===================================================== FIRE PROWRESTLING D CHARACTER GUIDE: ALEXANDER OTSUKA ===================================================== Version 1.2 by AxxB (alex.boothroyd@ntlworld.com) Last modified: 14th April 2002 Fire ProWrestling D (c) 2001 Spike/VAiLL NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface. =================== ==VERSION HISTORY== =================== 1.0 - Initial release of the guide. 1.1 - Added Classic Matches section. 1.2 - Improved grammatical errors and text formatting, Added Opponent Down section to Strategy Section. ===================== ==TABLE OF CONTENTS== ===================== SECTION 1: HISTORY OF ALEXANDER OTSUKA SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS SECTION 3: MOVELIST SECTION 4: STRATEGY SECTION 5: CLASSIC MATCHES SECTION 6: CLOSING ========================================== ==SECTION 1: HISTORY OF ALEXANDER OTSUKA== ========================================== Alexander Otsuka is a Japanese Wrestler who made his name in the (now sadly defunct) Battlarts promotion. A quick history lesson of what Battlarts was: Satoru Sayama seceded from New Japan and formed the Shoot-style UWF. It collapsed, and the UWF Wrestlers returned to New Japan. Then Akira Maeda attacked Riki Choshu during a match, and the resultant fall-out saw the the ex-UWF Wrestlers leave New Japan again and restart the UWF. Then the UWF collapsed again, and the roster split into three: Akira Maeda‘s group, which became the RINGS promotion, Nobuhiko Takada‘s group, which became the UWF-I promotion, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara‘s group, which became the PWFG (Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi) promotion. Things went on OK for PWFG, until most of the big name players became frustrated with the Pro-Wrestling orientation of the group, so they left to form the Pancrase ’shoot‘ promotion. Then when Fujiwara closed his doors permanently, his remaining students formed the Battlarts promotion under Fujiwara‘s top protege Yuki Ishikawa. And Battlarts evolved this odd style - Pro Wrestling mixed with MMA/Shoot type moves in a completely new and bizarre way. Taking the premise of shoot style moves, but filtering it through pro-Wrestling storytelling, selling and psychology. It became home to the Lucha libre-style roll-up into legitimate submission hold move combination, as evinced by another Battlarts graduate, Minoru Tanaka. The punches, kicks and headbutts (oh, the headbutts*) were delivered with full-on stiffness, but sold in a way no MMA fighter would ever consider. The Suplexes looked like, and were treated like, knockout blows. And this is the environment that Alexander Otsuka, professional Wrestler, developed in. But not the only one he ever Wrestled in - with Battlarts being a small indy promotion, Otsuka has been able to secure work in all sorts of matches in all sorts of other promotions - New Japan, All Japan, Michinoku Pro, ZERO-ONE, BJPW, FMW, the list goes on. Whether it‘s having death matches with Mistuhiro Matsunaga, inter-gender comedy matches with the Ladies of GAEA and Arsion, or teaming with Hawk and Animal as ’Alex Warrior‘, or exchanging the most brutal moves you ever did see with Daisuke Ikeda, Mohammed Yone and Yuki Ishikawa, Otsuka has done a whole lot of different things in his Pro-Wrestling career. But there is another side to him - he also competes in the PRIDE (Mixed Martial Arts) Fighting Championships. His win/loss record is far from the best (2 Wins, 8 losses iirc), but one of the two wins was a very big one.... at PRIDE 4, Otsuka beat ’King of the Streets‘ Marco Ruas by submission when Ruas quit on his stool after two rounds. Since then, he¹s gone on to last longer against Vanderlei Silva than Kazushi Sakuraba managed to on either attempt, go the distance with Igor Vovchachyn (having already had a pro-wrestling match that day), and get knocked out surprisingly quickly by Ken Shamrock. But let‘s not worry about that. Here we have a guy who can compete, if not consistently win, at the very top level of Mixed Martial Arts, who still likes to use the Giant Swing in as many matches as possible. How can you not love that? *The headbutt was to Battlarts as the punch is to American Wrestling - it‘s a move not so much done to cause damage, as to demonstrate the superior manhood and toughness of the man throwing the strike. Oh, and they never used to put their hands up or anything, they‘d just ram their foreheads together