GLEAT Ver. 1
July 1, 2021
Tokyo Dome City Hall
Tokyo, Japan

Watch: YouTube

Here we are, GLEAT’s “first” show.

GLEAT Ver.1 has a lot of hype going into it with the addition of New Japan’s SHO helping bring a lot of new eyes to the event. The show will be divided into two parts with both G PROWRESTLING and Lidet UWF being represented at the event. STRONGHEARTS T-Hawk will be facing Ryuichi Kawakami in the first half’s main event on behalf of G PROWRESTLING. With SHO vs. Takanori Ito closing the night in a UWF Rules match.

It was announced the day before that Yoko Shimomura, composer of Street Fighter II and the Kingdom Hearts series, has written the official GLEAT theme song. The theme debuted at the GLEAT “flag-raising” event which was streamed on GLEAT’s YouTube channel for free.

We have Kazuo Yamazaki, Haruo Murata and Soichi Shibata on the call tonight!

The first thing that I have to say about this event is that the pre-show introductions and the new theme really made this show feel like a really big deal. Great setup production-wise.

G PROWRESTLING
El Lindaman def. Hayato Tamura

In the first matchup for G PROWRESTLING we have STRONGHEARTS member El Lindaman taking on former ZERO1 World Heavyweight champion Hayato Tamura. With ZERO1 being in a kind of tumultuous state at the moment; a few members of the roster have made their way over to GLEAT in recent months. We have had both Otani, and Tanaka make appearances in the promotion. Tamura made his debut, challenging Lindaman to this match at the GLEAT variety show in BASEMENT MON STAR.

This was a hell of a start to the show. Both men made these big dramatic entrances using GLEAT’s cool new entrance set up and looked like a million bucks. The match was the perfect opener, fast-paced, got the crowd popping and told a neat story of Lindaman trying to muscle around the much bigger man. I do not know what Tamura’s plans are at the moment. But if he is free and willing GLEAT needs to lock this man up quick as he showed superstar potential.

G PROWRESTLING
Kyoko Inoue def. Michiko Miyagi

Michiko Miyagi made her debut as X at GLEAT G PROWRESTING Ver. 0 in May. Today she faces Joshi legend Kyoko Inoue, who both owns and predominantly wrestles for World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana.

Miyagi and Inoue came out heavy and were throwing bombs during this one with Miyagi taking the bulk of the offense during the match. I will never be a massive fan of having legends coming in dominating and beating your young, signed talent. It can work in certain circumstances, but I just do not see how these one-offs do anything to put your own talent over. Good overall but leaves a sour taste in my mouth with the finish. But I get it; that is just how it works.

G PROWRESTLING
CIMA, Issei Onitsuka & Shigehiro Irie def. Kaz Hayashi, Soma Watanabe & Keichi Sato

The STRONGHEARTS contingent of CIMA, Onitsuka and Irie unite to take on GLEAT Chief Technical Officer Kaz Hayashi. Keichi Sato, who earned his way onto this show at 26.05 Shinjuku FACE show and Soma Watanabe, who will be pulling double duty tonight, appearing for both GLEAT brands.

One of the safest bets in GLEAT so far has been that if there is a STRONGHEARTS six-man tag match on the show it is going to rock, this was no exception. I love these all action matches where everyone gets to go out there, do their spots and get over. Keichi Sato and Shigehiro Irie have both been such welcomed additions to GLEAT and I hope both get locked down in a more official capacity moving forward. Kaz Hayashi is quickly becoming one of my favorite legends in Japan due to not only his performances, which have been great, but also his willingness to put young talent over. Onitsuka finally got his big moment here with the pinfall on Hayashi. With the post-match angle, it seems like we might be getting a singles between the two at one of their upcoming shows.

G PROWRESTLING
Ryuichi Kawakami def. T-Hawk

This is Ryuichi Kawakami’s first match with GLEAT after making his way over from Big Japan. This match came about after Kawakami made an appearance at the Shinjuku FACE show where he laid out T-Hawk’s mentor CIMA. These two have teamed together in the past at the annual New Year’s Eve Shuffle Tag Tournament hosted by DDT and BJW.

This was one of those matches that was a little sloppy, a little rough around the edges and a little dangerous… but where that only ADDS to the match. Both these two were throwing bombs throughout with just some straight-up punches to their faces towards the end of the match. I do not know what T-Hawk did to Kawakami to deserve some of this beatdown but boy did Kawakami lay it in. Also, T-Hawk has seemingly decided to become a guy who is trying to murder himself in most matches now?

