Suplex E-Mag's 'Puro Power' Blog

Puro Newsflash – Pro Wrestling NOAH Roundup

2010-01-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be timely to have a recap of all the goings on in NOAH right now, as the company doesn’t seem to be having much luck right now with injuries. But first, a quick look at the recent contract negotiations in NOAH…

New Year, New Contracts: As part of a cost cutting and perhaps a longer term downsizing measure, NOAH renewed the contracts of its twenty two main roster talent in early January, before dropping NOAH regulars Jun Izumida, Kishin Kawabata, Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Makoto Hashi and Tamon Honda from the main roster to free agent status, presumably leaving the door open for their return in the future. Kentaro Shiga was also announced as freelance, perhaps indicating some links with the promotion in the future as well. Both Shiga and Honda have since announced they will be appearing on New Japan’s January 31st show at Differ Ariake. In other big news stemming from the contract renewals, Jun Akiyama has announced that 2010 will be his last year as an in ring competitor, citing mounting injuries including a back injury which forced him to relinquish the GHC Heavyweight Title last year, and from suffering post traumatic stress disorder, which has been increasingly worse since the death of Misawa.

More Injuries In NOAH: Along with Akiyama being injured, Kenta Kobashi once again has had to step away from his in ring work due to an injury in his elbow which has been causing him numbness in his fingers. Based on doctors advice, who diagnosed him with Cubital Tunnel Syndrome, they strongly suggested he had surgery otherwise he could be left with constant numbness in his fingers and an end to his wrestling career. Cubital Tunnel Syndrome is caused due to a repetitive strain and can cause nerve damage, so this is perhaps a side effect of the thousands of chops Kobashi has thrown over the years.

Go Shiozaki is also out with injury, believed to be a shoulder injury which will probably put him on the shelf for around six months. After being elevated to the top of NOAH last year, Shiozaki had the potential to be a new figurehead for the promotion due to the increasing age and injuries of their top stars.

Also injured is Kotaro Suzuki, who since suffering a back injury in December has been forced to take some time off and relinquish the GHC Jr. Tag Team Titles, which leads me on to…

Jr. Tag Title Tournament: A small four team tournament has been announced for mid February to name new champions, with Naomichi Marufuji and Atsushi Aoki taking on Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Genba Hirayangi on February 6th in Differ Ariake, and Taiji Ishimori teaming with Ricky Marvin to take on the gaijin team of Eddie Edwards and Bobby Fish on February 14th. The two winning teams meet on the 16th in Osaka.

Global Tag League: Moving the tournament to their first tour of the year, NOAH has changed the format of their Global Tag League from a single block tournament with the top of the league being named the winner, to a two block system with the two leading teams facing each other. Thus far, with just one match left in each block, Yoshihiro Takayama and Takuma Sano are leading Block A, and Takashi Sugiura and Shuhei Taniguchi at the top of Block B, with both teams on four points. However, dependant on how the matches go, it looks like their could be a draw at the top of both blocks, which could lead to a semi-final round being fought. The current plan sees the final takes place on January 24th at Korakuen Hall, with the winner of Block A taking on the winner of Block B. Also on the card is Jun Akiyama against Naomichi Marufuji.

Puro Newsflash – New Year and Early January Events – DDT, AJPW, BJW and Zero1!

2010-01-09T03:28:00.000-08:00

Before I start, I’m running down five shows across four days here, all at Korakuen Hall… wrestling capital of the world, perhaps?

All Japan at Korakuen Hall: As is tradition, All Japan headed to Korakuen Hall on January 2nd and 3rd to present two cards with feature both heavyweight and jr. heavyweight battle royals. The tradition itself extends waaaay back into Giant Baba territory of All Japan, the first heavyweight battle royal taking place in 1977, and continuing every year on January 2nd at Korakuen Hall ever since. The jr. heavyweight battle royal on the other hand started a little later in 1984, before skipping a few years and starting full time in 1991, once again at Koarkuen Hall on January 3rd. This year the heavyweight battle royal was won by Akebono, outlasting sixteen other men to take the win. One day later, Hiroshi Yamato won a much smaller nine man battle royal to win the jr. heavyweight version of the match for the first time in the new decade. Also on the cards, on January 2nd Kaz Hayashi made his seventh defence of the AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title against Masanobu Fuchi, and on the 3rd Keiji Muto and Masakatsu Funaki unseated Taiyo Kea and Minoru Suzuki to lift the AJPW World Tag Team Titles. The New Years Shining Series continues until the 11th, with Triple Crown Champion Satoshi Kojima defending the titles against Joe Doering.

