(NOAH) "Don't end up like me" - Daisuke Harada, who has announced his retirement, thinks about the unexpected doctor stop without subjective symptoms. The retirement match is a one-minute exhibition with a doctor present.

ABEMA Times

7th March 2023

On March 2nd, Daisuke Harada of Pro Wrestling Noah, held a press conference and announced his retirement on March 9th at Korakuen Hall. 

Last summer, Harada was absent from the ring from August 27th because an MRI examination performed during Noah's regular health checkups, and an injury of cervical atlantoaxial subluxation was found. He underwent various tests and treatments, and with no signs of recovery, the doctor advised that "If you take any more damage during matches, the worst case is that it will be life threatening" and doctor called a stop. As a result of discussions between Noah and Harada himself, he decided to retire from being active in the ring. His retirement match will be on March 9th at Korakuen Hall, where he will hold a one minute exhibition match with his debut opponent, Atsushi Kotoge, in the presence of a doctor. 

Harada has been active as a core member of Noah Junior, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship five times in total. At the age of 36, retirement when further activity has been expected from here, was a shocking decision for both the fans for for Harada himself. After the press conference, we asked Harada to talk about his current state of mind when he decided to retire. 

Q: During Noah's regular check-ups last summer, it was discovered that you had a cervical atlantoaxial subluxation, and you decided to retire because "the next big damage would put my life in danger", but I was surprised to hear at the press conference that you had no subjective symptoms at all. 

HARADA: There was nothing really. When I had the test, and when I first saw the doctor after receiving the results, I practiced at the gym before going to the hospital. I never thought I would be in a situation, where I could not continue professional wrestling. 

Q: A cervical disc herniation can cause numbness in the hands. Was there no such thing? 

HARADA: None. That's why I thought to myself, "Am I really going to retire?"

Q: Did you have any neck injuries, not just during this checkup?

HARADA: As a wrestler, I often feel pain somewhere in my body, but I didn't have any kind of injury to my neck. That's why I don't know when I got hurt. 

Q: Well, it was only half a year ago that you found out, but in fact it may have been in that state for a long time. 

HARADA: That's why I regret that I should have gone to the hospital regularly for any pain. I regret that. Wrestler's don't really go to the hospital. Everyone makes excuses such as "I don't have time" and doesn't go at all. Now, I want to say to all wrestlers, "If you get hurt, definitely go". Don't end up like me*.

Q: It must have been quite difficult to accept the reality of retirement without symptoms

HARADA: To be honest, nothing has been accepted. I still want to continue wrestling. But when asked if I want to live or die, then I have no choice but to accept it. My mother told me, "This is also your life". Seventeen years isn't long compared to Keiji Mutoh and NOSAWA, who retired the other day, but I wonder if it was destiny to step down from the ring here...but I just wanted to continue.

Q: There is also the aspect that a life threatening injury was found, while there were no subjective symptoms. 

HARADA: Thank you for that. I can only thank Noah and the doctors at the hospital for saving my life. 

Q: These days, big accidents happen every few years in pro wrestling.

HARADA: It's too late after something happens, and as I said earlier, that is why I want to tell pro wrestlers to go to the hospital immediately. Right now, I think I am the only one who can convince them by saying this. Professional wrestlers are superhuman, but human. If you fix it like you can, you won't have to suffer like me. I think the hardest part is for the fans, who support us, so in order to eliminate that kind of thing, even a little, I think, "Go to the hospital" and "Get tested". 

Q: You continued to post on social media, even during your absence. I think there were a lot of comments like, "I'm waiting for your return" from the fans in the replies. What were your thoughts when you read that? 

HARADA: Well, "I'm back!" was the feeling that I had until yesterday. After The Dome ended, I tweeted something like, "This is not the time to be in the commentary seat", and I was planning to come back. Actually, I had decided to retire at that point, but I didn't want to give up on my return until the end. I was happy to hear the voices of the fans, and I always had the feeling of, "I definitely want to respond". But, I can no longer meet that now, and the only words that I can come up with now are "I'm sorry I can't come back".

Q: You will continue to have treatment and regular check ups. If you get better, would it be possible to return to the ring, including other promotions? 

HARADA: I don't think so. For me, I feel that "Noah is the place to wrestle", and after March 9th, I don't think I will be wrestling anymore. Of course I want to do it, but I don't think it's something that can be done half-heartedly, and I don't think it is an easy promotion to come back to after a few years away. In order to get on with Noah, you need a lot of determination, I don't think I will be able to return because that level is also required. 

Q: At the Korakuen Hall event on March 9th, you will have a one minute retirement exhibition match with Atsushi Kotoge in the presence of a doctor. What made you decide not to do the retirement ceremony and a ten count bell? 

HARADA: After the injury was discovered in August, I was aiming to return following my absence, but I thought, "I want to have just one more match, no matter what form it takes." So, therefore even though it is only an exhibition, I couldn't ask for more as long as I was able to have a last match. Besides, the ten count gong is pretty lonely, isn't it? At the end, it figures that I wanted to finish brightly with "Dokan*". 

Q: Harada-san, I think that professional wrestler was a dream come true for you. Now that you have decided to leave the ring, what is your dream now? 

HARADA: Definitely to live. I think it is only possible to live. If I were asked, "What do you want to do next?", the only thing I would day is professional wrestling, but the most important thing is that I want to cherish the life that Noah and the medical team have left for me. 

Q: Then, what is the best memory of your seventeen years as a pro wrestler? 

HARADA: It's difficult, there are many. Do you mean when I did the Avalanche Katayama German Suplex hold?

Q: You threw Kotoge from the top corner with a German suplex, and then took the pin with a bridge. That video will remain forever, so it's proof that you were in that ring. 

HARADA: Also, I started using upper knees about the year after I debuted, and I have been using them since I came to Noah. After that, various people started using it, and now there are users all over the world, but I would like to say "That is a Harada original!" (laughs). That's why I think I was able to leave the techniques called Avalanche German Suplex and the Upper Knee. 

Q: In the same way that Mutoh injured his knees by continuing to do the moonsault press, did you not hurt your neck by continuing to do the German?

HARADA: This is just my humble opinion, but I think the part of the injury found now and the part that took the shock in the German, are different. Well, of course I can't say "absolutely not", but maybe that's one of the reasons. I think it's a privilege to have kept using the German without changing the finishing hold ever since my debut. 

Q: Your final opponent is Kotoge, who was also your opponent in your debut match? Is he someone who you can express the end of your life as a wrestler?

HARADA: There are too many things going on, and he may be the most difficult opponent to show them in one minute. But how much I can show in one minute with him, I think is the last challenge for myself. 

Q: Then, please give a message to the fans for your final match on March 9th.

HARADA: I made my debut in Osaka Pro in 2006, and joined Noah in 2013. I am really happy that so many people watched my matches in venues, ABEMA and WRESTLE UNIVERSE. At the end of the day, I want to step out of the ring as a pro wrestler, so thank you for your support until the end!

Translated from ABEMA Times

Picture credit: ABEMA Times

NOTES

Injuries & hospital: Mitsuharu Misawa's diary "Donmai, Donmai" is a sad Road to Cavalry on this point. It has sometimes been stated that Misawa never spoke of injuries, and while that is correct that he didn't seek treatment for them or take a rest, it is not true that he never spoke of them as "Donmai Donmai" is full of complaints about his neck (which only got worse), damage to the ligaments in the knee, and other such complaints. I like to think that what Noah learned from Misawa, saved Harada's life.

Dokan: Colloquial Osaka expression meaning "Boom".