as hard as they could, making full-on contact. It was beautiful. ========================================== == SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS == ========================================== SKILL ----- Real Name...............Alexander Otsuka FPD Name................Heracles Ohtsuki Nickname....................Diet Butcher Promotion......................Freelance* FPD Promotion.................Battration Size...............................Small Class...............................Free Height............................182 cm Weight.............................92 kg Country............................Japan Birthdate......................7.17.1971 Stance...........................Amaresu Offensive Skill.................Orthodox Return Skill....................Orthodox Critical Type.....................Suplex Special Skill.......Concentrated Strength Recovery..........................Medium Recovery (when bleeding)............Slow Respiratory........................Above Respiratory (when bleeding).......Medium Awareness.........................Strong Awareness (when bleeding).........Medium Neck Strength.....................Medium Arm Strength......................Medium Waist Strength....................Medium Foot Strength.....................Medium Movement Speed....................Medium Ascend Speed......................Medium Ascend Skill........................Jump * Battlarts is currently defunct, and although a restart is planned in the near future there is no word as to whether Otsuka will be involved. He doesn¹t appear to be working any Pro-Wrestling matches at the moment, in favour of fighting in the PRIDE fighting Championships, so you could move him to Gruesome Fighters if you wanted. Personally I left him in Battlarts, more for sentimental reasons than anything. PARAMETER - OFFENCE PARAMETER - DEFENCE ------------------- ------------------- Punch.............5 Punch.............6 Kick..............4 Kick..............5 Suplex............8 Suplex............6 Submission........5 Submission........7 Stretch...........6 Stretch...........7 Power.............7 Flying............7 Instant-P.........7 Crush.............6 Arm Power.........5 Vs Lariat.........4 Technical.........6 Technical.........6 Rough.............7 Rough.............5 Ground............7 Ground............6 TOTAL SKILL POINTS (on a scale from 0-300): 201 ======================= ==SECTION 3: MOVELIST== ======================= Specialty moves are marked with [S]. Finisher is marked with [F]. Moves that can Critical are marked * STRIKES ------- Standing (X)..........................Low Kick (4 4 C) Standing (A)........................Hook Punch (5 5 C) Standing (B) + d-pad..........Forward Dropkick (7 4 C) Standing (B)..................Kneecap Dropkick (7 4 D) Standing (X) + (A)...................Leg Shoot (7 7 C) Running (X)................Flying Headscissors (6 7 B) Running (A)..............................Spear (7 7 C) Running Counter (X).................Wakigatame (6 5 B) Running Counter (A).......Ganso Frankensteiner (7 7 C) Running to corner.....................Dropkick (7 4 C) GRAPPLES -------- Grapple (X)........................Elbow Smash (5 5 C) Grapple (X) + Up.....................Body Slam (8 5 C) Grapple (X) + Left/Right.......Fireman‘s Carry (8 8 C) Grapple (X) + Down...........Single Leg Tackle (7 7 C) Grapple (A)....................Body Punch Rush (5 5 C) Grapple (A) + Up..................Front Suplex (8 7 C) Grapple (A) + Left/Right..............Ipponzei (8 7 C) Grapple (A) + Down.............Waterwheel Drop (7 7 C) Grapple (B)............Flying Crucifix Armlock (5 6 C) Grapple (B) + Up............Fisherman‘s Buster (7 8 C) Grapple (B) + Left/Right........Uranage Suplex (8 7 C) Grapple (B) + Down................Karelin Lift (8 7 C)* Grapple (X) + (A).......Tenzan-style Tombstone (7 7 C)[S] Back Grapple (X)................Enzui Headbutt (7 7 D) Back Grapple (A)...............Backdrop Suplex (8 7 C) Back Grapple (B).........Release German Suplex (8 7 C)* Back Grapple (B) + U/D....Release Tiger Suplex (8 7 C)[S]* Back Grapple (B) + L/R...Release Dragon Suplex (8 7 C)[F]* Back Grapple (X) + (A)......Dragon Suplex Hold (8 7 C)[S]* Back Grapple Counter (X)............Elbow Butt (5 5 C) Back Grapple Counter (A).....Roll into Keylock (5 5 C) OPPONENT DOWN MOVES ------------------- Opponent Face Up at Head(A).Mount Knuckle Arr. (7 5 D) Opponent Face Up at Head(B).....Mount Position (7 6 C) Opponent Face Up at Feet(A)...Arehand