superkix

Thanks for catching those typos. Glad you enjoyed the show.

Masakatsu Funaki and Lou Diamond Phillips

Okada's shit pants aside, Naito was great in this match, bumping like a maniac for Okada's whatever offense...I mean, the way he takes that running big boot on the floor was gnarly. When he's focused on a limb, he really focuses on it but in order for it to be compelling, he needs someone who can make it look effective and Okada ain't that guy. Having two 30+ minute matches back-to-back didn't add to my viewing experience and this felt like Okada going back to Okada ace cruise control mode with his convenient selling and predictable transitions. I did like the first cobra clutch sequence, with Naito momentarily escaping before Okada catches him again and when Naito tries to arm drag out of it, Okada holds on. Loved Naito's leg sweep on the apron and him smacking the shit out of Okada after those shitty Okada elbows. I enjoyed this more than Okada/Omega from last year's WK but it wasn't too too great.

Jericho really elevated this match and it's easily his best singles performance in who knows how long. I mean, this went way too long and there was obvious confusion around the No DQ stip, some blatant verbal cues and shitty set-ups, but Jericho yelling "shut your mouth, fuckface" and calling out "KENNY!" to the fans was perfect. Oh, and putting the young lion in the LIONTAMER...something he didn't even use on Kenny until the end when Kenny grabbed the rope and he let go...in a NO DQ match. Still a fun match though and I feel like Kenny excels in these No DQ batshit crazy spectacles rather than trying to wrestle a straight match.

This was my match of the night, and the best match of 2018 (so far). Incredible performances from both men in a stiff, no-nonsense contest that really played to their individual strengths. Minoru was at his most callous without the Suzuki-goons bringing him down, and Goto did such a fantastic job of selling that classic Suzuki sadism. In a night that was mostly about trying to outdo the overdone, this was simple, brutal, and under twenty minutes -- my kind of my match. Immediately, they stagger each other with hard slaps to the face before Suzuki grabs the sleeper and hangs Goto from the turnbuckle with it -- the visual of Goto's body going limp in the corner and lying motionless on the mat was unbelievable. Suzuki doesn't let up on the outside, and when Goto's trying to fight back in the ring, Suzuki only cackles at him and levels him with a hard elbow. I loved how the sleeper > piledriver set-up played into the match, and Suzuki connects with one of the most awesome dropkicks I've seen in quite some time. The way he unloads on poor Goto with that never-ending combination of slaps and jabs, busting open his lip...so so good.

