''Pro Wrestling'', known as in Japan, is a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

released for the Sega Master System in 1986 by Sega. It centers around

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

wrestling, with four duos that players can select and guide to various

championship titles In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

around the world. ''Pro Wrestling'' was the only professional wrestling title released for the Master System in United States. The game has received mixed reviews, with publications criticizing the game's graphics and controls. In Japan, the game is the home counterpart to the Sega arcade title ''Dump Matsumoto'' (released outside Japan as ''Body Slam''). Like the arcade game, it features female wrestler

Dump Matsumoto , better known by her ring name , is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler. She came to prominence as one of the leading female wrestlers in All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling during the 1980s. The longtime leader of the stable Gokuaku Domei ...

and her

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

Gokuaku Doumei. In addition to having an entirely different, all-female roster, the Japanese version also has a final hidden matchup against

aliens Alien primarily refers to: * Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country ** Enemy alien, the above in times of war * Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth ** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...

on another planet.

Gameplay

Player select from one of four tag teams: the Crush Brothers (Elder and Younger Crusher), the Orient Express (Dragonfly and Giant Bull), the Mad Soldiers (Muscle Soldier and Iron Soldier) and the Great Maskmen (Green Mask and Stone Head). The player's selected tag team contests for three titles against two of the other three teams ( face tag teams only face

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

counterparts and vice versa) in this order: the

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

League title in Mexico, the Pacific League title - in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

and finally, the World Title in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. Each match is a ten- fall match up, which means that the player has to defeat the opponent in ten rounds before winning the title. From a standing position, punches and kicks can be performed. Once the opponent is on the ground, the player has the options of performing a grappling move,

whipping Flagellation (Latin , 'whip'), flogging or whipping is the act of beating the human body with special implements such as whips, rods, switches, the cat o' nine tails, the sjambok, the knout, etc. Typically, flogging has been imposed on an ...

the opponent into the ropes or going for the

pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch de ...

. Grappling moves vary from ground attacks like knee drops to pinning/submission holds like the Boston crab or

German suplex A suplex is an offensive move used in sport wrestling as well as amateur wrestling and professional wrestling. It is a throw that involves lifting the opponents and bridging or rolling to slam them on their backs. Professional wrestling featu ...

. Additional moves can be performed after the opponent has been whipped into the ropes. Two teams can pick up a steel chair from outside of the ring and use it as a weapon. The other two teams can only touch the chair to make it disappear; these two teams can also perform aerial maneuvers and submission moves. Continues are available for matches in the first two leagues. A two-player mode is also available without a time limit, but there are restrictions on the match ups players can choose.

Reception

The game's attempt at imitating the spectacle of American pro wrestling was lauded, but overall the game received largely mixed reviews. '' Sega Pro'' gave it a positive review, with an 81% rating, describing it as "great fun", particularly with two players. ''

Computer and Video Games ''Computer and Video Games'' (also known as ''CVG'', ''Computer & Video Games'', ''C&VG'', ''Computer + Video Games'', or ''C+VG'') was a UK-based video game magazine, published in its original form between 1981 and 2004. Its offshoot website ...

'' gave the game a 46% overall rating; in its ''Complete Guide to Sega'', they criticized the game's graphics and sound and called the control scheme "awkward." Allgame offered a positive review, complimenting its visual style and calling the graphics "bright and cartoonish." Reviewer Jonathan Sutyak said that while the game got repetitive after a while and was not much of a challenge, it had a "good variety of moves" and was fun.

Japanese version

The Japanese version, ''Gokuaku Doumei Dump Matsumoto'' is named after female professional wrestler

and her

Gokuaku Domei. Two teams represent Gokuaku Domei: one consists of Matsumoto and Bull Nakano and the other has Condor Saito and Masked Yu. Two other teams represent the faction "Fresh Gals": team 1 are Dump's rivals the Crush Gals ( Lioness Asuka and

Chigusa Nagayo is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for her mainstream popularity in the 1980s as a member of the tag team ''Crush Gals'' with long-time partner Lioness Asuka. She was the founder of the GAEA Women's Professional Wrestling organization ...

) and team 2 are the

Jumping Bomb Angels The Jumping Bomb Angels were a female Japanese professional wrestling tag team. The members were Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki. History Japan Noriyo Tateno and Itsuki Yamazaki formed one of the most well-known teams on the Japanese Woman' ...

. Despite featuring female wrestlers exclusively, the gameplay is almost identical. Instead of just a steel chair, there are a variety of weapons for use such as the ring bell. Some graphics and music are different as well. A hidden fourth match against an extraterrestrial tag team is accessible via cheat code. A

System 16 Sega is a video game developer, publisher, and hardware development company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with multiple offices around the world. The company's involvement in the arcade game industry began as a Japan-based distributor of coin-o ...

arcade game featuring Matsumoto, simply called ''Dump Matsumoto'', was also released by Sega in 1986. The game, known outside Japan as ''Body Slam'', featured the same characters as the Master System game and allowed players to form custom duos composed of two members from each faction.

References

External links

* *{{IAg, segasms_Pro_Wrestling_1986_Sega 1986 video games Professional wrestling games Master System games Master System-only games Sega video games Video games developed in Japan

Gameplay

Reception

Japanese version

See also

References

External links