Have you ever seen any matches from these odd little excursions? Are there any other obscure trips to Japan that stand out for you? Have a shout in the comments, and thanks for watching. :)
In the same vein as Bob Backlund, Norman Smiley going to Japan for a shoot style promotion (can't remember the name of it, might have been UWF-I or maybe Fujiwara-Gumi?) but he does really well and it's awesome to see someone more known for their comedy antics just show that they can be serious, too.
I knew about Taker's match in Michinoku Pro as I had that show back in my tape trading days, and I had heard about Backlund in the shoot style promotions.
Albert In njpw. He wrestled under the name of Giant Bernard and had a great run in njpw. He won the IWGP tag team titles with Karl Anderson (the reign still stands as the longest in the tag belts history), and they won the GHC tag team titles.
My personal fave is a young Rob Van Dam had a brief tour with AJPW often teaming with Stan Hansen. During one tag spot Stan screams at him Cmon Van Damnit😂
Taker also wrestled in Japan before in NJPW. Almost all the good wrestlers in history have wrestled in Japan at some point in their careers. It's like a badge of honour for them basically
The crowd not knowing or understanding the Undertaker and the supernatural is really suspect, especially since Jason the Terrible and Leatherface were running amok.
I remember Sting did a tour in AJPW in 1996 after he became a free agent in kayfabe before returning as Crow Sting. EDIT:I was wrong it was NJPW not AJPW I got the promotions wrong looking at Sting's work in AJPW
My favorite yet random one is edge and christian in michinoku pro lol One i recall seeing out of these is the undertaker in new japan in a tag match with scott hall
Taker vs Hakushi was one of the best feuds i ever saw and it wasnt even intentional, Muta the demon ninja Kills Hakushi who was trying to seal him away with his own prayer stick while Taker comes back to put his soul (now a wraith) to final rest with his powers. Amazing.
OK, I love seeing just how fucking agile Boss Man was in those AJPW clips, especially for a man of his size and seeing Backlund doing shoot-style wrestling in Japan is just one of those things that seems 'right' considering Bob's legit credentials. I'm always a sucker for comedy / goofy guys that can legit beat the shit out of you; Norman Smiley is like that and I believe he also had a run in a shoot style promotion in Japan, too?
@@thewrestlingroad Smiley was so underrated just in general, bugger still looks good for his age, too. He's probably like Backlund in that you could put him in a ring today and he'd still hold his own.
Hmm, Foreigners against Kenta Kobashi in 1993 always seems to work out and become a classic, must watch bout lol I do remember guys like Nunzio/Little Guido and Norman Smiley kicking around in UWF, I believe Jeff Hardy also wrestled in BattlArts as "The Willow" in 1998 Rick Rude also had a very brief tour in 1991 AJPW, where he shared the ring with Misawa, Kawada, Tsuruta, Taue, etc.
10:34 Thank you so much for pointing this out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to send a friend a montage of crowd reactions from Japan every time they pulled out the “they’re too quiet” argument. It’s utter BULL. I can find plenty of silence during “The New Generation” era of the Fed. The only difference being they had Vince yelling “WHAT A MANEUVER” and “UNBELIEVABLE!” . Great stuff as ALWAYS, KJ. I often tell you how much your videos help me get through the week. This was no different. Thank you.
Bossman has a really interesting and fun career. Worked everywhere, had a similar gimmick throughout, but with tweaks. I forgot how young he was when he passed. May he rest in peace. I will always remember him well.
Always love to hear from another Backlund appreciator, especially something that I didn't know he had done. I am definitely gonna seek out these matches, cuz the sample here was pure fire.
Backlund defending against Dusty in New Japan wasn't that bad either. Was actually surprised to see a Heel Dusty, if only momentarily. Something that never happened in the 80s, regardless of venue.
People forget that Backlund's from the tail end of era where one of the considerations for a new champ was whether they could start shooting if someone tried to go into business for themselves. I wouldn't want to fight him now, much less when he was only just turning 40.
15:14 Not a big Meltzer fan but I've listened to him talk about Backlund a ton over the years and he's never once pushed the idea that he was "always bad". His deal is more that fans were sick of him main eventing by the last few years of his 5 year title reign. 16:25 So Just gonna ignore his entire 98-99 Battlarts run then?
