WRESTLE-1 TV #113 Thoughts

The latest episode of WRESTLE-1 TV is here, and we get a look at day one of the Tour Outbreak as well as the quarter-finals of this year's WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix. Note that this isn't a normal review style post because W-1's show is in clipped format and there's just not enough to actually rate. Instead, I'm just watching because I wanted to check in on one of my favorite promotions.

The first match covered was the return match for Honda Ryuki, who has been out for a few months. A tap out to close the contest, costing Honda's team a L on his return. Some demoralization takes place after, reminding the young stars that they are still low on the totem pole.

Another tag follows, with MAZADA and Hijo del Pantera beating Enfants Terribles members Arai and Kodama. Pantera continues to look great in his role and doesn't get enough praise for his work in W1. That's likely because not enough people seem to watch this little gem of a promotion.

We get a look at the W1 joshi division, with a hard-hitter that saw Reika falling to Inoue. From what I heard, the promotion is looking to expand the way they book and handle women's wrestling soon. Perhaps even adding a women's championship. I hope this is true.

Kuma pinning Pegaso was perhaps the biggest surprise of the episode, but the young highflyer looked good in defeat and still has some steam under his wings. It played out about how you'd expect it to, stylistically, though the big man putting away the masked cruiserweight with a diving senton was a funny sight. Kuma moves on in tournament action.

We then saw Inaba getting Kono to submit in our next tournament match. Nice levels of intensity on display and about 100 forearm shots. This looked borderline great.

Breaking up the Grand Prix action, the Strong Hearts took a fall to Team WRESTLE-1 (Kaz, Andy Wu, Kondo, Tonsho, and Alejandro). I might not be giving anything here a star rating, but I will say that this looked great and if you're wanting more Strong Hearts action after Double or Nothing, you should check this out.

W1 ace, Shotaro Ashino, defeated Seigo in the next Grand Prix match. Ashino looked in trouble for a while here, making me think they might actually be pulling a big surprise with this one. Luckily, Ashino prevailed, positioning him for a semi-final spot. He's my pick to win the tournament, and I expect him to regain the championship shortly after.

They put each other over after the match.

The last match showcased this week saw Koji Doi take out two time Grand Prix winner and two time W1 Champ, Manabu Soya in a fun looking hoss battle. That was actually a bit unexpected, but not as much as the Kuma win.

I don't see him getting past Shotaro.

If you don't mind clipped matches, check this episode out for a nice taste of what W1 has to offer.