spookydust

when it comes to pro wrestling, only WWE tells stories. or at least that’s what i keep hearing online. in fact, just the other day, longtime AEW wrestler and backstage producer QT Marshall resigned from his duties with the company, allegedly saying that AEW is “becoming more like NJPW” by focusing on “matches instead of stories.”

there’s a lot of weird bullshit that gets spouted about Japanese wrestling¹; crowds are quiet and reserved, joshi wrestling is for old perverted men, pretty much anything having to do with the yakuza… but this one seems to be the most widely accepted and repeated, that Japan treats wrestling Like A Sport, which means they don't tell stories.

setting aside the absurdity that shoot sports don't have storylines, the implication is that this is wrong and inferior to the "North American" (read: WWE) style which features lengthy promo segments and recaps before, after, and even during wrestling matches. by way of illustration: at WWE's most recent pay per view Premium Live Event, out of 180 minutes of show time, only a little more than half, about 100 minutes, was devoted to in ring action. the rest was promos, video packages, and advertising.

WWE is very deliberately Not A Sport, WWE is not even pro wrestling². WWE doesn't have wrestlers, it has Superstars; WWE is Sports Entertainment. i'm not saying this as some kind of "real pro wrestling fan" dunk. this is the stated position of WWE the corporate entity. this is the reality. it's often been said RAW is not a wrestling show, it's a show about wrestling. WWE makes movies, and there's a new feature length film out every Monday and Friday. calling it "sports entertainment" is not an insult. that's what they want it to be.

after all, they tell stories.

if you've been following the product, it probably comes as no surprise that Mizuki is my favorite wrestler. she has a combination of agility and technical skill that i love to watch³ and she has the most important quality in a wrestler: she is a bottomless vessel for incredible emotional and physical pain⁴. Mizuki wrestles in Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling, one of those strange, Eastern "puroresu" promotions who don't do lengthy promo segments, or in ring talk shows, or, like, even instant replays. sometimes they don't even have commentary. she wrestles in a company that focuses on matches and doesn't tell stories, according to people like QT Marshall⁵.

i want to tell you a story about Mizuki.

Mizuki, i think it's safe to say, has had most of her success as a tag wrestler. even before her tenure in TJPW, Mizuki's first title win was Gatoh Move's Asia Dream Tag Championship. in TJPW she linked up with Maki Itoh in the Itoh Respect Army before forming Magical Sugar Rabbits with Yuka Sakazaki and winning the Princess Tag Championship three times by her side. she's so devoted to MagiRabi and to Yuka that she has special blue gear she only wears when they tag together.

before this year, Big Zuke had never held a singles championship⁶, but not for lack of trying. she had challenged for the Princess of Princess Championship three times before, and had vied for number one contendership more times besides. every time she came up short; most notably against her most steadfast partner Yuka Sakazaki, but also against TJPW ace Miyu Yamashita.

this year, she finally won the Princess of Princess Championship from Yuka, but not without an asterisk. it was clear that Yuka didn't think Mizuki was on her level. Mizuki would try to start some offense and Yuka would cut her short. Mizuki clearly wanted this more than anything, and Yuka looked like she was dealing with some troublesome and unpleasant business. in the end Mizuki prevailed, but it didn't feel like she won.

the first title defense was at Stand Alone '23 versus Nao Kakuta, another member of the roster who's primarily a tag wrestler these days⁷. Mizuki came in the veteran favorite, but Kakuta had her scouted. Kakuta had an answer for all of her signatures, even booting her out of an attempted Whirling Candy. the match devolved into higher stakes violence on the outside and by the end Mizuki just looked frustrated, winning the match by pulling Kakuta into a quick submission after Kakuta kicked out of yet another stomp.

next was Yes! Wonderland and Sawyer Wreck, a tall Westerner known primarily for her affinity for hardcore matches and deathmatches. Zuke fought from under the whole way, looking like a resilient champion, not a dominant one.

and then came Maki Itoh at Summer Sun Princess. Maki Itoh who years before had been her partner. Maki Itoh who she left behind. Maki Itoh who was now outstripping her not in skill, but in popularity. Maki Itoh who had been spending more and more time in the USA while Mizuki stayed home in TJPW. there was no handshake to start this match. Itoh stood in her corner, and Mizuki stood in the middle of the ring almost as if to say "this is mine, take it if you can." that match ended in respect⁸ after a hard fought battle, but it also ended with Maki Itoh getting on a plane and leaving TJPW again for two more months.

finally it came to Miyu Yamashita at Wrestle Princess IV, the woman she'd never beaten. man did she fight like hell. Mizuki threw everything she had at Yamashita, she even looked like she might do it. she played all the hits, but Miyu kept geting back up and giving back in kind. as Maki Itoh cheered on her new tag partner⁹ from ringside, Yamashita ended it with a skull kick. Mizuki lost, again. she couldn't keep up with the Ace.

Mizuki went back to tagging with Yuka and she looks so happy to be in that ring, together. but that's a ticking clock. later this month, Yuka Sakazaki is graduating¹⁰ from TJPW. by the end of next week we may never see that blue gear again.

what does that mean for Mizuki?

Mizuki didn't sit down for What's the Buzz? with Suzume and talk about her frustrations and insecurities. Yuka didn't stop the PoP Title match to caterwaul about her internal conflict over slamming Mizuki onto the mat. none of this is written in a script in Tetsuya Koda's office. even if it was, my level of Japanese comprehension is somewhere between kids playing Naruto¹¹ on the playground and an actual Japanese seven year old. i wouldn't understand it.

does that mean there's no story? does that mean this is "just matches"?

you want my answer? pro wrestling is art. pro wrestlers are artists. i am sick to death of corporations grinding art into the same smooth grey paste and putting it in a box for the lowest common denominator. i'm sick of stooges claiming that's what's best for everyone involved.

and that is a shot.

1. interestingly enough this parallels some discourse going on in a different part of cohost about JRPGs, but i digress

2. to be clear, this is not true. they just want you to think it is

3. see also: Riho, Chris Brookes, Swerve Strickland, Orange Cassidy

4. see also: Pom Harajuku, Eddie Kingston, Tam Nakano, Orange Cassidy

5. two things: 1) yes, i'm maybe picking on QT a bit unfairly. he's not the only person or even the loudest voice to share this take. and 2) yes, i know that TJPW does do in ring talking segments from time to time and they do pre and post show interviews with wrestlers. that's not what these people are talking about. also, as we've established, my Japanese is not good

6. unless you count the DDT Ironman Heavymetalweight Title

7. currently one half of Free Wifi with Hikari Noa, the Princess Tag Champions

8. and, ok, fine, a brisk back and forth promo translated by Baliyan Akki on commentary

9. together Maki Itoh and Miyu Yamashita are 121000000, pronounced "one to one million." they won the Princess Tag Titles earlier this year and lost them to... MagiRabi

10. weird vestigial idol jargon. she's leaving the promotion

11. is Naruto still cool? what are the kids watching these days? are kids playing Demon Slayer on the playground?