PGHW - The Other Beginning

[Willsky]

FALLOUT

Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall were on top of the world. Together they had quickly formed one of the most devastating tag teams of all time, triumphing at the Elite Tag Series by defeating the reigning Glory Tag Crown champions in the final.

They were the biggest threat to Team EXPLOSION in their reign so far, and the two lariat lovers were on the cusp of becoming something special.

 

Night of KINGS, October 2002

The main event of Night of KINGS was the massive clash between Glory Tag Crown champions Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) and the Elite Tag Series winners from two weeks ago, Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall.

Shuji Inukai was no stranger to Team EXPLOSION. As one half of Team Dynasty 2000, he had shared plenty of tag classics with Hoshino and Kunomasu. And everyone knew how devastating his Untouchable Lariat could be.

But Team EXPLOSION came prepared. They had learned from their failure at the Elite Tag Series and brought strategies to avoid the lariats they would face. Quick communication and clever positioning allowed them to neutralise the threat completely.

In fact, they were so effective, the crowd didn’t enjoy the match very much. They wanted to see someone hit a big lariat, but were denied that by Hoshino and Kunomasu’s smart tactics. And when Kunomasu pinned Hall after an Eisaku Explosion, the champion’s retention didn’t go down well.

They weren’t the only ones unhappy. Inukai looked frustrated at his defeated tag team partner.

 

Night of IMPACT, October 2002

Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) were in the main event with Shuji Inukai & Pistol Pete Hall again, but this time on the same side of an eight-man tag. They face Nobuatsu Tatsuko, Masaaki Okazaki and Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara).

With both sides boasting impressive talent, it was a closely fought bout. Many expected Rebel Cell to be the weak link, but they did well, allowing Okazaki to hit his very own Okazaki Explosion on Pistol Pete Hall to get the victory.

Seeing Hall pinned again, Shuji Inukai was not impressed. He berated Hall after the match, when the big man was still struggling to his feet. Now standing, Hall looked down at Inukai and growled something back at him.

The pair stood in cold silence for a moment before Inukai shook his head and walked away.

 

Night of COURAGE, November 2002

Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall had the opportunity to get back to winning ways with a match against Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara). Team MILLENIUM were one of the best teams in PGHW at that point, and a victory over them would surely see Hall and Inukai nearing another Glory Tag Crown opportunity.

But it wasn’t to be. Inukai swung his arm for the Untouchable Lariat on several occasions, but couldn’t connect. Neither could Hall. It looked like opponents had figured out how to counter their quite obvious tactic.

After hitting a Y2K, Inao managed to pin Pistol Pete Hall, making it the big man’s third successive pinfall defeat.

Inukai lost his temper. He shoved Hall and yelled at him. He slapped the big man in the face, taking out his frustrations in quite a petulant manner. And Hall himself wasn’t one to back down. He roared back and delivered a big palm strike of his own, narrowly missing with another.

By this time, officials had managed to get between them before anything major could break out. Anger simmered over the whole scene until Hall stormed away.

 

Night of ENDURANCE, November 2002

For the first time in months, Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall found themselves on opposite sides of the ring. Hall teamed with Dan Stone Jr and Steve Flash, while Inukai had Noriyori Sanda and Masaaki Okazaki in his corner.

It was a ferocious match, with rare explosive moments of conflict between Inukai and Hall. Lariats were swung and missed.

The end came when Steve Flash hit a Flash Bang on Noriyori Sanda and pinned him. That meant Hall was on the winning team, Inukai on the losing. The situation threatened to explode into chaos as Hall and Inukai wanted to get at each other, but their respective teams held them back.

A resolution was required. Night of WRESTLING in two weeks’ time was the perfect time to find one.

Inukai had strong words after the show.

Inukai: Hall is a great singles wrestler. He was a good Glory Crown champion. But he is not a tag guy. Look at his team with Dino Maldini years ago. So much talent and promise. No result. And now, with me, we should have won everything. But he fell short. If I had been fighting alongside Mushashibo… things would have been different.

And even though Hall is a great singles wrestler, he’s not as good as me. My Untouchable Lariat is more powerful than his Pistol Whip, and I proved that at Night of GLORY this year. But now he’s pissed me off and I want to do it again. To knock his head clean off his shoulders and prove that I am the BEST!

