Black Canvas Grappling: 2016 - A New Golden Era?

[joshhbk]

Black Canvas Grappling - December 2016 - Roster Overview

Natives

 

Funakoshi

Age: 29

 

Three-time BCG Champion, four-time BCG Tag champion and three times the winner of the prestigious Yoshifusa Maeda Grand Prix, Funakoshi is the most decorated wrestler in company history and the Ace of the promotion. After unseating Pistol Pete Hall as champion in 2013 and sending him into retirement, he has not looked back, literally carrying BCG on his back at times as others failed to resist the lure of more money and greener pastures. He embodies everything the the spirit of the company is about and looks set to lead the way for many years to come.

 

Razan Okamoto

Age: 25

 

In many ways the Kenta Kobashi to Funakoshi's Mitsuharu Misawa, Okamoto is the younger of the two, arguably not technically as sound, but making up for that in charisma and an incredible ability to get fans emotionally invested in his matches through his innate ability to sell convincingly. Winning the BCG Title in October '15 by toppling former MMA-star Roy Edison, he went on to make a record eleven defences of the belt in six and a half months, fending off all comers before losing the title to Funakoshi to kick off a memorable final week of April in 2016. Having lost the title on the tour ending "SWORD BATTLE ARMOUR" show in Tokyo, just five days later the two men made it to the final of the Yoshifusa Maeda Grand Prix with Okamoto pinning his great rival for the first time. 2017 is sure to be another big year for him.

 

Rokuemon Matsushita

Age: 27

 

At 6'7" and 375lbs Rokuemon seemed destined to dominate from the moment he entered the company but often struggled to technically hold his own and while physically dominant he lacked stamina as well as experience, regularly ending up being bested by opponents who he had several inches and over 150lbs on. However, having formed a dominant tag team with Okamoto he has really begun to blossom in recent years and many have tipped him to become to "Third Musketeer" in 2017, by joining Funakoshi and Okamoto in battling for the top native spot in the company.

 

Eisaku Hoshino

Age: 42

 

One of the biggest names of the last twenty years in Japanese pro wrestling, Hoshino returned from a failed attempt at politics in 2014 by entering the Yoshifusa Maeda Grand Prix - proving what an attractive tournament that is proving to be - and sensationally winning it by defeating Funakoshi in the finals. He followed that up later in the year by beating Roy Edison for the BCG Title and has also had two stints with the BCG Tag Titles. However, physically he appears to now be shot after one last big run and there are serious question marks over his future as we head towards the new year.

 

Danjuro Kikuchi

Age: 21

 

At just two years in the business and the tender age of 21 Danjuro Kikuchi is one of the hottest prospects in the company and already a star in his own right, with three BCG Title challenges to his credit thus far. Technically tremendous in the ring, he lacks the personality to ever become a really top star, but the future still certainly looks bright for him.

 

KAZ

Age: 33

 

With a number of the company's top stars such as Pete Hall, Hell Monkey, Matthew Keith and Bunrakaken Torii departing in 2014, KAZ was brought in as something of a stop gap solution to hold together the top of the card as the company rarely gives much attention to natives who aren't BCG trueborns. KAZ, however, performed so well for the group during this tumultuous period that he has become a mainstay ever since, dividing his time between BCG, WLW and SAISHO. A journeyman for his entire career - and a fifteen year pro at just 33 - this hectic schedule has begun to take its toll and he has looked weathered in recent performances. His experience his invaluable in a company filled with such a young roster however and he surely has more to give.

 

Tanyu Toshusai

Age: 27

 

Tanyu Toshusai is the nephew of the legendary wrestler Yoshinaka Toshusai. His uncle is one of the few men to have won world titles in both GCG and BHOTWG, and was a superb worker when in his prime. Toshusai is in this sense a chip off the old block, however he has struggled at times during his stay for BCG and inconsistent performances have lead to him finding it hard to maintain momentum. Funakoshi, seeing his undoubted talent, has recently taken the young man under his wing and this seems to have really helped. Quickly gaining in popularity and moving up the card, 2017 looks set to be the year when he finally breaks out on his own.

 

The rest of the native roster looks like this, sorted by push/popularity

 

Yoshinaka Taku (25)

Omezo Shikitei (27)

Masashi Urogataya (28)

Kado Kamisaka (27)

Kyuichi Matsumoto (22)

Isoroku Arakaki (23)

Crimson Ghost (22)

Motoyuki Miyake (21)

Shuzo Utagawa (20)

Haranobu Kobayashi (24)

MUSCLE Serizawa (21)

Lion Genji (27)

 

Gaijin

 

Oleg Dorosklov

Age: 33

 

The menacing Olympic Gold Medalist (Judo) became BCG's first major scalp as he passed up a touring contract with PGHW to sign a one year deal. He has declared war on the entire company, promising the win the BCG Title immediately and defend it until the end of his contract, where upon he says he will take the title back to the Ukraine, have it melted down and sold off for whatever its worth. Dorosklov hates professional wrestling - jealous of the attention and, more importantly, wealth its stars get, he claims to be a better fighter than anyone in BCG.

 

Roy Edison

Age: 36

 

Another fighter with a background in Judo and MMA, Edison has been dominant since joining BCG in 2014. A four-time BCG champion during since then, he has literally only lost those four times. Twice to Funakoshi, once to Hoshino and once to Okamoto. Unlike Dorosklov he embraced the pro wrestling style and has become a favourite of BCG's fans while turning in increasingly distinguished performances in the ring.

 

Austin Smooth

Age: 22

 

A young wrestler with such ability that Funakoshi hand-picked him to be his regular tag team partner, Smooth looks to be one of the gaijin that the company is grooming to be a future top name. A fantastic technician, there are fears that he may follow former partner Matthew Keith to BHWOTG.

