fired back by leaving palm-sized imprints on Miwa's chest! After catching a kick from Miwa however, Sekishima found himself scrambling to defend a cross knee hold attempt! With Miwa reaching for Sekishima's leg while curled up in a ball. Sekishima used his brute strength to dead-lift Miwa up and DROP HIM ON HIS HEAD WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX! After Sekishima let out a mighty battle cry, Tetsuji and Fujita came in to cut Tanamura and Kitajima off the apron! As Miwa staggered to a knee, Sekishima came roaring out of the corner, before SMASHING HIS KNEE INTO MIWA'S JAW! Sekishima covered, only for Miwa to kick out at 2.5! Signaling for the finish, Sekishima gripped Miwa's body on the mat, before picking him up by the waist to set up the Greco Bomb! Miwa however had the presence to grab hold of Mamoru's leg to momentarily delay the match-ending move! While brief, the stop allowed Yusaku Kitajima to jump from the top rope, CATCHING SEKISHIMA IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH A MISSILE KICK! Releasing his grip, Sekishima was defenseless for Miwa's cross knee lock! Mamoru teased submitting, as the pain appeared to be immense. Before his threshold could be reached however, Sekishima's MHD partner Tetsuji Kawamura broke the hold up with a series of stomps! Kitajima was quick to cut him off however, and disperse him from the ring. Miwa then tagged out to Tanamura, who had been holding Kazuma Fujita off on the outside. While he tried to take over from Miwa, Tanamura quickly found himself knocked to the ground by a powerful double chop from Mamoru! After whipping Tanamura into the corner, Mamoru hobbled his way towards crushing Tanamura with a lariat! After slamming Tanamura to the mat, Mamoru slowly climbed the second rope, before delivering a successful corner slingshot splash! After the failed pin attempt, Sekishima somehow felt confident enough to finish "The Gladiator King" once and for all, and measured him for a deadly knee kick... However, as he charged, Tanamura struck, BLASTING HIM WITH THE ABISEGIRI! The blow sent Sekishima to his wear, where he sat stunned! As the fans erupted in cheers, Tanamura hooked Sekishima's arms, before applying a modified hammerlock front sleeper! With Mamoru's neck and arm being twisted and pulled to absurd degrees, he was forced to submit!!
Both teams were friendly with one another afterwards, with the MHD+Fujita team congratulating ARMADA. Still, there appeared to be some hostile words exchanged by the hot-blooded Yusaku Kitajima and Tetsuji Kawamura. Tanamura thanked the Kobe fans for their amazing support, and said that Kobe held a special place in his heart. He admitted his fondness for using the hammerlock front sleeper, and thus said he'll merge his two loves by dubbing the hold the KOBE☆LOVE. He said ARMADA's fortunes were going strong this year. He reminded fans of making the finals of the inaugural EMPEROR'S CUP, and said ARMADA would follow that up by winning the HEC Tag Team Title tournament! This specific comment earned the ire of Mamoru Sekishima, who accused Tanamura of looking past his first round opponents, being he and Tetsuji Kawamura, MONSTER HEAD DUO! Sekishima told Tanamura not to think tonight was an indicator of their match tomorrow, because he would be sadly mistaken.
