(NOAH) "Donmai! Donmai!" Mitsuharu Misawa's diary, 15th December 2006

Cheers, cheers....cheers. When you hear someone say "get on with it"....this is Misawa.

First of all, thank you very much for your support at the Nippon Budokan on December 10th. As always, please visit our website for more information about matches and the comments about matches. Thank you very much. Physically, I only slightly hurt my neck and lower back, so please don't worry (is it really "just a little"??). My next defense opponent is Morishima. He's a tough opponent...I'm a potbellied man with thinning hair, but I'll do my best.

Now, after finishing the last Budokan of the year, I am saying goodbye. There are only two shows left this year: SEM on the 23rd (I won't be participating) and Differ on the 24th. Like I said at the Budokan, please come if you have the time (however, the reserved seats for the 24th are sold out, so if you don't mind standing, that will be fine). The SEM on the 23rd will be attended by the members of the dojo, who are also participating in diaries*. The other four members, except Shiozaki and Hirayanagi, made their debut on the 24th of last year, so it's already been a year. How time flies! As you can see from the diary, we have a group of unique members, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the match will be like. Since we are talking about the dojo, let's answer a question from Ippei, who was in charge last time..."Do you do any winter sports?" The question is, what is "winter sports"?. What's included? I didn't snowboard when I was a student, and since I got into professional wrestling, I've never skied because of injuries. I've only skied twice so far, and I've never skated once, but I was good at roller skating, and I used to do it a lot when I was in elementary school. Back then, there were no rollerblades, and instead of wearing shoes, you had to fasten them with a band to your shoes. Not to mention they were originally made with iron wheels, which was noisy. Back then, there weren't concrete spaces like there are now*, so I used to use the City Hall parking lot, sometimes getting yelled at. So, when I upgraded, I bought rubber tires. If you were born in the Shōwa era from the 30's to the early 40's, can you explain?

I've strayed far away from the topic of winter sports.

I don't know if this is considered a winter sport, but when it snowed, we often went sledding on the banks of the river. It's good if you have a friend with a sled, but if you don't have one, you'll have to slide on corrugated iron. You don't see many banks like that these days. In the old days, we used to have fun even if we didn't have money. 

Now, my next question is to Taniguchi..."You should sleep here!" (<---What's going on?! He knows what he's doing, so I'm fine with it*). As soon as Christmas passes, it's New Year's Day. Speaking of New Year's, it's o-zōni*. At home, we eat Kanto-style o-zōni with chicken, komatsuna*, kamaboko*, and square mochi, but I wonder what Taniguchi's local Tottori o-zōni is like? 

Now, as we approach the end of the year, it's time to hold drinking parties. Everyone, be careful of your livers. In other words, while I'm talking about you, this time I'm mostly pointing at myself, but this is Misawa. The next entry will be my last diary entry of the year. Merry Christmas, everyone!

Notes

Diaries: PXDX, Go Shiozaki's is still going.

Concrete spaces: I think he probably means skate parks etc

Misawa and childhood sports, see interview -  "Dandyism? It's not like that"

Shuhei Taniguchi's sleeping: For a while, Shuhei Taniguchi and Atsushi Aoki both slept in the dining room at the training camp. This is most likely an inside joke, but this could be what Misawa is referring to.  

O-zōni: Traditional Japanese New Year's soup dish with rice crackers and vegetables. 

Komatsuna: Japanese mustard spinach  

Kamaboko: Steamed season fish paste. After Misawa's time it became more closely associated with Kazuyuki Fujita, who ate it at press conferences while downing beer.