Aided by tournament season raising the percentage of match recaps and by my levels of skimming slipping just above the threshold where I notice and go out of my way to look up words I don’t know… I read a bunch of wrestling magazines! Caught up much faster than I would have thought possible.
misc. forgot to post
This ad for the 5 Star GP both illustrates what they were saying about touring a lot and doubles as a map of where various Stardom wrestlers are from. I knew Mayu was from Yamaguchi and Giulia mentioned Maika’s hometown like an issue ago, but otherwise come to think of it Japanese wrestlers aren’t really billed from a particular city the way they often are in America, are they?
Makes me wonder if any of them have have a noticeable accent.
Pop landmark quiz!
What three cities is Gleat advertising shows in?
Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka
週刊プロレス No. 2138
Hiromu’s back! With a big surgery scar on his shoulder. He says he feels recovered to the point of not feeling like he was ever injured at all, and it was easier to choose the surgery and full recovery route after he was out for even longer from the previous neck injury because it didn’t feel like such a long time in comparison.
Kenoh talks about corona some in his column and he says something like now it’s widespread enough that when people get sick (like they were a lot at the time around when the tournaments were starting up) it feels like there was nothing they could do, in contrast to when he got sick because he was irresponsible about it. Nothing to do but learn from his example and be vigilant and cautious if we want to go back to a pre-corona normal.
Maki Itoh’s good at taking smug photographs with a trophy. Her interview shows her characteristic high self-deprecation + high ambition.
There’s a column showing the various fan clubs for various promotions. The included pictures of people manning tables at shows are kinda fun. Some of the names are straightforward, like Team NJPW or Noah’s Ark, some are maybe less so, like Happy Gate for Dragon Gate, or FC BJ for Big Japan.
In my head I assumed the previous Onita picture I posted was from some kind of one-off revival show since I thought he was retired, but it seems like no, to one extent or another it’s a whole new running promotion, FMW-E (the E stands for Explosion, because of course it does). This is his 7th return from retirement so in retrospect I really should have known better. A later column sums it up in a nice way:
7度目の復帰でこの求心力は「さすが」と「まさか」どちらの感想も持てるが、それこそ大仁田の真骨頂。
Speaking of Onita, here’s a pretty cool picture of him and Terry Funk
The history column is about a nearly deadly ankle injury and infection Antonio Inoki suffered in 1975.
Suzu Suzuki and Tsukasa Fujimoto are the wrestlers whose stories I most want to watch after reading these, and I also love Ultraman, so I may have gasped when I turned the page and saw this.
It definitely feels like the Ultraman Expo payed somebody (Ice Ribbon? The magazine?) to have them visit it and talk about how much they enjoyed it, but hey. It does sound fun.
(and OF COURSE Suzuki would be Ultraseven if Fujimoto’s Ultraman, it only makes sense given Ultraseven’s penchant for decapitating monsters and her similar love of bloodshed…)
Giulia talked in her column about why wrestlers like her are coming to Stardom lately, and it sounds like it’s because of money, and because it’s an environment where hard work can pay off. She recounts calling her mom after her first Stardom paycheck and that being the first moment her mom accepted her being a pro wrestler.
There was some kind of event called Hard Hit with like, Onita and Suwama, that took place in an open-air football field (so cheering was okay) and there were no chairs so you just sat on the grass, and anyway here’s Minoru Suzuki just hanging out:
週刊プロレス No. 2139
I already talked about Ibushi’s interview here.
Meanwhile Tanahashi’s in mandatory quarantine from returning from America.
Kenoh’s column is about time off and he says he’s tired more easily lately but while that could be coronavirus after-effects he thinks it’s just accumulated wear and tear.
There’s some photos of Risa Sera and Maya Yukihi at the beach. Looks like a nice day. You can see some of Sera’s deathmatch scars in one of the photos, which I think is kinda cool.
There’s a long obituary for Hideki Hosaka, a wrestler who worked with Onita a lot.
週刊プロレス No. 2140
The Great Sasuke is gonna hold his own funeral in Michinoku Pro…
There’s a lot of N-1 Victory information and interviews in this issue…
Kenoh complains that the tournament is full of old people, claiming the average age is 50 years (by dubiously assuming one wrestler with an unannounced age is 150). He thinks there should be fewer old legends brought in and more younger Noah wrestlers included.
I honestly pretty much agree with him… just because it’s tough to commit to a league you aren’t already bought in on when it’s full of legends you personally don’t have context for yet.
