Basic Training - April '13

April 2013

Field Leader: Darius

Allow me to formally introduce myself to all of the long time readers of this show. I am Darius, the new Field Leader of Basic Training and the Front Lines. I will be presenting these events in the same journal format as our previous Champion, Matt Rivers did. I take copious notes on the competitors involved for every show. But these are only the comments fit to print. As Field Leader, I believe I have a duty to every wrestler on this roster to make them the best they can be. And sometimes that means withholding public information from their rivals that could be used to halt their progress. And besides, there's nothing wrong with a little mystery in life, whether it regards suplexes or surnames. Now, let's get to the show.


Our first two wrestlers tonight embody mystery through the donning of their masks. El Verde Fantasma is going to be facing Golden Tiger who debuted a few months ago in a victorious effort over Thomas Mills. We know very little about this man beyond the biography he submitted to UBL offices. When it appeared he was going to address the audience after his win, he declined and went to the back. As for Verde, he is incredibly talented as I found out in the first round of the Field Leader Title Tournament. But he has suffered a losing streak as of late, with his last defeat to the man I will be facing later tonight, Kazuo Saji. But I believe Verde is ready to bring his best tonight. And Golden Tiger will have to work hard to catch up.


Match 1 - El Verde Fantasma vs. Golden Tiger

Verde has the speed advantage but Tiger is more powerful. This dynamic controls the entire match with one twist: Verde's experience edge. Although Tiger is able to maneuver Verde around the ring with ease, Verde uses his own careening momentum to his own advantage and keeps Tiger off balance with counters. One counter even got a standing ovation out of the crowd. Tiger irish whipped Verde to the ropes so hard that Verde was almost sent through the middle and top rope. However, Verde held onto the top rope which allowed his body to slingshot and flip backwards into the ring into a bicycle kick on a charging Tiger. The fans were impressed at Verde's body control as well as Tiger's ability to kick out of that one.

Verde let loose with a variety of high risk aerial maneuvers. But Tiger finally caught him in mid-air, during an attempted rebound elbow, and delivered a punishing german suplex. Verde kicked out at 2 but Tiger sensed that he had Verde dazed enough to go in for the kill. He started to set up for a Tiger Suplex but Verde still had some fight left in him. Tiger was unable to hook both arms though which gave Verde the opportunity to grab Tiger's neck from behind and to transition into his version of the Asai DDT called the "Tirón del fantasm" (Flipping Fantasm) for the win.

The crowd gave both men a standing ovation. Verde held his hand out for a shake but Tiger left. I do not think he was trying to disrespect Verde though, he just does not seem one for much interaction with the fans and other wrestlers. I have not been able to elicit much reaction out of him in the gym either but I am respectful of his desire to keep his own distance.


Now we come to the match that I am calling the "Second chance" Battle Royale. I believe strongly in granting second chances because people should be given the opportunity to learn from their mistakes. The wrestlers I have chosen tonight fall into that category. They have all competed on the UBL roster in the past and have either not taken their opportunity seriously enough or did not play by the rules. They must do both if they expect to win tonight.

The victor of tonight's match, under time entry rules, will be given a permament spot on the Front Lines roster. The four runner ups will be entered into the "Gimmick Battle Royale" at "Silent Knight". If any of them wins that match, they will also get a spot on our roster. And until Silent Knight, they will be eligible to compete on Live Shows.

Match 2: "Second Chance Battle Royale"


Time for the most heated match on the show. Yoshiro defeated Kurt Sanders in the first round of the Field Leader Title Tournament earlier this year. Kurt ran into trouble putting Yoshiro away. But rather then adjust his strategy or intensify his efforts, he chose to smash a steel chair over Yoshiro's head to earn an ignoble disqualification. He also gained a new enemy in Yoshiro's mentor, the Marauder, who was furious at this display of violence. Yoshiro was not as concerned at Kurt's behavior until it contributed to his loss against myself. Although I maintain that it was my clever counter to his attempted german suplex that put him away, I do not discount the degree of which he had already been distracted by Kurt. Both men have a lot to prove here. Kurt wants to show that he can beat Yoshiro and Yoshiro wants to prove that a steel chair hitting his head isn't his only way to win against Kurt. Both men also need to show that they can stick to their strategy without getting distracted by opponents who seem to get to them. I do not think we are going to see a very clean match here and my guess is that Kurt Sanders is going to get hit with sanctions once again.