On 12/31, KIMERA held its inaugural event, “CRYSTALIZED HEARTS IN TOKYO”, before a sold out crowd in the Tokyo Dome. The co-owners of the promotion, Akira Maeda, Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Bob Backlund, introduced the show and spoke about why each style is an important part of modern professional wrestling. All competitors then descended upon the rings wearing sweet red and white KIMERA t-shirts to a big ovation from the fans. In closing, Maeda thanks everyone for their support and told them to enjoy the event. The opener saw Tatsuo Nakano defeat Willie Peeters in a scrappy “Hybrid Rules” fight. Both guys let their hot tempers get the best of them and there were plenty of hard open hands exchanged, one of which caught Nakano in the nose and busted him open. After dumping Peeters on his head with a German suplex, Nakano locked in the rear naked choke for the submission. The first “Catch Rules” match-up of the night saw Osamu Nishimura defeat Yuki Ishikawa in a beautiful display of traditional catch-as-catch-can techniques and collar-and-elbow wrestling. At one point, Yuki Ishikawa had Osamu in the sleeper hold but Osamu was able to slip out of the hold and snag the left arm with a short-arm scissors. In a “Strong Rules” contest, Kensuke Sasaki and Yuji Nagata brought a big, suplex-heavy bout that saw the fans rally behind the underdog, Nagata, as he tried to kick and knee his way to a comeback after Sasaki dominated early on. He got a nearfall after a nasty backdrop suplex but it wasn’t enough to down Sasaki and after a lariat, Kensuke put him away with the Northern Lights Bomb. In the first round of the KIMERA Openweight Tag Team Title Tournament, Stars + Strikes (Dan Severn & Bart Vale) defeated Yoshihiro Takayama and Gene Lydick after Severn submitted Lydick with the Beast Choker. Takayama and Lydick were in control early on, using a combination of knees, kicks, and suplexes to isolate Vale. Vale, however, was able to drop Lydick with a roundhouse for a nine count and when Severn was tagged in, he quickly put him away. Minoru Suzuki and Grom Zaza wrestled under “Catch Rules” with Suzuki the clear favorite based on the name calling from the crowd. Zaza was able to get a few fireman’s carry takedowns and focused mostly on working Suzuki’s right leg but Suzuki’s speed advantage played a major factor in the outcome of the match. In an nod to his mentor, Suzuki was able to catch Zaza in the wakigatame for the submission victory. After the match, Suzuki thanked the fans and said that his goal is to be the best in all styles of pro-wrestling. Big Dick Leon-Vrij defeated Kazuo Yamazaki in a “Hybrid Rules” contest after KO’ing him with a brutal high kick. Leon used his size to his advantage and did not let up on Yamazaki, constantly backing him into the corner or against the ropes with hard kicks and body shots. Yamazaki was able to connect with a few kicks of his own, and after a German suplex, he nearly submitted Vrij with a double wristlock before Vrij was able to make the ropes. Sudden Impact (Chris Jericho & Lance Storm) were victorious over the team of Akira Nogami and Shinjiro Ohtani in a fast-paced junior heavyweight-style match fought under “Strong Rules”. Jericho was very charismatic throughout the match, playing to the fans and mocking his competitors, while Storm took a more…serious approach. At one point, Ohtani tried for the swan-dive spinning heel kick but Storm countered with a thrust kick to the jaw. After Ohtani survived a frankensteiner from the top rope, Jericho finally put him away with the Tiger Driver. In one of the most competitive matches of the night, Masakatsu Funaki and Kiyoshi Tamura wrestled nearly 15:00 under “Hybird Rules”. While Funaki was mainly a threat on his feet, Tamura was the bigger threat on the mat and Funaki did his best to try and distance himself from Tamura’s takedowns with kicks. Tamura pulled off some beautiful takedowns, including a step-over armbar and a rolling kneebar, but Funaki was able to reach the ropes in both instances. At one point, he came at Funaki with a barrage of palm thrusts, catching him with a hard shot that left a deep cut above Funaki’s left eyebrow. This forced a halt in the action due to the ringside physician checking on Funaki but Funaki was able to continue and in the end, picked up the submission victory with a heel hook. Backstage, Funaki echoed Suzuki’s earlier statement and said that he will not be satisfied until he has mastered the rules. In the first of three matches to determine the KIMERA Light Heavyweight Champion, Masanobu Fuchi defeated Jushin “Thunder” Liger under “Catch Rules”. Liger was more than able to hold his own against Fuchi, utilizing his speed and quick takedowns to capture Fuchi in some lucha-inspired submission attempts. Throughout the match, Fuchi kept trying to get Liger in an STF but Liger was able to counter out. A frustrated Fuchi earned himself a yellow card when he struck Liger with a body shot after a rope break. Liger teased hitting the shotei on Fuchi but Fuchi was able to hit the drop toehold into a cross-legged STF to submit Liger. Bob Backlund and Shiro Koshinaka wrestled a semi-serious “Strong Rules” match but also injected their own unique styles of offense into the structure, which elicited some laughs from the crowd with Backlund’s “whoa whoa”-ing around the ring and Koshinaka using his hip attacks to overwhelm a confused Backlund. When Koshinaka tried for a powerbomb, Backlund was able to roll through with the pin attempt for a nearfall. In the end, he was able to score the pin with a backdrop hold. Backstage, Backlund said he wants a shot at the heavyweight title. Under “Catch Rules” Hiroshi Hase and Yoshiaki Fujiwara wrestled the full ten minutes to a very receptive crowd. Of course, Fujiwara was one to necessarily play by the rules and earned himself a yellow card when he headbutted Hase in the corner. Hase, however, was able to stun Fujiwara with some hard takedowns and tried to quickly submit Hase before the wily Fujiwara could grab a limb. He excecuted a Northern Lights suplex hold and maneuvered into a cross armbreaker but Fujiwara was able to grab the ropes. Fujiwara nearly got Hase with his signature armbar but Hase was able to get to the ropes. With less than a minute remaining, Hase was able to place Fujiwara in an STF and while Fujiwara was able to use a ropebreak to escape, Hase was awarded the victory in the end, having only used one ropebreak. The main event of the evening was H-O-T, with the crowd-favorite Maeda forced to overcome Big Van Vader under “Hybrid Rules”. Maeda’s strategy was obvious early on – keep Vader away with kicks and hack away at the left leg to try and fell the monster. With each collapse, Maeda was quick to secure the leg with a leglock and try to get the submission but Vader’s size was too much for him at times. When Maeda came at Vader with another series of middle kicks, Vader caught a leg and planted Maeda with his own signature capture suplex to a huge reaction from the crowd! Maeda survived the suplex and a big deadlift German that launched him half-way across the ring. Toward the end of the match, Vader charged him and Maeda leveled him with a big wheel kick that had Vader down for nine. As the crowd chanted “MA-E-DA!”, he tried to finish Vader off with more kicks but Vader swatted them away and began clobbering him with clubbing blows, including a brutal shot to the back of the head that Maeda was barely able to recover from. But it was too late for Maeda at this point in the match, and after a huge lariat, Maeda stayed down for the count and Vader was crowned the first KIMERA Heavyweight Champion to close the show. KIMERA "CRYSTALIZED HEARTS IN TOKYO", 12/31 Tokyo Dome 65,000 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House 1. Hybrid Rules: Tatsuo Nakano beat Willie Peeters (6:12) with a rear naked choke. 2. Catch Rules: Osamu Nishimura beat Yuki Ishikawa (7:23) with a short-arm scissors. 3. Strong Rules: Kensuke Sasaki beat Yuji Nagata (9:33) with the Northern Lights Bomb. 4. KIMERA Openweight Tag Team Title Tournament, Round 1 ~ Hybrid Rules: Dan Severn & Bart Vale beat Yoshihiro Takayama & Gene Lydick (10:42) when Severn used the Beast Choker on Lydick. 5. Catch Rules: Minoru Suzuki beat Grom Zaza (8:26) with the wakigatame. 6. Hybrid Rules: Dick Leon-Vrij beat Kazuo Yamazaki (10:28) by KO (high kick). 7. KIMERA Openweight Tag Team Title Tournament, Round 1 ~ Strong Rules: Chris Jericho & Lance Storm beat Akira Nogami & Shinjiro Ohtani (11:35) when Jericho used a Tiger Driver on Ohtani. 8. Hybrid Rules: Masakatsu Funaki beat Kiyoshi Tamura (14:56) with a heel hook. 9. KIMERA Light Heavyweight Title, 1st Match ~ Catch Rules: Masanobu Fuchi beat Jushin “Thunder” Liger (9:12) with a cross STF. 10. Strong Rules: Bob Backlund beat Shiro Koshinaka (12:34) with a backdrop hold. 11. Catch Rules: Hiroshi Hase beat Yoshiaki Fujiwara (10:00) by decision. 12. KIMERA Heavyweight Title ~ Hybrid Rules: Vader beat Akira Maeda (23:27) by KO (lariat) to become the first KIMERA Heavyweight Champion.

