Date: January 4th, 2000
Location: Osaka Namihaya Dome
Attendance: 1,705

Some small promotions come and go, but others like Osaka Pro seem to last forever. Formed in 1998 and celebrating its 10 year anniversary this year, Osaka Pro is one of those promotions that never gets very popular but manages to hang on even as they lose wrestlers on a yearly basis to larger promotions. In 2000 they had one of their first big shows, as they were set to crown the first ever Osaka Pro Singles Champion. Up to this point the promotion had no titles but as their success grew it was time to create an official champion. The card is stacked with Osaka Pro awesomeness, and Takehiro Murahama makes his debut! Here is the full card:

- Ebessan vs. Kuishinbo Kamen
- Chikako Shiratori vs. Dynamite Kansai
- Monster Zeta Mandora and Monster King Mandora vs. Ultra Ace and Ultra Monkey
- Black Buffalo, Daio QUALLT, and Policeme~n vs. Tsubasa, Super Demekin, and Sugamoto
- Different Style Fight: Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Takehiro Murahama
- Osaka Pro Singles Championship: Dick Togo vs. Super Delfin

Lets get things started!

Ebessan vs. Kuishinbo Kamen
After each wrestler (and referee) gets cheered, Ebessan and Kamen threaten to leave but eventually come back to the ring. They avoid each other's tie-up attempts and face off again before bowing to the crowd. Tie-up, waistlock by Ebessan, reversed by Kamen, reversed back again, side headlock takedown by Ebessan and he turns and poses to the camera. The referee hits him for not paying attention to the match and they have a quick argument. Tie-up, side headlock by Ebessan, Kamen gets out of it and does a quick cover, Ebessan does a quick cover as well and Kamen poses to the crowd. Ebessan kicks him from behind to get his attention and Kamen asks for a handshake. Ebessan gives it, Kamen tries to Irish whip him but Ebessan holds onto the ropes and Kamen lands on his face. Kamen returns the favor with an Ebessan Irish whip, both wrestlers go off the ropes and run into each other with both falling to the mat. They get up and go off the ropes, but both trip before they reach the middle of the ring. Off the ropes again, both wrestlers go for leapfrogs, and they lay down due to being tired from all the running. The referee begins to count them both as pinned, and both wrestlers get their shoulders up before the three count. Back up they trade chops, Kamen goes off the ropes and Ebessan delivers a dropkick. Kamen falls out of the ring, Ebessan goes off the far ropes but he reaches between the ropes and bops Kamen in the head. Kamen gets back on the apron, Ebessan greets him and suplexes him back into the ring. Cover by Ebessan but it gets a two count. Ebessan picks up Kamen, scoop slam, cover, but again it gets a two count and Ebessan complains about it saying that the referee counts too slow. Kamen rolls him up from behind and this time the referee counts very fast, but it only gets a two. Irish whip by Kamen, Ebessan goes for a German suplex but Kamen lands on his feet and delivers a super kick.

Irish whip by Kamen from the corner and he hits a monkey flip, he ducks an Ebessan lariat and delivers a arm drag, and all three of them (referee included) do a little jump in the air at the same time. Kamen goes for another monkey flip but Ebessan catches him and puts him onto the top turnbuckle. Kamen knocks him down however and does a spin, but Ebessan catches him with the Oil Check. Backdrop suplex by Ebessan, cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Ebessan from the corner and he hits a running lariat followed by a bulldog. Ebessan picks up Kamen, scoop slam in front of the corner and he hits a frog splash from the top turnbuckle. Cover, but Kamen kicks out. Scoop slam by Ebessan, he goes up top again but Kamen is up and dropkicks him from the top turnbuckle out of the ring. Kamen then gets on the apron and hits an Asai Moonsault down onto Ebessan. Kamen gets back into the ring and Ebessan slowly follows, Kamen goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press. Superkick by Kamen and he delivers a lariat for a two count cover. Kamen picks up Ebessan, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ebessan has recovered and hits a sit-down powerbomb. Cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Ebessan and he hits a Ebisu Otoshi. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Ebessan picks up Kamen, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a moonsault for another two count. Ebessan goes back up top again but Kamen dropkicks him in the stomach as he jumps off. Kamen picks up Ebessan, puts him onto the top turnbuckle and hits a Frankensteiner. Scoop slam by Kamen, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Kankuu Tornado! Your winner: Kuishinbo Kamen