Here’s a gross deathmatch picture.
WARNING: blood and forks
I thought @fallynleaf would like this picture of Ibushi from Wrestle Kingdom Day 2
週刊プロレス No. 2141
There’s a lot of G1 information in this one and a loooong Tanahashi interview.
And he also has his column - the cover and topic is “Tanahashi 2020” which is because he now has the record for most consecutive G1 appearances at 20 (which is super impressive), and it’s also a joke about the olympics still being 2020.
Looks like The Great Sasuke’s funeral went well.
The costume column is about Syuri! I actually LOVE this attire - it’s super cool and feels like a leveled-up version of her last costume.
Turns out, it’s not actually a newly commissioned piece, but a costume she previously wore as the historical figure and one of the 真田十勇士, 霧隠才蔵, in MAKAI (you can kind of see it in one of the photos on their website). MAKAI is a cool-sounding hybrid wrestling/drama live show thing, and this is reminding me that now that I can deal OK with exclusively Japanese videos, I should really go try to find out if it’s possible to get into it.
If all these columns I’ve mentioned aren’t enough proof that Suzu Suzuki enjoys deathmatches… I feel like this photo is proof enough.
(warning: blood)
週刊プロレス No. 2141
The magazine people tell Kenoh they have a 大スクープ for his column - Wrestle Universe is free til the end of the year! Kenoh might even sign up for the first time! (he hadn’t out of spite because the URL still said DDT until now)
There’s a Japanese Wrestling Hall of Fame established now. The first entrants are Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Genichiro Tenryu, Jumbo Tsuruta, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Riki Choshu.
Michinoku Pro is having a マスクマン決定リーグ
One of the gifts you can enter for a chance to receive by sending in some information is a funerary portrait of The Great Sasuke, as modeled here by The Great Sasuke
週刊プロレス No. 2143
Kenoh’s mad they lied about having a big scoop last time and turned his column into an advertisement (but he did sign up).
The history column is about Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba both debuting on the same day in 1960. Apparently (according to Inoki anyway) Rikidozan specifically had Inoki debut against a strong opponent and Baba against an especially weak opponent, I suppose to showcase their respective strengths.
There’s a small obituary for Rumi Kazama, a former LLPW wrestler who passed away suddenly.
週刊プロレス No. 2144
Kenoh (who apparently studied 政治経済 at Meiji University) compares Noah to the LDP election, talking about how ultimately they boil down to factionalism. He compares himself to Taro Kono who got a lot of votes, but notes that like Fumio Kishida, Naomichi Marufuji wins because ultimately 保守本流 is a powerful factor faction-wise. That’s just for now however, and Kongo will one day take the throne.
There’s been some interviews with Stardom wrestlers and Takumi Iroha that were good but hard to pull stuff to recap doing so many of these at once. A common thread is how many joshi wrestlers wear bright red these days - they’re all vying to be the top red wrestler, but 朱里 has an advantage because of her name.
Oh also apparently Saya Kamitani accidentally revealed Iroha was joining the 5 Star GP before it was officially announced. I hope she doesn’t feel too bad about that.
There’s interviews leading up to Wrestle Princess II. Sakisama and Mei St. Michel are a very fun interview because of how much they play up their act - every time they call the championship おベルト is very good.
VENYU, Yuki Kamifuki and Asuka, apparently met for the first time by chance while both separately out drinking.
I heard about the thing depicted in this part of the WWE recap. Not really seeing the storytelling benefit to the choice in pictures either…
This photo of Tam Nakano with her poleaxe is phenomenal.
There’s some industry talk about the N-1 Victory. Sounds like they want it to be as big as the G1 brandwise and are experimenting with the format to try to get there. It did sell out all days.
週刊プロレス No. 2145
I noticed Takumi Iroha’s tattoo in this photo… I had a hunch, and yes, Chigusa Nagayo also has this tattoo. Nagayo’s says “The Last Fighter / The First Legend / The Mentor.” Iroha’s seems taken from that and apparently says “The Inherit Fighter / The Next Legend / The Mentor”
As teachers and students go, they sure do seem close.
There’s starting to be some speculation about when audiences will be able to cheer again, as cases go down (and every wrestler traveling abroad has remarked on the cheers being hugely refreshing). But for now still just in caution mode.
I didn’t realize how storied Syuri’s career has been. Here she is in 2008 debuting for Hustle. And apparently she wrestled Kana (Asuka) before she went to WWE.
