Post by Jeff L. on Oct 3, 2024 16:50:18 GMT -5
Ryogoku Hall.
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan.
--------------------
The great Pacific League Tour took a step back to Yokohama on this very evening, and the ten thousand strong of the Ryogoku Hall were seen and heard clapping, ready for another night of professional wrestling action, and perhaps some dramatic twists as well. “A good evening to you all, and indeed what a good evening it is after the last show!” Kenji Wakabayashi began, “Mitsuharu Misawa had made his decision, and he is fully behind All Japan, and behind Giant Baba, who is making his recovery! And even more good news, as this Baba’s Battalion had found its newest member, the 6’5’’ Akira Taue. These two are already making their way down the aisle, and listen to this crowd! But quickly, before the action starts, here’s the recap of our table.”
Wrestler: Points:
Genichiro Tenryu 15
Mitsuharu Misawa 15
Riki Choshu 15
Jumbo Tsuruta 13
Toshiaki Kawada 6
Akira Taue 6
Gran Hamada 4
Satoru Sayama 3
#1: Akira Taue (w/ Misawa) vs Gran Hamada
As the elated Wakabayashi continued on the play-by-play position, the crowd was in good spirits as well, as the heroes of All Japan were making their way in the ring. Mitsuharu Misawa was seen in his AJPW t-shirt, as he was seconding his newest partner, Akira Taue, in his next Pacific League match. The Emerald’s usual stoic expression was on this night donned with a smile, reciprocating the high spirits of the crowd. The giant Taue however, was serious, almost as if not caring for the audience’s mood. Obviously, he was mentally preparing for his match.
And as many may have guessed, he was to face a member of the Ishingun. But not many may have guessed that one Gran Hamada would enter the ring alone, with neither Kawada nor that bastard Choshu to be seen. Misawa was prepared for shenanigans, and you can bet that Taue was too!
Hamada, interestingly, did not look concerned, as he stepped right in front of his larger opponent. He pointed at him, and drew a line on the mat, challenging Taue to cross it, while clutching his fists. Taue’s expression did not change, as he stepped right over the line. Hamada was now cornered, and his own expression turned to one of confusion mixed in with slight fear.
He hyped himself up though, and went straight into the collar-and-elbow tie-up! He pushed against Taue, and he pushed, with all his strength, and was heard struggling and straining. Akira, of course, did not budge an inch. He locked in a single-underhook, and tossed Hamada all the way to the other side of the ring, much to the giggles from the crowd, and his second, the gleefully smirking Misawa.
The domination continued for minutes, albeit with simple, low impact manouevers. Spinning hammerlocks, takeovers, and even an airplane spin! The crowd went from slight amusement to flat-out laughter, as the physical comedy of the mismatch was galvanised by the serious facial expression of the Dynamic One, turning this affair into a sort of a pythonesque, dry comedy.
As Taue put Hamada down from the airplane spin, the veteran was stumbling around the ring, trying to find his balance. The only thing he found however, was Taue’s giant hand wrapped around his throat, as Akira planted the junior heavyweight into the mat with a no-nonsense Nodowa Otoshi, a chokeslam from Chichibu.
The crowd clapped and laughed at this bit; many shows up to this point ended on a dreary, serious note, hence this was a welcoming change of pace. Taue’s second, Mitsuharu Misawa, also clapped for the winner, as he entered the ring, joking and poking at the tall Taue, congratulating him. The mood however, changed suddenly, as two men in black hoods walked through the audience. The tension was palpable, and the gleeful faces turned sour quickly.
The three men of the Revolutionary Army surrounded the warriors of Baba’s Battalion. Although it was two on three, Misawa and Taue did not back down; they stood their ground, clenched their fists, and put their foot down. The tension grew unbearable, as the crowd awaited the first shot of this puro stand-off to land. And the first one to strike was the youngest one: Akira Taue.
Both he and Mitsuharu stepped in towards the Ishingun, but as Misawa was lunging, he felt his arm was caught. As he turned around, he did not even see the giant pan of a hand coming down on the crown of his head. Misawa fell to the ground, and the thump echoed around the arena, as ten thousand people suddenly went silent. But slowly, boos started to fill the audio-vacuum of the arena.
