GCG: The Still Roaring 20's

[AboardTheArk]

Golden Canvas Grappling Press Release - Monday, First Week Of January, 2022

To GCG fans,

This is Mabuchi Furusawa. Yesterday, my legal team came to an agreement with mister Haruki Kudo for the purchase of Golden Canvas Grappling for a sum of 71.4 million Yen (500000 USD). Additionally, an investment of 39.3 million Yen (275000 USD) was made in order to clear outstanding debts and budget for the upcoming year. For 11 years this company has been a part of The Modern Japan movement* and for 7 it hasn't been owned by a Furusawa. These things both change today. I am commited to majorly revamp the company, updating tradition and returning the Golden Lion back to its rightful throne as king. A number of big changes are to be announced in very short time. Anyone who has bought tickets for the Stars Of The Golden Canvas TV Tapings can be refunded at the site of their choice. My last message for today is to be excited, for a new day is dawning in the Golden Kingdom.

Mabuchi Furusawa

info@gcg.co.jp

 

*The Modern Japan Movement has since dissolved, but a lot of companies have kept the USA-style schedule either out of financial convenience or an international marketing angle., which is probably what mr. Furusawa is referring to.

[AboardTheArk]

An OOC Introduction to the diary

Hey everyone! As you can see, this will be my first attempt at a puroresu diary in this forum. My favorite save ever in the game is GCG in TEW 2010, so they were an easy choice to start with. I also debated 2000 (via 1997 mod) and 2007 as start times, but Mabuchi Furusawa taking over felt as the most 'poetic' and interesting way to do this (and also I am interested to see how this new mod plays). There are some things to communicate about choices I've made with the save, but it will probably not be enough so feel free to ask or be confused about me explaining things poorly.

1. Vis a vis restructuring the schedule, I will be setting up tours in a fairly custom way, and will start every year (partly) from scratch, like real puro companies do. I do love the improvements in scheduling made in each iteration of the game, but I like the flexibility of maybe running 71 shows one year and 85 the next- who knows? And also, I will be making some use of lesser and throwaway for non-major events, although still most events will be tour events. 
2. Also, I cancelled the TV deal and 12 event structure the company begins with. I did use the in-game editor to add enough money to cancel the deal, as it's essentially a non-negotiable in the purchase of the company, but I did not tamper with the starting budget of 50K dollars in-game.
3. I will not be making any hirings or firings in the first mini-tour I will run, but there will definitely be changes- too many veterans that can't go 10 minutes without the slow build note due to no stamina. Also I will try to be more transparent with the rosters than I was in the start of the CGC diary, due to the fact not everyone is familiar with every mod and some readers prefer to play the normal databases.
4. This diary actually has a goal! Which especially since I am playing as owner and not a booker was important. I would like to reach the point where I can (at the very least try to) buy out Black Canvas and White Canvas Grappling, and become the true face of puroresu in the country against the corporate power of INSPIRES. At this point, the only (male) companies that are running a traditional schedule are us four, with BHOTWG, Exodus 2010, PGHW, WEXXV and WLW having strayed to the american model, so I don't consider these 5 companies direct competition, and I will not be signing talent from there unless they have outright stopped working for these companies (although this doesn't mean firing workers that already work in any of these companies so to not seem like a loyalty power trip). I will also not be hiring any WWA dojo graduates due to the corporate and shady nature of the WWA company. And of course if the money becomes plentiful, investing in the (now pitiful) dojo is a priority.
5. I have set excursion points in the USA with IPW and in the British Isles with CWW. The reasoning is that Furusawa used to wrestle in California for CZCW and has connections in the area, and that we have two big CWW veterans in our roster in Henry Black and Merle O'Curle. 
6. I fired Haruki Kudo because I am essentially completely trashing his vision and he wouldn't stand for it. 

 

I think this is everything I have for now, I will keep on with some set-up posts and will probably run the first show(s?) in the weekend. Also, at least for the next couple weeks when I am free from University work, this side-project will definitely not impact CGC diary posting AT ALL, and even when life is in full swing, probably only a little.

 

And as always, sorry if anything in my use of english makes reading all the word salad confusing!

[Scottie]

Exciting start! There was a time where there was a bunch of puro diaries, but it's been a lull for a while - so great to see this.

[AboardTheArk]

THE STARTING ROSTER

Major Stars: 

Jack Marlowe(Jungle Jack), 46: The american legend has helped carry the company in his twilight years, having spent the past 5 years with us despite big money offers from the US giants. Unfortunately, his body can't handle the high intensity work anymore and he can't go longer than 5-6 minutes at this point, which is why he's mostly used for tag work. Currently one half of the tag team champions with Hammer Hadley.

Mabuchi Furusawa, 35: The player character, song of legendary wrestler and owner of GCG Hanshiro Furusawa, will hopefully be a better businessman than his father who famously lost the war with BHOTWG relegating the company to second rate for most of its existence. One of the absolute best wrestlers in the world, and currently on his first reign as GCG World Heavyweight Champion, his 18 month reign of dominance has been a sight to behold.

SUKI, 35: An incredibly complete performer, the 3 time GCG World Champion is the epitome of the modern puroresu performer. A small middleweight with incredible strikes and athleticism, a collection of inventive moves and moviestar charisma. For some reason despite his huge success, he doesn't seem to get more popular than his peers at the top, perhaps a problem being the lack of quality opposition in the company in the past 3ish years with all the raids.

 

Stars:

Nobody! Isn't that encouraging?

 

Well Known:

Hammer Hadley, 23: A very intense and realistic wrestler, Hammer Hadley was partly trained by Jungle Jack, although you wouldn't know it looking at him wrestle; he loves his MMA matwork, and he absolutely loves taking punishment that would knock out lesser men and no selling it. He has been in GCG since he was a young lion, and he's treated as if he was a homegrown wrestler. Despite his young age, his mentor slowing down might mean it's time for him to get a very large push. But also, what if he isn't as loyal as dojo graduates and he becomes yet another poached talent?

Isotuko Araki, 28: A freakishly large heavyweight, jack of all trades, master of one (power unparalleled by most powerlifters). A big name in the japanese wrestling independent scene, he also wrestles for WEXXV, and he's part of a very 'hot' tag team with Naozane Goto. His picture in the mod is a direct homage to Marduk from Tekken, so it must give you an idea about what kind of genetic freak we're talking about. A bit of a prickly customer, it hasn't stopped his incredible rise.

