Wrestler appearances in other video games
May 8, 2022 12:47:33 GMT
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Post by Shadow Master on May 8, 2022 12:47:33 GMT
Ah, Yukes. The gold standard of 3D Wrestling games. One title we surprisingly never talked about yet is:
Power Move Pro-Wrestling:
Released in 1995, Power Move Pro-Wrestling was developed by Yukes (who would later go on to create WWE's Smackdown series).
On the front cover, you can clearly see The Great Muta bodyslamming Kensuke Sasaki.
Following games like Natsume Championship Wrestling and Hammerlock Wrestling on the SNES, Power Move Pro-Wrestling is a westernized port
of Shin Nippon Pro-Wrestling Toukon Retusden which was released in Japan the same year. A localized version where the NJPW roster were re-skinned
with different aliases.
Besides a FAQ from 2001, I've never read an article where all of the Wrestlers' true identities have been revealed. So, I figured I'd give it a stab:
Da Judge: You may think Da Judge was a mix between The Great Muta and one of The Baseball Furries from movie The Warriors. Alas, with his clapping taunt and Dragon Sleeper, I think it's safe to say
Da Judge is actually Tatsumi Fujinami.
Danny McGhee: With his revving arm taunt, physical build and lariat, Danny is Riki Choshu.
Commandant: The first of the Toukon Sanjuushi. Commandant is based on Keiji Mutoh.
Sparrow: a hidden Wrestler under Commandant. Sparrow is based on Keiji Mutoh's alter ego The Great Muta.
Zombie: No, he's not Fire Pro's Zombie Masa. Zombie is based on Masahiro Chono. STF and all.
Chaingang: At first, I thought Chaingang was Kendo Kashin. But, no. The heavier built, stiff kicks, brainbuster and DDT: Chaingang is Shinya Hashimoto.
Malibu Mike: Easily the laziest reskin. Malibu is Hiroshi Hase.
Lance: Kensuke Sasaki's mullet-wearing days.
The Egyptian: Has a Hip attack, long tights and facial hair: Shiro Koshinaka.
Area 51: A lazy recolour of Power Warrior.
Orange: Hiroyoshi Tenzan to a T.
El Temblor: Koji Kanemoto.
Gorgon: A secret character hidden under Orange (Tenzan). Based on Kero-Chan.
Sallie: A secret character hidden under El Temblor (Kanemoto). Based on Tiger Hattori.
King Og: Scott Norton.
Overall, I believe Power Move Pro-Wrestling (and it's Japanese counterpart Toukon Retsuden) inspired HUMAN Entertainment to take the Fire Pro series
into 3D with the much-maligned Fire Pro-Wrestling '96 Iron Slam.
Personally, I was still playing Royal Rumble on my trusty SNES back in 1995, so the idea of a 3D Wrestling game with 15 characters to choose from? My six
year old self would probably have lost his mind.
With the release of WWE 2K22, we've come a long way with 3D Wrasslin' titles.
In past pages, we discussed the roster of Natsume Championship Wrestling on the SNES. For those that don't know, Natsume is a localized version of Zen Nippon Pro-Wrestling
on the Super Famicom.
To avoid copyright issues in the west, Natsume redesigned all of the AJPW cast and gave them brand new names. However, one flub some of you may not have noticed
in Natsume Championship Wrestling is...
...Big Ape grows a full head of hair and a beard in his ending!
As Big Ape is a redesigned version of Steve Williams, the folks at Natsume forgot to redraw Steve's ending sprites.
Power Move Pro-Wrestling:
Released in 1995, Power Move Pro-Wrestling was developed by Yukes (who would later go on to create WWE's Smackdown series).
On the front cover, you can clearly see The Great Muta bodyslamming Kensuke Sasaki.
Following games like Natsume Championship Wrestling and Hammerlock Wrestling on the SNES, Power Move Pro-Wrestling is a westernized port
of Shin Nippon Pro-Wrestling Toukon Retusden which was released in Japan the same year. A localized version where the NJPW roster were re-skinned
with different aliases.
Besides a FAQ from 2001, I've never read an article where all of the Wrestlers' true identities have been revealed. So, I figured I'd give it a stab:
Da Judge: You may think Da Judge was a mix between The Great Muta and one of The Baseball Furries from movie The Warriors. Alas, with his clapping taunt and Dragon Sleeper, I think it's safe to say
Da Judge is actually Tatsumi Fujinami.
Danny McGhee: With his revving arm taunt, physical build and lariat, Danny is Riki Choshu.
Commandant: The first of the Toukon Sanjuushi. Commandant is based on Keiji Mutoh.
Sparrow: a hidden Wrestler under Commandant. Sparrow is based on Keiji Mutoh's alter ego The Great Muta.
Zombie: No, he's not Fire Pro's Zombie Masa. Zombie is based on Masahiro Chono. STF and all.
Chaingang: At first, I thought Chaingang was Kendo Kashin. But, no. The heavier built, stiff kicks, brainbuster and DDT: Chaingang is Shinya Hashimoto.
Malibu Mike: Easily the laziest reskin. Malibu is Hiroshi Hase.
Lance: Kensuke Sasaki's mullet-wearing days.
The Egyptian: Has a Hip attack, long tights and facial hair: Shiro Koshinaka.
Area 51: A lazy recolour of Power Warrior.
Orange: Hiroyoshi Tenzan to a T.
El Temblor: Koji Kanemoto.
Gorgon: A secret character hidden under Orange (Tenzan). Based on Kero-Chan.
Sallie: A secret character hidden under El Temblor (Kanemoto). Based on Tiger Hattori.
King Og: Scott Norton.
Overall, I believe Power Move Pro-Wrestling (and it's Japanese counterpart Toukon Retsuden) inspired HUMAN Entertainment to take the Fire Pro series
into 3D with the much-maligned Fire Pro-Wrestling '96 Iron Slam.
Personally, I was still playing Royal Rumble on my trusty SNES back in 1995, so the idea of a 3D Wrestling game with 15 characters to choose from? My six
year old self would probably have lost his mind.
With the release of WWE 2K22, we've come a long way with 3D Wrasslin' titles.
In past pages, we discussed the roster of Natsume Championship Wrestling on the SNES. For those that don't know, Natsume is a localized version of Zen Nippon Pro-Wrestling
on the Super Famicom.
To avoid copyright issues in the west, Natsume redesigned all of the AJPW cast and gave them brand new names. However, one flub some of you may not have noticed
in Natsume Championship Wrestling is...
...Big Ape grows a full head of hair and a beard in his ending!
As Big Ape is a redesigned version of Steve Williams, the folks at Natsume forgot to redraw Steve's ending sprites.
