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The Truepenny Show starts a new series covering the entire history of Japanese Professional Wrestling. James is joined by Marcus Green as they tackle the emotive subject of Rikidōzan and his promotion the Japan Wrestling Alliance. They look at the cultural context that enabled this new spectacle to shine in Post War Japan, how Rikidōzan became a national hero, his promotion that set so many standards and practices for Japanese wrestling, and his influence on the wrestlers of today. 

WrestleTalk Podcast Network

The Beginner's Guide to Japanese Wrestling - Part 1 Rikidōzan & The JWA

James is joined by Chelsea Spollen of Shoulders Up to talk through the early history of Joshi, its customs and traits and the business model that created some of the most artistically pleasing wrestling of the 70s and 80s. Joshi now hits our screens via Asuka in NXT more regularly than it has ever done before, so James and Chelsea delve into the the style that has changed the way mainstream wrestling looks at women. 

The Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 2; Joshi, The Beauty Pair & Jaguar Yokota

James is joined by Chelsea Spollen of shouldersup.net to discuss the birth of New Japan Pro Wrestling. It has been over 40 years since Antonio Inoki founded the promotion and now it stands tall as the biggest in Japan and second biggest in the world. James and Chelsea guide you through the early years, the big name stars and That match with Muhammad Ali. They also look at the birth of Strong Style, and the concept that began in Europe with Karl Gotch and evolved on the world stage.

The Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 3; NJPW, Inoki & The Making of Strong Style

The Beginner's Guide to Japan continues as James is joined by Alex Edwards to look at the early days of All Japan Pro Wrestling. After the demise of the Japan Wrestling Alliance in 1972, Baba founded his own promotion and set off on a twenty year journey that would see him become one of the most artistically and financially successful promoters in the world. The development of his "King's Road" style is the subject of today's session, and how he got from a fairly conservative American style promotion, to filling Sumo Hall every month with his own hard hitting brand of wrestling, is a story well worth telling.

The Beginnner's Guide to Japan Part 4; Baba, AJPW & the Start of the King's Road

As Antonio Inoki moved on wards into the 1980s, and New Japan's grasp on big money business continued in Japan. Two wrestlers helped bring it to new heights. Riki Choshu and Tatsumi "The Dragon" Fujinami were two exceptional wrestlers that captured the hearts of the Japanese fans. James is joined by Chelsea Spollen of shouldersup.net to examine this era of Japanese wrestling.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 5; Choshu and Fujinami, NJPW's First Generation

James is joined by Chelsea Spollen of shouldersup.net and Marcus Green of wrestletalk.tv to discuss the Crush Gals and their epic feud with the Gokuaku Domei pairing of Dump Matsumoto & Bull Nakano, as well as the super over young tandem of The Jumping Bomb Angels. They talk about the impact all three tandems had on AJW and the WWF, as well as how it set up the next generation of Joshi as the Beginner's Guide to Japan continues.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 6; Crush Gals, Gokuaku Domei & Jumping Bomb Angels, AJW's Revoloution

All Japan began to show a different direction in the 1980's that would culminate in its arena filling era of the early 1990's. Two major architects of that style shifts were Giant Baba's two main draws and the men who put the King's Road style on the map; Jumbo Tsuruta and Genichiro Tenryu. Debuting in the 70's they would become the corner stones of the AJPW upper card as they tagged together and then fought each other and played a major part in building The Triple Crown, the crown jewels of AJPW's mega sellout era. James is joined by shouldersup.net's Chelsea Spollen and Marcus Green of wrestletalk.tv to talk Tsuruta & Tenryu.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 7; Tsuruta & Tenryu start the King's Road

Tiger Mask & The Dynamite Kid are two names that are talked of with hushed reverence around the world for their stunning early eighties feud in New Japan. Alex Watt joins James to talk about the New Japan Juniors Revolution, and the other wrestlers like Davey Boy Smith, Bret Hart, Mark Rocco and The Cobra who helped redefine what Junior wrestling was about.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 8;  Tigers, Dynamite and New Japan's Junior Revoloution

Akira Maeda was an influential wrestler and fighter who changed the entire process of pro wrestling in the mid nineteen eighties. If Antonio Inoki invented Strong Style then Maeda perfected it and took it to its purest form. Chelsea Spollen joins James to a discuss a man who was largely responsible for the MMA boom in Japan and then the world.

The Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 9; Akira Maeda and the Shoot Revoloution

James is joined by Chelsea to delve into the bizare world of well known Japanese politician Atsushi Onita. From his beginnings as the savior of All Japan's Junior Heavyweight division, to his first (of many) retirements and then his emergence as the King of Hardcore, the man who took the successful hybrid style of shoot wrestling and spun it on its head, applied some barbed wire and set light to it.

This is the story of the Double Hell Death Match.

The Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 10; Atsushi Onita Baba's Wayward Son

In 1990, just after Wrestlemania VI, Vince McMahon joined forces with Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki to produce Wrestling Summit, a super show at the Tokyo Dome, featuring wrestlers from the WWF, New Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. It gave a fascinating insight into the differences between North America traditions and the creative world of puroresu which was just about to reach its peak. James Truepenny is joined by Alex Edwards to discuss the show  and beyond the match quality, the politics and impressions of a show that encapsulated a lot of what was happening in the wrestling world and its future for the next ten years on two continents.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 11; Wrestling Summit

James is joined by Alex Watt and Chelsea Spollen to review a timeless All Japan Women's card. The year is 1990, and the company tries to make some new stars mid year with their annual tournament. Manami Toyota stakes her claim to be the rising star of the company. Akir Hokuto produces one of the gutsiest performances in wrestling history. Aja Kong makes her inevitable presence felt, and AJW begin the slow process of rebuilding as The Crush Gals eraa comes to a close.

Beginner's Guide to Japan Part 12; AJW Wrestling Grand Prix 1990

James, Chelsea and Marcus go behind the Iron Curtain this week as they look at a NJPW TV show from the 1990 that covers the precursor to the New Years Dash shows of today. They examine a TV show that covers a New Year Tag Tournament from the not very old Korukean Hall, and also highlights from a strange and beautiful wrestling card actually inside the Soviet Union at the end of the cold war. Bizzareness abides as the New Japan regulars go head to head with burly amateurs whom own quit startling mustaches and have tendon strength like rubber bands. The Beginner's guide does Glasnost.

Beginner's Guide to Japan; New Japan Tags up and goes behind The Iron Curtain

By 1990, FMW had gone from MMA curiosity, to serious Indie contender. James and Chelsea look at the rise of the company in that first twelve month period. They look at their developing Joshi division, a first for Japanese wrestling, as Combat Toyoda and Megumi Kudo light a fire under the notion of what a woman can do in a Japanese ring. Atsushi Ohnita main events against an array of opponents and delivers some of the most diverse wrestling in history. 16 year old Mascarita Sagrada pinning men more than twice his size? Check. MMA mixed tags with gloves? Check. Tarzan Goto's Mullet? its all here folks.

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