Akira Taue, a young man who the crowd cheered, and whose momentum was growing bigger by the day, finally revealed his true nature. Some soon started realising why Taue never showed much care for the fans. He never wanted to be liked, only to be feared. And Riki Choshu, ever the bastard manipulator, used Taue to get to Misawa. Sure Misawa was to be targeted soon anyway, because of his position on the Pacific League Table. But after last week, things were personal.
The villains kicked the prone Misawa as he was down, and unable to defend himself. Jumbo Tsuruta was seen at the door to the backstage area. His still heavily bandaged ribcage did not fully heal, and he was seen being held back by the doctors. They just barely patched him up last week, and he had a match later on. Tsuruta was making the medical team work overtime! But past Tsuruta and the medics passed a buff, tall figure, with short, curly hair, as the fans popped!
Genichiro Tenryu was on his way to the ring, and he was scheduled for the next match. He entered the squared circle, standing between fallen Misawa, and the Ishingun. Tenryu knew he couldn’t take them all down, but he succeeded in giving the medical team just enough time to roll the barely moving Misawa out of the ring, onto a stretcher. Ishingun now had Tenryu all alone, and he wasn’t backing down. An ass-beating was as sure as taxes, and three out of the four men took a step forward.
Sleazeball Hamada, bastard Choshu, and the traitor Taue all stepped forward - and exited the ring. They brushed past the medic team with Misawa on the stretcher. As the medics were about to pull up through the backstage door, dragging the injured Misawa on the stretcher, a giant figure turned back to stop them. The titanic traitor was here to hammer that one last nail in the coffin! He swatted away the medics, and knocked down the stretcher. The fans gasped and booed, as Akira chokeslammed Misawa on the arena’s concrete floor. The Emerald One was unresponsive.
#2: Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu had seen this incident from the ring. As he heard the ringbell, he took one deep breath. To many, it seemed as more of a sigh. It was gonna be a long night for Genichiro, as this was only the first of the two matches he had to compete in tonight. He then turned to face his opponent. With a mean look, the cruel Toshiaki Kawada tightened his wrist tape, and cracked his neck, all while having a sniper-like focus on Tenryu. The men circled each other, and the high stance emmited urgency, indicating there was not gonna be a lock up tonight.
Kawada moved in for a kick, but Tenryu exploded with right hands, dazing Kawada and pushing him all the way into the corner. Genichiro continued with jabs and chops, before Toshiaki caught his arm, and while twisting it into a wristlock, got out of the corner. He then wrenched on the arm, and as Genichiro was forced to lower his stance, Kawada kicked his arm while in the painful wristlock.
Tenryu, usually the quieter one in the ring, sent out a scream of pain. He would tend to his right arm for the remainder of the match. Toshiaki continued with strikes, as Tenryu was now seen in the corner. Kawada irish whipped him to the other side, before landing a lariat in that opposite corner. As Tenryu was falling down, the younger man caught him, and delivered a suplex, which was enough for a two count only. Kawada continued wrenching on Tenryu’s injured arm.
With the crowd cheering him on, perhaps the last hero of All Japan rised; even though in pain, he pressed on, delivering a left jab, and a stomp to the foot of Kawada. This seemed to hurt Genichiro’s opponent, and as he let the arm go, Tenryu connected with a left uppercut. A couple of uppercuts later, the now dazed Kawada was struck down with a big boot. The people chanted for Tenryu, as he ran the ropes, and swung his signature lariat.
But alas, by instinct, he threw a right lariat; and even though it connected, it sent Tenryu clutching in pain as much as it did Kawada. Both men were unable to capitalise and pin each other, and they both got up at the same time. Toshiaki threw a lariat of his own, but Tenryu was down on one knee only. Kawada ran the ropes, but Genichiro caught him with a kitchen sink. As he was getting up, Tenryu connected with a Gamengiri. Straining to position himself on top of Kawada, as the crowd cheered him on, he barely placed himself on top of Kawada’s chest. But the young man had put his foot on the bottom rope.
