Derek B Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 Iron Japan Wrestling: Raising The Iron Mountain by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg For you loyal IJW fans, here are the results of their last tour show this time around… if you want to help them out then the DVD of the entire tour should be available on their website, you might need to use some kind of translator program to make it readable though, but I think it’ll probably be the top option if you go to their website. Thursday, Week 1, June IJW Raising The Iron Mountain Gunma Hall: 33 in attendance - Noritoshi Miura defeated BISON Yanovia pinfall at 9:43 following a Storm Rider. Meeting in a rematch of their Iron Man Tournament bout, these two men have fast developed a rivalry that sparked in the tag team ranks. Yano picked up the win the first time around, but this time it was Miura who got the fall, scoring with a Storm Rider to get the pinfall.RATING: 2/10 - Oda Yakuta defeated Brute Kikuchi via pinfall at 12:42 following a Yakuta-Bomb. Yakuta finally started to regain momentum as his wild offensive flurries proved to be enough to stop his powerhouse opponent in this match. A big Yakuta-Bomb was enough to end this match as Kikuchi slips downwards on the Iron Mountain. RATING: 2/10 - IRON CHALLENGER: Nariaki Hitomi defeated Brother Yoshiitaka via pinfall at 17:38 following a Lariat. This was an exciting match between two sharply contrasting styles of wrestler. Yoshiitaka’s risk taking offense saw him break up Hitomi’s rhythm for lengthy periods of the match but in the end Hitomi’s power proved superior to speed, as he hit a tiring Yoshiitaka with a devastating Lariat and the pinfall victory that keeps him in prime position to challenge for the IJW World Heavyweight Championship. RATING: 4/10 - IRON CHALLENGER: Hitomaro Suzuki defeated Tsurayuki Kamachi via pinfall at 20:15 following a Backdrop Driver. Two fiery combatants faced off in one of the hardest hitting and best technical encounters IJW has yet seen. Starting off slowly as the two men got a feel for each other, the match also saw some hard hitting striking battles that left both men in a lot of pain. In the end Suzuki had just a little more fire on this night and managed to pick up a pinfall folllowing a devastating Backdrop Driver. RATING: 5/10 - IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Dynamite Narahashi retains over Onishi Takuma via pinfall at 18:47 following a Narahashi Cutter. Narahashi held on in the face of some brutal barrages of strikes from Takuma, repeatedly escaping some mounted flurries by squirming to the ropes. Takuma’s experience seemed like it may have been enough to win but after a lengthy battle he seemed to be running out of energy as Narahashi’s superior conditioning came into play. With both men trying everything they could to end the match, it was Narahashi who came up trumps as he pulled out a Narahashi Cutter from the depths of nowhere to retain the IJW World Heavyweight Championship.RATING: 4/10 Match of the night has to go to Suzuki vs Kamachi… the young guys really put on a great match and threw everything at each other while also showing they have a lot of technique to back up their toughness. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see these guys in PGHW somewhere down the line. The main event was also a very good match of a different kind, with the main story being Takuma’s experience vs the youth energy of Narahashi. Good performances by both men, I can’t wait to see them on the next tour as both have some great moves. Takuma’s chops look insane sometimes… it really looks like he’s killing people when he hits them. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 The IJW website has already announced that the next tour will feature the Blind Faith Tournament that was talked about in their initial press release. Seems some new blood will join the company at least for the duration of the tournament, though with the debut of EXODUS 2010 it will be interesting to see what calibre of new addition we’ll get to see. Their next press release will have the complete listing of the Iron Mountain and the pairings for the Blind Faith Tournament along with tour details. I can’t wait for the Blind Faith tournament, random tag teams always lead to interesting situations and I’m hoping they find some pairings they can use on the way to crowning their own tag team champions. Another mountain to climb and all that… As ever, if you want to talk to me about who they might bring in or about the general state of Japanese wrestling, let me know! I’m always happy to talk and you never know when you might learn something new. Til then, have fun and be careful when you watch PGHW... you never know when you might get injured! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 1, 2010 Share Posted February 1, 2010 Damn you Derek! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 1, 2010 Author Share Posted February 1, 2010 ProWrestlingHits.com/japan + Tetsunori Yasuda wrestles with broken collar bone, youngster praised for his toughness + Sadaharu Jimbo steps down as president of PGHW, hands over the reigns of the company to his son Seiji Jimbo + Details of PGHW press conference with Seiji Jimbo and his plans for the company’s future + Spyder Yakuta victorious in the Matsumoto Hall as EXODUS 2010 crown their first champion + Oniji “Burning EXILE” Takashiita signs with PGHW, is he finally coming out from the cold? + Former MMA star Roy Edison claims “I’m ready to take on the best in PGHW and put them in their place” + John “Hell Monkey” Pathlow joins PGHW full time + BREAKING NEWS: Legendary lucha libre star El Patron saves child from being hit by a bus in Mexico City! + Indy standout Hitomaro Suzuki signs for PGHW, heads to SAISHO to train. Iron Japan Wrestling tour results so far by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg While Japanese wrestling continues to live in a state of turmoil, some of us just have to keep plucking out the valuable information and sharing it with the fans (you guys and fruits!) who don’t quite understand what is going on. Within the last 12 months three of the biggest promotions in the country have gotten new owners through politics, death and retirement… another major organisation died, the only joshi promotion was almost dismantled through retirements and the only steady influences at the moment seem to be the small indy promotions who are trying to build themselves amidst the chaos. Which brings me back on topic with Iron Japan Wrestling. In a bid to catch the imagination of the fans they have organised the Blind Faith tournament, a tag team tournament where everyone is drawn with random partners.. the winning team must then face off against each other in order to get a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight Championshp currently held by Dynamite Narahashi. Fun times. Here’s a translated copy of their press release which has quite a lot of changes… even IJW hasn’t been untouched by the changes sweeping the country. Iron Japan Wrestling presents… The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 The Iron Mountain is a treacherous place, the ever changing slopes weave a maze that few can fight through in order to reach the summit. Watching down from the peak of the Iron Mountain is IJW World Heavyweight champion Dynamite Narahashi… seeking to challenge him were three men. With the challenge of Onishi Takuma fended off, the next in line was Hitomaro Suzuki. However, he has chosen to depart the Iron Mountain in favour of a different adventure, allowing Nariaki Hitomi to climb closet to the peak. When the Blind Faith Tour concludes, Dynamite Narahashi will meet his challenger Nariaki Hitomi… with the winner watching to see who will face them next as the final battle between tag partners rages. The following are the current standings on the Iron Mountain. Each man’s standing takes into account his successes and his failures in an IJW ring, along with the quality of opposition they have faced. The vacant Top Contenders place will be claimed in short order, such is the competitive nature of those who climb the Iron Mountain. A “W” signifies a recent victory. A “L” signifies a recent loss. A “D” signifies a recent draw. The most recent result is on the left hand side. Only the 5 most recent results are shown. THE IRON MOUNTAIN IJW World Heavyweight Champion: Dynamite Narahashi Top Contenders W - Nariaki Hitomi L - Onishi Takuma (vacant) The Iron Mountain LW - Tsurayuki Kamachi LW - Brother Yoshiitaka WL - Oda Yakuta WW - Noritoshi Miura LW - Brute Kikuchi LL - BISON Yano - Inejiro Yoshizawa L - Lion Genji L - Musashi New Challengers - Kali Hanari - Shiba Mizoguchi - Taheji Konoe[ - Tobei Sugmiura - Tomohiko Wakai - Yusuke Takahama CHALLENGERS BISON Yano - Standing 6’6 and weighing 290 pounds, BISON is one of the most powerful men in wrestling today. His most devastating technique, the Yano Express boot, and his team with fellow powerhouse Brute Kikuchi are not to be underestimated. The luck of the draw has paired him with one of his tag team rivals Inejiro Yoshizawa, in a match where he will face IJW founder Onishi Takuma and his own regular tag team partner in the first round… Brother Yoshiitaka – A middleweight with a