{"id":70080,"date":"2020-06-09T15:44:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T19:44:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=70080"},"modified":"2020-06-09T15:45:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T19:45:17","slug":"wrestling-meccas-korakuen-hall-tokyo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/06\/09\/wrestling-meccas-korakuen-hall-tokyo\/","title":{"rendered":"Wrestling Meccas: K\u014drakuen Hall, Tokyo"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wrestling Meccas is a series of features at Last Word on Pro Wrestling that looks at the history of some of professional wrestling\u2019s most iconic venues, from large stadiums to small indie havens. Our second edition heads to Tokyo, Japan to look at what many consider the “Madison Square Garden of Japan”, the famed K\u014drakuen Hall<\/b>.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the Bunky\u014d ward of Tokyo in Japan, stands one of the most sacred temples for professional wrestling in the world. Today, it is dwarfed in size (and for many younger fans, in name as well) by its Tokyo Dome City neighbor, the Tokyo Dome<\/strong>, as the biggest wrestling venue in the country, but K\u014drakuen Hall’s name still carries a name of reverence amongst historians and fans of\u00a0puroresu<\/em>. As New Japan star Rocky Romero<\/strong> stated in a video for NJPW in 2017<\/a>, it is the \u201cthe sacred holy battleground of the warrior fighting spirit.”<\/p>\n

K\u014drakuen Hall (1962-present), 1 Chome-3-61 Koraku, Bunkyo City, Tokyo<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Photo: MATCHA-PR \/ matcha-jp.com\/<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On May 26, 1959, Japan was announced as the home country for the 1964 Summer Olympics, becoming the first Asian country to host the Olympic Games. In preparation for the big event, Japan began working to modernize and update their sporting venues. On April 16, 1962, they opened K\u014drakuen Hall as a new sporting venue. Nestled beside K\u014drakuen Stadium<\/strong>, the country’s top baseball stadium, K\u014drakuen Hall would become more of a theatre to showcase combat sports like boxing, kickboxing, martial arts, and professional wrestling. It went on international display as the home for the boxing events during the 1964 Summer Olympics.<\/p>\n

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Olympic boxing became an official stamp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By 1966, pro wrestling was getting its feet wet in the Hall, which holds approximately 2,000 spectators for events. Japan Wrestling Association (JWA)<\/strong>, Japan’s top\u00a0puroresu\u00a0<\/em>company founded in 1953 by Rikid\u014dzan<\/strong>, began running larger events there, beginning with their JWA New Year’s Series<\/strong><\/em> on December 30, 1966, which saw Giant Baba\u00a0&\u00a0Michiaki Yoshimura<\/strong> defeat “Killer” Buddy Austin & Mr. Atomic<\/strong> (Clyde Steeves) in the main event. Sadly, Rikid\u014dzan would never compete at K\u014drakuen Hall, passing away in 1963 just after it opened – but he did face Lou Thesz<\/strong> next door at K\u014drakuen Stadium, where they fought to a 61-minute time limit draw for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)<\/strong> World’s Heavyweight Championship in front of 30,000+ fans. But as professional wrestling began to gain momentum in Japan, so did the legend of K\u014drakuen Hall grow itself. The 1960s closed out with the Hall seeing future legends like Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki<\/strong> make their K\u014drakuen Hall debuts, as well as the beginning of an influx of\u00a0gaijin\u00a0<\/em>stars like Harley Race<\/strong> in 1969. But while pro wrestling was getting hot in Japan – and getting hotter at K\u014drakuen Hall – it would be a few more years until the Hall would become a major destination for fans and promotions alike.<\/p>\n

Korakuen Hall in the 1970s<\/strong><\/h3>\n

JWA continued to bring in top\u00a0gaijin\u00a0<\/em>from the United States, Mexico, and Great Britain, with the likes of Billy Robinson<\/strong> (1970), Bruno Sammartino<\/strong> (1971), Abdullah the Butcher<\/strong> (1971), Terry Funk & Dory Funk Jr.<\/strong> (1971), Mil Mascaras<\/strong> (1972), and Bobo Brazil<\/strong> (1972) all making their K\u014drakuen Hall debuts in the early 1970s. But by the time Fritz Von Erich<\/strong> and Tatsumi Fujinami <\/strong>came in in 1973, JWA was in shambles. It had fallen apart in the years following the death of Rikid\u014dzan in 1963 and it closed its doors in 1973. But in its place, like a\u00a0puroresu\u00a0<\/em>hydra, rose All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW)<\/strong> and New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)<\/strong> in 1973, founded by Rikid\u014dzan pupils Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki respectively. Both AJPW and NJPW would follow into K\u014drakuen Hall in their inaugural years, but they wouldn’t be the only companies plying their wares in the Hall – All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling (AJW)<\/a><\/strong>, who had been operating since 1968, made their K\u014drakuen Hall debut in 1973 as well.<\/p>\n

The 1970s saw many new faces make their K\u014drakuen Hall debuts, including such future legends as Atsushi Onita<\/strong> (1974), Tiger Mask I<\/strong> (1976), Genichiro Tenryu<\/strong> (1977) and Riki Choshu<\/strong> (1978), as well as a steady influx of\u00a0gaijin\u00a0<\/em>including The Sheik<\/strong> and Andre the Giant<\/strong> (1974), Dusty Rhodes<\/strong> (1975), India’s Tiger Jeet Singh<\/strong> (1976), and Ric Flair<\/strong> (1978). In 1979, two of the most feared\u00a0gaijin\u00a0<\/em>in Japanese history, Bruiser Brody<\/strong> and Stan Hansen<\/strong>, also made their debuts at the famed Hall.<\/p>\n