Osaka Holiday Paradise

Daisuke Harada’s quest to reclaim the Osaka Pro Title is off to a good start as he defeated Tigers Mask in the main event today.  Tigers, who was absent for a week due to an excursion to China, came out in new entrance gear that he picked up during the trip.  However, Harada was too much in the end and put him away after a lengthy battle with the Katayama German.  Young Master advances to the finals of the Next Challenger Determination Tournament…

…where he’ll meet Tadasuke, who got past Billyken Kid in the semi-final.  BKK came into the match with a couple of big singles wins over Tadasuke, first in August 2009 and then last October.  It was a different story today though as Tadasuke dropped Osaka Esperanza with the Outkast to advance.  Thus, it’ll be a battle of former B&G teammates for the right to challenge the Osaka Pro Champion at Hurricane 2012.

Speaking of the Osaka Pro Champion, Black Buffalo picked up a direct win over Spider J today as their title bout is just a week away.  Spider had some trouble with HAYATA, colliding with him twice, which led to the loss.  The two argued afterwards, with HAYATA suggesting to Spider that he try to win the title next week by himself.

Masamune missed the show today, thus there were changes to the first two matches on the card.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/19/12
“Saturday Night Story”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
96 Fans
1. Hideyoshi (7:03 Togekari) Kanjyuro Matsuyama
2. 3WAY Match: Apple Miyuki (8:52 Jumping Style Rolling Clutch Hold) Kuishinbo Kamen [L], Ebessan
3. Black Buffalo [W], Kazuaki Mihara, Takoyakida & Naoki Setoguchi (10:00 Lariat) Kuuga, HAYATA, Spider J [L] & Orochi
4. Osaka Pro-Wrestling Title Match Next Challenger Determination Tournament: Tadasuke (18:57 Outkast) Billyken Kid
5. Osaka Pro-Wrestling Title Match Next Challenger Determination Tournament: Daisuke Harada (23:29 Katayama German Suplex Hold) Tigers Mask

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/18/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
62 Fans
1. Daisuke Harada (9:34 Diving Elbow Drop) Naoki Setoguchi
2. Ebessan [W] & Kuishinbo Kamen (15:40 Ebisu Kaiun Suplex Hold) Kanjyuro Matsuyama & Takoyakida [L]
3. Kuuga [W] & HAYATA (12:27 Kido Clutch) Black Buffalo & Kazuaki Mihara [L]

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/17/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
39 Fans
1. Daisuke Harada (10:15 Katayama German Suplex Hold) Kazuaki Mihara
2. 3WAY Match: Kanjyuro Matsuyama (12:46 Jumping Style Rolling Clutch Hold) Ebessan [L], Miracleman
3. Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (13:17 Side Spin Flip) Billyken Kid & Takoyakida [L]

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/16/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
27 Fans
1. Takoyakida (10:19 Takoi~e) Naoki Setoguchi
2. 3WAY Match: Apple Miyuki (9:18 Double Pinfall) Kuishinbo Kamen [L], Ebessan [L]
3. Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (12:40 Side Spin Flip) Billyken Kid & Kanjyuro Matsuyama [L]

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Tigers Mask will be a part of Michinoku Pro’s 5th Fukumen World League that’ll take place from 8/31 to 9/2.  It’ll start at Korakuen Hall, then Sendai, and finally finish up in Iwate.  The current list of participants include the likes of the Great Sasuke, Jyushin “Thunder” Liger, and Ultimo Dragon.

This’ll be Tigers’ second Fukumen World League, with his first one being back in 2007 as the Osaka Pro Champion.

Michinoku Pro-Wrestling, 8/31/12
“5th Fukumen World League”
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

Michinoku Pro-Wrestling, 9/1/12
“5th Fukumen World League”
Sendai City Museum

Michinoku Pro-Wrestling, 9/2/12
“5th Fukumen World League”
Iwate Prefectural Gymnasium

Meanwhile, Zeus traveled to ZERO1 today to compete in a six-man tag match.  The Stronger joined Shinjiro Otani and Ryouji Sai, but they lost to Kohei Sato, KAMIKAZE & Tomoaki Honma when Honma pinned Sai.

Perhaps the bigger news is that Zeus now has a shaved head, judging by some of the images floating around the internet.  It’s a different look for those who remember him with either short hair or dreadlocks.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/15/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
36 Fans
1. Billyken Kid (8:22 Henkei Udegatame) Naoki Setoguchi
2. 3WAY Match: Kanjyuro Matsuyama (8:45 Jindaiko) Apple Miyuki [L], Kuishinbo Kamen
3. Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (10:45 Side Spin Flip) Black Buffalo & Kazuaki Mihara [L]

Hurricane 2012 is a little over 2 months away, but the main event for the annual big event will be known by May 26.  Before the show, it was announced that Black Buffalo will defend his Osaka Pro Title against JOKER’s Spider J on the 26th.  This has been brewing for a while, ever since Spider betrayed Seikigun to join Kuuga and company.  More recently, Spider interfered in a couple of matches during Golden Week and used poison mist to cause Buffalo to lose twice.

