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Family Team Up! Differ Cup III! News & Notes!

March 25th, 2007

Catching up on ZERO1-MAX news as they head into the final show of the "MAX Satisfaction" tour on March 31st in Yokohama City, with an AWA World Jr title match, a Special Tag match between brother-in-laws, and current ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag team champions Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato will team with Kohei's ROWDY partner Hirotaka Yokoi against Otani, Murakami and Kohei's former STONEHENGE partner Ryouji Sai.

Since entering ZERO1-MAX, Takayama has been a bane to his former NO FEAR tag team partner, Takao Omori. This has dragged Otani and Murakami into the feud, as a slight rivalry between Murakami and Yokoi has also developed. When Kohei returned form injury and decided to join with Takayama, who had already recruited Yokoi to his cause, Kohei's former tag partner Ryouji Sai felt it was a bad move and said so. Now they will all clash in the main event.

Omori however will clash with Steve Corino. originally scheduled as the scheduled as a AWA World Heavyweight title match, Corino lost the title on Friday night in Australia.

Current GHC Junior Heavyweight champion and AWA World Jr. Heavyweight champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa will take on American wrestler Chad Collyer in defense of the latter mentioned title. Collyer hails from Indiana and was trained by pro wrestler Dean Malenko.

Back on the final show of 2006, ZERO1-MAX wrestler Kamikaze and Pro Wrestling NOAH's Kentaro Shiga competed against each other for the GHC Hardcore Openweight title. In that match, Shiga defended his title in just over 18 minutes with a ground cobra hold.

Kamikaze and Shiga are brother-in-laws, and now will unite to take on the ZERO1-MAX ace tag team of Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita. The two met at a restaurant to drink sake and strengthen their bond before the match. Both men pledged to do their best to gain victory.

After skipping a year, the "Differ Cup" has returned in its third incarnation, this time under the sponsorship of the Global Pro Wrestling Alliance. Alliance companies participating are the following:

• Pro-Wrestling NOAH
• Big Mouth Loud
• ZERO1-MAX
• DDT
• El Dorado
• KAIENTAI-DOJO
• IWA-JAPAN

The tournament will span two nights on May 5 and May 6. Both days will have a special pre-show called "Differ Fiesta 2007" where there will be entertainment, meet-and-greets etc. Day 1 will see the first and semi-final rounds of the tournament, with Day 2 seeing the finals, along with the 3rd place match.

Here are the current announced participants:

• Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Ippei Ota (NOAH)
• Katsumi Usuda & Manabu Hara (BIG MOUTH LOUD)
• TBA & TBA (ZERO1-MAX)
• HARASHIMA & Ibushi Kota (DDT)
• KAGETORA & X (El Dorado)
• Kengo Mashimo & Madoka (K-DOJO)
• TBA & TBA (IWA-Japan)

Post "Ex-Impact" Press Conference!

March 9th, 2007

Several ZERO1-MAX wrestlers appeared at the FIRST ON STAGE offices in Tokyo today to comment on what might be ahead on the coming tour, what just happened at the "Ex-Impact" show in Korakuen, and the announcement of the 3rd "Yamato Shinshu Chikara Matsuri" Celebration from the Yasukuni Shrine next month on April 7th.

The first match to be announced for the outdoor Yasukuni Shrine show was a singles match between Shinjiro Otani and Ryouji Sai. Ryouji is coming off a match that saw him lose his United National Heavyweight title the day before at "Ex-Impact" to Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Daisuke Sekimoto. The last time Otani fought at the Yasukuni Shrine he battled then AWA World Heavyweight Champion Takao Omori in the main event for that title and lost.

As for the new UN Heavyweight Champ Sekimoto, he appeared with his newly won title belt on his shoulder. He announced that he had no specific V1 opponent in mind but would like to take all-comers from any company and not just ZERO1-MAX. Sekimoto also added that he'd like to bring in a wrestler from Big Japan Pro Wrestling as his first challenger because he is a BJW trueborn and loves their roster, naturally.

ZERO1-MAX wrestler Tatsuhito Takaiwa and the current AWA World Jr. and GHC Junior Heavyweight double champion spoke about his upcoming GHC Jr. match against Pro Wrestling NOAH's Mushinking Terry. That match will take place on April 28th at Budokan Hall for NOAH. Takaiwa said he enjoyed the idea of going onto Budokan's "big stage" even if it was in "enemy territory." He expressed great confidence in retaining his GHC title at the end of the match. Takaiwa's next AWA World Jr. Heavyweight title will be against American wrestler Chad Collyer on March 31st.

One half of the newly crowned ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag Team champions, Kohei Sato speaking for himself and partner Yoshihiro Takayama continued to berate Takayama's former tag team partner, Takao Omori.

Takayama and Kohei won the titles at "Ex-Impact" in the main event against Omori and his partner from New Japan Pro Wrestling, Manabu Nakanishi. Their first title defense will be on 3/21 when they face Omori and his former Intercontinental tag team title partner Shinjiro Otani. The feud between Takayama and Omori has been fierce and violent thus far, and it looks like it's not over yet!