ZERO1 at Korakuen Hall: ZERO1, the promotion that most thought, including your writer, would not make it to the end of 2009, ended up surviving and finished the year with a new World Heavyweight Champion in former All Japan top star Toshiaki Kawada. The promotion’s first show of the year featured the new champion’s second defence of the belt against Big Japan representative Daisuke Sekimoto. On January 1st at Korakuen Hall, Kawada successfully defended the belt in just over a quarter of an hour. The main event of the show saw Akebono and Shinjiro Otani defeat Ryouji Sai and Kohei Sato in a special new years match.

New Year, New Deathmatches: Big Japan started the year in the only way they knew how, by heading in Koarkuen Hall on January 2nd and presenting not one, but two deathmatches! Drawing a crowd of 1,426, the first deathmatch on the show, a Scramble Bunkhouse Deathmatch, saw Jun Kasai and Jaki Numazawa defeat The Winger and MASADA in a nutty finish which involved a lighttube bat. The final match also featured Lighttubes in an elimination eight man tag death match. Union’s Isami Kodaka picked up the win for his team by elimination Abdullah Kobayashi after 27 minutes.

How Many Men Can You Fit In A Ring? It seems DDT was at lengths to find out the answer this question on December 31st when they ran a co-promoted show at Korakuen Hall with Kaientai Dojo and Big Japan in front of a customary 2,010 people. The main event was a huge 108 man battle royal. That’s right, one hundred and eight people. In one ring. The match was eventually won by Freedom’s representative Jun Kasai after 85:12. I suspect that the match is one of the longest of the last decade, and what a way to finish the decade off!

Puro Newsflash – January 4th Tokyo Dome Results!

2010-01-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

The New Year in Japan can only mean one thing… New Japan heads to the Tokyo Dome once again for another one of their January 4th spectaculars, for the 19th year in a row. Building on such a legacy is not easy, and this year New Japan brought in wrestlers from promotions across Japan and the world, with representation from NOAH, All Japan, SMASH, TNA, CMLL and ZERO1, along with US legends Terry Funk and Abdullah the Butcher. With the big line up of talent, and a huge five title matches on the ten match card, New Japan succeeded in bringing in a reported 41,500 fans to the show, the biggest attendance since 2006.

In the main happenings from the show, Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi made their successful fourth defence of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Titles against the CMLL team of Ultimo Guerrero and Averno. Also in Tag Team Title action, TNA’s Team 3D lost the IWGP Tag belts to Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito in a triple threat match which also featured the team of Karl Anderson and Giant Bernard. Not surprisingly, neither of Team 3D were in the finish of the match, meaning that once again they haven’t lost in Japan. We shouldn’t complain, at least TNA can’t devalue the belts anymore. The next two matches on the show also featured tag battles, with the outsider team of TAJIRI and Masato Tanaka overcoming Akebono and Yuji Nagata, followed by the legends tag match, named ‘the legend never rots’. Seriously. Anyway, one team featured the 65 year old Terry Funk, 46 year old Masahiro Chono, 58 year old Riki Choshu and 42 year old Manabu Nakanishi, making a combined age of 211, taking on 73 year old Abdullah The Butcher, and his team of Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka and Tomohiro Ishii, whom Abby was at least 30 years older than any of. Terry Funk’s team picked up the win in just nine minutes.

The NOAH vs. NJPW series ended at two matches each way, with Naomichi Marufuji winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title from Tiger Mask after earning the opportunity by winning the 2009 Super J Cup, and becoming the first person to hold Jr. belts in AJPW, NOAH and NJPW. Following that, New Japan ace Hiroshi Tanahashi overcame Go Shiozaki, and Togi Makabe beat Mohammed Yone, before Takashi Sugiura made his successful first defence of the GHC Heavyweight Title against Hirooki Goto, to finish the series at two wins each. I expect more promotional warfare between these two.

In the final match of the night, IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura made his fourth defence of the title against outsider Yoshihiro Takayama in just over fifteen minutes after delivering the Boma Ye to Takayama. In a suprising move, Manabu Nakanishi stepped up at the end of the show to challenge the champion to a match, probably at Sumo Hall some time in February. The event has already gained some critical acclaim, and the quality here is hopefully something the promotion can continue in 2010.

Interview Special #3 - Dragon Gate Debrief Part 2

2009-12-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

Mark Sloan Interview 15th November 2009

Mark Sloan was kind enough to take a couple of minutes of his time on November 15th at 1PW’s Fourth Anniversary Show to give me a few reflections on how he thought the Dragon Gate UK show went. Here’s what he had to say…

Chris: Are you happy with how the Dragon Gate show went?

