Japanese Professional Wrestling

In the Japanese culture, "purofesshonaru resuring" ("puroresu" for short), which translates to "professional wrestling" in the English language, is held in high regards as a serious and mainstream spectator sport ("Introduction"). Unlike American newspapers, wrestling match results are printed alongside other reports on the Japanese sports pages. Unlike American fans, the puroresu audience gives their Japanese performers the utmost respect; crowds tend to not interrupt matches with belittling signs or chants, or by leaving in the middle of a wrestling bout. In contrast, they cheer, applaud, and throw streamers into the ring. Because of these diverse qualities, puroresu has developed its own unique style, and has become the choice wrestling product for those who appreciate the athleticism of the activity rather than the showmanship (Hofstede 212).

The history of professional wrestling in Japan can be traced as far back as 1883 when a former sumo wrestler by the name of Shokichi Hamada visited the United States as the first wrestler from the "Land of the Rising Sun" ("History of Puroresu"). Four years later, he returned to his homeland for a series of wrestling cards, or shows, with 20 Americans (Hofstede 212). As successful as these events were, interest did not sustain and purofesshonaru resuring remained stagnant for nearly 60 years, during which time men such as Taro Miyake, Hikoo Shoji and Kiyoshi Kato unsuccessfully tried to resurrect the sport ("History of Puroresu").

The conclusion to the bloody and dismal conflict between Japan and America during World War II brought Joe Louis, a former boxing champion, to Japan in 1951. Along with him came a group of his peer boxers and a number of wrestlers for the sole purpose of entertaining servicemen who were occupying the country. The latter form of competition attracted the eyes of a few men who were involved in Japanese judo fighting and sumo wrestling at the time (Greenberg 69-70).

One of these retired sumo wrestlers was Kim Sin-Nak who had taken on the name Mitsuhiro Momota in fear of being persecuted for his North Korean heritage (Greenberg 70-71). Also known by his in-ring person's name of Rikidozan (Rugged Mountain Road), Momota wrestled his first match (which ended in a time limit draw) against Bobby Bruns on October 28, 1951 ("History of Puroresu"). After a brief stint training and wrestling in Hawaii and California, Rikidozan returned to Japan in 1953 and formed his own promotion: Japanese Wrestling Alliance (JWA) ("Puroresu FAQ"). JWA held its first series of shows in February of 1954, headlined by the tag team main event of Rikidozan and Masahiko Kimura versus the evil American duo of Ben and Mike Sharpe (Greenberg 71). In a match still talked about today, thousands of Japanese jockeyed for position in front of store windows to watch Rikidozan on the Japan Broadcasting Corporation and the Nippon Television Network ("History of Puroresu"). At the time, Panasonic was just beginning to introduce televisions to the public, and, with the progression of the invention, Rikidozan became one of Japan's earliest television stars (Greenberg 71).

Rikidozan achieved many firsts during the early stages of the evolution of puroresu. Rikidozan became the first JWA Heavyweight champion when he defeated Kimura in 1954 (Greenberg 71). He was the opponent for the first American to ever defend his title belt in Japan. National Wrestling Alliance champion Lou Thesz locked up with Momota in 1957 in front of 30,000 fans. The match ended in a time limit draw ("History of Puroresu"). In 1962, Rikidozan defeated "Classy" Freddy Blassie for the World Wrestling Association's top belt to become the first Asian to win an American championship (Hofstede 212-213).

Although the popularity of purofesshonaru resuring began to skyrocket in Japan, making Rikidozan a very wealthy man, shady business ended up costing the life of the father of puroresu (Greenberg 72). On December 8, 1963, Rikidozan was stabbed to death by a member of the yakuza, or Japanese organized crime families, in a nightclub in Tokyo ("History of Puroresu"). After this tragedy, further investigations found the yakuza to be deeply involved in Japanese professional wrestling. Many questioned whether the sport would be able to survive, but thankfully a few notable men arrived on the scene (Greenberg 72).

