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  1. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PHOENIX Firebird 3: Suzuki vs. Suzuki</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong> </strong></span>May 16th 2019</p><p> Ota Ward Gymnasium</p><p> 3.017 fans - No Vacancy</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 63</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri defeated Kota Umeda & Yuu (5:19)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p> Syuri defeated Yuu with a rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai defeated Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu (6:12)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 45</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba defeated Nakatsu with an ankle hold.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher defeated Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura (12:44)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade:</span> 62</p><p> </p><p> Garrini defeated Nomura with an armbar.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman defeated Kohei Sato (8:12)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 38</p><p> </p><p> Minowaman defeated Sato by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> Sato dominated the match, holding Minowa down and using his size to muscle him around. However, Minowaman eventually managed to hit a big right hand and knock Sato out! Minowa claims he'll win the middleweight tournament and challenge Katsuhiko Nakajima for the belt.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda defeated Suwama & Manabu Soya (9:33)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 53</p><p> </p><p> Aoki defeated Soya with a rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p> The size difference between teams showed as Suwama and Soya isolated Aoki and hurt him with big suplexes and throws. Aoki finally escaped to his corner, Okuda tagged in with a head of steam and beat up Soya with kicks, Suwama came in and threw him to the outside, where they brawled wildly into the crowd. Soya grabbed Aoki and tried to get Aoki in an argentine neckbreaker position but Aoki turned around and applied the rear-naked choke. Aoki once again proves he's one of the most dangerous submission artists in wrestling by getting a submission out of nowhere.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: Hikaru Sato defeated HARASHIMA (14:02)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> Sato defeated HARASHIMA with a heel hook.</p><p> </p><p> Sato shot in for a takedown as soon as the bell rang, he pressured HARASHIMA trying to get different submissions. HARASHIMA defended for the most part but did almost get a triangle choke. However, he was outgrappled and had to use a rope break to escape an armbar. HARASHIMA wasted no time after standing up and dropped Sato with a high kick, Sato managed to beat the count, but he was dropped again with a huge slap. Sato stood up and traded strikes with the DDT ace but was dropped again. Sato once again beat the count, standing up at 9, but he was instantly knocked down for the fourth time with a high kick. Instead of waiting for the referee to begin the count, HARASHIMA tried to tap Sato out with a surfboard lucha libre submission, but Sato escaped. Before HARASHIMA could throw another kick, Sato went for a leg scissors takedown and managed to get a heel hook. HARASHIMA tapped instantly. With this minor upset, Sato moves on to the candidates tournament final!</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7lXUky5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7lXUky5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QXIbgOG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QXIbgOG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="XzsUZbW.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XzsUZbW.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © defeated Minoru Suzuki (19:56)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 66</p><p> </p><p> Hideki Suzuki defeated Minoru Suzuki with an ankle hold. Hideki Suzuki makes his first succesful title defense.</p><p> </p><p> Minoru Suzuki started the match by punching Hideki Suzuki. Rather than return the strike, Hideki went for a double leg takedown but Minoru got him in a guillotine choke, and after holding the submission for a while, forced him to use his first rope break. The rope breaks played a huge part in Hideki Suzuki's previous losses to Minoru, and Hideki looked nervous following the rope break. Minoru quickly used the saka otoshi and tried to submit Hideki with the rear-naked choke but the champion managed to wriggle out enough to stand up, and get in position for a huge backdrop suplex. Hideki went for another backdrop, but this time Minoru climbed back into the rear-naked choke. Hideki almost passed out, and slumped over the ropes, which forced the referee to separate the two wrestlers, and meant Hideki only had one of his three rope breaks left.</p><p> </p><p> After 15 minutes, Minoru trapped Hideki with an armbar over the ropes but rather than using his final rope break, Hideki lifted the challenger up and got a body lock on him, and then dropped him with a belly to belly suplex. Minoru Suzuki had trouble standing up after all the punishment taken from the champion's huge suplexes. When he finally did, Hideki punched him in the face, returning the strike from earlier on. It seemed like the champion was finally in control but then Suzuki got a leglock out of nowhere, Hideki fell down and immediately grabbed the bottom rope to escape the hold. Both wrestlers then quickly traded submission attempts, but as Minoru tried to get him in the leglock, Hideki turned to his side enough to grab the ankle hold. Minoru was forced to tap out.</p><p> </p><p> Minoru and Hideki faced off again after the match, but Minoru Suzuki left the arena quickly. Hideki grabbed the microphone and said that was the toughest fight in his life but he was proud to have retained his title, and he'd continue defending it against the strongest heavyweights in pro wrestling going forward.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Predictions</strong></p><p> siah463 - 2/7</p><p> </p><p> Thanks for reading!</p>
  2. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>A preview</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> PHOENIX Firebird 3: Suzuki vs. Suzuki</p><p> May 16th 2019</p><p> Ota City General Gymnasium</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri vs. Kota Umeda & Yuu</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> An intergender tag team match. Nakamura and Syuri are both veterans with extensive MMA experience, Yuu and Umeda are promising rookies.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Another rookie vs. veteran matchup. Sakuraba teams with Funaki for the first time, they are joined by Mitsuya Nagai. Nagai isn't as renowned as the other two but he is an alumni of Battlarts, NJPW, K-1, and Rings. They'll be taking on three young pro wrestlers looking to cause an upset.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Garrini and Thatcher had a great showing in the Tag League, while Ashino shined in the opening middleweight tournament. Nomura has impressed the crowd but hasn't been able to score many wins, letting his inexperience get the better of him at times. He'll be looking to change that against a team of gifted grapplers.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman vs. Kohei Sato</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Kohei Sato called for this fight on this show, he has a huge size advantage on Minowaman, which he thinks he'll be able to use to overpower his opponent. However, Ikuhisa Minowa aka Minowaman, became known as a giant killer during the days of PRIDE. He beat the likes of Giant Silva, Choi Hong-man and Bob Sapp. Since debuting in PHOENIX just two months ago, he has scored wins over heavyweights Mitsuya Nagai and Dom Garrini. Minowaman seems confident that he'll add to his legend by beating another giant.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda vs. Suwama & Manabu Soya</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> A showcase tag team match. The lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will be teaming with IGF NEW stablemate Keisuke Okuda. They'll take on two of the promotion's top heavyweights, Suwama and Manabu Soya.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: HARASHIMA vs. Hikaru Sato</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> PHOENIX has called for a four-man tournament to determine the middleweight #1 contender. The entrants are HARASHIMA, Sato, Minowaman and Keisuke Okuda. The first semifinal match will be between HARASHIMA and Sato. HARASHIMA is the ace of DDT, and is very charismatic and popular, but he's also an experienced grappler and a trained striker. Sato is a Pancrase veteran who transitioned to pro wrestling over a decade ago, he's known as a submission specialist and is a jiu-jitsu purple belt. These two have faced each other and traded wins in DDT and Hard Hit, but this will be their first meeting under this ruleset.</p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © vs. Minoru Suzuki</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> These two faced off against each other for the first time at a tag team match in the main event of the PHOENIX Opening Show, with Hideki's team taking the win. After the match, Minoru Suzuki said that Hideki was saved from being submitted by a rope break and that he would submit him the next time they faced each other. Minoru almost accomplished that at Firebird 2, when he forced Suzuki to use two rope breaks in quick succession. Minoru Suzuki finally got the submission win he'd prophesized at the Tag League finals, forcing Hideki to use all of his rope breaks before beating him with the sleeper hold. After being awarded with the tournament trophy, Minoru Suzuki demanded a title match. Hideki immediately accepted the challenge. PHOENIX scheduled the title bout for this show in Ota Ward, the largest venue they have ran so far.</p><p> </p><p> In the build-up to this match, the Suzukis faced each other three more times in tag team matches. Minoru's teams won the first two, often trying to push Hideki's team into a strategic disadvantage by forcing rope breaks. Hideki finally got a win back in their last match beforehand, showing his own grappling skill and tapping out legendary Masakatsu Funaki with an ankle hold. During his last interview before the fight, Minoru said he's confident he'll beat Hideki with his experience and skill. Meanwhile, Hideki said he's focused on training submission defense and escapes, and he can't make any strategic mistakes against Minoru. Regardless of how it goes down, this is the biggest fight PHOENIX can put together and is sure to be exciting!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri vs. Kota Umeda & Yuu<p> 2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> 3) Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher</p><p> 4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman vs. Kohei Sato</p><p> 5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda vs. Suwama & Manabu Soya</p><p> 6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: HARASHIMA vs. Hikaru Sato</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © vs. Minoru Suzuki</p></div></blockquote>
