LOW - Legends of Wrestling

[ajcostello]

30 matches is such a long reign.

I think the longest unbroken run I've ever had with a title has been somewhere around 11 or 12.

Congrats to Roderick Strong!

[cruefan68]

Thanks very much for the comments Pariah, Crimson and AJ. I can't believe it either and thanks to Crimson for the big red 30 to mark the occasion. As I have noted before Roderick Strong has really had the dice rolling in his favor and with Truth Martini at ringside he is really tough to beat. It is going to be a wild scene when his reign finally comes to an end. I have had the unfortunate problem like many fellow promoters of hot potato title changes, especially with my LOW Junior Heavyweight title, so seeing someone have a run like Strong is really cool. For the record he has held the title since card #880 so another fifty more dates as champion would give him a full two year run as champion in my fed. I count 100 cards as a full year.

Thanks for noting the interview segments Pariah. I have a lot of fun coming up with those and I am glad you enjoy them. The suspension of Andre the Giant and Bobby Heenan was warranted when you look at their post-match actions and the roll on the Commissioner Cox card made it happen. Now the problem is what kind of a mood will Andre be in when he comes back? He is certainly justified in getting a title rematch as he does hold two wins over the current champion. By the way some Internet insiders are claiming that the six week suspension was just to cover Andre leaving to film The Princess Bride II? I can neither confirm nor deny those rumors

Next up will be a three-show tour for Kings Road United, featuring the return of the Bullet Club plus such stars as Bryan Danielson, Johnny Saint and Cedric Alexander appearing. There will also be title defenses by Rikidozan and Exotic Adrian Street during the tour so stay tuned. Thanks again for reading and commenting.

[cruefan68]

LOW Kings Road United - Blasdell Arena - Honolulu, HI (Card #1032)

1) Shynron, Wani & Koko B. Ware defeated Michael Bennett, Brent Albright & Larry Sharpe:
The latest KRU tour opened with trios action as Shynron, Wani & “The Birdman” Koko B. Ware took on Michael Bennett, “The Shooter” Brent Albright & “Pretty Boy” Larry Sharpe. Wani, billed as being from The Sea of Japan, is the most recent graduate of the KRU dojo after having earlier worked in CHIKARA. The beautiful Maria Kanellis was out at ringside for Bennett’s team drawing plenty of attention from the photographers. This bout was pretty even until Albright got the better of Wani who was trapped by the opposition for a good stretch. Albright caught him with a half nelson suplex for a big near fall and then Sharpe used the pole ram but the pin was broken up by Ware. Wani finally made the hot tag and both Ware and Shynron took turns reversing the momentum. Shynron hit the Spirit Bomb on Sharpe but that pin was broken up by Albright. With time running out it was a rejuvenated Wani nailing Sharpe with a Pump Kick to score the pin. Kanellis was livid post-match arguing with the referee and also pointing a finger of blame at Sharpe until Bennett managed to get her to leave the ring.

2) Drew Gulak defeated Matt Riddle:
A battle of former Evolve stars saw Matt Riddle, a Las Vegas, NV, native under contract to KRU, take on free agent Drew Gulak. The man from University City, PA, held the early advantage stunning Riddle with the Gulak Attack, a corner clothesline followed by a running clothesline to the back of the head, for a two count. He also hit the Bataclan Suplex and went for the Southern Lights Suplex but Riddle countered with a Dragon Screw. Riddle then subdued Gulak with a triangle choke and went on a nice offensive but was unable to put him away. Gulak mounted a comeback and hit a second Gulak Attack transitioned into a cradle hold to score the pin.

3) Power Surge defeated Stars & Stripes:
The highly ranked CWA team of Stars & Stripes (The Patriot & Marcus Alexander Bagwell) took on Power Surge (William Forve & Paul Pope), recent graduates of the KRU dojo. The Patriot got the better of Forve in an early exchange until the ex-baseball player caught him up top on a deathjump with a bodyslam. Pope tagged in and hit the Power Surge Dropkick before The Patriot countered and tagged out. Bagwell shined during his time in including scoring a two count on Forve with a cross body block off the ropes. Things were looking good for Stars & Stripes until The Patriot was countered by Forve late in the match. Forve then set up The Patriot on the top rope and executed the Home Run, his devastating version of the superplex, and floated over to score the pin as Pope prevented Bagwell from making the save. It was a huge win for Power Surge and Stars & Stripes showed some class by shaking hands with them following a tough loss.

