A lot of effort was put into trying to find the 10/20 Osaka Pro vs. BJW DVD from last year.  VKF did have its cameras there as usual, but so did BJW.  In a blog entry, VKF said that a DVD release would happen, but unfortunately had to change that a few days later to “to be determined.”  The BJW cameras were the reason and it seemed like an agreement couldn’t be reached between the two sides.  Ultimately, a very limited release took place at BJW’s Osaka show on 12/15 that had Osaka Pro participation.  According to the BJW website, roughly only 30 copies were made and no more after that.  Whether that sticks remains to be seen, but I stumbled across a website that was selling a copy of it and immediately pounced on it.

In the spirit of Hurricane Week, here’s my review of it.  All matches shown in full.

All the participating wrestlers gathered in the ring beforehand, with Daisuke Harada doing the address to the crowd.  Maybe it’s just me, but Daisuke Sekimoto’s getting bigger by the day.  The track jacket he wore looked very tiny on him.

1) Atsushi Kotoge & Takumi Tsukamoto vs. Takoyakida & Kazuki Hashimoto
-Typical young lion opener, with Kotoge not tagged into the match until it was about half over.  Second time seeing the BJW rookies and they are the usual mold of youngsters.  Takoyakida looked fine and for the time he was in, Kotoge was sharp.  Kinda odd no-selling moment though as Kotoge hit Takoyakida with a leg lariat and Takoyakida bounced right back up and hit his flying knee attack.  Hashimoto managed to survive Kotoge’s Texas Cloverhold, but a thrust kick seconds later was good enough for the three count.

2) Kazuaki Mihara vs. Yuji Okabayashi
-Slightly above a young lion opener, with two big bruisers going at it.  Okabayashi’s going to get a big push by BJW soon, but he looked slightly tentative at times here.  His forearms to Mihara’s chest were hit or miss in terms of looking good.  That being said, he’s got potential to be another Sekimoto.  Mihara was good in his usual underdog role and fired off some nice elbows, Vader-esque hammer shots, and used his weight to his advantage again.  No real trouble though for Okabayashi as he hit a mean left-armed lariat and the Argentine Backbreaker for the immediate tapout.

3) 3WAY Match: Kanjyuro Matsuyama vs. Ebessan vs. Kankuro Hoshino
-Fun open as Kankuro and Kanjyuro teamed up on Ebessan due to the similar first names.  Hoshino was good in the comedy role, bouncing off the usual antics of Kanjyuro and Ebessan.  Slap battle and UFO spots were inserted here, although the second UFO one had Hoshino doing the end part while Kanjyuro and Ebessan just looked at him.  Double lariat to the back of the Osaka duo’s heads and a double crab hold for the very quick double tapout.  That’s a lot of doubles in that last sentence.  Match would’ve been even better if Kuishinbo Kamen was a part of it, if he was available that day.

4) Tigers Mask & Tadasuke vs. Yoshihito Sasaki & Shinya Ishikawa
-This took place six days before BJW’s Korakuen show that had Black Buffalo in place of Tadasuke.  Good match that saw Tigers & Tadasuke as the expected heels.  Tadasuke’s slowly becoming a methodical bruiser, almost American-like.  His chops to Sasaki on the outside sounded loud as hell on DVD, can only imagine how they were live.  Sasaki planted Tadasuke with an avalanche-style sitout slam and had the win, but Tigers pulled out referee Yoshino and hit him from behind.  Tigers then brought in a chair and cleaned house, ending with a shot to Ishikawa and the Mangetsu no Yoru for the win.  Boos galore.  Tigers & Tadasuke then continued to assault Ishikawa, throwing back the Osaka Pro seconds.  Billyken Kid, who was sitting in the announcer booth with Miyao-san, ran in and helped Sasaki clean house.  The two stared each other down in a warmup to their Tennozan match.

