(NOAH) "I heard he had a bad neck, but..." Jun Akiyama is surprised by retirement of Noah senior, Ogawa

14th April 2024

Tokyo Sports

The sudden retirement of Noah veteran, Yoshinari Ogawa (57) has sent shockwaves through the wrestling world. 

On the 13th, Noah announced that Ogawa would retire at his own request, as it was determined that he would be unable to continue due to a neck injury. After appearing at Noah's Yokohama show on the 4th, he missed four consecutive matches from the 9th due to this. However, despite his great achievements, having debuted in All Japan in September 1985, Ogawa has requested that there be no retirement ceremony or press conference. 

DDT'S Jun Akiyama (54), who was Ogawa's junior in All Japan and Noah, said "I thought he would have injuries, as he has been doing this for a long time, and I'd heard a bit about his neck. But it was so sudden, and there is no ceremony, so I thought it was typical of him until the end. I think it's cool that he stuck to Yoshinari Ogawa until the end". 

Akiyama debuted in All Japan in 1992. Ogawa, who is seven years his senior, was twice as strict with new apprentices about etiquette and manners towards the seniors*. When Kenta Kobashi was absent from the dojo for practice, Ogawa acted as coach, and drilled into Akiyama how to fall. Akiyama membered that, "He was someone who paid attention to the small details, and the amount of time was different from the others. If Ogawa couldn't do passivity with his physique, he wouldn't be able to fight because there were only big guys in All Japan at that time, so I think he taught him that the most important thing was to be passive." They both moved to Noah, which was launched in 2000, but Ogawa was the one who supported Noah from behind the scenes during the early days. "Mitsuharu Misawa, Kobashi and I were the ones in the public eye, but it was Ogawa who fitted the pieces together at key times. Misawa trusted him", he said.

In the GHC Heavyweight Championship match in April 2002, the champion, Akiyama, lost to Ogawa in 4 minutes and 20 seconds, which remains the shortest time on record for the title. "I will miss him, but Ogawa-san has the skills, so I hope he will continue to teach the next generation. He was a master craftsman, and there is no master more difficult than him. He was a master craftsman, who refused chance customers*" 

Translated from Tokyo Sports

Picture credit: Tokyo Sports

Notes

Etiquette and manners: Probably explains why Noah Born are known to be notoriously polite.

Chance customers: There is no equivalent in English, but what Akiyama means is that he wouldn't teach you if you just walked in off the street and asked, you had to have an introduction (i.e. be accepted into the Noah or All Japan dojo)