(Noah) Takashi Sugiura talks about his heart surgery, current Noah, Kenoh, the generation struggle and Marufuji in "Champion Carnival"

Weekly Pro

March 2018

Regarding his heart issues, Sugiura said it all happened some years ago when he felt ill and was taken to hospital by ambulance. The doctor told him that the chances of stroke or myocardial infarction grew as he got older, and it was better to have the operation sooner rather than later. All of this occurred during his last title reign and it was very tough for him, if he practiced at the dojo he became very ill and couldn't move. Things got tougher because naturally as champion, there are responsibilities. The times got tougher, the medication went up, and it took President Uchida to step in when Noah was sold, and tell him that he should undergo surgery at the next opportunity.

When he did have surgery, it ended up being 7 - 8 hours (he was told originally it would only be about 2 - hours). Despite this he was discharged quickly from the hospital, and although he could not yet physically wrestle anyone, and didn't, he did start to go back to lifting weights and exercising (he doesn't  mention being under the eye of President Kitai at the private gym in Tokyo who put him through intense workouts). He had to take medicine that prevented vascular thrombosis, and it made his nose bleed, but he didn't stop. 

So how does he see Noah now?

Sugiura says he sees the emergence of the younger wrestlers, especially with different looks (such as Kitamiya and Nakajima). When asked about Kenoh he talks about him in ZERO1 (and in a manner which suggests he is actually quite proud of him) and says that he went a long way there, and he says that speaking from personal experience (such as when he participated in the G1 in New Japan), he thinks it was good for Kenoh to have participated in the ZERO-1 "Fire Festival". In that way he feels his illness might have been a good thing, had it not happened then Kenoh's capabilities might never have been seen as he would probably have stayed in a team with him and done the occasional singles match. Compared to when he was a junior (and armed with a bamboo stick), Sugiura said there is a lot changed about Kenoh now, the atmosphere and the sense of danger in particular. 

He saw that Kenoh's time had come when he was commentating the Kenoh vs Go Shiozaki match at "Global Tag League" in 2017. He said he was not only doing commentary, but also tweeting.

Regarding Noah now, Sugiura says that rather than being a battle of groups as it was during the Suzuki-Gun era, he feels it is now a battle of individuals. There are many more chances for people, many of which have been made by Kenoh's rise (i.e. someone not Noah born).

Asked how he feels about Kenoh's "the era of Marufuji etc is over", Sugiura manages to deflect this and says that as he said at Korakuen, he hasn't even begun to build his age yet. They then talk about the Budokan, where Sugiura put the belt on for the first time, and he says he wonders if there had been a similar struggle for the people of the generation above him (i.e. Misawa, Kobashi, Akiyama etc). In the four months since he returned, he was asked why he didn't challenge for the GHC sooner? Sugiura said there was no rush, he could do it any time, and then the opportunity arrived. When asked about Kenoh's statement, "asshole, you at the Budokan is impossible" he says that he no longer cares about it. He thinks he said it at the spur of the moment, but unlike Kenoh, Sugiura has been to the Budokan before. After discussing Global Tag League, which is looming, they get back to the Budokan, where Sugiura says he understands Kenoh's feelings about it, but Kenoh, as a pro wrestler, has never been there*.

Sugiura recalls how Noah at one point where booking it out five or six times a year, and the last time was when he faced Takeshi Morishima and defended the belt against him. He knows how hard it is get back there, but he feels that it is a "treasure" for the company to have youngsters who think that way, and it will be their youth and their force that will take Noah back there. 

Q: Perhaps everyone in Noah feels, "I want to go back, but it is probably impossible"

Sugiura: That may be true, when I say it I sometimes think what I am talking about? The musician says "One day I will go to the Budokan". However Kenoh's way of saying it is to suggest he is going to do it alone. Is that guy going to do a solo concert? 

Sugiura is then asked how he compares Noah now to Noah how it used to be. Sugiura says there was no way he could have made title matches with Misawa and Kobashi, and later Kobashi was gone, Misawa was dead, he did one with Takayama and Akiyama, and then the next time was run by New Japan, so he understands how Kenoh feels. 

They discuss Marufuji in Champions Carnival. Sugiura said it was conflicting for Marufuji, but he too would want to go out like that too. He talks about the pressure on Marufuji, particularly the risks of going to other promotions, and then fighting as both himself, in the Champions Carnival and as GHC Champion. Sugiura says he doesn't want to fight Marufuji with the Triple Crown, but if he does win then Noah can show strong their wrestlers are.

*Kenoh went there for a graduation ceremony after university.