wide array of skills, Yoshiitaka has already proven himself to be quite the competitor. More than capable of throwing his weight around to use his body as an offensive weapon, his first round match will see him be the heaviest competitor in the contest while he will also be looking forward to his contendership bout with Tsurayuki Kamacha following the departure of Hitomaro Suzuki. Brute Kikuchi – The largest man in Iron Japan Wrestling at 6’9 and 303 pounds, Akira “Brute” Kikuchi who will look to use his Kikuchi Crush to put opponents away. He regularly teams with BISON Yano and has a blossoming rivalry forming with the Apocalpyse Riders tag team. His pairing with IJW founder Onishi Takuma has been declared the early favourites to win the entire tournament due to their combined experience and power. Dynamite Narahashi – Winner of the Iron Man Tournament and holder of the IJW World Heavyweight Championship, Dynamite Narahashi fended off Onishi Takuma to hold onto his spot at the top of the Iron Mountain. Free from competing in the Blind Faith tournament as champion, he will face off once again with Nariaki Hitomi with the championship on the line, seeking to continue his perfect record against the challenger. Inejiro Yoshizawa (Spirit of the Lizard) – Best known as a tag team wrestler with Noritoshi Miura, Inejiro has demonstrated potential to be a singles star too. Buliding his reputation in IJW in both singles and tag team competition, he is part of a developing tag team rivalry with Yano & Kikuchi. Now forced to team with Yano in Blind Faith action, their team may have troubles working together. Kali Hanari – A new addition to the IJW roster of challengers, Hanari is a young graduate of WLW’s highly esteemed youth system. A promising junior heavyweight, his quickness is his main asset and he will seek to climb the mountains of IJW as fast as possible. He teams with Brother Yoshiitaka in the Blind Faith tournament, a draw he must surely be happy with. Lion Genji – At aged just 20 years old, Lion Genji is very much a young lion out to prove himself. Inexperience is his greatest enemy, though every contest is a learning experience and he has shown considerable skill. Teaming with Shiba Mizoguchi should help to teach him a lot about the technical aspects of wrestling. Musashi – Just 18 years old, standing 5’9 and weighing 170 pounds, this young man does not seem to know his own size as he demands to fight in the heavyweight division. A dangerous opponent when he gets going, he has yet to gain enough experience to put his undoubted skills to good use. He has already stated that he wishes no help, but his teammate Yusuke Takahama knows he must try to tame the young lion if their team is to progress in the tournament. Nariaki Hitomi – Having boldly declared himself to be the uncrowned IJW champion prior to the Iron Man Tournament, Hitomi was forced to be humble following 2 defeats to Dynamite Narahashi in singles action and a third defeat in tag team action. Determined to not only avenge those losses but to also claim the title he said would be his, fortune has smiled his way and he has been granted a chance to reach the top of the Iron Mountain that he must seize with both hands. Glory awaits him if he can succeed. Noritoshi Miura (Spirit of the Shark) – One half of the Apocalypse Riders, Miura disappointed in singles action in the Iron Man Tournament. Seeking to improve himself and to establish his tag team as the premiere team in IJW, he faces stiff competition in the form of Yano & Kikuchi who share a similar goal. Teamed with another tough brawler in Oda Yakuta, their team promises to go far in the tournament. Oda Yakuta – This athletic heavyweight has shown himself to be a highly promising talent who’s reputation so far has been built with the defunct INSPIRE organisation. Known for his hard hitting brawling style, Oda seeks to challenger the top of the mountain after this tour by winning the Blind Faith Tournament. Onishi Takuma – The founder of IJW, Onishi Takuma fought valiantly in his bid to reach the summit of the Iron Mountain, only to be defeated by champion Dynamite Narahashi in a hard hitting contest. Takuma seeks another chance to face the champion through the Blind Faith tournament and gained a favourable draw when he was paired with the young powerhouse Brute Kikuchi. Shiba Mizoguchi – A new challenger for the Iron Mountain, “The Crab Master” is a submissions specialist who has spent many years training with SAISHO. Now unleashed and able to do what he pleases, he will be looking to use his many leg submissions to help him reach the peak of the Iron Mountain. His first step will be in the Blind Faith tournament, teaming with the young Lion Genji. Taheji Konoe – The vicious Taheji Konoe is the first WEXXV wrestler to step into an IJW ring, and his reputation precedes him. Known for his savage intensit and killer instinct, he is a dangerous competitor who’s team with fellow newcomer Tobei Sugimura is a dark horse to advance far in the tournament. Tobei Sugmiura – This instantly recognisable youngster is a promising talent who has developed a reputation for being extremely versatile in the ring. With a good grounding in many styles of wrestling, the blue haired youngster is one of the most adaptable stars. Being thrown into the Blind Faith tournament with a tag team partner like Taheji Konoe makes their duo one of the dark horses for success. Tomohiko Wakai - This young heavyweight grappler is a graduate of the Tokyo Wrestling Dojo who has joined IJW as a trainee. With almost no experience, Wakai is described by his trainers as “a dedicated student of the gym who has a good grasp of the fundamentals of wrestling”. With only a handful of matches to his name, he comes to the tournament as an unknown quantity and will be teaming with Tsurayuki Kamachi. Tsurayuki Kamachi – One of the brightest prospects in Japan, Kamachi got his basic training with the PGHW youth ranks and cemented his young reputation with INSPIRE. Whether wrestling on the mat or striking on his feet, Kamachi is proving to be one of the most exciting competitors that IJW has to offer. He has a contendership bout with Brother Yoshiitaka coming up on top of his challenge in the blind Faith tournament with the untested rookie, Tomohiko Wakai. If all things go well, Kamachi could potentially be next in line for a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight championship. Yusuke Takahama – Since making the switch from baseball to wrestling, Takahama has had to endure a tough path. Few believed he would be tough enough to endure the basic training and yet he did, and with several years experience behind him now he has matured into an excellent Junior competitor. Coming to the Irom Mountain to further prove himself, his team with Musashi is already on rocky ground as the fiery youngster is on a mission to prove himself too. SCHEDULE Iron Japan Wrestling brings the unique Blind Faith Tournament to the Gunma Hall over the course of 3 weeks. The first show brings action from the Blind Faith Tournament as well as the debut of Shiba Mizoguchi as he takes on Brute Kikuchi, with IJW founder Onishi Takuma also in action against Noritoshi Miura, though Takuma’s contender status is not on the line. The second show sees more action from the Blind Faith Tournament, with the vacant contender’s spot being contested in the main event between Kamachi and Yoshiitaka, who will have met in the tournament by then. IJW Heavyweight Title challengers Nariaki Hitomi will also be in action, having accepted Tomohiko Wakai’s bold challenge to a contender’s match. The third and final show on the tour will see the finals of the Blind Faith Tournament. In order to win, each of the eight randomly drawn pairings must try to demonstrate skill and teamwork in order to overcome their opponents on the road to victory. With a bond forged, the victorious team must then do battle with each other in order to be the ultimate winner of the Blind Faith Tournament and earn a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight Championship! The championship will also be on the line this night, as the reigning champion Dynamite Narahashi makes his sole appearance of the tour to defend the summit of the Iron Mountain against Nariaki Hitomi (or perhaps Tomohiko Wakai in the event of an upset). With the champion holding 3 victories over the challenger this year, Hitomi will be focussed on pulling one back while the champion will once again seek to further his reputation with another big win. SHOW 1: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 1 RANKINGS MATCH: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Brute Kikuchi BF MATCH #1: Kali Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Musashi/Yusuke Takahama Onishi Takuma vs Noritoshi Miura MAIN EVENT – BF MATCH #2: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura vs Tomohiko Wakai/Tsurayuki Kamachi SHOW 2: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 2 CONTENDER MATCH: Nariaki Hitomi vs Tomohiko Wakai BF MATCH #3: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Noritoshi Miura/Oda Yakuta BF MATCH #4: Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi vs BISON Yano/Inejiro Yoshizawa MAIN EVENT - CONTENDER