UWF Newborn Special Press Conference
August 14th, 1988
(assume all comments are translated)
Reporters quickly gather in the press room and get their cameras ready as the “two-minute warning” is given. The cameras quickly get to work as Satoru Sayama and Shinji Jin come out, nicely dressed in tailored suits. They sit down as the sound of cameras snapping photos fills the room.
Shinji Jin: I would like to thank everyone for being here today. This is a special day not only for UWF but for wrestling as a sport. I am incredibly honored to be joined by Satoru Sayama today. Satoru Sayama is widely regarded as one of the best to ever grace the ring, and he has continually innovated himself and the industry as a whole. We are very pleased to announce today that Satoru Sayama will be joining UWF to present his new vision of fighting to the world. As you may know, Sayama is currently the president of Shooto, an organization that is focused on producing a modern approach to combat sports. As part of our deal with Mr. Sayama, some other renowned individuals from Mr. Sayama’s organization will be joining UWF as well. We will also promote Shooto through other means, such as through our programs and promotional material. Again, we are very pleased to announce Satoru Sayama is now an active wrestler for us. I will now let Mr. Sayama speak.
Satoru Sayama: Thank you, Mr. Jin. It is an honor to join you today and have the opportunity to rejoin the world of combat sports. I say combat sports because I not only believe in my work with Shooto, but I also believe that UWF represents wrestling as a real sport. Mr. Jin has done an incredible job to revitalize the UWF idea and make its vision a reality once again. With that said, I am also very eager to present my ideas that will make this vision even stronger. Mr. Jin was very kind to meet me in private, without anyone else, and any press. He listened to my ideas and desires very thoroughly. Mr. Jin presented a very interesting and fair offer. With the support of Mr. Jin and UWF, I felt that I could improve as a wrestler and fighter and that my fellows in Shooto would benefit as well. I am sure in time the Shooto way of fighting will prove to be the strongest in UWF. I know that you will have many questions for me, as I have not been entirely public over the past few years. Please keep in mind that I will be fully honest with my answers. Thank you.
Reporters rush to get their questions out, and the UWF media representative slowly gets to them one by one.
Reporter #1: Mr. Sayama, you left professional wrestling in 1985 after a confrontation with Mr. Maeda. Have you spoken to Mr. Maeda at all? What did you say to him?
Sayama: I have not spoken with Mr. Maeda, and I do not feel the need to. I am sure in time we will cross paths. But for now, it is not something that is required. Mr. Jin assured me that there would be no issues, and I do not think this deal would be possible with the objection of Mr. Maeda.
Reporter #2: Do you have any regrets about writing your book a few years ago? Many have said that it exposed professional wrestling and harmed its reputation.
Sayama: I do not have any regrets. I am sorry if certain people felt offended by my book, but I wanted to speak truthfully about professional wrestling. As I stated earlier, I do not view UWF as professional wrestling. In my eyes, it is real wrestling. I think the fans understand this difference as well. I do not think there will be any problems.
Reporter #3: You have not wrestled in three years. The last time we saw you in the ring, you were yourself. While another Tiger Mask has popped up in All Japan Pro Wrestling, people have had a hard time accepting it. Is Tiger Mask dead?
Sayama: I had many great memories wrestling as Tiger Mask. It was an honor to inspire so many with that mask. Tiger Mask will always be with me, but I want to move on. I believe I can inspire so many more as myself. I have great respect for Mr. Baba and I understand business, but their Tiger Mask is a different one. I apologize. As far as I know, Tiger Mask is no more. I have done my work in Shooto with the belief that I can be recognized by changing the world of combat sports without the mask.
Reporter #4: Can you speak more about your work with Shooto and how you envision your approach in UWF?
Sayama: Yes, of course. I know it’s been difficult for the press to access my Shooto events, but I did not trust the media to cover it. I believe Japanese combat sports media is still dominated by those who respect their connections with professional wrestling promotions. I apologize again for offending anyone, but I think there was a reason why my departure from professional wrestling was criticized, and that’s also why my book was widely criticized. In any case, Shooto is combing the art form of kickboxing, Japanese jiu-jitsu, and catch wrestling. As some who have attended my events can attest, it is a modern form of fighting I believe it can become the top fighting style in combat sports. I will carry that style into UWF, along with my fellows in Shooto.
Some murmurs and audible comments can be heard from the press, and another reporter is picked out to ask a question.
Reporter #5: Can you tell us more about who will be joining you?
