Date: November 18th, 2014
Location: Shin-Kiba 1st RING in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 248
Mr. Gannosuke returns! This event has Gannosuke’s second match since returning from retirement, but his first match hasn’t appeared yet in DVD form so this is the first I have gotten a chance to see him. Mr. Gannosuke retired back in 2008, but like most wrestlers do I guess he got ‘the itch’ so here he is back in the ring again. I am not sure what to expect but he is a legend in his own special way so I am looking forward to it. We have a full event of course, it’s not all about Mr. Gannosuke, as Dragon Gate, DDT, and Union are represented here as well. Here is the card:
– Gosaku vs. Guts Ishijima
– Makoto and Haruka Kato vs. Mika Iida and Aki Shizuku
– Keita Yano vs. Taro Yamada
– Shota vs. Yasu Urano
– Isami Kodaka and Takeshi Minamino vs. Yuko Miyamoto and Atsushi Maruyama
– Buffalo vs. Kenichiro Arai
– GENTARO vs. Mr. Gannosuke
I hope everyone else is as excited as I am.
Gosaku vs. Guts Ishijima
Tie-up to start, Irish whip by Gosaku but Ishijima shoulderblocks him down. Kick to the back by Ishijima, he picks up Gosaku and applies a wristlock. Gosaku reverses it and he kicks Ishijima down to the mat. Gosaku picks up Ishijima and applies a wristlock but Ishijima reverses it. Elbow to the arm by Ishijima while keeping the hold locked in but Gosaku trips Ishijima. Kneelock by Gosaku but Ishijima reverses it into an armlock. Gosaku gets a foot on the ropes and is able to break the hold, Ishijima picks him up and goes for a hiptoss, but Gosaku blocks it and applies a cobra twist. Ishijima gets out of it and applies his own cobra twist but Gosaku hiptosses out of it. Gosaku picks up Ishijima, snapmare, and he hits an elbow drop. Gosaku picks up Ishijima and applies a neck crank, he goes off the ropes but Ishijima catches him with a spinning heel kick. Ishijima picks up Gosaku, Irish whip from the corner and Ishijima hits a lariat. Bulldog by Ishijima, cover, but it gets a two count. Ishijima picks up Gosaku and hits a snap vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Ishijima applies a stretch hold, cover, but it gets a two count. Ishijima picks up Gosaku, Irish whip, reversed, kick by Ishijima and he goes for a slam but Gosaku gets out of it and hits a DDT. Cover by Gosaku, but Ishijima reverses it with a crucifix pin and he gets the three count. Your winner: Guts Ishijima
Match Thoughts: When Ishijima is the far superior wrestler in a match, you know you have a problem. Also I am taking up donations so that Gosaku can get some pants that fit so he doesn’t have to pull them up during the match. I understand why Ishijima was on here, he can Gannosuke have a really solid working relationship, but they could have fed him someone a bit better than Gosaku who seems to have given up quite awhile ago. I will say that the flash pin was appropriate, neither wrestler was particularly injured so the ending made sense anyway, plus with Gosaku’s size that type of pin would probably have worked on him five seconds into the match. Nothing much good here, although I do appreciate them keeping it short. Score: 3.0
Makoto and Haruka Kato vs. Mika Iida and Aki Shizuku
Iida and Makoto start things off. Tie-up, side headlock by Makoto, Iida Irish whips out of it but Makoto hits a shoulderblock. Makoto goes off the ropes but Iida hits a drop toehold followed by a dropkick. Cover, but it gets two. Makoto goes off the ropes but Iida rolls her up, Makoto rolls through it and they trade trips before both wrestlers return to their feet. Iida tags in Shizuku and Makoto tags in Kato. Kato goes for a double leg but Shizuku blocks it, Kato goes for a triangle choke but Shizuku blocks it. Shizuku applies a stretch hold but Kato gets out of it and applies a front