Cobra Commander Posted October 1, 2021 Share Posted October 1, 2021 Ricky Fuji continuing to look like Ricky Morton as he ages into being a wise master is another element of that whole look. I'll be right back once I finish my screenplay of a Kung Fu movie where Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson run a karate dojo where the heroes defeat evil ninjas with double dropkicks But yeah, the Team No Respect dance/shuffle popping up with the firecrackers/urination in the "Arai changed things from how Onita did it" was certainly a sequencing choice. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka-to Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Ricky Fuji gave me a thank you on Facebook for complementing him for still having rock n' roll hair on his 56th birthday this week. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ka-to Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 The yakuza money laundering always seemed under reported to me. They sponsored shows not so much to force people to buy tickets, it was more to claim a 4000 ticket sell out for a crowd of 500 to get all of that money into a legit account. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 I just spent six weeks writing about FMW for a project that never seems to end and the episode was fun, if slight. The only reaction you can have to Onita is: I love you but FUCK you. Fuyuki's book continues the narrative that Arai was too nice and a bad businessman, but in all honesty he screwed Arai as much as Onita, making the shows all about himself, but without the monetary success of the Onita years. The episode was described as Onita's FMW, though, so I guess they achieved their brief. The story of FMW's final hours, and Arai's mad dash around Tokyo to get the money to pay off the loan sharks, deserved an airing, and the inaccuracy about Arai's suicide made me mad, but I enjoyed the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 What did they screw up about the suicide? Anyway, from Wiki: Quote On May 16, 2002, an early morning jogger found Arai hanging by his necktie in Tokyo's Mizumoto Park. Arai's suicide resulted in a life insurance payment to his ex-wife and child. However, the life insurance payment did not cover all of Arai's debt. The Arai family continued paying his debt to the Yakuza for years, until his ex-wife's father paid the remaining balance.[3] Shoichi Arai was buried at Saitama Kawaguchi Memorial Garden. Arai's gravestone includes an engraved FMW logo. Whoa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linus Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 27 minutes ago, Curt McGirt said: What did they screw up about the suicide? Anyway, from Wiki: Whoa. They said he hung himself in a schoolyard and they showed him throwing a rope noose over a tree. I mean, it’s sad enough as it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curt McGirt Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Oh the schoolyard thing. Yeah. Shit, the necktie is a brutal enough statement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobra Commander Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 with Bruiser Bedlam/Johnny K-9 next week.. I guess it's for the best that he didn't get hired by WCW or else he would have accidentally ignited a massive biker war while in Sturgis for Hog/Road Wild. Ok, most of a Bedlam WCW run would have involved him driving from Ontario to Orlando shirtless in a jeep to do Worldwide tapings. But what a season where the Canadian Biker War episode could be one of the more lighthearted episodes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 He probably would have been a huge babyface at Sturgis. Knowing wcw, they would have booked him against Booker or Ice Train. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Great ML Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 43 minutes ago, odessasteps said: He probably would have been a huge babyface at Sturgis. Knowing wcw, they would have booked him against Booker or Ice Train. K-9 vs. The Cat during the Russo tenure. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post BAHU Posted October 3, 2021 Popular Post Share Posted October 3, 2021 (edited) 17 hours ago, Linus said: I just spent six weeks writing about FMW for a project that never seems to end and the episode was fun, if slight. The only reaction you can have to Onita is: I love you but FUCK you. Fuyuki's book continues the narrative that Arai was too nice and a bad businessman, but in all honesty he screwed Arai as much as Onita, making the shows all about himself, but without the monetary success of the Onita years. The episode was described as Onita's FMW, though, so I guess they achieved their brief. The story of FMW's final hours, and Arai's mad dash around Tokyo to get the money to pay off the loan sharks, deserved an airing, and the inaccuracy about Arai's suicide made me mad, but I enjoyed the show. They came over to my house and interviewed me for three hours. I gave them every detail of that night of FMW in one sitting without notes. It was a lot, mentally fried me the rest of the interview, as it was very detailed. So they had all the information, but time wise cut to the chase. Don't know why they said school yard when I specifically told them a park. I also got them Ricky, Arai's daughter, and Hayabusa's daughter for the show. Edited October 3, 2021 by BAHU 17 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheVileOne Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Good job BAHU. The interviews this week were great and really lent some authenticity to this episode. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 On 10/1/2021 at 3:55 PM, Cobra Commander said: Ricky Fuji continuing to look like Ricky Morton as he ages into being a wise master is another element of that whole look. I'll be right back once I finish my screenplay of a Kung Fu movie where Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson run a karate dojo where the heroes defeat evil ninjas with double dropkicks But yeah, the Team No Respect dance/shuffle popping up with the firecrackers/urination in the "Arai changed things from how Onita did it" was certainly a sequencing choice. I believe the term is "Anal Bomb". What continues to spook me out is hearing about Arai's death and the death of Naoto Morishita (the apparent brain behind the success of PRIDE FC) around the same time. Both were suicide by hanging and with the latter, pretty much started up the rumors of PRIDE's connection with the yakuza among the western fans at least. Those rumors would persist for another few years before it came out that they were indeed connected and PRIDE would be out of business and sold not long after. I very much associate that time (the early to mid 2000s) as probably the most fascinating time in pro wrestling (and MMA especially with the kakutogi boom) for me personally. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Ive always just presumed a yakuza connection to Puro much like the mobs connection to boxing and probably to z lesser extent pro wrestling. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 25 minutes ago, odessasteps said: Ive always just presumed a yakuza connection to Puro much like the mobs connection to boxing and probably to z lesser extent pro wrestling. What's funny is a couple nights ago (before I even made time to watch the FMW DSotR), I was watching a French made documentary about AJW following Bull and Manami Toyota circa 91/92. Not ten minutes in, they spot some yakuza front row at a house show to the point where the yakuza have to cover their faces. It's one thing to have ties, but at least make people work to figure it out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mister TV Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 24 minutes ago, odessasteps said: Ive always just presumed a yakuza connection to Puro much like the mobs connection to boxing and probably to z lesser extent pro wrestling. What legit evidence is there that organized crime in the US was involved in pro wrestling? I’m sure promoters paid a “tax” in arenas located in mobbed up cities but that was rolled into the price of renting the venue, concert promoters had to deal with it too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eivion Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 This reminds me of the general theory/suspicion that TARU was/is yakuza. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Casey Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 I, personally, was disappointed that they didn't even show the greatest FMW/WEW wrestler: Biomonster DNA. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elsalvajeloco Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 11 hours ago, Mister TV said: What legit evidence is there that organized crime in the US was involved in pro wrestling? I’m sure promoters paid a “tax” in arenas located in mobbed up cities but that was rolled into the price of renting the venue, concert promoters had to deal with it too. It doesn't take too much to make an inference. I mean before the UFC sale, part of the hearsay was the father of the Fertittas (Lorenzo and Frank) was part of the Galveston mafia. By association, that would make Tilman Fertitta (their cousin and owner of the Houston Rockets) part of that as well. So naturally, folks just envision Dana and Lorenzo meeting in the Vegas desert like Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro in Casino. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoae Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 8 hours ago, Eivion said: This reminds me of the general theory/suspicion that TARU was/is yakuza. Along those lines, there was a rumor that Mr. Gannosuke borrowed from the yakuza to keep Wrestling Marvelous Future going. When WMF closed up shop, Gannosuke "retired" and basically disappeared for six years. The rumor/suspicion was that he couldn't repay the yakuza and had to go underground for awhile. No idea if that's true, but it's not implausible. You'd think he'd learn from Arai's demise, but we say that a lot about wrestlers and are usually wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BAHU Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 (edited) I have never even heard of such a rumor. Gannosuke retired because he was 40 and been dealing with many injuries and was tired of not making that much money the last couple of years. If he was hiding, he probably wouldn't have had started two separate bars, continued training for Ice Ribbon, made two movies, been to every FREEDOMS show in Tokyo selling his stuff, promoted his own shows under his own name multiple times a year, and working for the Guts World office until Ishijima convinced him to come out of retirement so that he could help draw their first Korakuen Hall show. If he was "under ground" he did a horrible job at it, because I saw him every year from 2009-2013 I went to Japan while he was retired. The Arai situation was much different as FMW was a major company and WMF under Gannosuke the last three years was a promotion that ran one show a month in a 300 seat building. They are night and day different situation, and that's even if Gannosuke even went the route for financial support you're saying. Edited October 4, 2021 by BAHU 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoae Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 13 minutes ago, BAHU said: I have never even heard of such a rumor. Gannosuke retired because he was 40 and been dealing with many injuries and was tired of not making that much money the last couple of years. If he was hiding, he probably wouldn't have had started two separate bars, continued training for Ice Ribbon, made two movies, been to every FREEDOMS show in Tokyo selling his stuff, promoted his own shows under his own name multiple times a year, and working for the Guts World office until Ishijima convinced him to come out of retirement so that he could help draw their first Korakuen Hall show. If he was "under ground" he did a horrible job at it, because I saw him every year from 2009-2013 I went to Japan while he was retired. The Arai situation was much different as FMW was a major company and WMF under Gannosuke the last three years was a promotion that ran one show a month in a 300 seat building. They are night and day different situation, and that's even if Gannosuke even went the route for financial support you're saying. If you've never heard that, I'm going to assume it's just fake news. I was thinking that story might have come from you, but apparently not. Definitely head that rumor more than a few times around 2008-10, though. Glad it's not legit. Gannosuke was one of my favorites in FMW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf&Subs Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 59 minutes ago, BAHU said: If he was "under ground" he did a horrible job at it Traveled through underground tunnels, like Angel The Vampire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxB Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 In Vader's book, he talks about how Misawa got money off the Yakuza to start NOAH. Which is why, when Vader had a big falling out with one particular Yakuza member, he had to leave the company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoneWolf&Subs Posted October 5, 2021 Share Posted October 5, 2021 10 hours ago, AxB said: In Vader's book, he talks about how Misawa got money off the Yakuza to start NOAH. Which is why, when Vader had a big falling out with one particular Yakuza member, he had to leave the company. That probably explains Scorpio disappearance too. Honestly that sucked. I really liked the handful of Vader & Scorpio shit in NOAH. They never really got a real replacement after that. I guess Bison Smith counts, but they didn’t do much with him as a singles guy other than challenging for the belt a few times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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