Translate

Tuesday, January 31, 2023

[ZERO1][PREVIEW] “22nd Anniversary Convention” 3/5/23

It was in March 2001 that Shinya Hashimoto and Shinjiro Otani presented the very first ZERO1 event, at Ryogoku Kokugikan in front of 11,000 fans, and live nationally on SKY PerfecTV! via satellite. 22 years later, ZERO1 will celebrate its anniversary on March 5 (11:30 AM start time, doors open at 10:45 AM) at the Korakuen Hall (the Madison Square Garden of Japan).



In the main event, Masato Tanaka will defend his ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship against Shoki Kitamura. Tanaka is currently in his sixth reign as Champion, with his first reign being the third longest reign in the history of the Championship. It is also noteworthy that Tanaka is the first ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion in history.

The lineage of the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship began in 1996 when a promotion named American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling was founded. This is the reason why "AWA" is written on the belt. Many recognizable talents have held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship, including former WWE star King Kong Bundy and Matt Wiese, who is best known as former WWE star Luther Reigns, and also wrestled in WCW and ZERO1 as, "Horshu".

In 2004, ZERO1 became an affiliate of American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling (I was the publicist/columnist of the main governing body that year). After stripping the previous AWA World Heavyweight Champion of the title, ZERO1 was sanctioned to be the site where the new Champion would be decided. ZERO1 was an AWA affiliate for almost three years, and during that time period, most of the wrestlers who held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship were members of the ZERO1 roster (such as Shinjiro Otani and Masato Tanaka). ZERO1 was the biggest AWA affiliate and was the organization most responsible for the popularity that American Wrestling Association Superstars Of Wrestling was quickly gaining. ZERO1 severed ties with them in December 2007, and Tanaka was AWA World Heavyweight Champion at that time. The Championship was then renamed the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship, with Tanaka being the first Champion.

Masato Tanaka's first ZERO1 World Heavyweight Championship defense took place at Korakuen Hall, and it will be the same place where he will defend it as ZERO1 celebrates its 22nd anniversary. Shoki Kitamura is a former ZERO1 World & International Junior Heavyweight Champion who is next in line for a shot at Tanaka's championship, so will Tanaka's sixth reign continue as ZERO1 marks the start of its next chapter, or will it mark the beginning of a new era, with Kitamura as the new champion?



In other action, former WWWA Tag Team Champion Jaguar Yokota and former Goddesses Of Stardom Champion Jungle Kyona will team to face Stardom star Unagi Sayaka and a partner who has not yet been named. Also, All Asia Tag Team Champion Kendo Kashin and former NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champion Tatsuhito Takaiwa will be in tag team action, along with much more.

Tickets for this event can be purchased here.

[YPW][TwitCasting] Yanagase Pro Wrestling on 2/4 LIVE

Last week, the ladies of Ladius were in action, and this week, it's the men's division of YPW's turn, as they return to SPORTS BAR M's Cafe this Saturday, February 4th! The event will start at 7:30 PM, and the card will be as follows:



Mari Manji (from the Ladius division)
vs.
Yasu Kubota (from ZERO1)



Yanagase Kamen Fuerza (as seen in ZERO1)
Jack Kennedy
vs.
Lowther (as seen in DDT, AJPW, and BJW)
Rob Stardom



Kenta Kosugi (as seen in BJW and ZERO1)
Michio Kageyama (as seen in NOAH, DDT, BJW, AJPW, and ZERO1)
vs.
Hide Kubota (NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Champion)
JADE (as seen in AJPW)

You can see this Yanagase Pro Wrestling event LIVE via TwitCasting, a livestreaming service based in Japan that has over 33 million registered users worldwide. Be there at 19:30 Japan Time, and you can use a time zone converter to find out what time that is in your area to make sure that you don't miss any of the live pro-wrestling action.

