My SYNAPSE teammates were crowned champions in Japan today in Tokyo at Korkuen Hall. AKIRA defeated “The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI to become the very first WNC (Wrestling New Classic) Champion in history in the tournament finals. AKIRA defeated Adam Angel in the first round, former ECW World Champion Tommy Dreamer in the second round, and TAJIRI in the finals.
Consecutively, Syuri became the first WNC Women’s Champion, defeating team DQN’s Nagisa Nozaki in the finals. In the opening round, Syuri defeated Lin Bairon to advance to the second round, where she defeated FCF Wrestling’s gender bender Jessica Love, and then Nozaki in the finals.
Big props and a huge salute to my SYNAPSE teammates on their dual victories in Tokyo today!
As often holds true in life, none of us can move ahead if we are not willing to take some risks. A calculated risk, however, is entirely different than a hasty risk. And when taking risks, one must always weigh out carefully in advance the potential rewards and payoffs of said course of action.
I have to believe that 23-year old Ricky Vendetta took an uncharted, imprudent risk last Saturday night at FCF Wrestling’s DOMination 7 event in Helsinki. Ricky Vendetta chose to interject himself in the post-match happenings, following my bout with transvestite wrestler Jessica Love, who managed to score his/her first career victory over me.
Following the match, veteran grappler Stark Adder attacked Jessica Love, goading me to join the fray. Adder has had an outstanding issue with Jessica since he returned to action after a year’s absence in late-August this year, losing to the gender bender in the first round of the FCF Championship title tournament held at that time. Adder’s return wasn’t the triumphant one he was hoping for, and his frustration turned to spite in short order, bleeding through even to this day.
After I refused to take part in the post-match beatdown of Jessica Love, Adder’s new protege, Ricky Vendetta, showed up. Throwing caution to the wind, Vendetta cracked me in the back of my head from the blindside, and then proceeded to lace into me after I had my bell rung. Adder just stood there and watched, like a stick in the mud, and didn’t even bother trying to mediate the situation.
Now I have to say, that I have been friends with Stark Adder for years. Through thick and thin, we have battled at times and we have stood together at times, but there has always been a warrior’s bond between us, a mutual respect. I have vouched for Adder on countless occasions, even getting him booked outside of Finland in the past on several occasions. So that said, I am very surprised that at a key moment, such as happened last Saturday night, Adder would not have chosen to set straight his new charge. Instead, he left the omelette to burn on the frying pan.
Ricky Vendetta knew what he was getting into when he opened this latest can of worms. He knew that he was jumping on the oldest dog in the yard, the Alpha Male of the pack. He attacked the locker room leader, and he forgot that ambition and recklessness are two different things altogether.
And for this indiscretion, Ricky Vendetta will end up paying a hellacious price. Ricky Vendetta will learn the hardest way of all, that insolence carries a price tag way beyond his fiscal/physical viability.
As Hall of Fame wrestler Arn Anderson of the Four Horsemen once quoted, ”Don’t write cheques with your mouth that your body can’t cash!”
With that thought in mind, payday come for Ricky Vendetta on January 4 in Lohja, Finland.
Oh, and Adder: Tell Ricky that THIS is going to hurt. After all, you would know.
Photographer Mikko Löppönen of HMC Indie was onhand at FCF Wrestling’s DOMination 7 event this past weekend on Saturday, December 15 in Helsinki to shoot the matches. Here are some of his prize captures from my match against transvestite wrestler Jessica Love, who finally managed to score a pinfall victory over me in 15:46 after a suicide swanton dive off the top rope. This was undoubtedly one of the biggest victories in Jessica Love’s career, and thankfully for those who were not onhand (and shame on you if you missed this show), the advent of still photography warrants you to relive some of the action!
On December 27 in Tokyo, Japan, history will be made as my SYNAPSE teammates AKIRA and Syuri vie for the WNC (Wrestling New Classic) Men’s Championship and WNC Women’s Championship respectively.
First off, I must say I am damn proud of my SYNAPSE partners, who more than deserve the top spots in Japanese professional wrestling, as champions. AKIRA has wrestled an active career nearing 30-years in the business, and to this day he is one of the best in the country of Japan. Syuri has worked her ass off to become one of the brightest female combatants in Japanese rings since her debut in 2010, also successfully doubling as an competitive kickboxer.
When AKIRA, Syuri and I joined forces to form SYNAPSE this past summer, we had a common agenda and end goal in mind: Total dominance. It was clear from the onset, that we would go on to rule the wrestling world in Japan as a unit, and our united front has proven to be an awesome force to this day in all of our matches, both in terms of singles matches and tag team bouts.
