Matches of note vol. 2

FUJIWARA ARMBAR'S MATCHES OF NOTE VOL. 2

Continuing to cherry pick the recent in-ring highlights and noteworthy events around the Japanese scene. Not reviews, rather these are spoiler-free recommendations and overviews from events I haven't reviewed in full. These selections pick up in early October with a couple of slightly earlier picks.

ZERO1 Fire Festival Finals

Pro-Wrestling ZERO1
Fire Festival Day 8
3rd August 2014, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Despite not being completely knocked out by the Zero1 event that I reviewed early in July, there were sufficient positives to offer the impression that a good day for Zero1 might be a good day for wrestling. I was also giddily high on the thrills and spills of tournament wrestling offered by New Japan's wildly successful G1 Climax, so reaching down the ladder to a smaller promotion offering the same experience seemed like both a nice thing to do in terms of exposure and personally beneficial to me w/r/t entertainment.

fujiwara armbar investigates: Pro-Wrestling ZERO1

An occasional series in which, in a bid to further my spotty knowledge of Japanese wrestling promotions, I watch a recent event and assess whether or not I'd watch regularly given the time, money and ability to access.

Promotion: Pro-Wrestling ZERO1 (ZERO1)

Event watched: True Lies, Korakuen Hall, June 1st 2014

What did I know about the promotion going in?: little bits from here and there. In about 2002 I saw a VHS of their first ever show, which was probably the first full Japanese show I ever sat through. The opener featured Naomichi Marufuji, performing moves now made standard by international exposure but at the time were completely breathtaking. A lot of the card featured worked-shoot matches that seemed to be either a man kicking a man who was on the floor, or two men just rolling around on the floor for what seemed like an eternity. Misawa showed up in the main event and all was fine again.