Genichiro Tenryu, who retired from pro wrestling in 2015 and now uses a wheelchair after major neck surgery, was carried into the ring in his chair at a Tenryu Project event in Shinkiba, Tokyo, on October 29. His daughter Mona runs the promotion with him.
Tenryu, 76, needs assistance with much of daily life and does grueling walking rehabilitation at a facility. He told ABEMA Entertainment's documentary program "NO MAKE" that wrestling remains his greatest source of energy.
Tenryu Project, he said, exists to train younger wrestlers. "It's about developing wrestlers and improving their skills. It's a chance for them to work hard and get better. It's like a gateway," he said. Asked what his role would be at the event, he said he would be providing commentary.
A daughter's answer
Mona Tenryu said she has no wish for her father to rest. "People say, 'What a bad daughter, making her father work at that age,'" she said. "But the thing he hates most is being forgotten by people, so I feel like appearing in public is his secret to staying young. As long as he's alive, I want him to keep working hard."
During the matches, Tenryu's commentary grew heated as younger wrestlers traded blows. When the play-by-play announcer said an ordinary wrestler would be overwhelmed by one exchange, Tenryu praised Ayumu Honda for staying in the fight rather than freezing up.
'How could I give up now?'
At the climax of the card, on Mona's instruction to keep him level, active wrestlers lifted Tenryu and his wheelchair high above the ring. Standing at the center, he took the microphone and addressed a full house.
“I want everyone here to remember as they head home today that a full-fledged pro wrestler gives the audience something moving. Here we go! Easy does it! Easy does it! Easy does it! Thank you very much!”Genichiro Tenryu, former pro wrestler
The venue erupted, and fans called out that they hoped he would walk again and return to the ring one day.
Afterward, Tenryu asked the program's staff, "So, how was it? Wrestling's fun, isn't it?" When told it had been enormously fun, he broke into a smile.
"When I see a good match, it gives me energy," he said. "Wrestling is what keeps me sharp. It gives me something. All I want is to get back to how I was. I hate myself for getting down like this. There's another me inside saying, how could I give up now? My body feels like it got a great workout and it's happy. Dinner tastes good."
Asked whether watching the wrestlers fight makes him want to get back in the ring himself, Tenryu laughed and said no. "Watching from the sidelines like this and saying 'it's not like that, it's like this' is the best," he said.