In the early breaking morning hours of February 27th, 2013 a letter was delivered to every major sports media outlet and sports station in Japan. This coordinated letter campaign would have been ignored if not signed by a particular brand; famous video game development and publisher corporation "RubySTAR Media", and personally signed by CEO Shoji "Big Boss" Yoshinaka. At the very same time all across the nation, the following news was quickly spread in this manner.
Shoji "Big Boss" Yoshinaka, in his late 40's, is known to be a cut throat individual in the world of Japanese business; largely a culture aimed at group cohesion and problem solving. Yoshinaka is known to have undercut all his rivals in RubySTAR and ultimately terminated many of his main competitors when he assumed power. Rumors have followed Yoshinaka through his career first as a game designer to his newly achieved status of CEO, of being aligned with "shady" aspects of Japanese culture; but this has never been proven. Regardless, Yoshinaka cuts a deep figure through the media world and is one name that no one would easily discard. He is known for his relatively tall stature, and his refusal to ever remove his dark sunglasses.
The letter, personally written by Yoshinaka himself; opens with Yoshinaka explaining his life-long devotion to combat sports beginning at the age of seven when he was enrolled in Judo at his father's desires. Yoshinaka admitted to never having been very good at Judo or any other sport, saying that he quickly learned intelligence was his main weapon of choice. But this early foray built a strong passion and love for fighting which translated to growing up watching the legends of Puroresu battle it out. From an early age; Yoshinaka said, he grew up watching Puroresu living vicariously through their achievements, using the power of legendary figures like Genji Yamato, Kazuma Fujita & Ryo Inoue to fuel his own ambition towards success.
And yet, Yoshinaka continues; the pro-wrestling landscape since 2010 has been a barren wasteland. Gone are all the heroes he admired and those that remain simply clasp onto the remnants of their fame to their own desire. But now, Yoshinaka; one of the most powerful men in Japanese media today, can fight back against the lack of desire, ambition, and strength in the puroresu world. And a man of Yoshinaka's strength and cut throat instincts knew who would be best suited to accomplishing this task. To fulfill his ambition to secure a new age for Puroresu; to revive the old spirit of strength lost in the modern era, Yoshinaka turned to the strongest man in this generation. Yoshinaka turned to Akuma Toyota to fuel his new war machine, to burn the wrestling world to it's foundation and remake it from the ashes to a new future.
The letter from here shifts from Yoshinaka to a page from who many consider the ace of the Pro-Wresting world, Akuma Toyota. The page reads like a manifesto, as if Toyota is preaching to the world with his thoughts. For six months after the failed relaunch of Pro-Wrestling CRIMSON by "insidious fear and lack of desire" as he put it; Toyota traveled the world reaching every continent on Earth, his holy pilgrimage to see with his own eyes if what he feared was true. He traveled the world to find strength; to seek out if any strength, passion, or desire still existed in the world of pro-wrestling. With disgust pouring from the words, Toyota described the international wrestling landscape as "disgusting", full of "pretend fighters" wanting to "be famous instead of being strong". Toyota claimed to have returned to Japan in disgust; no longer knowing what to do with himself or with this generation. That was when Shoji Yoshinaka contacted him with his appeal, and Toyota's heart sung with happiness at the possibilities.
Toyota described this new venture as the "holy ground of strength", the "Last bastion of true battle" and "the testing ground for immortality". Toyota issued an open invitation to any and all so called pro-wrestlers who looked upon the pro-wrestling landscape with disgust; who wanted to revive the old mentality without theatrics, without politics, without old hangers on keeping the limelight, without the need to glamour themselves up for the spotlight. Where real men could battle like men to decide who was the stronger man. The goal, Toyota said? To raise the level of pro-wrestling internationally, to weed out pretenders, and to decide once and for all who is "Strongest of the World".
The letter ended with contact information to Toyota and his chosen followers. Anyone wishing to compete can contact Toyota but in two days time, the finalized details would be released at the Hilton in Shinjuku's media room.
Destination BATTLE GROUND - Holy Ground of War were the final words on the letter.
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