Pro Wrestling ZERO1 USA

GHC Tag Title Defense vs. El Dorado!!
June 12th, 2006

Current ZERO1-MAX wrestlers and GHC Junior Tag Team Champions, Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita, have their 2nd scheduled title defense now scheduled for June 24th in Korakuen Hall against El Dorado's Takuya Sugawara and Kagetora. Sugawara is of course the current ZERO1-MAX International Junior Heavyweight champion, winning the title from Hidaka on February 26th.

Hidaka and Fujita made their first ZERO1-MAX defense of the NOAH tag team titles on April 13th against Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Yoshihito Sasaki.

ZERO1-MAX In The U.S.A!
June 11th, 2006

Both AWA World Heavyweight Champion and Masato Tanaka came to the United States this month for matches against American opponents. First was the Extreme Championship Wrestling return of Tanaka, who had probably the most accepted and talked about match of the first "ECW: ONE NIGHT STAND" against well known rival Mike Awesome. This time Tanaka returned to New York's Hammerstein Ballroom to battle for ECW World Tag Team Title partner Balls Mahoney. The ECW faithfull showed their appreciation to the ZERO1-MAX fighter by chanting his name as a greeting. After a spirited match, Tanaka was felled by a brutal chairshot from Mahoney for the pinfall.

AWA World Heavyweight Champion Takao Omori also travels to AWA territory CWF Mid-Atlantic in Indianapolis, Indiana to defend his title against AWA Mid-Atlantic Heavywight Champion Ric Converse on June 14th. Omori will enter the ring at The Speedrome in Indy hoping to defend his title, as the last time he defended it in America he dropped it to Steve Corino. Also on the card AWA World Tag Team champions The Henchman will defend their titles against AWA World Light Heavywight Champion "Krazy K" Kirby Mack and TJ Mack. Plus: AWA World-1 Heavyweight Champion Ricky Landell, former AWA World Heavyweight Champion and ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag Team Champion Steve Corino, "The Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time" The Honky Tonk Man, Kamala with Kim Chee, Indianapolis' own Bruiser Jr., and many more! Go to www.cwfmidatlantic.com for all the info.

Road To the Fire Festival! Six Announced!
June 7th, 2006

A FAX was sent out from ZERO1-MAX and AWA Japan's Mr. Kusama today to the wrestling media, finalizing six of the participants in this year's "AWA World Fire Festival 2006." Three of who were decided in qualifying matches during the May 31st Korakuen Hall show.

Below are the six currently announced, listed with their participation qualifiers:

Yutaka Yoshie (5/31 winner)
Tatsutoshi Goto (5/31 winner)
Masato Tanaka (5/31 winner)
Takao Omori (AWA World Heavyweight Champion)
Shinjiro Otani (Fire Festival '05 victor)
Kohei Sato (Z1-MAX United National Heavyweight Champion)

Kohe Sato is also the 2004 Fire Festival champion. This leaves four slots still open for participation.

ZERO1-MAX vs. KING'S ROAD 5-on-5!!
June 5th, 2006

KING'S ROAD ace Kazushi Miyamoto raided the ring on May 31st during the Hirotaka Yokoi vs. Mitsuya Nagai in Korakuen Hall to interfere in the match. This following Yokoi and Rikiya Fudo's participation on the KING'S ROAD "BATTLE LEAGUE" show on 5/28 at Tokyo's Shinjuku FACE. After that match, Miyamoto declared war on ZERO1-MAX and called out Kohei Sato and Ryouji Sai to appear at the next KING'S ROAD show on July 1st at Kitazawa Town Hall.

First On Stage's Mr. Nakamura, the man who booked the Yokoi versus Nagai match, has announced that the Main Event of KING'S ROAD "BATTLE LEAGUE Vol.2" will be a KING'S ROAD versus ZERO1-MAX 5-on-5 tag team match. KING'S ROAD has already announced its team: Kazushi Miyamoto, Tomoaki Honma, Taichi Ishikari, Tomohiko Hashimoto and Yuto Ajima. ZERO1-MAX has yet to announce who will participate.

Kusama is Mr. AWA!?!
June 5th, 2006

Mr. Kusama continues to place his...unique...stamp on ZERO1-MAX. Of late he's changed matches on the fly, called himself the "Gagne Governor," and changed the title of the prestigious Fire Festival into the "AWA World Fire Festival." And while Mr. Nakamura continues on as President of First on Stage, Kusama is now the highest ranking member of AWA Japan.

