(NOAH) SHUHEI TANIGUCHI REMEMBERS ATSUSHI AOKI
Translated from "Weekly Pro", June 2019Q: The news was very sudden.
TANIGUCHI: On the morning of the 4th June, I was in the car when a lot of people started contacting me suddenly. When I checked...I couldn't believe it. For a while I couldn't feel sad. A few days later I went to see my parents, and the people who were in the SDF.
Q: How did you first meet?
TANIGUCHI: Well...then I realized it was real, and the sadness did not stop.
Q: Aoki was in the SDF wrestling club first.
TANIGUCHI: I entered after graduating from university, so he was a year older and second term junior in the SDF. I did Greco-Roman, so we never practiced together as both the area and the training camp was different. I was always excited to go drinking together. Each year there was a room change, but we lived together in a quadruple room for one year.
Q: How did you first get talking?
TANIGUCHI: Soon after I entered, my seniors invited me out to drink, and so we got together. We had a joint taste in clothes and reading magazines, and we both liked alcohol.
Q: You called Aoki "Aoki-chan", didn't you?
TANIGUCHI (LAUGHS): Yes, even though I was junior.
Q: What were you called?
TANIGUCHI: What? (laughs) It was..(laughs)
Q: You have been on good terms since the SDF.
Q: What did you talk about whenever you went for a drink?
TANIGUCHI: We didn't talk about anything serious. We just joked around, listening unilaterally (laughs). There were many things, but they are stories I can't tell to a magazine (laughs).
Q: What was Aoki like when he got drunk?
TANIGUCHI: Lively, and so the tension was felt to rise (laughs). He was talking all the time.
Q: What did you drink?
TANIGUCHI: First it was beer, and then it was Shochu*
Q: Did you talk about Pro Wrestling?
TANIGUCHI: Well, we talked about it, but not that much although we liked it.
Q: Did you have a talk with Aoki when leaving wrestling?
TANIGUCHI: Yes, I think it was before I quit. I was worried, but I told myself "Go to the garrison in Aomori".
Q: Did you feel sorrow?
TANIGUCHI: He told me that he would continue wrestling at the Aomori garrison as it was popular there, and that he would go to the SDF wrestling tournament. The wrestling club had a training camp in Aomori in the summer, and so we could always meet there.
Q: Your entry into Noah was determined first?
TANIGUCHI: I couldn't go to the Olympics, so I talked to Sugiura about wanting to enter Noah. In any case, I needed education to become a general SDF.
Q: What was the situation of you telling Aoki about becoming a pro-wrestler?
TANIGUCHI: If I remember correctly, he decided to do it too after I had said it I think.
Q: So, Aoki hears that you have joined Noah and have decided to become a pro-wrestler, did he ever ask you about it?
TANIGUCHI: He never said anything directly to me, but I heard from people around me what he said.
Q: You began training on the same day
TANIGUCHI: Until I entered I practised with the Self Defence Force until I entered, and I did push ups and squats. The day before I began training I stayed overnight at my parents house, and then went to the dojo.
Q: After that you lived together alongside Ippei Ota (retired*) and Akihiko Itō* (retired).
SHIOZAKI: Go Shiozaki and Genba Hirayanagi were also there.
Q: It must have been lively
TANIGUCHI: When Aoki and I entered we didn't have a place to sleep, so until we had a room we used to move the table in the living room and slept on futons there.
Q: So how was dojo life?
TANIGUCHI: Fun. At times it was inconvenient because there were no windows, but it was fun though. I often drank at the dojo. Do you know Yoshida's?
Q: Yoshida's Tavern Wandering?*
TANIGUCHI: That's right, we often went to find bars that were mentioned on the show.
Q: How many years did you live together at the dojo at Differ?
TANIGUCHI: Six years. The new trainee (Hitoshi Kumano) didn't debut for a long time*, so the two of us continued to make Chanko (laughs)
Q: On March 2011 the Great East Japan Earthquake happened, you were out?
TANIGUCHI: The day after the earthquake Aoki was looking for an apartment
Q: It was really difficult because the parking lot was cracked and liquified*.
TANIGUCHI: Yes
Q: How was it after you left the dojo?
TANIGUCHI: We often met up, we went to Disneyland together.
Q: How were Aoki's trainee days?
TANIGUCHI: Amazing. I was envious as as soon as he had learnt a skill, he was able to improve it quickly.
Q: Did you feel that you had gone beyond being classmate rivals? (rough)
TANIGUCHI: Yes. There were some glares.
Q: Even though you all lived together?
TANIGUCHI: There were various things. I hate untidiness, and I had something to say to Ito every day.
Q: What are your memories of the match with Aoki?
TANIGUCHI: It ended in a draw, and I felt regret.
Q: On November 7th Noah held a single league match for the younger wrestlers.
TANIGUCHI: Yes, I had a strong feeling of discomfort, was it being overwhelmed or pressured? I felt like that in my private life sometimes.
Q: Did you say anything when he quit Noah?
TANIGUCHI: Nothing at all. I found out about it from the newspaper. I was told that they would quit after the news came out...it was really minor, and I didn't listen deeply to either.
Q: Were you lonely?
TANIGUCHI: Yes, we were together all the time, so there was loneliness.
Q: After Aoki's death you were in Yokohama on the 8th June, you were in the ring with the portrait during the 10 count gong and you couldn't control your emotions...
TANIGUCHI: It was no good. I intended to hold it down, but I couldn't hold back.
Q: What were your thoughts on the 10 count gong?
