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Dave on Sayama and watching old footage


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http://www.puroresu.com/awards/1980s.html

 

Tiger Mask Awards:

 

1981

Popularity Award: Tiger Mask (New Japan)

 

1982

Wrestler of the Year: Tiger Mask (New Japan)

Techinique Award: Tiger Mask (New Japan)

 

Genichiro Tenryu Awards:

 

1981

Performance Award: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1983

Tag Team of the Year: Jumbo Tsuruta & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

Fighting Spirit Award: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1984

Performance Award: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1985

Tag Team of the Year: Jumbo Tsuruta & Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1986

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1987

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

Match of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta [All Japan 08/31 Nippon Budokan]

Tag Team of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu & Ashura Hara (All Japan)

 

1988

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

Match of the Year: PWF & NWA United National Heavyweight Title Unification Match: Gen'ichiro Tenryu vs. Stan Hansen [All Japan 07/27 Nagano]

 

1989

Match of the Year: Triple Crown Heavyweight Title Match: Gen'ichiro Tenryu vs. Jumbo Tsuruta [All Japan 06/05 Nippon Budokan]

 

Tenryu is comparatively dominate to Tiger Mask in everything in the 1980s. Maybe that's why he is called "Mr. Puroresu"?

 

 

Wrestler of the Year Awards

 

1980

Wrestler of the Year: Antonio Inoki (New Japan)

 

1981

Wrestler of the Year: Antonio Inoki (New Japan)

 

1982

Wrestler of the Year: Tiger Mask (New Japan)

 

1983

Wrestler of the Year: Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan)

 

1984

Wrestler of the Year: Jumbo Tsuruta (All Japan)

 

1985

Wrestler of the Year: Tatsumi Fujinami (New Japan)

 

1986

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1987

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1988

Wrestler of the Year: Gen'ichiro Tenryu (All Japan)

 

1989

Wrestler of the Year: Akira Maeda (UWF)

 

It appears that even in Japan, the voters choose TM only once, while Inoki and Tsuruta got WOTY twice, and Tenryu got it three times (in a row mind you). Does that say anything about his real popularity in Japan? TM also didn't win any match of the year awards in Japan, only in America (WON). Does that say anything about his working ability?

 

If you cannot tell, those two questions I just imposed are rhetorical.

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He was only eligible for awards from '81-83 and again from '84-85. Appparently, he won another "Technique Award" in "84, which is amusing given the criticism of him in this thread, but it's an evening newspaper. Even if it meant something, the winners were bought and paid for.

 

Here's a little rule that comes in handy. If you've ever heard anything about wrestling in Japan that sounded impressive (for example, "wrestling is covered by major newspapers in Japan"), divide your reaction by two thirds and you'll be right.

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Even if it meant something, the winners were bought and paid for.

 

Here's a little rule that comes in handy. If you've ever heard anything about wrestling in Japan that sounded impressive (for example, "wrestling is covered by major newspapers in Japan"), divide your reaction by two thirds and you'll be right.

I'm unaware of that. Is it yakuza related or something else entirely?
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Those would be the Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards. They're highly political, even more back in the 70s and 80s than now. I wouldn't treat the "voting" as akin to even the voting of baseball MVP awards. They very much like to spread things around. In the 70s, if Baba/Jumbo got a top award, then Inoki would get a different top award to even things out. Similar in the 80s.

 

That said... that Sayama won in his *only* full year of wrestling in Japan is a positive.

 

Tenryu's Tokyo Sports awards were always a bit odd. Not that he won several. More in the sense that he won all the time, and for strange things like the Tenryu-Hogan match which was pretty inexplicable at the time, and even in hindsight. :)

 

John

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Those would be the Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards. They're highly political, even more back in the 70s and 80s than now. I wouldn't treat the "voting" as akin to even the voting of baseball MVP awards. They very much like to spread things around. In the 70s, if Baba/Jumbo got a top award, then Inoki would get a different top award to even things out. Similar in the 80s.

 

That said... that Sayama won in his *only* full year of wrestling in Japan is a positive.

 

Tenryu's Tokyo Sports awards were always a bit odd. Not that he won several. More in the sense that he won all the time, and for strange things like the Tenryu-Hogan match which was pretty inexplicable at the time, and even in hindsight. :)

 

John

I just watched Tenryu vs Hogan for the 2nd time ever the other day. I absolutely loved it and I think I may like it even more than Hogan vs Hansen which would make it my fav 1990s Hogan Japanese match. This match helped sell me on Tenryu big time. Hogan is so fun to watch in Japan too.

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I just watched Tenryu vs Hogan for the 2nd time ever the other day. I absolutely loved it and I think I may like it even more than Hogan vs Hansen which would make it my fav 1990s Hogan Japanese match. This match helped sell me on Tenryu big time. Hogan is so fun to watch in Japan too.

So it was the 1991 Puroresu Match of the Year in your mind?

 

:)

 

John

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I just watched Tenryu vs Hogan for the 2nd time ever the other day. I absolutely loved it and I think I may like it even more than Hogan vs Hansen which would make it my fav 1990s Hogan Japanese match. This match helped sell me on Tenryu big time. Hogan is so fun to watch in Japan too.

So it was the 1991 Puroresu Match of the Year in your mind?

 

:)

 

John

 

Well, I can't go that far but it was a lot of fun:)
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