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FIRE PROWRESTLING D CHARACTER GUIDE: ALEXANDER OTSUKA
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Version 1.2
by AxxB (
[email protected])
Last modified: 14th April 2002
Fire ProWrestling D (c) 2001 Spike/VAiLL
NOTE: This guide views and prints best with a monospace typeface.
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==VERSION HISTORY==
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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.
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==TABLE OF CONTENTS==
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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
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==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.
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== SECTION 2: SKILL AND PARAMETER STATS ==
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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
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==SECTION 3: MOVELIST==
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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
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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
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Analogue Stick Left...............Single Hand Raised 1
Analogue Stick Right.....................Clenched Fist
Analogue Stick Up....................Two Hand Clapping
Analogue Stick Down...................Open Arm Provoke
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==SECTION 4: STRATEGY==
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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)
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==SECTION 6: CLOSING==
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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