In addition to this, there will be a 4 man tournament to determine the next Osaka Pro Title challenger.  May 19 will see Tigers Mask battle Daisuke Harada and Billyken Kid take on Tadasuke.  The winners of these matches will then face each other on the 26th.  Whoever wins this tournament will earn the right to challenge for the Osaka Pro Title at Hurricane 2012.

All this shaped today’s show as Buffalo picked up some crucial momentum by pinning HAYATA in the six-man main event.  Buffalo was hit with the poison mist early on in the match, but still found a way to rebound.  He and Spider traded words afterwards, with Buffalo stating that his goal is to beat Spider and be in the main event of Hurricane.  Tactical Violence also promised that his concentration would be 100% going into the title fight against Spider.

Meanwhile, in a tournament preview of sorts, Billyken Kid teamed up with Daisuke Harada to face Orochi & Tadasuke.  BKK managed to cradle Tadasuke up for the pinfall, but the JOKER member floored both BKK and Harada with lariats afterwards.  Tadasuke will look to get his revenge on Osaka Esperanza next week and eliminate him from title contention.

Finally, 3 more guests were announced for Hurricane this year.  Wrestling New Classic’s Kana and Syuri, as well as the legendary Great Kabuki, will be participating on Osaka Pro’s big show on July 22.  This’ll be Kana’s third straight Hurricane appearance while Syuri appeared on Osaka Pro’s anniversary show last year.  Kabuki was a guest on one of Kanjyuro’s produced shows, as well as an IMP event as well.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/12/12
“Saturday Night Story”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
99 Fans
1. Zeus (7:03 Chokeslam) Naoki Setoguchi
2. 3WAY Match: The Bodyguard (8:26 Samurai Flip) Kanjyuro Matsuyama [L], Hideyoshi
3. Billyken Kid [W] & Daisuke Harada (14:40 Jumping Style Rolling Clutch Hold) Orochi & Tadasuke [L]
4. Ebessan [W] & Kuishinbo Kamen [W] (8:13 Schoolboy) Apple Miyuki [L] & Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru [L]
5. Black Buffalo [W], Kazuaki Mihara & Takoyakida (16:55 Lariat) Kuuga, HAYATA [L] & Spider J

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/11/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
40 Fans
1. Ebessan (11:18 Argentine Backbreaker) Naoki Setoguchi
2. Kanjyuro Matsuyama (8:20 Tobikage) Kuishinbo Kamen
3. HAYATA, Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (15:47 Side Spin Flip) Daisuke Harada, Kazuaki Mihara & Takoyakida [L]

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/9/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
51 Fans
1. Hide Kubota & Yasu Kubota [W] (9:51 Swanton Bomb) Tigers Mask & Naoki Setoguchi [L]
2. 3WAY Match: Kanjyuro Matsuyama (8:49 Arakawa Under The Bridge) Kuishinbo Kamen [L], Takoyakida [L]
3. Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (12:10 Oklahoma Roll) Zeus & Kazuaki Mihara [L]

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 5/10/12
“Osaka Happy Weekday”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
28 Fans
1. Ebessan (9:12 Ebisu Bottom) Takoyakida
2. Tadasuke & Spider J [W] (11:18 Side Spin Flip) Daisuke Harada & Naoki Setoguchi [L]
3. Billyken Kid [W] & Johnel Sanders (13:19 Diving Foot Stomp) Kanjyuro Matsuyama [L] & Kuishinbo Kamen

Tomorrow’s the last day in Osaka with no plans…..but for me, it’s always hard to say goodbye. Thus, I’m going to try to make this short and sweet.

Not to sound like a jerk, but unless you’ve been here once or twice, you don’t realize how difficult it is to say goodbye to Osaka and its people. In short, their way of life really makes you want to become a better person when you get back home. Seriously.

This marks 5 trips to Osaka and each has provided memories for me until the day I die.

I’m very afraid that I’ll forget somebody if I go into a round of “thank you” mentions. But the main people, they hopefully know who they are. Special thanks to Andy for keeping up with the website and the emails I got from family and friends.

At the last Move On Arena show, a blue-haired tattooed woman won the main prize of a free ticket during the intermission drawing. After the show, she gave me the ticket and told me, through Kenji, to come back next year. I have no shame in saying that I almost lost it.

Saying goodbye to Sebastien is always hard for some reason. If I knew the website has moree readers like him, it would definitely be worth it.

For now, thanks Osaka. And goodbye…