Pioneer Senshi feels like a fed unfairly lost to obscurity. After all, this is one of the founding blocks of japanese indy wrestling, being the first "true" japanese indy founded by Ryuma Go and a few ex-IWE guys frustrated with their spot in AJPW, and a small but potent handful of wrestlers got their starts here, later cohabiting the cards of 90s indy feds. Most Pioneer cards are young workers filling up with a few guys who'd be undercard nobodies in NJPW and AJPW working main events. Go is the only one who's achieved significance through his battles with Fujinami in the late 70s, so he gets to play the ace role.
The Pioneer Senshi debut show had only two matches, due to a lack of wrestlers. I am assuming this is either the 2nd show or they had been touring regional places for months. Style-wise Pioneer was pretty interesting, as it resembled almost a proto-BattlARTS with a mix of pro and shootstyle influences, all the young guys could grapple and you really get the sense Pioneer Senshi would've made an awesome fusion partner for Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi.
Kazuhiko Matsuzaki vs. Kazuhiro Hashizume
I am assuming this is both guys debut match. Kazuhiko Matsuzaki would go on to work every sleaze indy there was in the 90s. Hashizume would disappear back into the void. This was a shootstyle match. Pioneer Senshi shootstyle is slightly different from the UWF shootstyle of the time, it’s more grappling and suplex oriented but also more dynamic. Guys don’t wear kickpads and it very much feels like something out of the 1930s. This definitely had the feel of two guys with a background in amateur wrestling who had only learned a few basic holds like a side headlock and an armbar going on to to have match. It was pretty fun, Matsuzaki is bigger, but Hashizume was aggressive and even went to slap the shit out of him a few times. These guys grappled hard and never slowed the pace down, and they both took a few stiff shots proving they had the guts. This was rounds for some reason, maybe Ryuma Go being nostalgic about his early career spent in Germany, in anyway it helped them stretch out and work a draw to earn the respect of the audience. I would’ve liked a bit more aggression before the ending occurred but as an introduction to the mysterious world of Pioneer Senshi it was good and I don’t really see why we can’t have this kind of pro wrestling anymore.
Hiroshi Itakura vs. Hideki Kawauchi
Damn great match, possibly the greatest black trunks rookie match of all time. The reason for that is that this isn't your regular black trunks rookie match, instead it's two very young guys basically working a high end 20 minute shootstyle match that resembled 1950s pro wrestling here and there. Itakura ended up some kind of unfairly shafted 90s indy undercard hero, and Kawauchi was never seen or heard from again, and the concept of this kind of experimental indy shootstyle pretty much fell off the radar until BattlARTS was created 7 years later. It feels earned that these two went all out on a random card that just happened to be filmed so we can watch it and declare it an awesome match 30 years later. Kawauchi is the smaller of the two but he doesn't look outmatched at all. The early parts of the match see Kawauchi pushing the pace with superior amateur skills. The cool thing about this is that they work in some basic pro wrestling moves, like a drop toe hold or headscissor, but they really work these as shootstyle moves. Kawauchi's ground moves were inspired and when Itakura caught him with an awesome flying armbar (a holy shit spot in 1989) it felt like an awesome moment. As soon as Itakura got the advantage he would throw his smaller opponent around like a ragdoll, altough Kawauchi fired back with some nasty stiff kicks and then awesome suplexes of his own. While the matwork wasn't super slick and flashy, there are some crafty reversals (especially dug Itakura wringing his way out of a legbar) and some of the deepest Fujiwara armbars you'll ever see. While the striking wasn't a huge focus in the match as both guys were hellbent on forcing a tap, anytime both guys threw strikes felt suitably epic. There are some awesome 1950s like dropkicks and spin kicks. I also got the say the suplexes in this match were just awesome and some of the best I've ever seen. Even the more pro style suplexes, like a gutwrench or double underhook suplex felt like the guy was brutally hammered into the mat. There was also a great Randleman-like side suplex. Kawauchi going for a flying armbar of his own and failing feels like something that should happen more often. So, a really intense match with awesome suplexes and striking and some of the tightest submission work you'll ever see, with Kawauchi giving a cool gutsy performance fighting of his bigger opponent... damn I wish all pro wrestling felt this real and intense.
Apparently this was Itakuras debut match. Probably Kawauchis too. Talk about starting out with a bang.
Masahiko Takasugi vs. Masato(?) Ueno
No guarantee on Uenos name. He is another guy who disappeared into the void. Maybe he ended up becoming The Scalper in Oriental Pro Wrestling. Ueno is thick and has a beard, but due to him not showing up anywhere else ever I assume he is also a rookie in his debut match. This was another rounds match. Takasugi is an IWE vet who I enjoy not because he is a well rounded pro wrestler but because he will usually beat the snot out of some hapless rookie in violent fashion. This was the least one sided Takasugi vs. Rookie match I’ve ever seen as Ueno was inspired and got in quite a bit of offense, throwing Takasugi around with some suplexes of his own and hitting stiff kicks to the mid section. Of course Takasugi comes back crushing him, dropping him with big suplexes and hitting those cool short kicks he does with a thud every time. This style they were using here was really cool, Takasugi was working a bit more like a typical pro style worker, but Ueno would just keep on staying on him and continueing to grapple. Ueno ends up dropping Takasugi with a big damn powerbomb and it really looks like Takasugi is in trouble and he is forced to try and work the legs. Then the last round happens and he just grabs a super nasty half crab and leans all the way back forcing a tap in classic Takasugi fashion. Still, this was way too fun considering it could’ve just been a flat one sided squash.
Ryuma Go vs. Fumihiro Niikura
This was a really fun cagey bout between two veteran workers who'd never
get a chance like this in an established fed. Almost all on the mat,
and it felt like quasi shootstyle as both guys constantly went for
submissions with intent to force a tap. The real story here may have
been Niikura, there's probably no other match where he gets to do his
thing like he does here. He gets to look sharp blasting Go with mean
kicks (including an enzuigiri that caught Go flush in the mouth), busts
out his signature cool punch combo and hits some gnarly suplexes. This
needed a bit more selling to be GREAT - as a +20 match of mostly
matwork between two not super flashy, aging workers without a story can
be a little rough. Still the action was good and if you are even reading
this hell you are probably totally down for two obscure workers in the
twilight of their careers stepping out to hit the mat hard and trade big
suplexes for 20 minutes anways. Here's to you Fumihiro Niikura, you
made the most of this night.
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