(NOAH) The drifter who remains - Interview with Yoshihiro Takayama
12th September 2000 (Issue 994)
Note: Parts of this interview are hard to make out thanks to Weekly Pro putting graphics over words in some parts, plus the size of the text and the layout of the article, make it hard to see.
On August 19th at Differ Ariake, Yoshihiro Takayama teamed up with Jun Akiyama and attacked Kenta Kobashi, declaring the elimination of the old generation. His actions surprised everyone, but it was important as he stated that on that day, at that time, and in that place. Although he is not the type of person to settle down, he is now staying in Noah, and trying to move Noah forward. This is not because he is looking for stability, but because he is looking for more intense fights.
Q: At the recent show (19th August, Differ Ariake), you and Akiyama suddenly attacked Kobashi. What were your thoughts and feelings at that time?
TAKAYAMA: When Noah first came on the scene, I think everyone thought they had to come up with something different. But when the fried chicken liquid card was decided, and I saw the media coverage, I thought, "This is no different from the company I left," and I felt really strongly about it. For two days, Akiyama was the one who wiped out the higher ranks, and the results were different, but with the way the cards were put together was the same as before, and this was the first trigger to take action.
Q: Is it the same as in the All Japan days?
TAKAYAMA: If you think about it carefully, that is true. It's not like the names Misawa and Kobashi from All Japan have been completely erased, and even if they have shifted at this point, then it is just inevitable that they will just emerge at the top. But that's no good. I may have said it couldn't be helped and done nothing up until now, but if my regular position in All Japan has shifted, then I have to change that in Noah. In that sense, myself and Akiyama were heading in the same direction. That's all there is to it.
TAKAYAMA: I don't know. We might team up. We might not. We might each act separately to deal a heavy blow to Misawa, Kobashi and Taue. However, since wrestling is a business of showing your intentions clearly to people, you have to make your intentions clear to the audience, right? That's why I expressed my intentions like that.
Q: Did you discuss it with Akiyama before doing that?
TAKAYAMA: We've had a rough talk.
Q: You'll do it if you feel the same way?
TAKAYAMA: To put it simply, that's it.
Q: Akiyama has said before that you are a good wrestler, but what do you think of him?
TAKAYAMA: In both good and bad ways, he's a very cunning man (laughs) In my analysis, Akiyama is the only one who has a twist to his style, and when I watch him, it's an interesting twist.
Q: Have you spoken to Omori about this matter? He is currently absent.
TAKAYAMA: No, not at all.
Q: Does that mean this is a completely personal action?
TAKAYAMA: Yes. After the match the fact was that it wasn't something I did with NO FEAR or anything, it was just something I did as an individual.
Q: Omori and Akiyama are classmates*, so there is a special sense of rivalry between them. Do you think that makes for an easy relationship?
TAKAYAMA: Does that mean that NO FEAR will break up or something?
Q: But wouldn't that be a possibility of you and Akiyama were to team up in the future?
TAKAYAMA: Nothing has been decided yet. Akiyama and I might team up, but I don't intend to cut ties with Omori, and it might just be the three of us. At this point, Omori hasn't opened up about his actions yet, so I don't know what will happen.
Q: Akiyama said he would leave NO FEAR as NO FEAR, right?
TAKAYAMA: I thought that after that, the fans and the media would think about us disbanding, but as I've said before, NO FEAR is not a team for the sake of being a team, it was a team from the beginning that was a means for Omori and Takayama to rise up. Because NO FEAR is important, I'm not going to sacrifice myself.
Q: If Omori says he can't understand your actions, could the team break up?
TAKAYAMA: It's not that simple. I will explain and discuss it with you so that you can understand, and I won't just tell you to get lost, because you say you don't want to accept it.
Q: So this time, you felt something had changed as an individual?
TAKAYAMA: I think it was better in terms of overall convenience.
Q: In fact, you chose Noah as the place to fight, and the reason was that it was worth it. Is Noah a rewarding place for you? Is it worthwhile to be able to express your own style?
Q: President Misawa has said that he respects the will of the individual, but does that have anything to do with the September series* cards?
TAKAYAMA: Well, to that extent, he has to team up (with Akiyama), and Kobashi and Rikio are not strong enough to compete. Kenta Kobashi's partner needs to be a decent individual, otherwise it will be boring. There's no point.
Q: Misawa or Taue?