Massacre, 38: The Samoan Mauler is another in a line of Samoans who have done good work in the midcard for GCG. A great brawler with a cool mask who broke into the business with ZEN, he's been an absolute staple in the upper midcard winning the GCG Openweight Belt 3 times. There's many questions as to why he han't been pushed even higher than that; some would point to his mask being seen as 'unserious' in a company ran with a super old school mindset, others to his suspect cardio.

Naozane Goto, 29: The fact that he's a former sumo competitor pretty much says it all about Goto. A great character worker who even sometimes plays the face in peril due to who his tag team partner is, Goto is a student of wrestling with incredible basics and of course power and toughness that can't be taught. He also works for WEXXV alongside Araki, and he's popular in both companies. Perhaps, the only thing that could stop him is his rumored character concerns...

 

Recognizable:

Barry Kingman, 47: The son of the legendary Crippler Ray, Barry Kingman had a good start to his career in NYCW and 4C, before finding his calling in GCG. A permanent resident and a servant to the company for over 13 years, Barry also does road agent work for GCG as he winds down his solid career.

Danjuro Kikuchi, 26: "Sadly bland" Danjuro Kikuchi is an incredible technical wrestler with astonishing consistency in delivering solid performances, great stamina and toughness that helps him withstand any obstacle. His only issue is that he both looks and acts like a non-entity, instead opting to quietly dismantle his opposition. Perhaps the midcard is where his career is headed, but it will be a good career nonetheless, as he has already racked up 1 Openweight title reign to his name.

Dean Daniels, 46:  A very similar story to Barry Kingman without the legendary pressure on his shoulders, Dean Daniels has been a GCG wrestler for the past 12 years and is now a wrestler-plus-road agent for the company, in addition to also tagging with Barry when needed. 

Henry Black, 42: One of the last stretchers of Wigan, Henry Black is the most old school technical wrestler you will perhaps find on this planet. This does not stop him from being an incredibly dangerous opponent, being able to tie up in knots even the most technically-minded Japanese wrestlers. His stamina is waining but this just means he'll have to turn people into pretzels sooner rather than later.

Ichiro Mitsukuri, 24: A 2016 graduate of the Golden Dojo, Ichiro is a powerhouse wrestler with a good look and solid fundamentals. He's entering the stage of his career where he can begin moving up the card, and he wouldn't look out of place there. His tag team with Koyo Kinoshita is also very promising for the future, both being groomed for stardom by the company.

Ikki Hosaka, 20: Ikki graduated from the Golden Dojo in 2019, and he is the most impressive wrestler the establishment has produced since SUKI. Of course he's not the same level of generational, but his mixture of charisma, dizzying athleticism and flashy moves bring only this comparison in the history of the company (MAYBE Eagle Kawasawa). There is no doubt his time to be pushed is coming as his young lion status is ending soon, but there's definitely questions about him bulking up first and moving up a weight class before a REAL push begins that would match his promise.

Koyo Kinoshita, 23: As non-nonsense as he is in the ring, Koyo has that special something that makes the fans pay attention to him, this unteachable connection only great wrestlers have. He would have to keep improving in-ring in order to reach the heights this company perhaps needs him to, but he has a good base to work on, especially with some impressive power spots in his arsenal.

Merle O'Curle, 44: The Irish stretching machine is essentially here to fulfill his bucket list of 'Wrestle in Japan' and the GCG fans are grateful for this. Few men have been as fundamentally sound, while also hitting this hard, and also not slowing down from age. O'Curle is a marvel who would have had a legendary career in most areas, but he was not 21CW material so he's only an independent wrestling legend for BritWres fans on twitter and on messageboards. Regardless, the love and critical acclaim his run in GCG is getting is encouraging, as he seems to have at least a couple more years left in the tank at a very high level.

Shuzo Utagawa, 26: Haruki Kudo's personal protege, Shuzo is a very good, if underwhelming technician with incredible basics. He theoretically has 'midcarder' written all over him, but with the voids that are there to fill in GCG and his loyalty to the company, who knows what heights hard work can reach? 

Walker Van Cleer, 33: The Flying Dutchman is the best worker in mainland Europe, a franchise player in both UEW and VWA, and a very complete package who can brawl, fly, and work on the mat, while also having a great physique and charisma. If he can keep working for 3 promotions at such a high level, I think comparisons with Mabuchi Furusawa's incredible work in both the US and Japan would be apt.

Wachichi Inao, 44: A solid veteran junior heavyweight, not much is interesting about who the former BHOTWG worker is at this stage of his career. A hand to help the youngsters keep improving steadily and safely. His son is in the company as a young lion, and we'll talk about him in a few.

Yusuke Ogata, 22: The 2018 Golden Dojo graduate has just stopped being treated as a young lion, and he's showing some impressive signs in terms of toughness and stamina in the ring. He's far from a finished product though, and the fact that he lacks charisma while also being short for his middleweight frame mean he's fighting an uphill battle when we talk about the next generation saviors of the company. Still, his basics are plenty good enough.

 

Unimportant:

Amane Shunshen, 49: Another experienced veteran who will start eating L's to the youngsters that aren't young lions anymore.

Fire Fox II (Kento Inao), 20: Wachichi Inao's son, Kento is a talented junior heavyweight who graduated from the Golden Dojo in 2020. He definitely needs a lot of work but you can imagine him in 2-3 years absolutely stealing cards with his work. He put on the mask to not have the pressure of being a second generation wrestler as long as he's a young lion.

Hidekazu, 51: Yep, another veteran who is technically sound with good basics and not much else, who's here to lose. Probably the best of the lot though at this point of his career, which is commendable given he's in his 50's.

Hora Chomei, 24: 2018 Golden Dojo graduate, good strikes, excellent grasp of psychology, not in great physical shape. Part of the "Island Boys" tag team with young lion KENJI. Probably the star of the group, but he needs a lot of work for 'star' not to be fairly ironic.

KENJI, 23: The biggest dojo graduate in a long time, KENJI is a heavyweight performer who graduated from the Golden Dojo in 2020. A bit overweight, he nonetheless packs a lot of punch in his ring work, he takes his wrestling seriously and has underrated toughness for his teddy bear look. You'd like to see him in good shape to not get gassed easily, but for now the promise he shows is real.

