Kingdom’s competitors bid to announce themselves on world stage
The world of sports entertainment will descend on Bangkok’s Circus Studio on Saturday night, as SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling hosts competitors from six countries in eight blockbuster matches.
Among them will be three championship affairs, including one bout that could have repercussions well beyond the sport and across Asia.
But most importantly for SETUP, Episode 8 is the opportunity to show the world that Thailand has grown into a wrestling force to be reckoned with, after 10 years that have seen the scene grow from literally nothing to become one of the fastest-rising in the sport.
It was all a dream…
Episode 8 is arguably as important to SETUP co-founder Pumi Boonyatud as it is the athletes in his stable. He is, after all, not just one half of the brains behind SETUP (along with wrestler Paksa), he is also the godfather of the sport in Thailand.
A decade ago, before SETUP, Pumi launched the country’s first wrestling promotion, Gatoh Move, in association with Japanese legend Emi Sakura. Together, they ran a series of critically acclaimed shows that set the standard for SETUP to follow once Gatoh Move went separate ways and started operating exclusively out of Japan.
But while Pumi has happy memories of Gatoh Move and is proud to have been a part of it, there is one thing missing from the scrapbook: No Thai wrestler has ever won a Gatoh Move championship.
As often happens in wrestling, things have come full circle. On the biggest night of his promotional life, Pumi has brought Gatoh Move back to Thailand, and will send two of his flagship Thai wrestlers into the ring to challenge for a Gatoh Move belt.
“I have always been proud of Gatoh Move,” says Pumi. “But one of my disappointments is that we have never won a championship of Gatoh Move, despite me being a creator of it.
“Thai wrestlers are never treated as equal to Japanese, so I want to bring back something I insist should be ours: the Asia Dream Tag Team Championship.”
Reigning champions CDK (Calamari Drunken Kings) accepted the invite, and so the duo comprised of Masa Takanashi and Tokyo-based Brit Chris Brookes will put the belts on the line against Pumi’s charges Terry Diesel and Monomoth.
Diesel is the reigning SETUP Openweight champion and a man who’s been by Pumi’s side since day one, while Monomoth could be the promotion’s finest rising talent. That’s as good a combination as any to put together in a bid to realise the dream held by Pumi, his company and the entire Kingdom of Thailand.
… but it could be a nightmare for Singapore
All title fights are important, but there’s even more at stake in the 24/7 Championship match.
The simple version is that 24/7 king Kappa Kozo will defend against Andruew Tang. But there’s so much more to it than that.
Kozo, representing Japan’s UMA (Unidentified Mysterious Animal) Corporation, is the uninvited guest at the SETUP party, having capitalised on the complexions of the 24/7 division to take the belt from SaySci on July 2. The big green monster has held it ever since.
The title is just one piece in UMA’s puzzling plot to take over Singapore – both in wrestling and beyond. Tang, being the Lion City’s premier grappler, was the obvious target, and he just so happened to be in Bangkok at the time.
A humiliating attack at the end of Ep.6 left Tang scared and embarrassed, so to save face he challenged Kozo to a match – and put his career on the line!
Kozo and UMA decided they liked Bangkok so stuck around, and continued to be a thorn in SETUP’s side, turning up at training sessions and other events, and intensifying their hold with Kozo’s title win and subsequent defence against Matcha at Ep.7.
‘The Statement’ Tang has for years also been an antagonist of the SETUP roster, but he and they know they now face a common enemy. He wants to ward off the threat to his country, and they want to see this outfit driven out of the company.
Tang has therefore been invited back, this time for fight for SETUP rather than against it. That he is prepared to sacrifice his very career for such a crucial cause earns him nothing but respect.
Another bit of history as SETUP goes hardcore
SETUP has performed many firsts and offers up another one at Ep.8 – the first ever hardcore championship match to be staged in Thailand.
The Wrestle Square hardcore belt will be on the line in a fatal fourway match that pitches not only a quartet of competitors against each other, but also Thailand against India.
Defending champion Dman represents his company and country as he flies in from Uttar Pradesh. The ‘Prince of Savagery’ takes on countryman Skyler, a highly ranked technical wrestler, and the Thai duo of Paksa and Hyde.
As in the main event, Paksa and Hyde are a combination of respected veteran and talented newcomer, which on paper provided a good chance of Thailand crowning a new champion. But there is no love lost between the two, despite them flying the same flag, and it will be every man for himself – and with the rulebook thrown out of the window, anything can happen!
Also in action
The impressive, confident and continually improving Bital Hasdin takes a massive gamble in challenging Argentina’s fearsome ex-sumo Hoshitango.
In what could equally lead to a famous victory or a humiliation, Hasdin meets the one man responsible for two of the most crushing defeats inflicted on a Thai wrestler.
Hoshitango has beaten Paksa not once but twice, and not only that – the total time spent doing so has amounted to less than six minutes!
Hasdin asked for a big test on this night. Will it be a case of be careful what you wish for?
* Newly signed SETUP sensation Matcha risks her undefeated record in a joshi match against Japanese visitor Tokiko Kirihara as she seeks to build on her reputation as the best female wrestler in Thailand (and perhaps beyond), while the ultimate battle of youth vs experience will unfold as Johnathan Johnson takes on Zorawar Singh Jammuwale, aka Zorro, or better yet the ‘Father of Indian Wrestling’.
* Meanwhile, the faint of heart may want to look away as Singaporean tag team The Horrors (Da Butcherman and Dr Gore) prepare to unleash hell on SETUP’s Shivam – the reigning AWGC Jr. Heavyweight champion – and P’Suchart.
* Tickets for Ep.8 have completely sold out! But stay tuned for a full report from Front Page Fight Sports and the official video on SETUP’s YouTube channel. Also follow our Facebook page for the results as soon as we have them!
Sponsors Hong Kong Pro Wrestling Federation / Siamdol
MATCH CARD
CDK (Masa Takanashi & Chris Brookes) v Terry Diesel & Monomoth Asia Dream Tag Team Championship
Kappa Kozo (c) v Andruew Tang SETUP 24/7 Championship (Career on the line for Tang)
DMan (c) v Hyde v Paksa v Skyler (fatal four way) Wrestle Square Hardcore Championship
Bital Hasdin v Hoshitango
Tokiko Kirihara v Matcha
The Horrors v Shivam and P’Suchart
Johnathan Johnson v Zorawar Singh Jammuwale
May Heaven v TBA
+ special live performance by Kaibutsu
NEWS AND FEATURES
Event page
SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling company page
Five-star championship fight as wrestling debuts in Ayutthaya: Ep. 7 report
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