Marty jones v marc rocco. 1975.thats were it all started. Tom billington. Saw that. An took it on from there. A seemless match from 2 of the very best ever
Sayama-san is also a major influence in the world of MMA for developing Shooto (修斗), a hybrid full-contact style that mixed Japanese style kickboxing (a blend of Kyōkushinkai karate with Muy Thai) with catch wrestling. Shooto was also the name of the organization he founded in 1986, one of the first legit MMA endeavors. This was due to Sayama's dissatisfaction with his role in the worked "shoot style" puro organization UWF, run by Maeda Akira, around that time. Several early MMA fighters in Japan, Brazil, and North America (with Anderson Silva being the most recognizable name to the casual MMA fan) got their big break as Shooto champs. Shooto-affiliated gyms still actively train MMA fighters in Japan today, although the fight promotion isn't as big worldwide as it once was. Not sure of Sayama's role within the Shooto organization beyond promotion of it at one point. Lately, he seems to make one off appearances in the mask and at conventions. But from the late 80s to 1990s, Shooto had an important role in the full-contact fight world.
Shooto still rocking to this day! Technically they are still bigger than UFC/ONE/Bellator but for practice purposes, the big 3 each earn a lot more and have much larger media presences.
Not only did he found Shooto, He also started the Vale Tudo Japan open, In which in the MMA world we were introduced to legends such as Rickson Gracie, Rumina Sato, John Lewis, Carlos Newton, Erik Paulson, Yuki Nakai and Enson Inoue. In which Enson Inoue and Yuki Nakai were Sayama’s students for Shooto. He is a legend in both Pro Wrestling and MMA.
I saw one or two MSG cards, on USA Cable and was bored senseless, except for Bob Backlund vs Jimmy Snuka. Then I caught one with some birong openers and then Tiger Mask vs Jose Estrada. Tiger Mask looked like a comic book superhero and then proceeded to fly around the ring like one. I watched him leap up and do a hurricanrana, when you had to be in mexico to see that kind of stuff. He did the spot where he appears to go through the ropes, grabs them, and spins himself back inside. It was like nothing I had seen on any wrestling tv show, let alone WWF. I wanted to see more; but, he was in Japan and I had to settle for following things in the magazines, until wrestling caught up with Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid (and the Cobra and Mark Rocco and Villano III, etc, etc..)
I went back to check on NJPWorld the actual match for the guy in the crowd and it's like a thin, late middle aged black guy. You see him go from intrigued, to amazed, to making people around him realize what they're watching. it's awesome.
Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio had the same thing in WCW, particularly their Halloween Havoc 97 match. It was incredible high flying, but they looked like they were trying to beat each other.
I think one of the biggest reasons as to why he was over was because his character was a tribute to a famous manga series of the same name at the time. I think that helped him a lot along with the fact that he was fantastic in the ring.
You should be able to find 3 Tiger Mask (Sayama) vs. Dynamite matches here on RUclips. Amazing stuff. I didn't realize how small Dynamite was back then. And watching some of the bumps he would take, no wonder his back was fucked up.
Tiger Mask didn't get over by himself. Dynamite Kid got him over by putting him over time and time again. Those brilliant matches are as much a testament to DK's athleticism and imagination as they are to TM. They are the Lennon-McCartney of lightweight professional wrestlers.
200% right. TM would not have been the spectacle he was, if he'd have been in with anyone else. Imo dynamite is one of the greatest technical wrestlers ever. And THE number one most underrated of all time.
Dynamite told e he had his kit bag stolen whilst drinking at a bar the night before. Hence the red trunks an not the blue singlet. Say a phoned him at his hotel. Said to Tom what do you wanna do. Tom said you jump I catch.
I saw the Dynamite vs Tiger Mask on a bootleg VHS tape in 1985 and was blown away. That's also how I got to see imo one of the greatest Kevin Von Erich. I don't care what anyone says Kevin was the best Von Erich.
