Publication: Whatever happened to the Sons of Gold?

[Sons of Gold (金の息子)]

Taken (and translated) from a Japanese wrestling publication:

A HOUSE DIVIDED

Whatever Happened to the Sons of Gold?

 

Anyone who claims to be a fan of the Japenese wrestling scene is familiar with Isao Masaki. One of the towering (literally) greats of Puroresu, Masaki won every championship that was put in front of him. He is generally considered one of the greatest of all time, and uncounted numbers of wrestlers from both sides of the Pacific have named him among their inspirations.

He is perhaps known for the brilliant (and bloody) 60 minute Iron Man match with Hong Kong legend Teardrop for the Unified Heavyweight Championship. In front of a full (and standing) Tokyo Dome crowd, Masaki scored the decisive (and only) fall with less than 4 seconds remaining, his patented crane kick felling yet another opponent.

So it came as little surprise that, around about 10 years ago, there was a great deal of fanfare surrounding the debuts of his sons; Hiroyuki and Kono. Trained by the great man himself, many tipped them to be the future of the Puroresu scene. 

Their father's championship filled legacy earned them the nickname "The Sons of Gold" before they had even set foot in a ring, so it would be an understatement to say that much was expected, nay demanded of these two young men. However, when they won the Nippon Star Pro Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in only their third outing, went on to defend the titles for almost two years, the doubters seemed to have been proven wrong. Kono Masaki, in particular, was singled out as one of the most naturally gifted wrestlers the country had ever seen.

Offers came flooding in, from both sides of the Pacific, but their close relationship with their family meant that any chance of a date in the US or Europe was minimal at best. In the end, it was United Japan Wrestling that seemed most likely to land them on a full time basis. The working relationship between that company and the American global brand GZW2K1 gave hope to the growing US Puroresu fanbase that the two may find their way overseas in the future.

But as we all know, the deal never materialised. 

Troubles at Home

While Masaki is rightly recognised as a wrestling great, his demons away from the ring are well known. An ever burning desire to put on better matches than anyone else took an increasing toll on his body. To cope with the pain, and in attempt to prolong his career, he would often self-medicate using increasingly strong substances. Stories of him being found passed out backstage at events dogged him throughout his career, and the number of “surprise” card changes involving him is the stuff of legend. 

Away from the ring, Masaki was arrested no less than 15 times for offences of violence, and of those a significant number of these alleged offences were against his wife. No charges wherever brought, and he was certainly never tried, but speculation was rife that this was simply more than the rage of a drunken wrestler.

When his wife passed away after a short illness, the truth finally became known; there was only one Son of Gold.

Biologically speaking, at least.

Brothers Torn Apart

Isao Masaki was, at his core, a traditional family man. Finding out that his wife had an affair proved too difficult for him to handle, doubly so finding out that his youngest son was fathered by another man. With his wife gone, Masaki disowned his younger son, Kono, almost immediately and, if the stories are to be believed, made every effort to torpedo the young man’s wrestling career. 

Thus ended a young partnership that many hoped would be the start of a new dynasty.