9/9 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,509
In a match under kakutogi rules, Ishikawa made Rick Lee submit to a hadakajime at 2:10 of R4.
Otsuka KO'd Murakami with a German suplex at 7:44.
Carl Malenko & Matsui defeated Usuda & Ono when Matsui made Ono submit to a hadakajime at 11:19.
Masato Tanaka & junji.com beat Hidaka & Yone when Tanaka used a henkei Tazmission on Hidaka at 17:22.

8/22 Miyagi Zepp Sendai 366
Young Generation 2001 Tournament Semifinals:
Ishikawa used a hadakajime to TKO Yone at 9:25.
Usuda drew Hidaka 20:00 then KO'd him at 1:25 of the extension with a high kick. The final is on 8/25.

8/20 Tokushima Shi Taiikukan 332
Young Generation 2001 Tournament 1st Round:
Ishikawa made Otsuka submit to a bogatame (bladder hold?) at 9:14.
Yone made Super Rider submit to an Argentine backbreaker at 8:39.

8/18 Masuda Shimin Taiikukan 754
Young Generation 2001 Tournament 1st Round:
Hidaka made Carl Malenko submit to the Shawn capture at 12:22.
Usuda made One submit to an udegatame at 8:43.

7/25 Hamanako Kyotei Jonai Hall 7,221
Ishikawa & Yone went to a 15:00 draw with Masato Tanaka & Jado
Super Rider defeated Hidaka at 10:14.
Kaori Nakayama pinned Yuka Nakamura at 7:40.
Hoshikawa pinned Ono in a German suplex hold at 9:01.

7/5 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,880
Masato Tanaka & Jado & Gedo beat Yuki Ishikawa in a handicap match when Tanaka pinned Ishikawa at 13:10.
Matsui & Carl Malenko defeated Otani & Hidaka when Matsui made Hidaka submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 11:46.
Usuda pinned Tatsuhito Takaiwa at 6:13 following a kakato otoshi.

3/1 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,601
Murakami vs. Yone was declared a no contest after 59 seconds. Fans were so pissed that the main event didn't even last a minute, especially after Otsuka's match didn't even last 4, that there was nearly a riot.
Otsuka TKO'd Fujiwara by making him "pass out" in a hadakajime at 3:52.
Carl Malenko & Daijiro Matsui beat Usuda & Hidaka when Malenko used the Carl sickle on Usuda at 11:59.

1/7 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,752
Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammad Yone beat Kazunari Murakami & Alexander Otsuka when Yone made Otsuka submit to the rakudagatame (camel clutch) at 14:13.
Katsumi Usuda successfully defended the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken, forcing junji.com to submit to an udegatame at 12:48.

The lineup for the major BATTLARTS NEVER DIE show on 11/26 at Tokyo Kitazawa Olympic Koen Taiikukan is as follows:
Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami
Alexander Otsuka vs. Giant Ochiai
Mohammad Yone vs. Mitsuya Nagai
Katsumi Usuda defending the Independent Junior Heavykyu Senshuken against previous champion Naoyuki Taira
Tiger Mask vs. Naoki Sano
Ikuto Hidaka vs. Daijiro Matsui
Takeshi Ono vs. Tachihikari

11/3 Saitama Toda Kyotei Jonai Rainbow Hall
Yuki Ishikawa beat Minoru Tanaka via ref stop at 13:50.
Alexander Otsuka made Katsumi Usuda submit to a hizajujigatame at 8:42.

10/8 Tokushima Bunka 609
Alexander Otsuka faced Yuki Ishikawa again, but this time Otsuka K.O.'d Ishikawa at 11:12..
Kazunari Murakami & Naoyuki Taira defeated Katsumi Usuda & Takeshi Ono when Murakami made Ono submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 10:04.
Dos Caras & Carl Malenko beat junji.com & SAITO when Dos pinned junji in his flying body attack at 16:03.

10/7 Osaka Furitsu Taiikukaikan 2 654
Yuki Ishikawa went to a 30:00 draw with Alexander Otsuka.
Mitsuya Nagai made Rastaman submit to a sleeper hold at 5:55.
Dos Caras & Naoyuki Taira defeated SAITO & Katsumi Usuda when Dos pinned SAITO in a flying body press at 17:19.

