I Only Live Twice: Japan's Cursed Indie Show LIVES feat. THE FRENCH @ ICS

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > I Only Live Twice: Japan's Cursed Indie Show LIVES feat. THE FRENCH @ ICS

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fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Masahiro Takanashi was injured for over a year so he booked a triumphant self-produced show for his return!

EVERY MAJOR INDIE HE WRESTLED FOR WAS GOING TO BE REPRESENTED

DDT/FREEDOMS/TOKYO JOSHI PRO/BASRA/MICHINOKU PRO/GATOH MOVE/CHOCOPRO

At least that was the plan! But plans change! The pandemic cancelled it twice! But there's one promotion that will never be cancelled by the pandemic:

Masa has been doing camera and commentary for ChocoPro throughout his injury so Emi Sakura offered Ichigaya Chocolate Square as a place to stage the show. The card has unfortunately been reduced but it's still a major event.

NEO BIISHIKI-GUN MAKE THEIR CHOCOPRO DEBUT!

TAG TEAM CHAOS

THE HARDEST SINGLES MATCH TO GRACE THE CHOCOLATE SQUARE MAT! MASAHIRO TAKANASHI'S RETURN TO WRESTLING WITH A DREAM MATCH

Details:
13th of July (Japan)
URL: https://youtu.be/6pZhmlzKuN0
Free to Watch

In lieu of tickets please support the show by buying these fine products:
A Welcome Back Bouquet: https://chocopro.bigcartel.com/product/bouquet-for-takanashi
A Chris Brookes' Designed T-Shirt for the 1st show that never happened: https://chocopro.bigcartel.com/product/tshirt-masahiro-takanashi
A Kayfabe Breaking Peek Behind The Scenes Backstage Pass: https://chocopro.bigcartel.com/product/backstagepass

fez_machine fucked around with this message at 08:08 on Jul 12, 2021

# ? Jul 12, 2021 06:58

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 13:39

TV Zombie: Sep 6, 2011; Burying all the trauma from past nights
Burying my anger in the past

I clicked on it and it said it was live in 27 hours so I think it may be available on 7/13 for the United States as well?

TV Zombie fucked around with this message at 07:29 on Jul 12, 2021

# ? Jul 12, 2021 07:25

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

TV Zombie posted:

I clicked on it and it said it was live in 27 hours so I think it may be available on 7/13 for the United States as well?

Time zone conversions are hard.

# ? Jul 12, 2021 07:36

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

Yeah from what it's saying on my end it looks like a 6.45pm JST start time which would be 5.45am EDT, expanding out from there

# ? Jul 12, 2021 07:40

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

SG Bamboo posted:

Yeah from what it's saying on my end it looks like a 6.45pm JST start time which would be 5.45am EDT, expanding out from there

I guess the times on the Gatoh Move website were just copied and pasted without thinking. I got rid of them.

fez_machine fucked around with this message at 10:00 on Jul 12, 2021

# ? Jul 12, 2021 07:43

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

The loving French in Ichigaya Chocolate Square :vince:

Sakisama is going to emerge through those windows like a loving spider and it's going to rule.

# ? Jul 12, 2021 08:00

Lamuella: Jun 26, 2003; It's like goldy or bronzy, but made of iron.

Considering that Akki and THE FRENCH are on the card, I was wondering if they'd do a title v title match with the TJPW and Asia Dream tag titles, but I guess Mei Suruga is busy that night?

# ? Jul 12, 2021 08:33

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

If this will be your first time watching Fuminori Abe then you are in for a treat.

# ? Jul 12, 2021 09:34

SG Bamboo: Aug 21, 2013; Smile. Win. Yay!

forkboy84 posted:

If this will be your first time watching Fuminori Abe then you are in for a treat.

I'm not at my computer so can't double check, but was he the guy that had that insane match with Sato in the All Japan junior tournament?

# ? Jul 12, 2021 09:51

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

SG Bamboo posted:

I'm not at my computer so can't double check, but was he the guy that had that insane match with Sato in the All Japan junior tournament?

Yup, that was him. His Tag Team with Takuya Nomura is one of the very best active.

# ? Jul 12, 2021 10:06

DJExile: Jun 28, 2007

holy poo poo both those tag matches sound fantastic

# ? Jul 12, 2021 17:09

CombineThresher: Apr 10, 2006; GIT R DONNE

I realize I should probably be rooting against THE FRENCH, but I instinctively feel sympathy for anyone in danger of getting chopped by Emi Sakura.

