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The Soap Box: Why Batista Is The Victim

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Wrestling Soap Box: Batista is the Victim

Vince McMahon is used to getting is his way but apparently, Batista didn’t get the memo. Reports have surfaced regarding “The Animal’s” refusal to wrestle Daniel Bryan at WWE’s upcoming Payback pay-per-view. Wrestlers refusing to put people over is nothing new, however, Batista deserves a pass on any flack he is receiving for refusing the match. Luckily, his support of Bryan and the refusal of the idea as opposed to the wrestler himself seems to be his saving grace.

Big Dave was doing the Hollywood thing until WWE pitched him the dream scenario. The mega push culminating with a headlining world title win at WrestleMania. The big man has been there and done that so what’s the incentive? Answer, making big money while parlaying his resurged fame into the promotion of this summer’s Guardians of the Galaxy film. If you haven’t noticed, Marvel Studios turns everything it touches into gold. Batista badly wants that Midas touch, and a feature role in the profession that made him famous would go a long way in making that a reality.

We all know what happened next. Batista’s big return was damned with faint praise due to WWE’s failure to listen. It was obvious eight months ago that fans wanted Daniel Bryan, and only Daniel Bryan, to be the hero of the story. The company’s belief that a returning Batista would dwarf the ‘Yes Movement’ was a fraudulent investment turned into a fool’s errand. The end result, Daniel Bryan is living the life that Dave Bautista was promised.

On a smaller scale, when I was promoting independent shows on a regular basis, I told a wrestler my grand plan of putting the belt on him with a run of main events on top. After re-examining what I was ultimately trying to accomplish, I completely changed my plans and told the wrestler I was going in a different direction. I’m sure he hated his demotion from a lead role to a supporting character, but he it took it like a pro.

Some will say that Batista needs to get over it because plans change all the time in this business. However, he is a victim of WWE’s short-sightedness. If an act gets over by their design, creative will push it to the moon. If a wrestler gets over without the machine behind them, they pretend it’s a fad, a mirage, an aberration that will fade in due time. Maybe Batista assumed Daniel Bryan’s popularity would dwindle like Zack Ryder and Dolph Ziggler’s did before him. Still, their refusal to listen to reason is why Batista took the blue pill and got red pill results.

I think it’s safe to say that any wrestler brought back to “steal” Daniel Bryan’s spot was doomed to fail before they began. Batista just happened to be the guy who was made an offer he couldn’t refuse. WWE didn’t and couldn’t keep up their end of the bargain. Why should Batista keep up his end? He trusted that the company knew what they were doing when they made the pitch since they’ve done well by him in the past. Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Vin Diesel, and Bradley Cooper won’t need a profile boost heading into what’s expected to be a summer blockbuster. Batista does, and now he’s not getting it.

In wrestling, if you have the clout, and you’re not getting what you want, use it. Batista was a pawn, a scapegoat, an ingenuous victim, but he has clout, and he is anything but a villain for using it in this situation. He is a causality of a false demand to cover up a supply WWE never wanted to fulfill.

Fighting Spirit Review: ZERO1/Tonkotsu Big Fireworks on 3/21/14

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Date: March 21st, 2014
Location: Fukuoka, Japan
Announced Attendance: Unknown

My real love in Puroresu, to be honest, is small weird Indy promotions. While there haven’t really been any events from 2014 that fit that description yet to make video, this is the closest that we have had so far. It does have some name people but it also has some wrestlers I have never heard of and has an “Electric Chair” Death Match that just sounds fascinating. Here is the full card:

– Jason Lee vs. Mineo Fujita
– Asosan, Junji Tanaka, Kitai Kubo, and The Atchee vs. Hideki Hosaka, Ichiro Yaguchi, Kenichi Fuji, and Yasu Uike
– Daemon Ueda, KAMIKAZE, and Sugawara vs. Hidaka, Masato Tanaka, and Omatayuuchaku
– Daichi Hashimoto and Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Kohei Sato and Yoshikazu Yokoyama
ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship: James Raideen vs. Ryouji Sai
– No Ropes Barbed Wire Big Blast Electric Chair Death Match: Atsushi Onita and Shinjiro Otani vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Yoshihiro Takayama

Onto the matches!