5) Daisuke Harada vs. Daisuke Sekimoto
-The main event and it turned out to be a really good match with nice crowd heat.  The first half was basically all Sekimoto, just destroying Harada with chops and power holds.  Harada fought back at times with his own chops and even got a slam in, but it had no effect.  A series of running elbows turned the tide and things really picked up from there.  Harada hit his head-first baseball slide to Sekimoto and it looked like a bullet struck him right in the chest.  Sekimoto must be commended for his facials as he had a shocked and troubled look as Harada made his comeback.  He was in further trouble after a diving elbow drop and turnbuckle climb-up overhead suplex.  A beautiful Katayama German got two.  However, a powerbomb and STF combo started to spell the end for Harada.  A scary moment though at the end as Sekimoto had Harada overhead in a press slam, kinda lost control, and tossed him into the turnbuckles like a dart.  Very fortunate Harada didn’t injure his back or neck.  Lariat and a German got two for Sekimoto, but the deadlift German was enough for the three count.  Very very strong (pun maybe intended) match between the two.  Sekimoto looked like a monster overall, but Harada got enough to think he could pull off the upset.  Mic work from Sekimoto afterwards as he requested a handshake, but Harada slapped it away and held up a finger to signal a rematch.  If it does happen in the future, it could be borderline great.  Harada’s going to be something special in Osaka Pro, if you haven’t noticed already.

On a side note, I stumbled across a post on the boards calling Harada a “local crappy guy” when it came to his recent SEM participation.  I’m not going to get into a flame war, but I’m guessing perhaps other outside participants in SEM history like El Dorado reject Go, Toryumon whatever Amigo Suzuki, and gaijin standouts Superstar Steve and Raptor are better.  Give me a break.

Overall, solid event that gets a huge bump up due to the main event.  I would almost dare change my 2009 Year in Review Match Recommendations to include it.  It may require a few more viewings, but the anticipated battle between Harada and Sekimoto definitely lived up to the hype.

In a Zeus update, the former Osaka Pro roster member got married this past weekend.  Congratulations to the Stronger, who’ll now attempt to rebound from his disappointing boxing debut loss.

The singles bout between Tigers Mask and Yutaka from this past Saturday got some good reviews from fans in attention.  Apparently, it was serious Tigers in this one as according to some reports, he viewed the match as preparation for DRAGON GATE’s Super Shisa at Hurricane this Thursday.

After stopping operations last year, VKF’s WRESTLE NANIWA promotion will be born again on May 13th at Tokyo’s Shinkiba 1st RING.  No other details are available at this time.

As Hurricane quickly approaches, you can expect a flurry of new content this week.  Another review, along with predictions, will be posted.  And who knows, Andy might chime in with some things as well.

Daisuke Harada’s match for the SEM 2/19 show has been announced.  He’ll be taking on gaijin Eddie Edwards in the third match.  Edwards has done multiple tours with NOAH and is a former ROH Tag Team Champion.

SEM 2/19/10
“SEM in Osaka - Osaka World Pavillion 3″
Osaka World Pavillion
3. Eddie Edwards vs. Daisuke Harada

First, here are the scheduled participants for the 2 Happy Weekday shows before Hurricane.  As mentioned in the 2/6 Results post, BJW’s Takumi Tsukamoto will be training with Osaka Pro for roughly a week:

2/9: Ebessan, Daisuke Harada, Kanjyuro Matsuyama, Tigers Mask, Kazuaki Mihara, Black Buffalo, Takumi Tsukamoto

2/10: Ebessan, Billyken Kid, Kanjyuro Matsuyama, Atsushi Kotoge, Tadasuke, Takoyakida, Tigers Mask, Takumi Tsukamoto

