PHOENIX Wrestling: Shoot-style returns!

[aya_]

<p><strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE DAY 6</strong></p><p><strong> </strong>March 19th</p><p> Kokarukita Gymnasium</p><p> 311 fans</p><p> Broadcast on Youtube</p><p> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Manabu Soya, Takuya Nomura & Kazuki Hashimoto defeated HARASHIMA, Ryota Nakatsu & Kota Umeda (15:23)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> Soya defeated Nakatsu by knockout.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Tag League Block A: Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi defeated Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi (6:09) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 50</p><p> </p><p> Funaki defeated Higuchi with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Tag League Block B: Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya defeated Timothy Thatcher & Jon Gresham (12:11)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 64</p><p> </p><p> Kitamiya defeated Gresham by knockout.</p><p> </p><p><em> 4) Tag League Block B: Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura defeated Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato (5:21)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 56</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba defeated Sato with the armbar.</p><p> </p><p> Sakuraba and Suzuki grappled to a standstill. Sato and Nakamura tagged in and grappled briefly before Sato demanded that Sakuraba tag in. Sakuraba quickly tapped Sato tap out! Despite the loss, Suzuki and Sato qualify to the Tag League finals!</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Tag League Block A: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki defeated Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini (15:46)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p> Suzuki defeated Garrini with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p> Around the ten minute mark, Aoki almost tapped out Garrini but Garrini got a rope break and tagged out. Suzuki was troubled by Tom Lawlor's striking but was able to toss him out of the ring with a lariat. Garrini and came in and almost got a kneebar on Suzuki but Suzuki reversed into an ankle lock. Suzuki and Aoki qualify to the Tag League finals!</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Standings</strong></p><p> <em>Block A</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li><span style="color:#FF0000;">Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki</span> | 3W-1L | <strong>6 points</strong><br /></li><li>Suwama & Kazusada Higuchi | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Tom Lawlor & Dom Garrini | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masakatsu Funaki & Yukio Sakaguchi | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Masashi Takeda & Yuya Aoki | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> </p><p> <em>Block B</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> </p><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li><span style="color:#FF0000;">Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</span> | 3W-1L | <strong>6 points</strong><br /></li><li>Timothy Thatcher & Jonathan Gresham | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Kazushi Sakuraba & Daisuke Nakamura | 2W-2L | <strong>4 points</strong><br /></li><li>Mike Bailey & Chris Ridgeway | 1W-3L | <strong>2 points</strong><br /></li></ol><p></p><p> The finals will headline a show at the Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium on March 26th.</p><p> </p><p> <strong>Picks</strong></p><p> Rhyme1234 - 2/5</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE FINALS<p> 1) Yuya Aoki & Chris Ridgeway vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> 2) HARASHIMA, Minowaman & Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Mitsuya Nagai, Takuya Nomura & Yukio Sakaguchi</p><p> 3) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Timothy Thatcher vs. Tom Lawlor</p><p> 4) Elimination Rules: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Masashi Takeda, Masakatsu Funaki & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Dom Garrini, Jonathan Gresham & Manabu Soya</p><p> 5) Tag League Finals: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato</p><p> </p></div></blockquote>

[Rhyme1234]

<p>1) <strong>Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe</strong> vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p>

2) <strong>Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor & Jonathan Gresham</strong> vs. Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Mitsuya Nagai</p><p>

3) <strong>Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi</strong> vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura</p><p>

4) <strong>Daisuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba</strong> vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Suwama</p><p>

5) Middleweight Semifinal: <strong>Katsuhiko Nakajima</strong> vs. Shotaro Ashino</p><p>

6) <strong>Minoru Suzuk</strong>i vs. Shinya Aoki</p><p>

7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title (vacant): <strong>Hideki Suzuki</strong> vs. Timothy Thatcher</p>

[aya_]

<p><strong>STYLE BATTLE TAG LEAGUE FINALS</strong></p><p><strong>

</strong>March 26th</p><p>

Wakayama Prefectural Gymnasium</p><p>

2000 fans - Super No Vacancy Full House</p><p>

Broadcast on Youtube</p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p>

<em>1) Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Yuya Aoki & Chris Ridgeway (5:32)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p>

