Rikidozan, the Pegasus in the sky, Carnera demonstrates Karate
Weekly Pro
15th September 1955
*This article seemed to have been written by three different people in three different styles. Parts of it aren't complete, paragraphs were inserted into wrong matches, and matches were not written fully. The writing style and the layout also changes.*
FIRST DAY
The stage for the Japan-US wrestling event then shifted to the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium, where three days of heated battles kicked off.
The first day began at 6pm on the 22nd, with about 10,000 fans gathering in the sweltering heat. The Osaka fans were excited by the insatiable fighting spirit of Carnera, Ortega, Orton, Curtis, Kruskamp, and others, who they were seeing for the first time, as well as Rikidozan's efforts and Azumafuji's Osaka debut. The Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium was thrown into a frenzy for all three days.
Curtis vs Surugaumi
(22 minutes 56 seconds, pinfall)
(30 minutes, single bout)
Curtis looks pretty smart outside the ring, but once he steps in, he rolls his eyes, twists his mouth, and sometimes even laughs, making for a really hateful expressions. It was an interesting match between Curtis and the unpretentious Surugaumi. Surugaumi fought using his long arms using leg holds, chokeholds, neck throws, chin holds and karate punches, but he was overwhelmed by the speed of Curtis' throws, chokeholds and pins, and in the end he was defeated by an attack from a neck throw. During this time, Curtis continued to commit flagrant fouls that the referee didn't see, and showed his true colors by fully demonstrating his knack for getting the crowd excited.
Ortega vs Toyonobori
(Pinfall, 14 minutes 24 seconds)
(30 minutes, single bout)
For Toyonobori, having lost once before, he fought with a burning desire for revenge, but Ortega still proved too much for him to handle. He tried to throw but couldn't get it to connect, so he focused on getting at his feet and arms, but Ortega didn't take the bait, and finally slammed him to the mat with a rough rock-drop, then he slammed Toyonobori's nearly 40-kg body from a foot above with a loud reverberating thud, pinning him down.
Carnera vs Kokichi Endo
(Pinfall, 8 minutes 43 seconds)
(30 minutes, single bout)
Carnera's straight right stance was enough to threaten his opponent, but it's not as if Endo was psychologically dominated by it, but he didn't seem to have his usual energy or speed. Carnera must have learned this since coming to Japan, as he showed off some karate chops with his big hands, and stole the show from Endo, who was easily pinned by a throw.
Rikidozan & Azumafuji vs Orton & Kruskamp
(Tag, three rounds, sixty-one minutes)
Round 1: Rikidozan defeats Kruskamp (17 minutes, 49 seconds)
Round 2: Rikidozan defeats Kruskamp (10 minutes, 28 seconds)
The second round started with Azumafuji and Orton, but as usual, the opponents made a series of fouls that tormented Rikidozan and Azumafuji. Azumafuji especially struggled, but Rikidozan took over and threw Kruskamp with a rock throw , and won the match.
SECOND DAY
Toyonobori VS Carnera
(Singles match, thirty minutes)
Pinfall: 6 minutes, 57 seconds
Toyonobori picked up the momentum and launched himself at the start of the fight, but Carnera landed a straight right punch (a counter blow in boxing). This attack caused Toyonobori to instantly stumble backwards, so Carnera managed to throw him high into the air and slam him to the mat, taking him down in just six or seven minutes, with no chance of a win.
Ortega vs Azumafuji
(30-minute single bout)
Draw
As the gong rang, Azumafuji turned, but Ortega charged at him, and hit him. Azumafuji launched at him, and immediately tried to get a hold of his leg, but Ortega escaped with a kick, then grabbed his head and landed a series of punches aimed at Azumafuji's face. Azumafuji managed to land a karate chop, which made the situation even. However, they both became entangled and fell out of the ring, and continued fighting. The referee, Turk, was forced to start counting, and the match ended in a draw by count out.
