RIP to Johnny Powers, who it has just been confirmed passed away on December 30. One of the most important Canadian-born wrestlers of his generation, Powers was the star of the NWF in the early 70s before allowing NJPW to buy it out and gain its first singles title.

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1. [Here](https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2023/01/07/johnny-powers-dead-at-79/) is an obituary by esteemed Canadian wrestling historian Greg Oliver.

   For those interested in the story behind his deal with NJPW, sourced from a Japanese interview from a few years ago, I covered it in a project of mine on the ProWrestlingOnly forums about early New Japan history. Go to the section [of this post](https://forums.prowrestlingonly.com/topic/54719-naoki-otsuka-and-the-early-years-of-njpw/?do=findComment&comment=5992344) with the heading “Ontario Shinigami”.