Former WCW Announcer Speaks Out On Japanese Strong Style!

Former WCW ring announcer Gary Michael Cappetta, famous as the voice of the company in the late eighties and early nineties for iconic calls such as “This iiiiiiiiis Sting”, has recently come out as a detractor of the Kenny Omega vs Cody contest at this past weekend’s NJPW G1 Climax Special.

His gripe didn’t appear to be with the match per-se, rather the extreme spot when the current IWGP Heavyweight Champion nailed a release powerbomb over the summit, forcing his challenger to connect hard with the concrete floor. With a table providing zero protection, the moment was, admittedly, a dangerous one. Following the execution, Cappetta tweeted:

WRESTLER ALERT: Human bodies aren't made to do this. Please stop shortening your valuable careers. Stop limiting the health and happiness of your post wrestling lives. pic.twitter.com/UxYMzh4YS7

— Gary Michael Cappetta (@GaryCappetta) July 8, 2018

Naturally, the assertion caused an array of different opinions both for and against such a vigorous in-ring style.

This, however, just fuels the fire of those who lambaste ‘old school’ talent for not moving with the times. After all, Cappetta isn’t the first person to favor traditional American wrestling over the hard hitting, risky, yet ultimately thrilling Japanese Strong Style, and he certainly won’t be the last.

Whether you agree or disagree, Gary’s opinion is as valid as anyone’s. In a time when so many athletes are dropping with injuries – and Cody entered this match with several – and earlier in the evening Hiromu Takahashi broke his neck via an equally unneeded stunt, maybe it is time to tone things down a little. If it’s going to preserve the body, lifespan, and career of such talented individuals, then surely no one can argue there’s a case for tradition to win the day.

Let us know your thoughts on which style of wrestling you prefer and whether or not you’d be okay with NJPW stars toning down their ring style. You can get in touch via Twitter and Discord today.

• Gary Michael Cappetta
• G1 Climax Special
• WCW
• Hiromu Takahashi
• NJPW
• Cody
• Kenny Omega

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