Rikidozan & Kokichi Endo vs Curtis & Orton
(Tag match, three rounds, 61 minutes)
Endo fought Orton with great enthusiasm. Orton replaced Curtis, and flinched a little when he was punched in the face, but when Rikidozan took over and showed his karate, Curtis got angry and took over from Orton and showed his wily tricks. Around this time, everyone laughed at Curtis and Orton's "gentlemanly behavior" as they mutually disliked Rikidozan's karate. Orton finally made up his mind to stand up to him, but he was hit repeatedly, slipped off the ropes and fell. He kept saying "It's a foul," "It's a foul," but Turk didn't care and ordered him to get back in the ring, so he climbed back in and tagged in Curtis. So Rikidozan attacked them both, and threw Orton, resulting in a pin.
In the second round, while Curtis was attacking Endo, his right wrist was cut, and Endo was covered in blood, making for a fierce match. When Endo was exhausted by Curtis's attacks, Orton and Rikidozan tagged in and out, Orton escaped Rikidozan's karate chop, then Curtis took over after Rikidozan tried to choke him. Curtis and Rikidozan exchanged ferocious punches, but neither could land a decisive blow, and the bell rang to signal the end of the match.
THIRD DAY
Rikidozan vs Carnera
(3 rounds, 61 minuets)
Round one winner: Disqualification (6 minutes, 31 seconds)
Round two winner: Rikidozan (1 minute, 57 seconds)
Round three winner: Rikidozan (1 minute, 22 seconds)
Carnera's straight right punch was simply amazing. When Rikidozan tried to use the ropes to charge at him, he knocked him down with a powerful counter blow, sending him falling. This time Orton took advantage of this opportunity, jumped out and pulled Azumafuji into their corner, where he and Carnera rained down punches on him, resulting in a disqualification.
Rikidozan then went for a submission, repeatedly hitting Carnera with karate chops as he tried to escape, and when Carnera weakened and sunk to his knees, Rikidozan jumped in to get the pin, bringing the score to 1-1.
The third match was a fierce battle between Rikidozan's karate chops and Carnera's straight rights, but Carnera's counter blow exploded on Rikidozan's shoulder, and as Rikidozan went down, Carnera threw him out of the ring and lifted the referee, Turkey, who was counting, onto the ropes. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rikidozan skillfully jumped up, dragged Carnera down by his feet.
Ortega & Curtis vs Azumafuji & Kokichi Endo
(Best of three tag match, 61 minutes)
Round one winner: Curtis counted out (2 minutes, 59 seconds)
Round two winner: Ortega pins Endo (6 minutes, 58 seconds)
Round three winner: Ortega pins Endo (4 minutes, 44 seconds)
Azumafuji had Curtis pressed in his corner, and when he tried to turn him around and put him in a double nelson, Ortega, sensing he was trouble, tried to land a punch on Azumafuji. However, instead of hitting Azumafuji, he hit his teammate Curtis so hard, that he went down.
Having lost a submission in a strange way, Ortega's team suddenly went on the offensive, dragging Endo into their corner where Ortega and Curtis took turns landing punches on him. This left Endo completely exhausted. Ortega then jumped a foot into the air, securing a pinfall to make the score 1-1.
Azumafuji was not going to keep quiet either. In the third round, he showered Ortega and Curtis with karate chops, and when Endo took over, the two of them again launched a fierce attack, mixing in fouls. Finally, Ortega grabbed the weakened Endo by the arms and legs and attacked him by bending his spine. When Endo couldn't stand it any longer and called for help from Azumafuji. Azumafuji fought back with a sabaori*, but was stunted by Carnera.
NAGOYA EVENT
The Nagoya event was held at 6pm on the 19th August at Kanayama Gymnasium.