* The night's main event featured an eight-man tag pitting KJPW's seikigun of Naoki Fukuda, Riki Ichiro, and Go Taniguchi led by NEW HEC Heavyweight Champion TAKU against SPIRIT International's Sean King, Katsumi Gakusha, and Shino Hiriyama; led by TAKU's forthcoming title challenger, Seiji Ebisawa in a full-on assault between both sidesl! The two teams talked trash before the match, making for a tense atmosphere. Riki Ichiro started the match against Katsumi Gakusha, who had a withdrawn strategy in order to frustrate the"Hot-Tempered Samurai." While trying to keep his patience, Ichiro finally succumbed to Gakusha's strategy and rushed in, allowing Gakusha to strike with a kick to the body, followed by a snap suplex! Getting up quickly, Ichiro fought back with kicks of his own, only to get cut off with a cheap poke of the eye, before slapping on a headlock! Gakusha's hold was only momentary however, as Ichiro shoved him off into the ropes. As Gakusha returned, he found himself OVERWHELMED by the power of Ichiro, who knocked him flat to the mat with a shoulder block! This opportunity allowed Ichiro to tag out to the new HEC Heavyweight Champion himself, TAKU, who garnered a big ovation worthy of a champion! TAKU punished Gakusha with hard slaps to the chest, taking the wind out of Gakusha with every blow! Not to be shown up, Gakusha fired back with forearms of his own to meet the HEC Champion head on! Both men traded fiery blows back and forth until TAKU planted him Gakusha with a hefty body towards Gakusha's corner, where he beckoned his 04/06 challenger to tag in! Despite Seiji Ebisawa teasing it, it would instead be SEAN KING who would tag himself in, looking to test the HEC Heavyweight Champion. TAKU threw everything he had into chopping the big man down, only to receive a HARD knife-edge chop to nearly drive all the wind out from him! Not easily defeated, TAKU fought back with three more chops -- only to again be cut down with one massive shot from King! TAKU continued to struggle for the next couple of minutes, until he ducked a swinging lariat from King, and countered with a Flying Lariat of his own to take King off his feet for the first time! This allowed TAKU to tag out to the "Invincible Mastodon," Naoki Fukuda! Leaving where TAKU left off, Naoki used his power against the equally strong Sean King. However, after trying to take King down with a reckless lariat, King cut him off with a CRUSHING body attack! This allowed SPIRIT International to take control, and make frequent use of tags, which brought Seiji Ebisawa in for the first time in the match. With Naoki prone in the corner, Ebisawa punished TAKU's former tag team partner with stinging chops and knuckle punches! Despite trying to fight back, Naoki would be further subdued with a body slam, followed by a hard elbow drop across his chest! As the match progress, SPIRIT International continued to pick Naoki apart move-by-move. It wasn't until Shino Hiriyama telegraphed a leap-frog, allowing Naoki to catch and Powerslam him to the mat! Naoki tagged out to Go Taniguchi, who further punished Hiriyama with hard Northern chops. Go ran wild (as wild as Go CAN run anyways) with chops and kicks, before finally taking Hiriyama down with a Running Neckbreaker drop! However, as he went for the cover, Gakusha and Sean King jumped in to break it up, and knock the entire seikigun team off the apron! There, SPIRIT International viciously isolated Go with several four-on-one attacks. They finally settled down long enough for Hiriyama to tag out to King, who took joy in hulking Go's 193 frame overhead before dropping him throat first across the top rope! It wasn't over for Go either, as King used his boot to scrape away at Go's face with the appropriately named Clean Slate. More tags were exchanged, as Go appeared to be in serious danger. However, a glimmer of light appeared for him after Katsumi Gakusha tried to lift him for a vertical suplex. With the Kobe crowd behind him, Go countered the move with a suplex of his own to kick start his chance to tag out! With the fans reaching a fever pitch, Go made the tag out to his friend TAKU just as Gakusha tagged out to Ebisawa!! Finally, Champion and Challenger charged at one another, trading a fervent salvo of elbows and chops! With neither man refusing to show weakness, the exchange continued for over a minute! Naturally, the strike battle led to the two exchanging hard lariats -- with neither man falling! In the end however, the more experienced Ebisawa would show to be a bit wiser, as he cut TAKU off in the middle of a lariat attempt with an enzuigiri! The attack came from out of no where, and nearly gave SPIRIT International the match as TAKU kicked out of the pin attempt at 2.5! Ebisawa continued on offense, until the HEC Champion counterattacked with a Spear! This time, it was seikigun's time to turn the tables as Naoki, Go, and Riki knocked SPIRIT International off the apron, allowing the four babyfaces to gain a measure of revenge over the SPIRIT International leader! At the end of the onslaught, TAKU tagged back out to Go Taniguchi, who locked Ebisawa in a Cobra Twist! Looking to make their move, Shino Hiriyama distracted the referee, allowing Sean King to THWACK Go from behind with a chair to break the hold! Wanting to teach Go a lesson, Ebisawa jabbed him annoying, but damaging knuckle punches, followed by a DDT! After a failed pin attempt, Ebisawa tagged out to Sean King, before giving his three men the signal to "finish!" Joining Gakusha and Hiriyama, Ebisawa helped knock the seikigun side from the apron, allowing King to scoop Go over his shoulder before signaling for the Welcome to St. Louis Fire Thunder! Before King could execute however, Go escaped, and begun trying to lift King's massive body up for the ARGENTINE BACKBREAKER! ...Unfortunately, Go clearly wasn't nearly as strong, and was forced to relent his grasp... ONLY TO WALK INTO THE KING'S GAVEL (Diamond Cutter)! King covered, only for Go to kick out at 2.5! With Go fatigued and damaged, King was this time able to pull off the Welcome to St. Louis -- SPIKING Go's neck into the mat! King covered with his body seated atop Go... ONLY FOR RIKI ICHIRO TO MAKE THE DIVING SAVE AT 2.9! There was little the seikigun side could do unfortunately, as after SPIRIT International dispersed Ichiro, King finished Taniguchi with the SK DRIVER! King covered to earn the victory for SPIRIT International!