10/1 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,883
Alexander Otsuka & Mohammad Yone beat Animal Warrior & Rastaman Warrior when Alex pinned Rastaman at 6:36. Kensuke Sasaki, who formed the dominant Hellraisers team with Hawk in the early to mid '90's, and his wife Akira Hokuto were at the show to visit with The Road Warriors.
Mitsuya Nagai & Kazunari Murakami defeated Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko when Murakami K.O.'d Malenko at 11:20 with a barrage of punches.

Battlarts best wrestler, Minoru Tanaka, will have his Battlarts graduation match on 11/3 at Tokyo FM Hall. Tanaka, who has been working on most of the New Japan tours over the past few years, has now joined that promotion.
The major show of the year will be on 11/26 at Tokyo Kitazawa Olympic Koen Taiikukan with Yuki Ishikawa vs. Kazunari Murakami & Mohammed Yone vs. Mitsuya Nagai. Ikuto Hidaka might be able to return from his broken arm in time for this show.

9/30 Aichi Nagoya Rainbow Hall 3 1,480 sellout
Animal Warrior & Tiger Mask beat Kazunari Murakami & Katsumi Usuda when Animal pinned Usuda in all of 3:25.
Yuki Ishikawa made junji.com submit to a reverse sleeper hold at 10:53.
Alexander Otsuka made Tachihikari submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 6:09.

9/28 Fukuoka Across Fukuoka 721 or 620
Carl Malenko made Yuki Ishikawa submit to a hizajujigatame at 9:00.
Animal Warrior & Alex Warrior beat Hiroshi Kotsubo & junji.com when Animal pinned junji at 4:29 following double impact.
Mohammad Yone & Katsumi Usuda went to a 30:00 draw with Mitsuya Nagai & Tiger Mask.

9/27 Okuyama Oroshi Center Orange Hall 1,080 sellout
Katsumi Usuda made Yuki Ishikawa submit to a hizajujigatame at 10:53.
Animal Warrior & Alex Warrior beat Mitsuya Nagai & Ryuji Hijikata when Alex pinned Hijikata at 5:10.
Carl Malenko & Tachihikari defeated Mohammad Yone & Tiger Mask when Malenko used Carl shock on Yone at 16:05.

9/24 Shizuoka Act City Hamamatsu 924
Animal Warrior & Alex Warrior & Rastaman Warrior beat Mohammed Yone & Carl Malenko & Tachihikari when Animal powerbombed Carl at 5:28.
Naoyuki Taira successfully defended the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken, taking out Takeshi Ono at 11:06.

Hawk Warrior won't wrestle in Japan because doctors in America discoved he had a heart disease a bit before he was set to leave for the tour. Rastaman is probably going to become a Warrior now. Alexander Otsuka, as Alex Warrior, will now be in all matches involving Animal Warrior instead of just some. Otsuka is going to Russia in November with Kazuyuki Fujita to spar with Alexander Karelin.

9/7 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,533
Alexander Otsuka won this year's Young Generation Battle. After posting a 4-1 record to win A Block, Otsuka KO'd B Block runner up Mohammed Yone in the semifinal with a Dragon Suplex hold at 12:06. Otsuka followed this up by forcing Mitsuya Nagai, who hadn't lost a match in the league (he did draw with Yone) submit to a hizajujigatame at 10:50. Nagai had advanced to the final by making Katsumi Usuda submit at 13:39.
Yuki Ishikawa & Carl Malenko defeated Kazunari Murakami & Naoyuki Taira when Malenko used the Carl sickle on Taira at 16:46.

8/29 Gunma Kamata Iemoto Mise Tokubetsu Ring 1,237
Battlarts finished off the league portion of their Young Generation Battle with Alexander Otsuka (8) winning A Block when he made Carl Malenko 5 submit to an ashikubigatame at 9:27. Katsumi Usuda & Mick Tierney were tied for 2nd in A Block with 6, so they had a decision match to decide who would advance to the semifinals that Usuda won with a hizajujigatame at 5:26. The semifinals and final are on 9/7 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. I believe the semis are Otsuka vs. Mohammad Yone (2nd in B Block with 7 points) and Usuda vs. Mitsuya Nagai (1st in A Block with 9 points).