 

PROBLEMS FOR THE PRIDE

In the absence of Mito Miwa, The Pride was battered by MONSTER Army. When Miwa returned, the led them to victory in several battles against Raymond Diaz’s gang and re-establishing himself at the top of the company.

But not everything suddenly started running smoothly. PRIDE Koiso and Kozue Kawashima continued to bicker, while Hito Ichihara could no longer compete at a sufficient level even as a tag team partner.

MONSTER Army knew this. Raymond Diaz would have Dino Maldini back from injury soon, and he smelled blood. What a coup it would be if he could shatter Miwa’s faction!

 

Night of KINGS, October 2002

MONSTER Army were at full strength (Raymond Diaz, Dino Maldini, Hector Sims & Michael Howard) as they took on The Pride. Miwa’s faction would have boasted the full complement, but PRIDE Koiso had decided to challenge for the Historical Japan title – something the rest of The Pride found out about on the night.

So, needing a last-minute replacement, Hito Ichihara called up and old friend to borrow his protégé – Iwane Okano, who had been working under the wing of Koryusai Kitoaji. Ichihara, Okano and Kozue Kawashima joined Mito Miwa for the match.

Raymond Diaz was out for revenge. The last time the groups had clashed, Diaz’s team had been disqualified for pushing the rules too far. This time, they kept within the confines of legality and just focused on targeting the weaker members of The Pride: Ichihara and Kawashima, as well as Okano.

When Raymond Diaz hit the Ray Gun on Okano to win, it was a great victory for MONSTER Army, although they didn’t actually pin a member of The Pride.

Later in the show, PRIDE Koiso challenged Mamoru Nagahama for the Historical Japan title. It was a risk, going away from his group, but it is one that paid off.

Koiso delivered his best performance yet, hitting the Koiso Kutter on Nagahama to become the new Historical Japan champion! Notably, the other members of The Pride did not appear to celebrate with him.

 

Night of IMPACT, October 2002

PRIDE Koiso did not defend the Historical Japan title at Night of IMPACT. He had been previously scheduled to fight with The Pride in a trios match against MONSTER Army.

So he tagged with Hito Ichihara and Kozue Kawashima against Dino Maldini, Hector Sims and Michael Howard.

As Koiso held gold, he assumed leadership of the team, something which irritated the veteran Ichihara who would usually be the most important voice. When Kawashima was pinned by Dino Maldini, Ichihara suggested the blame was on Koiso for leading them poorly. Koiso was about to retort when Dino Maldini barged in and demanded a shot at the Historical Japan title as soon as possible.

It was a tough moment for The Pride, made even worse when Mito Miwa lost to Raymond Diaz in the semi-final of the Contender’s tournament for a shot at the Glory Crown. Miwa hoped to get right back into title contention by winning the four-man knockout affair, but Diaz caught him out with a Ray Gun and advanced to the final.

 

Night of COURAGE, November 2002

Mito Miwa returned to action with The Pride, leading Hito Ichihara and Kozue Kawashima in a much-needed win over Dino Maldini, Hector Sims & Michael Howard.

Miwa showed clear leadership and a commanding voice which had been lacking at the previous show.

Dino Maldini suffered this loss, but knew he would face PRIDE Koiso at the next show for the Historical Japan title.

PRIDE Koiso defended the Historical Japan title for the first time, facing Akinori Kwakami. It was a decent showing for both young men, with a Koiso Kutter winning the match.

 

Night of ENDURANCE, November 2002

While Hito Ichihara and Kozue Kawashima won in a six-man tag match to open the show, the main focus for The PRIDE came in two matches later.

The first was Mito Miwa tagging with Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara) against MONSTER Army (Raymond Diaz, Hector Sims & Michael Howard).

Rebel Cell were integral to helping Miwa get the pin on Sims. Their effective chemistry and communication blended well with the former Glory Crown champion’s, and after the victory, Miwa stated how impressed he was with Okazawaya and Sarumara.

The second match saw PRIDE Koiso defending the Historical Japan title against serious competition in Dino Maldini. Maldini held the belt two years ago, and only had to relinquish it due to injury. Now he wanted his gold back.

But Koiso would not let him. He once again delivered an exceptional singles performance, hitting the Koiso Kutter to get the pin and retain for a second time. His celebrations were enthusiastic to say the least. So much so that Hito Ichihara came out to calm him down.

