Tiger Hattori Explains Why He Retired As A Referee

In an interview with NJPW1972.com, former NJPW referee Tiger Hattori explained why he retired from the promotion and revealed he has spinal stenosis. Here are highlights:

On why he retired: “Hey, I’m 74, man! I have two grandkids. Last few years I’ve been thinking the time was coming, and now all of a sudden I’m 74. About five or six years ago I had spinal stenosis, too. I couldn’t move my feet for a while.”

On how he got spinal stenosis: “Wrestling, obviously! Every now and then the referee gets caught in between the wrestlers right? [It’s an] occupational hazard. Anyway, if I kept going, it would be a problem for everyone else. There needs to be referees who can enforce everything better in there. I’ve been incredibly lucky, to do this for so long. None at all. I’ve had so much fun. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still want to do it at least a little bit, but more than anything I don’t want to be a hindrance.”

On NJPW wrestlers that leave the promotion: “Well, a lot of times, it doesn’t just come down to what that person wants, but their families and a lot of other stuff too. There are a lot of foreign wrestlers who can make better money abroad, but still think ‘Ah, Japan’s better’. Japan’s a great country. That’s why (Will) Ospreay decided to live here, right? Shin-chan (Shinsuke Nakamura) is doing well over there though. I see him sometimes in New York. I always thought he’d do well over there. But you never know, maybe he’ll want to come back one day.”