facelock. Back on their feet, Makoto runs in and hits Shizuku. Double wristlock to Shizuku but Shizuku throws Makoto and Kato to the mat. Shizuku stomps Kato and clubs her in the back. Shizuku picks up Kato and she tags in Iida. Iida stomps Kato in the corner and chokes her with her boot. Iida picks up Kato, snapmare, and Iida chokes Kato. Iida applies a stretch hold, she picks up Kato and elbows her in the arm. Iida tags in Shizuku, and Shizuku clubs Kato in the back. Shizuku picks up Kato, she puts Kato in the ropes and applies pressure to her back. Snapmare by Shizuku and she applies a stretch hold, but gets a foot on the ropes. Shizuku picks up Kato and kicks her back down to the mat. Shizuku picks up Kato but Kato clubs her back. A hard shot by Shizuku sends Kato down but Kato quickly gets back up only to get knocked down again. More elbows by Kato and she rolls up Shizuku for a two count. Kato tags in Makoto, and Makoto kicks Shizuku in the chest. Makoto picks up Shizuku, elbow by Shizuku but Makoto elbows her back as they trade blows. Arm breaker by Makoto, drop toehold, and she kicks Shizuku in the ribs. Double stomp by Makoto, cover, but it gets a two count. Makoto picks up Shizuku and applies a double underhook, but Shizuku gets out of it and hits an elbow. Lariat by Shizuku, she picks up Makoto and hits a chokeslam. Cover, but it gets a two count. Shizuku tags in Iida, and Iida stomps Makoto in the back. Irish whip by Iida, reversed, and Iida slams both Makoto and Kato to the mat. Iida picks up Makoto, Irish whip to the corner and she hits a running elbow. Cutter by Iida and she hits a dropkick. Cover, but Makoto kicks out at two. Iida picks up Makoto and goes for a Fisherman Suplex but Makoto gets out of it, and Iida applies a stretch hold to Makoto. Iida stomps Makoto and charges her, but Makoto tosses her onto the top turnbuckle and kicks her in the ribs. Diving body press by Makoto, cover, but it gets a two count. Makoto goes off the ropes and hits a cartwheel double knee drop, cover, but that gets a two as well. Makoto tags in Kato, Kato goes off the ropes and dropkicks Iida. She goes off the ropes again and hits a second dropkick, followed by a third. Kato picks up Iida, Irish whip, and Iida avoids Kato’s dropkick. Iida goes off the ropes and hits a dropkick, she goes off the ropes and hits a second dropkick, cover, but it gets a two count. Iida goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kato kicks her before she can jump off and throws her off the top turnbuckle. Kato applies a sleeper to Iida and then applies a cross armbreaker, but Iida gets a foot on the ropes. Kato goes off the ropes and delivers a dropkick. She goes off the ropes again but Shizuku hits a lariat. Dropkick by Iida to Kato, she picks her up and hits the fisherman suplex hold for a two count. Iida goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Cover, but Makoto breaks it up. Iida picks up Kato, but Makoto runs in and kicks her. Spinning headscissors into a roll-up by Kato, and she applies a cross armbreaker. Shizuku comes in and breaks it up, Makoto and Kato Irish whip Iida but Iida blocks it and hits a leg sweep onto Makoto. Kato goes off the ropes but Iida applies the Gannosuke Clutch for the three count. Your winners: Mika Iida and Aki Shizuku
Match Thoughts: Whenever I see a Joshi match on a card, I assume that it will blow me away because usually that is what happens. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen here. Not to say it was a bad match but it wasn’t a great one and wasn’t memorable. Iida and Shizuku came across here as the real deal but Makoto and Kato, while adorable, mostly just stuck to stomps and punches without really trying to mix it up. Business picked up by the end but it couldn’t negate the first part of the match, in which nothing really happened. It just didn’t have the speed and offensive diversity that I have come to expect from Joshi matches and just came across as solid but nothing more than that. Score: 6.0
