UWAI Station Debut
review by Kevin Wilson

Date: December 3rd, 2006
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,200 (announced)

At least a few of you are wondering right now, "What the hell is UWAI Station?" Well, UWAI Station is an indy puroresu promotion that formed after promoter/booker Fumihiko Uwai split with wrestler Kazunari Murakami when they ran Big Mouth LOUD. Shibata was their big star, but after Shibata went freelance and the problems between Uei and Murakami got worse BML stopped running shows. Uwai was still acting as Shibata's manager, however, so when Uei started his own promotion Shibata was the star even though he was officially a Freelancer (since that time Shibata has stopped wrestling for Uwai and has been focusing on MMA). In December UWAI Station was born, and they use a combination of their own stars (Shibata), big name freelancers (Takayama and Suzuki), older stars (Arakawa, Norton, and Goto), and cheap indy wrestlers (Rasse, Riki Senysu, and Kenshin). Its an odd collection, as the promotion really seems to have no identity since the assortment of wrestlers they use are so diverse from show to show. You'll have to do your own research if you need more information on the promotion, as I am going to go ahead with the review! Here is the full card:

- Don Arakawa and Kikutaro vs. NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA
- Rasse vs. Yoshitsune
- Scott Norton vs. Riki Senysu and Kenshin
- Fujita Hayato Pro-Wrestling 2nd Anniversary Match: Bryan Danielson vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
- Hawaiian Lion vs. Katsuyori Shibata
- Tatsutoshi Goto, Ohara, and Blue Wolf vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Minoru Suzuki, and SUWA

Don Arakawa and Kikutaro vs. NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA
Kikutaro and Rongai start things off. Rongai pushes Kikutaro against the ropes but he gives a clean break. Tie-up, Kikutaro gets Rongai against the ropes but he chops Rongai before backing off. Another tie-up, Rongai gets the advantage but he gives a clean break even though Kikutaro did not give him one. Tie-up, Rongai pushes Kikutaro's hands against the mat and stomps on one, causing Kikutaro to flee from the ring. Kikutaro rolls back in after a moment, tie-up, side headlock by Kikutaro but Rongai Irish whips out of it. Twice the two collide with no result, Kikutaro gets on the mat and asks for an arm wrestling contest, but when Rongai gets down with him Kikutaro gets up and kicks him in the back. Irish whip by Kikutaro, Rongai misses a heel kick, drop down by Rongai but Kikutaro kicks him in the head. Snapmare by Kikutaro and he delivers the Flash Elbow. Rongai tags in MAZADA while Kikutaro tags in Arakawa. Tie-up, Arakawa pushes MAZADA against the ropes and hits a series of chops before backing off. Tie-up again, MAZADA gets Arakawa against the ropes and returns the favor with his own chops. Tie-up again but Arakawa quickly takes MAZADA to the mat and goes for the cross armbreaker. Rongai tries to break it up but Arakawa doesn't let go, forcing MAZADA to reach the ropes to escape the hold. Arakawa tags Kikutaro back in but MAZADA knocks him to the mat and tags in Rongai. Double Irish whip to Kikutaro and they hit a camel clutch/dropkick combination. Rongai throws Kikutaro into the corner and tells Arakawa to tag in, which he does. MAZADA is tagged in also, tie-up, and Arakawa applies a wristlock. Oil Check by Arakawa and MAZADA falls into his corner.

