* KANAGAWA, JAPAN, July 05, 2008 -- Over the course of two violent nights of pro-wrestling action, Kanagawa based magazine publisher E+ SPORTS held its 2008 "KING OF THE DEATHMATCH" tournament from the Yokohama Bunka Gymnasium over the course of two nights, with over 4,500 fans attending the final nights festivities.
E+ SPORTS Senior Director Nobuaki Ueda (39) announced the tournament to the public on 6/06, along with the sixteen participants he had hand picked, spanning Japan and the United States and six organizations including Japan based Pro-Wrestling FURY and American based Wrestle Coast: Cascadia.
The tournament's first night was deemed a mild failure through the first half of the card, as only 1,748 fans showed up in a building that holds well over 6,000. However, the night's main event and final first round match between Pro-Wrestling FURY's ZERO Kubota (30) and freelancer Makoto Saito (29) in a violent deathmatch involving TWO-HUNDRED fluorescent light tubes won deafening praise from the live crowd, with several insiders calling it the year's "BEST BOUT" so far. In a stunning upset, the man who had never participated in this sort of deranged environment, Makoto Saito defeated Kubota after using a sharp "buzz saw" like kick to smash a bundle of fluorescent tubes into the side of Kubota's skull. Despite coming into the tournament as a virtual outsider to the Kanagawa people, Saito became an instant star in their eyes by the end.
The first night also saw the Japanese debut of Wrestle Coast: Cascadia's "Hillbilly Jesus" Frank Dylan James (33). James faced the "Suntanned Superman" and indie dweller Koki Akita in a "barbed wire board & chain" deathmatch. While Akita attempted to charm James with his unique charisma and arm flexes, James responded with a blunt punch to Akita's mouth, with James eventually wrapping an unforgiving steel chain around his leg and finishing Akita with his trademark "Mountain Top Drop" knee from the top turnbuckle.
Based simply on the prior night's main event and word-of-mouth, the second and final night of the tournament was an immediate success, with well over 4,500 fans attending. After another violent round, the tournament boiled down to four competitors: Frank Dylan James, Kanagawa's own Shun'en Ogiwara (26,) St. Louis based hardcore veteran Sean King, and Makoto Saito.
The first semi final bout pitted James against Ogiwara in a "barbed wire board & bed of nails" deathmatch. The two made use of their new "toy," as James had his right hand completely pieced by one of the sharp nails. Fortunately the injury was not severe, as the nail thankfully missed vital tendons in the hand. Even with a hole in his hand, James' eccentric and chaotic style won out as Ogiwara laid prone atop the bed of nails, allowing James to connect with his "Mountain Top Drop" to advance to the finals.
The second semi final match would turn out to be the most violent bout of the tournament thus far, as Makoto Saito clashed with Sean King in a "scaffold barbed wire spider net" deathmatch where the ring's middle ropes held together a barbed wire circus net. King and Saito battled outside of the ring for most of the match. But the supplied scaffolding eventually came into play as King shoved Saito off into the awaiting barbed wire below. Saito was put in even more danger as King risked his 350lbs frame by leaping off the structure onto Saito. Despite the two being mangled in barbed wire, King and Saito managed to somehow continue fighting. But finally, King sealed the deal by giving Saito his patented "SK Driver" off the scaffolding into the barbed wire circus net yet again to advance to the finals.
However, as we would find out just before the tournament finals, King suffered a freak injury in the semi final match after jumping onto the barbed wire circus net, as he SWALLOWED a loose strand of barbed wire, forcing him to pull out of the tournament and be immediately rushed to the hospital. Due to the urgency involved with getting him treatment, the loose strand, approximately two inches in length, was able to be removed before it could be ingested. Doctors in Kanagawa expect the tissue in King's throat to be healed within four to six weeks.
With one finalist unable to continue, this created some confusion among the fans. However, on short notice, Makoto Saito was asked and agreed without hesitation to face Frank Dylan James in the tournament finals.
James and Saito would subject themselves to a new level of hell, as they faced one another in a diabolical concept, the "no rope barbed wire double hell landmine" deathmatch! As the name implies, the match involved the ropes being removed from the ring, with two sides being replaced with razor sharp barbed wire. And what awaited the fighters on the two sides without ropes? Deadly explosives ready to set off the moment somebody made contact. Saito, James, and the fans were stricken with anxiety as the match began. But the two combatants soon acquainted themselves with their environment. James became the first to unfortunately experience the explosives, as Saito shoved James off during a Bulldog Headlock attempt, sending James plummeting to the awaiting landmines below. James would recover, and return the favor moments later after blatantly attacking Saito with a shot to the groin, before throwing the prone Saito out of the ring into the explosives.
At the request of James, a ladder soon found its way to the ring. The two bloodied warriors fought atop with wild strikes, until Saito won the exchange with an Axe Kick to the point of James' spine, causing James to fall from the ladder, and onto the piercing barbed wire below! The climatic end of the match saw Saito using his kyokushin karate background to unleash a fierce arsenal of strikes, ending with a concussion inducing high kick to the temple of James, causing him to fall unconscious into the landmines for a second and final time, forcing the referee to jump in and stop the match!
In becoming the 2008 "King of the Deathmatch," Saito received a check for 1,500,000 Yen, along with a trophy.
While Saito had become a star in the eyes of the fans by winning, the tournament also helped create new stars in Frank Dylan James, semi finalist Shun'en Ogiwara and Sean King, who earned an incredible amount of respect from the Japanese fans for his incredible courage.
The tournament was an incredible success for promoter Nobuaki Ueda, who promised a 2009 installment of the tournament without hesitation.
The biggest news of the tournament came later during the post-show press conference, as Ueda announced the relaunch of his MAXIMUM JAPAN group that he had attempted to start last year, only to fold after the first show. "It was never an intention of mine to relaunch MAXIMUM JAPAN," said Mr. Ueda in front of reporters in Kanagawa. "However, after watching the drama play out across both nights, I knew once it was over, their were more stories to be told in the ring. The saga of everyone involved needs to continue to be told."
Ueda announced plans to revive the company on 7/30 in Kanagawa, which will mark the first anniversary of the first and only MAXIMUM JAPAN show on 7/30/2007. Ueda named Saito as the Ace of the organization, and would be the face of the company for the immediate future. Ueda also stated that he would like to see the other fifteen participants in the tournament in the MAXIMUM JAPAN ring.
For more information of the King of the Deathmatch tournament, please direct yourself to the following addresses:
BATTLE FUSION: The #1 governing body of pro-wrestling in Japan.
King of the Deathmatch 2008 Night 1
King of the Deathmatch 2008 Night 2
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