EMERGENCY NEWS! Japanese wrestling shaken by TV rollback - what does the future hold? (Baba quits JWA)

Weekly Pro Wrestling September 1972 

(9th Issue)

Giant Baba, the "mainstay" of Japanese professional wrestling, suddenly submitted his resignation to the company, held a press conference, and made a "declaration of independence." Wrestling fans across the country must have found it hard to believe their ears and eyes. But this is an undeniable fact, a decisive thing that cannot be reversed now. It was on July 29th, at the Summer Big Series, which was being held at the same time.

There is probably no one who was not surprised to hear Shohei Baba's announcement of his departure. This was quite unexpected, since although there were various problems, Japan Pro had only recently been on the upswing after moving from NTV (Channel 4) to NET TV (Channel 10). Long-time Japanese wrestling fans said, "If Baba appears, NET TV will surely be able to breathe a sigh of relief." International Pro Wrestling is on the TBS Television Network, but the ratings are not necessarily satisfactory, and Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling is full of advertising balloons and is a long way from TV talk, but Japanese wrestling seems to go its own way. Baba was the ace who stood at the forefront of Japanese professional wrestling and was an indispensable presence, so it was unthinkable for him to deviate from the true course, but after much consideration, Baba has finally decided to go his own way. 

The reasons are stated in the separate statement, but the gist is;

1. Baba feels uncomfortable wrestling away from NTV, which has a deep and inseparable relationship with Japanese wrestling.

2. He felt that if he remained affiliated with Japan Pro Wrestling he would not be able to carry out the kind of wrestling he envisioned, so he wanted to explore possibilities from a free and independent standpoint.

At the press conference held in front of the Grand Prince Hotel, Akasaka in Tokyo at 6:00 am on July 29th, Baba remained calm throughout and explained his thoughts. At the very least, as the station says, there is no discrimination against Japan Pro, and it is certainly not a case of a split. This makes sense. However, when the details of the story were revealed, the issue of the connection with NTV came into sharp focus. An insider said, "When it comes to expressing himself to Nippon TV, Baba-kun shouldn't be the only one to feel that way, and that's why he ended up leaving Nippon TV and moving to NET TV...an insider put it this way. "When it comes to expressing himself to Nippon Television, there is no reason for Baba-kun to feel that way alone. He ended up leaving Nippon Television and moving to NET Television. It was a unanimous decision, not just a whim. It seems odd to say anything about Baba-kun now, but if we go beyond that belief, the seeds of the connection between Umajima-kun and Nippon Television have been connected for quite some time now - in other words, they have been in contact ever since Nippon Television and NET Television emerged victorious in the spectacular "Battle for Baba." Nippon Television was thinking of getting revenge for the loss of its reputation as a long-established company, and so they chose the person in question, Baba. The "sentiment" of Nippon Television. If you think about it that way, Baba-kun's resignation was not an accident at all, but something that was thoroughly calculated. At the time, there was talk of Nippon Television resuming wrestling broadcasts in October, and some newspapers were writing about Inoki's appearance in New Japan Pro Wrestling. Shouldn't we think that Baba-kun, thinking that if things went wrong, finally gave Nippon Television the OK just before the time was up? As expected of Baba-kun, who is a smart guy, he does things without any problems." It's a rather cynical view, but there are certainly indications that it could be so. However, because the whole thing was carried out in strict secrecy, it seems that the front office and wrestlers of Japan Pro Wrestling, who were left in the dark, were quite shocked. 

  Immediately after Baba's press conference, Hasegawa was bombarded with questions from the press at the Japan Pro Wrestling office in Daikanyama-cho, Shibuya Ward, to which he gave a vague response: "It was all so sudden, and I have received your resignation letter, but I don't know what will happen. But if you really want to quit, that's unavoidable." All the wrestlers below the rank of president, as well as the executives were present, but Oki Kintaro, the acting president of the Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestlers Association*, finally spoke out in rebuttal, saying Even if you suddenly quit, your contract with NET will continue until March 31st of next year. How do you intend to fulfill that responsibility, Baba-kun? Certainly, this is a big problem. After learning of the incident, NET TV's Director of Programming immediately consulted with the relevant parties and told Japan Pro Wrestling, "This is an internal issue, so please deal with it appropriately. We consider Baba to be one of our employees, but the die has already been cast. As for Baba, he was an executive at Japan Pro Wrestling, so he should have fully predicted what would happen before taking action."

