Suwama Opens Up And Pays Tribute To His Close Friend Joe Doering

By: Lewis Carlan

The news broke on on June 26th that former All Japan Pro Wresting superstar Joe Doering had passed away at the age of 44 after a long battle with brain cancer.

During his 12 years with AJPW Doering and Suwama had quite a memorable rivalry. The two were both enemies and allies that engaged in some classic singles and tag team bouts over the years. It was Suwama and Doering that created the AJPW unit Evolution back in 2013.

Joe Doering defeated Suwama back in July 2014 and again in October 2017 to win the AJPW Triple Crown Title. As allies, Doering & Suwama held the AJPW World Tag Titles back on Oct. 2013.

In a new report from Tokyo Sports, Suwama spoke to reporters after hearing the news of Doering’s passing and opened up about his friend.

From Suwama:

“Man, I was really shocked—my mind went completely blank. It was such a shock that my thoughts just stopped. I kind of thought he might pull off a miracle. I couldn’t believe a monster like him would be brought down by illness. I have good memories of both teaming up with him and fighting him. Every single move was intense, and I clearly remember how terrifying the Revolution Bomb was—its destructive power was off the charts. I remember us training together desperately, huffing and puffing the whole time. His matches were amazing, but deep down, he was Japanese at heart. He was incredibly serious in his approach and kind-hearted. But he was scary when he got angry, and he had a lot of pride. His philosophy on pro-wrestling was similar to mine. We often talked about ‘how All Japan Pro-Wrestling should be,’ and he truly loved All Japan Pro-Wrestling,”

In addition, Suwama reminisced on how he and Doering came up with the Evolution faction after a mass exodus of pro-wrestlers from AJPW occurred in June 2013.

From Suwama:

“Joe and I talked about it and decided, ‘Let’s evolve it,’ so we settled on ‘Evolution.’ Without Joe, there would be no Evolution. I feel I have to keep fighting for Joe’s sake.”

In a final comment, Suwama thanked Doering for everything and told his friend not to go too wild in heaven.

From Suwama:

“Seriously, thank you for everything. I hope he can rest in peace. Don’t go too wild up in heaven,”

Photo Credit: Suwama