And it all comes down to this, the 2010 edition of the Osaka Hurricane!  Predictions for this show will be coming in the next few days.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 2/11/10
“Osaka Hurricane 2010 ~Pink Ribbon Charity~”
Osaka Prefectural Sports Hall 1st Gymnasium
1. Perro & Takoyakida vs. Shigehiro Irie & Kazuaki Mihara
2. Women’s Pro-Wrestling Offer Match: GAMI & Yumi Okha vs. Kana & Apple Miyuki
3. Special 6man Tag Match: Shiro Koshinaka, Kikutaro & Kyusei Ninja Ranmaru vs. Kuishinbo Kamen, Ebessan & Kanjyuro Matsuyama
4. Tigers Mask & Black Buffalo vs. Gamma & Super Shisa
5. Special 8man Tag Match: Abdullah The Butcher, Asian Cooger, Miracleman & Takaku Fuke vs. FUJITA, Orochi, The Bodyguard & Tadasuke
6. Osaka Pro-Wrestling Tag Title Match: Hideyoshi & Masamune (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
7. Osaka Pro-Wrestling Title Match - No DQ Match: Dick Togo (c) vs. Billyken Kid

The first Happy Weekday after Hurricane sees mostly a face cast of characters, with the exception of Tadasuke.

2/12: Daisuke Harada, Kanjyuro Matsuyama, Atsushi Kotoge, Kazuaki Mihara, Tadasuke, Takumi Tsukamoto

Lastly, the cards for the weekend shows will be announced on the day of the shows.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling, 2/7/10
“Osaka HOLIDAY PARADISE”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
106 Fans
1. Hideyoshi (9:08 Pedigree) Takoyakida
2. Black Buffalo (0:45 Leg Splits) Ebessan
*Restart: Black Buffalo (8:00 Backdrop) Ebessan
3. 3WAY Match: Masamune (4:54 Cradle) Miracleman [L], Orochi
4. Atsushi Kotoge [W] & Daisuke Harada (10:30 Moonsault Press) Billyken Kid & Kanjyuro Matsuyama [L]
5. Tigers Mask [W] & Tadasuke (13:07 Tigers Suplex Hold) Asian Cooger & Kazuaki Mihara [L]

In theory, a Retro Review during Hurricane Week would involve an actual Hurricane show.  However, with the recently posted Hurricane Recommendations, I thought it kinda would feel like the same thing.  Thus, I went through my Osaka Pro DVD collection and decided on Tag Festival 2006.

This was an odd time for Osaka Pro as the company just started a feud with Michinoku Pro.  GAINA surprisingly came over from Michinoku Pro to join Osaka Pro.  Referee Ted Tanabe started to do matches for the company as well.  Billyken Kid was a few months into his run as a heel for the first time, leading the Vendaval faction consisting of Black Buffalo, Hideyoshi & Masamune.  Seikigun was led by Tigers Mask and Flash Moon, trying to find a way to one-up BKK and his group.  Hisakatsu Oya and Takaku Fuke were also frequent participants.

I remember reviewing this DVD during the Osaka LiveJournal days and being very split on it overall.  Will a few years between viewings change my mind?

The teams for Tag Festival 2006 were:

-Tigers Mask & Flash Moon
-Super Delfin & GAINA
-Hisakatsu Oya & Takaku Fuke
-Miracleman & Kuishinbo Kamen
-Atsushi Kotoge & Takoyakida
-Billyken Kid & Black Buffalo (Osaka Pro Tag Champions)
-Hideyoshi & Masamune
-Shu & Kei Sato (Michinoku Pro)

Single elimination rules were in play this year, not the round robin format.  Matches all joined in progress, except for the finals.

1) 1st Round: Miracle/Kuishinbo vs. Hideyoshi/Masamune
-There was some story to this one as Sengoku’s heel tactics basically morphed Kuishinbo into his “Killer” mode.  Huge huge points to Miracle coming out in a Kuishinbo-inspired costume.  Words can’t describe how awesome it looked.  I’ve always been a believer that if you’re in a tag team, at least wear similar tights or colors.  Sengoku really weren’t good at this point and it would take a year or two before they really hit their stride.  Early Osaka Pro Hideyoshi wasn’t very energetic either.  A mistimed chair shot from Masamune took out Hideyoshi and gave Miracle & Kuishinbo a shot.  Miracle enzuigiri and a tight small package hold from Kuishinbo got the upset and a huge pop.  The right team won here due to the buildup.  Kuishinbo was good here, the others were adequate.

