Home » News Archive » News from 05/27/08 to 06/13/08

Omori in New Japan Pro Wrestling! ZERO1 US and NWA UN Title Defenses!

June 13th, 2008

New Japan Pro Wrestling will be holding a show in Gifu, the former hometown of ZERO-ONE founder Shinya Hashimoto. The show's announced title is "Only One Night ~ Area-G ~" and will take place in the Gifu Trade Center on June 22. Shinya Hashimoto died three years ago and both ZERO1 and New Japan, both companies he previously worked for, wanted to present a match as an offering to the "Destructive King."

The main event will be ZERO1's Takao Omori versus former NWA Intercontinental Tag Team and IWGP Tag Team partner, New Japan's Manabu Nakanishi. It was the crumbling of this tag team back on January 1st that helped kick-off the inter-promotional feud between the two companies. Nakanishi himself has a big championship match next month as he's received his first IWGP Heavyweight title bout since 2003, facing current champion All Japan's Keiji Muto. Nakanishi will look to perform well leading into this title match, and has both victories and losses versus Takao Omori.

Current NWA United National Heavyweight champion K-Dojo's Mashimo Kengo will be defending his title belt on June 23, in Korakuen Hall for Big Japan Pro Wrestling's monthly appearance in the famous building. Challenging him for the title will be former UN Heavyweight champion and Big Japan wrestler Daisuke Sekimoto.

Mashimo won the title belt back in May in a decision match versus Ryouji Sai at the K-DOJO "GWSP6" show in Chiba. Previous champion Yoshihito Sasaki had to vacate the title due to injury shortly before. This Big Japan show will also be a fund-raising event for victims of the Iwate and Miyagi earthquake that occurred on June 14th.

Current ZERO1 US United States Heavyweight champ Ricky Landell re-won the title belt on June 1st in 3KWrestling, taking it from Sterling James Keenan. Landell made his first tile defense on June 14 in Limerick, PA versus challenger Kirby Mack where he won in just over 15 minutes with a piledriver. With the ZERO1 United States title bouncing around so much in the last few months many fans were thinking that Kirby Mack would be able to wrestle the title off the cocky Landell. But Landell, who recently won the Cauliflower Alley Club Future Legend Award, is unstoppable right now. With former WWE wrestler Al Snow coming for him in Boyertown on June 29 will he be able to continue this momentum???

Fire Festival '08! Two More Chosen - Kohei & Ryouji!

June 13th, 2008

The Fire Festival Executive Committee met once again today for 4 hours and announced two more participants in the "Fire Festival '08." The two are ZERO1 fighters and former tag team partners Kohei Sato and Ryouji Sai.

Kohei Sato

(ZERO1 - 8th Fire Festival. Fire Festival '04 Winner)

Ryouji Sai

(ZERO1 - 4th Fire Festival. Champion runner-up for Fire Festival '06 & '07)

Only three slots are left to fill, however once again opinions were divided amongst the committee regarding these positions, so once again the meeting will be carried over to next week. Chairman of the committee and FIRST ON STAGE representative Mr. Nakamura was asked various questions regarding the new choices once again by the media.

Mr. Nakamura was then questioned about the participation of current ZERO1 President and three-time "Fire Festival" champion Shinjiro Otani:

The following question inquired about who else has been considered as participating candidates:

Mr. Nakamura said while the committee will meet again next week, he thinks nothing will be finalized until the end of this month. He added that with only three choices remaining a "sense of responsibility" is increasing on the members. He added that the messages from the fans of ZERO1 also appear to be divided and it's casting some grief over the decision making process.

ZERO1 Girl Event! Rina Kanzaki!

June 13th, 2008

ZERO1 Girl Rina Kanzaki has been described as "the flower that decorates the ring" of pro wrestling ZERO1. Rina began working with ZERO1 last September along with three other girls previous to the "Tenka-Ichi Jr. Tournament 2007."

