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Shito Ueda Shocks The World!

July 9th, 2009

Young ZERO1 heavyweight Shito Ueda shocked the world today in Shin-kiba 1st Ring where he went on to win the One-day "Fire Festival Decision Tournament." First defeating Nami, then Rikiya Fudo, Ueda advanced to the final versus veteran KAMIKAZE (who had defeated Yusaku Obata and Munenori Sawa respectively). Both men were already worn down from their previous matches when they began the finals, but Ueda threw himself relentlessly at KAMIKAZE. Sensing his chance at victory, the young wrestler risked it all by coming at KAMIKAZE in a dead run from bell-to-bell.

Initially KAMIKAZE started strong, dropping Ueda with a lariat and vertical brainbuster but only getting a 2 count. Ueda then poured it on, using his size to push the issue. He scored a lariat and a double arm suplex for a 1 count. And then a back suplex for 2. President Otani, who was situated a ringside, verbally coaxed the young fighter forward.

KAMIKAZE fought back with his own back suplex and face buster but Ueda refused to go down! The two exchanged back-and-forth elbows and KAMIKAZE hit a hard super kick sending Ueda flying backwards! Coming off the ropes Ueda unleashed what has been described by spectators as a "whole body lariat" with his right arm sending KAMIKAZE spinning to the mat. Ueda quickly hooked the leg and got the 3-count and victory!

Following the match KAMIKAZE, still a little surprised at the fierceness of Ueda's attack, spoke on the microphone: "The Fire Festival will be hot this year! Do your best Ueda. Though I may not have won the final spot, I never give up!"

Ueda then also briefly spoke to the fans in attendance:

With his victory Ueda secured the final spot in BLOCK A of the "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S GRAND PRIX 2009 FIRE FESTIVAL ~ The Ambition of Glory ~" tournament with Shinjiro Otani, Kohei Sato, Ikuto Hidaka, and Akebono.

Tanaka Invades New Japan! Lays Out IWGP Champ Tanahashi!

July 6th, 2009

Through much of 2008, and the beginning for 2009, ZERO1 was embroiled in a serious conflict with New Japan Pro Wrestling. As the then World Heavyweight champion, Masato Tanaka stood at the head of ZERO1 defeating several NJPW wrestlers in singles matches. Tanaka kept up his domination until October of 2008 when he lost the World Heavyweight title to New Japan's Yuji Nagata. Tanaka attempted to regain the title belt from Nagata at NJPW "WRESTLE KINGDOM III IN TOKYO DOME" show on New Year's eve but failed. Since that time the ZERO1 vs. New Japan feud cooled off, that is until last night.

Following his victory in a tag match at NJPW "CIRCUIT 2009 NEW JAPAN SOUL" in Korakuen Hall, current IWGP champion Hiroshi Tanahashi was celebrating his victory with the fans when Jado and Gedo appeared to confront him. The two berated Tanahashi on the microphone, and while his back was turned Tanaka entered the ring and delivered a spear to Tanahashi! As Tanaka's former partners in 'The Complete Players' watched and laughed Tanahashi struggled to sit up, only to be leveled by Tanaka's "Sliding D" elbow!

Tanaka then told the fans in attendance that he just beat their champion in 1 minute as the boos came down on him from the crowd. The Complete Players then walked out of the arena.

In the locker room they spoke to the media about their surprise attack on Tanahashi:

Masato Tanaka

"As easy as that. Voilà!

Jado

"Right here we have the most famous Japanese wrestler in the world!"

Gedo

"That's right! Go to the USA and ask people who Hiroshi Tanahashi is. They won't know. Anybody who knows anything about pro wrestling knows who Masato Tanaka is!"

The Complete Players continued to insult Tanahashi, who ZERO1 World Heavyweight champion Tanaka has his sites on. They also alluded that Tanaka will take a spot in the upcoming "G1 CLIMAX 2009 ~NEW LORDS, NEW LAWS~" taking place from August 8th until August 16th, though there has been no confirmation yet.

KAMIKAZE and Ueda Comment on One-Day Tournament at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring!

July 3rd, 2009

With 9 wrestlers already announced for this year's "Fire Festival '09," an 8-man One-Day tournament was planned for July 9th at Tokyo's Shin-kiba 1st Ring. The winner of the tournament will gain the final coveted spot in ZERO1's annual tournament.

Those in the tournament will be: KAMIKAZE, Munenori Sawa (BattlArts), Yusaku Obata (XWF), Osamu Namiguchi, Shito Ueda, Shinya Ishikawa (BJW), Yuzuru Saito, and Rikiya Fudo (Free). ZERO1 wrestlers KAMIKAZE and Shito Ueda both came to the ZERO1 offices to talk about their participation in the tournament. KAMIKAZE participated in his first "Fire Festival" last year, and young Ueda is fired up for the opportunity to participate in his first tournament.

Shito Ueda

"I'm one of the wrestlers in the Fire Festival Participation 1-day tournament at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. I aim to take the last slot of the tournament and the chance to be the hottest wrestler in Japan. There's not much time to prepare, but I have no intention of losing."

