VIEW FROM THE RISING SUN
by Masanori Horie

All Japan At The Crossroads, Part Two

The world famous Tokyo Dome, site of the upcoming All Japan Pro-Wrestling show on May 2, 1999

Gene Kiniski, The Destroyer (Dick Beyer), and Bruno Sammartino received letters from All Japan Pro-Wrestling and were invited as special guests for "Giant Baba's Retirement Ceremony" at their Tokyo Dome show at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 2. However, Mrs. Motoko Baba must be ashamed that All Japan didn't invite three of the biggest men of merit ... Dory Funk Jr., Terry Funk, and Abdullah the Butcher. They expressed their condolences, and, especially, Dory and Terry sent flowers to Mrs. Baba, when even All Japan's regular gaijin (foreign) wrestlers didn't know of their boss' death. There was a possibility that All Japan would just ignore them and make it look like they haven't answered All Japan's request. They know the timing isn't good, because Giant Baba's Farewell Ceremony will be held at Nippon Budokan from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. Dory was a referee for Antonio Inoki's UFO show at Yokohama Arena on March 14. Abdullah is wrestling for Big Japan Pro-Wrestling right now from March 26 to April 8. Terry will come with his wife, Vicki, for the IWA from April 9 to 13. They decided to do mourning in memory of their biggest rival by their styles.

On the other hand, it is said that there is antagonism between Mrs. Baba and Mitsuharu Misawa. First, Mrs. Baba is a money woman, but she is rather mean over everything, which put big pressures on both wrestlers and office workers. Tomomi "Jumbo" Tsuruta, who had been a top star for 20 years, retired and resigned as director abruptly. He left Japan on March 10 to study abroad in Portland, Oregon for two years. It looks as if Mrs. Baba keeps managing the "Giant Service" (goods company / T-shirts, video tapes, etc), and Misawa is managing as a matchmaker at the shows. As a lot of wrestlers know, Mrs. Baba has patronized Johnny Ace (John Laurinaitis). Johnny, along with Kyohei Wada (a referee / right hand man of Mr. & Mrs. Baba) came by the late Shohei "Giant" Baba's mansion in Ebisu, Shibuya in Tokyo after the opening show of "Champion Carnival '99" (3/26 - 4/17) at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Friday, March 26. Johnny had a meeting with Mrs. Baba, and he would be an official booking agent for All Japan, because she hasn't been on the road yet (maybe she won't), and Johnny won't be back to Tokyo until Saturday, April 10. Actually, all the gaijin (foreign) wrestlers, such as Stan Hansen, Vader, Gary Albright, Johnny Ace, Johnny Smith, Giant Kimala (Ben Peacock), and Wolf Hawkfield (Jim Steele), came to Baba's mansion to express to Mrs. Baba their condolences on Friday, March 5, one night before the last Nippon Budokan show (3/6/99). However, nobody, except Johnny Ace, had an ambition and ability to be a coordinator. He is planning to bring old regular gaijin back, such as Patriot (Del Wilkes), Eagle (George Hines / Jackie Fulton), and add 2 Cold Scorpio, Bart Gunn, and Curtis Thompson as regulars. He and Wolf Hawkfield visit Big Japan's show at Korakuen Hall to see Abdullah the Butcher in secret on Sunday, February 28. When Baba was alive, wrestlers would be fired if they visited other companies' shows. The hoops got loose, or his power was surely up. I don't think Johnny is a man of "top gaijin" caliber, which Stan Hansen, Abdullah, and The Funks had. He, as a wrestler, doesn't have something to sell Nippon Budokan out by himself. But this 33-year-old man is a very smart and ambitious man as a coordinator. He has gotten jealousy and heat since he started as a wrestler whose brothers are Road Warrior Animal (Joe) and The Terminator / Fury (Mark). He was coached by Nelson Royal in Mooresville, North Carolina. He is one of the last generation from the old school. He claims that he has the connections with both the WWF and WCW. He would like to have Kenta Kobashi & Jun Akiyama vs. New Age Outlaws and Hiroshi Hase vs. Owen Hart at Tokyo Dome (some internet media reported that All Japan has made contact with the WWF about bringing in three wrestlers for the 5/2 Tokyo Dome show, two of whom would be the New Age Outlaws. The WWF turned down the proposal, since they have major domestic house shows that weekend, and the proposal didn't make clear who the Outlaws would face and what the result would be.) If Johnny Ace has keen eyes and ears to catch how to appeal to Japanese fans' minds, it will help All Japan, and he will deserve high praise. If he concentrates on putting himself over, it will hurt All Japan.

