How well are the US indy heroes received?

[Guest ShooterJay]

As the topic states, how well do the best of US indy wrestlers fare when they go over to Japan? Can they hang with the natives in terms of ring work, and do they get over?

 

Chris Daniels I know is mighty over with the Curry Man gimmick, and his longevity proves he's got the ring work. I'm more curious about Spanky (when he was there), American Dragon, Low Ki, Jody Fleisch, AJ Styles, and Jimmy Yang.

[Guest tigerdrivah91]

IMO and taken from what matches i have seen em in

 

Low Ki - He is Loved...some sorta demi-demon-god to them.. All his offence is super over. About as over as any gaijijn could hope to be over without speakin the language.

 

AJ Styles - I've only seen the Z-1 match against Low Ki but as over was Ki was that day...the crowd still chanted for him....yes the Japanese crowd....

 

Fleisch is one of those guys which make em go "OHHHHH" or "WHOOOO" but not mega super Curry man over.

 

Spanky looks like Leonardo Dicaprio......or so our puro loving counterparts think ...so change his name to Leonardo Spanky and give him the Titanic theme music and there u go....over.

 

Yang is over...but why i do not know...he blows more spots than Brian XL

 

AmDrag as far as i can see was over but again not in a huge way cos of his style...given the chance to work singles matches/for longer in front of the crowd he could easily be DynamiteKid2K....

 

Sidenotes :

Superdragon....he was NOT over......cos he sucks.

Fuego ... Impressive but like Amdrag needs to be on his own in some matches....away from Kashin

Paul London.... Over

CW and Corino .... MEGA OVER.

 

I'd say workrate wise all the wrestlers dealt with it really well.....apart from Superdragon who sucked a major dick all through his AJPW work. Even the Ballards were more over with the Puro public than him and they are the ugliest pieces of crap in the world and universe.

[Guest the 1inch punch]

Spanky looks like Leonardo Dicaprio......or so our puro loving counterparts think ...so change his name to Leonardo Spanky and give him the Titanic theme music and there u go....over.

Say what now????????

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Low Ki - He is Loved...some sorta demi-demon-god to them.. All his offence is super over. About as over as any gaijijn could hope to be over without speakin the language.

What matches are you basing that on? I've only seen his 9/16/02 with Spanky, and he certainly wasn't getting any kind of amazing heat there. Cetainly nothing compared to Hansen or Hogan in Japan.

[Guest ShooterJay]

Wasn't 9/16/02 his Z-1 debut match though?

[Guest RickyChosyu]

It was for one of the Junior titles Spanky had, which would indicate that he had already debuted. But then, you never know. I saw it on Ken's "Best of Spanky" tape, so I don't know much about Lo Ki's involvment with the company.

[Guest Rhysabusa]

Spanky looks like Leonardo Dicaprio......or so our puro loving counterparts think ...so change his name to Leonardo Spanky and give him the Titanic theme music and there u go....over.

Say what now????????

They call him Leonardo Spanky in Japan because they remind him of Leonardo DiCaprio... simple, eh?

[PsychoDriver 0]

Superdragon....he was NOT over......cos he sucks.

 

I'd say workrate wise all the wrestlers dealt with it really well.....apart from Superdragon who sucked a major dick all through his AJPW work. Even the Ballards were more over with the Puro public than him and they are the ugliest pieces of crap in the world and universe.

He really did that poorly?

 

I've only seen about of 4 of his matches in AJPW and didn't think they were that bad...

[Guest Jimmy Beard]

damn japan they don't show any wrestling from there in england and i'm gagging to see some

[Guest J*ingus]

They don't show any in the U.S. either, we all have to buy the videotapes.

[Guest Dangerous A]

Cetainly nothing compared to Hansen or Hogan in Japan.

Actually, I don't think any of the above mentioned wrestlers would be anywhere near Hansen/Hogan levels. The guys listed are still considered cruiser/light heavies in Japan and while those guys do have MOTN type matches, they aren't really draws. Plus most of those guys (Ki, AmDrag, Styles) have really only competed in Z-1, which is pretty much an indy as far as attendance goes. I don't think we'll see a gaijin the likes of Hansen or Hogan for a great long while.(that includes Bob Sapp)

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Of course. The Gaijin's days of dominating promotions and acting as lead draws passed a long time ago. I was just pointing out that the US Indy guys, while maybe popular, don't reach "God-like" status anymore.

[Guest Dangerous A]

A question I have spinning off of RickyChosyu's answer is why aren't any of today's gaijin drawing like they were able to in the 80's and 90's? Is it because the current gaijin are either

 

A) small guys. Even in Japan, light heavies/cruisers don't draw.

 

B) old guys like Steve Williams or Vader. Are there no Heavyweight gaijin on the horizon except Bob Sapp (who I have no desire to watch in a pro wrestling match) that have potential to become draws in Japan?

[Guest tigerdrivah91]

B) old guys like Steve Williams or Vader. Are there no Heavyweight gaijin on the horizon except Bob Sapp (who I have no desire to watch in a pro wrestling match) that have potential to become draws in Japan?

Hmmm DOUG WILLIAMS is in NOAH now.....so watch him OK!

[Guest RickyChosyu]

What Gaijin were drawing big durring the 90's? It's hard to argue a case for Vader because in New Japan he was paired with proven draw Antonio Inoki, and in UWFi he was paired with proven draw Nobuhiko Takada. If someone could get ahold of the reccords for the show he and Gary Albright headlined in '94, it might be possible. Maybe Hansen did some good numbers in the early ninties, but the real stars of AJPW in the ninties after Jumbo were the Four Lords of Heaven. In New Japan, you had guys like Nortan and the Steiners, but the Three Musketeers were the main focus. There are probably cases of Gaijin doing good business when paired with a strong native, but they weren't the centers of attention.

 

So to answer your question, I'd say it's just a continuation of a trend that started over a decade ago. The days of guys like Hansen, Hogan, Andre, and the Funks dominating Japanese promotions are over.

 

And as for Bob Sapp, I have trouble believing his hype, because:

 

1) I haven't read the numbers, but I'm guessing the spanking Cro Crop handed him had to have hurt his credibility.

 

2) Even before that loss, he was part of the Wrestle1 show that drew terribly in the Tokyo Dome.