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Gikyoudai no Kyoudaigenka! Fujita & Sugawara Quarrel Breaks Out!?

January 20th, 2009

ZERO1 wrestler Minoru Fujita became friends with fellow Jr. Class fighter Takuya Sugawara soon after Fujita's 2006 "Tenka-Ichi Jr. Tournament" victory. Just as the two began the idea of forming a tag team, Sugawara injured his knee and was out-of-action for almost a year. Following his return the two once more became friends and through 2007 and 2008 claimed both the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team title belts and the NWA Lightweight Tag Team title belts. Along the way the two also became quite mischievous and caused headaches for many of the rivals, often resorting to some cheap tactics to gain victory.

However at the New Year's Day "Genesis 2009" show at Korakuen Hall, Fujita once more teamed with former tag team partner Ikuto Hidaka in a match titled "One Day Bond" versus Minoru and Munenori Sawa. Following the match which Hidaka & Fujita won, Fujita had some short though not overly kind compliments for the man who won the 2005 Tag Team MVP award.

This whole situation did not sit well with Fujita's current partner Sugawara, who has challenged Fujita to a singles match! When asked to explain his challenge Sugawara responded:

The match is scheduled for the Shinjuku FACE "ZERO1 Wrestler's Inception '09" show on January 23rd in a match titled "Brother Fight!?"

Shinjiro Otani's 1 Year Presidential Anniversary Comments!

January 14th, 2009

ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani commented today about his upcoming "1 Year Presidential Anniversary" event at Shinjuku FACE on January 23rd. Back on December 24th of 2007, FIRST ON STAGE Representative Yoshiyuki Nakamura stepped down from his post as President of ZERO1-MAX and announced that on January 23rd Shinjiro Otani would take the reigns as the new President. His comment:

"My one year anniversary of the assumption of the Presidential office will be the day of the upcoming Shinjuku FACE show...I believe I was able to carry out my duty without compromise and I will continue to do so, though one year has certainly flown by! I can definitely say I did my best this past year in ZERO1.

"Of course I believe I was able to do my best because of the wrestlers, employees and fans that exist all around the world who stick together and also do their best to support ZERO1. And I mean this with my all my heart: Everybody who keeps supporting us...thank you very much!"

For the special occasion of his 1 year as ZERO1 President, Otani will team alongside his EMBLEM partner Masato Tanaka to take on World Heavyweight champion Yuji Nagata and his fellow New Japan fighter Wataru Inoue. There is certain to be some tension in the ring that day as Nagata just defended his title versus Tanaka at the Tokyo Dome and following that bout Otani had words for Nagata.

Hikaru and Maemura's Final Matches In Roppongi On 4/26!

January 10th, 2009

As was reported here and elsewhere, following their match at the December "ZERO1 Delight '08" show CHICK FIGHT SUN wrestlers Hikaru and Saki Maemura announced their retirement from Pro Wrestling. At the opening show of the new year, "Genesis 2009," it was further revealed that Hikaru is retiring as she plans to wed New Japan Pro Wrestling's Koji Kanemoto.

Saki Maemura had always planned to retire from pro wrestling before the age of 25, as was the past tradition of All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling which was the company she is a trueborn of.

Their final show has been announced for April 26 in at the Belle Salle Roppongi. No information on the fight card as of yet. Also announced is that on the 1/23 "ZERO1 Wrestler's Inception '09" show in Shinjuku FACE they will continue down their retirement road with a match titled "Final Countdown for SMILE Part 2" where they will each team with a Shirai sister for a tag match - Saki with Io Shirai and Hikaru with Mio Shirai.

Nagata Defends Against Tanaka! Is Otani Up Next?

January 5th, 2009

Masato Tanaka got his rematch shot yesterday for the World Heavyweight title at New Japan Pro Wrestling's annual WRESTLE KINGDOM event in the Tokyo Dome. Since gaining the title on October 13 from Tanaka, NJPW's Yuji Nagata has defended the title two previous times: First defeating ZERO Heavyweight Kohei Sato and then defending versus the winner of the "Tenka-Ichi Jr. Heavyweight Tournament 2008," former ZERO fighter Tatsuhito Takaiwa.

In a match titled "Crusade for Justice," both men entered ready to continue the battle of NJPW versus ZERO, with representatives of both companies' rosters surrounding the ringside area.

The two charged each other the second the bell rang! The initial opening flurry saw the champion, Nagata, take charge winning and strike battle and sending Tanaka rolling outside the ring. Nagata soon saw the tables turned on him as he pursued one of the top brawlers in pro wrestling to the ringside. Tanaka soon was back on the offense, dropping "Mr. IWGP" on his skull with a brainbuster!

The former ECW and FMW fighter heard the boos from the fans of the self-proclaimed "King of Sports" promotion as he reached for a chair to smash over the head of Nagata! The boos continued as blood began to flow from the World Heavyweight champion's head. Tanaka kept up the assault, slamming Nagata's head into the ring post several times before taking the fight back in the ring.