  3. <p><strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 1</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>April 16 2019</p><p> Shinjuku FACE</p><p> 563 fans - Super No Vacancy</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Chris Ridgeway & Timothy Thatcher defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Mitsuya Nagai (7:58)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 46</p><p> </p><p> Thatcher defeated Sakaguchi with the Thatcher stretch.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Minowaman & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (4:35)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 59</p><p> </p><p> Minowaman defeated Nakajima by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) HARASHIMA, Masakatsu Funaki & Kota Umeda defeated Jonathan Gresham, Ikuto Hidaka & Manabu Soya (8:39)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> Funaki defeated Hidaka with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Shinya Aoki & Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Yuya Aoki (6:15)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p> Aoki defeated Aoki with the rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Minoru Suzuki, Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini defeated Hideki Suzuki, Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura (13:31)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p> Garrini defeated Nomura with an armbar.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 2</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>April 23 2019</p><p> Miyagino Ward Cultural Center</p><p> 276 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Yukio Sakaguchi & Mitsuya Nagai defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Takuya Nomura (9:08)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 40</p><p> </p><p> Nagai defeated Nomura by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Ikuto Hidaka & Jonathan Gresham defeated Chris Ridgeway & Yuya Aoki (8:24)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 42</p><p> </p><p> Gresham defeated Ridgeway with the octopus hold.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Minowaman, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kota Umeda defeated Tom Lawlor, Dom Garrini & Masakatsu Funaki (7:27) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p> Minowaman defeated Garrini by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Suwama & Hikaru Sato defeated HARASHIMA & Masashi Takeda (15:40)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p> Suwama defeated Takeda with the katahajime.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Minoru Suzuki & Kohei Sato defeated Hideki Suzuki & Shotaro Ashino (14:03)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 63</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Ashino with an armbar over the ropes after Suzuki and Ashino used all their rope breaks. </p><p> </p><p> Sato makes his PHOENIX debut with a win! He said he would be interested in challenging for the heavyweight title. He also predicted Minoru Suzuki to win the title at PHOENIX's upcoming Ota Ward show. After all, Hideki hasn't won any match against Minoru since the company's first show six months ago.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 3</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>May 6 2019</p><p> Shikoku</p><p> 294 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Kota Umeda, Takuya Nomura & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Manabu Soya (10:57) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 48</p><p> </p><p> Nomura defeated Ridgeway by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Dominic Garrini & Tom Lawlor defeated Ikuto Hidaka & HARASHIMA (7:05)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> Garrini defeated Hidaka by triangle choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Suwama defeated Mitsuya Nagai (6:10)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 29</p><p> </p><p> Suwama defeated Nagai with the katahajime.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Timothy Thatcher & Kohei Sato defeated Minowaman & Kazushi Sakuraba (9:11)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> Thatcher defeated Sakuraba with the Thatcher stretch.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Hideki Suzuki, Keisuke Okuda & Shinya Aoki defeated Minoru Suzuki, Hikaru Sato & Masakatsu Funaki (11:31) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Funaki with the ankle lock. </p><p> </p><p> Funaki was surprised by getting caught in his own move. A brawl broke out after the match! Minoru attacked Okuda and Hideki stepped in to defend his teammate. Hideki Suzuki closed the show saying he was glad to have Keisuke Okuda back from injury, and that he would do everything to defend his title in Ota Ward.</p>
  4. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rhyme1234" data-cite="Rhyme1234" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) <strong>Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe</strong> vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu<p> 2) <strong>Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor & Jonathan Gresham</strong> vs. Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Mitsuya Nagai</p><p> 3) <strong>Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi</strong> vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura</p><p> 4) <strong>Daisuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba</strong> vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Suwama</p><p> 5) Middleweight Semifinal: <strong>Katsuhiko Nakajima</strong> vs. Shotaro Ashino</p><p> 6) <strong>Minoru Suzuk</strong>i vs. Shinya Aoki</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title (vacant): <strong>Hideki Suzuki</strong> vs. Timothy Thatcher</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oh, I think you posted this while I wrote up the matches. That's an older show though!</p>
  5. <p><strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE FINALS</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 26th</p><p> Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium</p><p> 2000 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Yuya Aoki & Chris Ridgeway (5:32)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p> Umeda defeated Aoki with the boston crab. After the match, Umeda and Nakatsu said that despite not qualifying to the Tag League this year, they will win it next year.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) HARASHIMA, Minowaman & Kazuki Hashimoto defeated Mitsuya Nagai, Takuya Nomura & Yukio Sakaguchi (9:30)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p> Minowaman defeated Sakaguchi with the sleeper hold.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Tom Lawlor defeated Timothy Thatcher (5:53)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 45</p><p> </p><p> Lawlor defeated Thatcher with the guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> Lawlor and Thatcher went all out from the beginning. Lawlor almost knocked out Thatcher at the very beginning of the fight and kept punching and kicking him until Thatcher caught him and suplexed him repeatedly. However, Lawlor refused to submit and he wasn't knocked out. Thatcher ran out of ideas and attempted a fisherman's suplex but Lawlor applied the guillotine choke in response.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Elimination Rules: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Masashi Takeda, Masakatsu Funaki & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Dom Garrini, Jonathan Gresham & Manabu Soya (23:51)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p> Jonathan Gresham was eliminated first, then Dominic Garrini, then Manabu Soya, then Masa Kitamiya, then Masashi Takeda, then Kazusada Higuchi, then Masakatsu Funaki, and finally Suwama. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kazushi Sakuraba won the match.</p><p> </p><p> Nakajima's team scored three eliminations in a row until only Higuchi and Suwama were left. Sakuraba submitted Dom Garrini and Manabu Soya, while Masashi Takeda submitted Jon Gresham. Suwama knocked out Kitamiya with a big german suplex. Higuchi then knocked out Takeda with a doctor bomb. Funaki submitted Higuchi with a triangle choke. Funaki also almost submitted Suwama but Suwama was able to suplex him and roll through to get a katahajime and tap the legend out. It was Suwama's first time using the move in PHOENIX. Nakajima was able to knockout a tired Suwama.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Tag League Finals: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato (17:28)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 65</p><p> </p><p> Hideki Suzuki was at a disadvantage early on, having to use a rope break to escape an armbar from Hikaru Sato. Later in the bout, Aoki returned the favour by forcing Minoru to use a rope break to escape a leglock but Minoru forced Hideki to use two more rope breaks, once with an armbar over the ropes and another time with a manjigatame. After tagging in, Sato almost knocked out Hideki Suzuki with a kick, but the latter scored a takedown. However, he ended up in Minoru Suzuki's corner, who then tagged in. </p><p> </p><p> Hideki invited Minoru to come at him and after going toe-to-toe for a while, he almost executed a big german suplex, but Minoru escaped. Minoru then goaded Hideki to the ropes, where he applied an armbar over the ropes. His team had no ropebreaks left so the hold was legal! However, he was able to get free. With Hideki very clearly hurt, Minoru Suzuki applied the saka otoshi before transitioning to the sleeper hold and getting the victory by submission. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato are the tag league champions!</p><p> </p><p> After the match, Minoru Suzuki said he's now proven to be better than Hideki Suzuki and will soon take his title. Hideki said that he made several strategic mistakes and was disappointed by not winning the tag league. However, he accepted the challenge and said he'll beat Minoru in a singles match!</p>
  6. <p><strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 6</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 19th</p><p> Kokarukita Gymnasium</p><p> 311 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Manabu Soya, Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hashimoto defeated HARASHIMA, Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda (15:23)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> Soya defeated Nakatsu by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Block A: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi (6:09) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 50</p><p> </p><p> Funaki defeated Higuchi with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya defeated Timothy Thatcher & Jon Gresham (12:11)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 64</p><p> </p><p> Kitamiya defeated Gresham by knockout.</p><p> </p><p><em> 4) Tag League Block B: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura defeated Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato (5:21)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba defeated Sato with the armbar.</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba and Suzuki grappled to a standstill. Sato and Nakamura tagged in and grappled briefly before Sato demanded that Sakuraba tag in. Sakuraba quickly tapped Sato tap out! Despite the loss, Suzuki and Sato qualify to the Tag League finals!</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini (15:46)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Garrini with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> Around the ten minute mark, Aoki almost tapped out Garrini but Garrini got a rope break and tagged out. Suzuki was troubled by Tom Lawlor's striking but was able to toss him out of the ring with a lariat. Garrini and came in and almost got a kneebar on Suzuki but Suzuki reversed into an ankle lock. Suzuki and Aoki qualify to the Tag League finals!</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Standings</strong></p><p> <em>Block A</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li><span style="color:#FF0000;">Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki</span> | 3W-1L | <strong>6 points</strong><br /></li><li>Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Block B</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li><span style="color:#FF0000;">Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</span> | 3W-1L | <strong>6 points</strong><br /></li><li>Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> The finals will headline a show at the Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium on March 26th.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Picks</strong></p><p> Rhyme1234 - 2/5</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE FINALS<p> 1) Yuya Aoki & Chris Ridgeway vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> 2) HARASHIMA, Minowaman & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Mitsuya Nagai, Takuya Nomura & Yukio Sakaguchi</p><p> 3) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Timothy Thatcher vs. Tom Lawlor</p><p> 4) Elimination Rules: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Masashi Takeda, Masakatsu Funaki & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Dom Garrini, Jonathan Gresham & Manabu Soya</p><p> 5) Tag League Finals: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</p><p> </p></div></blockquote>
