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.



