(NOAH) The "Phantom single" with Misawa, overlapping Keiji Mutoh; interview with Shuhei Taniguchi.
Pro Wrestling DX
On the 22nd November, Shuhei Taniguchi faces single combat with Keiji Mutoh at the Yokohama Budokan. Aiming to breakthrough his "incomplete" situation, where he continues with "one step more", he directly appealed to Mutoh for a single match, saying "I want to grab something". Directly appealing to Mutoh for a singles match, as he wanted a legend who called himself a genius. In the depths of psychology there is the "phantom singles match" with the late Mitsuharu Misawa, and his own feelings as a father.
INTERVIEW WITH SHUHEI TANIGUCHI
Q: Immediately after finishing the N-1 with a loss, a singles match was arranged by directly appealing to Mutoh.
TANIGUCHI: The reason I wanted the match was due to my current position...in order to change the halfway position and break the current situation, I asked to experience Keiji Mutoh myself, hoping to get a chance to break through.
Q: It may be that you have little experience fighting against wrestlers known as "legend class"
TANIGUCHI: That's right, but there must be something that I can take away because I will be so close
Q: The situation in which you couldn't break through has continued for quite a while
TANIGUCHI: It's halfway...I always say that "this is the last chance", but I don't think there will be a future if I really do miss this chance.
Q: Is this an outcome from your thoughts about the main cause?
TANIGUCHI: Well, I think about it, but the more I think about it, the less I understand...that's why I think there is no choice but to grasp it in the match. By experiencing Keiji Mutoh, I have a feeling that what I haven't noticed and what I haven't touched, I will react to throughout the match. I may be able to find that missing piece in myself.
Q: What is going to happen in the match against Mutoh?
TANIGUCHI: There is a part of me that gets monotonous, and so I want to experience Keiji Mutoh's pace and rhythm. After all, he fights completely different from the "Noah fight".
Q: You have also put Keiji Mutoh next to Mitsuharu Misawa
TANIGUCHI: Yes, that is one of the reasons...I couldn't have a singles match with Misawa. By the way...in the final evening of the league in which Misawa passed away, we were going to have a singles match in the fourth round of the ten match series. After Misawa passed away, Bison (Smith) replaced him as the opponent.
Q: Is there a part which overlaps with Misawa?
TANIGUCHI: Yes. I was desperate to catch something at that time, but that may not have changed even now. The type is completely different from Misawa, but there is a situation of places where that overlaps. If I miss this now, I may not have another chance to wrestle Mutoh.
Q: After the match against Kazuyuki Fujita last year, you began to use soccer ball kicks on the face a lot. There are a few people who have the courage to do that to Keiji Mutoh.
TANIGUCHI: I don't think I can push through what I want that much if I don't do it. I am going to fire as many shots as I want.
Q: On top of that, how will you get "Keiji Mutoh's neck" (rough translation)
TANIGUCHI: I want to connect it all to the GHC Heavyweight, I have to leave an impact and take Mutoh's neck to go up.
Q: You are 44, and the father of one, but you have not yet captured the long sought after GHC Heavyweight Championship?
TANIGUCHI: Yes. My son is four years old, and becoming interested in pro wrestling. He has started to ask, "Who will you wrestle today?" Recently he has been asking, "Why don't you win?", and I came to ask myself, "Why do you lose?" I am at a loss for words, and it breaks my heart. So that is why I think I have to show my child how I can win.
Q: As parents are wrestlers, does your son only see his father in the ring*? (rough)
TANIGUCHI: I think the "time limit" is approaching, and if I miss this opportunity, there is no future. I feel like that. Just trying to grab something, for me it's the same as usual. But, moreover...I will win.
*The phrase used is "showing the fathers back", which means that to a child, he only ever sees his father when he turns (his back) i.e. to walk out the door to go to work. The only equivalent in English would be to say that someone never sees their father as he is always working.
Picture credit: Pro Wrestling DX
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