December 6, 2004 Observer Newsletter: Zero-One, Dick Ebersol’s influence on wrestling
Shinya Hashimoto’s Zero-One promotion, which just a few years ago seemed to have the best booking of any major company in the world, fizzled out of business just as Hashimoto had feared it would once he was no longer appearing on the shows.
However, Hashimoto has hardly come off as a sympathetic character after the company announced it was closing its doors on an 11/25 press conference, being approximately $1.2 million in debt. Many have blamed Hashimoto for using company money for personal use, and almost everyone in the company had turned on Hashimoto.
At the house show later that evening at Korakuen Hall, the final show of the promotion, it was expected Hashimoto would address the fans, but instead, he never came.
With Hashimoto out, a new company will start in its wake called Fast On Stage Corporation, with Shinjiro Otani as company president and Yoshiyuki Nakamura heading up the business end.
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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.