Rolling Germans Review: Zero One Fire Festival 2002 – Part 1

ZERO ONE: FIRE FESTIVAL 2002 – PART 1

Well after a long hiatus due to reviewing some US Independants (don’t worry, I’m still going to review RoH and TNA as they come along) I’m returning to what brought me to the dance; MOTHERFUCKING PURO! While I haven’t been reviewing it, I have been keeping my collection relatively up to speed though nowhere near what I used to with my finances being allocated to more important things in life. I was interested in picking this set up after people starting throwing around that magical acronym of “MOTYC” for Shinjiro “BITCHMASTER” Ohtani vs Masato Tanaka. Well as luck would have it, a former customer messaged me and we were yapping about this show. He brought up the fact I really should review this considering how much glorious Ohtani is on the tape so I picked up some copies from him for a very cheap price. Go check out Marking Smart Video and pick yourself up some tapes. Tell him Justin Baisden sent you, I might get free stuff (SCORE!).

This review is brought to you by Pizza Pizza. There was some Canadian slices (pepperoni, bacon, mushroom if you’re wondering) left over from a couple of nights ago and with no other decent food in the house, this was prime fodder for the stomach. Of course I’ll probably regret this in a few hours when I realize that I should have actually warmed up the pizza instead of eating it right out of the fridge (breakfast of champions) but I’ll deal with that when it happens.

This is the 2nd annual Zero One Fire Festival. It’s basically run by Shinjiro Ohtani and runs in a two block round robin format. The blocks consist of the following:

Block A: TAKA Michinoku, Samoa Joe (going under the name of “King Joe”), Kintaro Kanemura, Masato Tanaka and Shinjiro Ohtani
Block B: Steve Corino, Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Yuki Ishikawa, Hiortaka Yokoi, and Kohei Sato

You can look at the two blocks and see where most of the star power is. Personally I’d have traded either TAKA or Tanaka for someone in Block B for a little more balance but you can’t bitch about what you can’t change right?

We get some highlights of the former FMW boys (Kuroda and Kanemura) along with Battlarts founder Yuki Ishikawa running their mouths. The Zero One guys show up for a confrontation and then TAKA Michinoku joins the party (decked out major high class I might add) and declares himself an entrant in the tournament.

We move forward to the first day where Ohtani addresses the crowd with everyone else in the ring and they LYNCH HIM! WHAT THE FUCK ARE THEY DOING!? THAT’S THE FUCKING BITCHMASTER! YOU SORRY SONS OF BITCHES ARE AAAAAAALL GONNA PAY!

Samoa Joe interrupts a Samurai TV taping with Masato Tanaka as the guest. He declares himself King Joe as he assures everyone that he’s going to win the Fire Festival. He gets HARDCORE by throwing water in Masato Tanaka’s face during a Samurai TV taping. Ooohhh… big man.

BLOCK A: KINTARO KANEMURA (0 points) vs KING JOE (0 points)
If you’ve seen any FMW from the late nineties then you know Kanemura. He’s a rock solid wrestler though a tad on the pudgy side (which surprisingly doesn’t hamper him too much). He’s more of a garbage wrestler in my opinion but he’s had some good wrestling matches as well. Joe comes from the US Indy fed of UPW and is fast gaining a lot of recognition in North America and Japan. He’s a big boy but can work a very fast style with a lot of flashy stuff you’d expect from juniors rather than a heavyweight. I’d venture to guess it’s only a matter of time before WWE or TNA picks him up. He’s also a really nice guy as he pops into Stuart’s Puroresu Chat Room from time to time. We get a heavyweight feel out process (aka two big guys running into each other to see who falls first) until Kanemura is met with an Overhead Belly to Belly sending him outside. Joe follows up with a CORKSCREW PLANCHA! WOW! That’s outright shocking coming from a guy that big. Irish whip into the rail is reversed and Joe goes crashing in. Kanemura sets up a table and looks to hit a flying forearm sending Joe falling from the apron but that’s blocked and Joe hits a HARDCORE SUPLEX THROUGH THE TABLE! SICK! Joe brings the beatdown with chops and kicks and follows up with a BIG TIME Kneedrop for 2 and Ѕ. German Suplex gets 2 and ѕ. Joe looks for an Enzugiri but misses and eats a Dropkick. We end up outside yet again, where Kanemura’s buddy Tetsuhiro Kuroda holds Joe down on a table, giving Kanemura the time to hit a SPLASH FROM THE SCAFFOLD THROUGH THE TABLE! OH MY GOD! Back in the ring and Kanemura hits his trademark FAT ASS SENTON for 2 and ѕ. He charges but Joe meets him with a Soviet Slam for 2 and 9/10. The kickout is immediately switched up into an STF for the tap out. Well… this was OK but the contrived garbage stuff took it down a notch. I’ve got no problem with garbage but if it takes that long to do and you need interference to boot then it’s just killing the flow of the match and has no place. We’ll be nice and go *1/2

We get some short clips of Kohei Sato going 1 on 1 with Ohtani from the finals of last year’s tournament. It’s followed up with an interview I obviously don’t understand.