  7. <p>The Tag League continues..</p><p> </p><p> <strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 3</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 12th 2019</p><p> Shikoku</p><p> 251 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Tag League Block B: Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway defeated Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura (10:22)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 52</p><p> </p><p> Bailey defeated Nakamura by knockout. Bailey was injured in this match. He'll be replaced by Ikuto Hidaka.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Block A: Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki (6:25)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p> Suwama defeated Aoki by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (8:55)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 50</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Funaki with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (16:13)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> Sato defeated Kitamiya with a cross armbreaker.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 4</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>Match 14th 2019</p><p> Kyushu</p><p> 238 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Manabu Soya & Josh Barnett defeated Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda (5:11)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p> Barnett defeated Nakatsu with a sleeper hold.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) HARASHIMA defeated Takuya Nomura (14:33)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> HARASHIMA defeated Nomura by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block B: Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham defeated Ikuto Hidaka & Chris Ridgeway (8:17)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 47</p><p> </p><p> Thatcher defeated Hidaka with the Thatcher Stretch.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Tag League Block A: Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini defeated Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi (10:02)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 53</p><p> </p><p> Lawlor defeated Suwama with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 5</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 18th 2019</p><p> Hokkaido</p><p> 247 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) HARASHIMA & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hashimoto (17:02) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 59</p><p> </p><p> HARASHIMA defeated Nomura by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Minowaman defeated Kota Umeda (8:49) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 48</p><p> </p><p> Minowaman defeated Umeda by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block A: Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki defeated Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini (7:02)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p> Takeda defeated Garrini with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Tag League Block B: Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham defeated Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura (9:26)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p> Gresham defeated Nakamura with the octopus hold.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Standings</strong></p><p><strong> </strong><em>Block A</em></p><p><em> </em></p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi | 2W-1L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini | 2W-1L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki | 2W-1L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi | 1W-2L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Block B</em></p><p><em> </em></p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato | 3W-0L | <strong>6 points</strong><br /></li><li>Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham | 2W-1L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya | 1W-2L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura | 1W-2L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 6</p><p> 1) HARASHIMA, Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda vs. Manabu Soya, Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hashimoto</p><p> 2) Tag League Block A: Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi</p><p> 3) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya vs. Timothy Thatcher & Jon Gresham</p><p> 4) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura</p><p> 5) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini</p><p> </p></div></blockquote>
  8. <p>ROH World: Cody {C} vs. <strong>Will Ospreay</strong></p><p> ROH TV: <strong>Austin Theory</strong> {C} vs. Nick Aldis</p><p> IWGP Jr. Heavyweight: <strong>Zack Sabre Jr</strong> {C} vs. Marty Scurll</p><p> ROH Tag: <strong>The Briscoes</strong> {C} vs. Jay Lethal and Kota Ibushi</p><p> ROH 6-Man: <strong>The Bestest Friends</strong> {C} vs. The Kings of the Night</p><p> <strong>The Top Guys</strong> vs. The Young Bucks</p><p> <strong>Jeff Cobb</strong> vs. Juice Robinson</p>
  9. <p><strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 1</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 4th 2019</p><p> Chugoku</p><p> 255 fans</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya defeated Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway (11:08) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 55</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Nakajima defeated Bailey with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Block A: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki (6:06) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 50</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Funaki defeated Aoki by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato defeated Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham (6:33) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 65</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sato defeated Gresham with a cross armbreaker.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Tag League Block A: Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki (14:29) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 61</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suwama defeated Aoki by knockout after a belly-to-belly suplex.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 2</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 11th 2019</p><p> Hokkaido</p><p> 278 fans</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Tag League Block A: Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini defeated Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi (8:05) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 47</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Lawlor defeated Sakaguchi with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato defeated Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway (4:08) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 55</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated Ridgeway by knockout with a Gotch piledriver.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki (10:49) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 64</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Aoki defeated Aoki with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Tag League Block B: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (13:35) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 61</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba defeated Kitamiya with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Standings</strong></p><p> <em>Block A</em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi | 1W-0L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini | 1W-0L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki | 1W-1L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi | 1W-1L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki | 0W-2L | <strong>0 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> <em>Block B</em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato | 2W-0L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya | 1W-1L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura | 1W-0L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li><li>Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham | 0W-1L | <strong>0 points</strong><br /></li><li>Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway | 0W-2 L | <strong>0 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> <strong>Predictions</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>Texasrangers13 4/7</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 3</p><p> 1) Tag League Block B: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura vs. Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway</p><p> 2) Tag League Block A: Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi vs. Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki</p><p> 3) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi</p><p> 4) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya</p><p> </p><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 4</p><p> 3) Tag League Block B: Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham vs. Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway</p><p> 4) Tag League Block A: Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi vs. Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini</p><p> </p><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 5</p><p> 3) Tag League Block A: Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki vs. Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini</p><p> 4) Tag League Block B: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura vs. Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham </p></div></blockquote>
  10. Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed reading through the thread. I don't keep up with the American indies outside the occasional match but Garrini is one of my favourites, I'm a mark for flying submissions. He was actually one of the guys I added to the database.
