Gabe's Japan Diary
Jul 20, 2007 9:25:08 GMT -5
Post by JamieOD on Jul 20, 2007 9:25:08 GMT -5
I just thought I'd post this from the ROH board. It's the booker's diary of the ROH Japan tour.
Here's the one for Tokyo.
And here's the one for Osaka.
So we know, deep down, that Gabe is as big a wrestling fan as any of us.
Here's the one for Tokyo.
It was finally time to go to Japan. The flight wasn’t bad. Listened to the new Neurosis a few times, slept, watched “Wild Hogs” and that put me to sleep some more.
Customs was a breeze, walked outside and looked for someone to meet us. One of NOAH’s office staff found us, took us to the NOAH van and drove us roughly 45 minutes to the office. This is cool. We took a tour of the NOAH offices and in the first unreal moment of the trip ran into Kenta Kobashi working out like a maniac in the gym. He was raining sweat and you could just see the determination in his face to get back to his old form.
Ate a great dinner, walked around Tokyo and went to bed for a few hours.
We had the entire next day free and got in as much sightseeing and experiencing Tokyo as we could. This day is an entire book in itself. Tokyo is a fantastic city.
The NOAH office is concerned as a typhoon is supposed to hit right when tomorrow’s Budokan Hall show is about to start. It is a hard rain the whole day, but it didn’t stop us and slow us down.
Next day we walked into Budokan Hall as they were setting up. This is it. I can’t explain the drive I felt that moment to make ROH this big. We look up at the scoreboard as they are testing it and there is a big ROH graphic promoting tomorrow’s show. Wow.
We sat right at the guardrail to watch KENTA & Ishimori vs. Marufuji & Ibushi put on a match of the year candidate while Ibushi steals the show. The crowd loves him. You could feel the crowd as they popped for all his nearfalls in just wanting him to win more than anything. That is what you strive for.
It was a dream come true to watch The Briscoes come to the ring in front of over 10,000 fans to lights and fire with “Gimme Back My Bullets” blasting. I remember back to high school when I thought that song would make a great theme song. Then I found myself sitting next to Joe Higuchi during the GHC Heavyweight Title match as Misawa dropped Taue on his head like it was All Japan from 1993. Experiencing a big main event in Tokyo was a goal fulfilled. After another great night it was time to get to business.
Differ Ariake is a great building. It reminded me of a perfect ECW Arena type building. Very intimate, every seat a good seat. We were told the advance was good.
The Typhoon doesn’t hit us and there are no travel problems. Everyone arrives except for KENTA. There is so much to do and I decide to break my policy of not writing the lineup page until everyone is in the building. I sit down and quickly write it. 10 minutes later KENTA barely walks in limping and explains his leg is injured from last night’s Budokan Hall show. KENTA apologizes and he is obviously in a lot of pain. I’m told many fans paid to see KENTA. “Collect yourself” I thought before the feeling of panic overwhelmed me. Time for a new plan. The NOAH staff hustle to help us out and Aoki is moved into the six man while Taniguchi is added to the card. All the guys in the six man promise that they will deliver a great match to make up for the lineup change. I already know they will. Hopefully the fans will accept the lineup change, there is nothing else we can do but give them a great show and a good time.
It’s getting close to belltime. This is a test. Will Japan accept ROH? This is a product heavily influenced by Japanese wrestling. Now is it authentic enough to get over in front of a Japanese crowd?
There were two ways to book this show. Play it safe and throw seven straight matches out there that are sure to be good with the available talent. Or try to throw some stuff out there and make it a real, authentic ROH show. I’m always one to take a calculated gamble because that’s when the biggest rewards take place. Now it is time for Delirious to cut the opening welcome promo.
In Japan everything starts right on time. Belltime hits and we kill the lights. Then there is silence. Then there is more silence. The silence isn’t ending. A wire has gone dead and the entire crowd is sitting quiet in the dark. This is something I really have nightmares about. I feel my stomach sink. I make a dash to the soundboard that is up two flights of stairs and across the building. Finally Black Sabbath hits and the people start clapping. The fans are here to have fun and give us a chance. It is a great vibe already.