Arakawa waits for him to recover and grinds his first into MAZADA's face before twisting his nose. The referee forces him to break when he gets into the ropes however and Arakawa tags in Kikutaro. Kick by Kikutaro on MAZADA but MAZADA absorbs the chops and chops him back. Kick by MAZADA, Irish whip, and he hits a lariat in the corner. MAZADA tags in Rongai who stomps Kikutaro down in the corner. Snapmare by Rongai and he pulls on Kikutaro's ears. Back up, headbutts by Rongai but Kikutaro powers up before falling to the mat. Cover, but it gets a two count. Rongai tags in MAZADA, and he rakes Kikutaro's eyes in the corner. Arakawa gets him with the Oil Check from behind however, but MAZADA hits Kikutaro low while the referee is attending to Arakawa. Both wrestlers are down but MAZADA is up first, wristlock by MAZADA and he bits on Kikutaro's hand. Rongai bites on the other one and MAZADA tags Rongai into the match. Rongai and Kikutaro exchange chops, Kikutaro takes off his shirt to show how tough he is but goes to put it back on after getting chopped again. Rongai cuts him off however and chops him in the corner, cover by Rongai but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Rongai from the corner, reversed, and Kikutaro hits a lariat. Kikutaro goes for a bulldog but Rongai pushes him off. Rongai goes for a lariat but Kikutaro ducks it and hits a fireman's carry slam. Kikutaro goes up to the top turnbuckle but Rongai rolls way out of the way. Kikutaro sees this and when he jumps off he does an additional jump but Rongai avoids the elbow. Back up they trade waistlocks until Rongai hits a DDT for a two count. Rongai goes off the ropes but Kikutaro dropkicks him in the knee and hits the Shining Wizard for a two count. Front chancery by Kikutaro into a suplex attempt but Rongai reverses it and hits a Shining Wizard of his own for a two count. Roll-up by Kikutaro but it gets a two as well, as does the inside cradle. Rongai reverses the inside cradle however and picks up the three count! Your winners: NOSAWA Rongai and MAZADA

Match Thoughts: I am not sure what the deal was with Arakawa's obsession with Oil Checking the wrestlers (including his partner), but beyond that it played out like your typical All Japan opener. There was nothing really special about this match at all and Kikutaro didn't do a lot of comedy.... I guess he misses Araya. Arakawa was not in much but he doesn't look bad at all considering that he has been wrestling for 25 odd years (at least). Pretty ho hum opener with it coming across as filler more then anything else, doing little to get the crowd amped for the show. Score: 4.0

Rasse vs. Yoshitsune
This is the new version of Mysterio vs. Psicosis, as these two tour around Japan wrestling with and against each other in as many different promotions as possible. Tie-up to start, wristlock by Yoshitsune but Rasse reverses it. Yoshitsune rolls out of it and takes Rasse to the mat, applying a leg lock. Kicks to the leg by Yoshitsune but Rasse gets out of it and applies a leg lock of his own. Modified Indian Deathlock by Yoshitsune, they get back to their feet, Yoshitsune hits a side headlock takedown but Rasse reverses it with a headscissors. Yoshitsune quickly gets out of it and both men are back on their feet. Kick to the gut by Rasse and he applies a side headlock, Yoshitsune Irish whips out of it but Rasse shoulderblocks him down. Irish whip by Rasse but after flipping out of Rasse's way Yoshitsune hits a rebound dropkick. Rasse rolls out of the ring, Yoshitsune goes to do a dive but Rasse moves so Yoshitsune does his fake dive instead, landing himself back in the middle of the ring. After a moment Rasse returns but Yoshitsune snapmares him to the mat and delivers a dropkick to the face. Springboard elbow drop by Yoshitsune from the apron, cover, but Rasse kicks out. Back up they trade elbows, snapmare by Rasse and he applies a reverse chinlock. Back up, body slam by Rasse and he covers Yoshitsune for a two count. Irish whip by Rasse from the corner and he hits a running elbow strike. Cover, but again it gets two. Single leg crab hold by Rasse but Yoshitsune makes it to the ropes. Rasse stomps Yoshitsune while he is on the mat and he hits a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Rasse picks up Yoshitsune and goes for a backdrop suplex, but Yoshitsune lands on his feet. Yoshitsune goes off the ropes but Rasse catches him with an overhead suplex. Irish whip by Rasse but Yoshitsune hits a multiple rotation headscissors, sending Rasse out of the ring. Yoshitsune then goes off the ropes and sails out onto Rasse with a somersault tope suicida, slamming his own legs into the steel guard rail in the process. Yoshitsune recovers first and slides Rasse into the ring, Yoshitsune picks up Rasse, Irish whip from the corner and he hits a jumping elbow strike. Rasse ducks the heel kick attempt but Yoshitsune connects with a cartwheel heel kick for a two count. Yoshitsune goes out to the apron and goes for a springboard move, but Rasse dropkicks him as he is coming in the ring. Vertical suplex by Rasse, cover, but it gets a two count. Rasse picks up Yoshitsune and hits a German suplex hold, but it gets a two count as well. Rasse picks up Yoshitsune, Irish whip, but Yoshitsune ducks the lariat attempt and delivers a superkick followed by the Tiger Feint Kick. Yoshitsune goes out to the apron and nails the Swan Dive Firebird Splash, cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Yoshitsune

