Keeping the Spirit Alive

2 days ago

All Japan Official Videos for May 17, 2013

Taiyo Kea vs. Yuji Nagata, 2012 Champion Carnival Match, from May 7, 2012 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Suwama vs. Akebono, 2012 Champion Carnival, from May 7, 2012 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.

Notes: 1 / 1 week ago

All Japan Official Videos for May 10, 2013

Suwama vs. KENSO, 2012 Champion Carnival - A Block Match, from April 29, 2012 at the Fukuyama Industrial Exchange Center Big Rose.

Suwama vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, 2012 Champion Carnival - A Block Match, from May 4, 2012 a the Nagoya Congress Center.

1 week ago

[May Event Updates for All Japan and NOAH] Both All Japan and NOAH released updates for their upcoming shows later this month.

All Japan also announced that KENSO will miss the upcoming tour as he has been told to relax for the month after he suffered from pneumothorax, or a partial collapsed lung, to his left lung. KENSO will be undergoing evaluation by physicians in the next few days and could undergo surgery depending on the severity of the issue.

All Japan announced the full cards for all of their shows, excluding the final show of the tour on June 2nd, among the outside talent involved is HUB from DRAGON GATE/Okinawa Pro who will be competing throughout the tour. The tour will be primarily headlined with LAST REVOLUTION vs. Burning, with the two groups facing off in a 10 man elimination tag match on May 26th.

On the NOAH side of things, they will have two back to back big shows this weekend with Kobashi’s final show tomorrow then Sunday with a big show at the Korakuen Hall. Later in the month they will be kicking off the “Northern Navigation” tour as they will be holding both standard and charity shows in the northern region of the country. This will mark Daisuke Harada’s first tour with NOAH and he will have a few high profile matches to kick off his new beginning. Among the outside talent involved in the tour will be Yoshihiro Takayama, who will be competing for a few shows, and Daisuke Ikeda who will be involved in a tag match on the May 17th show.

Check out the links below to see the full events that have been announced at this time.

All Japan Event Cards for May & June 2013
http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2013/05/02/all-japan-event-cards-for-may-june-2013/

NOAH Event Cards for May & June 2013
http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2013/05/02/noah-event-cards-for-may-june-2013/

1 week ago

[Match of the Day - Kenta Kobashi Series] Here is the sixth match of this eleven match series, as we countdown to Kenta Kobashi’s official retirement on May 11th.

Kenta Kobashi & Johnny Ace vs. Stan Hansen & Vader from May 1, 1998 at the Tokyo Dome.

Johnny Ace and Kobashi would be both rivals in the ring and even prove to be successful tag team partners throughout the years. This tag match took place during AJPW 25th Anniversary show, and would mark one of the last big matches between Kobashi and Hansen. )Of course they would have a few more tag matches, but I feel this was one of the best of the last.) I have mentioned in a previous day of the serious of Kobashi claiming a victory over Stan Hansen (part 1 & part 2) in 1996 and that setup Kobashi to be the top star in the promotion in Hansen’s place.

This match might seem like an odd choice to some people, but I thought it would be worth showing Kobashi against wrestlers that more western audiences would be more familiar with. Vader of course was active in the WWF(E) at this time and Johnny Ace, who some may know now as John Laurinaitis, teaming with and against Kobashi respectively.

Notes: 1 / 2 weeks ago

All Japan Official Videos for May 3, 2013

Yuji Nagata vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, 2012 Champion Carnival Official A Block Match, from April 29, 2012 at the Fukuyama Industrial Exchange Center Big Rose

Manabu Soya vs. Yuji Okabayashi, 2012 Champion Carnival B Block Match, from May 4, 2012 at the Nagoya Congress Center.

Notes: 8 / 2 weeks ago

[Match of the Day - Kenta Kobashi Series] Here is the third match of this eleven match series, as we countdown to Kenta Kobashi’s official retirement on May 11th.

Kenta Kobashi vs. “Dr. Death” Steve Williams from August 31, 1993 at the Budokan Hall in Tokyo.

This bout would mark the first ever singles battle between Kobashi and Dr. Death. Kobashi has been making strides as a single competitor at this time, but has yet to claim the singles victory that he needed to push himself to the next level. Williams of course was a mainstay at this time and was on the verge of becoming a Triple Crown Champion within the next year following this match. This match would be a contendership match for the current Triple Crown Champion in Mitsuharu Misawa.
This match is noteworthy for being one of the more repeated brutal finishes to a match, and definitely ended up showing the toughness of Kobashi. If Kobashi surviving against Stan Hansen a month prior was not enough.