# ? Jul 12, 2021 17:49

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

i like to try and wake up early during the summer, this will be a nice way to mark the beginning of the season

# ? Jul 12, 2021 17:58

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Here's the Dogglesnake match guide from Reddit

quote:

Due to the Covid related Restrictions, Masahiro Takanashi's return show has moved to Ichigaya Chocolate Square rather than be cancelled entirely once again. While this is unfortunate for those who wished to see the action in person, everyone will still be able to watch the show Live and Free on YouTube, since ChocoPro has No Pay Wall! While this Special features a lot of brand new guests, it will still be a great example of the excitement that ChocoPro brings. This morning special fits better to the Japanese Time Zone, but will still be able to be viewed later if this is too early for you! This card is pretty stacked. Speaking of �pretty�...

CHOCOPRO SPECIAL "I ONLY LIVE TWICE" BEAUTIFUL WAR

Beauty As Is (Yunamon & Emi Sakura) VS NEO Bi-Ishiki Gun (Sakisama & Mei Saint-Michel)

The time has come for the fated Beautiful War! This battle is primarily about the fact that the villains of NBG do not perceive their enemies as �beautiful�, while Beauty As Is represents those that accept their own natural beauty.

Like a poisonous flower, Beauty As Is makes for a deadly combination! Emi Sakura & Yuna "Yunamon" Mizumori function as if they were a long standing team, the two bitter rivals turned allies having overcome their differences in order to deal out punishment to their enemies. Emi has been cranking up her already high level of in ring skill, showing off brand new counters and speed previous thought impossible for the Queen! While she has been working a bit less lately, she just appeared at Nanae Takahashi's 25th Anniversary SEAdLINNNG Show! She still hasn't fully recovered from her shoulder damage (going through the amount of punishment she has received would weaken anyone!) but hopefully taking a lightened schedule has helped. Luckily, she is being backed up by the Season 1 MVP who is fresh from battles elsewhere! (Did you see her performance at the same show? It was awesome! Yunamon always impresses.) Tropical Yahho! "Tropical" Yunamon is a Sing Song Lariat Machine who loves Pineapples, Evangelion, and flashy strikes! You'll be jumping out of your seat if you get to see one of her mighty lariatropicals or spinning back kicks! This true powerhouse & Stan Hansen fan is so charismatic that is is hard not to get swept away by her summery nature. This group was made to battle the artificial beauty of the aristocrats. The Aristocracy must be stopped! The time has come!

C'est pas bon! The debuting wicked blue bloods (literal gothic aristocrats) of NEO Bi-Ishiki Gun are the TJPW Princess Tag Team Champions! While obviously their appearance marks a dark day for Ichigaya, this also marks the first time an active TJPW champion has appeared on ChocoPro! These villains seem to show up every so often (though in different incarnations) in their �home� promotion (I doubt they consider it as such) but are always led by the malevolent elite known as Sakisama (no dash, and no relation to DDT's Saki Akai, why do you ask?)! This �noble� woman and her pin specialist goblin (why do I feel like I say that a lot?) of a maid Mei Saint-Michel (no relation to Mei Suruga, please stop saying so) managed to defeat the some of the strongest teams TJPW has to offer. The Aesthetic Consciousness Army are vile to their core, willing to bend the rules and manipulate the referees. I suppose it is lucky for them that our referees tend to be on the...lax...side of things. Sakisama is a malevolent despot (despite going viral to the point of pushing outside the wrestling bubble!) who punishes her enemies with elegant strikes and pose-like submissions. Her noisy, constantly hungry, attention seeking, tray wielding sidekick in Mei Saint-Michel would give our own Apple Goblin a run for her money! It is really too bad she couldn't get on this card, she would probably love to see her �favorite wrestler� MSM in action. (You can hear Mei Suruga talk about how much she loves MSM in her recent interview with the Wrstlingpod!)

CHOCOPRO SPECIAL "I ONLY LIVE TWICE" DDT VS CHOCOPRO

Chris Brookes & Yukio Sakaguchi VS Minoru Fujita & Baliyan Akki

The Betrayer has brought with him an explosive threat! Can the representatives of Ichigaya fend them off?

