Deciphering Satoshi Kojima’s catchphrase: 「いっちゃうぞ、バカヤロー！」 (icchau zo, bakayarou!)

I only started watching New Japan Pro Wrestling regularly in the beginning of 2015, and one of the biggest mysteries to me since then was Satoshi Kojima’s catchphrase. He always yells it very quickly, and I can’t quite catch the front part. I finally understand what it means now after the commentators for a February 2017 show repeated his lines for me:

いっちゃうぞ、バカヤロー！
icchau zo, baka yarou!

If we were to translate it, the rough meaning would be: “Let’s go, you bastard!”

However, according to a Yahoo Japan user named toukonkick, it doesn’t really have any meaning and is just meant to be a catchphrase to get the audience excited. Kojima was trained by Stan Hansen, a highly popular American wrestler in Japan. According to toukonkick, when Hansen was still with Kojima, each time after Kojima’s catchphrase, Hansen would follow up with a “YEAH!”.

While on the topic of NJPW catchphrases, here are a couple of other popular ones:

Rocky Romero:

泣かすぞ、このヤロー！
nakasu zo, kono yarou!

Translation: I’m gonna make this bastard cry!

Tetsuya Naito:

Tranquilo! 焦んなよ！
tranquilo! assen na yo!

Translation: Calm down!

Tranquilo is literally the Spanish word for “quiet”, which the English word “tranquil” comes from. Here the Spanish and Japanese portions of his catchphrase mean the same thing: Calm down, or don’t panic.

Random notes: The base verb 焦る means “to be in a hurry” or “to become flustered”. When you add a 「な」 suffix to a verb, it becomes a negative (i.e. the opposite of its dictionary meaning). It took me a long time to figure out what the base verb for assen is, until I saw a spectator holding up a sign with the kanji written out. This was when my kanji dictionary became handy.

So foreign NJPW fans, now that you understand what these catchphrases mean, I hope that you’ll have more fun screaming them out in the future!

Very quick thoughts on Wrestling World 2016: New Japan Pro Wrestling in Singapore

Since Wrestling World 2016 was broadcast live on NJPWworld (the VOD is now up here for subscribers), I won’t go into too much detail on what happened inside the ring. You all already know: Katsuyori Shibata defeated EVIL to regain the NEVER Openweight championship. He is now a double champion, holding both the Revolution Pro Wrestling Heavyweight championship and the Openweight title. Instead, I’ll write my observations on what the cameras didn’t show, as a spectator seated closest to the ring.

https://twitter.com/MrLARIATO/status/798521716875984898

The ring-side cameraman has arguably the toughest job throughout the entire 2.5+ hours. He was sprinting endlessly around the ring, trying to get good close-up shots of the in-ring action. I could see his forehead sweating buckets, but he did seem to be enjoying his job. It’s a great cardio workout to burn calories, especially with that heavy camera on his shoulder. There was even a dedicated “wire handler” following the cameraman, his simple task was to make sure that the camera wires dangling behind the cameraman does not get entangled on the ground and cause any obstruction.

The Japanese match announcer also happens to be the timekeeper and ring-keeper. I was seated directly behind him, and what I found slightly amusing was that every time a pinfall or submission attempt happens, the announcer would raise the bell hammer into the air, waiting for the referee’s cue to end the match. If there’s a kickout, or if the submission attempt fails, the announcer would wave his outstretched arm towards the ref, acknowledging that the match would continue, before resting the bell hammer back on the table.

The Singapore wrestling crowd are a notoriously boisterous bunch. As noted by many Twitter users watching live, we love to chant the names of both sides. Eg. “Let’s go Naito!”, followed by a loud chorus of “TA-NA-HA-SHI!” There’s no real specific reason why, it’s just something that we spontaneously and subconsciously do, just to show our support to the wrestlers.

「レッツ・ゴー・ナイトー！ ターナーハシ！」#njSGP #njpw #njpwworld

— 新日本プロレスリング株式会社 (@njpw1972) November 15, 2016

Of course, when Kenny Omega came out for his entrance, the entire arena went ballistic. I’m not sure if the live cameras managed to pick up all of the audio, but it was absolutely deafening from where I was seated. This is probably the loudest support I’ve seen for Omega, you don’t see this level of noise for him back in Japan. We know that he’s a big fan of videogames and anime, and let’s face it: The majority of the crowd at Wrestling World 2016 are all nerds too. We’re just supporting a fellow gamer.

