(NOAH) Katsuhiko Nakajima, from a good child to a star

9th July 2020

sp.ch.nicovideo.jp

(Unfortunately like the Yoshinari Ogawa article, this is not the full interview as only half is free, the rest you have to subscribe for)

Kagehiro Kosano is the former editor of "Weekly Gong" and a former wrestler 

Q: From the time of his debut, I would look at Noah's Katsuhiko Nakajima in surprise and say, "Is this a wrestler?"

KOSANO: Katsuhiko debuted in January 2004 when he was 15 years and 9 months old, and now he is 32 years old. Well, you can see how much he has changed from what he looked like (laughs).

Q: Question does not translate, but it can be like saying "already 32 years old, or still 32 years old?"

KOSANO: He made his debut in WJ, but at the time he never spoke. Riki Choshu had a policy prohibiting young people from talking to the media. 

Q: That means there was a professional hurdle

KOSANO: TAKA Michinoku, who presided over KAI-EN-TAI dojo, had a policy of not talking to trainees. Tomohiro Ishii alone was the only person allowed to speak at WJ, Takano and the others said "No comment". Nakajima first spoke when he appeared in X-1

Q: The legendary mixed martial arts event sponsored by WJ! Nakajima made his pro debut in MMA before wrestling. 

KOSANO: I wasn't covering X-1 at the venue, so I am not sure what was said. I interviewed him for his pro wrestling debut in January the following year, originally he did Karate and so not only kicks but dropkicks were also good, so I wondered "Is this suitable for professional wrestling."

Q: Although he made his debut as an anticipated newcomer, WJ was about to collapse, so he left. Nakajima entered pro wrestling to feed his family, so what happened? 

KOSANO: He entered wrestling to provide for his family. Nakajima called Kensuke (Sasaki) and asked, "Please let us work together". Kensuke left WJ before Katsuhiko.

Q: So they had a strong bond since the WJ era? 

KOSANO: Kensuke returned to his old nest when New Japan ran Tokyo Dome on January 4th 2004. It was the day after he had a big bloody battle against Yuji Nagata, and with the audience booing he handed a bouquet to Katsuhiko to decorate his debut. 

Q: You came to the farewell WJ event, right? 

KOSANO: Kensuke came in a suit to the venue, I asked him "What's wrong?" he said, "It's Katsuhiko's debut match". Katsuhiko continued to wrestle in WJ for a while, but I think there was this connection with Kensuke. It seems that Kensuke's wife, Akira Hokuto, said "Don't dye your hair. If you dye your hair, you won't get Mama's fans"

Q: As expected from Akira Hokuto (laughs). 

KOSANO: Both mothers and women are conscious of such layers. It was Kensuke who was particular about black tights, but it was Hokuto who asked "Why black?" (laughs). 

Q: Kensuke took custody of Nakajima after he became free

KOSANO: I think Kensuke was pretty worried, he had just become a freelancer and so I think he wondered how he was going to feed Nakajima. Kensuke already had two children. In the end he said eventually, "If wonder if I had another child, could I raise him? Two and three all together."

Q: Division is amazing!

KOSANO: So Katsuhiko lived in Kensuke's house for almost two and a half years, which is a great story.

Q: I think it would have been difficult to join other promotions

KOSANO: He was still a child, and so I think it would have been difficult to accept him as a new trainee, and because Nakajima himself started in WJ, it was natural to go to Kensuke, and by accepting Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kensuke also became a baby face. When Kensuke returned to New Japan he was still being booed as a heel, but in the midst of the match between Lyger and Nakajima at the Tokyo Dome in May, Kensuke and Hokuto came out to second Katsuhiko involuntarily, cheered and changed the view all around of Kensuke and Hokuto. 

Q: From that match I was addicted to the concept of "The Kensuke Family". 

KOSANO: Everyone knows about the case study of the Sasaki family, even though they were not making that much money they took on a sixteen year old boy to foster. 

Q: It is a real story, which is why I feel empathy

KOSANO: I talked with Katsuhiko after the Tokyo Dome event had ended. It was after Kensuke Office had started to participate in All Japan regularly. I remember his debut fight in All Japan which was Kensuke & Nakajima vs Toshiaki Kawada & Ryuji Hijikara, with Nakajima getting the wrist lock on Hijikata. In the middle of the match Nakajima kicked Kawada in the face. Kawada, who was irritated, did a spin kick to Nakajima's face. Kawada was heckled with, "Kawada, he's not even grown up!" (laughs). 

Q: The scene when Kawada was struck comes to my mind (laughs)

KOSANO: After the match, Katsuhiko was crying tears of regret. A month later, Kensuke and Katsuhiko challenged Tenryu (Genichiro) and Fuchi (Masanobu) for the Asian Tag titles in Nagoya. Nagoya is Katsuhiko's hometown, and while his mother and Katsuhiko's friends came out to cheer for him, Tenryu kicked the sixteen year old boys face with a barrage of kicks (laughs). 

Q: That sounds like Tenryu (laughs)

KOSANO: Tenryu said, "Even if you are sixteen years old and you come to the ring for a title match, there will be no allowances". Tenryu at that time was older than Katsuhiko's father. Their body sizes were completely different, and they had to hit like rocks. Tenryu praised Nakajima, "He wasn't scared. He is a new debut, and he wasn't scared at all just because he is a child."

Link to original article from NicoVideo

Picture credit: NicoVideo