Misawa's training under Mitsuo Momota

Excerpt quoted from "“Mitsuharu Misawa - Supreme Triple Crown Champion”

"At the time, All Japan didn't have a full-time coach; instead, younger wrestlers were trained by older wrestlers who came to the dojo. Misawa, the new trainee, was instructed by Mitsuo Momota, who came to practice every day. The second son of Rikidozan, the founder of Japanese professional wrestling, he joined Japan Pro Wrestling in February 1968 and participated in All Japan from its inception. Due to his small stature at 173 cm, he was often tasked with mentoring younger wrestlers in the opening matches. The "Big Three"—Atsushi Onita, Masanobu Fuchi, and Kazuharu Sonoda (Haru Sonoda) were also trained by Momota.

The training that Momota imposed on young wrestlers was modelled after the Gotch classes at JWP. Karl Gotch came to Japan soon after Momota joined JWP, and he taught Gotch classes at the Empire Gym (formerly the Riki Palace underground dojo) in Owada-cho, Shibuya Ward, until May 1969. It was at Gotch's classes that Momota built the foundations of his career as a professional wrestler. His routine consisted of warming up with running around the ring and doing forward and backward rolls, followed by push-ups, bridges, and moving back and forth while holding a bridge, all to strengthen the neck. After this basic training, he would then do sparring. When the students were exhausted, he would practice defensive moves. He would do this intentionally while they were exhausted, so that they would be able to perform defensive moves properly no matter how tough the situation in a match. He would then finish with squats. It was a hard training session lasting three hours straight."