Mitsuharu Misawa - pro wrestling legend - passed away yesterday. It was quite a shock to read about this on what I thought would be another routine visit to a pro wrestling news website. Amongst the rumors and backstage drama, the goodbye of a familiar face is not something one is accustomed to. Especially someone at Misawa's level. Multiple championships and 5-star matches are as much of an identifier as his green wrestling tights. After a falling out with All-Japan Pro Wrestling, Misawa decided to form his own wrestling company and in doing so, a mass migration of All-Japan talent followed Misawa into what would now be known as Pro Wrestling NOAH. It is with NOAH and Misawa's gang of All-Japan natives that I am deeply indebted to for my greater understanding and appreciation for pro wrestling as a whole. Eager to break outside of a WWE consciousness, NOAH was the first light into a much deeper sense of what pro wrestling is. At the forefront was Misawa with his array of Tiger Suplexes, devastating elbows and the ever efficient Emerald Flowsion.
I am saddened by this loss.
What I've written doesn't do much to illustrate the extent of his legacy. A lot of his work is up on YouTube and I invite you to check it out.
