(NOAH) The soul of Misawa Mitsuharu was passed on to Noah's Go Shiozaki in 2009, who won his first GHC title the day after the sad news. It has been sixteen years since Misawa's death.

It has been 16 years since the founder of Noah, the late Misawa Mitsuharu (aged 46), died in an accident during a match in Hiroshima on 13th June 2009. 

As I wrote before, a reporter wrote a front-page article at the Numazu, Shizuoka event, on the last conversation he had with Misawa four days before his death, as "Misawa's Last Words." Misawa was exhausted and said from the bottom of his heart, "I want to quit. My body is in pain, and I'm starting to wonder how long I have to keep going." When asked if he would take a short break, he said, "I can't do that. Once I take a break, I lose my motivation. I have to develop young wrestlers like Shiozaki, and if a young wrestler comes along, I won't feel any regret, and then I'll quit*." The reporter had prepared an article about "Misawa's decision to retire", but that didn't come to fruition, and he passed away four days later.

Everything was in a state of grief and chaos, with the card forced to be changed. The GHC Heavyweight Championship match between Jun Akiyama and Takeshi Rikio scheduled for the following day at Hakata Star Lanes, was cancelled due to an injury. The man selected to compete in the deciding match was Go Shiozaki, who had been Misawa's partner in the match he had died in. 

The paper reported;

"Following Misawa's last wishes, who believed in fighting with all his might, the show went ahead as scheduled. Less than 24 hours after the tragic news, an overwhelming number of flowers and drawings were placed on the memorial altar, and many fans broke down in tears. Before the match, a ten-count gong was sounded in memory of Misawa, and all the wrestlers surrounded the ring with solemn expressions on their faces. The shock continued. The GHC Heavyweight Championship, scheduled as the main event, was cancelled due to the reigning champion Akiyama having a worsening herniated disc. After relinquishing his title, Akiyama said in a choking voice, "I am....I'm sorry for my poor performance..." But Misawa was watching over him from heaven. In the main event, Shiozaki, who was nominated by Akiyama, competed against Rikio. After a fierce battle, he won his first belt. Misawa's spirit was certainly inherited by Shiozaki, who grew rapidly. The young warrior could only manage to say, "Now that I've won the belt, I want to improve in many ways. I want the president to see me."

Shiozaki won the GHC Heavyweight for the first time, only five years after his debut*. This was the realization of the wishes of his last partner, Misawa. 

Over the course of the next sixteen years, Noah would see many wrestlers come and go, and now OZAWA is the youngest ever GHC Heavyweight champion in history, and the excitement of those heydays is returning to the venue. Misawa's desire to develop a new generation has been carried on by his own wrestlers, Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, KENTA, Shiozaki and others, encouraging the growth of a new generation like OZAWA. 

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Noah's founding, and the spirit of its great founder will surely continue to be passed down.  

Note

Raising young wrestlers: Very sadly Noah had multiple chances to do this over many years, and they didn't. Misawa's decision to take the GHC Heavyweight back from Marufuji is often seen as the turning point in the road when Noah took the wrong path, and then struggled for years to get back.

Shiozaki as champion: This would start a chain, whereby Shiozaki's most significant GHC Heavyweight title reigns, were the ones when he had to protect Noah. His most recent was when he piloted Noah through the pandemic, and it is generally believed that he has never really physically recovered from it as a result.

Translated from Tokyo Sports

Picture credit: Tokyo Sports