Mark: Yeah absolutely, the guys were just absolutely incredible, they had practically no sleep since they arrived on like the Friday morning, and they went out and they gave it their all. They walked into the arena and they saw it was going to be something special, they watched the dark match and saw how the crowd reacted. Even Shingo, who looked at deaths door, to be honest, he was there for it, he loved it. They all put on such a performance; they can’t wait to come back, so they were happy, the fans seemed happy, so that obviously means I was happy.

C: Are they planning on coming back next year?

M: Yeah absolutely, we will probably find out by the turn of the year, I think if everything went well for me then probably September next year would be a good thing. Absolutely looking forward to coming back.

C: Do you plan on doing a tour or just a single show again?

M: Just a single show again, probably look to bring again, because it’s a tour of other countries, just one show in Britain, if it goes the way I’d like it to, probably get five or six guys that didn’t come over plus the top five from before. Obviously mix in a couple of Europeans and bring some from stateside, and hopefully we’ll have another cracking show.

C: Thanks for your time Mark.

Puro Newsflash – New GHC Champ, Super J Cup Line Up, Tokyo Dome Rumours and SMASH!

2009-12-09T14:01:00.000-08:00

New GHC Champ: Pro Wrestling NOAH headed to Budokan Hall for their last big show of the year on December 6th infront of a crowd of 12,000 which saw a card including Naiomichi Marufuji’s return from injury to take on and defeat Atsushi Aioki, as well as Takeshi Rikio and Mohammed Yone defeating Kensuke Sasaki and Takeshi Morishima to lift the GHC Tag Team Titles. However, the big news came from the main event. NOAH born and bred Takashi Sugiura defeated GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki after nearly twenty five minutes of action to lift the title for the first time in his career. Sugiura made his debut in Pro Wrestling NOAH at the end of 2000, becoming the first wrestler to debut in the green ring. Competing initially as a Jr. Heavyweight, he picked up the GHC Jr. and Jr. Tag belts before moving up to heavyweight in 2007 and winning the GHC Tag Team titles with Naiomichi Marufuji. Personally, I think it’s good that NOAH is going in a new direction with younger stars on top. Let’s see what 2010 brings for the promotion, along with their 10th Anniversary…

Super J Cup 5th Stage: The full line up has been announced for the Super J Cup, and as I predicted one of the last two spots went to a Pro Wrestling NOAH representative: Naiomichi Marufuji!!!!! The recently returning NOAH star won the Super J Cup in 2004 and since then became the star of both the Junior and Heavyweight ranks in NOAH, becoming the promotion’s only grand slam champion. And his opponent in the Super J Cup? Jushin Thunder Liger! The match, one of the most eagerly anticipated junior dream matches in Japan main events the first day of the Super J Cup at Korakuen Hall.

Other first round matches from the opening night, set to take place on December 22nd in a NJPW vs. Outsiders format include: Taichi vs. Michinoku Pro’s Tigers Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi vs. FREEDOM’s GENTARO, AKIRA vs. Dragon Gate’s YAMATO, Jado vs. DDT representative Danshoku Dino, Gedo vs. recently announced DDT rep Kota Ibushi, Prince Devitt vs. NOAH’s Atsushi Aoki, and Koji Kanemoto vs. Michinoku Pro’s Fujita “Jr.” Hayato. December 23rd hosts the second round, semi finals and final, with the winner going on to the Tokyo Dome on January 4th to take on IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask with the title on the line. Speaking of which…

NJPW At The Tokyo Dome Rumours: First and foremost, Hulk Hogan was approached to wrestle on the January 4th supershow after his Hulkamania tour of Australia, but declined due to scheduling conflicts (The January 4th Impact is going out live), and he’s a physical wreck (His hip blew out in a match with Ric Flair). Also, a 5 vs. 5 match series of NOAH vs. NJPW matches is expected, with GHC Champ Sugiura possibly taking on Hirooki Goto. If the NOAH participation is announced before the Super J Cup, expect Marufuji to win and take on Tiger Mask. Also rumoured is a high profile US wrestler on the level of Hulk Hogan. My guess is Ric Flair… Team 3D are also confirmed for the card in a three way match for the IWGP Tag Titles against Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson, and Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito in a three way match.

SMASH: After the dissolution of HUSTLE last month, a new grouping has emerged called SMASH, as a successor to the fallen promotion. Announced at a press conference on December 8th, TAJIRI said that he would be taking control of the wrestling aspects of the promotion, while the promotion would also run mixed martial arts and kickboxing shows. Their first show takes place on March 26th 2010.