8/27 Tokyo FM Hall 186
Young Generation Battle league matches:
Alexander Otsuka (6) made Mick Tierney (6) submit to a key lock at 8:05.
Mohammad Yone (7).made Takeshi Ono (2) submit to his Argentine backbreaker at 10:45
Rastaman (6) beat Minoru Tanaka (4) with a Jamaican clutch at 2:19.
Ikuto Hidaka (5) went to a 20:00 draw with Carl Malenko (5).

8/20 Hokkaido Sapporo Teison Hall 932
Young Generation Battle league matches:
Mitsuya Nagai (9) went to a 20:00 draw with Mohammad Yone (5).
Katsumi Usuda (6) made Carl Malenko (2) submit to a sleeper hold at 9:15

Naoki Sano & Ikuto Hidaka beat Alexander Otsuka & Minoru Tanaka when Hidaka made Tanaka submit to his Shawn capture at 17:58.

8/19 Hokkaido Iwamizawa Sports Center
Young Generation Battle league matches:
Katsumi Usuda (4) made Alexander Otsuka (2) submit to a hizajujigatame at 12:33.
Rastaman (6) had a no contest with junji.com (0) at 6:30.
Carl Malenko (2) made Ryuji Hijikata (4) submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 11:23.

8/17 Saitama Toda Kyotei Jonai Event Hall 145
Minoru Tanaka & Ikuto Hidaka beat Katsumi Usuda & junji.com Tanaka made junji submit to a hizajujigatame at 10:08
Kayoko Haryuma pinned Tsubasa Kuragaki at 10:06 following a nadare shiki no powerslam. .
Ikuto Hidaka made SAITO sumbit to his Shawn capture at 12:02.

8/16 Kyoto Art Complex 102
Minoru Tanaka & Takeshi Ono beat Katsumi Usuda & Ikuto Hidaka when Ono made Hidaka submit to Onogatame at 12:22.
Mohammad Yone made SAITO sumbit to an Argentine backbreaker at 11:14.

8/13 Shimane Masuda Shimin Taiikukan
In Young Generation Battle league matches, Alexander Otsuka (2), who returned much earlier than expected, made Ikuto Hidaka
when the ref stopped the match at 14:20 because Hidaka was trapped in the hadakajime.
Minoru Tanaka made SAITO submit to a dobitski hizajujigatame at 10:56.

8/6 Chiba Taka Chomin Taiikukan 210
In Young Generation Battle league matches, Mohammad Yone (4) made Minoru Tanaka (2) submit to his hadakajime at 14:08, Ikuto Hidaka (2) made Katsumi Usuda (2) submit to his Shawn capture at 12:06, & Takeshi Ono (2) made junji.com (0) submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 11:52.
Yuki ishikawa made SAITO submit to a wakigatame at 9:09.

8/5 Saitama Honkawagoe Pepe Hall Atlas 240
Mohammad Yone beat Ikuto Hidaka when the ref stopped the match at 14:20 because Hidaka was trapped in the hadakajime.
Minoru Tanaka made SAITO submit to a dobitski hizajujigatame at 10:56.

7/29 Kanagawa Oiso Prince Hotel Bekkan 360
Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammad Yone beat Mitsuya Nagai & Katsumi Usuda when Ishikawa made Usuda submit to his ground manjigatame at 16:51.
In Young Generation Battle 2000 league matches, Minoru Tanaka (2) made junji.com submit to his Minoru special II at 10:43 & Mick Tierney (4) pinned Ikuto Hidaka (0) in a kubigatame at 7:33.

7/23 Tokyo FM Hall 200
In Young Generation Battle 2000 league matches, Mitsuya Nagai KO'd Rastaman at 5:05, Mick Tierney pinned Katsumi Usuda in a kubigatame at 6:48, and Mohammad Yone KO'd junji.com at 10:17.
Carl Malenko & Minoru Tanaka defeated Yuki Ishikawa & Ikuto Hidaka when Carl took out Hidaka at 18:00.

7/22 Aichi Nagoya Shi Sogo Taiikukan Rainbow Hall #3 550
In Young Generation Battle 2000 league matches, Mitsuya Nagai KO'd Minoru Tanaka with a high kick at 15:56 and Rastaman made Takeshi Ono submit to his Rastabar at 8:52.
Katsumi Usuda & Ikuto Hidaka defeated Yuki Ishikawa & junji.com when Usuda made junji submit to his sankakujime at 15:16.