This past October, I took part in the opening round of the WNC title tournament, losing in very controversial fashion to my former FCF teammate Hajime Ohara in a violent and spiteful encounter. This marked Ohara’s first-ever win over me, and it also sent him straight into the semi-finals of the tournament. AKIRA and Syuri also won both of their opening round matches, advancing to the semis last month in Tokyo, where AKIRA downed former ECW Champion Tommy Dreamer and Syuri defeated FCF Wrestling’s gender bender Jessica Love.
AKIRA applies his Old Boy submission stretch on Tommy Dreamer (photo by Kengo Takahashi)
Now on December 27 at the infamous Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, the final round in the WNC title tournament sees AKIRA up against SYNAPSE arch-nemesis TAJIRI, as Syuri does battle with team DQN’s Nagisa Nozaki. New champions will be crowned in those matches, and history will be written.
Last year, when SMASH held its championship finals in the men’s and women’s divisions, I faced TAJIRI in the men’s final and defeated him to become the first-ever SMASH Champion in history. One month earlier, Kana defeated Syuri to become the first-ever SMASH Diva Champion. I would go on to lose the SMASH Championship to Dave “Fit” Finlay in November 2011, whereas Syuri would get her comeuppance over Kana, winning the SMASH Diva Championship in February of this year, right before SMASH ceased operations.
Syuri (photo by Kazu Yanagi)
I would have personally loved to have been able to make it to the finals of the WNC title tournament, but as the saying goes, “United we stand, divided we fall.” In so saying, I can only wish for the best of luck to both AKIRA and to Syuri, both of whom I respect very much as teammates and competitors. They are worthy of the gold.
This coming weekend on Saturday, November 17 in Copenhagen, Denmark, I will be facing multi-time Danish wrestling champion Chaos in an ECW-style brawl match-up at Amager Bio, with a bell time of 21:00.
I previously faced Chaos in a pair of singles hardcore matches in 2009. One was in Köge, Denmark, which he won, and the other was in Helsinki, Finland, in which I was victorious. Those were violent, bloody brawls, and I would be very surprised if our outing this coming weekend will be any different. Actually, I am preparing for a major war, as Chaos is one tough SOB, with amateur credentials on his resume.
Arriving home today from participating in the opening round of the WNC (Wrestling New Classic) title tournament this past Friday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, I have to admit that I am feeling battered and bruised. I fought a very violent, spirited match against my former FCF teammate Hajime Ohara, a brawl in which he managed to blacken my left eye socket, only to see me lose the match, thanks to the chicanery from his DQN contingent members.
Piledriving Ohara — a sure win sabotaged by his DQN teammates (photo by Susumu Tobari)
I have faced Ohara on several occasions prior to this tournament match this past weekend, and in every encounter that we have had in the 2+ years prior to this encounter, I have soundly defeated my former protege every time, with my famous jumping spike piledriver. This match was no different, up until the end, when I piledrove Ohara for the seeming victory once again. However, this time his new team members Jiro Kuroshio and Nagisa Nozaki interjected themselves at the moment of the pin, causing the referee to become engaged with their antics. Ohara was able to come around and shake the cobwebs off enough to hit me with a low blow behind the ref’s back, and then nail me with a loaded forearm strike to the throat for the tainted win.
Team SYNAPSE: AKIRA, Syuri and StarBuck
The last time I was in Japan prior to this trip, my SYNAPSE teammate AKIRA took me to a special physical trainer for pro wrestlers named Mr. Kenji Ohkido. I have now gone to Mr. Ohkido about four times, and I plan on making an excursion to his offices whenever I visit Japan, as Mr. Ohkido knows exactly what kinds of duress and physical challenges pro wrestlers’ bodies undergo, due to his extensive experience in treating fighters over the years. For anyone visiting Tokyo or living in the area, be sure to visit his establishment and get your torso lined back into shape.
Physiotherapist Kenji Ohkido knows his stuff!
I was able to visit a few extremely cool restaurants with various friends on this trip to Tokyo. All of them bear mention, so I will start with the excellent Stomach Hold yakitori (chicken) restaurant, run by famous former PRIDE Fighting Championships and Pro Wrestling NOAH grappler, Yoshihiro Takayama. Takayama-san is a truly nice gentleman to boot, and my good friend Dr. Hiroaki Terasaki often takes me to Stomach Hold to eat when I visit Japan.