Interview Special #2 - Dragon Gate Debrief Part 1

2009-11-25T13:52:00.000-08:00

Joel Allen Interview 23th November 2009

The Suplex E-Magazine’s chief editor had the privilege of attending the Dragon Gate show in Oxford at the start of this month. Here’s what he had to say when we had chance to talk about the show, Dragon Gate and random Puro stuff in a brief chat on 23rd November…

Chris: Were you aware of the Dragon Gate product before the show? Had you had the chance to watch any before?

Joel: Yeah, I was well aware of Dragon Gate. I first found out about them at a Ring Of Honor show in Chicago back in 2006 and they had a feature 6-man tag match and it was awesome to say the least. The whole crowd were on their feet for the match and gave them the deserved ovation after the match, for a few years after a 'Dragon-Gate' 6-man tag became an attraction of ROH's WrestleMania weekend festivities. After this I started to watch Dragon Gate online.

C: What was your overall view of the show and its production values?

J: The show was great, top to bottom. All the British guys did exceptionally well, the British standouts for me were obviously PAC but that's a given, right? And Mark Haskins, who's come on so much over the last 18 months. They had Haskins come out with Kelly of IPW:UK fame, I like that pairing, it looks like a good package. All the DG guys were top-notch also. I was very impressed with the Young Bucks (ED NOTE: Look out for a interview with pro-wrestling’s hottest young tag-team in The Suplex very soon!) they remind you of The Rockers/Hardy Boys but define their own style which makes them different. The productions values were to be expected, it's Mark Sloan he always makes sure the presentation and layout of whatever he's doing is to be as perfect as perfect can be. I'm sure Mark hat sat down with his team and picked it apart but the production from him, is still the best in the UK.

C: Rumour has it Dragon Gate are planning a return to the UK next year, would you recommend the show to anyone, and where would you like the show to be held?

J: Yes, 100% go see it, make sure you get your tickets pretty swiftly once they go on sale, it'll be another hot ticket, I'm sure. Anywhere really, the only drag is, if it's way down south or way up north but everyone has the issue with one-off superstar shows.

C: Are there any other Puro promotions which you think could do well in the UK?

J: They've both been over here in the last 18 months, they being Pro-Wrestling NOAH and Dragon Gate. I don't think any other Japanese promotion is widely followed compared to NOAH and DG, so in my humble opinion it would be a money waster to a extreme level but that's my opinion. NOAH seemingly did well and DG did also, so look out for more Dragon Gate UK shows and go to them, you will not be disappointed at all!

Puro Newsflash – Hustle Dead, Super J Cup Participants and AJPW in Taiwan!

2009-11-25T13:49:00.000-08:00

Hustle Dead: The sports entertainment styled promotion Hustle announced that their December 25th show at Tokyo’s Sumo Hall had been cancelled on November 22nd, with an announcement forthcoming at the start of December, most likely the public acknowledgement of the office’s closure.

I had predicted that one or two promotions would close this year, and at the end of 2008 my money was firmly on ZERO1-MAX, though Hustle wasn’t too far behind. Their model of bigger spot shows instead of running tours, and brining in bigger names in Puroresu just doesn’t work in times of economic depression.

Super J Cup 5th Stage: Participants for the 5th Super J Cup, set to take place on December 22nd and 23rd at Korakuen Hall, have been announced as follows: Taichi (NJPW), Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro), GENTARO (Freedoms), AKIRA, Jado (NJPW), Gedo (NJPW), Prince Devitt (NJPW), Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW), Fujita "Jr." Hayato (M-Pro), YAMATO (Dragon Gate), Atsushi Aoki (NOAH), Danshoku Dino (DDT), Koji Kanemoto (NJPW), Jushin Thunder Liger (NJPW).

I suspect one of the remaining two places will be a CMLL representative, and another NOAH representative is a possibility. I for one am looking forward to this one.

AJPW In Taiwan: In notable events from the two AJPW shows in Taiwan at the National University Gymnasium on November 20th and 21st, SUWAMA bested Osamu Nishimura in the finals of the Taiwan Cup, an eight man tournament specially for the tour on November 20th, with his Last Ride finisher after 24 minutes of action. Also on the card, The Great Muta, appearing at the request of his Taiwanese fans, defeated Zodiac with the Shining Wizard. The second day of the mini tour featured three Real World Tag League matches. More on the tournament soon on the Puro Blog...

Other Notes: Jun Akiyama has been injured again, pulling out of the majority of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Winter Navigation Tour. I would suspect that if his physical ailments don’t clear up after a lengthy sabbatical from the ring, he might have to contemplate retirement. Cue rumours of Akiyama starting his own promotion…

A Proper Introduction To The Puro Blog

2009-11-25T12:25:00.000-08:00

Ok, I’ll say it straight; I’ve not been a good blogger. Well, I am a bit new to it all, so I’ve opted to give any current or future followers of the Suplex E-Magazine’s Puro Power blog a proper introduction to what I’ll be doing here.