2) 1st Round: Tigers/Flash vs. Shu/Kei
-I was pretty negative on this match back then, mainly due to the Sato’s constant weapon use.  This included garbage can offense at various times.  That being said, this was a fun but average match.  One of the Satos wearing a Sacramento Kings Bobby Hurley jersey always cracks me up.  If he was on, Flash was one of the smoothest flyers around.  He was on here, although it seemed like a Sato kick knocked him loopy for a few minutes.  Tigers was fine, although this was the beginning stages of his superkick usage and odd no-selling.  Really solid action towards the end, but the Satos prevented any kind of clean win by striking everybody, including the referee, with weapons for the DQ finish.  The Satos would go from wearing a Hurley jersey to white hoods as the Brahman Brothers.

3) 1st Round: Delfin/GAINA vs. Kotoge/Takoyakida
-Very skinny Kotoge and young boy Takoyakida here.  Takoyakida’s mask was more comical back then that looked more like Star Wars.  Points though for having angry eyes on the mask.  Kotoge had some kind of shoulder injury, given the large black support on it, but he didn’t look any worse for wear.  He was still learning the ropes at this point of his career, but passable.  Takoyakida threw some mean elbows at one point.  I wonder whatever happened there.  It should be noted that the fans really didn’t respond at all to the Delfin/GAINA team, especially towards GAINA.  GAINA also had an ugly white/green/grey attire, complete with a super hideous belt.  No real trouble for Delfin & GAINA, with GAINA finishing Takoyakida with a spinning Last Ride.  Fair enough.

4) 1st Round: Oya/Fuke vs. BKK/Buffalo
-Nice warmup to the match shown from two weeks earlier as Fuke submitted Buffalo in the main event with a very cool looking grounded chickenwing facelock.  By far the best first round match of the tournament as Oya & Fuke brought their working boots.  This included both of them hitting good-looking planchas to the outside at one point.  This was towards the end of Buffalo’s Vendaval run before he left due to “injury” for basically a year’s time.  Still, whatever state of mind he was in, he was his usual reliable self and really sold Fuke’s offense as killer.  BKK was showing his heel charisma, but fans still called out for him.  Super hot finish between Fuke and Buffalo that finally saw Buffalo counter a chickenwing facelock with a Samson Clutch for the win.  Yeah, you want to see this one.

5) Semi-Final: Tigers/Flash vs. Miracle/Kuishinbo
-The first semi-final and it was a good match.  I again can’t stress how awesome Miracle looked in his Kuishinbo-style costume.  Kuishinbo was all business here, no comedy or anything.  Miracle himself still was in the stage where every other move was a sitout slam.  Very nice play off of Miracle & Kuishinbo’s win over Sengoku in the 1st round as Miracle hit an enzuigiri on Tigers and Kuishinbo cradled him up.  Crowd totally bought the finish, but Tigers kicked out just before three.  It’s the attention to the details sometimes.  Flash got the win with a semi-ugly Phoenix Splash as his legs and knees came down across Kuishinbo’s face.  You could almost see it happen as his slam on Kuishinbo looked to be out of position.  Still, good match and a surprisingly solid showing for the comedy team overall in the Tag Festival.

6) Semi-Final: Delfin/GAINA vs. BKK/Buffalo
-Another good match with the crowd a bit more behind Delfin & GAINA.  GAINA again wore his stupid belt and it thankfully fell off during the latter portion of the match.  Delfin was his normal self (if that’s good or not is debatable) and hit a nice looking double DDT on BKK & Buffalo as he went for his patented tornado version on BKK.  Other than that, it was the usual Delfin performance.  Again, take your pick if that’s good or bad.  BKK again was showing off his heel charisma that made it almost impossible for fans to boo him.  Good finish as GAINA and Buffalo traded lariats and GAINA clearly seemed destined to come out on top as Buffalo looked dazed.  So Buffalo simply kicked him in the groin and got a small package hold for the pinfall.  Buffalo IS smart.  Ironically, Buffalo would come back a year later and be GAINA’s Tag Festival partner after Zero got injured..