Surugaumi vs Kruskamp
(20 minutes, singles match)
Winner: (15 minutes, 15 seconds)
??? vs Curtis
(20 minutes, singles match)
Ortega vs Kokichi Endo
(3 rounds, 45 minutes each)
Round one winner: Ortega via pinfall (19 minutes, 25 seconds)
Round two winner: Endo via foul (2 minutes, 25 seconds)
Round three winner: Ortega via pinfall (5 minutes, 54 seconds)
Ortega was hit with karate chops from Endo, but he didn't flinch and instead hit Endo with a right uppercut and a straight punch, knocking him down. He then jumped a foot into the air and slammed into Endo, pinning him.
In the second round, Ortega grabbed Endo's hair and tried to stick his fingers in his eyeballs, committing fouls as he pleased, ignoring the referee's attempts to stop him, and finally he was disqualified.
In the third round, Endo* showed off his signature flying kicks in a flash, but he was caught out by Ortega's rock drop from a headlock and was taken down without a fight.
Rikidozan & Azumafuji vs Carnera & Orton
(Tag match 61 minutes, best of three)
Round 1: Winner - Azumafuji via foul (21 minutes, 26 seconds)
Round 2: Winner - Rikidozan via pinfall on Carnera (5 minutes, 41 seconds)
Round 3: ????
Rikidozan and Orton started off and they wrestled for about 15 minutes. Orton went for a headlock and a neck throw, and Rikidozan showed off his speedy techniques with head scissors and a half nelson takedown. He also sent Orton flying out of the ring with a karate chop and a knee grab, to the delight of the crowd. At this point, Carnera came on and hurt Rikidozan by tangling his arms before landing a right straight KO punch on him.
The second match started with Orton and Rikidozan, but after Orton used a flying kick on both men, they both ended up knocked unconscious and unable to get up, which was quite a strange occurrence. When the match finally resumed, Carnera, who had replaced Orton, knocked Rikidozan flying with a right straight punch, leaving him groggy for a while, but he was saved by Carnera's lack of speed, and he managed to get a skillful pinfall and win the match. It seems that Carnera has always done things that are bad for Rikidozan.
Omiya Show
After the Hawaii-Central America Tag Match Championship, the Japan-US Pro Wrestling event was held on the 31st at 6pm at the Omiya Keirin track. The crowd of about 5000 was a big success for Omiya.
Ortega vs Kokichi Endo
(3 matches, 45 minutes each)
Endo tried to make up for his lack of weight with technique, scooting around with arm holds and neck throws, but Ortega, as is his usual tactic, landed illegal blows to the body, ears, etc. while the referee wasn't looking, and then he threw the weakened Endo over with his huge body, resulting in a first pinfall in 10 minutes and 5 seconds, but Ortega's foul play continued, and in the second round he was finally disqualified. But Ortega's strengths showed in the third round, when he overwhelmed Endo and pinned him with a Boston crab in 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
Azumafuji & Rikidozan vs Curtis & Orton
(Tag match, 60 minutes, 3 matches)
"Karate Riki and Kansas's Brawler"
It started with Orton, but when Orton blindsided Rikidozan at the start, Rikidozan immediately jumped up like a spring and delivered a series of karate chops, and then applied a chokehold to Curtis who had replaced Orton. Azumafuji also timed his substitutions well, attacking Curtis from the corner. Just as Azumafuji and Orton were fighting, Curtis jumped in thinking Orton was in danger, and Rikidozan also jumped in, and with the referee joining in, a five-man brawl ensued, but Orton's foul allowed Japan to take the lead by point. Next, Azumafuji showed his strength with sumo slaps, tormenting Curtis and Orton, with the venue in a frenzy, Rikidozan picked up Curtis and threw him, then pinned him down, winning comfortably without allowing the Americans to score a single point.
Notes
Attendances: Probably an exaggeration, but also remember there was not the capacity limits or fire regulations there would be today.
Sabaori: This is when a Rikishi grabs their opponent by the waist, pulls them in, and squeezes.
Endo: I am assuming this is Endo, as this article is not clear.
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