First and foremost, our shiny new blog is for all things news worthy in the world of Japanese wrestling. The plan is to post news flash style blogs as and when things happen, and then round up the entire goings on each month in a longer piece which will cover all the other blogs and more for the previous month.

Second of all there will be various special blogs, a kind of open ended idea which includes interviews, history articles, wrestler profiles and whatever else I feel like.

I have a rather good idea for the coming couple of months with special blogs, so keep your eyes on both the blog, follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/suplexcorker and check out the main website at www.thesuplex.com as well for any special announcements.

Puro Newsflash - Weekend Roundup 4th November 2009

2009-11-04T07:56:00.000-08:00

Just a quick roundup of the weekend's news and events in the land of Puro, starting with:

Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling: Making their first successful trip to Europe, Dragon Gate ran shows in Barcelona on October 30th, drawing over 400 fans, in Germany as a collaboration with WXW on October 31st, before finally heading to the UK on November 1st for their first show on British soil in Oxford. Drawing a sell-out of 1622 at The Regal, the main event saw Naruki Doi, BxB Hulk and Pac defeated CIMA, Nick Jackson and Matt Jackson when Pac hit a Shooting Star Press on Nick Jackson after 22 minutes of action. From the review's I've heard so far, the show was possibly one of the best held in the UK, with everything from the crowd to the matches being almost perfect. A-Merchandise even has the show up for pre-order already.

Pro Wrestling NOAH: The finals of NOAH's first Jr. Heavyweight League took place on Saturday 31st October. After KENTA had vacated the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title due to injury, the main event would be to name a new champion. In the first semi final, NOAH's Jr. stalwart Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated rising star Katsuhiko Nakajima, and in the other semi final Jushin Thunder Liger defeated the American Delirious, who had replaced Kotaro Suzuki who withdrew due to injury. In the final Kanemaru defeated Liger in 18:53 to win the tournament and lift the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title for the fifth time… Nakajima has been announced as replacing KENTA on his upcoming ROH bookings.

New Japan Pro Wrestling: The G-1 Tag League wrapped up on November 1st drawing 1,900 to Korakuen Hall. In the final, the all gaijin team of Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Prince Devitt in just over a quarter of an hour to win the tournament and become number one contenders for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. After the match, TNA's Team 3D, the current IWGP Tag Team Champions, appeared on the screen in the arena and said they were coming to New Japan at the next Sumo Hall show on November 8th to meet Bernard and Anderson… After the show the full card was announced for the Sumo Hall show, with Shinsuke Nakamura defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Togi Macabe taking on Takashi Iizuka in a Chain Death Match. More on that show in the next weekend roundup… Rumours have begun circulating about a possible collaboration between New Japan and Antonio Inoki's Inoki Genome Federation… Let's see what happens with that one…

Super J Cup 2009! On Sunday November 1st Jr. Heavyweight legend Jushin Thunder Liger announced that New Japan, originators of the Super J Cup tournament, would be reviving the tournament for its fifteenth anniversary on December 22nd and 23rd at Korakuen Hall. Originating in 1994, the tournament was named the best show of the year, and was followed by a 1995 tournament hosted by the Wrestling Association R promotion, followed by mediocre tournaments in 2000 and 2004 hosted by Michinoku Pro and Osaka Pro respectively. No names have been announced so far but I am really looking forward to this one!

Interview Special #1 – Mark Sloan Interview 29th October 2009

2009-10-29T17:00:00.000-07:00

Ahead of Dragon Gate’s debut in the UK, Mark Sloan took the time to talk to me about his career, last year’s NOAH show, the upcoming Dragon Gate show, and a few other things in between.

Chris: Ok, well to start with incase anyone doesn't know who you are, or they've heard of you but are not sure of your experiences, give us a little bit about your background in the wrestling business.

Mark: Certainly, I am Mark Sloan, Portsmouth based UK wrestler/promoter and have been wrestling actively since 1995. I got my start with All Star Promotions and have wrestled for every major company (defunct or active in the UK for the last decade. I founded the Frontier Wrestling Alliance in 1999, opened Europe's largest and most prolific training school "The FWA academy" in 2002, formed A-Merchandise in 2005, spent the next 3 years boosting the production standards of many UK wrestling based groups and then last year I was responsible for brining Pro Wrestling Noah to the UK in 2008 and now of course in just a short time Dragon Gate in UK.

C: Between being a wrestler, promoter and a trainer, which do you prefer? Do they all have their highs and lows?

