Lemme Tell You About: Zero-1 Happy New Year

I'm trying really hard to expand my tastes and viewing in Japanese Pro Wrestling. Beside the New Japan that was already on my plate, I started watching All Japan and Pro Wrestling NOAH last year. I was richly rewarded with refreshing match up and wrestlers, and I walked out of it with a handful of new favorites to follow as they go on to other promotions, and maybe even come to New Japan. But, it's time to make the same, pointed effort to watch other companies. I've taken it, regardless of advice and warnings, to take a look at ZERO1 and Wrestle-1 throughout the year. Will I be left hurting, as such things as hotshot booking and Bob Sapp claim? Or am I going to have my curiosity rewarded? Only one way to find out.

Highlights of Ganseki Tanaka & Tsugutaka Sato vs. Shoji Fukushima & Towa Iwasaki
The two young ZERO1 men, Shoji Fukushima in red and Towa Iwasaki in black, want me to know their name. They threw themselves at their Wrestle-1 opponents (who were given no entrance on TV), and it doesn't go as well as they would hope. Towa was laid out with "A Judo throw that could kill a Bull Elephant" as I wrote, and Shoji was caught in the Boston Crab. He tapped out but showed great spirit.


Highlights of Shinjiro Otani & Yuko Miyamoto vs. TARU & Yuji Hino (Voodoo Murderers)
I took one look at Yuji Hino and I saw seriously money. Whether he's been money, or will be money, or if it's the big fish in a small pond effect I don't know at this point. Not much else to take away from the match itself, besides the fact that Shinjiro can move. He moved as easily and with as much spring in his step as anyone else in the match, or the next (Dear God, we'll get to that). He proceeded to Facewash TARU, over and over again, before hitting them with a final, running Facewash that ended him. The corner man for the Voodoo Murderers then came in and dick-kicked both opponents, before taking off their mask to revealing a siren of a woman named Asuka. I am in the process of sending my application in for a spot in the Voodoo Murderers as you read this.
(Before anyone says it; I know, and I don't care.)

ZERO1 United National Heavyweight Title Four Way Match [3rd Title Defense]
Super Tiger (c) vs. Hartley Jackson (Voodoo Murderers) vs. KAMIKAZE (Voodoo Murderers) vs. Yoshikazu Yokoyama
I'm missing some kind of joke with Yokoyama. I'm not sure if I'd find it any funnier if I was in on it though.
Holy shit.
Imagine a really above decent Four-way, then turn the speed down to about 30%. The action was good, everyone seemed to be alright and nothing was getting messed up, but everyone seemed to move at their own pace, which each person aimed to be slower than the other three men in the ring. In an age where we got four ways like the one at the Tokyo Dome, my expectations were unfortunately high. I guess I heard Super Tiger (Whose mask is glorious, but hides any expression whatsoever) and assumed that he'd be a super high flyer in a super high flyer title defense. Tiger Suplex on probably the opponent that would lose the least from eating a fall (Yokoyama) for Super Tiger to retain. If I am on my deathbed, I want this match played in my final ten minutes of life, so I can feel like I lived another 3 hours.
*3/4

ZERO1 International Junior Heavyweight Title / ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Title Match [1st Title Defense]
Sean Guinness (c) vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa
At 94 kg (207 lbs.), Tatsuhito is the heaviest man I think I've ever seen wrestle for a Junior Heavyweight Title. It was early into this match, after Guinness hit a dive to the outside of the ring, that I realized 'Holy Shit, this is Korakeun Hall'. I'm so used to seeing the Hall from the same angle for every company, that the setup with an actual entrance ramp and new angle threw me off. Sean Guinness won my heart on this night, managing to being a nostalgia act to the American Indy scene of the late 00's. He took a ridiculous Michinoku Driver on the apron which made it's rounds across the Twitterscape the day this match became available, and Sean ended the fight by hitting approximately 20 huge moves in a row, before turning a Hatch Suplex into a brainbuster. I don't care, I like him now. Seal of approval from the FAE.
**3/4

NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Title Match [5th Defense]
Ikuto Hidaka & Takuya Sugawara (c) vs. Masamune & SUGI
There is a man who has chosen to model himself after The One-Eyed Dragon of Oshu. I already love this company, where has it been all my life? Between all four of these men, Ikuto Hidaka was clearly the best worker in the ring.  All four men were good when the match broke down into a four-way, but during the time before there was no discussion. Speaking of four ways, the pace of the match picked drastically up when the comeback started, with SUGI and Masamune flying all over the place. SUGI is very much at home doing wacky shit, including running along the top rope, corner to corner, to dropkick an opponent. Ikuto decided he needed to try for my affection here as well, turning a Victory Roll into a heel hook for the near tapout. Despite this effort, SUGI ended the match, and took the titles, with an honest to God Springboard Dragonrana. I don't know if this title change was the right choice overall, but I don't care because I got to see a Dragonrana.
***

NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Title Match [2nd Defense]
Hideki Suzuki & Kohei Sato (c) vs. Masayuki Okamoto & Yutaka Yoshie

I'm convinced ever man named Suzuki is some kind of bad motherfucker. Hideki Suzuki is the second most dangerous looking man with that family name, and it's not a distant second, either. If you've read my budding archival series, Lions, Pillars, and Arks, you know we've seen Yutaka Yoshie before, but here he really got a chance to shine. When he got the hot tag from his Sumo-derived partner, he made the best fat man comeback of all time. He rolled upon his opponent, he bade his partner to join him in sentons and the like, it was so amazing. Yutaka Yoshie is my favorite free agent in Japan. Match breaks down, leaving Kohei and Masayuki in the ring. Kohei isn't as hard as Hideki, but still managed to occasionally smack the piss out of either of his opponents. Kohei hit the Falcon Arrow, but disgraced the good name by getting only a one count. He payed for this by getting splashed from the top rope by Yutaka, and Saito suplexed by Masayuki for the pinfall. New champions, and a very fun match.
***1/4

ZERO1 World Heavyweight Title Match [5th Defense]
Masato Tanaka (Voodoo Murderers) (c) vs. Yusaku Obata
No, Masato Tanaka is not the champion of Verne Gagne's territory. I tried looking into why ZERO1 is using the AWA Heavyweight title, but the whole backstory itself set me cross eyed. What started as something of a wrestling match early turned into a brawl up the ramp and through the stands. Somehow, I'm still not sure how cause it's all still a blur of violence and the announcer yelling, Tanaka ended up on a table. Yusaku took the opportunity to leap from an entryway, and almost died when the table didn't break, sending him almost headfirst into a set of stadium seats. Holy shit, this wasn't even the climax of the stupid stuff. Obata's second mistake of the night was trying to get into a strike exchange with Masato Tanaka. I would not get into a strike exchange with Masato Tanaka if I had the Five Point Palm Exploding Heart technique, because that would theoretically require me to land five shots. Masato hit the Falcon Arrow, which had more behind it than Sato earlier, and soon after the crowd began to get ravenous. The longer the challenger survived, the more they got behind him. Yusaku nails a trilogy of double knee presses that don't put the champion down, who responded with a pair of Sliding elbow smashes to the face and the back of the head. The crowd was shouting more and more, leading up to a final diving knee drop by Yusaku. With the fall, the crowd went wild. New champion, big celebration. It wasn't perfect, and between the dive and a series of terrifying headbutts I'm convinced the new ZERO1 champ wants his career to end suddenly and as a surprise, but what was great was great, and the fans made most of this great.
****

I know the ratings don't tell of a fantastic show, but I had a great time watching this show. There was just enough insanity to keep me watching and shouting from my desk, and the real work behind it all was really enjoyable. Definitely go find the main event, and maybe both tag title matches. Super Tiger and Sean Guinness didn't have bad defenses, but the circumstances didn't lead themselves to great bouts. I'll definitely be coming back to ZERO1


Thanks for reading! I'm glad that I can turn my passion for wrestling into something that so many people enjoy. If you want to get regular updates on when I release more reviews, you can follow me at Twitter at @LSWayne21. And if you're still looking for your fix on wrestling, check out Enuffa.com, where I got my start in reviewing and still contribute from time to time. You can find this, and more Japanese wrestling, at the RealHero Archive found here. 
Credit for all of my posters and the picture of the greatest Tag Team in ZERO1 to Puroresu Spirit.
See you down the (Bushi)Road.