Kuichi Matsumoto, 27: The Powerbomb master is a fairly recent signing for the company, from when SAISHO went out of business. A good prospect who really possesses a myriad of different powerbombs in his arsenal, Matsumoto is also one of the most charismatic members of the undercard, and a good push seems in order. 

Nakamura Toyotomi, 19: One half of the "tag team aces", Toyotomi takes tag wrestling extremely seriously.  A great athlete with already good basics and a drive to succeed, the lightweight looks like one half of the future of tag team wrestling in Japan. He'll have to wait at least 2 more years to get some wins though!

Nobuyuki Kubo, 21: 2019 Golden Dojo Graduate Nobuyuki Kubo is a wrestler with many of the tools to succeed, good athleticism, a recognizable knee-oriented offensive package, a good look and charisma. However, he's very sloppy and inconsistent in his in ring work, something that definitely needs improving. He's definitely a dark horse for future success though.

Ryube Uno, 21: The lone 2021 graduate (at merely age 17), Uno is a very complete worker at the age of 21, with fundamentals a lot of veterans in bigger companies would kill for. The light heavyweight has everything other than being a "body guy" so to speak, and he will be putting on good matches for years to come, as he's at only year 4 of his career.

Wakisasa Takuboku, 19: The second half of the "tag team aces", the same things apply for him. 

Yuji Inamoto, 33: "Too Cocky" Yuji Inamoto is a very average worker who got extremely over due to his over the top arrogant character, but Haruki Kudo killed it as "too unserious" for a traditional company as GCG. Fans are probably not fickle to just revert back to loving him after what has been a terrible couple of years for Yuji, but he definitely hopes the change in leadership is also a change in fortunes for him.

Yusuke Takahama, 44: Yep. Another one. At least all the vets are also really good for the locker room. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by AboardTheArk

[kanegan]

Good luck with this. Having started an Inspire diary based on 2018 mod, will be interesting to see your take on GCG. Is this based on 2018 or 2022??

[AboardTheArk]

8 hours ago, kanegan said:

Good luck with this. Having started an Inspire diary based on 2018 mod, will be interesting to see your take on GCG. Is this based on 2018 or 2022??

Thanks! It's based on the 2022 mod. I think the 2018 mod is great and this one looks good so far, but the existence of these huge super-companies (like INSPIRES is) is probably an even tougher challenge than what I am doing here lol, I could never be able to handle such a huge, talented roster.

[AboardTheArk]

Golden Canvas Grappling Announces 4 Shows For January 2022

Wednesday, Week 2 of January 2022: GCG A New Breath at the Hall of Nagahama.

Saturday, Week 2 of January 2022: GCG A New Breath in Kobe in, well, Kobe. 

Wednesday, Week 3 of January 2022: GCG A New Breath Tag 3 in Kyoto.

Sunday, Week 3 of January 2022: GCG Desperate And Dangerous in Kyoto. 

 

The first event of the year will be broadcast live on Shogun TV, while the next two will be shown at a later date. Desperate and Dangerous will also be a live show, and marks the first major Card of the 72nd year for the company. 

 

The Card for A New Breath is also released (feel free to use this for any predictions): 

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

 

Ticket prices for the A New Breath shows begin at 2300 Yen (16 USD). Get yours today!

[Martel123]

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

[229tman]

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

[kanegan]

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

[siah463]

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

[Scottie]

Match 1/7: The Island Boys (Hora Chomei & Kenji) vs Tag Team Aces (Nakamura Toyotomi & Wakisasa Takuboku)

Match 2/7: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

Match 3/7: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Match 4/7: Henry Black & Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Shuzo Utagawa 

Match 5/7: Jack Marlowe, Hammer Hadley and Dean Daniels vs SUKI, Icihro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita

Match 6/7: GCG Openweight Championship Challenge: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) 

Match 7/7: Beasts of the East (Isotuko Araki & Naozane Goto) vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Danjuro Kikuchi

 

[AboardTheArk]

GCG A New Breath Live In Nagahama Hall Review - purofreak.substack.com

Hot take: The biggest news in puro right now is the GCG rebrand. I understand that Emerald Angel vs MYSTIC Dragon was a 5 star match according to Greg Sluchinski, but we are talking about a 62 year old company that was on its way to die a sad, pathetic death showing the biggest signs of life it has since about 2010. Hopefully other companies follow suit as the post-Tsunami recovery period continues. Anyway, Mabuchi Furusawa isn't only in my top 27 favorite wrestlers of 2021, he's also very ambitious as was showed by his confident promises of improvement. I think personally the raids of 2019 killed the company about as much as the change of schedules, so we will see if by now the post-SUKI generation is ready to pick up the slack. On to the show: 

 

MATCH 1: The Island Boys vs Tag Team Aces 

The two newest tag teams on the roster, they got 9 minutes and they used it to tell a nice little story (something you won't get for a lot of the more 'modern' groups in the country these days). Nakamura Toyotomi and Wakisaka Takuboku isolated (mostly after the early period) KENJI and tried to ground the big man with precision double team offense, but he kept coming back and trapping them in bear hugs or throwing them around. They managed to hit a big double dropkick that got them a two count, but KENJI got Hora Chomei in with a hot tag, and he had a very compelling final stretch of the match comparatively, hitting Wakisaka on the head multiple times, dropping him with a modified STO and hitting the huge Knee Drop for the win. The Island Boys are definitely a bit ahead in their development (well, mostly Chomei) and it was nice for them to start the new era with a win. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 27

 

MATCH 2: Ikki Hosaka vs Yuji Inamoto 

One of the first wishes of us fans when the change in ownership and booking was announced was for character work to come back in. Of course, there's companies that overdo it in the cartoony American way, but these people are still individuals who aren't *just* soulless killing machines. And we got our wish, as this match was these two trying to outshine each other with complicated maneuvers, which is reminiscent of Inamoto's ultra-cocky character from a couple years ago. Hosaka to me is the best prospect to come out of the Golden Dojo in years, so being allowed to showcase his gifts is really positive, and in my opinion he's only trapped in the undercard due to stupid young lion expectations. Hopefully when he graduates from that status he's given the ball to run with. Anyways, we got an interesting finish where a springboard elbow strike by Hosaka hit Yuji Inamoto squarely above the brow, and he started shouting "not the face you imbecile!" while responding with the most violent assault of slaps I've seen in a GCG non-main event since Namboku Makuda. Yuji tried to make the young lion bleed the hard way as payback, but when the crowd started shouting with concern about the hits the kid took, he knew his job was done and hit the Knee Brainbuster for the win. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 29