7/20 Osaka IMP Hall 392 & 538
Day show
Naoyuki Taira made his first successfull defense of the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken, defeating Carl Malenko with his sparking flash at 11:27.
Azteca successfully defended his Hakata Lightheavykyu Senshuken, pinning junji.com at 13:12.
Ikuto Hidaka made SAITO submit to his Shawn capture at 13:49.

Night show
In Young Generation Battle 2000 league matches, Katsumi Usuda made Yuki Ishikawa submit to a hadakajime at 10:29, Rastaman KO'd Mohammad Yone at 10:42, & Mitsuya Nagai made junji.com submit to a gyakuebigatame at 10:35.

The Road Warriors will be on the Battlarts tour starting 9/23. Alexander Otsuka will change his name to Alex Warrior for one night, 10/1/00, to form a trio with them.

Alexander Otsuka is out of action until at least September with a functional disorder, so he'll miss PRIDE.10, a few matches for All Japan, and several Battlarts shows. His goal is to return in the first 10 days of September.

7/4 Yamagata Shi Sogo Sports Center 252
Mitsuya Nagai & Rastaman & Ikuto Hidaka beat Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka & Mohammad Yone when Rastaman KO'd Otsuka at 16:00.
Hiromi Yagi made Yuka Nakamura submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 7:14.

7/3 Fukushima Shi 328
Alexander Otsuka & Katsumi Usuda beat Yuki Ishikawa & junji.com when Kotsubo made Junji submit to a sleeper hold at 13:29.
Hiromi Yagi made Yuka Nakamura submit to an udehishigigyakujujigatame at 7:46.

7/2 Iwate Ichinoseki Bunka Center Taiikukan Sub Arena 316
Mitsuya Nagai & Ikuto Hidaka beat Mohamed Yone & Minoru Fujita when Nagai made Fujita submit to a chickenwing facelock at 15:21.
Rastaman & Hiroyoshi Kotsubo defeated Alexander Otsuka & Katsumi Usuda when Rasta used a Rastabar on Usuda at 12:58.
Yuki Ishikawa made junji.com (Mach Junji) submit to his ground shiki no manjigatame at 9:58.
Hiromi Yagi pinned Yuka Nakamura at 9:01 with her lancet arch.

7/1 Miyagi Sendai Shi Taiikukan Sub Arena 240
Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka beat Rastaman & Chad Collyer when Otsuka KO'd Collyer with a Dragon suplex at 9:54.
Hiromi Yagi pinned Yuka Nakamura at 8:11 with her lancet arch.

6/30 Aomori-ken Min Taiikukan Sub Arena 240
Mitsuya Nagai & Ikuto Hidaka beat Yuki Ishikawa & Minoru Fujita when Nagai made Fujita submit to a chickenwing facelock at 17:45.
Alexander Otsuka made Hiroyoshi Kotsubo submit to an akiresukengatame at 7:40.
Hiromi Yagi pinned Yuka Nakamura at 8:11 with her lancet arch.

6/29 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,749
Gran Hamada & Ayako Hamada became the first father and daughter team to hold tag titles, as they won the 14 team Battlarts & Michinoku & ARSION P*MIX GRAND PRIX Tournament. The Hamada's beat Tiger Mask & Hiromi Yagi in the semifinal when Ayako used her la Ayakita on Yagi at 10:51. Later, they beat Minoru Tanaka & Yumi Fukawa, who were fresh because they got to the final with a bye over Aja Kong & Yuki Ishikawa because Aja is injured, in the final when the Hamada's used a double nadare shiki no Hama-chan cutter on Tanaka at 13:41. After the match, Pentagon and Gran's eldest daughter Xochilt Hamada challenged Gran & Ayako to a title match. Pentagon & Xochilt are engaged, so it'll be a family feud.
Mari Apache made her second successful defense of the SKY HIGH OF ARSION, pinning AKINO in her Michinoku driver II at 12:36.

6/18 Tokyo FM Hall 210
Jiu Jitsu practicioner Naoyuki Taira took the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken from Katsumi Usuda in practically his first pro wrestling match. Taira won at 12:51 when Usuda submitted to a version of the figure 4.
Mohammad Yone & Minoru Tanaka beat Alexander Otsuka & Ikuto Hidaka when the ref stopped the match at 18:00.

