PRO-WRESTLING ZERO1

"INNOVATION TOUR"

05/09/2010
KOTO, TOKYO, JAPAN
AT THE DIFFER ARIAKE ARENA

The show begins with Shinjiro Otani, President of ZERO1, heading to the ring wearing a suit and holding a microphone. He welcomes all in attendence, and is excited to annouce that tonight will be a very special night, as WWA World Heavyweight champion, Steven "Danger" Elliot, arrives to defend his championship against none other than HIMSELF in what he hopes to be a very competitive contest, and one where he brings the title back to Japan! Ichiban! He also announces that one of his prized students, Kohei Sato, will be challenging Kurt Angle for his WWA All-Asian championship tonight in hopes of lifting the belt from the hands of the American!

All of this leads to Steven Elliot and Kurt Angle making their way out to the stage. Angle starts off by saying he's sick and tired of working in this country, but there isn't a single human being man enough on this pathetic island to take his title! This elicits big time heat from the audience, but he claims it's true, it's DAMN true! He says that Kohei Sato is a joke, and it will be an even bigger joke to watch him hobble back to the lockerroom in shame after Angle breaks his freakin' ankle! Elliot then takes the mic and slaps his World title, which is strapped around his waist, and laughs at Otani, patronizing him by asking if he really wants the belt. He then says that Otani doesn't have the balls or the talent to carry a title like his around, and he sure as hell isn't going to be the man to lift it off him... not tonight or any night. He says he can imagine Otani, calling the offices after beating random jabronie Jap A and B and thinking he's man enough to be "THE MAN," and then tonight comes... oh, Elliot bets he couldn't sleep all last night, so excited to finally get a shot, and now... now it's like a dream come true! But Elliot says it's time to wake up... it's time to wake up and realize this is just another stop for the champ and he's just another nobody, and he won't be remembered. He tells Otani to cherish this moment, remember what it feels like to be able to dream the big dreams, because after tonight, he will be crushed, and so will his spirit.

Otani then raises his mic, smirking after hearing the translation, and says that while he may not win that title tonight, Elliot will never forget the day he stepped into Pro-Wrestling ZERO1 and Otani says he will make damn sure of that, because he will give him a number of scars to remember it by... and while his body may break, and his dreams may falter, his spirit will remain forever! He will fight until he can fight no more to bring honor to his company, and he tells Elliot not to be too surprised when he goes home empty handed!

The fans are cheering as Elliot and Angle leave the stage, looking sort of irritated, and Otani walks back up, looking determined. Time to start the show.

MATCH ONE
TAG TEAM RULES

Shota Takanishi, Wataru Sakata [O] vs. Yuji Okabayashi [X], Yuzuru Saito

Takanishi started off the match against the much bigger and stronger Okabayashi, and ended up getting manhandled pretty badly, being forced to tag out after a big T-Bone style suplex and a kick to the head. Sakata came in and really went to work on Okabayashi's legs with kicks, following up with a big open hand palm strike battle between the two, which lead Yuji to try and tackle him down, but Sakata showed a great sprawl defense, and landed a massive kick to the face of Yuji which lead Saito to come in and break things up as Sakata tried for a leglock. Sakata and Saito squared off, and Saito managed to catch him with some big kicks, but Sakata was pretty imposing and took him down hard and blasted him with many hard shots to the head. Takanishi and Sakata would tag in and out, working over Saito, but Saito would catch Sakata with a wild spinkick to the jaw, leading to a tag out to Okabayashi, who rushed in and smashed Sakata with a spear. Takanishi would neutralize the big man with a Missile Dropkick, which lead to a tag out to Saito once more. Saito came in and fought hard, taking a beating from Sakata, but he just kept getting up and tagged back out, only to be kicked down by Takanishi, who had run in. Okabayashi showed great power in nailing a double backdrop on his opponents, but Sakata would eventually lock him into a Heel Hold to get the submission victory!

MATCH TWO
TAG TEAM RULES

Munenori Sawa [O], Madoka vs. Yusaku Obata [X], Shinya Ishikawa

This was a pretty basic match, which saw Sawa and Madoka perform very impressively against two opponents of less charisma. Obata showed a good amount of skill, and Ishikawa has come up quite a bit, but Sawa especially was very brutal in this contest. Madoka turned a lot of heads with his crazy Ranhei finisher on Ishikawa, but Obata was able to break it up with a kick to Madoka's head. Sawa managed to get the submission victory, rolling a Backdrop Driver into a Wakigatame armbar on Obata to make him tap out!

We go backstage, where Kota Ibushi is being interviewed. Kota is considered one of the most exciting, talented, and innovative young junior heavyweights in the world, and has a big match tonight against the legendary Dick Togo. Ibushi was saying it was a honor to be able to face such a highly regarded talent, but he knew that tonight would be his night for victory! Togo then came into the picture and slapped the interviewer, then got up in the face of Ibushi. Togo said that ZERO1 was going to be his bitch, and he was going to take whatever he wanted in this company... he said if Ibushi wasn't careful tonight, he'd take his life! This lead to a scuffle, but it was pretty quickly broken up.