Tenryu reflects on the Hall of Fame (sounded like he’s grateful but also cautions those backing it to be prudent about money) and on the late Rumi Kazama, who played a major role in helping Tenryu’s WAR get off the ground by allowing a joint tour with her LLPW promotion.
There’s some reflection in Mutoh’s column on the 70 year history of pro wrestling in Japan (measured from the day of Rikidozan’s debut). He says perhaps by the time it hits 100 years everyone will be wrestling in Mazinger-style robot suits. They joke that with his knees, he’s a fore-runner for those robot suits, since technology has certainly prolonged his career and made him part-machine in a way. He’ll be 90 then, but maybe he’ll still be wrestling…
One interesting note at the end is he feels like no company really has lasted very long, not Rikidozan’s, not Baba’s, not Inoki’s. Because although AJPW and NJPW still exist, they don’t feel like the same companies to him anymore since they’ve been bought and management has completely changed.
There’s a column about (and I’m just going to use the terminology the magazine uses here), a ミゼットプロレスラー, プリティ太田, starting a successful crowd-funding campaign to start a promotion/revival, こびとプロレス再生プロジェクト, after many years after the heyday of this kind of pro wrestling (in AJW, apparently), and appearing sometimesi n Michinoku Pro.
This is a type of wrestling I’ve had mixed feelings about, with nothing against the performers but plenty of trepidation about how respectful the presentation is given wrestling’s routes as a carnival sideshow. But surely I can get behind a self-driven and self-run project like this.
That said, プリティ太田 and his partner in the endeavor are both getting old, and (I feel like predictably?) they’re having trouble scouting new talent. I hope things work out and he can realize some of the ambition he talks about here.
週刊プロレス No. 2146
I guess O-Karn did a good job in the G1 because he gets an odd letter of commendation.
I noticed Syuri has a patch that says “MODERN BASIC MOONAGE DEVILMENT”
I have no idea what that means.
(also her and Maika’s tag team dance is extremely dorky in a very good way)
Giulia’s column is about Koguma and Hazuki returning. It sounds like when Hazuki left, she was outspoken about not liking Stardom, and some weirdos on twitter got mad at Giulia for being one of her last matches and therefore in their minds somehow causing her to not like Stardom.
Giulia talks about how it’s completely normal and good for people’s minds to change and she totally respects the decision to return and the courage involved in making it.
Dump Matsumoto held some kind of show, and here’s a cool picture with her and Chigusa Nagayo
There’s an interview with Mr. Pogo. It’s not the famous Mr. Pogo from FMW who passed away, but the wrestler Shadow WX who has inherited the name Mr. Pogo for FMW-E since they were close and Onita didn’t feel right without a Mr. Pogo to feud with.
There’s a small bit that mentions in 1997 when AJW (全日本女子, unaffiliated with AJPW/全日本) went bankrupt. It sounds like they had tried to diversify by investing heavily in real estate and stocks, and then the bubble burst…
And that’s why there isn’t a women’s promotion with a 50+ year history today.
There’s a bit in the industry column about Stardom trying to make sure the movesets are diverse, without too many wrestlers using the same signature moves. It’s an interesting topic but I confess I don’t think I’ve ever been like “hey someone else used the same move earlier in the show!” other than to note like, 619s being common. Anyway, it talks about how everyone’s german suplex, for example, has a bit of a personal touch that makes each feel unique.
There’s a column about the Wrestle Universe renewal. Sounds like they’re going to try to emphasize the site as a main part of the business model going forward. Obviously, I support this (since it’s not like I’m getting to use the priority ticket perks anytime soon…)
週刊プロレス No. 2147
Okada has an interview after winning the G1. He says a big part of his not using the rainmaker for a while was his arm hurt. And he wanted to diversify to keep opponents on their toes. Obviously it’s a sorrow for Ibushi what happened in the finals, but ultimately it’s a win for Okada so he can’t sneeze at it despite how it happened.
You would think Tanahashi’s column would be about the G1 too, but it is 100% food, eating, and dieting. It sounds he’s gotten into watching mukbang videos to cope with diet stress. Not gonna lie that doesn’t sound like the healthiest thing in the world to me.
Some really wild news this issue is that the wrestler Zeus, a top star in All Japan, is going back to (and taking over) his home promotion, Osaka Pro-Wrestling. It sounds like he really earnestly wants to work for the promotion that his family and hometown love the most, and that he wants to use his experience in All Japan to make Osaka Pro into something that appeals to families and people who don’t watch any other wrestling promotion.
