Essential Japanese Wrestling Discussion/News

[desp]

Props to @desp

I owe you and @desp some green.

Shelley vs. Ricochet was great. No matter how many times I see Ricochet's acrobatic counters, they never fail to impress.

Semi-off topic (this seems to be the closest thing to an indy thread), any of y'all catch the recent EVOLVE shows?

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

Outside of Devitt, the next best native they have is, what, KUSHIDA?

That should tell you everything you need to know.

Remember the WWF womens division in 94? Same basic booking. Have Champ, bring in challenger, ????????, profit.


Oh and wayyy off topic but im trying to buy front row ROH tickets off the website and it only ever (any time ive tried) lets me do second row. is there something im doing wrong? I want to make sure my spit reaches Matt Hardy.

 

[Miracle Violence]

Well, Taguchi isn't winning the tournament. He's out due to a possible hip injury.

TAKA will be subbing for him.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

So Devitt wins. Are they finally moving him Heavyweight?

 

[TrueEpic08]

So Devitt wins. Are they finally moving him Heavyweight?

On one hand, I'm happy as hell. fukk Taguchi.

On the other hand, what now? Devitt's probably moving up, but who does he drop the belt to at this point?

 

[bear27]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

 

[Wcthesecret]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

New japan. Because kazuchika okada that's why.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

On one hand, I'm happy as hell. fukk Taguchi.

On the other hand, what now? Devitt's probably moving up, but who does he drop the belt to at this point?

I say Omega or Ricochet. it will be Taguchi though.

 

[Beautiful Bobby Eatin]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

Hmm depends what you like breh. Youre pretty well rounded so id go by Early 90' All Japan/New Japan especially the UWFi invasion (the storyline the nWo and subsequent storylines ripped off)

 

[Honga Ciganesta]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

Super J Cup 94 is a pretty good introduction to the Junior style of the 90's, most of the matches are short, you've got some guys known for work in the US (Malenko, TAKA etc), and the final two matches are classic.



Here's the best match from that event if you don't want to go through it (or if you'd rather avoid Benoit):



This is a great HW match between two legends:



Another super HW match, Andre moving like a dude half his size One of the best Japanese matches of the 80's:



A couple of really short KENTA matches:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eenKG0NKTAU]2011-11-13 KENTA vs. Sugiura [NOAH] - YouTube[/ame]



I'll stop there for now All that stuff can be enjoyed by any wrestling fan I think, no need to know anything about Puro.

 

[Riley Escobar]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

Easily top 5 greatest matches ever, but when you take into account the psychology of the match and the story behind it, shyt gets elevated to status

 

[TrueEpic08]

I say Omega or Ricochet. it will be Taguchi though.

I'd have considered calling an audible and had Shelley win the tournament. Not the optimal option, but they have recent history and heat, so it all works out.

But damn, they just had Devitt take a shyt on the division en route to walking out. Now what?

Side Note: I'm going through the BOSJ right now, and Brian Kendrick's gimmick is amazing. Leonardo Spanky/The Brian Kendrick/Male Prostitute fresh out of a customer's bedroom coming out to swanky dubstep in a domino mask and a bathrobe. shyt had me like , followed by . It was so swaggerful.

It's EASILY be the third most entertaining thing on WWE TV (after Bryan and the Shield).

 

[desp]

Super J Cup 94 is a pretty good introduction to the Junior style of the 90's, most of the matches are short, you've got some guys known for work in the US (Malenko, TAKA etc), and the final two matches are classic.

NJPW - Super J Cup 1994/04/16 - Entire Event - YouTube

Here's the best match from that event if you don't want to go through it (or if you'd rather avoid Benoit):

Jushin Liger Vs The Great Sasuke (J Cup 07-08-94) - YouTube

This is a great HW match between two legends:

NOAH 01.03.2003 - Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi - YouTube

Another super HW match, Andre moving like a dude half his size One of the best Japanese matches of the 80's:

Stan Hansen vs Andre The Giant - NJPW 09/23/1981 - YouTube

A couple of really short KENTA matches:

2011-11-13 KENTA vs. Sugiura [NOAH] - YouTube

KENTA Vs Ricky Marvin - YouTube

I'll stop there for now All that stuff can be enjoyed by any wrestling fan I think, no need to know anything about Puro.

6 3 94 Kawada vs Misawa - YouTube

Easily top 5 greatest matches ever, but when you take into account the psychology of the match and the story behind it, shyt gets elevated to status

Powerful posts

When I first got into the Japan scene, I found it easier to watch matches involving an American wrestler I already knew. It's a good way to get a foot in the door and familiarize yourself with the Japanese cats. Example:

 

[TrueEpic08]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

The genesis of everything in All Japan comes from Jumbo Tsuruta putting over Misawa, so you should really start there and work your way through the 90s if you want to be able to fully understand the history behind the Misawa/Kawada/Kobashi/Taue matches.



If you REALLY want to go to the beginning, you should go back a little bit before this to Misawa abandoning the Tiger Mask II gimmick mid match (unmasked by...Kawada, no less) and having the crowd just go nuts for him doing it:



Of course, nobody posted any tag stuff, so let me take care of that:



Maybe the greatest match ever, no hyperbole.

As for NJPW, their fortunes start here, with the rise of Chono, Mutoh, and Hashimoto (a guy who gets forgotten too often, but is quite possibly the biggest draw in Puro history. Check his stuff out). Work your way forward after this:

 

[FRIED MASON]

Always wanted to get into Japanese wrestling.Where do i start brehs?Late 80's early 90's stuff i mean.All Japan?or New Japan? or is there anything one of you could recommend?

This is my favorite Tag Match :