MATCH THREE
SINGLES RULES

Kota Ibushi [X] vs. Dick Togo [O]

Ibushi showed right from jump street that he wasn't just a fast paced, high flier, but he could also scrap very hard. Togo thought he could intimidate him by challenging him to a fight, but Ibushi laid into him with wild strikes and massive kicks, nearly taking his head off with a huge roundhouse to the temple! Togo took things to the outside, where he smashed Ibushi with a chair multiple times and choked him with a wire! Togo pounded Ibushi's forehead about twenty times with a downward closed fist until he was bleeding, and then threw some chairs into the ring. Ibushi would fight back, nailing a Dropsault into a chair right into Togo's face! Ibushi went under the ring and pulled out a ladder! Togo and Ibushi would fight over the ladder, only to have Togo low blow him and nail a Pedigree to get a two count! Togo would smash Ibushi again with a chairshot to the head and then scaled up the ladder, trying for a Senton Backsplash, but he missed in a big way! Ibushi would then attempt to powerbomb Togo onto a chair, but Togo would flip him backwards, landing ontop of him and holding the ropes to get the cheap pinfall! The fans are booing loudly as Togo sneaks off with a win here tonight! Ibushi looks pissed...

MATCH FOUR
TAG TEAM RULES

Katsuhiko Nakajima [X], Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Ikuto Hidaka, Minoru Fujita [O]

Wicked fast paced match here, as these three hugely talented individuals gave a great performance that wasn't hindered by the fact that they weren't given very much time to do it. Nakajima was the youngest and hungriest in this match, and he made all his blows count, racking up near fall after near fall in this contest. Hidaka and Fujita have been teaming for many years, though, and worked like a well oiled machine, saving each other and executing many double team techniques to get the slight edge over their opponents. Mochizuki and Hidaka had a very intense striking battle, which ended in Hidaka trying a Spinning Heel Kick, but Mochizuki ducked it and dropped him with a big kick under the jaw! After the bodies started dropping with kick after kick, and a Flying Crossbody, it was Minoru Fujita who won this match for his team, locking up Nakajima in a deadly Boneyard submission to get the victory!

MATCH FIVE
TAG TEAM RULES

Ryouji Sai, Tatsuhito Takaiwa [X] vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Katsumi Usuda [O]

Two talented veterans were paired up with two of the best young prospect heavyweights that ZERO1 has to offer. Sai and Sekimoto have two very different styles, but their clashes were very well played, and Sai was able to overcome his lack of size, using his skillfull striking to throw off the very powerful and technically skilled Sekimoto. Sekimoto would not allow himself to show pain, however, taking each blow and then dumping Sai with big suplexes. Usuda and Takaiwa seemed a bit more reserved to start, letting their excitable counterparts do a lot of the bidding, but Usuda soon showed his mean streak, kicking the hell out of Sai and seemingly KOing him after Sai got a little too froggy. Things headed to the outside, where we saw some big time brawling, and Sekimoto seemed very comfortable out there. Sekimoto would powerbomb Takaiwa off the apron to the floor in a big moment, getting a rise from the audience. The match came to an end when Usuda delivered a big kick to the head of Takaiwa to knock him out, getting the pinfall.

Backstage there is a highly tense staredown involving partners Masato Tanaka and Toshiaki Kawada and their opponents for the evening, NO FEAR, consisting of Takao Omori and Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama gets in the face of Kawada and says that he doesn't care what he has done or who he thinks he is or how tough he may be... he will be broken. Tanaka steps up and gets in the face- or rather, the chest of the much bigger Takayama and says he doesn't care how big and strong he thinks he is, he will DESTROY him! Omori shoves Tanaka and says he's taken one too many hits to the head, and he will take many more tonight!

MATCH SIX
TAG TEAM RULES

Toshiaki Kawada, Masato Tanaka [X] vs. Takao Omori, Yoshihiro Takayama [O]

This was absolutely insane, as each man rushed the middle of the ring at the bell and started punching each other in the face, throwing random kicks and knees, going into all out war! This spilled to the outside, where nothing changed, as they kept just throwing nonstop blow after blow, until finally Omori headbutted Tanaka and sent him into the turnpost to get a little breather. Kawada and Takayama actually started trading headbutt for headbutt until Kawada became staggered, but Kawada ducked a big right hand from Takayama and used a Ganmenjiri kick to stagger the big man back into the corner, where he rushed in with a huge Avalanche Front Kick, followed by a big Backdrop Driver for a two count! Omori and Tanaka are on the outside dueling with chairs, when Tanaka kicks him and grabs him, using the guardrail to swing and nail a Tornado DDT onto two chairs on the concrete! Tanaka heads back in the ring, but is kicked down by Takayama, but Kawada catches Takayama with another kick to his face, and then powers him up with his own technique, a massive German suplex for a two count! Tanaka followed up by blasting Takayama with what seemed like 20 or 30 elbows, but Takayama threw him off and rushed him, smashing him with a kneestrike, only to a catch a wheel kick from Kawada! Oh, but Omori is in and nails a big Axe Bomber on Kawada, followed by another! Tanaka catches Omori with a Rolling Elbow, though, followed by a German suplex for a two count! Takayama is back up and grabs Tanaka by the head, headbutting him and then taking him into the corner, where he smashes him with knees, but Kawada kicks Takayama to the back of the head and then begins kicking his legs furiously until he drops down, and then he begins kicking him to the face! Omori smashes Kawada with a Double Axe Handle that sends him tot he floor, and then catches Tanaka with a dropkick, followed by a big Axe Guillitine Driver that makes Tanaka land hard on his head! Omori goes for the cover, but Tanaka kicks out in a shocking moment! Tanaka is clearly hurt, but he won't stop fighting, and Kawada is back in, only to catch a kneestrike and a big kick that sends him back out, followed by Tanaka being slammed onto a chair with a Chokeslam from Takayama, which earns NO FEAR the very hard fought pinfall victory!

