DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
TNA Fan World
HTML https://tnafans.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week
*****************************************************
#Post#: 24645--------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week; Burning Ambition
By: SheriffLonestar Date: March 1, 2014, 2:00 am
---------------------------------------------------------
So this week's PPV of the Week pulls double duty. It informs of
some faction presentation and it informs us of some of the stars
that will be appearing on the TNA/Wrestle 1 Super Card that will
be One Night Only in a few weeks time. They are filming it this
week, so very pertinent. So what happened hey who when? Well as
discussed in my review of the Japanese Year;
HTML http://www.tnafanforum.com/sheriff-lonestar's-ppv-of-the-week/sheriff-lonestars-a-year-in-japan-part-1/
HTML http://www.tnafanforum.com/sheriff-lonestar's-ppv-of-the-week/sheriff-lonestars-a-year-in-japan-part-2/
Burning are a group that really started in the long lost depths
of time. The original Burning was a group of wrestlers who were
associated with Kenta Kobiashi in All Japan Pro Wrestling, named
after one of Kobiahsi's finishers The Burning Hammer which you
can see here;
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuEoimAW604
As Kobashi moved on to NOAH several Burning groups grew around
him. The last of which were assembled for his departure from Pro
Wrestling at NOAH's Final Burning card which I looked at in
detail here;
HTML http://www.tnafanforum.com/sheriff-lonestar's-ppv-of-the-week/sheriff-lonestar's-ppv-of-the-week-sayonara-kobashi/
Not long after Kobashi left wrestling as an active competitor he
decided to take up a position as on screen presence for his old
stomping ground All Japan Pro Wrestling, the members of Burning
decided to follow suit. Well some of them anyway, feeling that
they had done their time in NOAH they figured that AJPW would be
a breath of fresh air. Of course that left a massive hole in
NOAH cards for a while, but today we look at the effect it had
on AJPW. What happens when five well known and respected free
agents who all happen to be friends and have strong historic
ties to each other turn up on your doorstep? Well the obvious
thing to do is group them together and call them something that
is reminiscent of those ties. So Atsushi Aoki, Kotaro Suzuki, Go
Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru became the latest
incarnation of Burning and the first not to feature Kobashi as
an active member. The next step for AJPW was to present them in
competition for the first time. Now when you have seen other
groups début in pro wrestling they tend to run rough shod for a
few weeks, pick up titles and generally are made to look strong.
Not that AJPW were not planning on that, but for such a
momentous occasion, they tried something a little different.
They produced an entire card featuring the whole roster of
Burning in singles matches which gave chance to show off each
individual character and show them as a group. The Burning
Series was born and just over a year ago it took place at the
Mecca that is Korakuen Hall.
Now on the flip side of that we have two wrestlers who are no
longer with AJPW. They are now with Wrestle 1. As Burning were
making their débuts, Keiji Mutoh then President of AJPW and its
lead creator, was in the process of selling his shares in the
company and stepping down so he could begin his own company that
became Wrestle 1 and had its first cards last year. Mutoh is of
course a legend in his own lunchtime. Having come up through the
ranks of New Japan Pro Wrestling in the late eighties, was its
dominant Ace throughout the 90's, became the saving figure of
All Japan at the turn of the century and had some of the
greatest matches of all time throughout this period. Finding
money and backers to develop this project was not a hard job.
Many of AJPW's roster who were loyal to him, he had been by all
accounts a popular and well respected booker, and who perhaps
felt that their time was done in AJPW, moved with him. Two of
whom are on this card Shuji Kondo and Kaz Hayashi.
Atsushi Aoki vs Hiroshi Yamato
On the Burning side of this match, Aoki made his début for NOAH
in 2005. Aoki was well travelled even as a rookie, his “learning
excursion” sent him to Real Quality Wrestling here in the UK and
Westside Xtreme in Germany, he also spent time in Mexico for
AAA. His style sets the tone for this card, but really there is
minimal difference in how all of the All Japan crew work. These
matches are about intensity and impact. NOAH's open door policy
also gave him a lot of experience against New Japan and All
Japan talent, but that underlying story of traditional
wrestling, working body parts, being logical, still shines
through. On the All Japan side of this match is former college
amateur Hiroshi Yamato. Yamato started in the AJPW Dojo in 2007.
He to spent time in Mexico for AJPW's affiliate there
International Wrestling Revolution Group. His early high profile
series against as part of the F4 faction saw him feud with
Voodoo Murders and the recently passed Nelson Frazier Jnr. (King
Mabel/Big Daddy V). This is a fun opener, and explains the Kings
Road Style very well. Kings Road began to develop under the
leadership of Giant Baba in Al Japan in the late nineties, it
has to be stiff realistic and logical and like all the wrestlers
on this card both men are great exponents of it. It also begins
to show the tension between the Burning crew and the All Japan
roster.