Rina, a new fan of professional wrestling who has now begun to love it, will be holding her own meet & greet event following the June 21st "AXE ARMY Production Event" at Komatsu River Sakura Hall. The event will be held at the Wrestle Sports Bar CHICKEN at 10PM Saturday, June 21st.

ZERO1 has also hinted that some "secret guests" from the roster will also be appearing at the event.

The event will consist of a question and answer session with Rina, along with her displaying her talent for singing songs and playing the ukulele. A sample of Rina's musical ability can be seen in the video below.

Five Fighters Announced For "Fire Festival '08!"

June 12th, 2008

As previously announced here, the Fire Festival Executive Committee met today at the ZERO1 Tokyo offices and agreed on five of the ten wrestlers who will take part in this year's "Fire Festival '08" tournament. The five wrestlers announced are ZERO1's Masato Tanaka and Takao Omori, Big Japan's Daisuke Sekimoto, and New Japan's Togi Makabe and Manabu Nakanishi. The Executive Committee also revealed the qualifying decision for each of the wrestlers, which is as follows:

Masato Tanaka

(ZERO1 - 8th Fire Festival. Back-to-back victories in '06 & '07. Captain of the SWORD ARMY)

Takao Omori

(ZERO1 - 5th Fire Festival. Captain of the AXE ARMY. Victory in Assessment match)

Daisuke Sekimoto

(Big Japan Pro Wrestling - 4th Fire Festival)

Manabu Nakanishi

(New Japan Pro Wrestling - 1st Fire Festival)

Togi Makabe

(New Japan Pro Wrestling - 1st Fire Festival)

The Committee said the inclusion of the New Japan Pro Wrestlers is in continuation of the promotional war being fought between ZERO1 and New Japan. Having chose these 5 wrestlers, divided opinions regarding the other participating wrestlers caused for another meeting of the Fire Festival Executive Committee being called for tomorrow. As soon as they are determined we will post them here.

While the names of the Committee were not revealed, FOS Representative Yoshiyuki Nakamura said he was serving as the Chairman of a group of eight people. Of the eight, he revealed that all are people of the pro wrestling industry except one who is a TV person. He also revealed that one of them is a women.

Mr. Nakamura added that once the ten final choices are decided, the Committee still has to decide how the Blocks will be divided. "And while we could always turn to a lottery, we want to create schedules and fight cards that fans desire the most to see." He also revealed that some of the resources used to determine the choices included watching matches on video, and examining fan reaction. "Since committee members differed in their criteria for deciding, only 5 were picked today. Of course, we're also all reading the various messages sent in by the fans."

Fire Festival Executive Committee to Decide On 6/12! Voice of the Fans Requested!

June 10th, 2008

As the time draws closer ans Summer approaches it has been decided that the 8th Fire Festival Executive Committee will meet at 3:00 PM on June 12 to determine the final roster for "Fire Festival '08" wrestler participation. The final participants will be announced at the 6/26 "Dauntless" show in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall.

Last year ZERO1 reached out to their fans to e-mail their choices for the tournament, allowing them to vote for their favorite wrestler to appear. Once again the Executive Committee want to hear the voices of all ZERO1 fans for their suggestions and ideas regarding this year's "Fire Festival '08."

So once again if any ZERO1 fan in the world has a request, opinion, demand etc. for this year's "Fire Festival" tournament, please feel free to contact Pro Wrestling ZERO1 with an e-mail to express your thoughts or ask any questions.

Please contact us at: info@z-1.co.jp

Fans of Japanese Pro Wrestling and ZERO1 are probably familiar with the format of the tournament which has been held every summer in the end of July since the beginning of ZERO-ONE. This year the FIRE FESTIVAL '08 will open on July 27, 2008 in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall before travelling West across Japan and back to close out at Korakuen Hall on Sunday, August 3rd.

