WE LOVE ALL JAPAN

Shohei "Giant" Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta

6 time NWA International Tag Team Champions

Between 1975 and 1983

International Match of the Day

April 1975

All Japan PWF Heavyweight Title Match

Shohei "Giant" Baba

(champion)

vs

Dick the Bruiser

WE LOVE PRO WRESTLING!

Dick the Bruiser and The Crusher

NWA International Tag Team Champions

All Japan Pro Wrestling

August 11th 1969

defeated Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki 

International Match of the Night (Wajima)

December 9th 1986

City Gymnasium

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Japan

Rick Martel and Tom Zenk

vs

Giant Baba and Hiroshi Wajima

WWF/All Japan Show 1990

WWF/All Japan Supershow

April 13th 1990

Tokyo Dome

Andre the Giant(WWF)/Giant Baba(AJPW)

vs

Demolition (WWF)

NWA World Heavyweight Title November 7th 1979

November 7th 1979, Harley Race would face japanese legend and NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Giant Baba in a rematch for the NWA World Heavyweight Title.  Race lost the title 7 days earlier to Baba in Nagoya, Japan.  This time they met in Amagasaki, Japan with the belt on the line.

Harley Race would hold the belt for 302 days, from November 7th 1979 to September 4th 1980 when he again would lose the belt to Giant Baba, this time in Saga, Japan.  Baba would be World champion for 5 days this time and Race would win back the belt on September 9th in Otsu, Japan.

Match of the Night (Mil Mascaras/Dos Caras)

Mil Mascaras and Dos Caras

vs

Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta

Tokyo, Japan

1979

Match of the Day (Sammartino vs Baba 1968)

In this rare footage, WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino ventures to Japan to face Shohei "Giant"  Baba.

August 7th 1968

New Stan Hansen Book

This is for the fans that love Stan "The Lariat" Hansen and his unpredictable and crazy style.  I am one that misses the "dont know what is going to happen next" style that he made famous all over the world.


This  is his story in his own words about everything you wanted to know...from Japan, to King Kong Brody to Bruno's broken neck to the AWA Title and what happened between him and Verne Gagne....good looking stuff from the all the excerpts you can read at the link post below.

Highspots is selling it...click this link.

Today in Wrestling History December 4th

1969 - Dory Funk Jr. defended his NWA World Heavyweight Title in a 60 minute draw against Antonio Inoki.
This was the first title defense by a World Champion in Japan since 1957.





1974 - Giant Baba wins his first NWA World Heavyweight Title by defeating then champion Jack Brisco in Kagoshima, Japan. Baba would lose the title back to Brisco a week later.

Dick the Bruiser in Japan

I dont know what year this was or what they heck they are saying (I need to learn japanese if I keep posting these) but this is probably the rarest of Dick the Bruiser footage. Bruiser in Japan 1975 facing fellow legend Giant Baba.
Now Bruiser wasnt a big traveler to Japan so the crowd doesnt have much reaction to him and they sit in studied silence watching this match unfold.
We get to see a Bruiser probably unfamiliar to most Bruiser fans, the heel wrestler facing a tremendous fan favorite in Baba and the japanese crowd arent sure what to make of our Bruiser.
Now Bruiser had to make a small fortune to do this because Baba usually didnt do the the blade jobs and this match both men brought the blood and he gave Baba a pinfall victory over him which was a rarity. Notice at the end of the match that Bruiser's "second" in the ring was a young Bob Orton Jr. and Bruiser almost clobbers Lord James Blears who is in the ring to present Baba with his title belt.
At the end of Part 2 there is a brief clip of Bruiser facing Harley Race for the NWA Heavyweight Title.

NWA World Title Oct 31st 1979

It was 30 years ago today that Shohei"Giant" Baba won the NWA World Heavyweight Title from Harley Race in Nagoya, Japan.
This would be 2nd of 3 short title reigns for the Giant Baba. He won the first from Jack Brisco in 1974. The next 2 times he would defeat his friend Harley Race, in 1979 and again in 1980. All 3 title reigns were a week in length and he would drop the belt back to the man he won it from before they returned to the United States.
These were the days when winning the World Heavyweight Title meant something and you can tell by the reaction of the fans, how elated they were to see their man become THE World Champion.
Here is the 2nd of those titles wins.