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WPF Responds to KAMIKAZE's Challenge - Loser Leaves the Company Stipulation!

February 24th, 2009

Yesterday at the hastily assembled press conference at the FIRST ON STAGE offices, ZERO1 wrestler KAMIKAZE laid down a challenge to the WPF for the ZERO1 US Heavyweight title belt currently held by Mr. Wrestling 3. Today an official letter of acceptance arrived with the following message:

"ZERO1 affiliated fighter KAMIKAZE has expressed interest in a challenge for the US Heavyweight title belt currently held by Mr. Wrestling 3. We had no intention of dodging any challenges put forth by ZERO1 wrestlers. We have crunched the numbers here at the WPF offices and we've computed that the chance of Mr. Wrestling 3 defeating KAMIKAZE is 100%. Therefore we formally accept KAMIKAZE's challenge for a title match on 2/26 at Tokyo's Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. However, this is the 2nd time we've accepted his challenge for this title belt so we've decided on specific conditions."

"We have decided that the match will be a Loser Leaves the Company match. Therefore following the match the loser of this championship bout will be banished from ZERO1."

The letter also said the transfer of ZERO1 under the WPF has already happened, and that the wrestlers themselves can have as many private meetings as the wish it still won't change the fact.

"There is no possibility the current agreement will be modified or withdrawn."

With the acceptance of the challenge by the WPF, KAMIKAZE was contacted and told of the stipulation of "Loser Leaves the Company" for the match. His response:

"Several of my friends and fans contacted me an are worried about the stipulation here. Whatever may happen, sorry for worrying you. For me there is nothing but professional wrestling. There's nothing I can do but fight now. The US Heavyweight title belt is a ZERO1 title belt, not a WPF title. I want to return that title to ZERO1. If exile from the company is to happen I have to endure it. But really, who is Mr. Wrestling? I am Mr. Wrestling! I'm definitely taking that title and we're going to put an end to the WPF."

Despite Injury Hikaru to Defend WDB Titles With Partner Nami!

February 24th, 2009

Chick Fight SUN joshi pro wrestler Hikaru sustained a pretty serious injury to her left elbow involving a dislocation and a ligament tear at the February 22nd OZ Academy show at Korakuen Hall. She was informed by her doctor that her best bet would be to cancel any wrestling appearances for the next month to let it heal.

However, Hikaru along with Saki Maemura has decided to retire from pro wrestling in two months at the April 26th "SUNSET ~Hikaru and Saki Maemura FINAL~" show at Belle South Roppongi. Since it is so close to her retirement and in her words "I have been afflicted by injuries my entire active service life in pro wrestling," Hikaru has decided to fight through the injury and continue her scheduled appearances.

It has now been announced that at the 2/26 "ZERO1 Wrestler's Belief '09" show at Shin-Kiba Hikaru and Osamu Namiguchi will defend their WDB Tag Team titles versus Minoru Fujita and Saki Maemura. This will be their 5th defense of these titles and if successful the half-way point of reaching the titles prize of 10 straight defenses. The sponsors of these mixed tag titles, Dubai native Sheik Burj-al and his wife, have offered a palatial estate to any team that can defend the title 10 times consecutively.

ZERO1 Reaches Crisis Point! President Otani Vows to Fight Through!

February 23rd, 2009

There was an urgent meeting at the ZERO1 offices this morning in which a surprising pause of activity and an even more surprising future restructuring plan was announced. ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani called the Japanese sports media to the FIRST ON STAGE offices in Tokyo to explain the situation. He said he along with Masato Tanaka were called to the company offices very early that morning by FOS Manager Yoshiyuki Nakamura for an emergency meeting and they were informed that in April of this year ZERO1's company touring schedule would be left blank with no scheduled touring dates.

Otani and Tanaka were reminded that though the company has made a fresh start re-branding itself to ZERO1 from ZERO1-MAX earlier in the year, several top card wrestlers had left the roster (Takao Omori, Tatsuhito Takaiwa), the company's currently existing touring schedule had been cut significantly, and last tour on the trip to Osaka the company bus had an engine fire that destroyed the vehicle permanently.

Adding to that Nakamura announced as the manager of FIRST ON STAGE, the parent company of ZERO1, that there has been "financial difficulties" relating to the world economic crisis that also affected his decision. He then dropped a bombshell - in April FIRST ON STAGE will transfer management of ZERO1 to the WPF! Nakamura said in the three months following the activity pause will be used by the new managers as a time to restructure ZERO1!

Otani and Tanaka were stunned and quickly called the ZERO1 roster to the office, all of who were present when the media arrived. Meeting in the ZERO1 storefront across the street from the FOS offices. Otani said the wrestlers had all spoken about this sudden turn of event and reached a consensus.