After the match, Ebisawa rubbed salt into the wound, saying tonight was a pitiful display for KJPW's seikigun -- and its Champion. He mocked TAKU, saying that a Ace's role was to be a leader to earn victories for his team. This raised the ire of not TAKU, but GO TANIGUCHI, who passionately vowed to follow TAKU to victory in their HEC Tag Team Title Tournament first round match tomorrow. He said he would place all of his faith in KJPW's Ace, and said that regardless of who won the tournament, it would NOT be SPIRIT International! This prompted Ebisawa's partner for tomorrow Katsumi Gakusha to take the microphone and laugh off Go's sincere words, and told Go he was a comedian, not a drama actor and promised to make him look foolish by beating him not just tomorrow, but in their singles match on 4/06!
Kazuma Fujita, along with Mamoru Sekishima and Tetsuji Kawamura, "MONSTER HEAD DUO" faced ARMADA in the night's semi final match. Even with Kazuma Fujita on the other side, the ARMADA team was overwhelmingly beloved by the Kobe fans due to their leader and Kobe native Kenji Tanamura! "The Gladiator King" was greeted with a resounding ovation of cheers and applause, along with receiving several bouquets of flowers from sponsors and special guests upon entering the ring. The crowd was even more enthused as Tanamura himself opted to start the match for his team, before calling out Kazuma Fujita! After some good-natured comedy, Fujita climbed into the ring to face off against one of his most accomplished students. Trading holds on the mat, the more nimble Tanamura was able to stay one step ahead of Fujita, who eventually found himself being thrown over Tanamura's hip in an amazing display of Judo! Not to be outdone however, Fujita displayed his proficiency by grounding Tanamura, before cradling him with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch for a two count! With tempers beginning to flare, Fujita and Tanamura engaged in trading heavy shots, with Fujita winning out! With Tanamura subdued in the corner, Fujita tagged out to the 197cm "Greco Superman" of MHD, Mamoru Seishima! Following Fujita's lead, Sekishima buried his knee into Tanamura's abdomen, before scooping him up and helplessly slamming him to the mat! Taking the more antagonistic approach, Sekishima jabbed Tanamura's body with kicks, while shouting things like "You're ground beef!" The poor insult only prompted Tanamura to teach the disrespectful Sekishima a lesson with a HARD slap to the face. Sekishima laughed the shot off however, and responded with a HARD slap of his own, staggering Tanamura! Sekishima followed with two more shots, ONLY TO BE CUT OFF ON THE THIRD WITH A HARD SHOT FROM TANAMURA! The swift blow left Sekishima staggered, allowing him to muster his strength to suplex Sekishima with a Backdrop! This brought in Yusaku Kitajima and Tetsuji Kawashima for their respective teams. Kitajima fought a calm, cockier style compared to Tetsuji's high-tension personality, but scored equally on the other. Kitajima's offense included stern kicks, slaps, and throws, compared with Tetsuji's blunt strategy of reckless power. Tetsuji was able to establish control after catching Kitajima's kick and countering with a headbutt! Kawamura made quick tags to Sekishima in a good show of teamwork. Sekishima would only be in long enough to drive both of his arms across Kitajima's back, before tagging out to Fujita, who further punished Kitajima with stinging knife-edge chops! A winder of opportunity presented itself as Fujita tried to whip Kitajima across the ring. Kitajima swiftly countered, sending Fujita into ARMADA's corner! However, upon rushing in, Kitajima ate a nasty boot from Fujita, who immediately followed with the Running Neckbreaker Drop! Fujita went