Keita Yano vs. Taro Yamada
Yano and Yamada circle each other to start, Yamada gets Yano’s arm but Yano hits an armdrag. Yamada gets up, hiptoss by Yano and he applies a wristlock into a grounded hammerlock. Yamada rolls out of it and reverses the hold, kip-up by Yano and he reverses it back. Yano twists on Yamada’s arm and pushes him to the mat, but Yamada applies a headscissors. Yano bridges out of the headscissors and rolls up Yamada but it gets a two count and both wrestlers return to their feet. Yamada and Yano circle each other again, wristlock by Yano and he hits an armdrag, Yano goes off the ropes and he applies a front facelock to Yamada but Yamada gets out of it and applies a wristlock. Yano rolls out of it the hold and reverses it, but Yamada returns the favor and hits an armdrag. Spinning headscissors by Yano and he chops Yamada into the corner. Yano freezes which confuses Yamada, he goes off the ropes in the corner on both sides before hitting an armdrag. Dropkick to the leg by Yano and he hits a superkick, sending Yamada out of the ring. Yano goes off the far ropes and sails out onto Yamada with a tope suicida. Yano attacks Yamada outside of the ring before sliding him back in, Yano gets on the apron and hits a slingshot leg drop. Yano applies a leg submission hold but Yamada gets a hand on the ropes. Yano picks up Yamada and hits an uppercut, Irish whip by Yano but Yamada flips himself out to the apron and snaps Yano’s neck over the top rope. Springboard corkscrew plancha by Yamada, cover, but it gets a two count. Yamada throws Yano into the corner and hits a lariat, La Magistral by Yamada but it gets two. Yamada charges Yano, Yano goes for a backbreaker but Yamada rolls him up for a two count. Enzigieri by Yamada, cover, but he gets a two count again. Yamada goes up to the top turnbuckle but Yano is up and armdrags him down to the mat. Backbreaker by Yano and he hits a second one, he puts Yamada in the Yurikamome and Yamada has no choice but to submit. Your winner: Keita Yano
Match Thoughts: I am sure that Yano has fans somewhere that are disappointed in what he has become, an indy garbage wrestler. He clearly has let himself go a bit, but on the flip side he does still occasionally show those flashes of being a skilled wrestler. I mean he is very well trained, has a lot of experience, but just looking at him you just can’t take him seriously now. Yamada I don’t think judging from this match is as skilled, and for the most part this was just pedestrian hold trading without much to get the crowd excited. Yano would occasionally bust out a big move but rarely capitalized on it, although at least he did focus on the back most of the time so I’ll give him some credit for that. Slow and emotionless, but not without its bright moments. Score: 4.0
Shota vs. Yasu Urano
Tie-up to start, Urano pushes Shota into the ropes, Shota switches positions with him and he gives a clean break. Tie-up, waistlock by Urano, reversed by Shota, Shota applies a wristlock but Urano rolls out of it. Single leg takedown by Urano and he twists on Shota’s ankle. Shota rolls out of the hold, hammerlock by Urano but Shota reverses it. Waistlock by Urano and he hits a drop toehold, front facelock by Urano but Shota reverses it as they trade holds on the mat with neither wrestler getting the advantage. Wristlock by Urano, reversed by Shota but Urano punches him in the stomach and reverses it back. Shota gets the hold back on, Urano tries to roll out of it but Shota rolls with him. Urano goes for an armdrag but Shota blocks it and throws Urano to the mat. Tie-up, side