(NOAH) Kenoh: "Self" Confessions
January 4, 2017 issue of Weekly Pro Wrestling (No. 1883)
A crucial decision amid NOAH's new system
Kenoh transitions to heavyweight!
Translated by Dino (@purodino)
A pressing personal interview
After NOAH left Suzuki-gun, there's a wrestler who made a crucial decision.
Kenoh. Though he's been active on the front lines of the junior division up to now, he declared that he's becoming a heavyweight. We want to hear about this difficult decision.
(Photos by Kikuta, Interview by Inoue)
Remembering what it was like to come to NOAH
— In Janaury of next year [Translator's Note: The interview was conducted in December 2016], it'll be three years since you came to NOAH.
Kenoh: The first year I was here and the two years after that were completely different, weren't they. I thought NOAH's fights were the best fit for me. In the first year I joined a heel faction, thought I probably have to promote it, and things changed course. The second year arrived, Suzuki-gun came, and things changed course again.
In essence, I really didn't know whether I'd be able to accomplish the things I wanted to do. Though in the end we carried on thinking we had to rouse NOAH, Suzuki-gun was no longer there and our numbers as a company were depleted, but there was an opportunity as an individual. After all, we had to get to a place where we'd evolve.
— Why did you originally come to NOAH from Michinoku Pro?
Kenoh: Because as Kenoh, I wanted to elevate my name and my presence, and to grow up as a wrestler.
— You've been in the junior division since you started competing in NOAH.
Kenoh: I was aiming for the GHC junior title, but I wasn't able to take it.
— Though you made 3 challenges – in July 2014 against Daisuke Harada, in January 2016 against Taiji Ishimori, and in August the same year against Yoshinobu Kanemaru, you weren't able to get a win. Why do you think you didn't take it?
Kenoh: As for my abilities, I didn't intend to lose to anyone. It's not that I shrank back, I was fighting with everything I had. But maybe there were some things in my character that had to hinder me. In the beginning I joined Choukibougun, and I was always thinking I wanted to establish myself as a heel. Then Suzuki-gun, the powerful foreign invader came in, and my character as a heel wavered. Finally, more than in my time in Michinoku Pro, I felt I had to liven up NOAH as an organization, and maybe before I realized it I was putting my role as a wrestler above all else. And although I wanted to show my "self" ... in reality there were those conflicts. Maybe since I wasn't quite getting settled, I wasn't getting results in singles matches.
— Amid that, Suzuki-gun left, and NOAH entered into a period of great change.
Kenoh: I want to remember again what it was like when I first came to NOAH. And I've decided to start bringing out my "self," without anything holding me back. November's "Global League 2016" series, really there was nothing. And in the series of 2 opening nights at Korakuen, the juniors didn't wrestle any matches. Heavyweights really are at the center of pro wrestling. From now on I'm thinking I want to wrestle in the heavyweight division.
Without using the kendo stick, showing strength with the body alone
— So that means you're transitioning from junior to heavyweight?
Kenoh: Although I've been a junior from the start, in terms of bodyweight, I'm not a light person, and even in the heavyweight division, there are people with a similar physique who compete.
— Right now, GHC heavyweight champion Katsuhiko Nakajima, Naomichi Marufuji, and Takashi Sugiura, for instance, are under 100 kilograms, and they're leaving behind results in the heavyweight division.
Kenoh: I don't ever particularly doubt my true strength. And if I can go on showing my "self" after this, I think the results will keep coming in due course. Though in terms of character, there was part of me that kept saying "it's me, it's me," you really couldn't say I was just fighting for my sake. For NOAH's sake, for Choukibougun's sake, KenOhara's sake... those were somewhere in there, maybe. But from now on, it's going to be different. I understand it's a difficult road. Rather than the guys I've been facing up to now, I'll take on weighty wrestlers, and though I understand that the physical burden will increase, I also believe I'll overcome it.
— What are your thoughts about NOAH right now?
Kenoh: No one can deny that with the reduction in numbers after Suzuki-gun pulled out, it's gotten a bit desolate. When Suzuki-gun was there, the heavyweight face of NOAH and the heels of Suzuki-gun were the focal point that lent color to the matches. That's also the charm of pro wrestling though, NOAH was selling NOAH's fight. I thought it would have been better if NOAH wrestlers had been having fierce matches with each other the whole time. From now on, I believe that if NOAH can keep having fights that bring out NOAH's color, people will increasingly come to watch in great numbers.