KAMIKAZE

"I don't understand why I'm in this tournament. There is one spot left and it should be mine. Without me in the 'Fire Festival' it will surely be cooler. I'm not happy about this. Still there is no way I'm losing, I'm going to win and then move on and win the 'Fire Festival' as well."

While not present at the press conference, several of the other participants also sent in their comments regarding the 1-Day tournament.

Munenori Sawa

"Every year when I watched the 'Fire Festival' I envied those who participated. Pro Wrestling is a business of odd occurrences, so there's no way to know what will happen on the 7th anymore than what will happen tomorrow. Now is the time for the Sawa Festival!"

Yusaku Obata

"One spot remains and I will win and advance through this tournament all the way to the Fire Festival."

Shinya Ishikawa

"I was recommended by Sekimoto-san for entrance into the 'Fire Festival.' To succeed as a pro wrestler this type of opportunity must be grabbed firmly without fail and taken. I will win this tournament and move on to the big tournament, the 'Fire Festival '09'"

Fire Festival '09: Four More Announced! Mini-Tournament For Final Slot On 7/9!

July 2nd, 2009

At yesterday's "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S 4" show in Tokyo's Shinjuku FACE, four more participants of the "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S GRAND PRIX 2009 FIRE FESTIVAL ~ The Ambition of Glory ~" tournament were announced. Added to the annual tournament are Ikuto Hidaka, Akebono, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Magnitude Kishiwada. This brings the current number to 9, with one spot remaining in Block A.

The final spot will be contested in a one-day tournament on July 9th in Tokyo's Shin-Kiba 1st Ring. Those in the tournament will be: KAMIKAZE, Munenori Sawa (BattlArts), Yusaku Obata (XWF), Osamu Namiguchi, Shito Ueda, Shinya Ishikawa (BJW), Yuzuru Saito, and Rikiya Fudo (Free). The brackets are as follows:

Tanaka Defeats Ryouji and Reigns Again! Shota Returns!

July 1st, 2009

ZERO1 held their "WRESTLER'S 4" event in Tokyo's Shinjuku FACE today, with a main event of defending champion Ryoji Sai versus challenger Masato Tanaka. The two had been trading words of late, and Tanaka promised he would win the belt back before once again winning the upcoming "Fire Festival." Tanaka remained true to his word as he defeated Ryouji with the "Sliding D" in 21½ minutes.

Ryouji walked into the match as the 4th champion making his 2nd defense. Like previous matches at Shinjuku FACE he received loud boos as he entered the ring. The booing continued through the match as the action moved back and forth between the two fighters, the Tokyo crowd showing their disapproval of Osaka native Ryouji.

The boos quieted as the match progressed and the intensity rose. By the time Tanaka scored the victory the crowd was split evenly, and the crowd chanted "Ryouji! Ryouji!" and applauded his effort. Though he failed in his title defense versus the dominant Tanaka, he won the crowd over with a valiant effort. Both Tanaka and Ryouji gave the "3,2,1, ZERO1!!" chant following the match. With both men already entered into the "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S GRAND PRIX 2009 FIRE FESTIVAL ~ The Ambition of Glory ~" tournament, their time face-to-face in the ring is just beginning.

In a match titled "Seize the Advance" ZERO1 President Shinjiro Otani faced Kohei Sato in a singles match. With both men as previous "Fire Festival" winners their place is already secured in the tournament. Otani was very aggressive through the whole bout, targeting Kohei's right leg. Early in the match Otani went for an Achilles tendon hold that send Kohei crawling to the ropes. Otani then followed successively with a single leg crab hold, stomping and a toe hold again sending Kohei to the ropes to escape tapping out.

Despite his injured leg, Kohei struck back with a knee lift counter to a leg lariat. He then followed up with middle kicks and threw Otani to the outside to brawl amongst the chairs. Back in the ring Otani returned to attacking Kohei's leg, this time with a Dragon screw and a knee hold. After wearing down Kohei in a very one-sided manner for the whole 17½ minutes Otani finally scored the win with his "Spiral Bomb" finisher. Otani, a 3x Fire Festival champion, has always considered the tournament his own and once again looks to secure the Himatsuri katana.

The 4th match of the show was titled "The Pride of 'B' 2nd" and continued the series of BattlArts Jr. Class revival matches involving ZERO1 wrestler Ikuto Hidaka and regular ZERO1 participant BattlArts' Munenori Sawa. The series has already included former alumnus Minoru and Katsumi Usuda. Hidaka and Sawa defended their NWA International Lightweight tag titles versus Minoru and Usuda back on April 29th at "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S 2."

Usuda has been a on tear in 2009, having consistently good matches even in defeat. After being the one pinned in the aforementioned title match, Usuda went on to beat Sawa in a singles match in the first "The Pride of B" match at "WRESTLER'S 3" also at Shinjuku FACE. Now he faced Sawa's partner and his BattlArts junior Ikuto Hidaka. Though the match lasted almost 11 minutes, it was an intense time as both fighters exchanged hard strikes and submission attempts. Usuda used his skill well versus Hidaka's speed advantage, and landed a hard kick past what would be the halfway mark causing Hidaka to rise before being counted out.

