GONG
PRO WRESTLING, BOXING, KICK
1982
GUEST REVIEWER: ADAM ZIMMERMAN
One thing I like to collect besides video games is old pro wrestling magazines. I don't really have a preference of which "brand" of magazine; I usually just like to look at the pictures, read the kayfabe articles and have a chuckle or two.
This magazine, however, I'm not able to read. Well, I'm not able to read 98% of it except for the few English words. (If I'm being completely honest here) I bought this one purely because I thought it was "cool" and a unique thing to have. At least today, we can take a look at it together and I can put it to some good use.
This particular issue of GONG is from 1982. If memory serves me right (which it sometimes doesn't) this was the November issue of that year. Judging by the magazine's subtitle, GONG apparently covers pro wrestling, boxing, and kick. Not any particular martial art; just the ability to kick in general, I can only assume. As far as I can tell from this issue, though... it mostly just covers pro wrestling.
The cover (the real reason why I chose to buy this particular Japanese magazine above others available at the time) features a bloody but determined looking Terry Funk. Inside we can see the pictures of his "Miracle Comeback" in a recent (by November 1982 standards) match.
Early on, we also have two posters which are pretty cool. One is a poster of Bruiser Brody vs the Mongolian Stomper in which Brody is performing, what the magazine reputes to be, the "Dynamite Chop". The second poster is of Andre The Giant and it's captioned "82's Superstars Top 50". I believe that means he came in first place in a (Canadian Bulldog-style) Top 50 list of the wrestlers active in Japan in 1982.
After this, we move on to more pictures (thank goodness for those or else this magazine wouldn't be of much use to me) of some recent matches that starred the likes of Andre, Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, and Bruiser Brody. There's one particularly funny picture of a young child running away from Brody with a look of absolute terror on his small face.
Next, we get some results from matches that happened all around the world, not just in Japan. We also see what I assume to be "rankings" for various wrestling promotions. Here, we also get to see a young, chubby-faced, clean-shaven Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart!
Finally, the rest of the magazine is filled with somewhat questionable advertisements for things like "Bee Pollen" and "I Love New York Coffee Slim" which is some sort of diet supplement, I suppose. I don't know where they found this lady who's the spokesman for this product but man; she literally looks like she could stab you in the throat without even blinking... she's got those "crazy eyes".
Well, I guess that about wraps it up. I really enjoyed putting this old magazine to some use and sharing it with you. Hopefully, I'll be able to do something like this again soon. Until then, you know where to find me.