Match Thoughts: As everyone knows I am a big fan of Yoshitsune and it has been fun to watch him evolve from a pure spot machine to someone that has begun to learn how to work a match. Besides his general quickness there were only a handful of "high spots" in this match as generally they kept it on the mat and kept things basic. Since they were early on in the card and not the focus of the show it made sense for them to keep a lower profile. Yoshitsune was flawless in the match, even though he is going to seriously hurt himself one day if he keeps being so reckless with his dives. Rasse held his end very well and he has become a great opponent for Yoshitsune as they have worked so many times together that the match flowed very smoothly. This match is nothing that will set the world on fire but it shows how Yoshitsune has changed over the last few years and that he has learned how to put on a more well-rounded match. Score: 6.5

Scott Norton vs. Riki Senysu and Kenshin
Here is Norton against a Choshu clone and a Kensuke Sasaki clone, respectively. No tag rules. Norton pushes both wrestlers to the mat, tie-up with Senysu and Kenshin hits him from behind. Double Irish whip to Norton but Norton knocks them both down with a double shoulderblock. Chops by Norton to Kenshin in the corner, Irish whip and he hits a running splash. Norton headbutts Kenshin against the ropes, Irish whip, but Kenshin connects with a dropkick and Senysu follows with a lariat. They take turns hitting lariats on Norton but he doesn't go down. Simultaneous lariats doesn't do the trick either, they go for a double vertical suplex but Norton reverses it and suplexes both of them instead. Norton picks up Senysu and chops him hard in the corner. Norton puts Kenshin in the same corner and gives him a chop as well. Irish whip by Norton to both wrestlers to the other corner but they avoid his splash attempt. They both take turns hitting lariats again, but Norton catches Kenshin and hits a sloppy powerslam. Cover, but Senysu breaks it up. Lariat by Senysu and another one, but when he goes off the ropes again Norton catches him with a lariat of his own. Norton picks up Senysu and nails the Super Dragon Bomb, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Scott Norton

Post match: Norton challenges anyone in the crowd to arm wrestle him. Kikutaro comes out, but Norton easily beats him. Finally someone does come out of the crowd, and after Norton toys with him the fan pulls his hand back right before Norton was going to win, holding his arm. Norton raises his hand afterwards before leaving the ring.

Match Thoughts: I have no idea why they flew over Scott Norton to squash two imitation indy wrestlers, but that is what weird promotions like UWAI Station do. We aren't supposed to understand. This was about what you'd expect, although Kenshin is lucky he wasn't hurt on the powerslam mishap. I couldn't tell whose fault it was but it was definitely ugly, and it stuck out since it was one of very few moves that did damage in the match. Senysu and Kenshin trying to knock down Norton with lariats was cute since that is the finishers of the wrestlers they are imitating, but if we wanted to try to tie in realism they really should have been going low. It was nice seeing Norton again, I just think he could have been used a lot better then squashing two wrestlers that nobody cares about. Score: 3.0

