Episode 11 to build on last year’s sensational breakout campaign
SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling launches its 2023 schedule with a sensational card set for January 28 in its iconic home at Circus Studio in Bangkok.
The region’s most exciting and fastest-growing wrestling promotion enjoyed a spectacular year in 2022, as it powered out of the coronavirus pandemic’s attempts at a submission hold, delivering seven full events of increasing excitement, prestige and international involvement, as well as myriad other shows and participation in other brands across Asia.
SETUP’s Episode 11 looks to both build on the company’s position as a nascent regional powerhouse as well as settle some intense championship rivalries and, of course, thrill the fans like nobody else in the Kingdom can.
Three-fall title fight to decide the best of enemies
Headlining Ep.11 will be a sure-fire thriller as AWGC Jr. Heavyweight Champion Shivam defends against Andruew “The Statement” Tang in a two-out-of-three falls match billed as the final confrontation between the pair.
It will be the third time Shivam and Tang have met, in a rivalry dating back to Bangkok Showdown three years ago, when a younger and less experienced Shivam was defeated by one of Southeast Asia’s most accomplished wrestlers.
Much has changed since then. Shivam has become the first Thai wrestler to hold two belts simultaneously, as well as the longest-reigning champion in SETUP history, while Tang, at the same times as maintaining his in-ring excellence has also defended his country and region from an international threat. No, really!
While wins and titles are important to any wrestler, Tang found himself caught up in the UMA Corporation’s hostile takeover bid, as the villainous Japanese faction sought to seize control of his native Singapore and then the wider Southeast Asia region. They sent in their monstrous assassin Kappa Kozo to enact step one of this dastardly plan by taking out ‘The Statement’ right in the centre stage of SETUP’s Bangkok base.
Tang, despite sometimes rubbing Thai fans up the wrong way, received full backing in his bid to thwart Kozo and UMA, and went on to triumph against the odds.
UMA’s nefarious ambitions were dealt a heavy blow, Kozo underwent a life-changing epiphany, and Tang was rewarded with a title shot, against Shivam at Episode 10 in November.
Perhaps he had been drained by his bigger-picture pressures against UMA. Perhaps there was truth to Tang’s post-match complaints about the referee. Or maybe, with Shivam defeating Tang to even the score, he was simply the better man on the night, or at least a better man than Andruew remembered when they first collided, back when Shivam was a mere rookie.
Now, we will get answers, and there can be no excuses, whatever happens on Saturday night. In the two-out-of-three falls format, supremacy will be established, and Tang has been granted his wish for a referee from his own promotion, SPW, to officiate the fight.
Once the matter is settled, either Tang will have completed a takeover of his own – that of Thailand and SETUP – or Shivam will have proven his worth against the best opponent he has yet faced.
History beckons as Diesel aims to three-peat his reign
As consistent as Shivam has been, one man who has been an ever-present fixture at or near the top of the SETUP tree since day one has been Terry Diesel.
Long before Shivam rose to championship status, Diesel was the brand’s leader. While Shivam would war with Diesel over the SETUP Openweight belt, it was Diesel who would emerge from their rivalry on top. And while Diesel has suffered occasional setbacks, he’s always returned to form in quickfire fashion.
That’s why he’s the only two-time SETUP champion in history. And that’s why he’s now confident of beating his own record and becoming the company’s first three-time ruler.
But Diesel’s current ex-champ status does, of course, mean he has tasted recent defeat.
His second reign came to a surprising end three months ago, when rising young star Monomoth upset both him and the odds with a sensational victory at Ep.10.
New champ Monomoth capped off a spectacular 2022 with the win, as he graduated from a promising but essentially unproven prospect to the king of the SETUP roster.
Having proved his grit in an admirably close tilt at Shivam for AWGC gold at Ep. 7 in July, and then his fitness and versatility in outlasting 11 other competitors in a battle royal at Ep.9, Monomoth put it all together for a life-changing win over Diesel.
But now he defends against the very same man from whom he took the title – and despite winning last time out, a repeat is no formality. Diesel has shown many times that defeat only makes him more determined.
Just ask Shivam.
Monsters brawl as Kappa Kozo makes break for freedom
In one of the all-time classic creature features, King Kong is first tamed by love, and then brought to a crashing end by that very same emotion.