6/10 Saitama Tokorozawa Kusunoki Hall 560
Mitsuya Nagai & Ikuto Hidaka beat Alexander Otsuka & Minoru Tanaka when Nagai made Tanaka submit to a haneori ganmenjime at 21:28.
Yuki Ishikawa made Ryuji Hijikata submit to a hadakajime at 12:30.

5/28 Tokyo FM Hall 219
Alexander Otsuka made Minoru Tanaka submit to an ashikubigatame at 13:02.
Yuki Ishikawa made Ikuto Hidaka submit to a hizajujigatame at 14:47.
Katsumi Usuda made Hiroyoshi Kotsubo submit to a sankakujime at 12:05.

5/20 Saitama Toda Kyotei Ba Rainbow Hall 17,520 sellout & 20,910 sellout (the Battlarts matches were not what drew these crowds)
In the first round of the P*MIX Gran Prix Tournament, Yuki Ishikawa & Aja Kong defeated Mohammad Yone & Rie Tamada when Aja gave Rie two urakens in a row at 13:11. Also, Tiger Mask & Hiromi Yagi beat Katsumi Usuda & Chihiro Nakano when Yagi made Nakano submit to the hizajujigatame at 17:13.

Alexander Otsuka & Minoru Tanaka & Mach Junji beat Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammad Yone & Ryuji Hijikata when Otsuka made Hijikata submit to a gyakuebigatame at 19:41.
Tony Jones KO'd Ikuto Hidaka with a German suplex at 6:18.

Battlarts lost their best wrestlers when 32-year-old Daisuke Ikeda declared free agency. Ikeda plans to concentrate more on competing in All Japan. He's been going back and forth between Battlarts & All Japan for the past 3 years, but was never pushed in All Japan because he was small and was on loan. He probably still won't get much of a push because no matter how good you are, that's pretty much what happens if you are an undersized guy in All Japan, but this should at least allow him to play a bigger role there.

5/14 Niigata Phase 334 sellout
Yuki Ishikawa & Minoru Tanaka beat Alexander Otsuka & Masaaki Mochizuki when Ishikawa made Mochizuki submit to his ground shiki no manjigatame at 18:37.
Mohammad Yone made Tony Jones submit to the hadakajime at 8:25.
Mitsuya Nagai & Ryuji Hijikata downed Katsumi Usuda & Ikuto Hidaka when Nagai KO'd Hidaka with a high kick at 13:51.

5/11 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 1,860 sellout
Mitsuya Nagai made Yuki Ishikawa submit to a heel hold at 13:57.
In a move most likely spurred by a spot in New Japan's BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. league opening up when WCW pulled their name wrestlers as usual, Katsumi Usuda won the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken when he made Minoru Tanaka submit to a hizajujigatame at 16:35.
Mohammad Yone & Takeshi Ono defeated Tony Jones of APW & Mach Junji when the referee stopped the match at 12:40 because Junji was trapped in Yone's finisher.
They had the first two two matches in the 28 person (one man and one woman per team) P*MIX GP Tournament with Tsubo Genjin & Gami Metal taking out Riley Shonen & Saya Genjin when Gami beat Riley at 14:37 and Ikuto Hidaka & AKINO beating Minoru Fujita & Ai Fujita when AKINO made Ai submit to the Shawn capture (a rolling takedown into a kneebar, which was the patented move of Shoichi "Shawn" Funaki before he did nothing but 2 minute jobs in sports entertainment land) at 14:29.

4/23 Tokyo FM Hall
Yuki Ishikawa made Katsumi Usuda submit to a hizajujigatame at 13:37.
Mohammad Yone beat Masaaki Mochizuki when the ref stopped the match at 13:38.

4/2 Honkawagoe Pepe Hall Atlas 400
Yuki Ishikawa & Katsumi Usuda defeated Mohammad Yone & Ryuji Hijikata when Usuda made Hijikata submit to an udegatame.
Minoru Tanaka made Minoru Fujita submit to a dobitski udehishigigyakujujigatame at 14:43.
Masaaki Mochizuki KO'd SAITO at 14:41 with a migi high kick.