I used to have a BattleARTS tape that had Bob Backlund & the Road Warriors on the card. Backlund makes sense, but the Road Warriors was quite the novelty.
Thank you for making this video. I am a huge Kane fan and did not know he wrestled he Japan, let alone a shoot wrestling promotion. I am definitely going to look up his matches in pwfg later.
Got a good topic for ya. Top 10 dream shoot interviews we will never see. No particular order except #1. 10.Bossman, 9.Henning, 8.Rude, 9.Mr.Fugi, 8.Eartquake, 7.Iron Mike Sharp, 6.Nickoli Volkoff, 5.Mocho Man, 4.Hulk Hogan, 3.Vince McMahon, 2. Andre The Giant, 1. Bruiser Brody.
It's not that obscure but have you thought about doing a video about Mick Foley's Japanese exploits? I think we've all seen clips and are aware of some of his work there but I've not seen an in-depth look at his storylines (if there were any) and his matches other than the ones we've seen clips of, for example getting Backdropped onto an explosion.
Gat damn... Backlund always looked like such a goofass right up to the moment he did some move where he ended up flexing and then you realize he's just solid fuckin' muscle. I never saw him much back in the day so my opinion of him has been formed in hindsight, and primarily through a curated list of matches, but it's a shock to me that he never had a heel run prior to the feud with Bret. The white meat babyface to end all white meat babyfaces turns rogue armbreaker. Could have been brilliant.
Funaki faced among others Bas Rutten and Rickson Gracie in real fights, yes both losing efforts, and you're wondering what would've happened if Backlund, an amateur wrestler with no concept of ground'n'pound, had gone full shoot? Come on, he's no Mark Coleman or even Dan Severn.
The story of undertaker in prime conditioning and age going against Akira taue in 1998 not coming to reality is the biggest what if. That would have heen phenomenal
14:33 liver shot. Don't matter how tough you are, you get hit with a toe-point in the liver and you are going down in agonizing pain. I don't think that was the planned finish. We see it in MMA all the time now. Liver shot, over.
Not sure what you meant by Big Boss Man not being at Vader's level. If you mean peak popularity, especially in Japan then yes. But I'd argue he was every bit as agile and athletic as Vader.
Okay, so you I just caught that you mentioned that the kanji all over Jinsei Shinzaki was done by stencil. Do you have any source for this? I am not asking because I'm doubting you. I assumed it HAD to be a stencil because it's done too well every time. I assumed it was a stencil and airbrush or something like that. I just have never been able to find that information anywhere and I've always wondered, haha. Regardless of how it was done, it seems like something I would regret choosing to do about two nights into doing it, haha.
I think Sean Waltman said that Shinzaki used to stencil it on although I always assumed it had to be anyway 'cause it'd be wild to paint all that on by hand every night!
@thewrestlingroad It haaaad to be stenciled. But even so, that would be SUCH a hassle. It always looker great, though. And off the top of my head, I can't remember a specific time I noticed it rubbing or peeling off. So, whatever paint he used worked well. I'm sure it came off at some point, I just can't remember it.
I should have gone looking for this when I first saw this video, but here's a link to a few Bob Backlund matches as part of a Battlarts tourney (and also a random Greg Valentine appearance) th-cam.com/video/-kOazrh1mJo/w-d-xo.html
I’m Big in Japan, I’m Big in Japan, I’m Big in Japan, I’m Big in Japan, I got the moon, I got the cheese I got the whole damn nation on their knees I got the rooster, I got the crow I got the ebb, I got the flow
That's crazy that you make this video and the other day I was just watching The Undertaker's matches in Japan. Especially the one with Haku. Also I believe there is a video game that features Punisher Dice Morgan but I can't remember the name.
Have you ever seen any matches from these odd little excursions? Are there any other obscure trips to Japan that stand out for you? Have a shout in the comments, and thanks for watching. :)
Sting in all japan
In the same vein as Bob Backlund, Norman Smiley going to Japan for a shoot style promotion (can't remember the name of it, might have been UWF-I or maybe Fujiwara-Gumi?) but he does really well and it's awesome to see someone more known for their comedy antics just show that they can be serious, too.
