Rossy Ogawa | |
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ロッシー小川 | |
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| Born | Hiroshi Ogawa (1957-05-01)May 1, 1957 (age 68)[1] |
Hiroshi Ogawa (小川 宏,Ogawa Hiroshi; born May 1, 1957), better known asRossy Ogawa (ロッシー小川,Rosshī Ogawa), is a Japanese businessman andprofessional wrestling promoter. He is the founder and the current head booker ofDream Star Fighting Marigold. He is one of the three founders and former executive producer of the Japaneseprofessional wrestling promotionWorld Wonder Ring Stardom. Ogawa is often regarded as being instrumental in the modern popularization of women's pro wrestling in Japan.[2]
Before becoming ajoshi puroresu promoter, Ogawa started as a ringside photographer forAll Japan Women's Pro Wrestling (AJW) in January 1978.[2] After that, Ogawa acted as a spokesperson, the head of public relations and a talent manager for AJW, and eventually became involved with the creative division.[2] He also compiled pieces of the company's history, such as the lineage of the title belts.[2] One of the acts that Ogawa managed was theCrush Gals (Chigusa Nagayo andLioness Asuka), two of the biggest stars of 1980s AJW.[2] The trio would witness an explosion of Joshi popularity as they were broadcast on Channel 8 ofFuji Television.[3] In 1997, Ogawa left All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling, following conflicts with the Matsunaga family over the direction of the promotion.[2]
Ogawa was the president of theArsion promotion, being one of the major key figures alongside founderAja Kong, manager Sakie Hasegawa and trainerMariko Yoshida.[2][4] In 2001, Aja Kong left Arsion following a disagreement with management over the promotion's direction and subsequently sued Ogawa for falsely advertising her for upcoming events.[4] Kong's departure was followed by Ogawa signingLioness Asuka as the promotion's new booker. Asuka proceeded to push herself,Etsuko Mita,Mima Shimoda and Gami into major storylines.[4] In 2002, Ayako Hamada quit Arsion over internal politics within the promotion, feeling that she had been blamed for Arsion's recent problems and pushed down the card since Asuka took over the booking. Hamada joined Aja Kong at theGaea Japan promotion.[4] Arsion finally folded during the summer of 2003, after whichYumiko Hotta took over the promotion and renamed it AtoZ.[4]
Ogawa founded theWorld Wonder Ring Stardom promotion in September 2010, alongside retiredprofessional wrestler andmixed martial artistFuka Kakimoto, and All Japan Women veteran professional wrestlerNanae Takahashi.[5] Being Stardom's main booker, Ogawa established the promotion's concept of events in the format of "seasons," with one season lasting, on average, two months.[6] Stardom held its first event,Birth of Nova, on January 23, 2011, inTokyo'sShin-Kiba 1st Ring, the venue that would frequently host events for the promotion in the following years and was also the location of its earliest trainingdojo.[7] In time, Ogawa worked to provide Stardom various collaborations with other companies. Many members of the company's roster would be featured inFire Pro Wrestling World, a video game developed bySpike Chunsoft.[8] This would be Stardom's first involvement with a video game and was released on August 22, 2019.[9] On October 17, 2019, a press conference was held in which the purchase of Stardom by entertainment company,Bushiroad, was announced.[10] Because Bushiroad is also the owner ofNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, they proceeded in making Stardom their sister promotion in the process, with Ogawa remaining Stardom's head producer.[11][12] Ogawa handled the effect of theCOVID-19 pandemic in Japan over Stardom initially by organizing events with no attendance starting with the one from March 8, 2020, atKorakuen Hall.[13] The company would eventually continue hosting their events as time passed, but with limited attendances. On February 4, 2024, Ogawa's contract was terminated by Stardom's parentBushiroad due to alleged talent poaching.[14]
Ogawa was in a very close relationship with the promotion's roster, as he always used to accompany the wrestlers at press conferences, title match contract signings, or even before and after their bouts, handing the winners their respective championship belts or the trophies (awarded to the champion who retains a title). He always stood at ringside duringmajor pay-per-views.[15]
He even took part in several event storylines along with certain members of the roster. He marked notable appearances in the "Stardom in Showcase" series of events, starting with thefirst event of its kind from July 23, 2022. He was involved in a non-canon side story where he alongsideStarlight Kid andSaya Kamitani was attacked by a masked wrestler who was later revealed to beYuu, a competitor from out of Stardom against which Kid and Kamitani would fall short in a casket match.[16] AtStardom in Showcase vol.2 on September 25, 2022, Ogawa was still attacked by masked wrestlers and he hiredQueen's Quest'sUtami Hayashishita,Lady C andGod's Eye'sSyuri as his personal "Bodyguard Army" to defend him against the masks. However, not even they could keep him safe as Yuu, Nanae Takahashi andYuna Manase defeated his defense team.[17]
On April 15, 2024, Ogawa held a press conference to announce the establishment of theDream Star Fighting Marigold promotion. The initial roster included former Stardom membersGiulia,Utami Hayashishita,Mirai,Mai Sakurai,Yuzuki,Nanae Takahashi, andNao Ishikawa.[18] The event was also attended by formerActwres girl'Z membersChiaki,Misa Matsui,Miku Aono,Fuka,Natsumi Sumikawa,Kouki andChika Goto.[19]
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