Bryan Danielson vs. Fujita "Jr." Hayato
This is Fujita "Jr." Hayato's Pro-Wrestling 2nd Anniversary Match. Handshake to start, tie-up, waistlock by Danielson, reversed into a wristlock by Hayato, but Danielson reverses it back and gets Hayato into the ropes before giving a clean break. Hayato goes for a single leg takedown but Danielson blocks it and applies a stretch hold on the mat. Hayato slowly gets to his feet and applies a hammerlock, but Hayato gets out of it and both men are back on their feet. Wristlock by Danielson but Hayato grabs his leg and pushes him down before applying a leg lock. Danielson pulls on Hayato's arm to get out of the hold and applies a body scissors, but Hayato escapes and re-applies the leg lock. Danielson quickly gets out of it, side headlock by Danielson, Hayato Irish whips out of it but Danielson shoulderblocks him down. Danielson goes off the ropes but Hayato connects with a superkick and Danielson rolls out of the ring. Hayato goes for a pescado but Danielson steps out of the way and Hayato falls straight to the mat. Danielson rolls Hayato back in, scoop slam by Danielson and he applies the Mexican Surfboard. He reverts it into a Mexican Surfboard choke but he releases the hold after a moment. Cover, but it gets a two count. Uppercut by Danielson and he connects with a second one. Danielson hits a headbutt, cover, but again it gets a two count. Danielson goes for a keylock but he can't get it applied, he then goes for the cross armbreaker but Hayato blocks that as well. Double underhook suplex by Danielson and he applies the cross armbreaker, but Hayato makes it to the ropes. Danielson gets Hayato into the corner, Irish whip, and he connects with the forearm smash. Another Irish whip but his time Hayato kicks him when he charges in and delivers the spear. Kicks by Hayato and he hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but Danielson kicks out at one. Kicks to the chest and back by Hayato, he goes off the ropes and hits a running kick to the chest for a two count cover. Front chancery by Hayato but Danielson pushes him into the ropes and hits a series of slaps, Irish whip, reversed, but Danielson grabs Hayato's leg when he goes for a kick. Leg lock by Danielson on the mat but Hayato makes it to the bottom rope. Danielson goes for a German suplex but Hayato reverses it into one of his own and connects with a kick to the head. Cover, but Danielson kicks out. Back up they trade slaps but Hayato grabs Danielson and applies the K.I.D. Danielson struggles for a minute before rolling to the ropes to force a break. Hayato hits a kick combination and goes off the ropes, but Danielson hits a shoulderblock and hits a German suplex for a two count. Danielson quickly applies the Cattle Mutilation and the referee calls for the bell! Your winner by referee stoppage: Bryan Danielson

Match Thoughts: An interesting match-up to say the least and in general they worked very well together with only a few miscues. I don't quite see what some others do in Hayato, his offense is pretty basic and he didn't show any natural charisma or ring presence in this match. Danielson was solid of course as he kept it mostly on the mat with the young wrestler, putting him in a variety of holds. I don't know what the deal with the Cattle Mutilation was, Hayato was in the hold for literally three seconds before the referee pushed Danielson off and called for the stoppage. This was a perfectly acceptable match but the crowd had trouble getting into it and Danielson's transition at the end from being trapped in the K.I.D. to being in full control 20 seconds later made the ending seem rushed. Score: 6.0

Hawaiian Lion vs. Katsuyori Shibata
Single leg takedown attempt by Hawaiian Lion to start the match and he gets Shibata to the mat, but Shibata moves away from him and blocks the mount. Waistlock by Shibata but Hawaiian Lion applies a wristlock. Shibata reverses it with a wristlock of his own and trips Hawaiian Lion before applying a reverse chinlock. Hawaiian Lion gets out of it and backs off, allowing Shibata to get back to his feet. Test of Strength and Hawaiian Lion hits a side headlock takeover. Shibata struggles to his feet and gets out of the side headlock, but Hawaiian Lion takes him back to the mat and re-applies it. Front facelock by Hawaiian Lion and he does a handstand while keep the move applied for extra pressure. Hawaiian Lion rolls Shibata over and tries to get into the mount position but Shibata gets back to his feet. Double underhook takedown by Shibata and he stomps Hawaiian Lion in the back. Kicks to the leg by Shibata but Hawaiian Lion fires back with a forearm. The two trade shots and Hawaiian Lion wins the battle with a lariat. Shibata rolls out to the apron and Hawaiian Lion connects with an enzigieri over the top rope, sending Shibata to the floor. Hawaiian Lion follows him out and hits a series of uppercuts before Irish whipping him into the railing and clotheslining him over. Shibata slowly makes his way back to the ring but Hawaiian Lion grabs him while he is on the apron and suplexes him back into the ring. Cover by Hawaiian Lion but it gets a two count. Hawaiian Lion picks up Shibata and drives him back into the corner, Hawaiian Lion charges Shibata but Shibata gets his foot up. Another kick by Shibata but Hawaiian Lion returns with a dropkick. Double handed chop by Hawaiian Lion in the corner and he hits a trio of vertical suplexes. Cover by Hawaiian Lion but it gets a two count. Back up, backbreaker by Hawaiian Lion and he goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Shibata kicks him from behind and hits a super backdrop suplex. Hawaiian Lion is up first and hits a piledriver, cover, but it gets a two count. Hawaiian Lion goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Shibata doesn't go down. Again he goes off the ropes but Shibata catches him with a kick. Sleeper hold by Shibata but Hawaiian Lion gets out of it with a backdrop suplex. Shibata quickly re-applies the sleeper before delivering the FK. Knee lift by Shibata and he nails a backdrop suplex. Cover by Shibata but Hawaiian Lion kicks out at one. Pedigree by Shibata, cover, but Hawaiian Lion easily kicks out. Shibata applies the cross armbreaker but Hawaiian Lion powerbombs his way out of it. Shibata gets back to his feet and kicks Hawaiian Lion repeatedly in the chest. Arm breaker by Shibata, he picks up Hawaiian Lion and applies the arm height octopus hold for the submission victory! Your winner: Katsuyori Shibata

