jtlant Posted February 11, 2010 Share Posted February 11, 2010 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 11, 2010 Author Share Posted February 11, 2010 IJW Shared Visions Results, first ever tag team champions crowned by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg A big tour finale from IJW, really looking to capitalise on the spotlight they’ve taken from the death of EXODUS 2010 and capitalise on it for the future. Seems like they had everyone in action tonight and with their biggest crowd yet, they actually seemed to have some atmosphere for a change. With the Iron Man Tournament fast approaching once more, they’ll be looking to try and sell out the Gunma Hall for the finals of that! Thursday, Week 1, September IJW The Blind Faith Tournament 2010 Gunma Hall: 46 in attendance - IRON: Musashi defeated Lion Genji via pinfall at 8:41 following Buzzsaw Kick. Two of IJW’s young lions battled hard in this one, with Genji trying to control the pace from the outset by throwing dangerous kicks that kept Genji on his toes. Despite the size difference this was a very even match, and Musashi’s massive headkick to Genji proved to be enough to get hisfirst singles win in IJW after Genji missed with a takedown. Explosive finish! RATING: 2/10 - TWIN PEAKS: The Apocalypse Riders defeated Tomohiko Wakai/Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 10:55 following The End Of The World. Two youngsters fresh from facing off against each other tried teaming together here but found themselves overwhelmed against the more experienced team. Despite a valiant effort, Hanari fell to the End of the World. RATING: 2/10 - IRON: Cameron Vessey defeated Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 12:52 following a Sick Cycle. Vessey won his second match on the Iron Mountain, this time borrowing a move from his father’s move set to do so. Tobei’s impressive momentum wasn’t enough to get him the win in this one as Vessey showed his pedigree skills, although Tobei’s speed almost managed to sneak him the upset win a couple of times. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CONTENDER: Nariaki Hitomi defeated Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 17:19 following a Lariat. A hard hitting contest between two heavyweights, this match was not a pretty display of technique but more a wild display of fire and aggression. Both men left their marks on each other with their hard hitting offense, but Hitomi’s Lariat proved to be the difference maker as he almost beheaded Yakuta on his way to victory. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated Shiba Mizoguchi via submission at 19:32 following an Inverted Sleeper. Kamachi made his way to the ring wrapped in the Japanese flag, getting the crowd going for this fine battle. Both men came in with similar gameplans in mind, soften up the other with strikes for lots of submission attempts. Mizoguchi’s crabs proved difficult for Kamachi to counter, but he found a way, concentrating his offense on the head and neck leading to a series of submissions being exchanged and an Inverted Sleeper thatMizoguchi couldn’t escape. Great stuff! RATING: 4/10 - IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Such an unpredictable match with so many variables… one team is young, powerful and has worked together for a while, the other were in only their second match together but with years of pro experience behind them. The match momentum went back and forth many times, as speed outquicked power only for power to overwhelm speed. Neither side wanted to lose this chance to cement their legacy in Iron Japan Wrestling but someone had to… and with all the big offense thrown at each other, Brother Yoshiitaka took advantage of his partner fighting with Yano to hit a Shaolin Powerbomb on Kikuchi, stacking all his weight over his own shoulders to get a pinfall and claim the IJW World Tag Team titles for himself and Takahama in only their second match together. Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama defeated Bison Yano & Brute Kikuchi via pinfall at 12:49 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. RATING: 3/10 - MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH: In front of the largest IJW crowd to date, Takuma and Konoe put everything on the line to create IJW’s best match to date too. Making his first title defense since defeating Dynamite Narahashi on the back of his Blind Faith win, Konoe looked fired up and excited to face the IJW founder for the gold. Takuma set a slow pace, using his years of experience to get the upperhand on an aggressive champion and the match was a series of back and forth ebbs and flows as Takuma shut down the champ’s offense and tried to wear him down by working on the arms. Takuma looked to have victory in his sights as the strike battles commenced and Konoe’s shots seemed less powerful than normal but a change of tack saw Konoe surge into control with some furious, animalistic offense that the crowd loved. Takuma almost seemed lost but eventually locked in a Takuma Crossface Submission that had the champ in trouble, but he made it to the ropes. Takuma sensed victory but Konoe exploded into the driver’s seat once more and topped off a furious barrage of offense with a Savage Cradle DDT that not even the tough veteran Takuma could kick out of. Taheji Konoe defeated Onishi Takuma via pinfall at 23:05 following a Savage Cradle DDT. RATING: 5/10 I feel like I’ve been pretty harsh on the match ratings, in truth several of the matches could easily have been graded a little higher if I’d been in a better mood when reviewing the show (don’t ask!). The main event blew away everything else anyway though, a truly top rate match for a company the size of IJW that made both the champ and challenger look like stars even in a half empty hall. All in all, IJW really stepped up their game with this show in front of their biggest crowd to date and that means that they should keep performing well. Easily their best all round show so far, the entire roster worked hard to prove a point to the Japanese wrestling industry as a whole. Small promotions CAN succeed! OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Barring any more surprises that should be IJW’s last show for the year, sending it out with a proper bang. While I doubt they are going to feature heavily on any year end awards lists, in fact I doubt anyone on their roster will even be at the bottom end of the PWI Power 100 for the year, they’ve been fun. Awards season begins soon, stay tuned to the site for news on all the movers and shakers lest Onishi Takuma come around to your house and chop down your tree…. with his hands! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 ProWrestlingHits.com/japan + Munemitsu Senmatsu walks out on WEXXV for a chance with PGHW! Ryu Kajahara said to be furious! + Burning EXILE wrestling through fractured cheekbone in PGHW + KitoGuchi defeat Muruyama & Ugaki for the PGHW Glory Tag Crown! + Promising youngster Nariaki Hitomi signs on to train full time in the Hinote Dojo MAIN STORY: Quick PWHits Year End Awards 2010 by PWHits PWI recently released it’s year end awards for 2010, with some expected winners and losers. Here are the winners and the top 10 for those who are interested. 10. PRIDE KOISO (PGHW) 9. Joey Minnesota (TCW) 8. Nobuatsu Tatsuko (PGHW) 7. Bryan Vessey (TCW) 6. Tommy Cornell (TCW) 5. Sean McFly (NOTBPW) 4. Dan Stone Jr (NOTBPW) 3. Johnny Bloodstone (NOTBPW) 2. Steve DeColt (NOTBPW) 1. Jeremy Stone (NOTBPW) Wrestler of the Year: Jeremy Stone (NOTBPW) Young Wrestler of the Year: Wolf Hawkins (TCW) Veteran Wrestler of the Year: Haruki Kudo (GCG) Female Wrestler of the Year: Yuyuko Higa (5SSW) Promotion of the Year: Supreme Wrestling Federation Most Improved Promotion of the Year: World Level Wrestling Match of the Year: Johnny Bloodstone and Sean McFly defeated Dan Stone Jr and Jeremy Stone on NOTBPW Championship Wrestling (Week 2, February) Card of the Year: NOTBPW Nirvana in November SWF’s global expansion seems to be the only thing keeping them as the top promotion in the world at this time, most obviously highlighted by their top wrestler only managing to come in at #22 as Rich Money proves, at least to the people who give out awards, that he is SWF’s crown jewel. Hopefully he unseats Remo as World champion and steers SWF the right way, it would be weird if TCW started outdoing the SWF in every department and they’re starting to get close to that point. A new year has dawned on pro wrestling… for more details on the awards and a full ranking of the top 100, check out the PWI website! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 + Hirokumi Saito called up to PGHW + Hitomaro Suzuki to make full debut for BHOTWG IJW prepare for The Iron Man Tournament 2011, full details inside by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg With WLW and GCG both proving themselves to be real promotions in Japan now, I pretty much have no choice bu to consider IJW to be my favourite Japanese indy promotion just now. Debuting just 12 months ago with their Iron Man Tournament tour, they bring in the new year with some fresh new signings and the return of the Iron Man Tournament. Last year’s winner Dynamite Narahashi was not only declared The Iron Man but he was also crowned the IJW World Heavyweight champion as a result of his victory in the tournament. This year is a little different, so with the details I send you over to a translated transcript of the IJW press release complete with rankings and stuff. IRON JAPAN WRESTLING presents THE IRON MAN TOURNAMENT 2011 Iron Japan Wrestling was founded on the strengths of warriors, each seeking to prove themselves to be the best as they fought their way to the to of the Iron Mountain. In 2010, Dynamite Narahashi was victorious in the inaugural Iron Man Tournament, laying claim to the trophy as well as the vacant IJW World Heavyweight Championship by showing his toughness, desire, heart and fighting spirit. In 2011 the trophy will once again be awarded to the winner of the Iron Man Tournament and will once again go on to face the IJW World Heavyweight champion as a reward for their glory. The tournament this year extends further around the world as challengers arrive from the United Kingdom and the Ivory Coast, adding to the American and Japanese challengers already climbing the Iron Mountain. The field of competition grows stronger and more diverse by the day, with 19 challengers entered into the tournament this year while the top contender Tsurayuki Kamachi goes on to face the IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe at the summit of the mountain at this tour’s finale. The departure of Nariaki Hitomi from the Iron Mountain also frees up space near the top of the mountain in a match that will pit two allies against each other as they seek to further their singles careers. Also in action on the tour will be the newly crowned IJW World Tag Team champions Brother Yoshiitaka and Yusuke Takahama, determined to show that their new bonds will turn them into a formiddable duo by defending their championships on this tour. With the likes of Yano & Kikuchi, The Apocalypse Riders and the newly arrived duo of The Wigan Warriors (Merle O’Curle and Nigel Svensson) all seeking to lay their hands on the gold, this tour will not be an easy one for the champs to retain, especially as they also compete in the Iron Man Tournament. Below are the complete rankings for the Iron Mountain and the Twin Peaked Mountain going into the tour, with details of each challenger and the challenges they will face. 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 WLWLW - Tsurayuki Kamachi LWWWL - Onishi Takuma (vacant) The Iron Mountain W - Yusuke Takahama LLW - Brother Yoshiitaka LLWL - Oda Yakuta LWW - Noritoshi Miura LLW - Shiba Mizoguchi LLW - Brute Kikuchi WW - Cameron Vessey LWW - Tobei Sugmiura LL - BISON Yano L - Inejiro Yoshizawa WLL - Musashi LLWL - Lion Genji WL - Tomohiko Wakai LLL - Kaii Hanari New Challengers - Kalu Owusu - Merle O’Curle - Nigel Svensson - Wasichi Inao THE TWIN PEAKED MOUNTAIN IJW World Tag Team Champions: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama Top Contenders L – Brute Kikuchi & BISON Yano WL – The Apocalypse Riders (Inejiro Yoshizawa & Noritoshi Miura) L – Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji The Twin Peaked Mountain L – Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari New Challengers - Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura - The Wigan Warriors (Merle O’Curle & Nigel Svensson) 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 while also competing in the Iron Man Tournament. 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 as he must face of with his co-champion Yusuke Takahama to earn Contendership status while also competing in the Iron Man Tournament and defending the IJW World Tag Team titles. 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 came very close to becoming the first IJW World Tag Team champions before losing in the finals. Kikuchi aims to improve upon last year’s performance in the tournament and overwhelm everyone on his way to victory this year. 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, looking to pick up a second career tournament victory to build upon his previous Rip Chord Invitational victory in 2009. 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. His focus is now split between re-establishing his team after their disappointing loss in the tag team title tournament and trying to win the Iron Man Tournament to improve his own singles career. 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. Kalu Owusu – The explosive and athletic Ivorian known as Kalu Owusu was one of INSPIRE’s most under-rated talents before they folded. Having taken some time to hone his skills, Kalu now seeks new challenges on the Iron Mountain and armed with some new techniques should prove more than able to be a serious threat to anyone he faces. 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. Merle O’Curle – One of the finest technical workers to emerge from Europe in recent history, “The Irish Stretching Machine” is an extreme dangerous submission based grappler who has reigned as the Ring of Fire champion for 18 months. Now making his way to Japan with his tag team partner Nigel Svensson, O’Curle is looking to climb the Iron Mountain on his way to international glory. 