2 weeks ago

[Seiya Sanada Excursion Update] A video has been released to announce that Rene Dupree and Seiya Sanada will battle for the All Japan Pro Wrestling (GAORA) TV title in May and June 2013 in Maritimes, Canada.

Of course, it was announced earlier today that Seiya Sanada would be partaking in his first ever excursion to Canada later this month to train with Dupree’s father, Emil Dupree.

http://keepingthespiritalive.tumblr.com/post/49360992635/all-japan-news-part-1-all-japan-announced-that

Notes: 1 / 2 weeks ago

[All Japan News Part 2] MAZADA’s new “team” announced and All Japan released an update for May 18th show at the Korakuen Hall.

MAZADA announced via video during the April 29th show that he is looking to bring together a team of his own as he returns to All Japan, and today All Japan announced the card for their upcoming May 18th show with “Bambikiller” Chris Raaber & Dragan Okic joined alongside MAZADA for the next tour. Raaber last competed in All Japan during the 2012 World’s Strongest Tag League and this will mark the debut for Okic in All Japan. Okic stands 186cm (6’1”) and weighs in at (231lbs). He was born October 29, 1991 and hails from Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Below is the updated card for the May 18th show.

All Japan Pro-Wrestling “RISE UP TOUR 2013”, 5/18/2013 [Sat] 18:00 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

Newly Announced:

(-) 6 Man Tag Match: Akebono, Ryota Hama & SUSHI vs. MAZADA, Bambikiller & Dragan Okic
(-) 6 Man Tag Match: Masakatsu Funaki, Masayuki Kono & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Kaz Hayashi, Shuji Kondo & Yasufumi Nakanoueno

(-) Champion Carnival AFTER THAT Single Match: Takao Omori vs. KENSO
(-) Champion Carnival AFTER THAT Single Match: Seiya Sanada vs. KAI
(-) World Tag Prelude ~ Champion Carnival AFTER THAT Single Match: Joe Doering vs. Go Shiozaki

(-) World Tag & World Junior Prelude Tag Match: Suwama & Hiroshi Yamato vs. Jun Akiyama & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Previously Announced:

(-) All Asia Tag Championship Match: [92nd Champions] Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. [Challengers] Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto
~ 1st title defense.

Notes: 1 / 2 weeks ago

[All Japan News Part 1] All Japan announced that Seiya Sanada will be going on his first excursion and a new wrestler, Seiki Yoshioka, joins All Japan Pro-Wrestling.

It was officially announced that Seiya Sanada will be heading heading to Canada to partake in his first ever training excursion. Sanada looks to expand his knowledge and grow as a professional wrestling. This will only be a short excursion as he is already scheduled to return for All Japan’s big show on June 30th.
It seems Sanada will be training under Emil Dupree, father of Rene Dupree, during his time in Canada.
Sanada was reported to have had a few offers under him, but it is obvious that he chose to stay the one that allows him to still compete in All Japan.
Sanada will be facing off against his “new rival” in KAI on May 18th in what is being touted as his real send-off match. KAI stated that he looks forward to facing KAI once again and he aims to claim the victory to set off on his excursion.

All Japan announced that a new wrestler will be joining their promotion as Seiki Yoshioka, formerly known as SEIKI in Wrestle Gate, will be joining All Japan full time. Seiki stands 170cm (5’6”) and weighs in at 75kg (165lbs), he was born January 5, 1988 and is from Fukuyama City, Kumamoto Prefecture. Seiki will be heading to the All Japan dorms soon as he aims to make his re-debut under All Japan in the near future.
HANZO also attended the press conference as Seiki has been his student for the last 10 years, or so, in Wrestle Gate.
Seiki’s talents were also noted as he has been practicing Taekwondo since his High School days and he is noted to being a heavy kicker. Seiki is looking forward to competing with so many top level names and will work hard to not let anyone down.
Seiki Yoshioka should be a fine addition to All Japan’s junior roster.

Notes: 1 / 2 weeks ago

[All Japan News Part 2] All Japan Pro-Wrestling held a press conference to announce the next set of championship matches that will take place during the months of May and June.