This is an interesting development. Both men were completely drained after this war as they laid atop the GLEAT logo. Picturesque.

Lidet UWF
Daijiro Matsui & Tetsuya Izuchi def. Minoru Tanaka & Soma Watanabe

Watanabe makes his second appearance on the card; this time in a UWF Rules tag team match. Tanaka and Matsui have been staples of the Lidet UWF division in GLEAT with Tanaka being appointed as the “UWF Rule Technical Officer”. Tetsuya Izuchi comes from HEAT-UP (the same company as GLEAT signee Yu Iizuka) but he has bounced all around the Japanese independents over the last five years.

Soma Watanabe comes into this match still wearing the scars of war from his earlier interactions with Onitsuka. This was my first time seeing Izuchi and he is clearly capable at working the UWF style well. I wonder if he will get picked up from HEAT-UP, similar to Iizuka. Tanaka is always a joy to see on these shows, still moving around like he was 20 years younger. Matsui picks up the win over Watanabe which I do not mind as he has the out of wrestling earlier in the show and not coming in fresh.

Lidet UWF
Chihiro Hashimoto def. Maya Fukuda

I am really looking forward to this one. I am unfamiliar with Maya Fukuda, but I have been nothing but impressed with Hashimoto every time I have seen her. I look forward to seeing what these two can do under UWF rules.

Hashimoto is really mean! This was a quick match designed to get Hashimoto over as a killer in the UWF ruleset. She basically just rag-dolled Fukuda around the whole time while stretching her in some insane-looking submissions. With Fukuda getting in one real clean shot for a hope spot. Hashimoto weathered the storm and put her down quickly after. I saw that Miyagi called out Hashimoto after her match so maybe that is the direction we are moving in, going forward. Dope.

Lidet UWF
Masakatsu Funaki def. Yu Iizuka

If you have read my other GLEAT review you will know that I am a big fan of Iizuka. And he has been put in a massive spot tonight facing the LEGEND Masakatsu Funaki. The result here is a foregone conclusion but I look forward to seeing how Iizuka steps up to being put in a big position like this.

I mean, it is Funaki. This was exactly what everyone expected going in. Funaki bullied Iizuka around for a while. Iizuka had a really nice flurry of offense towards the end, including a smooth as silk flying armbar. Before Funaki got sick of this young punk and put him to sleep quickly after that. The crowd seemed like they were really invested in this.

Lidet UWF
SHO def. Takanori Ito

Of course, this is the match everyone is talking about. SHO of New Japan Pro-Wrestling steps into the GLEAT ring to face one of my personal favorites Takanori Ito. Much like the last match, this is also a foregone conclusion. But it will be interesting to see how Ito measures up against a major league talent like SHO.

This was, for me, by far the best effort put forward by the Lidet UWF side of the show. Big and impactful moments throughout, super compelling grappling segments, snug crisp striking and most importantly; it delivered on that big fight feeling.

SHO came into this match with zero ego as well, giving Ito every bit of shine that he could. Ito was on-point with his performance as always, not feeling like an afterthought to the much more well-known talent. It really warmed my cold dead Wrestle-1 heart to see him in such a big spot here. SHO submits Ito with a triangle choke after Ito fails to muscle him up for the powerbomb to break it. Really enjoyed the finish.

After the main event, we got a segment with the whole home crew coming out to celebrate the success of the show. I think that is one of the things I love about GLEAT, it feels like a family coming together to make the show a success. Lindaman, being the most charismatic of the bunch, got the show-closing promo duty. One thing of note to come out of this segment was Kawakami and Tamura leaving together before the “family photo” towards the end. Maybe we will get them teaming in the future? I would be really into that.

Recommendations

  • Hayato Tamura vs. El Lindaman
  • Shigehiro Irie, Issei Onitsuka & CIMA vs. Kaz Hayashi, Soma Watanabe & Keichi Sato
  • T-Hawk vs. Ryuichi Kawakami
  • Takanori Ito vs. SHO

Final Thoughts

Overall, another great effort by GLEAT that emphasized their clear vision for the promotion. I thought the show’s pacing was tremendous and that everyone delivered in their spots. The production of the show blew me away. This was a major league effort for GLEAT and a success by all accounts. Highly recommend you check this show out for FREE on YouTube. GLEAT ON!