New Juryo Nishinoryuu

[Moti Dichne]

One of the 4 new promotees to Juryo is Makushita 5E Nishinoryuu. His father, Shimomura Shigekazu, who runs the chanko restaurant "Nishinoryuu" in Osaka, was  former Maegashira Tsunenoyama (active 1980-1993) who used the shikona Nishinoryuu before changing it to Tsunenoyama.. This is the 14th father-son sekitori pair in history. Nishinoryuu smiled and said, "My father made it to Juryo when he was 25. I wanted to be promoted earlier than that, so even though I'm turning 25 next month, I'm glad I made it in time. I want to surpass my father's ranking," he said, vowing to surpass his father, whose highest rank was East Maegashira 12. In fact, he has been entrusted with a "memento" from the late Misawa Mitsuharu, founder of the professional wrestling organization Noah. Misawa, Fujigane Oyakata (former komusubi Daizen), and his father Shigekazu were close friends. During his lifetime, Misawa donated a kesho-mawashi bearing the name of the Noah organization to the then Oyakata Fujigane. At the time, he told the Oyakata, "Please give it to his son when he becomes a sekitori in the future." True to his wish, the kesho-mawashi is said to be at Nishinoryuu's parents' home, awaiting the day it will once again be in the spotlight. Perhaps feeling a sense of awe, he said, "I don't know if I'll wear it yet, but I do remember meeting Misawa when I was little. I don't know anything about baseball, but I love professional wrestling. Of course, I'm a Noah fan." Nishinoryuu began sumo midway through his second year of junior high school. Misawa had high hopes for Nishinoryuu's performance on the dohyo, even though he was still undecided about whether he would even start sumo, let alone become a sumo wrestler. Carrying on the legacy of Misawa, who fought countless memorable matches in the ring, the Osaka-born new Juryo rikishi, known for his spirited sumo, is sure to liven up the Aki Basho.