Issue No. 4 And Forbidden Doors
Issue No. 4 And Forbidden Doors
By: Mavs Gillis
Raise your hand if you saw NJPW and AEW collaborating? Raise your hand if you saw IMPACT being in the mix? Raise your hand if you saw the Intercontinental and Heavyweight Championship titles being unified?
Raise your hand if you love Japanese Pro Wrestling and no matter how you feel about this past month, the explosion we are seeing of our passion, well, you love to see it.
If you’ve gotten this far, I know your hand was raised on at least one of those statements. There is so much that has taken place, but a forbidden door that has been opened, might not have been a door but a glass ceiling that has been re-shattered. STARDOM running Nippon Budokan, having the success they are having and now growing exponentially is a renaissance of Joshi puroresu.
The decade of STARDOM has now crossed a threshold. Of course talent has gone from that promotion to the family business in Connecticut before, but now major player status, even if it was before, is now definitely branded into their identity. It’s now only a matter of time before an era with memories of Crush Gals, AJW and Tokyo Dome cards plays out in front of us.
An interview we have this month gives us insight from Heidi Katrina from Essex, who wants to continue and build on the explosion of British wrestlers making their mark in Japan. She talks about working with Sendai Girls and fighting to make her way back to the Island Nation after this pandemic finishes and how her powerful style will be a force to be reckoned with in the Joshi scene.
Some would say the power of British pro wrestling in Japan lies in a new Empire. Will Ospreay has the talent around him to be a factional force in New Japan Pro Wrestling but at what cost? The suits, the British pounds, the style, and the smugness of this Aerial Assassin is certainly backed up in the ring – and now the belt. What does it mean for one to all of a sudden become the leader in a room with the talent of Jeff Cobb and Great O-Khan, while also having Aaron Henare alongside.
WATCH THE UNITED EMPIRE ADVANCE ON THE ROAD TO DONTAKU
Historically there have been great factions in the world of Puroresu. Where does and where will The Empire rank up amongst those today? Make your decisions when reviewing what other stables in our world have done, will do, and are doing to be at the top of their game. There’s one faction that is synonymous with Japanese Pro Wrestling worldwide; it’s the Bullet Club. You can say whatever you want about their tactics and history, these guys don’t miss.
Current member El Phantasmo stops by for an interview with our Editor in Chief Thom Fain. I would call EL-P a good Canadian kid, but that’s an insult to good Canadian kids everywhere. And this is where things get blurry, not like Good Brothers having good beers blurry, but are these guys are BC card-carrying right now. Start with the aforementioned Anderson and Gallows, losing the Impact tag titles to FinJuice, bringing IMPACT into the chat. Then we come to a polarizing figure, Kenny Omega.
AEW World Champion, former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, arguably one of the biggest influences on the Western expansion of New Japan Pro Wrestling. His Hopes and Dreams ended in the Tokyo Dome, but with a forbidden door open, what are the possibilities that lie ahead when a forbidden border crossing is opened after we tap out this pandemic? There’s so much more in this month’s issue as this magazine keeps growing. The reason it grows, the hard work of the team behind it and that your passion for pro wrestling as a sport is unwavering.
Raise your hand if you’re here for it!!!!
My hand’s up, for some reason I can only raise my middle finger though… oh I know why, there was one development this month that we all saw coming: Maki Itoh, congratulations motherf$%#er, you are now the f%#$ing star we all knew you would be.
This article first appeared in Monthly Puroresu Issue #4