Jason Lee vs. Mineo Fujita

They circle each other to start, waistlock by Fujita but Lee reverses it into a wristlock. Fujita reverses it back, hammerlock by Lee but Fujita hits a snapmare. They trade moves ending with a Fujita headscissors, but Lee gets out of it and both men return to their feet. Kick by Fujita, Irish whip, reversed, trip by Lee and he goes to a praying position, which confuses Fujita. Armdrag by Lee and he hits a dropkick. Lee picks up Fujita but Fujita hits him low and delivers a dropkick. Lee falls out of the ring and Fujita sails out onto him with a tope con giro, hitting his legs hard into the guard rail in the process. He gets back up anyway and throws Lee back into the ring, Fujita gets on the apron and hits a slingshot doublestomp. Cover, but it gets a two count. Fujita picks up Lee and hits a scoop slam, he goes off the ropes and delivers a leg drop. Cover, but again it gets two. Fujita picks up Lee but Lee elbows him back and the two trade elbows. Back fist by Lee but Fujita kicks Lee low as he falls to the mat, possibly on purpose. Fujita picks up Lee, Irish whip to the corner but Lee kicks Fujita back. Lee goes off the ropes and hits an enzigieri. Punch combination by Lee in the corner, he goes off the ropes but Fujita catches him with an atomic drop. Fujita goes off the ropes but Lee hits a dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count. Back up, Fujita avoids Lee’s strikes and dropkicks him to the mat. Fujita goes off the ropes and kicks Lee in the back, cover, but it gets a two count. Fujita picks up Lee and puts him on his shoulders but Lee rolls him up for a two count. Irish whip by Fujita but Lee hits a tornado DDT. La Magistral by Lee, but it gets a two count. Superkick by Lee and he nails the Game of Death for the three count cover. Your winner: Jason Lee

Match Thoughts: A really basic opening match (lots of dropkicks), but generally not offensive. I hadn’t seen Fujita in a while, doesn’t seem like his career has progressed since last time I did see him however. Lee came down with some belts so I guess he was the ‘better’ wrestler going in, and he did dominate the match when Fujita wasn’t connecting with his groin-based offense. Not much to it but nothing actively bad either. Score: 4.5

 

Asosan, Tanaka, Kitai Kubo, and The Atchee vs. Hosaka, Yaguchi, Fujii, and Yasu Uike

Asosan and Yaguchi start things off. Side headlock by Yaguchi, Asosan Irish whips out of it but Yaguchi shoulderblocks him down. Snapmare by Yaguchi and he applies a reverse chinlock. Back up, Yaguchi drives Asosan back and tags in Fujii. Elbows by Fujii but Asosan returns fire. They trade chops and elbows, knee by Asosan and he tags in The Atchee. Clubs to the back by The Atchee, Irish whip, and The Atchee hits a back elbow. Stomp by The Atchee, he picks up Fujii and hits a scoop slam. Reverse chinlock by The Atchee and he clubs Fujii in the back. Fujii goes off the ropes and elbows The Atchee to the mat, he picks him up and tags in Hosaka. Irish whip by Hosaka and he elbows The Atchee in the chest. Cover, but it gets a two count. The Atchee drives back The Atchee and tags in Kubo, elbows by Kubo but Hosaka elbows him back and the two trade shots. Chops by Hosaka, Kubo grabs him by the nuts and tags in Tanaka. Elbows by Tanaka, Irish whip, and he hits a back elbow. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hosaka tags in Uike, Uike kicks Tanaka in the stomach and chest, cover but it gets a two count. Uike applies a reverse chinlock and he applies an armbar. Uike tags in Hosaka, Hosaka kicks Tanaka and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hosaka tags in Yaguchi, and Yaguchi stomps down Tanaka in the corner. Yaguchi picks up Tanaka, Irish whip, and Yaguchi elbows Tanaka in the chest. Yaguchi elbows his opponents off the apron and he hits a knee drop to Tanaka. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yaguchi picks up Tanaka and applies a double underhook, hitting a butterfly suplex. Cover by Yaguchi, but it only gets two. Yaguchi picks up Tanaka and tags in Fujii, elbows by Fujii to Tanaka and he tags in Hosaka. Double Irish whip to Tanaka and they hit him with a double elbow strike. Hosaka scoop slams Tanaka to the mat, cover, but it gets a two count. Hosaka picks up Tanaka, Tanaka fights back but Hosaka rakes Tanaka in the eyes. Hosaka picks up Tanaka and he tags in Yaguchi. Yaguchi picks up Tanaka and he hits a headbutt. Another headbutt by Yaguchi and he chokes Tanaka with his boot, he picks up Tanaka but Tanaka elbows him back.

