小川直也
Hashimoto launched into a brutal rivalry against Judo champion Naoya Ogawa in 1997, leading to Hashimoto vowing to retire from NJPW if he lost again, which happened in April 2000. He stayed at New Japan for the New Japan/All Japan "Do Judge!" card on October 9, where he defeated Tatsumi Fujinami by submission, and also appeared at the "Great Voyage 2000" event for Pro Wrestling Noah on December 23, where he defeated Takao Omori, but he later left NJPW as promised.