My good friend Dr. Terasaki and me, visiting Takayama’s Stomach Hold
Another tremendous place to eat was named Hong Kong, run by Japanese wrestling pioneer Rikidozan’s (RIP) former personal chef, Mr. Masanobu Takanashi. Dr. Terasaki took me, AKIRA and All-Japan GAORA champion Sanada to eat at Hong Kong, and the food was off the charts awesome! The food at Hong Kong was traditional Japanese cuisine, and I highly recommend checking out the video below about the owner and the establishment.
From left to right: GAORA champion Sanada, me, head chef Mr. Takanashi, AKIRA, Dr. Terasaki
Last but not least, a couple of my female fans named Mayumi and Atsuko took me to eat at a small but superb sushi establishment, named Shin-Zushi, in a quiet neighborhood of Tokyo last night. I have never enjoyed such mouth-watering, fresh sushi in my life! I am talking about tastes that would make anyone’s sensory overdrive explode! Just amazing sushi, done right by a master chef who knows his piece of business.
The head chef at Shin-Zushi prepares everything truly fresh
Seafood so good it melts in your mouth
With great fans like these, your enemies seem like a distant memory
I should also mention that our SYNAPSE team logo was created by the famous Manga cartoon writer behind the super-popular Cobra comic in Japan, Mr. Terasawa Buichi.
SYNAPSE team logo by Mr. Terasawa Buichi.
My special fan Mayumi also took me to see the world-famous Senso-Ji Asakusa temple in Tokyo. The place is a major tourist attraction, and I also found a very cool shop next to the temple called Caricature Japan, where artist Itsumi Nakabachi drew up a cartoon portrait of Yours Truly as a special memoir.
The Asakusa Senso-Ji temple
I think my pic looks like a cross between Vince Neil of Motley Crue and Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Johnny Van Zant — which is a cool thing!
I would like to wish my SYNAPSE team members Syuri and AKIRA the best of luck in the WNC title tournament, as they vie for the women’s and men’s championships respectively, moving on to round two — the semi-finals — next month. On October 26, Syuri defeated Lin Byron to advance to round two in her division and AKIRA defeated Adam Angel to advance.
Syuri (photo by Kazu Yanagi)
For anyone who does not know, Syuri is also a kickboxer, and she will be competing in the next KRUSH event in Japan once again next month. In her last KRUSH match, Syuri downed her competition via knockout in the second round.
I will be traveling to Tokyo, Japan once again next week, to take part in the Wrestling New Classic championship title tournament, to be held on Friday, October 26 at Korakuen Hall.
In the first round, I meet my former FCF teammate Hajime Ohara, whom I severed ties with this past July. I have defeated Ohara on several occasions, dropping him with my world-famous jumping spike-piledriver every time, and I expect this outing will be no different, as I vie for the beautiful new WNC title belt.
A look at the tournament brackets for the WNC title tourament
Last year on October 28, 2011 in Tokyo, I defeated “The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI in the SMASH title tournament finals to become the very first SMASH Champion in history. One year later, I am looking to make good and become the very first WNC Champion in history also.
Here is a look at the new men’s and women’s WNC title belts
Last night, October 6th in Nurmes, Finland, I faced the brand new FCF Wrestling Champion, King Kong Karhula, in his first title defense to date.
Karhula locks a vicious chinlock on me
Karhula won the strap on August 25th in Helsinki, defeating 4-time former FCF Champion, Valentine, in the finals of a two-day title tournament. After seven years in the wrestling game, Karhula finally won the big one, cementing his legacy among the elite in the European professional wrestling field.
My skull literally ricochets off of the ringpost during the ringside brawl
Last night, Karhula brought the most vicious A-game that he had within him, knowing that I was in the hunt for my 5th FCF Championship to date also. The last time I held the coveted title was in 2010, when I both won and lost the belt to and from “The Japanese Buzzsaw” TAJIRI in Tokyo, on both occasions.
The ringpost shot put a goose egg on my cranium and the blood pours out
I had been struck with a debilitating influenza virus infection for over six weeks, and going into this match, I still was not at 100% physically. That is no excuse as to how things played out in the end, but it stands to take into consideration when looking back on this match. I had not been able to perform cardiovascular workouts during my sick spell, and this detail taxed me severely in last night’s encounter.
I rally back at Karhula with huge blows that rock the FCF Champion
Karhula and I fought tooth and nail – from technical, mat-based wrestling to full-out brawling with both fists blazing – throughout the contest, going 23:26 total match time … and I must say, this was one of my toughest matches in Finland over the past nine years that pro wrestling has been domestically promoted here.