Yanagase Pro Wrestling was founded in 2017 and presents 3 - 4 events per month (with 2 of them being Ladius events), the final event of the year being an annual Christmas Special. Along with YPW's own talented roster, its events also feature stars of the Japanese wrestling scene who have had impressive accomplishments outside of YPW. All YPW events can be watched live via TwitCasting and are available to watch in full for the following two weeks after the live broadcast.

To learn more about Yanagase Pro Wrestling and Ladius, check out the article on Jack Kennedy, an American wrestler who was trained by and wrestles in YPW.

[Yanagase Pro Wrestling] Result of the 1/27, "Ladius Friday Night Match"

The ladies of Ladius were back in action on 1/27 at SPORTS BAR M's Cafe, as Sae and Mari Manji competed in a singles match for the fans in attendance and the TwitCasting audience. TwitCasting is a livestreaming service based in Japan that has over 33 million registered users worldwide, and now more than ever, pro-wrestling fans internationally are being made aware of Ladius. Sae and Manji are standout talents, and in this match, they both stepped up their games and showed viewers exactly what the Ladius roster has to offer.

Mari Manji and Sae are very familiar with each other from their previous interactions in the Ladius ring, but they can wrestle each other 1,000 times and never have the same match twice.



Always tough competition for each other, Sae and Mari Manji maintain mutual respect.



Sae and Mari Manji engaged in a chop competition early in the match, in which Manji was the winner. She went on to maintain a very aggressive offense.



Sae brought Mari Manji's offense to a halt by catching her with an elbow as Manji was rebounding off the ropes, and then put her down with a jumping stunner.



Sae went on to maintain a very aggressive offense of her own, which included a ring rope clothesline snap and a sitout facebuster. The Shinsyu Girls Pro Wrestling singles champion had many opportunities to show off her moveset during this match.



Meanwhile, Mari Manji had the opportunity to display her ability to absorb punishment, taking everything Sae gave her and coming back strong, shoulder blocking Sae to the mat multiple times and hitting her with a corner front dropkick.



Sae made a comeback and tried to make Mari Manji submit to a sleeper hold multiple times.



Refusing to quit, Mari Manji regained control of the match, delivering a corner hip attack to Sae before attempting a submission win via a manjigatame, known as an octopus hold in the US. This is a move that Manji often uses in her matches and it's the best manjigatame in Japanese female wrestling.



Sae managed to escape the manjigatame and eventually was able to use one of her best combos, going from a hanging figure-four necklock to a flying front dropkick.



Sae and Mari Manji wrestled to a 20-minute time limit draw and left everything they had in the ring. If this match was any indication of what to expect from Ladius in 2023, the ladies division of Yanagase Pro Wrestling has the potential to deliver in an impressive way throughout the year.



This match is available to watch in full via TwitCasting until 2/10, 23:59 Japan Time! You can use a time zone converter to find out what time that is in your area.

Sunday, January 29, 2023

Tanglang Media: Breaking Pro-Wrestling and MMA Barriers in China

China has been a regular topic in the news these days. With a population of over 1.4 billion, it's the most populated country in the world and has the second-largest economy, making it an ideal place for the pro-wrestling and MMA industries to utilize. According to a 2017 survey by the American business-focused newspaper The Wall Street Journal, about 140 million fans of WWE stars live primarily in China’s major cities- so the fan interest in combat sports is definitely there. It would be beneficial for combat sports organizations outside of China to expand their business to the Chinese market, or for members of the combat sports industry who live in China to create additional organizations. Considering the size of China's market, it could potentially become a large combat sports scene.

However, expanding a business to China or starting one there is not easy. The Chinese market is difficult to access due to the "Great Firewall", which are technologies and legislative actions that are enforced to limit access to international websites. There is also a regulatory and political risk that makes it difficult for foreign businesses to break into China. Considering all of this, networking is vital when it comes to doing business in China, so it's smart to form a relationship with a company based there, as opposed to attempting to succeed in China alone. And this is where Tanglang Media comes in.