 

MATCH 3: Ryube Uno vs Yusuke Takahama 

Ryube Uno is very frustrating because while he has so much talent at being a scary hoss, he loves his leglocks, slowing his matches down to a pulp. At least, this is what I thought when he first started picking up a couple wins lat year, where he would just backdrop someone to death, then instead of trying to pin them, go for an Indian Death Lock to make them tap. I mean, come on, use what your mama gave you, am I right?! However, in this one his approach was much more cerebral, absolutely brutalising the veteran Takahama with dragon screw's and Kneebreakers and kicks to the inside of the knee, getting a lot of heat in the process as Takahama's comeback which are usually at least very sound structurally were always left too short. Takahama did get control about 13 minutes in after headbutting the youngster, but as he went for a Tiger Suplex his leg gave out, not allowing him to fully lift the opponent, and Uno capitalized with a new finisher, a bit of a modified Falcon Arrow, for what is one of the best matches of his young career so far. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 35

 

MATCH 4: Henry Black and Merle O'Curle vs Kyuchi Matsumoto and Shuzo Utagawa 

I am not the biggest BritWres guy personally, but these two definitely show some incredible matwork, which is valuable because for 95% of wrestlers, matwork is actually not particularly interesting. Definitely a lost art. One of those 95ers is Shuzo Utagawa, who I personally think isn't worth too much, but maybe that's my negative bias against late career Haruki Kudo speaking. To me, the star of the match was Matsumoto, who is a very dynamic performer, and really not many non-main eventers are here. I can criticize PGHW all day, and in fact I do on my twitter, but they have some guys who can wow you with quite a few moves in their arsenal. Anyway, my wish to see a Matsumoto Megapush wasn't answered today, as Merle O'Curle made Utagawa tap out in the middle of the ring with a butterfly headlock. The match was definitely better than the preceeding ones, but the way it was structured made me feel like I knew who was winning so I didn't even get to be disappointed.

PuroFreak's Rating: 40

 

MATCH 5: Dean Daniels, Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe vs Ichiro Mitsukuri, Koyo Kinoshita and SUKI 

So, I have gotten a lot of heat for being "anti-Mitsukuri & Kinoshita", but I want to reiterate that it's absolutely bullshit! I just think they are being positioned as the future of this company more due to their looks (they're both really cute) than their wrestling ability, which is fine but for instance not better than Matsumoto or, well, the other young guy in this match. Once again Hammer Hadley was super impressive, carrying the flow of the match as Daniels and Marlowe are a tiny bit too old to go full speed, and their three opponents wanted to go full speed. Hadley looked downright great hitting a variety of very articulate suplexes, transitioning flawlessly from mat to impact, while Jack looked good playing the greatest hits, what an absolute legend. SUKI carried the flow a lot, which makes sense as he's the freaking second best wrestler in the company (43 on PuroFreaks 2021 WOTY!) and Kinoshita and Mitsukuri did their job, as Kinoshita hit a huge Deadlift Suplex on Daniels which I have to admit was super cool, before Mitsukuri finished him with a Soccer Kick. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 47

 

MATCH 6: Walker Van Cleer vs Massacre (C) for the GCG Openweight Championship 

People ask me why do I keep intensely covering GCG post 2019, and a big answer is them introducing me to new wrestlers. I had no interest in the European scene before I saw Walker Van Cleer in a GCG ring, and I still don't but at least I know more about him due to stanning him! I think Massacre is a "fun in small doses" kind of wrestler, so not only was I interested to watch a title match on a tour show (which is an occurence that definitely happens, but very rarely if you watch 00's GCG), but I have been desperate for a new Openweight champion for a while. So imagine my disappointment as they have a match that falls flat due to Massacre being on an off night, then Massacre absolutely murdering Van Cleer in the finish, hitting two Tombstone Piledrivers before ending it with a Samoan Drop(???). I mean I guess that was fun in isolation but not if you care about the promotion's booking deeply as an internet fan! I think this was definitely the worst part of the show that didn't feature relative rookies. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 39

 

MATCH 7: Danjuro Kikuchi & Mabuchi Furusawa vs Isoruko Arakaki and Naozane Goto 

Hot take: Danjuro Kikuchi is the best of the non-Gaijin technicians in the company. Big fan of the guy even if he's not the most interesting wrestler on the roster. Would still take him over freakin' Massacre! Anyway, the Beasts Of War are really talented as a tag team, and them mixing up with the best wrestler and the most underrated (I guess not anymore! First main event) wrestler of the company was always going to be really good. They got around 20 minutes, the only man to do so which I think was wise, and Mabuchi took an absolute TON of punishment from these guys. He hit a big comeback, Kikuchi got a hot tag(!!!) it went into another heel control segment when he couldn't finish the match, and Mabuchi got a second hot tag. And that's when you think, alright, he's absolutely flying around, he's the best, he's winning this to start the new era with a happy crowd- and Arakaki catches him with one of the most devastating Choke Bombs I've ever seen, to the point where Furusawa absolutely bounced on the mat, and pins him CLEAN! Big swerve, really good match for a tour show. After the match, he challenged Furusawa to a match at Desperate And Dangerous for the GCG World Title, and I have MANY theories about that.

PuroFreak's Rating: 60

 

All in all, this was mostly good. I think they were spinning their wheels a lot with most TV shows, so I do not think "touring quality" tour shows will hurt in any way in regards to me tuning in and watching a lot. I think they will hit a strong point in this year, and their momentum will only keep rising. Especially when we get a new Openweight Champion! 