“It was beauty killed the beast,” says the closing line as the mighty ape breathes its last, the pursuit of the affections of a human female having led to its demise.
Is a similar fate about to befall Kappa Kozo?
The Japanese monster was originally sent to Thailand as the head hitman of the UMA Corp and initially left a trail of destruction its wake, crushing opponents, seizing the 24/7 Championship and intimidating all unfortunate enough to cross its path.
But then something strange happened. Kappa Kozo fell in love.
First, with a country. And then, with a beautiful lady.
UMA’s plan backfired as Thailand’s sun-kissed climate and famously friendly locals worked a certain magic on Kozo. It decided this was where it wanted to stay, to live a life free of dictatorship, and this feeling only deepened when it met the delightful idol Kanom from the ShiningStars troupe.
With Kozo having lost some crucial matches and now seeking to move away from Japan altogether, UMA felt betrayed and sent in an even more fearsome monster, the Great Kappa, to attack their traitor at Ep.10.
In doing so, Great Kappa also deliberately struck down the delicate Kanom as she sought to intervene.
With innocent civilians now caught up in the violence, SETUP management intervened, saying that if Kozo wished to remain in Thailand as part of the roster, it would have to agree to end its relationship with Kanom.
It agreed, but sought revenge after seeing its loved one struck down, and called for a fight with Great Kappa.
The match was approved, and the stakes couldn’t be higher: if Kozo loses, UMA will reclaim it and make it their slave.
No more Thailand, no more Kanom, no more SETUP and no more freedom.
Will Kozo return to its monstrous ways and avoid this fate? Or will we see another case of beauty killing the beast?
Four go hardcore in world war for the gold
Four men from three nations and two continents collide in one ring for the Wrestle Square Hardcore title.
It is a brand that defending champion Paksa has made his own in the six months since he lifted the belt at Ep.8, as he has seen off an array of challengers who, while amply qualified to contend, found they couldn’t match the veteran “Slave Leader” in the ultraviolent arena in which the hardcore championship is decided.
But while Paksa may have grown comfortable among rings filled with things like chairs, tables and other de facto weapons, an arguably greater threat to his reign will fill the squared circle on Saturday: not one, not two, but three opponents.
One is a familiar foe: Bital Hasdin, one of Thailand’s fastest-rising – and most brutally competitive – wrestlers. His vicious streak was never better illustrated than last time out when he powered Jonathan Johnson through a table he’d set on fire just moments earlier.
The others are less familiar to Paksa: Singaporean giant Big T, and Italian star Gabriel Martini. Big T’s sheer size and strength poses an obvious threat, while Martini brings experience and athleticism as he makes his Thailand debut.
Those considerations, combined with the automatic mathematic disadvantage the champion faces in the four-way format, place Paksa at long odds to retain.
But, in the hardcore environment, anything can happen.
Fresh faces and respected veterans on the undercard
Rounding off the stacked Ep.11 undercard are a series of enticing matches featuring the best Asian talent.
Veteran Sunny Z of Hong Kong has his call for a serious test answered, as he teams with Malaysia’s rising star Emman Azman in an intriguing tag team collision with Thai duo Jonathan Johnson and a newly serious-minded P’Suchart.
Meanwhile, Matcha comes full circle as she faces a mystery opponent. Matcha debuted under a veil of secrecy herself. springing a surprise – and an upset win – over Alexis Lee at Ep. 6 last June. Now, she faces an opponent who won’t be revealed until just before the first bill. Will she suffer a similar fate to Lee?
Finally, the next generation of SETUP will launch as rookies Nont and Akaradeth compete in an exhibition match, with the winner receiving a contract to join the roster.
Sponsors Hong Kong Pro Wrestling Federation / Siamdol
MATCH CARD
Shivam (c) v Andruew Tang (2 out of 3 falls) AWGC Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Monomoth (c) v Terry Diesel SETUP Openweight Championship
Paksa (c) v Bital Hasdin v Big T v Gabriel Martini (fatal four way) WrestleSquare Hardcore Championship
Sunny Z and Emman Azman v Jonathan Johnson and P’Suchart
Kappa Kozo v The Great Kappa
Matcha v TBA
Nont v Akaradeth
NEWS AND FEATURES
Event page
SETUP Thailand Pro Wrestling company page
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