#mr gannosuke

[jasvvy]

[gdwessel]

The Thrill Of Anticipation

[This was originally written back in February or March of 2022, pitched and accepted by FanFyte back when it was still a thing. It never ran, although I did get a kill fee for this, so in that respect I did get compensated. I miss FanFyte and I would have written for them forever. C’est la vie. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. If you want to see the match I am talking about, links are below after the piece.]

As New Japan Pro Wrestling is in the midst of its 50th Anniversary year in 2022, one might be tempted to recount the glorious matches, brutal feuds and classic moments that made people become fans in the first place. However, as a quick look at this very website will tell you, wrestling is made up of a lot more weird ideas, goofiness, and noble failures than it is made up of classics.

NJPW’s founder Antonio Inoki is one of the greatest wrestlers and promoters ever to have graced the business. This much cannot be argued against. Inoki had a LOT of ideas about how pro wrestling can, could, and should be. Not every idea hit the mark. Occasionally, the reason was, the idea was way ahead of its time.

The Bed Of Nails match between Antonio Inoki v. Umanosuke Ueda that took place on 2/8/1978 at Tokyo Nippon Budokan, the penultimate night of that year’s New Years Golden Series tour, could definitely be seen as one of those Way Ahead Of Its Time ideas. But was it a bad match in of itself? That is debatable.

First, some context for those not familiar with Inoki’s opponent on the night. Umanosuke Ueda was born Hiroshi Ueda on 6/20/1940 in Yatomi, Aichi Prefecture. His eventual ring name would come from a historical figure of the same name, a samurai who was part of the Shinsengumi, the shogun’s personal police force from 1863 – 1869. He debuted in 1961 for Japan’s original wrestling promotion, the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, whilst Rikidozan was still the top man in the company. He would also wrestle in Los Angeles and other NWA territories, bouncing around various promotions, including a brief stint in All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973, and the IWE promotion in Japan, where he would briefly become an IWA World Heavyweight Champion.

What set Ueda apart in those days, were his look, his style, and his alliances. Ueda was the innovator of the bleached-blonde hair look in Japanese wrestling, which nowadays is pretty common, but in the early 1970s was considered scandalous in Japan. He was considered a “traitor heel,” not only because of his looks, but also his lawless brawling style. Wrestlers such as NJPW’s Tatsutoshi Goto and FMW’s Mr. Gannosuke would find inspiration in Ueda’s look and antics. More recently, NJPW talents Toru Yano and EVIL would be influenced by Ueda for their characters.

Then there was the matter of Ueda’s chosen partner by the time he arrived in New Japan in 1977 – the hated foreign nemesis, Tiger Jeet Singh. Inoki’s rivalry with Singh is pretty storied, and the combination of Singh and Ueda brought fan animosity that most heels would kill for in this age of wrestling. It’s worth noting, that the combo of Ueda & Singh were the first tandem to ever win titles in both NJPW and AJPW.

The pair ran roughshod, terrorizing NJPW, until the match was made for the biggest date of the 1978 New Years Golden Series. Antonio Inoki would face Umanosuke Ueda in a match where the ringside floor area would be covered by boards with nails sticking up from them. A decade before the advent of FMW, W*ING, and what we know now as deathmatch wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling was running what they dubbed a “Nail Floor Death Match” in the hallowed halls of Budokan.

When you advertise a Bed Of Nails deathmatch, it comes with certain expectations in the modern fan’s mind. Did it meet those expectations? Well… not quite.

The match started off as you’d figure. Ueda was seconded by Singh, both wearing matching red and white outfits (I think – the video quality wasn’t the greatest), complete with t-shirts reading CAPITAL on the front, with their names on the back of the shirts. Inoki meanwhile arrives in the ring in his customary robe and scarf. Inoki is presented with not one, but two floral bouquets in the ring. Ueda had to dodge trash being thrown at him. Clearly, ownership has its privileges.

A VERY BUFF REFEREE forces Singh to leave the ringside to much drama, as the match begins with some good ol’ RASSLIN. Inoki is the first to gain control here with an early enzuiguri that nearly sends Ueda over the ropes for the first tease of a spill into the nails, to the crowd’s delight.

