JWP's 15th Anniversary show

JWP held their 15th anniversary show May 28 at Korakuen Hall. Of course the amazing part is that JWP even got to their 15th anniversary. JWP was a very good company back in the joshi heydays of the 90s. They had some of the most popular wrestlers like Mayumi Ozaki, Dynamite Kansai, Cuty Suzuki & Hikari Fukuoka. Then some of the wrestlers started to retire and others jumped ship. Things were pretty bad by 2002. The company should have closed but Commando Bolshoi found a way to keep JWP going and they're even on TV now. They still don't draw. They couldn't even fill Korakuen Hall for a big show and they run too many shows in front of too few fans. But JWP has improved a lot over the last couple of years but that's not saying very much.





Former JWP wrestlers Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki, Dynamite Kansai, Ran YuYu & Carlos Amano returned for this show. Also retired JWP wrestlers Hikari Fukuoka, Cuty Suzuki, Kana Mizaki & Hiromi Yagi. Yagi was an excellent wrestler who unfortunately never got a proper retirement show. As many of you are aware, I am a huge Hikari Fukuoka fan. She looks fantastic and has a child. Cuty Suzuki was very popular in her day. Cuty got married in May of last year and is expecting her first child in July.





Devil Masami, Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai returned for a special 15th anniversary 6 woman tag match. It would be Kayoko Haruyama, Kaori Yoneyama & Devil Masami vs Commando Bolshoi, Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai. It was said to be a very good match with the "old timers" really delivering the goods. Haruyama won over Bolshoi in 19:17. The main event had Manami Toyota winning the JWP Open Weight Title from Tsubasa Kuragaki. Kauragaki put on a very spirited defense but Toyota won with the Queen Bee Bomb at 29:57. Here's the results of the show.


JWP - 5/28/06 - Korakuen Hall
KAZUKI def. Sachie Abe in 10:30
GAMI & Ayumi Kurihara def. ECO & Yasusato Nakajima (GAMI over Nakajima in 17:30)Kayoko Haruyama, Kaori Yoneyama & Devil Masami def. Commando Bolshoi, Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai (Haruyama over Bolshoi in 19:17)
Azumi Hyuga & Ran YuYu def. Carlos Amano & Yuki Miyazaki (Hyuga over Miyazaki in 22:08)
JWP OPEN WEIGHT TITLE MATCH:Manami Yoyota won the title over Tsubasa Kuragaki in 29:57)

Two matches added to June 11 G-Shooto show

Two more matches have been added to G-Shooto's June 11 show at Kitazawa Town Hall. Here's the updated card. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds.






G-SHOOTO - 6/11/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
STRAWWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL-Masako Yoshida vs Ikuko Tamada
CLASS C+ 48KG BOUT-Misaki Takimoto vs Maho Muranami
CLASS C+ 49KG BOUT-Eri Kanetari vs Yuka Okumura
CLASS C+ 52KG BOUT-Youko vs Seri
CLASS C+ 48KG BOUT-Wakako Sunayama vs Madoka Ebihara
CLASS C+ 58KG BOUT-Miyuki Ariga vs Mamitora

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Tower Of Power
Song:Back On The Streets Again
Album:What Is Hip?:The Tower Of Power Anthology




Jazz/rock horn bands were very popular in the late 60s but San Francisco's Tower Of Power probably had the best horn sound. They were popular with other musicians and would turn up on plenty of sessions. The group was led by tenor saxman Emilio Castillo, baritone saxman Stephen Kupka & trumpeter Greg Adams and added singer Lenny Williams for their big hit You're Still A Young Man. Castillo & Kupka wrote most of the songs including Back On The Streets Again from their first record East Bay Grease. What Is Hip? is a 2CD comp from Rhino and is the one to get if you like funk and you want to get into these guys. Tower Of Power continued to record into the 80s & 90s but you're best to stick with their 70s Warner Bros. recordings.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:John Coltrane
Song:Impressions
Album:The Complete 1961 Village Vanguard Recordings





Because the recordings from these sessions are spread out over several releases, this 4CD box set is probably the best way to get them. Mostly it features the "Classic" John Coltrane quartet; John Coltrane-tenor sax, McCoy Tyner-piano, Jimmy Garrison-bass, Elvin Jones-drums. Eric Dolphy also appears on alto sax on some songs. Impressions features the quartet and is a tremendous performance. Considering that John Coltrane died at age 40 of liver cancer in 1967, he has had more impact than any musician in jazz history.

