(NOAH) "Donmai, Donmai" ~ Mitsuharu Misawa's diary ~ 27th June 2008 (European Navigation 2008)

Cheers!

I won! Summer Jumbo*! 3,000 yen...Please don't ask me how many tickets I bought to win 3,000 yen. 

The rainy season seems to have ended in Okinawa, but this week in Tokyo there was a break in the rainy season and sunny skies were visible. This is Misawa.

Well, I left for my trip to England on Friday, June 20th, and will return home on Tuesday, June 24th. To be honest, this time too I have a very tight schedule. This time I flew with British Airlines, and as soon as I got on I slept for about six hours, then watched movies, which I always do. This time there were four movies in Japanese, I had already seen them all: I Am Legend, National Treasure (the first one), Harry Potter - Goblet of Fire, and Spider-Man (the first one!). I had no choice but to watch Spider-Man and I Am Legend in Japanese, and then I watched Jumper, The Golden Compass, and Cloverfield in English, though I couldn't quite understand them*.

So, I arrived in the evening, drove about two hours from the airport, checked into the hotel, and ate at the restaurant in front of the hotel. I don't know what the restaurant was called, and the food was a buffet. I went for a safe chicken curry, and went to bed at around midnight. It was a pretty normal day. 

On the second day, we arrived at the Coventry Sky Dome, about an hour's drive from the hotel, and immediately started the autograph session. The British staff worked hard to prepare, but perhaps they were not used to it, and it took longer than expected, so they had to leave it to the fans who had gathered at the venue to get autographs. Even during the autograph session, we had to stand up and sit down every time a photo was taken, The session started at 2pm, and in a way, it felt like doing slow Hindu squats for about one and a half hours until 4:30pm. 

The important match information was updated on the website, so I think many people have seen it. I will leave the details to the match report, but I was by no means in the best of physical condition, but the Coventry fans cheered me on so much that I was able to get through it somehow. I was reminded once again how grateful I am to have people who support me even though my circumstances have changed. I don't think this will ever reach them, but thank you for coming to watch my match.     

But the problem was yet to come. 

It was past 12 o'clock when I left the venue. I got lost on the way, and returned to the hotel at 4 am. I had a tuna sandwich and a ham and cheese sandwich at a place like a service area in Japan, but I missed the timing to eat before leaving, so the only thing I had for the first time in about fifteen hours since the chicken curry the day before was a sandwich...Even though I'm not the type to eat a lot, it was a bit tough! I ended up going to bed around 5am. It was a tiring day.

On the third day, we left just before noon. Reflecting on the previous day, I had a proper meal. The event was held at a large venue locally which was a stark contrast to the previous day's show, which had a very local atmosphere. All of our wrestlers were booed, except Yone who received the loudest cheers, as he was teaming up with a local boy. Kotaro was booed even when he won. Anyway, the show on the second day ended safely (???), and I think I got back to the hotel around 11pm. I asked Kotaro to buy me two chicken sandwiches, took a shower, and went to bed. 

And the next day, I returned home.

The schedule was 3 nights and 5 days, a hard schedule as usual. Well, I don't do sightseeing* even if I'm in shape, so it's fine for me, but because it was such a tough schedule, I'm sorry that I didn't have a chance to meet the tour members who came all the way to support us. Thank you to everyone who came to support us.

I had a humble hope that there would be more Japanese movies on the flight back, but they were all the same. I had no choice but to watch "Harry Potter" and "I Am Legend" again. And my conclusion...I guess jeans are not good for sitting for more than 10 hours! You feel like your crotch gets humid! (<-- Even behind your balls!) It wasn't because of the humidity, but I could hardly sleep on the way home, or rather, I felt like I couldn't sleep at all. Overseas tours are not uncommon, but there aren't many opportunities for this many people to go overseas. I think it was a good experience. What did the other wrestlers think? 

This has become a long post, but I would like to answer Hirayanagi's question. I've never had a part-time job. I didn't have time for club activities in middle school and high school, so I just joined pro wrestling. But when I was in middle school, I wanted to work part-time delivering newspapers. It might be different for Hirayanagi's generation, but for my generation, delivering newspapers was a standard part-time job for sports-themed people, so maybe I had a strange longing for it. 

Ito will be next, and so I would like to ask him, "I personally like those tights, so I guess they're still okay, right?" The material of Ito's tights reminds me of old piano covers. Also, I'm sure it's going to be really hot in the summer, so will it be okay then? 

Finally, a new tour starts the day after tomorrow. The final show at Nippon Budokan will be for the GHC Championship between Morishima and Rikio. From my point of view, both Morishima and Rikio are wrestlers who are well-equipped to be champions. They have been in a tag team before, and because they are close, I think they both are stubborn. I think it will be a tough match, and I hope everyone will come and see it for themselves. And of course, not only in the title match, but in other matches too, the wrestlers will do their best thanks to your cheers. We look forward to seeing you there. Enjoy the match and blow away the damp mood of the rainy season!!

This was Misawa! See you in two weeks! *Raises eyebrows* 

Notes

Summer Jumbo: Summer lottery.

Misawa's Japanese: He had a functional, if not fluent, understanding of English. 

Sightseeing: Believe me. There is nothing to see.