(NOAH) 20th Anniversary Debut! Noah's Genius Marufuji, "After retirement, I want to become an artist".

Yahoo.co.jp
30th August 2018 

For his teacher, his allies and the next generation, Noah's genius, Naomichi Marufuji (38), has made revelations ahead of the 20th anniversary debut (September 1st, Sumo Hall)
The main event is the fight against the eternal rival KENTA (37), who won the Tokyo Sporrts "Wrestling Grand Prize" for best bout. In a match that will never be reproduced, he is planning to make a total decision on the "past, current and future" for himself and Noah.

Q: You last clashed after about five years and two months, and it is approaching in four days. WWE have acknowledged the match as a special case.

MARUFUJI: The best outcome has happened. The missing years do not matter. He and I have had intensive battles, and we fought for sixty minutes (October 2008)* I want this match to cause shaking. He has also suffered an injury, and I think that frustration has been accumulated, and I want it all to be spat out.

Q: What about in the match?

MARUFUJI: It will be a match that we have never had before. We don't have to use the dangerous techniques like the old days, still I am confident we can "fight an amazing match" to surprise customers. It would be great if we could transmit to to the world like that.

Q: You have been hinting at retirement at age forty?

MARUFUJI: When I think about the seniors who raised me, they were not in the same situation. There are people who like wrestling, but do not have the resources. If you think about those people, you cannot say "retirement".

Q: That means?

MARUFUJI: Misawa (46), Kobashi (51), Takayama (51) who is fighting injury now...therefore I want to continue to work. Even though my right arm has numbness and no sensation, it may end after a year, or it may last five or ten years. I think I should draw a clear line.

Q: Who has been the most unforgettable in twenty years?

MARUFUJI: Misawa, as expected. I adored being his assistant...but I never got any advice. He was not a talkative person (laugh). But he said, "always take responsibility for what you say".

Q: Jun Akiyama (48) and Takashi Sugiura (48) of All Japan will be clashing in a tag match at the semi?

MARUFUJI: I challenged for the Triple Crown by winning this years "Champion's Carnival", and the impact is difficult beyond that, and then the other wrestlers need to stand up. I have sowed seeds, and this is the ignition point.

Q: Sugiura et al?

MARUFUJI: It gets interesting when the wrestlers at ringside jump in. Pro-wrestling is fun to develop, when the company holds its head in its hands, expansion is more interesting (laughs).

Q: There is pride in what the event will mean for the next generation?

MARUFUJI: For the past five years, our young athletes have not experienced a big match infront of 10,000 people. I want them them to realise the fact that "wrestling can be glittering", I want them to see the truth in this as I believe it will lead to the future.

Q: Will you retire and turn into an entrepeneur?

MARUFUJI: No, I would like to be an artist. I have drawn pictures since I was a child. Even now in the middle of the night when my family has gone to bed, I will be drawing. I will immerse myself in painting while listening to the birds singing in the mountains and the babbling of the brook (laughs).

Link to original article from Yahoo.co.jp (in Japanese)


*Noah's one and only "Ironman Match".