Possibly the greatest wrestling match of all time!

I'm so glad I decided to check my website stats today. I found this video thanks to someone's forum comment about a story I wrote after attending my first Michinoku Pro-Wrestling show in Japan. I was glad to read that my story inspired such a strong reaction in the commenter, and I hope that more people will discover just how much fun many Japanese wrestling shows can be. Fun and humor are two things that are truly lacking in American pro-wresting these days.

Historically, pro-wrestling matches in Japan have been slow paced, "realistic" looking battles between one guy in black shorts and another guy in black shorts. Until recently pro-wrestling has always been given much more credence as a legitimate sport in Japan than it has been on this side of the ocean. However, with the growth in popularity of ultimate fighting leagues like Pride and K1, this type of wrestling has been slowly dying off. Taking its place is a brand new style of wrestling that combines the colorful masked luchadors of Mexico with the Japanese love of physical comedy and silly costumes.

Many of the wrestlers that are changing the face of pro-wrestling in Japan right now are graduates of Ultimo Dragon's Toryumon wrestling school. Ultimo Dragon is a masked Japanese luchador who operates a training facility in Mexico that specializes in the fast-paced, high-flying 'lucha libre' style of wrestling that made the Michinoku events Kate and I attended so much fun. I was pretty bummed when I left Japan that I wouldn't get a chance to see any more great wrestling shows in person again.

Well as luck would have it, Ultimo Dragon is coming to of all places Toronto! Local indie wrestling promotion UWA has just signed a deal with Ultimo to open a branch of his gym in Mississauga. I guess only time will tell if Ultimo can make the same kind of impact over here as his Toryumon students have been doing back in Japan. Since the WWE has been pretty much unwatchable for the last few years, I'm certain that there are lots of closeted wrestling fans out there who are dying to see something exciting, lighthearted and fun for a change. Good luck Ultimo and welcome to Toronto.