for the cover, only for Kitajima to kick out after two! After peppering Kitajima with more chops, Fujita tagged out to Sekishima, who once more drove his big knees into the body his opponent! After regrouping however, Kitajima fought back with kicks to the body, before gathering his strength to GERMAN SUPLEX Sekishima! The big play allowed Kitajima to make the tag to his ARMADA senpai Yuichi Miwa, who unloaded on Sekishima with heavy knees to the body! Provoking a response, Sekishima fired back by leaving palm-sized imprints on Miwa's chest! After catching a kick from Miwa however, Sekishima found himself scrambling to defend a cross knee hold attempt! With Miwa reaching for Sekishima's leg while curled up in a ball. Sekishima used his brute strength to dead-lift Miwa up and DROP HIM ON HIS HEAD WITH A GERMAN SUPLEX! After Sekishima let out a mighty battle cry, Tetsuji and Fujita came in to cut Tanamura and Kitajima off the apron! As Miwa staggered to a knee, Sekishima came roaring out of the corner, before SMASHING HIS KNEE INTO MIWA'S JAW! Sekishima covered, only for Miwa to kick out at 2.5! Signaling for the finish, Sekishima gripped Miwa's body on the mat, before picking him up by the waist to set up the Greco Bomb! Miwa however had the presence to grab hold of Mamoru's leg to momentarily delay the match-ending move! While brief, the stop allowed Yusaku Kitajima to jump from the top rope, CATCHING SEKISHIMA IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD WITH A MISSILE KICK! Releasing his grip, Sekishima was defenseless for Miwa's cross knee lock! Mamoru teased submitting, as the pain appeared to be immense. Before his threshold could be reached however, Sekishima's MHD partner Tetsuji Kawamura broke the hold up with a series of stomps! Kitajima was quick to cut him off however, and disperse him from the ring. Miwa then tagged out to Tanamura, who had been holding Kazuma Fujita off on the outside. While he tried to take over from Miwa, Tanamura quickly found himself knocked to the ground by a powerful double chop from Mamoru! After whipping Tanamura into the corner, Mamoru hobbled his way towards crushing Tanamura with a lariat! After slamming Tanamura to the mat, Mamoru slowly climbed the second rope, before delivering a successful corner slingshot splash! After the failed pin attempt, Sekishima somehow felt confident enough to finish "The Gladiator King" once and for all, and measured him for a deadly knee kick... However, as he charged, Tanamura struck, BLASTING HIM WITH THE ABISEGIRI! The blow sent Sekishima to his wear, where he sat stunned! As the fans erupted in cheers, Tanamura hooked Sekishima's arms, before applying a modified hammerlock front sleeper! With Mamoru's neck and arm being twisted and pulled to absurd degrees, he was forced to submit!!
Both teams were friendly with one another afterwards, with the MHD+Fujita team congratulating ARMADA. Still, there appeared to be some hostile words exchanged by the hot-blooded Yusaku Kitajima and Tetsuji Kawamura. Tanamura thanked the Kobe fans for their amazing support, and said that Kobe held a special place in his heart. He admitted his fondness for using the hammerlock front sleeper, and thus said he'll merge his two loves by dubbing the hold the KOBE☆LOVE. He said ARMADA's fortunes were going strong this year. He reminded fans of making the finals of the inaugural EMPEROR'S CUP, and said ARMADA would follow that up by winning the HEC Tag Team Title tournament! This specific comment earned the ire of Mamoru Sekishima, who accused Tanamura of looking past his first round opponents, being he and Tetsuji Kawamura, MONSTER HEAD DUO! Sekishima told Tanamura not to think tonight was an indicator of their match tomorrow, because he would be sadly mistaken.