BLOCK B: YUKI ISHIKAWA (0 points) vs KOHEI SATO
Sato got the big push last year as evidenced in the footage. This year he’s more established and nowhere near as green as the last time but he’s still a young gun (aka young punk, I mean come on, LOOK AT THAT HAIR!). Ishikawa has been around for a long time and is the founder of the once great but now defunct Battlarts promotion. He’s a strong ground wrestler with an emphasis on stiff striking and submissions. As expected, this is a ground based match. Ishikawa controls for the mostpart with various leg submissions. Sato manages to hit a Uranage and goes into a Jujigatame but Ishikawa makes the ropes. He looks for another Uranage but that’s blocked and reversed into a Cobra Twist and segued into an Anklelock – Legbar combo only to have that reversed by Sato into a Jujigatame and that’s all she wrote. WHOA! That pretty much came out of nowhere but if you want to get over the Cross Arm Scissors as lethal, that’s one way to do it. This was pretty much all matwork but always moving and very entertaining to watch. I would have liked a less abrupt ending but it was probably meant to get over Sato’s finisher more than anything. *3/4

KUROGE WAGYUTA/FUGOFUGO YUMEJI vs DON ARAKAWA/YOSHITO SASAKI
I haven’t got a clue who any of these guys are as I’m not up to snuff on Zero One’s ever changing roster. I guess this is what happens when you live in the shelter that is only watching NJ/AJ/NOAH for the last year or so. Anyway, this is comedy wrestling so I automatically hate it. Arakawa plays the role of funny old man with various overselling and poking of the eyes. BOOOOORING! The first half is all comedy and then we finally get somewhere as Wagyuta hits Sasaki with a HUGE Rydeen Bomb for 2 and Ѕ. Wagyuta charges but he’s met with a GORE! SPEAR! GORE! Sasaki looks for an Argentine Backbreaker (aka Torture Rack aka Grandpa’s Piggy Back Of Fun) but Wagyuta slips out and looks for a Dragon Suplex only to have Sasaki reverse into a German Suplex 2 and ѕ. He goes back to the Backbreaker but Wagyuta slips out and hits a JACKHAMMER for 2 and 9/10. Wagyuta with the DOUBLE LARIATOOOOOO! 1… 2… 2.999999! It’s finally put away with a Leaning Powerbomb. First half sucked. Second half made it watchable. I didn’t like anyone in there outside of Wagyuta so here’s to hoping he’s on more tapes and everyone else isn’t. CHEERS! *

NAOHIRO HOSHIKAWA/RYOUJI SAI vs KAMIKAZE/TETSUHIRO KURODA
I’m half and half on this one. Hoshikawa has been around for a while now and has improved a ton since I first started watching him in Michinoku Pro back in 1996 or so. If you’re looking for two great singles matches, track down his matches with Naomichi Marufuji from 3/01 and 3/02 (both Zero One shows in case you’re wondering). You’re getting ****+ both times around. I haven’t seen Sai before so I can’t really comment. There was a Kamizake that used to wrestle under a mask and use a lot of high flying moves back in the early – mid nineties but I doubt it’s the same guy. Kuroda was a mainstay of FMW before the company went under. He’s changed his style a little to be slightly more comedy oriented (which I obviously hate) but he’s still a very good worker. I suspect this match will be at least good – very good. Hoshikawa and Kamikaze bring the flip flop and flashy kicks to start. Kuroda hits a Side Russian Leg Sweep into a Jumping Kneedrop for 2 and Ѕ. Hoshikawa comes back with a leg lariat. Sai is tagged in and brings MEGA STIFF kicks. Irish whip into the corner and Sai hits a SICK Avalanche Knee to the chin for 2 and Ѕ. NASTY! Kuroda manages to trip him up and post the leg. Sai’s dragged to the steel ramp and eats a DDT! BRUTAL! Back in the ring and both teams tag, with Hoshikawa bringing the stiff kicks. Kamikaze ends up outside and Kuroda tries to do damage but Hoshikawa uses the momentum off an Irish whip to fly outside the ring with a Tope Suicida on Kamikaze. NICE! Back in the ring and a seated dropkick gets 2 and ѕ. Sai’s back in and brings more MEGA STIFF kicks. Sai charges but he’s met with a drop toe hold into a leg lariat. Kuroda tags and hits a German Suplex for 2 and ѕ. Choking in the corner leaves Sai in perfect position for a GORGEOUS Kamikaze Moonsault for 2 and 9/10. Sai comes back with a Northern Lights Suplex for 2 and 9/10. Kuroda hits a LARIATOOOOOO! 1… 2… 2.999999! Sai looks for a Roundhouse but Kuroda blocks that and hits another LARIATOOOOOO for the victory. This was pretty good stuff as expected. I’m not really big on Kuroda’s integration of comedy bits into his work but it didn’t detract “too much” from this match. I’d love to see more of Kamikaze as he looked very good here. Nice build and some great near falls down the stretch leave me happy. **1/2