Jun Akiyama emerged the 2013 Champion Carnival winner after his 10 time of competing in the tournament in near 21 year career as a professional wrestler. With the win, Akiyama ha earned himself a chance to challenge for the Triple Crown belts against Suwama on June 30th. Akiyama also gave some props to KAI, as KAI worked hard to get to the finals as well, especially for him to have been able to get past Shiozaki earlier in the show.
Suwama and Akiyama opened the press conference to make their championship match on June 30th official. Suwama noted his disappointment in himself for being unable to make it to the finals of the tournament, but Suwama will now have to strive to reclaim his revenge over Akiyama for beating him for the Triple Crown back in 2011. Akiyama stated that he has a feeling that he will not lose this upcoming match and he has a renewed sense of strength and will.

The Asia Tag belts will be the first titles to be defended in the opening event of the next tour as Kotaro Suzuki and Atsushi Aoki will be in a rematch against the former champions in Minoru Tanaka and Koji Kanemoto on May 18th.
Kotaro and Aoki accepted the revenge match on April 25th with both teams appearing to be almost back and forth each time they meet in the ring. So it seems at the Kotaro and Aoki are finally looking to settle the score and prove themselves to be rightful champions. The junior Burning duo seem confident heading into the match.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru will be defending the World Junior belt against Hiroshi Yamato on June 2nd. Yamato came out to challenge the champion following his successful defense against SUSHI on April 26th, and on April 29th, Yamato pinned the champion in the scheduled 6 man tag match. “Jonestsu Baka” Yamato aims to “stop Burning”, but Kanemaru aims to remain as the solid champion.

Before the scheduled Triple Crown bout between Suwama and Akiyama, the World Tag belts will be on the line as Akiyama and Go Shiozaki will be defending against Suwama and Joe Doering. LAST REVOLUTION (L/R), Suwama & Doering, picked up the right to face the champions after they defeated Masakatsu Funaki and Masayuki Kono on April 29th. L/R proved to have a lot of power and momentum on their side as they picked up the victory against SOA fairly quickly. The Champion team though aims make this only the beginning of their run.

Below are the announced cards at this time.

All Japan Pro-Wrestling “RISE UP TOUR 2013”, 5/18/2013 [Sat] 18:00 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

(-) Asia Tag Championship Match: [92nd Champions] Kotaro Suzuki & Atsushi Aoki vs. [Challengers] “Junior Stars” Minoru Tanaka & Koji Kanemoto
~ 1st title defense.

All Japan Pro-Wrestling “RISE UP TOUR 2013”, 6/2/2013 [Sun] 18:00 @ Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

(-) World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: [35th Champion] Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. [Challenger] Hiroshi Yamato
~ 3rd title defense.
(-) World Tag Championship Match: [65th Champions] “Burning” Jun Akiyama & Go Shiozaki vs. [Challengers] “Last Revolution” Suwama & Joe Doering
~ 1st title defense.

All Japan Pro-Wrestling “Pro Wrestling LOVE in Ryogoku ~a biding belief~”, 6/30/2013 [Sun] 16:00 @ Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo

Triple Crown Championship Match: [46th Champion] Suwama vs. [Challenger/Champion Carnival Winner] Jun Akiyama
~ 1st title defense.

2 weeks ago

[All Japan News Part 1] Masayuki Uchida was basically told to that he should resign due to a message on the new owner Nobuo Shiraishi “facebook wall”, yes his facebook wall… (that is where most of these comments from Shiraishi comes from, and why it is just a load of something in my opinion).

Apparently Uchida and Keiji Mutoh met with the Shiraishi about 10 days ago and it seems much was talked about with what the new owner has been saying from his account. Pretty much the gist of things is that Shiraishi wants to give back the position of chairman to Mutoh, for the “so called” well being of the wrestlers.

Though what it all boils down to is that there is still a lot of misunderstanding to what is going on. As many recall, Mutoh stepped down a couple years ago because he felt he did not do his job correctly during Nobukazu Hirai situation. Both Uchida and Mutoh are working towards being the future more so than the past, but when Akiyama won the Champion Carnival, Shiraishi kind of took that as a backwards step, and made the comment he did on his facebook wall.

If Uchida does step down his terms is that “100% of the shares should be transferred to Mutoh. There is no trust between the new owner and the current active roster. This is not the way to go for a #1 promotion.”

3 weeks ago

All Japan [Carnival Day 7] results for April 27, 2013

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3 weeks ago

All Japan Official Videos for April 26, 2013

Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi vs. Akebono & Ryota Hama, Asia Tag, from February 11, 2012 @ Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, 2nd Stadium

Seiya Sanada vs. Satoshi Kojima from March 21, 2012 at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

3 weeks ago

All Japan Official Videos for April 19, 2013

Animal Warrior, Robert Gibson & Gran Hamada vs. TAKA Michinoku, Jamal & Buchanan from July 18, 2004 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Suwama & Takumi Soya vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuji Okabayashi from March 21, 2012 at the Ryogoku Kokugikan.