— Really, the reason you came to NOAH is also to have matches with NOAH's kind of wrestling.
Kenoh: Character and such aside, it's good, you know. Because I think I'll become a wrestler who can show his strength with his body alone, without using something like a kendo stick.
— From now on, do you think your character itself will also keep on changing?
Kenoh: When it comes to changing, though I've intended to fight with a character that suits me, there's also the aspect where you're always suddenly noticing certain things. From now on I just want to carry on in a way that lets me go higher as a wrestler.
— Now Sugiura has raised a call to action, saying, "guys who think we can't keep going like this, get moving." Does it have something to do with that?
Kenoh: He wasn't saying that to me directly, in particular. Right now I just want to think about my affairs.
Though I don't know about the distant future, that guy himself is an appealing presence now. Whether I'm teaming with him or fighting him, I want to keep getting involved with this appealing thing. But till the end, rather than another person, I'm putting myself first. Because I have the resolve that I'm going to become the heart of the heavyweight division, to the point where I lead this company.
Nippon Kempo is openweight
Parting with Ohara⁉︎
— You don't have a lingering affection for the junior division?
Kenoh: No. Today's NOAH needs to change in a big way. Rather than having a little look back on the past, I'm going to aim for the summit of the heavyweight division. Nippon Kempo is openweight, you know. I wasn't held back by rank, and openweight fights suit me best.
— How big were the fighters you'd face in Nippon Kempo matches?
Kenoh: In the self-defense forces and such, there are some really big guys. There were for example some guys who were 190 cm and weren't sluggish opponents.
— So since long ago, facing heavyweights hasn't been hard?
Kenoh: Well, yes. My starting point, bodyweight and such, wasn't important.
— What current heavyweight wrestlers are on your mind?
Kenoh: Of course, Sugiura. Right now he's the most attractive. But though I keep saying it, more than any of the wrestlers around me, I'm thinking about myself.
— What about your tag team with Hajime Ohara, "KenOhara?"
Kenoh: Gradually there was a feeling like, that's enough I guess. Originally we just teamed within the framework of Choukibougun, and I didn't like that guy to begin with. He also has those character traits that I dislike so much in myself, right? With someone saying "KENOH, KENOH" next to me, I'd get a bad feeling, but there was nothing to be done. Instead, teaming with him limited me in some ways. I think maybe because we joined together despite our styles being the opposite, I couldn't bring my strength to the forefront.
— He defeated you in a singles match in April of this year.
Kenoh: By rights, he was an opponent I absolutely could not lose to. Being able to get just a little break had an impact on wrestling with him. My style is to put on a fight with an air of tension. As we kept wrestling together, before I knew it I probably got taken along by his pace. So when that break suddenly happened, it enhanced me. That comical element wasn't necessary for me as a wrestler. Though I wasn't particularly dragging out that defeat, the gloom didn't clear for a long time.
We don't have to borrow the strength of freelancers and wrestlers in other promotions
— How do you want to proceed in NOAH from now on?
Kenoh: Well NOAH is NOAH, you know. Because Suzuki-gun was also here for some years, we couldn't bring that out. To that extent, since we had these foreign invaders with a rough way of killing, we couldn't put together pure offense and defense. From now on, we'll clash directly, our bodies and our attitudes, with more and more heat and intensity, I want to have more punishing matches. And If I end up being at the heart of an internal conflict, naturally that's the direction I want to go in. With the opponents in front of me, I want to steadily figure out their offense and defense. That's NOAH's original form, I guess. It feels like everyone has forgotten NOAH's essence. Especially now that Suzuki-gun is no longer here, even though we're fewer in numbers, I think we can certainly have some rich matches with our current lineup. To put it in extreme terms, we don't have to borrow the strength of freelancers and wrestlers from other promotions.
— President Masayuki Uchida said "Because this is an entertainment company, there will be a minimum number of matches at each event."
Kenoh: I'll say it clearly, I think it would be fine to only wrestle within NOAH. NOAH has its own NOAH kind of pro wrestling. If its shine has been a little bit dulled, we don't need other wrestlers. Except for the guys coming from other promotions, like me a while back, who want to bury their bones in NOAH wrestling. Not the ones who feel like it's okay to have two or more other positions at the same time... the ones who absolutely have the resolve to fight in NOAH, I want to fight fiery guys like that one after the other.
