T2P Debut 11/13/2001 Review

T2P Debut 11/13/2001 Review

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T2P is Toryumon's first offshoot promotion. T2P stands for Toryumon 2000 Project. T2P featured a 6-sided ring with complex llave style wrestling mastered by Skayde. This is my favorite promotion of all time and gave us the first taste of many wrestlers such as Masato Yoshino, Milano Collection AT, Shuji Kondo, Brother Yasshi, Naruki Doi and many others.

Shuji Kondo vs Takayuki Yagi
近藤修司, vs 八木隆行
Shuji Kondo is currently All Japan Pro Wrestling's booker and is kind of like an awesome junior version of Goldberg. Takyuki Yagi is currently a referee with Dragon Gate after retiring a few years ago. His gimmick is that of a fisherman.

The finish

Takayuki Yagi beat Shuji Kondo at 13:19 with what I think is the fisherman clutch. Really awesome match here and it's only the 1st ever T2P match! Kondo brought the big time power moves and Yagi pulled out the llave. The crowd got into this and I did too. Pretty great way to start orf the show. Rating:***

4 count vs 2 count match - Raimu Mishima vs TARUcito
三島来夢 vs TARUシート

As the name suggests, TARUcito is Little TARU, the midget of Toryumon wrestler TARU. Since TARUcito is a midget wrestler and therefore only needed a 2 count to win this since it's not really fair that he has to fight a full size wrestler. TARUcito ended up retiring pretty early if I remember correctly and ended up mostly just managing TARU. There was a second TARUcito, but this is the first. Raimu Mishima was kind of the underacheiver of the T2P group and didn't really become anything until forming the Florida Brothers years later.  He worked a shooter gimmick here and obviously was inspired by Yuji Nagata.

Raimu Mishima argues with Kinta Tamaoka as he forgot that he needed a 4-count and not a 3-count to win.

TARU came down to support his mini

TARUcito beat Raimu Mishima with a 2-count following a cradle. This was just a joke match and not that interesting. Sucks to be Mishima, that's for sure.

Jun Ogawauchi vs Touru Owashi
小川内潤 vs 大鷲 透

Jun Ogawauchi was more known for being injured than anything else. He had the privilege of joining CrazyMAX as it's 5th member but got injured and retired. He eventually returned years later to El Dorado(an offshoot of Dragon Gate featuring it's recently fired or forgotten wrestlers) and now works under the mask of Orochi in Osaka Pro.

Touru Owashi was a sumo wrestler who had to retire from sumo due to a knee injury. His dad was a sumo wrestler and his dad also owned a restaurant which made for infinite jokes about his weight. He didn't used to be too heavy but upon his japan debut he gained alot of weight. He's T2P's power fighter heel and he was generally disliked by alot of fans for that since he didn't do the well liked llave style.

Jun Ogawauchi hits the Onifusha

The finish - The Senshuuraku-Gatame

Touru Owashi beat Jun Ogawauchi with a Senshuuraku-Gatame at 11:48. This one was so-so. Both guys were slow and and trying not to be akward but it didn't work out that great. I did like Owashi's running chokeslam and his stiffness was cool but Owashi never fit in that well in T2P. Rating:*1/2

SUWA came out to watch the next match:

TARU vs Kinya Oyanagi
TARU vs 大柳二等兵

TARU was a member of CrazyMAX and All Japan Pro Wrestling where he was one of the top heels. He's supposedly one of the better wrestlers on the microphone and he had a karate background. He's blackballed from wrestling now. A few years ago in All Japan, he and other members of his VooDoo Murderer's stable had a confrontation with one of their members named Super Hate that led to Hate having a stroke later that evening.  TARU got arrested for it and there's been little news on TARU since.

Kinya Ooyanegi was working the gimmick of a lost soldier from WW2. He later had a student gimmick and a fitness instructor gimmick. He wrestles for Michinoku Pro.

Kinya Ooyanegi beat TARU with a crucifix. This was a very good comedy match. There will never be a more technically sound comedic wrestler than Kinya Ooyanegi. He may be the most creative wrestler that every existed. He came up with so many saluting spots that it was amazing. This went a little long but it was entertaining and for pure entertainment, you don't get much better than Kiya Ooyanegi. The pics and gif's don't do this guy justice so check out this match.

Masato Yoshino and Stevie Brother Tsujimoto vs KENtaro Mori and Takamichi Iwasa
吉野正人, Stevie Brother Tsujimoto vs 森Ken太郎, 岩佐卓典

Takamichi Iwasa was nicknamed "The Crown Prince of Hell" and does a satanic gimmick. He'd later become one of the members of the Florida Brothers with Raimu Mishima and would become known as a great power wrestler. He's currently injured and hopefully will return someday.

KENtaro Mori worked a prince gimmick, but definitely not from hell like his partner. His gimmick hometown was London, England. He would eventually lead my favorite group ever when he formed The Royal Brothers along with Henry III Sugawara and Phillip J. Fukumasa. The gimmick never really made it but I thought it was the greatest thing ever. He was well known for coming out to Britney Spears' "Sometimes" song and he was an effeminate character.

Stevie Brother Tsujimoto worked a hip hop gimmick and worked a jamaican type of gimmick. He's all-around pretty awesome as you will soon see. He later become brother YASSHI and formed the Nanking F'ing Wrestling Team. He's now retired unfortunately. Stevie and Yoshino also went on to be crucial members of Milano Collection AT's Italian Connection.

Masato Yoshino is still currently wrestling for Dragon Gate(which T2P formed into after joining with Toryumon). His nickname at this point was "Sexy Tarzan" and that about explains it. He's possibly the fastest wrestler ever next to Natsuki Taiyo and Baby-A.

Takamichi Iwasa hits the Goliath Bird Eater

Sol Naciente

Masato Yoshino beat Takamichi Iwasa with the Sol Naciente at 22:19. Awesome match here. This was T2P at its finest. Lighting fast moves, amazingly creative submissions and great work by everyone involved. This is probably the definitive T2P match and just something you'd never see anywhere else. This is wrestling at another level and a heck of a match. This is must see. Rating:****1/2

2/3 Falls - Milano Collection AT vs Ryo Saito
ミラノコレクションA.T. vs 斎藤 了

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Milano Collection AT is an italian fashion model and the ace of T2P. He was initial trained by Animal Hamaguchi and he was a big star for Toryumon and Dragon Gate before leaving. He worked US Indies and New Japan Pro Wrestling before retiring due to injuries.

Ryo Saito was working a cyclist gimmick at this time. I don't know why for sure but I'd guess it had something to do with Lance Armstrong being a huge name at that time. He was involved in a year long feud with Don Fuji over a stolen bicycle. He'd later become a Dragon Gate champion and is still going strong today.

STFashion

Milano Collection AT puts Ryo Saito in a rope assisted Nudo

Paradise Lock!

Milano Collection AT wins the first fall.

A-dise Lock

Triangle Choke

The AT Lock - The finish

Milano Collection AT beat Ryo Saito with an AT lock in 2 falls to none. This was all squash but it was awesome. Milano pulled out some moves here that he never did again and the whole match was just a display of awesome submissions. This was more like an exhibition than anything else but it was great and I really enjoyed it.

Overall thoughts: Welcome to T2P. This is technical wrestling at its finest and it doesn't get better than this. One of my favorite shows ever and a total must see event!