* The big part of this article was translated by using ChatGPT. Please note that there may be some awkward wordings.
Last night, I went to watch a pro-wrestling match. Believe it or not, it featured Mitsuharu Misawa in New York, and his opponent was KENTA, a regular in the ROH (Ring of Honor) promotion. I’m not particularly a fan of Misawa, but such an opportunity is rare, so I couldn’t miss it. However, I decided to go quite late, and by then, only standing-room tickets were available. Well, it wasn’t such a big venue, so I was fine with it.
The venue was right in front of the subway station, but there was a long line at the entrance. It continued even after turning the corner of the street. After turning another corner, we could finally line up. The matches were scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m., but I think I only managed to enter the venue around 8:30 p.m. I heard that it usually doesn’t have such long lines, but it seemed people were excited about Misawa’s appearance. I believe it was his first time wrestling in New York.
Once inside the venue and a few matches later, the ring announcer announced that a special “legend” from Japan was there as a guest. As Misawa’s match was scheduled for later, I wondered who it could be. At that moment, one name popped up in m mind, and that was the person the ring announcer introduced. It was Joe Higuchi, who was a referee for All Japan Pro Wrestling for many years. A ceremony to honor his achievements in the industry began, and to present him with the plaque, the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Harley Race, came out. While I wasn’t too surprised that Higuchi was present, I was amazed to see Race.
Just before this, a match ended in an unsatisfying way, and some fans continued to heckle. Amidst the noise, two young girls stood up, and one of them shouted, “Can’t you show some respect for this legend!?” Suddenly, the noisy crowd fell silent. To be honest, that wasn’t a kind of response I would expected from younger fans.
As Misawa’s match was about to start, the audience’s excitement soared. When his famous entrance theme “Spartan X” played, it was obvious everyone had dreamed of experiencing this moment live after watching Misawa’s matches on video from Japan for so many years.
In the match for GHC Heavyweight Championship match held by Misawa, Joe Higuchi made the championship declaration in Japanese surprisingly.
I occasionally watch NOAH’s videos, so I was aware that Misawa has aged, his belly is bigger now, and he can’t move as he did before. However, he still delivered a convincing performance in the ring. His challenger, KENTA, wasn’t holding back, which I think contributed to the excellent result.
Japan is undoubtedly great for pro wrestling. That’s what I felt once again.