Ueda manages to get Inoki on the ground with a double wristlock, but Inoki powers out of it, almost dumping Ueda over the ropes to the waiting nails below. More of the same comes when Inoki ducks a clothesline from Ueda, Ueda nearly falling over AGAIN, but that transitions into a Boston Crab from Inoki instead.

The biggest moment of suspense comes as Ueda does finally get Inoki on the ground, and begins kicking him out of the ring, under the ropes, trying to get Inoki to fall. Inoki deftly hangs on to a rope for dear life, as the crowd screams, not wanting their hero to fall and injure himself in the nails below.

Inoki manages to get to his feet, and get himself around the ringpost to apply an armbar to Ueda through the ropes! This leads to a minute or so where it looks like BOTH Ueda and Inoki will go to the floor with the nails waiting for them. The crowd is on needles and pins, so to speak, eager to see whether or not one or both of these men will hit the floor.

Ultimately, Inoki and Ueda are both in the ring once more, as Inoki attacks Ueda’s arm and shoulder. This leads to a towel flying into the ring, as the bell rings, with Inoki winning via TKO. Inoki continues to attack Ueda’s arm, with Ueda with yet another tease to the outside. Ueda’s arm is put into a makeshift sling with the towel, once the VERY BUFF REF and Singh manage to get Inoki off the prone Ueda.

Despite the stipulation, despite the teases and suspense, neither Antonio Inoki nor Umanosuke Ueda ever actually make it onto the boards of nails outside the ring. Was this a waste of a stipulation? Did the match fail because of this?

The answer is: it depends on what you were looking for to begin with.

Had this match taken place in the mid-90s, the time of Kawasaki Dream (aka “King Of The Deathmatch,” the infamous tournament won by Mick Foley) and exploding rings, there would have been, at minimum, three spots with Inoki, Ueda, or both going full on into the nails, blood gushing from them. No question about that. But by then, the definition of what a “deathmatch” was had changed.

Audience expectations had changed by then as well. In 1978, Bed Of Nails deathmatches were not common at all. Barbed wire matches were a thing, but usually with the wire wrapped around the existing ropes. Wrestlers were not shy about bleeding either, even back then.

On the other hand, take a look at the horror genre. Some works are atmospheric, with fog and shadows, merely hinting at the terrors lurking, in order to create a mood of suspense. Others are gory, filled with jump-scares and visceral imagery. Neither are a wrong method, neither one is intrinsically superior to another. It all depends on what the expectations are, and what’s trying to be accomplished. The old Universal monster movies, FRIDAY THE 13TH and DARK WATER all work as horror, for many and varied reasons. For the pro wrestling audience in Budokan in February 1978, the mere anticipation of one of the two, or both, competitors MAYBE going into the nails was enough. And going back and watching the match, the fans were engaged and into the match all throughout. Sure, the danger was never actualized, so perhaps it fails the Chekhov’s Gun test. To the fans in Budokan, that didn’t matter.

Would the nail boards not being there in the first place have changed the match itself? Beyond a few spots, most likely not. All that said, the nails on the floor did add a little extra juice to it going in. (A very good example of a great Bed Of Nails deathmatch? Look up Ryuji Yamakawa v. Tomoaki Honma for the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship from 6/20/1999.)

Antonio Inoki liked to experiment. Experiments don’t always work. Perhaps the most infamous of his “deathmatches” was the Island Deathmatch, from 10/4/1987, a literally 2+-hour match on an island between Inoki v. Masa Saito. I don’t recommend it.

Of course, less than two years after Inoki’s “epic” on Ganryujima, Atsushi Onita would form Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, and forever alter what a “deathmatch” meant to wrestling at large.

Inoki’s experiment on 2/8/1978 may not have worked through modern eyes, and modern expectations of that match stipulation. As a match, it was just fine. Sometimes, it’s the thought that counts.