Yaguchi knocks Tanaka to the mat and tags in Fujii. Fujii picks up Tanaka and stands on Tanaka by the ropes. Fujii picks up Tanaka and throws him into the corner, tagging in Hosaka. Hosaka chops Tanaka into the corner and he hits a vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Hosaka tags in Yaguchi and Yaguchi knocks his opponents off the apron. Yaguchi picks up Tanaka and chops him in the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a lariat. Uike comes in the ring next and he hits a jumping knee on Tanaka. Kicks by Uike and he connects with a kick to the side of Tanaka’s head, cover, but it gets two. Uike waits for Tanaka to get up but Tanaka catches his kick and applies a crab hold. Fujii quickly breaks it up and Uike tags in Yaguchi, Yaguchi comes off the ropes but Tanaka catches him with a pair of kicks and tags in Asosan. Asosan hits a lariat onto Yaguchi, Irish whip to the corner, reversed, but Asosan kicks Yaguchi as he charges in and delivers a dropkick. Asosan’s teammates come into the ring, Yaguchi is snapmared to the mat and everyone hits falling strikes on Yaguchi ending with an Asosan senton. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kubo is tagged in, he goes off the ropes and he dropkicks Yaguchi in the knee. Shining Wizard by Kubo, cover, but it gets a two count. Spinning heel kick by Yaguchi and he tags in Hosaka as Kubo tags in Tanaka. Hosaka dropkicks Tanaka and he tags in Fujii. Fujii comes in the ring with his teammates and they all hit running strikes on Tanaka in the corner. Scoop slam by Hosaka to Tanaka and Fujii hits an elbow drop. Another elbow drop by Fujii, cover, but it gets a two count. Fujii and Hosaka pick up Tanaka and they hit a double vertical suplex. Cover by Fujii, but Asosan breaks it up. Fujii grabs Tanaka but Tanaka snaps off a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets two. Tanaka picks up Fujii, he puts him onto his shoulders and hits a Samoan Drop. Tanaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a diving headbutt. Cover by Tanaka, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Asosan, Junji Tanaka, Kitai Kubo, and The Atchee

Match Thoughts: A pretty blah affair. None of these guys are particularly good wrestlers (as far as I am aware) and this match kinda showed that. Pretty basic match with lots of strikes and not overly exciting offense. It isn’t the worst match I have seen but certainly was dull as hell. Score: 3.5

 

Ueda, KAMIKAZE, and Sugawara vs. Hidaka, Tanaka, and Omatayuuchaku

They brawl to start the match and go outside of the ring, fighting at ringside and into the crowd. Tanaka pairs up with KAMIKAZE as Omatayuuchaku and Ueda get back into the ring. Omatayuuchaku and Ueda trade elbows, Omatayuuchaku goes off the ropes and he hits another elbow, but Ueda elbows him back. Omatayuuchaku finally gets the better of it, he picks up Ueda and he throws Omatayuuchaku into the corner. Chops by Omatayuuchaku, Irish whip, reversed, but Omatayuuchaku kicks Ueda back. Back kick by Omatayuuchaku and he hits a springboard doublestomp to Ueda’s back. Omatayuuchaku picks up Ueda and hits a suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Omatayuuchaku picks up Ueda but Ueda elbows him and they trade blows again. Omatayuuchaku goes for a scoop slam but Ueda headbutts him. Scoop slam by Ueda, he picks up Omatayuuchaku, Irish whip to the corner but Hidaka runs in the ring. Ueda picks up Hidaka, he puts him in the corner with Omatayuuchaku and hits a running splash. Ueda picks up Omatayuuchaku and throws him in the corner before tagging in Sugawara. Sugawara and KAMIKAZE Irish whip Omatayuuchaku and hit a double back elbow. Stomps by Sugawara to Omatayuuchaku, he picks up Omatayuuchaku and punches him against the ropes. Snapmare by Sugawara and he hits a fist drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Sugawara tags in KAMIKAZE, snapmare by KAMIKAZE and he rakes Omatayuuchaku in the eyes. KAMIKAZE and Sugawara stomp down Omatayuuchaku, Sugawara picks him up and clubs Omatayuuchaku in the back. Elbows by Sugawara in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Omatayuuchaku hits a dropkick. Omatayuuchaku tags in Tanaka, and Tanaka lariats Sugawara in the corner. Tanaka scoop slams both KAMIKAZE and Ueda before hitting a stunner/DDT combination on Sugawara and KAMIKAZE.