7) Final: Tigers/Flash vs. BKK/Buffalo
-Rematch from Hurricane and it was a good to great match.  As with almost all big matches in this Osaka Pro era, 5-7 minutes could’ve been shaved off to make it a better bout.  It looked like they were starting to run out of steam towards the end.  That all being said, this was quite the final.  BKK & Buffalo were in rare form together and had some nice double team moves, including a Doomsday Device-esque move towards the end that saw Buffalo use a flying kick instead of a clothesline.  Flash was mostly on and hit an impressive no rope touch plancha onto BKK.  Tigers hit TAKA’s Super K combo, which made me cringe.  May he never use that ever again.  Buffalo hit a number of lariats and the Buffalo Driver on Tigers, but Tigers kept kicking out.  Miscommunication between the heels and a high kick from Flash led to a Tigers Suplex on Buffalo for the fall.  I think the Hurricane match was a bit better and four less minutes to boot.

Overall, underrated Tag Festival that I probably was too hard on years ago.  Tigers & Flash were really good together, but would fail to capture the tag titles on their one chance after Buffalo left due to injury.  BKK & Buffalo had great chemistry together and who knows what they could’ve accomplished.  The Michinoku Pro feud fell flat overall, although it would eventually led to GAINA forming Bad Force and having Tanabe as the evil referee.

Osaka Pro held its last Saturday Night Story show before Hurricane today, with some significant previews to the annual February show.  Momo no Seishun Tag teamed up again with Kazuaki Mihara in the main event, but were victorious unlike last week.  The trio defeated Hideyoshi, Masamune & Billyken Kid despite an experience disadvantage.  Hideyoshi almost got a referee stop early on when he landed a kick to the back of Harada’s head.  Harada was out of the match for a while, but managed to come back.  Sengoku & BKK tried everything to get the win, but Kotoge used some Sengoku friendly fire to turn things around.  The Skywalker would pin Masamune with the Gannosuke Clutch.  You may recall that Kotoge used the same cradle to beat Masamune in last year’s Tennozan tournament.  Kotoge addressed the crowd afterwards and promised a complete win over Sengoku.  He then urged BKK to do the same at Hurricane against Dick Togo.

LOV were devious in their semi-final win over Asian Cooger, Takaku Fuke & Miracleman.  They managed to take out referee Yoshino long enough for Orochi to use a fork attack on Miracle.  This has been the trend for the past few weeks with Orochi.  Tadasuke then used the Dokushin Elbow to pin Miracle.  LOV, in particular Tadasuke, taunted Miracle before leaving.  Miracle of course vowed revenge as now there’ll be plenty of motivation for Seikigun & Abdullah the Butcher at Hurricane.

On a positive note, Kuishinbo Kamen made an appearance today during the second match.  Hopefully, he’ll be all set to go for Hurricane in less than a week.

A semi-interesting note that came out of Samurai TV.  BJW rookie Takumi Tsukamoto will be training with Osaka Pro-Wrestling from 2/8 to 2/16.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling 2/6/10
“SATURDAY NIGHT STORY”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
135 Fans
1. Black Buffalo (9:46 Backdrop) Takoyakida
2. Kanjyuro Matsuyama (6:36 Jindaiko) Ebessan
3. Tigers Mask (14:42 Henkei Tigers Suplex Hold) Yutaka
4. Orochi, The Bodyguard & Tadasuke [W] (14:44 Dokushin Elbow) Asian Cooger, Takaku Fuke & Miracleman [L]
5. Atsushi Kotoge [W], Daisuke Harada & Kazuaki Mihara (15:06 Gannosuke Clutch) Hideyoshi, Masamune [L] & Billyken Kid

As Hurricane 2010 is less than a week away, here’s a few recommended matches from Osaka Pro’s annual February event.  I’ve decided to pick a match from each year, including the 2004 Super J Cup show.

