* The big part of this article was translated by using ChatGPT. Please note that there may be some awkward wordings.

It was the summer of 1994, when I was a college student in Texas.

It was the year before the release of Windows 95, so the internet hadn’t yet become widespread among the general public. However, because I was majoring in computer science, I had an account from the university that allowed me to connect to their network using a modem from my apartment. I frequently posted on wrestling newsgroups, and I also belonged to online services like CompuServe and Prodigy, through which I stayed in touch with many English-speaking wrestling fans.

In the English newsgroups, there was another Japanese person, let’s call him “K-san,” who was pursuing his doctoral degree at a graduate school in Texas. Together, we worked to promote the term “puroresu” (Japanese professional wrestling) in English-speaking communities.

One day, news came in that Antonio Inoki, the legendary Japanese wrestler, was going to have one of his rare appearances in the United States. It would take place at a WCW event in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and it would be broadcast nationwide instead of being a pay-per-view. Coincidentally, my Japanese friend “B” lived in Iowa City, which was close to the event venue. The match was scheduled for August 24, a Wednesday, just before the fall semester started (or so it should have been). Since it was likely to be Inoki’s last match in the United States, I was determined to attend.

Naturally, I invited my fellow Inoki enthusiast, K-san, to come along. He drove all the way from Austin to my apartment in the Dallas suburbs, which took about 3-4 hours, and stayed overnight (I think). From there, the two of us embarked on a journey of over 10 hours to Iowa City in my car. During the trip, we repeatedly listened to a tape containing Japanese music from the early 1980s, which I had just acquired.

In Iowa City, we stayed at B’s apartment, who was a Japanese graduate student there but not necessarily a wrestling fan. He showed us around the university and the surrounding area. It was a safe and peaceful town, quite different from the Dallas area.

The next day, the event took place, and we had already obtained tickets. However, at the last moment, B showed some interest, so we convinced him and hurriedly bought another ticket. In the end, his seat seemed to be better than ours.

The venue had a lot of Japanese fans, as we later learned that it was a tour organized by Weekly Puroresu magazine.

Results (left side indicates the winner):

• The Nasty Boys vs Paul Orndorff & Paul Roma
• US Heavyweight Title: Ricky Steamboat vs Steve Austin (title change)
• Dusty Rhodes & Dustin Rhodes vs Terry Funk & Bunkhouse Buck [Jimmy Golden] (DQ)
• Antonio Inoki vs Lord Steven Regal
• WCW World Heavyweight Title: Ric Flair vs. Hulk Hogan (Flair retained due to a COR)

Looking back, it was an incredible card, and I roughly remember which wrestlers competed, but for some reason, or perhaps naturally, I don’t recall much about the matches other than Inoki’s.

After the event, we returned to B’s apartment and had a great time drinking together. We had beer and tequila, and we even grilled some beef tongue. I can’t quite remember if it happened the night before or that night, but we probably indulged in drinks for two consecutive nights.

The next morning, K-san and I got back in the car and made another journey of 10 hours or more back to Texas. During that trip too, I played the same tape we had listened to on the way there, and I recall K-san getting annoyed and irritated by it (LOL).

As it turned out, Inoki would later compete in a tag team match at the “World Peace Festival” event he organized in Los Angeles two years later. Despite featuring an impressive lineup, the Los Angeles event did not receive much attention among general fans due to a lack of TV coverage (excluding hardcore wrestling fans). In contrast, the Iowa event, where Inoki had a singles match and a television broadcast, left a stronger impression on me, making it feel like it was indeed his final appearance in the United States.

投稿 In Iowa は PURORESU BLOG に最初に表示されました。

* The big part of this article was translated by using ChatGPT. Please note that there may be some awkward wordings.

Last night, I went to watch a pro-wrestling match. Believe it or not, it featured Mitsuharu Misawa in New York, and his opponent was KENTA, a regular in the ROH (Ring of Honor) promotion. I’m not particularly a fan of Misawa, but such an opportunity is rare, so I couldn’t miss it. However, I decided to go quite late, and by then, only standing-room tickets were available. Well, it wasn’t such a big venue, so I was fine with it.

The venue was right in front of the subway station, but there was a long line at the entrance. It continued even after turning the corner of the street. After turning another corner, we could finally line up. The matches were scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., but I think I only managed to enter the venue around 8:30 p.m. I heard that it usually doesn’t have such long lines, but it seemed people were excited about Misawa’s appearance. I believe it was his first time wrestling in New York.

Once inside the venue and a few matches later, the ring announcer announced that a special “legend” from Japan was there as a guest. As Misawa’s match was scheduled for later, I wondered who it could be. At that moment, one name popped up in m mind, and that was the person the ring announcer introduced. It was Joe Higuchi, who was a referee for All Japan Pro Wrestling for many years. A ceremony to honor his achievements in the industry began, and to present him with the plaque, the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Harley Race, came out. While I wasn’t too surprised that Higuchi was present, I was amazed to see Race.

Just before this, a match ended in an unsatisfying way, and some fans continued to heckle. Amidst the noise, two young girls stood up, and one of them shouted, “Can’t you show some respect for this legend!?” Suddenly, the noisy crowd fell silent. To be honest, that wasn’t a kind of response I would expected from younger fans.

As Misawa’s match was about to start, the audience’s excitement soared. When his famous entrance theme “Spartan X” played, it was obvious everyone had dreamed of experiencing this moment live after watching Misawa’s matches on video from Japan for so many years.

In the match for GHC Heavyweight Championship match held by Misawa, Joe Higuchi made the championship declaration in Japanese surprisingly.

I occasionally watch NOAH’s videos, so I was aware that Misawa has aged, his belly is bigger now, and he can’t move as he did before. However, he still delivered a convincing performance in the ring. His challenger, KENTA, wasn’t holding back, which I think contributed to the excellent result.

Japan is undoubtedly great for pro wrestling. That’s what I felt once again.

投稿 Mitsuharu Misawa in New York は PURORESU BLOG に最初に表示されました。