Falls Count Anywhere

04-08-03

I'm a member of Asparagus Alley, so don't follow me into the men's room.

Welcome to Falls Count Anywhere. My name is Chris, and the Giants are 7-0. Suck on that, Dodger fans!

RAW
Well, I enjoyed a good portion, but the fact that The Rock remains the focus has taken away from the overall level of the show. Some of the in-ring was really good, and most of the out of ring was fairly bad. The crowd was spotty (for any Brits reading, I don't mean acne-ridden), being quiet at times, though giving decent pops to near falls and entrances. Kind of a mixed bag, but there was enough good to weigh my decision in that direction.

Match quality: high. The Rock and Jeff Hardy had a nice little match that the crowd eventually got into. Hardy started to come down in the middle, it seemed, but Rock worked it right. The Swanton near fall was great, with a good pop. The backstage stuff between Trish and The Rock was only fair, but The Rock again had some funny lines, though I may still be laughing from the Ira Goldberg line from last week. The showdown with Goldberg after was fair, and they seem to be building it right.

Trish and Jazz had a match that was a little rough, but enjoyable. The crowd seemed silent for most of it, but when Trish fought for the ropes and made her comeback, they really got into her. Nice false finish pop, too.

Ah, RVD. You put him in a backstage bit filled with veiled references to the sweetstinky and he's awful. You put him in the ring and he usually will give you a good little match. It wasn't spectacular or anything, but solid. I like Morley, and the German he gave was rad.

Nowinski and Steiner are feuding. That sound you hear is the company's faith in Steiner as a draw. Nowinski's leftist tirade was well-delivered, but poorly though out. Then again, he does have the last three letters for that sorta thing.

Of course, this actually happened last week. But we didn't get the picture until today.

Dudleys vs. Kane wasn't great, but I got a lot of enjoyment out of the post match beat down. Goldust vs. Richard was there, but the Goldust/Test/Stacey stuff backstage was awful. I do love Goldust's delivery, but the joke has worn off.

The main event was great, and what you would expect with Booker, Jericho and Michaels in the ring together. The build was right, the return of Diesel was right, and everything went very well. The Hot Tag segment ruled, as did much of the way when Michaels was in and selling. HHH looked better than usual, which may be a sign that he is finally returning to peak form.

Don't get me started on "The Frenchmen" or as I will refer to them, Les Vichy.

All in all, a show worth watching.

News
Austin may have wrestled his last match at Mania…but I doubt it. He'll be back in the ring at some point, even as broken down as he is. Angle made his final choice to go with the Pittsburgh surgery. Lesnar is back this weekend, as the concussion was not too severe.

Cauliflower Alley, an old-timers organization, gathered this weekend and presented awards to various folks. I would give anything to be a member of the CA, as they are the organization that will likely be the last best hope for the history of wrestling.

FlashBack!
Japan: more than just a bunch of sandal-wearing goldfish tenders.

Japan is, without question, the country where wrestling is the most mainstream. Since the 1950s, Pro Wrestling has been on TV drawing big ratings and selling out arenas.

The Beginning of Japanese Wrestling.

Most American wrestling fans know little about Japanese graps, except for the few guys who come over, and maybe the crazy Japanese garbage wrestling (the popular term for massive brawling shows) with explosions, barbed wire, and Cactus Jack. So I am determined to bring ya'll up to date on the Wrestling of the Rising Sun, and where better to start than the real beginning: Rikidozan.

Like many Japanese wrestlers over the years, Rikidozan, real name Kim Sin-nak, started out in Sumo. He was Korean, and sumo in those days didn't elevate foreigners to the heights, so he quit.

He found wrestling in the early 1950s, and after a few matches on the touring groups that would make trips through Japan, he took off for the US and built a name for himself, most notably in Hawaii and San Francisco. When he returned, he was a huge star as he had only lost three matches on his tour and holding tag team belts on his trip.

Rikidozan then set up the Japan Wrestling Alliance to tour Japan full time. He won numerous titles and became the first Japan Champion, in a match where it has been claimed that he started shooting. He became the First All-Asian Champ by beating King Kong of Singapore. The All-Asian belt still exists today as part of the All Japan Triple Crown.

The NWA champion, Lou Thesz, recognized the value of Japan, and met Rikidozan several times. These matches drew shares in the 80s, as high a rating as I have ever heard of.

Though he never held the NWA championship, he did win the NWA International Title and even won the WWA title (the belt Blassie made famous) in LA. In 1963, with the world at his feet, he started talking with Sumo about a comeback, and helping to increase the visibility of the sport. He even brought two young men into wrestling, Shohei "Giant" Baba and Antion Inoki, the men who would draw more money than any other Japanese wrestlers ever. Everything was going Rikidozan's way, until December 8th, 1963.

You see, wrestling, and indeed all sports in Japan, have a strong connection to the Yakuza. Yakuza members will buy huge blocks of seats and resell them, giving them a strong source of income. They are also one of the major funding forces for many ventures. The fact that this remained hidden so successfully speaks volumes for the Japanese mentality.

Before Cactus Jack, there was... Rikidozan!

Many say that Rikidozan was in with them deep and none but the highest up in the company knew, though others say that he just had made enemies through the success of his nightclubs. A Yakuza member approached Rikidozan in the bathroom, and a fight started. He took a switchblade to the gut, but it wasn't a major injury. There is a legend that he stayed at the club after being stitched up and actually sang Mack the Knife on stage.

He kept living it up, and a week later, he died of peritonitis.

Rikidozan started Japanese wrestling, brought the second and third biggest Japanese stars ever into the sport, and scored the highest ratings of any wrestler ever. Most would say that Rikidozan and El Santo were the two biggest wrestling icons in their countries, far bigger than Hogan ever was in the US. The fact that moves that managed to beat him, like the back suplex, are still over in Japan tells you the level that he reached.

While most American fans today can't name a single wrestler of the 1950s, I've never met a Japanese person who didn't at least know the name Rikidozan.

That's another Falls Count Anywhere. Friday: SmackDown! and a FlashBack to Japanese women's wrestling, perhaps the greatest wrestling in the world.

Chris Garcia