The Tournament is set up as a 2-Block/10-man round robin tournament where every wrestler in each block faces each other once to determine that Block's representative for the finals. If there is a point tie to determine this representative, a play-off match will be held so there will only be one. A quick summary of the format and rules:

• Round Robin Tournament Rules - 2 blocks (A & B) each with 5 wrestlers.
• Wrestlers in Blocks face each other once to determine the Block's representative for the finals.
• Regular Tournament Match time limit is 30 minutes.
• A Win is two (2) points. A Loss is zero (0) points. A Draw is one (1) point.
• Tournament Finals will be a No Time-Limit Match.
• Tournament Champion wins 5 million yen and possession of the FIRE KATANA for a whole year.

We hope to hear from all ZERO1 fans regarding the FIRE FESTIVAL '08: info@z-1.co.jp

Takaiwa Struggles in New Japan's "Best of the Super Jr." Tournament!

June 6th, 2008

ZERO1's veteran Jr. class wrestler Tatsuhito Takaiwa entered the New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual "BEST OF THE SUPER JR. XV ~ FLY HIGH 15th ANNIVERSARY" tournament this year to somewhat disappointing results. Takaiwa had previously participated in several of these tournaments starting back in 1996 while still a member of New Japan. He won total victory at the 2000 tourney, defeating current ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani in the finals with a lariat. This current appearance was Takaiwa's first since the beginning of ZERO1 in 2001.

This year Takaiawa finished next-to-last in his Block A group, scoring only 2 wins versus 3 losses. While he ended with the same amount of points (4) as both Minoru and Jushin Thunder Liger, he had lost to both men in head-to-head matches and was thus ranked below them. He started off slow when the tournament began, with back-to-back loses against Wataru Inoue and Minoru before finally scoring a victory over Ryusuke Taguchi on June 6 in Osaka. Another loss followed versus Liger, and then a final victory versus Yujiro.

Tatsuhito Takaiwa is a former 3-time ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight champion (2004, 2006 & 2007), and a 1-time former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion (2000) and GHC Jr. Heavyweight champion (2006).

AXE ARMY Presents! Team EMBLEM vs. "Team Mondaiji" On 6/21!

June 6th, 2008

At the ZERO1 Press Conference today, AXE ARMY Captain Takao Omori announced that the June 21 Komatsu River Sakura Hall show will be a small AXE ARMY produced show. AXE ARMY earned its chance to put on a stand-alone show due to posting team winning total victories in both April and May.

Despite is being a AXE ARMY Production, SWORD ARMY members Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani will once again combine as Team EMBLEM to take on Team Mondaiji ("Team Problem Child") of the unlikely pairing of Kohei Sato and Kintaro Kanemura. KAMIKAZE will continue his quest to enter the "Fire Festival '08" in a tag match with Omori versus SWORD ARMY's Ikuto Hidaka and Arashi, who is filling in for Ryouji Sai who has a previous engagement. New WWA World Jr. Light Heavyweight champion NOIZE will make his first title defense versus former title holder Osamu Namiguchi. In a interestingly lopsided bout, current dual NWA Intercontinental Tag Team and NWA International Lightweight Tag Team champions Minor Fujita and Takuya Sugawara have chosen young wrestlers Shito Ueda and Yuzuru Saito as their opponents. Also SWORD ARMY's Tatsuhito Takaiwa will face the strange cross-dressing Lingerie Muto.

Captain Omori, along with AXE ARMY member Osamu Namiguchi were on had to reveal the fight card and make a few statements regarding the show as well as deliver some prepared statements.

Omori also commented on the Team EMBLEM versus "Team Problem Child" match, as Kohei is the AXE ARMY and the ZERO1 problem child and Kanemura is just a problem child in pro wrestling in general. He said EMBLEM did an amazing job of not falling to defeat versus Nakanishi and Nagata, and a team like with such a respectable past is something Kohei and Kanemura should be concerned about.

Osamu Namiguchi then commented on his WWA World Jr. Light Heavyweight match versus current champion NOIZE, who won the belt from THE*ZEST at JCB Hall on April 6, 2008. Nami held this belt back in August of 2005 when he took it from Mexican wrestler Filoso before losing it to Katsuhiko Nakajima.