Kasey Kahne wins Coca Cola 600

The main issue at Sunday's Coca Cola 600 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in Charlotte in the NASCAR Nextel Cup was pit strategy. This was because NASCAR mandated smaller 13 gallon fuel tanks at Charlotte meaning more pit stops. This was done because of tire problems at Charlotte last year and they wanted that minimized by shorter runs. But with the track repaved and Goodyear providing a more durable tire, it wasn't necessary and will likely be changed for the fall race. So there were a lot of leaders during the race mostly due to varying pit strategies. The Ray Evernham Dodges looked strong with Scott Riggs & Jeremy Mayfield in the front row.




For the second night in a row, a tire problem forced Tony Stewart-#20 Home Depot Chevy into the wall hard on lap 34. And for the second night in a row, Tony was taken to the hospital. He was diagnosed with a broken right scapula and it is not known if he will race next week at Dover. I'll bet that he does. The other major incident was at lap 314 when Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline Dodge lost control and bumped Kyle Busch-#5 Kellogg's/Disney Pixar Cars Chevy into the wall and out of the race. Busch proceeded to throw part of his HANS device at Mears. There will be some discipline for this. Like his brother, Kyle needs to control his temper better.





The pattern for the race was whoever was leading would pull away until the next pit stop. The lead would change depending on how many tires you took or if you took tires at all. The guys are mostly pitting for fuel. Scott Riggs-#10 Valvoline Dodge & Kasey Kahne-#9 UAW Dodge Dealers Dodge seemed to emerge as the strongest cars. But a pit mistake at the wrong time killed Riggs. On a green flag pit stop on lap 362, Riggs stalled his car and then his pit crew took equipment out of the pit while trying to push him. Jeff Gordon-#24 Dupont Chevy hit the wall to bring out a caution on lap 363 so the penalty to Riggs wasn't as bad. He was sent to the back of the longest line on the restart. But it cost him a possible win and he finished 13th.





Carl Edwards-#99 Office Depot Ford led on the restart followed by Kasey Kahne & Jimmie Johnson-#48 Lowe's Chevy. Kahne took the lead on lap 371 followed by Johnson. Johnson closed the gap but Kahne held on for the win.





Congratulations to Kasey Kahne, crew chief Kenny Francis and car owner Ray Evernham for the victory. Big top ten finishes for Jamie McMurray who has had a tough year as well as rookies Denny Hamlin & Reed Sorenson. Jimmie Johnson still leads the points. Next week the Nextel Cup boys are in Dover, DE. Here's the top ten of the race.






#/Driver/Sponsor/Make/Owner
1.9/Kasey Kahne/UAW Dodge Dealers/Dodge/Ray Evernham
2.48/Jimmie Johnson/Lowe's/Chevy/Rick Hendrick
3.99/Carl Edwards/Office Depot/Ford/Jack Roush
4.6/Mark Martin/AAA/Ford/Jack Roush
5.17/Matt Kenseth/R & L Carriers/Ford/Jack Roush
6.31/Jeff Burton/Cingular/Chevy/Richard Childress
7.16/Greg Biffle/National Guard/Ford/Jack Roush
8.26/Jamie McMurray/Smirnoff Ice/Ford/Jack Roush
9.11/Denny Hamlin/FedEx/Chevy/Joe Gibbs
10.41/Reed Sorenson/Target/Dodge/Chip Ganassi

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Chaka Khan
Song:I'm Every Woman
Album:Epiphany:The Best Of Chaka Khan Vol. 1