Delirious is out first and gets on the mic. The fans seem confused at first, but as Delirious skillfully builds the promo the fans start to come up. You can feel the crowd rising “BWABWAAABWAA WELCOME TO RING OF HONOR!!!!!!!” and the Tokyo fans pop. Elation. The NRC hit the ring and the crowd boos. The stage has been set. After Delirious hits a tope the crowd “oohhss” and we are right into the opener of Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards. They have a hot match, the people love Jack and are genuinely disappointed when he loses. We are off to a good start.
I found out when we arrived that we had more time for the show than we originally thought. I asked NOAH for a match with their upcoming talent and they kindly gave us Aoki vs. Ito. They want this to be a good DVD for you too. When Aoki moved into the six man to replace KENTA, NOAH came through again with Taniguchi. They put on a good match #2.
BJ and Rave keep things going by playing to the crowd. Relief as the fans are enjoying the show.
After I found out about KENTA I turned to Bryan Danielson and told him this needed to be a big one. You don’t have to tell Bryan that, he knows it. If this was baseball he is the pitcher that ends a four game losing streak and rests the bellpen by throwing a shutout when you need it the most. Bryan and Go Shiozaki put on an absolute classic. They have the fans chanting “ROH” and Bryan is over like a million bucks. He is the definition of an ace. This is great.
After a brief intermission we return with bad news. KENTA comes out and informs the crowd that he is sorry, but he can’t wrestle tonight. They all collectively sigh. KENTA says a few more things on the mic and wins over the people as they give him a nice applause when he leaves. They are very understanding. Relief even though I have no idea what KENTA said.
Roderick Strong vs. Delirious brings the crowd right back up. The Tokyo fans even react more like an American crowd here cheering Delirious and booing Strong. They both pull out all the stops and have the best match I’ve seen between these two. I’m told later that the fans didn’t understand why there was a ladder involved, but they still “oohhhed” and “ahhhed” everytime it was used. For the first time of the night the fans swarm the guardrail when Delirious leaves to pat him on the back. That is over.
Now we are rolling. Briscoes prove why they are a main event act when they team with Marufuji to take on the equally talented team of Sydal, Ricky Marvin & Aoki. I’m really glad to finally have Marvin on a ROH show. This guy is an amazing talent. Sydal has gotten so crisp and is really moving into the elite category now. It is all upside potential for him. I decide to watch the match from in the crowd in one of the middle rows. I can relax a little now. All six are flawless tonight. Now I’m having fun. The fans flock to The Briscoes on the exit just like they did for Delirious.
Main event time. I sneak up to the timekeepers table and sit with Bobby and Cary. Both Nigel and Morishima are over on their ring entrances. The fans are ready for a big title match. 15 minutes later they are popping for false finishes like they were watching a Budokan Hall main event. It is so intense at ringside. I’m having a blast.
After the show everyone is having a great time. We are all proud of what we accomplished. This is a time we’ll never forget. Professionally I feel gratified, personally I feel lucky to be a part of all of this.
I wish my wife was here.
We went out again to check out more of Tokyo before jumping on the bullet train and heading to Osaka. I’ll have the Osaka part of the diary up soon.
Customs was a breeze, walked outside and looked for someone to meet us. One of NOAH’s office staff found us, took us to the NOAH van and drove us roughly 45 minutes to the office. This is cool. We took a tour of the NOAH offices and in the first unreal moment of the trip ran into Kenta Kobashi working out like a maniac in the gym. He was raining sweat and you could just see the determination in his face to get back to his old form.
Ate a great dinner, walked around Tokyo and went to bed for a few hours.
We had the entire next day free and got in as much sightseeing and experiencing Tokyo as we could. This day is an entire book in itself. Tokyo is a fantastic city.
The NOAH office is concerned as a typhoon is supposed to hit right when tomorrow’s Budokan Hall show is about to start. It is a hard rain the whole day, but it didn’t stop us and slow us down.