Ichihara was suggesting that Koiso should show more humility. Koiso disagreed. He disagreed to the extent of shoving Ichihara, who stumbled backwards and nearly fell. Ichihara was incensed. He immediately challenged Koiso to a match at Night of WRESTLING with the Historical Japan title on the line.

He said after:

Ichihara: PRIDE Koiso has gotten too big for his boots. He thinks that because he has won the Historical Japan title he runs the place. He doesn’t. He’s in a group with two former Glory Crown champions who exceed him in both experience and integrity. And at Night of WRESTLING, I’ll teach him that if he wants to succeed in The Pride, he needs to respect his elders. And when I take away that belt of his, he’ll have no choice.

 

THREE’S A CROWD

The Glory Tag Crown picture was always hot at the end of the year. The Elite Tag Series was over, with Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall coming out victorious.

That immediately put Team EXPLOSION’s reign under threat, but beyond that, other teams were beginning to close the gap. Team MILLENIUM, Stone & Flash and Rebel Cell were all competing regularly and would have certainly had their focus on getting their hands on the titles.

So how long could Eisaku Hoshino and Eisaku Kunomasu keep hold of their belts?

 

Night of KINGS, October 2002

In the main event of Night of KINGS, Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) put the Glory Tag Crown titles on the line against the Elite Tag Series winners Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall.

Inukai and Hall had relied on their devastating lariats to win the tournament, but Team EXPLOSION were ready for it this time. At the expense of the crowd’s enjoyment of the match, Hoshino & Kunomasu played a cautious, patient game, refusing to expose themselves for either the Untouchable Lariat or the Pistol Whip Lariat.

They were successful in their endeavour and won the match with an Eisaku Explosion on Pistol Pete Hall. The champions retained.

Elsewhere on the show, Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara) teamed with Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara) to defeat Gengyo Tokuoka, Koryusai Kitoaji, Noriyori Sanda and Robert Oxford.

Both teams clearly considered themselves close to earning another shot at Team EXPLOSION.

 

Night of IMPACT, October 2002

With his partner Inao competing in the Glory Crown Contenders Tournament, Takeshi Umehara held the torch for Team MILLENIUM as he partnered Noriyori Sanda and Stone & Flash. They defeated the foursome of Iwane Okano, Koryusai Kitoaji, Akinori Kwakami and Danger Kumasaka.

Now Dan Stone and Steve Flash threw their names in the hat as future contenders. They had come very close earlier in the year and wanted another shot.

They would have to wait, though. In the main event, Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara) partnered Masaaki Okazaki and Nobuatsu Tatsuko to defeat the impressive but tense team of Shuji Inukai, Pistol Pete Hall and Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu).

While it was Okazaki who pinned Hall, Rebel Cell were still on the winning side against the Glory Tag Crown champions and requested a shot at the tag titles at Night of COURAGE. Hoshino and Kunomasu accepted.

 

Night of COURAGE, November 2002

Tag team action continued to take centre stage in PGHW. First, Stone & Flash were involved in a good win with Mamoru Nagahama and Gonnohyoe Kada, overcoming the team of Noriyori Sanda, Iwane Okano, Gengyo Tokuoka and Sebastian Krause. Their title bid was picking up steam.

But Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara) did one better, impressively defeating the Elite Tag Series champions, Shuji Inukai and Pistol Pete Hall. It was a massive victory and surely put Inao and Umehara in prime position to challenge. They were quite vocal about this.

And later in the show, Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) fought a hard match against Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara). Rebel Cell had challenged for the Glory Tag Crown titles on so many occasions by this point, but never got their hands on the belts. This time was no different as Sarumara fell to an Eisaku Explosion.

Team EXPLOSION retained again, and looked ahead to new potential challengers.

 

Night of ENDURANCE, November 2002

Dan Stone Jr & Steve Flash were once again on the winning team. This time it was alongside Pistol Pete Hall as they defeated Shuji Inukai, Noriyori Sanda and Masaaki Okazaki. Steve Flash was responsible for the pin, hitting the Flash Bang on Noriyori Sanda.

Straight after the match, Stone & Flash made it clear they were going to challenge for the Glory Tag Crown titles at Night of WRESTLING and, although it wasn’t made official yet, it was generally recognised as a match made.

However, Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara) had other ideas. They had defeated the Elite Tag Series winners in straight tag competition.

In the main event, they, along with Nobuatsu Tatsuko fell to defeat against Tommy Cornell and Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu). But their resolve was not broken. They were number one contenders, and they told this directly to Team EXPLOSION after the match.

Hoshino and Kunomasu accepted the challenge for Night of WRESTLING. This prompted Stone & Flash to come out and ask what the hell was going on. They were getting the match, not Team MILLENIUM!

There was plenty of jostling and shoving and words exchanged, with Kunomasu and Hoshino looking on bemused. At that point, Sadaharu Jimbo appeared to calm the situation. He declared that as there was no clear number one contender, both teams would get a title shot at Night of WRESTLING. At the same time. It was going to be the first ever match in PGHW history that saw three teams compete in the same match!

Eisaku Hoshino was confident after the show.

Hoshino: Maybe you think we’re angry that Jimbo made it a three-way match. Not really. It’s new. It’s different. And we will handle it. Team MILLENIUM and Stone & Flash will cancel each other out and we’ll smash them all to pieces! In normal competition, neither of them have managed to beat us this year. And that will not change at Night of WRESTLING!

 

CENTRE OF ATTENTION

After Night of GLORY, new Glory Crown champion Nobuatsu Tatsuko was not concerned by the focus on Mito Miwa’s humiliating fall. He said the world would soon realise the biggest story was the new champion, Tatsuko himself, and how his reign would eclipse all others.

It was a good start for him, although slightly overshadowed by the recent Elite Tag Series which meant his title wasn’t on the line for well over a month. But Tatsuko wasn’t desperate to defend the belt every night. He was the main attraction, only defending on the biggest stages.

Night of WRESTLING was THE biggest stage. Until then he would surely have challengers, but who would they be? It remained to be seen if anyone could topple Tatsuko by the end of the year.

 

Night of KINGS, October 2002

Nobuatsu Tatsuko took part in a six-man tag match. He teamed with Masaaki Okazaki and Gonnohyoe Kada, a duo who had done better than expected at the Elite Series, and even beat Tatsuko’s own Team Energy before narrowly missing out on qualification to the semi-final stage.

They faced off against Kumasaska-buntai (Akinori Kwakami, Danger Kumasaka & Tommy Cornell). It was relatively light work for Tatsuko and Okazaki. Kumasaka was old, Kwakami was inexperienced, and it was only Tommy Cornell who shone, valiantly fighting them off to no avail.

Okazaki got the pin on Kwakami, cementing another strong performance for the ex-BHOTWG man.

 

Night of IMPACT, October 2002

Masaaki Okazaki once again impressed Nobuatsu Tatsuko as a team mate. This time it was a main event match which they shared with Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara). They managed to defeat Shuji Inukai, Pistol Pete Hall and Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) with Okazaki being a decisive factor.

It was Okazaki who got the pin after an Okazaki Explosion, putting down Pistol Pete Hall for the count. Tatsuko couldn’t deny Okazaki’s status as a title challenger and immediately set the match between the for the Glory Crown at Night of COURAGE.

That wasn’t the only influence Tatsuko had on the title picture, either. He had earlier suggested a repetition of the four-man knockout tournament that Pistol Pete Hall organised last year, with the best talents fighting for a match at Night of WRESTLING.

The two semi-final matches happened at Night of IMPACT. The first was Raymond Diaz getting a colossal victory with plenty of revenge attached against Mito Miwa. Miwa was the favourite to win the tournament, but didn’t even make the final.

On the other side of the draw, Tommy Cornell faced Fukusaburu Inao. Both young men had really grown in stature in the last couple of years and now had the chance to go one step further. Cornell was the one to seize the opportunity this time, hitting a Guilt Trip on Inao.

Diaz and Cornell would meet in the final, with the winner earning themselves a Glory Crown title match at the biggest show of the year.

 

Night of COURAGE, November 2002

Two massive singles matches took place at Night of COURAGE. The first saw Raymond Diaz and Tommy Cornell wrestle for the honour of challenging for the Glory Crown at Night of WRESTLING.

Diaz started in his typical dominant style, but he couldn’t quite put away the heart and courage of Cornell. The young Brit battled back into contention and eventually hit a Guilt Trip to get the victory. Tommy Cornell was going to the main event of Night of WRESTLING!

