OZAWA Leaving Pro Wrestling To Join A Temple And Pick Up Trash?

By: Lewis Carlan 

Pro Wrestling NOAH superstar OZAWA has seemingly gone through a complete metamorphosis ever since sustaining an injury back on Sept. 8th.

The injury occurred during an N-1 Victory tournament match against Naomichi Marufuji. OZAWA suffered a Lisfranc ligament injury following a springboard moonsault to the outside.

Following surgery on Sept. 15, the villainous leader of Team 2000x surprised everyone as he began to show a change of heart. He said he had time to reflect on his past actions and offered an apology to Marufuji, Kaito Kiyomiya, KENOH, KENTA and the fans.

Photo Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

In a recent interview with Tokyo Sports, the “new” OZAWA continued to make statements that have been leaving fans and his rivals scratching their heads in confusion.

He stated that his injury is karma based on his past behaviour. OZAWA said he will quit pro wrestling as he wants to make a living picking up trash. He said he will also consider joining a temple.

From OZAWA:

It’s karma, isn’t it? After all that boasting I did, this is the result, and I’ve caused trouble for my fans, so I’m just really regretting everything. Honestly, it was like a wake-up call for me. I’m so sorry. I had been talking so much trash about KENTA-san, Kiyomiya (Kaito)-san, and Kenoh-san. While they are fighting in the N-1, I’m just sitting here doing nothing…

OZAWA on if he is done with personal attacks:

“I want to completely stop doing that. I want to rethink my past actions and cultivate respect for other wrestlers. Honestly, I think I’m no longer the same OZAWA I used to be. Regarding the Noah dojo, I felt like I was being mistreated as a young wrestler, but I think I learned so much there. Actually, I’m very grateful for it.

OZAWA on if we can believe he has really changed:

“From now on, I want to live my life doing things like picking up trash. I’m thinking about volunteering, or even becoming a Buddhist monk.  My biggest goal in life is to help others. I want to see people smile; that’s what I want to focus on.”

One has to wonder about the level of sincerity OZAWA has in the claim that he has changed his ways. Is this in fact a new OZAWA? Or is he playing mind games with his rivals to lure them into a false sense of security which will leave them susceptible to an ambush when OZAWA is fully healed?

One thing is certain, only OZAWA knows the true answer to this question and his rivals should remain very wary of this “new” OZAWA.

(H/T goes to NOAH’s Arkive for all English quote translations)