MATCH SEVEN
WWA ALL-ASIAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES RULES

Kurt Angle (c) [O] vs. Kohei Sato [X]

This started out as a very good scientific match, which saw Angle and Sato go counter for counter, only to have Angle actually come out on top, but Sato broke an armbar by getting to the ropes. Angle would then go after his left leg, but Sato started unleashing strikes from there, which favored him deeply compared to Angle's striking capabilities. Angle took to using some cheaper tactics, like gauging the eyes and choking, but Sato was all for getting down roughneck style, and these two began to go at it tooth and nail, punching and kicking each other all over the ring until Angle went for another takedown, but Sato sprawled and escaped, catching Angle with a big kick to the head that earned him a two count. Sato started working over Angle's neck and arm, but seemed to want to lock him up with a Triangle Choke, but Angle was able to escape that and kept going after Sato's leg. Eventually, Angle would catch a kick from Sato and land a kick to Sato's lower regions, following up with a grapevined Ankle Lock, which took over a minute but earned him a submission to retain his title! The fans were less than pleased with that result, but Angle could care less about them or honor as long as he had his title.

MATCH EIGHT
WWA WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SINGLES RULES

Steven "Danger" Elliot (c) [O] vs. Shinjiro Otani [X]

Elliot was playing mind games with Otani early, moving in and out of the ring and making Otani chase him, as Otani was ready to get down and scuffle. Finally, Otani would catch Elliot with a single leg takedown, but the champion managed to roll and get back to his feet, where he and Otani came to blows to a big reaction from the crowd. Back and forth, they blasted each other with blow after blow, until Elliot's legs began to quiver and Otani took him down and went for a Half Crab. Elliot got to the ropes and headed to the outside, but found out things weren't safe out there, eating a few different kinds of steel in the process. From turnpost, to railing, to a steel chair, Otani was relentless in trying to induce bottly harm on the champion, knowing this was his big moment and the words from earlier fueling his rage! He would get a two count after a big Springboard Dropkick, but that seemed to be a wake up call for the champion. Elliot caught Otani with a big dropkick, and then a Fisherman's Suplex for a two count, which he rolled through and nailed a Fisherman's Buster, but only got a two count, which he would once again try to roll through, but Otani broke it and caught him with a big German suplex, getting a two count, only to roll that into a Dragon Suplex for a two count, right into a Camel Clutch! Elliot dragged him and Otani across the ring, and managed to get to the ropes. Otani kicked Elliot hard into the corner and began Bootscrapping him, before picking him up and hanging him Tree of Woe style to deliver a Baseball slide to the champ's face! Elliot now appeared to be bleeding, but he wouldn't quit, getting into a chop battle with Otani, which ended in him getting dumped with a Belly to Side Suplex for another two count! Otani went back after the Dragon Suplex, but Elliot fought it and managed to elbow his way out, only to have Otani lay into him with more big kicks and strikes and attempt it again. Elliot, in a brilliant move, slid downward and rolled Otani up, getting a two count, followed by a big Superkick that sent Otani into the corner, which lead Elliot to rush in and deliver a big Avalanche Calf Kick! Elliot would then grab Otani, nailing him with a Brainbuster and then headed up top, where he flew off and tried for a Guillitine Legdrop, but Otani somehow managed to avoid it! Back up, Otani laid into him with two big open palm strikes, spinning him and nailing another Dragon Suplex! OH! Elliot kicked out somehow, and bloody as hell got back to his feet and delivered a sidekick to Otani's chest, sending him off the ropes and into an attempted Sleeper, but Otani reversed and tried for a Back Suplex, only to have Elliot flip over it and rush forward, bouncing off the ropes and rolling Otani up with a Prawn Hold to get the pinfall! Elliot has retained and the fans are cheering, as they just witnessed a hell of a fight!

After the match, neither Otani nor Elliot seemed interested in a handshake, staring one another down and knowing it could have went either way tonight. Elliot didn't seem to like how close that match was to ending his reign, and he looked like he wanted to get the hell out of Japan immediately as the show came to an end.