Pro Wrestling Guerrilla


Mitsuharu Misawa

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Remembers Mitsuharu Misawa
By Silverback, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Staff Writer

Whether you realize it or not, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla would not exist, or at least not resemble its current form, were it not for Mitsuharu Misawa. Throughout the course of his twenty-seven-year career, Misawa became one of the most influential figures in professional wrestling, in both his home country of Japan and the rest of the world. As the successor to Jumbo Tsuruta, another legend whose passing came all too soon, Misawa rose to prominence in the 1990s with All Japan Pro Wrestling, and by the end of the decade had cemented his position as one of the greatest wrestlers in the world. In 2000, Misawa left All Japan Pro Wrestling to form Pro Wrestling NOAH, where for the last 8 ½ years he continued to influence professional wrestling around the globe, though in a much different role.

During his time with All Japan Pro Wrestling in the 1990s, Mitsuharu Misawa influenced many of the current generation of professional wrestlers with his legendary encounters with mentor Jumbo Tsuruta, Kenta Kobashi, and Toshiaki Kawada, just to name a few. These dramatic athletic encounters were broadcast on television in Japan, transforming Misawa into a nationally known figure to not only fans of professional wrestling, but to the general public, as well. In America, those matches were seen by far fewer, but the effect was no less profound. Wrestling a style few in America had ever seen, Misawa became stuff of legend. Reaching countless wrestlers in training in the late 1990s, Mitsuharu Misawa's influence can be seen far and wide in American professional wrestling today, in a country which he rarely visited.

Through the formation of Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2000, Mitsuharu Misawa's effect on the American professional wrestling landscape would change from an indirect role to a direct one. By creating relationships with American companies, such as Pro Wrestling Iron and Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling NOAH provided an opportunity for those who had only previously learned from Misawa by video tape to work with and learn from the master directly, as well as with his cadre of Japanese students. Highly regarded wrestlers such as Bryan Danielson, Chris Hero, Roderick Strong, and Davey Richards would return from tours with Pro Wrestling NOAH full of inspiration and help impart Misawa's influence on every opponent they faced and every fan who watched them perform.

For those of you who are familiar with Mitsuharu Misawa and his influence on professional wrestling, join us in remembering him. For those of you who do not yet know of the man, we urge you to seek out information about his life and career, his matches, and his influence. We guarantee your appreciation of professional wrestling will only be enriched by doing so.

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla is only one of many professional wrestling organizations that were influenced by the work of Mitsuharu Misawa, and we are thankful for his influence and saddened by his passing. We offer our most heartfelt condolences to his family, his friends, and his students.




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