— Well then, in terms of concrete actions, when will this happen?
Kenoh: Watch and see. One way or another it's going to come my way.
A crucial decision amid NOAH's new system
Kenoh transitions to heavyweight!
Translated by Dino (@purodino)
After NOAH left Suzuki-gun, there's a wrestler who made a crucial decision.
Kenoh. Though he's been active on the front lines of the junior division up to now, he declared that he's becoming a heavyweight. We want to hear about this difficult decision.
(Photos by Kikuta, Interview by Inoue)
Remembering what it was like to come to NOAH
— In Janaury of next year [Translator's Note: The interview was conducted in December 2016], it'll be three years since you came to NOAH.
Kenoh: The first year I was here and the two years after that were completely different, weren't they. I thought NOAH's fights were the best fit for me. In the first year I joined a heel faction, thought I probably have to promote it, and things changed course. The second year arrived, Suzuki-gun came, and things changed course again.
In essence, I really didn't know whether I'd be able to accomplish the things I wanted to do. Though in the end we carried on thinking we had to rouse NOAH, Suzuki-gun was no longer there and our numbers as a company were depleted, but there was an opportunity as an individual. After all, we had to get to a place where we'd evolve.
— Why did you originally come to NOAH from Michinoku Pro?
Kenoh: Because as Kenoh, I wanted to elevate my name and my presence, and to grow up as a wrestler.
— You've been in the junior division since you started competing in NOAH.
Kenoh: I was aiming for the GHC junior title, but I wasn't able to take it.
— Though you made 3 challenges – in July 2014 against Daisuke Harada, in January 2016 against Taiji Ishimori, and in August the same year against Yoshinobu Kanemaru, you weren't able to get a win. Why do you think you didn't take it?
Kenoh: As for my abilities, I didn't intend to lose to anyone. It's not that I shrank back, I was fighting with everything I had. But maybe there were some things in my character that had to hinder me. In the beginning I joined Choukibougun, and I was always thinking I wanted to establish myself as a heel. Then Suzuki-gun, the powerful foreign invader came in, and my character as a heel wavered. Finally, more than in my time in Michinoku Pro, I felt I had to liven up NOAH as an organization, and maybe before I realized it I was putting my role as a wrestler above all else. And although I wanted to show my "self" ... in reality there were those conflicts. Maybe since I wasn't quite getting settled, I wasn't getting results in singles matches.
— Amid that, Suzuki-gun left, and NOAH entered into a period of great change.
Kenoh: I want to remember again what it was like when I first came to NOAH. And I've decided to start bringing out my "self," without anything holding me back. November's "Global League 2016" series, really there was nothing. And in the series of 2 opening nights at Korakuen, the juniors didn't wrestle any matches. Heavyweights really are at the center of pro wrestling. From now on I'm thinking I want to wrestle in the heavyweight division.
Without using the kendo stick, showing strength with the body alone
— So that means you're transitioning from junior to heavyweight?
Kenoh: Although I've been a junior from the start, in terms of bodyweight, I'm not a light person, and even in the heavyweight division, there are people with a similar physique who compete.
— Right now, GHC heavyweight champion Katsuhiko Nakajima, Naomichi Marufuji, and Takashi Sugiura, for instance, are under 100 kilograms, and they're leaving behind results in the heavyweight division.
Kenoh: I don't ever particularly doubt my true strength. And if I can go on showing my "self" after this, I think the results will keep coming in due course. Though in terms of character, there was part of me that kept saying "it's me, it's me," you really couldn't say I was just fighting for my sake. For NOAH's sake, for Choukibougun's sake, KenOhara's sake... those were somewhere in there, maybe. But from now on, it's going to be different. I understand it's a difficult road. Rather than the guys I've been facing up to now, I'll take on weighty wrestlers, and though I understand that the physical burden will increase, I also believe I'll overcome it.
— What are your thoughts about NOAH right now?
Kenoh: No one can deny that with the reduction in numbers after Suzuki-gun pulled out, it's gotten a bit desolate. When Suzuki-gun was there, the heavyweight face of NOAH and the heels of Suzuki-gun were the focal point that lent color to the matches. That's also the charm of pro wrestling though, NOAH was selling NOAH's fight. I thought it would have been better if NOAH wrestlers had been having fierce matches with each other the whole time. From now on, I believe that if NOAH can keep having fights that bring out NOAH's color, people will increasingly come to watch in great numbers.
