KinchStalker

To explain: Kimura has loaded his leg supporter with a metal bar, which was discovered after the match.

Somehow that would still make this analogy way less dumb than the one I was spitballing to a friend in 2020, where the Super Generation Army were the Trailer Park Boys and Jumbo and Taue were Mr. Lacey and Randy. (We all had to find ways to process COVID trauma, okay?)

Ever since Matt told me this the other day I've been imagining Kawada as Fredo. Like he's in the booking meeting when Baba makes him drop the Triple Crown to Kobashi in 98 for his first defense, going "It ain't the way I wanted it! I CAN HANDLE THINGS, I'M voice crack OVER!"

Kikuchi is going to get hurt soon and won't factor into the tags for a little while. I could maybe see that being an issue for you.

His contract was set to expire and Baba had a multi-year deal lined up. But Kabuki turned in his notice two days after winning the title.

At some point in the future, I will be sharing more of what I know about this. In case you don't know, I have a thread on PWO that drives deep into the early years of NJPW. Once my laptop is fixed, I will be able to resume research and writing for the next post, which will cover Inoki's 1974 match against Kintaro Oki but will start with a bio of him. It will include the story of how he came into the territory with JWA backing in 1965 and how Jang Yeong-chol killed his career by exposing the business.

Edit: board just isn't working with me here, sorry. Chon Kyu-deok, one of the two men who started South Korean wrestling. https://i.imgur.com/Eaagn0Q_d.webp I wrote a thread about him here: https://twitter.com/KinchStalker/status/1602060079335079936?t=Bm0FgZoxYcgp68n-3XaD7Q&s=19

My instinct is to tell you to watch through April '91, but we'll see how you feel at the end of the year.

Gotta love that Ishinriki decided to go with SWS despite his big brother being All Japan's bus driver. Are you going to cover the next night's show? It's not at the Tokyo Dome but it's arguably a better stopping point. By the time of the next tour, Tenryu has taken over as president and they're looking to get Ashura back.

He came out to an horn-driven instrumental cover there. Only New Japan actually licensed the real thing.

Kinda disappointed that Kojika didn't show up rocking this. Jumbo actually took a dig at his fashion sense in his autobiography.

Lead announcer is Shigeo Sugiura. This was broadcast on TV Tokyo, so Sugiura was brought on as he had been the lead announcer when they carried the IWE (back when they were Tokyo 12 Channel). Mustache guy is Great Kojika! The woman is Cutie Suzuki! Far left is Koji Kitao.

You're in for a treat re:Fujinami/Kimura whenever you get around to 1987.

Michiaki Yoshimura, Yoshinosato, Toyonobori and Giant Baba in an ad for Guinness beer, c. November 1965. This was RIGHT before Toyonobori left the JWA.