Stars from Across the Puroresu World Literally Tear the House Down at Shinjuku FACE Meishin Rukotsu

By: Noah Leatherland

The weeks leading up to the closure of Shinjuku FACE has seen various promotions taking part in the Countdown Series. Together, faces from across the puroresu world gathered to take part in the final event at the venue.

Dozens took part in the action, from those announced as well as the very many that appeared in the staggered entry Many Thanks Battle Royal. The scheduled main event saw Sareee team with the legend Mayumi Ozaki to take on the duo of Chihiro Hashimoto and the famed Aja Kong.

The bout had plenty of chaos anyway, with Ozaki’s seconds, Yumi Ohka and POLICE, helping Ozaki punish Hashimoto with a chain. The action spilled out of the ring and across Shinjuku FACE. Madness ensued, with Ozaki and Hashimoto taking turns trying to bludgeon each other with a hammer, and leaving holes in the arena walls. The four competitors were counted out and the match ruled a no contest.

However, Ozaki grabbed the microphone and demanded overtime to destroy Shinjuku FACE. The locker room emptied and wrestlers flooded out of both entrance ways. Hashimoto, Sareee, Ozaki and Kong continued to brawl, while others took turns fighting each other or made an early start on the demolition project. Chris Brookes chipped pieces out of the walls with steel chairs. MAO rammed anyone in his path on a bicycle. Minoru Suzuki ripped metal barricades out of their place. Every available space was filled with some kind of chaos.

Ozaki and POLICE ended up pinned in the corner of the ring, with a seemingly endless number of wrestlers taking their chance to charge in.

The last one to get a hit in on Ozaki was Shinjuku FACE Manager Yuka Ogawa. With Hashimoto and Kong, Ogawa pinned Ozaki to bring an end to the unofficial match. From there, memories and feelings were shared as the staff, talent and fans said goodbye to Shinjuku FACE. Ogawa, who won the DDT Iron Man Heavymetalweight Title earlier in the night, placed the belt down in the ring, with Shinjuku FACE itself becoming champion.

As of midnight in Japan, Shinjuku FACE’s reign as Iron Man Heavymetalweight Champion came to an end as the venue was closed for the final time.