Heel-Face in Japan?

[Guest champchavez]

I am not a regular puroseau viewer. I love what I have seen (some Toryumon, some New Japan, a couple comps of mid-90s All Japan). Anyway, I was wondering during that mid-90s stuff with Kawada and Misawa and Stan Hansen and Ace and Taue and Kobashi, were these guys regularily booked to look like faces or heels? I think Taue must be a heel, but, and I love this, the guys just seem out to be the best.

 

I wish this was more general in wrestling.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I don't think All Japan really has faces and heels to be honest.

[MooreMark 0]

I think Toryumon did.

 

With gimmick stables like KDX..they had to get over as a heel or face.

[Guest RickyChosyu]

Kaintai DX wrestled for Michinoku Pro, not Toryumon. You might be thinking of Crazy Max, or one of the other Toryumon factions.

 

AJPW blurred the lines quite a bit with face/heel. Jumbo Tsuruta was deffinitely playing the surly heel to Misawa's brash young babyface, and both Fuchi and Taue were alligned with Jumbo. So, you could say that Kawada leaving Misawa to team with Taue was a heelish move. However, Kawada often placed in a sympathetic light when chasing Misawa, such as the '93 Real World Tag League Final, where Misawa and Kobashi brutalized his injurred knee.

 

So there no real clear-cut lines between babyface and heel in AJPW. Sometimes Misawa would behave questionably, and sometimes Hansen would behave admirably.

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

I agree with RickyChosyu on this one. It seems as AJPW would only use Heel/Face tactics in a match. But this would change in every match depending on what the situation called for. Such as Misawa being the babyface against Jumbo, but heel like when he had to do "anything" to win. There definately was no clear cut examples of this guy is heel and this guy is face, just people using dirty heel tactics or doing something heroric or admirable(face).

[dubq 0]

Taking "shades of grey" to an all new level..

[Downhome 0]

I agree with RickyChosyu on this one. It seems as AJPW would only use Heel/Face tactics in a match. But this would change in every match depending on what the situation called for. Such as Misawa being the babyface against Jumbo, but heel like when he had to do "anything" to win. There definately was no clear cut examples of this guy is heel and this guy is face, just people using dirty heel tactics or doing something heroric or admirable(face).

I wish we saw that in the states.