Overall Rating: 54

[AboardTheArk]

Predictions Contest

1. Siah 463 (7/7)

2. Scottie (5/7)

2. Kanegan (5/7)

4. Martel123 (4/7)

 

The Fights for the next two A New Breath cards have been announced: 

GCG A New Breath In Kobe: 

Match 1/6: Fire Fox II vs Ikki Hosaka 

Match 2/6: Nobuyuki Kubo and Wachichi Inao vs Ryobe Uno and Walker Van Cleer

Match 3/6: Henry Black and Yuji Inamoto vs The Island Boys

Match 4/6: Hammer Hadley, Kyuchi Matsumoto and Shuzo Utagawa vs Yutaka Ogata and Tag Team Aces 

Match 5/6: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita 

Match 6/6: Jack Marlowe, Mabuchi Furusawa and Massacre vs Isoruko Arakaki, Merle O'Curle and SUKI 

 

GCG A New Breath Tag 3: 

Match 1/6: Amare Shunshen and Hidekazu vs The Island Boys 

Match 2/6: Danjuro Kikuchi & Yutaka Ogata vs Ikki Hosaka & Nobuyuki Kubo 

Match 3/6: Koyo Kinoshita vs Hammer Hadley 

Match 4/6: Barry Kingman & Dean Daniels vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Walker Van Cleer 

Match 5/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri vs Jack Marlowe 

Match 6/6: Isoruko Akaraki & Merle O'Curle vs Mabuchi Furusawa & Massacre 

 

[siah463]

GCG A New Breath In Kobe: 

Match 1/6: Fire Fox II vs Ikki Hosaka 

Match 2/6: Nobuyuki Kubo and Wachichi Inao vs Ryobe Uno and Walker Van Cleer

Match 3/6: Henry Black and Yuji Inamoto vs The Island Boys

Match 4/6: Hammer Hadley, Kyuchi Matsumoto and Shuzo Utagawa vs Yutaka Ogata and Tag Team Aces 

Match 5/6: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita 

Match 6/6: Jack Marlowe, Mabuchi Furusawa and Massacre vs Isoruko Arakaki, Merle O'Curle and SUKI 

 

GCG A New Breath Tag 3: 

Match 1/6: Amare Shunshen and Hidekazu vs The Island Boys 

Match 2/6: Danjuro Kikuchi & Yutaka Ogata vs Ikki Hosaka & Nobuyuki Kubo 

Match 3/6: Koyo Kinoshita vs Hammer Hadley 

Match 4/6: Barry Kingman & Dean Daniels vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Walker Van Cleer 

Match 5/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri vs Jack Marlowe 

Match 6/6: Isoruko Akaraki & Merle O'Curle vs Mabuchi Furusawa & Massacre 

[kanegan]

GCG A New Breath In Kobe: 

Match 1/6: Fire Fox II vs Ikki Hosaka 

Match 2/6: Nobuyuki Kubo and Wachichi Inao vs Ryobe Uno and Walker Van Cleer

Match 3/6: Henry Black and Yuji Inamoto vs The Island Boys

Match 4/6: Hammer Hadley, Kyuchi Matsumoto and Shuzo Utagawa vs Yutaka Ogata and Tag Team Aces 

Match 5/6: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita 

Match 6/6: Jack Marlowe, Mabuchi Furusawa and Massacre vs Isoruko Arakaki, Merle O'Curle and SUKI 

 

GCG A New Breath Tag 3: 

Match 1/6: Amare Shunshen and Hidekazu vs The Island Boys 

Match 2/6: Danjuro Kikuchi & Yutaka Ogata vs Ikki Hosaka & Nobuyuki Kubo 

Match 3/6: Koyo Kinoshita vs Hammer Hadley 

Match 4/6: Barry Kingman & Dean Daniels vs Kyuchi Matsumoto & Walker Van Cleer 

Match 5/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri vs Jack Marlowe 

Match 6/6: Isoruko Akaraki & Merle O'Curle vs Mabuchi Furusawa & Massacre 

[AboardTheArk]

PuroFreak Blog Update: Saturday, Week 2 of January, 2022

Hey folks! I've delayed this entry for a couple of days as finding these tour shows in great quality is not that easy! Fret not though, as I still have the results and a short summary of the two latest A New Breath tour shows from GCG! Desperate And Dangerous is just around the corner, so strap in!

 

GCG A New Breath In Kobe: 

Match 1/6: Fire Fox II vs Ikki Hosaka 

Short and sweet, Ikki won with the Tornado DDT. When these guys are allowed to flourish they will have some actually good matches.

PuroFreak Rating: 31 

 

Match 2/6: Nobuyuki Kubo and Wachichi Inao vs Ryube Uno and Walker Van Cleer

Having Uno team up with an established act feels like a message that he's actually a real part of the heavyweight division and it's nice to see. The match itself was nothing special, Van Cleer got some of his momentum back by pinning Inao. 

PuroFreak Rating: 35

 

Match 3/6: Henry Black and Yuji Inamoto vs The Island Boys 

A bit of a letdown performance by KENJI who still gets lost in some spots, and Yuji going into this flamboyant character did not mesh well with Henry's all-business nature. Black made Hora Chomei tap out to an armbar. 

PuroFreak Rating: 29

 

Match 4/6: Hammer Hadley, Kyuchi Matsumoto and Shuzo Otagawa vs Yutaka Ogata and Tag Team Aces 

An absolute murder fest of the young boys, Hadley got the win after a particularly nasty Death Valley Driver on Wakisaka Takuboku. Surprised not to see Matsumoto pick up the win in that one, but that's maybe my own bias. Ogata keeps improving, but it's clear they think he's not as ready as Ryube Uno.

PuroFreak Rating: 36

 

Match 5/6: Barry Kingman & Dean Daniels vs Ichiro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita 

No surprises as to who gets the win here, since Mitsukuri and Kinoshita apparently got a tag team title shot at Desperate and Dangerous. Kinoshita hit Kingman with a really good looking powerbomb, before tagging in Mitsukuri who won with a top rope splash. It was fine as a showcase but not compelling, and overall I'd say a trend of this show being the weakest of the month.

PuroFreak Rating: 37

 

Match 6/6: Isoruko Arakaki, Merle O'Curle and SUKI vs Jack Marlow, Mabuchi Furusawa and Massacre 

Finally a good match, with Merle O'Curle making Massacre tap out clean as a whistle in the middle of the ring, getting a title shot at Desperate and Dangerous. SUKI and Furusawa got some intense exchanges with each other that get me very excited, but Arakaki did get to shine by absolutely ragdolling everyone that got in his path.