Next day we walked into Budokan Hall as they were setting up. This is it. I can’t explain the drive I felt that moment to make ROH this big. We look up at the scoreboard as they are testing it and there is a big ROH graphic promoting tomorrow’s show. Wow.
We sat right at the guardrail to watch KENTA & Ishimori vs. Marufuji & Ibushi put on a match of the year candidate while Ibushi steals the show. The crowd loves him. You could feel the crowd as they popped for all his nearfalls in just wanting him to win more than anything. That is what you strive for.
It was a dream come true to watch The Briscoes come to the ring in front of over 10,000 fans to lights and fire with “Gimme Back My Bullets” blasting. I remember back to high school when I thought that song would make a great theme song. Then I found myself sitting next to Joe Higuchi during the GHC Heavyweight Title match as Misawa dropped Taue on his head like it was All Japan from 1993. Experiencing a big main event in Tokyo was a goal fulfilled. After another great night it was time to get to business.
Differ Ariake is a great building. It reminded me of a perfect ECW Arena type building. Very intimate, every seat a good seat. We were told the advance was good.
The Typhoon doesn’t hit us and there are no travel problems. Everyone arrives except for KENTA. There is so much to do and I decide to break my policy of not writing the lineup page until everyone is in the building. I sit down and quickly write it. 10 minutes later KENTA barely walks in limping and explains his leg is injured from last night’s Budokan Hall show. KENTA apologizes and he is obviously in a lot of pain. I’m told many fans paid to see KENTA. “Collect yourself” I thought before the feeling of panic overwhelmed me. Time for a new plan. The NOAH staff hustle to help us out and Aoki is moved into the six man while Taniguchi is added to the card. All the guys in the six man promise that they will deliver a great match to make up for the lineup change. I already know they will. Hopefully the fans will accept the lineup change, there is nothing else we can do but give them a great show and a good time.
It’s getting close to belltime. This is a test. Will Japan accept ROH? This is a product heavily influenced by Japanese wrestling. Now is it authentic enough to get over in front of a Japanese crowd?
There were two ways to book this show. Play it safe and throw seven straight matches out there that are sure to be good with the available talent. Or try to throw some stuff out there and make it a real, authentic ROH show. I’m always one to take a calculated gamble because that’s when the biggest rewards take place. Now it is time for Delirious to cut the opening welcome promo.
In Japan everything starts right on time. Belltime hits and we kill the lights. Then there is silence. Then there is more silence. The silence isn’t ending. A wire has gone dead and the entire crowd is sitting quiet in the dark. This is something I really have nightmares about. I feel my stomach sink. I make a dash to the soundboard that is up two flights of stairs and across the building. Finally Black Sabbath hits and the people start clapping. The fans are here to have fun and give us a chance. It is a great vibe already.
Delirious is out first and gets on the mic. The fans seem confused at first, but as Delirious skillfully builds the promo the fans start to come up. You can feel the crowd rising “BWABWAAABWAA WELCOME TO RING OF HONOR!!!!!!!” and the Tokyo fans pop. Elation. The NRC hit the ring and the crowd boos. The stage has been set. After Delirious hits a tope the crowd “oohhss” and we are right into the opener of Jack Evans & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Rocky Romero & Davey Richards. They have a hot match, the people love Jack and are genuinely disappointed when he loses. We are off to a good start.
I found out when we arrived that we had more time for the show than we originally thought. I asked NOAH for a match with their upcoming talent and they kindly gave us Aoki vs. Ito. They want this to be a good DVD for you too. When Aoki moved into the six man to replace KENTA, NOAH came through again with Taniguchi. They put on a good match #2.
BJ and Rave keep things going by playing to the crowd. Relief as the fans are enjoying the show.
After I found out about KENTA I turned to Bryan Danielson and told him this needed to be a big one. You don’t have to tell Bryan that, he knows it. If this was baseball he is the pitcher that ends a four game losing streak and rests the bellpen by throwing a shutout when you need it the most. Bryan and Go Shiozaki put on an absolute classic. They have the fans chanting “ROH” and Bryan is over like a million bucks. He is the definition of an ace. This is great.
