週刊プロレス Weekly Pro Wrestling No.743 1996 Farewell Issue WAR Pancrase Brazil MMA

Publication: 週刊プロレス (Weekly Pro Wrestling)

Publisher: ベースボール・マガジン社 (Baseball Magazine Sha)

Issue: No. 743 — 第42号 第34号 通巻1138号

Cover Date: July 23, 1996 (平成8年7月23日発行)

Price at Publication: 430円

Format: Standard weekly issue — "BEST WRESTLING 1996" badge visible

Cover Story

This issue has one of the most distinctive and collectible covers in the entire 週刊プロレス run. Against an all-pink background, a hand-drawn cartoon of the magazine's mascot character "Tarzan" waves goodbye to a crowd, with the bold bilingual farewell:

「GOOD BYE さらば活字プロレス / さらば週プロ」

"GOODBYE — Farewell, Written Pro Wrestling / Farewell, Weekly Pro Wrestling"

This is a landmark farewell/transition issue — the magazine's iconic longtime editor and columnist, known by the "Tarzan" persona, was departing, marking the end of an editorial era for 週刊プロレス. The top banner adds: 「WARとUインターが取材拒否を解除！」 — "WAR and U-Inter Lift Their Media Embargo!" — signaling a major policy shift that had kept those promotions off 週刊プロレス's pages. A truly unique collector's piece for Japanese wrestling publishing history.

Inside Content

Women's Shoot-Style / Kickboxing — Horida vs. Foreign Opponent

Opening color spread (p. 4): 「ガンガンに向かっていかない堀田に"プロならこっち向かってこい"とヤジが飛ぶ！しかし堀田は冷静だった…」 — "Hecklers Shout 'If You're a Pro, Come at Me!' at Horida for Not Going Forward Aggressively — But Horida Was Calm…" Coverage of Horida in a women's shoot/kickboxing match, wearing boxing gloves in a standard ring, against a tall Western female opponent. Multiple action photos including mid-kick exchanges and post-match scenes. An unusual and interesting early document of Japanese women's combat sports crossover (p. 4).

All Japan Women — Grand NORTH 6-Woman Tag League

Color spread (p. 26): Coverage of the Grand NORTH 6-Woman Tag League finals, featuring Kyoko Inoue's team winning the tournament with a perfect record, and Toyoda's team finishing third. Colorful match photography featuring Reggie Bennett in elaborate ring gear, with crowd reaction shots from what appears to be a large venue. Notes Kyoko's team's 4-win record. Strong joshi collector content (p. 26).

All Japan — Asian Tag Championship Match

Color spread (p. 124): 「7・ファジア戦は王者組がV7！タイムマシンに乗せたかった…」 — "The 7th Asian Defense — Champions Make V7! Wanted to Put Them on a Time Machine…" Coverage of the Asian Tag Championship defense featuring Mossman & Pan Dam against challengers Akiyama & Omori, with Power Slam and Diving Body Press finish photography. Results box and post-match candid photos included (p. 124).

Pancrase / Vale Tudo — Brazil Travel Feature

Color spread (p. 136): 「バーリトゥード参戦・白田に同行したパトラッシュ島田レフェリーの旅日記 地球の裏側まで格闘探偵にいった！」 — "Travel Diary of Referee Patrashu Shimada Who Accompanied Shirata to Vale Tudo — We Went to the Other Side of the World as Fighting Detectives!" Extensive travel photography documenting the Brazilian Vale Tudo / Pancrase scene, including photos of Christ the Redeemer statue, Copacabana Beach, local gyms, Rickson Gracie-adjacent training environments, and candid shots with Brazilian fighters. A fascinating MMA history document from the mid-1990s Brazilian vale tudo scene, shot during the period when Japanese fighters were first seriously engaging with Brazilian grappling (p. 136).

Condition

Visually Very Good. The distinctive all-pink cover shows light edge wear and minor corner softening consistent with a 1996 weekly. Spine intact. Interior pages clean with good color reproduction throughout. No visible tears, writing, or missing pages noted from photos.