Significance of trophies in puroresu...

[El Negro Magnifico]

Hi there folks! This is my first post, hopefully the first of many...
I figure I can actually get this answered here: what's up with all the trophies in puroresu? It seems that they are given out after a successful title defence or after a title changes hands. Don't get me wrong, I like 'em! It's just that they're often huge! Is it just a part of the ceremony and whatnot that is part of Japanese culture? Don't get me wrong...I dig that too!

Thanks!

[greenman]

Seems liek its just somthing people expect and just part of putting on a good show. The king of all trophies was at WM 4 tho the winner of the battle royal got a trohpy about 7 feet tall.

[LizardKing]

I dont exactly know for sure, but to me it appears that Title belts mean so much more than they do in America. Therefore the ceremony of winning/retaining a title has more importance than in McMahon land, hence the trophies/streamers et al. Personally, I love it, it makes title belts seem very important.

[Hijo de Carlos]

Not puroresu related I know, but I read an amusing piece a while back about when Chris Jericho was working EMLL. He won some tournament and got presented with a huge trophy, which they told him was his to keep. Only trouble was it was so huge he couldn't actually get it on the plane back to Canada, and it remains in the office at Arena Mexico to this day!

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

Originally posted by LizardKing
I dont exactly know for sure, but to me it appears that Title belts mean so much more than they do in America. Therefore the ceremony of winning/retaining a title has more importance than in McMahon land, hence the trophies/streamers et al. Personally, I love it, it makes title belts seem very important.

Basically, correct.

Maybe it also gives the sponsors more things to do.

[Fulltime Killer]

hehe, I wonder if he checks up on it...to see if anyone has been putting some dents into it

[Souder]

I thinks it cool how you get a trophy every time you win a title or keep the title. Makes the title look like it is more important that just some thing to toss around every 2 weeks. *cough*WWE*cough*.

Jericho should just ask EMLL just to send the trophy in pieces.

[El Negro Magnifico]

Thanks for answering my question...it's been in my head for years! I keep recalling that cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated with Ric Flair on it, just after he regained the title from Kerry Von Erich. There's something majestic about that photo...I'd like to get a copy of that. I agree on the importance of titles in Japan. I recall someone on the web mentioning what it was like during one of Flair's early reigns, where every challenger seemed to have a chance of beating him. "Tonight's gonna be the night," a lot of them probably thought. But Flair would sneak away with it again and again, drawing more and more heat! Those were the days, huh? That kind of thing in North America is gone...y'know, 1, 4, and even 7 year reigns. Thank *** for Japan!

[Luds]

There's also the fact that title reigns in Japan are much longer than in the states... I mean, WCW used to have "one night" champions all the time... WWF wasn't much better...

So long reigns, ceremony, and trophy makes the titles look so much more important...

[El Negro Magnifico]

Would anyone have that issue of PWI with Ric Flair on the cover with that trophy? I'd really appreciate a scan of that...it's a pretty majestic photo!

[BurningSpirit]

I love all the formalities that come with title bouts in japan. Adds to the whole "its a sport, not entertainment" thing that I love about japanese wrestling so much.