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New World Heavyweight Champion! Kohei Reigns!
April 12th, 2010
ZERO1 held their 5th "Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri" at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine yesterday in front of a crowd of 3,000. ZERO1 Heavyweight Kohei Sato defeated freelance wrestler and legend, Toshiaki Kawada, to become World Heavyweight Champion. Kawada originally won the belt back in 2009 when he defeated Masato Tanaka. Kohei and Kawada also have history in HUSTLE, where they were both members of the MONSTER ARMY.
Kohei entered to the ring, located at the newly refurbished sumo arena at Yasukuni to a combination of his entrance music and that of his former sensei Shinya Hashimoto. Both men began their attacks with low kicks, with Kohei getting some early pressure on Kawada's left knee and then following up with submission holds and stomping on the limb.
Kohei lifted the wounded champion to his feat and began a slow version of Kawada's rapid-fire face kicks. Kawada fought back with a kick to the gut and his own face kicks! He charged Kohei with the left-right elbows and then leveled him with a soccer kick to the head. Kohei stayed down a long time as the ring doctor checked to see if he was still concious! As the referee counted Kohei down, Kawada grabbed his opponents foot a 6 and instead went for the pin but only got a 2! The champion then moved on to the submissions, locking on the single leg crab and a bow-and-arrow hold!
Kohei was in serious trouble, as Kawada continued to attack, with more elbow strikes, chops and kicks! Still Kohei was able to survive attempted pinfals. Kawada continued with the savate kick, a running kick and brainbuster and finally an axe kick that again sent Kohei down for the count!
As Kohei struggled to rise Kawada kept throwing kicks, and finally on a running kick off the ropes Kohei was able to turn the tide with a running knee strike! Back on offense he cotinued to attack Kawada's left leg, and hitting a piledriver and a uranage both for a 2 count! Looking to finish Kawada, Kohei aimed for the German Suplex hold but was rejected by a bycicle kick to the head and then a jumping high kick again laid him low! Kawada then hit a running lariat and a brutal powebomb but still Kohei survived! Back on their feet both men traded hard elbows with Kawada again getting the advantage, but as he went for a head kick Kohei blocked it with both arms!
Then as Kawada charged with another jumping high kick Kohei blocked again, this time with the Hashimoto kesagiri chop! Kohei then crossed his arms in front of himself like his former sensei and layed in the low middle kick to Kawada! As the sun began to set in Tokyo, Kohei hit the German suplex hold but only for a 2 count, and then followed with a running kee strike and another close 2 count! Then as Kawada lay dazed, Kohei lifted him into a German suplex hold for the 3 count and the championship!
Kawada was very honorable in defeat, shaking hands with the new champion and raising Kohei's arm several times to the applauding crowd. Kohei then received the title belt and victory trophy and began to have his photo taken in the ring. Suddenly ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani appeared in the ring to be the first challenger, declaring himself the first challenger. No sooner had Otani done so then former champ Ryoji Sai also entered the ring declaring that he also wants a shot! Kohei responded to the rapid-fire challenges:
"Otani. Ryouji. And to everybody else aiming at this belt. I am champion! The cherry blossoms have been scattered. With myself as the champion the new flower of ZERO1 will bloom bigger than before.!"
The many fans in attendance began to chant "Kohei! Kohei! Kohei!" at this declaration. Kohei then closed the show by bringing in members of the ZERO1 roster and leading the crowd in the chant of "3-2-1...ZERO!"
The match before the Main Event titled "Ametalk Tag Yasukuni Kenzan!!" saw the tag team of Shinjiro Otani and Shiro Koshinaka against powerful heavyweight Masato Tanaka and BJW's Daisuke Sekimoto. Ametalk is a popular Japanese talk show that Otani and Koshinaka appeared on together, as well as both being from the same generation of New Japan Pro Wrestling as youngsters.