Agreed. Both Takeshita and Daisuke Sasaki deserve to be mentioned when it comes to top performers of 2017.

My excitement level is way down from last year. On paper, Naito/Okada is the most exciting match-up and I guess if Suzuki/Goto delivers. Other than that...whump whump

-PWO2K -1992-1999 Japan

I agree with Marvin that it was cool to see Misawa changing things up in the early goings, like that nice somersault senton from the top. I thought Kobashi working on the neck was good stuff, alternating between the neck-focused offense and grunty submission holds, which sort of played into the half nelson suplex teases until Kobashi was able to fire off two of them back-to-back. The escalation of the finishing stretch was built well, with the ultimate finishers being countered and the crowd biting onto the nearfalls. Really liked Misawa elbowing the lariat attempts so Kobashi grabs a sleeper and turns it into a nasty suplex to set up the game ending lariats. There were various points throughout that the action would play out and my eyes would sort of glaze over but when it was good, it was good.

This was such a cool match-up, almost worked like a junior heavyweight match with Ogawa forcing Misawa into his style. Ogawa's a favorite and he was able to show off here, between his slick maneuvering and cheap tactics. Like GOTNW mentioned, Ogawa gets the most out of simple holds, like the way he hangs onto a side headlock or headscissors, or hopping onto Misawa's back with a sleeper to try and wear him down. Great neck-focused chains of offense to set up the backdrop hold and counter work to avoid Misawa's offense, who looked a little perturbed at times that he's got this little gnat constantly buzzing around his head. Of course, the Misawa elbows looked great. Fun stuff.

Not a big lucha fan but this was pretty awesome, with real crisp takedowns and counter wrestling through the first fall and Panther picking up the submission in the second fall with a swanky arm trap. Loved the third fall, with Santo selling the arm and Panther going after it. Santo's submission work was neat and I liked that he kept grabbing Panther's arm off the ropes to the point that the ref's had enough and shoves him off. The nearfalls off the roll-up pin attempts were great and they built to the big dives really well. Fans were pissed with the cheap finish but it worked in the context of all the quick back-and-forth pin attempts. But man, lucha refs count so slow...

My dream scenario of a match being fought on a three-inch mat in some random Japanese school gymnasium was achieved but rather than a shoot-style or catch match, I was honored with the army monster destroyer vs. the aluminum robot knight. The soundtrack to this match was incredible as a confused Bauxite figures out its targeting system. Tobita sitting down, guzzling a beer and tossing the aluminum can to simultaneously activate/piss off Bauxite was the highlight for me. Then it turns into an awesome game of whack-a-Tobita until Tobita figures out he can knock off Bauxite's box to hands with the three-inch mats. After a fisherman buster!, Tobita piles the mats onto Bauxite to pin him...game over. What a spectacle.