Now desperate, Tenryu pulled Kawada up by his hair with his healthy arm. This woke Toshiaki up, and he jumped up, landing a Gamengiri of his own, which sent Tenryu staggering in the corner. Kawada approached him, and positioned him on the top rope, his back turned to the ring, looking to hit an Avalanche German Suplex. But the crowd exploded when Tenryu started back-elbowing Kawada, and sent the young man crashing down. Quickly, Genichiro launched himself off the buckles, and landed his Diving Back Elbow on Kawada, which was enough for the three count. But the damage had been done; Tenryu quickly left the ringside area, clutching at his arm, knowing well he had a huge main event to prepare for: Jumbo Tsuruta was waiting for him.
#3: Riki Choshu vs Gran Hamada
Crowd booed relentlessly as the entirety of Ishingun filled the ring once more, as it was time for the next match. Not a single streamer was thrown in the ring, as the announcer Ryu Nakata (re)introduced Riki Choshu and Gran Hamada for this bout. But such was the nature of a round robin, and all matches had to be contested.
Jeers continued as the ten thousand strong knew that mockery was afoot; Hamada circled jokingly around Choshu, who was not amused. He looked at the crowd with a serious face, before turning his gaze at Hamada, and pointed at his own jaw. Hamada had that wide smile on, looking almost oblivious, but the smile soon evaporated, as Choshu surprised everyone.
He slapped Hamada as hard as he could, and even Taue, Choshu’s second for this match, seemed surprised. But just like with various matches before that pitted Ishingun members against each other, Choshu had shown that he did not want cheap wins in matches that he deemed fair. He simply wanted to bring the old system down, by any means necessary, because he thought it was corrupt; he wanted to see the old, crooked ship of Baba burn down, but not before he offered everyone he could a chance to salvation. And once every remnant of this degenerate tradition was gone, he wanted to leave behind - an even playground. Such was the reasoning of the one they called Bastard.
The match got more serious, as Hamada was seen throwing his dropkicks, armbars, and hurricanranas. Choshu caught him with a kick, and suplexed him, before running the ropes for a lariat. But Hamada halted his momentum with a rollup, which was followed by a kick-out. As the two men exchanged holds, Choshu dropped Hamada with a back suplex. Looking to hook in the Sasori Gatame, he stopped for a second, perhaps thinking of showing mercy.
But the crafty Hamada rolled him up once more! Barely kicking out, Choshu got up, just in time as Hamada was to connect with a springboard crossbody. Choshu however, ever the cool guy in the room, simply noped Hamada, as the veteran crashed into the mat. This time, Ishingun’s leader showed no mercy, and he connected with a lariat for the win. After the match, the two men exchanged handshakes. But the rumbling at the backstage door interrupted the post-match show of respect, as everyone prepared for the main event.
#4: Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta
Jumbo made his way into the ring hastingly, wishing to lay his hands on the evildoers, but they cleared the ring before he could catch them, all of them leaving through the crowd. Even with taped ribs, he sent out his signature OH!s to the crowd, which responded ubiquitously. Streamers showered the Ace of All Japan, and he turned to the entrance way.
Out next was the man the fans already saw tonight, and he was also taped up; his right arm was in bandages from the fist all the way up to his elbow. The ten thousand strong screamed for him as well. After all, Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta were two of All Japan’s best. And thankfully, both of them were on Baba’s side, on the side of All Japan.
The two men nodded in a sign of respect, and as Tsuruta turned to OH! the fans once more, he was caught on the back of his head with Tenryu’s taped arm. The bell didn’t even ring yet, and the fans seemed confused on how to react. This must’ve been the beginning of the match, some thought. Things became a lot clearer when Tenryu waved at the crowd area, and the four men were seen returning through the angry crowd, all the way the ringside area, for the umpteenth time tonight. Tenryu then removed the bandages and the tape, showing a metal plate tied to his arm. He flexed his right arm, before offering it to Kawada in a handshake, as healthy as ever.
People in the arena started rioting. Security was seen barely holding both the steel barricade and the ten thousand strong back, as garbage filled the ring. A puroresu ring, in the middle of Japan, a sacred ground of combat, surrounded by the most faithful audience in the world, filled with debris, and the baby blue mat stained with grease. “But the most disgusting garbage stood in the middle of the ring”, Wakabayashi uttered. Standing above the fallen Jumbo was the mighty Ishingun, a kaiju of a stable in its final form, and in the middle stood The Bastard, lifting five fingers up in the air.
