Japanese Wrestling
Japanese wrestling, sometimes called Japan Pro Wrestling,
is a relatively recent arrival in Japan when compared to its more ancient
counterpart Sumo wrestling. As an adaptation of standard American pro
wrestling, Japan Pro Wrestling wrestling never really kicked off in its home
country until RikidMzan made it big by inspiring his countrymen right after
World War II. From then on, the sport practically snowballed into a national
sport that saw the rise and stay of professional wrestling in the Japanese
culture.
RikidMzan's death in 1963 had split the once-unified professional wrestling
organization of Japan into two main factions, with two successors each
taking a different approach to wrestling. One faction focused on turning
wrestling into a simulated combat sport, while the other faction focused
more on storytelling and performances.
Japanese wrestling would be associated to a few fights and names under them.
This would include: manabu nakanishi, shinsuke nakamura, taguchi & prince
devitt, black tiger & jado, togi makabe & tomoaki, makabe & tomoaki honma,
takashi iizuka & tomohiro, iizuka & tomohiro ishii, and many others.
Combat Wrestling
Being the 'left-wing' style of wrestling, combat (or shoot) wrestling
incorporates moves you would rarely see on American wrestling: kicks and
punches accompany a wrestler's plethora of moves; aiming primarily to create
a 'fight' rather than a 'show' to its fans. This makes combat wrestling a
notch more dangerous and realistic than its flashier and more dramatic
counterpart.
King's Road
If you ever watched American wrestling, then you would be familiar with how
the King's Road approach to wrestling took off: submissions, brawls and some
background stories all work together to create a cinematic effect -
traditional America wrestling in its purest form.
The End Result
Neither side of pro wrestling in Japan actually 'won' as time passed. In
fact, the lines differentiating both styles of Japan Pro Wrestling blurred;
resulting in a style of wrestling that is uniquely Japanese in nature.
Watching most American pro wrestling matches is like watching a noontime
soap drama - except with more muscles and testosterone attached. Japan Pro
Wrestling is a bit more different: the matches are designed as actual
wrestling matches with a very real interest in victory rather than some
fabricated personal agenda for the wrestlers.
Even the energy of the matches is different - Japan Pro Wrestling has a more
competitive and edgy feel to it than its American counterpart. This edgy
feel is not generated by the fluff surrounding the matches, but by the
wrestlers themselves as they duke it out for the titles. It would be really
convincing if you didn't know from the beginning that the matches were
scripted all the same.
About the Author
Discover great Japanese Wrestling videos, products, and more at http://japonesewrestling.net
Japanese Culture and Society Links
Japanese Sports 競技 (スポーツ)
Japanese Food 食品 (しょくひん)
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