Shohei Baba (later billed as Giant Baba in the United States) was a giant at 6'9" and a former star baseball pitcher (Hofstede 214). Kanji "Antonio" Inoki had grown up in Brazil where he thrived in shot put and discus. Both had trained in Rikidozan's wrestling dojo and both made their professional debuts on September 30, 1960. The two feuded in a series of matches in the months after that, even teaming up on occasion. But even more similarities began to show between the overly-competitive grapplers. Both had a desire to begin and run their own promotion (Greenberg 73). Inoki had attempted to raise Tokyo Pro Wrestling from the ashes in 1966, but the organization folded within a year. When Antonio's apparent plot of planning a coup of JWA was discovered in 1971, he was ousted from the promotion ("History of Puroresu"). Much to his happiness, 1972 marked the year that Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling opened with its inaugural card (Hofstede 213).

All Japan Pro Wrestling was the name of the company Baba debuted a year later. Emphasizing an athletic and strong style of fighting, AJPW gained support from the NWA, who sent its champ overseas many times to compete in bouts with the promotion's best (Greenberg 73). Baba won the NWA title three times--from Jack Briscoe in 1974, and from Harley Race in 1979 and 1980 ("History of Puroresu"). AJPW put four title belts into competition: the Triple Crown (a unification of three other belts), the World Tag Team title, the World Junior Heavyweight title, and the Asian Tag Team title (Hofstede 214). When Baba passed away in 1999, a personal rivalry between his two students, Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuhara Misawa, caused almost the entire All Japan roster to defect and form a separate promotion called NOAH ("Puroresu FAQ").

New Japan Pro Wrestling, from its outset, generally presented itself as the flashier of the two federations. Inoki was interested in hyping his product as much as possible; a spotlight on NJPW meant a spotlight on Antonio Inoki himself (Greenberg 74). Defeating Johnny Powers for the National Wrestling Federation title in 1973, Inoki began to boast that he had worn a belt from the United States, albeit an unimportant one ("History of Puroresu"). But his greatest promotion yet came in 1976 when he challenged boxing legend Muhammad Ali to a boxer versus wrestler match. Inoki had constructed plans for the match, which would involve him winning with an enzuigiri kick, but when Ali refused to take part in a "worked" (planned) match they decided on a "shoot" (real) fight. The match ended in a time limit draw, thanks to Inoki's "lay-on-his-back" defense and the crowd went away disappointed and bored. Unbelievably, riots broke out in Japan and in some parts of America where the fight was being shown (Greenberg 74-75). In 1983, NJPW created the International Grand Prix titles for each division; the heavyweights, junior heavyweights and the tag teams were all given a belt to fight over (Hofstede 213).

Although the appeal of puroresu declined in the mid 1970s, Inoki was not about to let it die (Greenberg 75). On August 26. 1979, despite their rivalry, Baba and Inoki came together to stage a card and reunite as a tag team, defeating Tiger Jeet Singh and Abdullah the Butcher in the main event. Inoki defeated the World Wrestling Federation champion Bob Backlund later that year for the belt in Tokushima. Originally, the WWF planned to have Backlund win it back the week before he left for America, but NJPW ruled their next match a no contest, meaning Inoki still held the title (Slagle). The WWF was outraged and till this day does not recognize Antonio's reign; the Japanese raised their eyebrows at the incident as well and Inoki vacated the title to squelch the uproar (Greenberg 76). But looking past the turmoil, Inoki cannot be doubted as the most popular wrestler of all time; Antonio participated in the main event of a North Korean event that still holds the record today for largest attendance, and Inoki was elected to the Japanese diet just a few short years ago ("Puroresu FAQ").