MATCH: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Brother Yoshiitaka SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BF SEMI FINAL #1: BF MATCH #1 vs BF MATCH #2 BF SEMI FINAL #2: BF MATCH #3 vs BF MATCH #4 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BF FINAL: BF SEMI FINAL #1 vs BF SEMI FINAL #2 MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Winning team face each other for an IJW World Heavyweight Championship Match! ----- Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountain, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. So yeah… a lot to take in there. The departure of Suzuki was a big loss for IJW as he was undoubtedly one of their top guys. His match with Kamachi at Raising The Iron Mountain stole the show and I said back then that both of those guys wouldn’t look at all out of place in PGHW. I just hope Takuma doesn’t find out I said that, I don’t think I’d ever be able to recover if he gave me a chop! Anywho, there you have it. Big tournament with some very random looking tournament brackets. I think they might actually have randomly set them rather than making some logical fun teams… which would be fun, though I doubt any reasonable promoter would do that.. would they? Leaving things to chance? They wouldn’t… surely… Hit me up if you want to chat about puro… the economy may be in dire straights, but Elemental III has so much gold right now that he’s practically turned into one in his own right! Junior, Junior Tag and Best of Super Juniors Trophy? Dayum!! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 2, 2010 Share Posted February 2, 2010 I'm really digging this diary thus far, by far my favorite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowedFlames Posted February 3, 2010 Share Posted February 3, 2010 SHOW 1: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 1 RANKINGS MATCH: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Brute Kikuchi (If only to keep him on the level as Takuma-san) BF MATCH #1: Kali Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Musashi/Yusuke Takahama (coin flip pick) Onishi Takuma vs Noritoshi Miura Momentum build for BF MAIN EVENT – BF MATCH #2: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura vs Tomohiko Wakai/Tsurayuki Kamachi (This just feels right to me for some reason.) SHOW 2: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 2 CONTENDER MATCH: Nariaki Hitomi vs Tomohiko Wakai (I don't see another top contender going down just yet, though an upset may yet happen.) BF MATCH #3: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Noritoshi Miura/Oda Yakuta (The RNG does not lie!) BF MATCH #4: Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi vs BISON Yano/Inejiro Yoshizawa (I'm thinking Takuma-san is going to be one of the gatekeepers for IJW and Brute's along for the ride for now.) MAIN EVENT - CONTENDER MATCH: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Brother Yoshiitaka (While it'd be cool to have a Shaolin in the upper three, someone would inevitably start spouting Shaolin Soccer references, and we can't have that this early!) SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BF SEMI FINAL #1: Konoe/Sugimura advance BF SEMI FINAL #2: Takuma/Kikuchi advance (Setting up a decent final round) IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi (Do not see the champ losing this early.) BF FINAL: Konoe/Sugimura with an upset as they focus on the arms of Takuma to force the submission. MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Sugimura via attrition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxxHexx Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Good creativity, these are flesh ideas, and sounds like something off of puroresufans, which is a good thing. If I know who these guys were this would be a favorite of mine for sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 SHOW 1: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 1 RANKINGS MATCH: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Brute Kikuchi BF MATCH #1: Kali Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Musashi/Yusuke Takahama Onishi Takuma vs Noritoshi Miura MAIN EVENT – BF MATCH #2: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura vs Tomohiko Wakai/Tsurayuki Kamachi SHOW 2: IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 2 CONTENDER MATCH: Nariaki Hitomi vs Tomohiko Wakai BF MATCH #3: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Noritoshi Miura/Oda Yakuta BF MATCH #4: Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi vs BISON Yano/Inejiro Yoshizawa MAIN EVENT - CONTENDER MATCH: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Brother Yoshiitaka SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BF SEMI FINAL #1: BF MATCH #1 vs BF MATCH #2 BF SEMI FINAL #2: BF MATCH #3 vs BF MATCH #4 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BF FINAL: BF SEMI FINAL #1 vs BF SEMI FINAL #2 MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Winning team face each other for an IJW World Heavyweight Championship Match! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 4, 2010 Author Share Posted February 4, 2010 ProWrestlingHits.com/japan + Samoan Machine on his way to BHOTWG, tipped to be a huge star with them! + Munemitsu Senmatsu claims WEXXV Warrior’s Heart title for third time. Insiders believe he could be a big star if he improves his wrestling skills. + Stone Yoshikawa joins BHOTWG, is currently in the Hinote Dojo to finen tune his skills in preparation for the big time. + BREAKING STORY: Big Smack Scott in face turn shocker!! + Tsurayuki Kamachi: “Iron Japan Wrestling is the future” + EXODUS 2010 featuring less competitors on shows, questions raised about their finances + Interview with John “Nemesis” Campbell: “My son is his own man, he’ll soon learn in RIPW what pro wrestling is really all about…” IJW Blind Faith Tournament results so far by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Two nights of the tourn down so far, just the big event to go. As is always the case with small promotions, it's hard to predict what they're going to do next. Between trying to find stars and make money, they don't have quite the same kind of stratification (word of the day!) of talent that the big promotions like PGHW and BHOTWG do. Still... it is fun. Thursday, Week 3, August IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 1 Gunma Hall: 36 in attendance - Shiba Mizoguchi defeated Brute Kikuchi via submission at 11:01 following a Raised Crab. Got crabs? “The Crab Master” lived up to his name as he fended off the powerful Kikuchi from the get go by targetting the legs for submission attempts. Kikuchi had the better of the early going but as time wore on he was worn down, until eventually he had no choice but to tap to a painful looking Raised Crab. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH: Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka defeated Musashi/Yusuke Takahama via pinfall at 11:30 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. With many of IJW’s Junior wrestlers in this match, the future seems bright for the division as they put on an excellent show. Both sides battled with fire and toughness, trying from the start to eliminate the competition. Musashi and Hanari clashed many times as the young lions sought to prove themselves but the experience and size advantage brought to the match by Brother Yoshiitaka was enough to allow his side to survive some hard hitting offense, with Yoshiitaka overpowering Musashi and winning with a Shaolin Powerbomb to advance his team to the next stage of the Blind Faith Tournament. RATING: 3/10 - Onishi Takuma defeated Noritoshi Miura via pinfall at 14:14 following a barrage of mounted palm strikes. Coming off the back of a couple of wins on the previous tour, Miura sought to strike upwards in the rankings with this match. Both men hit hard and hit often as brawling dominated the match up, but when it comes to toughness and brawling Takuma has the edge. Using his devastating chops, he wore down Miura enough to gain the mount position and rained down palm strikes until he was confident of a pinfall victory, with the referee close to calling a stoppage prior to that. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura defeated Tomohiko Wakai/Tsurayuki Kamachi via pinfall at 16:58 following a Savage Cradle DDT. More Blind Faith Tournament action in this match that also saw the debuts of three men in an IJW ring. Wakai is a youngster who has been taken on as a trainee of IJW and put in a good showing in his IJW debut as Kamachi worked hard to protect the rookie. But ultimately the team of Sugimura and Konoe showed why even a few years experience is significant, with Konoe taking advantage of Wakai’s exuberance and putting him away with a Savage Cradle DDT. RATING: 4/10 It’s good to see IJW taking their time in building up the promotion in this time of huge recession in Japan… with rumours of EXODUS 2010 already being in financial trouble doing the rounds at the moment, it seems that IJW have adopted a better financial model that is seeing them slowly grow their fanbase in one region. The fans in attendance tonight (a record 36 of them!) got their money’s worth with another night of solid action, highlighted by the debuts of some new talent in the main event and the news that Tsurayuki Kamachi wishes to stay with the company in the long term. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Saturday, Week 4, August IJW Blind Faith 2010 Tour Part 2 Gunma Hall: 29 in attendance - IRON CHALLENGER: Nariaki Hitomi defeats Tomohiko Wakai via pinfall at 7:39 following a Lariat. There is little doubt as to why Wakai was signed up to be a trainee. He has the look and confidence of a champion although it’s clear he needs some work before he has the skills to match. Hitomi toyed with his challenger for a while before putting him away with a devastating Lariat, showing how ready he is for his upcoming IJW World Heavyweight Championship match with Dynamite Narahashi. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji defeated Noritoshi Miura/Oda Yakuta via submission at 12:40 following a Raised Crab. Got crabs? Mizoguchi led this match for his team, relentlessly working over the knees of both opponents when he was in the ring and instructing Lion Genji to do the same. The teamwork clearly paid off as their opponents brawling was effectively neutralised, leading to Mizoguchi locking in the Raised Crab on Miura with Genji using his speed to keep Yakuta away, leading to the submission victory. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH: Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi defeated BISON Yano/Inejiro Yoshizawa via submission at 11:15 following a Takuma Crossface Submission. With the rivalry between the Apocalyse Riders and Yano/Kikuchi still bubbling away, it was clear that one of these teams were never going to get along. The IJW founder Onishi Takuma worked effectively with his tag partner while the other team were reluctant to tag each other at all. In the end, Takuma locked in the submission while Kikuchi and Yano stared each other down, allowing Takuma to pick up the win for his team. Interestingly, Yano and Kikuchi never exchanged a single offensive move with each other during the entire match. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CHALLENGER: Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated Brother Yoshiitaka via submission at 20:03 following an Inverted Sleeper. Two of IJW’s rising stars fought for twenty minutes, searching for the right opening, the right moment to strike, the right weakness to take advantage of… in a contest that could have gone either way it was Kamachi who edged out the victory, capitalising on Yoshiitaka’s missed Senton Bomb to quickly lock in an Inverted Sleeper that forced the tap out. RATING: 4/10 Kamachi moves up into the Contender’s pool near the top of the Iron Mountain, which will guarantee him a title match if he can hold onto his spot up there for long enough to get one. Another solid show from IJW that saw the singles debut of Tomohiko Wakai… the kid looks like a champion but he’s years away from being anywhere near gold if tonight’s performance is anything to go by. Even so, the main event was once again a good match… Kamachi really knows how to bring it and IJW must be thanking their lucky stars that they have him on board now that Hitomaru Suzuki has gone. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Been another fun tour from the little group who have been overshadowed in recent months by the far more prolific EXODUS 2010… but in terms of consistent quality, I think I prefer IJW. They’ve just got the big event left to go now, the inaugural Blind Faith Tournament. Here’s how they line up for the event now, kudos to my man ShadowedFlames for his guesses… but given how many he got right so far, it seems that’s all they were since he barely got half right! Try this updated bracket for some new picks, see if your luck can change. SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #1: Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #2: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BLIND FAITH FINAL: BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #1 vs BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #2 MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Winning team face each other for an IJW World Heavyweight Championship Match! Eat puro, drink puro, breathe puro…. Just try not to think of the consequences, it’ll probably leave your internal organs badly bruised! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowedFlames Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 Here’s how they line up for the event now, kudos to my man ShadowedFlames for his guesses… but given how many he got right so far, it seems that’s all they were since he barely got half right! Try this updated bracket for some new picks, see if your luck can change. - Robert Greene Hey, I'll cop to the fact that yes, they were mainly guesses. Not ashamed to admit it. That said, I don't think many of my picks are changing.... SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #1: Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #2: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BLIND FAITH FINAL: Still going with Sugimura and Konoe MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Still going with Sugimura, which forces Derek to lose the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtlant Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #1: Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #2: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BLIND FAITH FINAL: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi MAIN EVENT - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: Taheji Konoe vs Tobei Sugimura Wow, I'm kinda glad I missed that last round of predictions, as I would've picked Kamachi's team to go the distance. Not really sure how you'll handle this one now. I don't think either Genji or Mizoguchi are ready to challenge for the title yet, so I think they're out. Takuma would be the most likely/qualified of the others, but I don't know if Kikuchi warrants a tourney title win at this stage in his career. Hanari/Yoshiitaka have some potential, but I'll go with Konoe/Sugimura to take the tourney, with Konoe beating Sugimura for the title shot. I'll be interested to see where this one goes, but I'm going to guess that my picks are waaaaay off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 4, 2010 Share Posted February 4, 2010 I'm not gonna predict this time round, but I am gonna say that I'm loving the thread and thanks for the occasional subtle namedrop in your dynasty, it warms me to the pulp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigpapa42 Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 Put off making predictions on the last show and then missed out. Sorry. My bad. I'll make up for it now! SHOW 3: IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #1: Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka vs Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura BLIND FAITH SEMI FINAL #2: Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Nariaki Hitomi BLIND FAITH FINAL: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura vs Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi MAIN EVENT - Taheji Konoe vs Tobei Sugimura! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 Results by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg More news from the IJW Blind Faith Tournament. This is the final show of the tour and will see the remaining four randomly paired teams face off in tournament action before the winning team faces each other for a shot at the IJW World Championship, which itself will be contested tonight between champion Dynamite Narahashi and challenger Nariaki Hitomi. I hope you’ve made your predictions for this most unpredictable of tournaments! Thursday, Week 1, September IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 Gunma Hall: 46 in attendance - BLIND FAITH: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura defeated Kaii Hanari/Brother Yoshiitaka via pinfall at 13:09 following a Savage Cradle DDT. It was clear going into this match that the exciting pairing of Hanari and Yoshiitaka were the crowd favourites in this one… with little to separate the sides on paper, this came down to raw aggression, something Konoe has in spades. With both sides working well together and demonstrating that they had some tag team plans, Konoe crushed Hanari’s dreams with a Savage Cradle DDT to pick up the pinfall for his team. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH: Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi defeated Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji via submission at 16:19 following a Takuma Crossface Submission. The tournament favourites on paper put in a strong showing to advance, combining their power and experience to pull out the win, although in truth their opposition worked far better as a unit. Mizoguchi tried to give his opposition crabs throughout the match but he was fended off and beaten down by powerful strikes and… more powerful offense. In the end Takuma made Lion Genji tap out to the Takuma Crossface Submission, driving him to the mat with chops while Kikuchi guarded the move well enough that Mizoguchi couldn’t make the save. RATING: 4/10 - IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: Dynamite Narahashi defeated Nariaki Hitomi via pinfall at 27:20 following a Narahashi Cutter. Far and away the lengthiest match in IJW’s short history, this was a showcase of endurance and showed that Hitomi has learned a lot from each of his previous defeats at the hands of the IJW World Heavyweight champion. Both men started out slowly, deliberately avoiding making mistakes that the other could take advantage of, with each avoiding the other’s finisher early. Hitomi’s Lariat hit later in the match but the champion showed real toughness to kick out as the largest IJW crowd yet roared it’s approval. But as with every other meeting of the two, Narahashi managed to fight back and the Narahashi Cutter proved a difference maker, breaking Hitomi’s momentum once again. RATING: 4/10 - BLIND FAITH TAG FINAL: Taheji Konoe/Tobei Sugimura defeted Onishi Takuma/Brute Kikuchi via pinfall at 15:17 following a Savage Cradle DDT. Overconfidence can be a terrible thing… with the size, power and experience advantage in their favour Takuma and Kikuchi seemed to look beyond this match to when they would face off against each other. Showing ruthless aggression, Konoe and Sugimura took advantage of every opportunity to strike while the opposition failed to get on the same page. Takuma didn’t even try to break up the pinfall following the Savage Cradle DDT, so confident was he that his partner would kick out of the move. RATING: 3/10 - BLIND FAITH TOURNAMENT FINALE: With no time to take a breather, this match started off quickly with Sugimura seizing the opportunity to get the first offense in while his “partner’s” back was turned. The smaller of the two competitors fired off with as much offense as he could muster, but Konoe’s toughness shone through and his experience at dealing with pain in WEXXV started to help him. The match got violent as it swung around the ringside area before Konoe brought the match to it’s peak, with the Blind Faith Tournament trophy in his sights. Sugimura started pulling out some dropkicks but was bullied around, in the end meeting his demise when he fell victim to a Savage Cradle DDT. It only took one after the fatigue of the tournament set it, Sugimura had no answer and his shoulders were counted down for the three. Taheji Konoe defeated Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 8:40 following a Savage Cradle DDT. RATING: 4/10 - With the matches for the night complete, the crowd were rewarded witih Konoe’s trophy presentation ceremony. The ceremony was brief, with Tatsui Saji, IJW’s young announcer, awarding him the trophy and reminding the crowd that Konoe has not only won the trophy, but he has won the right to face Dynamite Narahashi for the IJW World Heavyweight Championship on the next tour… which allows him to skip the line and challenge even without being a top Contender. Overall, not IJW’s best show… but that’s partly because of the random tournament format (seriously, I think it’s ACTUALLY randomly drawn) and partly because guys like Tobei Sugimura aren’t very good… and yet were around for most of the show. Personally, while I thought the action was lacking a bit I enjoyed the tournament. There were some fun teams out there and I think we’ll be seeing a lot more of some of them on the next tour, which has already been announced as being the one where IJW crown their first ever IJW World Tag Team champions. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 I’m looking forwared to more from IJW, make sure you buy their DVDs legally from their website in order to make sure they get your money. The more money they make, the better they can do and I’d really like them to succeed given the nature of the Japanese economy right now. It’s like… as low as it can get… and getting lower. Ouch! Will probably be about 6 weeks before the details of the next tour are up and the Iron Mountain standings are publiched. Look forward to those translations when I get the chance to… translate them. Kudos to Mssrs JTL Ant and Bigpapa42 for their predictions, they’ve been a couple of guys I’ve had the pleasure to talk puro with recently. Whether you be animal, vegetable or mineral drop me a line about all things puro and I’ll do my best to answer them just like I did these two puro experts. - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 5, 2010 Author Share Posted February 5, 2010 IJW to hold bonus show as Blind Faith winner demands immediate title match! by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Surprising news from Iron Japan Wrestling today as they announce an additional show. It doesn’t feature a lot of talent on it and is mostly matches for people to determine their rankings on the Iron Mountain… but it is a bit of a surprise. Ulterior motives perhaps? Or a kayfabe way to spark interest through surprises? You never can tell with puro companies. Iron Japan Wrestling: Stars rally to make strides up the Iron Mountain! Glory falls to those who will climb the mountain, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. This has been said of the Iron Mountain since it’s inception and has been embodied by the fighting spirit and desire shown by Taheji Konoe, winner of the 2010 Blind Faith Tournament. Having earned the right to face the IJW World Heavyweight Champion, he has demanded his championship match with immediate effect, forcing Dynamite Narahashi to bend to his will. Other challengers also wish to conquer the Iron Mountain, and so they will take their first steps as the seek to replace those who have already started their climb. SCHEDULE IJW Here Comes A New Challenger! IRON RANKING: Kaii Hanari vs Lion Genji IRON RANKING: Inejiro Yoshizawa vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Taheji Konoe ----- Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountain, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. So yeah… surprise move there. Hit me up with all your speculation, I’m going to go try trawling the newswire to find out the behind the scenes story of what is going on. Uh… later guys! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxxHexx Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 IRON RANKING: Kaii Hanari vs Lion Genji IRON RANKING: Inejiro Yoshizawa vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Taheji Konoe I believe this show is being held on short notice due to Dynamite getting signed away from you, thus you need him to drop the belt before leaving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtlant Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 IJW Here Comes A New Challenger! IRON RANKING: Kaii Hanari vs Lion Genji IRON RANKING: Inejiro Yoshizawa vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Taheji Konoe Sounds like Narahashi is leaving. Tough break if that's the case. Konoe could have a good run though if he gets the right opponents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 I'm agreeing 100% with jtlant, so no need to post. This show's either being done to drop Narahashi's title, or to transfer some overness from some tour contract guys to some ppa contract guys, and you forgot to do that. The first option is most likely though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 5, 2010 Share Posted February 5, 2010 IJW Here Comes A New Challenger! IRON RANKING: Kaii Hanari vs Lion Genji IRON RANKING: Inejiro Yoshizawa vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Shiba Mizoguchi vs Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Dynamite Narahashi © vs Taheji Konoe Sounds like Narahashi is leaving. Tough break if that's the case. Konoe could have a good run though if he gets the right opponents. That is my prediction exactly! Down to the T! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 7, 2010 Author Share Posted February 7, 2010 IJW Here Comes a New Challenger! results by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Here are the results of the recent bonus show offered up by IJW to it’s expanding empire of fans. Seems that some of you guys may have been right after all, as I’ll explain later… Thursday, Week 1, September IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 Gunma Hall: 46 in attendance - IRON RANKING: Lion Genji defeated Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 8:46 following a Fusion Reactor. Hanari was looking to take his place on the Iron Mountain with a victory but Genji pulled out the victory in this battle of the young lions. A good showing for the two youngsters, but Hanari now has to start from the bottom if he wants to work his way to the top of the mountain. RATING: 3/10 - IRON RANKING: Tobei Sugimura defeated Inejiro Yoshizawa via pinfall at 8:54 following a roll up. There was an obvious size difference in this one as Yoshizawa outweighed his challenger by a clear 60 pounds. He was in control for most of the match and looked to end the match with an End Of The World, only for Sugimura’s charmed IJW career to continue as he pulled out a roll-up from nowhere and keep the shoulders down for a three. Something of an upset, Sugimura takes his place near the middle of the rankings in what was honestly a terrible match. RATING: 2/10 - IRON RANKING: Yusuke Takahama defeated Shiba Mizoguchi via pinfall at 13:12 following a Super Backdrop Suplex. For two men with relatively weak reputations, Takahama and Mizoguchi almost stole the show with this match. The Crab