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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 1, 2023 2:02:16 GMT
Part of me was thinking Mean Gene as well, despite Gene being better known as an interviewer in his career. The face certainly looks closer to Gene.
I wish we had a name to go by.
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 1, 2023 15:32:18 GMT
Next up is a mobile Wrestling game that contains it's own eFed!  Developed by IndyStars, Classic Wrestling features it's own fictitious universe, complete with Wrestler look-alikes.    King Kong Frank is based on Bruiser Brody. Shujin Yama's bio says he drags opponents to the turnbuckle for a splash finisher. Shujin seems like a dead ringer for Yokozuna. Freddy Kilgore's name seems like a nod to Freddy Krueger. Killgore's bio says his character was inspired by 80's legends like Hogan, Sting and Macho Man Randy Savage.  'Beautiful' Bobby Dean's name seems close to Bobby Eaton. Bobby's bio states he stomps around the ring before applying a seat press. Just like John 'Earthquake' Tenta used to do. There are other Wrestlers in the Classic Wrestling roster, but those are the ones I could pick out. |
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Post by cobrettie on Sept 2, 2023 18:02:07 GMT
Did the CD-i gem Thunder in Paradise starring Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart not make the list yet!?
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 2, 2023 22:08:52 GMT
Did the CD-i gem Thunder in Paradise starring Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart not make the list yet!? Can't say we have yet! Speaking of Hulk Hogan, here's an extremely rare photo of Hulk Hogan's original Wrestler portrait from Super Fire Pro-Wrestling X. Hogan's portrait can be seen at the bottom left of the following scan:  The preview comes from gaming magazine 'The Super Famicom' issue No. 23 (December 22, 1995). The graphic of Hogan features the Hulkster with an entire different portrait, complete with bandana. I think it's safe to say that the version of SFPWX featured in this issue was a prototype. One of which that has yet to surface online.
Other than Giant Baba (whom we have shown in these forums in the past), I wonder what other differences the prototype of SFPWX has....
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 3, 2023 6:53:46 GMT
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 5, 2023 5:56:09 GMT
Today's Pro-Wrestling artifact scan is an original HUMAN Fan Club issue from 1993, which features an insider look into the upcoming releases of Super Fire Pro-Wrestling III Final Bout and Human Grandprix 2.
As usual, I scanned the entire pamphlet cover-to-cover for everyone's inspection.
 In case I haven't already mentioned it before, the cover to Final Bout features Fire Pro's short-lived mascot on the Super Famicom. The unnamed Wrestler is a mixture between Antonio Inoki (specifically, Inoki's red and orange robe from 1986 and iconic fight towel), along with Masakatsu Funaki's shin guards and long hair. The mascot's attire represented the two eras of Puroresu in Japan: the classic strongstyle movement pioneered in the early 70's that was led by Inoki, and the burgeoning mixed martial arts craze that was taking the fighting world by storm in the early 90's.
You can check out the full issue here: Link:  criticalclub.com/thread/1917/human-club-extra-issue-scans
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Post by cobrettie on Sept 5, 2023 16:34:14 GMT
Working on our next review and it looks like Battle Royale released in 1990 only for Turbografx-16 in the US has not made the list yet. The wrestlers are not straight knockoff/inspirations but here are my guesses
Sumo Master - ???
Executioner - Demolition inspiration
Mongo Kahn - Victory screen looks a little Butch Reed to me
Splitfire Spike - Road Warrior
Meateater - Road Warrior
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 5, 2023 18:50:19 GMT
Working on our next review and it looks like Battle Royale released in 1990 only for Turbografx-16 in the US has not made the list yet. The wrestlers are not straight knockoff/inspirations but here are my guesses Sumo Master - ??? Executioner - Demolition inspiration Mongo Kahn - Victory screen looks a little Butch Reed to me Splitfire Spike - Road Warrior Meateater - Road Warrior Battle Royale is a game I have good memories playing. A fun little button masher with some wacky character designs. In my opinion, I think the roster is: Sumo Master - This is a tough one. Battle Royale was released in 1990, two years before Rodney Anoaʻi was given the Yokozuna gimmick in the WWF. Based on his appearance, I'd say Sumo Master is closer to King Curtis Iaukea or Master Fuji when he was still a Wrestler. Executioner - Demolition for sure. Mongo Kahn - Killer Khan and the Iron Sheik. Splitfire Spike - Road Warrior Hawk. May have some traces of Zeus in there as well. Meateater - Road Warrior Animal. P.S. let me know if you need any more voice samples for your next episode! |
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 6, 2023 8:21:45 GMT
While we talked about Capcom's Saturday Night Slam Masters in the past, did you know the Slam Masters roster were available as prize items in Japanese arcades back in the early 90's?
Specifically, gamers had a chance to win one of these 9 plush figures in crane claw vending machines through Japan's arcades around 1993.
