“Get your head on straight! Are you really going to act hurt in front of the audience?!”
“No, sir!”
A gymnasium where sweaty, muscular men rolled across the mat alongside thunderous battle cries.
“No fighting spirit! Kids these days only care about flashy techniques to get popular! The foundation of pro wrestling starts with knowing how to take a hit!”
“Flashy stuff is what’s popular these days. No matter how good the script is, the wrestlers with flashy techniques get all the attention, so the younger guys can’t help getting obsessed with that side of things.”
“Tsk··· back in the ’90s, punks like those wouldn’t even have been allowed on stage. They’d have been standing below holding towels.”
“There you go again with the old stories. What’s the point of reminiscing about a golden age that ended over twenty years ago? We should be grateful wrestling has revived this much at all.”
The coach told Antonio to stop living in the past and start training wrestlers suited for a new era.
‘He’s right, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.’
Antonio agreed with the coach, yet he still could not hide the bitterness in his heart.
After Rikidōzan burst onto the scene like a comet in the 1950s and revived and established professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese pro wrestling enjoyed a magnificent golden age all the way through the 1990s.
A dreamlike era where New Japan and All Japan Pro Wrestling stood as rivals, producing countless stars while tens of thousands of spectators packed arenas to watch them compete.
Antonio had debuted near the tail end of that golden age and experienced at least a fragment of its glory himself, which was why he disliked the current generation of wrestlers.
“I should ask the scriptwriter to give me a flashy finisher this time.”
“I got invited to an MMA promotion event match. I’ll probably have to let them beat me around a little before landing one big move.”
“I’m going on a talk show. Would using apple-breaking as my special talent be too cliché?”
Even during practice, the wrestlers cared more about outside appearances and external activities than actual matches.
And honestly, it made sense.
Japanese pro wrestling had recently begun recovering from its long slump, but the foundation of that revival centered less around wrestling itself and more around outside activities.
Events where mixed martial artists were dragged into wrestling rings, or where pro wrestlers climbed into fighting cages to put on shows.
Or wrestlers appearing on television variety programs, playing the clown by exploiting their wrestling personas.
The revival had come through outside activities rather than wrestling matches themselves.
As a result, most recent wrestlers wanted to use flashy techniques in the ring to make names for themselves so they could move into outside entertainment work instead of wrestling.
Antonio understood it, yet at the same time, it worried him.
‘The reason pro wrestlers become popular outside the ring is because they’re good at the actual matches. But now that relationship is reversing.’
The steadily declining quality of matches.
Of course, there were still many wrestlers who stayed serious and prepared properly for pro wrestling matches, but if things continued like this, the revival opportunity they had barely managed to grasp might disappear like a lie.
“Chairman, the Iam members have arrived outside.”
“It’s already that time?”
While Antonio watched practice and worried about the future of Japanese pro wrestling, a staff member informed him that today’s guests had arrived.
‘Idols··· is this just another unavoidable sign of changing times?’
A few days earlier, New Japan Pro Wrestling had received a proposal from a broadcasting station to produce a pro wrestling program.
-Idols are going to do pro wrestling?
-Yes. The concept is that the seven members of the Korean girl group Iam will split into New Japan and All Japan teams, learn professional wrestling, and then compete in matches.
-This isn’t some children’s game··· more importantly, who even are Iam?
-They’re a Korean idol group that’s very popular among young people these days.
When he first heard idols would be participating in pro wrestling matches, Antonio had frowned immediately.
And for good reason.
[Even as a fan, this is too cringe to watch]
This was not the first time idols had attempted pro wrestling.
Years ago, there had been a drama centered around pro wrestling produced in collaboration with a television station and a once-popular female idol group.
But because of its terrible match quality and disastrous acting, it had been mocked mercilessly online before fading into a dark stain no one even mentioned anymore.
Back then, Antonio had also been the representative of New Japan Wrestling, and at the request of the production company, he not only appeared in the drama himself but personally taught the idols professional wrestling.
-I’m sorry, but that seems too dangerous.
-It doesn’t really fit our idols’ image.
-That request is too physically demanding.
Whenever he tried to provide proper instruction, the agency constantly interfered, claiming everything was too dangerous.
Antonio still remembered the frustration vividly.
The idols received no proper training, nor were they particularly motivated in the first place, so naturally the entire idol wrestling drama turned into a complete disaster.
