It’s December 2016, and I’m at my second New Japan show. I know barely anything about any of the wrestlers, it’s all a buzz of new names and styles. The main event is a tag match, and the first wrestler to the ring is someone who goes by EVIL (in English, in all caps), carrying a scythe and wearing a purple and black velour robe. He is quite possibly the most extra wrestler I have…
Tag: New Japan Pro Wrestling
There’s a notorious moment in wrestling history called the “Finger Poke of Doom.” It’s the culmination of months’ worth of feud between two warring factions of the WCW, led by Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan respectively. At the climax of the conflict, Nash and Hogan finally face each other, glowering, in the ring. There’s a long, tense moment. And then Hogan reaches out and pokes Nash in the chest with one finger, lightly, and Nash…
It’s late 2015, Dan and I have figured out how to buy tickets for New Japan Pro Wrestling shows and managed to attend a couple of shows: in the mountains of Gifu, in the sumo hall in our home base of Nagoya. We’ve even become members of the NJPW fan club, which gives us access to perks and better seats. It’s time to finally make our way to Tokyo and the Mecca of professional wrestling…
“Everyone is looking at us.” There are two thousand people settling into their seats in the Gifu gymnasium, nestled deep in the Japanese Alps. Only two of them are not Japanese. “Everyone is not looking at us,” Dan says firmly as we try to find our seats. It’s late 2015; this is only the fourth wrestling show we’ve ever attended, and all the others were WWE shows. But we’ve decided to try a New…