Haiwaii-Central America Tag Title Battle - Rikidozan and Ortega butt heads

Weekly Pro

15th September 1955

The final match of the pro wrestling tournament in Tokyo, between Hawaii Tag Champions Rikidozan and Azumafuji and Ortega & Curtis, was moved to Osaka and the second match was held on August 1st at the special ring at Shimamachi Pool, but it also ended in a draw. The match between Ortega and Curtis, who both won the Hawaii and Central American titles, took place at 6pm on July 28th, right after the Osaka show ended at a special event at Korakuen Hall. A crowd of about 13,000 gathered, and with the big guys hitting, slapping, throwing each other in a brawl, it was expected that things could get out of hand, so wrestling fans from all over the country came to watch with excitement. For better or worse, this situation came to fruition, and there was a murderous atmosphere in and out of the ring. Rikidozan slammed Ortega into the corner, causing him to bleed, and Orton and Curtis tried to stop the raging Ortega, and Azumafuji tried to stop Rikidozan, and even fans ran into the ring, creating chaos that even required the police to be called in. In the end, the match ended in a draw due to injury, with the commissioner stopping the match. The title match was moved to Osaka and the second bout was held on August 1st at Shimamachi Pool, but again the match ended in a draw.

Rikidozan & Azumafuji vs Ortega & Curtis

(3 bout tag match, 61 minutes)

Round 1: Curtins pins Azumafuji

(19 minutes, 12 seconds)

Round 2: Rikidozan pins Curtis

(19 minutes, 52 seconds)

Round 3: Draw due to injury (Rikidozan/Ortega)

(1 minute, 12 seconds)

ROUND ONE

I don't know what happened to Rikidozan that night, but he was excited from the beginning. When Azumafuji and Curtis started, he was cheering from the ropes, "Throw! Throw!" Perhaps inspired by this, Azumafuji picked up Curtis and threw him, slammed him into the ground and used his signature sumo throw to injure him. Curtis had an expression on his face that said, "He's so big, it's really difficult. What should I do?" and there were several times when he went to Ortega to ask for advice. Perhaps as a result of this discussion, Ortega and Curtis decided to avoid Rikidozan as much as possible and focus their attacks on Azumafuji, who they then dragged into their corner, weakening him with repeated fouls, and at 19 minutes 12 minutes, Curtis won with a pinfall. 

ROUND TWO

Rikidozan was furious after being downed and challenged Ortega to a fight. However, Ortega put him in a headlock and without the referee seeing hit him in the face. He then grabbed him by his hair and choked him, fully demonstrating his "villain" side and tormenting Rikidozan. This was a tough attack, and even the tough Rikidozan found himself repeatedly in danger, looking as if he would fall and it even seemed that he would be saying goodbye to the Hawaii Championship he had so hard earned. 

But Rikidozan held on well.

When Ortega tagged Curtis, Rikidozan slammed a left uppercut into his stomach, then followed up with a flurry of karate chops as Curtis flinched. He seized the opportunity to counterattack, then used a rock-drop technique to finally pin him securing a crucial point. 

ROUND THREE

Right before the bell rang, the Mexican giant Ortega spread his arms wide and called out in a fierce voice, "Come on, Riki! Come on, Riki!". Rikidozan was a little overwhelmed from the second round, and Azumafuji was scheduled to start the third, but he seemed excited by Ortega's challenge, and he held back Azumafuji as he tried to step out, glaring at Ortega and saying "I'm going to go!" and then taking off. This all happened before the gong had even sounded, which was unbelievable. A murderous atmosphere quickly spread across the ring, and some of the less enthusiastic spectators at ringside even covered their faces with handkerchiefs, as Ortega rained down explosive punches onto Rikidozan's chest. Rikidozan responded with a "What the hell! I'm not gonna lose!" and unleashed his signature karate chops in rapid succession, turning the match into a fierce exchange of blows more like boxing than wrestling. In the exchange of blows, Rikidozan won, cornering Ortega to the ropes and knocking him out of the ring with a rock-drop, but he had too much momentum and fell down with him. The hard part was about to begin. It may not have been easy to see on TV or from a distance, but Rikidozan had Ortega in a headlock by the side of the ring, and slammed Ortega's face twice into the pillar in the corner of the ring. No matter how well-trained your physique, being slammed into a pillar is no good. Bright red blood quickly began to spurt from Ortega's forehead, and with his face filled with anger, he turned into a raging elephant. Once both men were in the ring, it was no longer pro wrestling. A "let's do it, come on, let's do it" kind of atmosphere took over. Orton and Curtis then leap in, and attempt to hold back Ortega, who is trying to get in Rikidozan's face, but Ortega's incredible strength threatened to throw them off. Azumafuji leapt into the ring, and attempted to hold back Rikidozan. While being held back, the two men raged at each other yelling, "Come on", as a group of police officers suddenly surrounded the ring, ready for any eventuality. Suddenly, a fan wearing a headband slipped through the crowd and jumped into the ring, instantly plunging it into a chaotic frenzy. 

