RIP Mr. Thesz

[RoadWarrior Yajuta]

I was truly saddened to hear of Lou passing away. To me his matches against Rikidozan did two things. They helped cement puro as being a viable form of wrestling in Japan and helped Riki acheive his legendary status. Every gaijin in Japan owes this man a debt as he paved the way for foreigners to be embarced and respected in Japan.

[Hisaharu Tanabe]

This is a story posted on a wrestling legends mailing list. Thanks to the poster Mr. Yasuhiko Morozumi:

In October, 1957, Lou Thesz came to Japan for the first time. All the newspapers convered his arrival and the press conference at the Tokyo Interntional Airport (Narita). That's how famous he is/was in Japan. Natually, his death was a big topic there.

Here's a very funny but cool episode from a quiz show on TV. I believe this took place in the 50s or 60s.

The quiz show host gave a question,
"Who is the president of the United States?"

One of the participants, an eldery, answered,
"The president of the U.S. is Lou Thesz."

He didn't know about President Kennedy but still knew who Lou Thesz was.