M: Indeed they do, all have their good and bad points as you have mentioned. I don't think I have a preference they are all difficult in their own way. I try to bring the optimum level of whatever I am doing at the time. Sadly for me, a lot of injuries in the last few years have made wrestling much more difficult than it should be; training people was enjoyable while people's attitudes were right....

C: Was that one of the reasons you opted to close the FWA Academy? I know you still have a few select students under your wing.

M: Right, a subject that I am known more for than my wrestling probably. In a nutshell I found that the majority of people who came to "train" to be a wrestler actually wanted to play wrestling, and that isn't what I was about. The financial side of things was great but at the end of the day sometimes it is better to take a stand against the decline of your industry rather than feed it. People who really wanted it made it known to me and those that didn't either didn't carry on or faded into obscurity, some still train elsewhere but I cannot see why people think that you do not need to train! It's insane, every other active sport, people train multiple times a week to stay in top shape but for some reason people think once you have had a few matches your training is finished? I think that is why wrestling is in such a bad way in this country 95% of all the people coming into / already in it, have the wrong attitude to it.

C: There seems, in my view, to be a declining talent base to the industry, with people foregoing psychology and fitness for a string of highspots which don't mean anything.

M: You are partially right; I don't think it is so much a particular style. I just think the attitude in general is wrong. What they do in the matches is just one faucet of what is wrong , the attitude outside of the matches is just as much to blame, maybe more so.

C: You've already mentioned the 2008 NOAH European Navigation show, and the upcoming Dragon Gate show, but what was your first exposure to the Japanese wrestling scene, its style and wrestlers?

M: Well I was never a real fan of Japanese wrestling, I actually only really started to follow it because Doug Williams was being brought in by Pro Wrestling NOAH. My interest obviously grew from there. People used to say back 5 or 6 years ago that my ring style was of a Japanese nature, which is strange because I didn't really follow it that much and wouldn't have known. As far as the first exposure to Japanese wrestlers, my second match February 96 I believe was at the local guildhall and I went on last. The matches I had to follow Robbie Brookside vs. Terry Boy, Great Sasuke vs. Danny Boy Collins, Tiger Mask and other top Japanese talent. Stands to reason I couldn't even think to follow them J. I also faced a lot of the guys from Pro Wrestling NOAH when they came over in 2006 onwards, to gain experience, thanks to NOAH's European Agent, Doug Williams, we got to face some of the top talent in the world with our FWA academy students, graduates and myself all benefiting from their style, approach and in some cases experience.

C: Yeah, I remember guys like Mohammed Yone, Takeshi Morishima, and Takashi Sugiura coming over. Was it Doug William's links to Pro Wrestling NOAH that brought the European Navigation show about?

Absolutely, on both accounts. I think, myself and the tag partner at the time were the first UK guys to work Yone and Morishima and it was a great experience. Sugiura worked with the Academy champion and Doug Williams in a cracking match, it is experience like that for a 19 year old that money just couldn't buy. Of course Doug was instrumental in helping organise the Noah event. I was eternally grateful for his faith and trust in us to delivery the event and he worked very hard to bring it all together on the Japanese side of things. He didn't have to but he was a tremendous help (Probably a massive understatement!)

C: Reflecting back on the show, would you consider it a success?

M: Of course. It was probably the most universally acclaimed show in Europe in recent memory. It was a great event for the fans and for Noah themselves, they put on a true event for the fans in attendance and I think anybody who was there live witnessed something special. The final two tag matches were just breathtaking, the Williams/McGuiness vs. Suzuki/Sugiura match was outstanding and the Dark Match was better than people thought it had a right to be. It isn't often you see 4 world class matches in the UK on the same night. This was definitely the case here.

C: Indeed, I was at the show next to the ramp and was blown away by the talent and matches on display, especially the GHC Jr. Tag match with Danielson and KENTA. I'd not seen anything of that caliber before live.

M: They held nothing back for sure and that’s what the fans wanted and they delivered. I didn't see much of the show, but I heard it and that was a thrill in itself, as I said before I think everybody got their monies worth at the event.

C: Do you think there will be a return of NOAH to the UK?

M: I think it is unlikely any time soon as the company has to concentrate on its home base for now. I would certainly be up for working with them again. They were professional and everything you would expect from one of the biggest companies in the world.

C: Yeah, they've had to regroup and refocus after Misawa's untimely death.

M: Amongst other things but another huge event in the UK would be impractical right now. I understand this and have not approached them about it. When the timing is right I am sure they will be back.

C: Has this been easier due to your experience with the NOAH show?

M: Absolutely, we are still learning too, we put on events for years but on a show where you are asking (in my opinion) a premium pricing, you need to deliver a premium product. We learnt so much from the Noah event (on our side) how we should have done things differently and how we would like to improve and we have learnt stuff from this event already. We try to surpass our efforts for each event.