* The night's main event featured an eight-man tag pitting KJPW's seikigun of Naoki Fukuda, Riki Ichiro, and Go Taniguchi led by NEW HEC Heavyweight Champion TAKU against SPIRIT International's Sean King, Katsumi Gakusha, and Shino Hiriyama; led by TAKU's forthcoming title challenger, Seiji Ebisawa in a full-on assault between both sidesl! The two teams talked trash before the match, making for a tense atmosphere. Riki Ichiro started the match against Katsumi Gakusha, who had a withdrawn strategy in order to frustrate the"Hot-Tempered Samurai." While trying to keep his patience, Ichiro finally succumbed to Gakusha's strategy and rushed in, allowing Gakusha to strike with a kick to the body, followed by a snap suplex! Getting up quickly, Ichiro fought back with kicks of his own, only to get cut off with a cheap poke of the eye, before slapping on a headlock! Gakusha's hold was only momentary however, as Ichiro shoved him off into the ropes. As Gakusha returned, he found himself OVERWHELMED by the power of Ichiro, who knocked him flat to the mat with a shoulder block! This opportunity allowed Ichiro to tag out to the new HEC Heavyweight Champion himself, TAKU, who garnered a big ovation worthy of a champion! TAKU punished Gakusha with hard slaps to the chest, taking the wind out of Gakusha with every blow! Not to be shown up, Gakusha fired back with forearms of his own to meet the HEC Champion head on! Both men traded fiery blows back and forth until TAKU planted him Gakusha with a hefty body towards Gakusha's corner, where he beckoned his 04/06 challenger to tag in! Despite Seiji Ebisawa teasing it, it would instead be SEAN KING who would tag himself in, looking to test the HEC Heavyweight Champion. TAKU threw everything he had into chopping the big man down, only to receive a HARD knife-edge chop to nearly drive all the wind out from him! Not easily defeated, TAKU fought back with three more chops -- only to again be cut down with one massive shot from King! TAKU continued to struggle for the next couple of minutes, until he ducked a swinging lariat from King, and countered with a Flying Lariat of his own to take King off his feet for the first time! This allowed TAKU to tag out to the "Invincible Mastodon," Naoki Fukuda! Leaving where TAKU left off, Naoki used his power against the equally strong Sean King. However, after trying to take King down with a reckless lariat, King cut him off with a CRUSHING body attack! This allowed SPIRIT International to take control, and make frequent use of tags, which brought Seiji Ebisawa in for the first time in the match. With Naoki prone in the corner, Ebisawa punished TAKU's former tag team partner with stinging chops and knuckle punches! Despite trying to fight back, Naoki would be further subdued with a body slam, followed by a hard elbow drop across his chest! As the match progress, SPIRIT International continued to pick Naoki apart move-by-move. It wasn't until Shino Hiriyama telegraphed a leap-frog, allowing Naoki to catch and Powerslam him to the mat! Naoki tagged out to Go Taniguchi, who further punished Hiriyama with hard Northern chops. Go ran wild (as wild as Go CAN run anyways) with chops and kicks, before finally taking Hiriyama down with a Running Neckbreaker drop! However, as he went for the cover, Gakusha and Sean King jumped in to break it up, and knock the entire seikigun team off the apron! There, SPIRIT International viciously isolated Go with several four-on-one attacks. They finally settled down long enough for Hiriyama to tag out to King, who took joy in hulking Go's 193 frame overhead before dropping him throat first across the top rope! It wasn't over for Go either, as King used his boot to scrape away at Go's face with the appropriately named Clean Slate. More tags were exchanged, as Go appeared to be in serious danger. However, a glimmer of light appeared for him after Katsumi Gakusha tried to lift him for a vertical suplex. With the Kobe crowd behind him, Go countered the move with a suplex of his own to kick start his chance to tag out! With the fans reaching a fever pitch, Go made the tag out to his friend TAKU just as Gakusha tagged out to Ebisawa!! Finally, Champion