Tanaka lariats Ueda out of the ring but Sugawara attacks him from behind. Double Irish whip to Tanaka but Tanaka lariats both KAMIKAZE and Sugawara. Tanaka picks up Sugawara, Irish whip to the corner and Tanaka hits a jumping elbow strike. Mounted punches by Tanaka in the corner, he goes off the ropes but Sugawara ducks his attack and hits an enzigieri. Sugawara tags in KAMIKAZE and KAMIKAZE hits a overhead kick to Tanaka. Vertical suplex by KAMIKAZE, cover, but it gets a two count. Elbows by Tanaka to KAMIKAZE, he goes off the ropes but KAMIKAZE kicks Tanaka in the chest. KAMIKAZE picks up Tanaka and goes for a slam but Tanaka lands on his feet and hits a DDT. Tanaka tags in Hidaka and Hidaka hits KAMIKAZE with a missile dropkick. Omatayuuchaku and Tanaka come into the ring too, they throw Ueda into the corner and Hidaka hits a springboard attack. Hidaka picks up Ueda and slams him to the mat, Tanaka goes up top and hits a diving headbutt. Cover by Hidaka, but Sugawara breaks it up. Hidaka elbows Sugawara but Ueda attacks him from behind. Double Irish whip to Hidaka but he hits a tornado DDT onto Sugawara. Hidaka waits for Ueda to get up, kick by Ueda and he goes for the Shiranui but Ueda shoves him off. Sugawara dropkicks Hidaka, then KAMIKAZE slams Hidaka to the mat and he delivers a moonsault. Ueda picks up Hidaka and drops him with a brainbuster, cover, but it is broken up. Ueda waits for Hidaka to get up and goes off the ropes but Hidaka ducks the lariat and applies La Magistral for a two count. Hidaka goes off the ropes but Ueda catches him with a lariat, cover, but Hidaka kicks out at two. Ueda picks up Hidaka and nails Lucifer’s Hammer, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Daemon Ueda, KAMIKAZE, and Sugawara

Match Thoughts: A little better than the last match which I guess isn’t saying much as the wrestler quality was a bit higher. Seemed like a waste of Tanaka who is probably the best wrestler on this entire card, but he seemed like he was having a good time. Not much to it but nothing really wrong with it either. Score: 5.0

 

Daichi Hashimoto and Kazuki Hashimoto vs. Sato and Yokoyama

Daichi and Yokoyama start things off. They circle each other to start, tie-up, Yokoyama pushes Daichi into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up, Yokoyama pushes Daichi into the ropes, Daichi switches positions with him and slaps Yokoyama in the chest. Yokoyama chops him back and they trade blows, kick to the leg by Daichi but Yokoyama keeps chopping him. Daichi kicks Yokoyama to the mat and throws him in the corner before tagging in Kazuki. Yokoyama gets away and tags in Sato, Sato and Kazuki circle each other and Sato kicks Kazuki in the back of the leg. They trade kicks and Sato knees Kazuki in the stomach, Irish whip, reversed, and Kazuki slaps Sato. Kick to the back by Sato and he tags in Yokoyama. Kazuki drags Yokoyama by the leg and he tags in Daichi. Daichi and Yokoyama trade strikes, Yokoyama gets the better of it and he tags in Sato. Double Irish whip to Daichi and they hit a double shoulderblock. Sato kicks Daichi and they trade elbows, and Sato hits a knee. Sato tags in Yokoyama and Yokoyama stomps on Daichi. Yokoyama picks up Daichi and he hits a scoop slam. Elbow drops by Yokoyama, cover, but it gets a two count. Yokoyama slaps Daichi but Daichi slaps him back, and Yokoyama tags in Sato. Sato knees Daichi in the stomach and hits a hiptoss. Single leg crab hold by Sato but Daichi gets to the bottom rope. Dropkick by Daichi and he tags in Kazuki.

Kazuki kicks Sato in the corner and hits a series of boot scrapes. Cover, but Sato kicks out at two. Kazuki goes off the ropes but Sato hits a side slam and tags in Yokoyama. Yokoyama picks up Kazuki, Irish whip to the corner and he hits a running shoulder tackle. Scoop slam by Yokoyama and he hits a reverse splash for a two count. Sato comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Kazuki and Yokoyama hits a powerslam. Sato hits a Falcon Arrow and Yokoyama follows with a diving elbow drop. Cover, but Daichi breaks it up. Yokoyama picks up Kazuki but Kazuki gets away, Yokoyama goes off the ropes but Kazuki levels him with a lariat. Kazuki tags in Daichi, and Daichi kicks Yokoyama in the chest. More kicks by Daichi and he finally sends Yokoyama to the mat. Cover, but Yokoyama is in the ropes. Daichi hits a backdrop suplex on Yokoyama, cover, but again it gets two. Daichi puts Yokoyama in a choke hold while Kazuki puts Sato in an ankle hold, but Yokoyama gets into the ropes to force a break. Daichi picks up Yokoyama, Irish whip to the corner and Kazuki hits a jumping knee as does Daichi. Triangle Kick by Daichi, cover, but Sato breaks it up. Daichi picks up Yokoyama and goes for a suplex but Yokoyama blocks it. Knees by Daichi, he goes off the ropes but Yokoyama elbows him. Back kick by Daichi and he hits a DDT. PK by Daichi, cover, but Yokoyama kicks out. Daichi picks up Yokoyama and hits a Rising DDT, he picks him up again and delivers a second one. Cover, and Daichi picks up the three count. Your winners: Daichi Hashimoto and Kazuki Hashimoto