Saturo Saeyama wrote a book in the 1970s that "exposed the business". It was only published in Japan. Jim may not know this. It might change his opinion of Tiger Mask if he knows.
he wrote it right after he left NJPW because he wanted to get married & NJPW said "no you can't or else you'll have to take your mask off" and he did & Retired the first time until Shinma brought him into the UWF
Satoru was a huge piece of shit, there is tape of him abusing his trainees, and not just the old school japanese way, whatever tf that means, he was legit beating them up with sticks, to the point where they are all bloodied up and bruised
Sayama laid out massive building blocks for what lots of later wrestlers would incorporate in many facets , the early stand-off sequences , a hybrid moveset incorporating shoot/catch grapples with very judo and juijistu influenced holds and brilliant high flying . In todays line up closest guys to a Tiger Mask I'd say would be Bryan Daneislon , Low Ki maybe Davey Richards . Probably would make a top 40 list of pro wrestling greats and this description I've made makes me wish he'd have wrestled Owen Hart
The Tiger Mask Character is at IV (with the Supposed, Occasional Unofficial V's or Offshoots of Such) ... & the Black Tiger Character is or was at VII (Quite Possibly with the Supposed, Occasional Unofficial VIII's or Offshoots of Such)
I just watched a RUclips video called Best of Tiger Mask. Wow. Even as a casual fan of American wrestling, I'm amazed at my own ignorance... That must have been incredible in its time. (It's still spectacular now.)
Dont know what Brian is talking about with the crowds. The WWE crowds are more mixed in terms of ethnicity and color now than they ever were. I went to shows at MSG in the very early 80's and the crowds were mostly Italian and if Pedro was wrestling Puerto Rican. The big difference then was you did see alot more older people, especially older Italian woman if Bruno was wrestling.
The one thing Lucha really gets right is having the mask tied to the gimmick tied to the performer. Don’t reuse the mask and gimmick for a new performer. If one guys gets it over and puts on a litany of all time great matches and becomes an all time great let him have the legacy and let it be his. Let him be remembered as it. Even if someone becomes a “Jr.” so be it, but they change the mask and have a different gimmick and are acknowledged as a different individual and have a different gimmick that is their own. Like Rey Mysterio JR.
Dynamite Kid vs Tiger Mask is a timeless series, you could put that match in any promotion today and it would still be excellent
Marty jones v marc rocco. 1975.thats were it all started. Tom billington. Saw that. An took it on from there. A seemless match from 2 of the very best ever
Doesn't get any better. Wrestling today is awful
Oh easily. For sure.
Sayama-san is also a major influence in the world of MMA for developing Shooto (修斗), a hybrid full-contact style that mixed Japanese style kickboxing (a blend of Kyōkushinkai karate with Muy Thai) with catch wrestling. Shooto was also the name of the organization he founded in 1986, one of the first legit MMA endeavors. This was due to Sayama's dissatisfaction with his role in the worked "shoot style" puro organization UWF, run by Maeda Akira, around that time. Several early MMA fighters in Japan, Brazil, and North America (with Anderson Silva being the most recognizable name to the casual MMA fan) got their big break as Shooto champs. Shooto-affiliated gyms still actively train MMA fighters in Japan today, although the fight promotion isn't as big worldwide as it once was. Not sure of Sayama's role within the Shooto organization beyond promotion of it at one point. Lately, he seems to make one off appearances in the mask and at conventions. But from the late 80s to 1990s, Shooto had an important role in the full-contact fight world.
Cool stuff, thanks for sharing!
Shooto still rocking to this day! Technically they are still bigger than UFC/ONE/Bellator but for practice purposes, the big 3 each earn a lot more and have much larger media presences.
Not only did he found Shooto, He also started the Vale Tudo Japan open, In which in the MMA world we were introduced to legends such as Rickson Gracie, Rumina Sato, John Lewis, Carlos Newton, Erik Paulson, Yuki Nakai and Enson Inoue.