2003: Kuishinbo Kamen vs. Ebessan (Loser Character Deprivation Match - Osaka Meibutsu Sekaiichi Title - 2/3 Falls)
-It’s tempting to pick either the Osaka Pro Tag Title or Osaka Pro Title bouts, but I think this one deserves some recognition as well.  These two battled over and over before the first Hurricane event so this was their first showing in front of almost 8,000 fans.  The first two falls happened in comedic fashion, including Ebessan’s failed slam attempt and being pinned in 4 seconds.  The deciding fall was a bit more serious and saw Ebessan bust out the Kaiun Tornado to pin Kuishinbo.  Kuishinbo would lose his character and debut Super Robo K to less-than-stellar results and fan reaction.  These two of course would have many more battles in the future.

2004: Billyken Kid & Tigers Mask vs. TAKA Michinoku & Shiryu (Osaka Pro Tag Title Match)
-Besides Infinity, the BKK & Tigers tag team is probably the most beloved by Osaka Pro fans.  Their title reign during this period was as good as it got for Osaka Pro in terms of tag team wrestling.  Every title bout they had was on fire.  This is probably the worst of their defenses, although it was above average.  You shouldn’t be surprised though as TAKA & Shiryu really brought the laziness here.  Tigers & BKK tried and got as much out of them as possible.  This kinda was picked by default because Murahama’s J Cup matches weren’t anything special and the other matches featuring Osaka Pro talent were nothing to write home about.  Still, the BKK & Tigers team deserves to be recognized in some form.

2005: Super Dolphin vs. “Big Boss” MA-G-MA (Osaka Pro Title Match)
-The beginnings of the ultra mega Dolphin push.  This had some really good buildup to it as Super Delfin was trying to convince Goa to leave Kishiwada Gurentai.  Kishiwada Gurentai would attack Delfin for his comments, which led Goa to make the save.  Goa of course was formerly Super Demekin, otherwise known as Delfin’s protege.  With this, Super Dolphin was born and new everything came from it.  New costume, new mask, new moveset, including a super punch.  The main event was kinda average, but it’s important for historical reasons.  With the title win, Dolphin would basically leave the midcard behind and become a top line player in Osaka Pro.  This wouldn’t change when another heel turn led to the Zero character.  Even now in Okinawa Pro, Kaijin Habu Otoko’s the main guy pushed by Delfin.

2006: Billyken Kid & Black Buffalo vs. Tigers Mask & Flash Moon (Osaka Pro Tag Title Decision Match)
-The tag titles were previously held by BKK & Tsubasa, but were vacated due to the team wanting to focus on the Tennozan tournament.  Kinda stupid reasoning in retrospect.  Anyways, this was Flash’s first big match moment and outside of one really bad messup, he did well.  This was also the coming out party for BKK as a heel and he didn’t disappoint.  Buffalo of course was Buffalo.  BKK looked unbeatable in the end as he dished out a Vertigo to Tigers to knock him out of the match, then one to Flash to get the win and the vacant tag titles.  Tigers was good as well, but it almost felt like his time to get pushed to the top had long passed.  That of course would be wrong, starting with the next year..

2007: Billyken Kid vs. Tigers Mask (Osaka Pro Title Match)
-Over 36:00 of action between these two, which ultimately ended up being an above average match.  At least 8 minutes could’ve been taken out of the match and it became a big move showcase at the end.  Still, the battle between former friends, turned enemies was worthy of the Hurricane main event spot.  It was finally the time for Tigers to climb the mountain and take the Osaka Pro Title.  This would also be the show where Tigers would debut a new long tights costume and put the baseball uniform on the side.  The baseball uniform would be used less and less, really only for Holiday Paradise or special occasions.  The end of the show was also key as Bad Force intruded and attacked both men, leading to a reunion of the BKK & Tigers team.  It also informally ended BKK’s time as a heel, although he was still heavily cheered by the fans to begin with.  BKK’s face turn would be cemented weeks later by Sengoku kicking him out of Vendaval and effectively closing the chapter on that group.

