(All Japan) Soar! Young elites who will lead the future of All Japan (Goto, Kawada, Ogawa)

Weekly Pro

15th October 1985

(Weekly Pro was very different in the 1980s/1990s. They didn't cater so much for their readers as wrestling was a lot smaller then in Japan and so they didn't feel the need to give full names or ages, like they would now. So, to give you an introduction - Masanobu Fuchi is the trainer and still remains active in All Japan, Kazuhara Sonda was killed in a plane crash in November 1987. Goto is Tarzan Goto, who passed away in 2022, Toshiaki Kawada stepped away from wrestling following Mitsuharu Misawa's death and ironically wrestled his last matches in 2010 in Noah and New Japan. Yoshinari Ogawa remains active in Noah. "Tiger Mask" is of course Tiger Mask II, Mitsuharu Misawa.)

While Fuchi and Sonoda were working hard to prepare for the new tour starting on October 4th, young Goto, Kawada, Ogawa and others were also training silently at the dojo in Kinuta, Tokyo. They work hard to build up their physical strength through basic exercises such as calisthenics, bridges and bench presses, rather than sweating all over their bodies. 

Goto attends to his neck, which he injured during practice. Also, since the time off tour is very short, seven days, "I'm just adjusting my condition while recovering from the fatigue of the last tour." He laughed humbly, but why? "Because I'm young, it's so I won't forget the basics". He worked up a sweat with a barbell. 

Kawada's body has grown rapidly over the past year, and this is also the result of hard training. In particular, the training with Tiger Mask (II), seems to be the foundation for a great leap forward for Kawada. 

Ogawa is a rookie, who has only had three matches since his debut, including a battle royal. In addition to the basic training today, in the ring, Sonoda taught him submission techniques. When he got out of the ring, he frantically did weight training. 

"Don't call me demon coach! I am still active, and I think of them as rivals" Fuchi said with a smile, but as as a coach, I asked him to review them. 

"Goto is good. He's a wrestler with his own style, and now he's full of confidence, so he looks great in the ring. Refine those great skills, do your best to put more muscles on your shoulders". 

"Kawada has been practicing hard, and has recently been gaining a lot of power. But, it is not a good idea to be deceived by Tiger Mask's illusion, and rely on aerial techniques. Kawada knows amateur wrestling, and so I think it would be good to show more wrestling techniques in a match."

"Ogawa has just debuted*, but his popularity is good. Eat more rice, make your body big and try to put on muscle and that's all there is to it". 

In addition to these three, another trainee, Makoto Sato was also training hard and aiming for his debut match. Goto and Kawada are also rumored to be training overseas in the near future. The location of the US or Mexico is undecided, but it is certain that the day when the two of them soar in a big way, is near.  

Picture credit: Weekly Pro

*Ogawa debuted on September 3rd 1985, when this article was written he was twenty-one.