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Fire Festival '07 Schedule! EMBLEM Comments!

June 25th, 2007

The Fire Festival approaches, and both members of EMBLEM spoke to the media last week at the FIRST ON STAGE Tokyo offices. Shinjiro Otani said even though he'd lost his qualifying match he was able to get in by fan vote. He said the Fire Festival katana is calling him and wants to return to him.

The match he was looking forward to was his 7/31 Osaka match against firt time participant, Pro Wrestling NOAH's Akitoshi Saito. Otani said that Saito doesn't know anything about the greatness of possessing the katana and the meaning of winning the annual tournament.

Otani's tag team partner and the "Fire Festival '06" champion Masato Tanaka also was on hand to speak. He said one thing that the champion has the opportunity to do is win successive victories and that's what he wants. He added that he feels the key to Block B is speed, especially against power fighters like Takao Omori and Daisuke Sekimoto. Tanaka said he thinks winning the sword again would make him quickly forget his long shoulder operation, rehabilitation and long absence from pro wrestling.

"I will win the tournament with a perfect score. My goal is to go to the finals for an EMBLEM confrontation with Otani."

Fire Festival 2007
BLOCK A	Shinjiro Otani	Ryouji Sai	Yutaka Yoshie	Kazunari Murakami	Akitoshi Saito	SCORE
Shinjiro Otani		7/31	7/24	7/16	7/28	-
Ryouji Sai	7/31		7/16	7/28	7/17	-
Yutaka Yoshie	7/24	7/16		7/22	7/27	-
Kazunari Murakami	7/16	7/28	7/22		7/31	-
Akitoshi Saito	7/28	7/17	7/27	7/31		-

Fire Festival 2007
BLOCK B	Takao Omori	Masato Tanaka	Kohei Sato	Yoshihito Sasaki	Daisuke Sekimoto	SCORE
Takao Omori		7/27	7/17	7/16	7/31	-
Masato Tanaka	7/27		7/31	7/22	7/16	-
Kohei Sato	7/17	7/31		7/29	7/24	-
Yoshihito Sasaki	7/16	7/22	7/29		7/28	-
Daisuke Sekimoto	7/31	7/16	7/24	7/28		-

Hidaka to USA!

June 25th, 2007

ZERO1-MAX wrestler Ikuto Hidaka was not able to recapture the AWA World Jr. title on 6/20 in Korakuen Hall. Fighting down to the last two men in the Royal Rumble style battle royal decision match, Hidaka lost to FEC rival Dick Togo.

Hidaka announced today the he needs to refocus and will visit his teacher FUNAKI in San Antonio, Texas to do so. He said he will return before the "Fire Festival '07" begins, and will be gunning for the AWA World Jr. Heavyweight title.

Though Hidaka is not in the "Fire Festival" tournament, he's the first alternate if a wrestler can't continue or appear on the scheduled shows.

Landell US Heavyweight Champ!

June 25th, 2007

On June 13, 2007 in Indianapolis, IN, WORLD-1 wrestler and student of ZERO1-MAX's gaijin ace Steve Corino, Ricky Landell won the previously vacated ZERO1-MAX US Openweight title. Ricky Landell's opponent in the decision match at AWA WRESTLERACE 7.0 from the Indianapolis Speedrome was formwe WWE/TNA junior Zach Gowen.

It's been 2 years since Ricky was last in a pro wrestling ring in Japan, and the ZERO1-MAX Japanese office is impressed by his evolution as a pro wrestler. Landell has recently said he wants a shot at Takao Omori and the AWA World Heavyweight championship. Winning the US Heavyweight championship is a big step in this direction.

Fire Festival Participants Announced! DYNAMO!

June 20th, 2007

ZERO1-MAX held its Korakuen Hall show of the "DYNAMO" series yesterday in front of 1,200 fans. The main event was a ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag Team championship between current champs Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato and challengers Ryouji Sai and Yoshihito Sasaki.