C: You've got some British guys on the show, most of them with experience of the Japanese style, was that one of the factors when you were looking at who to book? Do you think any of them will get a chance to tour with Dragon Gate in the future?

M: Both Mark Haskins and Johnny Storm (as well obviously as Pac) have had previous experience working on these kind of shows and it plays a small part but alot of guys were under consideration and we sat down and discussed it at length, I think we have the right team. I don't think too much about what happens after the show, that is down to Dragon Gate, and it is not really something I worry about.

C: You've mentioned Pac there who was trained in part by FWA Academy. Is it rewarding to bring him back to the UK after the success he's had overseas?

M: Pac trained with us for a week, he wasn't trained by us. Pac is an exceptionally talented guy whose hard work and dedication took him to great heights. It is rewarding to see him doing so well for himself, it isn’t anything to do with the Academy or myself, Pac, just needed someone to get his name out there a little. I have alot of time for him, a top top guy. I take no credit for Pac, he deserves all the credit and praise himself.

C: Are there any matches you are looking forward to on the show?

M: I am looking forward to every match on the show. I hope we have done Dragon Gate justice, the tickets are sold out, we have spent literally thousands on exclusive production bits for this event. The organisational side of it has been worked on very closely and I just can't wait to give the fans the show they deserve!

C: Beyond this show, what does the future hold for A-Merchandise promoting Japanese supershows? Any other promotions in the pipeline?

M: We have had a couple of offers for company specific shows and one for a short tour in conjunction with one of the top UK groups but we're 100% focused on making Invasion: UK a great event right now and all other items for discussion are on hold currently. We'll assess the event, how we think we performed and what we need to work on before we get started on the next one.

C: Just to finish, is the show totally sold out or are there a few select tickets available, or will fans have to wait for the DVD of the show to see it now?

M: The show is Standing room only. There are a few seats being sold privately for people who either can't attend or have had somebody drop out. I am trying to look after these cases and don't mind helping people buy these seats if I can. The DVD will hopefully be available pretty quickly after the event so even people who cannot make the show live can witness what is sure to be an epic event

C: Any final comments?

M: Just to thank everybody who has been involved in organising these events, there are alot of unsung heroes who work behind the scenes to make the shows spectacular. While I won't name names as I would be sure to forget somebody! And in closing thanks for everybody who has purchased tickets to the event. I sincerely hope you enjoy it.

Monthly Roundup #1 – October 2009

2009-10-29T16:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the brand new Puro Power ‘Strong Style Blog’ from The Suplex Magazine. If you have been a regular reader of the magazine in the past you may have noticed that our coverage of wrestling from the land of the rising sun has disappeared in the last two months, but have no fear! Our coverage is back in our funky new Puro Blog.

To kick us off, let’s run down what’s been going on the last couple of months over in Japan

New Japan Pro Wrestling: At the end of the Circuit 2009 New Japan Generation tour on September 27^th in Kobe World Hall, the IWGP Heavyweight Title was contested in a decision match after the previous champion Hiroshi Tanahashi vacated the title on August 16^th after fracturing his eye socket. In the match Shinsuke Nakamura defeated G-1 Climax winner Togi Makabe in a rematch from this years G-1 Climax final to lift the title for the third time... Masahiro Chono had a special 25^th Anniversary show at Sumo Hall on October 12^th. Drawing a sell out of 11,000, the show was headlined by a special tag match between Chono’s team of himself, Keiji Muto and Kenta Kobashi, taking on Manabu Nakanishi, Satoshi Kojima and Jun Akiyama, with Chono’s team (obviously) getting the win. Just sit back for a second and think of the amount of world title reigns there were in that match… Also on the show Shinsuke Nakamura defended the IWGP Title for the first time against ZERO1’s Shinjiro Otani… The promotion is currently on their G-1 Tag League tour which wraps up on November 1^st in Korakuen Hall with both the semi finals and the final of the tournament… The last Sumo Hall show of the year takes place on November 8^th and features Mexico’s Mistico defending the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Tiger Mask, and IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura defending the title against former champion Hiroshi Tanahashi.