I knew about Taker's match in Michinoku Pro as I had that show back in my tape trading days, and I had heard about Backlund in the shoot style promotions.
Al Snow in Koji Kitaos shoot like Promotion
Albert In njpw. He wrestled under the name of Giant Bernard and had a great run in njpw. He won the IWGP tag team titles with Karl Anderson (the reign still stands as the longest in the tag belts history), and they won the GHC tag team titles.
My personal fave is a young Rob Van Dam had a brief tour with AJPW often teaming with Stan Hansen. During one tag spot Stan screams at him Cmon Van Damnit😂
Also Kawada kicked his shit in a few times as well
No wonder RVD hated working in Japan for so long!
Might’ve been that same tour he had that absolute banger match with Dan Kroffat
Also rvd against kobashi and misawa in a tag where misawa couldn't keep up with him?
Off topic but could you explain to me how King Crimson works?
Kitao shooting on Haku HAD to be a backstage rib or something where Wrestler X says "You don't have the guts to do it" situation
Shawn Michaels doing special guest referee work and eventually a 1 on 1 no dq match in FMW was pretty insane to see on first discovery.
Bob Backlund vs Masakatsu Funaki in UWFi is a great, hard-hitting match that I think everyone should watch.
Taker also wrestled in Japan before in NJPW. Almost all the good wrestlers in history have wrestled in Japan at some point in their careers. It's like a badge of honour for them basically
Honey wake up...new Kim Justice kino dropped.
28:40
Yeah... That's Haku alright.
The crowd not knowing or understanding the Undertaker and the supernatural is really suspect, especially since Jason the Terrible and Leatherface were running amok.
I remember Sting did a tour in AJPW in 1996 after he became a free agent in kayfabe before returning as Crow Sting.
EDIT:I was wrong it was NJPW not AJPW I got the promotions wrong looking at Sting's work in AJPW
Is there any footage?
Good to see Boss Man's shirt popped open after his first move in Japan too
My favorite yet random one is edge and christian in michinoku pro lol
One i recall seeing out of these is the undertaker in new japan in a tag match with scott hall
I laughed so hard when Koji tried getting stiff with Haku, I would love to see that whole match!!
Shooting On Haku... Goodness me.
There can never be enough of these videos thank you Kim! In a phase of obsessing about both classic puro and amiga and no one does either better :)
Taker vs Hakushi was one of the best feuds i ever saw and it wasnt even intentional, Muta the demon ninja Kills Hakushi who was trying to seal him away with his own prayer stick while Taker comes back to put his soul (now a wraith) to final rest with his powers.
Amazing.
OK, I love seeing just how fucking agile Boss Man was in those AJPW clips, especially for a man of his size and seeing Backlund doing shoot-style wrestling in Japan is just one of those things that seems 'right' considering Bob's legit credentials. I'm always a sucker for comedy / goofy guys that can legit beat the shit out of you; Norman Smiley is like that and I believe he also had a run in a shoot style promotion in Japan, too?
Yeah, Smiley was in UWF. I put a little clip of him in :)
@@thewrestlingroad Smiley was so underrated just in general, bugger still looks good for his age, too. He's probably like Backlund in that you could put him in a ring today and he'd still hold his own.
The FMW refing with Shawn should be listed lol......PS check BretFMW if you havent
That and bossman's final wrestling match same as irwin cheister
Hmm, Foreigners against Kenta Kobashi in 1993 always seems to work out and become a classic, must watch bout lol
I do remember guys like Nunzio/Little Guido and Norman Smiley kicking around in UWF, I believe Jeff Hardy also wrestled in BattlArts as "The Willow" in 1998
Rick Rude also had a very brief tour in 1991 AJPW, where he shared the ring with Misawa, Kawada, Tsuruta, Taue, etc.
Normal smiley was a beast in the UWF. He got hired and he was considered one of the greatest grapples there
10:34 Thank you so much for pointing this out. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to send a friend a montage of crowd reactions from Japan every time they pulled out the “they’re too quiet” argument. It’s utter BULL. I can find plenty of silence during “The New Generation” era of the Fed. The only difference being they had Vince yelling “WHAT A MANEUVER” and “UNBELIEVABLE!” .