Match Thoughts: I have no idea how to rate comedy matches, but I will say that the original Ebessan is 100 times better then the other two that have tried the gimmick in Osaka Pro, and they really need to stop trying. Ebessan and Kamen had a special connection with the crowd that always made their matches fun. One of the reasons that they were successful is that they are also both really good wrestlers, so when they are not doing comedy they still can put on a good match. A fun way to start off the show. Score: 6.0

Chikako Shiratori vs. Dynamite Kansai
JIP, Kansai picks up Shiratori, Irish whip, but Shiratori hits a DDT. Cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Shiratori but she can't get Kansai over for the suplex and Kansai gets out of it. Shiratori ducks a Kansai strike attempt, she goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kansai recovers. Shiratori hits her back however and delivers a missile dropkick, double handed blows by Shiratori and she hits a German suplex hold for a two count. La Magistral by Shiratori, but it also gets a two count. Shiratori goes up to the top turnbuckle again but Kansai kicks her as she jumps off. Kansai picks up Shiratori and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but Shiratori kicks out at two. Kansai picks up Shiratori and goes for the Splash Mountain, but Shiratori reverses it into a roll-up for a two count. Kick to the face by Kansai, she picks up Shiratori again and this time she nails the Splash Mountain. Cover, and she picks up the three count! Your winner: Dynamite Kansai

Match Thoughts: Only the last two minutes were shown so we missed the build-up, but nothing wrong with what they showed. I guess something had to be clipped to fit, so it was the women's match that got cut up. So sexist. Score: N/A

Monster Zeta Mandora and Monster King Mandora vs. Ultra Ace and Ultra Monkey
Yes, I know which ones are which. The Mandoras attack the Ultras to start the match and all four end up outside the ring. King Mandora throws Monkey into the crowd, and when I saw "in the crowd" I mean that literally as they were sitting on mats on the floor and he just chucked him into them. He goes in and gets him and the Mandoras throw the Ultras into each other. King Mandora gets back in the ring with Zeta Mandora and they celebrate. Eventually Ace comes in as the legal man with Zeta Mandora, takedown by Zeta Mandora, he goes off the ropes but Ace hits an armdrag. Another armdrag by Ace, he goes off the ropes and hits a flying headscissors. Zeta Mandora falls out of the ring, Ace goes off the far ropes and hits a sliding hurricanrana to the floor. Monkey gets on the apron and hits a diving hurricanrana onto Zeta Mandora to the floor. Zeta Mandora and King Mandora re-group out of the ring while the Ultras do a little dance inside of it. Clip, as Zeta Mandora and Monkey are in the ring. Atomic drop by Zeta Mandora and Monkey jumps in the referee's arms for protection. The referee sends him back and Monkey gets out of the ring and walks towards the back. The crowd chants his name however and Ace convinces him to return after a few moments. He accidentally walks into the ring post however and Ace has to go back out. Clip, as King Mandora and Zeta Mandora ram the Ultras into each other. Back in the corners they try again but the Ultras hit dropkicks on both of them. Zeta Mandora and King Mandora fall out of the ring, Monkey sails out onto Zeta Mandora with a tope con hilo while Ace hits King Mandora with a tope suicida. Monkey slides Zeta Mandora back into the ring, Irish whip from the corner, reversed, Monkey kicks Zeta Mandora back but Zeta Mandora hits a military press into a sit-down slam for a two count. Zeta Mandora goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving body press, cover, but Ace breaks it up. King Mandora gives Ace an Irish whip and delivers a heel kick. King Mandora picks up Ace and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but he gets a two count as well as Monkey breaks it up. Double Irish whip to Monkey and they hit a double back elbow. Back to Ace, powerslam by Zeta Mandora, Zeta Mandora tries to Irish whip Monkey into King Mandora for another powerslam but Monkey reverses the Irish whip and Zeta Mandora gets power slammed instead. Double dropkick to King Mandora, the Ultras give Zeta Mandora an Irish whip and both hit diving double chops to the chest. Double Irish whip to King Mandora and he gets the same treatment. King Mandora and Zeta Mandora get the Ultras onto their shoulders but the Ultras roll them both up for two counts. Zeta Mandora and King Mandora fall into the corners, they are put onto the top rope by Monkey and Ace respectively and both hit Frankensteiners. Ace and Monkey go up to different turnbuckles, wait for Zeta Mandora and King Mandora to get up, and they hit double diving hurricanranas for the three count! Your winners: Ultra Ace and Ultra Monkey