Umeda defeated Aoki with the boston crab. After the match, Umeda and Nakatsu said that despite not qualifying to the Tag League this year, they will win it next year.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>2) HARASHIMA, Minowaman & Kazuki Hashimoto defeated Mitsuya Nagai, Takuya Nomura & Yukio Sakaguchi (9:30)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p>

Minowaman defeated Sakaguchi with the sleeper hold.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>3) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Tom Lawlor defeated Timothy Thatcher (5:53)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 45</p><p> </p><p>

Lawlor defeated Thatcher with the guillotine choke.</p><p> </p><p>

Lawlor and Thatcher went all out from the beginning. Lawlor almost knocked out Thatcher at the very beginning of the fight and kept punching and kicking him until Thatcher caught him and suplexed him repeatedly. However, Lawlor refused to submit and he wasn't knocked out. Thatcher ran out of ideas and attempted a fisherman's suplex but Lawlor applied the guillotine choke in response.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>4) Elimination Rules: Katsuhiko Nakajima, Masa Kitamiya, Masashi Takeda, Masakatsu Funaki & Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Suwama, Kazusada Higuchi, Dom Garrini, Jonathan Gresham & Manabu Soya (23:51)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p>

Jonathan Gresham was eliminated first, then Dominic Garrini, then Manabu Soya, then Masa Kitamiya, then Masashi Takeda, then Kazusada Higuchi, then Masakatsu Funaki, and finally Suwama. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kazushi Sakuraba won the match.</p><p> </p><p>

Nakajima's team scored three eliminations in a row until only Higuchi and Suwama were left. Sakuraba submitted Dom Garrini and Manabu Soya, while Masashi Takeda submitted Jon Gresham. Suwama knocked out Kitamiya with a big german suplex. Higuchi then knocked out Takeda with a doctor bomb. Funaki submitted Higuchi with a triangle choke. Funaki also almost submitted Suwama but Suwama was able to suplex him and roll through to get a katahajime and tap the legend out. It was Suwama's first time using the move in PHOENIX. Nakajima was able to knockout a tired Suwama.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>5) Tag League Finals: Hideki Suzuki & Shinya Aoki vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato (17:28)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 65</p><p> </p><p>

Hideki Suzuki was at a disadvantage early on, having to use a rope break to escape an armbar from Hikaru Sato. Later in the bout, Aoki returned the favour by forcing Minoru to use a rope break to escape a leglock but Minoru forced Hideki to use two more rope breaks, once with an armbar over the ropes and another time with a manjigatame. After tagging in, Sato almost knocked out Hideki Suzuki with a kick, but the latter scored a takedown. However, he ended up in Minoru Suzuki's corner, who then tagged in. </p><p> </p><p>

Hideki invited Minoru to come at him and after going toe-to-toe for a while, he almost executed a big german suplex, but Minoru escaped. Minoru then goaded Hideki to the ropes, where he applied an armbar over the ropes. His team had no ropebreaks left so the hold was legal! However, he was able to get free. With Hideki very clearly hurt, Minoru Suzuki applied the saka otoshi before transitioning to the sleeper hold and getting the victory by submission. Minoru Suzuki & Hikaru Sato are the tag league champions!</p><p> </p><p>

After the match, Minoru Suzuki said he's now proven to be better than Hideki Suzuki and will soon take his title. Hideki said that he made several strategic mistakes and was disappointed by not winning the tag league. However, he accepted the challenge and said he'll beat Minoru in a singles match!</p>

