Post by rapidfire187 on May 12, 2008 4:04:59 GMT -5
Today, most adults in North America know the familiar name and face of professional wrestling icons Hulk Hogan, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and "The Rock". Citizens of the same age, living in Japan, have similar memories of their childhood puroresu favorites such as Jushin "Thunder" Lyger, Keiji Mutoh and Kenta Kobashi. Professional wrestling, or Puroresu as it's called in Japan, has been a large part of pop culture in both North America and Japan. Both "sports" promote predetermined fights in front of an audience. The rules are simple; the first person to be pinned for 3 seconds, submit, or be disqualified loses the contest. That's where the similarities end however; everything from the promoters, crowds, athletes, and even the fighting styles are different.
In the United States, professional wrestling promotions such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) perform weekly on international television, and monthly on pay per view. WWE, with Vince McMahon leading the company, has been the most popular wrestling company since 1997. TNA is a self proclaimed "WWE alternative" that is only 5 years of age. Both companies feature main events where a storyline is being followed, giving the fans a way to further enjoy the match, and giving the wrestlers a broader story to tell in the ring. Puroresu is presented in a more realistic style. All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and Professional Wrestling NOAH promote their shows as a legitimate spectator sport, and the results of the shows are even reported by top Japanese sports magazines. The match endings are still predetermined, but the fans find it easy to play along because the action is very realistic and hard hitting.
Professional wrestling matches are almost always held in front of a audience. Crowds can be as small as 50 people cheering at a bingo hall, or as large as 120,000 fans in North Korea being forced to attend a huge event. In the United States, the audience will cheer or boo loudly, and show their appreciation of a match by chanting "this is awesome", or "you f***ed up". Fans of Japanese wrestling are often times quiet for the opening minutes of a bout. but as the match grows, the audience gets louder. This often times results in the entire arena stomping their feet in excitement after witnessing a close finish to the match.
American companies such as WWE and TNA both feature a roster that consists of former football players, body builders, and amateur wrestlers. Most of North American professional wrestling is based on putting on a show similar to a theatrical act. Big, muscular athletes are generally pushed as the top stars, which has unintentionally caused a dark steroid scandal to sweep over American wrestling. Japanese wrestlers are often times not as physically toned as their American counterparts, but they usually have a wide array of technical wrestling knowledge. WWE wrestlers perform yearly, working and traveling upwards of 300 days a year. Even though wrestlers for companies such as NJPW perform in more violent and dangerous matches, they have an entire month to rest after each one month tour ends.
Puroresu has two prominent fighting styles. AJPW's "King's Road" style calls for matches that feature opponents having a supreme battle of power and NJPW's "Fighting Spirit" focuses on one or more performers finding the strength to continue and overcome their challenge. In America, WWE and TNA feature larger than life characters that face off in matches for the sole purpose of beginning, advancing, or ending a storyline. Other American independent companies such as Ring Of Honor (ROH) present a product similar to the ones in Japan, and are growing in popularity. The fighting styles are a huge part of what seperates the products of American and Japanese professional wrestling.
Wrestling companies in Japan are entirely different from the ones in North America. The crowds react to shows from both countries differently. The performers in American and Japanese wrestling are of different builds, and entertain the audience in separate ways. Even the fighting styles are unique to their home country. In conclusion, professional wrestling is a business, and every decision that's made by the companies from around the world are made to continue and evolve the business.
In the United States, professional wrestling promotions such as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and Total Nonstop Action (TNA) perform weekly on international television, and monthly on pay per view. WWE, with Vince McMahon leading the company, has been the most popular wrestling company since 1997. TNA is a self proclaimed "WWE alternative" that is only 5 years of age. Both companies feature main events where a storyline is being followed, giving the fans a way to further enjoy the match, and giving the wrestlers a broader story to tell in the ring. Puroresu is presented in a more realistic style. All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and Professional Wrestling NOAH promote their shows as a legitimate spectator sport, and the results of the shows are even reported by top Japanese sports magazines. The match endings are still predetermined, but the fans find it easy to play along because the action is very realistic and hard hitting.
Professional wrestling matches are almost always held in front of a audience. Crowds can be as small as 50 people cheering at a bingo hall, or as large as 120,000 fans in North Korea being forced to attend a huge event. In the United States, the audience will cheer or boo loudly, and show their appreciation of a match by chanting "this is awesome", or "you f***ed up". Fans of Japanese wrestling are often times quiet for the opening minutes of a bout. but as the match grows, the audience gets louder. This often times results in the entire arena stomping their feet in excitement after witnessing a close finish to the match.
American companies such as WWE and TNA both feature a roster that consists of former football players, body builders, and amateur wrestlers. Most of North American professional wrestling is based on putting on a show similar to a theatrical act. Big, muscular athletes are generally pushed as the top stars, which has unintentionally caused a dark steroid scandal to sweep over American wrestling. Japanese wrestlers are often times not as physically toned as their American counterparts, but they usually have a wide array of technical wrestling knowledge. WWE wrestlers perform yearly, working and traveling upwards of 300 days a year. Even though wrestlers for companies such as NJPW perform in more violent and dangerous matches, they have an entire month to rest after each one month tour ends.
Puroresu has two prominent fighting styles. AJPW's "King's Road" style calls for matches that feature opponents having a supreme battle of power and NJPW's "Fighting Spirit" focuses on one or more performers finding the strength to continue and overcome their challenge. In America, WWE and TNA feature larger than life characters that face off in matches for the sole purpose of beginning, advancing, or ending a storyline. Other American independent companies such as Ring Of Honor (ROH) present a product similar to the ones in Japan, and are growing in popularity. The fighting styles are a huge part of what seperates the products of American and Japanese professional wrestling.
Wrestling companies in Japan are entirely different from the ones in North America. The crowds react to shows from both countries differently. The performers in American and Japanese wrestling are of different builds, and entertain the audience in separate ways. Even the fighting styles are unique to their home country. In conclusion, professional wrestling is a business, and every decision that's made by the companies from around the world are made to continue and evolve the business.