Chris Brookes, the MVP of Season 7, is back everyone...hurray. While the Betrayer of the Pencil Army usually brings his sassy negativity along with him, this event is rather special for the tall bastard. His close friend and tag team partner, Masa, is finally returning! Will we see a different side of Chris than we usually see in Ichigaya? Usually the lanky submission specialist destroys his foes with a school yard bully level of cruelty, while talking down to everyone involved (and some not involved). He will still be battling the Leader of the Pencil Army, Lulupencil, later in the Season. Surely she will finally set this perpetual bad boy straight! Despite his war on everything that is Pencil Army related, Chris also still has a bitter rival in the Ace of ChocoPro, Baliyan Akki. While he might be in a better mood than usual, don't expect him to play nice...especially with the partner that he brought from DDT! We're finally getting Yukio Sakaguchi on ChocoPro! (I've been waiting for this since he appeared on the New Years stream...hopefully this means GanPro's Ken Ohka will appear soon too!) This exceptionally talented striker is a nightmare to battle, especially alongside his partners in Eruption (Kazusada Higuchi and Saki Akai, hopefully they someday appear on ChocoPro too)! This fearsome fighter is actually known for his prowess in combat even outside of Pro Wrestling! While the heavily tattooed man might be one of the most naturally scary looking individuals in wrestling today, he actually has a rather strong sense of humor! Hopefully that will be a salve while he kicks the life out of you. When he isn't brutalizing his foes with speed and power unimaginable, he actually works a construction job! Because that isn't terrifying, given how murderous he is...Sakaguchi actually refers to Masa as his brother, from their past together in Shuten Doji. Good luck with this pairing, Akki & Fujita!

Representing the home team will be the Ace and the Champ! Its only slightly awkward when they are paired together, since Baliyan Akki was defeated by Minoru Fujita for the Super Asia Championship. The Ace, Akki, has nearly as many titles as his usual partner in Best Bros (Mei Suruga). The Zephyr of Ichigaya makes each of his matches a breeze to watch, with a technical prowess that insures he will someday be known worldwide! The Flying Indian has come quite far to prove himself to all of us...While engraving his name in the history books is his goal, for now he will settle for imprinting his mark on his opponents. (Did you know Akki did English Commentary for the most recent NOAH show after only one day notice? He did great! You can always feel his passion for wrestling in his comms) Minoru Fujita is dripping with gold, barely able to carry the amount of belts he has at this point. (though which belts might have shifted around a little...) The Multi-champ has been super active on the independent scene, earning further respect as he collects belts. Have you seen his Wikipedia page? Its nuts how many he has held in his career! Fujita is a stamina monster, a Rotten Yahho, and one of the living legends of ChocoPro. Not only did he recently get exploded for our pleasure at FMW-E, but never forget that he inspired the MCMG! Our Bloody Champion earned his spot at the pinnacle of the promotion alongside the Ace...but how will these two (with unresolved issues) work together, especially against this great of a challenge? Try not to worry about your upcoming title defenses against Hagane Shinno & Yunamon, Champ!

CHOCOPRO SPECIAL "I ONLY LIVE TWICE" MAIN EVENT

Fuminori Abe VS Masahiro Takanashi

A Debut and a Return! What more could you ask for?

Hailing from Pro Wrestling BASARA, Fuminori Abe comes highly rated. With championship wins across several promotions, glowing reviews of his style and bravado, and a knack for fitting into any match style...Abe might just be a perfect fit for this sort of thing! He was chosen personally by Masa for this event, after all! This legit Buddhist Monk possesses a flashy move set and a silky smooth technical ability...he will undoubtedly make sure that Masa's return match isn't an easy one! Abe has that unknowable special �it� factor that keeps your eyes locked on his every move. The Iron Fist Tag Team Champ (along side Takuya Nomura) will be making his first appearance in the ChocoPro canon (a lot of that going around!) but he's been getting around lately! From BJW, to ZERO1, CPW, GLEAT, 666, AJPW and more! The best part: he is basically universally praised everywhere he goes, to the extent that he is considered one of the best Jr Heavyweights currently active! Will this Jack of all Trades be able to handle the madness that is the ChocoPro experience? This will not be his first appearance for the Gatoh Move umbrella, though...having last tagged with Rin Rin against Emi & Masa (the most legendary GTMV pairing!). All of the BASARA folks so far have knocked it out of the park, I'm sure that Abe will be no exception.

