Just twenty-nine years ago, Shohei "Giant" Baba and All Japan Pro Wrestling had their very first show at Machida City Gym in Tokyo on Saturday, October 21, 1972.
7--Bruno Sammartino & Terry Funk beat Giant Baba & Thunder Sugiyama
(1) Terry beat Sugiyama (13:00)
(2) Sugiyama beat Terry (9:03)
(3) Sammartino & Terry won by countout (7:44)
6--Mashio Koma drew Jerry Kozak
(1) Kozak (9:03)
(2) Koma (4:30)
(3) Double countout (4:50)
5--Motoshi Okuma beat Fred Blassie (12:00 disqualification)
4--Dutch Savage beat Samson Kutsuwada (11:25)
3--Dom DeNucci beat Akio Sato (6:10)
2--Mitsuo Momota beat Goro Tsurumi (9:30)
1--Devil Murasaki beat Masayuki Fujii (8:20)
The first full time pro wrestling company in Japan, Nippon Pro Wrestling (JWA [Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance]), which was founded by the "Father of Puroresu (pro wrestling)," Rikidozan, in 1953, ended their 20-year history after losing their two biggest stars, Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki, because JWA's heads abandoned their company to dissipation. Inoki and New Japan Pro Wrestling had their first show at Ota Ward Gym in Tokyo on March 6, 1972. JWA had their last show in front of a few hundred of fans at Yoshii Town Gym in Gumma on April 20, 1973.
Giant Baba founded his new company with big support from Dory Funk Sr., Bruno Sammartino, and NTV (Channel 4). The Funk Family's support smoothed the way to success for Baba. Dory Sr. and his Amarillo office had a long relationship with Japanese Puroresu since the late 1960's. They had booked Japanese "bad guys" like Seiji Sakaguchi (Big Saka), Umanosuke Ueda (Professor Ito/Tengu), Shachi Yokouchi, Gantetsu Matsuoka, Shinya Kojika (Great Kojika/Kung Fu Lee), Motoshi Ohkuma (Big Kuma), Mashio Koma, Masanori Toguchi (Kim Duk/Tiger Chang Lee), Mitsuo Hata, Gen-ichiro Shimada (Tenryu), Kazuo Sakurada (Chang Chun/Kendo Nagasaki/Rising Sun #1/Dragon Master), Akihisa Takachiho (Great Kabuki), Akio Sato (Shinja), and Tetsuo Sekigawa (Ninja/Mr. Pogo).
Baba scouted Tomomi Tsuruta, who competed in Greco-Roman (weight class: 100kg+) in the XX Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany in 1972. Jumbo Tsuruta later became a great main eventer whom Puroresu fans always remember as a legend like Rikidozan, Baba, and Inoki.
In the 1970's-1980's, Baba had a very strong relationship with the NWA's promoters, not only the Funk Family, but also Jack Adkisson (Fritz Von Erich), Gene Kiniski, Edward Farhat (The Sheik), Eddie Graham, Jim Barnett, and Jim Crockett Jr., and even with the AWA's Verne Gagne, so he could bring a great many big names from the United States. Dory & Terry Funk and Mil Mascaras won huge popularity, and the NWA World Heavyweight Champions, Jack Brisco, Harley Race, and Ric Flair, were really respected in All Japan's ring. Baba defeated Jack Brisco as the first Japanese wrestler to win the NWA World Heavyweight title, at Kagoshima Prefectural Gym on December 2 in 1974, and won the title a total of three times.
In the 1980's-1990's, All Japan's heavyweight division (Jumbo Tsuruta, Gen-ichiro Tenryu, Stan Hansen & Bruiser Brody, Terry Gordy & Steve Williams, Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi, and Jun Akiyama) had been one of the greatest quality drawing cards in the world in the 1980's-1990's. Japanese wrestling's wheels had always revolved upon its two big axes (Baba's All Japan and Inoki's New Japan) for years until Shohei Baba died of liver trouble from intestinal cancer on January 31, 1999.
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