(NOAH) Nakajima to champion Kiyomiya "Experience is different"

26th July 2019
Tokyo Sports

Katsuhiko Nakajima (31) who challenges for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at Noah's Kultz Kawasaki event, had words* for the champion Kaito Kiyomiya (23).

After talking about the champion he said, "I have the ability and the results, and the style of a champion." However, after talking about Kiyomiya, his eyes glinted like a knife. "The weight of what I carry is ten times more, the number of places I have been have been different."

Nakajima debuted at WJ in September 2003. While he was called a "boy genius", he wasn't allowed to feel it as on a daily basis he was scolded by his demonic teachers, Riki Choshu, Kensuke Sasaki and Shiro Koshinaka each day as he did his best just to keep up with the practice.
After the collapse of WJ the following year, he made his introduction with Kensuke Office. The days of training with Kensuke one-on-one, spanned about three years.
"When I was seventeen, I seriously ran away at night, saying "I cannot do this anymore". I came back, but there were hundreds of times when I thought about it."
Kiyomiya talks about the difficulty of completing the generational change, but he dismisses it as "soft".
"I was fortunate that I had a wall to get over, and when I did, that big wall was gone".

In February 2014, he took his first victory from Kensuke Sasaki. However, soon afterwards Kensuke announced his retirement, and he lost his goal.
"Mr. Sasaki at that time was really cool. I tremble every time I remember it. However, the next moment I was fainting as everything became clear white. I want to ask if he has ever experienced such frustration?".

On the 21st himself and Go Shiozaki (37) saw off the team of Shuhei Taniguchi (42) for the GHC Tag Championship. He says, "I will take the belt from you, and make it easier."
The dark kick king will get two crowns.

Link to original article from Tokyo Sports (in Japanese)
Picture credit: Tokyo Sports

*Phrase used in Japanese is "to cut in two", which means in English "at a single stroke", but as this does not translate into this context, I have had to substitute it.