Golden Canvas Grappling - Furusawa & The Tiger

[ShikariFC]

April 2021

The announcement of The Golden Six Series was a big talking point in the following days and weeks, behind the scenes much was in the pipeline at GCG but they also had a show to run before the G6S was to begin. The end of April would see Parade of Champions as the stand alone show for the month, no tour shows had been booked owing to various other things going on, namely roster management. 

Despite new ownership, huge buzz and fresh financial backing GCG still weren't free of losing guys. Frankie Perez whom had only just come in for a few shows was offered a fantastic deal by SWF which was accepted, Lion Genji was tempted away by BHOTWG early in the month despite their being a counter offer, and a competitive one at that, on the table from GCG, it was after this loss that the shareholders took the decision to start tying down more guys now that the finances were in a healthier place, the trick was picking the right people who didn't also work for companies GCG wanted to keep onside (most notably BCG) after a fairly lengthy discussion at GCG HQ between Mabuchi Furusawa, Hiroyasu Gakusha and Takayuki 2000 (Senmatsu largely stayed out of the day to day goings on) Kyuichi Matsumoto was the first to be offered a written deal, though not exclusive it pretty much tied him down for a period of time even if one of the bigger companies came calling. Matsumoto was the first, the second was then Morimasa Kato - some parties involved were less than convinced he was worth the commitment though Mabuchi particularly pushed for this, Kato had been a constant since the GCG relaunch. British wrestler Lenny Mochin was handed a written deal still enabling him to compete at home for CWW but also giving him a solid regular income, it also transpired a few days later that this deal convinced Mochin to move to Japan, as his CWW bookings were generally only one a month he still intended to honour them - Mochin moved to Tokyo. 

When looking at other obvious names like Fujio Narahashi and Azumamaro Kita they kept running into the point of stepping on SAISHOs toes, even with just written deals as opposed to exclusive ones there was a worry as to upsetting SAISHO whom had been very good to GCG thus far. 

The final name to be offered a more cast iron deal was Tavon Blake Jr, TBJ was one of Pete Halls last signings when he was still in a position of power and he had impressed upon coming in, TBJ was working for one other company back home in the states (GSW) and it was thought that he would tie up things there. 

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In the wider wrestling world Nigel "Honest Frank" Harriet had opened Rocky Mountain Wrestling in Wyoming. The Canadian Wrestling Alliance were said to be in a worrying financial state that had really gotten bad over the last couple of months, the big American companies particularly waiting in the wings to scoop up CWA's many talents. 

[ShikariFC]

Golden Six Series Participants & Dates Announced

Golden Canvas Grappling can now reveal the results of the voting round and in turn reveal 5 of the 6 participants in the first ever Golden Six Series. The voting choices of the shareholders and CEO will not be revealed but we can reveal that the two men to receive votes from the public were current GCG World Heavyweight Champion Matthew Keith and GCG Openweight Champion Azumamaro Shimizu. With these public votes added to the others here are the full voting results: 

Matthew Keith 3 Votes

Hiroyasu Gakusha 2 Votes

Azumamaro Shimizu 2 Votes

Takayuki 2000 1 Vote

Mabuchi Furusawa 1 Vote

Munemitsu Senmatsu 1 Vote

Masashi Urugataya 1 Vote

Kyuichi Matsumoto 1 Vote

Keith, Gakusha and Shimizu qualify based on vote strength, the remaining two places to be allocated via voting go to Takayuki 2000 and Mabuchi Furusawa based on their past GCG title lineage, Takayuki 2000 being a 3x World Heavyweight, 1x World Tag Team and 1x Openweight Champion and Furusawa being a 2x Openweight and 1x World Tag Team Champion. The other three men on 1 vote have no previous GCG title history. 

This leads us to the announcement of the Golden Six Series Qualifying round which will take place later this month at Parade of Champions, two matches will take place between the men on 1 vote and Fujio Narahashi whom has been selected to enter qualifying, the qualifying semi finals and final will take place at Parade of Champions 

Qualifying Semi-Finals

Munemitsu Senmatsu vs Kyuichi Matsumoto

Masashi Urugataya vs Fujio Narahashi

Qualifying Final

Winner SF 1 vs Winner SF 2

The Golden Six Series will kick off early in June and run through until the end of July, a total of 10 rounds with each participant facing each other twice, followed by a Final at the end of a league phase, the top two in the league competing in the final. 