4) Cedric Alexander defeated Tommaso Ciampa:
Two former Ring of Honor stars, who are free agents in LOW, squared off as Cedric Alexander of Charlotte, NC, took on the “Sicilian Psychopath” Tommaso Ciampa hailing from Palermo, Sicily. These two matched up well as there were some great exchanges during the match. Ciampa went for a standing dropkick to open things up but Alexander stepped aside and followed up with a superkick. Alexander unleashed a series of strikes, including the rolling wheel kick, before Ciampa took over after a battle on the floor. Ciampa hit such moves as the German Suplex and the running knee strike attempting to set up for his Project Ciampa finisher. Alexander was able to avoid that fate and wound up hitting the Kick 2 Kill Part II, a standing fireman’s carry released into a Pele Kick, to score the pin.

5) Terex & Voodoo Kaos defeated Harley Race & Steve Corino by DQ:
The in-ring return of Harley Race, a star of KRU and a two-time former LOW World Heavyweight champion, saw him pair up with free agent star Steve Corino to take on the Bullet Club pairing of Terex & Voodoo Kaos. Race was assaulted an injured by the Bullet Club late last year and he was determined to make a successful return against them as he was paired up with the “King of Old School”. Race was dominant early including delivering the Piledriver on the 400-pound Terex but Voodoo Kaos made the save. Corino tagged in and went to work on Terex by delivering an impressive Old School Suplex for a big near fall. He then tossed the big man out of the ring and broke out a pair of brass knuckles decking Terex with them. The referee caught that and ordered a snake eyes disqualification via Foreign Object attack giving the victory to the Bullet Club.

Things broke down post-match as the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson) ran in along with a hooded man launching a five-on-two attack on both Race and Corino. Race was tossed out of the ring leading to Corino taking some serious damage. He was splashed by Terex several times and planted with the Gonzo Bomb by Kaos. The Bucks then hit More Bang For Your Buck on Corino before the hooded man was revealed as “Hangman” Adam Page! He produced a noose and hung Corino over the ropes with it until Race and a host of KRU officials were able to clear the ring. The Bucks, Terex and Kaos welcomed Page into the fold via a brutal assault on Corino who suffered multiple injuries and will mess the rest of the tour as a result. Race was livid afterward and vowed to get back at the Bullet Club one way or another.

6) Bryan Danielson defeated Johnny Saint:
After the chaos had died down from the previous match it was time for some classic wrestling as IWA star “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson took on Johnny Saint, a two-time LOW Junior Heavyweight champion, from World of Sport. Both men shook hands at the bell drawing cheers from the crowd. This was exactly what you would expect from these two men and the crowd was not disappointed. Danielson was in control at one point and executed a Dragon Suplex but Saint went into the turtle position and countered with the Johnny Saint Special rolling him up for a two count. Saint later transitioned out of a surfboard stretch executing a duck under arm drag into a rolling wrist snap. Danielson also made some nice counters catching Saint with a knee lift off of a backdrop attempt and going to The Final Countdown as he applied the Cattle Mutilation for a submission chance. Tempers flared late when Danielson knocked Saint out of the ring with a discus elbow smash and the two traded some blows before taking it back inside. The finishing sequence saw Danielson survive a near fall on a double arm stretch & cradle before hitting another discus elbow and the Tiger Suplex. Saint was down and Danielson rained down the MMA Elbows on him before covering him to score the pin. The two received a standing ovation from the crowd post-match and embraced before Saint raised the arm of Danielson in victory.

7) Jushin Liger & Forever Hooligans defeated Kenny Omega & Young Bucks:
A grudge trios match was next as Jushin “Thunder” Liger teamed up with the Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & “Mr. Azucar” Rocky Romero) to take on Bullet Club members “The Cleaner” Kenny Omega and the Young Bucks (Matt & Nick Jackson). It was the in-ring debut for Omega in KRU as he made his surprise debut on the last tour joining the Bullet Club. Romero, meanwhile, was making his in-ring return after being injured by the Bullet Club so there was a lot of tension on both sides of the ring. That was evident from the opening sequence which saw Omega leapfrog Liger coming off the ropes and plant him with a vicious superkick. A Kotaro Krusher followed and Liger was in a bad way as Omega and the Bucks took over for a good stretch. A hot tag to Koslov saw the Forever Hooligans star execute Red Scare II on Matt setting up a fired up Romero executing a top rope cross armbreaker for a submission chance. Things broke down late into the heated contest with the Hooligans executing the Contract Killer, an inverted Death Valley Driver by Koslov and a springboard diving knee drop by Romero, on Nick with Liger tagging in to score the pin. The crowd cheered the huge win by Liger and the Hooligans but unfortunately it was not over there as the Bullet Club members jumped them post-match. It wound up with the Hooligans being tossed out of the ring and Omega setting up a chair delivering the One Winged Angel, a one handed Electric Chair Driver, to Liger on top of the weapon. Liger had to be stretchered out of the ring and will miss the rest of the tour due to concussion symptoms. The Hooligans were livid backstage and were joined by Harley Race in issuing a warning that the actions of the Bullet Club had gone too far and had to be put to an end. They then challenged any three members of the Bullet Club to face them on the next show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo (Card #1033).