  11. <p>Blocks have been drawn for the Style Battle Tag League! All matches will have a twenty-minute time limit.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Block A:</strong></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki<br /></li><li>Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi<br /></li><li>Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi<br /></li><li>Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki<br /></li><li>Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini<br /></li></ol><p></p><p> <strong>Block B:</strong></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato<br /></li><li>Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya<br /></li><li>Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham<br /></li><li>Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway<br /></li><li>Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura<br /></li></ol><p></p><p> Schedule for the first two days follows. Predictions welcome!</p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 1</p><p> 1) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya vs. Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway</p><p> 2) Tag League Block A: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki</p><p> 3) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato vs. Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham</p><p> 4) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi</p><p> </p><p> STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 2</p><p> 1) Tag League Block A: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini</p><p> 2) Tag League Block B: Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato vs. Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway</p><p> 3) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki</p><p> 4) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya vs. Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura</p></div></blockquote>
  12. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PHOENIX Firebird 2: Nakajima vs. Takeda</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong> </strong></span>February 23rd 2019</p><p> Korakuen Hall</p><p> 1,680 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Yuya Aoki defeated Chris Ridgeway (7:25) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 14</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Aoki defeated Ridgeway with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Qualification: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura defeated Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda (5:39) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 52</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba defeated Nakatsu with a chickenwing.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Qualification: Dom Garrini & Tom Lawlor defeated Ikuto Hidaka & Takuya Nomura (8:04) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 48</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Lawlor defeated Hidaka with a rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Elimination Rules: Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Manabu Soya, Masa Kitamiya & Atsushi Aoki vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Timothy Thatcher, Mitsuya Nagai & Kazuhiro Tamura (14:41) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 50</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Masa Kitamiya was eliminated first, then Mitsuya Nagai, then Atsushi Aoki, then Kazuhiro Tamura, then Timothy Thatcher, then Manabu Soya, then Kazusada Higuchi, then Yukio Sakaguchi, and finally Masakatsu Funaki. </p><p> </p><p> Suwama defeated Funaki by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato defeated Hideki Suzuki & HARASHIMA (19:16) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 66</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated HARASHIMA by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> Hideki Suzuki was forced to use two of his rope breaks. One by Sato, who dropped into an imanari roll and almost locked in a leglock just seconds into the amtch and the other time by Minoru Suzuki, who applied the saka otoshi and almost got the rear-naked choke. Hideki had the smaller Sato in trouble several times, with a series of suplexes and strikes. But before he could hit the finishing blow, Suzuki rushed into the ring and threw him out. HARASHIMA ran into the ring as well but Suzuki quickly applied the Gotch piledriver, which knocked the DDT ace out.</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="wDduZh2.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/wDduZh2.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QXIbgOG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QXIbgOG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="VdqAGmL.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/VdqAGmL.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <em>6) PHOENIX Lightweight Title (vacant): Shinya Aoki defeated Mike Bailey (10:35) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 50</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Aoki defeated Bailey with a triangle choke.</p><p> </p><p> Bailey dominated the match, he was able to keep Aoki at bay until Aoki went for a flying armbar. Bailey postured up but was choked out with a triangle. Aoki showed great heart and tried to knock Bailey out with punches, until he went for the flying submission. Aoki wins the lightweight title!</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="gu7KGre.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/gu7KGre.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QXIbgOG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QXIbgOG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="aBfPgcH.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/aBfPgcH.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Middleweight Title (vacant): Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated Masashi Takeda (18:13) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 63</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Nakajima defeated Takeda by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> Takeda quickly took the fight outside, but Nakajima was no stranger to ringside brawling. Chairs were thrown and heavy strikes were traded. Nakajima and Takeda crawled into the ring bleeding, Takeda tried to target Nakajima's legs and get a leglock. Nakajima had to use one of his rope breaks to escape and seemed to be unable to use his left leg afterwards. Takeda failed two quick takedowns after the fight was restarted post-rope break, he feinted a kick and shot in a third time, but he got knocked out by a right high kick. Nakajima wins the middleweight title!</p>
  13. <p>Four more teams have been announced for the tag league:</p><p> </p><p> 1) Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi</p><p> 2) Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya</p><p> 3) Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki</p><p> 4) Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway</p><p> </p><p> The remaining two teams will qualify via two matches in the next Korakuen Hall show.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>A preview</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> PHOENIX Firebird 2: Nakajima vs. Takeda</p><p> Korakuen Hall</p><p> February 23rd 2019</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Chris Ridgeway vs. Yuya Aoki</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Chris Ridgeway from Great Britain will be making his debut here, before taking part in the tag league. On the other side is Yuya Aoki from BJW, one of the most promising prospects in Japan.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Qualification: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura vs. Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba hasn't had the best record in PHOENIX so far, but he'll try to qualify to the Tag League with grappling prodigy Nakamura. Against them will be Nakatsu and Umeda, two youngsters looking to upset the promotion's owner.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Qualification: Ikuto Hidaka & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Tom Lawlor</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Hidaka and Nomura were both tag team partners of Fuminori Abe. They'll be joining forces to try and make it to the tag league. Lawlor and Garrini also haven't had the best results so far, but they'll be looking to change that by qualifying to PHOENIX's first tournament.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Elimination Rules: Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Manabu Soya, Masa Kitamiya & Kazuhiro Tamura vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Timothy Thatcher, Mitsuya Nagai & Atsushi Aoki</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> In the style of Quintet, this is a 5v5 elimination rules match. However, it will be held under pro wrestling rules and with wrestlers like Higuchi, Thatcher and Suwama in it, it'll probably have more lariats and suplexes than slick submissions.