MATCH 10: “THE BRAIN” BIG G. BULL v. KEIJI “LIGHTNING” TOGASHI
Introduction – Match 1 – Match 2 – Match 3 – Match 4 – Match 5
Match 6 – Match 7 – Match 8 – Match 9
For the first time in Briefcase Cup history, we’ll see what happens when BIG IN JAPAN meets BORN in Japan. One of America’s finest exports faces of with with a homegrown Japanese hero… TONIGHT.
BIG G. BULL
Big G. Bull is a dead-ringer for Bruiser Brody. Crazy hair? Check. Taped fingers? Check. Furry viking boots? Check. Bad attitude? Well, we’ll just have to find out. Notably, Big G. Bull employs a “King Kong Knee Drop” as his finishing maneuver. Bruiser, who sometimes competed as “King Kong” Brody, employed that same move to great success:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euBEkqs-ga8#t=111
Big G. Bull is is listed as an “Olive Legend,” which reflects Brody’s status an all-time great in All Japan Pro Wrestling. While Bruiser knew great success all over the world, it’s arguable that he reached the apex of his fame in Japan. If you take a look this list of his accomplishments, you’ll see that Brody had quite a bit of success as a singles competitor in Japan . He held the NWA International Heavyweight Championship – which would later become part of the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship – three times. Two of those victories came at the expense of the legendary Dory Funk/Harry Texan, Jr.
http://youtu.be/hjFcPVKZ9Nw
As you can likely infer from the image to the right, Brody was a friend, co-samurai, and frequent tag team partner of Stan Hansen. As we’ve already discussed, Hansen was absolutely huge in Japan, and he and Brody teamed together on numerous occasions. AJPW went as far as to declare them the “world’s strongest tag team” in 1983, and “largest pair of white dudes in Kyoto” in 1985. One of those statements is a lie.
Why is Big G. Bull nicknamed “The Brain?” Probably because of the trail of grey matter that Brusier Brody left in his wake. Some people credit Brody and his longtime rival, Abdullah the Butcher, with inventing what we know today as “hardcore” wrestling. I don’t have the balls to dispute that claim; drop their names into Google, and you’ll find no shortage of disturbing imagery. Here’s a brief highlight of Brody’s legendary brutality:
Brody was a legend all over the world, but he was particularly BIG IN JAPAN; so much so, that after his unceremonious death, over 16,000 fans flooded Budokan Hall in Tokyo to pay tribute to their fallen hero. FPWR will portray Big G. Bull as nothing short a legitimate hoss. Only the sternest competition should be able to beat him.
KEIJI TOGASHI
Keiji Togashi is more than a reasonable approximation of the legendary Kenta Kobashi. This may be, objectively, the sternest competition we could find.
Aside from the trademark orange tights, there’s plenty of other things that lead us to conclude that that Togashi is a stand-in for Kobashi:
- Togashi’s nickname is “Lightning.” Kobashi’s nickname is “Burning.” Maybe Kobashi should take some penicillin.
- Togashi’s organization of choice: NOVA. Kobashi finished out his career in Japan’s Pro Wrestling Noah. Those sure do sound similar!
- Togashi’s favorite film: Hard to Kill. Kobashi’s favorite film: Out for Justice.
- Togashi’s favorite musician:Barry Manilow. Kobashi’s favorite musician: Neil Diamond.
- Togashi’s favorite sport: bocce. Kobashi’s favorite sport: lawn darts.
As if those similarities weren’t enough, they both use the legendary BURNING HAMMER as their finishing maneuver. The Burning Hammer is a move so devastating that Kobashi has only used it seven times:
http://youtu.be/9AfaATYmbpQ
Take my word for it: this is clearly Kenta Kobashi. Kenta Kobashi may be the greatest wrestler Japan ever produced; I couldn’t tell you why he was BIG IN JAPAN without cataloging his entire career. So let’s try doing this in reverse. In 2005, which is when FPWR was being developed, Ring of Honor broke open its piggy bank and asked Japan to send over its best wrestler to take on indie favorite, Samoa Joe. Japan sent over Kenta Kobashi. The result? The Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s 2005 match of the year. Here’s a clip of the best parts:
http://youtu.be/eMJNcZdhAyU
That bout was fought under “Marquis of No Blocking” rules, in case you were wondering. Wouldn’t want to get a pinkbelly from Kobashi, no sir. When America needed a big name wrestler during the mid-aughts, they reached out to Kenta Kobashi. He was so BIG IN JAPAN that he was also BIG IN AMERICA.
http://youtu.be/TVEO-Ws3egA
Well, he sure seems like a worthy opponent. Somebody get me a hot dog and a beer.
LET’S WRESTLING
C’mon, Togashi! I just wrote all those nice things about you! Good God. Sometimes I wish this sport was fixed. We’d get more competitive matches. King Kong ain’t got $#it on the King Kong Knee Drop.
NEXT TIME: Nebraska’s finest takes on India’s most notorious!