Yo Puro help here......

[Damaramu 0]

Ok I know you have the "looking to get into the puro scene" thread but I'm already into Puro. Just haven't been in the past couple of years. I have plenty of Puro tapes and I watch plenty of matches but I just don't know any background. I knew some but not having bought a tape or really watched a match in 2 years kind of lends to forgetfullness.

I'm just looking for a site that has background info on NJPW and AJPW and maybe some of the other promotions and none of those sites seem to satisfy.

 

I was going to post in that thread but nobody seems to go into it.

[Guest Real F'n Show]

http://www.geocities.com/jpuroresu/

 

http://www.puroresupower.com/

 

http://www.quebrada.net/

 

And there's always Green Destiny for NOAH:

 

http://noah.puroresufan.com/

 

Hope that helps...

[Guest cosbywasmurdered]

http://ajpw.puroresufan.com/

[Damaramu 0]

Yeah but those are mostly fighter and title histories. I want actual promotion and overall history.

[World's Worst Man 0]

http://www.puroresufan.com has some pieces on New Japan, nothing all encompassing though.

 

http://dragongate.puroresufan.com/ has a lot of historial overview of Toryumon/Dragon Gate if you're interested in that promotion.

[Damaramu 0]

Yeah that stuff is alright but nothing has an all encompassing history of NJPW and AJPW and like when they were formed and how they went along and then why NOAH was formed and the major feuds in the promotions.

Seems like I remember a site with this stuff.

 

Oh and what exactly happened in NJPW at the turn of the century? I remember something about turning to shoot fighting and wrestlers getting beat by shoot fighters and ruining their credibility.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Oh and what exactly happened in NJPW at the turn of the century? I remember something about turning to shoot fighting and wrestlers getting beat by shoot fighters and ruining their credibility.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Inoki lost his mind and wanted to turn New Japan into what it used to be when he was in his prime and he was on top taking on various shooters from different disciplines. The trouble was that when it was Inoki versus Shooter in his day, the guys were bought and paid for to lose to Inoki, where the New Japan guys today were put into real shoots and got killed almost every time. In Inoki's defence, he almost certainly thinks he really did beat those guys back then, but each win was bought and paid for. Inoki refused to stop his mindless quest, even when New Japan business was freefalling into the basement, but he was determined to prove the unprovable.

[World's Worst Man 0]

I forgot the most obvious one.

 

http://www.puroresu.com/history/

[World's Worst Man 0]

Oh and what exactly happened in NJPW at the turn of the century? I remember something about turning to shoot fighting and wrestlers getting beat by shoot fighters and ruining their credibility.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Inoki lost his mind and wanted to turn New Japan into what it used to be when he was in his prime and he was on top taking on various shooters from different disciplines. The trouble was that when it was Inoki versus Shooter in his day, the guys were bought and paid for to lose to Inoki, where the New Japan guys today were put into real shoots and got killed almost every time. In Inoki's defence, he almost certainly thinks he really did beat those guys back then, but each win was bought and paid for. Inoki refused to stop his mindless quest, even when New Japan business was freefalling into the basement, but he was determined to prove the unprovable.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Not to mention the ridiculously moronic logic in sending an MMA novice in Nagata to be slaughtered by one of the top 3 heavyweights in the world. Then 2 years later, sending him to fight perhaps the best fighter of all time. Nagata was a guy who had little or no MMA training, all he had was his amateur wrestling. Smart move. Oh well, at least Nakamura didn't get murdered.

[Damaramu 0]

Inoki did stop all of this right?

Has the promotion regained credibility yet?

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Inoki did stop all of this right?

Has the promotion regained credibility yet?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Inoki has stopped putting New Japan guys into shoots, yes, but Yuji Nagata's younger brother is fighting on the K-1 12/31 show, though I don't think that is down to Inoki.

 

New Japan business way down right now, and you can put a lot of the blame on that to Inoki's MMA fetish. It's similar to the NWO vs WCW feud, where NWO would always kill WCW and WCW would never get that big win and were always made to look like fools and lost all credibility.

[Damaramu 0]

What about AJPW? Are they having good business? NOAH?

[Guest Real F'n Show]

NOAH's been kicking ass, AJPW's been getting better behind the RO&D/Voodoo Murders stuff.

[Damaramu 0]

So Misawa and Co. are still really good in old age?

[Guest cosbywasmurdered]

Kobashi and Kawada are still very good. Misawa isn't that impressive anymore though.

