Keeping the Spirit Alive

14 hours 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: 5 / 1 week ago

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

Kenta Kobashi vs. Mitsuharu Misawa, Triple Crown Championship Match, from January 20, 1997 at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium.

Continuing on in the series, Kenta Kobashi finally managed to win the Triple Crown Championship for the first time by getting a victory over Akira Taue on July 24, 1996. Kobashi would go on to hold the belt for the rest of the year and would claim a victory over Stan Hansen (part 1 & part 2) and yet another time limit draw over Toshiaki Kawada.

Misawa would become the next challenger for Kobashi and this would bring us to this big match on January 20, 1997. This match is arguable one of the best matches between the two with only the match from 1999 being up there.
This would be the ultimate break for Kobashi if he managed to finally put Misawa away and build up his initial TC reign, even if he did not win it would do nothing more than to put Kobashi over even more with the fans with his one of a kind fighting spirit.

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.

Notes: 1 / 2 weeks ago

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

Kenta Kobashi & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi vs. Dan Kroffat & Doug Furnas, Asia Tag Championship Match, from May 25, 1992 at the Miyagi Prefectural Sports Center in Sendai.

Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi had formed a pretty strong team at this time and they finally earned themselves a title match against “The Can-Am Express”. This match is very notable in Kobashi’s career, and even Kikuchi’s, as being one of the few unprecedented under-card matches to ever get a huge reaction from the fans. I am not going to say much to how the fans reacted to this match, but I hope you watch it and see for yourself.

Kenta Kobashi’s popularity keeps soaring at this point and you will only see how things continued growing as we continue with this series in the days to come.

Notes: 2 / 2 weeks ago

[Match of the Day - Kenta Kobashi Series] Well with the start of the new month I have decided to try and start posting a match of the day here on the PS page. It came to my mind earlier that it would be fitting to kick off this daily video post with a series dedicated to Kenta Kobashi.
As many of you should know, Kenta Kobashi will be officially retiring from professional wrestling on May 11th, so I have found it fitting to post a match everyday in honor of Kobashi here on the page leading up to his retirement.
I will be posting 11 matches of the next few days, chronologically, that I feel best represents Kobashi’s legacy. Below is the first match in the series….

Jumbo Tsuruta, Masanobu Fuchi & Akira Taue vs. Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa & Toshiaki Kawada from April 20, 1991.

[Everyone was against each other in this match, Jumbo and Misawa had their feud, Taue and Kawada had theirs, and Kobashi especially was heading into this match with wanting to exact revenge on Fuchi for stomping his face into a bloody pulp in a previous encounter.]
I chose this match to kick off the series as I think it definitely marks a solid beginning of Kobashi’s rise to fame.

A special thanks to Chris J for helping me out with this series.

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.”