(NOAH): Kämpfer Column: "To avoid any regrets..." After the G1 ended, I continued to contact Hashimoto in this week's coverage.

Weekly Pro 

5th September 2000 (Issue No.993)

The G1 Climax is over, and autumn is fast approaching. This week, I'd like to look back on my reporting activities over the past week in a diary-like style.

On Tuesday, a day off after the G1, I was spending the whole day relaxing at a nearby health center when I got a call from Osamu Nishimura on my mobile phone*. He said he was leaving Narita for India and asked me to fax him the G1 article. I said I would send it to his hotel, wished him well, and hung up the phone. Nishimura's trip this time is from India to Egypt. Having visited India a year ago, I was more interested in going to Cairo, Egypt, and thought I would take a trip with Nishimura again this summer during my summer vacation, but, as in Japanese wrestling there are matches waiting for me almost every week, I thought I would make this the priority.   

But maybe that was just an excuse.

To be honest, I wasn't that motivated this time. My motivation a year ago when I left Narita as if I was being driven by something, was abnormal. But on seeing Nishimura's efforts in the G1, my heart wavered and I was about to say, "I'll go after all," but it was too late. Well, timing is important for interviews. I'm sure the opportunity to go overseas will come again.

I've been trying to catch up with Hashimoto* this week (until the weekend that is), because I am responsible for Hashimoto's page in the Weekly Pro Wrestling Special 2. "Dramatic Retirement - Resurrection" (working title), which goes on sale on August 3rd. However, although Hashimoto had been appearing in public for a while after April 7th, he has maintained his silence and completely cut off contact with the media except in special circumstances. Even with this latest offer, he has not called back despite several messages being sent. Although I had a feeling that there would be a press conference for his return, I had no choice but to start writing an article on the topic of Hashimoto's retirement, based on the testimonies of those around me. However, the realism of the finished article differs between writing what I imagine Hashimoto is thinking and hearing the truth from his own mouth, so right up until the deadline I persisted through his acquaintances, in trying to get Hashimoto to agree to an interview. Reporting is always a struggle with compromise. When you feel that the interview is good enough, you can end it there, but nevertheless I am willing to cross that line as I don't want to regret it when the book is finished. When I asked Misawa-san, "Why are you fighting so hard?" he replied, "Because I don't want to have any regrets." This answer had a big impact on my reporting activities after that. 

The following Monday I finally caught up with Hashimoto for the Weekly Pro Special! 

On Thursday, I was approached by the director of Morning Live, who wanted to see if we could put together a collection of Chono's interviews that would appeal to the general public, not just to wrestling fans. During the chat, Takeda said, "Choshu will probably fight Hixson. After all, it was U, it was Onita. Choshu has always made matches with people he disliked happen," which somehow sounded oddly persuasive.

On the same day, news of Kakihara's departure came. This was the biggest shock of the week.

Sunday at All Japan, Korakuen. Kawada said to me about my article on the 23rd July Budokan, "For you, Sashito-kun, it was a good article." I know, but he said "For you"! Does he mean I usually write terrible articles? I don't know if I'm being insulted or praised, but either way, it feels good to hear a wrestler say that an article was "good." 

Still, I wonder why every comment that Misawa makes about Kawada recently is so funny. I'm curious...

Late at night, I interviewed Chono by phone after his match against Fuchi was scheduled for the 2nd September Budokan. He asked me how many lines it would be, and I answered 40. When I wrote it down later, it was exactly 40 lines, as if he had planned it. Who is Chono, talking about how many lines an article should contain? The content of the talk was more suitable for a newspaper. Thank you very much.    

Notes

Mobile phone: It might seem odd to those reading that he should specifically point out what Nishimura called him on, but this was 2000, and people back then may have assumed that Nishimura called the health centre as not everyone had a cellular phone (and there is footage of Naomichi Marufuji showing Mitsuharu Misawa how to use one. Misawa never trusted using the alarm on his, and used his Ultraman alarm clock instead).

Hashimoto: Shinya (died July 11th 2005)