-Pro wrestling is fake anyway. It’s scripted from the start, so this is just how it has to be.
How bitter it had been when idol fans watched that monstrosity and defended the idols while belittling pro wrestling itself.
‘People say pro wrestling is scripted, but the preparation required to create that performance is never fake!’
The foundation of pro wrestling was taking the opponent’s techniques.
Because of that, even experienced wrestlers were injured frequently.
There was no way idols who trained only briefly could properly execute or receive wrestling techniques.
And because everyone worried the idols might get hurt, the production settled for exactly the kind of cheap fake acting the public mocked pro wrestling for.
Naturally, that could never satisfy audiences with high standards.
‘You need outstanding physical ability, and at the same time incredible acting skills. Finally, you need showmanship too. That’s what makes a pro wrestler.’
Someone hearing that might call the standards unreasonable, but to Antonio, professional wrestling was comprehensive entertainment, and those qualities were indispensable.
A pro wrestler needed the physical ability to captivate audiences through flashy movements while also possessing acting talent so viewers could sincerely immerse themselves emotionally in moments of danger and hardship.
And finally there was the showmanship represented through microphone work—the charisma that pulled people in even while they knowingly watched a scripted performance.
Pro wrestlers existed to entertain people.
They were never meant to be laughed at.
And yet idols trying pro wrestling came from nothing more than ignorant arrogance lacking respect for the industry.
However, the reality of modern Japanese pro wrestling was that they no longer had the luxury of rejecting even that kind of idol playacting.
If appearing on regular television helped the industry survive and revive, then even another terrible collaboration with idols had to be accepted.
“So this is my new battlefield?”
While Antonio was recalling those bitter memories, an unfamiliar woman’s voice reached his ears.
“Hello! I’m Kurosawa Yuri from Iam!”
“My name’s Lee Sion.”
Two women entered through the gym entrance, chatting brightly with cheerful expressions as though they were thrilled by everything around them.
The Iam members had arrived at the New Japan Wrestling gym.
***
“Amazing! Why are you an idol? With athletic ability like this, you could debut as a wrestler after only a little training!”
“Thank you, but I’m an idol.”
“Ah, right. My apologies. Being an idol is a wonderful profession too.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
The atmosphere inside the All Japan Pro Wrestling gym was warm and lively.
Akiyama, chairman of All Japan Pro Wrestling, enthusiastically praised the Iam members, while the members themselves remained humble despite the compliments and focused diligently on training.
It looked like a perfect teacher-and-student scene straight out of a painting.
“Wow, she’s seriously pretty.”
“She’s pretty and athletic too.”
“Seriously. I think it took me a whole month before I could even use the ropes like that.”
Not only Akiyama, who directly taught the members, but also the other wrestlers and trainees were marveling at Iam’s passionate attitudes and talent.
“This is going to look great on camera.”
“Thank god. I was worried we wouldn’t even get enough footage for a broadcast, but at this rate we’ll have more than enough.”
Watching the Iam members, Fuji TV producer Hiroshi felt deeply satisfied.
-You want me to make an idol wrestling program?
-Korean idols are popular these days, aren’t they? Give it a try.
When the variety department director first ordered him to produce an idol wrestling program, Hiroshi had honestly thought it was ridiculous.
No matter how many bizarre topics Japanese variety shows tackled, creating a pro wrestling show starring Korean idols was not easy.
‘Getting reactions from younger audiences isn’t enough. Television ultimately has to appeal to middle-aged viewers.’
Even if Korean idols had become popular among younger audiences lately, that popularity existed mostly among the young.
Japan’s middle-aged demographic still did not view Korean entertainers particularly favorably.
Middle-aged women tended to like them because of Korean dramas, but conservative middle-aged men often reacted negatively toward Korean celebrities.
Still, one promising factor remained.
Middle-aged men were also the generation that experienced the golden age of pro wrestling, meaning they might tune in specifically because it was a wrestling program.
‘This is either going to become a massive hit or a total disaster.’
If successful, it could attract middle-aged viewers who normally had zero interest in idols.
And above all—
“May I try one more time?”
“Of course! Get back into position!”
“Yes!”
Even though they could barely communicate verbally, the Iam members desperately devoted themselves to wrestling practice as though determined not to miss a single word of Akiyama’s instruction.
Watching them, Hiroshi felt hope.
He had expected popular Korean idols to protect their image and avoid hardship, yet instead the Iam members displayed fighting spirit like struggling unknown comedians.
There had always been something universally compelling about watching beginners become skilled through hard work.
And when the beginners happened to be beautiful idols, it was even more effective.
“Breakfalls! The foundation of pro wrestling is breakfalls! Whether you’re using techniques or receiving them, if your breakfalls aren’t correct, you can get seriously injured!”
“Yes!”
Even now, one Iam member fearlessly leaped from the ropes and crashed onto the ring exactly as instructed.
That scene caught Hiroshi’s eye.
“You got that shot, right?”
“Of course!”
The member who introduced herself as Iam’s leader, Seo Ryujin, launched herself fearlessly through the air.
Watching her perform something even many men could not do so perfectly was enough to capture anyone’s attention.
“Should I move like this here?”
“That’s right. The key is swinging your arm so it lands across the opponent’s chest rather than directly on the neck.”
“I’ll try it.”
At the same time, another member practiced a newly learned technique on a wrestler helping with training nearby.
‘Was that Ryu Ayeon?’
Even to amateur eyes like Hiroshi’s, Ryu Ayeon looked remarkably convincing as she charged fearlessly at a pro wrestler far larger than herself and executed a clothesline.
“Are you sure it’s okay that all the ace members ended up on this side?”
“Unibex insisted the members absolutely had to be divided five-to-two between the teams··· but this might become a real problem.”
The Iam members possessed athletic talent impressive enough to make even Akiyama admire them.
Despite training for hours already, they showed no signs of exhaustion.
Their learning speed was fast too, reproducing techniques exactly as soon as they were taught.
Watching them, Hiroshi began feeling slightly uneasy.
-It’s fine for the Iam members to split between New Japan and All Japan for training and matches, but doesn’t a five-to-two split seem strange?
-It may seem strange now, but later you’ll understand. You’ll realize my judgment was correct.
The strange five-to-two division had been requested directly by Unibex, the sponsor of the program and the agency managing Iam’s Japanese activities.
As a result, aside from Lee Sion and Kurosawa Yuri, who had gone to the New Japan Wrestling gym, the remaining five members were now sweating heavily here at the All Japan Pro Wrestling gym where Hiroshi stood.
However, unlike Division Head Haruto’s confident assurances, Hiroshi was becoming nervous because the members at the All Japan gym were simply too talented.
Even setting aside Seo Ryujin and Ryu Ayeon, who stood out overwhelmingly—
“We’re fine with something even harder!”
“That’s right! Please train us more harshly!”
“Isn’t there anything more practical than this? Like maybe a move capable of instantly knocking out a girl under 170 centimeters tall in one blow···.”
From the youngest members, Geum Shinyu and Im Yunkyung, all the way to the eldest, Lee Gahyeon, everyone trained desperately as though something were chasing them.
Their intensity and passion were so abnormal that Hiroshi could not help worrying about the two members sent to the New Japan gym.
After all, just as clapping required two hands.
The teams already differed in numbers, and if there were also a huge skill gap, then no amount of editing could make the final confrontation feel exciting.
‘There’s no way there are more idols like these, right?’
As the main producer of the program, Hiroshi was stationed at the All Japan side where more members were present, so he had no idea what the atmosphere was like at New Japan.
But even without seeing it, he could not imagine another pair of idols matching this level.
“Please tell the members not to overdo it too much.”
“Yes, understood.”
So Hiroshi asked the interpreter to tell the members to ease up slightly on practice.
However—
“No. This still isn’t enough.”
“Huh?”
The answer that returned was a firm refusal.
“It’s great that everyone’s working hard, but from a broadcasting standpoint, if the difference between teams becomes too overwhelming, the final result might actually look worse···.”
At first Hiroshi thought they were worried about appearing lazy on camera, so he personally clarified that wasn’t the issue.
Yet even after hearing his explanation, the Iam members simply shook their heads with grave expressions.
“PD. The people we have to face aren’t members of another team. They’re demons released from hell. We can’t afford even a moment of carelessness.”
Their expressions were so serious as they insisted this still wasn’t enough that Hiroshi found himself speechless.
‘What is this?’
The way they spoke sounded too sincere to be a joke.
Hiroshi hurriedly pulled out a smartphone and contacted the staff stationed at the New Japan side.