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30 years of professional wrestling’ Tajiri, the reason he still enters the ring

adminSeptember 15, 2023

Professional wrestler Tajiri (53, real name Tajiri Yoshihiro) is considered the most successful worldwide among active Japanese wrestlers. Despite his small physique of 172cm and 83kg, he dominated not only Japan but also the United States, the home of professional wrestling, with his sharp kicks and spectacular aerial skills. He even had a long run in the world’s premier professional wrestling organization, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), where he was a six-time champion.

The reason Tajiri enjoyed great popularity in the United States was because he was a powerful villain. His sharp eyes and expression, as well as the way he harshly pushes his opponents, gave goosebumps to those who saw him. He was above all good at fouls. The so-called ‘Green Mist’ technique, which emitted an unidentifiable green liquid from his mouth at a critical moment, was an object of fear for opposing players. The opponent hit by the green mist falls into a mental breakdown without being able to open his eyes. Tajiri took advantage of the opportunity and delivered a powerful kick to his head, earning him the victory.

I recently met Tajiri in person in Korea (he’s one of my favorite wrestlers, by the way). He was born in 1970 and is well over 50, but his muscular body and fierce impression still remain. Even though it was a meeting outside of him, he tried to stay in character. He was a born professional wrestler.

Tajiri, who played as a college amateur wrestler before jumping into the career of a professional wrestler in 1994, is still active. He was active in the American WWE in the early and mid-2000s, and occasionally received invitations from WWE to compete in matches. In 2016, he officially returned to WWE after over 10 years, but was unable to play for long due to a knee injury. Since recovering from his injury, he has been meeting fans in various groups, large and small. He even participates in small-scale competitions in Korea, giving strength to young juniors.

I asked Tajiri what his representative technique was. He said ‘Green Mist’. He boasts of spectacular aerial techniques and striking techniques, and the representative technique he personally selected is foul technique. He thought it was surprising at first. But after listening to his story, I understood.

“I believe that professional wrestlers are performers, not athletes. They are artists who do not fight their opponent directly, but express how they fight. I think professional wrestling is different from other sports. Professional wrestling is a show sport. Techniques that hit or throw an opponent can be used in other sports as well. But the green mist is a move that only exists in professional wrestling. It may seem nonsense from the outside, but at the same time, it is the most professional wrestling technique. That’s why I like this technique the most and it means me. “I think I do.”

Even though he is in his mid-50s, Tajiri goes wherever there is a ring. Recently, we have been competing frequently in Korea as well. This year alone, he competed several times in a domestic organization called PWS and became the champion. In fact, Korean professional wrestling matches are held in front of a few dozen spectators at most, and 100 to 200 spectators at most. It may not be a suitable stage for a ‘legend’ who played in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

But Tajiri says the number of spectators or the size of the stadium does not matter at all. He confessed, “Honestly, I tried everything I could through professional wrestling and made enough money,” and “I lost a lot of interest in professional wrestling itself.”

Nevertheless, what is the reason for being so active in the ring? Instead, he said he was interested in people who do professional wrestling. I want to hold competitions even in difficult environments and encourage and give strength to juniors who are competing despite injuries. They even published several novels based on professional wrestling to make their lives more known. The titles of the novels include ‘What do professional wrestlers show?’, ‘Professional wrestlers are wandering artists who travel around the world’, and ‘The Boy and the Ring Staff’. All of these works became bestsellers in Japan.온라인바카라

“If there is something you want to do, I tell you to try it. If you try it and it doesn’t work, you can quit, so just try it. You can only find out whether it will work or not by trying it. So I would like to tell you to do it first.” Tajiri also has a deep connection to Korean professional wrestling

. He often met with teachers Kim Il and Lee Wang-pyo, who have since passed away, and learned professional wrestling directly from them. He also participated in Kim Il’s memorial games several times. He highly praised young Korean athletes who are continuing the legacy of Korean professional wrestling. He also gave them practical advice.

“In the future, it will be difficult for the entire nation to have superstars like Kim Il or Lee Wang-pyo. This is also true in Japan, where professional wrestling is very popular. Instead, we live in an era where smartphones, the Internet, and SNS have developed. It may be difficult to become a hero, but it is a good time to meet fans who like you. If you work hard to meet and communicate with fans in person and gradually increase your popularity, you will be able to regain your popularity in the near future.”