headlock by Shota, Shota applies a hammerlock but Urano reverses it into a side headlock. Shota tries to Irish whip out of it but Urano keeps the hold applied, finally Shota reverses it but Urano quickly reverses it back. Elbows by Shota, Irish whip, but Urano hits a shoulderblock. Side headlock takedown by Urano and he keeps the hold applied on the mat. Shota rolls up Urano to get out of it, and both men are back up again. Shota and Urano lock knuckles, Urano pushes Shota to the mat but Shota bridges and hits a monkey flip. Urano hits a monkey flip of his own and we are back to where we started. Shota and Urano both go for kicks and punches, they run off the ropes and Shota hits a hiptoss. Scoop slam by Urano but Shota kicks him away, Irish whip by Shota and he hits a back bodydrop. Shota picks up Urano, wristlock by Shota, Irish whip, reversed, but Shota avoids Urano’s dropkick. Shota monkey flips Urano into the corner, roll-up by Shota using the ropes for leverage, but the referee notices. Urano charges Shota and hits a Frankensteiner, Urano cover Shota but Shota bridges out of it. Backslide by Shota but Urano rolls through it and rolls up Shota with the Cazadora for the three count! Your winner: Yasu Urano
Match Thoughts: Maybe I watch too much wrestling (is that a real thing?) but I just don’t see the appeal of matches like this. Literally nothing happened, it was just two veterans slowly trading holds all the way up until the last minute or so of the match. How is this entertaining? This isn’t the first match of Urano’s that I have seen like this, it appears he has reached the ‘coasting’ phase of his career. Neither wrestler is bad, they just put on a really uninspired and dull match here and I don’t know why when I am sure they are capable of more. Just listless mid-card filler. Score: 2.5
Isami Kodaka and Takeshi Minamino vs. Yuko Miyamoto and Atsushi Maruyama
Miyamoto and Minamino start things off. Waistlock by Minamino, Miyamoto reverses it into a wristlock, drop toehold by Minamino and he applies a leglock. Back up, side headlock by Minamino but Miyamoto hits a drop toehold and applies a chinlock. Minamino gets out of it and they lock knuckles, and Miyamoto tags in Maruyama. Minamino tags in Kodaka, and Kodaka applies an armbar to Maruyama. Kodaka goes for a cross armbreaker but Maruyama gets out of it and applies a leglock. Kick to the back by Kodaka, he picks up Maruyama and hits a snapmare. Reverse chinlock by Kodaka but Maruyama gets a foot on the ropes. Kodaka tags in Minamino, Minamino picks up Maruyama, snapmare, and he elbows Maruyama. Minamino applies a chinlock and he rakes Maruyama in the eyes. Irish whip by Minamino and he hits a back elbow. Minamino tags in Kodaka, Kodaka picks up Maruyama and elbows him in the back of the head. Another elbow by Kodaka but Maruyama elbows him back. Kodaka picks up Maruyama and he tags in Minamino. Minamino and Kodaka choke Maruyama in the corner with their boots, Minamino picks up Maruyama and hits a chop. Minamino and Maruyama trade chops and kicks, and Minamino rakes Maruyama in the eyes. Minamino tags in Kodaka, Kodaka picks up Maruyama and goes for a suplex, but Maruyama blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of his own. Maruyama tags in Miyamoto, Miyamoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving chop to the head. Miyamoto knocks Minamino off the apron, Miyamoto picks up Kodaka, Irish whip, but Kodaka avoids the dropkick. Overhead belly to belly suplex by Miyamoto, Miyamoto knocks Kodaka into the corner and puts him up on the top turnbuckle. Miyamoto goes for a Frankensteiner but Kodaka blocks it and hits a diving attack off the top turnbuckle. Chop by Miyamoto but Kodaka elbows him and they trade blows. Irish whip by Kodaka and he dropkicks Miyamoto.
