(NOAH/ALL JAPAN) Regular board meeting ends in just 10 minutes; Misawa, Momota, Taue and Kobashi resign!

Weekly Pro

4th July 2000

On Tuesday, June 13th, All Japan Pro Wrestling's regular board of directors meeting was held in Toranomon*, Tokyo, and included Mitsuharu Misawa, who had previously been dismissed as president, Mitsuo Momota, Akira Taue, Kenta Kobashi, Yoshihiro Momota and Kenichi Oyagi. Six executives have tendered their resignation. The board meeting, which started at 4pm, was attended by ten people with the exception of Masanobu Fuchi, who was absent due to a sudden illness in his family. The meeting was over in less than ten minutes. The shortness of the meeting time showed the determination of those who submitted their resignations.

Misawa was the first to leave, followed by Momota, Kobashi and Taue. No one spoke, except Misawa who approached the reporters and commented, "I've said what I wanted to say, I'll hold a press conference in two to three days". He then headed home. An All Japan public relations representative expressed the opinion that "I don't think this means that the director will leave the company immediately after he resigns", however, it is difficult to imagine that a wrestler who intends to sign a contract with All Japan in the future, will resign. It was clear at this point that Misawa and his team had no intention of staying with All Japan Pro Wrestling. The owner, Mrs Motoko Baba, said after the board meeting, "I'll talk to you once it's decided", and then she quickly got into the car driven by referee Kyohei Wada.

All Japan's salvation efforts, which we reported on in last week's issue, will continue to grow with each passing day. The long established promotion, which has just begun its week of picking up the pieces in the twenty-eight years since its founding, suddenly has begun to accelerate towards and unexpected split... 

Notes

Toranomon: A business district of Minato (Tokyo)

Translated from Weekly Pro (4th July 2000)

Picture credit: Weekly Pro