 Links to the match: Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uamsWjxvIno

Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDZHlAaYeXQ

Part 3:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBY8y1eacuc

[alibomaye]

[bruiserminody]

[keepingthespiritalive]

News Listings for March 9, 2018

News Listings for March 6, 2018

[Akebono Update] It was acknowledged publicly that Akebono has been battling with Acute heart failure and has been confined to hospital care for nearly this last year. Akebono last competed for DDT in April of last year which lead to him going to the hospital due to continued pain in his chest. It was also mentioned that Akebono has dropped from 210 kilos down to 150 kilos. He has been undergoing…

[november-2-remember]

[mengs-mullet]

[reelinplace]

[hostilecityshowdown]

“RF Video presents... The blood, guts, gore collection featuring the wildest matches from IWA, the most violent wrestling promotion in the world. “Too violent for TV”, these tapes have tons of glass matches - barbed wire matches - exploding matches - fire matches - thumbtack matches - spike nail match - cage match, and every other sick match you can think of.”

“These tapes are a must for people who like wild, bloody brawls !!!!!!!!!!! Due to he graphic violence parental guidance suggested.”

full transcript below:

“IWA TAPE #1 (8/20/95) - KAWASAKI DREAM “KING OF DEATH” MATCH TOURNAMENT This is a very violent, bloody, graphic, and, at times, sick tape. Tons of blood and brawls for over 2 hours. 1. Tiger Jeet Singh vs. Mr. Gannosuke (BARBED WIRE BARRICADE MATCH); 2. Terry Funk vs. Leatherface (BARBED WIRE BARRICADE MATCH); 3 Cactus Jack vs. Terry Gordy (BARBED WIRE, BASEBALL BAT, THUMBTACK MATCH). Cactus gets slammed into thumbtacks - sick and bloody; 4. Nakamaki vs. Ono (BARBED WIRE, BASEBALL BAT, THUMBTACK MATCH). Bloodbath and Ono gets thumbtacks in his head - must be seen; 5. Terry Funk vs. Tiger Jeet Singh (GLASS, BARBED WIRE, BARRICADE MATCH); 6. Cactus Jack vs. Nakamaki (BED OF NAILS MATCH). Sick and bloody; 7. Headhunters vs. Silver King - Texano; 8. Dan Severn vs. Tarzen GoTo (NWA Title Match); 9. Terry Funk vs. Cactus Jack (NO ROPE, ELECTRIFIED BARBED WIRE BARRICADE EXPLOSION MATCH); and more matches. This show has matches where people get thumbtacks stuck in their head, wrestlers receive bad burns and a combined stitch count of over 500!!!!!!!!!

IWA TAPE #2 (3/7/95) - IWA THUMBTACK DEATH MATCH TAPE Bloody, bloody, bloody. 1. Crypt Keeper vs. Yamada; 2. Silver King+Texano vs. Okano+Tajiri; 3. Headhunters vs. Kendo Nagasaki+Iceman (BARBED WIRE THUMBTACK DEATH MATCH); 4. Cactus Jack+Leatherface vs. Nakamaki+Ono (NO ROPE BARBED WIRE THUMBTACK DEATH MATCH - THIS IS THE 1ST THUMBTACK MATCH EVER!) Leatherface uses a chainsaw - bloody!!!! Plus more matches from IWA.

IWA TAPE #3 (4/3/95) - IWA BRICK DEATH MATCH Wild brawls with blood. 1. Headhunters vs. Terry Funk+Ono (HEADHUNTERS TURN ON EACH OTHER); 2. Nakamaki+Leatherface vs. Cactus Jack+Cryptkeeper (NO ROPE, BARBED WIRE WITH PILES OF BRICKS WRAPPED IN BARBED WIRE SURROUNDING THE RING MATCH). Bloody; 3. Iceman+Matsuda vs. Taue+Yamada; 4. Sugawara vs. Togai; 5. Okano vs. Tajiri.

IWA TAPE #4 (5/1/95) - HEADHUNTERS BROTHERS GLASS DEATH MATCH 1. Headhunter A vs. Headhunter B (GLASS AROUND THE RING MATCH). They stag each other with the glass, bloody; 2. Nakamaki vs. Crypt Keeper (BARBED WIRE LADDER MATCH) FMW+War wrestlers interfere; 3. Leatherface vs. Ono; 4. Taue vs. Togai; 5. Boragail vs. Yamada; 6. 6-Man with Silver King+Texano+Superastro+Araya Plus More.