Kodaka tags in Minamino, Minamino picks up Miyamoto and hits a chickenwing front slam. Cover, but it gets a two count. Minamino picks up Miyamoto, he puts him on his shoulders but Miyamoto slides off. La Magistral by Miyamoto, but it gets a two count. Minamino goes off the ropes but Miyamoto catches him and applies a cobra twist. Minamino gets to the ropes to force a break, and Miyamoto tags in Maruyama. Kodaka runs in but Maruyama superkicks him, Maruyama throws Minamino into the corner before kicking Kodaka again. Roll-up by Maruyama on Minamino but it gets a two count. Maruyama throws Minamino into the corner and hits a jumping kick, he goes off the ropes and hits a lariat followed by a jumping heel kick. Cover, but it gets a two count. Maruyama picks up Minamino but Minamino elbows him and they trade shots. Maruyama goes off the ropes but Minamino hits a jumping kick and tags in Kodaka. Kodaka goes up to the top turnbuckle and goes for a diving doublestomp, but Maruyama moves out of the way. Miyamoto comes in and both he and Maruyama kick Kodaka in the corner. Maruyama dives in to Kodaka but Kodaka moves out of the way, Minamino comes back in and he chokeslams Maruyama. Diving double knee drop by Kodaka, cover, but Miyamoto breaks it up. Irish whip by Miyamoto to Kodaka but Kodaka drops him with a backdrop suplex. Kodaka picks up Maruyama, he goes off the ropes but Maruyama avoids the superkick and rolls up Kodaka for a two count. Leg sweep by Kodaka to Maruyama and he applies the 689 for the submission victory. Your winners: Isami Kodaka and Takeshi Minamino
Match Thoughts: Interesting that Kodaka and Miyamoto were on opposite sides here since they have been a tag team for years, not sure if there was a backstory. Things did pick up a bit for this match compared to the rest of the card up to this point, as they definitely showed some emotion and actually looked like they cared about winning the match. Minamino doesn’t impress me, never has, but when he wasn’t in the ring the action went up a notch and Maruyama did a good job of being the face in peril so to speak. There were some transition issues, as if someone just said the magic word and they switched who was on offense, but for the most part it was well structured and they kept it entertaining from beginning to end. Nothing overly memorable but fun nonetheless. Score: 6.5
Buffalo vs. Kenichiro Arai
Arai chops Buffalo before the match starts and throws him out of the ring. Baseball slide by Arai and he clubs on Buffalo out on the floor. Arai chokes Buffalo and throws him into the chairs at ringside. Arai slides Buffalo back into the ring, Irish whip, and Arai hits an elbow. Irish whip by Arai but Buffalo hits a shoulderblock, Buffalo goes off the ropes but Arai slides out of the ring. Buffalo goes out after him but Arai gets back in the ring, Buffalo returns but Arai kicks him as he goes through the ropes and dumps him back out to the floor. Arai picks up Buffalo and rakes him in the eyes. Wristlock by Arai and he goes for an Irish whip into the post, but Buffalo reverses it. Lariat by Buffalo, he gets a chair and hits Arai in the stomach and back with it. Buffalo picks up Arai and takes him up into the crowd to continue his assault, they end up on the ramp and Buffalo clubs Arai to the mat. Buffalo picks up Arai and clubs him off the ramp to the floor. Arai is bleeding by now as he gets back into the ring, Buffalo picks him up and rams him into the corner. Irish whip by Buffalo and he hits a running elbow. Buffalo picks up Arai and punches him back to the mat. Vertical suplex by Buffalo and he hits a leg drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Buffalo picks up Arai and punches him against the ropes. Kicks by Buffalo and he goes off the ropes, but Arai drop toeholds him into the second rope and then kicks the rope into his throat. Arai goes out to the apron and goes for a swandive move, but misses the top rope. Buffalo dumps Arai back into the ring, he drapes him over the bottom rope and hits a leg drop. Dropkick from the floor by Buffalo, cover, but it gets a two count.