Pro Wrestling NOAH: The green crew ran two special Great Voyage shows at the end of September and early October as tribute shows to their former boss Mitsuharu Misawa. On September 27^th the promotion headed to Budokan Hall for the first of the two shows, drawing an over-sell out crowd of 17,000. The top matches of the night featured the team of Kenta Kobashi and Yoshihiro Takayama defeating All Japan boss Keiji Muto and Akira Taue, and the main event saw Go Shiozaki successfully defend the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time against Akitoshi Saito with the Go Flasher after 25 minutes of action… The second show in Osaka on October 3^rd was headlined by Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue going over Jun Akiyama and KENTA. The show also featured New Japan’s Masahiro Chono… The NOAH crew are currently on the Autumn Navigation tour, running from October 15^th to October 31^st, featuring the first Jr. Heavyweight League, NOAH’s version of New Japan’s Super Junior Tournament. The semi-final matches have been announced for October 31^st as Kensuke Office’s Katsuhiko Nakajima taking on Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and New Japan’s Jushin Thunder Liger taking on Kotaro Suzuki…On October 29^th news broke that KENTA had injured his knee the previous night on a show and would be out for nine months, and would have to book a scheduled ROH tour. Not good for NOAH, with Naiomichi Marufuji also out with a similar injury, two of the promotions biggest younger stars are on the bench.

All Japan Pro Wrestling: The Pro Wrestling Love In Ryogoku Volume 9 at Sumo Hall on August 30^th hosted Keiji Muto’s 25^th Anniversary match, with him and the returning Masakatsu Funaki defeating Masahiro Chono and Minoru Suzuki in front of an over-capacity 12,800 fans, the biggest crowd for All Japan in years… Satoshi Kojima regained the Triple Crown for the second time in his career at the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium on September 26^th in front of 4,500. Also on the card, the last date of the 2009 Flashing Tour, Kaz Hayashi defended the AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title for the 5^th time against Super Crazy… The promotion’s Anniversary Tour, celebrating 37 years of All Japan, wrapped up on October 25^th. Little of note happened on the tour, which ran mostly smaller venues… All Japan’s next events are the two day tour in Taiwan on November 20^th and 21^st at the Taipei University Gym. The first night features a Taiwan cup tournament as well as the Great Muta in action, with the second day featuring the first Real World Tag League matches of the year… The Real World Tag League tour officially starts on November 23^rd and finished up in Gifu on December 6^th.

Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling: At the end of August at Hakata Star Lanes the promotion crowned a new Open The Brave Gate Champion, with Naoki Tanizaki defeating KAGETORA in front of a crowd of 2,800. The show was the first night of the Storm Gate 2009 show, which ran through to September 26^th… The promotion’s last tour, the Gate Of Victory 2009 ran from October 1^st to October 28^th, with the main show of the tour at Korakuen Hall on November 14^th. The show saw Akebono, Masaaki Mochizuki and Don Fujii defeat Masato Yoshino, BxB Hulk and PAC to win the Open The Triangle Gate Title… The Dragon Gate crew presents The Gate Of Destiny on November 23^rd in Osaka, with Naruki Doi defending the Open The Dream Gate Title against BxB Hulk… The US arm of the promotion is making waves in the US. Their first two shows at the old ECW arena and in Chicago have been a critical success and have so far attracted two sell out crowds. Their next show takes place on November 28^th back at the Arena in Philadelphia, with the crowning of the first Open The Freedom Gate Champion… The promotion heads to Oxford on November 1^st for their first ever show in the UK. Check out Mark Sloan’s upcoming interview for more details!

Pro Wrestling ZERO1: Still not running any more tours aside from the Fire Festival, ZERO1 remains centred on Korakuen Hall for their bigger shows… On September 21^st the promotion ran a special 25^th Anniversary show for Shinya Hashimoto, the founder of ZERO1 who passed away in 2005 at the age of 40. The card a Korakuen Hall was headlined by a 25^th Anniversary match won by the team of Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka taking on Toshiaki Kawada and Koehi Sato… The promotion’s next big show took place on October 24^th, again at Korakuen Hall, with Zero1 Wrestler’s 6. In the main event, the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion Masato Tanaka took on the now freelance Toshiaki Kawada, with the challenger emerging victorious in just 14:20 with a running face kick. The title marked Kawada’s first title run since he lost the AJPW Triple Crown in 2005… The promotion looks set to get busier towards the end of the year with numerous spot shows scheduled for November and December

Elsewhere: HUSTLE announced the cancellation of four shows in their upcoming schedule due to a reshuffling of the promotion on October 28^th. One of the shows was set to take place the following day on October 29^th, with HUSTLE president Noburo Yamaguchi apologising for cancelling at such short notice. He also didn’t rule out reforming the promotion under a new name, the next show being scheduled for December 25^th, so far called Hustle Mania, but that could change… Apache Pro bit the dust in August, evolving into a new promotion named Freedoms under the guidance of Takashi Sasaki. So far their shows have only draw 250-320, with the next show on November 11^th in Tokyo… Big Japan headed to Korakuen Hall on October 26^th for a TV taping which featured another nutty deathmatch in the main event. The show drew just over 1,000.