The challengers attacked before the bell, though the champions were able to repel the initial onslaught. Takayama headbutted Yoshihito as former STONEHENGE partners Kohei and Ryouji fought outside the ring. The match was very hard-hitting, and despite the size difference Yoshihito was able to fell Takayama with a lariat, a back suplex and almost scored an Argentine Coaster before the giant wrestlers could fight back.

Yoshihito was also able to hit a flurry of offense on Kohei before tagging out to Ryouji. Despite a valiant effort by the challengers, the match only went around 12.5 minutes before Takayama hit Ryouji with a German suplex and then held off Yoshihito as Kohei used his German suplex hold on Ryouji for the win. After the match, Kohei told the media he's been thinking about joining Pro Wrestling NOAH.

The semi-main event was the AWA World Jr. Heavyweight championship decision Royal Rumble style battle royal. The title had been vacated by previous champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa due to injury. Wrestlers taking part in the match were: Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1-MAX), Minoru Fujita (ZERO1-MAX), Naoki Tanizaki (Free), Madoka (K-Dojo), Dick Togo (FEC), Masao Orihara (FEC), Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1-MAX), GENTARO (Apache Army), Takuya Sugawara (El Dorado), Dick Togo (FEC) and El Blazer (Free).

With so many strong juniors from other promotions, the questions was will Minoru Fujita or Ikuto Hidaka win the title for ZERO1-MAX? The time for each participants entry under Royal Rumble rules was 90 seconds. The match went for almost 23 minutes and came down to former allies Ikuto Hidaka and Dick Togo. Togo returned to ZERO1-MAX alongside Far East Connection members Masao Orihara and Macho*Pump, and has caused trouble in the promotion since. Back in 2003, Togo and Hidaka were the first International Lightweight Tag Champions together in ZERO-ONE.

The first surprise happened quite early in the match when the original AWA World Jr. Heavyweight champion ever, Minoru Fujita, was rolled-up by Orihara with an assist from GENTARO. Orihara and GENTARO then tried double teaming Hidaka but he was able to survive until Sugawara entered the match and gave him a hand. Eventually GENTARO turned on Orihara and helped eliminate him. Dick Togo eventually entered and took his fight right to Hidaka. As the match progressed eventually all that remained were Togo, Hidaka, Takuya Sugawara and K-Dojo's Madoka. Sugawara was soon elimated after Togo reversed a top rope Frankenstiener attempt into a devestating power bomb for the pinfall.

Now with three wrestlers remaining, Madoka, one half of the Differ Cup 2007 champions, faced off one-on-one with Hidaka. Though Madoka able to get a few shots, Hidaka soon took him out with a tornado DDT followed by the stray high kick.

So now only the former tag team partners and rivals remained, and the crowd cheered wildly for both men. Hidaka hit the spring board the low altitude missile dropkick to the knee leading to the Shawn Capture, but Macho*Pump interfered, grabbing Hidaka's foot as he hit the ropes.

Hidaka was able to re-adjust from this interference and grab his hold anyway. Togo was able to reverse it into a crossface until Hidaka tried a flash pin and broke the hold. The two fought until Togo finally hit a top rope Predigree but Hidaka kicked out! Then Togo hit a strong lariat, and then finally his trademark diving senton for the victory. Orihara and Macho*Pump were on hand to celebrate with their fellow stable mate as Takuya Sugawara promised to win the title.

The fourth match of the show was a heavyweight tag match between Shinjiro Otani and Kazunari Murakami versus Takao Omori and Kamikaze. This match went just over twelve minutes with Otani finally getting the win over Kamikaze with a Spiral bomb.

It was here when the Fire Festival '07 participation announcement was made. Ryouji Sai, Kohei Sato, Yoshihito Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto had already gained entrance due to their single match qualifying victories on the 5/27 "Everlasting" show. With six slots remaining, four of those would be chosen by internet fan balloting, and the final two from outside ZERO1-MAX.

