Ganbare Pro Wrestling’s biggest event of the year is here, as they return to Ota City General Gymnasium for WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA 2! All roads have led to Otaku. Both SOG belts are on the line, the All Japan World Junior Champion is here, and appearances from a co-holder of the AAAW Tag Champions alongside the AAAW Singles Champion. Most importantly the GanPro roster will not just be fighting in the present. Everyone from top to bottom will be fighting for their future, as well. Let’s take a look at the action.
Munetatsu Nakamura vs. Masahiro Takanashi
“Young Ganbare” Munetatsu Nakamura only debuted this past December, but for my money, he might just be pro wrestling’s rookie of the year. Mune has made great strides in such a short time and has even provided results. He has a victory over Isami Kodaka in Korakuen Hall, but that was the end of his success. Kodaka defeated him in a singles rematch to earn the title match he’s receiving in the main event, and Mune lost to Mizuki Watase in singles action on 6/30. He’s in a bit of a slump, but he’s earned a singles match on this big event.
However, he’s in for a tough night standing across from a DDT legend in Masahiro Takanashi. While it’s easy to talk about everything Masa has done in the past. However, he’s still active trotting the globe and winning championships. He’s one-half of the SPW Southeast Asian Tag Team Champions and the current SETUP Thailand Openweight Champion. So a win here for Mune would be a big boost for him to possibly climb back into title contention.
Riara vs. Unagi Sayaka
Riara gets a big opportunity here after debuting back in May she gets a singles match in Ota Ward. As Unagi Sayaka makes her WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA return to assess the newest member of the GanJo roster. Don’t expect a mat classic here, as Riara hasn’t had many matches. However, seeing what Riara is capable of in a big match like this should be intriguing.
Team Dream Futures (Keisuke Ishii, Soma Takao, and Shigehiro Irie) vs. Akito, Shota, and Shinichiro Tominaga
Team Dream Futures reunite on a big stage yet again to do battle against a team of veterans consisting of two GanPro regulars, and Akito making his GanPro debut. Not much to note here, other than the fact ROMANCE DAWN keeps finding themselves on the opposite side of the ring ever since failing to advance to the SOG tag title final. Should be a great time.
Yoshiko Hasegawa vs. Miyuki Takase
It was at last year’s WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA where Yoshiko Hasegawa announced her intentions to return to wrestling as a part of GanPro. Now a year later she gets a featured singles bout against one of her seniors from Actress girl’Z. Yoppy had a singles match with Moeka Haruhi earlier this year which was really the turning point for her where she flipped a switch, and really started to show her growth. She’s become the face of GanJo with both Haruhi and Manase out. The question is what does she need more than anything from this match with Takase? It’s simple she needs results. Anything less than a win should be considered a disappointment for Yoppy.
Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Tag Team Championship Number One Contender’s Match: Ken Ohka & Kuma Arashi vs. Hartley Jackson & HARUKAZE vs. Daiki Shimomura & Minoru Fujita vs. Tsuyoshi Okada & Yuki Kanzaki
In this match, we will see the next challengers for the Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Tag Team Championships determined. Tsuyoshi Okada and Yuki Kanzaki are the odd team out, but they’re capable of coming away with the victory. However, the other three teams are definitely the favorites in this match. Daiki Shimomura and Minoru Fujita are the current BASARA Iron Fist Tag Team Champions and could earn a chance to become double champions. While Kuma Arashi came to GanPro to form a tag team with Ken Ohka, and they have a victory over Keisuke Ishii and Shota so they have momentum on their side. However, in my opinion, this match and the tag team titles belong to the fan-favorite team of Hartley Jackson and HARUKAZE. They are both good on their own, but as a team, they’ve proven to be great. Bringing the absolute best out of each other, and are the safest team to bet on in this.
El Lindaman vs. Yumehito Imanari
Last year, Yumehito Imanari successfully defended the Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Championship in the main event of this very show. While he might not get that same chance this year, he’s getting something arguably equal to that feat. Facing off against STRONGHEARTS’ El Lindaman is already a big match, but recently the stakes have been raised a bit. El Lindaman recently captured All Japan Pro Wrestling’s World Junior Championship. Now Imanari isn’t just battling an outsider from GLEAT. He gets to prove he’s one of the absolute best juniors in the world by stepping up to the World Junior Champion.
Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Tag Team Championships: Hentai Punch Drunkers (Hikaru Sato & Tyson Maeguchi)(c) vs. Shuichiro Katsumura & Takuya Wada
Tyson Maeguchi has been without a doubt the most improved wrestler in all of GanPro, and that hard work lead him and Hikaru Sato straight to the Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Tag Team Championships. Now they walk into the big show facing an opposition formed out of mutual respect for one another’s ground game. This will be a match that MMA fans will probably love, considering three out of the four are trained Mixed Martial Artists. While Maeguchi is a former kickboxer. While this match will be heavily influenced by MMA, it won’t be the deciding factor. All that will matter is which team’s pro wrestling is the strongest.
YuuRI & Tomoka Inaba vs. Mio Momono & Takumi Iroha
No doubt in my mind, this will be the match of the night at WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA 2. YuuRI is only behind Mizuki Watase as GanPro’s MVP this year. She’s really embraced being THE ace of GanJo in the absence of Yuna Manase and continues to add to her arsenal with each and every passing match. After feuding with Tomoka Inaba over the Queen of JTO Championship earlier this year, YuuRI now teams with Inaba to do battle with a team of champions from Marvelous. Takumi Iroha is one-half of the AAAW Tag Team Champions, and often the first name you think of when talking about Marvelous. She teams up with the AAAW Singles Champion, and arguably the best wrestler in the world in Mio Momono.
Big chance for both YuuRI and Inaba opposite two of the very best in the world. However, YuuRI could be thinking ahead. She mentioned that pinning Mio Momono would grant her the right to challenge for the AAAW Singles Championship. Could this be the night when a new superstar in Joshi is born, or will she fall at the feet of greatness?
Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Championship: Mizuki Watase(c) vs. Isami Kodaka
Mizuki Watase has carried GanPro on his back this year raising the value of the Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Championship. However, his reign was in danger when he took on Keisuke Ishii back at LOVE PHANTOM 2023. He escaped, and almost immediately Isami Kodaka from BASARA came out to challenge him. It was actually Watase who proposed that Munetatsu Nakamura and Isami Kodaka have a contender’s match since Nakamura pinned Kodaka earlier in the night. Kodaka seized his opportunity and handily defeated the rookie to punch his ticket to Ota City General Gymnasium. Kodaka noted that the Spirit of Ganbare Openweight Championship is a pass for him to keep participating in GanPro. For Mizuki Watase, this championship isn’t some pass. It’s something he worked his tail off for.
The question remains what happens to Mizuki Watase’s confidence if he surrenders GanPro’s holy grail in the main event of the biggest show of the year to some outsider? More importantly, what does a GanPro where BASARA’s ace controls the top belt look like? All this and more will be answered come WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA 2.
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