DIR Return Create A Forum - Home
---------------------------------------------------------
TNA Fan World
HTML https://tnafans.createaforum.com
---------------------------------------------------------
*****************************************************
DIR Return to: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week
*****************************************************
#Post#: 12109--------------------------------------------------
Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special Edition
By: SheriffLonestar Date: May 13, 2013, 9:40 am
---------------------------------------------------------
As reported elsewhere Kenta Kobashi retired on Saturday night in
front of a sell out crowd in Budokan Hall as part of NOAH's
Final Burning show. An evening of tribute to what Japanese fans
call "The Perfect Wrestler". Why was Kobashi so important? The
answer lays right at the beginning of Japanese Professional
wrestling and covers three generations of wrestlings biggest
stars that American and European fans rarely discuss, but are
some of the most influential and biggest drawing wrestlers of
all time.
Japanese wrestling became a truly valued spectator sport in the
period just after the second world war. American soldiers
stationed after the peace brought some of the comforts from home
with them. One being professional wrestling. The early stars of
the sport, Rikodozan in particular, where helped largely by
veteran American and European wrestlers who saw an opening for a
new market, more territories and obviously more money to be
made.
Rikidozan, in turn, set the model for all future Japanese
promotions. A figure head veteran, with some brave apprentices
who could turn away the foreign hoards (US wrestlers where never
fan favorites until much later). His young apprentices, Antonio
Inoki and Giant Baba, would go on to be the foundation of his
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, an NWA affiliate. His star was
rising, by 1953 he was as ubiquitous to Japanese wrestling as
Hulk Hogan is to American wrestling, or El Santo to Lucha Libre.
His October 6, 1957 sixty-minute draw with Lou Thesz for the NWA
World Heavyweight Championship drew an 87.0 rating. Compare that
to Impact's 0.9 of a few weeks ago and you can see how big a
star he was. His star fell in 1963. He was killed by a member of
the Yakuza.
This left a power vacuum, that Baba and Inoki where the only two
well placed enough to fill. Beloved, and empowered by their
mentor's sad demise. The two broke away and formed their own
companies, each claiming to be the rightful heir to the
Rikidozan memory. Inoki formed New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973
and Baba (alongside Rikidozan's family members) formed All Japan
Pro Wrestling.
Both promotions where successful, All Japan more so in some
respects. A loyal, NWA member, as well as a close personal tie
with perennial champion Harley Race, enabled Baba. Those close
ties and the import of several Gaijins to stock his roster
alongside his home grown talent. Terry Funk, Dory Funk, The
Brisco Brothers and any NWA affiliates where welcome in the land
of All Japan. Things, as they have a tendency to do, began to
slide in the late 70's early 80's. New Japan was taking off
having not been able to get in with the NWA, a fact that
aggrieved Inkoi no end the NWA belt was the be all and end all
at the time, NJPW had thrown its lot in with then WWF. Promoting
the WWF Junior Heavyweight title, with frequent appearances from
Dusty Rhodes, Bob Backlund and many others the New Japan cards
where about to be set alight by a new style. In 1981 Tiger Mask
and The Dynamite Kid redefined the way people looked at
wrestling in Japan. Their matches where stiff, fast paced and
high flying. Nothing like it had happened before and NJPW rode
that success. They used the burgeoning star power of Hulk Hogan,
then still with the AWA, who won their inaugural IWGP
Championship (people believe accidentally), they where the in
company. Around about 1985 Giant Baba decided something must be
done.
He set about building his roster from the ground up. He hired
the British Bulldogs on mass, found his own Tiger Mask when
Satoru Sayama left NJPW and they put the gimmick up for sale. He
started to build All Japan with one thing in mind to secure the
long term future of the company. He had simple philosophy.
Patience, no outsiders, tell the story. All Japan essentially
signed its talent then locked itself away from the wrestling
world. Trying to develop its own wrestlers as best it could.
Baba looked for charismatic faces that where tough. They had to
be. All Japan had developed its own style called King's Road.
