Japanese Puroresu

by "Lightning" Mike Quackenbush

     No style of wrestling produces the kind of high quality matches that Japanese puroresu does. In Japan, style is dictated by promotion and weight class. The heavyweights of All Japan, the junior heavies of New Japan, the Michinoku Pro boys; each with a sub-style of puroresu that is uniquely there own.

     Puroresu is not as artful as lucha libre, it is based more around the primordial conflict of man against man; two equal creations testing courage, spirit, might and skill. The contest is designed to prove who is the worthier of the competitors, and often the match itself is emotionally charged. Puroresu is not simply about wrestling, but about who will show the most heart, who's fighting spirit is irrepressible, and who's courage will remain undaunted throughout the match. The match, much like American pro-wrestling, is a modern day morality play; but with a very Asian spin on it.

     In America, pro-wrestling is the current day model of the ancient Greek morality play. Forces that represent the basic concepts of good and evil are pitted against one another, and through the twists and turns of the story, one wins out over the other without violating the general parameters of it's nature. The stories are told in a simple framework, but are often convoluted in execution. Most recently, American pro-wrestling has stepped farther away from the outline of the morality play and has become almost formless in it's storytelling.  Japanese puroresu still generally sticks to the concept of the morality play, but it is more influenced by the culture of the East. It is the Asian concepts of good and evil which are applied here, and the characters themselves are not as outlandish as they are in pro-wrestling.

     While many of the traits remain the same, like arrogance or disrespect; they are more sublime in application. The American version of these same characteristics tends to be over-the-top, and in-your-face; while the Japanese take on it is more recessed.

     When it comes to loading a match with emotional content, few do it as gracefully as the Japanese. It's necessary to understand the full history of a character to truly appreciate the significance of the story being told. A good example of this is the finals of the 1994 Super J Cup tournament. This match featured Chris Benoit against the Great Sasuke in a bout to crown the top Junior Heavyweight in the world. Part of the story was that of the dominant Benoit crushing the top contenders as he made his way to the finals, just as he did the year before. Underdog Sasuke fought his way just to get to the tournament, gaining recognition for his small independent organization in the process; and upsetting heavy favorite Jushin Liger to get to the finals. That alone is enough to charge the audience.  But there is something more to this match, not evident at first. In the early 1980's, the most talked about junior heavyweight feud was the one between the original Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid. Tiger Mask, the anonymous masked man, skilled in gymnastics and martial arts; versus the muscled foreigner in Dynamite Kid, a powerful brawler and mat technician. The finals of the J Cup '94 was a retelling of that feud. The Great Sasuke, hooded native of Japan, trained under the original Tiger Mask, and known to use the greatest moves from Tiger Mask's arsenal. Sasuke faces off against Benoit, the protege of Dynamite Kid, physically his duplicate, and prepared with all of Dynamite's signature holds.

     Essentially, Benoit/Sasuke '94 was an updated version of Tiger/Dynamite '82. Without knowing the history behind it, some of the impact of the match is lost. This is the nature of puroresu storytelling; there are always two stories being told. It adds a sense of grandeur to the matches it works in, making it less sport and more religious experience.  The match between Toshiaki Kawada and Mitsuharu Misawa from the Dome in May of 1998 springs to mind as a recent match in which this worked well on both levels. On the surface, you had 28 minutes of sound, hard-hitting wrestling action in a way that only these two greats could deliver. It tested the spirit of the injured Misawa to still perform and defend his titles against the red-hot Kawada, who was poised to steal the Triple Crown away. That is enough, judging by the tremendous star power of these two.  Underscoring this was the theme of "hard luck" Kawada who could never get a break, and when he started to overwhelm Misawa in the final minutes of the match, the crowd was whipped into a frenzy like sharks in blood. Kawada connected with his jumping high kick to the face four times, and each time, the crowd grew more and more excited. These people wanted to see Kawada win in the worst way.

     When Kawada landed the second of two folding powerbombs on Misawa, the crowd reached it's highest point, and the match ended there. It was so packed full of emotion, the crowd went berserk. I almost cried, man! The idea that these things can be conveyed through the medium of wrestling is very inspirational to me, and I think it is what I am ultimately trying to get out of this sport.

     Above all, I feel that my work is both inspired and influenced most by Jushin Liger. When I first glimpsed him fighting Brian Pillman in 1991, it changed my entire opinion of wrestling. I was entranced by the grace of his flying and the individuality of his style. He was the antithesis of the  Ultimate Warrior, a character which embodied those things that bored me the most in wrestling. I never wanted to be a pro-wrestler until I saw Liger.  To this day, no one's matches are as influential to me as his.

     Other than Liger, the original Tiger Mask is probably my greatest puroresu influence. All the elements of the martial arts, acrobatics, amateur and pro-wrestling were brought together and blended by Tiger Mask.  He pretty much created the modern style of junior heavyweight wrestling in Japan all by himself. Even when struggling to perform opposite confused grapplers who barely comprehend what's taking place around them, Tiger shines as an idol; an impossible level of perfection to which we all aspire, but can never achieve. No phrase better summarizes him than "poetry in motion."

     Much like modern juniors all hoping to reflect one iota of Tiger Mask's talent; so too does American pro-wrestling and Mexican lucha libre fall sorely short of the level maintained by Japanese puroresu. I think no style of wrestling produces finer stories, and ultimately, finer matches than puroresu. It's the style I work hardest to integrate into my own....and the style I most want to compete in.