Talk:Giant Baba

Vitalstatistics

Respected wrestling and mixed martial arts journalist and author Dave Meltzer wrote the following in his book Tributes: But he was not 7'4", or even close to that height. At his tallest, he was probably around 6'10", maybe 6'11". Basketball players who met him generally estimated his height at around 6'9", although because he was proportioned completely differently that any 6'9" man around - with relatively short legs, a long torso and huge head - their estimates may have been deceptive. In 1976, When Andre had his famous boxer vs. wrestler match at Shea Stadium against Chuck Wepner on the undercard of the Muhammed Ali vs. Antonio Inoki fiasco, legitimate sportswriters who took notice of Andre for the first time estimated him at 6'9". However, later in his career, Andre posed in Numerous photographs with Shohei "Giant" Baba, and he appeared to be around an inch or two taller that the 6'8" Japanese giant. (p. 40) (Halbared 09:28, 1 June 2006 (UTC))

I'm pretty certain that Meltzer has raised the same observation WRT Andre's feud with Ernie Ladd. Because of his legit background in pro football, Ladd rarely saw his height exaggerated by promoters to the extent seen with most wrestlers. This feud occurred roughly around the same time as the Wepner match. Then again, that's more relevant to Andre than to Baba. RadioKAOS  – Talk to me, Billy 01:50, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Shohei Baba

Move to "Giant Baba"? RandySavageFTW (talk) 21:59, 31 July 2008 (UTC)

• Oppose Is known by Shohei Baba: Some matches annonced as Shohei, others 'Gianto'. 'Giant' is a bit western, and not all that accurate. Lafraisne (talk) 18:14, 21 August 2008 (UTC)
• Oppose per Lafraisne. D.M.N. (talk) 15:04, 26 August 2008 (UTC)
• Oppose Darrenhusted (talk) 15:10, 26 August 2008 (UTC)

Resolved

 Not done--S_RX 02:09, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Important omission

The article is missing any mention of his streak of appearing in (somewhere around two or three thousand) consecutive matches without missing an appearance. It's been a subject associated with Baba for around the past twenty years.RadioKAOS (talk) 18:41, 18 July 2011 (UTC)

In fact, it shouldn't be hard at all to find a source which compares Baba to Cal Ripken Jr.. RadioKAOS  – Talk to me, Billy 01:50, 4 April 2013 (UTC)

Actually, his 3,000th consecutive match was also one of his better known matches, a title vs. title (PWF and AWA) match against Verne Gagne in early 1981. It ended in a double countout in the third fall, if I remember correctly. Ricky Steamboat did an interview where he compared Baba not to Ripken, but rather to Sadaharu Oh.

This brings up another question: when exactly did the AWA switch allegiances from the IWE to AJPW? Nick Bockwinkel was on the same tour with Gagne in 1981. Baba faced Abdullah the Butcher on an AWA show in Chicago in 1979 (where he beat Abby for the PWF title?). It appeared to me that the IWE/AWA alliance lasted a pretty long time, but there's a lack of mention as to what happened to it and when. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 19:24, 22 November 2013 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was move per request as the common name.--Fuhghettaboutit (talk) 02:18, 31 December 2013 (UTC)

---

Shohei Baba → Giant Baba – (see existing discussion below) RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 18:28, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

RM as a courtesy. I'm sure the RM regulars are by this point tired of the stance that "Moveamania is running wild, brother!" taken by the WP:PW regulars. In this case, it may escape notice that there was a similar move discussion on this talk page seven years ago. This was soundly opposed, with valid arguments raised in opposition. Therefore, this move cannot be considered as merely another routine, non-controversial proposal, and is exactly the sort of thing to discuss with the cooperation of RM. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 18:28, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

move

Shohei Baba → Giant Baba – Clear common name. Japanesse Hulk Hogan, he was the top wrestler in Japan as Giant Baba. Also, he won top titles and tournament as Giant Baba. --HHH Pedrigree (talk) 22:29, 23 December 2013 (UTC)

• Support - 3375 matches and 6 as "Shohei Baba", all the rest of "Giant Baba" speaks for itself. Professional wrestler so ring name is more popular and recognizable than real name. Starship.paint (talk) 04:18, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
• Support - The clear WP:COMMONNAME. STATic message me! 05:32, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
• Comments – The common name argument certainly does carry much weight. However, how many baseball games did he have as "Shohei Baba" versus "Giant Baba"? As with Allen Coage, you're talking about someone who was notable before he became a professional wrestler, and that needs to be taken into consideration. Also, considering that the Japanese public knows that Abdullah the Butcher speaks perfect English and is not a savage from darkest Africa who devours announcers' neckties while they're still being worn, how well known is he as "Shohei" versus "Giant" in the eyes of the average person there? A ring name may be no different from a nickname in the case of someone known by their real name. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 18:28, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

I'm not sure how notable he is before he became a pro wrestler. The professional baseball career doesn't even have any citing sources, that's how notable? Anyway, to answer your question of how many games, the article states "It appears however, he spent most of his time in the minor leagues. He appeared in only three games with the Giants, and recorded a record of 0-1." Starship.paint (talk) 08:37, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

His baseball career may have been highly notable in Japan (I have no idea) but this is English-language Wikipedia so preference should be given to a name that English speakers will be most familiar with. ŞůṜīΣĻ¹98¹^Speak 23:41, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

• Support His baseball career is worth something, for sure. But he is world famous as Giant Baba, in the ring and the office. Coage's case is significantly different, in that he had two well-known ring names, plus his accomplishments as himself. I'd imagine fans know him as Shohei about the same as they know Batista as Dave or Hardcore Holly as Bob. The Japanese ring announcers didn't mention his first name, from what I've seen. It sounds like Gianto Baba. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:22, 24 December 2013 (UTC)
• comment' japanesse pronuciatipn. In japan people says gianto, shooto or domo arigato, mr. Roboto (yes, I watch one piece, but usually, they end the rod with o)--HHH Pedrigree (talk) 22:38, 24 December 2013 (UTC)

Yeah, I know. They're awesome. I just meant the sounds they associate with the guy sound basically the same as "Giant Baba" in English. So most Japanese people know him as the English do. It's not like how they pronounce "vertical suplex" over there. InedibleHulk (talk) 02:37, 25 December 2013 (UTC)

• Support per WP:COMMONNAME.LM2000 (talk) 15:36, 26 December 2013 (UTC)
• Support per WP:COMMONNAME. When linking to him from a baseball page, a redirect or piped link to "Shohei Baba" will be fine. – Muboshgu (talk) 18:11, 26 December 2013 (UTC)
• Support - Many contemporary Western sources (magazines, dirtsheets, autobiographies) refer to him as "Shohei Baba". Having said that, ALL of them that I've personally read use the term "Giant Baba" so that is the WP:COMMONNAME that the article title needs to be. ŞůṜīΣĻ¹98¹^Speak 23:41, 26 December 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

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Early life

More detailed information are in this site. Someone can translate it from Japanese? Thanks. --95.233.3.145

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