Category: Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast

On a very personal episode of the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast, Fumi Saito talks to Jim Valley about his memories of Hana Kimura and his experiences following her tragic passing. Fumi met Hana when she was a seven-year-old kid who went with her mom Kyoko Kimura to the matches. He tells a great story about…

Pacific Rim is back with Fumi Saito and Jim Valley. With little new wrestling taking place in Japan, Fumi talks about what some companies are doing to produce content, create new revenue streams, and find work for wrestlers. Weekly Pro Wrestling’s 1995 Bridge of Dreams card featuring 13 promotions on one show was recently uploaded to YouTube. Fumi…

On April 13, 1990, the WWF, New Japan, and All Japan Pro Wrestling came together at the Tokyo Dome for an interpromotional card called the Wrestling Summit. It featured Hulk Hogan vs. Stan Hansen, Genichiro Tenryu vs. Randy Savage, and Bret Hart vs. Tiger Mask (Mitsuharu Misawa) in a matchup of future legends. My co-host Fumi Saito not…

From Seattle to Tokyo, this week the Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast updates you on how Fumi Saito and Kiki are coping with social distancing. Believe it or not, he’s watching even more wrestling. Fumi has some interesting thoughts on the Fujita-Shiozaki match and its 30-minute staredown. Rather than see the empty venue as a negative, they looked…

On this week’s Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito and I bring you a free episode entirely dedicated to the life and career of Kazuo Sakurada, also known as Japanese wrestler Kendo Nagasaki. Fumi grew up watching Sakurada and spent time with him years ago in Japan and Florida. While you may know just the basics about…

Happy New Year from Tokyo. Spend New Year’s Eve and his New Year’s Day birthday with Fumi Saito as he and Jim Valley start the night at Killer Khan’s restaurant and wrap up around 2 a.m. in Shinjuku. Killer Khan is most famous in the United States for “breaking the ankle” of Andre the Giant, wrestling in Mid…

Wrestle Kingdom 14 is one month away. For the first time, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s biggest show is two nights of action. On this episode of Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito offers his advice for fans visiting Tokyo during Wrestling Week. Fumi spotlights some cards, locations, stores, and restaurants to check out. Ideas include All Japan at Korakuen, Toudoukan pro wrestling store,…

It’s a very special free edition of Pacific Rim with Fumi Saito’s longtime friend Chris Jericho. They’ve known each other since Chris’ first tour of Japan for Frontier Martial Arts in 1991. Fumi and Jericho share stories of Chris’ early tours in Japan, what it was like, what’s different now, and what was challenging in days before instant communication. In…

Pacific Rim is back with a ton of news and events to cover. Fumi Saito and Jim Valley talk about the Jumping Bomb Angels reuniting for a special interview and a look at their history in WWE and AJW. Then, we have an in-depth conversation on Stardom: the chances of Io Shirai and Kairi Sane returning after…

Image: Stardom On this very special episode of Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito, Dave Meltzer, and I explain how the purchase of Stardom, a small Japanese company, could end up being a very influential move in the wrestling business. You don’t need to be a hardcore joshi fan to get something out of this show. There’s…

Another packed episode of Pacific Rim. We talk about the reemergence of Kishin Liger, his history, and if Fumi thinks will lead to a Suzuki-Liger match at Wrestle Kingdom in the Tokyo Dome. With Ren Narita and Shota Umino heading out of Japan, we discuss the history of excursions for Young Lions in puroresu, what happens when they…

You saw the video of Minoru Suzuki ripping the mask off of Jushin Thunder Liger. On this episode of Pacific Rim, Fumi Saito tells the story of their history, their parallels in wrestling, and what their upcoming match means for both men. In addition, we run down this year’s Japan ballot for the Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame,…