Kotaro Suzuki vs Kaz Hayashi
Kaz Hayashi many of you will know from his run in WCW and WWE
during the Invasion storyline. He began wrestling in Michinoku
Pro, the home of the high flying Jap Lucha style, in 1992. His
run in WCW culminated in his tag team with La Parka and the
rather unfortunate Vince Russo/Ed Ferrara idea of letting them
speak in Spanish and Japanese while they were over dubbed with
humours English voices. Which goes to show how stupid Russo and
Ferrara were and the rumours as to why Wrestle 1 are so nervous
about working with TNA if Russo is actually back working for
them. The man's a menace. Anywho, since Kaz returned to Japan,
AJPW to be specific, he has become a well rounded star taking
the mould of an AJPW Junior Heavyweight Ace and bring a more of
a mat style to the fore, based on his days in The States and
based on his environment and has enabled him to have a long 22
year career. Kotaro Suzuki on the other hand has pretty much
stayed within his NOAH boundaries. His tag team with Atsushi
Aoki being one highlight. As a respectful student of Mitsuharu
Misawa he has adopted a lot of his moves, but the basic
principal is the same, train wrestling then bring in the heavy
artillery. With the experience and talent available in this
match its unsurprising that its one of the best bouts of the
five. It should also give you an idea of what to expect when Kaz
teams up with Shuji Kondo to face The Wolves for the TNA tag
team titles. Like Suzuki Edwards and Richards are in the mould
of Japanese Juniors and its should be something else to see
especially with Kondo's unique style. However more on him later.
Go Shiozaki vs Manabu Soya
Shiozaki is the obvious star of Burning's younger talent. A
gifted grappler with bags of charisma it is no accident that he
is leading his own stable now in AJPW. That talent was always
obvious, The Wrestling Observer gave him a five star match and
tagging with his mentor Kenta Kobashi against Kensuke Sasaki and
Katsuhiko Nakajima as “almost perfect”. He became GHC World
Heavyweight Champion in 2007 making him one of the fastest
rising stars in Japanese history largely thanks to his
associations with Jun Akiyama (his mentor), Kenta Kobashi and
his tag partner Mitsuharu Misawa who sadly passed away after a
match were he tagged with Shiozaki. Manabu Soya is another
Wrestle-1 refuge where he has been playing an on screen
authority figure, he is the reason why his former tag team
partner Seiya Sanada will be wrestling Austin Aries on the One
Night Only card. He is currently sidelined with injury hence his
non wrestling role, but his career highlight was his tag team
Get Wild with Takao Ōmori which throughout 2012 had a
stellar year taking the AJPW Unified Tag Belts three times
including a win in the The World's Strongest Determination Tag
League, they vacated the belts before hand to win them back as
the prize of the tournament. Having trained under Scott D'Amore
in Canada I believe he will have a big impact on the One Night
Only card as a player who has worked the TNA style before he can
give a lot of input into the creative side of things for the
Japanese wrestlers. This match is fun while it lasts, Shiozki
gives the impression he wants it over with fast. All business as
always, again its that Burning Spirit that sets the tone
Jun Akiyama vs Takao Ōmori
Aha, the classic Veteran on Veteran match up here. Akiyama I
have written about widely, but his poise, experience and aura
still shine through in this match. Takao Ōmori is alos
pretty damn good, having spent the first 8 years of his career
in AJPW, before switching to NOAH, and leaving under a cloud to
go on a foreign excursion to Harley Race's WLW for a learning
excursion, which was a bit rich for an 8 year veteran. He has
worked for NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, WWE and so there is a little High
Noon about this match. Two guys with big reputations square off
against each other. Its as stiff as you would imagine that would
be. The never back down attitude of both wrestlers sets up the
main event perfectly and all the more surprising that since
Burning's assimilation in AJPW that they both now form a tag
team together, with Manabu Soya also joining the Wrestle 1
Exodus, Akiyama and Ōmori
now wrestle together as Wild Burning.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Shuji Kondo © - AJPW World Junior
Heavyweight Title Match
This bout is awesome and everything a main event should be in
AJPW. Intense, big moves, Kanemaru the 18 year aerial veteran
against the Baby Monster Shuji Kondo. Kondo is another Wrestle 1
worker now so its worth watching his style in the build up to
the One Night Only card. Not a traditional Junior Heavyweight
because of his muscle mass and power ability he provides a
startling contrast to the much slighter Kanemaru. This match is
also made all the more fun for the outside interference, that is
sparse but realistic. Kondo before his AJPW worked mainly for
the smaller majors of Japanese wrestling, Dragon Gate,
Dragondoor and El Dorado, this match was during his over year
long reign as Jnr. Heavyweight Champion, and showed what a star
he has become, going on last after that match takes some
confidence and both are heated and in their approach to this
match. Its lively, stiff and entertaining, and has the crowd on
the edge of its feet.
Though the Burning stable did not last long, AJPW did the right
things in presenting them in this way. It got them over strong
without having to sacrifice wrestlers for months, and showed
some fallibility, they were not unbeatable but it show cased
their talents, essentially what Wrestle 1 have to do with the
TNA roster as they are introduced for the first time to Japanese
crowd, en mass, and with title belts to be taken from them.
Buckle up folks this one could be a rough ride. Enjoy the show.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8egOV7p4oD0
*****************************************************