Hiroshi ‘Rossy’ Ogawa is a name that is synonymous with joshi puroresu.
From his early involvement in All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, his formation of ARSION, the re-popularisation of women’s wrestling in Japan with Stardom, to his latest endeavour in Marigold giving us Mayu Iwatani vs. IYO SKY in just a few days time, Rossy Ogawa has been at the centre of it all.
We were lucky enough to be granted a rare interview with the man responsible for the creation of World Wonder Ring Stardom and Dream Star Fighting Marigold and, as we inch closer to Grand Destiny on October 26th, Rossy Ogawa takes us on a whistlestop tour through his fascinating life in joshi puroresu, spanning over four decades!
Early Beginnings, All Japan Women’s & ARSION
What inspired you to get into wrestling and who was your favourite wrestler growing up?
“I got into the world of pro wrestling while working part-time as a photographer for All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling. I was about to graduate from photography school and joined All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling right before graduation. There was no entrance exam, and I commuted every day from my parents’ home in Chiba City to the office in Meguro Ward to get work. I was officially hired within a month. The first wrestler I fell in love with was Giant Baba. I started going to the venues and became interested in foreign wrestlers. I liked Mil Mascaras, Terry Funk, and Danny Hodge.”
There’s a photograph of you in the ring following the famous Antonio Inoki vs. Mohammed Ali fight. Could you tell us a little about how this came about?
“The cheapest seats for that match were 5,000 yen, so at first I was filming the match from the second floor with a telephoto lens. However, the Inoki vs. Ali match continued in the same way throughout, so I sensed that the fight would continue all the way to Round 15. So I was waiting for the match to end and go up to the apron to film. I’d seen that kind of situation at a few boxing matches, so I figured it would unfold like a boxing match.”
You had quite the journey through All Japan Women’s going from photographer, to spokesperson, to head of public relations to eventually being involved with creative. How did you get your start in AJW, and how did you then move to being involved with the creative side?
“At first, I worked as an assistant for entertainment activities, covering TV, recordings, and interviews. Since there was no PR department at the time, I created profiles of the wrestlers and records of title matches. Newspaper clippings of title matches were used to record past champions.
(*note – All Japan Women’s Pro Wrestling had no record of the lineage of their titles. Mr. Ogawa put together that lineage as a new employee, by researching old newspaper clippings and piecing together the company’s history. The lineage as everyone knows it, is a direct result of his research as a teenage employee.)
During the Crush Gals days, the three of us worked together, and I was their entertainment manager. I often accompanied Dump Matsumoto on her work as well. I also worked as a ringside cameraman, but I quit after the inter-promotional matches began. During the Crush days, I helped organize title matches and league matches, but from the inter-promotional matches onwards, I became the matchmaker and produced the shows. The company gave me the title of Director of Planning and Public Relations.”
You also managed one of the biggest acts in women’s wrestling – The Crush Gals – in the 1980s. How did this start, and what was it like to be a part of that huge explosion in joshi popularity?
“When I joined the company, there was already a superstar group called Beauty Pair, and it was a huge boom. The boom was talked about as a social phenomenon. After Beauty Pair disbanded, attendance plummeted, and our popularity waned. Since All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling was only covered in entertainment magazines, I wanted to somehow get it featured in the pro wrestling media. The Crush Gals were the first ones up, and my goal was to make them stars. Chigusa Nagayo was interested in men’s pro-wrestling, studied it diligently, and incorporated it into her matches. I had a strong desire to be recognized as pro-wrestling. I expressed this in words and writing. It wasn’t until a year after they formed that they became as popular as Beauty Pair. At the time, we were so busy that we didn’t really feel their popularity in real time, and we just kept working hard. But we were very conscious of the fact that we were leading the organization.”
(*note – At the time, women’s pro wrestling was not being covered by the pro wrestling media, just entertainment media, as the women were huge stars on prime time tv shows…prime time is known as Golden Hour in Japan.)
You left AJW to form ARSION, how did it feel to move from an established company to the formation of a new one? Were there any nerves?
“The reason I left All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling was because I saw wrestlers quitting one after another due to unpaid wages. I felt a strong desire to do something about it, so I took several wrestlers and created a new promotion. I had never considered leaving All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling, and it seemed like the only options were for All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling to cease to exist or for Chairman Matsunaga to pass away. I had worked for All Japan Women’s Pro-Wrestling for 20 years, so I had strong feelings about it, of course. For the new promotion, I had more dreams than worries. However, once it was launched, I had endless worries.”
World Wonder Ring Stardom
How long did it take for the Stardom promotion to get off the ground from the original idea stage and was starting a new promotion something you were originally looking to do after ARSION?
“I was the business manager for Fuka, and after her retirement, I became involved with managing Yuzuki Aikawa. While we were setting up a training facility, Fuka gathered girls who wanted to do women’s professional wrestling. That’s how Stardom began. We spent about six months creating a new promotion. It had been seven years since Arsion, so it was time for a different organization.”
What was your initial reaction when Kairi and Io left for WWE?
“Honestly, I had mixed feelings. Because I’m in charge of running the promotion, the departure of popular wrestlers is a big blow. However, once the decision was made, I was happy to give her my blessing, so to speak.”
You did a great job positioning Momo Watanabe and Mayu Iwatani as the top stars once Io and Kairi did leave. Did you have any one else in mind to fill that void?
“Mayu Iwatani was already a popular wrestler, but it’s true that I had high hopes for Momo Watanabe. I also had my eye on Big Daddy’s daughter, Utami Hayashishita.”
