(NOAH) "Come At Me You Bastards" ~ Kenoh's column (March 28, 2018)
Today's topic: Hometown return shows
From the March 28, 2018 issue of Weekly Pro Wrestling, No. 1948
Translated by Dino (@purodino)
Kenoh: Ren Osugi died.
— The news of his death was sudden, wasn't it.
Kenoh: Ren Osugi was a Tokushima-born star, yaken.
— ?
Kenoh: "Yaken" is Tokushima dialect, you know. Tokushima dialect is kind of like Hiroshima dialect and Osaka dialect added together and then divided in two.
— That's a good way of describing it.
Kenoh: Nanishon? for example, you often say things like that.
— What does that mean?
Kenoh: "What are you doing?"
— And your unique way with the mic, does the flavor of your Tokushima dialect get in there?
Kenoh: That's Daisuke Nakae's intonation. [1]
— (Laughs). By the way, what local Tokushima specialty do you like?
Kenoh: Although relatively speaking, Tokushima ramen or udon are more famous, I like the "Tentama" style of okonomiyaki.
It's okonomiyaki with huge balls of fried tempura in it. "Mametentama"[2] with red kidney beans and tempura added has been widely marketed as Tokushima soul food, do you know it?
— I don't.
Kenoh: Well, I don't give a shit about discussions of dialect and regional cuisine. Are we aiming for a Tokushima tourism ambassador theme this time?
— No, but since you're coming back to your hometown soon for a show on March 21 (Wednesday), I thought you could tell us something about Tokushima.
Kenoh: Are there pro wrestler tourism ambassadors?
— Yamanashi prefecture's Keiji Mutoh is a famous one.[3]
Kenoh: There's also a Hakodate tourism ambassador, isn't there.[4]
— ... so, to promote the show, last week you went to Tokushima for five days, right?
Kenoh: To be able to return to Tokushima holding the GHC heavyweight belt made me very happy. Though it was tiring to do business and promotional activities from morning to night, I wanted a lot of people to come on March 21. Even though it wore down my body, I did all kinds of PR. I absolutely want to make it succeed. Wrestling shows aren't held in Tokushima very often these days, you know. A long time ago, I'd be excited to hear Tokushima's local radio branch of Shikoku Broadcasting air a show called "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling."[5]
— You were lonely as a "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling" listener.
Kenoh: Back then there were promotions that would return several times a year. But now you can count the number of shows in a year on one hand. In those five days — filled with the feeling of wanting the people of Tokushima to get to see pro wrestling live by all means, and for them to get excited again like the old days — I did all kinds of PR. One step closer to being a Tokushima tourism ambassador, I guess.
— How were the promotional activities?
Kenoh: There were of course people who didn't know about me, and there were also people who didn't know about the GHC heavyweight title. But there were also people who said "Being able to see this belt in person is an honor!" I could feel the weight of the history that (Mitsuharu) Misawa and (Kenta) Kobashi built all over again. Though it was for promotion, I was really glad to be able to come back to Tokushima with the belt. There still weren't that many people at Akitamachi though (strained laugh).
— What is Akitamachi?
Kenoh: The main shopping district. Well, there was no chance, round the clock, to behave in a way not befitting the belt. Being able to see people's reactions, how excited they got when they saw the belt, it was a big payoff.
— What did it feel like doing PR?
Kenoh: With countryside shows, first of all there aren't a lot of people who know it's being put on. I appeared on my hometown TV and radio stations, hoping to raise even a little interest. It wasn't just this time in Tokushima, in NOAH we go to a lot of rural areas, right? We have to do them soberly, one by one. And wrestlers from the provinces definitely have to have homecoming shows. It seems HAYATA and YO-HEY each attracted a lot of fans in their hometowns, for example.
— HAYATA is from the Aki district of Hiroshima Prefecture, YO-HEY is from Yabu in Hyogo Prefecture, aren't they.
Kenoh: I think, if you do a solid week of promotion, like now, it won't be a shapeless country show. The company and the wrestlers should discuss that part well together, too, shouldn't they. To that end, we have a guy from Hiroshima city as well, right?
— That's Hitoshi Kumano.
Kenoh: And a guy from Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture?
— That'd be Maybach Taniguchi.
Kenoh: And a guy from Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture?[6]
— That's Junta Miyawaki.
Kenoh: Hey, that could be a whole tour.
And after the curling team at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics caused some excitement, a dessert from Kitami in Hokkaido, the "Red Silo," became popular. [7] There are plenty of local areas with yet-unknown charms.
— It would be nice if this made NOAH's Tokushima show become a yearly event, and Tokushima's passion for pro wrestling would grow.
Kenoh: Yeah, it would.
[1] Kenoh's real name
[2] for a visual: https://mametentama.com/index.html
[3] Keiji Mutoh appeared in a PR campaign for a local noodle specialty, and it is... something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOMXgJF1as
[4] He might be talking about Katsuo (Yuki Ono), who calls himself a Hakodate tourism ambassador on his blog. He overlapped with Kenoh briefly in Michinoku Pro
http://blog.livedoor.jp/oono-yuuki/archives/29836564.html
Or he could be referring to the Great Kojika, who was actually named a tourism ambassador by the city of Hakodate.
[5] Kenoh appearing on "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling:" https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/prores/mens_prores/683989/
https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kensuzukitxt/5048654.html
[6] Also on Shikoku Island
[7] Apparently the Japanese curling team ate them in their downtime
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL2Q4QRLL2QIIPE00K.html
From the March 28, 2018 issue of Weekly Pro Wrestling, No. 1948
Translated by Dino (@purodino)
— The news of his death was sudden, wasn't it.
