December 20, 2021 Observer Newsletter: ROH Final Battle, NJPW Super Juniors/Tag League finals reviews
On October 26 and 27, 2001, about 300 fans each night, which included notable wrestling legends like Dick “Destroyer” Beyer, Red Bastien, Kinji Shibuya, and Nick Bockwinkel, were present for a two-day tournament in Vallejo, CA, a city in Northern California about 32 miles from San Francisco and 69 miles from Oakland.
The tournament, an idea of Roland Alexander, was to bring in independent talent which had an underground buzz on them for an idea called King of the Indies. Like most events of this type, it was a financial flop. It also changed the future of pro wrestling.
Among the names in the tournament were Doug Williams, A.J. Styles, Super Dragon, Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, Spanky (Brian Kendrick), Adam Pearce, Samoa Joe, Bison Smith, and Vinnie Massaro. A wrestler on the undercard both nights was Chico Alvarez, better known now as Bryan Alvarez. The finals, which was not the original plan, came down to a former masked wrestler called The American Dragon (Bryan Danielson) and Low Ki.
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Dave Meltzer is the founder and lead writer on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, the weekly constant when it comes to news and reviews in pro wrestling and mixed martial arts for more than 40 years. Dave also co-hosts Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and had had bylines for The National, Yahoo Sports, MMA Fighting and others.