Alright, if you haven’t heard of Takuya Sugi, I won’t hold that against you. Besides, the guy has worked under ten different gimmicks during his independent career in Japan.

Trained by Ultimo Dragon and the Tourymon school, Takuya Sugi started his wrestling career in 2003 working as Mini CIMA; a gimmick based on Japanese wrestler and Dragon Gate’s premiere talent, CIMA. Since then, Sugi has worked all over Japan as a freelancer for organizations ranging from Tourymon, All Japan Pro Wrestling, HUSTLE, LOCK UP, and Zero-1 Max; under the gimmicks Yoshitsune, El Blazer, Shanao, AHII, HUSTLE Ranger Red, Mini CIMA, Little Dragon, Michinoku Ranger Gold, Catfish Man, and The Zest (2nd Generation).

This guy is truly worth watching. With barely four years of experience in the ring, this guy has the fluidity of a veteran. His style incorporates everything you’d expect from the best cruiser weights in the world. But, don’t take my word for it. Judge for yourself:

I think it’s fair to say that the Americans have it all wrong when it comes to wrestling; erm, I mean, “sports entertainment.”

Sure, there was that short period of time when the WW(F)E was truly entertaining, when wrestling was predominant, competition was rampant, and innovation was really innovative. Rather, every week we get to see some fat oily guy running around in a thong, a DX reunion happening for the very first time ever, and Vince McMahon acting like the evil emperor that we all seem to love.

Truly innovative.

Yet, I also think it’s fair to say that tag team wrestling has been on a steep decline for the better part of the last decade.  Tag team wrestling used to mean something in the states. Teams like the Hart Foundation, the Rockers, the Hardy Boyz.. all of which were natural tag teams that boosted individual stars (even My Man, Marty Jannetty). But, no worries. Tag team wrestling still means something in Japan and I’ve got quite the holiday present for our Double AxHandle visitors!

The following is a NOAH NTV Jr. tag round robin tournament match between KENTA & Ishimori vs Marufuji & Ibushi from earlier this year.  Some of you may recognize KENTA and Marufuji as NOAH’s rising stars.  Both of these guys are considered to be the future of puroresu (japanese wrestling).  This specific match is exactly why wrestling in the WWE will never be anything close to entertaining.

This is easily a five star match, and probably a match of the year candidate. And, wait.. it’s a tag team match, too?  But, it’s not all KENTA and Marufuji.  Ibushi and Ishimori can hold their own, and exhibit their ability in carrying an excellent match.   

That somehow includes the WWE, too.

The Georgia State Athletic and Entertainment Commission are proposing a bunch of non-sense rules to be amended into wrestling whenever a show takes place in their state. These guidelines are meant to bring wrestling into the realm of boxing and mixed martial arts, but not as cool as either of the two. However, with the recent events occurring in wrestling or sports entertainment, including an array of staph infections, murder-suicides, and wrestlers dying young, these rules may help bring some safety and precaution for wrestling. Right?

Some of these newly proposed regulations are pretty ridiculous. For example:

“If a competitor touches the ropes, the referee is to move them back to the center of the ring.”

“There will be no physical or verbal aggression or threats levied toward any member of the audience.”

Further, blading or self-inflicted cuts are prohibited; no fighting outside the ring barrier; foreign objects must be approved by the athletic state commission prior to its use; wrestlers have a ten count to break an illegal hold; wrestlers are not allowed to have any grease, lotion, or other substances on their body. And, my favorite, every wrestler must wear clean and appropriate attire that properly meets the rules proposed by the commission.

Wait a second. Where is the over the top rope disqualification rule??

Yet, the most important proposed guideline states that there must be a six foot barrier from the ring and an additional four feet between the the barrier and the first row; which adds up to ten feet of empty space. This regulation may kill the independent wrestling scene in Georgia. Many of the smaller indy shows run in smaller venues that, because of this regulation, would not be legally cleared to run an event in such a venue.

The commission is due to vote on the regulations today, and if passed, this could be very detrimental for wrestling in the independent circuit. Apparently, the WWE is unaffected by these rules, because of a prior statute that excludes any company worth $25mil or more to be included. That’s too bad.. right??

UPDATE: The committee has adjourned and stated that they will postpone any decision on the matter until February. The committee agreed to hear out the industry’s opinions and have invited various promoters to form a group and present their opinions to the committee for further revision of the proposed guidelines made by the commission.