Golden Six Series Tournament Schedule 

June 5th - Golden Six Series Opening Night - Niigata Prefecture Athletic Centre

June 8th - Golden Six Series Gifu - Gifu Arena

June 11th - Golden Six Series Hamamatsu - Hoshi Hall

June 13th - Golden Six Series Nagoya - Nagoya Puro Hall

June 19th - Golden Six Series Toyama - Toyama Hall

June 26th - Golden Spirit - Niigata Prefecture Athletic Centre

July 3rd - Golden Six Series Ibaraki - Ibaraki Community Hall 

July 9th - Golden Six Series Tokyo - Ryogoku Home Hall

July 10th - Golden Six Series Saitama - Saitama Sports Field

July 14th - Golden Six Series Osaka - Osaka Prefecture Hall 

July 24th - Golden Six Series Final - Niigata Memorial Gymnasium 

 

 

 

 

[ShikariFC]

Mabuchi had the finalised card for Parade of Champions in his hand, he was worried that all the focus on The Golden Six Series had taken away from this event and that they hadn't produced a good enough card.... 

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Special Golden Six Series Preview Tag

Matthew Keith & Mabuchi Furusawa vs Takayuki 2000 & Azumamaro Shimizu

Golden Six Series Qualifying Final

Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

Golden Canvas Grappling World Tag Team Championships 

X vs Golden Dawn (Kato & Uno) 

Hiroyasu Gakusha vs Shuga Amano

Golden Six Series Second Qualifying Semi Final

Munemitsu Senmatsu vs Kyuichi Matsumoto

Golden Six Series First Qualifying Semi Final

Masashi Urugataya vs Fujio Narahashi

Frankie Perez Japanese Final Match

Frankie Perez vs Azumamaro Kita 

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He had deliberated very much over what to make the Main Event, he had most likely over thought it, he didn't want to ask his fathers opinion, not out of malice or any ill feeling but the man was supposed to be taking leave of rest. Gakusha and the others had quite happily agreed to leave such decisions up to him as CEO so Mabuchi after much thought went for the preview tag, the World Champion had to be in the main event. Elsewhere the Tag Team Championships that had been vacated when Kikuchi jumped ship to PGHW would be won, with a surprise team in the match that the public knew nothing about. Gakusha would take on Amano whom attacked him at the previous event, Amano no longer a young lion now he had joined Senmatsu-gun. 

Frankie Perez after signing for SWF had approached him asking for a final match in Japan and for it to be billed as so, after looking over the roster of guys who werent already working Mabuchi picked out Azumamaro Kita as a fitting opponent, a SAISHO guy but someone who was well liked amongst GCG. 

[StanMiguel]

Special Golden Six Series Preview Tag

Takayuki 2000 & Azumamaro Shimizu

Golden Six Series Qualifying Final

Kyuichi Matsumoto

Golden Dawn (Kato & Uno) 

Hiroyasu Gakusha

Golden Six Series Second Qualifying Semi Final

Kyuichi Matsumoto

Golden Six Series First Qualifying Semi Final

Fujio Narahashi

Azumamaro Kita 

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[ShikariFC]

The Moon - 3,602 (+457 on last event)

(Pre Show) Ritsu Ibata def Wataru Kikumoto *1/4

Frankie Perez Japanese Final Match

Azumamaro Kita def. Frankie Perez ****

Golden Six Series First Qualifying Semi Final

Fujio Narahashi def. Masashi Urogataya ****

Golden Six Series Second Qualifying Semi Final

Munemistu Senmatsu def. Kyuichi Matsumoto ***1/2

Hiroyasu Gakusha def. Shuga Amano ***1/4

Golden Canvas Grappling World Tag Team Championships 

X - The Ring Generals Marv Statler & Dean Waldorf def The Golden Dawn (Kato & Uno) ****

Golden Six Series Qualifying Final

Munemistu Senmatsu def. Fujio Narahashi - Senmatsu Qualifies for G6S ****1/4

Special Golden Six Series Preview Tag

Takayuki 2000 & Azumamaro Shimizu def. Matthew Keith & Mabuchi Furusawa ****1/4

A solid card all around started with a strong opener that saw Frankie Perez's last match in Japan, mostly working for WLW in the country he had penned a deal with SWF marking his first "major" contract, he was defeated by Azumamaro Kita. The two Golden Six Series Semi Finals followed with Fujio Narahashi and Munemitsu Senmatsu progressing through to the final that night, which would turn out to be one of the two matches of the night, though these things are always up for personal interpretations. 

Hiroyasu Gakusha gained some measure of revenge over the young Shuga Amano, however Gakusha's days of watching his back appeared to be far from over as his celebrations were marred by a chair attack by Lenny Mochin, Mochin helped Amano to the back and it would appear that Mochin would be the third member of the new look Senmatsu-gun. 