The two veterans showed amazing tag coordination, using several double team attacks, as well as Otani adopting the famous hip-attack of Koshinaka. Soon both teams were using hip-attacks, with Tanaka and Sekimoto using their own variants on Otani and Koshinaka.
As 10 minutes passed, the Ametalk tag began to move the match to their advantage as Koshinaka scored a brainbuster on Sekimoto! He then used his hip attack off the apron to the outside as Otani used his facewash to the delight of the crowd. Tanaka rallied for his team using a lariat and a brainbuster before Otani scored a German suplex. Sekimoto then attacked, hitting his triple German suplex with Tanaka on Otani. Tanaka then hit the Sliding-D on Otani and but only scored a 2 count!
Tanaka then added three successive lariats to Otani's front and back and another Sliding-D for another 2 count! Otani then intercepted the next attack with his own kesagiri chop, Koshinaka then struck with a hip attack stunning Tanaka. Otani took advantage and hit a Dragon Suplex and then a Spiral Bomb to get the victory at 17:05.
Following the match, former ZERO-ONE and HUSTLE wrestler Wataru Sakata entered the ring and questioned Koshinaka. He asked if Koshinaka was willing to return to HUSTLE as Sakata is re-launching that company. Koshinaka accepted and Sakata then shook Otani's hand as well. Sakata then announced that April 30th will be the date of the HUSTLE revival and that ZERO1 wrestlers will once more participate. He then promised a good show and invited everybody in attendance to Korakuen Hall on that day.
The 4th match of the show was a 6-Man "Falls Count Anywhere" tag that saw Ikuto Hidaka team with his old Skull & Bones tag partner Minoru Fujita and Fujita's new partner in Gikyoudai Takuya Sugawara. Across from them were the Michinoku Pro Kowloon members Hayato "Jr." Fujita and Kei & Shu Sato. As one would imagine the match went all over the sumo hall area of Yasukuni Shrine, beginning right at the bell.
As the two teams fought around the ring area many different objects and attacks came into effect: sandbags, garbage bags, a bamboo scaffold, a watering can, tables and chairs. Many even wondered if the match would go to a draw as 2 minutes remaining was announced. As time ticked down, Fujita was able to hit a lariat and grab an inside cradle on Kei Sato for the victory at 28:10.
Following the match, Hayato "Jr." confronted Hidaka in the ring, challenging him for the ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight title. The last time the two faced each other in a singles match was back in November during the semi-finals of the 2010 Tenka-Ichi Jr. Tournament in Korakuen Hall. Hidaka came out victorious in the match and went on the win the tournament and the title.
The 3rd match of the show was titled "World Professional Wrestling" and saw the inclusion of former Yokozuna Akebono teaming with Munenori Sawa against Karate fighter Gerard Gordeau and his old student Ryoji Sai. While the match started with Sawa versus Ryouji, soon it was Akebono and Gordeau facing off. Gordeau unleashed with karate kicks and Akebono fought back with charging open hand sumo slaps. Sawa and Ryouji returned to the ring and exchanged slaps, kicks and elbow shots back-and-forth. Akebono then entered and trampled on Ryouji using the ropes with all his weight!
Throwing Ryouji down with all his weight, Sawa returned and locked the Figure-4 on Ryouji as Akebono dropped the big elbow in support! Ryouji was able to avoid the dangerous body press of Akebono. Gordeau got in the ring to save his student from certain defeat! Sawa continued the attack on Ryouji with the Dragon Screw leg whip and a savate kick! He then scored the Shining Wizard, and tried to lock on the Octopus Hold only for Gordeau to break it up with a hard kick! Stunned, Sawa was vulnerable to Ryouji's Sidmouth maneuver and fell to the 3 count! Following the match Akebono and Gordeau shook hands and bowed to each other.