Otani said Mr. Nakamura then responded that if the wrestlers want to continue on their own they're going to have to find sponsors.

"I told Mr. Nakamura that we will continue to perform pro wrestling for the fans, and we have no intention of pausing ZERO1's activity. As I said we have a ring, we are pro wrestlers, so we will be wrestlers. I believe that this is the general consensus of all the fighters present here today."

Otani then pointed across the street to the FOS offices where the WPF logo had already been affixed to the office window next to the ZERO1 logo. Otani said he had no idea how that got there but was shocked when he saw it there that morning. The media then asked for a comment from each of the wrestlers present at the press conference. Excerpts:

Masato Tanaka: "I have endured much in my career. I don't plan on giving up now."

Ikuto Hidaka: "I won't quit. It is the right thing to do."

Kohei Sato: "I am a wrestler in ZERO1. I like ZERO1. I don't know what will happen next, but my feelings for ZERO1 do not change."

All of the wrestlers had similar comments, saying they would band together and continue on as ZERO1 even with the WPF breathing down their necks. KAMIKAZE added that he wants a re-match of his November 26, 2008 failed challenge for the ZERO1 US Heavyweight title held by Mr. Wrestling 3, a match sanctioned and originally put forth by the WPF.

WPF Makes Contact! Corino Reverses Position and Rejoins!

February 20th, 2009

As had been reported on several Japanese news website the ZERO1 bus had a accident on the way to the Osaka show on the 14th. Due to a fuel leak there was a fire in the engine and emergency services needed to be called to put out the flame after staff's attempts proved unsuccessful. Well the foreign pro wrestling company the WPF (World Premium Federation), a mysterious organization from outside of Japan that has been attempting to take over Pro Wrestling ZERO1 since last summer, heard about this recent misfortune and once more made contact:

"So the bus of ZERO1 caught fire and it was big news in Japan. We were happy to hear nobody was injured. However, we guess now that without a bus it is impossible for ZERO1 to tour in Japan now. A bus is an important thing to have for a company that tours regularly. That being said, if ZERO1 will now submit to the WPF we will buy the company a brand new bus."

The WPF has made offers of this nature before in an attempt to absorb ZERO1 into their folds. The WPF had another surprising announcement on top of their offer. Apparently former ZERO1 gaijin agent Steve Corino has reversed himself on his decision to not only retire, but to abandon the WPF. Back on September 23rd in Korakuen Hall it was Corino himself that had originally signaled the invasion of ZERO1, opening the door for the mysterious WPF to begin its raid on the company.

Now Corino has come out of retirement and has been wrestling in Puerto Rico where he has won the World Wrestling Council's Universal Heavyweight Title. The WPF has announced that Corino will be coming to Japan along with Mr. Wrestling 3 for the ZERO1 shows on 2/26 and 2/27 at Shin-Kiba and Korakuen Hall respectively. This is a reversal as after initially backing the WPF, Corino changed his mind after seeing the constantly shady corporate entity in action. Corino said he felt WPF was to scheming and underhanded of an enemy, and thought about what it might mean if they did defeat and absorb ZERO1. Now apparently due to the current economic crisis and financial situations, Corino has once more decided to sign with the WPF. He sent the following message to the ZERO1 offices:

DRAGON GATE's Shingo Takagi Added to 2/27!

February 16th, 2009

ZERO1 announces that DRAGON GATE wrestler Shingo Takagi will participate in the upcoming "ZERO1 Wrestler's Belief '09" show on February 27th in Korakuen Hall. Shingo will be in a tag match teaming alongside Kohei Sato versus Ryouji Sai and Big Japan's Daisuke Sekimoto. This will be Shingo's first appearance in a ZERO1 ring. He was reached for comment:

"It has been a long time since I've faced Daisuke Sekimoto in a match, so I have lot of motivation to enter the ZERO1 ring on the 27th. I have a good partner in Kohei Sato and we have two tough opponents, but I'm going to fight through like Shingo Takagi always will."

Otani Picks Up Momentum! Giant Takano Debut Victory!

February 14th, 2009

ZERO1 celebrated Valentine's Day in Osaka at a show that saw the debut of former Yomiuri Giant Shinobu Takano. Also on the show in the main event, ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani teamed with recently returned Osaka native Ryouji "Wrestler" Sai (his nickname during his time on the hit Fuji TV reality television show Ainori was "Wrestler"). They battled the winning tag team from the October 2008 "PROWRES EXPO 2008 IN JAPAN," Masato Tanaka and Daisuke Sekimoto. The match lasted almost 19 minutes and was a back-and-forth effort that included good teamwork from both sides.