Shinya Hashimoto Memorial Show Announced!

June 6th, 2008

ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani announced today from the FOS offices in Japan that there will be a Shinya Hashimoto memorial show on July 13 at Tokyo's Differ Ariake titled "ZERO1 - PURE LIVE ~ Atsui Bonnou 0 Sore Ga ZERO1 ~" or translated as "Hot Obsessions 0 This is ZERO1." As many well know, former ZERO-ONE founder Shinya Hashimoto passed away suddenly on July 11, 2005 from a brain aneurysm only eight days after celebrating his 40th birthday.

The event will feature a video tribute to the "Destructive King" and a talk event by New Japan Pro Wrestlings for staff member Katsuji Nagashima. There also 5 to 6 matches planned though the Fight Card hasn't been determined yet. Otani said memorials can sometimes be depressing and dark, but he wants this to be a happy time to remember Hashimoto. He revealed the event poster which shows Hashimoto in one of the fun alter egos he donned in his life as "Hashifu Kahn." Otani said that other pro wrestling organizations will be invited to participate in the event, and he wants to see many of those who inherited Hashimoto's "genes."

Otani added that while many different things had occurred in ZERO1 these past three years, he said he will proudly tell Mr. Hashimoto the current situation of the company and its bright future.

PREMIUM One Night Tag Tournament Match-Ups Announced!

June 6th, 2008

As previously reported here earlier in the week, a press conference for New Japan side project PREMIUM was held at the New Japan Pro Wrestling head office in the main conference room today to announce a one night "Border Transgression" tag tournament to be held 6/27 in Korakuen Hall. Several ZERO1 fighters were involved with the press conference alongside New Japan Pro Wrestlers and members of the DRADITION Promotion.

Eight wrestlers took part in the conference and all of them chose at random from a lottery to determine who their tag team partner would be on that night. Although many unique teams were created through the lottery that day, several pairing piqued the interest of pro wrestling fans. Now the card has been announced and it appears EMBLEM partners Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani's teams will clash in the first round of the tourney! Tanaka and his partner Riki Choshu will face Otani and his chosen partner Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Two other ZERO1 fighters (and AXE ARMY members) will clash on opposite teams that night as Takao Omori and his partner Tatsumi Fujinami will face Shiro Koshinaka and Kohei Sato. Also ZERO1 wrestlers Ryouji Sai and his DRADITION partner Mitsuya Nagai versus Super Strong Machine and Hiro Saito.

With so many Alpha Males and fierce competitive fighters in one tournament, who will be the victor?

6/26 Korakuen Hall "Dauntless" as ZERO1 vs. NJPW Continues!
Hidaka Looks to Reclaim Jr. Title!
Sawa's Dream Confrontation Manifests!

June 4th, 2008

ZERO1 returns to Korakuen Hall on June 26th for their upcoming "Dauntless" tour, which will see Jr. class wrestler Ikuto Hidaka finally get his title rematch versus current International Jr. Heavyweight champion DRAGON GATE's Masaaki Mochizuki. Mochizuki took the title off Hidaka back in January of this year, and subsequently defeated Hidaka in various matches to deny him a re-match. Then in a tag match at the final of the "Unshakeable" tour last month, Hidaka alongside Munenori Sawa defeated Mochizuki and his partner New Japan's Minoru when Hidaka was able to pin Mochizuki with a horizontal cradle. Following the bout Mochizuki said he would give Hidaka his rematch, but announced if Hidaka fails he wants the next challenger to be ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani and that Hidaka will not get another shot at the title while he holds it for the rest of 2008.

