Post by Shining Road Review on Jan 6, 2018 10:00:48 GMT -5
On this night, over 5,000 fans bore witness to the most momentous night in Shining Road Pro-Wrestling’s nine-month history. The show would begin with an incredible announcement as President and Chairman Takeo Yoshida took the stage and declared that the return of the GPWS Heavyweight Title to Japan would usher in a new age. The All-Japan Sports and Wrestling Commission had officially severed its partnership with Shining Road once the prominent GPWS belt became the revitalized cornerstone of Japanese pro-wrestling. With the three GPWS titles under the same roof, tonight would mark the Shining Road finale.
The quarterfinals saw KOSUKE upset Hamada and Morimoto upset the former All-Japan Imperial Champion Makoto Ueno. Masayoshi Arimoto would fend off a fiery Ikki Yanagi while former King of Lions Champion Julian Cutlass would advance against “the Fighting Emperor” Toru Ishii and use a picture-perfect backdrop hold to seal the victory.
In the semifinals, KOSUKE would upset Julian Cutlass to the surprise of all, modifying his patented Special K to drop the Blazin’ King on the crown of his head and score the pinfall! While the upstart Morimoto would put up a fight, “Mr. Meiji” Masayoshi Arimoto would score the win with the Meiji Tombstone Driver over his friend to advance to the finals.
In an intermission of sorts, the BLACK Lion’s Road’s duo of the reigning King of Lions Champion Alexander Irvine and protégé Jimmy Winner would take on A.R.M.B.A.R.’s own Damien Turlan and Kaito “Masakari” Matsushita. Irvine would submit Turlan with an armbar in an ironic twist. Afterwards, the fighters would be in good spirits. In fact, Hayato Hamada entered the ring and extended an invitation to the King of Lions Champion to become A.R.M.B.A.R.’s official “Pro-Wrestling Ambassador”. Irvine shook his hand and accepted.
After an MMA bout that saw Masahiro Fujita defeat his best friend and judoka Yoshihiro Sawamura, we would watch Katsuhiko “Genius” Himura become the man who could finally overcome the junior heavyweight god Thunder Mask and win the GPWS Junior Heavyweight Championship. Following that, the SAKURA gundan duo of Tanaka and Hayashi finally defeated the Krak-n-Mack duo to claim the GPWS Tag titles after Hayashi somehow lifted the gargantuan frame of Iron Mack Brody and bounced his skull off the mat with his screwdriver attack – the Crystal Field Splitter!
In the finals, KOSUKE and Masayoshi Arimoto would battle it out. KOSUKE utilized his submission repertoire and his judo takedowns to wear down Arimoto, a trained freestyle wrestler in his own right. But Arimoto would battle back with his blend of suplexes and drivers to get back in the match. KOSUKE eventually hit the modified Special K that defeated Julian Cutlass for a 1…2… 2.5… and a foot on the ropes just as the ref counted 3! Ultimately, it was an epic series of seven – count ‘em, seven! – Edo brainbusters that would ultimately neutralize KOSUKE and give Arimoto the win and begin his second reign with the GPWS Heavyweight Championship!
In the ring, “Mr. Meiji” Masayoshi Arimoto gathered the night’s winners of the other GPWS championship matches and declared peace between the sekigun and SAKURA gundan! Mr. Meiji declared the wrestlers on the roster had reached the end of the Shining Road and it was time to begin a new journey together in harmony. Upon that note, the roster came to the stage to join the champions along with President Yoshida to wave goodbye to the fans and invited them to join the next incarnation on the road of strongest pro-wrestling!
With Shining Road Pro-Wrestling officially dissolved, you’ll be happy to know that your good friend Solomon Bentley has been hired by MAXIMUM JAPAN Pro-Wrestling as a commentator – so I’m not going away any time soon! And although I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of many of the Shining Road fighters, I hope you’ll join me in thanking them for a truly honorable performance over the last nine months! Farewell and good luck to the fighters who have made the Bushidokan one of the most celebrated venues in pro-wrestling!
ONE SHINING NIGHT!! GPWS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT!!
Date: 1/6/2018
Location: Bushidokan, Yokohama, Japan
Attendance: 5,050 fans (101% capacity)
1. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: KOSUKE defeats Hayato Hamada (10:37) via submission with a guillotine choke.
2. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Julian Cutlass defeats Toru Ishii (9:52) via pinfall with a backdrop hold.
3. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats Ikki Yanagi (12:11) via pinfall after an Edo brainbuster.
4. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Takeshi Morimoto defeats Makoto Ueno (18:21) via pinfall with a small cradle.
5. Shigeru Toyama defeats BLADE Takano (11:44) via submission with the Starboy Special II.
6. Sheik Spectre and DARK FEATHER II defeat Kishin Nozaki and El Chupacabra Jr. (13:05) via pinfall after Spectre uses the Fertile Crescent on Nozaki.
7.GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Semifnals: KOSUKE defeats Julian Cutlass (15:18) via pinfall after a wrist-clutch high-angle Special K.
8. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Semifinals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats Takeshi Morimoto (12:59) via pinfall after the MTD.
9. B.L.R. vs. A.R.M.B.A.R.: Alexander Irvine and Jimmy Winner defeat Damien Turlan and Kaito Matsushita (17:34) via submission when Irvine uses a cross armbreaker on Turlan.
10. Assassin vs. Warrior!!~MMA Rules: Masahiro Fujita defeats Yoshihiro Sawamura (R3 1:45) via TKO (mounted punching).
11. GPWS Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Himura defeats Thunder Mask (c) (20:04) via pinfall after the Katana Blaster to become the 23rd champion.
12. GPWS Tag Team Championship: Hajime Tanaka and Zen Hayashi defeat KRAKEN and Iron Mack Brody (c) (23:30) via pinfall after Hayashi uses the Crystal Field Splitter on Brody to become the 25th champions.
13. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Finals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats KOSUKE (30:49) via pinfall after an Edo brainbuster to become the 18th champion.
The quarterfinals saw KOSUKE upset Hamada and Morimoto upset the former All-Japan Imperial Champion Makoto Ueno. Masayoshi Arimoto would fend off a fiery Ikki Yanagi while former King of Lions Champion Julian Cutlass would advance against “the Fighting Emperor” Toru Ishii and use a picture-perfect backdrop hold to seal the victory.
In the semifinals, KOSUKE would upset Julian Cutlass to the surprise of all, modifying his patented Special K to drop the Blazin’ King on the crown of his head and score the pinfall! While the upstart Morimoto would put up a fight, “Mr. Meiji” Masayoshi Arimoto would score the win with the Meiji Tombstone Driver over his friend to advance to the finals.
In an intermission of sorts, the BLACK Lion’s Road’s duo of the reigning King of Lions Champion Alexander Irvine and protégé Jimmy Winner would take on A.R.M.B.A.R.’s own Damien Turlan and Kaito “Masakari” Matsushita. Irvine would submit Turlan with an armbar in an ironic twist. Afterwards, the fighters would be in good spirits. In fact, Hayato Hamada entered the ring and extended an invitation to the King of Lions Champion to become A.R.M.B.A.R.’s official “Pro-Wrestling Ambassador”. Irvine shook his hand and accepted.
After an MMA bout that saw Masahiro Fujita defeat his best friend and judoka Yoshihiro Sawamura, we would watch Katsuhiko “Genius” Himura become the man who could finally overcome the junior heavyweight god Thunder Mask and win the GPWS Junior Heavyweight Championship. Following that, the SAKURA gundan duo of Tanaka and Hayashi finally defeated the Krak-n-Mack duo to claim the GPWS Tag titles after Hayashi somehow lifted the gargantuan frame of Iron Mack Brody and bounced his skull off the mat with his screwdriver attack – the Crystal Field Splitter!
In the finals, KOSUKE and Masayoshi Arimoto would battle it out. KOSUKE utilized his submission repertoire and his judo takedowns to wear down Arimoto, a trained freestyle wrestler in his own right. But Arimoto would battle back with his blend of suplexes and drivers to get back in the match. KOSUKE eventually hit the modified Special K that defeated Julian Cutlass for a 1…2… 2.5… and a foot on the ropes just as the ref counted 3! Ultimately, it was an epic series of seven – count ‘em, seven! – Edo brainbusters that would ultimately neutralize KOSUKE and give Arimoto the win and begin his second reign with the GPWS Heavyweight Championship!
In the ring, “Mr. Meiji” Masayoshi Arimoto gathered the night’s winners of the other GPWS championship matches and declared peace between the sekigun and SAKURA gundan! Mr. Meiji declared the wrestlers on the roster had reached the end of the Shining Road and it was time to begin a new journey together in harmony. Upon that note, the roster came to the stage to join the champions along with President Yoshida to wave goodbye to the fans and invited them to join the next incarnation on the road of strongest pro-wrestling!
With Shining Road Pro-Wrestling officially dissolved, you’ll be happy to know that your good friend Solomon Bentley has been hired by MAXIMUM JAPAN Pro-Wrestling as a commentator – so I’m not going away any time soon! And although I have a feeling that we haven’t seen the last of many of the Shining Road fighters, I hope you’ll join me in thanking them for a truly honorable performance over the last nine months! Farewell and good luck to the fighters who have made the Bushidokan one of the most celebrated venues in pro-wrestling!
- RECAP -
ONE SHINING NIGHT!! GPWS HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP TOURNAMENT!!
Date: 1/6/2018
Location: Bushidokan, Yokohama, Japan
Attendance: 5,050 fans (101% capacity)
1. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: KOSUKE defeats Hayato Hamada (10:37) via submission with a guillotine choke.
2. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Julian Cutlass defeats Toru Ishii (9:52) via pinfall with a backdrop hold.
3. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats Ikki Yanagi (12:11) via pinfall after an Edo brainbuster.
4. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Quarterfinals: Takeshi Morimoto defeats Makoto Ueno (18:21) via pinfall with a small cradle.
5. Shigeru Toyama defeats BLADE Takano (11:44) via submission with the Starboy Special II.
6. Sheik Spectre and DARK FEATHER II defeat Kishin Nozaki and El Chupacabra Jr. (13:05) via pinfall after Spectre uses the Fertile Crescent on Nozaki.
7.GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Semifnals: KOSUKE defeats Julian Cutlass (15:18) via pinfall after a wrist-clutch high-angle Special K.
8. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Semifinals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats Takeshi Morimoto (12:59) via pinfall after the MTD.
9. B.L.R. vs. A.R.M.B.A.R.: Alexander Irvine and Jimmy Winner defeat Damien Turlan and Kaito Matsushita (17:34) via submission when Irvine uses a cross armbreaker on Turlan.
10. Assassin vs. Warrior!!~MMA Rules: Masahiro Fujita defeats Yoshihiro Sawamura (R3 1:45) via TKO (mounted punching).
11. GPWS Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Himura defeats Thunder Mask (c) (20:04) via pinfall after the Katana Blaster to become the 23rd champion.
12. GPWS Tag Team Championship: Hajime Tanaka and Zen Hayashi defeat KRAKEN and Iron Mack Brody (c) (23:30) via pinfall after Hayashi uses the Crystal Field Splitter on Brody to become the 25th champions.
13. GPWS Heavyweight Title Tournament – Finals: Masayoshi Arimoto defeats KOSUKE (30:49) via pinfall after an Edo brainbuster to become the 18th champion.