Match Thoughts: I deserve a cookie for keeping up with who was who. I enjoyed this match because I love hurricanranas. And in this one match we saw a: Sliding Hurricanrana, Apron Hurricanrana, Avalanche Hurricanrana, and simultaneous Diving Hurricanranas. What more could you ask for? I actually don't know who the Ultras are (should I?) but they were entertaining and the Mandoras took the moves well. Match of the Year? Perhaps not. But an entertaining Osaka Pro mid-card match. Osaka Pro was much more fun in 2000 me thinks. Score: 6.0

Black Buffalo, Daio QUALLT, and Policeme~n vs. Tsubasa, Super Demekin, and Sugamoto
Ah, a real match. JIP, as Demekin gives QUALLT a scoop slam. Demekin goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a diving headbutt, he picks up QUALLT and applies a waistlock by QUALLT hits him low and delivers a lariat. Cover, but Sugamoto breaks it up. Buffalo comes in the ring, Irish whip by Buffalo on Sugamoto but Sugamoto hits a German suplex hold for a two count. Sugamoto goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers a missile dropkick, cover, but he gets another two. Snap suplex by Sugamoto, he goes to the top turnbuckle again but Buffalo rolls out of the way of the diving body press. Buffalo picks up Sugamoto, Irish whip from the corner and he hits lariat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Buffalo picks up Sugamoto and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but Sugamoto kicks out. Irish whip by Buffalo from the corner, reversed, but Buffalo kicks Sugamoto as he charges in and hits a lariat for a two count cover. Buffalo picks up Sugamoto and goes for the Buffalo Driver, nails it, but Tsubasa breaks up the pin attempt. Buffalo lariats Tsubasa out of the ring as Policeme~n runs in and kicks Sugamoto. Front suplex by Policeme~n on Sugamoto, cover, but it gets a two count. Buffalo slides a suitcase in the ring, Policeme~n picks up Sugamoto and DDTs him onto it. Policeme~n picks up Sugamoto, scoop slam in front of the corner and he climbs to the top turnbuckle, delivering a Shooting Star Press. Cover, but Demekin breaks it up. Policeme~n throws Demekin out of the ring, Irish whip to Sugamoto and Policeme~n hits a lariat. Cover, but Sugamoto gets a shoulder up. Waistlock by Policeme~n, Sugamoto elbows out of it and delivers a dropkick.

Sugamoto's tags in Tsubasa, quebrada by Tsubasa but he only gets a two count. Scoop slam by Tsubasa, he goes up to the apron and hits a slingshot elbow drop followed by a slingshot leg drop. Cover, but he gets a two. Tsubasa picks up Policeme~n and slams him in front of the corner, he goes up top but QUALLT runs over and distracts him. Sugamoto gets QUALLT off however and Tsubasa hits a twisting diving body press. Cover, but Buffalo breaks it up. Sugamoto runs in, and he throws Buffalo into the corner. Sugamoto puts Buffalo onto the top turnbuckle and runs to the adjacent corner while Tsubasa is on the apron next to Buffalo. Tsubasa then hits a Frankensteiner onto Buffalo, sending him into the middle of the ring, and Sugamoto dives off the turnbuckle with a missile dropkick. German suplex hold by Demekin, but Buffalo barely gets a shoulder up. Demekin goes off the ropes but Buffalo catches him with a lariat, cover, but it only gets a two count. Tsubasa comes over but Buffalo throws him out of the ring, QUALLT picks up Demekin and nails a powerbomb. QUALLT picks up Demekin again and delivers a chokeslam, cover, but Sugamoto breaks it up. Policeme~n throws Sugamoto out of the ring while QUALLT picks up Demekin and goes for another chokeslam. Tsubasa hits him from behind with a missile dropkick however and then he hits a hurricanrana on Policeme~n for a two count. Tsubasa goes off the ropes but QUALLT grabs him from the the apron. Buffalo holds Tsubasa in the corner for Policeme~n, Policeme~n charges him but Tsubasa gets a foot up and knocks Policeme~n back. Demekin quickly puts Policeme~n into the School Boy and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Tsubasa, Super Demekin, and Sugamoto

Match Thoughts: I really wish this was shown in full as the half they showed was fun as hell. I really do love these matches, as unlike the bigger promotions in their multi-man matches Osaka Pro doesn't bother with tags or sanity. They just go all out until one team hits the right combination to pick up the pinfall. A quick who's who: Sugamoto currently wrestles in Dragon Gate as Gamma, QUALLT is retired, Super Demekin is now Zero and Policeme~n is also known by his real name Yukihide Ueno. Anyway, I enjoyed the part they showed as it was chaos at its finest. Score: 7.0

Naohiro Hoshikawa vs. Takehiro Murahama
This is a Different Style Fight, meaning there are rounds and they are wrestling a more realistic style. This is Murahama's debut.