IWA TAPE #5 (11/17/94) - TEXAS BRONCO NEW COMING Bloody flesh!!!!!!!!!!!1. Terry Funk vs. Leatherface (STEEL CAGE DEATH MATCH); 2. Headhunters vs. Dick Slater+Araya; 3. Shouji Nakamaki vs. Hiroshi Ono (BARBED WIRE CHAIN MATCH); 4. Silver King+El Texano vs. Miquel Perez, Jr.+Super Astro; 5. Super Astro vs. Okano.

IWA TAPE #6 (11/13/94) - FIRE ON EARTH Hot Fire Match!!!!!!! 1. Terry Funk+Hiroshi Ono vs. Nakamaki+Araya (BARBED WIRE FIRE MATCH); 2. Miquel Perez vs. Leatherface (BARBED WIRE BASEBALL BAT MATCH); 3. Headhunters vs. Silver King+El Texano; 4. Dick Slater vs. Johnny Gomez; 5. Super Astro vs. Okano.

IWA TAPE #7 (10/16/94) - IWA GRAVEYARD Crazy matches!!!!!!! 1. Headhunters vs. Nakamaki+Ono (THE ORIGINAL GLASS DEATH MATCH); 2. Brian Christopher+Dark Patriot vs. Dick Slater+Araya; 3. Leatherface vs. Crash the Terminator (BARBED WIRE BASEBALL MATCH); 4. Gran Apache vs. Okano; 5. Gran Apache vs. Tajiri.

IWA TAPE #8 (12/13/94) - HELL DEATH MATCH Sick and Wild!!! 1. Nakamaki+Ono vs. Leatherface+Original Leatherface (SPIKE NAIL HELL MATCH); 2. Kendo Nagasaki vs. Araya; 3. Johnny Gomez vs. Dick Murdoch; 4. Miquel Perez, Jr.+Jiraiya vs. Okano+Ajuila Negra; 5. Tajiri vs. Taue.

IWA TAPE #9 (1/8/95) - DUEL OF THE WILDS Bloody. 1. Terry Funk vs. Cactus Jack (NO ROPE, BARBED WIRE DEATH MATCH); 2. Araya vs. Tracy Smothers; 3. Nakamaki+Ono vs. Texas Hangmen (BARBED WIRE, BASEBALL BAT, BUNKHOUSE MATCH); 4. Jiraiya vs. Tajiri; 5. Ajuila Negra vs. Taue.”

[jasvvy]

[hotpinkstaples]

me remembering that time mineo straight up grabbed hayata’s dick after he pinned him because there is no god and mineo’s proof of that.

[alibomaye]

[maserati-yokota]

Jd’ Battle Station 7/7/99

Miyuki Fukushima vs. Hiroyo Muto Jaguar Yokota is the ref! Again! Muto drags Fukushima thru a plodding spotfest. Clipped down to basically nothing.

Megumi Yabushita vs. Tomoka Isozaki (AJW) Isozaki has the dopest ring attire I've ever seen; she's basically dressed like a tall, slender Wario but without the hat. I love Yabushita calmly nodding along with the ref and she begs her to break the camel clutch. Isozaki's move set is comically basic and Yabushita is having NONE OF IT. Isozaki responds by biting the top of her head. I do so love that. This match sucks but Isozaki's fashion absolutely does not.

KAZUKI vs. Fang Suzuki Mike Lorefice's review of this match is maybe the most bigoted shit he ever wrote. Avoid. KAZUKI is Kazuko Fujiwara with a slightly different wardrobe. Fang Suzuki is a health goth vampire and I will die for her. In a perfect world, Fang Suzuki and Mr. Gannosuke would run an intergender death match company. If you've never seen her, Fang is a slow but beastly heel. Why is she so slow? Maybe she just needs to F E E D. KAZUKI refuses to be desanguinated and drags Fang from spot to spot, sometimes politely waiting for her to catch up. When they get to the power move section, Fang wakes up and busts out some truly gnarly shit, including a package piledriver.