In the semi-main event, former NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions Shinjiro Otani and Takao Omori will band together to take on NJPW's Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi. Also at the final "Unshakeable" show Team EMBLEM of Otani and Tanaka went to a time-limit 30 minute draw in a tag match versus Nagata and Nakanishi. Now it will be Otani and Omori, and Omori and Nakanishi have clashed several times during the inter-promotional war between ZERO1 and NJPW, with each man getting a fall over the other in singles matches. It could be said that the whole war was sparked off on 1/1 when Nakanishi turned on tag team partner Omori during a match. There is much history in this match between the participants, as Omori has also held the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team titles and the IWGP Tag Team titles with Nakanishi back in 2006. While Nagata and Nakanishi have also been IWGP Tag Team champions.

Last time Togi Makabe was in ZERO1 was back at the "Miracle Rocket ~2nd Impact~" show at JCB Hall when he teamed with fellow GBH stablemate Toru Yano to defeat the strong young team of Yoshihito Sasaki and Big Japan Pro Wrestling's Daisuke Sekimoto. Following that match, Makabe told the assembled media that he would like to try his hand in the "Fire Festival '08" this year. On 6/26 he will be facing the last two years' "Fire Festival" champion and the runner-up as well, Masato Tanaka and Ryouji Sai. Makabe sees this as an opportunity to claim a spot in the tournament if he can gain victory.

His GBH Partner, Tomoaki Honma, has also been rumored to have also declared his interest secretly to the "Fire Festival" Executive Committee to also join the blocks of the tournament. Honma participated in the "Fire Festival '06" where he suffered the dishonor of constant defeat and ended the tournament with ZERO points!

BattlArts fighter Munenori Sawa said it was a dream come true back on 5/29 when he teamed with former Bati-Bati trueborn Ikuto Hidaka versus other former BattlArts wrestlers Masaaki Mochizuki and Minoru in the aforementioned match Hidaka was victorious in. And while Sawa didn't gain the pinfall, he made enough of an impression that afterward New Japan's Minoru approached him and held up both index fingers, signaling his desire for a singles match. ZERO1 management saw this exchange and the encouragement from Sawa's fans and booked the match for 6/26. And while Sawa has shown unlimited fighting spirit in his several years wrestling in a ZERO1 ring, his opponent boasts holding NJPW's IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title a total of 4 times. Sawa was contacted for a statement regarding this opportunity:

Also on the card, KAMIKAZE will team with young heavyweight Shito Ueda to take on Kohei Sato and Minoru Fujita in a tag match. The "Fire Festival" participants will be announced on 6/26 as well, and KAMIKAZE knows his chances of entering the tournament are winding down what with his defeat at the hands of Sekimoto in his Fire Festival Executive Committee Nomination Match last month. Here he has his final chance to impress the committee as Kohei Sato also lost his Nomination Match against Takao Omori. KAMIKAZE feels if he can pin Kohei squarely in this match he might earn a spot.

And finally, the opening match will see the young fighters of BattlArts come out to take on the young fighters of ZERO1. All four of these wrestlers in this opening tag match, Osamu Namiguchi and Yuzuru Saito for Z1 versus Yuta Yoshikawa and Keita Yano for BattlArts, have confrontational tempers that could decide victory or defeat. For Yuzuru Saito, this is his first year in the ring of ZERO1.

ZERO1 Participation in PREMIUM One Night Tag Tournament!

June 2nd, 2008

A press conference for PREMIUM was held today at the New Japan Pro Wrestling head office in the main conference room to announce a one night "Border Transgression" tag tournament to be held 6/27 in Korakuen Hall. PREMIUM is a another new spin-off from New Japan Pro Wrestling similar to LOCK UP, though this project is headed by General Manager Masahiro Chono. Several ZERO1 fighters also took part in the debut PREMIUM show that took place back on May 5th, including: Shinjiro Otani, Masato Tanaka, Takao Omori, Kohei Sato, Ryouji Sai and Tatsuhito Takaiwa.

