GFS Promo
The roadshow began with an equals part disrespectful and self aggrandizing promo by GFS. He commences the promo by addressing the recent disrespect by his upcoming opponent at Showdown IV Akio Ryuu. I really liked the potency in the promo and I thought it was delivered well, just the content of the promo itself is what I found problematic.
Ichiro Shigeo defeated Nori Takahashi
After a short commercial we went straight into a match between Nori Takahashi and Ichiro Shigeo. Erin Robson on commentary immediately put over Shigeo as one of the best Junior Heavyweights the promotion had ever seen.
The moment the bell rang Takahashi laid into Shigeo with savage strikes, everything from chops to elbows were thrown by the “Young Lion” as Robson called him commentary. The match was a tale of two men who had all to gain and nothing to lose as they were both going in with losing streaks and hunger for new and better opportunities. At every point Shigeo would use his relative size and power advantage to keep the hard hitting Takahashi down, from scoop slams to head locks and when those didn’t work he would resort to outsmarting Takahashi by hanging on to the rope in order to cut off his momentum and throw off is timing. Takahashi did manage to get a lot of his potent strikes in especially after a short striking exchange between the two that led into Takahashi’s comeback. The ending sequence came when Shigeo would roll out of the ring prompting Takahashi to follow but that would be his fatal mistake as Shigeo would run back into the ring and decapitate Takahashi with a devastating sick kick as he entered into the ring to give chase.
The match was a fast paced fun affair that told a good story, and props should go out to both competitors. That being said I would give the match a solid ***(3/4), did a lot for me in terms of getting both guys over and at no point did the action seem to come to a halt but there were issues with Shigeo seemingly random burst of power moves followed by a bevy of more higher impact moves characteristic of a Junior Heavyweight.
Adam Rayne and Okami Promo
Up next was a promo by Okami addressing a previous attack by Nero Demenon, Jamoshi Ali, and Alex Kross. He called out Nero by name inviting him to come face to face with him in the ring and explain himself. Nero’s music began to play before some “technical difficulties” spurred up, only for it to revealed that in fact Nero wasn’t coming, neither of the three men that attacked Okami were coming out. Some unfamiliar music began to plan and it was clear that we were in for quite the surprise but no one could have predicted that Adam Rayne would come out of retirement and reveal himself as the mastermind behind the vicious attack on Okami.
What followed was a passionate and emotional monologue by Rayne in which he explains what he suffered through and sacrificed for this sport, he goes through his reinvention as a competitor, he explains how everything he did to reassert himself from 2014 onward seemed to be in vain. In this promo he delved into not only the issues he had with the Okami, but he delved into his issues with the fans and the way that the wrestling culture has devolved in his eyes. He believes that its no longer about who’s the better man but instead its about who can do the better flips. He explains how he studies and observed Okami during his match with Kross and he vows that he will cure the wrestling world of the virus that is Okami. Only for Okami to immediately respond with what is possibly my favorite line ever uttered in a promo “Listen here little tea cup.” In a short and sweet promo Okami issued his challenge to Rayne at Final Form in what should be a brutal match between a vicious murderous and aggressive psychopath versus the The Shogun Kid and the master of Ronin Style Okami.
I give this entire segment an ****(3/4), it started off a bit slow but from the moment that Rayne was revealed and he started his passionate monologue it was a home run, the story their running with of Rayne being this maniacal mastermind that orchestrated this whole thing to destroy Okami is fascinating and should the match deliver it may go down as one of the best things to come out of CAW this year.
Jay Logan defeated Yukhiro Hashimi
Next on the card was the main event between Jay Logan and Yukhiro Hashimi, the match would entail a return to Japan for Yukihiro and a debut in Japan for Jay Logan. This match begun with an admirable effort from Hashimi to use his speed and agility for keep Logan off his base, but once that failed it became a one sided display of dominance from Logan.
Not too much to comment about here it was an impressive show of dominance and power by Logan and a valiant effort by Hashimi. I’ll give this match a **(1/2), the match itself was average but it did its job of getting Logan’s power and dominance over.
Overall Show Rating
For my overall rating of the show I’ll give it a ***(3/4), I think the show was a good watch from beginning to end and I would definitely recommend anyone who hasn’t watched it yet to give it a watch however it does suffer from not having a truly great match on the card which I have just come to expect now from T1P. True 1 Pro continues to be one of the best shows in CAW and never fails to deliver and I couldn’t be more excited for Final Form.
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