NOAH wrestlers Atsushi Aoki and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi were in New Japan Pro Wrestling for a better part of the week participating in the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

Sunday, June 14 was the last day of the tournmanet and the two appeared in the ring to open the show to observe a moment of silence for Misawa.

Ace Steel: “Man what a blow, I had a nice lil’ run doing tours for a few years and Misawa and Ogawa were the ones that had the interest in bringing me to NOAH. Misawa was a great and generous boss. I had the great opportunity of working in many tag matches with Misawa involved and it was just an honor to get in there with the legend we all grew up watching. He was the heart and soul of Pro Wrestling NOAH… without Misawa, who knows where Japanese wrestling would have gone when Giant Baba passed away.

“I remember fondly a tour where I had caught pneumonia and basically was quarantined for most of it after only a few shows… I didn’t wanna be sent home because of the money loss but Misawa told me everything would be OK and not to worry as I would get paid. I didn’t want a handout. I wanted to work for my money so I showed up everyday with my bag but was told to sit it out… Budokan was the last stop on our tour and I had never wrestled in the legendary hall and wanted to soooooo desperately. Well, the last day came and I was granted my wish to work in one of the greatest arenas… That was thanks to a great friend/ref Mighty Inoue, Ogawa and Misawa.

- Image courtesy of PuroLove.com

“Thanks for the great times Misawa… my wrestling career was truly blessed being in NOAH.”

Roland Alexander: “Condolences to family, friends, and Pro Wrestling NOAH on death of Japanese legend Mr. Misawa. Memories of his 2001 recruiting visit to APW…”

Dragon Gate: “We would like to send our sincere condolences after hearing the news of the sudden death of Pro Wrestling NOAHs’ Mitsuharu Misawa.

“Misawa leaves behind a large mark on the Pro Wrestling world. All of us in DRAGON GATE respected and admired him.

“Our roster and staff together respectfully pray for him”

Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling: “TNA Wrestling is saddened to hear of the sudden and tragic loss of Misawa. He was respected around the world and he will be missed. We pass on our sincere condolences to his family and those who worked with him in Japan.”

World Wrestling Entertainment via John Laurinaitis (aka Johnny Ace): “On behalf of WWE, we were deeply saddened to hear of the tragic loss of Mitsuharu Misawa. We extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends and fans. Misawa will be remembered as one of the all-time greats in Japan.”

Jim Ross: “Mitsuharu Misawa was never an acquaintance of mine but I felt like I knew him from watching many of his DVD’s which were usually with men that I did know. Misawa was arguably the best in ring performer in the world in his prime.

- Yoshinari Ogawa, Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuo Momota and Akira Taue paying tribute during a ten-bell salute

“First of all, Misawa knew how to wrestle and how to wrestle physically. The fundamentals had been drilled into this legend as a young man who went on to become a Japanese National Amateur Champion.

“Several things stood out to me about Misawa. In addition to be a physical, fundamentally sound athlete, timing and toughness were two of his greatest attributes. Great timing is a gift that largely can’t be taught. It’s like ring psychology.

“Some of it can be taught but mostly it must be a learned trait and some people are in the business for years and never learn great timing or main event level ring psychology.

“Toughness is another trait that can be nurtured but generally can’t be taught. Misawa was naturally tough and it showed. And his fans loved him for it. They also loved his passion and the emotional ride on which he would take them. That’s what pro wrestling is, selling emotion.

“Another significant piece of Japanese, wrestling history died this weekend. Mitsuharu Misawa apparently died in the very spot that he gained his incredible fame and resounding respect from wrestling fans around the Globe….inside a wrestling ring.

“It’s a damn shame that the vast majority of American wrestling fans won’t give a second thought about the untimely death of “a Japanese wrestler.” I encourage all fans to find DVD’s of Misawa and watch him in his prime, in the 90’s especially. If one is really serious about about being a highly skilled, pro wrestler, then study the late Mitsuharu Misawa.

“May he rest in peace.”

Dan Short
dan@ifight365.com

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