Match Thoughts: Again, I am puzzled. Shibata is a very good to great wrestler depending on who he is wrestling against and a growing star, but for the first big show they put him against a foreigner that no one has heard of and they have said foreigner dominate the majority of the match? At the time of this review we have a better idea of who Hawaiian Lion is since he did a tour for All Japan, but in December of 2006 he was just a random dude with tattoos on his face. He looked very solid, but he was still an unknown wrestler hanging with a wrestler who has had competitive matches with the likes of Kensuke Sasaki, Genichiro Tenryu, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Masahiro Chono, and many others. As for the match, it was solid and the crowd stayed into it. The lack of selling made my head spin, but that has been Shibata's style for awhile now so I was expecting it. Shibata looked good, I just thought that on a debut show they would give him someone more high profile to have a match against to cement him as the ace. Score: 6.0

Tatsutoshi Goto, Ohara, and Blue Wolf vs. Yoshihiro Takayama, Minoru Suzuki, and SUWA
Blue Wolf and Takayama start things off. Tie-up, waistlock by Blue Wolf, reversed by Takayama, Blue Wolf applies a wristlock but Takayama reverses that as well. Hammerlock by Blue Wolf but Takayama takes Blue Wolf to the mat and applies a side headlock. Blue Wolf makes it to the ropes and he gets a break, single leg takedown by Blue Wolf and he applies a leg lock on the mat. Takayama gets out of it and goes for the cross armbreaker but Blue Wolf quickly gets to the ropes. Tie-up, side headlock by Blue Wolf and he makes the tag to Goto. Tie-up, kick to the stomach by Goto and the two exchange strikes. Takayama pushes Goto back into his own corner and tags in SUWA. Punches by SUWA in the corner and he rakes Goto in the eyes. Snapmare by SUWA and he applies a reverse chinlock. Goto pushes SUWA into the ropes and he rakes SUWA in the eyes before tagging in Ohara. Double headbutt to SUWA and Ohara chops him against the ropes. SUWA chops him back but Ohara hits a jumping lariat followed by a vertical suplex for a two count cover. Ohara tags in Blue Wolf and Blue Wolf goes for a crab hold, but when SUWA blocks it he tags in Goto. Goto picks up SUWA but SUWA drives him back and with Suzuki's help he chops Goto in the chest. SUWA tags in Suzuki, tie-up, wristlock by Suzuki and he applies a chinlock on the mat. Goto gets the advantage but Suzuki reverses it back to the reverse chinlock. Suzuki goes for the cross armbreaker but Blue Wolf comes in and breaks it up. Goto rakes Suzuki in the eyes and tags in Ohara, who chops Suzuki in the corner. Ohara throws Suzuki out of the ring and he is assaulted by Goto at ringside with a chair. Takayama comes over to help and soon all six wrestlers are on the outside brawling. Suzuki throws Goto back into the ring but Ohara grabs him from the apron and rakes him in the eyes. Goto throw Suzuki into his corner and tells Takayama to tag in, but Suzuki won't tag out and pushes Goto. They trade slaps, knee by Suzuki and he tags in Takayama. Takayama and Suzuki stomp Goto as apparently the referee has stopped caring at this point. Finally Suzuki leaves, clubs to the back by Takayama and he knees Goto in the chest. Suzuki comes back in and they do the Dudley's "What's Up" spot, except SUWA drops an elbow instead of doing a headbutt.