TANGLANG MEDIA

Tanglang Media is a new global combat sports digital agency & consultancy that has the goal of helping combat sports organizations reach the Chinese audience and build their business in China, from the initial setup of the business to the distribution of the finished product.

SET UP ASSISTANCE

Tanglang Media will set up a business with a Public WeChat channel, Weibo account, and QZone to connect with their audience directly, just like all of the major brands in China do. This will give the business the opportunity to reach millions of new fans in China by establishing its social media presence on the Chinese Internet and will give the business the potential to drive massive growth. Tanglang Media's services extend to setting up internal payment options and e-commerce on China's leading online marketplaces. E-commerce plays a big role in China's strong economy.

Along with the assistance in setting up a business, Tanglang Media also offers consultation to their clients on how to best build and connect with their fans, guiding them every step of the way.

TALENT

Tanglang Media has access to local news editors, hosts, and experienced Chinese pro-wrestling commentators. They also have access to a local video team. All of this can help give a product a genuine, "made in China" look, which would be appealing to its intended audience.

MARKETING

Tanglang Media has strong connections with the media and fan community and can aid with tours and press releases. It can also do search engine optimization for Baiudu.com, which is the world's largest search engine and covers 95% of global Chinese internet users.

DISTRIBUTION

Tanglang Media is knowledgeable regarding China's firewall guidelines, which enables them to operate within them efficiently so that a massive audience can be reached. China is home to the largest digital community in the world, with about 1.03 billion netizens, all using domestic platforms. Having an official presence on these platforms is important for a business' fans to connect with its brand and vice versa.



THE MIND BEHIND TANGLANG MEDIA

Born and raised in America, Tanglang Media President & Owner Adrian Gomez has been living in China for over a decade. Although Tanglang Media is a new company with plans of breaking barriers, Gomez already has broken many barriers during his time in China. He is also the founder and owner of Middle Kingdom Wrestling (MKW). I was made aware of it when MKW began running shows in July 2015, and at that time, there were only two other promotions in existence in China. They were owned by Chinese wrestlers. So not only was Gomez the third person in China's history to run pro-wrestling shows, but he was also the first foreigner to do it.



MIDDLE KINGDOM WRESTLING

In Middle Kingdom Wrestling's early days, its shows featured Asian talents such as LENBAI (who was trained in Japan as well as Taiwan) and Ho Ho Lun (who in recent years has been seen in WWE and AEW). MKW also featured talent from outside of Asia, such as MKW's first World Champion, American wrestler Dalton Bragg. Fans in attendance at their shows were not only witnessing a live pro-wrestling event featuring talent from outside of Asia for the first time, but they were witnessing live pro-wrestling for the first time ever. Gomez had taken advantage of the opportunity for a new promotion to be created in China and gain a fanbase for MKW.

While the wrestlers were talented and the fans were enthusiastic, the venues were small and the wrestlers were not well known. But in only three short years, things began to change. MKW went from having free shows in gyms and shopping malls to hosting events at the Harbin International Convention Exhibition & Sports Center, and the Xinqiao Culture and Art Center (with record-setting attendance). And it went from having shows only featuring stars in the making to presenting shows featuring well-established stars, such as Kongo Kong (who was an Impact Wrestling star at the time), Hibiscus Mii (who has wrestled in many major Japan-based promotions), and Zeda Zhang (who was fresh off a run in NXT). All of this has been accomplished in a country that doesn't have a large pro-wrestling scene.

Growing a wrestling promotion in a small wrestling scene was already a challenge, but it become even more of a challenge when the world was overcome by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Unable to have events in large venues or bring in talent from outside of China, MKW showed staying power by starting MKW Blast-off, an online studio-style show executive produced by Adrian Gomez, featuring MKW's homegrown Chinese wrestlers. MKW went back on the road last year, even having events in Shanghai, the biggest city in China.