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Hideki Suzuki & HARASHIMA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Minoru Suzuki continues his feud against Hideki Suzuki. This will be a preview of the Tag League as well, with Minoru Suzuki teaming with Sato for the first time in years. Shinya Aoki is competing for the singles lightweight title, so HARASHIMA, the ace of DDT, is teaming with Hideki instead.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) PHOENIX Lightweight Title (vacant): Shinya Aoki vs. Mike Bailey</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Bailey has lost to Aoki in the past due to a quick submission, he'll have to be more careful to overcome the MMA legend and claim one of PHOENIX's three titles.</p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Middleweight Title (vacant): Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masashi Takeda</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> The deathmatch champion Takeda upset a legend and the favorite to win the title, Masakatsu Funaki, to earn his place in this match. He proved to be a well-rounded wrestler and even tapped out Funaki. Nakajima was a young prodigy and has been considered the best striker in pro wrestling since he was a teenager. But will his skill be enough to overcome Takeda's unpredictable style?</p><p> </p><p> Predictions welcome!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) Yuya Aoki vs. Chris Ridgeway<p> 2) Tag League Qualification: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura vs. Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda</p><p> 3) Tag League Qualification: Ikuto Hidaka & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Tom Lawlor</p><p> 4) Elimination Rules: Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Manabu Soya, Masa Kitamiya & Atsushi Aoki vs. Masakatsu Funaki, Yukio Sakaguchi, Timothy Thatcher, Mitsuya Nagai & Kazuhiro Tamura</p><p> 5) Hideki Suzuki & HARASHIMA vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</p><p> 6) PHOENIX Lightweight Title (vacant): Shinya Aoki vs. Mike Bailey</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Middleweight Title (vacant): Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masashi Takeda</p></div></blockquote>
  14. <p>The first four teams to take part in the Style Battle Tag League have been announced!</p><p> </p><p> 1) Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki</p><p> 2) Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</p><p> 3) Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi</p><p> 4) Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 7</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>February 5th 2019</p><p> Azalea Taisho Hall</p><p> 350 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Kazusada Higuchi & Kota Umeda defeated Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini (9:29) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 54</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Umeda defeated Garrini by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Atsushi Aoki & Timothy Thatcher defeated Takuya Nomura & Ikuto Hidaka (6:07) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 54</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Thatcher defeated Hidaka with the Thatcher stretch.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Kazushi Sakuraba, Daisuke Nakamura & Jonathan Gresham defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya & Mitsuya Nagai (8:15) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 56</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba defeated Nagai with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Hideki Suzuki & Shotaro Ashino (16:05) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 63</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sato defeated Ashino with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Masashi Takeda defeated Masakatsu Funaki (10:32) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 54</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Takeda defeated Funaki with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 8</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>February 12th 2019</p><p> Shikoku</p><p> 238 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 59</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Dominic Garrini & Tom Lawlor defeated Shotaro Ashino & Daisuke Nakamura (7:29) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 57</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Lawlor defeated Nakamura with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Hikaru Sato, Atsushi Aoki & Masakatsu Funaki defeated Manabu Soya, Ikuto Hidaka & Naoki Tanizaki (8:11) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 52</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sato defeated Tanizaki with a cross armbreaker.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Kazushi Sakuraba & Takuma Sano defeated Kota Umeda & Kazusada Higuchi (8:32) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 52</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sano defeated Umeda by submission.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (11:55) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 59</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Takeda defeated Kitamiya with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Mike Bailey & Ryota Nakatsu (9:44) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 62</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated Nakatsu by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Predictions</strong></p><p> Stevens150 - 3/4</p>
  15. Would it be possible to create a "willing to lose mask/hair" attribute in the editor? The fact that most workers seem to refuse to do so has been one of the things that's kept me from playing in Mexico. But if you could make it so that most workers randomly acquire that attribute (or do so after a certain point in their career), it'd work better without having to introduce a whole new mechanic.
  16. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PHOENIX Firebird 1: Suzuki vs. Thatcher</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong> </strong></span>January 27th 2019</p><p> Korakuen Hall</p><p> 1,680 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 59</p><p> </p><p> Before the first match, PHOENIX officials announced the <strong>Style Battle Tag League</strong>! It will be a 10-team block tournament. Teams will be separated in two blocks of five, with the winners of both blocks facing off for the tournament's prize. It will take place during March.</p><p> </p><p> Due to a serious injury, Fuminori Abe had to be replaced. Yuya Aoki took his spot. Due to Abe's injury, his lightweight opening tournament semifinal match againt Shinya Aoki will be canceled and Aoki moves on to the final.</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Ikuto Hidaka & Yuya Aoki (6:39) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 53</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Umeda defeated Aoki by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Mitsuya Nagai defeated Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor & Jonathan Gresham (10:23) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 46</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Soya defeated Garrini by submission with a cross kneelock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura (7:48) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 54</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sato defeated Nomura by submission with a cross armbreaker.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Daisuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Suwama (5:15) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 55</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba defeated Higuchi by submission with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba gets his first win in PHOENIX! Nakamura and Sakuraba were outsized but pulled out the victory. Suwama cleaned house but the inexperienced Higuchi was floored when Sakuraba shot in for a takedown and quickly tapped him out.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Middleweight Semifinal: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shotaro Ashino (19:03) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 67</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Nakajima defeated Ashino by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) Minoru Suzuki drew with Shinya Aoki (10:00) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 49</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki and Aoki drew after the time limit expired.</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki dominated the match, controlling the smaller Aoki but Aoki was able to counter the saka otoshi and the Gotch piledriver into submission attempts. Suzuki hit Aoki with a penalty kick as the time limit expired. Aoki had to be carried out of the ring.</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="7lXUky5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7lXUky5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QXIbgOG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QXIbgOG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="HNu6ug0.jpg" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/HNu6ug0.jpg" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title (vacant): Hideki Suzuki vs. Timothy Thatcher (13:40) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 57</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated Thatcher by submission with an ankle lock. Suzuki wins the PHOENIX Heavyweight Title!</p><p> </p><p> It was a battle of suplexes, which had both fighters exhausted and hurt. Thatcher unleashed a series of vicious headbutts which knocked down Suzuki but the latter was able to regain his senses, get an ankle pick and transition into a submission to win the title.</p>