[aya_]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="Rhyme1234" data-cite="Rhyme1234" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) <strong>Ikuto Hidaka & Fuminori Abe</strong> vs. Kota Umeda & Ryota Nakatsu<p> 2) <strong>Dominic Garrini, Tom Lawlor & Jonathan Gresham</strong> vs. Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Mitsuya Nagai</p><p> 3) <strong>Hikaru Sato & Yukio Sakaguchi</strong> vs. Masashi Takeda & Takuya Nomura</p><p> 4) <strong>Daisuke Nakamura & Kazushi Sakuraba</strong> vs. Kazusada Higuchi & Suwama</p><p> 5) Middleweight Semifinal: <strong>Katsuhiko Nakajima</strong> vs. Shotaro Ashino</p><p> 6) <strong>Minoru Suzuk</strong>i vs. Shinya Aoki</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title (vacant): <strong>Hideki Suzuki</strong> vs. Timothy Thatcher</p></div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oh, I think you posted this while I wrote up the matches. That's an older show though!</p>

[Rhyme1234]

<blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-username="aya_" data-cite="aya_" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>Oh, I think you posted this while I wrote up the matches. That's an older show though!</div></blockquote><p> </p><p> Oh god! Selected the wrong thing. <img alt=":o" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/redface.png.900245280682ef18c5d82399a93c5827.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p>

[aya_]

<p><strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 1</strong></p><p><strong>

</strong>April 16 2019</p><p>

Shinjuku FACE</p><p>

563 fans - Super No Vacancy</p><p>

Broadcast on Youtube</p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p>

<em>1) Chris Ridgeway & Timothy Thatcher defeated Yukio Sakaguchi & Mitsuya Nagai (7:58)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 46</p><p> </p><p>

Thatcher defeated Sakaguchi with the Thatcher stretch.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>2) Minowaman & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima & Masa Kitamiya (4:35)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 59</p><p> </p><p>

Minowaman defeated Nakajima by knockout.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>3) HARASHIMA, Masakatsu Funaki & Kota Umeda defeated Jonathan Gresham, Ikuto Hidaka & Manabu Soya (8:39)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p>

Funaki defeated Hidaka with the ankle lock.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>4) Shinya Aoki & Kazushi Sakuraba defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Yuya Aoki (6:15)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p>

Aoki defeated Aoki with the rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>5) Minoru Suzuki, Tom Lawlor & Dominic Garrini defeated Hideki Suzuki, Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura (13:31)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p>

Garrini defeated Nomura with an armbar.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 2</strong></p><p><strong>

</strong>April 23 2019</p><p>

Miyagino Ward Cultural Center</p><p>

276 fans</p><p>

Broadcast on Youtube</p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p>

<em>1) Yukio Sakaguchi & Mitsuya Nagai defeated Kazuki Hashimoto & Takuya Nomura (9:08)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 40</p><p> </p><p>

Nagai defeated Nomura by knockout.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>2) Ikuto Hidaka & Jonathan Gresham defeated Chris Ridgeway & Yuya Aoki (8:24)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 42</p><p> </p><p>

Gresham defeated Ridgeway with the octopus hold.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>3) Minowaman, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kota Umeda defeated Tom Lawlor, Dom Garrini & Masakatsu Funaki (7:27) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 54</p><p> </p><p>

Minowaman defeated Garrini by knockout.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>4) Suwama & Hikaru Sato defeated HARASHIMA & Masashi Takeda (15:40)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 62</p><p> </p><p>

Suwama defeated Takeda with the katahajime.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>5) Minoru Suzuki & Kohei Sato defeated Hideki Suzuki & Shotaro Ashino (14:03)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 63</p><p> </p><p>

Suzuki defeated Ashino with an armbar over the ropes after Suzuki and Ashino used all their rope breaks. </p><p> </p><p>

Sato makes his PHOENIX debut with a win! He said he would be interested in challenging for the heavyweight title. He also predicted Minoru Suzuki to win the title at PHOENIX's upcoming Ota Ward show. After all, Hideki hasn't won any match against Minoru since the company's first show six months ago.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>PHOENIX Spring Tour - Day 3</strong></p><p><strong>

</strong>May 6 2019</p><p>

Shikoku</p><p>

294 fans</p><p>

Broadcast on Youtube</p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 58</p><p> </p><p>

<em>1) Kota Umeda, Takuya Nomura & Ryota Nakatsu defeated Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Manabu Soya (10:57) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 48</p><p> </p><p>