PuroFreak Rating: 56

Overall Rating: 49 (care the most about the main event in these tour shows especially)

 

GCG A New Breath Tag 3: 

Match 1/6: Amane Shunsen and Hidekazu vs The Island Boys 

I'm sorry...Shunsen is past it. This match was really bad. Hora Chomei pinned him at least, so despite KENJI still being a young lion they seem to be settling down on their spot in the pecking order above the other youngsters. 

PuroFreak Rating: 22

 

Match 2/6: Danjuro Kikuchi and Yutaka Ogata vs Ikki Hosaka and Nobuyuki Kubo 

Quite an improvement on the first match, Kikuchi kind of carried the action but I think all the exchanges we got were fun and good. Kubo almost got the win with a lariat, but Ogata kicked out, got the hot tag to the (relative) veteran and Kikuchi hit a Bulldog Driver for the win. 

PuroFreak Rating: 38

 

Match 3/6: Hammer Hadley vs Koyo Kinoshita 

They got 10 minutes to just hit each other really hard. This match kind of had me do a 180 on Kinoshita as I didn't realize he can just effortlesly lift and throw a guy as big and jacked Hadley. At the end of the day though, Koyo got taken down by a Choke Sleeper and had to tap out.

PuroFreak Rating: 46

 

Match 4/6: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs Kyuchi Matsumoto and Walker Van Cleer 

"The Gaijin Pride" are officially jobbers I think after the sample size of this tour, and it's a shame because I think they're pretty fine at their job. A Matsumoto Murder Bomb took Barry Kingman down, and all is right in the world for PuroFreak. 

PuroFreak Rating: 40

 

Match 5/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri vs Jack Marlowe 

The one everyone is talking about on twitter. The match itself was fine if way too short, but the thing is...Marlowe lost???? He just took a bad fall face first on the barricade outside, and Ichiro kept hitting face buster after face buster on him, until he lariated him to death in like...7 minutes. Insane result, insane show on faith on Mitsukuri-but it was better than any other non-main event match they've had!

PuroFreak Rating: 49 

 

Match 6/6: Isoruko Arakaki and Merle O'Curle vs Mabuchi Furusawa and Massacre

Probably slightly the weakest of the set-up main events, this was all about Massacre (so maybe that's why) getting his shine back. I get that he's a dominant champion, but a guy better suited to short sprints can't have a main event push in my opinion. Maybe I am too old-school in that regard. Anyway, his Samoan Drop on O'Curle did look actually murderous, and the match itself was still better than anything else on the card, courtesy of Furusawa and Arakaki actually having pretty hot exchanges- especially Arakaki chokeslamming him on the apron, something that feels like Furusawa picked up in California.

PuroFreak Rating: 55

Overall Rating: 51 

[AboardTheArk]

Predictions Contest

1. Siah 463 (14/19)

2. Kanegan (12/19)

3. Scottie (5/7)

4. Martel123 (4/7)

 

Fights For GCG Desperate And Dangerous 

Match 1/8: Fire Fox II vs Yuji Inamoto

Match 2/8: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs The Island Boys

Match 3/8: Ryube Uno vs Wachichi Inao 

Match 4/8: Danjuro Kikuchi, Shuzo Utagawa and Walker Van Cleeer vs Ikki Hosaka, Nobuyuki Kubo and Yutaka Ogata 

Match 5/8: Henry Black vs SUKI 

Match 6/8: GCG Openweight Championship 12th Defense: Massacre (C) vs Merle O'Curle

Match 7/8: GCG World Heavyweight Tag Team Championships 16th Defense: Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe (C) vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita

Match 8/8: GCG World Heavyweight Championship 16th Defense: Isoruko Akaraki vs Mabuchi Furusawa (C)

[Scottie]

Great start! I like the presentation, and also the little spiel up front which gives it more authenticity - e.g. it took a while to find good quality tapes for tour shows, etc.

Maybe just be careful with some of the font colour choices (e.g. green and yellow) which are hard to read in Light Mode!

Fights For GCG Desperate And Dangerous 

Match 1/8: Fire Fox II vs Yuji Inamoto

Match 2/8: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs The Island Boys

Match 3/8: Ryube Uno vs Wachichi Inao 

Match 4/8: Danjuro Kikuchi, Shuzo Utagawa and Walker Van Cleeer vs Ikki Hosaka, Nobuyuki Kubo and Yutaka Ogata 

Match 5/8: Henry Black vs SUKI 

Match 6/8: GCG Openweight Championship 12th Defense: Massacre (C) vs Merle O'Curle

Match 7/8: GCG World Heavyweight Tag Team Championships 16th Defense: Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe (C) vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita

Match 8/8: GCG World Heavyweight Championship 16th Defense: Isoruko Akaraki vs Mabuchi Furusawa (C)

[AboardTheArk]

1 minute ago, Scottie said:

Great start! I like the presentation, and also the little spiel up front which gives it more authenticity - e.g. it took a while to find good quality tapes for tour shows, etc.

Maybe just be careful with some of the font colour choices (e.g. green and yellow) which are hard to read in Light Mode!

 

Oh you're right I have to consider this. I used yellow a lot due to the color theme of the promotion but I will adapt for the next write ups for sure. Also thank you for the positive feedback, I am very excited to work into this longer term, getting to really like the young guys in the roster!

[siah463]

Fights For GCG Desperate And Dangerous 

 

Match 1/8: Fire Fox II vs Yuji Inamoto

 

Match 2/8: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs The Island Boys

 

Match 3/8: Ryube Uno vs Wachichi Inao 

 

Match 4/8: Danjuro Kikuchi, Shuzo Utagawa and Walker Van Cleeer vs Ikki Hosaka, Nobuyuki Kubo and Yutaka Ogata 

 

Match 5/8: Henry Black vs SUKI 

 

Match 6/8: GCG Openweight Championship 12th Defense: Massacre (C) vs Merle O'Curle

 

Match 7/8: GCG World Heavyweight Tag Team Championships 16th Defense: Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe (C) vs Ichiro Mitsukuri and Koyo Kinoshita

 

Match 8/8: GCG World Heavyweight Championship 16th Defense: Isoruko Akaraki vs Mabuchi Furusawa (C)

[AboardTheArk]

GCG DESPERATE AND DANGEROUS REVIEW - PUROFREAK.SUBSTACK.COM

 

The first Supercard event of the year is here from GCG, airing on Shogun TV, and they sold 1000 tickets in Kyoto, which is not great but not terrible either for what could be the beginning of the bounceback period. Also, according to a twitter insider I follow, it did an 0.06 rating on Shogun TV, which is...people watched it. You guys know the card already, so let's get on with what matters: what did I think of the show? 