This time Chono himself chose the sixteen members who would participate in the tourney, inviting 8 of them to the meeting. These 8 wrestlers then chose at random from a lottery to determine who their tag team partner would be that night. The 8 wrestler Chono brought in to the meeting were himself, Riki Choshu, Shinjiro Otani, Takao Omori, Shiro Koshinaka, Super Strong Machine, Manabu Nakanishi and Mitsuya Nagai. These 8 picked envelopes containing there partners from the box and then were told to open their envelopes all at once and revealed who they will be:

• Shinjiro Otani & Hiroyoshi Tenzan
• Takao Omori & Tatsumi Fujinami
• Shiro Koshinaka & Kohei Sato
• Super Strong Machine & Hiro Saito
• Riki Choshu & Masato Tanaka
• Masahiro Chono & Yutaka Yoshie
• Manabu Nakanishi & Jushin Thunder Liger
• Mitsuya Nagai & Ryouji Sai

All those present were then asked for comments regarding their choices. Shinjiro Otani said he was glad to have picked Tenzan, who he has history with when they were both Young Lions early in NJPW. He did say their unfamiliarity as teammates could possibly make them a weak pairing he has high hopes that they will be formidable. Takao Omori said he was pleasantly surprised to have pulled Tatsumi Fujinami from the lottery and thinks they have a good chance of winning the whole thing.

The New Japan wrestlers who chose ZERO1 fighters also commented, with Koshinaka saying he thinks Kohei is a good wrestler and he hopes he brings his self-confidence with him for their matches. Mitsuya Nagai was mostly happy that he picked a young wrestler in Sai and didn't have to team with "...one of these fossils that calls themselves Legends..." Of all the NJPW members who seemed the most excited was Riki Choshu who chose current World Heavyweight champion Masato Tanaka in the lottery. He said that there are many wrestlers who are doing well right now but Tanaka is one of the top. He repeated several times how "satisfactory" his partner is, and how his enthusiasm for the whole tournament has been upped with his pick and he plans to do his best to keep up with the younger Tanaka.

ZERO1 vs. NJPW Main Event Indecision!
Hidaka Gains Jr. Title Rematch!
Takanishi Shota - SAYONARA!

May 29th, 2008

The main event of the ZERO1 "Unshakeable ~Final~" show on May 29th in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall saw Team EMBLEM of Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Otani battle New Japan Pro Wrestling's Yuji Nagata and Manabu Nakanishi. And despite opportunities for both teams to gain victory, the match concluded in a time limit draw when the clock expired at 30 minutes.

The match was titled ZERO1 vs. NJPW "2 -PRIDE/4-SOULS," and saw current ace Tanaka teamed with former NJPW wrestler Otani to continue the major promotion conflict. The balance of the match itself shifted momentum back-and-forth between the warring factions. New Japan controlled the match early, which Nagata battling Tanaka and Nakanishi fighting Otani. Team EMBLEM would shift momentum with Otani dropping the "Yajin" Manabu and Tanaka frog splashing Nagata through a table on the outside.

Now the practiced teamwork of the 2-time former NWA Intercontinental Tag Team champions kicked in as Team EMBLEM unleashed a torrent of coordinated attacks. As 10-minutes passed, New Japan once again shifted the momentum as Nagata got the best of Otani with a brain buster and a diving knee! Then Nagata turned to Otani's injured arm, using an arm breaker and tying it in knots in the ring! Otani managed to escape as now Tanaka and Nakanishi clashed, DANGAN hit an elbow smash and a lariat, followed by a super fly. However Nakanishi caught his spear attempt and powerbombed for his trouble.

The match continued in this manner, with each team using every move in their arsenal trying to destroy the other and perhaps settle the ZERO1 vs. New Japan war! Despite not being IWGP Tag Team champions since 1999 showed some practiced teamwork and coordination. And as 1 minute remaining counted down, the used a combined middle kick and German suplex hold attempt on Tanaka but Otani broke it up at the last second! And despite all the hard effort the 30 minute time limit was announced.