Match 3 - Yoshiro vs. Kurt Sanders

Kurt wastes no time in proving me right by immediately raking Yoshiro's eyes. But let this be a lesson to rule breakers everywhere, cheating alone will not win matches. After the rake to the eyes, Kurt elbows Yoshiro in his head to no effect other then a hurt elbow and an angrier Yoshiro. However, Yoshiro made a big mistake by playing into that anger and chasing the much quicker Kurt around the ring and getting winded, as a result. Then Kurt tries another punch to the head to no effect beyond my sighing. I'm sure Kurt's plan was to anger Yoshiro into making a mistake but the repeated attempts to injure Yoshiro's head keep backfiring. Both of these men need to reassess their plans.

They lock up again and Yoshiro turns it into a bearhug. Kurt's arms are trapped which could be by mere incident or design. Although this weakens Yoshiro's hold on Kurt's chest, it prevents Kurt from attempting any eye rakes. And luckily for Kurt, his own memory and common senses have prevented him from attempting a headbutt. Kurt, sensing the trouble he is in, attempts to knee Yoshiro but the sumo's girth prevents any real damage. The look of panic starts to spread through Kurt's face and a strand of saliva falls out. Yoshiro is squeezing the life out of him but then Kurt smiles and spits right in Yoshiro's eyes. He keeps doing it until Yoshiro breaks the hold. Is this legal? I can't imagine that it will be after tonight if it already was. But it is effective. Yoshiro releases the hold and takes a few seconds to clean his eyes out. And that's all the time Kurt needs to dropkick Yoshiro right in his knee as hard as he can. Yoshiro goes down but only on that one knee. Then Kurt hits a shining...no, that's not a knee. He just used his own groin. Kurt just hit a Shining Groin. This is why I won't be offering Kurt any Title shots anytime soon and why I am somewhat disappointed that I have to cover his matches.

However, the move was effective. Yoshiro is down and appears to be more concerned with getting the taste out of his mouth then any pain. Kurt re-targets Yoshiro's knee and begins applying some rudimentary leg locks: Nothing very complicated because Yoshiro's leg is too big to maneuver. Kurt keeps the pressure on and stops Yoshiro from getting up or mounting any offense. This isn't pretty for a crowd who wants more action, and is largely rooting for Yoshiro, but Kurt is doing the right thing in keeping the big man down while weakening his leg. It would be easier for me to watch if he also wasn't shouting insults at Yoshiro of which I will not repeat. Finally, Yoshiro manages to drag himself to the ropes and the ref breaks the hold, but not before Kurt drops down on Yoshiro's leg with his rear end, doing more damage and insult.

Yoshiro slowly stands up by using the assistance of the turnbuckle. And we already saw this mistake made by Thomas Mills at the Live Show a few weeks ago. But rather then using a running kick like Bones did, Kurt utilizes a maneuver he calls "Butt Hurt", a running 'hip' drop to Yoshiro's face. Yoshiro again is disgusted and Kurt is laughing. He grabs Yoshiro by the hair and attempts to slam him face down to the mat. But Yoshiro blocks it with his pure power. Kurt retries this maneuver but Yoshiro blocks it again. Then Kurt spits in Yoshiro's face for the second time this match.

Yoshiro lets out a battle cry...and headbutts Kurt right in the nose. There is blood everywhere. I think Kurt has a broken nose. The ref is unsure of what to do and Kurt rolls out of the ring screaming in agony. I think he's also blinded by the blood. The ref is counting and meanwhile, Yoshiro has a stoic expression on his face. I don't know if he feels that he went too far, I'm not sure that I feel that he went too far. But remember, Yoshiro's head has resisted feeling the pain of a steel chair. That headbutt is a weapon and Kurt is the victim of it due to his own taunting. And the ref has made it official. Yoshiro wins once again by disqualification, this time by count-out. Kurt runs backstage toward the medics while Yoshiro slowly walks to the back, wiping Kurt's blood off of his forehead. If anyone had any lingering doubts that this rivalry was going to continue, they should be allayed now.


And now we turn to the main event of the night, which I am in. I respect and admire our previous Field Leader, Matt Rivers. But I think he did not utilize the best judgment in keeping Kazuo Saji out of the Field Leader Title Tournament. Although I am not entirely sure why he did so, I suspect it was due to a personal encounter of some sort. Nevertheless, one of the more promising rookie talents in our sport was kept out of the competition for the Title that I now hold as a direct result of that competition. From where I stand, he deserves a chance to face me with the Title on the line. I don't do this merely because I think I can beat him, but to give him the chance to show that he could have beaten me in the tournament. And after his head-turning display at E3 Super Clash, I do not believe that this promotion would have legitimacy if we kept our Titles away from his contention. But now he must prove himself truly worthy to be in the ring with a Field Leader.

Field Leader Championship

Match 4: Kazuo "Chrome" Saji vs. Darius


We will see you at the next Basic Training show scheduled for May.