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Pro Wrestling ZERO1’s Oki Okidata and Shinjiro Otani held a press conference today to announce ZERO1 has ceased its working relationship with GLEAT due to alleged contract tampering involving Hayato Tamura.
After Tamura left JUST TAP OUT Professional Wrestling in January to become a freelancer, Okidata said ZERO1 signed a memorandum of understanding with Alpha Japan Promotion – Tamura’s agency.
Later, Okidata explained, he received a message that Tamura had entered negotiations with GLEAT to join the promotion in a full-time capacity. After that, Tamura stopped all communication with ZERO1.
Okidata said GLEAT president and CEO Hiroyuki Suzuki confirmed the mutual interest between GLEAT and Tamura, but Suzuki also called Tamura’s behaviour wrong and unreasonable.
Okidata compared the situation to a person pulling a knife on someone who had been a good friend.
As a result of ceasing its working relationship with GLEAT, ZERO1 has stripped El Lindaman of the ZERO1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship and ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Otani apologised to El Lindaman and Suzuki, as well as CIMA, Issei Onitsuka and T-Hawk (all of whom have also wrestled in ZERO1 this year), and thanked Soma Watanabe, Takanori Ito and Yu Iizuka for competing in ZERO1.
The winner of ZERO1’s Tenka-Ichi Junior tournament, the semifinals (Fuminori Abe versus Hide Kubota and Junta Miyawaki versus Shoki Kitamura) and final of which will take place at ZERO1’s show on September 9 in Shin-Kiba 1st Ring, will win the vacant ZERO1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship and ZERO1 World Junior Heavyweight Championship.
While Okidata never specified when Tamura stopped communicating with ZERO1, he last wrestled for the company at its show on May 30 in Korakuen Hall. Tamura then debuted at GLEAT’s show on June 14 in Basement Monstar.
Tamura has heavily featured in GLEAT since his debut, losing to El Lindaman at its show on July 1 in Tokyo Dome City Hall and later forming an alliance with Ryuichi Kawakami at its show on August 4 in Shinjuku FACE.
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