Toward the end of 1990, I finally took the plunge and headed to Japan. I quit my job (I was "in need of a change" anyway) and went to Japan for a little under three months, hoping to "get lucky".
As it turned out, fate was smiling on my efforts. I managed to make contact with Wally Yamaguchi - one of the few Japanese wrestling journalists who spoke good English - and he took me under his wing. I was able to see something of almost all of the promotional groups during my stay, along with the various merchandise shops, and of course, "Gong" magazine, where Wally worked.
Wally himself was booked to referee for a November tour by Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association, operating in Japan as Universal Wrestling Federation, and he got me a spot as the junior referee on the tour. This was my first taste of the lucha libre style. The tour also two of the girls from All Japan Women's Pro Wrestling - Mika Takahashi and Kaoru Maeda, and two Mexican girls, Esther Moreno and Xochi Hamada. (Moreno had been wrestling for All Japan Women's for some time prior to the tour). I was already a big fan of AJW, so the chance to tour with some of their girls, and road agent Rossy Ogawa, was also a huge plus for me.
The photos above are a group shot of our tour party in Northern Japan - I am kind of in the middle of the shot, just above AJW's Mika Takahashi (the girl with pig-tails) - and Yoshihiro Asia (who American fans may know better as Ultimo Dragon) putting a sleeper hold on me at one of our post-card parties.
Even before the Universal tour, Wally had noticed that everywhere I went I was taking notes. He encouraged me to put my writing to use, and it was this push that led to me staring up my own newsletter ("International Wrestling News") when I returned to New Zealand. Wally also encouraged me to start promoting in my own rite, and it was from here that my involvement with wrestling really went full on.......
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