Finally, the man of the hour, the President of Gatoh Move, the reason this special exists: Masahiro Takanashi! The other half of Calamari Drunken Kings finally returns Ichigaya (to wrestle instead of just doing great comms)! DDT's workhorse, Masa has been sidelined with injury for most of the duration of the ChocoPro series. (He did appear in a short exhibition match against Chon Shiryu, and a Generic version of him has appeared a few times...) He was meant to make his re-debut at his own produced show, but Covid restriction has postponed that (again!). Among the many things I love about �Handsome� Masa (his gear, his fighting style, his voice, his personality) his enormous amount of �also known as� names always gets me. (Not to mention some of the titles he has held...) This wild brawler with a unique style (and a deep appetite for alcohol!) originally trained under Ultimo Dragon, but spent most of his learning experience at the dojo of DDT. While his career there has been incredibly storied (as expected of DDT), including his bonds with those on the rest of this card (What do you mean, how is he related to NBG*? Maybe I maid that part up...*) his connection with Emi Sakura (and her various promotions) has always been strong. Masa is the main pillar of Gatoh Move, the person that has always been there to support Emi even when times are tough! His injury has kept him from performing along side his rotten partner Chris Brookes in DDT for so long, but it has also kept him from appearing in full matches in the chaotic world of ChocoPro....until now. Welcome back, Masa. I've been waiting a long time to start writing about you!

# ? Jul 13, 2021 00:37

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

This is in an hour, just in case you forget

# ? Jul 13, 2021 09:37

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

i did it, i woke up

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:15

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Weird start time but that's the French for you!

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:31

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

It's on!

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:47

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

That Chris Brookes designed shirt is rad.

Unfortunately looking at it I noticed they sell a ChocoPro apron & I want that. Oh well, at a time when I don't need a washing machine

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:47

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

back ups just in case the curse strikes again lol

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:50

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

let's enjoy all of those accidents together as well

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:50

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

NICE! A good amount of bouquets

HELLOO

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:51

Veib: Dec 10, 2007

This is the first time I'm able to watch a Chocopro show live because it's not on at 4 AM, hell yeah

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:54

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Hahaha they've not compromised on any chocopro at all

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:56

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:57

Auritech: May 27, 2004; Blessed be the tailors
The masks are cut to fit

Blessed be the woodworkers
The crosses and the gallows

Blessed be the forgers of iron
And the spikes and the barbwire

Blessed be the stone cutters
It took a quarry to bury the dreams

i got my second shot today so i'm rarin' for some action

# ? Jul 13, 2021 10:57

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Fujita got more bird gear!

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:00

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

Boooooooooooooooo

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:01

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

don't you loving say hello to lulu you piece of poo poo

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:01

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Is that hole in the roof where Brookes rests his head when he wants to sleep.

OH gently caress! SAKAGUCHI!

Edit: I somehow missed him in the graphic, haha what a wonderful surprise :sweatdrop:

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:02

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

holy gently caress the aura on this guy even in the chocolate square

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:02

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

How has NOSAWA never wrestled for Gatoh Move?

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:03

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Chris Brookes Ultimate Bad Guy

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:04

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

is this the first time the brookes has wrestled a full power Fujita

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:05

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

Holy gently caress this show is already incredible

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:05

Penguin Patrol: Mar 3, 2005; by Fluffdaddy

lmao gently caress you rear end in a top hat

gently caress YOU WITH MY TAZER

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:05

forkboy84: Jun 13, 2012; Corgis love bread. And Puro

Wrestling is wonderful

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:05

Jerusalem: May 20, 2004; Would you be my new best friends?

"I thought you checked his costume before the match! :mad:

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:06

Auritech: May 27, 2004; Blessed be the tailors
The masks are cut to fit

Blessed be the woodworkers
The crosses and the gallows

Blessed be the forgers of iron
And the spikes and the barbwire

Blessed be the stone cutters
It took a quarry to bury the dreams

oh man i'm so glad i tuned in tonight, never seen someone bring a got dam taser in before

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:07

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 13:39

fez_machine: Nov 27, 2004

levelled!

# ? Jul 13, 2021 11:09

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Sports Argument Stadium > The Hammer House: Stinger Splash Zone > I Only Live Twice: Japan's Cursed Indie Show LIVES feat. THE FRENCH @ ICS

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