Notes: 1 / 1 month ago

[All Japan News] All Japan Pro-Wrestling held a public press conference at the J:COM Wonder Studio at the Tokyo Skytree for the upcoming 2013 Champion Carnival tournament. 10 out of the 12 participating wrestlers were on hand to meet with the press before the tournament as it is set to begin on April 18th at the Korakuen Hall.
Akebono and Joe Doering both appeared via video (VTR) to give their thoughts on the upcoming tournament as well.

Full info on the upcoming Champion Carnival can be found in the link below…
http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2013/04/01/2013-champion-carnival/

A BLOCK
■ Suwama: This marks the 9th time for Suwama to be involved in the Champion Carnival tournament. Suwama has picked up a win in the tournament back in 2008 and looks to do the same this year as he reigning Triple Crown champion. Suwama’s goal is to remain undefeated in the tournament and claim the big win on April 29th.
■ Tako Omori: Omori’s main goal this year has been laid out as “stop Burning.” Omori has already fallen to defeat by the hands of Burning in the loss of the World Tag belts, but he aims to reclaim his loss and to keep Burning from further “gather strength” in All Japan. Of course Omori still aims to win the tournament and go after the TC once again as well.
■ Seiya Sanada: This will mark Sanada’s fifth year of competing in the CC. He only has one goal this year “Just win.”
■ Masayuki Kono: This marks the 4th year for Kono to be involved in the tournament. He aims to make this tournament a standout for himself and aims to face his mentor Funaki in the Finals on April 29th.
■ Ryota Hama: This will be the 5th time Hama has competed in the Carnival. In the past, Hama has yet to leave with the best results in the end, but this year he seems to have a new found sense of momentum to carry him in the tournament. Hama stated that he looks forward to the matches with his fellow All Japan comrades in KAI, Sanada, and Kono. He wants to work hard to prove himself and aim to once again be called the Triple Crown champion.
■ Go Shiozaki: This marks the debut for Shiozaki in the CC and he only aims to walk away with victory. He stated that he would like to face Akiyama in the finals and for Burning to carry the momentum throughout the Carnival.

B BLOCK
■ Maskatsu Funaki: This will mark the 3rd time that Funaki has competing in the CC. No one in the B Block has managed to win the CC in the past, but Funaki aims to proceed carefully and decisively in each of his bouts. Funaki seems to be working towards a match by match plan to make sure he advances to the finals. Funaki will have one of the heaviest schedules in the tournament as he is scheduled for a CC match back to back for the first 4 days.
■ KENSO: This marks KENSO’s 3rd year in the tournament. KENSO will be up against Akiyama first thing and he seems to be only concerned with that match at this time. A win over Akiyama would do wonders in raising KENSO’s confidence as he aims for victory.
■ KAI: This will be KAI’s first time competing in the CC and he aims to make an impact since his transition to become a Heavyweight class wrestler. KAI acknowledged that he might be a little smaller than everyone else, but he aims to fight with his full heart and soul to claim victory.
■ Jun Akiyama: This year marks Akiyama’s 10th time for competing in the CC, and he aims to go to the Finals and once again get a shot at the Triple Crown. “Intense match, Please expect. I will do my best.”
■ Akebono: This year will be the 2nd time for Akebono to compete in the CC, and he wants to do his best to try and go to the finals.
■ Joe Doering: This will be Doering’s 4th year competing in the CC. Doering aims to face his fellow LAST REVOLUTION teammate, Suwma, in the finals and show the fans a great match. He wants to showcase what L/R is all about and hopes to meet the expectations of the fans. He aims to be a worthy challenger for the Triple Crown.

The 2013 Champion Carnival tournament is set to begin on April 18th and will run to the finals that are set to take place on April 29th. Once again, the full info can be found via the link below.
http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2013/04/01/2013-champion-carnival/

Previous interview post with Jun Akiyama and Go Shiozaki.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151605822366098&set=a.297677646097.181869.189144446097&type=1&relevant_count=1

Previous interview post with Suwama and Tako Omori.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151608919046098

All Japan Event Cards for March & April 2013
http://www.puroresuspirit.com/2013/02/25/all-japan-event-cards-for-march-april-2013/