VIEW FROM THE RISING SUN
by Masanori Horie

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance

I have seen Mr. Yonezawa, who was a long time business manager for both the late Shohei "Giant" Baba and Abdullah the Butcher, recently. He completely left the wrestling business and now lives in comfortable retirement. He is one of my teachers of wrestling history. He gave me these pictures at this time. They were taken 34 years ago. JWA (Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance) had their Seventh Annual World Big League Tournament, with Freddie Blassie, Luke Graham, Sweet Daddy Siki, Baron Gattoni, Don Manokian, Jack Pesek, Al Greene, and Mr. Moto, from April 8 to May 21 (30 shows), 1965. They went over to Amami Island, a southeastern island in Japan, by small airplane, and they were welcomed by big crowds at Amami Airport. They had an outdoor show. Take a look at these pictures and imagine the "Good Old Days," when they didn't need "sheets."

Giant Baba (l), Freddie Blassie (c), Great Kojika (r)

Amami Airport

Freddie Blassie with crowds at Amami Airport

Michiaki Yoshimura (l) and Giant Baba (r)

Front to back: Al Greene, Jack Pesek, Don Manokian, Baron Gattoni, Sweet Daddy Siki, Freddie Blassie

In all, 146 shows are being held by 30 offices in Japan this month (November 1999).
New Japan Pro Wrestling (11 shows), All Japan Pro Wrestling (13 shows), FMW (six shows), Michinoku Pro Wrestling (18 shows), Pancrase (one show), IWA Japan (one show), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (13 shows), Battlarts (10 shows), DDT (two shows), Osaka Pro Wrestling (six shows), Toryumon (three shows), West Japan Pro Wrestling (two shows), Wrestle You-Me Factory (one show), Goro Tsurumi's IWA (one show), Kingdom (one show), CMLL Japan (four shows), Atsushi Onita (one show), Seikendo (two shows), Nihei-gumi (one show), YMB (one show), UFC-J (one show), PRIDE (one show), All Japan Woman Pro Wrestling (10 shows), JWP (six shows), LLPW (six shows), GAEA Japan (three shows), Jd' (nine shows), ARSION (10 shows), Neo Ladies (one show), Chikako Shiratori (one show)---There are wrestling shows and wrestling shows.

The first pro wrestling show in Japan was held at the Ryogoku Memorial Hall (old Sumo Hall) in Tokyo on Sunday, September 30, 1951. Joe Louis (former World Heavyweight Boxing champion) and seven wrestlers (including Bobby Bruns from Iowa and Harold Sakata [a.k.a. Toshi Togo / Odd-Job from the James Bond 007 movie Goldfinger] from Hawaii) were invited by the Torii Oasis Shriner's Club. They had wrestling shows in Tokyo for two months until November to entertain U.S. servicemen during the Korean War (1950-1953). Rikidozan, real name Mitsuhiro Momota, who quit as a Sumo wrestler the year before, started training to be a pro wrestler, and he had his very first match against his trainer, Bobby Bruns, at the Ryogoku Memorial Hall on Sunday, October 28, 1951 (10 minutes time up draw).

Rikidozan founded Nippon Pro Wrestling Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha (JWA [Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance]) on Thursday, July 30, 1953. JWA was the first full time professional wrestling company here in Japan. JWA had their first show at Kuramae Kokugikan (old Sumo Hall) on Friday, February 19, 1954. In those days, Rikidozan carried the irresistible Puroresu (pro wrestling) boom at the daybreak of television in Japan. Rikidozan and JWA weeded other small offices out. (There was also "The Dawn Of Joshi Puroresu (Woman's Pro Wrestling)" in those days.) Rikidozan, 39 years old, was stabbed by "yakuza" (Japanese Mafia) in a nightclub named the "Latin Quarter" in Akasaka, Tokyo on Sunday, December 8, 1963, and he died one week later. JWA had still enjoyed huge success with Shohei "Giant" Baba, Kanji "Antonio" Inoki, Kintaro Ohki (Kim ILL), Seiji Sakaguchi, etc., in the 1960s - 1970s. JWA was one of the strong members of the NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) in those days. However, JWA's heads abandoned their company to dissipation.

Kanji "Antonio" Inoki and New Japan Pro Wrestling had their first show at Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo on Monday, March 6, 1972. Karl Gotch beat Antonio Inoki (15:40) in a main event. Shohei "Giant" Baba and All Japan Pro Wrestling had their first show at Machida City Gym in Tokyo on Saturday, October 21, 1972. Bruno Sammartino & Terry Funk beat Giant Baba & Thunder Sugiyama in a main event. Then, JWA had their last show at Yoshii Town Gym in Gumma Prefecture on Friday, April 20, 1973. They ended their 20-year history after losing their two biggest stars, Baba and Inoki. Since then, Japanese wrestling's wheels have always revolved upon its two big axes (New Japan and All Japan) for years.