Lock III (6 5 C)[S] Opponent Face Up at Feet(B)........Giant Swing (6 5 B) Opponent Face Down at Head(A)....Cross Armlock (5 5 C) Opponent Face Down at Head(B).....Karelin Lift (8 7 C)* Opponent Face Down at Feet(A).Half Boston Crab (6 6 C) Opponent Face Down at Feet(B)..Rear Mount Pos. (7 6 C) Running at Downed Opponent(B).Jumping Kneedrop (7 7 C) MOUNT MOVES ----------- Mount Position (X).................Mount Punch (7 7 D) Mount Position (A)...............Shoulder Hold (6 5 C) Mount Position (B).................Giant Swing (6 5 B) Mount Position Counter...........Cross Armlock (5 5 C) Front Facelock Attack (X)......Front Neck Lock (6 5 C) Front Facelock Attack (A).........Karelin Lift (8 5 C)* Front Facelock Attack (B)..........Back Switch (7 6 C) Front Facelock Attack Counter...Lifting Tackle (7 7 C) Back Mount Position (X).......Back Mount Punch (7 5 C) Back Mount Position (A)..........Cross Armlock (5 5 C) Back Mount Position (B)..........German Suplex (8 7 C)* Back Mount Position Counter.....Cross Kneelock (5 6 C) POST AND APRON MOVES -------------------- Post (X).......................Diving Headbutt (7 7 C) Post (A).........................Diving Senton (7 7 C) Post (B)................Diving Shoulder Attack (7 7 C) Post (X) + (A)....................Missile Kick (7 4 C) Run-Up Post vs Standing (X)...Moonsault Attack (7 7 C) Run-Up Post vs Downed (A).................none Corner Grapple (B) + U..Super Fisherman Buster (7 8 C) Corner Grapple (B) + L/R.....Impaling Shoulder (7 7 C) Corner Grapple (B) + Down....Corner Foot Choke (7 7 D) Front Avalanche Counter...............Headbutt (7 7 D) Back Avalanche Counter..............Body Press (7 7 C) Apron Grapple from inside.Brainbuster to Inside(8 5 C) Apron Grapple from outside........Shoulderbutt (7 7 C) Running to out of bounds.........Tope Con Hilo (7 7 C) Slingshot to outside...........Plancha Suicida (7 7 C) Slingshot to inside........Slingshot Crossbody (7 7 C) DOUBLE AND TRIPLE TEAM MOVES ---------------------------- Two Platon Front Grapple.Combination Powerbomb (7 5 C) Two Platon Back Grapple.Double German Suplexes (7 8 C) Two Platon Corner.............Spike Piledriver (7 5 C) Three Platon Front Grapple.....Triple Beatdown (7 5 D) Three Platon Back Grapple......Triple Beatdown (7 5 D) Three Platon Corner............Triple Beatdown (7 5 D) PERFORMANCE ----------- Analogue Stick Left...............Single Hand Raised 1 Analogue Stick Right.....................Clenched Fist Analogue Stick Up....................Two Hand Clapping Analogue Stick Down...................Open Arm Provoke ======================= ==SECTION 4: STRATEGY== ======================= GENERAL: Although both of Otsuka‘s Skills are set as Orthodox, one look at his moveset will tell you that he would be better described as Unorthodox. But it is fairly obvious what his Killer moves are - the Strong Back Grapple Suplexes. The problem is getting him in a position to use them... luckily, he‘s a resilient type, especially when fighting MMA fighters - his high Awareness and Concentrated Strength Special Skill mean he is very difficult to beat via submission. He is at a strong disadvantage when bleeding, so try to avoid getting bust wide open. His strongest moves are all suplexes and throws, and luckily he has a few Amateur/Martial Art style throws that can often be used earlier in the match than conventional Wrestling moves of the same power. IMPORTANT NOTE: Otsuka¹s one weakness (in a Pro-Wrestling type match) is his inability to go for a pinfall - he has no covers in his opponent down section, and only one grapple ends with a pinfall attempt (the rear Grapple X+A Dragon Suplex hold). If you are playing with referee Joe Higuchi this is not a problem, as his count is so slow it¹s easier to win by submission, but with any other referee, you¹ll have to damage your opponent a lot more than they¹ll have to damage you in order to get the victory. STRIKES: His normal standing strikes are far from the strongest part of his game - his Dropkicks are more effective, but you really need a dizzy opponent before you can hit them. His running moves and run counters are nice though, as are his top rope diving strikes (although his medium movement and ascend speed mean they are hard to execute early).... but if you want to strike, your best bet is to do the X+A Takedown to mount position, then hit A to rain down punches - his mount punches being far more damaging than his standing ones. But Otsuka is not really a