 

MATCH 1/8: Fire Fox II vs Yuji Inamoto 

Fire Fox II is so ahead of schedule for a wrestler with one year of experience that there's talks of establishing a junior division in the future just so he can be the ace of it- and with junior wrestling being arguably the most popular style in the country, I'd actually not be opposed to it. I understand why not, though. Anyway, he actually outshined Yuji here in my opinion, the crowd really needs quite a bit to warm up to him after his bad latest run. Yuji had another violent outburst after taking a superkick to the face, and he just slapped Fire Fox II to the point of almost ruining his mask on the dragginess of the contact. Hopefully his performances and fan response match up to the coolness of the slaps, because the company needs new people to step up in titles contention. 

 PuroFreak's Rating: 36

 

MATCH 2/8: Barry Kingman and Dean Daniels vs The Island Boys 

Good chance I misspoke when I said Barry and Dean are officially jobbers, because they absolutely stiffed and dominated the Island Boys here. To be fair, even with a couple wins they have gotten lately, it's clear it's way too early for both of them to be featured on a higher level than they currently are. At one point Dean started biting Hora Chomei on the outside, which I found very funny. Barry absolutely brutalised KENJI in the ring with elbows and palm strikes, until he hid a Striding Knee (not really running, was it?) and submitted him with a bulldog choke. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 34 

 

MATCH 3/8: Ryobe Uno vs Washichi Inao 

Ryobe Uno's push has officially begun, as this is his first win on a big card for the company! Despite it only being a ten minute showcase, they skipped the hold exchange these matches usually start with and initially started telling a story: Inao knows the clock is ticking for him in every match, so he went back to his junior heavyweight roots to hit high-impact offense and not let Uno go in with his usual style to methodically destroy him. It was working well for the early phases, but Uno managed to grab him mid-air during a Springboard Lariat and turn it into a Kneebreaker, and at that point it was only a matter of time for him to win. Chop Blocks, Dragon Screws, a lot of screaming in pain from the veteran, and then the fun part begun: Ryobe Uno hit two back to back backrdops on Inao that absolutely planted him on his head, and he didn't even go for a finisher to pin him. A statement of intent in terms of booking, and it really worked on me- and Uno was definitely the best part of the match overall. You can criticize that I guess working the leg didn't play into the finish, but I think it played enough into literally the whole flow of the match that it makes sense. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 39

 

MATCH 4/8: Danjuro Kikuchi, Shuzo Utagawa and Walker Van Cleer vs Ikki Hosaka, Nobuyuki Kubo and Yutaka Ogata 

This was a really cute match, I thought. Van Cleer and Kikuchi really helped guide it and looked good, but Hosaka actually stole the show, at least from the three young boys and Utagawa's lackluster performance. I think it's interesting that Ogata has completed the "mandatory" three years of young lion status but he's still not really winning, he has some good attributes in my opinion, but you put him in this kind of match, and he's not really ahead of Kubo who is his junior. Anyway, everyone got a few spots where they showed their striking powers, but Hosaka spend the most time in the ring, frustrating all three of his opponents with his evasion skills. Eventually, Kikuchi managed to ground him with submissions, and he gave the hot tag to Ogata, who after elbowing everyone on sight except the referee, got interrupted from a German Suplex by Van Cleer, and that was the beginning of the end, as Kikuchi made quick work of him before ending things with a Tights-Lifting Piledriver. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 40

 

 MATCH 5/8: SUKI vs Henry Black 

An absolute masterclass in submission work, this was reminiscent of those really old Sadaharu Jimbo vs Rip Chord matches from the early 80's- of course, only in style, as those matches are all-time worthy spectacles. Sadly, Black gets winded easily, so SUKI had to carry the latest portion of the match and get him through to the finish line- other than that, if you're a big fan of takedown work and quick transitions between holds that HAVE to broken up via rope break, this is the match for you. SUKI showed his adaptability by countering a guillotine choke into a northern lights suplex, and right as Black kicked out, transitioning into the SUKI Special III (Cattle Mutilation) for the win. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 58 

 

MATCH 6/8: GCG Openweight Title Match: Merle O'Curle vs Massacre (C) 

I think my praise of Merle O'Curle has been too light, honestly, as he cracked the code on the mystery that is "a good Massacre singles match", by just being an old man who doesn't give a fuck. As hard as he got hit by the Samoan, he responded by hitting jawbreakers and european uppercuts and just generally attacking him head-on. To the point that he tried to get in a headbutt exchange, and you can never win a headbutt exchange against a Samoan so it backfired gloriously. With Massacre matches, usually right when they pick up steam they start getting worse right after due to his conditioning, so they took care of that deficiency for the finish: Massacre hit his signature strike combo, and as he got Merle up for the Samoan Drop, the Irish legend transitioned into a Butterfly Headlock, making the champion tap out after 11 defences and 8 months of pure dominance! New Champion! 

PuroFreak's Rating: 45 

 

MATCH 7/8: GCG World Heavyweight Tag Team Titles Match: Ichiro Mitsukuri & Koyo Kinoshita vs Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe (JackHammer) (C)

Well, I was super against the idea of JackHammer dropping the titles to the young guys on their FIRST challenge for the title especially, but then I show Jack on a match that went over 10 minutes and didn't have at least 5 other wrestlers- the guy is sadly not well physically, which is a shame because in short burst his work is still good. And the other guys not being to rely on his experience to get through the match hurt their performances too. In retrospect, Kinoshita hitting the Belly To Belly Suplex on Marlowe for the win was really a merciful kill.

