(NOAH) "Moss does not grow on rolling stone" - Handsome Man Pro Wrestler Biography Series - Yoshinari Ogawa

Article by Makiko Uchidate

Weekly Pro c.April 2002

"Moss does not grow on rolling stone"*

Yoshinari Ogawa is beautiful. 

He has the expectation that he "will do something", no matter how many times he does. I have no acquaintance at all, but I think so. Ogawa, who took the GHC Heavyweight Championship from Jun Akiyama at Ariake Coliseum on April 7th, commented in the ring "I think fans are a little surprised". Ogawa repeatedly used the phrase, "It surprised you, right?" In speculation, it was overwhelmingly to "Akiyama's advantage" and considering how Akiyama was equipped, it is natural for Ogawa to think so. But, fans shouldn't be as surprised as he thinks. I was watching the match at the venue, and the moment Ogawa won, the crowd certainly screamed and cheered. It was more than just a surprise that Ogawa had won, it was a surprised cheer for the skillfulness in which he aimed for an opening with the small package hold, this is because there is always the expectation that "Ogawa is a man who will do something" in the hearts of the fans.  I read Ogawa's comment, and thought it was strange that Ogawa himself did not know so much about the feeling of expectation. The expectation of "doing something" cannot be held by a rock solid person. A "huge rock" is a "giant stone" that does not move, as an athlete he may be a completed castle, but a megalith that does not move, can only be fossilized. 

Ogawa is different. 

It has been seventeen years since his debut, and this year he will be 38 years old. He is a stone that is always rolling and while rolling he has hit Takayama, Omori, Taue and even hit Misawa. Each time the stone develops jagged cracks, it becomes molded into a round, and this all becomes the power and the skill of a pro wrestler named Yoshinari Ogawa. It is true that anyone can simply fight, but Ogawa probably fights with a strong sense of the issue of a "junior body". With issue of the problem being flesh and blood, Ogawa therefore is always different from "Yesterday's Ogawa". He makes fans think, "He will do something, because he is evolving every day". Ogawa, who is wearing a heavyweight belt with a junior body, is said to be a "technician". The part that rolls continuously and develops jagged edges his technique, and the part that is molded into a ball, is his ground strength. He proves that as long as he keeps rolling, having the body of a junior would not be a handicap. What seems to be a handicap to the public, is no longer a handicap due to his awareness of the problem. This holds true for all tasks. 

The Kabuki actor Kunio Nakamura* told me, "I used to play a lot with Yoshinari when I was little. However, it didn't connect this was pro wrestler Yoshinari Ogawa, as I thought it was a different person. When he was little he was quiet, and was as beautiful as a girl."

I am not surprised at this, too. Ogawa is still beautiful.            

NOTES:

*Even more poetic is the original Japanese meaning, "A beautiful stone that keeps rolling"

*Most likely an error as Kunio Nakamura was born in 1995 when Ogawa would have been 29 and in All Japan! At the time of this interview, Kunio would have been about seven. The story is more likely to have been from his father, Shikan Nakamura who was born a year before Yoshinari Ogawa. 

My note: Ironically for all the talk of "Rolling Stones", Ogawa's current tag partner, Chris Ridgeway comes out to "Paint It Black"

Note: This was translated from an article put on Twitter. I am afraid I do not know who posted the original image which it was translated from, but much thanks to them for enabling this article to be added to the archive.