AWF Sekai Joshi Senshukenjiai: Yuko Kosugi vs. The Bloody Yes her name is The Bloody and yes she is mobbed up with Fang Suzuki. Fang even holds the ropes open for her! What a powerful couple. There's such an embarrassment of talent in Jd' and these two are definitely up in the mix. Sadly, most Jd' footage is so hard to track down, a lot of these careers are lost in the big gray analog media fog. It's a race to see who can doublestomp who first. The Bloody eats some particularly mean-looking ones before taking Kosugi's legs away and throwing them in the bin. For added measure, she grabs her liver with both hands. That is NOT hyperbole. It's some 1970s heel shit and I love it. The Bloody also loves to sneak in a few bites when the ref isn't looking. A sleepy matwork section abruptly ends with some fun, competitive moments, giving Kosugi some hope spots. I don't remember The Bloody doing this much stretching, but she also rarely got booked in anything longer than about 15min. Nice to see her show off something other than her ability to throw chairs at people. Kosugi is ready for her though, slipping out of holds and seizing every split second opportunity. They spill out onto the floor and now The Bloody can be the real her. Fang Suzuki is there to lend a hand or a chair or a chain. My favorite thing about The Bloody is that when she's calling the spots, she looks like a third grader who doesn't wanna be at school; a slow, smug squint clouds her face. And she is in control A LOT in this match, so you really get to drink in the smug. After a touch of brawling, they're back to snapping each other's knees and doublestomping each other's organs into pate. You love to see it, folks. The endless pin attempts, less so. But then, The Bloody pulls out a top rope dragon suplex (?!) and Kosugi is busted open! It's ends in a draw! Kosugi retains the belt. Post-match, they glare at each other while sharpening rusty switchblades. Yabushita drops by to talk shit.

Lioness Asuka & Mima Shimoda & Morimatsu vs. Cooga & Megumi Yabushita & Sumie Sakai Mima comes out dressed like a gold foil sunflower. Morimatsu looks like she released a drum n bass 12" and is mad it didn't sell well. Cooga has her own name tattooed on her thigh. Sakai is dressed like a computer manual from 1982. Yabushita is there, too.

This is a tricky match format, given everybody but Lioness and Shimoda is low-to-mid card. This squad of younguns are gonna have to go pretty hard to make it seem like they might snatch a win. And they do! (Go hard, I mean. We all know they're gonna lose.) Lioness in 99 was fully inhabiting this Akiyama-like, tired old killer character; a woman who has achieved all she set out to and now nothing satisfies her. Even brutalizing the youth of today bores her. It feels like there's a kernel of truth in there somewhere and that helps sell it. I love that she and Shimoda were so eager to work with and, in their own way, help put over the newer talent. It's tough to make what is essentially a developmental match also feel legitimately competitive but they nail it. Everyone works about 2-clicks faster than normal, leans into every spot, and generally makes you feel these two factions fucking hate each other. Even Shimoda makes her opponents' (read: Cooga's) occasionally sloppy offense look devastating and slick.

Despite some hiccups, this event is definitely worth checking out.

[uselessshit13]