In which Enson Inoue and Yuki Nakai were Sayama’s students for Shooto. He is a legend in both Pro Wrestling and MMA.
King from tekken was based off of tiger mask. Plus Sayama founded shooto one of the first mma organizations in the world. Legendary wrestler.
And Tiger Mask was a manga/anime character before he debuted as an real-life wrestler.
I saw one or two MSG cards, on USA Cable and was bored senseless, except for Bob Backlund vs Jimmy Snuka. Then I caught one with some birong openers and then Tiger Mask vs Jose Estrada. Tiger Mask looked like a comic book superhero and then proceeded to fly around the ring like one. I watched him leap up and do a hurricanrana, when you had to be in mexico to see that kind of stuff. He did the spot where he appears to go through the ropes, grabs them, and spins himself back inside. It was like nothing I had seen on any wrestling tv show, let alone WWF. I wanted to see more; but, he was in Japan and I had to settle for following things in the magazines, until wrestling caught up with Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid (and the Cobra and Mark Rocco and Villano III, etc, etc..)
I went back to check on NJPWorld the actual match for the guy in the crowd and it's like a thin, late middle aged black guy. You see him go from intrigued, to amazed, to making people around him realize what they're watching. it's awesome.
@Ruairi it's in RUclips here and has msg in the title. You could see and hear that people had never seen before.
that black guys eyes lit up
Hearing Cornette geek out about Tiger and Kid is fucking great. 😆🤘
Tiger Mask and then later Muta and the WCW Cruiserweights were so damn fast!!
*and young Jushin liger
I just watch Dynamite and Tiger looked like a damn near shoot. Great match look legit
Tht because orig8nal tiger was trained around the world and wanted to make it more shoot realstic. Then he went on to make mma protoi9n
@@wingedhussar1453 plus dynamite kid was trained in the snake pit. So he knew how to legitimately wrestle
Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio had the same thing in WCW, particularly their Halloween Havoc 97 match. It was incredible high flying, but they looked like they were trying to beat each other.
I think one of the biggest reasons as to why he was over was because his character was a tribute to a famous manga series of the same name at the time. I think that helped him a lot along with the fact that he was fantastic in the ring.
You should be able to find 3 Tiger Mask (Sayama) vs. Dynamite matches here on RUclips. Amazing stuff. I didn't realize how small Dynamite was back then. And watching some of the bumps he would take, no wonder his back was fucked up.
Tiger Mask didn't get over by himself. Dynamite Kid got him over by putting him over time and time again. Those brilliant matches are as much a testament to DK's athleticism and imagination as they are to TM. They are the Lennon-McCartney of lightweight professional wrestlers.
200% right.
TM would not have been the spectacle he was, if he'd have been in with anyone else.
Imo dynamite is one of the greatest technical wrestlers ever.
And THE number one most underrated of all time.
Dynamite told e he had his kit bag stolen whilst drinking at a bar the night before. Hence the red trunks an not the blue singlet. Say a phoned him at his hotel. Said to Tom what do you wanna do. Tom said you jump I catch.
Tiger Mask had so much more speed than Dyno. He was lightning.
You could not be more wrong. Lol TM was the one who brought DK up to his level every time.
Tiger Mask was over before he ever stepped in the ring. He was a popular manga and anime character before a real life wrestler was handed the gimmick.
I saw the Dynamite vs Tiger Mask on a bootleg VHS tape in 1985 and was blown away. That's also how I got to see imo one of the greatest Kevin Von Erich. I don't care what anyone says Kevin was the best Von Erich.
