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Tiger Mask vs. Shin Tora:

The next chapter in the long running story of the master and the apprentice. Over the years, Tiger Mask and the man currently known as Shin Tora have been friends and enemies, opponents and tag team partners, but this Sunday at AWL 80 they will fight once again and this time it will be for one of the biggest prizes in the AWL: The AWL Light Heavyweight Championship.

The number of champions since Season 1 can be counted on the finger of one hand with one finger left over to flip someone off in traffic. Tiger Mask defeated El Rudo Rojo at AWL 74 to win the title and Shin Tora won a 10 man battle royal just a couple of weeks ago to become #1 Contender to the title.

I caught up with both wrestlers earlier this week to get their thoughts on this match. Please note that a member of the AWL Translation Staff was on hand as Tiger Mask doesn't speak any English and Shin Tora isn't a whole lot better.

RyuSensei: Tiger Mask, thank you for your time. On Dec. 7 you will defend your title against your student and partner Shin Tora. What are your thoughts on this match and are you going to be able to go full out against Shin Tora?

Tiger Mask: Of course I am! I would not insult Shin Tora by giving him anything less than my best. He has earned that and much more. He is no longer my student. He is a great wrestler in his own right. Better than me in some ways. He will make a great AWL Light Heavyweight Champion . . . . . someday. But I have no intention of letting that day be this Sunday. I trust Shin Tora to bring his best and to give me the fight of my life. But I've worked for nearly 4 Seasons to become the AWL Light Heavyweight Champion and nobody is taking this title away from me any time soon.

I then spoke to Shin Tora and he echoed the same sentiment but added this little twist that I feel you need to read:

Shin Tora: If you'd asked me about this a year or even 6 months ago, I probably would have been going crazy about how it was "Finally my time" or something like htat. But all my experiences as Black Tiger and with The Dark Alliance taught me that being angry and taking shortcuts don't accomplish anything. I'm a dozen times the wrestler I was when I started working in the AWL and this Sunday I have an excellent opportunity to show everybody how hard I've worked as Shin Tora. I'm not as obsessed with beating Tiger Mask as I once was, but I am confident that come Season 5, the AWL will have a New Tiger . . . as champion.

But that's not all we have for you today Wrestling Fans. As a special bonus (That has exactly nothing to do with the fact that I'm a day behind on posting these damn things, I assure you) tonight we are also taking a look at what will be the semifinal match of AWL 80. The AWL World Tag Team Title Match between defending champions Crisis Gundan and challengers Big & Spicy.

It's taken most of the season for Big & Spicy to earn the 3 Points they've needed to challenge again for the belts. This Sunday will be a chance at long overdue revenge for Tiny and Curry Man. The last time they challenged Crisis Gundan for the AWL World Tag Team Titles, it was Yarina's blatant interference that got her team disqualified. Unfortunately the Champions' Advantage kicked in and Crisis Gundan retained the titles despite being DQ'd.

Again, I tried to talk to both teams . . . but with less success than I had with the Tigers. Yarina Talent Management Inc. (Normally quick to drop one of their press releases) refused to comment on the record. This has led to speculation (mostly by me) that Yarina is still worried about Big & Spicy, specifically Tiny, the largest athlete in the AWL and the only man Crisis Gundan have ever had a problem manhandling.

I was able to get a statement from Curry Man. Unfortunately, it was in such garbled Japanese that the AWL Translation Staff were unable to make heads or tails of it. All they were able to confirm was that it concludes with the statement "Curry Man ICHIBAN, Tiny ICHIBAN, Bigu ando Supaishi, ICHIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!"

Tune in later today for the final Season 4 finale countdown, where we will take a look at the history making main event: The Elimination Chamber Match for the AWL World Heavyweight Championship.