Ever since losing the ZERO1 International Jr. Heavyweight title to Masaaki Mochizuki back on January 23rd, Ikuto Hidaka has expressed his desire to challenge again for the belt. Mochizuki has decided to pick his own challengers, and has locked Hidaka out citing his string of victories over him. So at the April 1st Masaaki Mochizuki "Heroic Episode 4" show, following Mochizuki's defense of his Jr. Title versus Munenori Sawa, Hidaka appeared in the ring and challenged Mochizuki to a championship re-match. Mochizuki agreed he would challenge Hidaka to a tag match this night in Korakuen. Following this confrontation, Hidaka told the media that he wants to once again team with BattleArts' Sawa as he did at the Yasukuni Shrine the last time he faced Mochizuki. When Mochizuki heard this teaming might be what he's facing he replied that he thinks this should be a BattlArts confrontation and chose New Japan's former BattlArts wrestler Minoru as his tag team partner.

So it's "ZERO1 vs. B's" as Sawa takes the side of ZERO1. Hidaka and he entered together, thought Mochizuki and Minoru who have very little acquaintance entered separately to their own music. Mochizuki entered with the International Jr. Heavyweight title and made sure that Hidaka got a good look. What unfolded was what many said was the bout of the night, as 4 BattlArts trueborns traded a flurry of kicks and fast moving offense, along with innovative submissions attempts. And while much of the animosity was built between Hidaka and Mochizuki as noted, Munenori Sawa was not to be left out and provoked Minoru. Sawa had said to be in the ring with his BattlArts Seniors was like a dream, but to claim victory in the match would be a "dream come true."

In 17 minutes of action, Sawa's dream did come true as Hidaka finally was able to counter Mochizuki and get the pinfall. The crowd gave a cry of joy at this result and began to chant "Hidaka! Hidaka! Hidaka!" Mochizuki seemed stunned and laughed to himself as Hidaka and Sawa celebrated in victory. Minoru approached Sawa and put up his index fingers, suggesting the two should have a singles match in the future. Because of this victory by Hidaka over Mochizuki, is has been decided that Hidaka will receive his International Jr. Heavyweight title re-match on June 26 in Korakuen Hall. Hidaka promised the crowd that he will recapture the title and regain the belt.

In the past leading up to the "Fire Festival," it is customary in ZERO1 to have "nomination" matches for the Executive Committee to decide who will participate. Sometimes winning these matches gains you entry, but losing doesn't always exempt you from the prestigious tournament. There were two such matches on the card this day, the first being between former World Heavyweight champion Takao Omori and Fire Festival '04 victor Kohei Sato. It was Omori who Kohei faced and defeated in the tournament finals that year to win the Fire Katana. Kohei has walked on the dark side since early in 2007 when he teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama, and proved he still has these tendencies as he sneak attacked Omori as he made his way to the ring. Omori was able to rally himself as the two fought amongst the seat on the East side of the Hall. Eventually Kohei began to stomp Omori into the ground and attacked him with a fan's umbrella and a chair causing blood to flow from Omori's head.

Kohei grabbed the ring bell hammer from announcer Oki Okita and began to grind it into his wound before throwing him back in the ring and hitting a piledriver and a top rope Falcon Arrow but was unable to get the pinfall. Omori soon gained his offensive momentum with a European upper cut, a spinning heel kick, and Axe Guillotine Driver and then an Axe Bomber! However he could also only score a two count, and before he knew it he was subjected to Kohei's monstrous German suplex hold but narrowly avoided the pinfall. A second Axe Bomber finally sealed the deal and the victory for Omori at 10:33 of the match.

KAMIKAZE has wanted his chance in the Fire Festival for several years, and has once more described his earnest wish of entering the tournament again. Last year he was denied when ZERO1 let the fans choose the participants via polling. KAMIKAZE had also lost his "Fire Festival '07 Qualifier Match" during May 2007's "Everlasting" tour against the very same opponent he faced today - Big Japan's Daisuke Sekimoto. KAMIKAZE meant business right from the bell, unleashing as much offense as he could throw at Sekimoto! A moonsault, high kick, a German supplex followed by another moonsault. Sekimoto soon fired back with his traditional hard strikes, though it almost cost him as KAMIKAZE was able to reverse some into pinning predicaments. Finally it was Sekimoto's big lariat that dropped him just under the 12 minute mark. Following the match both men shook hands and raised their arms together as the crowd applauded their efforts.