Round 1: They circle each other to start, each trying for low kicks but neither really connecting. Hoshikawa goes for a takedown but Murahama gets in the ropes and the referee forces a break. Murahama goes for a kick but Hoshikawa catches it and gets him into the ropes again, forcing another break. They both unsuccessfully go for strikes but Hoshikawa catches another Murahama kick and takes him to the mat. Hoshikawa goes for the arm but Murahama gets a leg on the ropes, getting a break. Back on their feet they circle each other, Hoshikawa mostly lands a kick to the chest and he catches Murahama's leg again, but Murahama gets away. Hoshikawa gets Murahama into the ropes just as the bell rings.

Round 2:The two fighters circle each other and go for strikes, with neither scoring a significant blow. Murahama finally lands a good punch which knocks Hoshikawa down, but he quickly gets back up. Takedown by Murahama but he celebrates too quickly and Hoshikawa hits a German suplex. High kick by Hoshikawa and Murahama goes down to the mat. The referee starts his count but Murahama is up at 8. Kicks to the leg by Hoshikawa and he takes Murahama to the mat. Hoshikawa connects with a few short punches until Murahama gets in the ropes and forces a break. Back up they jockey for position, Hoshikawa gets Murahama into the ropes and the referee forces a break. Hoshikawa gets Murahama to the mat but the bell rings and the round is over.

Round 3: They circle to start and trade strikes, with neither getting a clear advantage. A high kick by Murahama finds its mark and a flurry of punches sends Hoshikawa to the mat. Hoshikawa is up at 7, Murahama charges in but Hoshikawa grabs him. Belly to belly suplex by Hoshikawa and he goes for the armbreaker, but Murahama gets his foot on the ropes. Back up, Murahama connects with a series of punches to the chest and head knocking Hoshikawa to the mat, but Hoshikawa is up at 8. More punches by Murahama and as Hoshikawa falls to the mat for the third time in the round the referee calls for the bell! Your winner by TKO: Takehiro Murahama

Match Thoughts: For this type of match I guess it was fine, not really my cup of tea. The celebrating/German suplex spot seemed out of place but everything else in the match fit in with the Different Style Fight rules. Murahama would go on to do both MMA and Pro Wrestling, but neither particularly successfully. He did reach the finals of the 2004 Super J Cup, however, and had three wins in MMA. Not unwatchable and it gave a nice change of pace compared to the rest of the card. Score: 5.0

Dick Togo vs. Super Delfin
This match is the decision match for the Osaka Pro Singles Championship. They circle each other to start, tie-up, Togo gets Delfin into the ropes but he gives a clean break. Tie-up, armdrag takedown by Delfin, but Togo powers out of it. Delfin applies a headscissors, reversed by Togo into a front facelock but Delfin reverses that into a wristlock. Togo reversed the wristlock into a front chancery, but Delfin reverses that into a hammerlock and gets Togo to the mat. Delfin applies a stretch hold, Togo gets out of it and applies a front facelock, but Delfin reverses it into a kneelock. Single leg crab hold by Delfin but Togo kicks his way out of it. Togo picks up Delfin, snapmare, and he applies a headscissors. Delfin gets out of it but Togo applies a wristlock. Delfin flips out of it and both men are on their feet again. Chop by Delfin but Togo comes back with a punch to the face. Delfin goes off the ropes and hits a flying headscissors followed by a lariat. Togo rolls out of the ring, Delfin slides out after him and hits another flying headscissors on the floor. Delfin gets back into the ring and Togo eventually follows. Togo grabs Delfin from the apron and gets a steel chair, hitting him in the back with it. Outside the ring Togo hits Delfin in the leg with the chair before sliding him back into the ring. Stomp to the leg by Togo and he slams Delfin's knee into the mat. Again he rams Delfin's knee into the mat and he applies a knee lock. Delfin makes it to the ropes to break the hold, stomp to the leg by Togo and Delfin rolls out of the ring. Togo distracts the referee so that his henchmen (Black Buffalo, QUALLT, etc.) can assault him before sliding Delfin back into the ring. Togo applies pressure onto Delfin's leg but Delfin gets a hand on the ropes. Togo goes off the ropes but Delfin ducks the lariat and goes for a hurricanrana, but Togo blocks it and applies a crab hold. Togo reverts it into an STF but Delfin makes it to the ropes to break the hold. Dragon screw leg whip by Togo and he applies an inverted figure four leg lock. Delfin crawls his way to the ropes and manages to break the hold. Togo picks up Delfin but Delfin hits an enzigieri. Delfin picks up Togo and applies a waistlock but Togo elbows out of it and applies an achilles heel hold. Delfin wiggles to the ropes and after a moment he forces a break.