My prediction for the main event did not come true: Shibata would regain his Openweight championship. New Japan are really doing their best to push Shibata for the past year or so, and I think it’s working. While I am grateful to Gedo for allowing the Singapore fans to see a title victory, it’s a little bit sad that EVIL’s reign only lasted a short 10 days. You don’t need to Google or fact-check on Wikipedia: This is the shortest ever reign for an Openweight champion. Hopefully we’ll see EVIL get another push in the future.

https://twitter.com/DeadByElbow/status/798487520933658625

My biggest takeaway from the event? I witnessed first hand, the amazing power of the audience. By sheer luck, Baretta spotted the double-sided SGP Vice / Liger City sign that Rocky Romero had borrowed from the fans (one side had “SGP Vice”, the other side had “Liger City”. I assume that this was done in order to save paper). Baretta tore up the sign for fun, with “Liger City” facing outwards, as a jab towards Jushin Thunder Liger. Again, you’ll very rarely see this sort of fan interaction for NJPW’s events in Japan. Maybe it’s because we’re an English-speaking crowd, and we’re able to better communicate our support that the gaijin wrestlers can understand.

Good job Singapore, and I hope everyone around the world watching on NJPWworld had a good time. See you all again at Tokyo Dome.

New Japan Pro Wrestling in Singapore: Wrestling World 2016 approaches

I am ready. I have finally caught up with all my viewing for New Japan Pro Wrestling on NJPWworld, after lagging behind for almost two months (I only finished G1 Climax in mid-October).

The card for Wrestling World 2016 is already out (pasted below from the NJPW reddit), subject to any last minute changes. This is the first time that Roppongi Vice, the Guerillas of Destiny, Katsuyori Shibata, Yujiro Takahashi, and Kenny Omega are performing in Singapore.

All eyes will be on Match 5, the six-man tag: Tanahashi is challenging Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental title on 4 January, and this match will be the start of their feud leading up to Tokyo Dome.

Match 6 will be a continuation of Omega and Okada’s lead-up to their showdown on 4 January for the Heavyweight title. Omega managed to score a pinfall against Okada during a tag match at Power Struggle (5 November), so I’m predicting that CHAOS will get the victory this time. Please please please, I hope Kenny will be given some time on the microphone. We’re an English-speaking audience, we wanna hear all of your trash talking.

The main event is an interesting one, thank you Gedo for giving us a title match in Singapore. EVIL just won the Openweight title from Shibata at Power Struggle, I highly doubt he’s going to drop it back to Shibata after only 10 days. If he retains it, the question now is who’s going to challenge for it at Tokyo Dome. My friend said he would love to see YOSHI-HASHI vs EVIL for the title, and I think it would work. YOSHI-HASHI is long overdue for a title run, he’s the most underrated wrestler of NJPW’s mid-card right now.

I find it quite amazing that the majority of my blog posts for the past couple of months are mostly about pro wrestling. I’ll just end this post with a short quote from VA-11 Hall-A, one of the most underrated videogames of the year (which also has pro wrestling):

“Never underestimate the power of putting on a good show.”

– ★Kira★ Miki, VA-11 Hall-A

VA-11 Hall-A: Bartending, a slice of life, and pro wrestling

I don’t drink in real-life, and I very rarely visit bars or clubs. Mainly because of my alcohol allergy, and that alcohol is really expensive here in Singapore compared to other countries (most of my friends prefer to drink when they travel to Japan — alcohol there is way cheaper). We even had a law passed in Singapore recently that prohibits alcohol from being sold (but not from being consumed) after 10pm.

Which is why I was really hooked by VA-11 Hall-A’s premise within five minutes of booting up the game. I play videogames for escapism, to experience things that I will never get to do in the real world. Playing as Jill, the game’s protagonist, even as an outsider watching events unfold through her eyes, gave me some fascinating insight into the world of bartending, cocktails, and socialising over drinks.

