In Okinawa, wrestlers come to grips with comedy

NAHA--With ominous-sounding ring names such as "Habu" (pit viper) and "Mongoose," one might think the show unfurling inside the hall on Kokusai-dori street here would be a no-holds-barred death match.

But here in the busiest tourist drag in Okinawa Prefecture, professional wrestling comes with a local twist that might seem puzzling to both diehard fans of the sport as well as newcomers.

The objective of Okinawa Pro-Wrestling, which started about a year ago, is as much about drawing laughter from the crowd as it is about bludgeoning opponents with body-slams and clotheslines.

While the organization has yet to turn a profit, it has caught the attention of the local tourist industry and pro-wrestling observers, who see an opportunity in the new breed of spectators it is drawing, as ringside attendance falls around the nation.

On a recent evening, spectators gathered in the fifth floor hall, which formerly served as a disco, appeared puzzled when the emcee announced that a performance of sanshin, the Okinawan three-stringed instrument, would precede the first match of the night.

Before the audience could start looking for traditional folk singers, three masked wrestlers jumped into the ring, among them the comical-looking "Mensore Oyaji" (a combination of "welcome" in the local dialect and "old man,") wearing a mask meant to resemble a bowl of Okinawan soba noodles.

Mensore Oyaji broke out into song, belting out a popular local tune to the notes of a sanshin and drum played by the other two wrestlers.

"Don't just stand there watching quietly. Go ahead and make some noise," one of the wrestlers implored the laughing audience.

Currently, 11 wrestlers are registered with Okinawa Pro-Wrestling, many of whom bear ring names that pay tribute to Okinawan icons or traits.

A wrestler wearing a black mask goes by the ring name of "Agu," (Okinawan pig), while another wrestler brandishing a green mask is known as "Goya (bitter gourd) Mask," both references to key ingredients of Okinawan cuisine.

And in a rematch of the "rumble in the jungle" between a venomous snake native to the Okinawan islands and a mammal imported to combat it, there is a "Kaijin (phantom) Habu" and "Mil Mongoose," too.

The relatively small size of the hall, capable of seating about 200 people, means that spectators get to witness the action up close. Those seated in the back row, a mere 10 meters or so from the ring, can hear the wrestlers grunting, the sound of bodies colliding and the thunder-like thumps of wrestlers crashing to the mat.

While providing spectators with plenty of action-packed fight scenes, Okinawan wrestlers never forget to include an element of fun, adhering to the motto of "pro- wrestling that can be enjoyed by the whole family."

In a maneuver that could have passed as a slapstick comedy act by the Yoshimoto Kogyo troupe, six wrestlers in the middle of a three-on-three tag-team match, suddenly fell flat onto the ring as if they had been knocked out cold in one blow.

In another comical move, the wrestler Agu imitates his namesake by suddenly launching an attack on all fours.

The crowd-pleasing aspect of Okinawan pro-wrestling doesn't stop there. After all the matches are over, the wrestlers, still panting for breath, hang around for a photo opportunity with camera-touting fans.

"Each wrestler has a distinctive character, so I never get bored," said a 44-year-old self-employed woman from Saitama Prefecture, who said she first encountered Okinawan pro-wrestling when she visited the southernmost prefecture in June, and had since made a point of visiting the island prefecture every month to show up at ringside three or four days in a row.

Itsuki Matayoshi, 22, an employee at a souvenir shop nearby, said she had invested 15,000 yen for a one-month pass to all the matches she wanted. She said a sense of affinity toward the wrestlers was what made the spectacle so special.

According to staff at the magazine Weekly Pro-Wrestling, there are between 50 and 60 pro-wrestling organizations or groups nationwide today, of which about 40 are small groups called "local indies," which, like Okinawan pro-wrestling, are focused in a particular region.

However, amid the current recession, only a handful of the groups are financially successful.

Okinawa has taken an unconventional approach of holding matches six days a week at the hall, taking only Wednesdays off.

Most groups set aside several days of the week for matches, while traveling from one location to another.

The 42-year-old president of Okinawa Pro-Wrestling, who goes by the ring name "Super Delfin," said he believed that the best way to create a fan base was to have a fixed ring in which to stage fights.

The local reception has been favorable. Okinawa Industry Promotion Public Corp. selected Okinawa Pro-Wrestling as a venture business project, and assisted in securing the hall on Kokusai-dori.

And with help from the prefectural cultivators of mozuku seaweed, a new wrestler fighting under the ring name "Mozuku Man" made his debut in September.

The endeavor still faces an uphill battle, particularly in terms of winning sufficient fans to fill the hall. During the summer vacation months, about half of the seats were filled on some nights. But on most nights now, only about 50 spectators are on hand to witness the action. Super Delphin has yet to draw a salary.

Nevertheless, Hiroki Matsukawa, a writer and editor at Weekly Pro-Wrestling, says Okinawan pro-wrestling may already have accomplished a feat that could provide hints for reviving the entire industry.

"Tourists who have never seen a pro-wrestling match before gather from around the nation. You could say that this group holds the key for drawing a new group of fans," Matsukawa said.(IHT/Asahi: October 26,2009)