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. Once again facing the challenge of the Iron Mountain, Musashi will never let the size of the fight ahead diminish his fire. Nigel Svensson – The young Nigel Svensson is a product of the famed Wigan style of wrestling, where hard hitting forearm strikes and excruciating jointlocks are the natural order of wrestling. Seeking to prove himself to the world he joined Merle O’Curle on his travels to Japan and now Svensson seeks to climb the Iron Mountain all the way to the summit via the Iron Man Tournament. Noritoshi Miura (Spirit of the Shark) – One half of the Apocalypse Riders, Miura has largely disappointed in tournament action thus far. Now teamed with his regular partner once again, he will be looking to make significant improvements in both singles and tag team action as he bids to find glory in Iron Japan Wrestling. 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 yet unable to quite get up there. He now looks to get an IJW World Heavyweight title shot by winning the Iron Man Tournament, starting with IJW surprise package Tobei Sugmiura. Onishi Takuma – The founder of IJW, Onishi Takuma once again found himself one step away from glory as he tried to topple Taheji Konoe from the top of the Iron Mountain. Despite putting on a career best performance Takuma fell just short as Konoe’s intensity and heart matched his challenger. Takuma must once again try to earn a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight championship, going through the Iron Man Tournament and trying to maintain his status as a top contender at the same time. 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 IJW World Heavyweight champion proved he is no fluke, remaining undefeated in IJW with a win over IJW founder Onishi Takuma in what was hailed as IJW’s best match of 2010. The champion’s ruthless aggression and ability to endure harsh punishment has helped him to cement his reputation as one of the finest wrestlers outside of the big leagues and he will look to further enhance this reputation by defeating his next designated challenger Tsurayuki Kamachi at the tour finale, while also cementing his place in the tag team ranks with his Blind Faith tag team partner Tobei Sugimura. Tobei Sugmiura – One of the surprise packages of IJW so far, Sugmiura has consistently shown himself to be a versatile and dangerous competitor in both singles and tag team action. He will be looking to gain standing in the tag team division with his partner Taheji Konoe, while simultaneously hoping to face him once more in singles action by winning the Iron Man Tournament, having to go further than most with a preliminary match against Oda Yakuta. 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. Despite a disappointing tour Kamachi has found himself pushed into the top Contenders spot due to the departure of Nariaki Hitomi and the defeat of Onishi Takuma by the champion. Kamachi has been granted a title match at the tour finale, and will be looking to sharpen his skills with some strong performances before he gets his chance to sit atop the Iron Mountain. Wasichi Inao – The veteran Inao spent most of his career under a mask and cape as “The Fire Fox” before unmasking in 2009. In the year since making the change he has become a much improved wrestler, turning in exciting performances around the country. 2011 has seen him take on his first big league tours as he first signed with GCG and now with IJW, looking to prove to everyone that he is a big time player as he joins the Iron Man Tournament on his way to big things. 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 whom he has proven his ability to work in a team as the fresh duo have become IJW World Heavyweight champions. Takahama must now face his friend and tag team partner in singles action to progress his singles career and lay claim to the vacant Contender’s spot, while also seeking to retain the tag team titles and win the Iron Man Tournament too. SCHEDULE The Iron Tour 2010 will consist of 4 shows leading up to the tour finale and the crowning of The Iron Man 2011 as the final 8 combatants face off in tournament action, an IJW World Championship match and more hotly contested matches to be determined after the earlier tournament action. Show 1 will feature 3 matches to narrow down the field to 16 people, a Contendership match between the two tag team champions. SHOW 1: IJW Iron Tour Part 1 MAIN EVENT TAG: Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Onishi Takuma & Tsurayuki Kamachi CONTENDERSHIP BOUT: Yusuke Takahama vs Brother Yoshiitaka TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Cameron Vessey vs Kaii Hanari TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Oda Yakura vs Tobei Sugimura TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Noritoshi Miura vs Wasichi Inao TAG: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Wigan Warriors SHOW 2: IJW Iron Tour Part 2 IRON MAN TOURNAMENT BOUTS #1: Musashi vs Onishi Takuma #2: BISON Yano vs Tomohiko Wakai #3: Lion Genji vs Merle O’Curle #4: Brute Kikuchi vs Shiba Mizoguchi + more yet to be announced matches! SHOW 3: IJW Iron Tour Part 3 IRON MAN TOURNAMENT BOUTS #5: Kalu Owusu vs Oda Yakuta/Tobei Sugmiura #6: Noritoshi Miura/Wasichi Inao vs Yusuke Takahama #7: Brother Yoshiitaka vs Inejiro Yoshizawa #8: Cameron Vessey/Kaii Hanari vs Nigel Svensson + more yet to be announced matches! SHOW 4: IJW Iron Tour Part 4 Challengers to the mountain will meet their matches here and gain their rankings if they can earn a victory! With so much tournament action going on, this card will be decided closer to the date. TOUR FINALE: IJW THE IRON MAN TOURNAMENT 2011 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE BOUT: Taheji Konoe © vs Tsuraykui Kamachi THE IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINALE: The final 8 men square off in the Iron Man Tournament to crown a new Iron Man and secure an IJW World Heavyweight title match. …and much, much more to be decided throughout the tour! All cards subject to change Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountains, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. Tournament time again in IJW as the Iron Man Tournament kicks into high gear. They’re holding more shows, hiring more people and having more people on each show… so presumably they’re making some decent money. So if you guys have been buying their DVDs then you can partly claim responsibility for some of the guys they’ve hired. Good work! In case it isn’t obvious, the second round of matches will see winners of #1 face winner of #2 and so on… so for anyone wanting to make predictions with me, that’s the format. I guess that was lost a little bit in the translation, it was probably explicit when it was written in Japanese but you know how these things are. This is a big tour for IJW, they really look to be pushing to capitalise on their position as Japan’s favourite little indy promotion just despite having so many big companies at the top of the food chain. Puro is really hot right now, with PGHW and BHOTWG both being awesome in their own ways, Haruki Kudo leading GCG’s revival with consistently awesome matches and WLW carving their own niche that has made them a favourite among tape traders around the world. Good luck to the little guys, one day they might just have a shot at being able to unseat the big boys, if they get lucky! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trypio Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Read up to this part and I'm liking this very much. It made me want to start a Japanese 0/0/0/0 promotion game as well. Here are my predictions. SHOW 1: IJW Iron Tour Part 1 MAIN EVENT TAG: Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Onishi Takuma & Tsurayuki Kamachi You're not making your top contenders lose to a young lion tag team. CONTENDERSHIP BOUT: Yusuke Takahama vs Brother Yoshiitaka Takahama is probably more over and you're not willing to risk popularity loss. TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Cameron Vessey vs Kaii Hanari Same reason as previous match. TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Oda Yakura vs Tobei Sugimura Sugi has been given somewhat of a push, but I'm going for Yakura. He's upper midcard material. Sugi isn't. TOURNAMENT PRELIM: Noritoshi Miura vs Wasichi Inao Inao is too great to lose in the prelims. TAG: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Wigan Warriors Merle is the only non-young lion, so I think making him lose would not be appreciated by fans. I'm not sure if that counts for tag matches though. SHOW 2: IJW Iron Tour Part 2 #1: Musashi vs Onishi Takuma Young lion vs. Veteran #2: BISON Yano vs Tomohiko Wakai He's in desperate need of a singles victory #3: Lion Genji vs Merle O’Curle Young lion rule... #4: Brute Kikuchi vs Shiba Mizoguchi Shiba is a solid upper midcarder. SHOW 3: IJW Iron Tour Part 3 #5: Kalu Owusu vs Oda Yakuta Young lion rule. #6: Wasichi Inao vs Yusuke Takahama Tough choice, but I think you're going for Inao as he's probably slightly more over than Taka and has better performance skills. Depends on who he faces next round as he's a bit one dimensional and a match with a brawler or a technician won't be great. #7: Brother Yoshiitaka vs Inejiro Yoshizawa Not a fan of the spirits and Brother Yoshi is much better all-round. #8: Cameron Vessey vs Nigel Svensson Popularity gap is too big for Vessey to lose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 You've probably noticed that I haven't predicted lately, it's mainly because I'm quite lazy. Though I've been reading and loving IJW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 16, 2010 Author Share Posted February 16, 2010 + Mamoru Nagahama and Battle Sakata into development with Hinote Dojo, who is more likely to become a star? + Nakasawa defeats Kikkawa to retain Burning World Championship… Kikkawa defeats Nakasawa to retain King of Fighters title + Another Kudo Klassic at GCG Parade of Champions in victory over Pistol Pete Hall + COLUMN by bretter_person: Kaneie Komine, what he should do now that he’s not with BHOTWG + R.I.P. MOSC: The end of anarchy in the UK, MOSC closes after more than 20 years in business + PRIDE Koiso begins second reign as holder of the PGHW Glory Crown, ends Kwakami’s reign after just 2 successful defences + Kikkawa taken to time limit draw by Tadakuni Toshusai for the King of Fighters title! + COLUMN: A look at Elemental III’s domination of the Junior scene in BHOTWG, can the youngster handle the pressure? IJW Iron Tour Results, and final card for The Iron Man Tournament 2011 by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Me, excited? About puro? Never in a million years! I’m so looking forward to this event, it’s going to be really cool. A rising star that seems loyal to IJW, a young champion with fire in his eyes… a tournament mixing things up from all around the world! Exciting junior stars? Rankings?! What more could you possibly want? It’s perhaps the most complex and exciting blend of wrestling and showmanship outside of North America and it makes me very happy indeed. Here are the tour results so far and the card for the big tour finale of The Iron Man Tournament! Yay! Thursday, Week 2, February 2011 IJW Iron Tour Part 1 Gunma Hall: 87 in attendance - IRON MAN PRELIM: Oda Yakuta defeated Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 10:07 following a Yakuta-Bomb. It seems someone at IJW head office hadn’t realised that Tobei was double booked tonight, but Tobei came prepared. He tried a lot of quick roll ups on Yakuta to end the match early and stay in the tournament but Yakuta was having none of it. In fact, Yakuta seemed to deliberately not go for covers when he could and inflict extra damage, eventually winning after hitting a Yakuta-Bomb. RATING: 3/10 - TWIN PEAK CHALLENGE: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji defeated The Wigan Warriors (Merle O’Curle & Nigel Svensson) via pinfall at 12:17 following quick roll up. An amazing tag team match for IJW here as they put out a quality display of wrestling. The Wigan Warriors tied up their opponents in knots throughout this match but a little inexperience from Svensson saw Mizoguchi get a flash roll up to counter a submission and steal a victory for his team. Disappointment in defeat for the visitors, but a superb performance otherwise. RATING: 5/10 - IRON MAN PRELIM: Cameron Vessey defeated Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 12:15 following a Vessey Plex. Watching Cameron Vessey in action reminds be of both his father and uncle in action, hard hitting and unafraid. A good match here, Hanari hung with Vessey for as long as he could before Vessey hit a higher gear, stringing some suplexes together and putting Hanari away with a family trademark. RATING: 3/10 - IRON MAN PRELIM: Wasichi Inao defeated Noritoshi Miura via pinfall at 14:55 following a 450 Splash. Two distinct styles in this bout as Wasichi took to the air against his ground and pound style opponent. Wasichi looked to be caught on the top rope and in real trouble but he fought hard to kick Miura away, hitting a beautiful 450 Splash barely a moment after Miura had thumped into the canvas. Nice debut for “The Fire Fox”. RATING: 4/10 - BONUS MATCH: Kalu Owusu & Tomohiko Wakai defeated Bison Yano & Brute Kikuchi via submission at 12:43 following an Angular Armbar. Apparantly all of these men wanted a match so this was added to the card at the last minute. Owusu made a solid debut as he forced Kikuchi to tap out while their respective partners were engaged in a ringside brawl. Owusu didn’t seem as sharp as usual, probably ring rust given his lengthy stint on the sidelines following INSPIRE’s collapse. RATING: 3/10 A significant talking point happened after this match as Yano and Kikuchi exchanged heated words in the ring, getting in each other’s faces. My Japanese isn’t all it could be but I think Kikuchi wanted to know why his partner wasn’t making the save from the submission while Yano was explaining that he was busy fighting the other half of the match… something like that. Crowd oooh’ed and aaah’ed a bit to see the big guys face off, but it was hardly SWF style TV. RATING: 3/10 - IRON CONTENDERSHIP BOUT: Brother Yoshiitaka defeated