The 3rd match of the show continued the battle between the young forces of ZERO1 and New Japan Pro Wrestling as Osamu Namiguchi and Shito Ueda faced off against the NO LIMIT team of Yujiro and Tetsuya Naito. Both Yujiro and Naito have been involved quite a bit in the battle between the two pro wrestling promotions these past months, with Yujiro often the instigator. This time it was Naito who provoked former Hamaguchi Gym contemporary Ueda by talking down his accomplishments since debuting in ZERO1. NO LIMIT just completed what was called the "NO LIMIT GENERATION SMASH" series of 5 matches in New Japan where they lost every bout to their seniors. Here NO LIMIT showed it's teamwork, however dishonorable, by first both stomping on Nami as the crowd booed them! Then they shows the coordinated senton/legdrop, camel clutch/face kick and union brainbuster. And while Ueda tried to interject himself, the constant double-teaming on Nami wore him down until eventually Yujiro Pinned him with the intercollegiate slam. Following the match, Ueda and Naito got into it with pushing and slapping each other with the foreshadowing that their issues aren't settled.

The 2nd match of the show was the retirement match of young ZERO1 pro wrestler Shota Takanishi, who began his career in April 2005 when he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling. As of January 2006 he became a member of the then new KINGS ROAD promotion, participating in all their shows. With the collapse of KINGS ROAD in July of that very same year, the fledgling pro wrestler made the jump to Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX where he has remained until now. His last bout in pro wrestling saw him pitted against his senior and one half of the ZERO1 NWA Intercontinental and NWA Lightweight Tag Team champions, Minoru Fujita, in a singles match.

Although Shota offered his hand to shake with Fujita at the beginning of the match, the longtime troublemaker Fujita ignored this completely. Shota began with offense as he unleashed as much as possible on Fujita but was unable to put himself in a winning situation. Fujita shot back with elbows, a surfboard stretch and a bow & arrow. ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani seconded Shota for this match and constantly shounted encouragement from the sidelines. Under this encouragement Shota fired back with elbows of his own, a neck breaker and a Fisher Man's suplex but was still unable to get the fall. Fujita again regained momentum with his Sasuke Segway driver and a diving body press that Shota kicked out of at 2! The fans began to rally behind Shota along with Otani chanting "Shota!" Despite this support and his hard fighting, Minoru Fujita finally ended the match and the young wrestlers career with a Tombstone Piledriver after yelling "Takanishi Shota! SAYONARA!" and then dropping him headfirst to the mat!

Following the match, the ZERO1 locker room emptied and Takanishi's retirement ceremony was performed and he was handed several bouquets. Shota then spoke on the microphone saying today he will return to a private life, and his joy at being surrounded by his ZERO1 seniors and all the great ZERO1 fans. He thanked everybody and then the bell was rung 10 times on his career as the orange streamers flew to the ring for the last time. The ZERO1 wrestlers then threw him in the air as per tradition and he said his goodbyes to the ring. SAYONARA SHOTA-SAN!

The opening match of the show saw brand new ZERO1 student Yuzuru Saito face veteran Ryouji Sai. Despite some attituded and effort, Saito lost in around 8½ minutes to the camel clutch.

Shito Ueda Comments - "Naito, I am the Limiter!"

May 26th, 2008

Young ZERO1 wrestler Shito Ueda alongside Osamu Namiguchi, will face the likewise young New Japan team calling themselves NO LIMIT of Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro in a tag match on 5/29 at the "Unshakeable - Final -" show in Korakuen Hall. In a recent mdeia interview with Naito, the New Japan wrestler dismissed Shito Ueda as a strong opponent who could hand him a defeat.

This caused Ueda, who trained in Animal Hamaguchi's Gym alongside Naito as they both came up through the ranks, to become furious at being disregarded by his fellow trainee and verbally fired back!