The idea was to look as realistic as possible, the booking of
this style ensured consistency in its wrestlers who followed a
pattern in matches that made them build their stories slowly
from match to match and over a career. In 1981 Baba found the
perfect wrestler for his style; Mitsuharu Misawa. Misawa took
the long road to the top, taking over as Tiger Mask II.
Developing King's Road to include aerial as well as hard strikes
and mat work gaining support and eventually reaching the main
event beating Jumbo Tsuruta in June 1990. A journey that took
nine years for Misawa. The patient approach of Baba paid off
dividends. Misawa was a massive box office smash. Baba then
turned his hand to his next project Kenta Kobashi. Debuting in
1988 Kobashi lost 63 times straight in his rookie year but the
near misses Kobashi went through gave him a loyal following. He
was the ultimate under dog and the fans loved him for it. He won
the AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship four times with Tiger
Mask II (Misawa), twice with Johnny Ace (John Lauranitis these
days) and once with Junior Heavyweight Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in a
deafening Match of the Year in 1992. Baba kept his run to the
top of All Japan focused and disciplined. Before the decade was
through he would win the Triple Crown, All Japan's top honour,
three times. He was a massively popular and reliable worker.
Presenting five star performances nightly for All Japan. The
company ran on the trio of Misawa, Kobashi and Toshiaki Kawada
at the top of the card. It broke records for two years and then
. . . it didn't. The three greatest wrestlers the company had
produced couldn't draw because they had wrestled each other so
many times there where no more combinations left. Elder Gaijin's
where on the decline like Stan Hansen and Terry Gordy, or gone
entirely like Steve Williams. All Japan was losing its fan base
because Baba the long term visionary had not foreseen what would
happen when he had played ALL of his cards. Rumblings went on in
the background of the company, but the fans where crying our for
a change. A visitor from NJPW a fresh face, but Baba stuck to
his tradition.
Baba passed away in 1999, his dieing wish was to see All Japan
stay the same as it always had. Homegrown talent and hand
sourced Gaijins. The trouble was none of the wrestlers wanted it
that way. Misawa who became president on Baba's death and board
member Kobashi resigned and took all but two of the roster with
them. In the biggest coup in pro wrestling history All Japan Pro
Wrestling became temporarily meaningless over night, the people
who did it where the AJPW wrestlers themselves. They formed NOAH
a promotion ran on the Kings Road Style, with a modern twist.
Everyone got a shot, no more slow pushes if it worked it worked,
if we need a NJPW guy or have the opportunity why not? It was a
blistering success. All of this was unthinkable under Baba.
Kobashi was important politically as he was as a wrestler. Below
is his final match. It fills me with happiness that he left the
sport in much better shape than when he entered it. His legacy
is secure and despite some near career ending injuries,
including a bout with cancer, he has remained more or less as
good as it gets for 25 years. What really made me happy, but a
little sad to, was that the fans got to celebrate Kobashi for
what he has given them. Mitsuharu Misawa died during a match in
2009. The fans never got to celebrate his legacy only mourn. The
small Misawa chant in the post match celebration was fitting for
Kobashi's friend, but Budokan's favourite son was Kobashi.
Forever will his mark be felt.
HTML http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pVHGPdrEYI
#Post#: 12112--------------------------------------------------
Re: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special Edition
By: tnafanforum Date: May 13, 2013, 10:50 am
---------------------------------------------------------
Very very good read and what a match that was
#Post#: 12117--------------------------------------------------
Re: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special Edition
By: SheriffLonestar Date: May 13, 2013, 11:20 am
---------------------------------------------------------
It is amazing, and wonderful to see so many great wrestlers
together :).
#Post#: 12118--------------------------------------------------
Re: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special Edition
By: SheriffLonestar Date: May 13, 2013, 12:53 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for the kind words :). Just for the record the match
involved; Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, Keiji Mutoh, and Kensuke Sasaki
versus Kobashi's protégés Go Shiozaki, KENTA, Maybach Taniguchi,
and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
#Post#: 12121--------------------------------------------------
Re: Sheriff Lonestar's PPV of the Week Special Edition
By: ChrissiCalvert Date: May 13, 2013, 1:19 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
TY for this :D
*****************************************************