

Exciting Hour - The Prowrestling Network © 1985 Taito Corp.
A match of wits and skill with classic ring techniques used in today's popular professional wrestling arenas. The ringside announcer to signal the start of the match introduces the events. The player battles each of his 5 awesome opponents in quest of the championship. Timely use of joystick and buttons maneuvers the player into position and activates all the standard as well as spectacular moves including : Pile Driver, Sunset Flip, Rolling Sole Butt, Lariat, Plunger, Flying Body Press, everything to weaken the enemy for a pin-fall win for the count of 3, or keeping the challenger out of the ring for a twenty count. After each win, the player takes on the next opponent for another three-minute period. If he defeats all of the opponents, he earns the right to the Championship Belt and goes on to the next four in defense of his title. Colorful, fast-paced action plus realistic sound effects of hits, moves, count-down and crowd cheers adds to the atmosphere and excitement associated with the current rage of professional wrestling.
Game ID : TA-0015
Main CPU : MOS Technology M6502 (@ 1.5 Mhz)
Sound CPU : MOS Technology M6502 (@ 1.2 Mhz)
Sound Chips : (2x) General Instrument AY8910 (@ 1.5 Mhz), DAC
Players : 2
Control : 8-way joystick
Buttons : 2
=> [1] Punch, [2] Kick
Exciting Hour was released in October 1985 by Taito under license from Technos.
This game is known outside Japan as Mat Mania - The Prowrestling Network.
A 2-Player version of this game is known as Mania Challenge.
In the game, if you look closely at the audience in the background, you will see a variety of recognizable characters including a boy in a Union Jack t-shirt, Darth Vader, Superman, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man (look to the far left when outside the ring) and ZZ Top is very prominently present in the middle of the crowd.
In the game :
* TWA stands for Technos Wrestling Association.
* Insane Warrior's name is misspelled as 'Insane Worrier'.
* Coco Savage's name is misspelled as 'Coco Savege' at the top of the intro screen, but is spelled correctly in the announcer's scrolling message.
* The Piranha's name is misspelled both at the top of the intro screen and in the announcer's scrolling message as 'The Pirania'.
Blues Bloody, the champion in this game, is very obviously a copy of Hulk Hogan. Other wrestlers are copied from superstars of the early 80s: The Insane Warrior is a copy of Road Warrior Animal, Coco Savage is probably Kamala The Cannibal and The Piranha is probably Mil Mascaras. The main wrestler ('You') bears a striking resemblance to Kerry Von Erich. These are guesses, but all the mentioned wrestlers were very popular about the time this game was released.
(nov.20, 2015) "Arcade Archives - Mat Mania Exciting Hour [Model CUSA-00782]"