#njpw strong style

[jungledboy]

jack is so funny LMAO

[gotmeontheropes]

That’s my champion 🧡

[princedevitt]

[supakixbabe]

Some gifs from Backstage at NJPW Strong Style Evolved 2024

Ps. All I ask is that you give me credit. I'm on X, Tumblr, Bluesky.

[angelkitty32001]

I'm probably not the first to post this, but NJPW have posted the whole of Strong Style Evolved 2018 for free on the YouTube!!!!

Finally, I can watch The tag match *dances*

Such joy!!

[rjcity1]

It’s up and I love him.

[thistledropkick]

A while back, I got pretty frustrated trying to figure out what people meant when they used the phrase "strong style." I’d seen people throwing it around frequently in English language wrestling discussion, but I’d never been able to get a real, clear definition for it from anyone, especially not one with actual citations or sources.

I decided to try reading about it on my own. And I immediately learned that people use the phrase "strong style" very differently in English than it’s used in Japanese. 

Strong Style has it’s own Japanese-language wikipedia page. Here are the first couple paragraphs, translated by me:

"Strong Style" is a concept / -ism of professional wrestling. It’s a style in which one expresses one’s "emotions (rage)" in one’s wrestling. [The source for this sentence is given as a now-private Youtube interview with Shinsuke Nakamura.] It was conceptualized by Antonio Inoki, and passed down primarily within New Japan Pro Wrestling.

In Antonio Inoki’s "Autobiography of Antonio Inoki" he said that "Strong Style" is the fusion of the Karl Gotch style of offensive and defensive wrestling techniques and the Riki Douzan style that displayed the fearsomeness of pro-wrestling."

The article goes on to say that in addition to the raw emotion and the stylistic amalgam of Riki Douzan and Karl Gotch, Strong Style is also associated with a specific style of wrestling gear - short black trunks, black wrestling boots, and bare elbows and knees.

When I’d heard people use the term "Strong Style" in English, it had felt like it had a completely different, completely unrelated meaning: "something hard-hitting, MMA adjacent, pro-wrestling that’s similar to a real fight." "Strong" taken literally and simply, as physical strength behind physical blows. But the term as conceptualized by Antonio Inoki had a completely different meaning. The "strong" here was at least as much emotional as it was physical, and the inspiration wasn't so much MMA as it was wrestling.

It’s not unusual for this kind of disconnect to occur between Japanese pro wrestling and the English-language fans, but I was still surprised to learn that the meaning of a term this widely used, and this foundational to Japanese wrestling, had been so profoundly lost in translation.

The Japanese-language wikipedia page also addresses this alternate English-language definition of the term. Towards the end, they include a quote from Shinsuke Nakamura, where he says that unlike in Japan, in America people think of Strong Style as "shoot style" with elements of boxing and amateur wrestling. It also includes a section towards the bottom of the page for "Shoot Style" pro wrestling, which it defines as completely separate from Strong Style, with a European origin and unrelated history.

In any case, reading this gave me a real sense of clarity when trying to understand how the phrase is used within New Japan Pro Wrestling.

[houseoftortures]

📸yutaka10.26

[spearzreloaded]

Mone d. Hazuki (Strong Style Evolved 2k24)

[shinnakafan384]

[jungledboy]

nobody gives jack enough credit for the work he puts into his character. i know he's supposed to be evil and mean and scary or whatever but you're not gonna look at this guy and tell me you don't feel bad after all that he's had to endure

the frustration in his voice, the way he's looking down and avoiding eye contact most of the interview.. i wish i could be steve from blues clues so i could draw him a friend or something

tony khan please give jack a real friend please before i start sobbing and throwing up

[despemania]

despe remembering his full mask is on ...

[princedevitt]

[kayfabe-is-king]

Interesting that Jack is teaming with Takeshita for Strong Style Evolved.

[supakixbabe]

Since this match is literally everywhere now, I wanted to go back and gif some of the moments where I was like: “OH MY EFFIN GOD!”

Strong Style Evolved 2018; Golden Lovers Vs Young Bucks. A match of the damn century!! I know y’all are probably gonna use the second gif A LOT. 👀 Hey, no judgements here.

[rjcity1]

Hiroshi Tanahashi explains Strong Style | Hey!(EW) | new episode Sunday