Chaka Khan became known as lead singer of the group Rufus. When she left the group she became even more popular. Though she is closely identified with I'm Every Woman, it was written and produced by uber producers Valerie Simpson & Nick Ashford. When Whitney Houston covered the song it was interpreted as a tribute to Chaka but Val was in the video too. This collection is probably worth getting. Chaka hasn't made a decent record since the 80s.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Roy Hargrove
Song:Forget Regret
Album:Hard Factor




Roy Hargrove is one of the Young Lions of today's jazz. He became a musician when Wynton Marsalis visited his high school in Waco, TX and Marsalis asked Hargrove to sit in with his band. Hargrove his a great trumpeter but he has also ventured into R & B territory with his group RH Factor. That's what he's done with Hard Factor. He likes to work with a lot of the Philly Neo Soul artists. Forget Regret features Erykah Badu on vocals. He still does jazz recordings but recently has concentrated more on RH Factor. The guy is good regardless.

Carl Edwards wins Charlotte Busch Series race

Sometimes in racing a race car driver doesn't actually win a race but another driver actually loses the race. That's what happened at Saturday's Carquest Auto Parts 300 NASCAR Busch Series race at Lowe's Motor Speedway at Charlotte. Matt Kenseth won the pole for the race.



Jamie McMurray-#64 Top Flite Golf Dodge & Tony Stewart-#33 Old Spice Chevy crashed very hard early in the race. Both guys were taken to hospital as a precaution but are OK. Thank God for the SAFR barriers. Concrete would have been catastrophic. The caution for Tony's crash was followed by a long green run dominated by Matt Kenseth-#17 Ameriquest Ford. He lapped most of the field.




Unfortunately, Kenseth blew an engine on a restart and Casey Mears-#42 Texaco Havoline Dodge took the lead. Mears' crew chief Todd Parrott decided not to stop to take fuel and tried to run 80 laps on a tank of fuel. Everyone else took on fuel. So when Mears sputtered with six laps left, he lost the race and finished fourth. Carl Edwards-#60 Ameriquest Ford won the race. Kevin Harvick still leads the points race.

Shantelle Taylor signs with the WWE

As expected, Toronto based wrestler Shantelle Taylor has signed a developmental contract with the WWE. She announced this on her website today. The rumours started last week when Shantelle cancelled out of the SHIMMER tapings. The WWE will get her working papers in order and then she will report to Deep South.

Ron Hornaday wins Mansfield Craftsman Truck race

The race track at Mansfield, OH is one of those half mile tracks that is very difficult to race on because you can't pass. So pit strategy would be very important. Teammates Todd Bodine-#30 Lumber Liquidators Toyota & Ted Musgrave-#9 ASE Toyota led early. Their strategy was to pit halfway through the 250 lap race. But they lost track position and were never able to get it back. They finished 15th & 16th respectively. Musgrave complained about the track afterwards. He said they shouldn't be racing there.



Ron Hornaday-#33 Kevin Harvick Inc. Chevy led at the halfway point followed by Jack Sprague-#60 Con-Way Freight Toyota & David Starr-#11 Red Horse Racing Toyota. This brought back memories of battles between Hornaday & Sprague from the 90s. Hornaday held off Sprague for the win. Todd Bodine still leads the points race.

Sendai Girls announces card for debut show

Sendai Girls has announced the lineup for their debut on July 9 at Sendai SunPlaza. As previously announced, the main event will be Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong. The theme of the show is Senjo vs Outsiders. Where do you think Satomura got that idea? She is taking her four trainees and they will all have their debut matches on this show against veterans. Four debut matches and the main event. That's it. Though I can appreciate what Satomura is trying to do to revive the joshi business, this is not a good idea for a debut show. Unless these rookies are extraordinary, this has the potential to be a major train wreck. Here's the lineup.