Back in the ring Nagata fared no better as Tanaka kept up his brutal assault on the now dazed Nagata. Tanaka reigned punches and elbows down on him. Finally just as things looked very grim, Nagata fired back with a flurry of shots in the corner, even striking the referee when he tried to break up the battle!

As a bloodied Tanaka tried to rise to his feet Nagata rushed him with a high knee in the corner that sent reverberations through the Tokyo Dome! Nagata then lifted Tanaka to the top turnbuckle to deliver an avalanche Exploder Suplex! Tanaka was able to kick out at 2, but the blood lust began to envelop Nagata as he unleashed knee strikes and brutal kicks!

Tanaka, pouring blood from his head as well, fought back. Hitting rapid-fire elbows, he tried to regain the advantage, but Nagata battled through and once more planted him on his face. Moving slower from loss of blood, Nagata attempted a back suplex only for Tanaka to reverse and counter with a Sliding-D to the back of the head! He followed it up with a lariat in the corner and then his Diamond Dust impact move! Nagata once more tried to counter only to see Tanaka block his kick attempt and drop him with a lariat! Again the champion kicked out!

The bloodied winner of the 2009 "Fire Festival," Tanaka then went all out with an avalanche backdrop suplex that AGAIN only got a 2 count! Tanaka charged with a Sliding-D, again a 2 count! He charged with another Sliding-D and this time as Nagata kicked out he reversed into his patented arm bar as Tanaka struggled to get to the ropes!

With ZERO President Shinjiro Otani cheering him on from the sidelines, Tanaka made it to the ropes to break the hold. Nagata gave him no time to recover, scoring an enzuigiri and then a high angle suplex that folded Tanaka in half! As Tanaka stumbled around dazed, Nagata kicked him again in the head and delivered another brutal back suplex! Finally Nagata put the bloodied ZERO fighter away with a final back suplex hold for the 3 count.

Nagata celebrated in the ring as a bloodied Tanaka was carried from the ring by the ZERO young boys! As he celebrated ZERO President Shinjiro Otani approached him and the two had words. Back on October 30th, 2008 when Nagata made his V1 defense versus Kohei Sato. Following Nagata's victory Otani didn't let the champion speak on the microphone and said "This isn't over! I'll absolutely return that title! It will be done!"

Will Otani be the next challenger for the World Heavyweight title? Or will the task fall to somebody else on the ZERO1 roster?

New Japan Pro Wrestling "WRESTLE KINGDOM III IN TOKYO DOME" Tokyo, Japan January 4th, 2009 Tokyo Dome
FIGHT CARD
Match #6 World Heavyweight Title ~ Crusade for Justice
O Yuji Nagata © (NJPW)	vs.	Masato Tanaka X (ZERO1)
(11:41 → Backdrop Hold)

Surprises Abound At GENESIS 2009!

Januray 1st, 2009

ZERO1 held their opening show today at Tokyo's Korakuen Hall, which saw some hard fighting, old reunions, happy surprises and some good-byes for the future. As earlier revealed with the release of their new logo and tag, what was once known as ZERO1-MAX following the closing of ZERO-ONE will now be known simply as ZERO1. Before the opening match, ZERO1 and its affiliated fighters all entered the ring where President Otani addressed the crowd.

"Happy New Year to everybody. 2008 was a tough year for professional wrestling. I myself thought there were many a dark time and some lack of respect to professional wrestling last year. This year we want to deliver to the fans pro wrestling that has vigor and courage by sticking to the basics. We want to show the same strength those of you who support us do."

The show featured some nostalgia including in the main event where the "Complete Players" of Masato Tanaka and Jado and Gedo, after reforming for the 12/26 PREMIUM show, entered the ZERO1 ring. Facing them was the old-school New Japan teaming of Shinjiro Otani, Koji Kanemoto and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. The match began with Kanemoto and Tanaka, where Kanemoto was able to strike first for his team, wrenching Tanaka's arm and scoring a soccer ball kick on the former World Champion. Next Otani faced Gedo, a match-up that he rarely occurred. As the two scrambled for position to wrench each others arms, Otani was able to use his superior strength to gain the upper hand.

Tagging out to Takaiwa, the former IWGP Jr. Heavyweight champion unleashed hard chops on Gedo's chest. Gedo was finally able to tag out to Jado who jumped into exchange chops with Takaiwa until he was dropped by a lariat and Kanemoto returned to the ring. Both teams then began to use teamwork in an attempt to gain an advantage, with Otani, Takaiawa and Kanemoto used coordinated attacks the Complete Players began to cheat by distracting the referee and using underhanded sneak attacks. Their deception proved to not gain the advantage as Takaiwa and Kanemoto attacked Tanaka and Jade, Otani dropped Gedo and pinned him with his Spiral Bomb. The clash of old-school FMW and New Japan ended with the classic New Japans winning in the ZERO1 ring.