And as an interesting addition to Mr. Kusama's legacy in ZERO1-MAX and AWA Japan, he has now introduced the "Mr. AWA" Kusama T-shirt.

"It Works Hard Now Here!"
May 31st, 2006

ZERO1-MAX had their final show of May in Korakuen Hall, with several matches deciding participation in this year's Fire Festival. Also on the show new General Manager, Masakazu Kusama, addressed the ZERO1-MAX fans for the first time. Though heckled by the fans with a "bald! bald!" chant, the AWA Japan representative and self-proclaimed "Gagne Governor" told the crowd that this year the Fire Festival will be officially known as the "AWA World Fire Festival"

As for the tournament itself, two of the matches on this show decided who will be included this year and who wouldn't. The main event was a 6-man tag where the person scoring the pinfall would secure a spot for themselves in the Festival. The match pitted the teams of Shinjiro Otani, Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita versus Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Kamikaze and Yutaka Yoshie - a total mix of three heavyweights and three juniors. While Otani entered the match brandishing the Fire Festival katana as last year's Fire Festival victor, he also finished this match flat as a pancake under the weight of the 160 kg Yoshie!

The end of the match was fast-moving, as after Takaiwa hit a double lariat on Hidaka & Fujita, Yoshie then hit a double lariat on Takaiwa and Kamikaze! One-on-one Otani managed to lift Yoshie and deliver a back suplex, but then got hit with the heavy flying body press for the loss. Yoshie than took the microphone and said defeating the current Fire Festival champion is a great way to win his spot in the Summer tourney, and during the Fire Festival he will "Make the ZERO1-MAX ring hot!"

The other Fire Festival participation match was a 3-way dance where the winners received the victory but it would be the loser who would be omitted from taking part in the annual Summer tournament. This match was an all Heavyweight bout featuring Masato Tanaka, Tadao Yasuda and Tatsutoshi Goto. At the bell, Tanaka wasted no time attacking both outsiders with lots of energy. This led to the old dogs, Yasuda and Goto, teaming up on Tanaka in defense. Goto, calling on his veteran smarts, took the opportunity of the "teaming" to hit the Debt King with a back suplex for the victory. Yasuda is eliminated.

Two title matches were also featured on this stacked card, with the first scheduled semi-main event being Kohei Sato's defense of the ZERO1-MAX United National Heavyweight title against Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Daisuke Sekimoto. Sekimoto had won a #1 contenders match for the title against Kamikaze back on April 13th in Korakuen Hall. Both of the fighters in this match are physically powerful, and they went all out with the violent strikes, lariats and plenty of German suplexes for all. Sekimoto also used some of his "hardcore" style by using a chairs and stripping the padding off a turnbuckle, both of wich backfired on him. The match ended after a fierce battle of elbow strike and Kohei took the win with Tiger suplex followed by his German suplex hold for the title defense.

The other title defense was by upstart El Dorado wrestler Takuya Sugawara of the ZERO1-MAX International Jr. Heavyweight title, against the fiery Yoshihito Sasaki. On the May 5th "ZERO1 Land II" main event, Sasaki teamed with Hidaka and Fujita against Sugawara and NOAH fighters Tsuyoshi Kikuchi and Takashi Sugiura. The end of the match saw Sasaki defeat Sugawara with a top rope Michinoku driver and the Argentine Coaster. Sasaki also has an upcoming match against Katsuhiko Nakajima for the WWA World Welterweight title on June 24th.

In an annoying twist, Sugawara came to the ring accompanied by Kagetora and his black box, but no Jr. title belt. This had Kusama-san get on the microphone and announce that since there is no belt the match is now a non-title match! The audience booed and once again chanted "baldy" at Kusama in derision. But with his power he can make such a decision instantly.