Adrian Gomez understands the challenges of starting and maintaining a business in China because he has experienced them. And he has overcome them as well. Adrian Gomez intends to do the same for other businesses through Tanglang Media. They can be visited at TanglangMedia.com, and be connected with on their social accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

Saturday, January 28, 2023

More Online Games for Studying English and Having Fun

While I have been writing for Michinoku Pro Wrestling and Yanagase Pro Wrestling here in Japan, I have also been continuing to teach English here, and I am pleased that many of my students have visited my blog and also told their friends and families about it. I have often advised my students that playing word games is an effective way for them to improve their vocabulary, so I am always on the lookout for new games for them to play.

I now know of an additional good website for word games, and it's Solitaire.org, which has hundreds of online games. Don't let the name confuse you- although solitaire games are the main focus of the site, it has much more than that.



One of the categories on Solitaire.org is Word, which is where the site's word games can be found. My favorite is, "Letter Scramble". If you have ever played Scrabble, then, "Letter Scramble" will feel very familiar to you. The goal of the game is to spell as many words as you can before the time runs out. If you are studying English, this game is useful because it is another game that forces you to, "think more in English".



I enjoy playing "Letter Scramble", but since most of my students were born and raised in Japan, there is a word game on Solitaire.org that they may enjoy more.

"Daily Wordoku" is based on Sudoku, a number-placement puzzle game that is so popular in Japan that over 600,000 Sudoku magazines are sold every month. The difference is that "Daily Worduku" uses letters instead of numbers, and the completed puzzle shows a word on the diagonal.



As for card games, the card game that I play is blackjack, and I was pleased to see that not only does Solitaire have blackjack, but it has four different versions of the game. The classic version of blackjack is called, "Casino Blackjack" on the website.



This is the version that I have played, but there are three other versions of Blackjack that I'm sure I will try out eventually: "5 Stack Blackjack", "21 Blitz", and "Blackjack Chain".

Some of my students are from China, and there is a card game category on Solitaire.org that they might be very interested in- Mahjong solitaire games. Mahjong is a tile-based game that is similar to poker and was developed in China in the 19th century. It's very popular in China but is also popular in Japan. There is a version specifically named "China Mahjong", but if you're a fan of mahjong, all of them may be worth checking out.



I'm glad I was introduced to Solitaire.org, not only did I find games that I enjoy, but I also found games that I think my students will enjoy as well. And most importantly, there are games on Solitaire.org that will help them practice English while having fun at the same time.

Friday, January 27, 2023

[WWE] Betting Odds Predicting Cody Rhodes to Win Men's Royal Rumble, Steve Austin and The Usos Moving Up

As this Saturday's Royal Rumble event draws closer and the hype continues to increase, online sportsbook Bovada has released the latest odds for the men's Royal Rumble.

The most notable climbers through this week include:

Cody Rhodes +120 to -140

Sami Zayne +300 to +275

Stone Cold Steve Austin +10000 to +550

Jey Uso +10000 to +3300

Jimmy Uso +20000 to +10000


Cody Rhodes said that he returned to WWE to win the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship- will this Saturday bring Rhodes one step closer to his goal? Will Steve Austin add one more Royal Rumble win to his already record number of victories? Will we see Bloodline member vs. Bloodline member at WrestleMania? The drama and questions intensify with the Royal Rumble being only two days away.

Below are some of the other odds for the Royal Rumble event that were released by Bovada.

