An Introduction to Puroresu: PART 1Posted on 14 Dec 2009
 Puroresu, translated from Japanese means pro wrestling in English. Pro wrestling has been a huge part of my life ever since I could remember but it wasn’t since the late 90’s when I started to fully appreciate what the land of the rising sun had to offer. For those who don’t know me, I’ve been known around the Winnipeg wrestling scene as bit of a puro-elitist. Do I know a lot? Probably more then I account for. But in this day in age, it doesn’t take much to learn or understand something different. I know I wouldn’t know as much as I do if it wasn’t for the Internet, which basically can be said for every wrestling fan out there. There are more people in this city who follow Puroresu but for those who don’t; I’m about to introduce you to a world in which guys hit hard, girls hit even harder, and men kiss other men… We’ll get to that in a later installment. Without giving an incredibly long and boring wind down of the history of puroresu I’m going to make this quick and painless for everyone. First it’s important to understand where Japanese wrestling began. Much like Hulk Hogan is to American wrestling, there’s one man who is recognized for making wrestling famous in Japan and his name was Rikidozan. Rikidozan was a symbolic figure for Japan following WWII and came off almost godlike every time he was booked against an American. Other fun facts about Riki is that he established the first major wrestling promotion in Japan, Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, he’s been credited for inventing the karate chop and ironically he wasn’t Japanese but instead Korean. His wrestling career started in 1951 and ended abruptly in 1963 after being stabbed by a gangster in a Tokyo night club. Watch Rikidozan take on Lou Thesz back in the 13th of October, 1957. [Side Note]: There was a movie made of Rikidozan back in 2004 for those interested. It’s a great film and depicts the life of Rikidozan accurately. Puroresu legend Keiji Mutoh also makes an appearance. A quick torrent or even YouTube search and you should be able to find it. Another man who is iconic in Japanese wrestling is Giant Baba. Baba trained in Rikidozan’s dojo to be a successor to Riki. When JWA was on its last legs, Baba formed All Japan Pro Wrestling and had a strong working relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance. In fact, Giant Baba was the first Japanese pro wrestler to ever hold the NWA World Heavyweight championship. Baba had a storied wrestling career and led All Japan with some of the world’s best wrestling in the 80’s and 90’s. His last match was in 98 and sadly passed away from cancer a year later. Watch Giant Baba take on Harley Race back in the 9th of December, 1975. [Side Note]: Giant Baba’s height had a lot to due with his popularity. Being 6’8 is quite the oddity and to the wrestling fans, he was always billed as 6’10 before his matches. Much like Baba, there was one other man who was groomed to succeed after Rikidozan and that was Antonio Inoki. Inoki teamed with Baba in the early stages of his career in JWA but was then fired from JWA for allegedly trying to take over the company. It was after this when Antonio Inoki formed New Japan Pro Wrestling. Much like All Japan, New Japan also had strong working relationships with North American promotions and continues to do so till this day. It can be argued who had the better wrestling but in terms of the media, New Japan has always been the stronger of the two. Inoki however soon faded away from New Japan in 2006 when YUKES purchased his stock of the company. Watch Antonio Inoki take on Bob Backlund back in the 27th of July, 1978. [Side Note]: Inoki without a doubt is the most recognizable face of pro wrestling in Japan. On my trip to Tokyo this past summer I saw everything from energy drinks, workout towels and even clocks with this man’s face on it.  Now I know these matches probably won’t make you go out and buy as much puro as you can but it’s a good introduction and history lesson on how the sports evolved over the years. In the next installment of Dragon Suplex, I’ll introduce you to how I was addicted to puroresu. My favorite part of pro wrestling has always been the junior’s. The fast pace momentum and the jaw dropping high risks, this man got me hooked like nobodies business… Content Management Powered by CuteNews
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