Match Thoughts: This was a typical match that has Sato and Hashimoto in it… lots of strikes throughout the entire match. So if you enjoy strike battles you may like this one a lot, to me it was just ok. I hadn’t seen Yokoyama before, he looked pretty solid and both teams worked well together so it didn’t seem like two thrown together teams (even if it was). The ending was definitive, maybe overly so, and it was nice to see Daichi actually pick up a pinfall win over someone. Some good and some bad, but overall certainly watchable. Score: 6.0

 

(c) James Raideen vs. Ryouji Sai

This match is for the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship. Tie-up to start, Raideen pushes Sai into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up again, waistlock by Raideen but Sai reverses it into a wristlock. Raideen reverses it back and they trade the hold, Raideen pushes Sai to the mat but Sai gets back to his feet. They go into a Test of Strength, kick by Raideen and they trade chops. Kicks by Sai and he applies a reverse chinlock, he pushes Raideen into the corner and kicks him in the chest. Irish whip by Sai, reversed, and Sai collapses in the corner. Irish whip by Raideen and Sai collapses in the corner again. Sai falls out of the ring as Raideen goes out after him, and Raideen punches Sai around the guard rail into the crowd. Raideen slams Sai’s head into a steel chair, but Sai knees Raideen in the stomach and kicks him in the chest. Raideen chops him back and throws Sai back into the ring, cover, but it gets a two count. Raideen applies a reverse chinlock but Sai gets to the ropes to force a break. Raideen picks up Sai and delivers a scoop slam. Cover, but again it gets a two count. Raideen stomps on Sai, chops by Sai but Raideen chops him to the mat. Cover by Raideen, but Sai gets a hand on the ropes. Raideen waits for Sai to get up and goes off the ropes, but Sai catches him with a suplex. Irish whip by Sai and he hits a big boot, cover, but it gets a two count. Sai picks up Raideen but Raideen hits a vertical suplex. Raideen picks up Sai, Irish whip into the corner and Raideen hits a lariat. Irish whip again and Raideen hits a second lariat, cover, but it gets a two count. Raideen picks up Sai and he hits a backdrop suplex. Elbow drop by Raideen, cover, but Sai kicks out at two. Raideen charges Sai but Sai catches Raideen, Raideen gets away and goes for a powerbomb, but Sai gets Raideen onto his shoulders. Sai puts Raideen onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, but Raideen elbows him off. Sai climbs back up but Raideen pushes him off again, but Sai kicks Raideen and climbs up a third time. Superplex by Sai and they both get up slowly, and Sai hits a running knee in the corner. Cover, but it gets a two count. Sai picks up Raideen and goes for a suplex but Raideen blocks it. Elbow by Raideen but Sai hits a delayed vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets two. Sai goes up to the top turnbuckle but Raideen rolls out of the way of the doublestomp attempt. Sai grabs Raideen and hits a Gutbuster, cover, but it gets a two count. Sai goes off the ropes, but Raideen catches him with a sidewalk slam. Cover, but Sai gets a shoulder up. Raideen goes off the ropes and levels Sai with a lariat, cover, but it only gets a two count. Raideen picks up Sai and nails the powerbomb, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: James Raideen

Match Thoughts: This was a pretty so-so affair. It was just ‘there’, it was not particularly exciting or interesting from start to finish. Raideen is solid for the big muscle guy but lacks charisma (think of a slightly smaller Rob Terry), and the match just wasn’t really captivating. I can’t say it was bad, the action was solid, it was just missing that special something to make it memorable or make it seem like it was a title match. Score: 5.0

 

