I went to see WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA II! (2/2)

【大会名 Show name】WRESTLE SEKIGAHARA Ⅱ
【日時 Date and time】2023年7月9日(日 Sunday)　開場 Opening time 13:00　開始 Starting time 14:00
【会場Venue】東京・大田区総合体育館 Tokyo, Ota City General Gymnasium

【観衆 Attendance】667人

Watch this show on WRESTLE UNIVERSE! (Registration required)

Part 1 is here!

セミファイナル　スピリット・オブ・ガンバレ世界タッグ選手権試合　60分一本勝負

Semifinal, Spirit of Ganbare World Tag Championship Match, 60mins 1 fall

＜王者組＞佐藤光留＆前口太尊×　vs　勝村周一朗○＆和田拓也＜挑戦者組＞
※初代王者組2度目の防衛戦。

19分43秒　トリプルスリー3ロック　

※変態パンチドランカーズが2度目の防衛に失敗、勝村組が第2代王者組となる。

<Champion Team> Hikaru Sato and Tyson Maeguchi vs. Shuichiro Katsumura and Takuya Wada <Challenger Team>

Inagural champion team's second title defence.

Katsumura defeated Maeguchi (19mins 43s, Triple Three 3 Lock).

Hentai Punch Drunkers failed their second title defence, and Katsumura and Wada became the second champion team.

素晴らしかった！変態パンチドランカーズが2度目の防衛に失敗するのが予想しなかったが、勝村選手と和田選手のチームワークは強すぎた！

An excellent match! I wasn't expecting Sato and Maeguchi to lose the belts on their second defence, but Katsumura and Wada's teamwork is a tough obstacle to overcome!

メインイベント　スピリット・オブ・ガンバレ世界無差別級選手権試合　60分一本勝負

Main Event, Spirit of Ganbare World Openweight Championship Match, 60mins 1 fall

＜王者＞渡瀬瑞基×　vs　木髙イサミ○＜挑戦者＞
※第4代王者5度目の防衛戦。

17分30秒　片エビ固め　※勇脚・斬。渡瀬が5度目の防衛に失敗、イサミが第5代王者となる。

<Champion> Mizuki Watase vs. Isami Kodaka <Challenger>

This was the fourth champion's fifth title defence.

Isami defeated Watase (17mins 30s, Isami Ashi Zan).

Watase failed his fifth title defence, and Isami became the fifth champion.

私はイサミ選手の大ファンですが、この試合を観た時、「これは渡瀬選手にとって物凄くずるいよ～！」と思っていた。しかし、振り返すと、それは違うと思っていた。実は、こういう結果は本当にガンプロらしいです。実生活と同じく、頑張るしかないですね。ガンプロの全試合には、選手の皆さんはいつも一生懸命頑張っている。それは本当に大切なものです。

ガンプロの魂は美しい。

As much as I love Isami Kodaka, my initial reaction to him beating Mizuki Watase to become the new SOG World Openweight Champion was, admittedly, something along the lines of, "Wow, this is some hot buttered bullshit right here". I was BIG MAD. This was Watase's chance to prove himself on a big stage, and for him to lose the top belt in GanPro to an outsider seemed unfair, to say the least.

However, after I'd thought about it for a while, I stopped being disappointed about it, because it made perfect sense in the context of GanPro. In Ganbare Pro-Wrestling, as their name suggests, you've just got to keep trying your best, no matter what.

Mizuki Watase is, without a doubt, a very talented wrestler. Isami Kodaka, an incredibly versatile veteran wrestler, was an excellent opponent for him; someone who Watase could feasibly defeat, but who also presented a very real threat to his championship. This was never going to be an easy win for either of them, and they both put everything they had into this match. Towards the end of the match, you could see Watase losing stamina, but never losing his will to fight. He kept getting back up, over and over again, until every last ounce of strength had been drained from him. Isami may have won the championship, but Watase made him earn it. After the match, when Isami had left after saying a few words about becoming the new champion, Watase, through tears, expressed regrets about losing the championship. Then, following a heartwarming and encouraging speech by Katsumura, Watase stood up, and declared that he would be the champion again someday.

The show ended with a smiling Watase surrounded by his GanPro family.

This is the stuff GanPro is made of. And it's beautiful.

GanPro's big shows are an amazing showcase for all of their roster, as well as the driving force behind GanPro itself; the effort that is put into the match is as important as the result. The effort, the desperation, the struggle, the TRYING to win is an incredibly valuable and precious thing, and it's something that sets GanPro apart from its peers. GanPro's members lost a lot of matches to outsiders in this show, but seeing how much everyone wants to win, and the lengths they are prepared to go to in order to do so, adds an extra layer of emotion to every match that you don't always see in other promotions.

つまり。。。ガンプロを見てくださいね！

I guess what I'm trying to say is... please watch more GanPro!