After a brief intermission we return with bad news. KENTA comes out and informs the crowd that he is sorry, but he can’t wrestle tonight. They all collectively sigh. KENTA says a few more things on the mic and wins over the people as they give him a nice applause when he leaves. They are very understanding. Relief even though I have no idea what KENTA said.
Roderick Strong vs. Delirious brings the crowd right back up. The Tokyo fans even react more like an American crowd here cheering Delirious and booing Strong. They both pull out all the stops and have the best match I’ve seen between these two. I’m told later that the fans didn’t understand why there was a ladder involved, but they still “oohhhed” and “ahhhed” everytime it was used. For the first time of the night the fans swarm the guardrail when Delirious leaves to pat him on the back. That is over.
Now we are rolling. Briscoes prove why they are a main event act when they team with Marufuji to take on the equally talented team of Sydal, Ricky Marvin & Aoki. I’m really glad to finally have Marvin on a ROH show. This guy is an amazing talent. Sydal has gotten so crisp and is really moving into the elite category now. It is all upside potential for him. I decide to watch the match from in the crowd in one of the middle rows. I can relax a little now. All six are flawless tonight. Now I’m having fun. The fans flock to The Briscoes on the exit just like they did for Delirious.
Main event time. I sneak up to the timekeepers table and sit with Bobby and Cary. Both Nigel and Morishima are over on their ring entrances. The fans are ready for a big title match. 15 minutes later they are popping for false finishes like they were watching a Budokan Hall main event. It is so intense at ringside. I’m having a blast.
After the show everyone is having a great time. We are all proud of what we accomplished. This is a time we’ll never forget. Professionally I feel gratified, personally I feel lucky to be a part of all of this.
I wish my wife was here.
We went out again to check out more of Tokyo before jumping on the bullet train and heading to Osaka. I’ll have the Osaka part of the diary up soon.
And here's the one for Osaka.
You didn’t think I would just go to sleep after the Tokyo show did you? It was time to celebrate so we hit the town again and ate more incredible sushi. I didn’t come to Tokyo to sleep, although I do allow myself a couple of hours before getting on the bullet train. Not before we were sitting in a bar and everything started shaking, first a typhoon and now two earthquakes. Insane.
Morning comes and we quickly hustle to Tokyo Station. I am really hungry. I see something at a newspaper stand that looks like a huge portion of eel, my favorite. It isn’t refrigerated. I think to myself that it can’t possibly be good. Ken Hirayama assures me that it was just made and is completely fresh. I decide to take a chance and eat one of the most delicious meals of my life. This place rules. The train ride is beautiful as we go through the countryside. I try to look at as much as I can as I listen to the new Neurosis again. This is Japan.
Train stops and we are greeted by Shingo and other Dragon Gate staff. We board the Dragon Gate bus and see most of the crew that is on our show. About one hour later we are at the building. Then suddenly something slaps me across the face. I don’t feel comfortable with the show. It needs to be improved. We are four hours from belltime.
All you can feel is time ticking. I calm myself down and just try to think. I talk to the Dragon Gate office and they offer Genki Horiguchi and Masaaki Mochizuki. Wow. Of course we’ll take them. Then I’m told that we have a time limit on the building. Now it is crunch time and things have to come together.
When we decided to go to Japan one of my first ideas was to have a match where a top guy from Dragon Gate, NOAH and ROH would all team up to take on a ROH team. I wanted to show the unity among the three promotions and form a team that I was told would be otherwise impossible in Japan. There were attempts for it to be made in Tokyo, but they fell through. Now I saw an opening to do it in Osaka, but in a different form. After spicing up a few more things we were ready to roll and it was still over three hours from belltime.
The building looks good and doors are open. Then I notice a long line for autographs. I start to walk towards it to see who was out there and it was none other than our humble President Cary. They were treating him like a superstar. It put a big smile on my face.
