SAKAGUCHI, THE DEAR OLD WRESTLING

Seiji Sakaguchi

I seem to adhere to pro-wrestling of the 70's. There were still legends and gods of a myth. It may be a nostalgia, but since in the 80's, wrestlers emphasized what is called a reality, and wrestling of Japan lost a fantastic pleasure. And I often recollect the fights of Seiji Sakaguchi. He was Inoki's right-hand man and the vice-president of NEW JAPAN, and he was also one of the great wrestlers in the history of wrestling in Japan.

He had won the All Japan Judo Championship in 1965. He always showed a quiet and a steady wrestling as the best partner of Inoki. And always he was attacked harshly by Tiger Jeet Singh or Umanosuke Ueda. I remember his bloody face even now. Sakaguchi's special moves were Reverse Boston Crab, Atomic Drop, Neck Hanging Tree, Bear Hug, and others, in short he was a typical powerful fighter. Now most of wrestlers won't use these classical moves. (^^; And in the 80's, Fujinami became a new star of NEW JAPAN while Sakaguchi's fights gradually faded out from the TV program. That was the end of old and fantastic pro-wrestling.


In 1990, Sakaguchi and Inoki formed a tag team again after a long time, and they fought against young wrestlers. They old veterans were punched and kicked harshly, and their faces were swollen cruelly. At that time the TV announcer said "NEW JAPAN is the only company that young members are praised to give a punch and a kick to the president and the vice-president !!" That was right, and it's very funny.