Great stuff as ALWAYS, KJ. I often tell you how much your videos help me get through the week. This was no different. Thank you.
Bossman has a really interesting and fun career. Worked everywhere, had a similar gimmick throughout, but with tweaks.
I forgot how young he was when he passed. May he rest in peace. I will always remember him well.
Backlund also worked for BattlARTS in 1999, a promotion created from the ashes of PWFG.
Always love to hear from another Backlund appreciator, especially something that I didn't know he had done. I am definitely gonna seek out these matches, cuz the sample here was pure fire.
Man, a young Traylor and a young Tenta tussling in a Japanese ring? Nice. Traylor vs. Jumbo. Good stuff.
Backlund defending against Dusty in New Japan wasn't that bad either.
Was actually surprised to see a Heel Dusty, if only momentarily. Something that never happened in the 80s, regardless of venue.
The photo of Bob in a suit, makes him look like an enforcer in Chicago in the 20’s.
5:27 mark Steve Williams doing a cartwheel elbow? Kinda impressive
People forget that Backlund's from the tail end of era where one of the considerations for a new champ was whether they could start shooting if someone tried to go into business for themselves. I wouldn't want to fight him now, much less when he was only just turning 40.
I think All Japan did use the real version of Servin' Hard Times but they had make a cover version to put it on AJPW theme song CD.
15:14 Not a big Meltzer fan but I've listened to him talk about Backlund a ton over the years and he's never once pushed the idea that he was "always bad". His deal is more that fans were sick of him main eventing by the last few years of his 5 year title reign. 16:25 So Just gonna ignore his entire 98-99 Battlarts run then?
Your video replayability is amazing
Also I cannot fathom a match between prime Taker against Prime Misawa or Kobashi That'd be fuckin sweet
I used to have a BattleARTS tape that had Bob Backlund & the Road Warriors on the card. Backlund makes sense, but the Road Warriors was quite the novelty.
You think that’s weird just you wait till Kim does one about the ones that did shows in Mexico and there’s plenty folks
Thank you for making this video. I am a huge Kane fan and did not know he wrestled he Japan, let alone a shoot wrestling promotion. I am definitely going to look up his matches in pwfg later.
Awesome you got a shout out on wrestling bios channel kim 😊
getting DQ for a missile dropkick is the most UWF-I thing ever.
Always look forward to your wrestling vids Kim. Thanks.
Funaki vs Backlund in a shoot goes to Funaki.
Backlund vs Takada in a shoot goes to Backlund.
Kim your one of my favorite creators on TH-cam. Excellent video yet again
The one with kane (Glenn Jacobs) is shocking.
Got a good topic for ya. Top 10 dream shoot interviews we will never see. No particular order except #1. 10.Bossman, 9.Henning, 8.Rude, 9.Mr.Fugi, 8.Eartquake, 7.Iron Mike Sharp, 6.Nickoli Volkoff, 5.Mocho Man, 4.Hulk Hogan, 3.Vince McMahon, 2. Andre The Giant, 1. Bruiser Brody.
Thank For the Story Video 📖🙊🤯🥰😍😁💗😻💐🌟🥇🏆😇🙏🏿🕊️✝️💟☮️🛐♾️🤗👍🤍🌟🥇🏆
I'm delighted that you had Gally's theme from Evil Zone playing in the background, it matches with the Japan theme as the game is Japanese developed.
It's not that obscure but have you thought about doing a video about Mick Foley's Japanese exploits? I think we've all seen clips and are aware of some of his work there but I've not seen an in-depth look at his storylines (if there were any) and his matches other than the ones we've seen clips of, for example getting Backdropped onto an explosion.
Duck Arse in Japan? I'm genuinely intrigued by that.
I loved watching the briscoes matches for NOAH. They tore it up every time.
I love this channel! More please!
Loving these vids, I try and share them wherever I can
Awesome video
That was a rather interesting video! Please keep these coming Kim!
Would love another video like this. The comments have alot of other names I'd love to hear about
This is some damn good stuff, Kim. Keep 'em comin'!
Thanks for the amazing video ❤
We want more we want more hehe. Can't never have enuf of your video. Thanks
Backlund/Sasuke is what's up.
