Punches will be thrown. Kicks will connect. Backs will be smacked. It’s tense before the bout. And stepping into the ring wearing a rubber monster suit does not make it any easier. At Kaiju Big Battel (SIC)… there will be blood. It’s more than wrestling in monster costumes since the smackdown doesn’t just destroy the opponent, this match decimates a tiny model city built for destruction.
Kaiju Big Battel, an unofficial Comic Con event (open to the public of all ages), attracted crowds ready to witness live creature throwdowns inspired by old Japanese monster movies and TV shows. What might surprise you most about Tokyo-flavored wrestling match is that it is not a Japanese invention at all, in fact, it came from Boston, Massachussets. The ringmaster and creator of the live events and video series is the Boston-bred Randy Borden. He created the original event as performance art as a student. Randy describes its Japanese influence as, “…the cultural feedback loop. Japan takes American things and turns them into Japanese and we take them and turn them back. We go back and forth with things.” In a way, it’s like pop culture eating itself, vomiting and then… well, you get it.
