King of Colosseum results

The King of Colosseum Tournament kicked off last night. Current GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Rikioh became the first man to advance to the next round beating Takao Omori in the show opener. Rikioh overwhelmed Omori from the opening bell with power moves before steamrolling over Omori with a big shoulder tackle to take the win. Former AJPW Triple Crown champion battled young Zero-1 MAX ace Kohei Sato in the next bout. Both men traded stiff strikes, but Kawada soon took the advantage battering Sato with hard kicks and dropped him on his head with several dangerous backdrops and a brainbuster, before finally putting him down with a sick jumping face kick. NJPW future ace Hiroshi Tanahashi battled Minoru Suzuki in the next round, which would turn into the match of the night as both men traded near falls and submissions. Tanahashi was able to use speed and craftiness to avoid Suzuki deadly submission locks and scored several near falls with quick cradles before finally finishing off the ex-Pancrase ace with his signature Dragon Suplex hold. NOAH ace Kenta Kobashi was in action next, beating AJPW veteran Arashi in a quick sprint of a match. Kobashi dominated early with a big running neck-breaker drop followed by a half-nelson suplex for a near fall. Arashi would rally back with a powerbomb for a 2 count, but Kobashi came back quickly with a powerbomb of his own followed by the Burning Lariat to pick up the victory. Former IWGP champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan battled old rival Kazunari Murakami next. Murakami struck quick and hard with big punches and kicks, but Tenzan came back with some heavy mongolian chops and a big backdrop. Murakami would continue to rely on his MMA skills, but Tenzan was just overwhelmed him with his power before putting him away with the TTD. Another former IWGP champion was in action next as Kazuyuki Fujita battled ex-NJPW star Katsuyori Shibata. This was a very physical confrontation as both men stiffed the hell out of each other. Shibata seemed to have the upper hand on Fujita many times throughout the match, being able to counter many of his big moves and score a good number of pinfalls. But in the end, Fujita was able to work himself into the North-South position and land his deadly knee strikes to the back of Shibata's head to pick up the win and move on to Round 2. NOAH ace Mitsuharu Misawa was the next to advance, defeating former IWGP champion Yuji Nagata. Nagata tried to take down Misawa with big kicks and submissions on the mat, but Misawa battled back and hit a Tiger Driver for a near fall, followed almost immediately by the Tiger Driver '91 for another near fall! Nagata could take no more as Misawa finally hit a big running elbow shot for the win. The big main event of the night saw the return of Yoshihiro Takayama as he battled his old rival Kensuke Sasaki in a very hard hitting contest. It was a bitter sweet return for Takayama, as despite a strong showing, was unable to advance as he was forced to tap out to a modified reverse figure four by Sasaki. Takayama later said he was happy just to be back, and expect to see more of him in the ring soon. King of Colosseum 12/03/2005 Nippon Budokan Hall - 16,500 Fans - Super No Vacancy King of Colosseum Tournament: Takeshi Rikioh beat Takao Omori in 8:04 with a flying shoulder tackle. 55% King of Colosseum Tournament: Toshiaki Kawada beat Kohei Sato in 11:39 with a jumping high kick. 79% King of Colosseum Tournament: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Minoru Suzuki in 15:11 with a Dragon-suplex hold. 99% King of Colosseum Tournament: Kenta Kobashi beat Arashi in 8:04 with a Burning Lariat. 75% King of Colosseum Tournament: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Kazunari Murakami in 11:28 with the TTD. 71% King of Colosseum Tournament: Kazuyuki Fujita beat Katsuyori Shibata in 11:42 with ground knee strikes. 90% King of Colosseum Tournament: Mitsuharu Misawa beat Yuji Nagata in 13:17 with a running elbow bunt. 75% King of Colosseum Tournament: Kensuke Sasaki beat Yoshihiro Takayama in 16:29 with a modified leg-lock. 78%