Kenoh: Ren Osugi was a Tokushima-born star, yaken.
— ?
Kenoh: "Yaken" is Tokushima dialect, you know. Tokushima dialect is kind of like Hiroshima dialect and Osaka dialect added together and then divided in two.
— That's a good way of describing it.
Kenoh: Nanishon? for example, you often say things like that.
— What does that mean?
Kenoh: "What are you doing?"
— And your unique way with the mic, does the flavor of your Tokushima dialect get in there?
Kenoh: That's Daisuke Nakae's intonation. [1]
— (Laughs). By the way, what local Tokushima specialty do you like?
Kenoh: Although relatively speaking, Tokushima ramen or udon are more famous, I like the "Tentama" style of okonomiyaki.
It's okonomiyaki with huge balls of fried tempura in it. "Mametentama"[2] with red kidney beans and tempura added has been widely marketed as Tokushima soul food, do you know it?
— I don't.
Kenoh: Well, I don't give a shit about discussions of dialect and regional cuisine. Are we aiming for a Tokushima tourism ambassador theme this time?
— No, but since you're coming back to your hometown soon for a show on March 21 (Wednesday), I thought you could tell us something about Tokushima.
Kenoh: Are there pro wrestler tourism ambassadors?
— Yamanashi prefecture's Keiji Mutoh is a famous one.[3]
Kenoh: There's also a Hakodate tourism ambassador, isn't there.[4]
— ... so, to promote the show, last week you went to Tokushima for five days, right?
Kenoh: To be able to return to Tokushima holding the GHC heavyweight belt made me very happy. Though it was tiring to do business and promotional activities from morning to night, I wanted a lot of people to come on March 21. Even though it wore down my body, I did all kinds of PR. I absolutely want to make it succeed. Wrestling shows aren't held in Tokushima very often these days, you know. A long time ago, I'd be excited to hear Tokushima's local radio branch of Shikoku Broadcasting air a show called "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling."[5]
— You were lonely as a "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling" listener.
Kenoh: Back then there were promotions that would return several times a year. But now you can count the number of shows in a year on one hand. In those five days — filled with the feeling of wanting the people of Tokushima to get to see pro wrestling live by all means, and for them to get excited again like the old days — I did all kinds of PR. One step closer to being a Tokushima tourism ambassador, I guess.
— How were the promotional activities?
Kenoh: There were of course people who didn't know about me, and there were also people who didn't know about the GHC heavyweight title. But there were also people who said "Being able to see this belt in person is an honor!" I could feel the weight of the history that (Mitsuharu) Misawa and (Kenta) Kobashi built all over again. Though it was for promotion, I was really glad to be able to come back to Tokushima with the belt. There still weren't that many people at Akitamachi though (strained laugh).
— What is Akitamachi?
Kenoh: The main shopping district. Well, there was no chance, round the clock, to behave in a way not befitting the belt. Being able to see people's reactions, how excited they got when they saw the belt, it was a big payoff.
— What did it feel like doing PR?
Kenoh: With countryside shows, first of all there aren't a lot of people who know it's being put on. I appeared on my hometown TV and radio stations, hoping to raise even a little interest. It wasn't just this time in Tokushima, in NOAH we go to a lot of rural areas, right? We have to do them soberly, one by one. And wrestlers from the provinces definitely have to have homecoming shows. It seems HAYATA and YO-HEY each attracted a lot of fans in their hometowns, for example.
— HAYATA is from the Aki district of Hiroshima Prefecture, YO-HEY is from Yabu in Hyogo Prefecture, aren't they.
Kenoh: I think, if you do a solid week of promotion, like now, it won't be a shapeless country show. The company and the wrestlers should discuss that part well together, too, shouldn't they. To that end, we have a guy from Hiroshima city as well, right?
— That's Hitoshi Kumano.
Kenoh: And a guy from Kurayoshi in Tottori Prefecture?
— That'd be Maybach Taniguchi.
Kenoh: And a guy from Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture?[6]
— That's Junta Miyawaki.
Kenoh: Hey, that could be a whole tour.
And after the curling team at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics caused some excitement, a dessert from Kitami in Hokkaido, the "Red Silo," became popular. [7] There are plenty of local areas with yet-unknown charms.
— It would be nice if this made NOAH's Tokushima show become a yearly event, and Tokushima's passion for pro wrestling would grow.
Kenoh: Yeah, it would.
[1] Kenoh's real name
[2] for a visual: https://mametentama.com/index.html
[3] Keiji Mutoh appeared in a PR campaign for a local noodle specialty, and it is... something
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtOMXgJF1as
[4] He might be talking about Katsuo (Yuki Ono), who calls himself a Hakodate tourism ambassador on his blog. He overlapped with Kenoh briefly in Michinoku Pro
http://blog.livedoor.jp/oono-yuuki/archives/29836564.html
Or he could be referring to the Great Kojika, who was actually named a tourism ambassador by the city of Hakodate.
[5] Kenoh appearing on "Weekly Choke Pro Wrestling:" https://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp/prores/mens_prores/683989/
https://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/kensuzukitxt/5048654.html
[6] Also on Shikoku Island
[7] Apparently the Japanese curling team ate them in their downtime
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL2Q4QRLL2QIIPE00K.html
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