Master tried his hardest to give Takahama all kinds of crabs but the former baseball star-turned- pro wrestler showed how far he has come in his few years in the sport, picking up the clean win over his larger opponent and cementing himself a position near the top of the Iron Mountain, perhaps close to securing himself a Challenger shot. RATING: 4/10 - IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: There were many rumours heading into this match that Narahashi, the champion, was leaving Iron Japan Wrestling. Konoe, fresh off his victory in the first annual Blind Faith Tournament came out swinging in this one, wrestling with a fierce intensity that forced Narahashi to use every trick he had to stall for time and try to evade the onslaught. Narahashi, always using his brain to turn things in his favour even hit a Narahashi Cutter on the floor that almost gave him a count out win and really riled up the crowd. But in the end, he tried to hit his patented finisher inside the ring but was blocked, and an intense Taheji Konoe forcefully executed a Savage Cradle DDT to pick up the three count. Taheji Konoe defeated Dynamite Narahashi via pinfall at 20:48 following a Savage Cradle DDT. RATING: 4/10 - With the crowd hot off the title change and Konoe looking drained after a tough match, the show ended with the champion celebrating his win with the fans, though most notably a few of the IJW wrestlers came out to have some words with the champion including Tobei Sugimura (his tag partner from Blind Faith) and Onishi Takuma, the founder of the company. We don’t know what was said or what implications it may have on the future. In terms of match quality, there were a couple of not particularly good matches on this show but it was trumped by two good matches that made up for it. A new champion was crowned here tonight as Taheji Konoe defeated Dynamite Narahashi to climb to the top of the Iron Mountain on the back of his Blind Faith tournament win… OVERALL RATING: 4/10 … but knowing that Dynamite Narahashi is off to the Hinote Dojo, the place he began his career in a bid to get back into the BHOTWG program. With new management in charge there in the form of Tetsuzan Kaneko, it seems that Narahashi is getting a second look in. He’s a good talent who has proven that he has what it takes to run with the ball… it might not have been a very big ball, but the IJW ball was worth having and he’s now on his way up again. In terms of booking though, I like that they tried to hide the fact that they were forced into this show by booking all their unranked contenders in matches. I was convinced even if no-one else seemed to be, I guess us smarks are mostly too cynical to be fooled by logical booking, even if it would be nicer to suspend disbelief for a while and just buy into the false reality. I'm looking at you guys, especially Historian, Mr Lant, MaxxHexx and the hooded citrus man himself. Anywho, Iron Japan Wrestling will be back on tour again soon which means we can look forward to an updated rankings list and a new champion on top of the mountain. There should be some IJW tag belts coming up soon so I reckon they will be decided on the next tour. Will there be new tag teams created? Will some Blind Faith pairings re-unite for a run at the gold? Will there be a change of plans like there was on this tour and the tag titles pushed back? Stay tuned to my puro news for all you need to know! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 9, 2010 Author Share Posted February 9, 2010 ProWrestlingHits.com/japan + “Wrecking Ball” Taro Shinoya called up to BHOTWG… does the wild brawler have any chance in the big leagues? + Gakusha trumps Kudo in amazing 45 minute GCG title match! + BHOTWG hyping up debut of youngster Omezo Shikitei + Masutato Kataoka “I’m ready for my PGHW debut, I’ve waited a lifetime and now is my chance to shine!” + Goldrush in GCG! Hyobanshi dethrones Gakusha for GCG title! Cox defeats Coleman for Openweight belt! + Eagle Kawasawa talks about his dream BHOTWG move and how it feels to compete in heavyweight division + EXODUS 2010 in massive debt, Ogiwara reports that “the fans enjoyed our shows, but sadly did not come to the events as hoped” + What were EX2010’s best moments? Takemitsu vs Yakuta feud for the gold wins fan poll! Iron Japan Wrestling unveil plans for new tour, will crown first tag team champions by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Another day, another news story. Rather than looking at the wealth of talent mving up to the big leagues, or even the “news” of some of the lesser known talents hanging up their boots… or even the imminent death of another promotion in Japan as EXODUS 2010’s fiscal failures bite them in the ass… today is a look at Iron Japan Wrestling, the lesser acclaimed promotion that can and will! Today they have released the details of their upcoming tour and their plans to crown their first ever tag team champions with a handful of shows. They may not be as intensive in terms of shows but their shows are enjoyable and worth looking at, not to mention they’ll probably still be around in 6 months time. Here’s a loosely translated transcript of their release for you all to enjoy. IRON JAPAN WRESTLING: SHARED VISIONS TOUR The Iron Mountain has a new lord at it’s summit, as the Blind Faith winner Taheji Konoe dethroned former champion Dynamite Narahashi from the summit by showing true fire and passion. Narahashi had expected to have months to prepare for his challenger but Konoe did not wait, instead grabbing destiny by the horns to lay seige to the summit and claim the IJW World Heavyweight Championship. Lining up to face him are a medley of journeymen, each hoping to complete their journey to the top of the mountain though each must first face the trials and tribulations ahead of them first. The call of the Iron Mountain lures many men, but it’s slopes are hazardous and one missed step can set you back a long way. Sometimes enlisting the help of others is the only way to reach the peak, and as such Iron Japan Wrestling will crown it’s first ever IJW World Tag Team champions, as pairs of challengers work together to prove that teamwork can overcome all. Seeking to reach the top of the Twin Peaks are four teams, some of which are no strangers to the Iron Mountain. The powerful team of Brute Kikuchi and BISON Yano seek to overwhelm their competition, while their rivals the Apocalyse Riders seek to reach the top ahead of them. Emerging from the Blind Faith tournament are the team of Shibo Mizoguchi and Lion Genji, thrown together by fate and bonding as a team. And finally are a pairing who fought opposite each other and found mutual respect as Brother Yoshiitaka and Yusuke Takahama begin to forge their own bond. Over the tour they will compete in a tournament, with the final match up crowning IJW World Tag Team champions, sitting at the Twin Peaks of their own mountain. The Iron Mountain’s new conqueror will face a challenge from one of his contenders, who will engage in battle among themselves to decide who will first challenge the summit. Below them come more challengers, each looking to progress up the mountain in their own way. The draw of the Iron Mountain now extends beyond Japan as the son of a legend makes his way around the world. Cameron Vessey will begin his climb up the mountain, prepared by his family for the tough climb ahead. THE IRON MOUNTAIN A “W” signifies a recent significant victory. A “L” signifies a recent significant loss. A “D” signifies a recent draw. The most recent result is on the left hand side. Only the 5 most recent significant results are shown. IJW World Heavyweight Champion: Taheji Konoe Top Contenders WL - Onishi Takuma WLW - Tsurayuki Kamachi LWW - Nariaki Hitomi The Iron Mountain WL - Oda Yakuta LLW - Brother Yoshiitaka W - Yusuke Takahama LW - Shiba Mizoguchi LWW - Noritoshi Miura LLW - Brute Kikuchi LL - BISON Yano W - Tobei Sugmiura WL - Lion Genji L - Inejiro Yoshizawa L - Musashi L - Tomohiko Wakai LL - Kaii Hanari New Challengers - Cameron Vessey CHALLENGERS BISON Yano - Standing 6’6 and weighing 290 pounds, BISON is one of the most powerful men in wrestling today. His most devastating technique, the Yano Express boot, and his team with fellow powerhouse Brute Kikuchi will certainly be a big threat to the IJW World Tag Team titles on this tour. Brother Yoshiitaka – A middleweight with a wide array of skills, Yoshiitaka has already proven himself to be quite the competitor. More than capable of throwing his weight around to use his body as an offensive weapon, his enviable versatility is now going to be put to the test with his new tag team partner Yusuke Takahama as they seek to become the first ever IJW World Tag Team champions. Brute Kikuchi – The largest man in Iron Japan Wrestling at 6’9 and 303 pounds, Akira “Brute” Kikuchi who will look to use his Kikuchi Crush to put opponents away. He regularly teams with BISON Yano and has a blossoming rivalry forming with the Apocalypse Riders tag team. Will be in tag team tournament action on this tour hoping to win the gold. Cameron Vessey – A second generation superstar with a fine pedigree, Cameron Vessey is the son of the legendary Larry Vessey and nephew of Bryan. The Vessey Brothers have long standing reputations for excellence