Yoshinari Ogawa Feels There is No One in Pro Wrestling NOAH That Can Wrestle The Way Ryohei Oiwa Did at the G1 Finals

By: Lewis Carlan

Back in Sept. 2023, Ryohei Oiwa left New Japan Pro-Wrestling to begin his excursion within the confines of Pro Wrestling NOAH.

While Oiwa aligned himself with Kaito Kiyomiya, he was placed under the tutelage of the well respected pro-wrestling great Yoshinari Ogawa.

Oiwa trained with Ogawa for a year before returning to NJPW in Sept. 2024.

On Aug. 16, Oiwa defeated Yuyu Uemura to win the G1 Climax 36 tournament in a match that many are calling a pro-wrestling masterpiece.

Ogawa spoke with Professional Wrestling Martial Arts DX recently to discuss Ryohei Oiwa and his huge G1 Climax 36 victory.

During the interview, Ogawa stated that he was happy for Oiwa when he won the G1. Ogawa was told that Oiwa had revealed he evolved the techniques that Ogawa taught to him and offered this response.

From Yoshinari Ogawa:

“That’s right. What I taught him serves as the foundation, but he’s a smart guy. He thought things through on his own and put in the effort. Even while watching his matches, I’d think, ‘Oh, so that’s how he’s going about it,’ and really enjoyed it.”

Ogawa was asked his thoughts on the Oiwa vs. Uemura match which, while it was a tremendous bout, concentrated on mainly basic pro-wrestling moves.

From Yoshinari Ogawa:

“I always thought that kind of thing was normal, so I didn’t think it was particularly new or amazing; I just thought, ‘Oh, there are matches like that, too.’ On the other hand, since Oiwa has that much power and a body like that, you’d think he’d have even more impressive moves, but I thought, ‘Oh, it’s just a headlock.’ I suppose that’s what made it feel fresh, though.”

Ogawa, who is now retired, enjoyed a long, successful career with Pro Wrestling NOAH. Despite this, Ogawa feels that there is nobody in NOAH right now capable of wrestling a match like Oiwa did at the G1 Climax 36 finals.

From Yoshinari Ogawa:

”But there isn’t a single person in NOAH today who can wrestle the way Oiwa did yesterday. Dory Funk Jr., who passed away recently, was my teacher, and it feels like the style of wrestling I learned from Dory—rather than NOAH’s style—has been passed down from me to Oiwa. If you compare Dory’s matches to Oiwa’s, I think you’ll see they’re doing similar things…”

When Oiwa began his excursion in NOAH, he had formed a tag team with Kaito Kiyomiya. Ogawa, who also trained Kiyomiya, stated he feels Oiwa has risen higher than Kiyomiya as a pro-wrestler.

From Yoshinari Ogawa:

“I trained Kiyomiya too, but he’s gone in a completely different direction, and there’s a big gap between him and Oiwa now. Oiwa has definitely risen higher. There’s a difference between a wrestler who’s happy just for beating a rookie in the first match and a wrestler who wins the G1, right? Well, since we’re talking about Oiwa, let’s leave Kiyomiya out of it.”

Ogawa closed the interview by indicating he feels Oiwa is fine being the pro-wrestler the way he is now and if anything happens, he is in good hands with his TMDK teammate Zack Sabre Jr.

(All English quote translations via Deepl.com)