SENDAI GIRLS - 7/9/06 - Sendai SunPlaza
Mariko Yoshida vs Yurie Kaneko
Mayumi Ozaki vs Akari Okuda
Dynamite Kansai vs Chisako Kanari
Kyoko Inoue vs Sachiko Kanari
Meiko Satomura vs Aja Kong

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Eric Dolphy
Song:Out To Lunch
Album:Out To Lunch




Like Ornette Coleman, alto sax player Eric Dolphy was criticized by the jazz establishment for being too "out there". Years later, Dolphy is considered a major influence on the avant garde jazz sound though he wasn't around very long. Out To Lunch is probably his best known record and features Freddie Hubbard on trumpet & Bobby Hutcherson on vibes. Like a lot of jazz musicians in the 60s, Dolphy moved to Europe to make a better living. Out To Lunch was recorded in Jan. 1964 and Dolphy died in June 1964 from a diabetic coma at age 36. It speaks to the power of his music that Out To Lunch is still a big seller for Blue Note.

Big Winner Take All main event announced for June 30 Smackgirl show

Smackgirl has announced that the main event for their June 30 Korakuen Hall show is a Winner Take All match between Yuka Tsuji & WINDY Tomomi. Not only is this likely to be the biggest womens MMA match this year but it may be the most important match in Smackgirl history because of the attention it's going to get. It will be a standard MMA rules match for three five minute rounds with the stipulation that the winner of the match gets all the prize money.





Yuka Tsuji is the current Smackgirl Lightweight Champion and is also the number one ranked fighter today. She is 12-0 and has defeated Hisae Watanabe, Erica Montoya and she also defeated Tomomi four years ago. Like her pal Hisae Watanabe, WINDY Tomomi is a kickboxer and the current IKMF Oriental Womens Bantamweight Champion. She has been training at Pancrase and has improved tremendously in the last couple of years. She is on a five match winning streak and called out Tsuji at her last match as she wants revenge for her loss four years ago. It should be a great match but if Tsuji wins it will cement her status as the number one female MMA fighter in the world today. Here's the card to date. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds unless noted otherwise.






SMACKGIRL - 6/30/06 - Korakuen Hall
OPEN WEIGHT BOUT-Youko Takahashi vs Michiko Takeda
2006 NEXT CINDERELLA TOURNAMENT MIDDLEWEIGHT SEMI FINAL-SakuraNakamura vs Miki Morifuji
2006 NEXT CINDERELLA TOURNAMENT FLYWEIGHT SEMI FINAL-Taeko Nagamine vsFukuko Hamada
WINNER TAKE ALL 52KG BOUT-3 5 min. rounds-Yuka Tsuji vs WINDY Tomomi

A tribute to the oblivious

One of the things I've learned since running around in this power chair is that people in the street are so oblivious to everything around them that I'm considering getting a horn for this thing. This morning I almost had a big accident. I was rolling down Lakeshore Blvd. W. to McDonalds for breakfast when a young woman came out of one of the storefronts and literally walked into my chair while I was moving. I had a split second to warn her or I certainly would have collided with her. A horn wouldn't have helped. I don't know what would have happened and I'm surprised I didn't run her over with my rear tires. This just illustrates how people need to be more alert walking down the street. I am trying to kill a pigeon with my chair. ROADKILL! Just kidding.



Next week is the People In Motion show at the Queen Elizabeth Building at the CNE. It's a free trade show for the disabled. All the wheelchair and van vendors will be there and if you're in the market for either of those things you should go. Of course as a trade show veteran, it's a good place to get free pens too. The show is June 2 & 3. I'm probably going on the Saturday. I went last year while at Lyndhurst and I am writing about the show for the Canadian Parapelegic Association. Hope to see you there. Maybe I'll buy a horn while I'm there.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:The Impressions
Song:Keep On Pushing
Album:20th Century Masters:The Definitive Collection:Curtis Mayfield & The Impressions




When Jerry Butler & Curtis Mayfield got together in 1957, little did they know that The Impressions and subsequently Curtis Mayfield would turn out to be a major influence in R & B music and the civil rights movement. Mayfield took his church background and combined it with his political beliefs to write classics like Keep On Pushing, Amen & People Get Ready. Of course he also went solo with Superfly. This budget comp is OK but the 2CD Anthology comp released in 1992 is better. Mayfield became paralyzed in 1990 when a light standard fell on him while he was performing on stage. He continued to make great music until his death in 1999. Curtis Mayfield is a true legend of modern music.

