Rossy Ogawa on Marigold Considering Doing Potential US Tour, Potential Successor To Run Marigold After Him, Bringing in New Talent Including a “Secret Weapon”, His Belief Marigold Might Have Lost Some Credibility After STARDOM Copyright Legal Situation

BBM-Japan held a recent interview with Marigold founder and owner Rossy Ogawa. One of the topics discussed included Ogawa’s thoughts about Marigold has been considering plans of holding a potential tour in the United States for the first time in company history.

“Everyone who interacts with our wrestlers is happy. As long as we’re putting on shows, we have to make sure the people who come leave satisfied—and without any bad feelings. Personally, having done this job for half a century, I feel like I’ve done it all, but Marigold is still brand new. We haven’t achieved anything yet. For example, we’re thinking about doing a tour of the U.S., like other promotions do. There are various issues, like visas and venues, but we’re taking it step by step. I’d like to make it happen as early as this fall.”

Ogawa also gave his thoughts about him being 69 years old and the future of him running Marigold in his current role

“I’ll be 70 next year, and I figure I can keep doing this as usual for maybe another five years—health-wise and physically speaking. I think I’ll just take it five years at a time… I’ll probably keep doing it (laughs). But if I do, the question is how far I’ll go. If I rate my current level as 100, will it be 70 or 50? I’ll also need to find a successor … Exactly. I’ve gone to all the trouble of creating it, so I want someone to take over for future generations. There’s still the other organization, after all.”

Ogawa also gave his thoughts about his choices for a potential successor to lead the company after him.

“The top candidate is probably Takahiro Masumura (Marigold Event Manager). Judging by the trust the wrestlers have in him. But the work is completely different. Right now, Natsumi (Showzuki) is helping with the accounting, and it’s been a great help.”

Ogawa also gave his thoughts about new talent that will be coming soon to Marigold and teased it including a “secret weapon.”

“We’re not the kind of fragile organization that gets thrown off balance just because someone comes in from the outside. We’ve got new talent joining us now, too. There’s a girl who was originally set to debut with another promotion, but after some twists and turns, she ended up coming here. And we’ve got a secret weapon as well.”

Ogawa also gave his thoughts about Marigold’s recent copyright legal issues with Stardom and his belief that it might have cost his company some credibility with fans.

“Yes, I think we might have lost some credibility because of that incident, but I’m not sure. Also, since Korakuen Hall isn’t sold out, people ask, ‘Is Marigold okay?’ Or, ‘What’s going on?’ But we’re steadily growing our business by working hard in the regions. I think people who watch us regularly know that. Those who only look at the surface don’t get it. The quality of the matches is improving, so I think there’s a disconnect between the satisfaction of those who actually attend and those who just check us out on social media.”