[The Thread Killer 0]

In rare circumstances, Misawa can still pull the odd good match out, but it's much more rare than it used to be...and he's really started to slide recently. There are stories that he is having major eye problems and may have to retire soon.

 

A good example of Misawa against the younger generation of NOAH would be Misawa & Yoshinari Ogawa vs. Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA on 4/25/04. That's a great match.

 

His match with Kawada at Destiny this past summer at the Tokyo Dome was way better than it had any right to be too.

[Guest Black Tiger]

Although the fact that the Dome match was as good as it was, has very little to do with Misawa. I've noticed that Kobashi's best matches are when he's the tag partner and not so much involved in what's going on. Look at Kobashi/Shioski vs. Akiyama/Tenryu from NOAH 4/24/05 and compare with Kobashi vs Sasaki at the Dome.

[Damaramu 0]

Ok well how has the Muta move to AJPW gone?

[Damaramu 0]

Is Zero One still around? Or did it go away with Hashimoto's death? I didn't even know he died until recently!

[Guest Real F'n Show]

His match with Kawada at Destiny this past summer at the Tokyo Dome was way better than it had any right to be too.

That was all Kawada. Misawa's so broken down it's almost sad to watch anymore. His recent match with Tenryu is awful, and it's mostly Misawa's fault. I do agree his tag with Ogawa against KENTAfuji was great though.

 

Is Zero One still around? Or did it go away with Hashimoto's death? I didn't even know he died until recently!

Late last year they became ZERO1-MAX, and the company's still really fun. Tanaka has been very good, as have the team of Hidaka and Fujita, and the gaijins (Shelley, Spanky, Sonjay, Super Crazy) were all having really fun junior matches.

[Damaramu 0]

This is all the Puro I have:

 

1/4/96 Tokyo Dome Show

All of the 1995 AJPW Champion Carnival

Misawa vs. Kawada 6/3/94

Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 6/5/95

Kawada vs. Steve Williams 4/16/94

Kobashi vs. Misawa 2/2/97

AJPW vs. NJPW New Century Battle

The Lyger Premium Issue

M-Pro These Days

M-Pro The Kaientai DX commercial video

AJW Big Egg Universe 11-20-94 vol. 3 and 4

Misawa vs. Tsurata(not sure on date)

and Kobashi vs. Hanson(not sure on date)

Super J Cup 94 and 95

 

So I don't know where else I should go in my Puro tape collection.

[Guest Real F'n Show]

This is all the Puro I have:

 

1/4/96 Tokyo Dome Show

All of the 1995 AJPW Champion Carnival

Misawa vs. Kawada 6/3/94

Misawa/Kobashi vs. Kawada/Taue 6/5/95

Kawada vs. Steve Williams 4/16/94

Kobashi vs. Misawa 2/2/97

AJPW vs. NJPW New Century Battle

The Lyger Premium Issue

M-Pro These Days

M-Pro The Kaientai DX commercial video

AJW Big Egg Universe 11-20-94 vol. 3 and 4

Misawa vs. Tsurata(not sure on date)

and Kobashi vs. Hanson(not sure on date)

Super J Cup 94 and 95

 

So I don't know where else I should go in my Puro tape collection.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's a pretty good list, similar to mine when I was first getting into Puro. All good introductions to various feds. I'd recommend picking up NOAH's 7/18 show from this year, as it's far and away the best wrestling show as a whole from this year. It features two legitimate MOTYC's in Kobashi/Sasaki and KENTA/Kanemaru, as well as a great tag title match and Kawada/Misawa, which was really good as well (although not on the level of their stuff from 10 years ago, obviously).

 

If you enjoy that, I'd recommend getting your hands on some more NOAH from this year or even from the last couple of years.

 

NJPW or AJPW haven't really had that one big show this year, although Kawada/Kojima from AJPW in February is another MOTYC and well worth picking up.

[World's Worst Man 0]

If you want recent stuff..

 

NOAH DiColosseo April 18 2005 - Excellent 6 man, and 3 other good matches.

NOAH April 17 2005 - Couple of very good matches.

NOAH May 8 2005 - Has far and away the best match of the year, plus a really good opener.

NOAH July 18 2005 - This really wasn't a blow away show, as nothing was really over ****. But it basically had 4 really good matches, and another decent match.

 

New Japan on Samurai TV April 23 2005. Couple good-very good matches.