Atsushi Onita and Shinjiro Otani vs. Fujiwara and Takayama

This is a No Ropes Barbed Wire Big Blast Electric Chair Death Match. Meaning the barbed wire around the ring is set to blow up, and there is a barbed wire chair that is laced with explosives as well. They all start off in the ring as there are no tag rules in crazy matches like this, and they start brawling. Takayama and Onita pair off while Fujiwara chokes Otani on the mat. Onita tries to throw Takayama into the barbed wire, Takayama blocks it but he can’t throw Onita into the barbed wire either. Onita kicks Takayama in the stomach, but Fujiwara comes over and headbutts Onita. Otani elbows both Fujiwara and Takayama but Fujiwara gives him a headbutt and Takayama boots Otani into the barbed wire, setting off our first explosion. Onita comes up and spits red mist in Takayama’s face and slides him out of the ring under the barbed wire. Still in the ring Fujiwara rolls over the crispy Otani and covers him, but Otani barely gets a shoulder up. Fujiwara takes Otani outside the ring and stomps on him while Takayama has gotten the better of Onita as they battle around the ring into the crowd. Takayama throws Onita into the guard rail while Otani has recovered and is trading chops with Fujiwara. Punches by Takayama to Onita as Fujiwara and Otani continue to trade chops. Otani gets the better of Fujiwara while Onita and Takayama get back in the ring. Onita gets a barbed wire bat and hits Takayama in the chest with it before dropping him with a brainbuster. Onita picks up Takayama as Fujiwara slides back into the ring and attacks Onita from behind. Takayama boots Onita, and Onita falls into the barbed wire, setting off an explosion. Fujiwara slaps on the Fujiwara Armbar and cranks it on, but crazy Onita grabs the barbed wire to break up the hold, setting off another explosion which gets Fujiwara off of him (and blows himself up in the process).

Onita gives the camera a great “I’m too old for this shit” face as he gets back up, and he kicks Fujiwara out of the ring. He goes to Takayama but Takayama elbows Onita and clubs him in the back. Otani attacks Takayama from behind and drops him with a backdrop suplex. Otani puts Takayama near the corner and Otani hits the bootscrapes, but the last one sends Otani into the barbed wire ropes, which sets off an explosion as Otani falls out of the ring. Onita drops Takayama with a DDT, cover, but Takayama gets a shoulder up. Takayama gets the better of things and stomps on Onita, but Otani crawls back into the ring and hits Takayama from behind. Onita gets the barbed wire bat and hits Takayama with it, then both Otani and Onita shoulderblock Takayama into the barbed wire, setting off another explosion. Onita hits Takayama with another DDT, cover, but Takayama kicks out. Elbow drop by Otani to Takayama, another cover, but again it gets two. Otani kicks Takayama out of the ring as Fujiwara rolls back in it, and Onita sprays green mist into Fujiwara’s face. Otani gets a chair and sits it in the middle of the ring, and then sits Fujiwara on it. Onita then hits the Big Red Button, which turns off the lights. As the lights come back on, Onita has the explosive barbed wire chair. Onita hits Fujiwara in the chest with the barbed wire chair, causing a big explosion. Cover, but Fujiwara somehow gets a shoulder up. Fujiwara hulks up and headbutts both Otani and Onita to the mat, Fujiwara picks up Onita and headbutts him as Takayama gets back in the ring, and all four men brawl. As they are fighting all four of them bumble into the barbed wire, setting off a final explosion. Onita is the first one up and slowly covers Fujiwara, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Atsushi Onita and Shinjiro Otani

Match Thoughts: Not really sure what I just watched. It was sloppy and kinda sad, but also captivating. I mean I know the explosions are partly for show but Onita’s arm had a noticeable burn on it so it wasn’t all fun and games. So we have four wrestlers with an average age over 50 doing ugly brawling and mostly just repeatedly falling into the barbed wire to make it go “BOOM!”. I can’t call it a good match, I just can’t, there wasn’t someone like a Hayabusa or a Great Sasuke to give the match any flair that it desperately needed. But it was a good throwback to the heyday of FMW, even with the silly ending (Fujiwara didn’t touch the barbed wire on the last spot, he should have just been pinned after the chair shot). So even though it was rough to watch, it was still… interesting and it is a match that I am glad I saw since it is just further proof that wrestlers are crazy. Score: 6.0

Final Thoughts:

Best Match: Atsushi Onita and Shinjiro Otani vs. Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Yoshihiro Takayama. By default, right? I mean this whole event was built around this match, I think they went out of their way to make the rest of the card dull just to make the main event better. But it was a crazy match, especially considering how old the wrestlers were. Sure it was really sloppy and lacked structure and was dull aside from the explosions, but it still had that FMW feel to it and it was oddly captivating. Worth watching.

MVP: Yoshiaki Fujiwara. Considering his age, Fujiwara was not afraid to get down and dirty in the main event. He took the “big bump” of the match and also showed the most fire with his headbutts. Also even though he was the oldest wrestler in the main event he wasn’t the most plodding (that award goes to Takayama) and stayed pretty active throughout the match. Not bad for a senior citizen.