  17. <p>Sakuraba has announced that the Korakuen Hall show will be branded as "Firebird". This will be the name of the promotion's marquee shows, headlined by title matches or other important bouts, going forward.</p><p> </p><p> <span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>A preview</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> PHOENIX Firebird 1: Suzuki vs. Thatcher</p><p> Korakuen Hall</p><p> January 27th 2019</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Ikuto Hidaka [Z1] & Fuminori Abe [FREE] vs. Kota Umeda [DDT] & Ryota Nakatsu [bASARA]</em></p><p> </p><p> Hidaka and Abe are an established tag team, and the Zero1 tag team champions. Umeda and Nakatsu are DDT trainees and part of Abe's generation. Will Hidaka be able to keep up with them after losing at the last Korakuen show?</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Dominic Garrini [FREE], Tom Lawlor [FREE] & Jonathan Gresham [ROH] vs. Masa Kitamiya [NOAH], Manabu Soya [W-1] & Mitsuya Nagai [FREE]</em></p><p> </p><p> The debut of Jonathan Gresham! It will be a sizeable challenge for him as him, Garrini and Lawlor take on three huge heavyweights, including RINGS veteran Mitsuya Nagai.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Hikaru Sato [AJPW] & Yukio Sakaguchi [DDT] vs. Masashi Takeda [FREE] & Takuya Nomura [bJW]</em></p><p> </p><p> Sato missed the promotion's first show with an injury but he'll want to make a splash here by defeating two fellow middleweights. Takeda is scheduled to fight Masakatsu Funaki as part of the Middleweight Opening Tournament, and getting to face to Pancrase alumni will be an important test for him.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Daisuke Nakamura [FREE] & Kazushi Sakuraba [PHOENIX] vs. Kazusada Higuchi [DDT] & Suwama [AJPW]</em></p><p> </p><p> After losing to Nakajima at the last Korakuen show, Sakuraba has only been able to pick up one win in the winter tour, when teammate Shinya Aoki submitted Ikuto Hidaka. He'll want to prove he's still got it here. While him and Nakamura can out-grapple </p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Middleweight Semifinal: Katsuhiko Nakajima [NOAH] vs. Shotaro Ashino [W-1]</em></p><p> </p><p> A grappler vs. striker matchup, Nakajima may be the best striker in pro wrestling, but Ashino will try to overwhelm him with big suplexes. The winner of this match will compete for the PHOENIX Middleweight Title.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minoru Suzuki [FREE] vs. Shinya Aoki [ONE]</em></p><p> </p><p> Minoru Suzuki wanted to face his namesake, Hideki Suzuki, but with the latter caught up in the tournament he'll face another IGF alumni in Shinya Aoki. Aoki might be one of the few grapplers as skilled as Minoru Suzuki but the size difference might prove to be too much against the relentless Suzuki.</p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki [FREE] vs. Timothy Thatcher [FREE]</em></p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Higuchi to get here, while Thatcher beat Soya in the semifinals and Kitamiya in the first round. In the build-up, they seemed to be evenly matched. Suzuki will be facing a wrestler as skilled and as big as himself, maybe for the first time. Thatcher also showed a mean streak in the build-up, knocking out opponents with headbutts, and that may prove to be the edge for him here. </p><p> </p><p> As always, everyone's welcomed to do predictions.</p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu<p> 2) Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor & Jonathan Gresham vs. Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Mitsuya Nagai</p><p> 3) Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura</p><p> 4) Daisuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Suwama</p><p> 5) Middleweight Semifinal: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Shotaro Ashino</p><p> 6) Minoru Suzuki vs. Shinya Aoki</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title (vacant): Hideki Suzuki vs. Timothy Thatcher</p><p> </p></div></blockquote>
  18. <p><strong>PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 4</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>January 7th 2019</p><p> Miyagino Ward Cultural Center</p><p> 119 fans</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Kota Umeda & Mike Bailey defeated Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini (11:14) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 44</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Bailey defeated Garrini by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Masakatsu Funaki, Yukio Sakaguchi & Takuya Nomura defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya & Mitsuya Nagai (7:10) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 49</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Funaki defeated Kitamiya with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Jun Kasai & Masashi Takeda defeated Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura (8:21) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 55</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Takeda defeated Nakamura with an ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Hideki Suzuki & Josh Barnett vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu (17:01) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 56</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Higuchi defeated Barnett by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Timothy Thatcher defeated Manabu Soya (9:27) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 54</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Thatcher defeated Soya with the Thatcher Stretch.</p><p> </p><p> Thatcher tried to submit Soya by outwrestling him, but Soya kept rocking Thatcher by a lariats and turned this into a hard-hitting match. Just when he seemed done, Thatcher caught Soya with a headbutt which knocked the latter out.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 5</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>January 13th 2019</p><p> Chubu</p><p> 121 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini defeated Takuya Nomura & Yoshihisa Uto (7:13) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 44</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Lawlor defeated Uto with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kazushi Sakuraba & Shinya Aoki defeated Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka (6:27) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 48</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Aoki defeated Hidaka with a foot choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Timothy Thatcher, Daisuke Nakamura & Timothy Thatcher defeated Suwama, Atsushi Aoki & Hikaru Sato (7:26) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 61</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Thatcher defeated Aoki by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Yukio Sakaguchi & Masakatsu Funaki defeated Mike Bailey & Masashi Takeda (17:09) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 50</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Funaki defeated Bailey with a guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Hideki Suzuki defeated Kazusada Higuchi (13:36) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 56</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated Higuchi with an ankle hold.</p><p> </p><p> Higuchi couldn't get Suzuki in the canadian backbreaker position, and Suzuki slowly took control of the match. Higuchi showed great fighting spirit, getting up after several brutal suplexes but he tapped out to an ankle hold.