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Post by patmanqc on Sept 7, 2023 14:24:24 GMT
Those look great
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 7, 2023 19:30:56 GMT
Saturday Night Slam Master's merchandising wasn't exclusive to just plush figures, Capcom also authorized the creation of M.U.S.C.L.E.-style keshigomu/eraser figures:   The Oni & Mike Haggar.  Gunloc, Flapjack, Titanic Tim and El Stingray. In the late 80's to early 90's, Japanese Wrestling fans could walk into an arcade, fire up a cabinet like WrestleFest, Mat Mania or Champion Wrestler ...or try their hand at winning a Pro-Wrestling plushy from one of the country's biggest promotions.  If you were a fan of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, you could have tried winning a plushie of: Hiroshi Hase, Riki Choshu, Masa Saito, Jushin Liger, Shinya Hashimoto, The Great Muta or Masahiro Chono.  All Japan Pro-Wrestling had their own arcade prizes, too. Abdullah The Butcher, Stan Hansen, Joe Higuchi, Mitsuharu Misawa, Giant Baba and Toshiaki Kawada.  U.W.F.I. and Genichiro Tenryu's W.A.R. had plush figures, featuring the likenesses of Yoshiaki Fujiwara, Nobuhiko Takada, Kazuo Yamazaki, Animal Hamaguchi, The Great Kabuki, Genichiro Tenryu and Ultimo Dragon.  Abdullah The Butcher even had an unofficial knockoff plushie players could win in arcade claw machines. In my next post, I'll share plushies that were featured in Japanese arcades during the WWF/NJPW/AJPW Wrestling Summit super shows. |
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Post by cobrettie on Sept 7, 2023 20:01:26 GMT
Ok not a video game, but I used to have this set. Found it at the dollar bin of Garden Ridge of all places :). Who knows what happened to it. The Saturday Night Slammasters kenshigomu made me think of this.  |
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Post by patmanqc on Sept 7, 2023 20:41:16 GMT
Ok not a video game, but I used to have this set. Found it at the dollar bin of Garden Ridge of all places :). Who knows what happened to it. The Saturday Night Slammasters kenshigomu made me think of this. That is awesome, I had a number of these kids growing up including a Spider-Man, Star Wars and Batman Versions |
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Post by Just A Survivor on Sept 8, 2023 19:43:06 GMT
Alright, fellow Wrestling video game historians.
The Wild Rings (XBOX):
If Pachinko machines aren't your thing and you're looking for an alternative to King of Colloseum, fret not! This 2004 Japan-only XBOX title is filled to brim with recognizable faces all under different aliases.  Here's a few screens:  Prepare to yob to the Flying Crosschop.  The 8th wonder is putting the boot to this Anime spin-off.  Whether you're going for a knockout or a Karelin Lift, different styles can mix it up in the ring  The full list of The Wild Ring's fake names (and the Wrestlers they are based off of) can be found here: translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://edit.michikusa.jp/twr-rename.htm&prev=search&pto=aueThis link leads to a whole bunch of gobbledygook, which I'm fairly certain wasn't intentional. |
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Post by Shadow Master on Sept 8, 2023 19:51:39 GMT
For those that don't know, I've been a seller and blogger about Japanese collectibles for the past 20 years now. Just like Pro-Wrestling and retrogaming, collecting is a major passion of mine. Speaking of videogame likenesses, did you know classic fighting game Yie Ar Kung-Fu had it's own line of keshi figures?   Here's Abdullah The Butcher - better known as 'Buchu' in-game. There's also the titular character Lee (based on Bruce Lee). ![]()   The staff wielding opponent. More variations. If you want to try hunting for these figures for yourselves (or just check out other variants/characters), google the following text: イー・アル・カンフー 消しゴム (Yie Ar Kung-Fu Keshigomu). Since the Wild Rings website link is no longer working (yet, access to the site via google works fine...), I'll post the roster list here (now loading):  Part. 1. The formula goes "RENAME", "NICKNAME", "REAL NAME", "REAL NICKNAME" I guess real nickname is for the players to fill out and correct, should they wish to. 1. Big Boss Kurodo Nickname: Head of the Pro-Wrestling World Real name: Masahiro Chono 2. Genius Fudo Nickname: Wrestling Prodigy Real name: Keiji Mutoh 3. Powerful Sakamoto Nickname: Shootout King Real name: Shinya Hashimoto 4. Takeshi Natsukawa Nickname: New Revolution Real name: Jun Akiyama 5. Gaku Nakajima Nickname: Primitive Man Real name: Manabu Nakanishi 6. Yoshiyuki Kamata Nickname: The Man Who Crossed the Line Real name: Toshiaki Kawada 7. Ryuji Hakata Nickname: New Generation Real name: Yuji Nagata 8.Tower Nakamura Nickname: Solitary giant soldier Real name: Yoshihiro Takayama 9. Mitsuhiro Mitaka Nickname: Elbow of Fear Real name: Mitsuharu Misawa 10. Bakugyu Shokichi Nickname: The Raging Bull of Pro Wrestling Real name: Hiroyoshi Tenzan 11. Strong Genta Nickname: The Burning Man Real name: Kenta Kobashi 12. Fire Shinjiro Nickname: Soul of flame Real name: Shinjiro Otani 13. Satoru Yajima Nickname: Strong Arm Fuunji
Real name: Satoshi Kojima
14. Masao Kobayashi
Nickname: Howling Lone Wolf
Real name: Takao Omori
15. Tatsujiro Tendo Nickname: Dragon of Heaven
Real name: Genichiro Tenryu
16. Yoshinori Koizumi
Nickname: Transformable Brain Wrestling
Real name: Yoshinari Ogawa
17. Gannosuke Masaki
Nickname: Hokuto no Geese
Real name: Kensuke Sasaki
18. Ryuichi Aranami
Nickname: Never Give Up
Real name: Tatsumi Fujinami
19. The God of War Cyber
Nickname: The God of Fury
Real name: Jushin Thunder Liger
20. Hiiragi Issei
Nickname: Reincarnation
Real name: Jinsei Shinzaki
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