Odds To Win 2023 Women's Royal Rumble

Rhea Ripley-200

Becky Lynch+500

Bayley+1600

Charlotte Flair+2000

Raquel Rodriguez+1400

Naomi+2000

Alexa Bliss+2500

Asuka+2000

Bianca Belair+2800

Liv Morgan+2000

Io Shirai+2200

Sasha Banks+3300

Shayna Baszler+3300

Ronda Rousey+1800

Lacey Evans+4000

Beth Phoenix+5000

Natalya+5000

Lita+5000

Dakota Kai+5000

Sonya Deville+8000

Kay Lee Ray+10000

Carmella+10000

Meiko Satomura+10000

Doudrop+10000

Mandy Rose+10000

Shotzi+10000

Aliyah+10000

Indi Hartwell+10000

Xia Li+10000

Kairi Sane+10000

Queen Zelina+10000

Cora Jade+10000

Nikki A.S.H.+25000

Dana Brooke+25000

Paige+25000

Maryse+25000

Tamina+25000

Persia Pirotta+25000


Pitch Black Match - Bray Wyatt Vs. LA Knight
Bray Wyatt -400
LA Knight +250


Undisputed WWE Universal Championship - Roman Reigns Vs. Kevin Owens
Roman Reigns -1200
Kevin Owens +600


WWE Raw Women's Championship - Bianca Belair Vs. Alexa Bliss
Bianca Belair -700
Alexa Bliss +400


Thursday, January 26, 2023

[WWE] Royal Rumble Facts and Figures

As we await this Saturday's Royal Rumble to find out which man and woman will win their respective Rumble match and go on to WrestleMania for a shot at championship gold, the staff at Wrestling World has been doing some research on the records and stats from Royal Rumble history.

THE MOST VIEWED ROYAL RUMBLE MATCHES ON YOUTUBE

WWE’s YouTube channel is currently the 8th most subscribed to channel worldwide, with 92.7 million followers. WWE often uploads full matches to YouTube for fans to rewatch, so below are the most popular Royal Rumble matches on the verified WWE channel.

Currently, the most viewed match on YouTube is the 2017 Royal Rumble, with 128 million views. It was won by Randy Orton, who went on to WrestleMania where he won the WWE Championship for the ninth time.



The most viewed women’s Royal Rumble match, and the seventh most viewed overall, is the 2019 Royal Rumble with 33 million views. It was won by Becky Lynch, who went on to WrestleMania where she defeated Charlotte Flair and Ronda Rousey to win WWE RAW Women's Championship and WWE SmackDown Women's Championship in a, "Winner Takes All Triple Threat" main event match. Lynch's WWE Raw Women's Championship reign lasted 399 days, which to date is the longest reign in the championship's history.



THE MOST GOOGLED ROYAL RUMBLE YEAR

Based on average monthly searches worldwide, the most Googled Royal Rumble year is 2022, which receives 310,000 average monthly searches worldwide. Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey were the winners of their respective Rumble matches that year.



WRESTLER WITH THE MOST APPEARANCES IN THE ROYAL RUMBLE

Glenn Jacobs has had multiple gimmicks in WWE, and although, "Kane" has been his most successful and entertaining one, Jacobs worked every gimmick that WWE gave him to the best of his ability. When including all of the gimmicks that Jacobs has had, he has made a record 20 appearances in the Royal Rumble. Also, Kane holds the record for cumulative eliminations at 46.



WRESTLER WITH THE MOST ROYAL RUMBLE VICTORIES

When the smoke cleared, Steve Austin was the last man standing at the end of the Royal Rumble in 1997, 1998, and 2001, making him the holder of the record for the most Royal Rumble victories.



WRESTLER WITH THE LONGEST CUMULATIVE TIME SPENT IN THE ROYAL RUMBLE

Having spent a total of 4 hours, 59 minutes, and 33 seconds in Royal Rumbles during his time in WWE, Chris Jericho holds the record for the longest cumulative time spent in the Royal Rumble match.



What will happen at WWE Royal Rumble this year? Will there be any new records set? We won't have to wait much longer to find out.

[Online Wrestling Game] Wrassling

Created by game designer Colin Lane, Wrassling is a hilarious arcade game that was released in April 2015 and is an example of what it would look like if stick figures were wrestlers. Your stickman will battle amongst multiple other stickman wrestlers, everyone's arms swinging around, as they all attempt to throw each other out of the ring.

According to Apple's App Store description for Wrassling, the setting of this game is "Slamdovia", where "wrassling" is the official sport, and, "wrasslers" are regarded as the strongest athletes in the world. It would be very interesting to see what shape the non-wrasslers in Slamdovia are in, because all of the competitors have balance issues and difficulty picking each other up, which is what you would expect from one-legged stickman wrestlers.