Sugawara came limping to the ring nursing a supposed leg injury recieved in a previous match with Ikuto Hidaka. Yoshihito rushed to the attack before the bell and went directly after Sugawara's injured knee. He brought Sugawara outside the ring and continued to punish his knee all around Korakuen Hall. At one point when Kagetore distracted both Sasaki and the referee, Sugawara crawled to retrieve his black box but was cut off by Yoshihito. The annoyed challenger then opened the box to reveal the missing Jr. title belt!The champion on the other hand was trying to make his get away through the crowd. Yoshihito quickly followed him in a rage. As they fought in the crowd the referee counted. Suddenly at the 18 second count Sugawara quickly hit a low blow and amazingly SPRINTED to the ring, slid in, and then did a KIP-UP as Yoshihito was counted out. The leg injury a complete farce. Sugawara then got on the microphone and lectured Yoshihito on how "sometimes it just takes brains." Sugawara only just escaped with Kagetora as Yoshihito threw a steel chair at him.

The ZERO1-MAX and New Japan fighting continued as well with a 6-man tag pitting Omori and his former ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag team partner, Shiro Koshinaka, alongside Ryouji Sai against New Japan's Manabu Nakanishi, Takashi Iizuka and Naofumi Yamamoto. Omori and Sai had faced Nakanishi and Yamamoto in a tag match back on 3/28 in a Z1 team loss when Nakanishi pinned Sai. And way back on New Japan's 1/4 show Omori teamed alongside Koshinaka for the IWGP Tag Team titles against Chono and Tenzan. Ryouji Sai also scored a singles match victory over Yamamoto on that show.

During the hot fight it took a bizarre turn when Koshinaka, while firing his hip attack at Yamamoto, the youngster ducked and he hit his tag partner Omori instead. Finally Nakanishi was able to lift Sai into a Argentine Backbreaker turning it into a German suplex hold for the victory. After the match Omori stared down Koshinaka, as we know Omori has been very untrustful of the people surrounding him lately. The situation got heated and Nami, Fudo and Takahashi entered the ring to keep them from throwing down right there.

It was then that Nakanishi got back in the ring and spoke to Omori. Then the two shook hands! Even more surprisingly, after the match Omori stated that he would like to unite with Nakanishi as a tag partner. Surprising development indeed.

Also on the show, Hirotaka Yokoi faced Mitsuya Nagai in a singles match in the 2nd bout. Nagai was accompanied by Taichi Ishikari, and before the match offered Yokoi a pair of pink MMA gloves. Yokoi took this as an insult and rushed to the attack. The two grappled and exchanged blow for several minutes before a kick from Nagai sent Yokoi flying into the referee and knocking the official down. At this instance Ishikari and KING'S ROAD ace Kaz Miyamoto stormed the ring and Miyamoto delivered a brainbuster to Yokoi. Rikya Fudo, Yokoi's recent tag partner in KING'S ROAD tried to intervene and was met with a powerbomb from Ishikari. Nagai then hit the hyper knee attack for the victory.

The opening bout saw the young fighters in a tag team match. Nami and Fuyuki Takahashi lost to Shota Takanishi and Sawa Munenori when Sawa submitted Nami with a nasty jujigatame.

ZERO1-MAX in KING'S ROAD!
May 28th, 2006

KING'S ROAD had their "Battle League" at Tokyo's Shinjuku FACE, with the main event seing the reformation of the tag team of Tomoaki Honma amd Kazushi Miyamoto. Tumeric Storm, as they're known, battled against ZERO1-MAX fighters Hirotaka Yokoi and Rikya Fudo. It had been approximately two years since they had teamed together in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Initially the two seemed off their old rhythm, yet as the battle heated up the found their old teamwork (including the debut of a new double team move) and were able to defeat the ZERO1 fighters (Yokoi & Fudo have little experience teaming) when Miyamoto pinned Fudo after a vertical falling brainbuster in over 20 minutes. Yokoi and Honma were battling on the outside at the time.

After the match, Miyamoto announced he's launching a "combat mission" on ZERO1-MAX. His top target being Young MAX ace and Stonehenge leader, Kohei Sato. Miyamoto also mentioned Kohei's fellow team member, Ryouji Sai as an opponent. Miyamoto wants one or both of them to appear at the July 1st KING'S ROAD show at the Kitazawa Town Hall.


KING'S ROAD "Battle League" 5/28 - Main Event:
o Kazushi Miyamoto Tomoaki Honma	vs.	Hirotaka Yokoi (Z1-MAX) Rikiya Fudo (Z1-MAX) x
(21:20 → brainbuster)

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