Slimmed up and shaved down Hashimoto is oddly reminiscent of Monster Morning. This was pretty damn great in the way they were able to keep the lines blurred. Earl on, you had Ogawa being real shitty and brash with his knockdowns and then he gets caught off guard with that Hash legsweep from the outside, which allows Hash the opportunity to lay into him to the point that Murakami has to come into the ring in Ogawa's defense. The reactions Hashimoto elicits from the fans with his takedowns are awesome as he keeps trying to cut out Ogawa's legs. I thought the STO struggle and escalation of impact was done really well, with Hash first countering with the DDT and then just kicking the shit out of Ogawa's leg in frustration before Ogawa is finally able to put him down after the choke sleeper > STO combo.

I love the visual of Iizuka running down the rampway toward the ensuing chaos in the ring...and then immediately getting pummeled and taken out by Murakami. Whenever Iizuka is able to get a submission hold locked on, it feels like a big deal and while the groundwork is rather simple, the struggle conveyed from both sides really adds to the gritty feel of the match. Iizuka being a dope on the ropes, not letting go and then pounding Murakami in the back of the head was great. I think this could've benefited from being shorter but whatever, we got Murakami trying to goad Iizuka back to his feet after blasting him with a kick, and the slack-jawed looks of Inoki and Fujinami at ringside. As the match heads home, you can really see the frustration in Iizuka's strikes and when he's able to get the choke sleeper on Murakami, it's huge but at the same time, it's hard to put a rapid dog to sleep. Good stuff.

I'll have my show ready for 12/31 but I'm open to having a window maybe between 12/31 and 1/15 or whenever to get the big show up.

I really liked the opening with the hard open hands exchanged and Ohtani going after the elbow/lariat arm and getting in some of his signature spots. But when Kojima takes over on offense, he more or less blows off the armwork and just shows off his dominance. I liked the Koji Cutter spot off the missed spinning heel kick and Ohtani's reaction to the nearfall off the dragon suplex hold was great. Other than that, Kojima kind of stunk it up.

Fyre has such a good look, long hair or short, and he came off like a big badass here, but gave Kanemoto enough to keep this interesting for the most part. Kanemoto isn't one to back down from a fight and I like that he stepped up to Frye, smacked in the face, and then immediately gets belly-to-belly suplexed down and put into a submission. Frye's limbwork was real grunty and calloused, which is obvious when you take a look at him, but Kanemoto's a sly cat and will grab a leg when he can. At one point, Frye lets loose a terrific F-Bomb when Kanemoto's got him in a leglock before he boots his way out the hard way. Pretty decent match-up.

KakiRide 2017

Yeah, this was good, and really picks up with Liger on offense -- I really liked his spurt of back-orientated offense on Tiger with the wrenching camel clutch and powerbomb whip. He really sold Tiger's submissions like a million bucks and the fans were all in on Tiger submitting Liger. The double arm suplex off the top into the armbreaker really had them losing their shit but Liger makes the ropes. The finish was awesome. Tiger with the adrenaline kick out at one off the brainbuster and then that last ditch effort to stop the shotei, only for Liger to finish him off with the right hand. Love that shit.

Hell yeah!

1. Shibata vs. Okada 2. H. Suzuki vs. Okabayashi 3. M. Suzuki vs. Takagi

Match was good and Kawada was great, I thought. He works mostly as the thorn in Misawa's side, continually cutting off Misawa's 80% elbow offense with gamengiri kicks to the face. Misawa's first big comeback is a fucking tiger driver. I thought Kawada's selling off the rolling elbow was incredible. Then he continues blasting Misawa with these gamengiris to the face and hits an absolutely brutal backdrop driver. I mean, 3/4's of this match was worked like a finishing stretch but it was fun. And the commentator with the "elbow" on repeat was the cherry on top.

Another great match from 3/25 which seemed to fly by. Murakami and Ishikawa have such good chemistry together -- Murakami's always coming out rabid and swinging, and the cooler Ishikawa is just trying to get the takedown and submission. Murakami is one of the few guys out there whose sloppiness actually adds to the match and his 'aura.' I love the way Otsuka maneuvers around the mat and floats around his opponent (Sano here) as he's constantly looking for an opening to suplex or a limb to snag. The brawling on the outside was awesome with Ishikawa jacking Murakami with these gnarly elbow shots and rolling around on the chairs. And when Murakami kicks Sato in the butt after the big dive and commentary lols...precious. I thought Ishikawa's deadlift German to Otsuka as he's crawling to his corner was incredible, and of course, Otsuka answers with a nasty release dragon. Oh, and Otsuka makes the best saves.