Buffalo picks up Arai, Buffalo puts Arai up on the top turnbuckle and he hits a superplex. Cover, but Arai kicks out at two. Buffalo picks up Arai and applies a double underhook, but Arai blocks it. Back bodydrop by Arai, punches by Buffalo and he goes off the roes, but Arai hits an atomic drop followed quickly with a DDT. Stomps by Arai in the corner but Buffalo throws him to the mat. Buffalo picks up Arai and hits a headbutt, punches by Buffalo and they trade punches and chops. Buffalo goes off the ropes but Arai moves and Buffalo flies out of the ring. Arai goes off the ropes but Buffalo hits him from the floor with a chair. Buffalo charges Arai and hits a lariat in the corner, he goes off the ropes again but Arai collapses to the mat. Buffalo drags up Arai and hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Buffalo waits for Arai to get up, he goes off the ropes and hits a lariat to the back, but Arai catches the one from the front and goes for an armbar. Buffalo gets out of it and lariats Arai to the mat. Buffalo lariats Arai out of the ring to the floor, he goes out after him and slides Arai into the ring. Buffalo goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. Buffalo picks up Arai and puts him on the top turnbuckle. Buffalo joins Arai but Arai reverses it into an avalanche atomic drop. Arai spits water into Buffalo’s face and applies the backslide for the three count cover. Your winner: Kenichiro Arai
Match Thoughts: I wish that Buffalo had won…. not just because I am biased (which I am) but he was just so much more interesting than Arai in this match. I will give Arai some credit, he knew that he was overmatched and tried everything he could to level the playing field. But Buffalo was just so dominating, Arai was bleeding everywhere and nothing Arai did looked like it was really hurting Buffalo. The backslide made sense, just as a fan I would have preferred to see Arai get crushed instead. Smartly worked, the ending just didn’t feel right and when Arai was on offense things slowed down quite a bit. Score: 6.0
GENTARO vs. Mr. Gannosuke
Gannosuke shakes GENTARO’s hand before the match starts, tie-up, side headlock by Gannosuke, GENTARO Irish whips out of it but Gannosuke shoulderblocks him down. Side headlock takedown by Gannosuke but GENTARO quickly gets out of it. Tie-up, GENTARO gets an armbar applied on the mat but Gannosuke rolls out of it and applies a side headlock. GENTARO quickly reverses it into a hammerlock and he wrenches back on Gannosuke’s arm. Gannosuke gets into the ropes to force a break as they return to their feet, tie-up, and Gannosuke tosses GENTARO to the mat. Armbar by Gannosuke and he knees GENTARO in the arm. Wristlock by Gannosuke and he applies a hammerlock on the ground, GENTARO struggles back up but Gannosuke brings him back to the mat. GENTARO gets a foot on the ropes to force a break and he rolls out of the ring to re-group. GENTARO returns after a moment, wristlock by Gannosuke butt GENTARO reverses it and suplexes Gannosuke to the mat. Back up, punch by GENTARO and he elbows Gannosuke in the back. Neck crank by GENTARO and he applies a headscissors. Gannosuke gets out of the hold and elbows GENTARO in the back, he picks up GENTARO and hits a scoop slam. Snapmare by Gannosuke and he applies a reverse chinlock, GENTARO struggles back up and elbows out of the hold before hitting a scoop slam. GENTARO picks up Gannosuke and hits another scoop slam, cover, but it gets a one count. Side headlock takedown by GENTARO but Gannosuke rolls him up for a two count. Clubs to the back by Gannosuke but GENTARO hits him back, GENTARO puts Gannosuke into the corner and hits a bulldog. Cover, but it gets a two count. Reverse chinlock by GENTARO into a headlock, he picks up Gannosuke and hits a snap vertical suplex. Cover, but it gets a two.
