Mitsuharu Misawa Passes Away

[ohtani's jacket]

There is in how that in Japanese culture (and even more so among wrestlers) there's such a strong sense of being stoic in the face of adversity. Misawa spent his whole life being taught not to let pain get to him plus the extra burden he added on himself as being the owner and top guy of the company. Not to draw comparisons between their two fates, but Benoit had the same mindset drilled into him and he wasn't born into it like Misawa was.

There's been plenty of Japanese wrestlers who took heed of medical advice and retired from injuries. Misawa's case is specific to Misawa. This mindset you're talking about is nowhere near as prevalent as you think and certainly not what has come out of this.

[tomk]

Doctors are also uncertain as to why documented rates of concussion among high school girls are consistently higher than among boys in the same sports. The primary theory is that girls might be more honest in reporting injuries — though experts are confident that many girls, just like boys, hide injuries either because they are not aware of the risks or because they simply do not want to miss playing time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/02/sports/o...mp;pagewanted=2

 

the culture of people working through injuries is not uniquely Japanese.

[Al]

Good point. Even yesterday I read "plays through injuries" as a positive mark for Phillies' star Chase Utley. Watch any retired athlete give an interview and they will tell you how tougher players were in their age, how many injuries they played through, etc.

 

In Misawa's case though, it is likely he saw his continued participation integral to his own company's success. That sort of thing is much harder to discourage.

[Jingus]

It became so much of a cliche that it's even extended to the kayfabe mindset of Russo and other backstage types. How many times has some badass babyface "refused medical attention" in storyline, and it was presented as them just being tough sonsobitches who didn't need none of that thar modern medicine?

[Loss]

Someone refresh me -- did the legit story of Steve Williams receiving 108 stitches and wrestling a match that evening play any part in his babyface turn in Mid South? That story always got a lot of play from Jim Ross at the announce booth, was a big PWI feature, and definitely played into that mindset.

[Bix]

Someone refresh me -- did the legit story of Steve Williams receiving 108 stitches and wrestling a match that evening play any part in his babyface turn in Mid South? That story always got a lot of play from Jim Ross at the announce booth, was a big PWI feature, and definitely played into that mindset.

No, Doc turned babyface because his partner (DiBiase) turned babyface and he got a lot of local mainstream news attention for pulling people from a burning car (Rick Steiner helped, too, but they didn't turn him. I forget if they were able to kayfabe him out of the news coverage).

[Log]

Someone refresh me -- did the legit story of Steve Williams receiving 108 stitches and wrestling a match that evening play any part in his babyface turn in Mid South? That story always got a lot of play from Jim Ross at the announce booth, was a big PWI feature, and definitely played into that mindset.

No, Doc turned babyface because his partner (DiBiase) turned babyface and he got a lot of local mainstream news attention for pulling people from a burning car (Rick Steiner helped, too, but they didn't turn him. I forget if they were able to kayfabe him out of the news coverage).

 

Watts wasn't pissed that Williams didn't keep kayfabe and let them burn like a true heel?

[floyd]

About the Steve Austin thing, if anyone interested in it, on the extra DVD for WM 20 they had a small documentary about WM 19. They interviewed Austin before the match and he was talking about how anxious he was about the match and how worried he was about letting the Rock down. Then they show an ambulance racing to the hospital while JR saying "too much coffee and energy drinks". So I'm guessing a panic attack along with all that caffeine. After highlights of the Rock/Austin match it showed Austin going to the back and him saying "It was a great weight off my back" getting that last match done.

 

It also showed Brock yelling and physically pushing everyone away who wanted to take him to the hospital and Kurt Angle having a seizure. Quite the backstage at WM 19.

 

As for Misawa I dunno what else to say except it still hasn't sunk in that he's gone. I just feel bad for his family, I knew he was married but didn't know he had two kids. Extremely tragic.

 

Wonder if anything will change in Japan (doubt if it'll affect anything in the States). Sadly can't see the style changing too much, but hopefully something will change, like mandatory health checks/time off for healing or something.

[sek69]

Wonder if anything will change in Japan (doubt if it'll affect anything in the States). Sadly can't see the style changing too much, but hopefully something will change, like mandatory health checks/time off for healing or something.

 

 

Akiyama vacated the title in order to get treatment for his herniated discs instead of ignoring it, so perhaps what happened to Misawa will prompt guys to take the time to have injuries looked at.