 

Jack Avatar

Age: 24

 

Sensationally brought in as head booker in 2013, rumour has it that the American got the job after writing Maeda a 7,000 word email about how he would handle matchmaking for the company. It is a gamble that appears to have paid off as BCG are currently surging in popularity, on TV & PPV and breathing down the neck of bitter rivals GCG. A very capable hand in his own right, Avatar has recently been the regular tag team partner of Eisaku Hoshino as he seeks to learn his trade off the great man.

 

The gaijin roster is rounded out by

 

Boo Smithson (38)

Ernest Youngman (23)

Fro Sure (25)

[joshhbk]

Note: I currently run six shows per month with BCG, but I'll save everyone the boredom of having to pay attention to the smaller ones - similar to real Japanese promotions they are filled with tags and six mans and never feature a star of any note getting pinned.

 

December cards released, highlights! First Dorosklov matches announced!

 

BCG returns to Hiroshima on December 4th where fans will get their first taste of the formidable Oleg Dorosklov in action as he takes on the American Ernest Youngman, who is sure to provide a stern test as he is no slouch on the mat himself. Dorosklov declared that he will teach him a lesson, however, and also that as part of his deal with BCG he is to be granted a title shot against the winner of Funakoshi/Edison on the year end show! Dorosklov restated his ambition to leave the company on 12/1/17 with the BCG Title and if he wins here the company could be in for a very difficult year indeed.

 

Razan Okamoto & KAZ meanwhile will re-form their team for one night only as they take on Austin Smooth & Boo Smithson in the semi-main event. Both men stated they are looking forward to teaming together, a good sign as their friendship has been strained recently by KAZ's alliance with WLW Owner Koji Kojima (where KAZ also works), who is hated by everyone in Black Canvas. Okamoto and Rokuemon have vowed to beat Kojima soundly and send him back to his "sad junior heavyweight" promotion.

 

Okamoto has many challenges on this tour, however, serving as BCG's second road block against Dorosklov at the New Mei Sports Stadium on 12/6. Meanwhile, before Funakoshi can turn his attention to Dorosklov he must first see off the serious challenge of Roy Edison. Dorosklov is salivating at the thought of facing Edison, calling him a "fraud" who never made it big in either Judo or MMA, promising to expose him on the year end show if they should meet.

 

BCG, 12/4/16 (JNE3! TV)

Hiroshima Sports Park

 

1. Danjuro Kikuchi, Motoyuki Miyake & Kyuichi Matsumoto vs Mashashi Urogataya & Haranobu Kobayashi & Shuzo Utagawa

2. Rokuemon Matsushita vs Isoruko Arakaki vs Lion Genji

3. Funakoshi, Tanyu Toshusai & Omezo Shikitei vs Koji Kojima (WLW), Kado Kamisaka & MUSCLE Serizawa

4. Eisaku Hoshino, Roy Edison & Jack Avatar vs Yoshinaka Taku, Crimson Ghost & Fro Sure

5. Razan Okamoto & KAZ vs Austin Smooth & Boo Smithson

6. ~Oleg Dorosklov Entrance Match~: Oleg Dorosklov vs Ernest Youngman

 

BCG, 12/6/16 (PPV)

New Mei Sports Stadium

 

1. Tanyu Toshusai & Omezo Shikitei vs Crimson Ghost & Fro Sure

2. Danjuro Kikuchi, Kyuichi Matsumoto & Lion Genji vs Kada Kamisaka, MUSCLE Serizawa & Shuzo Utagawa

3. KAZ, Austin Smooth & Isoruko Arakaki vs Mashashi Urogotaya, Motoyuki Miyaki & Haranobu Kobayashi

4. Eisaku Hoshino & Jack Avatar vs Boo Smithson & Ernest Youngman

5. Rokuemon Matsushita vs Koji Kojima (WLW) vs Yoshinaka Taku

6. Oleg Dorsklov vs Razan Okamoto

7. BCG Title: Funakoshi © vs Roy Edison

 

BCG, 12/19/16

Hakodate Athletic Field

 

1. Kado Kamisaka vs Kyuichi Matsumoto vs Lion Genji

2. Yoshinaka Taku, Tanyu Toshusai & Omezo Shikitei vs Haranobu Kobayashi, Crimson Ghost & Fro Sure

3. Roy Edison & Isoruko Arakaki vs Mashashi Urogotaya & Shuzko Utagawa

4. Eisaku Hoshino, Jack Avatar & Tanyu Toshusai vs Boo Smithson, Ernest Youngman & MUSCLE Serizawa

5. Funakoshi & Austin Smooth vs Oleg Dorosklov & Motoyuki Miyake

6. BCG World Tag Team Titles: Razan Okamoto & Rokuemon Matsushita vs Koji Kojima (WLW) & KAZ

 

BCG, 12/23/16 (PPV/JNE3! TV)

Nagoya Sports Stadium

 

1. Austin Smooth, Jack Avatar & Ernest Youngman vs Motoyuki Miyake, Shuzo Utagawa & MUSCLE Serizawa

2. Danjuro Kikuchi, Tanyu Toshusai & Omezko Shikitei vs Mashashi Urogataya, Crimson Ghost & Fro Sure

3. Eisaku Hoshino, Yoshinaka Taku & Lion Genji vs Isoruko Arakaki, Haranobu Kobayashi & Kyuichi Matsumoto

4. Funakoshi/Roy Edison vs Kado Kamisaka

5. BCG World Tag Team Titles:

6. BCG Title: Funakoshi/Roy Edison © vs Oleg Dorosklov