In your time running Stardom was there one or two matches that really exceeded your expectations?
“Io Shirai vs. Mayu Iwatani was definitely special every time.”
Was there anyone that you wanted to book/promote in Stardom that you never got the chance to?
“Yoko Bito and Arisa Hoshiki were wrestlers that had all of the talent, but circumstances prevented realizing their full potential.”
Was there a singular moment where you knew you wanted to leave Stardom? When did the first thoughts of creating Marigold begin?
“I was the founder of Stardom, so I hadn’t thought about leaving, but when Bushiroad took over, the sales-first mentality became so overwhelming that it started to feel strange. Also, due to the tyranny of the previous president, I had been planning to start a new organization with some wrestlers since around spring 2023, but nothing concrete happened at that time.”
Looking back, what are some of your personal highlights from your time in Stardom?
“The inaugural show, our first appearance at Korakuen Hall, and Ryogoku Kokugikan were particularly memorable. After the homegrown Stardom became a subsidiary of Bushiroad, the 10th anniversary event at Nippon Budokan was particularly memorable.”
Dream Star Fighting Marigold
For you, what are the key differences between Marigold and Stardom?
“Stardom started from scratch without relying on existing wrestlers. Marigold was started by assembling wrestlers from various promotions, just like ARSION. We’ve always been about discovering and nurturing star wrestlers.”
What are the highlights for you in Marigold’s early history?
“Being able to form the organization thanks to the addition of wrestlers from Actress Girl’s. Giulia’s passion for Marigold was also incredible.”
One of the biggest moments of Marigold’s short history was IYO SKY coming back and wrestling in Japan for the first time since 2018. How did bringing Io back again come about, and what was the thinking behind Utami as her opponent?
“When we were invited to WrestleMania, I asked Triple H to allow her to participate. Utami Hayashishita had always admired IYO SKY, so I wanted to make her dream come true.”
How has Mayu Iwatani becoming a member of the roster helped Marigold and the wider roster in 2025?
“The increase in attendance is probably the biggest impact.”
How important was securing the company’s dojo and how stressful a process was finding the ideal place?
“It took over a year to find a dojo. It’s important to have your own dojo. But finding one that was the right size and price was difficult.”
Marigold has a fruitful relationship with the WWE which has allowed us to see IYO return on two occasions, but how did that relationship start? Has there ever been talk of any other WWE talent doing tours or one-off shows with Marigold?
“When I had a Zoom meeting with Triple H prior to Marigold’s start, he said he wanted to help me with my project. He then invited me to WrestleMania. For now, we haven’t mentioned any other wrestlers besides IYO, but we’ll consider it as the time and opportunity dictates.”
If you could take any wrestler from any era in their prime and place them in current day Marigold who would you use, and who would be their opponent?
“I don’t look back, so I’ve never thought about it.”
Who are some of your current favourites to watch that aren’t in Marigold?
“I can’t say that, because fans would start talking about poaching for no reason!”
One of the stars of the future for Marigold is Victoria Yuzuki. She has gone from strength to strength in her time with Marigold, what is it about her that has contributed to her incredible rise?
“Victoria Yuzuki’s personality is suited to professional wrestling. She’s good at deflecting things and staying focused on the things that matter.”
We are just a few weeks away from Grand Destiny – arguably Marigold’s biggest show ever – Did you ever think back in 2018 that you’d be promoting another Mayu vs Io match on this sort of stage?
“When I founded Marigold, I always thought about it happening someday. And here we are.”
MIRAI’s departure came as a shock for a lot of Marigold fans, did her decision surprise you? Did this force any changes to the Grand Destiny card or the long-term booking going forward?
“MIRAI’s departure was a personal decision, so it was inevitable and not a shock at all. My first priority is the wrestlers remaining with Marigold. But of course it had an impact on the matchmaking at Ryogoku.”
Grand Destiny promises to be an incredible event, how would you describe Marigold to those who may be watching for the first time at Ryogoku Kokugikan in October?
“Mayu Iwatani vs. Iyo Sky will be a match to be remembered in the world of women’s professional wrestling. Please also enjoy the individual charm of each wrestler on our roster.”
You’ve booked some of the best joshi talent across your time with Stardom and Marigold. Not everyone can be a champion, so what stands out to you as something you look for when deciding on a top star?
“One of the elements of a star is visuals. Do they have the looks to be considered a star? Kouki Amarei has all of that; all she needs to do is improve her wrestling skills. The rest depends on whether she can walk the walk and carry the organization.”
A huge thanks goes to Dream Star Fighting Marigold and Rossy Ogawa for doing this interview and giving up their time during an incredibly busy week to make this happen. A big thank you also goes to friend-of-the-show Sonny Gutierrez for facilitating this and being amazing with all of our questions and requests!
We would like to take the time to thank Chiyoko Asakura, without whom this interview wouldn’t happen. Chiyoko kindly translated all of the questions we had for Rossy and we truly appreciate the effort and kindness. You can follow Chiyoko on Twitter right here: @chiyoko_asakura
You can learn more about – and follow – Marigold on both their Japanese (@DSF_Marigold) and English (@Marigold_Joshi) twitter channels. You can also check out their website right here
Finally, another huge thank you to Rossy Ogawa for agreeing to this interview. You can follow her on Twitter here: @RossyOgawa
Margiold Grand Destiny 2025 from Ryogoku Kokugikan is available via WRESTLE UNIVERSE PPV on October 26th. The show can be purchased here.
You can check out Marigold on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. Sign-up with a seven-day free trial here.
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