and Cameron is no exception, proving himself to Rip Chord in his own promotion. The young Vessey now seeks to climb the Iron Mountain and prove himself on his own, starting with a challenging bout against Lion Genji. Inejiro Yoshizawa (Spirit of the Lizard) – Best known as a tag team wrestler with Noritoshi Miura, Inejiro has demonstrated potential to be a singles star too. Buliding his reputation in IJW in both singles and tag team competition, he is part of a developing tag team rivalry with Yano & Kikuchi that may once again be on the front burner as both teams look for tag team gold. Kaii Hanari – Currently residing at the foot of the Iron Mountain, Hanari is an energetic youngster with a bright future in the Junior division when that is established. For now, he seeks to improve his standing and gain ring experience. Lion Genji – At aged just 20 years old, Lion Genji is very much a young lion out to prove himself. Inexperience is his greatest enemy, though every contest is a learning experience and he has shown considerable skill. He was teamed with Shiba Mizoguchi in the Blind Faith tournament and their team has continued on to challenge for the IJW World Tag Team championships. Musashi – Just 18 years old, standing 5’9 and weighing 170 pounds, this young man does not seem to know his own size as he demands to fight in the heavyweight division. A dangerous opponent when he gets going, he has yet to gain enough experience to put his undoubted skills to good use. Will face his first Junior sized test on this tour in the form of Tobei Sugimura, who has impressed so far in his stay with IJW. Nariaki Hitomi – Every time he came up against Dynamite Narahashi he met with bitter disappointment and defeat. Now seeking to once again prove himself as a contender he must first defeat Tsurayuki Kamachi and then Onishi Takuma if he wishes to challenge the champion at the end of the tour. Noritoshi Miura (Spirit of the Shark) – One half of the Apocalypse Riders, Miura has largely disappointed in tournament action. Now teamed with his regular partner once again, he will be looking to make significant improvements and see his team walk away from the tour as IJW World Tag Team champions. Oda Yakuta – This athletic heavyweight has shown himself to be a highly promising talent who’s reputation so far has been built with the defunct INSPIRE organisation. Known for his hard hitting brawling style, Oda has found himself close to a Contender’s spot for a while now and has a chance to get himself into position if he can pick up a win over IJW founder Onishi Takuma. Onishi Takuma – The founder of IJW, Onishi Takuma fell short in the Blind Faith tournament when he failed to demonstrate good teamwork with his partner Brute Kikuchi. With a new champion sitting atop the Iron Mountain, Takuma faces some tough challengers on his quest to earn an IJW World Heavyweight Championship match against Taheji Konoe in this tour’s big finale. Shiba Mizoguchi – A technical grappler who likes to focus his offense on the legs, “The Crab Master” has taken a shine to Lion Genji with whom he was paired in the Blind Faith Tournament. Their tag team has continued after their exit from the event, and now with more time to work together they hope to mount a serious challenge to the IJW World Tag Team titles. Taheji Konoe – The winner of the Blind Faith tournament and the new IJW World Heavyweight champion, Konoe’s team with Tobei Sugimura proved to be a smash hit. The two ambitious youngsters overcame the odds together and then had a hard hitting finale bout that springboarded Konoe to the top of the mountain. With the challengers lining up to face the youngster, Konoe will now be tested on his ability to handle pressure as everyone wants to take his place at the top of the mountain. Tobei Sugmiura – Making it all the way to the finale fo the Blind Faith tournament, Tobei has surprised many with his success so far in IJW. A Junior known for his blue hair, many had written him off as a long shot and yet he now stands high up the Iron Mountain with some solid performances under his belt. With a little more time, he may yet prove to be one of IJW’s most under-rated young stars. Tomohiko Wakai - This young heavyweight grappler is a graduate of the Tokyo Wrestling Dojo who has joined IJW as a trainee. With almost no experience, Wakai is described by his trainers as “a dedicated student of the gym who has a good grasp of the fundamentals of wrestling”. With only a handful of matches to his name he is looking to gain experience before he can realistically expect to make progress up the Iron Mountain. Tsurayuki Kamachi – One of the brightest prospects in Japan, Kamachi got his basic training with the PGHW youth ranks and cemented his young reputation with INSPIRE. Whether wrestling on the mat or striking on his feet, Kamachi is proving to be one of the most exciting competitors that IJW has to offer. Seeking to earn the first shot at Taheji Konoe’s newly won title, Kamachi must first go through Nariaki Hitomi and Onishi Takuma if he is to achieve his goal. Yusuke Takahama – Since making the switch from baseball to wrestling, Takahama has had to endure a tough path. Few believed he would be tough enough to endure the basic training and yet he did, and with several years experience behind him now he has matured into an excellent Junior competitor. Coming to the Iron Mountain to further prove himself, he has bonded well in battle with Brother Yoshiitaka with who he will be competing in the IJW World Tag Team title tournament, with a view to laying claim to the gold. SCHEDULE SHOW 1: IJW Vision Tour Part 1 IRON: Kaii Hanari vs Tomohiko Wakai TAG SEMI-FINAL: Brute Kikuchi/BISON Yano vs Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji IRON: Onishi Takuma vs Oda Yakuta MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Nariaki Hitomi SHOW 2: IJW Vision Tour Part 2 IRON: Musashi vs Tobei Sugimura IRON CHALLENGER: Cameron Vessey vs Lion Genji TAG SEMI FINAL: The Apocalypse Riders vs Brother Yoshiitaka/Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Onish Takuma vs Winner of Kamachi/Hitomi TOUR FINALE: IJW Shared Visions MAIN EVENT: Taheji Konoe defends the IJW World Heavyweight Championship TWIN PEAKS: Vacant IJW World Tag Team titles will be claimed. PLUS: Contendership battles and other challengers seeking to climb the Iron Mountain in singles action! ----- Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountain, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. Lots of flowery language as ever and for once they haven’t pre-destined every part of the tour. Seems I’ll get a big update to post after the first couple of nights with an updated card for the tour finale. It’s exciting to see them bring in Cam Vessey… not so muhc for his talent (which he does have) but more because it’s the first non-Japanese guy they’ve had on the roster. The fact that they can start bringing in outside talent is the first step towards them showing they are making money… or that they’re blowing money. Either way, I’ll be checking it out. Perhaps they brought him in because they saw that everyone who bought their DVDs also bought MAW shows? Anywho, keep supporting indy wrestling, it’s where you see the starts of tomorrow TODAY!! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxxHexx Posted February 9, 2010 Share Posted February 9, 2010 SHOW 1: IJW Vision Tour Part 1 IRON: Kaii Hanari vs Tomohiko Wakai TAG SEMI-FINAL: Brute Kikuchi/BISON Yano vs Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji IRON: Onishi Takuma vs Oda Yakuta MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Nariaki Hitomi SHOW 2: IJW Vision Tour Part 2 IRON: Musashi vs Tobei Sugimura IRON CHALLENGER: Cameron Vessey vs Lion Genji TAG SEMI FINAL: The Apocalypse Riders vs Brother Yoshiitaka/Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Onish Takuma vs Winner of Kamachi/Hitomi TOUR FINALE: IJW Shared Visions MAIN EVENT: Taheji Konoe defends the IJW World Heavyweight Championship TWIN PEAKS: Vacant IJW World Tag Team titles will be claimed. PLUS: Contendership battles and other challengers seeking to climb the Iron Mountain in singles action! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 10, 2010 Share Posted February 10, 2010 SHOW 1: IJW Vision Tour Part 1 IRON: Kaii Hanari vs Tomohiko Wakai TAG SEMI-FINAL: Brute Kikuchi/BISON Yano vs Shiba Mizoguchi/Lion Genji IRON: Onishi Takuma vs Oda Yakuta MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Nariaki Hitomi SHOW 2: IJW Vision Tour Part 2 IRON: Musashi vs Tobei Sugimura IRON CHALLENGER: Cameron Vessey vs Lion Genji TAG SEMI FINAL: The Apocalypse Riders vs Brother Yoshiitaka/Yusuke Takahama MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDERSHIP BATTLE: Onish Takuma vs Winner of Kamachi/Hitomi Well darn it, Hexx, you have the exact same match picks as I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yuu Onuki Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 I love the enthusiasm tone of this diary. It has great energy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 ProWrestlingHits.com/japan + Steve Frehley to CGC, former SWF champion quashes rumours of Japanese tour + PGHW call up new class of SAISHO students including Tornado Nagai and Goemon Komiya + Miwa & Kwakami win PGHW Elite Tag Series, Kwakami makes PRIDE Koiso tap out in finals of amazing tournament! + EXODUS 2010 close their doors, citing lack of finances as main reason for closing + BREAKING NEWS: Akinori Kwakami submits PRIDE Koiso for the second time, wins first PGHW Glory Crown! Iron Japan Wrestling: Shared Vision Tour Results + Card for Finale by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg With the death of EXODUS 2010, the Japanese wrestling media have finally started turning their attention to IJW as a viable micro indy promotion that might actually have a chance of succeeding. There has been some talk of what can they do to separate themselves from the big companies since they largely come across as a lite version of them… but that just means that the journalists haven’t looked closely enough at the press releases yet. Here are the tour results so far, details of their tour finale at the end, which will also mark the end of their first year of business. A whole year, that’s siz months more than EXODUS managed! Thursday, Week 3, November IJW Vision Tour Part 1 Gunma Hall: 50 in attendance - IRON: Tomohiko Wakai defeated Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 6:31 following a powerbomb. Wakai didn’t look too troubled in this match, using his size advantage to pick up the victory as Hanari struggled to find any ways to get his opponent off his feet. Solid outing for the two youngsters. RATING: 2/10 - TAG TEAM SEMI FINAL: Yano & Kikuchi defeated Mizoguchi/Genji via pinfall at 10:40 following a Stereo Chokeslam. Showing some good teamwork, both sides knew roughly what to look out for in their opponents. Kikuchi seemed determined to avoid his side submitting and broke up every attempt Mizoguchi made to give his side crabs with the utmost haste. With Mizoguchi brained from too many headshots while failing to apply submissions, the powerful young tag team delivered a brutal Stereo Chokeslam to Lion Genji who was powerless to kick out. Yano & Kikuchi advance to a shot at the IJW World Tag Team titles, and will find out who their opponents will be on the next show. RATING: 3/10 - IRON: Onishi Takuma defeated Oda Yakuta via referee stoppage at 15:17 following a Neverending Mounted Palm Thrust. A bitter defeat for Yakuta in this match as he had the veteran on the ropes for so long, constantly keeping him on the back foot with his ferocious offensive barrage. But Takuma’s experience allowed him to weather the storm, fighting back and finally getting the mount for a long series of palm thrusts. Yakuta wouldn’t quit, but the referee took matters into his own hands when he saw that Yakuta was no longer able to defend himself afainst the blows. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CONTENDER: Nariaki Hitomi defeated Tsurayuki Kamachi via pinfall at 19:16 following the Lariat. Contrasting styles but exciting action as two excellent young athletes threw everything they had at each other for close to 20 minutes. Kamachi had the edge in technique but Hitomi kept throwing strikes no matter where he was. With Kamachi unable to get a submission on the mat the fight went standing where the two warriors traded suplexes, ending when Hitomi fired up and almost beheaded Kamachi with a Lariat that rose the roof and takes him one step closer to a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight championship held by Taheji Konoe. RATING: 4/10 - POST SHOW: Nariaki Hitomi used the house microphone to talk to the crowd about facing Onishi Takuma on the way to his chance to become IJW World Heavyweight champion. One of IJW’s best matches yet in the main event turned this from being an average-at-best show into perhaps one of their best yet. Kamachi has so far proven to be perhaps IJW’s finest asset in terms of delivering match quality and it was interesting to see IJW try a live promo for their fans, even if a distinctly breathless Nariaki Hitomi may not have been in the best condition to deliver it. A prelude to something more perhaps? Anywho, good show from IJW, I’d rate it among their top ones so far thanks to a highly enjoyable main event match. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Thursday, Week 4, November IJW Vision Tour Part 2 Gunma Hall: 43 in attendance - IRON: Tobei Sugimura defeated Musashi via pinfall at 8:24 following a quick roll up. For the first time Musashi wasn’t giving up a lot of size in an IJW match, and he made a point of showing how good he was with a fast and furious attack. Unleashing a devastating array of kicks and some exciting high flying offense, Tobei’s offensive tactics were to slow things down at every chance. With Musashi looking to end things with a big roundhouse kick, Tobei ducked and pulled out a quick roll up that was enough to continue his unexpected IJW successes. RATING:2/10 - IRON CHALLENGER: Cameron Vessey defeated Lion Genji via pinfall at 9:28 following the Vessey Driver. Vessey made his Japanese debut in this match and showed that he has inherited much of the fine Vessey skills in this match. Genji was no push over either, matching Vessey throughout the contest but in the end the young second generation star pulled out a move from his uncle’s arsenal, hitting a Vessey Driver to seal a debut victory. RATING: 4/10 - TAG TEAM SEMI FINAL: Brother Yoshiitaka/Yusuke Takahama defeated The Apocalypse Riders via pinfall at 10:13 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. In what many would consider to be an upset, the pairing of Yoshiitaka and Takahama hit this match like duel whirlwinds, setting a fast pace and hoping to exhaust their larger opponents. The plan worked, with the aerial aces taking to the skies with some big moves that ultimately led to the opening for Yoshiitaka to hit the Shaolin Poweromb on Inejiro Yoshizawa to pick up the surprise victory. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CONTENDERSHIP: Onishi Takuma defeated Nariaki Hitomi via submission at 24:31 following a Takuma Crossface Submission. An excellent back and forth match saw both men dig deep to prove themselves worthy of an IJW World Heavyweight title match. Both men kept the match standing and tried to pick their spots with hard hitting strikes. Both men used their favourite finishing techniques but failed to end the match with them, with Hitomi’s Lariat proving to not be quite enough to keep Takuma down while Takuma couldn’t keep Hitomi in the middle of the ring long enough to force a submission. Hitomi pulled an advantage and tried to hit a second Lariat but Takuma countered straight into the Takuma Crossface Submission, and with almost 25 minutes of hard hitting action passed, Hitomi simply didn’t have the energy left to get to the ropes and tapped out. RATING: 4/10 Awesome to see Cam Vessey make his Japanese debut, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see him in the big leagues there one day as he’s a highly skilled young man and had an excellent match against one of IJW’s young lions here. Match of the night was the lengthy main event match that saw Takuma secure himself another title match, though surprise of the night goes to the tag result. Takahama and Yoshiitaka looked great, firing on all cylinders in their match and the result surprised most people. Certainly makes me have to throw my own predictions out and think long and hard about what’s going to happen on the finale. Good show here too, another solid effort from the fledgling organisation. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 And that leaves one more card for IJW to blow off their debut year in what has been an exciting year of puroresu. They have totally stacked up the card for this one, using every active member of their roster… let’s hope they can actually afford to and they aren’t going to go the same route that EXODUS 2010 did, burning a little bit before setting off the fire alam and causing all kinds of hassle for the neighbours. TOUR FINALE: IJW Shared Visions MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Onishi Takuma IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Brute Kikuchi & BISON Yano vs Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama IRON CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Shiba Mizoguchi IRON CONTENDER: Nariaki Hitomi vs Oda Yakuta IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Tobei Sugimura TAG: The Apocalypse Riders vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON: Musashi vs Lion Genji As always, predictions are more than welcome. I love to talk puro, so if you’ve got any questions them send them my way. Man, woman or citrus… I’ve got time for you all! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxxHexx Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Onishi Takuma IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Brute Kikuchi & BISON Yano vs Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama IRON CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Shiba Mizoguchi IRON CONTENDER: Nariaki Hitomi vs Oda Yakuta IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Tobei Sugimura TAG: The Apocalypse Riders vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON: Musashi vs Lion Genji Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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