PuroFreak's Rating: 38 

 

MATCH 8/8: GCG World Heavyweight Championship Title Match: Isoruko Arakaki vs Mabuchi Furusawa (C)

Arakaki is a physical monster who should not be moving this well at 6'10, nor be having 23 minute matches against world class talent. And yet he does, and this match was really really good. Furusawa excelled with his sympathetic selling, making his opponent look like an absolute megastar, and everything Furusawa did had weight and meaning behind it. Toppling Arakaki meant a lot because it was really fucking difficult to do. And this is the kind of title match you usually think has an obvious winner, especially with the other two titles switching hands- and there you are, watching Arakaki hit an absolutely earth-shattering Lariat and biting on the nearfall. Then he hits the Arakaki Spike and when Mabuchi kicks out at 2.9, you're almost mad he didn't win! But then of course Furusawa, had his comeback, and even that had a lot of input from Arakaki cutting it off, and when he locks in the Furusawa Armbar, only for Arakaki to lift him up BUT THEN the pressure point changes and he almost dislocates the giant's shoulder, forcing him to tap mid-air. That's the kind of puroresu match that has come straight out of an anime without bordering on ridicule. Greatly worked, of course carried by one of the best wrestlers in the world, and hopefully a sign of things to come. 

PuroFreak's Rating: 71 

 

I was perhaps naive not to expect title changes in this show, I think both of these make sense as you watch the event happen, but I am excited to see where they go for the next few months- neither midcard champions feel like a long term thing and you have to wonder about Furusawa's "succession plan" at the top. It could be SUKI reign number four, and that would absolutely rock and I am here for it, but in ideal circumstances of a promotion with a more balanced roster, a fresh face would succeed Furusawa at the top, especially after Marlowe's apparent swift road to retirement. Still, a good show even if there's a clear dip in quality on anything SUKI and Mabuchi aren't involved in. 

Overall Rating: 64

[AboardTheArk]

 

Predictions Contest

1. Siah 463 (21/27)

2. Kanegan (12/19)

3. Scottie (9/15)

4. Martel123 (4/7)

 

Before the announcement for the next tour, I have to address the incomings and outgoings, especially due to the fact there was more change than I expected. 

 

Outgoings: 

Amane Shunshen: The only person I cut due to performance reasons, he really doesn't have anything left in the tank sadly. 

Kyuichi Matsumoto: He got poached by BHOTWG, I tried to keep him but I lost the bidding war for him.

Naozane Goto: He beat up a young lion so I let him go even if he was in the best tag team in the company with Ararake. His "bully" personality is not what we need. 

Shuzo Utagawa: He was really mad when I let Kudo go because he was his mentor, and handed in his notice. 

 

Incomings: 

Eikichi Itou (27): The 300 lber has been a free agent ever since SAISHO got bought by INSPIRES. He's a solid hand, nothing special but he can at least go for 15 minutes without embarassing himself. Might get pushed. 

Hirotsugu Satou (26): The former PGHW prospect has taken an interesting path in this mod, staying in Europe post-tsunami and working for UEW. He returned part time to work for White Canvas Grappling but he left them, and I saw the chance to give him the better deal to work as a freelancer for us. He's not great, but he's genuinely good. Might be a main event threat in the future.

Lenny Mochin (31): A coworker of Black and Merle O'Curle, he was available to start work in Japan and he's really an excellent technical wrestler with a great look and stamina for days. A bit of a no braiser acquisition, we'll see where he fits in the picture of the roster. 

Rob Reynolds (31): A hard-hitting junior from the United States, he begun working for BCG three years ago, and he's officially the first wrestler we poached for there, a statement of intent even if he was only a midcarder there. We just needed actually good workers who can beat the young guys without making them look bad. 

Sharaku Okimasa (35): His bio makes a joke that he's essentially so forgettable that BCG forgot he was employed there, which might explain why they let him go in January. But what I see there is a huge upgrade on my veteran technicians, a guy with incredible basics and consistency that will be a staple of the roster hopefully for however long this diary runs. He's not getting a real push though unless something weird happens.

Tetsuji Nishimoto (29): A bland junior that BHOTWG let go due to their financial problems a few years ago. His stats that would make him a star are really poor, but once again this is a guy who has incredible fundamental skills which are really important. 

 

I don't know if any of these guys is an actual big player, which we honestly need, and I hoped I'd just bring in 2-3 guys instead of 6 but circumstances forced my hand. Our newest Dojo graduates are in June, so still 4 months away, and I don't know if I am signing anyone else who can't main event, maybe when I set up excursions in the next few months, we will see.

[AboardTheArk]

GOLDEN CANVAS GRAPPLING PRESS RELEASE

GCG is pleased to announce the "Hunt For Gold" tour, leading up to the historic Parade Of Champions card! The details of the shows are as follows: 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 1 in Nagahama Hall, Monday Week 1 of February 2022 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 2 in Nagahama Hall, Tuesday, Week 1 of February 2022 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 3 in Osaka, Sunday, Week 1 of February 2022 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 4 in Nagoya City, Wednesday Week 2 of February 2022 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 5 in Tokyo, Sunday Week 2 of February 2022

GCG Parade Of Champions in Osaka, Saturday Week 3 of February 2022

 

The Matches for the first two Cards has been revealed: 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 1: 

Match 1/6: Yuji Inamoto vs Yutaka Ogata 

Match 2/6: Hirotsugu Satou and Sharaku Okimasa vs Tag Team Aces 

Match 3/6: Eikichi Itou vs Ikki Hosaka 

Match 4/6: Danjuro Kikuchi, Fire Fox II and Washichi Inao vs Tetsuji Nishimoto and The Island Boys 

Match 5/6: Hammer Hadley, Jack Marlow and Ryobe Uno vs Henry Black, Merle O'Curle and Lenny Mochin

Match 6/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri, Koyo Kinoshita and Mabuchi Furusawa vs Isoruko Arakaki, Massacre and SUKI 

 

GCG Hunt For Gold Tour Tag 2:

Match 1/6: Fire Fox II and Washichi Inao vs Yuji Inamoto and Yutaka Ogata 

Match 2/6: Danjuro Kikuchi vs Nobuyuki Kubo 

Match 3/6: Eikichi Itou, Hirotsugu Satou and Sharaku Okimasa vs Tetsuji Nishimoto and Tag Team Aces 

Match 4/6: Hammer Hadley and Jack Marlowe vs Isoruko Arakaki and Massacre 

Match 5/6: Merle O'Curle and Lenny Mochin vs Ryobe Uno and Walker Van Cleer 

Match 6/6: Ichiro Mitsukuri vs SUKI

 

 

[Scottie]

Great show - hopeless tipping performance personally, but I'm happy to see Furasawa on fire.

Sad to see Shunsen go, but he really is past it - he was a young lion in my 1997 PGHW save!