Holy hell, long hair Ken Shamrock
Gat damn... Backlund always looked like such a goofass right up to the moment he did some move where he ended up flexing and then you realize he's just solid fuckin' muscle. I never saw him much back in the day so my opinion of him has been formed in hindsight, and primarily through a curated list of matches, but it's a shock to me that he never had a heel run prior to the feud with Bret. The white meat babyface to end all white meat babyfaces turns rogue armbreaker. Could have been brilliant.
Great stuff, as always.
Great vid 👍
I.m new to your channel do you have vids of WCW stars when they would go on tours of Japan?
Al Snow Shoot wrestling lol
Another awesome video! Love your work!!!! ❤
ITS VADER TIME!
very interesting
Such a good video!!
I would never imagine someone who is brave enough to try stiff moves on Haku.... well I guess it's Koji 💀
Funaki faced among others Bas Rutten and Rickson Gracie in real fights, yes both losing efforts, and you're wondering what would've happened if Backlund, an amateur wrestler with no concept of ground'n'pound, had gone full shoot? Come on, he's no Mark Coleman or even Dan Severn.
I’d have loved to have seen Backlund versus Marty Jones
The story of undertaker in prime conditioning and age going against Akira taue in 1998 not coming to reality is the biggest what if. That would have heen phenomenal
What about bossman vs freddy krueger in IWA
14:33 liver shot. Don't matter how tough you are, you get hit with a toe-point in the liver and you are going down in agonizing pain. I don't think that was the planned finish. We see it in MMA all the time now. Liver shot, over.
Not sure what you meant by Big Boss Man not being at Vader's level. If you mean peak popularity, especially in Japan then yes. But I'd argue he was every bit as agile and athletic as Vader.
Funaki was a mixed martial artist and would've beat Bob in a shoot
Okay, so you I just caught that you mentioned that the kanji all over Jinsei Shinzaki was done by stencil. Do you have any source for this? I am not asking because I'm doubting you. I assumed it HAD to be a stencil because it's done too well every time. I assumed it was a stencil and airbrush or something like that. I just have never been able to find that information anywhere and I've always wondered, haha. Regardless of how it was done, it seems like something I would regret choosing to do about two nights into doing it, haha.
I think Sean Waltman said that Shinzaki used to stencil it on although I always assumed it had to be anyway 'cause it'd be wild to paint all that on by hand every night!
@thewrestlingroad It haaaad to be stenciled. But even so, that would be SUCH a hassle. It always looker great, though. And off the top of my head, I can't remember a specific time I noticed it rubbing or peeling off. So, whatever paint he used worked well. I'm sure it came off at some point, I just can't remember it.
Koji is lucky that Haku is professional otherwise he might've gotten impromptu eye surgery
I guess I need to watch more Bob Backlund
Damn, Shamrock was roided up!
Are there any Shoot Style Leagues still active?
There is a semi shoot style promotion called GLEAT. It is good
@@dashtoroya2838 Thanks. I'll give them a look.
@@dashtoroya2838 Thanks. I'll look them up.
I should have gone looking for this when I first saw this video, but here's a link to a few Bob Backlund matches as part of a Battlarts tourney (and also a random Greg Valentine appearance)
th-cam.com/video/-kOazrh1mJo/w-d-xo.html
I honestly can't believe I missed this stuff out. Will rectify this in a future vid.
@@thewrestlingroad If I hadn't randomly found one of the matches on one of Dave Ditch's websites back in the day I'd have had no idea myself.
I’m Big in Japan, I’m Big in Japan,
I’m Big in Japan, I’m Big in Japan,
I got the moon, I got the cheese
I got the whole damn nation on their knees
I got the rooster, I got the crow
I got the ebb, I got the flow
The Jumbo finish against Bubba was an improv because of how badly Rogers botched the cobra twist transition. Poor guy
That's crazy that you make this video and the other day I was just watching The Undertaker's matches in Japan. Especially the one with Haku. Also I believe there is a video game that features Punisher Dice Morgan but I can't remember the name.
I Would've Loved To Have Seen Punisher Dice Morgan Vs The Undertaker As A Dream Match
Dai Sama Otoko!