New Japan SXW May 23 2005 - Super Juniors time. 3 good matches, 2 decent matches.

New Japan SXW June 13 2005 - 2 good matches, 1 very good match, 2 decent matches. Best NJ show of the year so far.

[The Thread Killer 0]

NOAH DiColosseo April 18 2005 - Excellent 6 man, and 3 other good matches.

That is a good show if it's the one I remember. That's the one with the Captain's Fall match with KENTA, Marufuji, Suzuki & Ricky Marvin vs. Sugiura, Kanemaru, Hashi & SUWA, no? If I recall that also had Misawa & Mohammed Yone vs Kobashi & Go Shiosaki.

 

NOAH May 8 2005 - Has far and away the best match of the year, plus a really good opener.

 

That's the second night of the Differ Cup? Which one is the MOTY in your opinion?

Marufuji & KENTA vs. Hidaka & Minoru Fujita? I have both nights of the Differ Cup on DVD but I've yet to get around to watching them.

[World's Worst Man 0]

NOAH DiColosseo April 18 2005 - Excellent 6 man, and 3 other good matches.

That is a good show if it's the one I remember. That's the one with the Captain's Fall match with KENTA, Marufuji, Suzuki & Ricky Marvin vs. Sugiura, Kanemaru, Hashi & SUWA, no? If I recall that also had Misawa & Mohammed Yone vs Kobashi & Go Shiosaki.

 

That was their April 17 show. April 18 was DiColosseo, taped April 2 and 3. The April 3rd show is available in complete form, which included Akiyama vs. Hashi and Mitsuharu Misawa/Yoshinobu Kanemaru/Takashi Sugiura vs. Kenta Kobashi/KENTA/Ricky Marvin (both of which are on April 18 DiColosseo) and Minoru Suzuki & Naomichi Marufuji vs. Akira Taue & SUWA (which isn't on that DiColosseo). The stuff taped on April 2 was Mitsuharu Misawa/Kenta Kobashi/Jun Akiyama vs. Naomichi Marufuji/KENTA/Makoto Hashi and Tiger Emperor vs. Ricky Marvin (Mask vs. Hair).

 

NOAH May 8 2005 - Has far and away the best match of the year, plus a really good opener.

 

That's the second night of the Differ Cup?  Which one is the MOTY in your opinion?

Marufuji & KENTA vs. Hidaka & Minoru Fujita?  I have both nights of the Differ Cup on DVD but I've yet to get around to watching them.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yea, Marufuji/KENTA vs. Hidaka/Fujita (the finals).

[Damaramu 0]

Well just out of curiousity and no real need to see good wrestling I kind of want to see how the WWE castoffs are doing in Japan.

[The Thread Killer 0]

A whole bunch of them are in AJPW, in some stable called RO&D. However, I don't watch AJPW anymore. I have seen the odd match, usually if it has Kawada in it, like his Triple Crown defenses and the match with Kojima...but other than that, when Misawa split to NOAH...so did I.

[Damaramu 0]

Ok in addition to my tape collection. I ordered Champion Carnival 95 from Goldenboytapes and somehow the AJPW May 95 commercial tape worked it's way onto the end with Misawa vs. Hansen and Kobashi vs. Ace.

Weird.

But I love this era of AJPW and love just about any match I run into. Any other recommendations? I'm looking for hardcore recommendations now and not the general ones in the recommendations thread.

[World's Worst Man 0]

Hardcore eh? If you want really in-depth recommendations, it would take forever to list them. So here.

 

www.otherarena.com/z_jdw/ajpwlist.htm

 

Every ****+ match in that link. Meltzer's ratings are goofy, but you won't get anything less than about *** if you go by his ratings. Just get everything listed at ****+. It's an absolute ton of matches, but you can't go wrong with AJPW.

[Cuban Linx 0]

Misawa vs. Tsurata(not sure on date)

and Kobashi vs. Hanson(not sure on date)

 

While i can't be sure without more details, i'd say the dates for those would almost certainly be 6/8/90 for Jumbo/Misawa and either 7/29/93 or 7/31/93 for Kobashi/Hansen (i've seen it listed as both, i think the 29th is correct but i'm not 100% on that).

 

As for recommendations, if you liked the AJW Big Egg Universe show (and hell, even if you didn't) the AJW Dream Rush and Dream Slam 1 & 2 events are full of great matches (two being all-time classics) and are very easy to find.