(NOAH) The source of "I am Noah", interview with Go Shiozaki
27th October 2020
Q: In last week's issue, Katsuhiko Nakajima refused an interview...
SHIOZAKI: What do you mean?
Q: I asked for an interview with the N-1 VICTORY winner, but in response I got "I said everything in the ring..."
SHIOZAKI: The only thing he said in the ring, was to look down on his opponent, wasn't it? I wonder if the "spectacular view" for Katsuhiko Nakajima, is a an "spectacular view" for everyone.
Q: Nakajima said, "I will take the belt from the back and forth champion, and show you a "spectacular view".
SHIOZAKI: He can tell that story after he takes the belt from me. Well, say what you want. I will do what I think.
Q: Did you see much of that side of Nakajima in the AXIZ era?
SHIOZAKI: It was there. I think that is the individuality, image and posture of each wrestler. When I was with him, I was thinking about to improve it.
Q: Is there something like "You" in Nakajima?
SHIOZAKI: I think it's good to have core strength. I have been watching recent matches, but to be honest, but it's the same when I teamed with him; the usual Katsuhiko Nakajima.
Q: From our perspective, he has changed a lot...
SHIOZAKI: From my point of view, he hasn't changed that much.
Q: I will ask about that later, but how was your 1 year and 9 months working as AXIZ?
SHIOZAKI: AXIZ was created a while after returning to Noah. There was also the fight against the Suzuki Army, but I think the reason why Go Shiozaki = Noah was impressed so strongly, was because there was an AXIZ. It was thanks to AXIZ.
Q: You returned to Noah in November 2015, but if you use the words of Nakajima, there is the point of view that you are "going back and forth".
SHIOZAKI: There was a part that I was fighting with myself about. Even though I was fighting The Suzuki Army, I really wanted to protect Noah, but I wondered if it came across to everyone in a slightly different way. However, since AXIZ was created I have been able to speak more naturally, and I think that I can express my desire to protect Noah even more honestly. It is thanks to AXIZ that I have become able to say, "I am Noah". I think for myself and Noah, this has been a necessary team.
Q: Until then, you were carrying a heavy burden alone. With Nakajima beside you, you could say things that you didn't usually with enthusiasm and honesty.
Q: Until then, you were just pondering things.
SHIOZAKI: Certainly, there were things that I had to ponder. Thanks to Katsuhiko Nakajima, "Katsu-san", it was possible to blend into Noah as AXIZ.
Q: While AXIZ continued to be the centre of the tag front, Kiyomiya led the singles.
SHIOZAKI: That was what Noah needed at the time. A young man named Kaito Kiyomiya resurrected Noah as champion. In response to everyone's expectations, I think he made Noah as everyone thinks, but to me, I think I have returned.
Q: Because of Kiyomiya's success, you also caught fire.
SHIOZAKI: Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura, Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima...a belt that all those wrestlers couldn't get. I was able to challenge when my chance came round, and it was the best time. Before that, there was the singles match with Katsuhiko Nakajima.
Q: It was your 15th anniversary match of your joint debut at Korakuen Hall on the 3rd March.
SHIOZAKI: I won that, I challenged for the GHC at the best time, and I won it.
Q: Nakajima is currently throwing the phrase "the champion who goes back and forth*" at you.
SHIOZAKI: That might have been the case a few years ago, but I think it's okay to be a "champion who goes back and forth". That's how I thought. Certainly, there was a time when I did go back and forth like those words, but it's over now and I'm not stuck in that forever; I am a wrestler who was born and raised in Noah that's why.
Q: On the contrary, I wonder if Nakajima has a complex about you, as you made your debut in Noah.
SHIOZAKI: If I am going back and forth, then I wonder what he is. Certainly, he has spent a long time at Noah, but now everyone in Noah is Noah. I wonder if Katsuhiko Nakajima is thinking about himself when he says "back and forth" to me.
Q: Nakajima had a period of carrying Noah
SHIOZAKI: I took the GHC from the Suzuki-Army and protected Noah. As for the phrase, "Going back and forth", it doesn't bother me anymore. I am confident that I am NOAH, so I say the words, "I AM NOAH". Perhaps it was five or six years ago that the fans who were new to Noah, might not have known that I was "returning". I'm not going to talk about is anyway, but if that is what you think it doesn't matter. However, I do want to focus on the fact that Katsuhiko Nakajima and I will fight for the GHC in the Noah ring now. To be honest, it's not the provocation, I just want to fight Katsuhiko Nakajima as I am angry at the fact that AXIZ has been eliminated. I don't know what I want to do with Kongoh.
Q: On the 10th August in Kawasaki, you were betrayed by Nakajima after losing the GHC Tag Team Championship. What are your feelings about that now?