Naturally, Ortega's injury meant he was no longer able to compete, and the commissioner stopped the match, resulting in a 1-1 draw. However, I would like to share some of the stories of those involved in the night, as well as some critical comments from a few observers, as I believe they are necessary to understand professional wrestling. 

"Fair fight" ~ Rikidozan 

"Ortega has committed a lot of fouls in the past, and he did this time too. I'm not saying that it's necessarily bad, but his methods are just too dirty. Plus, Ortega is like a complete madman when he gets in the ring. In the second round, Ortega had me by the throat, and was pulling my hair, so by the time Curtis took over, I was groggy. I finally managed to pin him and take the fight to the finals, but at this point Ortega provoked me again. I guess he thought Japanese wrestlers, even though they were strong, weren't that great. I wanted to tag Azumafuji, but Ortega's attitude made me angry. I'd fought countless times in America and never lost. Anyway, I was motivated to give it my all. When the fight resumed, both Ortega and I were so worked up, that it turned into a full-on fistfight. I threw Ortega to the floor but I was so angry at the time that I even considered splitting his head open with the ring post. Fortunately (or unfortunately), I couldn't hit Azumafuji with all my might and slam him into the ring post*, so a fight must be fair play. I got angry, but I regret it a little. I'm a man too, and if it's just me and Ortega, I'll fight for two or three hours until I drop, and I absolutely won't lose. I'm sorry for what I did to the audience who took the time to come tonight, and I'll show them a more beautiful fight next time."

 "The referee is not good" ~ Ortega

"Accidents happen, and the injury isn't serious. I've broken my spine twenty times and dislocated other parts about eight times. You don't need a doctor for injuries like this. Tonight's referee, Ray Cummings, has experience fighting in Washington and Arizona, so I followed his instructions, but I would have liked to have fought longer if the referee hadn't stopped the match. However, the referee's handling was poor. At first, I notified the timekeeper, so the bell rang, but he just stepped in and didn't say a word, that's where the confusion came from. I didn't know that referee stoppages were a common practice in Japan. If I had known, I wouldn't have been hurt and the match wouldn't be stopped immediately. I just thought he'd been warned for a foul. My fighting with Rikidozan was normal in professional wrestling, and I was in no way trying to pick a fight. It's normal in America, so I don't know why Rikidozan was so upset. If there's a match against him in the future, I'm always ready to fight him fairly."

Strange and Mysterious Pro Wrestling 

Pro wrestling is supposed to be a fun sport for fans to watch, to pay to watch, but if the wrestlers get too worked up and end the match without being able to continue, that's not the true way of wrestling and it's not something to be praised. Although punches, strikes, and throws are allowed, professional wrestling should be centered around exchanges of throws, ground fighting, and reversals, but today's match seemed a little over the top, with punches and chops that were too nerve-wracking. Watching today's match, I wondered if this was really a sport, and at the same time, if this just a show then it should be just a show. 

There are few sports as strange as pro wrestling.    

Notes

Azumafuji: He suffered a dislocated thumb during the brawl, his hand getting caught between the ring post and Rikidozan's head. 

      

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