While most of the wrasslers are slim in (wood) frame, there are some rotund competitors that also fall into the ring during the matches. They are the Bosses of the wrassling ring. Equally unbalanced but more powerful, the ring tilts and ropes collapse under the weight of these large wrasslers. There is an option in the game to play as a Boss.



Just as the competitors in the industry of pro-wrestling grunt and groan as they endure the rigors of a match, the pro-wrasslers of Slamdovia grunt as well, but in the Slamdovian dialect, their grunts sound like someone is passing gas.

Upon it's release in April 2015, Wrassling was ranked #3 in the US and Canada's sports category, with the game being downloaded over 30,000 times per day, and it made the list of the best iPhone and iPad games for that month on the Pocket Gamer website. By September 2017, Wrasslin reached 1 million downloads. It has been a success to the extent that after its release, Colin Lane was making enough money as a game designer to be able to pursue game designing full-time.

You can play Wrassling in your browser via free online games website Poki here.

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

[Online Wrestling Game] Rowdy Wrestling

In 1964, Marvin Glass and Associates created Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots, a two-player action game featuring two boxing robots, with the winner being the one that can knock its opponent's head off. Manufactured by toy company Marx, it was at its height of popularity in the 1960s and 1970s but is still considered a classic.

Take that idea and put it in a pro-wrestling ring, and it would look very similar to Rowdy Wrestling. a creation of game designers Colin Lane and Brad Erkkila. Rowdy Wrestling was released in July 2018 and won Game of the Week on app information website 148Apps.com and PocketGamer.biz, a consumer site for mobile games. Later that year in September, it won Game Of The Day at Apple's Appstore.

In either Solo career mode (singles matches) or Rumble mode (multiple wrestlers battling in the ring at once in an attempt to be the last wrestler standing), choose your wrestler and use overhand punches and dropkicks to gain the advantage, and you can also throw your opponent out of the ring. During matches, weapons will become available that you or your opponent can use.

You can play Rowdy Wrestling in your browser via free online games website Poki here.

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

[YPW] "Ladius Friday Night Match" on 1/27 LIVE

Yanagase Pro Wrestling (YPW) presents, "Ladius Friday Night Match" this Friday, January 27 at SPORTS BAR M's Cafe (3 Chome-9 Yanagasedori, Gifu), with the event starting at 8:00 PM. Ladius is the ladies' division of YPW.

This week's match will be a singles match between Sae and Mari Manji. Two of the top wrestlers on the Ladius roster, Sae and Manji have both also been seen in Ice Ribbon, ZERO1, WAVE, and PURE-J. Manji has also competed at BJW and Sendai Girls events. Sae and Manji are very familiar with each other from their previous interactions in the Ladius ring, and they are standout talents who can wrestle each other 1,000 times and never have the same match twice, so every Sae-Manji encounter is one to not be missed.



You can get ticket information by contacting Ladius on Twitter here. If you will be unable to be in Gifu on January 27, you can see, "Ladius Friday Night Match" LIVE via TwitCasting (a livestreaming service based in Japan that has over 33 million registered users worldwide) for only 1,000 yen, which is around 8 USD. Be there at 20:00 Japan Time, and you can use a time zone converter to find out what time that is in your area to make sure that you don't miss any of the live pro-wrestling action.

Yanagase Pro Wrestling was founded in 2017 and presents 3 - 4 events per month (with 2 of them being Ladius events), the final event of the year being an annual Christmas Special. Along with YPW's own talented roster, its events also feature stars of the Japanese wrestling scene who have had impressive accomplishments outside of YPW. All YPW events can be watched live via TwitCasting and are available to watch in full for the following two weeks after the live broadcast.

To learn more about Yanagase Pro Wrestling and Ladius, check out the article on Jack Kennedy, an American wrestler who was trained by and wrestles in YPW.