TAKAYAMA: That's right
Q: At Ariake, you said you wanted to get rid of the old guys who play nostalgic songs.
TAKAYAMA: It's been about ten years now, and people have been calling them The Four Heavenly Kings. I think it's enough (laughs). But just when you think that's enough, the media starts calling them the New Four Heavenly Kings. I think they should think about how to express it better (laugh). I don't think that Misawa, Kobashi, Taue and Akiyama are The New Four Heavenly Kings. Some people might feel comfortable watching them as the top, but I don't think it's interesting for people who look at them with a negative attitude.
Q: The point of this action is to destroy structural things as well.
TAKAYAMA: It's the same with everything. It's not just in the world of professional wrestling, but also when a country changes its government, there's a terrorist attack, a revolution, a king is killed, someone who was unknown up until that point becomes a hero, and so on. That's natural in human society, and history makes use of it.
Q: Do you feel like you have started a revolution?
TAKAYAMA: I don't think we have reached that stage yet.
Q: It's just getting started?
TAKAYAMA: It's about to start.
Q: Not as in a revolution, but in terms of making a difference from the past, do you think there could be options like friendly matches with other promotions?
TAKAYAMA: I think that people who can do it should do it. That's all I've been a wrestler for (laughs). That's how I gradually emerged. It may sound strange to say it like that, but it's been about three years since I started hanging out with the people who are now in Noah, and I think I'm starting to get tired of it (laughs).
Q: Are you getting bored?!
TAKAYAMA: It's not that I've lost my motivation, but based on the cycle I've followed up until now, it's time to move on to the next promotion. So if I don't change the way I interact with others and the situation, I'll just get stuck in a rut. As I said before, I need to think about how to look at things.
Q: Is that why you chose Akiyama?
TAKAYAMA: Yeah.
Q: Are you interested in interacting with New Japan?
Q: Why is that?
TAKAYAMA: Because if that happens then everyone will be looking forward to Misawa vs Mutoh* or Kobashi vs Kensuke*, right?
Q: You have experience in New Japan, so you certainly bring a fresh perspective.
TAKAYAMA: I've faced most of the wrestlers, but the situation is completely different from back then, and I'd like to enter the G1-Climax, which is different from what I'm doing now. If Takayama enters next year's G1, and Kawada also enters, and it's Kawada vs Takayama in the first round, Kawada will probably be upset and think, "It's you again!" (laughs)
Q: So, you are always looking for new fights, right?
TAKAYAMA: Because that suits my personality.
Q: For example, your old teammate Kazushi Sakuraba is active in PRIDE, what if you were to venture into the world of Vale Tudo* like that?
TAKAYAMA: I'd be interested. I'm often at PRIDE venues, after all. It just hasn't been reported up until now. I told them not to take photos because it's too much hassle, but as the president says that Noah is liberal, so it's fine if I confess this (laughs). I also go to Rings and stuff. I go to see things where my old teammates are.
Q: Apart from going to shows, do you have any desire to try Vale Tudo?
TAKAYAMA: If I find a good partner. It sounds like matchmaking (laughs). If I find a good opponent, I'd like to try it.
Q: President Misawa has said that there is a possibility of a relationship with PRIDE in the future.
TAKAYAMA: Yes. Well, Vale Tudo is about technique, but I think it also depends on personality. I think that's quite important. As Akiyama said, I think that having the technique of amateur wrestling is an important point, but you definitely can't win with that alone. If that was all you needed, I think there would be more people with a proven track record in amateur wrestling, and you'd get a lot of fight money after all.
Q: What else do you need besides personality?
TAKAYAMA: When Sakuraba or Fujiwara win, I think it's because they've been trained in professional wrestling dojos and have a base in amateur wrestling. Especially the way Sakuraba wins. I've only seen Fujiwara's fight with Mark Kerr, so I don't know.
Q: Do you think your personality is a good fit?
TAKAYAMA: What do you think? I honestly feel like I want to try this because I've never done it before and I don't know what to do. Being a pro, the fight money is appealing, after all. I've been feeling a bit overconfident lately. I was very conflicted when I entered this world, worried I'd give up, but...I thought if I could just step into the ring, my dream would come true and I'd be so happy, so I went in with the feeling that I was jumping off a cliff. So I'm starting to think it might be okay to take more risks.
Q: Kakihara-san, who came to Noah at the same time as you has recently left. What happened?