and Challenger charged at one another, trading a fervent salvo of elbows and chops! With neither man refusing to show weakness, the exchange continued for over a minute! Naturally, the strike battle led to the two exchanging hard lariats -- with neither man falling! In the end however, the more experienced Ebisawa would show to be a bit wiser, as he cut TAKU off in the middle of a lariat attempt with an enzuigiri! The attack came from out of no where, and nearly gave SPIRIT International the match as TAKU kicked out of the pin attempt at 2.5! Ebisawa continued on offense, until the HEC Champion counterattacked with a Spear! This time, it was seikigun's time to turn the tables as Naoki, Go, and Riki knocked SPIRIT International off the apron, allowing the four babyfaces to gain a measure of revenge over the SPIRIT International leader! At the end of the onslaught, TAKU tagged back out to Go Taniguchi, who locked Ebisawa in a Cobra Twist! Looking to make their move, Shino Hiriyama distracted the referee, allowing Sean King to THWACK Go from behind with a chair to break the hold! Wanting to teach Go a lesson, Ebisawa jabbed him annoying, but damaging knuckle punches, followed by a DDT! After a failed pin attempt, Ebisawa tagged out to Sean King, before giving his three men the signal to "finish!" Joining Gakusha and Hiriyama, Ebisawa helped knock the seikigun side from the apron, allowing King to scoop Go over his shoulder before signaling for the Welcome to St. Louis Fire Thunder! Before King could execute however, Go escaped, and begun trying to lift King's massive body up for the ARGENTINE BACKBREAKER! ...Unfortunately, Go clearly wasn't nearly as strong, and was forced to relent his grasp... ONLY TO WALK INTO THE KING'S GAVEL (Diamond Cutter)! King covered, only for Go to kick out at 2.5! With Go fatigued and damaged, King was this time able to pull off the Welcome to St. Louis -- SPIKING Go's neck into the mat! King covered with his body seated atop Go... ONLY FOR RIKI ICHIRO TO MAKE THE DIVING SAVE AT 2.9! There was little the seikigun side could do unfortunately, as after SPIRIT International dispersed Ichiro, King finished Taniguchi with the SK DRIVER! King covered to earn the victory for SPIRIT International!
After the match, Ebisawa rubbed salt into the wound, saying tonight was a pitiful display for KJPW's seikigun -- and its Champion. He mocked TAKU, saying that a Ace's role was to be a leader to earn victories for his team. This raised the ire of not TAKU, but GO TANIGUCHI, who passionately vowed to follow TAKU to victory in their HEC Tag Team Title Tournament first round match tomorrow. He said he would place all of his faith in KJPW's Ace, and said that regardless of who won the tournament, it would NOT be SPIRIT International! This prompted Ebisawa's partner for tomorrow Katsumi Gakusha to take the microphone and laugh off Go's sincere words, and told Go he was a comedian, not a drama actor and promised to make him look foolish by beating him not just tomorrow, but in their singles match on 4/06!
KJPW Prologue FINAL STAGE ~ IGNITION!! Series,
March 29, 2013 (Fighting TV Samurai)
Hyogo - Kobe Sambo Hall (1,100)
730 Fans
1. James Goodwin Jr. & "BIG" Jon Goodwin beat Shinji Uchikawa & Tsutomu Nishioka (5:25) when Jon used a Choke Slam on Nishioka.
2. 3WAY Match: Harumi Sakai beat Kazuki Sendo & Yukio Kisanuki (7:26) when he used the Chickenwing Facelock on Kisanuki.
3. Chikao Kessin & Masafuji Yoshida beat Yujiro Higuchi & Yutaka Awano (9:12) when Yoshida used a diving body press on Awano.
4. EXODUS Presents Special Mixed Tag Match: Fiona Rourke [EXODUS] & "The Big L" Steve Lenton [EXODUS] beat Magnus Gunner [LEGION] & Abby Park [EXODUS] (14:45) when Rourke used the Yawarakai-Te on Park.
5. MHD+Fujita vs. ARMADA: Kenji Tanamura, Yuichi Miwa & Yusaku Kitajima beat Kazuma Fujita, Mamoru Sekishima & Tetsuji Kawamura (11:42) when Tanamura used the KOBE☆LOVE on Sekishima.
6. KJPW vs. SPIRIT Inter: Seiji Ebisawa [SI], Katsumi Gakusha [SI], Shino Hiriyama [SI] & Sean King [SI] beat TAKU, Naoki Fukuda, Riki Ichiro & Go Taniguchi (20:47) when King used the SK Driver on Taniguchi.
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