Overall: This was the epitome of a one match card. The first five matches had no real variety… just multi-man matches before a dull title match leading up to the big finale. And the main event didn’t disappoint in many ways, it was certainly crazy, but it was also really sloppy and ugly. Which in a way is part of the charm, but it really needed one younger wrestler that could fly around and take the bumps so the older guys could get a breather. Instead they just… got blown up when they needed a breather. It is in a way worth seeing the show just for the main event but you may end up being disappointed, and there is nothing on the rest of the show that anyone needs to go out of their way to see.

Grade: D

For profiles of Puroresu wrestlers and older reviews, check out my website Puroresu Central!

WWE Main Event Results 5/13/14

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Credit goes to Marc Middleton

WWE Main Event Results 5/13/14

Tonight’s WWE Main Event opens up with Renee Young and Sheamus in the ring. Heyman doesn’t want Sheamus’ name spoke in the same sentence as a Paul Heyman Guy. He starts bragging about The Undertaker’s Streak being ended by Brock Lesnar. WWE United States Champion Sheamus interrupts and comes to the ring.

Sheamus reminds Heyman who is and that he’s champion. Sheamus says he’s going to kick Heyman’s face in if he doesn’t get out of the ring in 5 seconds. Heyman says Sheamus can’t act like this in front of a lady. Sheamus asks Renee to leave the ring and Heyman pleads with her. Sheamus starts counting to 5. Heyman dares Sheamus to kick him in the face. Heyman runs out of the ring right before the 5 count. Cesaro suddenly attacks Sheamus from behind and nails the Neutralizer. Cesaro goes for the Cesaro Swing but Heyman stops him and fans boo. They leave the ring as Sheamus tries to recover. Heyman said he stopped Cesaro from doing the Swing so there’s something left of Sheamus for later tonight. Heyman says Cesaro won the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal and will teach Sheamus why he’s the main event tonight. Cesaro’s music hits and Sheamus looks on pissed off.

– Still to come, Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow. We go to Network commercials.

Dolph Ziggler vs. Damien Sandow

Back from the break and out comes Damien Sandow. Sandow takes the mic and says since he can’t get a mic backstage, he’ll have to take one out here. He says there are people who don’t want to hear what he has to say but suddenly he’s interrupted by Ziggler’s music and out he comes. Sandow takes control after some back and forth in and out of the ring. Sandow with a 2 count. He stomps and drops several knees before showing off to the crowd some. Ziggler tries to fight back. Sandow runs into an elbow. Sandow counters and beats Ziggler down with more elbows. Ziggler makes another comeback but Sandow goes for a leg submission. Ziggler finally makes it to the bottom rope and breaks the hold. Sandow drops more knees. Ziggler nails a Zig Zag out of nowhere for the win.

Winner: Dolph Ziggler

Emma vs. Alicia Fox

Alicia takes the mic. She says she’s kind of surprised Emma showed up and immediately slaps her. Alicia goes to work on Emma but the referee backs her off after the cheap shot. Alicia with more stomps until the bell finally rings. Alicia with a backbreaker. Alicia picks up Emma and just tosses her through the ropes and out to the floor. Alicia throws her into the barrier. Emma comes back in the ring and has one of her moves blocked. Alicia talks trash and keeps Emma down. Emma rolls her up out of nowhere for the win.

Winner: Emma

– After the match, Emma leaves the ring but Alicia attacks her. Emma is just trying to get away and finally does. Alicia argues with the referee. Alicia says she’s underrated. Alicia goes to ringside and apologizes to a crew member and Tony Chimel. She mushes and slaps Chimel around. She says she loves him. She alps the crew member also. She comes over and messes with Byron Saxton and Tom Phillips also. Now she jumps up and down on the announcers table after demanding they give her their money. She shoves paper in their match and knocks them over in their chairs. She stomps on top of the table some more. She stomps back in the ring and fans boo.

– We see Sheamus backstage walking. Renee approaches him for comment. Sheamus says it won’t be a match, it will be a fight tonight.

– We get a look at what happened to Daniel Bryan on RAW.

US Champion Sheamus vs. Cesaro

We go to the ring and out comes WWE United States Champion Sheamus for a non-title match. They cut to Network commercials.

We come back and Cesaro is out with Paul Heyman. They brawl to start the match as Heyman looks on. Cesaro rolls to the floor for a breather and some advice from Heyman. Sheamus waits but finally runs out. He chases Cesaro in the ring. Sheamus pulls Cesaro out and sends him into the steps. Sheamus brings Cesaro back in but Cesaro goes right back to the floor with Heyman. Cesaro runs up on the apron with uppercuts. A third knocks Sheamus off his feet and onto the ropes. Cesaro with a DDT on the ropes and the apron. Cesaro works Sheamus into the corner now. Sheamus turns it around and unloads. Sheamus with the high knee in the corner. Sheamus goes to the apron and comes back in with a battering ram for a 2 count. Sheamus with the forearm shots to the chest on the apron now.