Following the bout, Otani got on the microphone and addressed the crowd. He thanked everybody for coming again to the event and said he was out of spotlight a bit in 2008 but would like to make 2009 the "Year of Shinjiro Otani." He said ZERO1-MAX will now once more be known only as ZERO1, and he promised to never betray the trust of the fans. An "Otani! Otani! Otani!" change break out which he thanked the fans for.

And with that he reverted to the old "3...2...1...ZERO...1!" call reminiscent of the original ZERO-ONE crowd call from the earlier days. Following the match, Otani went to the backstage area where he told the gathered reporters that longtime ZERO1 wrestler Tatsuhito Takaiwa, the man who won this years "Tenka-Ichi Jr. Heavyweight Tournament" would leave ZERO1 and become a Freelance wrestler.

Otani also said that he has confidence that Masato Tanaka will win back the World Heavyweight title on 1/4 at the New Japan Tokyo Dome from Yuji Nagata. He said that if Tanaka was unable to win the title back he would be the next challenger and he would take the belt back himself, "ZERO1 survived 2008 running against an adverse wind, so in 2009 we will put both oars in the water and overcome."

The Semi-Main event saw the collision of ZERO1 heavyweight Kohei Sato versus New Japan's Manabu Nakanishi. The two large fighters brawled outside the ring and exchanged hard strikes. From being thrown around the outside chairs Kohei began to bleed from his back.

And while Kohei had moments of comebacks, he had difficult times matching the brute strength of Nakanishi.This didn't stop him from dropping the big man on his head with multiple German suplexes, but in the end it was Kohei who was felled by Nakanishi's "Great*Nakanishi" German suplex for the win.

The 4th match of this show saw the reformation of past partners, Ikuto Hidaka and Minoru Fujita for the first time in 4 years. Against them in the ring stood Hidaka's current "Aibou" tag team partner and co-holder of the NWA Lightweight Tag Team title Munenori Sawa and former BattlArts alumnus Minoru. Minoru entered the ring with his old BattlArts Minoru Tanaka jacket to his old theme music. While Fujita has walked a darker past these past few years, he stayed faithful to the newly reformed "Aikata Tag Team" and their tag team cooperation was too much for Minoru and Sawa.

The end of the match came when Hidaka and Fujita used their "Robo DDT" coordinated attack on Minoru, and as Hidaka locked him down with his Shawn Capture, Fujita finished Sawa off with his "Sasuke Segway" and a brilliant victory was won by the old partners and 2005 Tag Team co-MVPs. Following the match, Fujita has a few semi-complimentary words for Hidaka and then quickly left the ring for the waiting room. Hidaka stayed for a few brief moments and said he is looking forward to a strong 2009 and said he is thankful for the cheers from the crowd.

The 3rd match of the show was a Chick Fight SUN match-up of soon-to-retire Hikara teamed alongside KAORU versus also soon-to-retire Saki Maemura and Toshie Uematsu. KAORU came to the ring with a piece of broken table, but her plan backfired when trying to strike Saki she instead had it pushed back in her face. Both teams showed some unexpected teamwork in the bout, though it was KAORU who finally got the win for her team with a Sky Twister Press on Saki. Following the match, everybody left the ring except Hikaru. FIRST ON STAGE Representative Yoshiyuki Nakamura then entered the ring to make a surprise announcement. He told the crowd that Hikaru was retiring because she was getting married! Mr. Nakamura then announced the man who would wed Hikaru was present in the Hall that day. Then, Koji Kanemoto's music hit and the New Japan wrestler entered the room in a suit and a red rose in hand. He spoke to the fans about their engagement and marriage:

Kanemoto then got down on one knee and offered the rose to Hikaru who smiled and took it. The crowd began to chant "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" but Hikaru said she was too embarrassed. Instead she ran to her soon-to-husband and jumped in his arms with joy as the crowd cheered them both on. Afterwards Hikaru spoke to the media and said the two began dating in May of 2008, and that he proposed to her first with a message written on a cake instead of asking her with his voice. She said it was a somewhat odd situation as at the time it was the peak of the ZERO1 vs. New Japan feud and the ZERO1 fans were constantly booing Kanemoto, Hikaru's man, when he was in the ring to fight. She said their marriage ceremony will take place in the Spring following her retirement in April. The retirement of both her and Saki Maemura is currently scheduled for April 26th at a new event hall that's opening in Roppongi.

Also on the show, new ZERO1 roster fighter Takuya Sugawara teamed alongside XWF's Yusaku Obata to defeat Osamu Namiguchi and Ken Saito in 12½ minutes with the Shiisanputa on Nami. In the opening match KAMIKAZE defeated young heavyweight Shito Ueda with a ground cobra twist.