I just absolutely love Kawada's straight forward wit. Even though the language barrier he just feels sharp and like he speaks his mind. His and Misawa's rivalry feels like it's bigger than wrestling, it feels like 2 warriors who brought the best out of each other, and when one died, the other felt like he had nothing left to prove, and went off to start a Ramen shop. I like to imagine there are people who walk into his shop not even knowing that the dude cooking their ramen is this world famous super badass. I like this idea of another chapter, where this punk kid from the streets is what reawakens the warrior spirit of this warrior turned ramen cook, and takes him on as his student. Like imagine Kawada being Eddie Kingston's Sting
Impressive interview. It's consistent in how I remember hearing news about Kawada in my childhood & teens, same with what my Japanese girlfriend (Nini) remembered. That Jumbo Tsuruta match against Kawada in 1991 was the 1st match Nini watched. The only thing I didn't know was that I always thought Andre The Giant and Kawada drank together (something I used to hear), but turns out from this interview Kawada never saw Andre drunk. And it's interesting hearing Kawada speak positively about Dr. Death, when they used to have a grudge where Kawada was jealous of Doc being a gaijin "owning the place", but they buried the hatchet around 2000. Makes sense to hear Kawaka say he was afraid of Doc's strength & fierceness earlier on, so I guess Kawada's grudge against Doc in the mid 1990s was partially out of fear. Towards the end of the interview, I like Kawada's insight into his match with Satoshi Kojima in 2005. I remember that was the last good Kawada match, and not long after Kawada became fat & depressed. I don't blame Kawada at all for telling people not to watch those matches, because it's like watching Dr. Death when he was sick or (better comparison) Ahmed Johnson late in his career. Very nice statement Kawada said at the end about wanting to be remembered by everyone & being thankful for the internet. That's something I've always gotten the impression of reading his interviews in Japanese back then, with the limited knowledge I have of the language. I also was told when he was broken down in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was like Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Despite all his underground shows, Kawada hard time being recognized in public but (unlike Randy) Kawada was always happy when someone recognized him, which lifted up Kawada's self-esteem when he was past his prime. I know it's unlikely, but it would be kinda cool to see "the yellow & black attack" for the WWE HOF. ⚫🟡
I miss Kayfabe. I love that Kawada was completely into it and confirming what we have always known from playing Fire Pro that Jumbo Tsuruta is in fact the toughest opponent you can have.
Tenryu retired like five years after Kawada which based on this conversation is wild to think about . I watched tenryu’s last match vs Okada recently and it was interesting to say the least .
59:52 Kawada really said “if you a real fan risk paralyzing someone to make me happy “ 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 what a legend 🧎🏿🙏🏿
This was awesome, and it's great to still see Sonny Oono, underrated imo, loved him when I first saw him in WCW.
I just found this. I've just lost my damn mind. 🤯
Dude me rn omg this is awesome
Uncle Eddie truly living his dream!!!
I just absolutely love Kawada's straight forward wit. Even though the language barrier he just feels sharp and like he speaks his mind.
His and Misawa's rivalry feels like it's bigger than wrestling, it feels like 2 warriors who brought the best out of each other, and when one died, the other felt like he had nothing left to prove, and went off to start a Ramen shop.
I like to imagine there are people who walk into his shop not even knowing that the dude cooking their ramen is this world famous super badass.
I like this idea of another chapter, where this punk kid from the streets is what reawakens the warrior spirit of this warrior turned ramen cook, and takes him on as his student. Like imagine Kawada being Eddie Kingston's Sting
Impressive interview. It's consistent in how I remember hearing news about Kawada in my childhood & teens, same with what my Japanese girlfriend (Nini) remembered. That Jumbo Tsuruta match against Kawada in 1991 was the 1st match Nini watched. The only thing I didn't know was that I always thought Andre The Giant and Kawada drank together (something I used to hear), but turns out from this interview Kawada never saw Andre drunk. And it's interesting hearing Kawada speak positively about Dr. Death, when they used to have a grudge where Kawada was jealous of Doc being a gaijin "owning the place", but they buried the hatchet around 2000. Makes sense to hear Kawaka say he was afraid of Doc's strength & fierceness earlier on, so I guess Kawada's grudge against Doc in the mid 1990s was partially out of fear.
Towards the end of the interview, I like Kawada's insight into his match with Satoshi Kojima in 2005. I remember that was the last good Kawada match, and not long after Kawada became fat & depressed. I don't blame Kawada at all for telling people not to watch those matches, because it's like watching Dr. Death when he was sick or (better comparison) Ahmed Johnson late in his career.
Very nice statement Kawada said at the end about wanting to be remembered by everyone & being thankful for the internet. That's something I've always gotten the impression of reading his interviews in Japanese back then, with the limited knowledge I have of the language. I also was told when he was broken down in the late 2000s and early 2010s, he was like Randy "The Ram" Robinson. Despite all his underground shows, Kawada hard time being recognized in public but (unlike Randy) Kawada was always happy when someone recognized him, which lifted up Kawada's self-esteem when he was past his prime.
I know it's unlikely, but it would be kinda cool to see "the yellow & black attack" for the WWE HOF. ⚫🟡
Kawada was incredible. One of the greatest sellers and storytellers of all time.
川田さんの過去のレスラーの分析とその個性を捉えた尊敬が素晴らしい。特に「鶴田さんは最強」には激しく同感する。同時に鶴田さんの音痴には更に同感。ローリングドリーマーはフルコーラス聴けない、つらくて。
Great interview, ty Starcast for making this possible for fans of Kawada
I miss Kayfabe. I love that Kawada was completely into it and confirming what we have always known from playing Fire Pro that Jumbo Tsuruta is in fact the toughest opponent you can have.
the thing with kayfabe is we wouldn't have anywhere near as much knowledge as we do if it was still there
Tenryu retired like five years after Kawada which based on this conversation is wild to think about . I watched tenryu’s last match vs Okada recently and it was interesting to say the least .
How did you find the match?
@@morganmcgovern3125 it was literally on a porn site 🤣 if you have somewhere I can DM you I can send the link (to the match )
if AEW had a Hey'ew like segment on TH-cam w/ Sonny Ono and Kingston interviewing Japanese wrestlers it would be pretty cool
This is awesome
Sonny wow 😂
川田
Indeed