When CIMA and Marufuji shook hands to form the dream team in the opening segment the Osaka crowd gasped like they had just seen something special. What a great feeling. Rave & Genki have a hot opener against The Briscoes, who didn’t have the belts thanks to the airlines. Still, tonight we were sending a message and that’s that The Briscoes are the team to beat.
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer tear down the house and have a match that was better than I ever expected.
Jack Evans and Roderick Strong really click and pull out the best match they’ve had against each other. The crowd popped when Jack said to make it a no DQ bout. They were enjoying the show. So was I. Jack is so over in the Japan, they love him.
Next up was one of the matches I was really looking forward to once the lineups were decided. Sydal, Saito & Dragon Kid vs. Delirious, Yoshino & Doi is just so good. ¾ of the way through the match I begin to think it might even be better than this year’s Dragon Gate match in Detroit. I’ll wait until I see the tape to make the final judgment. Everything is rolling and the crowd is reacting more like an American Ring Of Honor crowd. I am really enjoying these crowds, it is such a good mix of people, there are a lot of women and they feel comfortable at the shows, no one is trying to get themselves over. They are here because they respect wrestling and they want to see ROH. This is so great.
Todd Sinclair then comes running up to me and says some of the guys request a quick intermission because they need some more time. I quickly think “do we keep things rolling since we are crunched for time and just rush them or take 10 minutes and let them really be ready” and then my gut screams for me to take a 10 minute intermission. I always listen to my gut.
The intermission pays off when The Briscoes put on their second great defense of the night against Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka. The crowd “oohhhss” and “aahhhhss” at the false finishes and it is music to my ears.
The fans are all having a good time. It is a different type of crowd than Tokyo as the fans have more American style reactions. I notice the fashion is different in Osaka too. Right now everyone backstage is getting relaxed since most have finished their matches. Everyone has a smile on their face and is joking and laughing and feeling good about what we accomplished. CIMA requests that his team come out to Bryan Danielson’s music since the crowd wants to see an authentic ROH show. No problem there.
Marufuji & CIMA work a lot of double team spots and the crowd is delighted. Rocky Romero has the match of his life. The one time only match of Marufuji, CIMA & Danielson vs. Davey, Rocky & Mochizuki delivers a true main event style contest. The Osaka show is a success. The guys backstage sing some goofy song they came up with on the bus. Now it is time to go out and celebrate in Osaka.
The only thing I look more forward to is being home with my wife.
Another crazy night and I decide I’m not going to sleep until I get on the 1pm flight. There is nothing like walking out of some dark basement and it is daylight out. I pick up a few last minute souvenirs and then pass out for 10 hours until we are about one hour from Detroit. After the connection I sleep some more and then shortly after I was home. Too bad my bag isn’t home yet. But hey, that was the worst thing that happened on this incredible journey so it can’t be that bad. This was really a special week that I will always have with me.
In closing, I just want to thank all of you. It is only with your support that this happened. I will always be in debt to you for making this all happen. I wish you all could have been there. I promise we will try to make these DVDs special so you can share in it too. It is what we owe you. We will always put out our best for you. I hope these DVDs will be a suitable reward. Thank you.
Morning comes and we quickly hustle to Tokyo Station. I am really hungry. I see something at a newspaper stand that looks like a huge portion of eel, my favorite. It isn’t refrigerated. I think to myself that it can’t possibly be good. Ken Hirayama assures me that it was just made and is completely fresh. I decide to take a chance and eat one of the most delicious meals of my life. This place rules. The train ride is beautiful as we go through the countryside. I try to look at as much as I can as I listen to the new Neurosis again. This is Japan.
Train stops and we are greeted by Shingo and other Dragon Gate staff. We board the Dragon Gate bus and see most of the crew that is on our show. About one hour later we are at the building. Then suddenly something slaps me across the face. I don’t feel comfortable with the show. It needs to be improved. We are four hours from belltime.
All you can feel is time ticking. I calm myself down and just try to think. I talk to the Dragon Gate office and they offer Genki Horiguchi and Masaaki Mochizuki. Wow. Of course we’ll take them. Then I’m told that we have a time limit on the building. Now it is crunch time and things have to come together.