Sayama: I am very pleased to say that my former student and now a teacher at Shooto, Yorinaga Nakamura, will be joining me. As you may know, Mr. Nakamura is a talented catch wrestler who has traveled the world teaching the art form and learning other fighting styles. He is also the winner of the first Shooto event I held in 1986. Mr. Nakamura’s most prized student, Erik Paulson, will also be joining us. Mr. Paulson has been trained by Mr. Nakamura in the United States. He was the first American to fight in Shooto this year. Mr. Paulson is an excellent catch wrestler, and he has the potential to become even better than Mr. Nakamura himself. I am sure Mr. Nakamura would agree! I even heard he gave a fellow by the name of Rickson Gracie some trouble. Laughs
But in all seriousness, Mr. Paulson was scouted by Mr. Jin last week and he was very impressed. Finally, two of my current trainees will also be joining. Yasuto Sekishima is one of my best fighters from the past two years and has a very respectable record. He is still learning, but he has earned several great victories against other opponents. Mr. Sekishima will prove to be an excellent fighter. Manabu Yamada will be joining the UWF dojo. Mr. Yamada has just started training at Shooto, and he will combine the training that he will receive at the UWF dojo to become an even better person and fighter. Young Yamada will please any crowd he will fight in front of in due course.
Thank you all for your questions. I would like to turn this over to Mr. Jin, who I am sure would be pleased to answer any other questions you may have.
Jin: Thank you Mr. Sayama for your comments. I look forward to working with you. I think this relationship will reshape the world of combat sports. Additionally, I would like to announce that Mr. Sayama will wrestle his first match with us on August 22nd. UWF will hold its biggest event to date at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo. Mr. Sekishima, Mr. Paulson, and Mr. Nakamura will also make their first appearance on that show. Ticket details will be released very shortly. I will now be happy to take any questions.
Reporter #1: Mr. Jin, ticket sales for UWF have been very strong so far. What made you decide to host the next show at Ariake Coliseum?
Jin: Thank you for your question. So far, our indicators have shown there is a great demand for what we are presenting to the fans. We decided that an outdoor show in August that aligns with other public festivities for the month would be a great idea. We are very confident that we can put on a great show for the fans and we thank the fans for their continued support.
Reporter #2: Can you provide any details on how the agreement with Mr. Sayama came about?
Jin: I am sure Mr. Sayama would be happy to provide further details if he wishes in the future. I would like to respect the privacy of our discussions for now. I will say though that Mr. Sayama has always had a passion for wrestling and combat sports, and that we share a mutual love for bringing UWF to the world.
Reporter #3: It was previously reported that Mr. Maeda would be making a trip to the Soviet Union next month. Can you confirm if this trip is still planned, and how Mr. Maeda was selected to be an ambassador?
Jin: As you are aware, Mr. Maeda was selected by the Japanese government to be one of our sporting ambassadors to the Soviet Union. In this official capacity, he will be attending the Moscow World Cultural Festival scheduled for September 8th – September 14th. Mr. Maeda is deeply honored by this role given to him by the government and looks forward to representing UWF and our sport in Russia. He will be attending several Soviet combat sports exhibitions, including SAMBO, freestyle wrestling, and Greco-Roman wrestling. I will let your imagination do the rest, but Mr. Maeda is focused on representing our country in a very important occassion ahead of the Olympics this year. I am not a politician and will limit my comments here, but I think this event will further the cause of world peace through sport and culture.
Reporter #4: Mr. Maeda also visited the Netherlands last week. Can you comment on how that meeting went?
Jin: Thank you for asking that question, I planned on commenting on that. Mr. Maeda told me that the trip went very well and that Mr. Chris Dolman was very open to working with us and providing talent. Mr. Dolman himself commented that he was eager to test his skills against the best wrestlers in the world. I believe we now have an agreement in place with Mr. Dolman where we will see at least one other fighter from his Free Fight Holland gym participate in our show on August 22nd. We will announce the card at a future date, but you can be assured you will see Dutch representation.
Reporter #5: We previously reported at Weekly Pro Wrestling that UWF will send scouts to the Olympics. Can you tell us more about what you would be looking for? Finally, Mr. Sayama mentioned the UWF dojo, can you tell us more about that?
Jin: UWF is very eager to attract the best fighters and wrestlers in the world. Naturally, we would be interested in viewing relevant events unfold at the Olympics. We don’t have anything in particular in mind, but we will certainly be watching with a keen eye. As for the UWF dojo, we have indeed established one. Mr. Yamada will join the incoming class. We are still applying entrance exams to applicants and nothing is official yet, but I will take the liberty to mention some of our top candidates. Kiyoshi Tamura, Masahito Kakihara, and Yusuke Fuke have proven to be very promising and I am sure they will be successful in finishing all required trials soon.
Once again, thank you all for your questions. We also thank the fans for their continued support and hope we can continue pleasing them. We will be happy to take any further questions through our media representative. With that said, I would like to conclude our press conference. I look forward to seeing some of you again at our show on August 22nd.
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