Aside from one close call where Otani was almost pinned with a Sliding-D but kicked out, he picked up some momentum going into his upcoming World Heavyweight title match versus Yuji Nagata by scoring a Dragon Suplex and then the Spiral Bomb on Masato Tanaka for the victory. This was the first time Tanaka was defeaed in a non-tournament ZERO1 match by a ZERO1 wrestler since July 3, 2007 when he was pinned in a tag team match by Kohei Sato. Following the bout today both Otani and Ryouji thanked the Osaka and ZERO1 fans and asked for their continued support. Otani will face Nagata in his title match on February 27th in Korakuen Hall.

The Semi-Main event was a "Different Style Martial Arts Fight" for the debuting Shinobu Takano versus Karate fighter Kazuhiko Ogasawara. The match was set for 3 Rounds of 3 minutes each and Takano lost no time at the bell charging as his veteran opponent. Using his large size and strength advantage he took Ogasawara down and locked on his "STG" (Shinobu Takano Giant) version of the STF going for the early submission. Ogasawara, having been around the ring made his way to the ropes to break the hold.

The two then stood to face each other as Ogasawara used leg kicks to bring the Giant down to his size, dropping Takano with a middle kick to his head once the big man was brought to his knees. Takano rose to his feet at the referee's count of 8, fighting back with a punch and low kicks. A quick combo of a low kick and a hard right high kick grazed Ogasawara's skull sending him falling backwards.

Ogasawara retaliated with rapid-fire punches, and as a man who has felled many opponents with his quick feet sent Takano backing into the turnbuckle. Just as Ogasawara sent in a hard kick Takano caught his right leg and dragged the Karate man to the ground. Locking on an Achilles tendon hold, Takano looked to be aiming for another attempt at his "STG" but instead saw an opening and locked on a Doushime Sleeper. The referee right on top of the action saw Ogasawara was done and called for the bell at 2:58 of Round 1. Takano's next appearance for ZERO1 will be on March 15th in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall.

The 5th match of the show was the "Aibou vs. Minoru" Special Tag Match that saw current NWA International Lightweight Tag Team champions Ikuto Hidaka and Munenori Sawa take on newly free wrestler Minoru and ZERO1's Minoru Fujita in the apt named "Minoru" team in a non-title bout. The last time these four were in a ring together was back on New Year's Day at the "Genesis 2009" show when the teams were slightly different and Fujita teamed with Hidaka for the first time in 4 years to take on Minoru and Sawa. That time the old "Skull & Bones" team was victorious, however this time all men fought for the full 30 minutes and a time-limit draw.

Engine Fire Destroys ZERO1 Tour Bus!

February 14th, 2009

The ZERO1 company tour bus met a sad fate today on the trip to Osaka for the "ZERO1 Wrestler's Belief '09" show at Osaka Prefectural Gym #2. The incident occurred near Kameyama city in Mie Prefecture, Japan when the driver of the bus noticed smoke coming from the right side of the back of the bus near the engine compartment. They quickly pulled over at a nearby rest stop, evacuated the bus, and several of the wrestlers used on-board fire extinguishers in an attempt to put the fire out. This proved unsuccessful so the fire department was called and they arrived and extinguished the fire.

Thankfully there were no injuries to the 23 wrestlers riding on the bus at the time. They all switched to an alternate bus and made it to Osaka a little late but the show went on as planned. The fire department said the cause of the fire was a fuel leak that was sparked by the heat of the engine. Sadly the bus was permanently damaged and it no longer usable. ZERO1 is saddened by the loss of the bus which has been with them since the beginning of the company in 2001, and has travelled with them all over Japan including crossing to Hokkaido via ferry.

Shinobu Takano Works Out!

February 13th, 2009

New Pro Wrestling prospect Shinobu Takano worked out for the sports media yesterday. As reported earlier here, Takano is a former Yomiuri Giants baseball player who retired in 2003. Though he had originally thought to introduce a "ring name" for pro wrestling, he's now chosen to debut under his real name.

Takano will have his first match versus wrestler/karate fighter Kazuhiko Ogasawara tomorrow in Osaka for the ZERO1 "Wrestler's Belief '09" tour. The match will be a "Different Style Martial Arts Fight" of 3 Rounds, 3 Minutes each round.

Today at the work out Takano also displayed some of his new pro wrestling maneuvers such as a midified STF named the STG (Shinobu Takano Giant) and a jumping kick called the 66-mon kick named after pro wrestling Giant Baba's 16-mon kick. Baba was also a member of the Yomuiri Giants, and "66" was Takano's jersey number.