Sheamus suplexes Cesaro back in for a 2 count. Cesaro comes back with big uppercuts and a pin attempt. We come back from a quick break and Cesaro is in control, hitting Sheamus with an elbow. Sheamus fights back out of the corner with forearms. Cesaro with more uppercuts. Cesaro with a big kick to the face. More back and forth. Sheamus hits the Irish Curse backbreaker but can’t get the win. Another big slam and pin attempt by Sheamus. Sheamus goes for more forearms on the apron but it’s blocked. Cesaro blocks White Noise and a Brogue Kick. Cesaro with a German suplex for 2. Cesaro goes for a Neutralizer but it’s blocked with White Noise for a 2 count. Cesaro ducks a Brogue and drops Sheamus over the top rope. Cesaro goes to the top but Sheamus knocks him out to the floor. Sheamus leaps out and takes Cesaro back down. Cesaro dumps Sheamus over into the timekeeper’s area. They continue brawling around the ringside area. They tumble over the barrier and continue to brawl until they both get counted out.

– After the bell, they continue brawling around ringside and back into the ring. Heyman gets in the way and tries to get Cesaro to safety. Cesaro ends up eating a Brogue Kick. Heyman and Cesaro regroup on the floor as Sheamus celebrates with fans and Main Event goes off the air.

Daniel Bryan Neck Injury News: Return Date? WWE Title Situation?

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Source: PWInsider Elite

Word coming out of last night’s RAW is that WWE World Heavyweight Champion Daniel Bryan has a broken neck. It was described as a minor break. Bryan will be undergoing a simple procedure this Thursday, not something complex like neck fusion surgery.
The belief is that he will be out of action for 6-8 weeks. At RAW last night, WWE officials were looking at SummerSlam for a potential return.

The injury came from years of Bryan working the in-ring style that he does, not just one instance. There were some people talking like the diving headbutt from the forklift & pallet at Extreme Rules may have furthered the injury but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Regarding the status of the WWE World Heavyweight Title, the belief is that when they get done with surgery, if there’s nothing too bad discovered then they will likely keep the belt on Bryan. If they get a bad report from surgery, then Bryan could be stripped. Obviously WWE could decide to keep the title on Bryan and then change their minds at any moment.

Mick Foley In Jeff Jarrett’s Latest GFW Promo

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– Mick Foley is featured in Jeff Jarrett’s latest “#TheJourney” video, as seen below. It’s fairly safe to assume that we’ll see Mick acting in some capacity on behalf of GFW going forward…

TNA Announces ‘Suspension’ Of Top Star

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MVP announced on his Twitter that Bobby Roode has been suspended “indefinitely” for his actions on last week’s episode of Impact Wrestling. He wrote:
“And @REALBobbyRoode is indefinitely suspended from @IMPACTWRESTLING for his unacceptable conduct! Take the time to think about your actions.”

Roode won’t be wrestling on Impact for the next several weeks to sell the storyline suspension.

TNA News: Changing Cable Networks? Chris Sabin News, More

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Source: PWInsider Elite

– To clarify Chris Sabin’s TNA departure, he was offered a new deal but turned it down. He wasn’t outright released. The deal was believed to be for less money than he had been making.

– Katie Ryjavec, who been handling TNA’s live event marketing and media buys, recently gave notice and will be leaving the company. She has been with TNA since 2011.

– There continues to be concern within TNA about their future with Spike TV. There has been no new deal signed but the United Talent Agency is representing TNA in ongoing negotiations. Word is that UTA will be shopping TNA around to other networks instead of jumping right into a new agreement with Spike.

Big Daddy V’s Wife On How WWE Has Treated Her

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– Cassandra Frazier, the wife of the late Nelson “Big Daddy V” Frazier Jr., noted on her Facebook page that WWE has been taking care of her following her husband’s untimely passing. She wrote:

“Facebook, how do I start ! Wwe has taken care of me , I’m in tears ‘ they did the right thing and has made sure I have and wll get everything I need , I want say an amount but I’m super well taken care of, I was blessed and I feel very stupid for what I had said about their company! Feeling happier than ive ever been in my entire life, except for when I met Nelson ! I think I’m gonna start watching wwe again lol , I’ve been very blessed! I love all my Facebook friends at least for today! Lol ! Much love and wwe yes they rock , much love!!!”

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