8) AJ Styles & Adam Cole defeated Giant Baba & The Destroyer:
The main event saw Shohei “Giant” Baba & The Destroyer looking to gain some revenge for the KRU roster as they took on Bullet Club leader AJ Styles & Adam Cole in a serious grudge match. Cole had some swagger as he hit the ring knowing that in a few nights he has a golden opportunity to secure a championship for the Bullet Club. That is because he will face Rikidozan for the LOW International Heavyweight title on the tour ending show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan (Card #1034). Some of that swagger was knocked out of his step when Rikidozan showed up unnanounced standing in the corner of Baba and The Destroyer. Cole and Styles vehemently protested him being there but the referee allowed the champion and KRU founder to take a seat at ringside. Baba and The Destroyer were dominant throughout the early going which included Baba hitting the 16-Mon Kick, or boot to the face, on Styles for a two count. The Destroyer also used the airplane spin on Styles doing multiple revolutions. A big Baba Chop sent Styles out of the ring where the battle continued. Styles was nearly disqualified as he attempted to use a chair but Rikidozan yanked it away from him drawing cheers from the crowd. Cole rallied the Bullet Club team back into it when he caught Baba with a brainbuster onto the knee for a two count and then hit the Florida Key on The Destroyer for a big near fall. It was The Destroyer who became the focus of a Bullet Club assault late into the battle and Styles, who earlier had been on the receiving end of quite a beating himself, got the last laugh as he hit the Styles Clash on the masked man to score the pin. It was a huge win for the Bullet Club duo on a night where the entire faction sent a strong message of a possible takeover of Kings Road United. Rikidozan, however, sent a message of his own as he joined Baba and The Destroyer in assaulting Styles and Cole driving them out of the ring following a very heated night of action.

[bookerbill]

Always enjoy action from Japan. I am blown away the way you have integrated the new and the old and kept the tradition feeling. Great job!

[Pariah]

A sinister first appearance for Hangman Page during an emotionally charged kick off for this latest series of KRU shows... As the Bullet Club continues to assert their own brand of mob rule... Will AJ Styles take the next big step when he faces Rikidozan for the LOW International Heavyweight title? Crazy times!

[cruefan68]

Oct 14, 2016 11:52:30 GMT -5 Pariah said:

A sinister first appearance for Hangman Page during an emotionally charged kick off for this latest series of KRU shows... As the Bullet Club continues to assert their own brand of mob rule... Will AJ Styles take the next big step when he faces Rikidozan for the LOW International Heavyweight title? Crazy times!

Thanks very much for the comments Bookerbill and Pariah. I know how much you enjoy the Japan tours, Bookerbill, and in this game year there are now four tours for KRU (I used to run three per year) plus the Seibu Dome and Tokyo Dome cards so there is plenty of action from that fed with fourteen shows total. Just a quick correction Pariah as it as Adam Cole that is challenging Rikidozan for the LOW International Heavyweight title. Cole holds a past win over Rikidozan via count out so he is getting the shot. AJ Styles, however, has an even bigger opportunity coming which will be revealed on the next card at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Yes indeed it is crazy times as the Bullet Club is running on full power right now. I hope to have the next show posted by the end of the weekend.

[joebreakdown]

This just gets better and better. Japan has had a heck of a treat!
I've been trying my best to catch up on one of my favourite Feds. So much action!

Personal highlight was seeing Johnny Saint push Danielson to the limit and Race and Corino suffering a shocking defeat in tag action. Race is going to be a man out for revenge now and I hope Steve Corino makes a speedy recovery.

Page should be suspended!

[Pariah]

Oct 14, 2016 14:03:56 GMT -5 cruefan68 said:

Just a quick correction Pariah as it as Adam Cole that is challenging Rikidozan for the LOW International Heavyweight title.

Thank you for setting me straight, my friend... Looking forward to the match regardless... And I also can't wait to hear more about the Phenomenal One's upcoming opportunity... Awesome!

[Crimson Cross]

Great KRU action with a good victory by Power Surge and I was happy it was Forve and his HOME RUN getting the win, plus I liked the Adam Page reveal. Jushin Liger with the Hooligans is a unique team up and it was cool seeing Styles and Cole win...

[TTX]

some very cool action there. Big win for Cole and Styles.