Fale Dojo is excited for Michael Richards’ upcoming appearance at New Japan Pro Wrestling’s ‘Road to Destruction’ tour. Richards will be a participant in the ‘Young Lion Cup’ tournament which will take place on the ‘Destruction’ shows. This special competition will be exclusive to the young lions from the New Japan Dojo, Fale Dojo and LA Dojo.
“I will be a part of the upcoming NJPW ‘Road to Destruction tour’ in September,” said Richards the young lion. “The tour will be three weeks long, and it will be my first ever tour of New Japan, so I’m really excited.”
“During the G1 Climax, we saw the LA Dojo lions, Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks compete on the undercard of the shows as well as doing ringside duties,” Richards continued, explaining the details of his schedule. “Expect to see me doing the exact same thing during this tour. I will also be back at the NJPW Dojo to continue to prove myself alongside the NJPW young lions.”
Source: NJPW
2019 has been a busy year for Michael Richards. Since his return to New Zealand from the NJPW Dojo in Tokyo, the young lion has leant his experience as a trainer at Fale Dojo during the first two intakes. Richards also made his New Japan debut this past June at the ‘Southern Showdown’ tour of Australia. Richards’ forthcoming appearance at ‘Road to Destruction’ will be his greatest milestone to date, he explained.
“This is the biggest opportunity I have ever got in my career,” stated Richards, the accomplished Fale Dojo and New Japan Dojo graduate. “There are a lot of mixed feelings going into this tour.’
“Two years ago, I started this journey with New Japan Pro Wrestling as I attended the first-ever tryout in New Zealand,” he reflected.
“Since then, I have been working tremendously hard at Fale Dojo and the NJPW Dojo. Now everything is starting to fall into place and all of the hard work is now paying off.”
During his time as a training at Fale Dojo, Richards was reunited with Liam Fury and Patrick Schischka, two students that he was familiar with prior to their enrolment into the February 2019 intake.
“I first met Liam and Patrick back in 2013 when I first started training,” said Richards. “Liam and Pat used to help train me back in the day and they still help me now. We have a lot of good history together”
At the conclusion of the course, Toks ‘Bad Luck’ Fale (Dojo founder and Head Trainer) selected Fury and Schischka to advance to the New Japan Dojo where they are presently nearing the end of their training.
“I haven’t been in touch with Liam and Pat as much as I’d like and that’s because I know what it’s like for them,” explained Richards. “I was in their shoes last year and when I was there, and I never talked to anyone because I wanted to focus on myself and the training at the NJPW Dojo.”
“It’s been a year since I was at the New Japan Dojo,” recalled Richards the alumnus. “It honestly doesn’t feel like it’s been that long, but for so long I have been waiting to return to the (NJPW) Dojo, and I get to do that in a week.”
Although Michael Richards is equipped and excited for the next chapter in his journey, he remains grounded in acknowledging Fale Dojo which he will proudly serve at the Young Lion Cup.
“When it comes to me, there is always a huge amount of pressure riding on my shoulders,” said Richards in closing. “I want to perform to the best of my ability and represent Fale Dojo the best I possibly can.”