Yusuke Takahama via pinfall at 17:25 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. The reigning IJW World Tag Team champions had to put their tag team to the side tonight as both looked to claim the vacant spot in the top contender’s area, just one step away from an IJW World Heavyweight title match. Both men showed lots of respect for each other, in sharp contrast to the argument moments ago, and tried to give it their all. Whether the respect caused them to hold back a bit or they just weren’t sure of each other, this match wasn’t as good as it could have been… Yoshiitaka eventually picked up the win after a quick combo of moves, with both men showing respect and hopefully learning something about each other from this match to use in future battles. Brother Yoshiitaka claims the vacant Iron Contendership spot and will certainly be watching the main event to check out the competition. RATING: 3/10 - MAIN EVENT: Onishi Takuma and Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura via submission at 22:01 following an Inverted Sleeper. A great night for tag team action as this match delivered on many levels. Tobei’s earlier action tonight saw him spend a lot of the match on the apron as the champ upped his ferocity to a new level, aggressively taking the fight to both Contenders to his throne. When he did get in the ring Sugmiura looked outclassed by the competition but done a good job of letting his partner rest up… but in the end, the weakened Sugimura couldn’t hold off against two top guys, not even with the champion on his side and he succumbed to Kamachi’s Inverted Sleeper while Takuma and Konoe were throwing devastating strikes at each other.RATING: 5/10 Two excellent tag team matches made this a pretty darn good show, one of the best IJW have produced so far. Yoshiitaka vs Takahama should have been an exciting high flying contest but seemed to go too long and the match kinda didn’t work out the way it should have though... in fact, the entire show felt like it was stretched out, a bit like a movie some movies sometimes. Even so, one of IJW’s best shows yet with a pair of great matches for them, they really seem to be finding their feet now that EXODUS 2010 isn’t around to steal their spotlight. OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Thursday, Week 2, February 2011 IJW Iron Tour Part 2 Gunma Hall: 113 in attendance - IRON: Noritoshi Miura defeated Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 8:14 following a Storm Rider. Not a lot to say here, Miura roughed up the youngster, Hanari fought back with some fire but ultimately fell to a Storm Rider. Solid enough match. RATING: 3/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: BISON Yano defeated Tomohiko Wakai via pinfall at 6:49 following Yano Express. If you are looking for the best of IJW, this wasn’t it. Neither guy looked competent and the art of wrestling was brutally exposed in this one. The finish was the best bit for two reasons. First, it was a kick to the face~! Second, it was the finish, which could barely come soon enough. BAD! RATING: 2/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Shibo Mizoguchi defeated Brute Kikuchi via submission at 10:47 following a Raised Crab. A vast improvement on the previous match, Kikuchi’s power was shown off as he lifted, threw and generally powered Mizoguchi away from his knees. The Crab Master tenaciously worked over Kikuchi’s knees but several crab giving attempts were powered out of… but ultimately Mizoguchi’s tenacity paid off and once he leaned back on a Raised Crab Kikuchi has no choice but to tap out for the second time on the tour. RATING: 3/10 - IRON RANKING: Kalu Owusu defeated Inejiro Yoshizawa via pinfall at 7:39 following a Lariat Clothesline. This wasn’t so much a wrestling match as it was a no-nonsense, straight ahead fight between two brawlers. The ring could barely contain them as they spilled to the floor and used the ringside area as a weapon, pushing the referee’s count for all it was worth. After some hard hitting slams, Owusu built up momentum and hit the Lariat Clothesline and that was all she wrote in this one, cementing Owusu’s place on the Iron Mountain after he was too impatient to wait for a higher level opponent. RATING: 4/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Merle O’Curle defeated Lion Genji via submission at 12:17 following a Celtic Wreath. Ohmigod, Merle is an amazing wrestler. I mean, sure he might have the charisma of a particularly uncharismatic sponge but when he gets going in the ring he’s amazing. His first couple of matches with IJW have been show stealers for them now, with this technical bout with Genji making both men look good. O’Curle wraps in the Celtic Wreath (awesome move!) to force the submission. He almost manages to convey that he is pleased by that, but not quite. RATING: 5/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Onishi Takuma defeated Musashi via knock out at 9:09 following a Neverending Mounted Palm Thrust. Hard hitting and intense would be good ways to describe this, another change of pace in the show. Musashi, as always, came out all guns blazing and kicking things as if they’d personally affronted him by saying things about his mother. Takuma weathered the storm, slowly turned things in his favour and managed to get the mount position. My Japanese isn’t perfect but I’m pretty sure he was telling Musashi to tap out, but the youngster wouldn’t and the match was eventually stopped by the referee when Musashi could no longer defend himself. Musashi just doesn’t know when to quit! RATING: 4/10 - MAIN EVENT SIX MAN TAG: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe, Tobei Sugmiura and Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated Brother Yoshiitaka, Yusuke Takahama and Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 20:21 following a Savage Cradle DDT. An exciting 6 man bout pitted the IJW champion, his challenger and his regular tag partner against the IJW tag champs and one of the top challengers on the Iron Mountain. Not even advertised ahead of time this match saw a lot of posturing as Konoe and Kamachi got a first hand look at each other’s styles once more and the tag champs warmed up for an upcoming title match on show 4, likely against The Apocalypse Riders. Lots of back and forth action with a good pace to it as brawling and flying met head on. The end result went in favour of the IJW champion, catching Yusuke Takahama with a Savage Cradle DDT to pick the win amidst the chaos. RATING: 4/10 Another excellent show, this time stolen by O’Curle vs Genji in what is probably IJW’s best match yet. I know I went off on a praise-rant about Merle already but damn that guy is good! No wonder he’s the ROF champion, now I think I’m gonna have to go look up some UK wrestling just to see him in action. Anywho, a great show for IJW again as they continue their trend of awesomeness. The Iron Man Tournament is shaping up nicely with Onishi Takuma vs BISON Yano, and Merle O’Curle vs Shiba Mizoguchi set for the finale now. One of those matches has the potential to be awesome… guess which! OVERALL RATING: 4/10 Thursday, Week 2, February 2011 IJW Iron Tour Part 2 Gunma Hall: 105 in attendance - TWIN PEAKS: BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi defeted Kaii Hanari & Tomohiko Wakai via pinfall at 7:49 following a Stereo Choke Slam. It seems that after the big argument between Yano and Kikuchi that things are patched up between them, though they did seem more aggressive than normal in this strong performance. Hanari and Wakai will theoretically be grateful for the experience, but will probably be wishing they didn’t have to suffer so much pain in the process. RATING: 3/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Cameron Vessey defeated Nigel Svensson via pinfall at 11:13 following a Sick Cycle. Brutal finish with is father’s own move, dropping Svensson practically on his head with the Sick Cycle. Great contest between these two young guns, they both showed that they deserve a high up spot on the roster with this contest. RATING: 5/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Brother Yoshiitaka defeated Inejiro Yoshizawa via pinfall at 13:37 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. This tournament bout acts as a prelude to the upcomingn title defense, with the tag champ pulling out the victory in singles competition. This match could have went either way but Yoshiitaka’s risks paid off this time and he softened up his opponent enough to finish him as both men looked to be running out of fuel. RATING: 3/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Kalu Owusu defeated Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 12:30 following Lariat Clothesline. Two hard hitting athletes stepped into the ring with the intention of throwing everything they had at each other and the belief that they could take more than the other could dish out. Only one man could be right, and that man was Kalu Owusu who has carved out his reputation on his toughness having fought his way up from the streets of Sassanda in the Ivory Coast. A big Lariat Clothesline put the exclamation point in this very loud match. RATING: 4/10 - IRON MAN LAST 16: Wasichi Inao defeated Yusuke Takahama via pinfall at 15:27 following a 450 Splash. Exciting junior heavyweight action in the Iron Man tournament saw two top contenders to the future IJW Junior Heavyweight championship demonstrate just how exciting that style of wrestling can be… to be fair, BHOTWG and WLW do it better but that’s besides the point. With Takahama downed, Inao headed to the top to hit the highlight reel move of the night and advance in the tournament. RATING: 4/10 - MAIN EVENT SIX MAN TAG: Onishi Takuma, Tsurayuki Kamachi & IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe defeated Merle O’Curle, Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji via submission at 16:39 following an Inverted Sleeper. On one side was a veritable dream team of IJW’s top stars, the guys who have been battling each other for the right to say they are the king of the Iron Mountain. On the other side a group who seem to be inseperable, whether they be facing each other in tournament action or testing themselves against the best. O’Curle and Mizoguchi straight out tried to make people tap with leg locks of all kinds while the dream team mixed up technical skills with devastating strikes, turning O’Curle’s pale skin into a pattern of red prints and white streaks. In a very even contest the weak link proved to be the young Lion Genji, who once isolated was no match for the challenger to the IJW World Heavyweight championship and was forced to tap out to an Inverted Sleeper once is was locked in tight. Awesome IJW match! RATING: 5/10 I know I seem to say things like this a lot, but IJW once again surpassed themselves with this show. Eaily their best show yet, with a main event that wouldn’t be out of place on the card of any wrestling based promotion on the planet, with Vessey/Svensson on the undercard also delivering the goods big time. O’Curle and Mizoguchi’s machine like assault on the legs of the entire opposition team was neat to watch, they should be able to have a fun match in the Iron Man Tournament. Also added to the card is Kalu Owusu vs Wasichi Inao, and Brother Yoshiitaka vs Cameron Vessey. It’s getting tough to pick winners now, but that’s what we’re gonna have to do soon! OVERALL RATING: 5/10 Great shows so far, and IJW have even released the details of their remaining shows. Time to get your predictions on, though as long as they actually believe they are a wrestling company some of the results are fairly… predictable. But that’s also kinda the point of a sport, right? You know who’s good and who’s not so good, which means you should generally be able to predict a winner. Amirite? SHOW 4: IJW Iron Tour Part 4 MAIN EVENT NON TITLE MATCH: Taheji Konoe vs Oda Yakuta IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs The Apocalypse Riders TAG: Tsurayuki Kamachi/Kalu Owusu vs Cameron Vessey/Merle O’Curle IRON: Wasichi Inao vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Nigel Svensson vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS: BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi vs Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji With the Iron Man Tournament on the horizon, this is the last chance for many to check out their opposition, prepare the tournament ahead and improve their standinds on the mountains! ***TOUR FINALE*** IJW The Iron Man Tournament 2011 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Taheji Konoe © vs Tsurayuki Kamachi THE FINAL EIGHT COMPETITORS IN THE IRON MAN TOURNAMENT BATTLE TO LIFT THE TROPHY AND FACE THE CHAMPION Onishi Takuma vs BISON Yano …the winner will face the winner of… Merle O’Curle vs Shiba Mizoguchi Kalu Owusu vs Wasichi Inao …the winner will face the winner of… Brother Yoshiitaka vs Cameron Vessey PLUS A SPECIAL ATTRACTION TAG TEAM TOTAL ELIMINATION MATCH – WHO WILL SURVIVE?! The Apocalypse Riders/Oda Yakuta/Musashi/Tobei Sugimura VS Brute Kikuchi/Nigel Svensson/Yusuke Takahama/Kaii Hanari/Tomohiko Wakai Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! IJW have been on a hot streak and their crowds have been steadily growing, which seems to have spurred them on to do better and better. I’m looking forward to the tournament, it looks like it could deliver an excellent show… I wish I could be there. Puro fans… you know I like to talk, hit me up with any predictions you may have and lets see just how much we know, understand and can guess from the info we have! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtlant Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 The finish was the best bit for two reasons. First, it was a kick to the face~! Haha nice. SHOW 4: IJW Iron Tour Part 4 MAIN EVENT NON TITLE MATCH: Taheji Konoe vs Oda Yakuta IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs The Apocalypse Riders TAG: Tsurayuki Kamachi/Kalu Owusu vs Cameron Vessey/Merle O’Curle IRON: Wasichi Inao vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Nigel Svensson vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS: BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi vs Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji A couple here that could go either way, the first two tag matches in particular. ***TOUR FINALE*** IJW The Iron Man Tournament 2011 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Taheji Konoe © vs Tsurayuki Kamachi Finals - Merle O’Curle vs Cameron Vessey Semifinals - Onishi Takuma vs Merle O’Curle Semifinals - Wasichi Inao vs Cameron Vessey First Round - Onishi Takuma vs BISON Yano First Round - Merle O’Curle vs Shiba Mizoguchi First Round - Kalu Owusu vs Wasichi Inao First Round - Brother Yoshiitaka vs Cameron Vessey The Apocalypse Riders/Oda Yakuta/Musashi/Tobei Sugimura VS Brute Kikuchi/Nigel Svensson/Yusuke Takahama/Kaii Hanari/Tomohiko Wakai O'Curle is unknown in Japan, but he's by far the best wrestler on your roster and is a respected veteran, so I think you might give him the tournament win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 SHOW 4: IJW Iron Tour Part 4 MAIN EVENT NON TITLE MATCH: Taheji Konoe vs Oda Yakuta IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs The Apocalypse Riders TAG: Tsurayuki Kamachi/Kalu Owusu vs Cameron Vessey/Merle O’Curle IRON: Wasichi Inao vs Tobei Sugimura IRON RANKING: Nigel Svensson vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS: BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi vs Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji ***TOUR FINALE*** IJW The Iron Man Tournament 2011 IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Taheji Konoe © vs Tsurayuki Kamachi Onishi Takuma vs BISON Yano …the winner will face the winner of… Merle O’Curle vs Shiba Mizoguchi Thus Onishi Takuma vs Merle O'Curle Kalu Owusu vs Wasichi Inao …the winner will face the winner of… Brother Yoshiitaka vs Cameron Vessey Thus Wasichi Inao vs Cameron Vessey Onishi Takuma vs Cameron Vessey The Apocalypse Riders/Oda Yakuta/Musashi/Tobei Sugimura VS Brute Kikuchi/Nigel Svensson/Yusuke Takahama/Kaii Hanari/Tomohiko Wakai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricAdams Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 I'm thinking Merle needs to be brought in for the next tour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 17, 2010 Author Share Posted February 17, 2010 + Dynamite Narahashi called up to BHOTWG for his second spell with the promotion + Tsurayuki Kamachi loyal to new indy darlings Iron Japan Wrestling, turns down Hinote Dojo approach. + Kunomasu defeats Pathlow, Muruyama and Kawashima on route to winning PGHW Elite Series for the first time + CANADA: Dan Stone Jr and Jeremy Stone win their fourth Ed Henson Memorial Cup + MATCH OF THE MILLENNIUM: Tadiyuki Kikkawa defended the King of Fighters title against Black Cobra in the main event of Fire Dream of The Immortals in what many have described as possibly the greatest match ever… + Nobuatsu Tatsuko to miss 3 months of action with back injury + Morimaso Kato joins BHOTWG roster IJW Iron Tour Results, and final card for The Iron Man Tournament 2011 by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Lots more excitement in IJW as they hold the second annual Iron Man Tournament, the winner of which will receive a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight champion. Here are the results of the last show and the tournament itself, which has made me very happy indeed! Thursday, Week 1, March 2011 IJW Iron Tour Part 4 Gunma Hall: 116 in attendance - TWIN PEAKS: BISON Yano & Brute Kikuchi defeated Shibo Mizoguchi & Lion Genji via pinfall at 11:03 following Kikuchi Crush. An excellent tag team match to kick off the show, with both sides working well together to execute their gameplans. Power and tag experience triumphs on this occasion, with Kikuchi ending the match with a rough looking Kikuchi Crush on young Lion Genji. RATING: 4/10 - IRON RANKING: Nigel Svensson defeated Musashi via submission at 9:52 following a Hyper Extension Arm Lock. Fantastic fast paced match with Musashi opening up his killer offensive arsenal from the get go. Svensson demonstrated why Wigan style wrestling is respected around the world, working over any limb that came close to him and finally forcing a submission with an excruciatingly painful looking Hyper Extension Arm Lock. Great stuff! RATING: 4/10 - IJW WORLD TAG TEAM TITLE BOUT: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama defeated The Apocalypse Riders via pinfall at 13:42 following a Shaolin Powerbomb/Flying Splash to retain the belts. This match looked for all the world that we’d be seeing new champions at the end of it. The challengers worked like a well oiled machine and cut off the ring for lengthy periods of pummelling on Yusuke… but when the inevitable fight back happened, the champions proved that they are tough and more than capable of looking after themselves, eventually securing a double team to put the challengers away and retain the gold. RATING: 4/10 - IRON: Wasichi Inao defeated Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 12:05 following a 450 Splash. While this match was contested on the Iron Mountain there can be little doubt that both of these men will make the move over to the Volcano/Junior Heavyweight division when it is formed. Wasichi once again proved that he is a fine competitor, showing that losing the mask has allowed him to be taken more seriously and raise his game a the same time. A couple of big suplexes set up for the 450 Splash, the highlight reel move of the night once again. RATING: 4/10 - TAG: Tsurayuki Kamachi/Kalu Owusu defeated Cameron Vessey/Merle O’Curle via submission at 17:14 following an Inverted Sleeper. A big warm up tag team bout for those heading into the Iron Man Tournament, with each of these men no doubt scouting out potential opponents. Everyone got in their share of the offense and showed their toughness by being on the receiving end too. Vessey brawled with his opponents, Kalu hit hard, O’Curle tied people up in knots and Kamachi kept pace with everyone on his way to eventually wrapping up Vessey in an Inverted Sleeper. Vessey tapped fairly quickly, no doubt preserving himself for the big tournament itself rather than foolishly holding on and weakening his own chances at victory. Fantastic match for IJW. RATING: 5/10 - MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Taheji Konoe defeated Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 13:46 following an Animalistic Gore. This match wasn’t announced ahead of time as being a championship bout, but Konoe seemed fired up and ordered the referee to declare it as an official title match. Whether Yakuta was fired up or put out by this surprise move was hard to tell, but he held his own as expected against the champion for the duration of the match, finally being overwhelmed by an amazingly brutal Animalistic Gore that almost snapped him in half. The champion looks good heading into his advertised title defense against Tsurayuki Kamachi at the Iron Man Tournament. RATING: 4/10 Iron Japan Wrestling head into one of their biggest events of the year with the Iron Man Tournament 2011 right around the corner. From top to bottom this was probably their best show to date, though the main event wasn’t their best match as the semi-main overshadowed it… but then, it was packed with big names from around the world so that was almost to be expected. Even the Apocalypse Riders had a great match and they’ve often been disappointing in tag action but they really seem to be coming along now that they are getting regular work. OVERALL RATING: 5/10 Thursday, Week 2, March 2011 IJW The Iron Man Tournament 2011 Gunma Hall: 157 in attendance - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 8: Onishi Takuma defeated BISON Yano via stoppage at 9:52 following a Neverending Mounted Palm Thrust. Takuma may not be the quickest or the most dextrous, but when it comes to experience and toughness he’s right up there. Yano clobbered Takuma around the ring, forced back only by Takuma’s chops for a while. Takuma found an opening and jumped on the chance to get the advantage, pummelling Yano with palm strikes from the mount position. It looked like Yano might have been able to break the move but ultimately Takuma landed some stiff shots, Yano’s hands went down, he stopped fighting for position and the referee had to stop the match. Incidentally, the referee apparantly likes Swedish cinema. Weird. RATING: 4/10 - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 8: Merle O’Curle defeated Shiba Mizoguchi via submission at 14:43 following a Celtic Wreath. I’ve been accused of being a purophile a few times in the past, but I’m going to go on the record and say that THIS WAS AMAZING!! Homoerotic though it may be, these two men rolled around the mat in an amazing technical match that saw dozens of painful submissions be applied TO every limb BY every limb. O’Curle advances by escaping some of Mizoguchi’s dreaded crabs to wrap in the Celtic Wreath to finally force a tap out in IJW’s finest match to date. RATING: 6/10 - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 8: Kalu Owusu defeated Wasichi Inao via submission at 10:29 following an Angular Arm Bar. Following on from a technical masterclass was a styles clash of epic proportions as hard hitting brawling met high flying antics. Inao’s quickness kept him one step ahead for a while, allowing him to attempt the 450 Splash but Owusu got his knees up to drive the wind out of Inao… unable to recover his feet, Wasichi found himself locked into the Angular Arm Bar and despite a valiant struggle had to tap out. RATING: 4/10 - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 8: Cameron Vessey defeated Brother Yoshiitaka via pinfall at 11:41 following a Vessey Driver. More exciting tournament action saw one half of the IJW World Tag Team champions taking on the undefeated second generation star Cameron Vessey… and it was yet another top notch match as both men gave it their all. Yoshiitaka set the tone with some speedy antics from the get go while Vessey tried to slow him down and then beat him up with some stereotypical hard hitting Vessey moves, including a lot of suplexes. Yoshiitaka threw caution to the wind to get the upperhand and had Vessey up for a Shaolin Powerbomb, only for Vessey to slip out the back and hoist Yoshiitaka up on his shoulders to drive him down with a Vessey Driver. This took a lot out of both men, but Vessey stands victorious in the end, the third gaijin to advance to the final four. RATING: 4/10 - 5 vs 5 TAG TEAM ELIMINATION MATCH: The Apocalypse Riders/Oda Yakuta/Musashi/Tobei Sugimura defeated Brute Kikuchi/Nigel Svensson/Yusuke Takahama/Kaii Hanari/Tomohiko Wakai via pinfall at 19:41 following a Yakuta-Bomb. Yakuta pins Svensson. RATING: 4/10 - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 4: Onishi Takuma defeated Merle O’Curle via submission at 15:47 following a Takuma Crossface Submission. Having contested a torturous match earlier in the night, O’Curle was pushed to the limits by Takuma who showed that he still knows how to wrestle even if hitting hard is his main strength now. Merle wanted to keep the match grounded and Takuma wanted it standing, leading to lots of takedown attempts and a lot of hard hitting strikes as the crowd got behind the lat remaining Japanese competitor in the tournament. In the end Takuma bullied Merle to the mat for a Takuma Crossface Submission, hitting dozens of chops to Merle’s head until he was unable to fend off the takedown and ultimately submitting to Takuma’s strength of will as much as anything else. RATING: 5/10 - IRON MAN TOURNAMENT FINAL 4: Kalu Owusu defeated Cameron Vessey via pinfall at 11:43 following a Lariat Clothesline. This match never slowed down to catch it’s breath from the get go as both men looked to end things quickly so that they could reach the finals and protect themselves following on from their previous tough matches. Lots of finisher attempts and Owusu showed that he’s been doing his homework by countering them plenty, while Vessey showed that he is capable of handling himself when the going gets tough. Owusu slips out the back of a Vessey Driver and quickly builds up momentum of the ropes to hit a Lariat Clothesline that is enough to keep Vessey down for a three count. RATING: 4/10 - IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT: Taheji Konoe © vs Tsurayuki Kamachi Going into this match there was a lot of pomp and circumstance, with the crowd seeming to particularly get behind the challenger after his recent declaration of loyalty to IJW. They cheered for the champion too of course, respectful of everything he’s done so far for the company and his intense style of wrestling. Both men started more slowly than normal, exercising caution given the stakes of the match and the record number of IJW fans in attendance tonight. Things escalated as Konoe started to play loosely with the rules, using some illegal chokes and taking the fight to the outside but he was met with some fire from Kamachi who showed that he is also capable of fighting rough should the occasion arise. The match went back and forth as both men tried to find ways to wear down and ultimately eliminate the other and it was Konoe who made the first big mistake, looking for a huge Animalistic Gore that hit nothing but ringpost in the corner as Kamachi narrowly escaped the move. Kamachi struggled desperately to lock in the Inverted Sleeper and had it for a while and keep the champ in the middle of the ring, but Konoe managed to use sheer force of will to backpedal into the ropes to break the move. Minutes laters Konoe snapped off a brutal neckbreaker to counter a hard hitting flurry of strikes and used that to set up the Savage Cradle DDT, but only for a two count! The crowd went wild as Konoe tried the cover again only to fail… Kamachi was pulled to his feet and countered by launching back into a flurry of strikes on the champion who fell back off balance, bouncing off the ropes and hitting an Animalistic Gore to stun his challenger again, this time using the momentum from that to hit the Savage Cradle DDT to get a three count. Taheji Konoe defeated Tsurayuki Kamachi via pinfall at 18:44 following Savage Cradle DDT to retain the IJW World Heavyweight Championship. RATING: 5/10 - MAIN EVENT – THE IRON MAN TOURNAMENT 2011 FINAL: Onishi Takuma vs Kalu Owusu With fatigue really starting to take it’s toll, both competitors were starting to look the worse for wear heading into this match. With the crowd expecting a hard hitting contest