Early in the match Corino and Kanemura both taunted each other with words, and during a chop battle between Jackson and KAMIKAZE Corino interrupted and threw KAMIKAZE to the outside. Kanemura answered in kind by throwing Jackson outside the ring as well! All four wrestlers then began to brawl amongst the fans in the seats! Corino and Jackson double teamed KAMIKAZE with a chops and tramping him down. KAMIKAZE used his physical strength to recover from the combined attack and tagged out to Kanemura, who hit a moonsualt on Corino. With Jackson back in, he tried for a German suplex on Kanemura but KAMIKAZE cut him off. When Corino tried to attack as well, he soon found himself locked in the Cobra Twist by KAMIKAZE! Corino escaped, but soon found himself locked in the Cobra Twist again!
As 15 minutes passed Kanemura scored the Blast YAMA Special on Corino but only for a 2 count! Corino fired by with the STO as KAMIKAZE went to interfere and Jackson managed to level him with a lariat. Shielding the referee Corino hit the low blow and the Death Valley Driver on Kanemura as Jackson finished off KAMIKAZE with a piledriver for the victory. Following the match young Kenta Kakinuma rushed the ring and attack Corino, who gave him a Death Valley Driver for his troubles!
The opening match was titled "Yamato Shinshuu Chikara Matsuri Daiichi Shiai" and was a 6-Man Tag Match featuring young wrestlers Kenta Kakinuma, Shota Takanishi, Yuzuru Saito, Akito, Toru Sugiura and Yusaku Obata. The match went about 12½ minutes with ZERO1's own Kenta Kakinuma getting the pinfall over DEP's Toru Sugiura with his German suplex hold.
Celebration from the Yasukuni Shrine
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| FIGHT CARD | ||
| World Heavyweight Title | ||
| X Toshiaki Kawada (Free) |
vs. | © Kohei Sato O (ZERO1) |
| (15:22 → German Suplex Hold) | ||
| "Ametalk Tag Yasukuni Kenzan!!" Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri Special Tag Match |
||
| O Shinjiro Otani (ZERO1) Shiro Koshinaka (Free) |
vs. | Masato Tanaka X (ZERO1) Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW) |
| (17:05 → Spiral Bomb) | ||
| Falls Count Anywhere 6-Man Tag Match |
||
| Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1) O Minoru Fujita (ZERO1) Takuya Sugawara (Free) |
vs. | Hayato "Jr." Fujita (Michinoku Pro) Kei Sato X (Michinoku Pro) Shu Sato (Michinoku Pro) |
| (28:10 → Inside Cradle) | ||
| Professional Wrestling Series Sumo vs. Karate Tag Match |
||
| Akebono (Free) X Munenori Sawa (BattlArts) |
vs. | Gerard Gordeau (Kamakura Dojo) Ryoji Sai O (ZERO1) |
| (12:33 → Sidmouth) | ||
| International Tag Match Dedication | ||
| Steve Corino (WORLD-1) O Hartley Jackson (NWA) |
vs. | KAMIKAZE X (ZERO1) Kintaro Kanemura (XWF) |
| (16:20 → Piledriver) | ||
| Yamato Shinshuu Chikara Matsuri Daiichi Shiai 6-Man Tag Match |
||
| O Kenta Kakinuma (ZERO1) Shota Takanishi (ZERO1) Yuzuru Saito (ZERO1) |
vs. | Akito (Sportiva Entertainment) Toru Sugiura X (DEP) Yusaku Obata (XWF) |
| (12:28 → German Suplex Hold) | ||
Hidaka Defends ZERO1 Jr. Title in K-DOJO!
April 4th, 2010
ZERO1 International Jr. Champion Ikuto Hidaka successfully defended his title belt on April 2nd against K-DOJO wrestler Makoto Oishi.
Hidaka faced Oishi in the fourth match of K-DOJO's "CLUB-K SUPER evolution8" show at Korakuen Hall. Oishi was very enthusiastic to face Hidaka and was looking forward to the match. While Oshii put up a good fight by surviving the Iguchi Bomb and the Shawn Capture, he was finally defeated in 13:38 by the Iwami Ginzan.
