The Japanese Aaron Wolf be one a New Japan Pro Wrestling and will debut at Tokyo Dome on January 4 of next year. It is the First Japanese gold medalist in Judo to join the wrestling professionall.
► The Olympic medalist Aaron Wolf will be a professional fighter
The announcement of his incorporation into the company of León and the signature of his counter was given through a press conference, convened by NJPW in which President Hiroshi Tanahashi and the owner of Bushiroad, Takaki Kidani, as well as Aaron Wolf himself, were present.
Wolf announced his judo retirement on June 10 and his future plans were already generating interest, without thinking that NJPW would choose as his new home. At the press conference on his retirement, he declared:
I like to see me, so all that is an option. I would like to have another opportunity to talk.
At the press conference a few moments ago, Wolf met with President Hiroshi Tanahashi and owner Takaki Kidani and signed the affiliation contract. NHK and several commercial stations also came to cover the news, which suggests the great attention it has generated. It will debut in the Tokyo Dome tournament on January 4 of next year.
The former Judoca (of American father and Japanese mother) is fond of professional wrestling for a long time and was a guest commentator at the Noah event at the Nippon Budokan on New Year's Day of 2022. He also received an enthusiastic invitation when he appeared on the Yuji Nagata YouTube channel. However, this time, Wolf joined the León company for his strong desire to become a professional fighter.
After the signing of the contrary, Wolf said:
When I was a university student, I was looking forward to seeing the engraved episodes of World Pro Wrestling every Sunday. I was attracted to the genius of the fighters fighting only with the clothes on and the different way they presented themselves from judo. I thought that one day, when I did not regret or have pending things in judo, I would like to dedicate myself to professional wrestling.
As well as I practiced judo without regrets, I will follow the path of professional wrestlingthat I have always longed for. If they ask me why I dedicated myself to professional wrestling, it is because I love it. I think that professional wrestling is about showing how you live your life before, during and after combat. I also believe that professional wrestling is a way of expressing myself as Aaron Wolf.
I understand what My debut fight at Tokyo Dome on January 4 is not the norm, but an exception. I have fought at the top of judo, but as a professional fighter, I start from scratch. I will carefully consider how to spend these six months and I will do everything possible without losing a single second. It has been a long time since a superstar went to professional wrestling.
In the past, former very fighters like Wajima Hiroshi, Koji Kitao y Akebono They became professional fighters, and from the world of judo, the Olympic silver medalist of Barcelona,Naoya Ogawaalso entered the world of professional wrestling. Gold medalists in judo Hidehiko Yoshida and Satoshi Ishii made the transition to mixed martial artsy This will be the first time in history that a Japanese gold medalist in Judo has made a complete transition to professional wrestling.
Aaron Wolf is known for his dynamic judo style that makes use of his abundant resistance and power, and is the eighth person in history to win the triple crown of Japanese judo (world judo, Japanese judo and Olympic games). In addition to his judo achievements, he is known for his exceptional talent as a athlete, with his casual capacity for conversation and his friendly personality. In addition, it has a deep knowledge of professional wrestling, so expectations are greater than those of a gold medalist.
This is excellent news for the world of Japanese professional wrestling, which is in a transition period due to the exit of popular fighters abroad and the rise of a new generation. Without a doubt, this will be a great stimulus for NJPW, which has lost talents such as Tetsuya Naito and soon to Hiroshi Tanahashi. In any case, attention will focus on Aaron Wolf's first steps as a professional fighter.