 At the press conference, Baba clearly stated, "No matter what happens, I have no intention of returning to Japan Pro Wrestling." In that case, the biggest point is what path Baba will take in the future. Regarding this point, Baba said "I'd like to create a new promotion. I have asked Nippon Television for their cooperation in this regard." But is it easy to form such a promotion? Baba is said to have said, "All that's needed is for it to be on the air. If that's not possible, then I have an idea." For NET, this is only natural. They had finally managed to lure Baba away, and just as things were slowly starting to pick up steam, he was poached away again. It is only natural that they would complain. To be clear, Baba himself said, "At the moment, it is just me. I have no intention of poaching wrestlers away from Japan Pro Wrestling. To be honest, I won't turn away anyone who comes to me." The road ahead is difficult. However, considering the position that Baba has occupied in Japan Pro and his interactions with younger wrestlers, it is obvious that at least some of the wrestlers will flock to his side. Needless to say, there are two wrestlers, Katsuta and Sato who have been Baba's attendants up until now, and there is also Mashio Koma* and Motoji Okuma*, who are currently training in Amarillo, Texas, who are Baba's personal trainees, and have an inseparable relationship with him. There is also Mitsuo Momota (the second son of the late Rikidozan), who is currently on hiatus from Japan Pro Wrestling, and is also emotionally a Baba supporter. But to be honest, no matter how great and popular Baba is in the wrestling world, it's a bit unsettling to have only these two or three wrestlers in his arsenal, so Baba will probably turn his attention overseas. What is immediately noticeable here is that Hiro Matsuda*, who lives in Florida, and Masanori Saito, who lives in Los Angeles, both have deep ties to Japan Pro, and have been invited to the ring, but they are by no means exclusive, and are ultimately freelancers. So, if Baba were to ask them to "do one little favor", there's a good chance they would take action. This is not a betrayal of Japanese professional wrestling or anything like that, it's a legitimate business, and as freelance wrestlers, it all depends on the conditions, and it's up to them to choose how they want to...Looking at it this way, I don't think it will be that difficult for Baba to create a new promotion. Rather, the hard part will be inviting foreign wrestlers. Frankly, both International Pro Wrestling, which is doing very well at the moment, and New Japan Pro Wrestling, which just got started, are walking a thorny path when it comes to inviting foreign wrestlers. Whether in America or in Europe, each athlete is free to do what they want, however, each has an "invisible route".     

 In this respect, it is only natural that Japan Pro, the oldest and most traditional organization, has close ties with the NWA, the largest organization in the American wrestling world, and this puts it in an extremely advantageous position. In the case of International Pro Wrestling, they were fortunate to have partnered with Europe, a region that does not compete with Japanese pro wrestling at all, and six years of steady efforts have paid off, with them continuing negotiations with the AWA, the NWA's opponent, as a path into America. In contrast, New Japan, which has only just started, has not yet decided on a solid route, and is only inviting wrestlers from the southern part of the country through connections with Karl Gotch and Antonio Inoki's personal connections, so it is an undeniable fact that the content is inferior to Japan Pro and International Pro Wrestling. Given this, it seems likely that Baba's new promotion will have a tough time inviting foreign wrestlers, but surprisingly, many people are optimistic. In Baba's case, he has a rich track record as a superstar in American wrestling since his debut, and he has a trustworthy personality. He also has strong connection with promoters and star athletes, so it is fully possible to enlist their cooperation. For example, Pedro Morales, who is the current WWWF champion and king of New York*, is Baba's best friend, and as been hoping to recruit him to the wrestling scene there for some time. Baba also knows so many people, including Gorilla Monsoon, Fritz Von Erich, Eddie Graham, Lou Thesz, Gene Kiniski... the list goes on and on, so it must be relatively easy to recruit wrestlers. Also, if a proper promotion is established, (and not just for Baba), and if it is backed by the conventional Nippon Television, there will be almost no problem. However, what can be inferred here is that as Baba himself said, ""I no longer have any grudges against Japan Pro Wrestling, so I have no intention of getting involved." If we interpret this directly, we can conclude that it is unlikely that Baba and Nippon TV will be holding an event anytime soon. 

