Author: Alex Podgorski

Few wrestlers are able to conjure up as much fear as Toshiaki Kawada. He’s a wrestler of mythic proportions. He exudes an aura of badassery that few wrestlers have been able to match. This stems from his reputation as being arguably the hardest hitting wrestler to ever step foot in a wrestling ring. Today we look at the career of Toshiaki Kawada, and how he became known as the most dangerous wrestler in Japan. Toshiaki Kawada & Mitsuharu Misawa – Rivals From The Beginning When one looks at the career of Toshiaki Kawada, there’s a second name that comes up…

Few women have had as much of an impact on women’s wrestling as Aja Kong. She is the standard-bearer for all women’s wrestlers that ‘don’t fit the mold’. Instead of being a skinny woman with little wrestling skill wearing even less clothing, Kong was and still is the women’s wrestling version of Big Van Vader. She’s a dangerous monster that kicks ass and doesn’t take crap from anyone. ________________ Aja Kong – A Difficult Start Erika Shishido, the woman behind the Aja Kong persona, became so vicious and notorious. This is due to a combination of her upbringing and her…

“The Ace of All Japan Pro-Wrestling.” “Greatest pro wrestler ever.” “The Standard Bearer for Future Generations.” These are a few terms used to describe one of the most famous wrestlers in Japanese wrestling history. He’s a man so revered and admired that CM Punk got a tattoo of the man’s wrestling boots. This is Mitsuharu Misawa. ______________ In fact, the work this wrestler and his compatriots did in the 1990s had a direct impact on the wrestling style of the early 2000s independent wrestling scene. That same scene that spawned the likes of Punk, A.J. Styles, Daniel Bryan, Chris Hero,…

Every famous group of wrestlers has that one person that ranks below the rest. For the SmackDown Six, it was Chavo Guerrero. The Four Horsewomen of WWE had Becky Lynch up until her meteoric rise to the top. And for All Japan Pro-Wrestling’s famed Four Pillars of Heaven, that person was Akira Taue. Taue was considered the weakest, of these famed four wrestlers. The least skilled, the least exciting, the least memorable, the least innovative. And while that’s true to an extent, it doesn’t convey the entire picture. Taue was and still is, criminally underrated for his ability to tell…

What does the perfect wrestler look like? If you were to ask the illustrious Tokyo Sports in 2000, then they would show you a photo of Kenta Kobashi. Standing at 6’1, weigh 250lbs. and possessing one of the most chiseled physiques ever seen in Japan, Kobashi was a sight to behold. But it wasn’t just his look that captivated audiences. Kenta Kobashi is, quite possibly, the greatest professional wrestler that ever lived. And this isn’t simply one person’s opinion; this is based on the successes, both critical and commercial, of the companies he has worked for during his stellar pro…

Kenta Kobashi vs Misuharu Misawa. There are some wrestling rivalries that are defined by how well each wrestler can insult one another. Others are defined by how vicious the brawls are or how personal each side makes it. This is not one of those rivalries. It’s one that’s based on excellence inside the ring. It forgoes the in-your-face obviousness that some wrestlers put into their matches and replaces it with subtleties added on over time. It’s a rivalry between two of the best pro wrestlers of all time: Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa. __________________ Mitsuharu Misawa vs Kenta Kobashi -…

The first-ever Super J Cup is one of the greatest nights of pro wrestling in history. Not only was it packed to the brim with great matches. However, it had historical importance as well. Super J Cup 1994 created stars. This match made stars out of smaller wrestlers and forever changed the course of wrestling history. After this match, junior heavyweight wrestlers would no longer be relegated to being less important. In comparison to their heavyweight counterparts. ___________________ Instead, those smaller, more technically skilled grapplers would go on to become pioneers, revolutionaries, and otherwise critical figures in pro wrestling history.…

With Keiji Muto, a.k.a. The Great Muta, approaching his retirement match, it’s important to look what his contributions to pro-wrestling. Much has already been said and written of Muto/Muta’s in-ring influence, titles, accolades, and influence. So instead, today we’ll revisit something that wrestling fans created in his honor: The Muta Scale. In simple terms, the Muta Scale is an informal, fan-made way of measuring how much a wrestler bleeds during a match. Over the decades, it has been used to measure just how bloody some matches are. For some fans, a bloodier match is a more exciting or dramatic one.…

It was the Singles Match of the Decade. In early 2000, Tokyo Sports, one of the most prestigious sports magazines in Japan, held a poll to determine the best singles match of the 1990s. The match we’re looking at today was the top choice. It took place on October 31st, 1998, and was hailed as not only the best match of that (already-stacked) decade but also as one of the best of all time. Today we look back at another great singles match between Mitsuharu Misawa and Kenta Kobashi. A Storied Past Misawa and Kobashi were once tag team partners.…

Most wrestling fans have heard the name Jushin Thunder Liger. He’s a certified legend and Hall of Famer known the world over. His wrestling career spanned over 35 years and well over 3,000 recorded matches. But what might not be known is the story of Jushin Liger’s alter ego, Kishin Liger. And today, we revisit the day that the monster debuted. A bit of background The wrestler Jushin Liger is based on a 1990s anime of the same name. The word ‘Jushin’ roughly translates as ‘Beast God’, and ‘Thunder’ is his final form. The wrestling character Jushin Liger has…