striker. GRAPPLES: And here is his major strength. Get into the grapple and throw your opponent around until they can‘t get up... best moves to use at the very start are the (Left/Right X) Fireman‘s Carry and the (Left/Right A) Ipponzei (which, surprisingly, is easier to hit than the Bodyslam a lot of the time). Once you can hit the Overhead Belly to Belly and the rear Grapple A Backdrop Suplex, you know you¹re getting somewhere. As soon as you start hitting the strong grapple moves, try to get behind for the big Suplexes - the German, Tiger and Dragon(s) are his most fearsome moves. Hit loads of them, it‘s fun! OPPONENT DOWN MOVES: Something of a strong suit here as well. The Giant Swing (Faceup at Feet B) and Arehand Lock III (Faceup at Feet A) are both effective, and both deserve to be siganture moves (although only the Arehand Lock is). The (Facedown at Head B) Karelin Lift is a great move - it can be hit earlier in the match than the Strong Grapple Karelin lift, can Critical, and lands the opponent facedown, meaning you can easily follow up with the same move again! The top rope headbutt and Senton can be used if you like, but his lack of speed in climbing means you won¹t be able to go up as soon in the match as you would with a more conventional high flyer. Good luck hitting the run-up rebound Moonsault bodyblock though. You¹ll need it. His lack of a cover (as mentioned above) is the only real weakness in the opponent down section, but he makes up for it with his options of mount moves - his strikes on the ground are more powerful than his standing ones, his submissions are effective (as much as any submissions are effective in Fire Pro D), and he can Critical with the facelock position Karelin Lift and the Rear Mount German Suplex. PLAYING AGAINST OTSUKA: His weakest defences are vs Lariat, Rough and Kick, so obviously tailor that to whoever you‘re fighting him with. But with his special skill giving him resistance to strikes and submissions, it stands to reason that he is more vulnerable to Power moves and suplexes. Use strikes to wear him down at first, then start throwing him around once he‘s to tired to stop you. Oh, and make him bleed to make him weaker. ============================== ==SECTION 5: CLASSIC MATCHES== ============================== Given that Otsuka competes in both Pro-Wrestling and Mixed Martial Arts competition, I‘ve split this into two sections. Wrestlers/Fighters that aren‘t already in the game are marked [E] for Edit needed. Pro Wrestling matches: Otsuka & Mohammed Yone vs Hawk & Animal (Battlarts 11/23/98) Otsuka vs Ryuji Yamakawa (Battlarts 8/21/98, rematch BJPW 1/2/99) Otsuka & Yuki Ishikawa vs Kazuo Yamazaki & Kazuyuki Fujita (NJPW Tokyo Dome 4/10/99) Otsuka vs Mitsuya Nagai (Battlarts Young Generation Battle 2000 final) Otsuka & Shinya Hashimoto vs Mitsuharu Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa (NOAH, 1/13/01) Otsuka & Tiger Mask 4 vs Carl Malenko [E] & Ikuto Hidaka (Battlarts 1/28/01) Otsuka vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara (Battlarts 3/1/01) Otsuka & Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs Takao Omori & Yoshihiro Takayama (Zero-One debut show 3/2/01) Otsuka vs Shinjiro Ohtani (Battlarts 5/10/01) Otsuka vs Shinya Hashimoto (Zero-One 7/13/01) nb: As Otsuka spent most of his career in Battlarts, he also had many, many singles and tag matches with Battlarts workers (and regular outsider workers): Mohammed Yone, Yuki Ishikawa, Ikuto Hidaka, Daisuke Ikeda, Minoru Tanaka, Carl Malenko [E], Mach Junji/junji.com [E], Takeshi Ono [E], Masaaki Mochizuki, Masao Orihara, Kazunari Murakami, Hisakatsu Oya, Bob Backlund [E], Mitsuya Nagai Mixed Martial Arts Matches: Otsuka vs Marco Ruas [E] (Pride 4 10/11/98) Otsuka vs Nobuhiko Takada (Pride 7 9/12/99) - was a worked, rather than shoot, match. Otsuka vs Igor Vovchachyn (Pride GP2000 Opening Round 1/30/00) Otsuka vs Ken Shamrock (Pride GP2000 Final Round 5/10/00) Otsuka vs Wanderlei Silva [E] (Pride 18 12/23/01) ======================= ==SECTION 6: CLOSING== ======================= Thanks to: * Bill Wood for creating the format for the Character guide FAQs (credit Vipermask, CrazyEST and gBomber as well) * strongstylespirit.com, puroresu.com, puroresupower.com, deathvalleydriver.com, and Power Slam magazine for biographical/ historical information * SPIKE for releasing Fire Pro D in th first place * GameFAQs and CJayC for hosting this FAQ * Alexander Otsuka himself for being so damn cool (C) 2002 AxxB