Corporate Sponsorship -- Japanese Style

The most obvious difference between athletic companies' sponsorship of lady wrestlers in Japan, as opposed to in Europe, is that there are no teams for companies to sponsor. Instead, each lady is free to contract with as many sponsors as she can attract. For example, Yuki Kato, above in the Adidas grey one piece, also has contracts with Asics for her knee pads, Mizuno for her elbow pads and Puma for her wrestling shoes.
Yuki's opponent, Kazuha Ogura, has two sponsors -- Speedo for her suit and Mizuno for her elbow pad. Given that each sponsor supports several women, it's not uncommon to see ladies wearing clothing from the same manufacturer going up against one another.

Yuki is known for her flowing brunette locks, exuberant approach to wrestling and her custom high-cut suit.
Unlike in American or European pro-style matches, low blows are an accepted part of the game. Below, Kazuha finishes Yuki off with a quick downward leg strike between Yuki's legs.
Aki Hirakawa, pictured below, has taken an entirely different approach towards sponsorship. Instead of being covered with a cacophony of different labels like a Nascar driver, she has an exclusive arrangement with Speedo. Aki's only labelled apparel is her one-piece suit, and her logo-free elbow pad, knee pads and wrestling boots compliment her signature red and beige suit.

The Disadvantage of Wearing a One Piece Suit

Inspired by a thoughtful and loyal reader (hint: comments are always appreciated), I've been thinking about how a wrestler's particular outfit might change the outcome of a match. In these photos, we see that the shoulder straps can be pulled down to trap a wrestler's arms. With her arms so constrained, she is unable to defend against her opponent's attack. So much the better that, in each case, the opponent issues a nipple or breast attack.

In Praise of the One Piece Wrestling Suit

Although I suscribe to the view that, all other things being equal, the highest form of erotic wrestling takes place when the ladies are tussling in the nude, one shouldn't dismiss the opportunity to watch women wrestling in one piece suits. For example, the silver one piece in the above photo produces the wonderful "camel toe" effect.
Since a "camel toe" sighting is unfortunately rare, the most obvious benefit of the one piece is that it allows for the fabric to be high cut around the legs and hips. Although the Japanese seem to have perfected this sort of outfit, it's nice to see that the folks at wrestlinglounge.com aren't too far behind (pun fully intended).

Seemed like a good idea at the time . . .

I'll be the first to admit that getting naked ladies to wrestle in the "pro" style sounds like a great idea. This isn't like combining peanut butter and chocolate, after all. Naked women and wrestling definitely go together. The only problem, of course, is that the level of violence in the wrestling is directly proportional to the required skill of the participants. In other words, if you're just going to have two very attractive ladies tussle on the mat, they don't need to be all that skilled because they are just trying for pins and submissions. But when the action is supposed to replicate pro action -- well, then you've got a different story. Anyone who's read Mick Folely's autobiography or watched Hulk Hogan's reality TV show knows that professional wrestling takes a ridiculous amount of skill, an incredibly high pain threshold, and when you're done, you have one or more permanent disabilities. So, unless you can find beautiful women who are willing to put in that kind of effort (i.e., a nearly impossible mission), you wind up with the ladies sort of play acting pro wrestling. Which doesn't really work, since pro wrestling itself is (let's face it), a sort of play itself.
That being said, it's hard to argue with the shot of a busty lady being thrown chest first against the ropes.
And ladies in distress was also a good angle that the Naked Women Wrestling League took.
By the way, can anyone explain to me how Carmen Electra thought it would be a good idea to be associated with this product?

Solid Japanese Ring Wrestling

I've selected these five photos from two ring matches (available for purchase from Battle Japan) to discuss some of the finer points of properly capturing a ring match that is not diluted with sexual attacks. In the first featured match, we have Mao Takigawa in the black misfitting one piece against Aiko Oshino. Ms. Oshino is issuing a very simple and effective knee to Ms. Takigawa's collarbone, and the photo captures the moment of impact. There is no Casper/Rosemary-like oversized grimace, but the closed eyes and clenched teeth of a women wrestler taking a solid shot.
Ms. Takigawa appears to be suffering not only from Ms. Oshino's spirited attack, but also from the fact that her suit's strap is cutting into her left nipple. A poor choice of outfit, to be sure, but one which benefits the viewer.
These three photos feature the larger Kuroi Yume against Hirayama Yuri. As neither of these ladies are particularly busty, they wear swimsuits that are cut particularly high around their hips. Although Ms. Yume may not be in the best of physical condition, I am a fan of ladies who aren't mere whisps getting into the ring for our viewing pleasure.

One final point is that the ladies' aren't wearing elbow pads. Given how slender many of Japanese women are, the elbow pads often float around their arms that detracts from the overall effect of their proper ring attire. A small detail, to be sure, but as I've written in the past, it only takes the slightest misstep to ruin an otherwise commendable photo.

The Proper Angle Makes All the Difference

I've selected these photos to show how the angle that the photographer uses can have a tremendous impact on our enjoyment of the photo. The first photo is simply pedestrian. The aggressor in the black suit looks like she would rather be selecting a different shade of eye shadow and the young lass getting worked over is doing her best impression of a wrestler in pain. The photographer is standing in the ring, pointing his camera downwards at the ladies in order to capture all of the "action."
Now this photo, of the same ladies, is an entirely different kettle of fish. The photographer is standing outside the raised ring, and is eye-level with the young lady in white. Although she is now topless, that is not what draws us in. Instead, it is the looming and dominating lady in black over the helpless loser who is thrust directly towards us. A combination of the camera's angle and that the ladies' hair obscures their faces allows us to imagine that this match is more in intense than the photo shoot most assuredly was. Just another example of why if you go to the trouble of having ladies wrestle in the ring, you should photograph them from outside the ring, just as they would be viewed by the spectators.

Da Bears(hug)

Putting aside the tactical use of a bearhug in a match, the key features for a wrestling photo are to see the ladies' breasts being pushed together and the anguished expressions on their faces. Above we have Rosemary Lorenz going against Pam McGivern (thanks to a reader for identifying her), and their photo satisfies all of the prerequisites, with the added bonus of the ladies tussling in the nude. Of course this is a posed photograph -- I can't imagine how they could manage this position for long while kneeling on a couch before falling off. But that is a mere quibble as both ladies have large, natural breasts and are clutching each other tightly, albeit not in a traditional bearhug. Another added bonus, of course, is Rosemary's classic grimace which never seems out of place in an apartment wrestling match (perhaps explaining why it is featured in so many of her matches).
In the next two photos, we have one of my favorites, Casper, matching up with a statuesque blonde. The ladies have solid grips around each other's backs and are appropriately bare breasted. As always, Casper's expression is nearly priceless, particularly in the above photo as it looks like she is truly suffering in her opponent's grasp.
I've included the photo below of one of my new favorites, Miracles, against Jael to show how not to shoot a bearhug. First, the ladies aren't topless. Second, the angle of the photo is particularly not flattering to Miracles, as it makes her look like her nose is three sizes too large. Finally, Miracles needs to take some lessons from Casper, or at least borrow from her playbook, as to the appropriate facial expression for this situation (e.g. bearhugging a much larger, stronger lady).