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 6</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>January 20th 2019</p><p> Shinjuku Face</p><p> 596 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show rating</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Fuminori Abe & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Takuya Nomura & Yuya Aoki (6:11) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 44</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Abe defeated Aoki with a octopus hold.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kota Umeda & Kazusada Higuchi defeated Tom Lawlor & Mitsuya Nagai (7:28) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 48</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Umeda defeated Nagai by submission.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Mike Bailey defeated Yukio Sakaguchi (9:03) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 45</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Bailey defeated Sakaguchi by knockout with a spinning kick.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato defeated Shinya Aoki & Daisuke Nakamura (12:47) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 58</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suzuki defeated Nakamura by knockout with the Gotch piledriver.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Hideki Suzuki & Josh Barnett & Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Timothy Thatcher & Dominic Garrini & Shotaro Ashino (14:55) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 60</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Nakajima defeated Garrini by knockout with a kick combination.</p>
  19. The first round of the Opening Tournaments has concluded, setting up the semifinals. PHOENIX will run the remaining matches over the course of the next two months in the Winter Tour. The first champion crowned will be the heavyweight king, at a Korakuen Hall show in late January! Heavyweight #1 Hideki Suzuki [FREE] vs. #4 Kazusada Higuchi [DDT] (Week 1 January) #2 Manabu Soya [W-1] vs. #3 Timothy Thatcher [FREE] (Week 1 January) Middleweight #1 Masakatsu Funaki [FREE] vs. #5 Masahi Takeda [FREE] (Week 2 February) #2 Katsuhiko Nakajima [NOAH] vs. #3 Shotaro Ashino [W-1] (Korakuen, Week 4 January) Lightweight #1 Shinya Aoki [ONE] vs. #5 Fuminori Abe [FREE] (Week 1 February) #2 Mike Bailey [FREE] vs. #3 Yukio Sakaguchi [DDT] (Week 2 January) I want to do a Korakuen preview, so I'm excluding Nakajima-Ashino from the predictions here
  20. PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 1 Yokohama Radiant Hall December 11th 2018 339 fans - Super No Vacancy Broadcast on YouTube Show Rating: 50 1) Magnitude Kishiwada, Atsushi Aoki & Ikuto Hidaka beat Junta Miyawaki, Takuya Nomura & Ayumu Honda (6:46) Grade: 43 Kishiwada defeated Honda by knockout. 2) Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Timothy Thatcher beat Masa Kitamiya by submission (10:38) Grade: 42 Thatcher defeated Kitamiya with the Thatcher Stretch. 3) Middleweight Quarterfinal: Masashi Takeda beat Tom Lawlor by submission (14:04) Grade: 45 Takeda defeated Lawlor with an ankle lock. 4) Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masakatsu Funaki & Syuri beat Kengo Mashimo, Akira Raijin & MIKAMI (7:56) Grade: 54 Nakajima defeated Raijin with an ankle lock. Syuri is the first woman to appear on PHOENIX. 5) Hideki Suzuki & Manabu Soya beat Kazushi Sakuraba & Dominic Garrini (9:48) Grade: 50 Suzuki defeated Garrini with an ankle lock. --- PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 2 Azalea Taisho Hall December 17th 2018 249 fans Broadcast on YouTube Show Rating: 57 1) Kota Umeda & Mike Bailey defeated Naomi Yoshimura & Mitsuya Nagai (10:05) Grade: 41 Umeda defeated Yoshimura by knockout. 2) Shinya Aoki, Tom Lawlor & Daisuke Nakamura defeated Masa Kitamiya, Takuya Nomura & Timothy Thatcher (5:44) Grade: 52 Aoki defeated Kitamiya with a foot choke. 3) Heavyweight Quarterfinal: Kazusada Higuchi defeated Dominic Garrini (11:24) Grade: 52 Higuchi defeated Garrini with a goten. 4) Lightweight Quarterfinal: Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Ryota Nakatsu (6:47) Grade: 45 Sakaguchi defeated Nakatsu with a triangle choke. 5) Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki defeated Masashi Takeda & Suwama (10:43) Grade: 60 Suzuki defeated Takeda with a rear-naked choke. --- PHOENIX Winter Tour - Day 3 Shin-kiba 1st Ring December 23rd 2018 380 fans - Super No Vacancy Broadcast on YouTube Show Rating: 61 1) Aggression (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Ayumu Honda) defeated Kengo Mashimo & Ayumu Honda (8:13) Grade: 51 Nakajima defeated Honda with an ankle lock. 2) Timothy Thatcher, Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini defeated Manabu Soya, Suwama & Atsushi Aoki (3:20) Grade: 47 Thatcher defeated Aoki by knockout with a headbutt. 3) Lightweight Quarterfinal: Fuminori Abe defeated Kota Umeda (14:01) Grade: 52 Abe defeated Umeda by submission with an octopus hold. 4) Middleweight Quarterfinal: Shotaro Ashino defeated Takuya Nomura (11:59) Grade: 63 Ashino defeated Nomura with a reverse cross armbreaker. 5) Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Kazusada Higuchi & Ryota Nakatsu (13:23) Grade: 62 Suzuki defeated Higuchi with an ankle lock. Predictions StrongHearts 3/6
  21. <p>An announcement was made after the PHOENIX Opening Show regarding the promotion's championships. Sakuraba announced that there will be three weight classes, each with their own title. In order to determine the first champions, a single-elimination tournament will be held in each division.</p><p> </p><p> The participants are the following wrestlers. The top 2-seeds will receive a first-round bye. Matches for the first two rounds will be held on various smaller shows during the upcoming PHOENIX Winter Tour.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Heavyweight (+220 lbs)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>#1 Hideki Suzuki / Age: 38 / Promotions: BJW, Ice Ribbon</p><p> #2 Manabu Soya / Age: 33 / Promotions: WRESTLE-1</p><p> #3 Timothy Thatcher / Age: 33 / Promotions: wXw, PWG, EVOLVE</p><p> #4 Kazusada Higuchi / Age: 30 / Promotions: DDT</p><p> #5 Dominic Garrini / Age: 28 / Promotions: Freelance</p><p> #6 Masa Kitamiya / Age: 30 / Promotions: NOAH</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="cWChqIs.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/cWChqIs.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Middleweight (-220 lbs)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>#1 Masakatsu Funaki / Age: 49 / Promotions: Freelance</p><p> #2 Katsuhiko Nakajima / Age: 30 / Promotions: NOAH</p><p> #3 Shotaro Ashino / Age: 28 / Promotions: WRESTLE-1</p><p> #4 Tom Lawlor / Age: 35 / Promotions: MLW</p><p> #5 Masashi Takeda / Age: 33 / Promotions: BJW, FREEDOMS</p><p> #6 Takuya Nomura / Age: 25 / Promotions: BJW</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="babsnqf.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/babsnqf.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> <strong>Lightweight (-185 lbs)</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>#1 Shinya Aoki / Age: 35 / Promotions: ONE, DDT</p><p> #2 Mike Bailey / Age: 29 / Promotions: DDT, wXw, RevPro</p><p> #3 Yukio Sakaguchi / Age: 45 / Promotions: DDT</p><p> #4 Kota Umeda / Age: 23 / Promotions: DDT</p><p> #5 Fuminori Abe / Age: 23 / Promotions: ZERO1, BASARA</p><p> #6 Ryota Nakatsu / Age: 27 / Promotions: BASARA</p><p> </p><p> <img alt="5sVuw7p.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/5sVuw7p.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p> First round predictions for anyone who wants to join!</p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> HEAVYWEIGHT</p><p> #3 Timothy Thatcher vs. #6 Masa Kitamiya</p><p> #4 Kazusada Higuchi vs. #5 Dominic Garrini </p><p> </p><p> MIDDLEWEIGHT</p><p> #3 Shotaro Ashino vs. #6 Takuya Nomura</p><p> #4 Tom Lawlor vs. #5 Masashi Takeda</p><p> </p><p> LIGHTWEIGHT</p><p> #3 Yukio Sakaguchi vs. #6 Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> #4 Kota Umeda vs. #5 Fuminori Abe</p><p> </p></div></blockquote>