The rioting crowd then exploded into a welcoming cheer, as another bandaged man was seen making his way down the ramp. It was the Emerald One, Mitsuharu Misawa, who rolled inside the ring, helping Jumbo on his feet. The explosion of the crowd soon dropped, as reality kicked in.
Both Jumbo and Mitsuharu stood side by side in the ring, surrounded by five men, two of whom they considered friends just a few hours ago. Both hurt, both taped up, and without a sliver of hope, they gave each other one final look, before bracing themselves, as the Army closed in on them. The video feed then abruptly cut to black.
But the audio had continued… as the audience was heard murmuring loudly, the darkness in the arena remained for a few seconds, only interrupted by brief flashes of photographers. As abruptly as the lights cut out, they came back on. Five men of Ishingun were seen on one side, still staring down Misawa and Tsuruta. But there was another figure right behind the five men. A figure donned in a black cape, threw it down off of their shoulders, revealing a mask… of a Tiger!
Fans roared as this mysterious hero dropped Choshu from behind, before tossing Hamada out of the ring. The other three men jumped him, but the great equalisers of Misawa and Tsuruta attacked as well! A mass exodus of the evildoers followed, with all five men routing! The two battered wrestlers looked in disbelief, as the camera focused on the mysterious masked man.
The feed finally, and slowly, followed by ten thousand souls screaming, faded to black.
Pacific League Night 7 results:
Akira Taue (w/ Misawa) defeated Gran Hamada (07:25)
Genichiro Tenryu defeated Toshiaki Kawada (13:41)
Riki Choshu defeated Gran Hamada (09:16)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta never began.
Pacific League table (following Night 7):
Wrestler: Points:
Genichiro Tenryu 18
Riki Choshu 18
Mitsuharu Misawa 15
Jumbo Tsuruta 13
Akira Taue 9
Toshiaki Kawada 6
Gran Hamada 4
Satoru Sayama 3
Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture.
Japan.
--------------------
The great Pacific League Tour took a step back to Yokohama on this very evening, and the ten thousand strong of the Ryogoku Hall were seen and heard clapping, ready for another night of professional wrestling action, and perhaps some dramatic twists as well. “A good evening to you all, and indeed what a good evening it is after the last show!” Kenji Wakabayashi began, “Mitsuharu Misawa had made his decision, and he is fully behind All Japan, and behind Giant Baba, who is making his recovery! And even more good news, as this Baba’s Battalion had found its newest member, the 6’5’’ Akira Taue. These two are already making their way down the aisle, and listen to this crowd! But quickly, before the action starts, here’s the recap of our table.”
Wrestler: Points:
Genichiro Tenryu 15
Mitsuharu Misawa 15
Riki Choshu 15
Jumbo Tsuruta 13
Toshiaki Kawada 6
Akira Taue 6
Gran Hamada 4
Satoru Sayama 3
#1: Akira Taue (w/ Misawa) vs Gran Hamada
As the elated Wakabayashi continued on the play-by-play position, the crowd was in good spirits as well, as the heroes of All Japan were making their way in the ring. Mitsuharu Misawa was seen in his AJPW t-shirt, as he was seconding his newest partner, Akira Taue, in his next Pacific League match. The Emerald’s usual stoic expression was on this night donned with a smile, reciprocating the high spirits of the crowd. The giant Taue however, was serious, almost as if not caring for the audience’s mood. Obviously, he was mentally preparing for his match.
And as many may have guessed, he was to face a member of the Ishingun. But not many may have guessed that one Gran Hamada would enter the ring alone, with neither Kawada nor that bastard Choshu to be seen. Misawa was prepared for shenanigans, and you can bet that Taue was too!
Hamada, interestingly, did not look concerned, as he stepped right in front of his larger opponent. He pointed at him, and drew a line on the mat, challenging Taue to cross it, while clutching his fists. Taue’s expression did not change, as he stepped right over the line. Hamada was now cornered, and his own expression turned to one of confusion mixed in with slight fear.
