Wrestling With The Past #9

[Loss]

Picking up where we left off:

 

http://placetobenation.com/wrestling-with-...tling-part-two/

[WingedEagle]

Awesome, I'm still behind and just finishing the Goodwill Wrestling Top 5 'cast, so I've got a lot of catching up to do. Can't wait to get to these.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I loved the conspiracy theory that Will was Tiger Mask. I got a good kick out of it. I was just about to post the crazy six-man lineup Mil Mascaras, Bob Backlund, & Jimmy Snuka vs The Eliminators & Hector Garza and Charles said it. WAR is crazy. Another huge blind spot for me. I have seen the great Tenryu/Hash matches and the crazy brawl with Mutoh and with Takada, but have no seen much WAR. I need to remedy that. Fujiwara vs. Abby in '97 sounds weird as hell. Even though I have watched plenty of puroresu, this was still plenty informative.

[Superstar Sleeze]

You guys briefly touched on the attempt to generate new stars at the turn of the century: Akiyama, Sasaki, and Nagata. I think the common theory floated was that Akiyama just did not have the charisma. I just wanted to see if anybody had further thoughts as Akiyama's career in 2000-2002 is so interesting to me because it really seems like a rocket is strapped to his ass until he gets beat by Ogawa (granted he becomes the rock of the tag division after that with Saito). I posited in the Akiyama thread that: "I think my major hang-up with Akiyama is I don't think he ever found his personality in the ring the same way the others did. "

 

I'll ask the same question here: "Who is Jun Akiyama? Maybe someone can flesh out who Akiyama is for me. Maybe it will come in time with watching more footage. Now, Akiyama's 2000-01 is so intriguing to me because from a booking perspective he strikes me as the absolute hottest wrestler in puroresu. "

 

Feb '00 - Pins Misawa

Aug '00 - First NOAH show, chokes out Misawa, pins Taue and drops tag partner Kobashi with a back drop driver. That is a huge friggin' angle. The next night he chokes out Kobashi to win. They are giving Kobashi CPR after the match

Dec '00 - Kobashi gets his win back, but needs to use the Burning Hammer

July '01 - Pins Misawa to win the GHC Title

Oct '01 - Headline NJPW Dome show against Mutoh & Hase with Nagata

Jan '02 - Pin Nagata headlining 01/04 Dome show

Feb '02 - He pins Kobashi in a tag match against Kobashi & Misawa with Nagata

April '02 - Drops title to Yoshinari Ogawa, WHAT THE FUCK!?!?

 

He beat Misawa and Kobashi within six months. He choked out Kobashi. How was he not a made man?

 

Ditch gave a similar answer to Charles, "Akiyama and Nagata both suffer as a result of who they're compared to. How do you follow the Musketeers? How do you follow the Four Corners? I think the same thing happened with Jumbo (comp to Baba) and Fujinami (comp to Inoki). Jumbo and Fujinami were the 'pause that refreshes'. NOAH didn't have anyone to follow up with after Akiyama, but in Nagata's case I think he and Tenzan were needed to clear the stage for Tanahashi et al. to be seen as a success on their own terms rather than the terms of the golden days." Basically that there has been diminishing popularity ever since Rikidozan, but while that is what we are seeing. It does not explain why we are seeing it.

 

I happen to agree with Mike Campbell that when Misawa and Hashimoto rose to prominence they had other rivals with them. Akiyama just did not have anybody. So I was curious if anyone thinks it is Akiyama's fault, a lack of credible challengers or NOAH's booking (Ditch and Campbell both slammed the booking.)

[ohtani's jacket]

Basically that there has been diminishing popularity ever since Rikidozan, but while that is what we are seeing. It does not explain why we are seeing it.

I don't agree with this. If it wasn't for Baba and Inoki pro-wrestling would have died with Rikidozan. They were as important as Rikidozan if not more and just as popular.