Japanamania '08 =)

[Chris Hero]

I arrived home today after a lovely 3 week tour for Pro-Wrestling NOAH. To say I had a great time would be a massive understatement. It was absolutely amazing. Anyone that knows me understands that I am utterly fascinated with the Japanese culture and wrestling scene. My third trip to Japan (#1 - BJW, #'s 2 & 3 - NOAH) turned out to be rather successful both personally and professionally. Here are some of the highlights of my trip.

- Wrestling in Korakuen Hall for the second time. The first was 3 1/2 years ago for BJW. The crowd was really kind and I think they were a bit partial to "Sharp Dressed Man."

- Getting to wrestle NOAH stars such as Misawa (twice), Akiyama, Taue, KENTA (twice), Marufuji (twice), Sugiura, Kotaro

- Wrestling the young guys of NOAH. Aoki, Ishimori, Ito, Taniguchi all of which are going to be great, especially Aoki and Taiji.

- Teaming with the Briscoes. I *much* prefer teaming with them to wrestling them. We amassed a 3-1 record over 4 matches. We have some pretty nifty triple teams if I must say...

- Meeting the members of Kensuke Office, especially Kensuke, Hokuto & Nakajima.

- Seeing my non-NOAH wrestling friends, MIYAWAKI, Milano, KUDO, Ricky Marvin, Milanito, Shun the Kabuki Kid, Aaron, Antonio and seeing and meeting many non-wrestling friends Macky, Stone Cold, Udou, Hidehiko, Masa, Yuki Kasai, Kaede, Naomi, Hiro.

- All of my awesome pictures - www.flickr.com/photos/23663703@N05/

- Seeing two shows live. El Dorado @ Korakuen & AJPW @ Sumo Hall which included the following:
*seeing a kick ass match between Kagetora & Kota v. Kondo & Oyanagi (Yep!)
*seeing Kawada wrestle, live, in a good tag match
*seeing one of my trainers, Dory Funk, Jr., for the first time in 8 years and watching him wrestle.
*seeing and talking with SUWA, MEN'S Teioh, Onryu, Nosawa, TARU, Silver King
*meeting the following: Kondo, Kagetora, Kota, Owashi, Tanisaki, Kishiwada, Mazada, Mutoh, Tanahashi, Taiyo Kea (super cool), Fuchi, TENRYU, Hase, MASA SAITO & Kojima

- Meeting Kenta Kobashi

- Sharing a locker room with Takayama on a handful of occasions.

- Getting an AJPW roster towel (95/96) with a Baba autograph and getting it signed later by Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama, Taue, Kikuchi, Honda, Kanemaru, Shiga, Inoue, Izumida, Momota, Asako, Mighty and Eigen. Check the photos.

- Running the length of the stage at Budokan whilst attempting a spaceman springboard attempt. Instead, Taue caught me with a Nodowa Otoshi on said stage. Ergh

- NBA 2K8

- Bill Sacho

- Enjoying various Asian cuisine such as yakiniku, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, yuke, ramen and plenty of mochi and anko.

- Daily Yamazaki

- Shaka Shaka Chicken @ McDonald's

- Saizeriya

- Accidentally happening upon Delfin Arena and browsing around the cafe inside

- Unko Man & Hashi Man

- TARU's Bar

- The Odaiba Onsen and my kick ass Yukata

- Getting an interview and a page of coverage in Weekly Pro Wrestling

- Lupe Fiasco's 'The Cool'

- My awesome new gear/ring jackets from Kondou!

- Calorie Mates. Not for me, for the other guys...

- Any and all gifts from the fans. I appreciate every last bit.

I figure that I could sit here and type for hours about all the amazing things about my trip to Japan. I could write mini novels on all the fantastic things I've been fortunate enough to experience thanks to wrestling. However, this will do for now. To anyone taking the time to read this right now, do yourself a favor. Figure out what it is that you want in life and go for it. Focus and concentrate with everything you have. If you start small and give it your all, you would be surprised at the things you're capable of. The power of positive influence is incredibly strong.

I don't discount the hard work that I've put forth, but I'm smart enough to realize all the luck that I've happened upon over the years. Thanks for the support and remember: hard work and luck go a long way. Until next time.

-CH

Results:

NOAH 2/15 – Korakuen Hall drawing 2,100 fans (G+)
Semi-Main Event
7.Jun Akiyama & Kentaro Shiga beat The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero& Double C) in 12:59 when Shiga used a backslide on Hero.


NOAH 2/17 – Zepp Nagoya drawing 1,200 fans
5. Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa beat Chris Hero & Doug Williams in 13:52 when Ogawa used an inside cradle on Hero.

NOAH, 2/21/08 (NTV/G+)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium #2 Drawing 1,700 Fans - Super No Vacancy
5.Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe & Chris Hero beat Akitoshi Saito, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori (13:54) when Jay Briscoe pinned Ishimori after the Doomsday Device.

NOAH 2/23 – Kyoto KBS Hall drawing 1,400 fans
4.The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Double C) defeated Akihiko Ito & Akira Taue in 13:42 when Hero used the Hero’s Welcome (KOW Edition) on Ito.

SEM 2/25 – Differ Ariake in Tokyo drawing 420 fans
Semi-Main Event
4.The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero & Double C) defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Shuhei Taniguchi in 17:28 when Hero used the Hero’s Welcome on Taniguchi.

NOAH 2/26 – Keio Plaza Hotel Hachioji 5th Floor Hall drawing 1,300 fans
5. Jay & Mark Briscoe/Chris Hero beat Atsushi Aoki/KENTA/AkitoshiSaito in 18:07 when Jay pinned Aoki after an avalanche-style Cut-Throat Driver on Aoki.

NOAH, 2/28/08
Odawara Arena, Drawing 1,500 (No Vacancy)
Main Event
7. Mitsuharu Misawa, Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki defeated Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Chris Hero in 16:23 after Ogawa used a Backdrop-hold on Hero.

NOAH 2/29 – Mito Citizen Gym drawing 1,000 fans
5. Jay& Mark Briscoe/Chris Hero beat Atsushi Aoki/Naomichi Marufuji/Takashi Sugiura in 14:40 when Mark pinned Aoki after the Doomsday Device.

NOAH, 3/2/08 (NTV/G+)
Tokyo Nippon Budokan
14,000 Fans - Super No Vacancy
4. Akira Taue & Junji Izumida beat Chris Hero & Claudio Castagnoli (10:59) when Taue used the Dynamic Bomb on Castagnoli.

[heroswelcome]

Sounds like you had an awesome time. You traming up with the Briscoes is awesomeness

[smit]

That All Japan towel is freaking awesome

[rollingelbow]

I would trade my left leg and right arm for that towel