— Really, the reason you came to NOAH is also to have matches with NOAH's kind of wrestling.
Kenoh: Character and such aside, it's good, you know. Because I think I'll become a wrestler who can show his strength with his body alone, without using something like a kendo stick.
— From now on, do you think your character itself will also keep on changing?
Kenoh: When it comes to changing, though I've intended to fight with a character that suits me, there's also the aspect where you're always suddenly noticing certain things. From now on I just want to carry on in a way that lets me go higher as a wrestler.
— Now Sugiura has raised a call to action, saying, "guys who think we can't keep going like this, get moving." Does it have something to do with that?
Kenoh: He wasn't saying that to me directly, in particular. Right now I just want to think about my affairs.
Though I don't know about the distant future, that guy himself is an appealing presence now. Whether I'm teaming with him or fighting him, I want to keep getting involved with this appealing thing. But till the end, rather than another person, I'm putting myself first. Because I have the resolve that I'm going to become the heart of the heavyweight division, to the point where I lead this company.
Nippon Kempo is openweight
Parting with Ohara⁉︎
— You don't have a lingering affection for the junior division?
Kenoh: No. Today's NOAH needs to change in a big way. Rather than having a little look back on the past, I'm going to aim for the summit of the heavyweight division. Nippon Kempo is openweight, you know. I wasn't held back by rank, and openweight fights suit me best.
— How big were the fighters you'd face in Nippon Kempo matches?
Kenoh: In the self-defense forces and such, there are some really big guys. There were for example some guys who were 190 cm and weren't sluggish opponents.
— So since long ago, facing heavyweights hasn't been hard?
Kenoh: Well, yes. My starting point, bodyweight and such, wasn't important.
— What current heavyweight wrestlers are on your mind?
Kenoh: Of course, Sugiura. Right now he's the most attractive. But though I keep saying it, more than any of the wrestlers around me, I'm thinking about myself.
— What about your tag team with Hajime Ohara, "KenOhara?"
Kenoh: Gradually there was a feeling like, that's enough I guess. Originally we just teamed within the framework of Choukibougun, and I didn't like that guy to begin with. He also has those character traits that I dislike so much in myself, right? With someone saying "KENOH, KENOH" next to me, I'd get a bad feeling, but there was nothing to be done. Instead, teaming with him limited me in some ways. I think maybe because we joined together despite our styles being the opposite, I couldn't bring my strength to the forefront.
— He defeated you in a singles match in April of this year.
Kenoh: By rights, he was an opponent I absolutely could not lose to. Being able to get just a little break had an impact on wrestling with him. My style is to put on a fight with an air of tension. As we kept wrestling together, before I knew it I probably got taken along by his pace. So when that break suddenly happened, it enhanced me. That comical element wasn't necessary for me as a wrestler. Though I wasn't particularly dragging out that defeat, the gloom didn't clear for a long time.
We don't have to borrow the strength of freelancers and wrestlers in other promotions
Kenoh: Well NOAH is NOAH, you know. Because Suzuki-gun was also here for some years, we couldn't bring that out. To that extent, since we had these foreign invaders with a rough way of killing, we couldn't put together pure offense and defense. From now on, we'll clash directly, our bodies and our attitudes, with more and more heat and intensity, I want to have more punishing matches. And If I end up being at the heart of an internal conflict, naturally that's the direction I want to go in. With the opponents in front of me, I want to steadily figure out their offense and defense. That's NOAH's original form, I guess. It feels like everyone has forgotten NOAH's essence. Especially now that Suzuki-gun is no longer here, even though we're fewer in numbers, I think we can certainly have some rich matches with our current lineup. To put it in extreme terms, we don't have to borrow the strength of freelancers and wrestlers from other promotions.
— President Masayuki Uchida said "Because this is an entertainment company, there will be a minimum number of matches at each event."
Kenoh: I'll say it clearly, I think it would be fine to only wrestle within NOAH. NOAH has its own NOAH kind of pro wrestling. If its shine has been a little bit dulled, we don't need other wrestlers. Except for the guys coming from other promotions, like me a while back, who want to bury their bones in NOAH wrestling. Not the ones who feel like it's okay to have two or more other positions at the same time... the ones who absolutely have the resolve to fight in NOAH, I want to fight fiery guys like that one after the other.
— Well then, in terms of concrete actions, when will this happen?
Kenoh: Watch and see. One way or another it's going to come my way.
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