When we decided to go to Japan one of my first ideas was to have a match where a top guy from Dragon Gate, NOAH and ROH would all team up to take on a ROH team. I wanted to show the unity among the three promotions and form a team that I was told would be otherwise impossible in Japan. There were attempts for it to be made in Tokyo, but they fell through. Now I saw an opening to do it in Osaka, but in a different form. After spicing up a few more things we were ready to roll and it was still over three hours from belltime.
The building looks good and doors are open. Then I notice a long line for autographs. I start to walk towards it to see who was out there and it was none other than our humble President Cary. They were treating him like a superstar. It put a big smile on my face.
When CIMA and Marufuji shook hands to form the dream team in the opening segment the Osaka crowd gasped like they had just seen something special. What a great feeling. Rave & Genki have a hot opener against The Briscoes, who didn’t have the belts thanks to the airlines. Still, tonight we were sending a message and that’s that The Briscoes are the team to beat.
Nigel McGuinness vs. BJ Whitmer tear down the house and have a match that was better than I ever expected.
Jack Evans and Roderick Strong really click and pull out the best match they’ve had against each other. The crowd popped when Jack said to make it a no DQ bout. They were enjoying the show. So was I. Jack is so over in the Japan, they love him.
Next up was one of the matches I was really looking forward to once the lineups were decided. Sydal, Saito & Dragon Kid vs. Delirious, Yoshino & Doi is just so good. ¾ of the way through the match I begin to think it might even be better than this year’s Dragon Gate match in Detroit. I’ll wait until I see the tape to make the final judgment. Everything is rolling and the crowd is reacting more like an American Ring Of Honor crowd. I am really enjoying these crowds, it is such a good mix of people, there are a lot of women and they feel comfortable at the shows, no one is trying to get themselves over. They are here because they respect wrestling and they want to see ROH. This is so great.
Todd Sinclair then comes running up to me and says some of the guys request a quick intermission because they need some more time. I quickly think “do we keep things rolling since we are crunched for time and just rush them or take 10 minutes and let them really be ready” and then my gut screams for me to take a 10 minute intermission. I always listen to my gut.
The intermission pays off when The Briscoes put on their second great defense of the night against Shingo & Susumu Yokosuka. The crowd “oohhhss” and “aahhhhss” at the false finishes and it is music to my ears.
The fans are all having a good time. It is a different type of crowd than Tokyo as the fans have more American style reactions. I notice the fashion is different in Osaka too. Right now everyone backstage is getting relaxed since most have finished their matches. Everyone has a smile on their face and is joking and laughing and feeling good about what we accomplished. CIMA requests that his team come out to Bryan Danielson’s music since the crowd wants to see an authentic ROH show. No problem there.
Marufuji & CIMA work a lot of double team spots and the crowd is delighted. Rocky Romero has the match of his life. The one time only match of Marufuji, CIMA & Danielson vs. Davey, Rocky & Mochizuki delivers a true main event style contest. The Osaka show is a success. The guys backstage sing some goofy song they came up with on the bus. Now it is time to go out and celebrate in Osaka.
The only thing I look more forward to is being home with my wife.
Another crazy night and I decide I’m not going to sleep until I get on the 1pm flight. There is nothing like walking out of some dark basement and it is daylight out. I pick up a few last minute souvenirs and then pass out for 10 hours until we are about one hour from Detroit. After the connection I sleep some more and then shortly after I was home. Too bad my bag isn’t home yet. But hey, that was the worst thing that happened on this incredible journey so it can’t be that bad. This was really a special week that I will always have with me.
In closing, I just want to thank all of you. It is only with your support that this happened. I will always be in debt to you for making this all happen. I wish you all could have been there. I promise we will try to make these DVDs special so you can share in it too. It is what we owe you. We will always put out our best for you. I hope these DVDs will be a suitable reward. Thank you.
So we know, deep down, that Gabe is as big a wrestling fan as any of us.
