(ALL JAPAN) Tiger's eyes are cold! He's training hard for the August 31st showdown at the Kokugikan.
3rd September 1985 (Issue No.108)
July 31, 1984. News spread that a new Tiger Mask would be making an appearance in the All Japan ring that day, and when I arrived at Kuramae Kokugikan, I was completely focused on seeing the new Tiger.
However, when I looked in the Japanese wrestlers locker room, there was no sign of Tiger, and when I peeked into the foreign wrestlers locker room, there was no sign of him either. As the show progressed as usual, the reporters and the cameramen disappeared, and eventually I was the only one left in the Japanese locker room.
"Tiger's turn is almost here. I wonder if he hasn't arrived yet... No, that's not possible. He must be lurking nearby."
And then the time finally came.
I left the locker room, and was in the hallway when, after a while, a door opened slightly.
"Ah, it's Tiger Mask!"
He had parked his car in the car park, and was waiting patiently for his appearance. However, one thing that worried me at the time was that behind the mask he had a shy smile on his face. Perhaps at this point he had not yet grasped the reality that "I am Tiger Mask..."
He had parked his car in the car park, and was waiting patiently for his appearance. However, one thing that worried me at the time was that behind the mask he had a shy smile on his face. Perhaps at this point he had not yet grasped the reality that "I am Tiger Mask..."
He made a brilliant debut that day and greeted the crowd in the ring, but after his debut against La Fiera at Denen Coliseum on August 20th, he suffered a series of elbow and knee injuries, and his fighting gradually lost its luster.
Then, on June 21st of this year, he faced Kuniaki Kobayashi at the Nippon Budokan. Wearing a mask that required him to win and never allowed him to lose, he was finally defeated.
In that moment, Tiger Mask died.
But the Tiger that has returned this time is different.
He's the same person inside, but he's a completely different person on the outside. He endured rigorous training and crawled out of humiliation. His body has grown stronger and he is twice as big. This marks the birth of a heavyweight tiger who aims to become the "strongest tiger." And the biggest difference is that he has become aware of himself as Tiger Mask. Look at his eyes. They are no longer smiling behind the mask. They are eyes that show he is seriously fighting with himself. This is exactly what we wanted from Tiger. The "mysterious element" that was present as a new masked man at the time of his debut is no longer there, and his match against Kobayashi at the next Ryogoku Kokugikan should fully prove that this new Tiger is not the same Tiger as before.
Satoru Sayama, the original Tiger Mask, has now taken off his mask and begun his journey as a shooter. Don't be fooled by the illusion of the original, become your own Tiger Mask.
On August 31st, exactly one year after his debut, Tiger Mask returns to the world of pro wrestling. This time, he'll become the real tiger...
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