Also announced was the return of the drunken Chinese kung-fu fighter, Kenshai Oh. Oh has participated on all the Yasukuni Shrine shows since ZERO1-MAX's launch in 2005. That will make the 3rd appearance for the Chinese fighter.

On the first show back on April 10, 2005 Kenshai Oh lost to Osamu Namiguchi and then defeated Jeto Yamagasa on the 2006 event.

His opponent for this year's show hasn't been revealed yet. Also appearing on the show will be current AWA World Heavyweight champion Steve Corino.

Ex-Impact! Title Changes!

March 8th, 2007

Several big title changes last night in Korakuen Hall at the ZERO1-MAX "Ex-Impact" show. "Ex" as in ex-partner in the main event where Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato faced off against the "Wild Child" team of Takao Omori and Manabu Nakanishi for their Intercontinental Tag Team titles. An important match for "Wild Child" as they defend their IWGP tag titles on March 11th against Giant Bernard and Travis Tomko.

The match went almost 20 minutes as the heavyweights clashed in the main event. As would be imagined there was lots of hard striking and powerful moves until finally Omori and Nakanishi hit their "Washington Treaty" finishing move on Sato, who kicked out at 2! Kohei, after exchanging elbow smashes with Omori then delivered a head kick and went for the cover but Nakanishi broke up the pinfall.

Takayama then stormed in, grabbing the New Japan wrestler and dropping him hard with a Dragon Suplex! He then turned to Omori and hit him with his Mt. Everest German suplex. Kohei followed that up with his own German Suplex hold for the victory!

After the match Takayama put both belts on Kohei's shoulders and said since Kohei scored the pinfall he can hold both belts for them. He also joked with him, asking if he thinks he could defend both titles by himself!

Omori on the other hand exploded in anger at the loss, realizing that it was a bad omen going into WILD CHILD's IWGP title match.

The Semi-Main Event was Tatsuhito Takaiwa's V1 defense of his newly won GHC Jr. Heavyweight title against young Taiji Ishimori, who has been participating regularly in NOAH. Ishimori put up a spirited fight in his attempt to win the belt, lasting almost 20 minutes with the GHC Jr. and AWA World Jr. champion Takaiwa.

Finally Takaiwa went to the power moves, dropping Ishimori with 2 rapid-fire lariats, a vertical brainbuster, and the Death Valley bomb finisher (two powerbombs and a Death Valley Driver) for the victory.

Takaiwa will now face Pro Wrestling NOAH's Mushiking Terry on April 28 for his V2 defense. First he will team with his student Osamu Namiguchi against Hidaka and Mushiking Terry on 3/19 in Hokkaido for a tag match. He will also be defending his AWA World Jr. Heavyweight title on 3/31 against American wrestler Chad Collyer in Kanagawa.

The 5th match of the show was the clash of UN Heavyweight Champion Ryouji Sai and Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Daisuke Sekimoto. Sekimoto attacked Ryouji at the 2/18 Korakuen Hall show directly after he'd defended his title versus Apache Army's Mammoth Sasaki. Sekimoto then challenged Ryouji to a match as the Korakuen Hall faithful cheered him on.

As reported on this site, both men have been diligently preparing for the bout. Ryouji has once again gone to his "rustic" training by visiting the Nachi Waterfalls and training on the rough terrain and natural paths of the park. Sekimoto on the other hand has relied on the surrounding of bustling Tokyo to strengthen himself for the match.

And the two fighters delivered, as Sekimoto went on the attack right from the beginning. The two exchange many hard chops and strikes, with Rouji using his kicks and Sekimoto using his chops and hard lariats. Sekimoto rolled to the outside only for Ryouji to drop a Nachi Waterfall double footstomp from the apron, followed by another from the top turnbuckle to the outside from more than 2.5 meters onto Sekimoto's stomach. This only infused the crowd with support for the Big Japan and Tokyo Favorite as the crowd began to chant "Sekimoto! Sekimoto!" As they returned to the ring Ryouji went for yet another Nachi Waterfall but Sekmimoto kicked out at two!

As the crowd continued to chant his name, Sekimoto rose to his feet and delivered a powerful Liger Bomb. And while Ryouji was able to block one strong lariat with a quick kick he was soon felled by another but kicked out a one. He then hit his devastating German suplex, a lariat and then a German suplex hold for the win to become champion!

The Korakuen Hall audience blessed Sekimoto's victory with a large cheer! Ryouji shook the new champ's hand and fastened the belt around his waist. Sekimoto expressed his gratitude after the match saying he will continue to more forward now that he's champion. Sekimoto also holds the Big Japan Tag Team titles alongside ZERO1-MAX's Yoshihito Sasaki.