January 6

59 Ray Gunkel Don McIntyre Georgia international tag champs

59 Joe Christy Texas brassnucks champion

62 fritz Von Goering pacific northwest champion

65 Tony Borne Argentina Apollo Texas tag team champs

66 Stan stasiak mighty ursus pacific northwest tag champs

67 Larry Henning Harley Race AWA tag champs

68 Mike DiBiase AWA Midwest champion

68 Kintaro ohki michiaki Yoshimura all Asian tag champs

69 the mighty Yankees Memphis southern tag champs

69 Karl Von stroheim treach Phillips tri state us tag champs

70 ciclon negro jack Brisco Florida tag champs

73 bockwinkel and Steven's awa tag champs

74 hurricane Castillo Don Serrano wwc north America tag champs

74 Jose Miguel Perez wwc Puerto Rico champion

78 Leo Burke stampede North America champion

79 Don Kent WWC Caribbean champion

79 Dynamite kid stampede British commonwealth mid heavyweight champion

80 Ronnie Garvin icw Southeastern champion

82 Pierre Martel WWC Caribbean champion

84 Hercules Ayala King Tonga WWC world tag champs

84 Harley Race Missouri champion

85 Brian Blair Florida champion

85 negro Navarro uwa junior light heavyweight champion

85 Sheephearders WWC North America tag champs

85 Joe salvodi al Perez wwc tag champs

86 buddy roberts world class ch 11 champion

86 Norvell Austin Southeastern champion

86 Brad Armstrong Southeastern TV champ

87 Youngbloods wwc world tag champs

87 gran mendoza bob Heffernan wwc North America tag champs

88 invaders 1 3 wwc tag champs

89 Tama the islander Dan Kroffatt wwc tag champs

90 Harley Race wwc Caribbean champion

90 nasty boys Florida tag champs

91 miss a uwa women's international champion

92 Heartbreakers wwc tag champs

92 miguelito Perez WWC Caribbean champion

92 Dick Murdoch WWC TV champ

94 Mr pogo fnw brassnucks champion

96 Carlos Colon wwc universal champion

96 Sean Evans Vince Charming pwx tag champs

96 sweet brown sugar wwc TV champ

96 invader 1 wwc Puerto Rico champion

96 Abdullah the butcher wwc Caribbean champion

98 Mr gannosuke fmw independent world champion

99 Darren Dalton cwf Manitoba champion

99 Carlos Colon wwc universal champion

99 corporal Robinson iwa mid south champion

00 Val Venis Ricky Santana iwa tag champs

00 Shane the Glamour boy WWC TV champ

01 Carlos Colon WWC hard-core champion

01 a j styles nwa Georgia wildside TV champ

99 damaja David c ovw southern tag champs

01 suicidal tendency nwa Georgia tag champs

02 benkei dalkokubo bjw champion

02 shiniro otany Masato Tanaka zero 1 nwa intercontinental tag champs

02 minoru Fujita uwa junior heavyweight champion

03 Miguelito Perez Abyss iwa tag champs

03 Steve Corino zero 1 us champion

03 Lance Storm William Reagal WWE tag champs

04 chicana Stefano iwa tag champs

04 super gladiator vengador boricua wwc tag champs

04 quinten Lee Hwa TV champ

05 chicky star hurricane Castillo Jr wwc tag champs

05 Eddie Colon WWC universal champion

06 thunder lighting iwa tag champs

07 Eddie Colon wwc universal champion

07 Josie nwa Midwest women's champion

08 la artillery posada wwc tag champs

08 bj wwc TV champ

09 bison Miguel Perez Jr iwa tag champs

10 empio iwa extreme cruiserweight champion

10 la Doble r iwa tag champs

10 James Thomas ovw champion

12 Party Boys NWA smokey mtn tag champs

13 kayoko haruyama Tsubasa Kruragaki Daily sports women tag champs

16 Eric Young tna King of mountain champion

17 Iron Empire nwa world tag champs

18 Samantha Starr pwx women champion

19 shuichiro Katsumura independent junior heavyweight champion

19 rich Swann impact x division

19 Taya Valkyrie tna ko champion

[keepingthespiritalive]

FREEDOMS results for March 1, 2018

FREEDOMS results for March 1, 2018

Pro-Wrestling FREEDOMS “This is our era 2018”, 3/1/2018 [Thu] 19:00 @ Shinkiba 1stRING in Tokyo (1) Dragon Libre vs. Tomoya Hirata ◆Winner: Libre (10:55) with a Modified Triangle Hold. (2) Yuya Susumu & Masamune (FREE) vs. Brahman Shu & Brahman Kei ◆Winner: Masamune (9:27) with a Japanese Leg Roll Clutch on Kei. (3) Minoru Fujita (FREE) vs. Chikara (RikiEnterprise) ◆Winner: Fujita (7:50) with a…

[theallianceblog]

It is being reported that Tarzan Goto has passed away. He was 58 years old. Goto famously wrestled Dan The Beast Severn for the #TenPoundsOfGold in 1995 in the IWA. In 1995, the NWA would with with both International Wrestling Association. IWA would hold a tournament in December of 1995 to crown new NWA World Tag Team Champions. Roughly six months after the titles became inactive when NWA Dallas closed their doors. On December 9th, 1995 Mr. Gannosuke & Tarzan Goto defeat Cactus Jack & Tiger Jeet Singh to become NWA World Tag Team Champions. They would hold the titles until they were officially stripped in 1996. #wrestlegram #wrestlingblog #nwafam #nwablog #iwa #ripgoto https://www.instagram.com/p/CeM8KE4pFdr/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=