Nomura defeated Ridgeway by knockout.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>2) Dominic Garrini & Tom Lawlor defeated Ikuto Hidaka & HARASHIMA (7:05)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p>

Garrini defeated Hidaka by triangle choke.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>3) Suwama defeated Mitsuya Nagai (6:10)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 29</p><p> </p><p>

Suwama defeated Nagai with the katahajime.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>4) Timothy Thatcher & Kohei Sato defeated Minowaman & Kazushi Sakuraba (9:11)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 55</p><p> </p><p>

Thatcher defeated Sakuraba with the Thatcher stretch.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>5) Hideki Suzuki, Keisuke Okuda & Shinya Aoki defeated Minoru Suzuki, Hikaru Sato & Masakatsu Funaki (11:31) </em><span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 60</p><p> </p><p>

Suzuki defeated Funaki with the ankle lock. </p><p> </p><p>

Funaki was surprised by getting caught in his own move. A brawl broke out after the match! Minoru attacked Okuda and Hideki stepped in to defend his teammate. Hideki Suzuki closed the show saying he was glad to have Keisuke Okuda back from injury, and that he would do everything to defend his title in Ota Ward.</p>

[aya_]

<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>A preview</strong></span></p><p> </p><p> PHOENIX Firebird 3: Suzuki vs. Suzuki</p><p> May 16th 2019</p><p> Ota City General Gymnasium</p><p> </p><p> <em>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri vs. Kota Umeda & Yuu</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> An intergender tag team match. Nakamura and Syuri are both veterans with extensive MMA experience, Yuu and Umeda are promising rookies.</p><p> </p><p> <em>2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Another rookie vs. veteran matchup. Sakuraba teams with Funaki for the first time, they are joined by Mitsuya Nagai. Nagai isn't as renowned as the other two but he is an alumni of Battlarts, NJPW, K-1, and Rings. They'll be taking on three young pro wrestlers looking to cause an upset.</p><p> </p><p> <em>3) Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Garrini and Thatcher had a great showing in the Tag League, while Ashino shined in the opening middleweight tournament. Nomura has impressed the crowd but hasn't been able to score many wins, letting his inexperience get the better of him at times. He'll be looking to change that against a team of gifted grapplers.</p><p> </p><p> <em>4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman vs. Kohei Sato</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> Kohei Sato called for this fight on this show, he has a huge size advantage on Minowaman, which he thinks he'll be able to use to overpower his opponent. However, Ikuhisa Minowa aka Minowaman, became known as a giant killer during the days of PRIDE. He beat the likes of Giant Silva, Choi Hong-man and Bob Sapp. Since debuting in PHOENIX just two months ago, he has scored wins over heavyweights Mitsuya Nagai and Dom Garrini. Minowaman seems confident that he'll add to his legend by beating another giant.</p><p> </p><p> <em>5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda vs. Suwama & Manabu Soya</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> A showcase tag team match. The lightweight champion Shinya Aoki will be teaming with IGF NEW stablemate Keisuke Okuda. They'll take on two of the promotion's top heavyweights, Suwama and Manabu Soya.</p><p> </p><p> <em>6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: HARASHIMA vs. Hikaru Sato</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> PHOENIX has called for a four-man tournament to determine the middleweight #1 contender. The entrants are HARASHIMA, Sato, Minowaman and Keisuke Okuda. The first semifinal match will be between HARASHIMA and Sato. HARASHIMA is the ace of DDT, and is very charismatic and popular, but he's also an experienced grappler and a trained striker. Sato is a Pancrase veteran who transitioned to pro wrestling over a decade ago, he's known as a submission specialist and is a jiu-jitsu purple belt. These two have faced each other and traded wins in DDT and Hard Hit, but this will be their first meeting under this ruleset.</p><p> </p><p> <em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © vs. Minoru Suzuki</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p> These two faced off against each other for the first time at a tag team match in the main event of the PHOENIX Opening Show, with Hideki's team taking the win. After the match, Minoru Suzuki said that Hideki was saved from being submitted by a rope break and that he would submit him the next time they faced each other. Minoru almost accomplished that at Firebird 2, when he forced Suzuki to use two rope breaks in quick succession. Minoru Suzuki finally got the submission win he'd prophesized at the Tag League finals, forcing Hideki to use all of his rope breaks before beating him with the sleeper hold. After being awarded with the tournament trophy, Minoru Suzuki demanded a title match. Hideki immediately accepted the challenge. PHOENIX scheduled the title bout for this show in Ota Ward, the largest venue they have ran so far.</p><p> </p><p> In the build-up to this match, the Suzukis faced each other three more times in tag team matches. Minoru's teams won the first two, often trying to push Hideki's team into a strategic disadvantage by forcing rope breaks. Hideki finally got a win back in their last match beforehand, showing his own grappling skill and tapping out legendary Masakatsu Funaki with an ankle hold. During his last interview before the fight, Minoru said he's confident he'll beat Hideki with his experience and skill. Meanwhile, Hideki said he's focused on training submission defense and escapes, and he can't make any strategic mistakes against Minoru. Regardless of how it goes down, this is the biggest fight PHOENIX can put together and is sure to be exciting!</p><p> </p><p> </p><blockquote data-ipsquote="" class="ipsQuote" data-ipsquote-contentapp="forums" data-ipsquote-contenttype="forums" data-ipsquote-contentid="46162" data-ipsquote-contentclass="forums_Topic"><div>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri vs. Kota Umeda & Yuu<p> 2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu</p><p> 3) Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura vs. Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher</p><p> 4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman vs. Kohei Sato</p><p> 5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda vs. Suwama & Manabu Soya</p><p> 6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: HARASHIMA vs. Hikaru Sato</p><p> 7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © vs. Minoru Suzuki</p></div></blockquote>

