Japanese Wrestling - The Music

I've been running this thread through the back of my mind for the past several days. We all know how professional wrestling is treated here in the United States. It is treated more like a soap opera over here than anywhere else in the world. It is especially true when it comes down to how it is treated over in Japan. Over there it is treated much more like a sport. Its treated so much more like a sport over there that even some wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Sting, Big Van Vader, the Road Warriors, etc. have went over there. Their version, or puroresu, is a lot more demanding on the body than what most people think. Yes, wrestling in general is very demanding but that is not the point of this thread.

This thread is to showcase some of the music that has accompanied wrestlers like Antonio Inoki, Riki Choshu, Stan "The Lariat" Hansen,

Take Antonio Inoki's theme right below. It was a remake of the entrance music that Ali had made for his fight against George Foreman in Nairobi. Inoki had this version made after he bought the rights to the song that Ali had used before.


One of the first wrestlers to make the jump from the States to Japan was Stan Hansen. He had made a name for himself over here by already winning the American Wrestling Association heavyweight title. After heading to Japan, he went on to win All Japan Pro Wrestling's Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on four occasions along with becoming an eight time tag champion.


Mitsuharu Misawa, founder of Pro Wrestling NOAH, wrestled for years under the Tiger Mask name in the late 1980s and into the early 1990s. Misawa died on June 13th, 2009 in a match where he teamed up with Go Shiozaki to face Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith for the Global Honored Crown Tag Team Championship in Hiroshima Green Arena in Hiroshima, Japan.


Another Japanese great and one of my all time favorites is Keiji Mutoh, a.k.a The Great Muta. A multi time National Wrestling Alliance champion and one of the greatest technical wrestlers to ever step foot inside the four corners.


One guy that I have always followed has been Kenta Kobashi. One of the toughest wrestlerso that wrestling fans the world over have ever seen.


This wrestler was one that no one would have wanted to have met in a dark alley. Known for his toughness in the ring. Shinya Hashimoto started his career at the age of nineteen and went on to quickly become known as one of top stars in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Hashimoto went on to become one of only two men, Keiji Mutoh being the other, to win the I.W.G.P. Heavyweight Championship, the All Japan Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, and the N.W.A. World Heavyweight Championship. As of 2010, Hashimoto had the longest I.W.G.P. Heavyweight title reign lasting 489 days. Hashimoto passed away on July 11, 2005 at his home in Tokyo, Japan after suffering a brain aneuryism just eight days after his fortieth birthday.

Another Japanese great in the eyes of many is still Masahiro Chono. Chono, who was born in Seattle, Washington, has won the I.W.G.P. Heavyweight Championship, the N.W.A. Heavyweight Championship, a three time I.W.G.P. tag team champion, and a five time winner of the G1 Climax Tournament over his illustrious career.


Those are just a few wrestling themes from Japan that I have found. Myself and others want to see what other wrestling fans here on ATS can come up with.

Hiroshi Hase's theme


The late Mitsuhara Misawa's theme from Pro Wrestling NOAH.


Akira Maeda's theme "Kyapuchudo"


One of the greatest lightweight/cruiser weight wrestlers of all time, Jushin Thunder Liger.

Hey man. S&F


Love me some Japanese wrestling those guys don't kid around

I've heard more than one American pro wrestler say ; these Japanese are Crazzy!

The fans really are quite serious about it all too.


SS

reply to post by Spike Spiegle


Wrestling over in Japan is treated completely different than what it is over here. Over here it's more about how much money one performer can make over another. In Japan, it is treated like a sport and rightfully so. I mean those guys will beat on each other for almost an hour before a winner comes out of it. Another difference is that its not as scripted as the "wrestling" over here is. If you listen to the crowds from the matches over there. They are mostly quiet until someone hits a big move or the match ends. Unlike, fans over here in the states that constantly yell during the matches.

Pro wrestling stars over there are treated with the utmost respect. So much respect that they are almost god like in the media. A lot of professional wrestlers that are stars here and in Mexico have went over to Japan and became stars and won over the crowds there. Big names like Stan "The Lariat" Hansen, Sting, "The Rocky Mountain Mastodon" Vader, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Ultimo Dragon, Rey Mysterio Jr., Dos Caras Jr. just to name a few.

Another popular wrestler in both Japan and here in the United States to make it big over there was Mike "The Gladiator" Awesome. Known for his for his speed and agility, Awesome was one of those wrestlers that you couldn't hate. While he had made a name for himself over here in the states in the early 1990s. He was best known for his stint in Atsushi Onita's Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling as "The Gladiator." I was a fan of Awesome's up until the end when he left the disaster area that was World Championship Wrestling back in 2000. Sadly, on the night on February 17th, 2007, Mike Awesome took his own life at his Tampa, Florida home.


Perhaps one of the greatest Heavyweight Champions of all time to come out of Japan was Tomomi "Jumbo" Tsuruta. A fan favorite in many wrestling federations. Tsuruta was known for his feuds with the likes of Stan Hansen, Bruiser Brody, Genichiro Tenryu, Terry and Dory Funk, Jr, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Ric Flair just to name a few. Tsuruta was also the first man to win All Japan Pro Wrestling's "Triple Crown" after defeating Stan Hansen in Tokyo in 1989. The result of that match unified the Pacific Wrestling Federation's, the National Wrestling Alliance's United National, and the N.W.A.'s International Heavyweight titles. Over a twenty six year career, Tsuruta wrestled in 3,000 matches both Japan and the United States. Tomomi "Jumbo" Tsuruta passed away on May13th, 2000 from complications due to a kidney transplant.


If you really want to know how well respected Tsuruta was in Japanese wrestling. Just listen to the ovation he received as he came out for his retirement ceremony at Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on March 6th, 1999.