Earlier today, Steve Corino and C.W. Anderson were seen handing the referee some money. Ooohhh… bribery. Feel the intrigue.

BLOCK B: STEVE CORINO vs HIROTAKA YOKOI
I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of Steve Corino. He was one of the few fun parts of ECW before it’s demise and has been a rock solid wrestler on the US Independants (is he still under that self imposed US retirement?). Yokoi is your standard stiff as fuck shooter type. We get the only fun part of the match as Corino yells “CORINO IS ICHIBA… OW” as Yokoi kicks him in the face mid yelling. Now THAT was funny. As for the rest, the match is terrible with Yokoi bringing the punches and kicks and Corino running away, stalling, hiding behind the ref, doing whatever it takes not to get hit. This goes on for about five – seven minutes until Corino gets in a low blow and a double leg cradle with his feet on the ropes for the victory. Just terrible. Corino really disappointed me. Ѕ*

THE PREDATOR/TOM HOWARD/C.W. ANDERSON vs TATSUHITO TAKAIWA/MASATO TANAKA/SHINYA HASHIMOTO
Well this is certainly a mish mash of characters. The Predator is a huge guy wielding a chain everywhere. He’s kind of got this Bruiser Brody thing going on except he isn’t close to as good as Brody was. Howard is another UPW worker with a shooter/pro hybrid style. As was the case with Corino, I’m pretty sure we’ve all seen Anderson at some point in time. He looks to have lost A TON of weight since the last time I saw him. He’s sort of lost that mean edge without the bulk though. I’m sure we all know everyone on the native teams through various reviews so I won’t bother with any backstory. We get some comedy wrestling until Takaiwa looks for the ten punch salute in the corner but Predator holds him up and Howard comes off the top with A MEGA BLOCKBUSTER! AWESOME! Takaiwa plays native in peril for a few minutes until Howard misses a flying forearm and Tanaka tags in. He comes flying with a Forearm and hits a HUUUUUGE lariat followed up with a FISHERMAN’S BUSTAAAAAH and BIG TIME Frog Splash that would make RVD jealous for 2 and Ѕ. Predator tags and Tanaka brings the forearms but Predator PLOWS HIM with a lariat. Tanaka’s back up and gets STEAMROLLED with another lariat. Anderson tags and hits a Superkick for 2 and ѕ. EXPLOIDAAAAAH gets 2 and ѕ. Anderson looks for his trademark Spinebuster but that’s reversed into a Capture Bomb. Hash tags and FUCKING KILLS HIM with stiff kicks. BRUTAL! He hits the big DDT and tags Takaiwa who hits the DVD but Predator got in a blind tag and hits a big boot on Takaiwa. Grandpa’s Piggyback Of Fun can’t get the tap out so he switches into a neckbreaker for 2 and 9/10. The Brody Big Kneedrop puts an end to it. This was more fun than good. They had a bit of comedy mixed in with a lot of fast paced stuff and some great near falls down the stretch. They really made Predator look like a giant monster here as most of the natives weren’t able to phase him. Props to Tanaka for injecting some energy into it near the end as all of his offense was really fast with tons of impact. Very enjoyable. **1/2

The evil gaijin attack after the bell but Karate Master Kazuhiko Ogasawara comes in and cleans house. If you’ve ever seen that WCW PPV where Ernest Miller premiered then you have a good idea how this was. Just sub in Miller for Ogasawara, Glacier for the natives, and Wrath/Mortis for the gaijin. I assume this’ll lead to a match later on in this set.