Togo picks up Delfin and throws him into the corner, he puts his legs up so that he is straddling the corner, but Delfin frees himself and moves as Togo charges in. Delfin kicks Togo out of the ring, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Buffalo throws a chair at him, knocking him down to the floor. Togo throws Delfin into the apron and gets a table, setting it up at ringside. Togo rolls Delfin back into the ring while he is on the apron and tries to suplex Delfin onto the ladder, but Delfin knocks Togo off the apron and he hits the table. Delfin then goes up to the top turnbuckle and sails out onto Togo with a plancha suicida. Delfin picks up Togo and throws him hard into the ring post, sending Togo spinning into the floor. After a moment Delfin goes out and gets Togo to bring him back into the ring, cover, but it gets a two count. Delfin picks up Togo and hits a DDT, cover, but it gets a two count. Delfin throws Togo into the corner and delivers a tornado DDT, but Togo gets back to his feet and hits a sit-down powerbomb. Cover, but it gets a two count. Togo picks up Delfin, scoop slam, he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Delfin gets up and joins him. Togo knocks Delfin back however and jumps off the top turnbuckle, but Delfin catches him in mid-air with a dropkick. Irish whip by Delfin, reversed, but Delfin hits a swinging DDT. Cover, but Togo kicks out at two. Delfin grabs Togo but Togo hits a low blow followed by a lariat for a two count. Togo picks up Delfin and hits the pedigree near the corner. He then goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the Diving Senton, cover, but Delfin barely gets a shoulder up. Togo goes up top again but this time Delfin rolls out of the way. Delfin picks up Togo, Irish whip, reversed, and Delfin applies a small package for a two count. Delfin picks up Togo and hits an elevated DDT, another cover, but again it gets two. Delfin throws Togo into the corner and hits a second Tornado DDT, Delfin Clutch, but it only gets a two count. Delfin waits for Togo to get up and hits a Shotei, cover, but Togo grabs the bottom rope to break the hold. Delfin charges Togo and hits the Osaka Rinkai Uppercut, cover, but again he can't pick up the victory. Delfin again waits for Togo to get up and goes for the Osaka Rinkai Uppercut, Togo moves, but Delfin connects with a cutter. Delfin charges again and this time he nails the Osaka Rinkai Uppercut, cover, and he picks up the victory! Your winner and new champion: Super Delfin

Match Thoughts: The atmosphere and in-ring execution was there, but the story was just too disjointed for me to really get into the match. A lot of times opening limb work is ignored, and I am ok with that, but here they took it too far. Togo worked over Delfin's leg for about 10 minutes with things ranging from chair shots to figure fours, but once Delfin went back on offense it was completely forgotten. He never sold it and Togo never went back to it. It was almost as if the first 10 minutes of the match didn't count and was its own separate entity. I also didn't like the no-selling spot, as it wasn't a delay sell and Delfin never returned the favor, so in reality it was just a really lazy transition from Delfin being on offense to Togo being on offense. They worked very well together and there were no signs of miscommunication or sloppiness whatsoever though, and it was fun watching Delfin again back when he could still really work. It was enjoyable simply by the crowd's reactions and the precision of the wrestlers, if only they had wrestled it as one match instead of two separate matches then it might have been a near-classic for Osaka Pro. Score: 6.5

Final Thoughts:

From top to bottom a very solid card. Osaka Pro was so much fun back in the day... not to say it isn't fun now but most of the better characters are gone or deteriorated and the new characters aren't quite as entertaining. The main event was historical and if they hadn't wasted my time with pointless leg work it could have been one for the ages. But the tag matches all ranged from good to very entertaining, and the only "average" or worse match on the card was the Different Style Fight, probably because that isn't my personal favorite style of match. If you haven't seen Osaka Pro before and want to see what it was like back in the day, then this would be a good place to start. The only reason I can't recommend it higher is because only three matches were shown in full, but it is still worth picking up.

Mildly Recommended

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review completed on 5/1/08