He hyped himself up though, and went straight into the collar-and-elbow tie-up! He pushed against Taue, and he pushed, with all his strength, and was heard struggling and straining. Akira, of course, did not budge an inch. He locked in a single-underhook, and tossed Hamada all the way to the other side of the ring, much to the giggles from the crowd, and his second, the gleefully smirking Misawa.
The domination continued for minutes, albeit with simple, low impact manouevers. Spinning hammerlocks, takeovers, and even an airplane spin! The crowd went from slight amusement to flat-out laughter, as the physical comedy of the mismatch was galvanised by the serious facial expression of the Dynamic One, turning this affair into a sort of a pythonesque, dry comedy.
As Taue put Hamada down from the airplane spin, the veteran was stumbling around the ring, trying to find his balance. The only thing he found however, was Taue’s giant hand wrapped around his throat, as Akira planted the junior heavyweight into the mat with a no-nonsense Nodowa Otoshi, a chokeslam from Chichibu.
The crowd clapped and laughed at this bit; many shows up to this point ended on a dreary, serious note, hence this was a welcoming change of pace. Taue’s second, Mitsuharu Misawa, also clapped for the winner, as he entered the ring, joking and poking at the tall Taue, congratulating him. The mood however, changed suddenly, as two men in black hoods walked through the audience. The tension was palpable, and the gleeful faces turned sour quickly.
The three men of the Revolutionary Army surrounded the warriors of Baba’s Battalion. Although it was two on three, Misawa and Taue did not back down; they stood their ground, clenched their fists, and put their foot down. The tension grew unbearable, as the crowd awaited the first shot of this puro stand-off to land. And the first one to strike was the youngest one: Akira Taue.
Both he and Mitsuharu stepped in towards the Ishingun, but as Misawa was lunging, he felt his arm was caught. As he turned around, he did not even see the giant pan of a hand coming down on the crown of his head. Misawa fell to the ground, and the thump echoed around the arena, as ten thousand people suddenly went silent. But slowly, boos started to fill the audio-vacuum of the arena.
Akira Taue, a young man who the crowd cheered, and whose momentum was growing bigger by the day, finally revealed his true nature. Some soon started realising why Taue never showed much care for the fans. He never wanted to be liked, only to be feared. And Riki Choshu, ever the bastard manipulator, used Taue to get to Misawa. Sure Misawa was to be targeted soon anyway, because of his position on the Pacific League Table. But after last week, things were personal.
The villains kicked the prone Misawa as he was down, and unable to defend himself. Jumbo Tsuruta was seen at the door to the backstage area. His still heavily bandaged ribcage did not fully heal, and he was seen being held back by the doctors. They just barely patched him up last week, and he had a match later on. Tsuruta was making the medical team work overtime! But past Tsuruta and the medics passed a buff, tall figure, with short, curly hair, as the fans popped!
Genichiro Tenryu was on his way to the ring, and he was scheduled for the next match. He entered the squared circle, standing between fallen Misawa, and the Ishingun. Tenryu knew he couldn’t take them all down, but he succeeded in giving the medical team just enough time to roll the barely moving Misawa out of the ring, onto a stretcher. Ishingun now had Tenryu all alone, and he wasn’t backing down. An ass-beating was as sure as taxes, and three out of the four men took a step forward.
Sleazeball Hamada, bastard Choshu, and the traitor Taue all stepped forward - and exited the ring. They brushed past the medic team with Misawa on the stretcher. As the medics were about to pull up through the backstage door, dragging the injured Misawa on the stretcher, a giant figure turned back to stop them. The titanic traitor was here to hammer that one last nail in the coffin! He swatted away the medics, and knocked down the stretcher. The fans gasped and booed, as Akira chokeslammed Misawa on the arena’s concrete floor. The Emerald One was unresponsive.
#2: Toshiaki Kawada vs Genichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu had seen this incident from the ring. As he heard the ringbell, he took one deep breath. To many, it seemed as more of a sigh. It was gonna be a long night for Genichiro, as this was only the first of the two matches he had to compete in tonight. He then turned to face his opponent. With a mean look, the cruel Toshiaki Kawada tightened his wrist tape, and cracked his neck, all while having a sniper-like focus on Tenryu. The men circled each other, and the high stance emmited urgency, indicating there was not gonna be a lock up tonight.