BLOCK A: TAKA MICHINOKU vs SHINJIRO OHTANI
YES! YES! YES! THE MOTHERFUCKING BITCHMASTER RETURNS TO MY TV! It’s been sooooo long, I was going through withdrawal symptoms. For you WWE fans wondering what happened to TAKA, he ended up going back to Japan near the end of his contract and opening up the Kaientai Dojo. As far as I can tell, it’s just a training gym running very small shows from time to time. Hey; you’ve got to start somewhere right? Ohtani is pretty much the #2 man in Zero One after Hashimoto. He’s still bulked up and has been that way since returning from his hiatus at the beginning of 2001. He’s taken his ultra badassness to a new level by CARRYING A FUCKING SWORD TO THE RING! I LOVE IT! He’s also one half of the NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champions with Masato Tanaka. Ohtani charges but TAKA goes to work quickly with a released German Suplex and a Superkick for 2 and Ѕ. It settles down with a Triangle Choke but Ohtani comes back with chops. A blind charge leads to TAKA hitting a kick to the chest a kneedrop to the back of the head. He goes back to a Triangle but Ohtani POWERBOMBS THAT SHIT DOWN! Ohtani goes to work with a Choke Sleeper and segues into a Camel Clutch but TAKA reverses into one of his own, only to have Ohtani BITE HIS FINGERS! AHAHA! I LOVE THIS GUY! Ohtani FUCKING DRILLS TAKA with a running foot scrape. TAKA IS FUCKED! He reels back into the corner but Ohtani misses a running high kick and TAKA nails him with a nice Tornado DDT. An Irish whip is reversed and Ohtani FUCKING KILLS HIM WITH A BAAAAACKDROPPAH! RELEASED GERMAN SUPLEX ON HIS HEAD! TAKA IS GETTING MAULED! Ohtani goes waaaaay high with a Single Crab and TAKA IS SCREEEEEAMING! TAKA inches… crawls… aaaaaand… PULLED BACK! Again… inches… crawls… aaaaaand PULLED BACK AGAIN! TAAAAAA… NO! Finally he makes the ropes. Great heat sequence there. TAKA finally manages to reverse into an Enzugiri, sending Ohtani out and TAKA follows up with his Trademark SWANDIVE PLLLLLANCHA OVER THE RAILING! TAKA tries to go for a DCOR (YOU LITTLE BASTARD!) but Ohtani’s will to unleash more ass kicking forces him back at the 19 count (MY HERO)!. TAKA keeps it coming with foot scrapes of his own. TAKA looks for a German suplex, standing switch, flipped out of by TAKA and he CLOCKS Ohtani with a Superkick and follows up with A CROSSFACE! CROSSFACE! TAKA IS WREEEENCHING ON IT! Ohtani makes the ropes. TAKA looks for The Michinoku Driver but Ohtani slips out and BREAKS HIS NECK WITH A RELEASED DRAGON SUPLEX! HOLY FUCKING SHIT! Both guys slowly get to their feet and slap each other until TAKA fires off a Roundhouse kick. 1… 2… 2.999999! TAKA charges but he’s met with a slap in the face and a Powerbomb followed up THE SWANDIVE DROPKICK! HERE IT COMES; THE SPIRAL BOMB! 1… 2… 3! I LOVE IT! YOU LOVE IT! BITCHMASTER REIGNS SUPREME! You and I both know I’m biased towards Ohtani but this still kicked all kinds of ass. TAKA was totally game here and offered his neck up for sacrifice over and over. The leaned into everything and all the moves looked like they were viable means for killing someone. Good work in the beginning with each guy really dicking it up (Ohtani obviously doing a slightly better job) and using a nice progression of hard hitting stuff and good submission work leading into the near death moves at the end. This match is definitely worth going after. ***3/4

So at the end of day 1:

BLOCK A:
Shinjiro Ohtani = 2 points
King Joe = 2 point
Kintaro Kanemura = 0 points
TAKA Michinoku = 0 points
Masato Tanaka = 0 points (off day)

BLOCK B:
Kohei Sato = 2 points
Steve Corino = 2 points
Yuki Ishikawa = 0 points
Hirotaka Yokoi = 0 points
Tetsuhiro Kuroda = 0 points (off day)

Partial Thoughts: The undercard was OK but definitely nothing special. They had a nice mixed bag of action from start to finish but until the TV main event (the six man tag was the actual main event on the card), everything else was just cruising along with nothing to jump up and down about. Odds are you’ll get this stuff in a set anyway so I’m going to mildly recommend picking up this tape if only to see some solid action and a truly bad ass main event. Remember to take a look at Marking Smart Video for this show and many others.

Justin Baisden
Rolling Germans Wrestling