A 5'5", 160 pound wrestler debuted in Japan in 1981 and changed the sport forever. Wrestling under the moniker of Tiger Mask, inspired by a Japanese comic strip, Sotoru Soyama had trained for two years in England and Mexico, and had implemented many high flying and entertaining elements from the Mexican "lucha libre" style of wrestling (Greenberg 76). Tiger Mask was so impressive, he was booked to win both the NWA and World Wrestling Federation's Junior Heavyweight titles defeating Les Thornton and Dynamite Kid respectively in 1982 ("History of Puroresu"). Grapplers from around the world began to adopt his high-risk in-ring style, and, in an even more important feat, Tiger Mask popularized a new form of puroresu: hybrid or shoot fighting, both of which were promoted as "real" wrestling. Organizations such as Ring and Pancrase, where many bouts ended in amateurish submission holds, strengthened the "authentic" claim of this subdivision of Japanese wrestling (Greenburg 76-77). Soyama's junior style is also evident in New Japan, which holds tournaments such as the Super J Cup and the J Crown for the lightweights (Hofstede 213).

By 1999, 30 different promotions, ranging from all women's competition to pure "lucha libre," were open in Japan (Greenburg 77). Although NJPW and AJPW remain at the top of the puroresu scene, other promotions have accumulated a strong fan base through innovation of the sport. The International Wrestling Alliance presented a bloody, weapon-filled King of the Death Match Tournament in 1995 (Hofstede 214). Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, founded by the father of the exploding ring death match, Astushi Onita in 1989, provided fans of hardcore wrestling with their fix of barbed wire matches and death matches in the 1990s ("History of Puroresu"). Michinoku Pro, created by the Great Sasuke in 1993, continually plays host to the finest masked, lucha libre competitors (Hofstede 214). And various other wrestling federations have come and gone over the last two decades. Naming Osaka Pro Wrestling, Big Japan, Super World Sports, Toryumon, Universal Professional Wrestling and NOAH would be just identifying the tip of the iceberg that is puroresu ("History of Puroresu").

Why, in a country the size of the state of California, has purofesshonaru resuring become as common place as football is here in America? Why do attendance figures for New Japan Pro Wrestling events keep pace with American ticket sales despite being in a country considerably smaller? And what makes the form of wrestling so different from the American variety?

Much of the popularity of puroresu is contributed to the Japanese culture, in which religion, stoicism and the "fighting spirit" is a main component. The "fighting spirit" dates back to the early days of the Land of the Rising Sun, when samurai warriors would fight to the death for pride and respect. Although puroresu wrestlers do not fight to the death today, saying that a particular individual has great "fighting spirit" is a compliment, and means that that person will give the match everything he or she has whether it be for their own personal satisfaction or for the approval of their fans ("Puroresu FAQ"). Generally speaking, religion (and more specifically, the abundance and significance of spirits) has played an important role in the history of Japan. With a momentum shift or counter in puroresu, it is believed that the wrestling is calling upon the spirits to give him the "fighting spirit" to continue on (Wrestlingscout).

In America, there is a constant struggle between pro wrestling fans and critics over the legitimacy of the sport. On the other hand, the Japanese accept the unreal aspect of puroresu while continuing to respect wrestlers for their athleticism. Because of this, promoters are not afraid of making backstage incidents and future storyline ideas public through various puroresu periodicals such as Weekly Gong and Baseball. The willingness of fans to ignore fixed match endings, and the eagerness of sports television networks to cover puroresu, causes many Japanese to recognize pro wrestling as regular competition ("Puroresu FAQ"). Although the competition may not be physical, it is a struggle to see who can gain the audience's support with their performance ("Introduction").

Puroresu is a hidden treasure to the American pro wrestling fan. Upon discovery, a viewer will experience traditional wrestling presented in a modern setting. The wrestling moves are forceful and believable, the finishes to the matches are riveting and enchanting, and the classic title matches are in abundance. Taking all of these aspects into account, it is no wonder why wrestling fans are immediately compelled to purofesshonaru resuring on first-viewing.

Works Cited

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