SHIOZAKI: I don't know if it was something he had been thinking about for a long time, something he did on the spur of the moment, or something Kenoh had said to him, but he did it in such a way against me. I wonder if I'm ready. Even if he didn't betray me, he still won the N-1, and he still could have fought me for the GHC. I know his ability, and I think it will be a more emotional battle than any of the previous GHC.
Q: It looks like it will be a very different battle from the previous defenses.
SHIOZAKI: There was an outsider to Noah, Kazuyuki Fujita, but this time it is a fight with emotion. It is not just a defense battle.
Q: How was it when you saw Nakajima's N-1 fight?
SHIOZAKI: I fought Nakajima in the final, didn't I?
Q: Until now, there was a part that bought out the goodness of the opponent, but it goes without saying that it was a fight that crushed that.
SHIOZAKI: It is a way of fighting with that much power. I felt like I was crushing him. For me it's perfect; come to crush me, in minutes I will turn it into power and deflect it. This is a fight to show off the GHC.
Q: At the beginning, you said that Nakajima was "not changed", but what has changed?
SHIOZAKI: I don't know what he wants to do in joining Kongoh, I thought that he was creating a new unit. That's about it. I don't know what he wants to do yet, I don't think he has made it known.
Q: I didn't hear anything because he refused an intervoew
SHIOZAKI: Isn't it good to show what Kongoh's Katsuhiko Nakajima is in the fight against me? I will repel everything.
Q: So, what does Nakajima want to do as Kongoh...
SHIOZAKI: It hasn't been conveyed. It may be that he himself does not even know.
Q: Now that you mention it, he speaks of Shiozaki as "going back and forth" and Kiyomiya as a "pretend hero", but about himself he only speaks vaguely, except about winning the belt.
SHIOZAKI: I will drag it out of him by the time I get to the title match, Kongoh's Katsuhiko Nakajima, what do you want to do? If I can see it, then I can take action. But, Katsuhiko Nakajima, who hasn't offered anything will not reach the GHC. I don't feel like losing, on the contrary, I will crush him.
Q: I'm curious about the position of the leaders Kenoh and Nakajima in Kongoh
SHIOZAKI: What they want to do in Kongoh, I somehow understand, to put it simply it's about rebelling. However, I honestly couldn't see what individually they wanted to do, and when Katsuhiko Nakajima entered, the situation became even more confused. Because Kenoh has the GHC National Championship, I think he needs to use it.
Q: Since the double championship in August, there has been no movement for the GHC National*
SHIOZAKI: It doesn't mean that there has to be many defenses, but a belt that doesn't move isn't worth it. I worry for the future of Kongoh.
Q: What?
SHIOZAKI: Kongoh's future...the promise now on of Kongoh (bitter smile)
Q: You are finally building a long term dominance on this championship road?
SHIOZAKI: Noah did not stop, even with the Corona pandemic. I wonder if that gave me good power to push forward. I am grateful that Noah went forward during Corona, and I am grateful to be able to create a situation where more people could see it. From here onwards, I have to return that as the champion; I feel like I am fighting a GHC that only I can do.
Q: Making the absolute champion era of Kenta Kobashi a virtue.
SHIOZAKI: I think Kobashi would say, "You still have a long way to go" (strained laugh) But, this is also a new belt, and I have to make it more than the weight of the old GHC. I want to make it more Noah than it was then.
Q: But in return for the fierce battle, your whole body is hurt.
SHIOZAKI: It's fine.
Q: You don't look okay...
SHIOZAKI: Both my shoulders, my elbows
Q: What about your knees?
SHIOZAKI: My knees are surprisingly okay.
Q: In August, there was the 60 minute full time draw, there were three title matches, and the N-1 from September to October.
SHIOZAKI: It is the rule for anyone who wears the GHC Heavyweight. Everyone has to go beyond. There is no reason that I can't go beyond, is there?
Q: Two weeks after Yokohama, the biggest event of the year will be held at Yoyogi 2nd Stadium
Q: The Yoyogi event will only be the second one, and the first time in sixteen years since October 2004.
SHIOZAKI: Returning to the venue is a good move. I want to give more momentum to that.
Q: With only two months left of this year, tell us of your fight against Corona again.
SHIOZAKI: On the contrary, because this year has been so different, I feel that pro wrestling has been reviewed. The reason why I stayed indoors was that the number of broadcasts on ABEMA has increased, and I can now watch pro wrestling on my smartphone. It feels like the modern version of street TV. I was able to reconfirm that pro wrestling is absolutely necessary because even more people are watching it than ever before, and I want to make the light of Noah even greater from now on.
Translated from Weekly Pro
Image credit: Weekly Pro
*This phrase doesn't really translate well. In Japanese it means a divorced woman who returns to her husband or an employee who returns to a job. There is no equivalent in English, so sadly the impact of what Nakajima means is lost.
*This interview was done before Kaito Kiyomiya challenged Kenoh
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