Saturo Saeyama wrote a book in the 1970s that "exposed the business". It was only published in Japan. Jim may not know this. It might change his opinion of Tiger Mask if he knows.
he wrote it right after he left NJPW because he wanted to get married & NJPW said "no you can't or else you'll have to take your mask off" and he did & Retired the first time until Shinma brought him into the UWF
Satoru was a huge piece of shit, there is tape of him abusing his trainees, and not just the old school japanese way, whatever tf that means, he was legit beating them up with sticks, to the point where they are all bloodied up and bruised
Sayama laid out massive building blocks for what lots of later wrestlers would incorporate in many facets , the early stand-off sequences , a hybrid moveset incorporating shoot/catch grapples with very judo and juijistu influenced holds and brilliant high flying . In todays line up closest guys to a Tiger Mask I'd say would be Bryan Daneislon , Low Ki maybe Davey Richards . Probably would make a top 40 list of pro wrestling greats and this description I've made makes me wish he'd have wrestled Owen Hart
Bryan and Lesnar could do a modern-day equivalent of Sayama vs Fujiwara - of course, it will almost certainly never happen, but one can still dream...
Danielsoj doesn't have the speed of this guy tho. Tiger mask kicks are fast and lethal
“Now it’s just always down.” What a statement to end it. It’s not just down, it’s spiraling all the way down. All the way down the damn drain.
King from Tekken
The Tiger Mask Character is at IV (with the Supposed, Occasional Unofficial V's or Offshoots of Such) ... & the Black Tiger Character is or was at VII (Quite Possibly with the Supposed, Occasional Unofficial VIII's or Offshoots of Such)
First time I saw tiger Mask was in Mid South Wrestling he ran up the corner buckle and stood there for a few seconds and jumped out with a spear!
Yea, the craziest thing about the original Tiger Mask is that he was followed up by Tiger Mask II who could be just as influential.
No, hell no. Two only became influential when he took of the mask and became himself. (Misawa)
Anytime I try to explain how great tiger mask or Dynamite were, I just tell people to watch any of their head to head classics
I liked the Tiger Mask/Jose Estrada match from MSG. He totally out classed him.
I just watched a RUclips video called Best of Tiger Mask. Wow.
Even as a casual fan of American wrestling, I'm amazed at my own ignorance... That must have been incredible in its time. (It's still spectacular now.)
With Tiger Mask, They Stopped (Officially) with IV .... with Black Tiger, They Stopped (Officially) with VII ...
Jim what are your thoughts on Brian Adias
Dont know what Brian is talking about with the crowds. The WWE crowds are more mixed in terms of ethnicity and color now than they ever were. I went to shows at MSG in the very early 80's and the crowds were mostly Italian and if Pedro was wrestling Puerto Rican. The big difference then was you did see alot more older people, especially older Italian woman if Bruno was wrestling.
The only good Tiger Mask’s were Satoru Sayama and Mitsuharu Misawa
Mitsuharu "EEEEELEEEEEBOOOOOOWWW" Misawa
Kota Ibushi's variation was ok too.
Misawa was ok but Sayama put the bar so high and that it’s nearly unreachable
Misawa 's one was terrible , he itself didn't wanted to portray it .
Misawa was not a good Tiger Mask, not at all. He only became good when he took the mask off and became himself.
Sayama Will always be the original the OG tiger mask and he is the real tiger king.🐯👑
Dynamite Kid was simply the greatest wrestler in the ring
the point about the buisness never being down ever is something i never thought about,and it is entirely true.
Tiger Mask Or Rey Mysterio Or Jushin Liger
Tiger Mask, Rey and Liger built off the foundation TM laid.
Wow I wouldn't think corney would be a tiger mask fan
Was he really part tiger🤷♂️
The one thing Lucha really gets right is having the mask tied to the gimmick tied to the performer. Don’t reuse the mask and gimmick for a new performer. If one guys gets it over and puts on a litany of all time great matches and becomes an all time great let him have the legacy and let it be his. Let him be remembered as it. Even if someone becomes a “Jr.” so be it, but they change the mask and have a different gimmick and are acknowledged as a different individual and have a different gimmick that is their own. Like Rey Mysterio JR.
Bruno and Lawler made people believe it was real!