Welcome to the first official blog! I'm not going to rant on and on at you, so I'll lay it out like this. I'm a huge fan of Puroresu (this is Japanese Pro Wrestling, for those who don't know.) I still watch American pro wrestling, ala WWE, ROH, Etc. (Please note: ETC is not an actual wrestling promotion, but rather an abbreviation for 'etcetera'... even though naming a promotion ETC could be clever.) However, puroresu offers a completely different product, and fulfills a completely different need than it's American counter-part. As anyone reading this probably knows, many 'IWC' fans (that stands for Internet Wrestling Community, also not an actual promotion) tend to pick apart the McMahon/Carter ventures, citing various complaints. I personally don't think any one thing can be everything all at once. So a long time ago I learned that if I want a wrestling program that is in-ring based and offers storytelling mainly through competition, I best look past the western hemisphere (No disrespect to ROH, which is a tad self-obsessed for my tastes, and Canada, which is a tad too Canadian for my tastes.)
Enter Japan. The purpose of this blog will be simple: It's an appropriate forum for me to share my favorite Puroresu matches, thoughts on them and their heat, and anything else that may make you laugh and somehow pertains to Japanese Pro Wrestling. So, sit back, and prepare to moderately enjoy yourself.
ANOTHER THING TO KNOW: Unless the stars are aligned into a perpendicular angle and the moon spins backwards, I will not post the winner(s) of matches posted here. I will discuss build up, psychology, actual moves performed, but never tell you the finish. That is for me to know and you to shut the hell up and watch. If you will.
The first thing I want to share with you is a fun match featuring a couple of names you might have heard of.
MASATO TANAKA vs SAMOA JOE - FIRE FESTIVAL 2001, ZERO-1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpi79hnBSRs
Know this first, the Japanese love leagues and tournament. If you think The World Cup is tedious, try stretching that over a two month tour with a heavily monitored points system. You get some points for winning, no points for losing, a point or two for drawing, and if you don't show up at all you get half a point of and a single Mentos. No, not the whole pack... Just one. Anyway, the Fire Festival is indeed one of said leagues, and keep in mind this match happens right smack dab in the middle of it.
Masato Tanaka, is a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion and all-around accepted bad ass. The Master of the Roaring Elbow has sustained broken bones and deep lacerations for pro wrestling, and his strong, rush-in style reflects that. Coming in to this match, ECW has just folded mere months ago, and Tanaka returned to Japan as a heel with a LOT of fire. Tanaka's Philly exploits were just getting major Japanese press and he rode that momentum into ZERO-1's Fire Festival league, where he took a commanding lead in his block right off the gate.
Samoa Joe, is a current TNA superstar and former TNA & ROH World Champion. This is well before all of that, however, as here in 2001 Joe is a young man looking for the experience and knowledge that a prestigious Japanese tour will bring. He has been working in Japan as a heel for the better part of two years at this point and the Fire Festival is proving to be a platform for which he can endear himself to the Puroresu crowds. Joe has had moderate success in the league, taking 2nd place entering into this match with Tanaka.
This match itself is very deliberate. Immediately you get the feeling that Joe is outmatched by Tanaka, and Masato does not waste a minute inflicting much needed damage to Joe. Joe is green but still The Samoan Submission machine, however, and occasionally fires back with short but effective offense. It's interesting watching the progression of this match, as so many of Samoa Joe's matches from 2003 - 2009 had the same psychology. Joe would destroy his foe with offense, dropping bomb after bomb while they try to 'weather the storm'. Eventually, Joe would get tired, make a mistake, and then it was the victim's turn to inflict pain. However, in this match, the show was on the other foot. Tanaka picks up Joe, only to continuously put him back down, only for Joe to kick out. Tanaka sells the professional deliberation he's been known for like a master, and the match moves very quickly to a nice, tidy conclusion.
I hope you've enjoyed the inaugural blog, and the match to boot. I'll be posting lots of matches on here in the coming weeks so check back for great matches1
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