VA-11 Hall-A labels itself as a “Cyberpunk Bartender Action” game. One of the hallmark traits of cyberpunk are self-aware sentient robots, a dystopia setting, and a futuristic neo-retro soundtrack (think Blade Runner), all of which VA-11 Hall-A nailed perfectly. Especially the soundtrack. It’s very relaxing, uplifting, and totally in-sync with the bartender setting.

What I liked about VA-11 Hall-A as I continued playing was how “natural” it felt. Everything in this visual novel was told naturally though your daily dialogue with Jill’s co-workers and customers, and from reading the daily newspaper articles and online updates from Jill’s apartment. Unlike many other visual novels, there’s no exposition, no heroic character development, no mystery to be solved, and no evil villain that must be defeated. Yes, there is a “story” going on around Jill outside the bar — greedy corporations, politics, and an uprising in a bank — but it’s all presented in a slice-of-life manner as part of Jill’s daily routine.

And I’m sure everyone can relate to Jill’s relationship problems, on how she painfully regrets a past decision that she made, but can no longer make amends for. She just has to continue with her daily motions of life, and find a way to move on from her mistakes while earning her paycheck and paying her bills. She’s a loyal friend to those closest to her; she’s unsure of what her future holds and whether she’ll continue to be a bartender; she likes cats. Yet at the same time, Jill laughs at dirty jokes, she smokes on her bed, and can be very cynical to strangers who don’t give a good first impression. I don’t know a thing about bartending or mixing drinks, but I can emphatise with the flaws and character traits that Jill has. It’s what makes us human.

I have blogged in the past about how pro wrestling automatically makes anything better. I was totally not expecting the repetition of pro wrestling references and memes in VA-11 Hall-A. There’s even a reference to Jushin Thunder Liger, Sting, and New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual Wrestle Kingdom event at Tokyo Dome (an event that I’m attending live this coming 4 January). Remember Volition, the developers of Saints Row: The Third and Saints Row IV? It’s clear that Sukeban Games are big fans of pro wrestling too. I would love to have a badass, former-pro-wrestler boss like Dana who randomly suplexes her employees at work.

Just like the best drinks or cocktails, VA-11 Hall-A is a surprisingly perfect blend of many smaller ingredients: Memorable characters, witty writing, excellent artwork, stunning music, and pro wrestling. One Steam reviewer even called it a GOTY contender and I find it very difficult to argue against that claim. A videogame from a niche genre that dares to be different, and created with a lot of love and attention by the developers. And pro wrestling. PRO WRESTLING.

Earlier in June I declared on Twitter that 2016 would be “The year of the visual novel invasion.” There are so many re-releases and localisations of popular visual novels on Steam (Muv-Luv, Steins;Gate, Umineko), combined with cool and original releases like VA-11 Hall-A. It’s a very unique and special time to be a fan of visual novels again.

New Japan Pro Wrestling in Singapore: C3 CharaExpo 2016 (10 July 2016, Day 2)

For Day 2 of NJPW at C3 CharaExpo 2016, me and two other friends ran into Yoshi-Hashi at Changi City Point during lunch, and managed to snap a photo with him. 😉

I made it back in time for another small talkshow segment in the ring at 1pm. This time it was with Ryusuke Taguchi and a boyband group called PrizmaX. Taguchi revealed that while he was training to be pro wrestler when he was younger, he was also studying to be a sports teacher and actually obtained a sports certificate. He would have become a sports teacher if not for pro wrestling.

Taguchi also revealed that his maximum bench press weight is 120kg (he’s 90kg), and he showed off a split-legged pushup routine that helps target the lower abdomen and gluteus maximus. Will give this a try some day.

The matches for Day 2 started at 4pm again. One thing I forgot to mention in my Day 1 report was that Ryo Horikawa, the Japanese voice actor for Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z, was the special-guest English ring announcer for both days.

Results

Match 1:
– Juice Robinson defeated David Finlay by pinfall after a Killswitch.

A battle between NJPW’s Young Lions. There was a nice sequence of counter-wrestling at the start, some springboard strikes from Finlay, before Robinson took control and finished the match with a Killswitch — much to the delight of the spectators around me. We miss you Christian.

Match 2:
– Team of Toru Yano / Yoshi-Hashi defeated the team of Tomoaki Honma / Ryusuke Taguchi. Yano with the pinfall roll-up on Taguchi after a low blow.

Unlike Day 1, the pace of this match was faster and more energetic. Yoshi-Hashi, one of the highly under-rated wrestlers of NJPW, was the star of this tag match. Yano was up to his usual antics again. He even stole the ring-bell hammer from the announcer and hid it in his trousers, before using it to strike and choke Honma. Yano landed a low blow on Taguchi when the referee wasn’t looking, and scored the pinfall with Yoshi-Hashi restraining Honma on the outside.

Match 3:
– Team of Kazuchika Okada / Gedo / Hirooki Goto defeated the team of Tetsuya Naito / EVIL / Bushi. Okada with the pinfall on Bushi after a Rainmaker.

As expected, CHAOS got the win on Day 2 after Los Ingobernables won their four-man tag match on Day 1. Naito was more agile this time, hitting a turnbuckle Frankensteiner on Okada. There was a great tag-team combination between EVIL and Bushi, and Okada landed his signature springboard senton from the apron and a diving elbow. I really wanted to see Naito perfrom his Destino finisher, but it was blocked by an elbow from Okada before he could even attempt it. The fans kept cheering for Gedo throughout the match, much to the surprise of even the man himself. We love your booking, keep it up and keep showing Vince McMahon what a clueless moron he is.

Thank you Okada and Naito, for helping to carry NJPW these few months after Shinsuke Nakamura’s departure. See you again this November at Wrestle World 2016.

New Japan Pro Wrestling in Singapore: C3 CharaExpo 2016 (9 July 2016, Day 1)

Note: This is just a short post about NJPW at C3 CharaExpo 2016. I will post the results, plus my own personal experiences of what happened at the event. I believe in the importance of keeping a record, especially for pro wrestling.

C3 CharaExpo was back again in 2016 for a second edition, after last year’s very successful CharaExpo 2015. Of course, this means that New Japan Pro Wrestling was back again for a second consecutive year.

The roster for this year consists of Bushi, Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Toru Yano, Yoshi-Hashi, Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Tomoaki Honma. Togi Makabe was supposed to come, but he had to pull out at the last minute due to health issues. He was replaced by Taguchi (a far better choice anyway).

Shinsuke Nakamura, as most fans should know by now, has already left NJPW for WWE in early 2016. Hiroshi Tanahashi is still recovering from a serious shoulder injury and did not make the trip.

For Day 1 at 11am, there was a short talkshow segment in the ring featuring Finlay, Robinson, Taguchi, and Honma. All of them except for Honma were in Singapore for the first time. Interestingly, Honma revealed that he had visited Singapore around 25 years ago as a high school student, and it was actually a lucky-draw prize trip that he had won. He is really looking forward to seeing the Merlion this time — back then 25 years ago it was still under construction.

After the talkshow, Okada came out briefly to make a very important annoucement: NJPW will be having another event at Singapore on 15 November 2016 at Marina Bay Sands. This is huge news: it will be the first time ever that NJPW is hosting a full-fledged wrestling event in Singapore, instead of piggybacking on one of Bushiroad’s anime conventions.

Following that at 12pm, there was a quick autograph signing session with Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomoaki Honma. Fans who purchased at least S$30 worth of goods would be eligible for the signing. I bought a Singapore-NJPW shirt, a Los Ingobernables de Japon shirt, and a Los Ingobernables cap. Honma applied quite a lot of oil to his body… some of which was transferred to my hands when I gave him a handshake. 😉

After the signing session, it was four hours of waiting until 4pm, when the matches for the day were scheduled to start. Plenty of fans from the Singapore Pro Wrestling Corner Facebook group were in attendance. Some wrestlers from Singapore Pro Wrestling (SPW) were also there (The Statement, Mighty Mighty, Black Arrow, etc.), and I was seated right behind them next to the ramp.

Results

Match 1:
– Bushi defeated David Finlay by pinfall after an MX from the turnbuckle.

If you’ve watched the recent Best of the Super Juniors 2016 tournament, then you’ve already seen this match before. Finlay and Bushi were opponents in Block A. Bushi used the exact same sequence to win again: a burst of poison mist to Finlay’s face, followed by his MX finisher from the turnbuckle.

