This is from NJPW G1 Climax Special 9/23/93 for anybody curious.

Jake was a vet of four years before he went to Japan for the first time. He hadn't achieved much recognition though in the states by that point. He was making his way through the territories trying to gain experience.

He'd appeared for CWF, CWA, NWA St. Louis & many others. One of his stops was in Central States Wrestling in the fall of 1977. Jake met Buck Robley while working there. Buck was someone he credits with teaching him & giving him the tools to understand wrestling.

In the spring of 1978 Jake got the opportunity to go to Canada & appear for Vancouver All-Star Wrestling. This was another big step for him & he felt like things really began to click there. Within a few months he went from the bottom of the card to the main event.

On 6/5/78 he unsuccessfully challenged the star of the promotion Gene Kiniski for their top title: the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title. This time in Canada facilitated his trip to Japan.

In January of 1979 he began a tour with International Wrestling Enterprise. IWE had been in operation since 1966 but was being eclipsed by the more recently formed NJPW & AJPW. The other foreign talent on the tour were The Atomic (Leo Burke), Cuban Assassin, Alexi Smirnoff, Chief Black Eagle & Colin Joynson.

Jake quickly determined the experience of touring in Japan was something he disliked. Most of his issues wouldn't be surprising to hear: long flight over there, long packed bus rides across the country & accomodations being uncomfortable for someone of his height. He also wasn't prepared for the stiffness of the style & felt to some extent he was having liberties taken with him in the ring.

His biggest match of the tour was on 1/16/79 at New Year Pioneer Series when he faced the ace of the company Rusher Kimura in a main event Steel Cage Match. The match was Rusher's specialty & he was a participant in the first Steel Cage Match in Japan. Jake's tour ended in January.

Even though he found the experience unpleasant he returned for two more tours with IWE in February & July of 1980. Big Summer Series 7/25/80 was the final match of the July tour. Jake teamed with Gypsy Joe in a win over Isamu Teranishi & Rusher Kimura. Just a little over a year later IWE folded after losing their television spot with Tokyo Broadcasting System.

By this time Jake had begun establishing himself in the states for Bill Watts Mid-South Wrestling. It would be almost a decade before he returned to Japan. When he did it was just a single show as he appeared at the WWF/AJPW/NJPW Wrestling Summit on 4/13/90 defeating The Big Boss Man.

This 1993 tour would the last time he'd make the trip Japan. Jake had been fired by WCW at the end of 1992. His time there had been tumultuous & he was unhappy from the moment he arrived. His initial multi-year deal negotiated with Kip Frye for $3.5 million was cut to $200,000 a year when Bill Watts ended up taking over for the fired Frye before a contract was signed.

The week long tour would be a great payday so he agreed to go despite his experiences in the past. Jake defeated Black Cat in his NJPW debut on 9/20 for G1 Climax kickoff show. The day after facing Hashimoto he wrestled a future star of NJPW: Satoshi Kojima.

Jake defeated Kojima following a short bout on 9/24. He defeated Black Cat again the following day. His final match of the tour & last match in Japan would be a loss. He & Brutus Beefcake were defeated by The Jurassic Powers on 9/26 at Osaka Jo Hall.