ZERO1 WRESTLER'S - Togane -
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| FIGHT CARD | ||
| NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Titles Kazan vs. Hardcore |
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| Shinjiro Otani © (ZERO1) O Akebono © (Free) |
vs. | Masato Tanaka (ZERO1) Kintaro Kanemura X (XWF) |
| (20:11 → Dai Funka) | ||
| Match #5 | ||
| O Kohei Sato (ZERO1) |
vs. | Yusaku Obata X (XWF) |
| (10:05 → German Suplex Hold) | ||
| Match #4 | ||
| Ikutu Hidaka (ZERO1) Munenori Sawa (BattlArts) X Kenta Kakinuma (ZERO1) |
vs. | Minoru Fujita (ZERO1) Takuya Sugawara O (Free) Makoto Oishi (K-Dojo) |
| (19:20 → Shiisanputa) | ||
| Match #3 | ||
| O Ryoji Sai (ZERO1) |
vs. | Shota Takanishi X (ZERO1) |
| (10:13 → Nachi Waterfall) | ||
| Match #2 | ||
| O KAMIKAZE (ZERO1) |
vs. | Yuzuru Saito X (ZERO1) |
| (11:18 → Moonsault Press) | ||
| Match #1 | ||
| O Rikiya Fudo (Free) |
vs. | Yoshikazu Yokoyama X (ZERO1) |
| (9:12 → Crab Hold) | ||
Title Match Tomorrow in Togane! Hidaka's K-Dojo Participation!
March 31st, 2010
It was formally decided that the main event tomorrow at the Togane Arena in Chiba, Japan will be a NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Titles defense by the "Kazan" team of Shinjiro Otani and Akebono. This will be their 2nd defense of the titles since winning them on January 27th from the "Aibou" tag of Hidaka & Sawa.
This time the champions will be facing former FMW alumnus Masato Tanaka & Kintaro Kanemura. Otani commented:
"Kintaro Kanemura said 'Shinjiro Otani can't escape me,' well I expect that from him. Kanemura wants to team together with Masato Tanaka against me and the former Yokozuna? So be it! We accept!"
Also appearing on the card tomorrow will be K-Dojo's Makoto Oishi. He will be teaming with the "Gikyoudai" team of Minoru Fujita, Takuya Sugawa against Hidaka, Sawa and young Kenta Kakinuma in a 6-man tag match. Then on the following day for at K-Dojo's "CLUB-K SUPER evolution8" show in Korakuen Hall, Hidaka will face Oishi in a singles match for the ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight title. Hidaka comments:
"I accept the challenge of Oishi for a singles match at Korakuen Hall. I'll take the risk and accept a Jr. title challenge and I will defend the belt on April 2nd. The previous day we'll also face each other in Togane for ZERO1 and I'll be looking for him."
Shinjiro Otani Nekketsu Shin Kiba Pro Wrestling Road 1st
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| FIGHT CARD | ||
| Shinjiro Otani's Nekketsu Kokoro's Pro Wrestling Seminar - 1st Class | ||
| O Shinjiro Otani (ZERO1) |
vs. | Akira Shoji X (SMASH) |
| (12:27 → Single Leg Crab Hold) | ||
| Mr. X & Mr. XX Kyodai Kari | ||
| Mr. X (Free) Mr. XX (Free) |
vs. | Shu Sato (Michinoku Pro) Kei Sato (Michinoku Pro) |
| (18:21 → No Contest) | ||
| Munenori Sawa's Shin Kiba Tanteidan | ||
| X Munenori Sawa (BattlArts) |
vs. | Akebono O (Free) |
| (11:39 → Body Press) | ||
| Next Generation Special 6-Man Tag | ||
| O Kohei Sato (ZERO1) Ryoji Sai (ZERO1) KAMIKAZE (ZERO1) |
vs. | Yuzuru Saito (ZERO1) Kenta Kakinuma (ZERO1) Yoshikazu Yokoyama X (ZERO1) |
| (15:12 → German Suplex Hold) | ||