The WWF 's representative, Victor Quinones, was staying in Japan from March 17 to 27. He left Tokyo on Saturday for WrestleMania XV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Sunday. He showed up backstage at All Japan's Korakuen Hall show to see Misawa and Johnny Ace on Friday, March 26. He also showed up backstage at New Japan's Nagoya Rainbow Hall show to see Seiji Sakaguchi, the President of New Japan, on Saturday, March 20. He was looking for a Japanese office that can have long-term business with the WWF. Plus, he surprised us that he shook hands again with Mr. Asano (an owner of IWA in Japan), with whom he split about three years ago, and booked Terry Funk for their April tours. In February, he had two shows of the IWA (International Wrestling Association), the company in charge of setting up the WWF's Puerto Rican tours. He is going to start the IWA weekly regular circuit in Puerto Rico in September. He booked Ricky Banderillas for Battlarts, and Pablo Marquez (a.k.a. Babu) & Zorro for Michinoku Pro-Wrestling to give them seasoning.

The Man Called VADER

Vader elbowdrops Akira Taue, March 6, 1999

All Japan's Triple Crown Heavyweight champion, Leon "Vader" White from Boulder, Colorado (190cm / 170kg = 6'5" / 374 lbs.), will be 43 years old 12 days after the Tokyo Dome show. His character is symbolized by two infamous stories--his brutal matches with Cactus Jack (especially on WCW Saturday Night [4/21/93] --- Cactus was seriously injured and nearly paralyzed) and his attacking a TV host in Kuwait in 1997, when he grabbed the host by the tie, shoved him backwards, and used obscene language after being asked during a live interview if professional wrestling matches were fake. As an "unmasked" face, he is really a gentle person. I don't know how long he will be able to stay with All Japan; at least, All Japan will revolve around him as a central figure this year. Misawa beat Vader (10:52) at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya City on Sunday, March 28. Perhaps the winner of the tournament will challenge for Vader's Triple Crown title at the Tokyo Dome on May 2.

Leon "Big Van Vader" White, Masanori, and the IWGP Belt, January 1990

These are the results of Vader's title matches in Japan:

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (12/27/87-7/8/92, 1/4/96):

IWPG Heavyweight title matches (won the title 3 times):
5/8/88 Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo
Tatsumi Fujinami beat Big Van Vader (16:02 DQ)

6/26/88 Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Aichi
Tatsumi Fujinami beat Big Van Vader (13:27)

4/24/89 Tokyo Dome
Big Van Vader beat Shinya Hashimoto (9:47)--Vader won the one-night tournament to determine the champion and became the fourth champion.

5/25/89 Osaka Castle Hall, Osaka City
Salman Hashimikov beat Big Van Vader (8:45)--Hashimikov became the fifth champion.

8/10/89 Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Tokyo
Big Van Vader beat Riki Choshu (10:04)--Vader became the seventh champion.

9/20/89 Osaka Castle Hall, Osaka City
Big Van Vader beat Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (11:32)

9/21/89 Yokohama Bunka Gym, Kanagawa
Big Van Vader beat Shinya Hashimoto (10:08)

2/10/90 Tokyo Dome
Big Van Vader drew Stan Hansen (15:47 double countout of the ring)

6/12/90 Fukuoka International Center, Fukuoka City
Big Van Vader beat Stan Hansen (22:11 double DQ)

8/19/90 Ryogoku Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Tokyo
Riki Choshu beat Big Van Vader (11:51)--Choshu became the eighth champion.

1/17/91 Yokohama Bunka Gym, Kanagawa
Big Van Vader beat Tatsumi Fujinami (12:57)--Vader became the 10th champion.

3/4/91 Hiroshima Sun Plaza, Hiroshima City
Tatsumi Fujinami beat Big Van Vader (13:14)--Fujinami became the 11th champion.

IWPG Tag Team title:
1/31/90 Osaka Furitsu Gym, Osaka City
Masa Saito & Shinya Hashimoto beat Big Van Vader & The Great Kokina (a.k.a. Yokozuna) (12:58 Saito beat Kokina)

3/1/92 Yokohama Arena, Kanagawa
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow beat Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (24:18 Vader beat Muto)--Vader & Bigelow became the 18th champions.

3/9/92 Kyoto Prefectural Gym, Kyoto City
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow beat Shinya Hashimoto & Masahiro Chono (28:08 Bigelow beat Chono)

5/1/92 Chiba Port Arena, Chiba City
Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow beat Keiji Muto & Hiroshi Hase (20:40 Vader beat Hase)

6/26/92 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
Rick & Scott Steiner beat Big Van Vader & Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow (16:24 Scott beat Bigelow)--Steiner Brothers became the 19th champions.

UWFI (Union of Wrestling Force International) (5/6/93-4/20/95):

Pro-Wrestling World Heavyweight title:
12/5/93 Jingu Baseball Stadium, Tokyo
Nobuhiko Takada beat "Super" Vader (14:23)

8/18/94 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
"Super" Vader beat Nobuhiko Takada (19:24 KO)--Vader became the second champion and won the "Pro-Wrestling World Tournament '94".

1/16/95 Nippon Budokan, Tokyo
"Super" Vader beat Gary Albright (11:25)

4/20/95 Nagoya Rainbow Hall, Aichi
Nobuhiko Takada beat "Super" Vader (15:40 KO)--Takada became the third champion.