After a lengthy career, Tajiri hinted at retirement very shortly. Also, Jim Ross reveals the dirty looks he got at Owen Hart’s funeral.
Tajiri Hints At Retirement
Former WWE superstars Tajiri is preparing for retirement in the near future.
He just finished a several year run as part of All Japan Pro Wrestling as a wrestler and booker. Then, he opted to sign with Kyushu Pro Wrestling.
Unless anything changes, Tajiri is ready to retire for the company.
During a press conference, Tajiri commented how his career is in its final stages.
“Thank you for coming today,” said Tajiri. “I am Tajiri and I look forward to working with you.”
“I was born in Tamana, Kumamoto Prefecture and I am now 52 years old, and I don’t think I have much time left in my wrestling career.”
“So, I think that joining Kyushu Pro Wrestling is the beginning of the end. Or, the end of my career.”
“At my age, I want to be the champion and have hot matches. But more than that, I want to nurture the younger generation.”
“When I told this story to [promoter Ryota] Chikuzen, he said that he would be very interested in having me work in Kyushu. I thought that this would be an organization where I could demonstrate my abilities to the best of my ability.”
While Tajiri strongly hinted at retirement, no date or opponent was disclosed at the press conference.
Tajiri began his pro wrestling career in 1994. He is best known for spending several years in ECW and then joining WWE.
He also worked for Impact Wrestling, MLW and even had a short second-run with WWE. This time, he was granted a release as WWE thought he was too old.
In WWE, he won championships in the form of the Cruiserweight, Light Heavyweight and United States title.
Jim Ross On Owen Hart’s Funeral
Source: @JustTalkWrestle, Twitter, Screenshot
The wrestling world lost Owen Hart in 1999 due to a horrific accident during a live WWE pay per view.
WWE kept the show going on, to the displeasure of many. Jim Ross had the difficult job of telling fans at home that Hart had passed away.
Ross was at the funeral, but he apparently got plenty of dirty looks.
May 23rd 1999. 20 years ago today Owen Hart tragically died, after falling from the ceiling at the WWE Over The Edge PPV. #RIPOwen #WWE pic.twitter.com/4k8QliIDM8
— WWE Today In History ? (@WWE__History) May 23, 2019
On Grilling JR, Ross noted how the way he was treated made him “feel guilty.”
“You talk about dirty looks, it’s as if I did something wrong,” said Ross. “I was there to show support.”
“But, because I was representing WWE, I was not a welcome guest at that service.”
“So, I thought that was very, very unfair. When you feel guilty about things that you didn’t do.”
“You’ve got to evaluate a little bit here, come on. It was tough.”
It was not Ross’ fault what happened on that evening. He was simply paying his respects to a friend.
Of course, the Hart family heavily blamed WWE over the accident. To this day, Owen’s wife will not let WWE produce any merchandise or accept an invite into the Hall of Fame.
But, she has allowed AEW to use his image.
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