Takayama throws Goto out of the ring and on the outside SUWA throws him into the railing. Takayama then comes out and knocks him down with a big boot to the face. Back in the ring, cover by Takayama but it gets a two count. Takayama tags in Suzuki who twists on Goto's arm on the mat. Seated armbar by Suzuki but he backs off when Ohara comes in the ring. Takayama comes back in (as the legal man now) and elbows Goto in the face. Takayama picks up Goto, goes off the ropes and kicks him in the chest. Low blow by Goto and he knees Takayama low before making the tag to Blue Wolf. Lariat by Blue Wolf on Takayama and he throws Suzuki into SUWA. Exploder by Blue Wolf on Takayama, cover, but it gets a two count. Blue Wolf picks up Takayama and goes for the vertical suplex, Takayama at first blocks it but Blue Wolf hits it anyway for another two count. He goes for the Mongol Slam, but Takayama elbows out of it. Blue Wolf goes off the ropes but Takayama catches him with a knee to the chest and tags in SUWA. SUWA comes in the ring with a top rope lariat, Irish whip to Blue Wolf and he hits a diving forearm for a two count. Chops by SUWA, he goes off the ropes but Blue Wolf catches him with an overhead slam and tags in Goto. Lariat by Goto to SUWA and he goes for a backdrop suplex, but SUWA lands on top of him for a two count. Goto hits SUWA low when the referee isn't looking, Irish whip from the corner but SUWA avoids his charge and hits a lariat. SUWA tags in Suzuki, and Suzuki kicks Goto twice in the chest. Knee by Suzuki but Goto kicks him low and tags in Ohara. Double Irish whip by Ohara and Goto and they drop Suzuki throat-first onto the top rope. Blue Wolf runs in to take care of SUWA, Ohara picks up Suzuki and hits a powerbomb. Cover, but Takayama breaks it up. Stomps by Ohara and the two trade slaps, Ohara goes off the ropes but Takayama kicks him from the apron. A sleeper is applied by Suzuki, he releases it so that SUWA can hit the John Woo but then he re-applies the hold. Goto comes in to try to help but Suzuki moves and Goto accidentally lariats Ohara. Takayama runs in to take care of Goto before kneeing Ohara for good measure. Cover by Suzuki but it gets a two count. SUWA applies the Octopus hold but Blue Wolf breaks it up. SUWA spears Blue Wolf while Suzuki picks up Ohara and nails the Gotch-Style Piledriver. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Yoshihiro Takayama, Minoru Suzuki, and SUWA

Match Thoughts: A very "eh" main event. It would take less time to list the things I liked versus the things I didn't like. I liked seeing Blue Wolf again, he is very underrated and I still hope at some point he makes a return to Japan. SUWA looked very good, and Suzuki (whether you enjoy it or not) has his role down pat as the ultimate cheating cocky heel. What I really didn't like was Goto using only the low blow to transition and the match really having no rhyme or reason whatsoever... Goto is worked on for five minutes, he makes the "hot tag" which wasn't hot, but a minute later he is tagged right back in as if nothing happened. Ohara gets pinned, even though Ohara was never even hurt the entire match until the final 30 seconds. It just wasn't structured in any way that made sense and even though I like a majority of these wrestlers individually this match was lacking. Making a six man tag match memorable is difficult anyway but there didn't seem to be any effort here whatsoever to make the main event of the first ever show special. Score: 4.0

Final Thoughts:

A pretty flat show all the way around. Nothing at all was must-see and when the best match on the card is a simply a "good" match then it makes the event hard to recommend. The main event was disappointing and Shibata wasn't given the opportunity to steal the show. Scott Norton was wasted and when the event ended I felt like I had wasted two hours of my life as I have so many events I need to watch that I know will be better then this one. On paper I had hopes for a fun show but they simply didn't deliver here. Unless you are a Bryan Danielson nut or a Shibata completist there is no reason to get this show.

Not Recommended


Back to UWAI STATION Reviews

review completed 5/27/07