TOUKON ROAD: ORIGIN STORY ~ PUNCH + KICK FESTIVAL!!

The egos were on display on this day, no doubt about it:

- The Demon Brigade made up of MAX Heavyweight Champion ZENKI, Tokyo Zombie, and GRIM strode onto the scene as the mechanics and technicians readied the punch/kick machine. ZENKI took the microphone to comfort the fans that the Demon Brigade was stronger than ever and that all champions should beware of their presence.

- Eron Hunter, once known and still sometimes referred to by the fans as Lynx, emerged onto the scene without the mask and the Junior Heavyweight Championship around his waist. He was confronted by the #1 contender, Chris Ravenna, who said that he would draw upon the power of his homeland when they fought in the Philippines. It was a tense scene between those two.

- In another noteworthy sighting, Jacob Hammerstein and Thunder Mask, who will challenge Go Gensai and Frank Dylan James for the World Tag Team Championship, met for the first time and shook hands, appearing to discuss strategy as they watched the Ghost Army from a distance.

- New stars like Travis Gray, Kenzo Onishi, and Bam Markham spent a lot of time warming up to the fans and took a lot of pictures as well.

- Finally, Mike Musket led the MAX Dojo students out in an orderly fashion to the applause of many of the fans. Many in the crowd commented that the students seemed changed, like there was an inner strength of purpose. One reporter commented, “They marched like warriors onto the battlefield. Stoic but strong.”

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When the machine was ready, the junior heavyweight fighters got us started off. The average punching strength generated an average of 75th percentile of fighters, an impressive number, with James Edwards, David Troy, and Tokyo Zombie leading the pack to the qualifying round for our punchers. Among the strongest kicks, once again we would see James Edwards would once again lead the way, generating applause from the crowd after a 92nd percentile ratin, with AJ Knight and Sen Oka both at the 85th percentile to round out the top three. The men would stand together to mock ZENKI, who finished 4th in each round, prompting the champ to rush the stage, bringing in security!

After things settled down, we got into the heavyweight punchers. Throwing their weight into it Mushigahara and Frank Dylan James both eclipsed the 90th percentile mark and an intense staredown was beheld between them. Alexander Irvine held the number three spot for quite the while until “Stonehands” Carl Whitaker showed up and took third place at the 89th pernceitle to advance into the next round! For our kicks, the heavyweights were not as relatively skilled as the juniors, as GRIM would take the top spot with a 70th percentile score, Gensai in the number two at 69th, and Irvine third with a 67th score to make it into the final round!

Jacob Hammerstein finished in 4th place, showing off some unexpected technical ability there and surprising the fans. It also surprised Alexander Irvine, who made the comments that “kicking with those hamhocks defies the laws of physics. You should win a Nobel prize!” Well, that didn’t go over well and once again security had to jump out of their seats to squash a potential fight before it got started.

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The much more diplomatic junior heavyweights got us started. James Edwards had a strong punch that got him into the 80th percentile and David Troy could not match up against. Tokyo Zombie stood in front of the machine for several moments in meditation and then threw a lightning fast punch. The machine blinked a few moments before measuring 81th percentile, allowing Zombie to win the competition!

The juniors would then take the stage to wallop the machine with kicks. When Edwards, perhaps feeling disappointment from losing the punching competition by such a slim margin, hit the machine with a kick that registered in the 97th percentile, Troy and Oka both must have gotten demoralized as neither man would come close to matching the Burning Heart.

The heavyweight punching competition would see Whitaker level up for an astounding 92nd level punch, FDJ hold serve at the 90th, but Mushigahara roaring through with a 94th percentile to win the day! He would raise his arms to the fans as his friend David Troy slapped him on the shoulder to congratulate him.

When it came to the kicking competition, GRIM had a 79th percentile kick that would outdo Gensai’s 75th level. Alexander Irvine stepped up to the bag and when his kick registered a 71st percent, giving GRIM the win, Jacob Hammerstein could be heard audibly laughing from the crowd. Well, once again, we saw sparks fly among these two as Irvine began stalking toward him. But this time it was the Dojo students who jumped up and stood defiantly in his way! After things simmered down, Musket said he was proud that his students had the bravery and commitment to keep the peace on what should be a fun day.

As the show ended, GM Sano took the microphone and said that a contender would be announced for the MAX Heavyweight Championship on 2/23 within the next 48 hours and that one of the four competition winners would be the new #1 contender.




TOUKON ROAD: ORIGIN STORY ~ PUNCH + KICK FESTIVAL!!
Date: 1/26/2019

1. Jr. Heavyweight Punching Strength Qualifier: James Edwards, David Troy, and Tokyo Zombie advance to the final.
2. Jr. Heavyweight Kicking Strength Qualifier: James Edwards, AJ Knight, and Sen Oka advance to the final.
3. Heavyweight Punching Strength Qualifier: Mushigahara, Frank Dylan James, and Carl Whitaker advance to the final.
4. Heavyweight Kicking Strength Qualifier: GRIM, Go Gensai, and Alexander Irvine advance to the final.
5. Jr. Heavyweight Punching Strength – Final: Tokyo Zombie defeats James Edwards and David Troy (81st percentile).
6. Jr. Heavyweight Kicking Strength – Final: James Edwards defeats AJ Knight and Sen Oka (97th percentile).
7. Heavyweight Punching Strength – Final: Mushigahara defeats Frank Dylan James and Carl Whitaker (94th percentile).
8. Heavyweight Kicking Strength – Final: GRIM defeats Go Gensai and Alexander Irvine (79th percentile).