All Japan's Four Heavenly Kings: Toshiaki Kawada, penetrating the meaning of this silent character.

Nikkan Sports
22nd May 2018

In sumo wrestling there was a yokozuna called Ozeki, who did not speak a single word and made reporters cry. However, when he retired, I was surprised that he spoke to me with a smile. I remembered this, because I saw a talk show with Toshiaki Kawada (54).

In the All Japan era, he was part of what was known as the "Four Heavenly Kings", a legendary wrestler in the golden age with Mitsuharu Misawa, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue. He has not retired yet, but neither has he wrestled for the last ten years. Kawada returned to pro-wrestling on April 26th at Shinkiba 1st Ring, to produce a box office.
Naturally he did not wrestle. Instead, he had a "Talk Battle" with former All Japan trainee, Naomichi Marufuji (Noah, 38). During his active years, Kawada was always looking angry about something, and was hard to get close to. He also had a rough and blunt way of speaking when he did speak. However, the battles with Misawa, are matches that will remain in the history of wrestling.
Kawada, when he appeared in the ring, made bending and stretching exercises just like before starting a match. He informed us "Speaking about a single match for half an hour in the waiting room is never easy is it? Anyway, I was told that I was bad when I refused" he said with a laugh.

During the "Talk Battle", Kawada talked about how he established himself as a pro-wrestler, by being on that does not speak. During the popularity of the Tiger Mask era (Misawa), Kawada said that his late teacher, Giant Baba had told him, "you do not need a greater technique than Tiger Mask". He established himself as a professional wrestler who did not speak.
He did not speak to the media because the media would reflect on how Kawada would think or act, it was the silence of the time that was so scary. Reporters were freaked out by the "don't come near me" aura he projected. Memories of Kawada like this came from the "Talk Battle".

Marufuji, Misawa's trainee during All Japan, was one person who did not hear one word from Kawada. Marufuji though, has been recently using some of Kawada's skills and kicks. Kawada said with a smile, "Marufuji is doing something similar to me, in using psychology, but he needs to study a little more"

Link to original article from Nikkan Sports (in Japanese)