Episode 118 – Jiu Jitsu vs. Wrestling
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In this episode, I discuss a mixed styles contest between Marin Plestina and Taro Miyake in 1920.
Update
Brock Lesnar and Minoru Suzuki are sharing a barber.
Marin Plestina, the Original Trust Buster, in 1921 (Public Domain)
WWE
CM Punk vs. Bron Breaker on January 5th Raw
With WWE, you can skip most of the matches because they all look the same. You rarely have someone stand out in the ring.
AEW
John Moxley vs. Shelton Benjamin on AEW Dynamite
What could have been a great match – Darby Allin vs. Pac
“Speedball” Mike Bailey plants at least one knee on Powerhouse Hobbs’ face.
With AEW, you can enjoy the show if you skip all the interviews and backstage segments.
Main Content
On Saturday, September 25, 1920, Marin Plestina, the original “Trust Buster” wrestled Taro Miyake, a jiu jitsu black belt, in a mixed styles match.
Taro Miyake in the 1910s (Public Domain)
After an early 1917 contest with World Champion Joe Stecher, Marin Plestina challenged the “Big Four” to a legitimate contest. The “Big Four” were Joe Stecher, Earl Caddock, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, and Wladek Zbyszko.
Plestina also exposed the wrestling trust headed by Jack Curley. The trust controlled professional wrestling in the United States. An infuriated Curley froze Plestina out of big matches from 1917 to 1921.
Taro Miyake traveled from Japan to Europe and then America to spread the art of jiu jitsu. Like most martial arts instructors, Miyake could not make a full-time living from teaching martial arts, so Miyake grappled with professional wrestlers and boxers in both legitimate contests and worked exhibitions.
Plestina and Miyake grappled in a legitimate contest in this match, which progressed like most legitimate contests between equally matched grapplers. The match ended up being long, boring, and inconclusive.
Recommendations
Wrestling Archive, Volume 1 by Scott Teal (affiliate link)
Dick Cardinal demonstrating catch wrestling on YouTube
Still Open All Hours, 2013 to 2020 BBC series (affiliate link)
Review
Starrcade 1992 – Battle Bowl: Lethal Lottery II on YouTube
This card was better than it’s predecessor, Starrcade 1991, which is the worst Starrcade card I ever saw.
Only had four Battle Bowl matches and then followed with a normal card. Fans did not react to Masahiro Chono versus Great Muta, which was a great technical match.
I would recommend Chono versus Muta and Sting versus Van Vader, if you only had time to watch a couple of matches.
Source: The Spokesman-Review (Spokane, Washington), September 26, 1920, p. 12
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