Kawada moved in for a kick, but Tenryu exploded with right hands, dazing Kawada and pushing him all the way into the corner. Genichiro continued with jabs and chops, before Toshiaki caught his arm, and while twisting it into a wristlock, got out of the corner. He then wrenched on the arm, and as Genichiro was forced to lower his stance, Kawada kicked his arm while in the painful wristlock.
Tenryu, usually the quieter one in the ring, sent out a scream of pain. He would tend to his right arm for the remainder of the match. Toshiaki continued with strikes, as Tenryu was now seen in the corner. Kawada irish whipped him to the other side, before landing a lariat in that opposite corner. As Tenryu was falling down, the younger man caught him, and delivered a suplex, which was enough for a two count only. Kawada continued wrenching on Tenryu’s injured arm.
With the crowd cheering him on, perhaps the last hero of All Japan rised; even though in pain, he pressed on, delivering a left jab, and a stomp to the foot of Kawada. This seemed to hurt Genichiro’s opponent, and as he let the arm go, Tenryu connected with a left uppercut. A couple of uppercuts later, the now dazed Kawada was struck down with a big boot. The people chanted for Tenryu, as he ran the ropes, and swung his signature lariat.
But alas, by instinct, he threw a right lariat; and even though it connected, it sent Tenryu clutching in pain as much as it did Kawada. Both men were unable to capitalise and pin each other, and they both got up at the same time. Toshiaki threw a lariat of his own, but Tenryu was down on one knee only. Kawada ran the ropes, but Genichiro caught him with a kitchen sink. As he was getting up, Tenryu connected with a Gamengiri. Straining to position himself on top of Kawada, as the crowd cheered him on, he barely placed himself on top of Kawada’s chest. But the young man had put his foot on the bottom rope.
Now desperate, Tenryu pulled Kawada up by his hair with his healthy arm. This woke Toshiaki up, and he jumped up, landing a Gamengiri of his own, which sent Tenryu staggering in the corner. Kawada approached him, and positioned him on the top rope, his back turned to the ring, looking to hit an Avalanche German Suplex. But the crowd exploded when Tenryu started back-elbowing Kawada, and sent the young man crashing down. Quickly, Genichiro launched himself off the buckles, and landed his Diving Back Elbow on Kawada, which was enough for the three count. But the damage had been done; Tenryu quickly left the ringside area, clutching at his arm, knowing well he had a huge main event to prepare for: Jumbo Tsuruta was waiting for him.
#3: Riki Choshu vs Gran Hamada
Crowd booed relentlessly as the entirety of Ishingun filled the ring once more, as it was time for the next match. Not a single streamer was thrown in the ring, as the announcer Ryu Nakata (re)introduced Riki Choshu and Gran Hamada for this bout. But such was the nature of a round robin, and all matches had to be contested.
Jeers continued as the ten thousand strong knew that mockery was afoot; Hamada circled jokingly around Choshu, who was not amused. He looked at the crowd with a serious face, before turning his gaze at Hamada, and pointed at his own jaw. Hamada had that wide smile on, looking almost oblivious, but the smile soon evaporated, as Choshu surprised everyone.
He slapped Hamada as hard as he could, and even Taue, Choshu’s second for this match, seemed surprised. But just like with various matches before that pitted Ishingun members against each other, Choshu had shown that he did not want cheap wins in matches that he deemed fair. He simply wanted to bring the old system down, by any means necessary, because he thought it was corrupt; he wanted to see the old, crooked ship of Baba burn down, but not before he offered everyone he could a chance to salvation. And once every remnant of this degenerate tradition was gone, he wanted to leave behind - an even playground. Such was the reasoning of the one they called Bastard.
The match got more serious, as Hamada was seen throwing his dropkicks, armbars, and hurricanranas. Choshu caught him with a kick, and suplexed him, before running the ropes for a lariat. But Hamada halted his momentum with a rollup, which was followed by a kick-out. As the two men exchanged holds, Choshu dropped Hamada with a back suplex. Looking to hook in the Sasori Gatame, he stopped for a second, perhaps thinking of showing mercy.