Kenoh talks about it in his column and he very much admires the decision, but makes no bones about it being a difficult road ahead for small regional promotions like that.
For me, Zeus stood out in the Champion Carnival last year sweeping his block, and I don’t think Osaka Pro has ever made a noticeable blip in these magazines, so it really is an interesting change. Makes me wonder what Zeus’ future (not necessarily in a bad way), and also AJPW’s…
There’s an interview with Koguma and Hazuki about their respective returns, that I appreciate a lot because it totally made me want to root for them after not having any context for who they are since I just started watching Stardom only last year.
It sounds like Hazuki got wrapped up in a difficult (and unspecified) family situation and had to take a lot of time away, and then retired, burned her bridge, and didn’t keep in touch with anyone from Stardom, working バイト jobs at convenience stores and izakayas. Then what changed her mind and made her think about returning, was the tragedy that happened to Hana Kimura. That made her rethink her life and resolve to act on making up for her regrets instead of just letting them stay regrets, since life can disappear so fast. And she was trepidacious and had difficulty contacting Stardom/Rossy, but eventually here we are.
And Koguma sounds like she has pretty much the same arc completely independently, just in a less intense way. And her return may have helped pave the way for Hazuki.
That interim period of normal jobs after (and before) being a pro-wrestler sounds like it would be such a strange time in someone’s life.
Giulia runs down the various tag teams in the Godess of Stardom league. I love how much fun the Stardom wrestlers have with tag names and entrances and stuff for these, and this actually convinced me to be sure to watch at least some of these shows. The team of Kashima and Fukigen Desu is called 東スポ大好き and they carry Tokyo Sports to the ring (Giulia jokes they’re jeaopardizing her column space), yet I also spotted them with a 週刊プロレス issue! what gives!
Here and elsewhere Giulia’s really seeded that she thinks Unagi Sayaka is dangerous for Tam to keep in Cosmic Angels. Strife with her was played up in the shows I watched recently too, and I feel like that masked ghost person (?) that attacked Waka Tsukiyama has to be Sayaka?? Who else has a grudge against Waka and a reason not to attack her in the open!
There’s a long interview with Tatsumi Fujinami (The 辰 in Tatsumi is the “dragon” in “dragon suplex,” and a bunch of other “dragon” moves he innovated), because he’s been wrestling for 50 years straight. It’s a really interesting interview. He talks about how he ended up in the business because he heard a particular person who worked with Inoki was at an onsen in Beppu, so he and someone else went to the onsen in Beppu not really expecting anything to come of it but they did find him and did manage to get an in that way, leading to a long career as a New Japan stalwart.
He calls pro-wrestling a “恐怖の世界” because the fear in stepping into the ring and the courage that springs out from that is what wrestling is all about and something never to be lost sight of.
There’s a small bit about how Giant Baba didn’t like gambling but loved mahjong. I also love mahjong (in a casual way)! So I was excited to hear Giant Baba’s secret to mahjong, but it’s not a particular grand strategy, it’s just to be patient and read your opponent. I feel like that’s less a 麻雀必勝法 and more just… a basic description of what being good at mahjong is.
Some Ice Ribbon wrestlers did a tour in Mexico and Tsukasa has a travel diary. Sounds like it went well! She says her most used word ended up being baño to ask for stops on the tour, and there was some culture shock in one of the arenas as toilet paper was disposed of just… on the floor. But otherwise it’s all positive!
There’s a feature after that with a lot of cool pictures about the history of Japanese women’s wrestling promotions going on tours in Mexico.
Whew! And that’s it, I’m caught up!
I think this time I should be able to make it stick and stay up to date, and even in this huge burst I do enjoy these. I was leaning towards switching to digital when the subscription runs out, but now I think I’ll renew. I just like the excuse of going to Kinokuniya too much, and the language-learning feeling of legitimacy in having a subscription, and the shipping delay actually helps me since it’s not like I watch shows on time…
Far and away my favorite features have been the Stardom 10th anniversary and Ice Ribbon 15th, so I’m really looking forward to whatever they’re going to do next year for NJPW’s 50th and then also AJPW’s 50th later in the year. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were published books involved.
(P.S., I second that that Hiromu/Desperado match is really really good! Even if, like me, the vividness of your level of storytelling investment extends mostly just to “they’re rivals” 
)