Ring Announcer Oki got on the microphone to announce the remaining six. First, the four determined by fan balloting: Masato Tanaka (1,326 votes), Kazunari Murakami (1,187 votes), Takao Omori (1,016 votes) and Shinjiro Otani (1,008 votes).

As for the final two, last year participant Yutaka Yoshie arrived in the hall resplendent in a pink suit and announced he's determined to win the tournament. Next was Pro Wrestling NOAH's Akitoshi Saito, who said he's always been a fan of the "Fire Festival" and would like very much to hold the Fire Festival katana.

Then the blocks were announced and all the wrestlers entered:

Block A
Shinjiro Otani
Ryouji Sai
Kazunari Murakami (BML)
Akitoshi Saito (NOAH)
Yutaka Yoshie (MUGA)

Block B
Takao Omori
Masato Tanaka
Yoshihito Sasaki
Kohei Sato (Free)
Daisuke Sekimoto (BJW)

A microphone was then placed in the ring in case anybody wanted to speak. Otani picked up the microphone and began to speak, only for Masato Tanaka to lariat him out of his shoes. All the wrestlers then began to fight, until only Yoshihito Sasaki remained in the ring. He announced he would fight hard this year and win the tournament.

The 3rd match of the show was the "E-Memory II" match pitting former ECW wrestlers against each other in hard core rules match. The participants once more included Steve Corino and TAJIRI on opposite sides, though this time they were accompanied by tag partners. Corino with fellow Extreme Horseman CW Anderson and TAJIRI with Masato Tanaka.

Corino, who has announced his retirement from Pro Wrestling at the end of this year was greeted warmly by the crowd, standing on the turnbuckle and yelling "Corino Ichiban!" to their applause. The match was a brawl as one would expect, with tables and chairs being used. The end came when TAJIRI accidentally sprayed Tanaka with the Red Poison mist, allowing C-Dub to Spinebuster Tanaka though a table. TAJIRI then came with the green mist on Anderson. Corino then hit TAJIRI with the Riki Lariat and then the Northern Light bomb for the win. Afterwards the ECW Alumnus shook hands and embraced in the ring.

The 2nd match of the show saw the first appearance of Shock Wave The Robot to a ZERO1-MAX ring. While appearing in his armor and faceplate, the Robot shed these for a more slimmed down appearance in the ring. Shock Wave likes to dance, and did some break dancing during and after the match. His opponent, Osamu Namiguchi tried hard to fight the robot but was defeated by a modified Phoenix Splash named the A-9B.

The opening match saw a returning Fuyuki Takahasii defeat a similarly orange clad Shota Takanishi in the opening match with a texas cloverleaf.

AWA Jr. Battle Royal Entry Order! Shock Wave!

June 19th, 2007

The AWA and ZERO1-MAX have released the order of entry for the AWA World Jr. Heavyweight title Decision Match Battle Royal that will take place on tomorrow's DYNAMO show.

The match will begin with two wrestlers, with 90 seconds seperating their entrances. Wrestlers can be elminated by pinfall, submission, KO, over-the-top-rope and other standard pro wrestling battle royal rules.

The two wrestlers chosen to begin the match are the first AWA World Jr. Heavyweight title holder and ZERO1-MAX wrestler Minoru Fujita versus freelancer Naoki Tanizaki.

Order of Entry:

1. Madoka (K-Dojo)
2. Masao Orihara (FEC)
3. Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1-MAX)
4. GENTARO (Apache Army)
5. Takuya Sugawara (El Dorado)
6. Dick Togo (FEC)
7. El Blazer (Free)

Shock Wave the Robot has arrived in ZERO1-MAX from the LA Dojo in California. Shock Wave is between 170-175cm tall depending on the temperature, and weighs 2,500 energon cubes. Shock Wave the Robot's known moves are the Robot Kick and the Shock Wave clutch. Is Shock Wave a friend or a foe? Shock Wave's first opponent will be Osamu Namiguchi in a singles match at tomorrow's DYNAMO show.