TAKAYAMA: Well, the issue of style was something that was said three years ago, so it seems a bit late to mention it now, so it's nonsense.
Q: Was there anything else he wanted to do?
TAKAYAMA: The other day, Kakihara-san called me personally to say he was quitting, but when I asked him what he was going to do, he said he hadn't decided yet. However, from what I could make out, it didn't seem like he had anything he wanted to do.
Q: If he was going to quit, then the question arises as to why he even took part in the inaugural shows?
TAKAYAMA: When you think about it, I don't think he had any intention of quitting.
Q: In the last match, the Takayama way took on. Was there anything you learned?
TAKAYAMA: As far as I'm concerned, I got the sense that he wanted to do something different from what he'd done up until then in All Japan. He put on gloves and did it that way, so I imagine that he must have thought about it a lot during his hiatus. I said that Takayama was trying to find the true meaning of a wrestler, but I am sure that Kakihara was also thinking about it. Perhaps he had lost sight of the true meaning of Kakihara as a wrestler since coming to All Japan.
Q: So he tried to show his potential in Noah's inaugural matches, but he thought he couldn't make the most of himself there?
(Note, from here on Weekly Pro decided to put graphics over some of the text, which makes it hard to read)
TAKAYAMA: Some people may say that Kakihara didn't make the most of it, but from my perspective, it's something that just doesn't work, because it wouldn't have worked. Even if it had been a singles fight, he might have knocked Omori down and finished the fight, but the results of that one match don't change anything. We've faced each other and exchanged a few punches, but I thought this guy wouldn't even land a punch. Punches from other guys landed better, that's for sure. Kakihara may have had some feelings about it, but Shiga's punches were pretty impressive.
Q: The match with Shiga was a different kind of fight from the "September 2nd Pro Wrestling" that All Japan has been developing.
TAKAYAMA: Ultimately, I'm different in some ways, so I won't have the style that was developed in All Japan. I think that's where I'll be able to interact with people who grew up there, and I'm really looking forward to it. There will be the echoes of September 2nd, and there will be some amazing moves, but pro wrestling isn't just about that. It's about continuing to do that. That's my role.
Q: Misawa-san had the feeling that he was sending Kakihara on a journey, but what about you?
(Note, Takayama's response is hard to make out properly due to the layout of the article)
TAKAYAMA: I'm at a loss for words right now. If I were sick, I would quit, but the loneliness ended when Kingdom* broke up, so it's nothing like what you all think. If there was something like that, it would be like when Kingdom broke apart and we were separated.
Q: Even now, is there still contact with Kingdom?
Q: I hear you are good friends with Sakuraba?
TAKAYAMA: The other day I went to his house to get his autograph (laughs). I was asked by a friend as he's really popular now. I called him and said "Is it okay if I come over today?", and bought along a Sakuraba Machine mask and a book.
Q: I am going to see the next PRIDE.
TAKAYAMA: I am too
Q: I would love to see you compete in a singles match.
TAKAYAMA: Well, I'm not really interested in aces or underdog champions. I don't really care about that. It seems like there is no method for that sort of thing.
Q: Not even as an ace?
TAKAYAMA: Speaking bluntly, I don't care who the champion is, but I want it to be someone who is intimidated by me. That's the kind of person I want to be.
Q: When exactly will you be able to become that kind of presence?
TAKAYAMA: Well, my goal after competing in All Japan was to be the main eventer of the century, so that means that it will start next year, which is why I made some moves recently.
Notes
Classmates: All Japan dojo
Series: Old fashioned word for tour. Misawa disliked it, as he did the word "tour". "Series" is not a word that if often used these days in Puro journalism.
Misawa vs Mutoh: This was Keiji Mutoh's dream singles match, which sadly never happened.
Kobashi vs Kensuke: Uncanny!! For the newer fans, this is Kensuke Sasaki who had an epic showdown with Kenta Kobashi in Noah in July 2005. This shows that even in 2000, five years before the match, it was one that fans wanted to see.
Vale Tudo: Early form of MMA which it would become, at this stage it was known as NHB (No Holds Barred) in the United States. As for Takayama venturing into it, the Don Frye fight would happen on June 23, 2002.
Kingdom: A short lived Japanese pro wrestling promotion which ran from 1997 to 1998. It was essentially a continuation of UWF International
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