Bang! Pro Wrestling Presents The Sekai Saikyō Cup: First Round, Part 2!

Eight have advanced, and eight have been sent home. Who will make it to the field of 32? It’s Bang! Pro Wrestling in Tokyo, and we’re here to finish up the first round of the Saikyō Cup!

MARCH 19^th, 2023: SEKAI SAIKYOU CUP, FIRST ROUND, TOKYO, NIGHT 2

• Saikyō Cup, First Round: Powerslam Anubis def. Matthew “Hentai” @ 0:25 by pinfall with the Scales of Dominion (Fireman’s carry powerslam)
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: “Stuntman” Timmy Lester def. Zenjiro Ikari @ 8:12 by pinfall with a flying splash
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: “Stunning” Sam Smart def. “Picture Perfect” Jack Pizazz @ 12:08 by pinfall with the Smart Bomb (throwing crucifix powerbomb)
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: “Thick Walls” Wally Wallace def. Cowbunga Kenji @ 10:09 by submission with the Walls of Wallace (Boston crab)
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: KAPPA def. Junpei Tsukioka @ 5:09 by pinfall with the Come to the River (inverted snap scoop slam)
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: Sin Cordura def. Hiro Taguchi @ 12:28 by pinfall with the El Verdugo (backwards springboard poison rana)
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: “President” Roosevelt Black def. Seiko Serikawa @ 13:42 by pinfall with a triple jump moonsault
• Saikyō Cup, First Round: Ria Lockhart def. Dragon Matsumoto @ 16:06 by pinfall with the Lock Cutter (cutter)

It didn’t take long for Powerslam Anubis to easily defeat half of the Fabulous Hentai Brothers, judging him harshly with a ring-shaking Scales of Dominion within seconds of the bell ringing! After the match, as Anubis was leaving the ring, a mysterious birdman appeared in the ring to kidnap the unconscious Matthew and whisk him away to the back. Anubis watched this happen, and looked very confused about the whole thing. As is always the case when asking why did the mysterious birdman suddenly appear!

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The next match between “Stuntman” Timmy Lester and Zenjiro Ikari was a spirited affair, as Lester fought the valiant Ikari with everything he had. Lester’s “sports entertainment” style was a big hit with the Japanese crowd, particularly once he took a giant backdrop bump off of the top rope. The end came when he pushed Ikari off the top rope from a superplex attempt and flew off with a flying splash to pick up the win. Lester’s next opponent, however, is not for the faint of heart – he’ll be up against the Godslayer himself in the next round!

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Gates of Avalon standout Sam Smart has a new nickname, “Stunning”, and he certainly stunned a lot of people when he picked up a big win over “Picture Perfect” Jack Pizazz. Smart used his size advantage against Pizazz to great effect, and while Pizazz had the experience edge and was able to turn things around at moments in the match, Smart caught him on the top rope when he was showboating too long and dropped him with the Smart Bomb to pick up the win. It’s only Smart’s second win in Bang! Pro Wrestling, but it was certainly a stunning one! Pun intended.

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Smart’s usual tag team partner, “Thick Walls” Wally Wallace, picked up his own win – and a new nickname of his own – when he took on and defeated the former Kazuyagumi founding member Cowabunga Kenji. Kenji used his veteran instincts and love for fighting to take it to Wallace, even choking Wallace with his necktie, but Wallace backdropped him when he attempted to use the Invoice DDT. A big boot led to the Walls of Wallace for the surprising submission victory.

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The Prince of Roppongi took on the spooky murder giant, KAPPA, and to say that it didn’t go too well for the former Kazuyagumi member would be an understatement. Tsukioka tried everything to take the big man off his feet, but KAPPA brushed him off like dirt on his shoulder before ripping his soul out with the Come to the River slam to pick up the easy win. If anyone can find Tsukioka’s soul after that one, please leave it by the desk of Inoue Doi as soon as possible.

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Mexican lucha libre star Sin Cordura made his Bang! debut by defeating Bang! young lion Hiro Taguchi. Taguchi did his best trying to keep up with Cordura, but the psychotic high flyer was bound and determined to break every rule possible en route to his victory. A hurricanrana off of a steel chair from Taguchi nearly took the upset, but Cordura blasted him with a ranhei and followed it up with El Verdugo to put him away.

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Gray’s Academy’s own Roosevelt Black picked up a victory over Beasts of Tokyo representative Seiko Serikawa, competing in one-on-one action. Much like her partner HAMAYUMI the previous night, Serizawa is so used to teaming with her partner that she seemed lost at times when she was in trouble against Black. Black used his speed and agility to take the advantage from the vicious Serizawa, eventually taking her by surprise with a triple jump moonsault to pick up the win. After the match, it appeared that the Beasts of Tokyo might attack Black after the match, but after a strange standoff and some disturbing smiles from the joshi tag team towards Black, they departed without further incident.

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Finally, in the main event, it was former PRIME star and current SHOOT Project representative Ria Lockhart taking on IPN’s resident freelancer, Dragon Matsumoto. It was a back-and-forth, bloody affair between the two, with Matsumoto utilizing the relaxed rules of Bang! Pro Wrestling and his deathmatch background to bend the rules backwards like nobody’s business. Naturally, Ria rose to the challenge and responded in kind. It was when Matsumoto introduced thumbtacks that things looked to be dire for Lockhart, but she caught him with the Lock Cutter as he was about the slam her down onto the tacks, and that was enough to pick up the win. Referee Ryuunosuke Doi is known for his lax application of the rules, so all of this tracks.

Karen Nakano
RingDispatch.com