Ryouji & Yoshihito Declare War on Kohei!
World Jr. Battle Royal!

June 11, 2007

ZERO1-MAX held a press conference today at the FIRST ON STAGE offices in Tokyo today to discuss the upcoming June 20th Korakuen Hall show. ZERO1-MAX wrestlers Ryouji Sai and Yoshihito Sasaki are scheduled to battle current Intercontinental Tag Team champions Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato.

Yoshihito was very outspoken about wanting to "crush Kohei" and by taking the titles off the champs "raising the value of the belts." He said Kohei has no excuse and has betrayed his generation of wrestler by attaching himself to such a well-known veteran. Ryouji said while he wants to win the titles, his real focus is on the "Fire Festival" where last year he lost to Masato Tanaka in the finals.

Former AWA World Jr. champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa had to vacate his title belt due too injury. The new champion will be decided on June 20th in a championship battle royal! Eight wrestlers have been chosen to take part in the match: Minoru Fujita, Ikuto Hidaka, Takuya Sugawara, Dick Togo, Masao Orihara, Naoki Tanizaki, El Blazer and Madoka. All of the wrestlers except the FEC contingent were present at the press conference and discussed the match.

Minoru Fujita, the first AWA World Jr. Champion, said he's hunting for Orihara in this match and that "Orihara took years off my life" in previous encounters and that his first goal of the match is to take him out. Hidaka on the other hand said he wants to win the title for both he and his tag partner.

Just as all the wrestlers finished commenting and filed out of the room, FEC's Orihara made an appearance! He stormed into the office and attacked one of the office workers, hitting him in the chest and throwing the poor guy into a corner of a desk and splitting his head open! The office worker needed 17 stiches to close the gash. Orihara spat out some challenging words about the battle royal and then left. Fujita, hearing the commotion returned to the interview room but Orihara had already left. He helped the office worker up and shook his head at the disgraceful actions of Orihara.

The main event of the show will be titled "E-Memory II" and will have former ECW wrestlers Masato Tanaka and TAJIRI versus Steve Corino and CW Anderson. Last month Corino faced TAJIRI in a "E-Memory" match at the Korakuen Hall show of "Everlasting" and lost to the infamous Buzzsaw Kick. With these four now in an E-Style match in Korakauen Hall, look for the violence to ratchet up a notch!

Halfway Mark for Fire Festival '07 Fan Poll!

June 8th, 2007

The ZERO1-MAX fan poll is halfway over, and there have been over 1,800 votes from all over the world to choose the next 4 participants of the "Fire Festival '07." By clicking the pie chart above you can view a larger version of the voting distribution. As of now last year's champion, Masato Tanaka, is leading the polling. Following Tanaka is "Mr. Fire Festival" Shinjiro Otani, AWA Heavyweight Champion Takao Omori and BIG MOUTH LOUD's Kazunari Murakami.

Voting ends on June 15th at 3PM Japan time (June 14th, 2AM EST) so be sure to get you e-mails in before the time runs out.

Fan Vote For Fire Festival Participation!

June 2nd, 2007

Four wrestlers of the 10 in the Fire Festival '07 were decided on May 27th, when Ryouji Sai, Kohei Sato, Yoshihito Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto all secured spots for themselves in the tournament.

And now with six of the final ten slots remaining, ZERO1-MAX and the AWA has announced that the ZERO1-MAX fans will decide four of the remaining slots.

To vote simply choose 2 of the 14 wrestlers on the list of candidates and send your choices to himatsuri2007@yahoo.co.jp.

Forwarded e-mails will be disregarded in the final tally. Voting ends on June 15th so be sure to get your votes in at the earliest convenience.

Here is the list of candidates and the number to mail in: