The final chapter in the career and life of Shohei Baba took place on the biggest show he ever main evented and the biggest show he ever promoted–some three months after his death.
Tag: giant baba
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February 15, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Reaction to the death of Giant Baba, 2 wrestlers have heart scares, plus tons more
The public reaction to the death of Shohei Baba over the past week stunned even the most ardent Japanese followers of pro wrestling. The reaction, for someone described in almost every form of medium as a national hero, went far beyond any recent sports deaths in recent U.S. culture such as a Mickey Mantle, and was more comparable to the reaction to entertainment legends such as Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Frank Sinatra.
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February 8, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Giant Baba passes away
The death of any major pro wrestling figure makes one reflect upon the past. But the death of Shohei Baba will likely have repercussions far more telling about the future, and in ways that nobody at this point can predict.
More than the death of a wrestling superstar or a legendary promoter, of which he was both and a lot more, his death spells the end of the major chapter in Japanese wrestling history, of which he was one of the two main participants. And his death leaves in question the future of the old style of wrestling, with lengthy main events, clean winners and losers, finishing moves that work against the top stars, of which his company was the lone holdover, and the beginning of a new chapter in the Japanese wrestling world. What it will turn into and how it will get there is far more difficult to examine than what it was and will probably never be again.