The Ring Generals whom had been released by BHOTWG during the companies talent shake up debuted with a championship win, picking up the vacant World Tag Team Championships, interestingly Waldorf was also working with BCG and PWR whereas Statler was only working with WLW - meaning GCG was the only place the two were tagging together. 

Munemitsu Senmatsu stamped his ticket to the Golden Six Series with a hard fought win over Fujio Narahashi and rounding off the night Azumamaro Shimizu continued his electric momentum by getting a pinfall over Mabuchi Furusawa to close out the night. 

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TEW.com can report today that we have learned of an intense bidding war commencing for Greg Gague whos TCW contract is running up, at the time of writing no less than FIVE companies are battling it out for his signature, the "big 3" of America - SWF, TCW and USPW are in the running as well as EILL in Mexico and BHOTWG in Japan. Gague looks to be in for a big payday as the companies involved tweak their offers to try and table the best deal. 

Elsewhere MAW have experienced a rise in stature, interestingly this also coincided with TCW ending their agreement with MAW to send developmental workers. 

Edited May 10 by ShikariFC

[ShikariFC]

May 2021

Golden Canvas Grappling was still in a bit of a transitional phase, many things going on behind the scenes and discussions between the shareholders and CEO as to the direction of the company. A regular calendar had still not been settled on though June & July was to be set aside for The Golden Six Series. Feeling around the G6S was good, there was much excitement about it as it was something very different to anything else on offer elsewhere in the wrestling world. 

It was late on a midweek night when Mabuchi Furusawa had put the phone down for the last time and the following announcement had been penned to be released the following day..... 

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Pro Wrestling SAISHO x Golden Canvas Grappling

Joint Show To Take Place May 22nd

Pro Wrestling SAISHO and Golden Canvas Grappling are pleased to announce a joint show with the two promotions will be held on May 22nd as a continuation of the working relationship between the two. The show which is to be titled "SAISHO x GCG: Syndicate" will bring together both companies rosters and create some unique and memorable match ups 

SAISHO CEO Mito Miwa had the following to say "I am pleased to continue the good relationship between SAISHO and GCG with this show, the two rosters already have some crossover so the SAISHO fans will be sure to see some familiar faces, I hope to give everyone a great night of wrestling" 

GCG CEO Mabuchi Furusawa added "SAISHO have been a great ally to GCG since the companies rebirth and holding a joint show really feels like a natural step. Id like to personally thank Mr Miwa and all his colleagues" Interestingly Furusawa would also go on to say.... "GCG have hopes to hold many shows like this going forward and with more than just one partner so please look forward to this" 

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The feeling overall with Mabuchi and his peers was good about this show and the partnership with SAISHO, though the temptation to try and pluck away Narahashi and Kita particularly was certainly there for some, it would be a move that would not be well received with SAISHO and at this stage GCG didn't really want to be making enemies. 

The Greg Gauge saga that had engulfed the dirt sheets for the past weeks had come to a head in somewhat surprising fashion, Gauge signed for EILL in Mexico.... oh how GCG would have liked to reunite him with his brother

Edited May 10 by ShikariFC

[ShikariFC]

May 2021 #2

May continued to create talking points and be loaded with announcements. In the ever shifting professional wrestling landscape sometimes you have to be ready in the right place at the right time to pick up talents whom are let go from "bigger" companies, much in the same fashion that GCG picked up Matthew Keith previously. With the previously mentioned in mind a double header of news broke on the eve of the SAISHO x GCG show when in rather low key fashion GCG broke the news of the signing of Steven Parker. 

Parker, 36, had been released by American giants SWF a few weeks previous, very good in ring he seemed like a perfect fit for Japan though in the scheme of things almost totally unknown in the country which may have explained the no frills announcement. Alongside this in the double header it was also announced that GCG had entered into a working relationship with a company whom Parker had notably history - MAW. Mid Atlantic Wrestling had recently had their ties with TCW cut and were probably a bit more open to discussions with others than they previously would have been, it was understood that there was a talent trading agreement in place and the first bit of business between the two was Steven Parker been made available to return to his former employers MAW for a string of appearances. Parker was also working for FCW in America. 

Shortly before SAISHO x GCG: Syndicate the Main Event was announced, a non title match between Matthew Keith and Masa Kurata.

Elsewhere in Japan, so called "MegaStar" Yuta Isono whom there was much hype behind was finally picked up by a "named" company as EXODUS2010 got his signature. 

