THE END OF AN ERA HAS COME TO PASS

I remember checking out some Puroresu news updates a few months ago. In those updates, Zach Arnold was reporting that a company known as SWS was attempting to either purchase All Japan Pro Wrestling or hire the majority of their major talent including Misawa, Kobashi, and Akiyama. Of course, this story fizzled to nothing within a few weeks. Nobody gave it a second thought. Now, that story is something that all Puroresu fans have probably thought about again; because this time that story plays a huge part in the current situation occurring in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

If you’re an avid Internet wrestling fan, you had to have been living under a rock (or not on your computer) to have missed the situation in AJPW. Mitsuharu Misawa; considered by many to be the greatest heavyweight wrestler in pro wrestling history, has elected to leave AJPW. Now that’s all fine and good, but he’s also taken the vast majority of the AJPW roster. That shows a tremendous amount of power to be able to garner the support of an entire roster. Misawa’s problem was not really with the company as it was with the majority owner. Motoko Baba is the widow of Shohei "Giant" Baba. When Giant Baba passed away, he left Misawa as president of the company and Motoko as majority owner. Since that moment, a rift has been occurring within All Japan Pro Wrestling.

To say that All Japan was run in a very traditional style would be an understatement. Where many companies such as Michinoku Pro, Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling, and New Japan Pro Wrestling have elected to move their stars into more current and "edgy" angles, All Japan has stuck to the basics. The feuds were basically regulated to either "I don’t like you, lets fight it out." Or "You’ve been my rival forever, lets have another match." As a result, AJPW was left in the dust of its competitors. Misawa had wanted to move the company into a more modern direction. Motoko Baba wanted to keep the company in the traditional form as her husband has kept it when he was alive. When Misawa wanted to try out a new angle that had not been done before, Motoko shot it down. It was this force vs counter-force relationship that eventually caused the break up of this once powerful company.

You really can’t blame Mitsuharu Misawa for leaving the company. He knows that the wrestling fan of today wants something more out of their entertainment. The Japanese people like their wrestling, but they have also experienced "Sports Entertainment." They have realized that you can have the best of both worlds. You can have great stories to keep you interested and great wrestling matches as the pay off for the stories. From what I have been able to understand, Misawa wants to take his new company and segue nicely into the world of wrestling and sports entertainment. Nothing to the extent that the federations located within North America have brought themselves to, but just enough to garner new fans who appreciate a story along with a match. The young talent in All Japan could provide the fans with the story that they were looking for. It is a likely assumption that fans respond to younger wrestlers who they can better relate to than the older wrestlers. It was that factor of having young talent I believe forced Misawa to not only take his friends with him to his new fed, but strip AJPW of just about every piece of talent on the roster.

It is hard to believe that one man could have such amazing power over the so many people. To compare the roster defections of AJPW to an exodus would be an accurate comparison. Misawa took twenty-six people with him. All Japan has literally been crippled in one move. The fed is left with only Toshiaki Kawada and a handful of gaijin wrestlers. Granted, Kawada is an amazing wrestler and the gaijin have gained the respect of many fans but it would be foolhardy to believe that AJPW will survive in its current state. The company will have to re-build from the ground up. That is going to take an extraordinary amount of time. Acquisition of established wrestlers would be a near impossibility. Acquisition of young talent would be a time consuming ordeal, as they would have to "get over" with the fans.

It is my belief that when the dust settles, Motoko Baba will end up selling her share of All Japan Pro Wrestling to Mitsuharu Misawa. It is the only logical conclusion that I have been able to draw considering the circumstances that Motoko Baba is facing. Upon the acquisition of AJPW from Motoko, Misawa would have the strength of the name "All Japan" behind him and he would also be able to engage in the endeavors that Motoko Baba would not agree to. Personally, the only thing that I would look for if Misawa were to gain control of AJPW would be a co-promotion. Considering the age of the main event wrestlers in New Japan and All Japan, the next year or two could possibly be the last chance wrestling fans have to see great matches between the talent of the two federations.

If you have the time (and the money) I’d recommend the following matches from the now former AJPW:

Kobashi vs Hansen – 1993

Misawa vs Kawada – 06/03/94 (Considered greatest singles match of all time)

Misawa & Kobashi vs Kawada & Taue – 1995 (Considered greatest tag team match of all time)

Misawa vs Kobashi – 1997 (October Giant Series)

Misawa vs Kawada – 1998 (Tokyo Dome Show)

Misawa vs Kawada – 1999 (New Year Giant Series)

Let’s hope that this is not the true end to All Japan Pro Wrestling. There is no federation in the world that provides better action out of heavyweight wrestlers. It would be a true shame to see this once great company simply fade into nothing.

Email me at crippler_crossface@hotmail.com