The next question regarded who he would face there. The main event of the show saw Masaaki Okazaki challenge Nobuatsu Tatsuko for the Glory Crown. Okazaki had been on a tear since arriving in PGHW, and was yet to be pinned or submitted.

But Tatsuko was in the form of his life and wasn’t going to let go of the title without a brutal struggle. What resulted was a seismic back-and-forth between two of the most intense, direct and violent wrestlers in the world.

And it all came to an end when Tatsuko managed to escape the Angular Arm Bar and smash Okazaki into the mat with the Tatsuko Driller, retaining the Glory Crown.

 

Night of ENDURANCE, November 2002

With their match for Night of WRESTLING set, Glory Crown champion Nobuatsu Tatsuko wrestled against challenger Tommy Cornell in a six-man tag match. Cornell had Glory Tag Crown champions Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) on his side, while Tatsuko’s partners were Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara).

The six men put on one of the best multiman tag matches in PGHW history, with rapid, impactful action and brilliant work from everyone involved.

And out of the storm, Tommy Cornell emerged victorious. He got the winning pin on Takeshi Umehara and stood tall.

There was a scuffle between the challengers for the tag titles, but Cornell and Tatsuko remained impassive at opposite sides of the ring while it all went on. When they had finished, Tatsuko simply held the Glory Crown above his head in the centre of the ring, while Cornell drew close and held his gaze.

Cornell was popular. Unlike many gaijin, he had always been beloved by the PGHW crowd who saw his obvious potential and were bewitched by his youthful charm. But Tatsuko was not convinced. He said this after the show.

Tatsuko: I like Tommy. He’s got incredible talent. More than almost anyone I can think of. Talent gets you far. It wins you matches. It pulls people towards you, makes them think you’re something special.

He has courage, too. I have seen him wrestle with passion and determination. Even when he’s in a losing situation, a hopeless team around him, he is able to bring the fight.

But talent and courage don’t win you titles. You need something else. Something that all Glory Crown champions have had, whether it’s obvious externally or not.

You need to be a bastard. You need to care only about yourself. You need to have the ambition to become the best no matter what it takes, no matter how sickening the strikes you deliver to the opponent are. You need to be able to put someone down before they can get back up. You need brutality.

And I don’t think Tommy Cornell is brutal enough. 

 

Night of WRESTLING 2002 Match Card for predictions

Mamoru Nagahama vs. Masaaki Okazaki

Akinori Kwakami, Danger Kumasaka, Iwane Okano and Koryusai Kitoaji vs. Gengyo Tokuoka, Gonnohyoe Kada, Noriyori Sanda and Sebastian Krause

Kozue Kawashima and Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara) vs. MONSTER Army (Dino Maldini, Hector Sims & Michael Howard)

Mito Miwa vs. Raymond Diaz

Pistol Pete Hall vs. Shuji Inukai

Hito Ichihara vs. PRIDE Koiso © for the Historical Japan title

Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) © vs. Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara) vs. Dan Stone Jr and Steve Flash for the Glory Tag Crown titles

Nobuatsu Tatsuko © vs. Tommy Cornell for the Glory Crown title

 

---OOC---

This is the new posting format. All the build up stories in one post with the predictions key at the end. The big show will be posted in a few days.

[CobheadJake]

Mamoru Nagahama vs. Masaaki Okazaki

Akinori Kwakami, Danger Kumasaka, Iwane Okano and Koryusai Kitoaji vs. Gengyo Tokuoka, Gonnohyoe Kada, Noriyori Sanda and Sebastian Krause

Kozue Kawashima and Rebel Cell (Harumi Okazawaya & Sotatsu Sarumara) vs. MONSTER Army (Dino Maldini, Hector Sims & Michael Howard)

Mito Miwa vs. Raymond Diaz

Pistol Pete Hall vs. Shuji Inukai

Hito Ichihara vs. PRIDE Koiso © for the Historical Japan title

Team EXPLOSION (Eisaku Hoshino & Eisaku Kunomasu) © vs. Team MILLENIUM (Fukusaburu Inao & Takeshi Umehara) vs. Dan Stone Jr and Steve Flash for the Glory Tag Crown titles

Nobuatsu Tatsuko © vs. Tommy Cornell for the Glory Crown title

 

 

I like the new format, it was nice catching up on everything at once!