 

Edited May 12 by ShikariFC

[ShikariFC]

May 2021 #3

SAISHO x GCG: Syndicate Review

In front of 4,225 at Yamanashi Athletic Stadium SAISHO and GCG put on a joint show that was well received with the Main Event being a clear stand out.  The best two matches of the night were the Main Event in which Matthew Keith picked up a win over Masa Kurata (****1/2) in 23:01. In the Semi Final new SAISHO signing Ko Minamino teamed with Black Iron Cops (who work for both companies) in a winning effort over Senmatsu-gun (Senmatsu, Mochin & Amano) (****). The rest of the card featured solid match ups between both companies including the opener of GCGs Morimasa Kato defeating SAISHOs Billy Robinson (***1/2) and Hurricane 2000 (Takayuki 2000 and Harumi Okazawaya) teaming up once more as they defeated the cross promotional team of Masked Stranger and Shiba Mizoguchi (***1/4)

From a GCG point of view the feeling was good, particularly having Amano and Mochin in a match that stood out and got great reviews, especially in Amanos case at just 23 years old.

MORE breaking news in May

In what had already been a busy month for the Japanese scene shortly after SAISHOs joint show with GCG their CEO Mito Miwa announced the formation of the Japanese Wrestling Federation, its founder members being SAISHO, 5SSW and EXODUS2010. Speculation immediately began as to whether we would see womens wrestling in SAISHO or EXODUS as a result of this announcement. Along with the formation of the alliance which was Miwas brainchild, three new championships were made -  JWF Championship, JWF Tag Team Championships and JWF Womens Championship. 

Edited Wednesday at 06:27 PM by ShikariFC

[ShikariFC]

Golden Six Series Preview

We take a look at the six participants in the first ever G6S, who will come out on top come the end of July? 

TAKAYUKI 2000

(3x World Heavyweight Champion, 1x Openweight Champion, 1 x World Tag Team Champion)

Takayuki 2000 qualified for the tournament via the voting round on the strength of his title history. In his three matches (all multi man) since his return to GCG Takayuki is unbeaten and will be hoping he can ride that momentum into the tournament. A man with a rich past in GCG would have to make him a pick for a lot of people to come out ontop of the first ever G6S, also the fact that any possible ties in terms of points being decided on title history will play massively in Takayukis favour.

First Match: Vs Munemitsu Senmatsu

MUNEMITSU SENMATSU

Munemitsu Senmatsu qualified via the qualification round seeing off Kyuichi Matsumoto and Fujio Narahashi. Senmatsu has quickly established himself as a menacing force in GCG reforming his infamous Senmatsu-gun on the golden canvas. Undefeated in singles action since his return Senmatsu is also set to make an appearence for Mid Atlantic Wrestling before the GS6 starts. Senmatsu has arguably more reason than most to become the first ever GS6 winner, a man with a point to prove is a dangerous thing

First Match vs Takayuki 2000

 MATTHEW KEITH

(Current World Heavyweight Champion)

Matthew Keith qualified via the voting round with the highest number of votes. Since sensationally signing for GCG Keith has been on fire, most recently coming out victorious in the first ever SAISHO x GCG Main Event. As the World Heavyweight Champion Keith will surely have a target on his back, his opponents knowing any victory over him would surely mean a title shot somewhere down the line.

First Match vs Mabuchi Furusawa

MABUCHI FURUSAWA

(GCG CEO, 2x Openweight Champion, 1x World Tag Team Champion)

Mabuchi Furusawa qualified via the voting round on the strength of his title history. Carrying the weight of being CEO into active competition is a unique challenge that Mabuchi Furusawa will have to tackle, many eyes will be specifically on him during this first G6S. Fursawa is yet to pick up a victory since his GCG return. 

First Match vs Matthew Keith

HIROYASU GAKUSHA

(4x World Heavyweight Champion, 1x Openweight Champion, 1x World Tag Team Champion)

Hiroyasu Gakusha qualified via the voting round. Like Takayuki 2000, Gakushas title history will give him the advantage should he finish tied for points with anyone. A glittering career with GCG could be perfectly topped off with winning the first ever G6S, Gakusha is also undefeated since his return to GCG and is another man who will be hoping to carry momentum into the tournament. 

First Match vs Azumamaro Shimizu

AZUMAMARO SHIMIZU

(Current Openweight Champion)

Azumamaro Shimizu qualified via the voting round. On paper Shimizu would possibly be considered the biggest underdog here though he already shocked people by being automatically voted in, one of those votes being via the public voting. As Openweight Champion he has so far racked up four title defences and has openly spoken about raising the profile of the title. Now the focal point of The Golden Dawn, Shimizu will be looking to shock some people in the GS6. 

The Golden Six Series will run across June and July with the top two placed wrestlers facing off in the final, at the other end the wrestler in last place will be unable to compete in 2022's tournament. The opening night comes from The Niigata Prefecture Athletic Centre and will air live on our new broadcast partner Shogun TV