[siah463]

<p>1) <strong>Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri</strong> vs. Kota Umeda & Yuu</p><p>

2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai vs. <strong>Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu</strong></p><p>

3) <strong>Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura</strong> vs. Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher</p><p>

4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman vs. <strong>Kohei Sato</strong></p><p>

5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda vs. <strong>Suwama & Manabu Soya</strong></p><p>

6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: <strong>HARASHIMA</strong> vs. Hikaru Sato</p><p>

7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: <strong>Hideki Suzuki ©</strong> vs. Minoru Suzuki</p>

[aya_]

<p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>PHOENIX Firebird 3: Suzuki vs. Suzuki</strong></span></p><p><span style="font-size:14px;"><strong>

</strong></span>May 16th 2019</p><p>

Ota Ward Gymnasium</p><p>

3.017 fans - No Vacancy</p><p>

Broadcast on Youtube</p><p>

<span style="text-decoration:underline;">Show Rating</span>: 63</p><p> </p><p>

<em>1) Daisuke Nakamura & Syuri defeated Kota Umeda & Yuu (5:19)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 51</p><p> </p><p>

Syuri defeated Yuu with a rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>2) Kazushi Sakuraba, Masakatsu Funaki & Mitsuya Nagai defeated Chris Ridgeway, Yuya Aoki & Ryota Nakatsu (6:12)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 45</p><p> </p><p>

Sakuraba defeated Nakatsu with an ankle hold.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>3) Dom Garrini & Timothy Thatcher defeated Shotaro Ashino & Takuya Nomura (12:44)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade:</span> 62</p><p> </p><p>

Garrini defeated Nomura with an armbar.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>4) 10 Minute Time Limit Exhibition: Minowaman defeated Kohei Sato (8:12)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 38</p><p> </p><p>

Minowaman defeated Sato by knockout.</p><p> </p><p>

Sato dominated the match, holding Minowa down and using his size to muscle him around. However, Minowaman eventually managed to hit a big right hand and knock Sato out! Minowa claims he'll win the middleweight tournament and challenge Katsuhiko Nakajima for the belt.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>5) Shinya Aoki & Keisuke Okuda defeated Suwama & Manabu Soya (9:33)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 53</p><p> </p><p>