3/25 Hokkaido Sapporo Teison Hall 1,180 sellout
Battlarts drew one of their better crowds outside of Korakuen Hall for a "loaded" show that featured a mixed tag match where Shinobu Kandori & Mach Junji beat Takeshi Ono & KAW*KAW in 12:54 when Junji used the Kandori special on KAW*KAW.
The main event saw Daisuke Ikeda TKO Katsumi Usuda at 16:43 when the ref stopped the match because Ikeda put Usuda out with a choke sleeper.
Yuki Ishikawa & Naoki Sano went to a 30:00 draw with Alexander Otsuka & Kazunari Murakami.
Minoru Tanaka made his second successful defense of the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken when he beat Ikuto Hidaka with his Minoru special II at 19:27.

3/18 Tokyo FM Hall 300 sellout
Battlarts had all singles matches, and the top three were all minor upsets.
In the main event, Alexander Otsuka made Yuki Ishikawa submit to a chickenwing armlock at 13:59.
Mohammad Yone KO'd Minoru Tanaka at 15:36.
Ikuto Hidaka made Takeshi Ono submit to an ashikubigatame at 12:53.
TAKA Michinoku made his return, working a 5:00 exhibition match with Mach Junji that of course went the distance.

Mach Junji, who was a member of the Tonpachi Machine Guns, has aligned himself with Shinobu Kandori to oppose that group. Junji was the member of the Tonpachi Machine Guns that Kandori beat in a singles match on 12/9/99, and the other members of the group weren't too thrilled that their guy lost to a woman (although I'm not sure that's why Junji is no longer with them). Kandori & Junji just had a special training session so Junji could teach Kandori some tricks to use on 3/25 against Takeshi Ono & KAWKAW. Kandori's partner in this match is still listed as X, and probably won't be Junji because he already has a match against Ryuji Hijikata.

3/12 Osaka IMP Hall 568 & 858 sellout
Katsumi Usuda won Battlarts annual JJC tournament to earn the final slot in the SUPER J-CUP. The first round of the 8 man tournament saw all the favorites win. Minoru Tanaka made SAITO submit to a hizajujigatame at 10:59, Usuda make Chocoball Kobe submit to an uraakiresukengatame (reverse Achilles' tendon hold), Ikuto Hidaka beat Asian Cougar in 9:19 with a misty flip, and Masaaki Mochizuki used a German suplex hold on Takashi Sasaki at 9:04. Usuda upset Minoru Tanaka in the semifinal, knocking him out with a high kick at 8:18. Hidaka also scored something of an upset when he beat Mochizuki with a kubigatame at 12:41. On the night show, Usuda made Hidaka submit to a hizajujigatame at 12:53 to win the tournament. This is a big blow to the J-CUP because Usuda is really nothing special. I have a hard time even thinking of him as a junior because even though he doesn't weigh much (he's supposed to be 185), he isn't quick or athletic and doesn't really wrestle "junior style." At least Tanaka, Hidaka, Mochizuki, and Cougar would have had a better first round match against MEN'S Teio. The good thing is that MEN'S should beat Usuda, which would set up the MEN'S vs. Jushin Thunder Liger match that I've wanted to see for a long time. It's possible that Liger vs. Tanaka would be better, but we can see them wrestle each other in New Japan so we don't need to see it here. Hidaka would have been ideal because he hasn't been around that long (although he isn't real young), but is quickly improving. On the other hand, Usuda has been around since 1993 and doesn't really seem any better or worse than he was when I first started seeing Battlarts in 1997.
They also had the annual King & Queen Tournament, and Yumi Fukawa actually won. Of course, Fukawa was teaming with powerhouses Alexander Otsuka & Mariko Yoshida, but we'll take it. In the first round they beat Mohammad Yone & the Apache sisters 3-2. The other first round match was Yuki Ishikawa & Candy Okutsu & Ai Fujita over Takeshi Ono & KAW*KAW & Etsuko Mita 3-1. In the final, Fukawa eliminated Ishikawa by throwing him over the top at 11:19. Alex made Ai submit to a hizajujigatame at 12:39, leaving little Candy to face all three opponents. Candy made a valiant effort, eliminating Otsuka by throwing him over the top rope at 19:10. Fukawa submitted at 19:47 when the horn dog Ishikawa approached her for a kiss. This left Candy vs. Yoshida, but Yoshida once again came out on top with an all hand lock III (?) at 21:00.

Minoru Tanaka will defend the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken against Ikuto Hidaka on 3/25 at Hokkaido Sapporo Teison Hall.