GENTARO picks up Gannosuke again and elbows him in the back. Another elbow to the back by GENTARO and he applies a stretch hold. Gannosuke gets out of it and applies a headscissors while twisting GENTARO’s arm, but GENTARO wiggles out of it and re-applies the stretch hold. Gannosuke gets away and applies an armbar, but GENTARO gets a foot on the ropes. Gannosuke eventually releases the hold, kicks to the arm by Gannosuke and he applies a wristlock before slamming GENTARO’s arm into the mat. Gannosuke picks up GENTARO and again applies an armbar before slamming down GENTARO’s arm. Elbow to the arm by Gannosuke but GENTARO snaps off a backdrop suplex. GENTARO picks up Gannosuke and hits another backdrop suplex, he picks up Gannosuke and delivers a third. Cover, but Gannosuke gets a shoulder up. GENTARO goes off the ropes but Gannosuke ducks the lariat and applies the Gannosuke Clutch for a two count. GENTARO picks up Gannosuke and applies a neck crank, but it gets a two count. GENTARO puts Gannosuke in the Scorpion Deathlock but Gannosuke gets to the ropes to force a break. GENTARO goes for a backdrop suplex but Gannosuke blocks it and gets a hand in the ropes. Club to the back by GENTARO, he goes for the backdrop suplex but Gannosuke lands on him for a two count cover. GENTARO goes off the ropes but Gannosuke ducks the lariat and hits a release dragon suplex. Gannosuke grabs GENTARO and goes for a powerbomb, but GENTARO back bodydrops out of it. Gannosuke gets back up and hits a lariat to GENTARO, cover, but it gets a two count. Gannosuke picks up GENTARO and plants him with a powerbomb, cover, but it gets a two count. Gannosuke quickly gets GENTARO up and drops him with the Fire Thunder, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Mr. Gannosuke
Match Thoughts: I am not sure how well it holds up, but my memory of Gannosuke from FMW was that he was one of the wrestlers better at structuring matches. By that I mean he had really good timing and was a lot more than just a garbage wrestler. I can honestly say after watching this match that Gannosuke still ‘has it’ as this was a really good match and there was no evidence from it that it was his first singles match in six years. There were things here and there I didn’t like, such as arm work (which was done very well) being disregarded by both wrestlers, but beyond that I thought it was very solid. The crowd was eating up everything, the Gannosuke Clutch came at the perfect time, and he was still busting out big moves such as the dragon suplex like it was the 90s. Equally important, he was also taking the moves as GENTARO planted him hard with the backdrop suplexes, so no one was taking it easy here. The Fire Thunder is one of the best finishing moves, ever, and it was great to see it being done by the master once again. It started slow as they set the tone and at first I was concerned it was going to be an old person exhibition style match, but then they kicked it up a gear. I admit part of the reason I liked it so much was just the joy of seeing Gannosuke not only wrestling again, but wrestling at a high level, but even without that it was a really fun match. Score: 7.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: GENTARO vs. Mr. Gannosuke. This match was not a lock to be good, there was always a chance that Gannosuke physically couldn’t go anymore, or would be too rusty off the bat to put on a fun match. Luckily for all of us that wasn’t the case as Gannosuke was just as good as I remembered him from the old days. GENTARO of course is a solid hand, he can have a good match with anyone but he isn’t able to elevate a match by himself. They worked together very well and aside from shrugging off the limb work there is really nothing bad I can say about the match. Definitely recommended for old school Gannosuke fans.
MVPs: Mr. Gannosuke. I probably would have given it to him anyway, but he earned it. To be out of the wrestling ring for so long, he came back in better shape than when he left and was ready to go. At the end he wasn’t struggling or huffing around the ring, he was still hitting his moves and moving around the same he was when the match started. I was hopeful he would be his old self but I knew there was a chance it wouldn’t happen, but he definitely came back ready to go. I still love the Fire Thunder and the fans definitely went home happy.
Overall: There is only one reason to get this event, and the one reason delivered. The card up to the main event wasn’t bad, the tag match was really solid and the Joshi match wasn’t unwatchable. But besides that, the matches in the undercard were just really uninspired, it felt like the wrestlers were given $20 and put that much effort into their matches, none of them were sore the next day. I thought the main event was great though, as you’ve probably picked up on by now, and anyone that orders this event to see Gannosuke I don’t think will be disappointed. Only a mild recommendation for the event as a whole, but the main event is worth watching.
