Dramatic DDT

DDT “WHO’S GONNA TOP? 2012 ~ DDT48 GENERAL ELECTION LAST DAY”, 30/09/2012
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. Poison Sawada Retirement Road – First Leg: Sanshiro Takagi & MIKAMI Vs Poison Sawada JULIE & Client Snake
2. KO-D Openweight Title: Kota Ibushi (c) Vs El Generico

Atsuo Sawada, aka Poison JULIE Sawada, aka Poison Sawada JULIE, aka Poison Sawada today held a press conference to announce his impending retirement. Sawada explained that a combination of nerve root damage in his neck plus cervical disc disease has led to this decision. He said that ever since his match with Masahiro Chono in 2009, his neck felt more and more funny as time went on. The symptoms never healed and he has finally reached the point where he cannot continue to wrestle even on a part time basis as he had been doing.

Sawada was accompanied by Sanshiro Takagi & MIKAMI for the conference. Takagi said it is important for DDT to support the next generation of wrestlers and the time has come for Sawada to step aside. He also said Sawada created a great impact in DDT. MIKAMI spoke of his rivalry with Sawada during the early days of the promotion and called Sawada his companion both inside and outside the ring.

Tsurumi Amon was also there to announced Sawada’s remaining matches before he calls it a day. Amon originally wanted Sawada to compete as much as he could but to limit the risk of injury, Sawada will only wrestle three more times. His matches will take place in Korakuen Hall on 30/9, Shin-Kiba 1st RING on 28/10 and his retirement match will ba back in Korakuen on 25/11. For the first leg of his retirement tour, Sawada will use his Poison Sawada JULIE gimmick to team with one of his loyal minions Client Snake (Shuji Ishikawa) and face Sanshiro Takagi & MIKAMI.

Poison Sawada has had a long and storied relationship with wrestling going back to 1981. Sawada joined New Japan and served as a ring attendant until he resigned in 1983. He reappeared on the indie scene a few years later and went through several different gimmicks and promotions including the original Union Pro Wrestling which was where he became Poison Sawada. He eventually found his way into DDT where he among other things created the Iron Man Heavymetalweight Championship, founded a snake themed religion that resulted in him becoming Poison Sawada JULIE, been beheaded, turned into stone, time travelled, came back as Poison Sawada, re-established Union, feuded with a Karate Dojo that led to death matches involving real live scorpions, somehow turn into a thing that had troll hair and a giant hand, fought Masahiro Chono in Sumo Hall and forced hundreds of people to raise their hands against their will to the sound of rattling.

And if that isn’t worthy of an induction into the Wrestling Observer Hall Of Fame, I don’t know what is…