The 4th match was a junior class tag team match with veteran Ikuto Hidaka teaming with young Shota Takanishi versus BattlArts' Munenori Sawa and DRAGON GATE's Super Shisa. This match went 13:16 before Shisa managed to pin Takanishi.

Osamu Namiguchi got his re-match against NOAH's Atsushi Aoki in the third match. The two had first faced back on 12/27 at the final ZERO1-MAX show of 2006 - "Celebration Return in Zeros." There Aoki won with a jujigatame in just under 8 minutes.

Both fighters wore their short trunks, Nami in black and Aoki in blue. Namiguchi rushed to the ring to glare down Aoki who only started back at the ZERO1-MAX junior. Nami had recently begun to win some of his matches since that defeat but once again fell to Aoki and his "Assault Point" kick. After the match Aoki said he'd like to face the upper echelons of ZERO1-MAX juniors in the future, mentioning current GHC Junior champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa.

Shinjiro Otani and Minoru Fujita defeated the BIG MOUTH LOUD team of Kazunari Murakami and Katsumi Usuda in the official opening match of the show. The match started with Otani and Murakami which the crowd enjoyed, as the two had a spirited rivalry before becoming allies when Matsunaga ran amok one again. It came down to Fujita and Usuda however, as Fujita pinned him with the Sasuke Special.

Also on the show Kamikaze defeated Yoshihito Sasaki in a singles match. And Gha-Cha-Pin defeated Rikiya Fudo in a dark match.

ZERO1-MAX In Real Japan!

March 7th, 2007

Satoru Sayama's Real Japan Pro Wrestling held a show in Korakuen Hall in front of 1,259 fans showcasing the debut of the new "Super Tiger." Little is known of the new Super Tiger, other than his stats (180 cm/95 kg) and that his age is above 30 years old. Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, felt that Super Tiger's first opponent needed to be somebody that could draw out the new generation Tiger Mask's "superstar power" and back in February recruited ZERO1-MAX junior Ikuto Hidaka for the task. Back on 2/9 during the press conference announcing the show Sayama had many nice things to say about Hidaka, calling him a "...splendid wrestler who embodies the ideals of pro wrestling."

The match went just over 10 minutes and saw Super Tiger, along with a flurry of kicks, display the classic moves of the Tiger Mask. Hidaka managed to rally and began to take control of the match. Catching one of Super Tiger's kicks, he hit a dragon screw leg whip, a low drop-kick to the leg and then grabbing the Shawn Capture! Super Tiger, obviously having scouted Hidaka was prepared and quickly escaped. His luck wouldn't hold however as Hidaka, also known for well studying his opponents, dodge a high axe kick and snatched a solarina roll-up for the victory. After the match Hidaka shook hands with and raised Super Tiger's arm to the crowd's applause.

The opening match of the show was a "ZERO1-MAX offer match" between Osamu Namiguchi and Shota Takanishi. Shota, until lately, had managed to get several victories over the senior Namiguchi. Nami himself was in a horrible losing streak in general until finally defeating Takanishi in a tag match at "Make the Emotion ~Strong Ism~" where he submitted him. And on the following show of the tour when he won via missile dropkick.

In this match the two showed their familiarity and competitiveness by crashing hard for 7 minutes. Nami finally was able to hit the missle dropkick and lock on the double leg crab hold for the submission victory. Now he must face Pro Wrestling NOAH's Atsushi Aoki tomorrow at "Ex-Impact." Nami last faced Aoki in a singles match on 12/27 at the "Celebration Return in Zeros" show in Korkauen Hall where he lost to a jujigatme after a hard fought match.

Shota will be teaming with Hidaka tomorrow in a tag match to take on BattlArts' Munenori Sawa and Dragon Gate's Super Shisa.

Visit Real Japan's website here.

United National Title Competitors Prepare!

March 6th, 2007

Ryouji Sai will defend his ZERO1-MAX United National Heavyweight title on the March 8th "Ex-Impact" show against Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Daisuke Sekimoto. Sekimoto entered the ring after Ryouji's 2/18 match against Mammoth Sasaki, attacking him from behind with a German Suplex before getting on the microphone and offering a challenge.

Since then, Ryouji has been very focused on his preparation for this match. As earlier reported he's been training at the Nachi Waterfall's at Yoshino-Kumano National Park in Wakayama, Japan. Where he commented on his upcoming match:

Sekimoto on the other hand has turned to his urban surroundings to do some power training with Big Japan Tag Team champions partner and ZERO1-MAX wrestler Yoshihito Sasaki. Tying a rope to the ring truck, Sekimoto (175 cm/110 kg) pulled the 3½ ton vehicle over 500 meters! Yoshihito Sasaki rode at the wheel cheering his partner on.

Other extreme training undertaken by Sekimoto is being struck with an aluminum bat across the chest to prepare for Ryouji's hard kicks. And dropping a 50kg metal weight on his abs to simulate the force of Ryouji's "Nachi Waterfall" top rope double foot stomps.