2008: Tigers Mask vs. Black Buffalo (Loser Mask Removal Match - Osaka Pro Title)
-The word “epic” gets used a ton when it comes to a wrestling company’s big matches, but this truly is as close as to the term Osaka Pro has gotten.  The build for this was fantastic and these two didn’t disappoint with a superb match.  Everything was well-done and if you watch the match closely, you’ll really see Buffalo’s desperation at the end.  Tigers basically found a way to kick out of Buffalo’s big moves and a few flash cradles by Buffalo also got nothing.  Buffalo himself refused to stay down so it took a Henkei Tigers Suplex to get the job done.  One thing to note is that the match went 20 minutes and it was the right length.  Buffalo’s removal of the mask and speech afterwards is a great moment.  Genuine emotion from Keisuke Yamada, who revealed Tigers as the one who helped him back into Osaka Pro after being out due to depression and alcoholism.  There even was a cliffhanger at the end as Bad Force kicked Buffalo out for losing.  Tigers demanded Buffalo join forces with him, but Buffalo gave no answer…

2009: Billyken Kid vs. Hideyoshi (Osaka Pro Title Match)
-A huge moment for both men.  BKK came back from injury in July 2008 and challenged new champion Hideyoshi at IMP Hall in an amazingly well-worked match.  BKK lost, but won the 2008 Tennozan, looking to cash in his title shot.  A separated shoulder though pushed it back to Hurricane.  The Hurricane match wasn’t on par with their IMP Hall battle, but it was a really good match.  Hideyoshi showed that he deserved his time at the top of the company, from changing his look to slimming down and performing well almost every time out.  27:00 plus minutes seemed again to be too long, but the end was done right as BKK hit an avalanche-style Koumori Tsuri Otoshi.  Hideyoshi kicked out, but it was clear he was finished.  No fiery champion comeback from the dead.  Firebird Splash was enough for the pin.

It’s not a coincidence that BKK and Tigers are on this list four times.  They have been a part of some of the best Hurricane matches in history.  With that in mind, here are some honorable mentions and some matches that should be forgotten…

Honorable Mentions
-Infinity vs. Jyushin Thunder Liger & Takehiro Murahama (Hurricane 2003)
-Billyken Kid & Perro vs. Daio QUALLT & Black Buffalo (Hurricane 2005)
-Super Delfin vs. Super Dolphin (Hurricane 2006)
-GAINA & Zeus vs. Tsubasa & Flash Moon vs. Hideyoshi & Masamune (Hurricane 2007)
-Zero & GAINA vs. Tsubasa & Asian Cooger (Hurricane 2008)
-Blood & Guts vs. Omega (Hurricane 2009)

Best Forgotten
-Tigers Mask vs. Histeria & Kendo Kobayashi (Hurricane 2005): A waste of Tigers.
-Miracleman vs. Kaiju King Mandora (Hurricane 2006): Almost 6 minutes of whatever.
-8 Way Osaka Meibutsu Sekaiichi Match (Hurricane 2006): Okita-kun….
-Kazushi & Condor vs. Atsushi Kotoge & La Uchida (Hurricane 2007): Kazushi, enough said.
-Tigers Mask & Black Buffalo vs. The Great Sasuke & Asian Cooger (Hurricane 2009): Such a disappointment

So what will Hurricane 2010 bring?  Will the big matches deliver?  Will one manage to surprise us?  Or disappoint?  Andy and I are very much looking forward to finding out.

Osaka Pro-Wrestling 2/5/10
“Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
44 Fans
1. Tigers Mask (7:38 Matoba Elbow Otoshi 2.8) Takoyakida
2. Tadasuke (9:35 Obie Trice) Kanjyuro Matsuyama
3. Daisuke Harada [W] & Kazuaki Mihara (13:03 Diving Elbow Drop) Billyken Kid & Kazuki Niimura [L]

Osaka Pro-Wrestling 2/4/10
“Osaka HAPPY WEEKDAY”
Osaka Minami Move On Arena
29 Fans
1. Black Buffalo (9:28 Lariat) Kazuaki Mihara
2. Tigers Mask (8:11 Sweet Chin Music) Ebessan
3. Billyken Kid [W] & Daisuke Harada (11:46 Koumori Tsuri Otoshi) Atsushi Kotoge & Takoyakida [L]