.:: Where to for BattlARTS? byTom Delves ::.

Next month, BattlARTS will hold their second show, entitled ‘Passion’, since their comeback. In July, the promotion hosted their first show since November 2001, when the promotion unofficially closed its doors. The show, dubbed ‘Rebirth’, drew 800 fans at the Korakuen Hall on the 9^th June, and hosted a card highlighted by the main event of Yuki Ishikawa Vs Katsumi Usuda. While the attendance can be partially excused for clashing with Japan’s key World Cup tie with Russia, the fact remains that it was disappointing, something which was a key symptom of BattlARTS gradual decline in 2001.

The Rebirth show’s name was fitting, as BattlARTS presented a different look and a different style. Of the BattlARTS roster that witnessed the demise of the promotion, only three key members survived; Yuki Ishikawa (the president of the promotion), Katsumi Usuda and Carl Malenko (now calling himself Carl Contini, his real name). Although arguably they were the top three members of the promotion, the fact that long time BattlARTS wrestlers such as Alexander Otsuka, Takeshi Ono, Junji.com and Takehiro Oba were not included was something of a surprise, considering that the last two were BattlARTS rookies. Indeed, Takehiro Oba replaced Yuki Ishikawa for his match against Katsumi Usuda at the Rainbow Festival when Ishikawa injured his hand.

It was a far cry from the BattlARTS of the late 1990’s, that grew a notorious reputation for delivering high quality matches on extremely limited means. BattlARTS began when Ishikawa and the remaining members of the Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi jumped ship in December 1995. Under the moniker of a detective team secretly investigating battle, the group presented a different style of pro wrestling; no pinfalls, merely submissions and ten counts for knock-outs. The action was primarily mat based and stiff as hell. From that small Indy group though, grew several great wrestlers; primarily, Daisuke Ikeda. Ikeda would define the best period for BattlARTS from 1998-2000 when he and Ishikawa forged an intense feud based simply on rivalry. BattlARTS would also develop stars such as current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Minoru Tanaka, PRIDE fighter Alexander Otsuka, Mohammed Yone and Ikuto Hidaka.

Yet BattlARTS was restricted by its size. As its stars grew, so did their reputations and soon the big Japanese promotions began noticing them. Ikeda left in 2000 for All Japan, then almost immediately onto NOAH. Tanaka began working for New Japan in 1999 but would leave permanently for them in early 2001. Mitsuya Nagai left for All Japan and Yone left the group in early 2002, signing for NOAH. These were key losses, especially Ikeda who kept the promotion hot with his feud with Ishikawa.

Without their top stars, the group struggled but continued to perform. Ishikawa replaced his feud with another one with young UFO fighter Kazunari Murakami. The feud matched the Ikeda one for intensity, being based on simple hatred. While it was brutal, Murakami’s less than stellar work ethic left the feud lacking the quality of its predecessor. Ultimately, without its top stars, the general quality suffered a decline too. Alas, BattlARTS’ ultimate trouble was in drawing fans. One show on the 14^th September drew just 99 fans. Thus BattlARTS began to change their approach, beginning to hire ex-MMA fighters such as Bas Rutten, Daijiro Matsui and Shannon Ritch. The thinking was that the MMA fighters would help draw more fans than the wrestlers would. And while the names did result in an increase in attendance, their salaries were a lot more.

In late 2001, Yuki Ishikawa announced BattlARTS would cease operations. Ishikawa had just signed to fight at Pride 17 against Quinton Jackson, with the consensus that some of Antonio Inoki’s silken words had convinced Ishikawa to venture into a career in MMA. Ishikawa draws his love of pro wrestling from Inoki’s era and doubtless the opportunity to emulate some of Inoki’s successes in a pro wrestler V MMA fighter environment appealed to him. It was not the first time that Antonio Inoki’s influence over Ishikawa had been to the detriment of the promotion. In mid 2001, Inoki had a falling out with the Zero One promotion, with whom BattlARTS had a working relationship. Inoki thus “advised” Ishikawa to end BattlARTS’ relationship with Zero One, which prevented the opportunity for BattlARTS wrestlers to gain mainsteam exposure.

The reality of Ishikawa’s venture into MMA though was brutally harsh. Jackson destroyed Ishikawa. At one stage, Jackson attempted an unprotected piledriver on Ishikawa, which may have been fatal if pulled off. It seems ironic to say so, but that may have beaten some sense into Ishikawa.

A few weeks later, Ishikawa along with Katsumi Usuda and Carl Malenko held a press conference to announce that BattlARTS would restart in the spring. The group also announced in the press conference that Alexander Otsuka would not be returning, instead he would dedicate his career to MMA. Before the promotion held its ‘Rebirth’ show, Ishikawa and Usuda announced they would tour with the Zero One group. Yuki Ishikawa was this month named in the annual Fire Festival Tournament, a tournament he pulled out of last year due to Inoki’s politics.

With Ishikawa and Usuda touring for Zero One, it seems BattlARTS will, for the time being, be a novelty promotion running one off shows half a dozen times a year. This is the only way BattlARTS can operate. History has shown that without a cult core of fans and without money and influence, any promotion will suffer. BattlARTS was one such promotion, lacking money to keep it’s top stars and lacking said top stars in order to keep drawing fans. And of course, limited drawing power means a lack of money. It’s all a vicious circle. But BattlARTS is not the only Japanese promotion to feel the bite of the harsh economic conditions and decline in interest in pro wrestling in Japan. Their long term allies, Michinoku Pro Wrestling are also suffering a grim time. It’s a tough time for Indy promotions in Japan. Therefore the only real way to keep BattlARTS alive is to keep it at a minimum. Ishikawa is generally a wise man, as long as he’s kept away from Inoki. Allying the promotion with Zero One and TAKA Michinoku’s Kaientai Dojo are both sensible measures, allowing BattlARTS to borrow wrestlers for their cards in the same manner they did when co-working with Michinoku Pro, FMW and Big Japan. Having Ishikawa and Usuda on tour with Zero One is similarly a good idea, allowing both men to gain mainstream exposure. For BattlARTS to return in with a full roster and full tour would almost be suicidal. The best, and probably only real, option is to downsize; which with the small roster and limited shows is what they are doing. Only when the climate is friendlier should they think about expanding.

It is sad in a way that a promotion once rich with talent and high quality matches is now merely memories. But in my view, a barely alive BattlARTS is better than an extinct one. At least this way we can say that the old moniker of “BattlARTS never die!” is still true.