TANIGUCHI: Uh...what? The sadness came out when I was at home, when I got in the ring with the photograph, I wasn't really there anymore. I just remembered the past, like a revolving lantern...
Q: I won't press you about it
TANIGUCHI: I don't feel that Aoki is a burden, but I have to be strong for myself. I have said it many times, but I can't delve into it anyway (laughs). Aoki always said that I should continue to be more emotional than technical.
Q: On the 16th March in Osaka, you used Aoki's speciality, The Assault Point.
TANIGUCHI: I wanted to convey my thoughts on Aoki in the ring. Well, when I used it I thought "What are you using?", I think I was pushing it (laughs). I will continue to use it in special cases and with care, because I was allowed to use it in a special way. There were three classmates, and they have all gone now.
Q: What kind of person was Atsushi Aoki?
TANIGUCHI: He had a strong heart that would never change. Sometimes you try to delve into it, but it ends up being roughly answered (laughs)
Q: Right (laughs)
TANIGUCHI: Maybe Aoki is saying, "Aren't you GHC Heavyweight Champion yet?". I want to get it quickly. I will show Aoki it, so he won't press me about becoming champion. However, even if I did, I'm likely to be told "It's late" or "Have you ever been it?" (bitter smile)
Q: What kind of words do you want to say to Aoki now?
TANIGUCHI: I thought I could see you anytime, but suddenly I can't meet you anymore...the moment I saw his face, it all came out. Stupid bastard, I felt like that. I also get on well with Aoki's mother, so it was like I was watching my own parents sadness...it was only there. I was the one who pressed (laughs).
*Japanese distilled beverage less than 45% alcohol by volume. Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume,[1] which is weaker than baijiu, whisky or standard-strength vodka but stronger than wine and sake. It is not uncommon for multiple-distilled shōchū, which is more likely to be used in mixed drinks, to contain up to 35% alcohol by volume.
TANIGUCHI: Amazing. I was envious as as soon as he had learnt a skill, he was able to improve it quickly.
TANIGUCHI: Yes. There were some glares.
Q: Even though you all lived together?
TANIGUCHI: There were various things. I hate untidiness, and I had something to say to Ito every day.
Q: What are your memories of the match with Aoki?
TANIGUCHI: It ended in a draw, and I felt regret.
Q: On November 7th Noah held a single league match for the younger wrestlers.
TANIGUCHI: Yes, I had a strong feeling of discomfort, was it being overwhelmed or pressured? I felt like that in my private life sometimes.
Q: Did you say anything when he quit Noah?
TANIGUCHI: Nothing at all. I found out about it from the newspaper. I was told that they would quit after the news came out...it was really minor, and I didn't listen deeply to either.
Q: Were you lonely?
TANIGUCHI: Yes, we were together all the time, so there was loneliness.
Q: After Aoki's death you were in Yokohama on the 8th June, you were in the ring with the portrait during the 10 count gong and you couldn't control your emotions...
TANIGUCHI: It was no good. I intended to hold it down, but I couldn't hold back.
Q: What were your thoughts on the 10 count gong?
TANIGUCHI: Uh...what? The sadness came out when I was at home, when I got in the ring with the photograph, I wasn't really there anymore. I just remembered the past, like a revolving lantern...
Q: I won't press you about it
TANIGUCHI: I don't feel that Aoki is a burden, but I have to be strong for myself. I have said it many times, but I can't delve into it anyway (laughs). Aoki always said that I should continue to be more emotional than technical.
Q: On the 16th March in Osaka, you used Aoki's speciality, The Assault Point.
TANIGUCHI: I wanted to convey my thoughts on Aoki in the ring. Well, when I used it I thought "What are you using?", I think I was pushing it (laughs). I will continue to use it in special cases and with care, because I was allowed to use it in a special way. There were three classmates, and they have all gone now.
Q: What kind of person was Atsushi Aoki?
TANIGUCHI: He had a strong heart that would never change. Sometimes you try to delve into it, but it ends up being roughly answered (laughs)
Q: Right (laughs)
Q: What kind of words do you want to say to Aoki now?
TANIGUCHI: I thought I could see you anytime, but suddenly I can't meet you anymore...the moment I saw his face, it all came out. Stupid bastard, I felt like that. I also get on well with Aoki's mother, so it was like I was watching my own parents sadness...it was only there. I was the one who pressed (laughs).
*Japanese distilled beverage less than 45% alcohol by volume. Typically shōchū contains 25% alcohol by volume,[1] which is weaker than baijiu, whisky or standard-strength vodka but stronger than wine and sake. It is not uncommon for multiple-distilled shōchū, which is more likely to be used in mixed drinks, to contain up to 35% alcohol by volume.
*After Mitsuharu Misawa died, Ippei Ota started suffering anxiety and depression, would vomit when coming to training and in the end refused to go. His wife told him that he needed to quit. He changed his number, moved away and refused any contact with Noah or wrestling. Atsushi Aoki (along with Genba) came to see him and Aoki said that if he was going to leave, he needed to do it properly, he needed to see everyone one last time, and running away was not the answer. Ota got back into wrestling again three years after Misawa's death as a coach, and currently works as a bodybuilder.
*Akihiko Itō retired in February 2010 and now works in wholesale.
*TV show about a host who bar hopped to set the record.
*Hitoshi Kumano entered the Noah dojo in May 2012, and did not debut until February 2013.
*Soil liquefaction occurs when a saturated or partially saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness in response to an applied stress such as shaking during an earthquake or other sudden change in stress condition, in which material that is ordinarily a solid behaves like a liquid.
Picture credit: Weekly Pro
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