It’s great to finally see Finlay evolve from his Young Lions status and carve out his own wrestling style. Hopefully he’ll get some sort of push in the future, he is the son of Dave Finlay after all.

Match 2:
– Team of Tetsuya Naito / EVIL defeated the team of Kazuchika Okada / Gedo. EVIL with the pinfall on Gedo after an STO.

Okada had just won back the IWGP Heavyweight title from Naito on 19 June 2016, ending Naito’s two-month reign. Of course, the two of them and their respective stables are still feuding. As expected, this was a very low-key tag match, with few risky manoeuvres or high-flying action from the usually very agile Naito. Perfectly understandable: G1 Climax is about to start soon, and NJPW can’t afford more injuries to their main roster. Sadly, EVIL didn’t carry his scythe or his Doctor Doom gauntlet to the ring.

Match 3:
– Team of Toru Yano / Yoshi-Hashi / Hirooki Goto defeated the team of Juice Robinson / Ryusuke Taguchi / Tomoaki Honma. Goto with the pinfall on Robinson after a GTR.

A fun six-man tag match with the entertaining Yano and Taguchi performing their usual antics in the ring. Again, another low-key match with not a lot of high risk moves. Honma made three diving headbutts, but none of them from the turnbuckle (his favourite finisher). Yano threw his chair at Honma outside of the ring. I lost count of how many hip attacks Taguchi made, and in the end Goto got the pinfall after his teammates helped to restrain Taguchi and Honma on the outside.

I went home immediately after the third match ended. Had a bad headache from carrying a heavy slingbag on my shoulder all day, and from wearing the Los cap that I bought. I’ll probably just leave my cap at home for Day 2 — at 30-years-old, I think my cranium has finally outgrown the practicalities of wearing unnecessary headgear.

Looking forward to Day 2 of C3 CharaExpo 2016.

Dear Jerry Lawler: We care about Japanese wrestling because we LOVE wrestling

I have been moderately irritated by Jerry Lawler’s commentary on WWE for the past few months now, ever since AJ Styles returned to the company. But the 5 May 2016 edition of Smackdown just made my blood boil again, all thanks to Lawler. During the entrance of Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, and AJ Styles, Lawler made a remark to his colleague Mauro Ranallo:

“Who cares about Japanese wrestling?”

I’m not sure whether Lawler’s comments are genuine, or if he is just playing the role of a heel commentator — someone who intentionally puts down the faces and supports the heels. Regardless, such remarks are borderline insulting, because there is one famous Japanese wrestler currently on NXT: Shinsuke Nakamura.

Look, if you don’t watch anything other than WWE, that’s fine (and very sad). But don’t insult the dedication and passion of the fans who have made YEARS of effort to follow other promotions. Every single one of the spectators in the arena who cheered Nakamura when he made his debut at NXT Takeover Dallas — you are insulting them, Lawler. Every wrestler on the WWE roster who has wrestled before in Japan (Styles, Anderson & Gallows, Finn Balor, Samoa Joe, Sami Zayn — even Hulk Hogan once challenged for the IWGP Heavyweight title in Japan back in the 1980s, for crying out loud), you are indirectly insulting their careers, Lawler.

I have been pondering for months now, on whether I should attend New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Climax tournament in mid-August. I could watch the finals on live-streaming in the comfort of my bedroom, but nothing beats a live experience. I really want to watch a Japanese pro wrestling event live. Thank you Lawler, for finally pushing me over the edge with your ignorant comments.

I care about Japanese wrestling because I love pro wrestling. You should give it a try Lawler. Step out of your WWE bubble and have a taste of what you’ve been missing all these decades.

And thank you Mauro Ranallo, for your excellent commentary. I can tell that you too, are a huge fan of puroresu.

New Japan Pro Wrestling in Singapore: Chara Expo 2015

Note: I currently have a problem connecting my smartphone to my PC so I don’t have any images of the event to upload to this post. I will edit them in later at another date.

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) made its first appearance in Singapore last weekend, at the Chara Expo 2015, an inaugural anime-themed convention held at Singapore Expo.