for the ages, they were treated to s relatively slow paced bout interspersed with flurries of action. Both men tried to go for submission attempts and keep the contest grounded for lengthy periods of time, going against their usual MO of hitting hard and hitting often. Things heated up again as both men decided to switch tactics and gears at the same time, taking the fight to standing and throwing strikes at each other like they were going out of fashion. Then the finishing sequence, a battle to gain the upper hand having beaten the fight out of each other for long enough to make one finisher all that would be necessary. Takuma went for the Takuma Crossface Submission, throwing headchops to weaken Owusu who athletically rolled through to escape and tried for an Angular Arm Bar of his own. Takuma’s years of experience helped him to get back to his feet and get separation before Owusu tried for a Lariat Clothesline only to be taken down into a Crossface submission that had him in clear pain… … and yet he managed to get to the ropes to force a break. With Takuma’s strength fading he went back to the chops that have been his main offensive weapon for so long, battering the breath out of Owusu who needed the ropes to keep him on his feet. After a dozen or so hits, Owusu channelled all his energy into an explosive slam style takedown on Takuma that drove the wind out of him and stunned him long enough to get an Angular Arm Bar locked in. Takuma fought bravely with the crowd roaring for him, willing him to get to the ropes but eventually the pain was just too much, with the effects of previous bouts proving to accumulate to too much and forcing him to tap out. Kalu Owusu defeated Onishi Takuma via submission at 14:36 following an Angular Arm Bar. RATING: 4/10 In front of their biggest crowd to date IJW deliver some of their best matches and an awesome tournament. There really wasn’t a bad match on the card and Merle O’Curle stole the show with what must easily be regarded as IJW’s two finest matches to date, with the Mizoguchi match being a fantastic display of wrestling from both men. With Tsurayuki Kamachi professing his loyalty to IJW recently there were a lot of fans in the crowd expecting him to win the gold tonight but Konoe managed to retain the strap for what may now be a really hard hitting and violent battle with Kalu Owusu following his win in the tournament. I can’t wait!! OVERALL RATING: 4/10 In my own mental ranking system for things, I reckon this show had 3 of the top 5 IJW matches so far… and pretty much the entire top 10 is filled out with matches from this tour… all of Merle’s matches seem to be on there. Seriously, I think I’m going to have to go watch a lot of Ring of Fire because I’ve had some of you guys say that his matches with guys like British Samurai and Walter Morgan are even better, which is something that makes me salivate. Seems Mr JT Lant is also a fan of Merle, he thought he might even win the tournament despite only having had a handful of matches in Japan. My friend Historian (who really does know his stuff) thought Takuma would win and wasn’t far off… but he also though Vessey would be in the final, which was a little optimistic. Only a little though! I’m in massive agreement with everyone that Merle O’Curle needs to come back to Japan for more tours, hopefully with IJW since he’s been awesome for them but anywhere is good. Can you imagine him going up against Kikkawa or Nakasawa in BHOTWG? Koiso in PGHW? Kudo, Hyobanshi or Gakuash in GCG? Actually, I can’t… which just makes me wonder how good those matches could be. Anywho, enough rambling from me, this update is getting relly wordy. Rumours are about that IJW might be looking to shore up their Junior Heavyweight… sorry, Volcano divison with some new signings and introduce a belt on the next tour. Nothing definite from them yet, I guess we’ll see who they can bring in for the next tour and hope for the best! Til then, remember that only tough guys watch puro! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaxxHexx Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 This is a pleasure to read. Keep up the good work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 19, 2010 Share Posted February 19, 2010 Great work thus far! It's been a fantastic read! And to think, I was really rocking and rolling there in that Iron Man Tournament! I'm just a big fan of Onishi! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 24, 2010 Author Share Posted February 24, 2010 As always, thanks for the kind words. I put this on the backburner for a little bit to finish up work on the CV97 (now released!) among other things but I'm getting back on track again soon cos I've been dying to play this game again. It's absolutely freezing here at the moment so I've been trying to keep my hands under the duvet (no jokes please ) to keep them warm, so large amounts of typing haven't been my top plan. And yet, I want to get moving on this. Will update the tour details sometime in the next few days and will then get cracking on crowning an IJW Junior Heavyweight champion. Got some interesting names in this little tournament, bet no-one can guess the full field of eight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 As always, thanks for the kind words. I put this on the backburner for a little bit to finish up work on the CV97 (now released!) among other things but I'm getting back on track again soon cos I've been dying to play this game again. It's absolutely freezing here at the moment so I've been trying to keep my hands under the duvet (no jokes please ) to keep them warm, so large amounts of typing haven't been my top plan. Gloves? Loving the fed, keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 26, 2010 Author Share Posted February 26, 2010 + Henry Bennett and Kenko Takemitsu to debut with BHOTWG on Happenstance tour + CANADA: Johnny Bloodstone defeats Dan Stone Jr in match that rivals Kikkawa vs Duane Stone in BHOTWG + COLUMN: Yoshimi Mushahibo, once the greatest wrestler on the planet but has his knee injury changed him forever? + Magnum KOBE single reaches #1 in music charts! Will this mean even better business for WLW now? + BISON Yano begins full time training with Pro Wrestling SAISHO + AUSTRALIA: The Comedian suffers broken jaw in altercation with a horse… no news on the status of the horse + COLUMN: The Tiger Roars: A detailed look at GCG’s rise from the ashes back to national power in Japan IJW to crown first Junior Heavyweight champion + tour details by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg On the back of the critical success of the Iron Man Tournament, IJW has been getting some good press in Japan for their interesting concepts and general quality of wrestling. I like to think I had a hand in getting them to where they are today, if it weren’t for me and you (my loyal readers!) buying their DVDs then the company may have never been able to get off the ground in the first place. So you guys can take a little joy in knowing that you’ve helped out a good cause and something that will hopefully be a source of entertainment for many years to come. A new tour is on the horizon for IJW, here is their usual translated nonsense for those of you who like to knows what’s going on. Did I say nonsense? I meant to say Japanese is such a wonderful language, so expressive that it never really carries over into English in quite the same way. Check it out! Iron Japan Wrestling feeling the heat from the Volcano A new Iron Man was crowned at the Iron Man Tournament 2011 as Kalu Owusu overcame all challengers on his way to victory, ensuring that he would be next in line to challenge the peak of the Iron Mountain, still beind held by the IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe following his victory over Tsurayuki Kamachi in a glorious andn titanic championship bout. As the world moves, new mountains are raised and the landscape changes forever. Such is the world and such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Alongside the Iron Mountain and the Twin Peaked Mountain rises The Volcano, a mountain where only smaller competitors may survive and thrive. From around the world competitors have answered the call of the Volcano and will do battle to be the first to reach it’s blazing summit and revel in the glory of being champion. In addition to Iron Japan Wrestling’s four already debuted challengers are four new challengers, meaning an eight man tournament will take place over the course of the tour. An existing challenger will face a debutant challenger in the first round, with the final four squaring off in a mini-tournament of explosive action at the tour finale where the first ever IJW Junior Heavyweight Champion will be crowned. The call of the mountains grow ever stronger as challengers from around the world heed the summons and wish to do battle. The fall of one challenger from the Iron Mountain has seen three more scramble to replace him, with four making their first steps on the Volcano. Below are the complete listings of all challengers to the mountains and the plans for all five shows on this next tour. 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. THE IRON MOUNTAIN IJW World Heavyweight Champion: Taheji Konoe Top Contenders LWWWL - Onishi Takuma LWLWL - Tsurayuki Kamachi LWWLL - Brother Yoshiitaka The Iron Mountain LLWLL - Oda Yakuta WLLWW - Noritoshi Miura LWLLW - Shiba Mizoguchi WWWWW - Kalu Owusu LWWWW - Cameron Vessey LLLW - Brute Kikuchi LLL - Inejiro Yoshizawa LWW - Merle O’Curle WL - Nigel Svensson LLWLL - Musashi LWL - Tomohiko Wakai LLLWL - Lion Genji New Challengers - Giant Brody - Rahabad Lawal - Rashid Lawal THE TWIN PEAKED MOUNTAIN IJW World Tag Team Champions: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama Top Contenders LWL – The Apocalypse Riders (Inejiro Yoshizawa & Noritoshi Miura) LWL – Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji (vacant) The Twin Peaked Mountain L - Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura LL – Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari L - The Wigan Warriors (Merle O’Curle & Nigel Svensson) New Challengers - Arthur Dexter Bradley & El Diamante Azul - Tsurayuki Kamachi & Eiji Suyuki - Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi - The Nigerian Hit Squad (Rahabad & Rashid Lawal) THE VOLCANO IJW Junior Heavyweight Champion: (vacant) Top Contenders (vacant) (vacant) (vacant) The Volcano (vacant) New Challengers - Arthur Dexter Bradley - Eiji Sayuki - El Diamante Azul - Fox Mask - Kaii Hanari - Tobei Sugmiura - Wasichi Inao - Yusuke Takahama CHALLENGERS Arthur Dexter Bradley – Part of the legendary extended Samoan family, ADB is the younger brother of SWF star Akima Brave and GCG star Rhino Umaga. A tremendous natural athlete ADB has spent his early career competing in Puerto Rico and Mexico, where he was trained. Hearing the call of the Volcano he now makes his first trip to Japan to compete and has his eyes firmly locked on the IJW Junior Heavyweight championship, competing in a first round match against Tobei Sugimura for the chance to advance to the tour finale. 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 continues to be put to the test as he strives to not only get himself an IJW World Championship title match but to also retain the IJW World Tag Team titles with his tag team partner Yusuke Takahama. Brute Kikuchi – The largest Japanese native 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. His team with BISON Yano was one of IJW’s finest unti Yano departed the Iron Mountain but now he finds himself teaming with IJW founder Onishi Takuma, the man he teamed with in last year’s Blind Faith tournament and who is now taking him under his wing as a protégé. How will Kikuchi fare without his regular partner, and will he now be able to grow as a singles competitor as well as succeeding in the tag team ranks. 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 and build off his progress to the semi finals of the Iron Man Tournament on the last tour. Eiji Sayuki – Eiji “Young Boy” Suyuki who has spent several years paying his dues and earning the respect of his peers across the Japanese independent scene. The exciting high flyer has a wide range of skills at his disposal and will be aiming to become IJW’s first ever IJW Junior Heavyweight champion and rise to the top of the Volcano, assuming he can get past IJW World Tag Team champion Yusuke Takahama in the first round. El Diamante Azul – The Blue Diamond is a talented Japanese junior wrestler who moved to Mexico and took a mask to help him develop as a competitor in the fast paced world of lucha libre. Having honed his craft, he makes his return to Japan for the first time in several years to take on The Volcano, looking to use his international experience to become the first ever IJW Junior Heavyweight champion, while also looking to establish himself in the tag team ranks witih fellow traveller arthur Dexter Bradley. Fox Mask – Proclaimed as “The King Of The Coastal Zone” Fox Mask has been one of the top stars of CZCW for more than a decade, first winning their championship in 2001 and currently in his sixth reign. Chasing his dream to be the best, he has found his way to IJW and The Volcano where he will look to advance past Kaii Hanari on his way to the glory of the IJW Junior Heavyweight championship. Giant Brody – Leon “Giant” Brody is a 6’9, 326 pound monster of a man from the USA who is the largest man climbing the Iron Mountain. Not a lot is known about him but he is said to be strong, agile, hard hitting and very capable for a man his size. He will make his debut against the smallest man on the Iron Mountain, Musashi, in a match that is sure to be fascinating to watch. 