But the crafty Hamada rolled him up once more! Barely kicking out, Choshu got up, just in time as Hamada was to connect with a springboard crossbody. Choshu however, ever the cool guy in the room, simply noped Hamada, as the veteran crashed into the mat. This time, Ishingun’s leader showed no mercy, and he connected with a lariat for the win. After the match, the two men exchanged handshakes. But the rumbling at the backstage door interrupted the post-match show of respect, as everyone prepared for the main event.
#4: Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta
Jumbo made his way into the ring hastingly, wishing to lay his hands on the evildoers, but they cleared the ring before he could catch them, all of them leaving through the crowd. Even with taped ribs, he sent out his signature OH!s to the crowd, which responded ubiquitously. Streamers showered the Ace of All Japan, and he turned to the entrance way.
Out next was the man the fans already saw tonight, and he was also taped up; his right arm was in bandages from the fist all the way up to his elbow. The ten thousand strong screamed for him as well. After all, Genichiro Tenryu and Jumbo Tsuruta were two of All Japan’s best. And thankfully, both of them were on Baba’s side, on the side of All Japan.
The two men nodded in a sign of respect, and as Tsuruta turned to OH! the fans once more, he was caught on the back of his head with Tenryu’s taped arm. The bell didn’t even ring yet, and the fans seemed confused on how to react. This must’ve been the beginning of the match, some thought. Things became a lot clearer when Tenryu waved at the crowd area, and the four men were seen returning through the angry crowd, all the way the ringside area, for the umpteenth time tonight. Tenryu then removed the bandages and the tape, showing a metal plate tied to his arm. He flexed his right arm, before offering it to Kawada in a handshake, as healthy as ever.
People in the arena started rioting. Security was seen barely holding both the steel barricade and the ten thousand strong back, as garbage filled the ring. A puroresu ring, in the middle of Japan, a sacred ground of combat, surrounded by the most faithful audience in the world, filled with debris, and the baby blue mat stained with grease. “But the most disgusting garbage stood in the middle of the ring”, Wakabayashi uttered. Standing above the fallen Jumbo was the mighty Ishingun, a kaiju of a stable in its final form, and in the middle stood The Bastard, lifting five fingers up in the air.
The rioting crowd then exploded into a welcoming cheer, as another bandaged man was seen making his way down the ramp. It was the Emerald One, Mitsuharu Misawa, who rolled inside the ring, helping Jumbo on his feet. The explosion of the crowd soon dropped, as reality kicked in.
Both Jumbo and Mitsuharu stood side by side in the ring, surrounded by five men, two of whom they considered friends just a few hours ago. Both hurt, both taped up, and without a sliver of hope, they gave each other one final look, before bracing themselves, as the Army closed in on them. The video feed then abruptly cut to black.
But the audio had continued… as the audience was heard murmuring loudly, the darkness in the arena remained for a few seconds, only interrupted by brief flashes of photographers. As abruptly as the lights cut out, they came back on. Five men of Ishingun were seen on one side, still staring down Misawa and Tsuruta. But there was another figure right behind the five men. A figure donned in a black cape, threw it down off of their shoulders, revealing a mask… of a Tiger!
Fans roared as this mysterious hero dropped Choshu from behind, before tossing Hamada out of the ring. The other three men jumped him, but the great equalisers of Misawa and Tsuruta attacked as well! A mass exodus of the evildoers followed, with all five men routing! The two battered wrestlers looked in disbelief, as the camera focused on the mysterious masked man.
The feed finally, and slowly, followed by ten thousand souls screaming, faded to black.
Pacific League Night 7 results:
Akira Taue (w/ Misawa) defeated Gran Hamada (07:25)
Genichiro Tenryu defeated Toshiaki Kawada (13:41)
Riki Choshu defeated Gran Hamada (09:16)
Genichiro Tenryu vs Jumbo Tsuruta never began.
Pacific League table (following Night 7):
Wrestler: Points:
Genichiro Tenryu 18
Riki Choshu 18
Mitsuharu Misawa 15
Jumbo Tsuruta 13
Akira Taue 9
Toshiaki Kawada 6
Gran Hamada 4
Satoru Sayama 3