Finally after attempting to submit Usuda with his "Shawn Capture" leg hold, and an Iguchi Bomb for a 2 count, Hidaka scored the "Wild Dog High Kick" and grabbed a 3-count pinfall. Hidaka seemed both surprised and determined after his win, having also been announced for the "Fire Festival '09" this day. Following the match Usuda spoke to the media back stage and said he definitely wants a rematch.

The third match of the show was a "Fire Festival Assessment Match" that took form as a tag team match of KAMIKAZE and Munenori Sawa versus Magnitude Kishiwada and Rikya Fudo. This was Osaka native Kishiwada's first participation in ZERO1, and as many will know Rikiya Fudo was formally a contracted wrestler for ZER01 for many years but never participated in any of the Fire Festivals.

As for KAMIKAZE, he entered his first "Fire Festival" last year, but after an early win over Kohei Sato, he never won another match. With lots to prove, KAMIKAZE and Fudo took it to each other hard, with Fudo using his strength and enthusiasm and KAMIKAZE relying on his strong technique.

Sawa also relied on his "bachi-bachi" style with kicks and submissions attempts. Kishiwada ended up with the victory as KAMIKAZE and Fudo battled it out he hit two consecutive brainsbusters on Sawa and then the "Last Ride" powerbomb to gain the victory. Kishiwada would be announced the same day as gaining entry into the "Fire Festival '09."

The 2nd match was "ZERO1 vs. Soul Connection," a continuation of the feud between Toru Owashi and Osamu Namiguchi. It all began back in April when Owashi found discovered that Nami was one half of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team champions along with Ryoji Sai. This led Owashi to challenge for a title match, and then at the press conference attack Nami and choke him with the belt from his own pants! This abuse continued when at "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S 3" in May Ryouji and Nami successfully defended their tag team titles versus Owashi and fellow SOUL CONNECTION wrestler Takuya Sugawara. This time Nami would be teamed alongside Sugawara's longtime tag team partner Minoru Fujita.

Owashi was already aggravated from his previous loss to Nami's team, and verbally berated the fans who through post-match streamers for Nami. Fujita and Sugawara, the long time Gikyoudai (Sworn Brothers) shook hands before the match. As Owashi abused Nami the whole match by throwing him around the outside ring area and attack what's left of his hair, the Sworn Brothers seemingly went through the motions at half speed in the center of the ring.

Because of this the crowd got firmly behind Nami by chanting his name as Owashi beat on him. When Sugawara was tagged back in he also attacked Nami's remaining hair, as Owashi joined the crowd chanting for Nami!

However just as Nami made a valiant comeback and was about the win the match with the "Dream Catch" on Sugawara the pinfall was interrupted by his own "partner" Fujita! Sugawara then hit Nami with the Black Box and finally his Shiisanputa finisher for the pinfall. Following the win, the Sworn Brothers and Owashi brought out a pair of hair clippers and aimed to shave Nami's head! Here formally retired ZERO1 wrestler, Shota Takanish ran in to save Nami from the attack!

("Formally retired" because previous to today's show, Takanishi had entered the ring with Otani and announced that he plans to return to Professional wrestling. Shota had left professional wrestling in order to get married. And after getting married and spending some time in the standard workforce Shota decided to return to the event hall to perform the art form he loves.)

The opening match saw Shito Ueda defeat Yuzuru Saito in a singles match with a lariat.

Tanaka Vs. Ryouji Tomorrow in Shinjuku!

June 30th, 2009

The day has almost arrived, as tomorrow at Tokyo's Shinjuku FACE "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S 4" current two crown champion Ryoji Sai (World Heavyweight champion & NWA Intercontinental Tag Team champion) will make his V2 defense of the World Heavyweight title against 3x "Fire Festival" winner Masato Tanaka. The defenders of the World Heavyweight Title belt and the "Fire Festival" katana will collide as the "ZERO1 WRESTLER'S GRAND PRIX 2009 FIRE FESTIVAL ~ The Ambition of Glory ~" appears on the horizon.

This year the Fire Festival will take place begining on July 25th in Korakuen Hall and end in the same famour arena on August 8th with the Finals. Earlier this month Tanaka and Ryouji were interviewed about the upcoming bout at the ZERO1 offices in Tokyo..

Tanaka spoke first, saying he was happy when Ryouji previously called him out at Shinjuku FACE:

Ryouji then spoke about being champion and the 'Fire Festival '09":

"The last time I faced Tanaka I wasn't world champion. Since then I've won the title and both I and ZERO1 has changed since that day. My whole perspective on pro wrestling has changed in this time, and every time I have a match versus Tanaka it changes again. I desperately want to win on July 1st. I want to have the best match on the show and I want to show ZERO1 and the ZERO1 fans the power and pride of pro wrestling.

"As for the 'Fire Festival' I've chased a victory there for several years but it doesn't happen easily. I want to make this year's tournament my year. I am proud of ZERO1 and all the wrestlers on the roster. I want many people to watch my struggle to win, both new fans and old. I have a grand ambition! I want to defend the World Heavyweight title and win the Fire Festival so I can accomplish both in my 20s."