Three bouts added to June 11 G-Shooto show

G-Shooto has added three bouts to their June 11 show at Kitazawa Town Hall. They had already announced the Strawweight Tournament final between Masako Yoshida & Ikuko Tamada. Here's the card so far. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds.





G-SHOOTO - 6/11/06 - Kitazawa Town Hal
lSTRAWWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAL-Masako Yoshida vs Ikuko Tamada
CLASS C+ 48KG BOUT-Misaki Takimoto vs Maho Muranami
CLASS C+ 49KG BOUT-Eri Kanetari vs Yuka Okumura
CLASS C+ 52KG BOUT-Youko vs Seri

New Japan star Minoru had a WWE tryout

You may recall that a couple of weeks ago Simon Inoki of New Japan said that he has talked to John Laurinitis about renting wrestlers to the WWE. You may also recall that New Japan star Minoru appeared on the recent TNA PPV. I don't know how much truth there is to what Inoki said but it appears that Minoru had a WWE tryout while in the US




According to the Multiple Romantic blog in Japan, Minoru was scheduled to go to the CMLL in Mexico after working for TNA in Orlando. It seems that Minoru is old pals with Funaki. Funaki invited him to a WWE tryout. So he cancelled his trip to Mexico and went to San Diego and had a tryout before the Smackdown tapings. Ricky Steamboat, Dean Malenko & John Laurinitis were all very impressed with him and Laurinitis told him to come to the WWE if there is no problem with his New Japan contract. Minoru declined the offer. Funaki asked him why and Minoru said that for now his goal is to win the X Division Title in TNA. This was reported in Weekly Fight magazine. So though we don't know if the WWE are interested in renting New Japan wrestlers this certainly indicates the WWE is interested in signing New Japan wrestlers.

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Winans Phase 2
Song:Who Do You Love
Album:We Got Next




Marvin Winans Jr., Mike Winans Jr., Carvin Winans III & Juan "Coconut" Winans are all sons of the original Winans brothers. A third generation of great talent. They were still teenagers when this CD came out in 1999. It did very well but they've never done a follow up. They used a lot of hot producers like Narada Michael Walden, Rodney Jerkins & their uncle Cedric Caldwell (he's married to aunt Angie). Coconut even does a rap about Winans family history. These guys are still around doing other things (Coconut worked with his mom Vickie Winans) but I sure would like to see them reunite.

Smackgirl announces Youko Takahashi 10th anniversary show

Smackgirl has announced that their June 30 show at Korakuen Hall will be a celebration of Youko Takahashi's tenth anniversary in MMA. Takahashi has been a Smackgirl regular since 2001 and usually trains with Megumi Yabushita at the soon to be closed SOD dojo. Her opponent will be Michiko Takeda. Smackgirl also announced a couple of semi final matches in the 2006 Next Cinderella Tournaments. Here's the card to date. All matches are scheduled for two five minute rounds.





SMACKGIRL - 6/30/06 - Korakuen Hall
OPEN WEIGHT BOUT-Youko Takahashi vs Michiko Takeda
2006 NEXT CINDERELLA TOURNAMENT MIDDLEWEIGHT SEMI FINAL-Sakura Nakamura vs Miki Morifuji
2006 NEXT CINDERELLA TOURNAMENT FLYWEIGHT SEMI FINAL-Taeko Nagamine vs Fukuko Hamada

Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day

Artist:Tarralyn Ramsey
Song:Where We Are
Album:Tarralyn Ramsey




Tarralyn Ramsey is a young singer who had a false start to her career on the gospel label Verity. She made a very good record for them in 2000 and it just didn't go anywhere. Then she won a talent contest on the Disney Channel which got her a contract at the newly relaunched Casablanca Records. The producer of the talent show Cory Rooney is behind her career now. The CD did pretty well when it came out in 2004. I really like her voice and that she's switched to a more mainstream style doesn't bother me. I'm not sure what happened at Verity but I suspect there may have been unkept promises about releasing her CD on Verity's more mainstream sister label Jive.