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, his rivalry with Yano & Kikuchi was one of IJW’s biggest in 2010. Looking to reach the top of the Twin Peaked Mountain with his tag partner, Yoshizawa has ambitious goals and the chance to reach the top. Kaii Hanari – Moving from the Iron Mountain to the Volcano, Hanari is one of IJW’s finest young talents, capable of brawling, flying or technical wrestling. He will be looking to improve the standing of his tag team witih Tomohiko Wakai in the tag ranks while also looking for singles glory in the Volcano division as he first faces off against CZCW champion Fox Mask. Kalu Owusu – The explosive and athletic Ivorian known as Kalu Owusu was one of INSPIRE’s most under-rated talents before they folded. After winning the 2011 Iron Man Tournament, Owusu has earned the right to face IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe at the tour’s finale, in what is sure to be an awesome showdown between two intense and hard hitting athletes. Owusu gets the chance to scout his opponent in the lead up to their championship bout, but will he be able to dethrone Konoe and take his place a the top of the Iron Mountain? Lion Genji – The young Lion Genji has been one of IJW’s brightest young prospects since the inaugural Iron Man Tournament. Showing a great fire, his team with Shiba Mizoguchi is developing into one of the highlights of the midcard, putting on exciting matches with a variety of opponents. Genji may yet lack the experience to go up against the top guys in IJW, but over time he looks set to be a big star and should almost certainly be able to lay claim to some gold, with the IJW World Tag Team championships currently in his sights. Merle O’Curle – One of the finest technical workers to emerge from Europe in recent history, “The Irish Stretching Machine” is an extreme dangerous submission based grappler who has reigned as the Ring of Fire champion for 18 months. Now making his way to Japan with his tag team partner Nigel Svensson, O’Curle is looking to climb the Iron Mountain on his way to international glory and he has caught the imagination of all IJW fans with his innovative and deadly technical 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 on the Iron Mountain rather than the more suitable Volcano. Filled with inner fire and definitely a dangerous competitor, Musashi’s unwillingness to let his size define him as a wrestler is almost certainly holding back his career. As he goes into this new tour, he will face off with American bruiser Giant Brody in the biggest size mismatch so far in IJW. Nigel Svensson – The young Swede Nigel Svensson is a product of the famed Wigan style of wrestling, where hard hitting forearm strikes and excruciating jointlocks are the natural order of wrestling. Seeking to prove himself to the world he joined Merle O’Curle on his travels to Japan which has seen Svensson gain a lot of acclaim both in singles action and for his part in The Wigan Warriors with O’Curle. He seems like he may have unlimited potential as he continues to improve with every match. Noritoshi Miura (Spirit of the Shark) – One half of the Apocalypse Riders, Miura’s success in IJW has come mostly in tag team though his forays into singles competition have also met with some success. With his focus currently on the IJW World Tag Team championships, The Apocalypse Riders will be looking to secure a shot at the belts and climb to the top of the Twin Peaked Mountain. 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 yet unable to quite get up there and will be looking to once again get himself into the running over the course of this tour with some strong performances. Onishi Takuma – The founder of IJW was once again just one step away from climbing to the top of the Iron Mountain but the physical toll of the Iron Man Tournament and the ferocity of Kalu Owusu saw his dreams ended in the final of the event. Once more he must try to raise his game to the top level as he looks to secure a shot at the IJW World Heavyweight Championship, and with Brute Kikuchi at his side following Bison Yano’s departure from the Iron Mountain, Takuma may also be looking to make a run to the top of the Twin Peaked Mountain. Rahabad Lawal – The intimidating twin Lawal brothers are a heavyweight tandem who have made something of a reputation for themselves in Europe. Both men wrestle a very similar style, using their size and power to overwhelm their opponents to set up for the Nigerian Hit. One of the most fluid teams in the world, they are not above pulling out some twin based trickery to get the job done if the need to and complete another Nigerian Hit. Rashid Lawal – (see Rahabad Lawal) Shiba Mizoguchi – A technical grappler who likes to focus his offense on the legs, “The Crab Master” has found a good tag team partner in young Lion Genji, with whom he has already achieved moderate success in IJW. Seeking to make progress up both the Iron Mountain and the Twin Peaked Mountain over the course of this tour, Mizoguchi has been working hard to improve the fluidity of his tag team wrestling as well as adding ever more technical skill to his arsenal to better prepare himself for more matches with Merle O’Curle, a man he deeply respects. Taheji Konoe – The IJW World Heavyweight champion made another successful defense of the belt in defeating Tsurayuki Kamachi in a very even and competitive match. He will now face off against the winner of the Iron Man Tournament, Kalu Owusu, in what is sure to be a hard hittin, action packed title match. On his way to the finale he will get the chance to not only scout out his opponent in tag team action, but also to improve the standing of his fledgling tag team with Tobei Sugimura on the Twin Peaked Mountain, and perhaps even put himself in the running to reign supreme over both mountains. Tobei Sugmiura – One of the surprise packages of IJW, Sugmiura has consistently shown himself to be a versatile and dangerous competitor in both singles and tag team action. He will be looking to gain standing in the tag team division with his partner Taheji Konoe, while simultaneously hoping to earn singles gold, making the switch from the Iron Mountain over to the Volcano. He will face Arthur Dexter Bradley in the first round. Tomohiko Wakai - This young heavyweight grappler is a graduate of the Tokyo Wrestling Dojo who has joined IJW as a trainee. With very little 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 on his own or the Twin Peaked Mountain with his partner Kaii Hanari. 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. Defeat in his IJW World Heavyweight championship match with Taheji Konoe should only be a minor setback for the IJW loyalist who will be looking to bounce back on this tour and earn himself another title match in the near future while experimenting with new tag team partners over the course of the tour to help him gain more experience. Wasichi Inao – With an excellent debut tour behind him, Inao has quickly established himself in IJW as a future star of potentially the Iron Mountain and Volcano. On this tour he will be competing for the IJW Junior Heavyweight championship, looking to take the skills he has refined over the last couple of years and add gold to them, with his first opponent being the homecoming El Diamante Azul. 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 competitor. He has gone on to prove himself as a proficient competitor on the Iron Mountain and reigns supreme on the Twin PeakedMoutain with Brother Yoshiitaka. Yusuke now aims to capture championship glory on the Volcano by entering into the tournament to crown a champion, meeting Eiji Sayuki in the first round. SCHEDULE The Volcano Tour will take place over 5 events, leading up to the tour finale called IJW Eruption. Over the course of those events the Volcano division will compete in a series of tournament bouts to crown a first champion, top contenders in both the Twin Peaked Mountain and Iron Mountain will be challenged and decided… and ultimately, champions will be tested to see if they truly deserve to sit atop their respective mountains. Here is the preliminary match ups to start the tour, with later shows being filled out later based on results on earlier shows IJW Volcano Tour Part 1 MAIN EVENT TWIN PEAKS: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs The Wigan Warriors IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Kalu Owusu NON-TITLE: IJW World Tag Team Champions Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama vs Tsurayuki Kamachi & Eiji Suyuki OPEN: Oda Yakuta vs Wasichi Inao TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDER: The Apocalypse Riders vs Arthur Dexter Bradley & El Diamante Azul VOLCANO FINAL 8: Fox Mask vs Kaii Hanari TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDER: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Nigerian Hit Squad IJW Volcano Tour Part 2 MAIN EVENT TAG: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Kalu Owusu & Tsurayuki Kamachi TWIN PEAKS RANKING/(CONTENDER?): The Wigan Warriors vs Arthur Dexter Bradley & El Diamante Azul IRON CHALLENGER: Brother Yoshiitaka vs Oda Yakuta TWIN PEAKS RANKING/(CONTENDER?): Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi TAG: The Apocalypse Riders vs Cameron Vessey & Fox Mask VOLCANO FINAL 8: Eiji Suyuki vs Yusuke Takahama TWIN PEAKS (RANKING?): The Nigerian Hit Squad vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON CHALLENGER: Musashi vs Giant Brody IJW Volcano Tour Part 3 Confirmed so far… VOLCANO FINAL 8: El Diamante Azul vs Wasichi Inao TWIN PEAKS (CONTENDER?): Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi vs The Nigerian Hit Squad TWIN PEAKS (CONTENDER?): Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Wigan Warriors TWIN PEAKS (CONTENDER?): IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IJW Volcano Tour Part 4 Confirmed so far.. MAIN EVENT INVITATIONAL TAG MATCH: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & A Partner Of His Choice vs Kalu Owusu & A Partner Of His Choice VOLCANO FINAL 8: Arthur Dexter Bradley vs Tobei Sugimura IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Shiba Mizoguchi IJW Eruption MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Kalu Owusu IJW JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL & SEMI FINALS Fox Mask/Kaii Hanari vs Eiji Suyuki/Yusuke Takahama El Diamante Azul/Wasichi Inao vs Arthur Dexter Bradley/Tobei Sugimura Other matches to be added based on tour results… All cards subject to change Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountains, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. And there you have it, another exciting tour from my favourite little Japanese indy promotion. If I could watch them while drinking coffee and eating cake in my favourite little coffeehouse then I’d be very happy indeed, but it seems that something has killed the internet there so I can’t… not yet anyways. As always, let me know what you think of the cards, your predictions on winners, best matches and all the stuff that makes us smarter than the average smark. Remember, knowing the terms doesn’t mean you understand what’s really going on! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Historian Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 [Winners In Bold] IJW Volcano Tour Part 1 MAIN EVENT TWIN PEAKS: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs The Wigan Warriors IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Kalu Owusu NON-TITLE: IJW World Tag Team Champions Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama vs Tsurayuki Kamachi & Eiji Suyuki OPEN: Oda Yakuta vs Wasichi Inao TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDER: The Apocalypse Riders vs Arthur Dexter Bradley & El Diamante Azul VOLCANO FINAL 8: Fox Mask vs Kaii Hanari TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDER: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Nigerian Hit Squad Summary: Looks like a very promising show from my favorite little company that could. IJW Volcano Tour Part 2 MAIN EVENT TAG: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Kalu Owusu & Tsurayuki Kamachi TWIN PEAKS RANKING/(CONTENDER?): The Wigan Warriors vs Arthur Dexter Bradley & El Diamante Azul IRON CHALLENGER: Brother Yoshiitaka vs Oda Yakuta TWIN PEAKS RANKING/(CONTENDER?): Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi TAG: The Apocalypse Riders vs Cameron Vessey & Fox Mask VOLCANO FINAL 8: Eiji Suyuki vs Yusuke Takahama TWIN PEAKS (RANKING?): The Nigerian Hit Squad vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON CHALLENGER: Musashi vs Giant Brody Summary: Another good show from the looks of it. Very hard to predict winners. I went with Takuma and Kikuchi against Mizoguchi and Genji because quite frankly, Takuma is my favorite member of the IJW roster! How could one vote against the man with the iron hands? Also, The Nigerian Hit Squad just seem like they might be teamed more full time then Wakai and Hanari. I will do predictions for the other shows as the cards become final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 28, 2010 Author Share Posted February 28, 2010 + Pop star Magnum KOBE wins second WLW Universal championship from The Great Hisato + Second generation star Tanyu Toshusai signs with GCG + Roster reshuffle for BHOTWG with talent called up and talent cut + Dynamite Narahashi leaves BHOTWG to sign with resurgent GCG IJW Volcano Tour results and updated schedule by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg Here are details of the first two shows of IJW’s Volcano tour, with the path to an IJW Junior Heavyweight champion being travelled along with a lot of rankings based matches going down, especially in the expanding tag team division. Definitely some surprises in the mix here, but I won’t spoil them for you ahead of the breakdown so have a looksie and don’t forget that I’m always open do discussions about all things puro. Thursday, Week 2, May 2011 IJW Volcano Tour Part 1 Gunma Hall: 194 in attendance - TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDERSHIP: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji defeated the Nigerian Hit Squad via pinfall at 10:02 following a quick roll up. The Lawal twins didn’t quite make the big Japanese debut win they had set out to achieve but the bruisers certainly left their mark on the fledgling team of Mizoguchi & Genji. Mizoguchi managed to turn a takedown attempt into a tight cradled pin for the fall, and even if whichever Lawal (Rahabad?) had kicked out he looked in real danger of catching crabs from Mizoguchi anyways. Solid match though, great teamwork from the Nigerians as they really showed their experience together. RATING: 4/10 - VOLCANO FINAL 8: Fox Mask defeated Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 8:48 following a Fox Hunter. “The King Of The Coastal Zone” showed a lot of class in this match as he eased past his young opponent and into the final four of the tournament to crown the first ever IJW Junior Heavyweight champion. Was good to see Fox Mask in Japan as he’s one of those guys who has never seemed to get the level of popularity and respect his talents deserve. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDERSHIP: The Apocalypse Riders defeated El Diamante Azul & Arthur Dexter Bradley via pinfall at 12:33 following The End Of The World. Another amibitious pairing tried to upset the rankings on the Twin Peaked Mountain and came up short this time, with the Mexican based duo of Azul & ADB unable to use their high flying antics to unseat the Apocalypse Riders from their spot near the summit of the Twin Peaked Mountain. Another good debut though, they should be exciting to watch in the Junior tournament. RATING: 4/10 - OPEN: Wasichi Inao defeated Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 13:45 following a 450 Splash. A non-divisional bout here as Wasichi’s new Volcano status takes him away from the Iron Mountain. With both men looking to keep sharp, this match tested them both out in ways they might not be getting for a while again. Yakuta eventually found himself in no man’s land, falling from the top rope and losing the match as Wasihci hit the 450 Splash from the top. RATING: 4/10 - NON-TITLE TAG: Eiji Sayuki & Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated IJW World Tag Team Champions Brother Yo****aka & Yusuke Takahama via submission at 19:30 following an Inverted Sleeper. A massive upset here in a match that was ultimately intended to be a warm up test for the tag champs. Sayuki and Kamachi weren’t even intending to be a regular team but with this result they have catapulted themselves into a title match whenever they can find the time to get one. The champs looked furious with themselves but everything clicked for the new team and Takahama had to tap when his partner couldn’t get past Sayuki to make the save. RATING: 5/10 - IRON: Kalu Owusu defeated Cameron Vessey via pinfall at 19:19 following a Lariat Clothesline. Vessey was handed his first IJW defeat in the Iron Man Tournament by Owusu and this was a rematch to see who the better man was without the trouble of having had extra matches already. On this night it turned out to be Owusu once more but the match could have went either way, with Vessey coming close to hitting his family’s signature moves on more than one occasion, which would surely have been enough. In the end though, Owusu hit the Lariat Clothesline after escaping a Vessey Driver to pick up the win. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS CONTENDERSHIP MATCH: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura defeated The Wigan Warriors via pinfall at 22:17 following an Animalistic Gore. Aiming high, the Wigan Warriors wanted to not only prove themselves as a team but also as singles stars against the IJW champion. Konoe showed his class as a competitor by being able to mat wrestle with the Wigan style specialists while Tobei kept the challengers off balance with a varied assault. After a very even bout, Konoe proved to be the difference maker once more as he levelled Svensson with an Animalistic Gore off a blind tag to pick up the win for his team. RATING: 6/10 An awesome main event from IJW, my review really doesn’t do it justice but both teams really brought it there. Merle continues to show that he has what it takes to be a huge player with IJW as Konoe continued to look impressive as champion. Tobei still seems a little out of place with the champ BUT that also works well as the duo make a good odd couple that keeps Konoe beatable too. All in all, a very good show from top to bottom with no bad matches to speak of. Undoubtedly their best show to date and in front of their biggest crowd to date too, which makes me a very happy puro fan. OVERALL RATING: 5/10 Thursday, Week 3, May 2011 IJW Volcano Tour Part 2 Gunma Hall: 216 in attendance - IRON RANKING: Giant Brody defeated Musashi via pinfall at 6:52 following Single Handed Chokeslam. Despite the huge size difference Musashi showed no fear and threw every kick he had at the huge gaijin… after a surprisingly even contest Brody caught Musashi springboarding in and snapped him down to the mat with a brutal chokeslam that earned him the pinfall victory and a spot on the Iron Mountain. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS: The Nigerian Hit Squad defeated Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 8:33 following a Nigerian Hit. Once again the Nigerian bruisers looked fluent in tag team wrestling and this time they made it count, controlling most of the match with classic strategy before finally picking up the victory after hitting both of their opponents with a Nigerian Hit. Wakai was the legal man and got pinned… probably by Rashid. Or Maybe Rahabad. They’re identical twins damnit, I can’t be expected to know this kind of thing. RATING: 3/10 - VOLCANO FINAL 8: Eiji Sayuki defeated Yusuke Takahama via pinfall at 13:08 following a Twisting Face Crusher. After the stunning victory for Sayuki/Kamachi over the IJW World Tag Team champions, this match was packed with intensity as Takahama looked to not only advance in the tournament but avenge that defeat. What happened was far from that, as a very even contest saw Sayuki end up getting the victory, hitting a Twisting Face Crusher to pick up a victory and advance to the Final Four. RATING: 4/10 - TAG: The Apocalypse Riders defeated Fox Mask & Cameron Vessey via pinfall at 10:24 following The End Of The World. Fox Mask and Vessey were clearly not on the same page from the outset here, with frequent miscommunications leading to mounting frustrations on top of the beating the Apocalypse Riders were happy to dish out. Already in a foul mood even before the match started Vessey walked out on his partner when Fox was already in peril, which led to The End Of The World shortly after that to end the match. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS RANKING/CONTENDER: Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi defeated Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji via submission at 14:53 following Takuma Crossface Submission. Two pairings from last year’s Blind Faith tournament met in this match, with Takuma and Kikuchi officially teaming for the first time since their disappotinment in the finals there. With greatly improved teamwork and combinations, Mizoguchi and Genji were consistently on the back foot, being overwhelmed with power, intensity and brutal strikes. Takuma forced Genji into the Takuma Crossface Submission with a series of chops while Kikuchi used his size and power to trap Mizoguchi in the corner, throwing powerful back elbows at him to stop him from trying to escape. A very good match here. RATING: 5/10 - IRON CONTENDER: Brother Yoshiitaka defeated Oda Yakuta via pinfall at 13:36 following a Shaolin Powerbomb. Yoshiitaka didn’t have to put his Contender status on the line in this match but he chose to anyways, determined to motivate himself to do better than his partner earlier in the night. Yakuta, coming off a loss himself, tried to pound his opponent with everything he had but this was not to be his night once again, as Yoshiitaka took control and ultimately put him away with a Shaolin Powerbomb. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS: The Wigan Warriors defeated El Diamante Azul & Arthur Dexter Bradley via submission at 15:28 following a Celtic Wreath. The Wigan Warriors are fast becoming one of IJW’s most popular acts and with match quality like this it is no surprise. The Volcano division competitors may have once again been defeated in this match but they should now be nice and loose after the stretching they received, allowing them to perform well in their tournament matches. A pretty even contest between two very different teams was brought to a close when O’Curle’s tenacity forced Azul into a Celtic Wreath. RATING: 5/10 - MAIN EVENT TAG: Tsurayuki Kamachi & Kalu Owusu defeated Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 21:27 following Lariat Clothesline. Konoe’s class as a singles champion may be undoubted, but here in tag team action he looked vulnerable as two of IJW’s finest stars ripped into the champ and his tag team partner. The match saw a LOT of nearfalls as Tobei showed a lot of toughness by taking a hell of a beating from two of Konoe’s toughest challengers, including the man he will face at Eruption, the Iron Man Tournament winner Kalu Owusu. In the end Konoe bailed out of the ring to avoid a Lariat Clothesline, tagging his partner in at the same time… and less than a minute later Owusu hit the move on Tobei to secure the pinfall. RATING: 6/10 Now, you’re going to think I’m some kind of smark who goes around chanting match of the year at every match… but this really was the best IJW show to date and had a killer main event with a great dynamic to it. Konoe looked dangerous while Tobei looked slightly out of place as ever and got the wrong end of a lot of beatings here, which actually made him look good cos he kept going. The Wigan Warriors again prove their awesomeness and both look set for stardom sooner or later if they can maintain this level of performance… and everything, generally, was really good. Great stuff! OVERALL RATING: 6/10 And now, a press release from IJW to cover the remaining touring shows. They’ll have another one to cover the tour finale called IJW Eruption, though we’ve got some matches pencilled in there already now. IRON JAPAN WRESTLING presents The Volcano Tour With two events completed so far and much changing of positions aon all the Mountains, the Volcano Tour has so far been a blistering success, mixing tremendous action, spirit and fire much like a Volcano itself. Coming up on the tour are yet more action packed shows. Part 3 will be headlined by Brother Yoshiitaka who issued a challenge to Tsuaryuki Kamachi following the surprise non-title tag team loss. Unable to face off for the belts due to other commitments, this match will see two Iron Challengers face off for pride and honour! Part 4 will see a special tag team bout with the IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe and the 2011 Iron Man Tournament winner Kalu Owusu facing off in tag team action. Each man was given the choice of who to have as their tag team partners, with Konoe choosing “The Irish Stretching Machine” Merle O’Curle while Owusu chose Brute Kikuchi. With less than a week until Konoe and Owusu face off, this match surely reveals a lot about the strategy of each man heading into their ultimate showdown! Plus the nights will see more action from the Volcano as El Diamante Azul takes on Wasichi Inao, and Arthur Dexter Bradley faces Tobei Sugimura for the chance to become the first ever IJW Junior Heavyweight champion! IJW Volcano Tour Part 3 MAIN EVENT IRON CONTENDER VS CONTENDER: Brother Yoshiitaka vs Tsurayuki Kamachi TWIN PEAKS: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs The Wigan Warriors VOLCANO FINAL 8: El Diamante Azul vs Wasichi Inao TWIN PEAKS CONTENDER: Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi vs The Nigerian Hit Squad IRON: Giant Brody vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS CONTENDER: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON Kalu Owusu vs Noritoshi Miura IRON: Inejiro Yoshizawa vs Oda Yakuta VOLCANO SHOWCASE: Arthur Dexter Bradley & Fox Mask vs Eiji Sayuki & Yusuke Takahama IJW Volcano Tour Part 4 Confirmed so far.. MAIN EVENT INVITATIONAL TAG MATCH: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & A Partner Of His Choice vs Kalu Owusu & A Partner Of His Choice IRON CONTENDER VS CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Onishi Takuma VOLCANO VS IRON SIX MAN TAG: Eiji Sayuki, Fox Mask & Wasichi Inao vs Giant Brody, Lion Genji & Musashi IRON: Nigel Svensson vs Oda Yakuta NON TITLE TWIN PEAKS: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari IRON: Cameron Vessey vs Shiba Mizoguchi VOLCANO FINAL 8: Arthur Dexter Bradley vs Tobei Sugimura TWIN PEAKS CONTENDER: The Apocalypse Riders vs The Nigerian Hit Squad IJW Eruption MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Kalu Owusu IJW JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL & SEMI FINALS Fox Mask vs Eiji Suyuki El Diamante Azul/Wasichi Inao vs Arthur Dexter Bradley/Tobei Sugimura + Iron Contenders will defend their contendership status + Action from the Twin Peaked Mountain Other matches to be added based on tour results… All cards subject to change Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountains, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. Lots going on there, I wonder how much planning and forethought actually goes into these tours and how much is just made up on the fly by pairing up random people/teams and seeing what happens? Regardless, the shows look packed with action and the kind of international roster that you don’t often see. Whether this means that GCG, BHOTWG and PGHW have signed up most of the Japanese talent to their rosters/development or that IJW just like to have people from all over the world on their rosters… is hard to tell. But either way, it makes for a helluva show and I can’t wait to get my hands on some DVDs of their events. To all my online friends, you guys are like the closest thing I have to a family except for the mother that nags me to stop spending so much time playing video games. Brother Historian, I like the way you think but it turns out that IJW is a bit... unpredictable. I guess they haven't had time to really nail down and fix their roster in place the same way a big promotion has, which means lots of fleixbility in case the big guns come calling around to steal talent away. Which reminds me, I wonder if IJW have anything in place to prevent that from happening? Anyone know? Get in touch if you think you do, I'm always good for chat about puro! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted March 2, 2010 Author Share Posted March 2, 2010 + Oleg Dorosklov signs with GCG, Olympic Judo Gold Medalist looks to reach top of pro wrestling world too + New King of Fighters in BHOTWG! Black Cobra ends Kikkawa’s reign after 35 successful defenses! + BREAKING NEWS: ACPW Head Booker Face Nelson dies in car accident, aged 30 + Elemental signs with GCG in non-wrestling capacity, Kudo said to have been influential in negotiations + Kikkawa vs Cobra rivalry continues with another epic match on Happenstance tour, Cobra retains King of Fighters title as Juniors campaign to be allowed to compete for Burning World Championship + Jimmy Cox defeats Toshiharu Hyobanshi to start second reign as GCG World Heavyweight champion + CANADA: Steve DeColt defeats Jeremy Stone in classic wrestling bout + Nariaki Hitomi added to next BHOTWG tour IJW Volcano Tour Results + Card for IJW Eruption by Robert Greene http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/DerekB83/IJW3.jpg The continuation of the Volcano tour seeing the big set up for the tour finale and what is sure to be some amazing matches there. Some awesome matches on these tour shows too, check them out if you can, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed. Friday, Week 4, May 2011 IJW Volcano Tour Part 3 Gunma Hall: 175 in attendance - VOLCANO SHOWCASE: Eiji Sayuki & Yusuke Takahama defeated Fox Mask & Arthur Dexter Bradley via pinfall at 11:03 following a Super Backdrop Suplex. Challengers from the Volcano faced off here with the tour rivalry of Sayuki and Takahama working together to overcome the international challengers. Showing his tag team pedigree, Takahama picked up the final pinfall victory after a huge suplex on ADB. RATING: 4/10 - IRON: Oda Yakuta defeated Inejiro Yoshizawa via pinfall at 10:57 following a Yakuta-Bomb. With both men looking to progress up the Iron Mountain they tried to throw everything they had at each other in a match that was not pretty to watch. In the end Yakuta picked up the victory withi a Yakuta-Bomb to send Yoshizawa sliding down the mountain. RATING: 3/10 - IRON: Kalu Owusu defeated Noritoshi Miura via pinfall at 12:52 following Lariat Clothesline. Despite being the top contender by virtue of being the 2011 Iron Man Tournament winner Owusu is still a challenger on the Iron Mountain and Miura looked to move up with a victory over the man who will challenge for the IJW World Heavyweight championship at IJW Eruption. Unfortunately for Miura, Owusu brought his A-game and put him away with a Lariat Clothesline that almost beheaded him. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS CONTENDER: IJW World Heavyweight champion Taheji Konoe & Tobei Sugimura defeated Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari via pinfall at 10:34 following a Savage Cradle DDT. The champion and his regular tag team partner looked comfortable in this match against the rookie tag team of Hanari and Wakai. Tobei demonstrated to his champion partner that he isn’t the weak link some other people consider him to be by more than holding his own, with Konoe putting the finishing touches to both opponents by hitting them with Savage Cradle DDTs. RATING: 4/10 - IRON: Giant Brody defeated Musashi via pinfall at 9:39 following a Single Handed Choke Slam. A rematch from earlier in the tour demanded by Musashi, the size differential between the two was once again apparent in this exposive hard hitting match. Despite showing a lot of heart and fire, Musashi was fended off and then destroyed as Brody hit a choke slam that almost drove his opponent through the mat. RATING: 4/10 - TWIN PEAKS CONDTENDER: Onishi Takuma & Brute Kikuchi defeated The Nigerian Hit Squad via referee stoppage at 13:20 following a Neverending Mounted Palm Thrust. Takuma’s experience and skill shone brightly in this match as his influence on Kikuchi’s offense started to become apparent. Using a high potentate of high impact strikes both Kikuchi and Takuma fought smart against the tag team experience of the newcomers to IJW who didn’t have enough in their bag of tricks to fend of the devastating offense of Takuma and Kikuchi. Takuma eventually got one of them, maybe Rashid, in the Mounted Palm Thrusts while Kikuchi kept Rahabad (probably) away. RATING: 4/10 - VOLCANO FINAL 8: Wasichi Inao defeated El Diamante Azul via pinfall at 17:29 following a 450 Splash. High flying tournament action featuring one of the most improved wrestlers of recent years as Wasichi defeated El Diamante Azul, a Japanese talent who travelled to Mexico to gain experience. Lots of flashy moves but neither man seemed to really get momentum going and the match ended up kinda scrappy. RATING: 3/10 - TWIN PEAKS: The Wigan Warriors defeated Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji via submission at 22:28 following a Celtic Wreath. Amazing technical encounter between two of the most promising tag teams in Japan today. The blossoming rivalry between the two teams has produced some excellent encounters already but this was by far their best, with O’Curle eventually picking up the submission by catching Genji in the Celtic Wreath. RATING: 6/10 - IRON CHALLENGER VS CHALLENGER: Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated Brother Yoshiitaka via submission at 24:18 following an Inverted Sleeper. A main event that wouldn’t look out of place anywhere in the world, these two men left it all in the ring as both men not only looked to move themselves into contention for the IJW World Heavyweight championship but also to learn more about each other for a potential IJW World Tag Team title match too. Kamachi showed his class in a very even match, capitalising on a high flying mistake to lock in the Inverted Sleeper, getting it in so deep that Yoshiitaka had to tap out. RATING: 6/10 With two special matches on this show I have to say (AGAIN!) that this is undoubtedly their best show to date. The main event was awesome and the tag semi-main made be a very happy panda. The Inao/Azul match seemed to go on for too long and the guys looked a little lost out there, and this was the longest show that IJW has had too… guess they really wanted to push people to see how far they could go. All in all, it was definitely their best show so far although the length of some matches took away from the quality. Gotta love it though! OVERALL RATING: 5/10 Friday, Week 1, June 2011 IJW Volcano Tour Part 4 Gunma Hall: 184 in attendance - TWIN PEAKS CONTENDER: The Apocalypse Riders defeated the Nigerian Hit Squad via pinfall at 8:20 following The End Of The World. This was different from the typical IJW fare, being much more of a wild brawl than anything they’ve had before. The referee was barely able to control the action and often the non-legal men would brawl at ringside. In the end The Apocalypse Riders hit The End Of The World on Rahabad… or maybe Rashid, it’s hard to tell… to get the pinfall win and cement their position as the top challengers to the IJW World Tag Team titles. RATING: 3/10 - VOLCANO FINAL 8: Arthur Dexter Bradley defeated Tobei Sugimura via pinfall at 11:26 following a Frog Splash. With the winner of this match advancing to a semi final match with Wasichi Inao in the IJW Junior Heavyweight championship there was a lot on the line. Tobei tried to use a varied offense on ADB who was able to brawl, fly and mat wrestle equally well. In a very open contest, a precarious situation on the top rope saw ADB come out with on top and in position to hit a Frog Splash for the win. RATING: 4/10 - IRON: Cameron Vessey defeated Shiba Mizoguchi via pinfall at 12:47 following a Vessey Driver. Both men looked to improve their standing on the Iron Mountain in this contest, with Mizoguchi’s ground and crab offense going up against the versatile young Vessey. Vessey displayed some new offense as he planted Mizoguchi on the top rope, hit him with some devastating palm strikes and pulled him onto his shoulders for a Vessey Driver. RATING: 5/10 - NON TITLE TWIN PEAKS: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama defeated Tomohiko Wakai & Kaai Hanari via pinfall at 8:56 following a Stretch Out Senton. It’s hard to get into the minds of the champions at the moment as they seem to be stumbling from one unpredictable resul to the next. They seemed to consider making this a title match but decided not to, but ultimately they proved themselves to be motivated in this encounter, defeating the low ranked challengers in a fairly one sided bout as Takahama held Hanari in place for a top rope senton from Yoshiitaka. RATING: 3/10 - IRON: Oda Yakuta defeated Nigel Svensson via pinfall at 12:50 following a Yakuta-bomb. Oda builds a little momentum once more on his way up the Iron Mountain by defeating the promising Nigel Svensson. It wasn’t the prettiest of matches, with Yakuta punching his way out of trouble whenever Svensson tried to ground him for submissions but the styles clash made for a good match with Oda hitting the Yakuta-Bomb out of a submission attempt to pick up the victory RATING: 5/10 - SIX MAN TAG: Wasichi Inao, Eiji Sayuki & Fox Mask defeated Giant Brody, Lion Genji & Musashi via pinfall at 12:12 following a 450 Splash. The challengers on the Volcano met some stiff competition from the Iron Mountain in this six man tag packed with excitement and controversy. Musashi showed that he is very good against men close to his own size for once but his rivalry with Giant Brody boiled over and the two men ended up brawling away into the crowd, leaving Genji to be picked apart by the Volcano’s top stars, hitting their signature moves. Twisting Face Crusher from Eiji Sayuki, Fox Hunter from Fox Mask and the spectacular 450 Splash from Wasichi Inao to top things off. RATING: 4/10 - IRON CONTENDER VS CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi defeated Onishi Takuma via submission at 20:42 following an Inverted Sleeper. Two of the Iron Mountain’s top contenders squared off in a match that would almost certainly determine the top contender for the Blind Faith tour, something both men are fighting to be once more. Takuma’s nearly-man status continues to haunt him though as he was bested in this tremendous back and forth match, being squeezed into submission with an Inverted Sleeper less than a minute after looking to almost have things wrapped up with some Mounted Palm Thrusts that Kamachi frantically escaped from. RATING: 6/10 - MAIN EVENT TAG: IJW World Heavyweight Champion Taheji Konoe & Merle O’Curle defeated Kalu Owusu & Brute Kikuchi via submission at 24:46 following a Celtic Wreath. The strategy in this match was obvious… Konoe wanted to dissect Owusu and soften up a body part for his dangerous wrestling ability while Owusu wanted to soften up Konoe by battering and bruising him. Neither man could hope for a better partner to help them reach their goals as this tag match showcased how dangerous all four men could be. O’Curle wrapped up Kikuchi when champion and challenger both lost their cool with a ringside brawl, forcing Kikuchi to tap when he couldn’t power his way out of the move. RATING: 6/10 Awesome show! I know I sound like a smark every time I say it but I really do think IJW are getting better with every show. The two main events here both had implications for the future and both delivered the kind of action and quality of match that wouldn’t look out of place in the big leagues. For a promotion not even filling the 300 capacity in the Gunma Hall that’s pretty damn good. OVERALL RATING: 6/10 Here’s the card for the tour finale, which seems to have a lot of logically built matches and some really unpredictable action. With the Blind Faith Tournament just around the corner I can’t wait to see how things go down here! Card for IJW Eruption MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Kalu Owusu IJW JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL & SEMI FINALS Eiji Suyuki vs Fox Mask Arthur Dexter Bradley vs Wasichi Inao IJW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs The Apocalypse Riders IRON CONTENDER: Onishi Takuma vs Oda Yakuta IRON CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Cameron Vessey IRON: Giant Brody vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS: The Nigerian Hit Squad vs The Wigan Warriors TWIN PEAKS: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari VOLCANO: El Diamante Azul vs Tobei Sugimura All cards subject to change Such is Iron Japan Wrestling. Glory falls to those who will climb the mountains, surpassing all the challenges in front of them, ascending to glory through honour, fighting spirit and desire. Three title matches, tournament action, action from all their current divisions, rumours of them starting up their own women’s division (which could be awesome!) and the upcoming Blind Faith Tournament… it makes me giddy just thinking about all the stuff going on there just now but I’m mostly hoping they can hold it all together. It can’t be easy holding these shows to such small crowds, even if they do have tons of sponsors and all you loyal readers supporting them with DVD sales. Any thoughts or opinions? Let them be known!! Or I could keep talking about GCG's massive attempts to be thought of as the equal of PGHW and BHOTWG more. Ever since Haruki Kudo left BHOTWG (cos of the INSPIRE thing) GCG have been on a tear. Problem is, they have a few guys who must be thinking of retiring in Pistol Pete Hall and Haruki Kudo... if they did retire I'm not sure how strong the company would be in the long term, even with guys like Oleg Dorosklov coming in and the likes of purebloods Hyobanshi and Gakusha hitting their hypothetical primes. Disaster waiting to happen? Or is the tiger truly roaring again? Only one way to find out for sure! - Robert Greene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Masked Orange Posted March 15, 2010 Share Posted March 15, 2010 Can't beleive I missed this update, for a while I thought it'd be on page 13 MAIN EVENT IJW WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Taheji Konoe © vs Kalu Owusu respect to those who are loyal (or who have wrestled in the company for longer...) IJW JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL & SEMI FINALS Inao to win the final Eiji Suyuki vs Fox Mask Arthur Dexter Bradley vs Wasichi Inao IJW WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: Brother Yoshiitaka & Yusuke Takahama © vs The Apocalypse Riders IRON CONTENDER: Onishi Takuma vs Oda Yakuta IRON CONTENDER: Tsurayuki Kamachi vs Cameron Vessey IRON: Giant Brody vs Musashi TWIN PEAKS: The Nigerian Hit Squad vs The Wigan Warriors TWIN PEAKS: Shiba Mizoguchi & Lion Genji vs Tomohiko Wakai & Kaii Hanari VOLCANO: El Diamante Azul vs Tobei Sugimura All cards subject to change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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