THIS … is the proverbial face of rage unleashed
Karhula survived my superkick – a feat which very few have EVER accomplished, anywhere I have wrestled in the world – and came back with a series of World’s Strongest Slams to finally finish me off for the coup de grâce.
Bombs away — dropping the big elbow off of the top rope
I really must say that all things considered, under the circumstances, I gave it my best shot and did my all, but the better man won last night. Still, I say “the better man” only concerning “last night”. If Karhula is willing to take me on when I am at 100%, without any sicknesses or physical limitations, I challenge him to another match for his title.
After knocking the big ape to his knees, I feed him a wicked superkick
Still, the fact remains: King Kong Karhula is a force to be reckoned with on the European pro wrestling circuit. Very few wrestlers have gotten the one-up on Yours Truly in Europe over the past few years, and to claim a win over StarBuck definitely carries weight and makes a statement in our business.
The World’s Strongest Slam spells the end of the match … for me
King Kong Karhula goes from here to DOMination 6 in Helsinki on October 27th for his next title defense, whereas I head to Japan for the Wrestling New Classic title tournament on October 26 in Tokyo, facing my former teammate, Hajime Ohara, in the first round.
Having just returned back home an hour ago from my last tour of Japan with Wrestling New Classic, I can now sit back and reminisce on a very memorable jaunt … and I say memorable for a few reasons.
In a major surprise, my old MMA buddy Joachim “Hellboy” Hansen from Norway showed up with his girlfriend at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo to watch me fight and to say hello. It had been the summer of 2009 that I saw Hellboy last in Oslo, and he happened to be training in Japan when I was there, so he made plans to come see my match. Hansen is a great guy and one hell of a fighter, so check him out on YouTube if you are not familiar with him. He is known as “The Japanese Killer” in the Land of the Rising Sun, because he has beaten so many of the Nippon best out there over the years.
Firstly, I wrestled the first barbed wire matches of my career in Japan this time around, and I must say that the danger aspect of these kinds of bouts is off the charts. The main objective of any rational wrestler in one of these matches is to stay away from the barbed wire as much as possible, yet at the same time trying to run your opponents into the same structure. It can be a very tricky and vulnerable scenario, and over the course of the tour, every single of the combatants in these intense matches got scarred and wounded, the girls included.
My team with AKIRA and Syuri defeated the team of TAJIRI, Mikey Whipwreck and Kana in both Tokyo on August 30th and Osaka on August 31st in said barbed wire warfare, but on September 1st in Toyohashi, our team fell to our adversaries when I was thrown by my opponents into the barbed wire board positioned in the corner of the ring, and my hair got entangled in the wire.
The story of Absalom, son of King Salomon in the Bible came to mind, when he rose up in defiance against his father and God struck him down in the battle of Ephraim Wood when he rode his mule into battle: Absalom, decked in long tresses of hair, rode his steed underneath an oak tree in the melee, and his locks got entwined in the branches, wherewith he was hung to death.
In the Toyohashi match, as I attempted to finish off Whipwreck with my trademark piledriver, TAJIRI hit me with a blindside high kick, after which he nailed me with a side thrust kick to the temple that jarred my neck. I was a sitting duck after that incident, as our opposing team laced into me with kicks when I was down, and then proceeded to flail me into the barbed wire board in the opposite ring corner. Not only did the board splinter and break upon my body crashing through it, my hair got wickedly entangled in the steel wire barbs, causing even more strain on my injured neck when my frame slumped down after the impact. Whipwreck then added the final coup de grâce, hitting me with a stunner for the academic pinfall and consequent first loss for our trio in Japan to date.
I will not have to take a few weeks off to properly heal my neck, but you can rest assured that there will be retribution and a day or reckoning in store for TAJIRI when I return to action in Japan the next time!
In Osaka, AKIRA, Syuri and I held a special afterparty for the WNC fans at Wrestling Bar 2.99, where I performed an acoustic number for those on hand, which was received warmly.
It was also in Osaka that I went out after the event to eat at the famous Cowboy Steak House with AKIRA, where we were treated to some of the finest beef that I have ever sunk my teeth into. Kudos to the friendly staff at Cowboy for sponsoring our meal!
My good friend Dr. Hiroaki Terasaki also took me out to eat at a fine restaurant, run by one of his long-time friends, seen in the photo below. Terasaki-san also introduced me to the editor of Tokyo Sports newspaper at lunch yesterday, and I will soon have some big news coming out of that meeting, so stay tuned to my website for more infos shortly!
starbuck.fi 