 So the question arises, "How do you have a TV program without holding a show?". The answer is simple: first of all, it is possible to have a small scale studio match on TV. However, this is far removed from Baba's ideal of showing true professional wrestling to Japanese fans. Rather, it is thought that the most likely scenario is for Baba himself to make the leap overseas. Considering Baba's current abilities, his character and his popularity, it would be relatively easy to arrange big matches against wrestlers in America where he is well known. If Nippon Television were to call it the "Giant Baba Great Battle Series" and feature Baba against a big star wrestler, there would of course be many issues remaining for Baba in the future. Now that he has signed a contract with NET Television as one of the executives of Japanese professional wrestling, a major point to consider is how he will take responsibility for the issues of his participation, which remain until March 31st next year*. However, having come this far and overcoming all sorts of obstacles, there is no other option for Baba than to continue towards his goal. Some have said things like, "Baba is such an unkind man", but what would happen if such fierce battles were shown on TV each week...there is no doubt that it would cause a huge reaction and boom. Today's Japan Pro Wrestling fans have matured considerably and are very discerning. They fully acknowledge the appeal of live matches, but at the same time, they are also very interested in big matches held at home. Moreover, if this could be realized by Baba the hero, it would be more than enough to satisfy the expectations. The above is merely speculation of course, and there is no evidence, but it is safe to say that it is entirely possible. However, from a broader perspective, isn't it more urgent for Japanese pro wrestling to realize the ideal pro wrestling that Baba envisions? On this point,

International Pro Wrestling President Isao Yoshihara* said clearly, "If anything, Baba-kun declaring his independence has come a little too late. Up until now, my goal has been Japanese professional wrestling, but if Baba-kun's new organization is created, the balance between the four organizations will be improved. The key will be to put on some really good wrestling there. If that happens, we can talk to each other and try to unify things, or even create a unified commission. On the surface, Baba-kun's actions may have damaged the image of the entire pro wrestling world, but we should take a longer-term view..."

With Baba's appearance on Nippon TV, the rumored connection between New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Nippon TV has been severed, and the revival of the golden duo of Baba and Inoki is not in sight at the moment, but Inoki has also made it clear, that "Let's see how far Baba-kun's power can go... Let's see what he can do. I never thought about TV from the start, I'm going to take it slow and do my own shows at my own pace."

In any case, the Baba issue is causing major ripples. It is unlikely to be resolved overnight. However, given that things have come to this, we can only hope for Baba's ability. The point is, it would be great if this leads to the development of the entire pro wrestling world in Japan. How will Baba's grand vision, hidden within his gigantic body that stands over two meters, be realized in the future? It will be interesting to see how it turns out.     

                          

Notes

Wrestlers Association: These are to be found both in Noah and New Japan (and for all I know, in other promotions too), basically they are headed by a chairman (Noah's is Go Shiozaki), and the committee basically sorts out day to day issues. It is not a union per se, but more of a support system with a spokesperson. 

Mashio Koma: Co founder of All Japan. Died May 10th 1976 of liver failure of the very young age of 35. See Puroresu System Fandom for his interesting bio. 

Motoji Okuma: Co founder of All Japan. Died December 27th 1992 of kidney failure. 

Hiro Matsuda: Like Baba he had a background in baseball, but he never played pro. A man who still did push ups well into his 60s, trained many wrestlers when in America, amongst them the Great Muta. Ironically, he would die eleven months after Baba, in November 1999, and even of similar causes (colon and liver cancer)

Masanori Saito: Masa Saito (Masa Kitamiya's mentor)

New York: Territory era

Baba's future participation: Very similar to Mitsuharu Misawa and those who walked out to Noah. 

Isao Yoshihara: Wrestler, sumo wrestler and businessman. International Pro Wrestling shut in 1981, and he himself became an insurance salesman. However, he fell prey to the usual sumo health issues, and after suffering a stomach ulcer in 1985, he died that year of stomach cancer. He had made his return to wrestling in July of the same year, as an advisor to New Japan.