Rikidozan versus Lou Thesz was the main event of a JWA wrestling card, performed on October 13th, 1957 in Osaka, Japan. The bout was a 2 of 3 falls match with the NWA Heavyweight Title on the line. The champion, Lou Thesz had been working a series of matches in Japan showcasing the belt. This series of matches between Lou Thesz and Rikidozan would go down as some of the most important bouts of tall time. These two set the standard in professional wrestling and set the bar years before anyone else would. It’s really interesting to see how much modern wrestling was influenced by matches like this. This particular match is the second of their legendary series. It’s a great match that followed up their five-star blow out. - It’s a pretty slow affair. The challenger, RIkidozan, had been trying his best to wear the champion down. Thesz was ready. And he had a counter for everything the Japanese star could dish out. Both guys gave it everything they had. - The action may have been slow and plodding, but when Thesz or ‘Dozan whipped out a big move, it meant more. These two went to “headlock city” early in the bout and kept it going throughout. However, every once in a while Thesz would hip-toss ‘Dozan or powerbomb him. Then Rikidozan would hit the Gaijin with a snap-mare. Both went back and forth, eventually leading to a double-countout. Ahh… wrestling.