  22. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PHOENIX Opening Show results</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span>Korakuen Hall</p><p> December 9th 2018</p><p> 1,522 fans - No Vacancy</p><p> Broadcast on YouTube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Timothy Thatcher, Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini beat Ikuto Hidaka, Keita Yano & Fuminori Abe (9:49) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 45</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Thatcher defeated Yano by submission with a Fujiwara armbar.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kikutaro beat Antonio Honda by submission (6:22) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 42</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> It took Kikutaro thirty-four seconds to try and run the ropes. Referee Nikkan Lee then had to explain that the match couldn't be won by pinfall to both men after a series of increasingly complex and dazzling pin attempts. Kikutaro submitted Honda after the latter tried to tell a Gon The Fox story. After winning, he declared himself the PHOENIX Openweight champion.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Suwama, Manabu Soya & Atsushi Aoki beat Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu (18:54) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 51</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suwama defeated Higuchi by knockout with a german suplex. </p><p> </p><p> Suwama, Aoki and Soya seemed to be in complete control, until Umeda knocked Soya down with a high kick. Soya fell near his corner, which allowed Aoki to tag in. He was able to slow Umeda down and almost submitted him with a cross armbreaker but Umeda got to the ropes and tagged out. Higuchi came in full steam ahead and folded Aoki with a lariat. He then irish whiped Aoki again to set up another lariat, which did more damage, but this allowed Suwama to tag in. After surviving even more hard-hitting lariats, Suwama got a body lock on Higuchi and suplexed him. Higuchi was unable to beat the ten count. Suwama said he would be interested in teaming with Higuchi after the match.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura beat Masakatsu Funaki & Ken Shamrock (8:15) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 48</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> In a big upset, Nomura defeated Shamrock with a cross armbreaker.</p><p> </p><p> Shamrock seemed to be on the verge of winning with a rear-naked choke but Nomura escaped and quickly transitioned into a cross armbreaker. Shamrock couldn't reach the ropes and had to tap out, giving Nomura the big upset win.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kazushi Sakuraba by knockout (9:20) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 56</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Nakajima dominated the match with strikes and refused to grapple with Sakuraba. Sakuraba almost got a flash submission win with a standing guillotine choke, but Nakajima picked Sakuraba up and carried him to the ropes, getting a clean break. Nakajima dropped Sakuraba to his knees with a series of low kicks and showed no mercy, throwing a head kick immediately afterwards to get the knockout win.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki beat Minoru Suzuki & Yukio Sakaguchi (16:07) </em><em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span></em><em>: 57</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Aoki defeated Sakaguchi with a triangle choke.</p><p> </p><p> The Suzukis fought each other to a stand-still. Minoru Suzuki was unable to get the Gotch piledriver and Hideki Suzuki was stifled from landing a big suplex by Minoru countering all his tries into submission attempts. Hideki used two of his rope breaks. Aoki had trouble against Sakaguchi's height but he was eventually able to pull guard and transition to a triangle choke. After the match, Minoru Suzuki complained about the rope break rule and said he would submit Hideki quickly the next time they faced each other.</p><p> </p><p> The show was deemed a success! Popularity for the new promotion seems to have increased and Sakuraba is optimistic that this new venture can develop a steady following.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Predictions:</strong></p><p> StrongHearts 3/6</p>
  23. <blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="StrongHearts" data-cite="StrongHearts" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div><p> I would personally check out Shotaro Ashino from Wrestle-1. Dude is super talented and works the Shoot style.</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> That's a good shout, I'll work him in.</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Hashasheen" data-cite="Hashasheen" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Funny, I'd have thought Sakuraba would have thrown his money at Quintet. I guess you'll just need to have a ten man match every night then. <img alt=":p" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/tongue.png.ceb643b2956793497cef30b0e944be28.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Haha. I did think about Quintet (I added Nakamura to the database and everything) but I kinda had to pick Sakuraba, you know? Will have to hold elimination matches whenever possible now.</p>
  24. <p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>A preview</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"> </span></p><p> PHOENIX Opening Show</p><p> Korakuen Hall</p><p> December 9th 2018</p><p> </p><p> The rules:</p><p> 1) Matches can be won by submission, knockout, countout and disqualification.</p><p> 2) A wrestler is limited to three rope breaks per match.</p><p> 3) Low blows, biting, and eye gouging are forbidden.</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Timothy Thatcher (Freelance), Tom Lawlor (Freelance) & Dominic Garrini (Freelance) vs. Ikuto Hidaka (ZERO1), Keita Yano (Freelance) & Fuminori Abe (Freelance)</em></p><p> </p><p> A group of American wrestlers are all making their Japan debuts on the promotion's first match. Garrini is a jiu-jitsu specialist, with a purple belt in said martial art. Lawlor is a former UFC fighter and also a jiu-jitsu purple belt. Thatcher is a catch wrestler and a legit heavyweight. On the other side, Hidaka and Yano are Battlarts veterans, while Abe is Munenori Sawa's protege. Hidaka is far more experienced than anyone else in the match and that may prove to be the difference.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) NO ROPES: Kikutaro (Freelance) vs. Antonio Honda (DDT)</em></p><p> </p><p> Two legit shooters who had to be included in PHOENIX's first show. Kikutaro demanded the fight to be a title match and a no ropes match. The first request was denied but the second was granted.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Suwama (AJPW), Manabu Soya (WRESTLE-1) & Atsushi Aoki (AJPW) vs. Kazusada Higuchi (DDT), Kota Umeda (DDT) & Ryota Nakatsu (BASARA)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Suwama & Aoki are Evolution stablemates in All Japan, joining them is Manabu Soya from WRESTLE-1. Facing them will be a trio of wrestlers trained in DDT's developmental brand, DNA. Higuchi has a sumo background and he might be able to overpower the former Triple Crown champion and the rest of his team.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) Masakatsu Funaki (Freelance) & Ken Shamrock (Freelance) vs. Masashi Takeda (Freelance) & Takuya Nomura (BJW)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Two key figures from Pancrase's past will tag together for the first time. They'll be facing someone unlike any of their opponent as well, deathmatch champion Masashi Takeda. Takeda was trained by one of the greatest grapplers of all time, Kiyoshi Tamura. He is too, a skilled grappler. Teaming with him is the super-rookie Takuya Nomura.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Kazushi Sakuraba (PHOENIX) vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Sakuraba has booked himself in a singles match against one of the best wrestlers in Japan, Katsuhiko Nakajima from NOAH! While the age difference might seem too much, Sakuraba has been an underdog before.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) PANCRASE VERSUS IGF NEW: Minoru Suzuki (Freelance) & Yukio Sakaguchi (DDT) vs. Hideki Suzuki (Freelance) & Shinya Aoki (ONE)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> The main event pits alumni from two important organizations in the history of MMA and pro wrestling. Each team will try to prove that their style is superior. Not only that, but they're all extremely accomplished fighters on their own. Minoru Suzuki is obviously a legend in both MMA and pro wrestling, Sakaguchi is a black belt in several martial arts, Aoki is one of the greats in MMA, and Hideki Suzuki might currently be the best wrestler in the world with a throwback to old school catch-as-catch-can.</p><p> </p><p> Let me know if you have any feedback, and if any wrestlers who would fit the concept come to mind. There aren't many more I can think of haha. If anyone wants to do picks, that'd be really cool as well:</p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) Timothy Thatcher, Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini vs. Ikuto Hidaka, Keita Yano & Fuminori Abe<p> 2) Kikutaro vs. Antonio Honda</p><p> 3) Suwama, Manabu Soya & Atsushi Aoki vs. Kazusada Higuchi, Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> 4) Masakatsu Funaki & Ken Shamrock vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura</p><p> 5) Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima</p><p> 6) Minoru Suzuki & Yukio Sakaguchi vs. Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki</p></div></blockquote>
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