Aoki defeated Soya with a rear-naked choke.</p><p> </p><p>

The size difference between teams showed as Suwama and Soya isolated Aoki and hurt him with big suplexes and throws. Aoki finally escaped to his corner, Okuda tagged in with a head of steam and beat up Soya with kicks, Suwama came in and threw him to the outside, where they brawled wildly into the crowd. Soya grabbed Aoki and tried to get Aoki in an argentine neckbreaker position but Aoki turned around and applied the rear-naked choke. Aoki once again proves he's one of the most dangerous submission artists in wrestling by getting a submission out of nowhere.</p><p> </p><p>

<em>6) Middleweight Candidates Semifinal: Hikaru Sato defeated HARASHIMA (14:02)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 61</p><p> </p><p>

Sato defeated HARASHIMA with a heel hook.</p><p> </p><p>

Sato shot in for a takedown as soon as the bell rang, he pressured HARASHIMA trying to get different submissions. HARASHIMA defended for the most part but did almost get a triangle choke. However, he was outgrappled and had to use a rope break to escape an armbar. HARASHIMA wasted no time after standing up and dropped Sato with a high kick, Sato managed to beat the count, but he was dropped again with a huge slap. Sato stood up and traded strikes with the DDT ace but was dropped again. Sato once again beat the count, standing up at 9, but he was instantly knocked down for the fourth time with a high kick. Instead of waiting for the referee to begin the count, HARASHIMA tried to tap Sato out with a surfboard lucha libre submission, but Sato escaped. Before HARASHIMA could throw another kick, Sato went for a leg scissors takedown and managed to get a heel hook. HARASHIMA tapped instantly. With this minor upset, Sato moves on to the candidates tournament final!</p><p> </p><p>

<img alt="7lXUky5.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/7lXUky5.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="QXIbgOG.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/QXIbgOG.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /><img alt="XzsUZbW.png" data-src="https://i.imgur.com/XzsUZbW.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" /></p><p> </p><p>

<em>7) PHOENIX Heavyweight Title: Hideki Suzuki © defeated Minoru Suzuki (19:56)</em> <span style="text-decoration:underline;">Grade</span>: 66</p><p> </p><p>

Hideki Suzuki defeated Minoru Suzuki with an ankle hold. Hideki Suzuki makes his first succesful title defense.</p><p> </p><p>

Minoru Suzuki started the match by punching Hideki Suzuki. Rather than return the strike, Hideki went for a double leg takedown but Minoru got him in a guillotine choke, and after holding the submission for a while, forced him to use his first rope break. The rope breaks played a huge part in Hideki Suzuki's previous losses to Minoru, and Hideki looked nervous following the rope break. Minoru quickly used the saka otoshi and tried to submit Hideki with the rear-naked choke but the champion managed to wriggle out enough to stand up, and get in position for a huge backdrop suplex. Hideki went for another backdrop, but this time Minoru climbed back into the rear-naked choke. Hideki almost passed out, and slumped over the ropes, which forced the referee to separate the two wrestlers, and meant Hideki only had one of his three rope breaks left.</p><p> </p><p>

After 15 minutes, Minoru trapped Hideki with an armbar over the ropes but rather than using his final rope break, Hideki lifted the challenger up and got a body lock on him, and then dropped him with a belly to belly suplex. Minoru Suzuki had trouble standing up after all the punishment taken from the champion's huge suplexes. When he finally did, Hideki punched him in the face, returning the strike from earlier on. It seemed like the champion was finally in control but then Suzuki got a leglock out of nowhere, Hideki fell down and immediately grabbed the bottom rope to escape the hold. Both wrestlers then quickly traded submission attempts, but as Minoru tried to get him in the leglock, Hideki turned to his side enough to grab the ankle hold. Minoru was forced to tap out.</p><p> </p><p>

Minoru and Hideki faced off again after the match, but Minoru Suzuki left the arena quickly. Hideki grabbed the microphone and said that was the toughest fight in his life but he was proud to have retained his title, and he'd continue defending it against the strongest heavyweights in pro wrestling going forward.</p><p> </p><p>

<strong>Predictions</strong></p><p>

siah463 - 2/7</p><p> </p><p>

Thanks for reading!</p>