2/26 Aichi Nagoya Rainbow Hall 3 1,555 sellout
Yuki Ishikawa & Mohammad Yone defeated Daisuke Ikeda & Mitsuya Nagai in 20:37 when Yone used a kinniku (muscle) driver on Ikeda.
Minoru Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki beat Ikuto Hidaka & Minoru Fujita when Tanaka made Fujita submit to the udehishigigyakujujigatame at 16:04. I bet this was a really good match.

Battlarts will be cooperating with ARSION instead of JWP (they have more good looking women for Ishikawa to drool over) for the second King & Queen Tournament. It looks like they are doing a day night at Osaka IMP Hall instead of holding the tournament over two days. The teams are Yuki Ishikawa & Candy Okutsu & Ai Fujita, Alexander Otsuka & Mariko Yoshida & Yumi Fukawa, Mohammad Yone & Mari Apache & Fabi Apache, and Takeshi Ono & KAWKAW & Etsuko Mita.

2/13 Across Fukuoka 686
Minoru Tanaka made his first successful defense of the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken, taking out Hiroshi Kotsubo in 15:25 with his Minoru Special 1.
In the main event, Daisuke Ikeda & Mitsuya Nagai beat Yuki Ishikawa & Alexander Otsuka in 16:53 by TKO when the referee stopped the match because Ikeda choked the life out of Ishikawa with his hadakajime.

2/11 Kanagawa Club Citta Kawasaki 756 sellout
Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras beat Daisuke Ikeda & Ikuto Hidaka when Mascaras pinned Hidaka in his diving body attack at 10:20.
Naoki Sano & Mohammad Yone were victorious over Alexander Otsuka & Minoru Fujita when Sano used a tsuritenjo shiki no Dragon sleeper (I think this is a Dragon sleeper that starts off like la tapatia) on Fujita at 18:15. I'd really like to see some Sano vs. Fujita matches, and I think they would be better than Sano vs. Tanaka because Sano is very solid so he should be able to figure out how to greatly benefit from Fujita's more exciting but less polished style.
Curry Man made his first successful defense of the Eirenbou (British Commonwealth of Nations) Junior Heavykyu Senshuken when he used his spice drop on Tsubo Genjin at 5:43.

1/30 Tokyo Korakuen Hall 2,103 sellout
Daisuke Ikeda got a meaningful win when he KO'd Mitsuya Nagai, who was the #2 native in RINGS at one point, in 15:55. Nagai's career has really gone south since he was fired by RINGS a few years ago, but he could fit into this style pretty well and he still has enough name value that beating him would help these guys.
Minoru Tanaka captured the Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken from Naoki Sano when he made Sano submit to his udehishigigyakujujigatame at 19:21. I guess now that this is no longer an FMW belt and the redundant World has been dropped, they are considering it a new title because Tanaka is supposed to be the 2nd champion. Sano had made three successful defenses. The win makes Tanaka look better going into his IWGP Junior title match with Jushin Thunder Liger on 2/4. Tanaka's first title defense will be on 2/13 against Hiroshi Kotsubo.
On 2/11 at Kanagawa Club Citta Kawasaki, Daisuke Ikeda & Ikuto Hidaka will face legendary Luchadors Mil Mascaras & Dos Caras.

Battlarts announced a Naoki Sano vs. Minoru Tanaka rematch for Sano's Independent World Junior Heavykyu Senshuken (apparently the redundant second world has been scratched now that FMW doesn't care about their old title?) on 1/30/00 at Tokyo Korakuen Hall. Sano previously retained against Tanaka on 9/26/99. This was a *** match, good but it was disappointing considering who was involved. Earlier in the same Battle Station, Sano had a *** non-title match with Ikuto Hidaka, who isn't a slouch by any means, but also is only about 1/2 as good as Tanaka. I expect Tanaka to take the title this time.

12/5 Kawagoe Pepe Hall 234:
Katsumi Usuda & Carl Malenko beat Yuki Ishikawa & Masaaki Mochizuki in the final to win Tag Battle '99. Usuda scored the victory, making Mochizuki submit to the sankakujime (triangle choke) at 17:30. Malenko is an up and coming star with this group, but I'm kind of surprised Usuda was pushed because he isn't one of their better wrestlers and doesn't have much charisma. On the other hand, Ishikawa didn't really need the win and while Mochizuki is a good wrestle, he's also an outsider that isn't exactly a big draw.