(NOAH) Genichiro Tenryu talks about legendary wrestlers: Yoshinari Ogawa
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Genichiro Tenryu has met various famous wrestlers during his 40 years of a "full pro wrestling life" who he both fought and interacted with. He is the only Japanese wrestler to have pinfall victories against both Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki, and he was called Mr Pro Wrestling. Let's reveal rich episodes with legendary wrestlers, that can only be told by Tenryu.
"Right now, what makes me happy is that Yoshinari Ogawa is demonstrating his presence in the junior heavyweight division of Pro Wrestling Noah.
He was Fuyuki (Hiromichi's) attendant after he went to train in Mexico (November 1984). I think it was probably because Fuyuki is gone, the only person to take care of me is my new apprentice, Ogawa. My first impression was that he was quiet and unobtrusive, it was like "Even though I'm so small, I came here to become a pro wrestler. His job is to help me get into the ring. That's why with Genichiro Tenryu, the first job is to prepare and replenish what he wants. He didn't make any big mistakes, but it wasn't like "Hey, he's smart". The reason is that he has a shy side and isn't the type to say, "I have used by initiative to do this". Fuyuki said, "Don't ask twice when someone says something" and how to hand towels, how to wipe the towel on my back...it's like he was taught a lot. Do shut up, Tenryu (wry smile.)
But, he was a lot younger than Fuyuki, and was only seventeen years old, so I thought it would be great if he could go beyond being an ordinary attendant and it was kind of like I would walk him through things and hopefully he could figure it out. Also, I didn't like eating alone, so I always took him out to eat. Talking while eating? It was silly small talk. Ogawa just listened to me saying, "Yes", when I talked one-sidedly (laughs). The economy was good in those days, so I think I have him a lot of money for laundry and so on.
What was difficult for Ogawa that when he was a new trainee, Choshu and his colleagues came from JPW*, so the number of wrestlers increased. He didn't get a chance to make his debut, and it was a situation where it wouldn't have been strange to have been laid off. It had been over a year (actually, a year and a half) since he started and so I pushed Baba with "Ogawa is fine now". Baba didn't like small wrestlers, so I thought about what to do to make him stand out. I made him wear flashy long tights that looked like a Hanshin Tigers uniform, with black and yellow vertical stripes. On the day before his debut, I had him go into JPW'S waiting room to say hello in those tights. It seems that Choshu and the others laughed at him. Anyway, because he was small and quiet, I remember advising him to use the techniques I saw when I was in North Carolina, swing the opponent to the rope and use an elbow butt while jumping.
But, when Ogawa was young, he was fragile. Kawada (Toshiaki) who was a senior immediately above him and there was no away he would compete. Takagi (Isao), was a junior who was loved by Baba. Kobashi (Kenta) had a dislocated left elbow, and had to rest for a long time, it became a way to overtake immediately. Seeing Ogawa like that I thought, "He just has to do his best to perservere." He wasn't big and he wasn't flashy and so there was no choice but to do it steadily. When I actually watched Ogawa, it seemed to me that going steadily seemed to suit his nature. "If you are diligent, then nothing is wrong", I was looking at it like that. He was stubborn at times, but he had a strong character. Even after I started Revolution with Ashura Harada in June 1987, he came to our waiting room and took care of us, even through he weas a regular roster member, I think Baba inexplicably told him that, "Because Tenryu and Hara are also having a hard time, you are going to go to Tenryu". So we travelled and stayed at hotels together, and I think he came to act as a member of The Tenryu Alliance, wearing a Revolution t-shirt."
Notes
* Japan Pro Wrestling, Tenryu is referring to the invasion of All Japan angle.
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