(NOAH) "This is the start", Naomichi Marufuji talks about the 12th February Budokan, and the "Magical power of pro wrestling".
11th February 2021
On February 12th, Pro Wrestling Noah will hold a Nippon Budokan event for the first time in eleven years. It is a big stage that symbolizes, "prestigious reconstruction".
The main battle cards are of a different type than the usual "Noah-ness". Go Shiozaki vs Keiji Mutoh for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, and Kenoh vs Masakatsu Funaki for the GHC National Championship. The current tag champions are Takashi Sugiura and Kazushi Sakuraba. Naomichi Marufuji, who is the focal wrestler and Vice President of the operating company, CyberFight, talks about the current situation where current Noah is prominently active with legendary wrestlers.
"In a good way, Noah doesn't treat legendary wrestlers as guests. Like Mutoh and Sakuraba, they enjoy Noah's wrestling."
Marufuji wrestled against Hiroshi Hashi in a six person tag match at Korakuen Hall on January 4th. He has a strong image as a politician, but Marufuji, who has experienced his ability says, "I wondered what he was like, and so sent out feelers, but he decided on things quickly. It's a strange way of saying it, but he knew what he was going to do, and he was doing a makeshift movement. He decided on each move, and came out with something like, "If you can't deal with this, I'll finish it". I thought I was beaten, so when I tried to return it, it was suddenly something else. I get the sense that next time in the ring, he is not going to get that happen again, but it was fun to do, but will he come?"
Mutoh has challenged for the championship at the age of 58, and Hashi will be 60 this year. Nevertheless, they show "strength" in the ring.
"Maybe there is some kind of "magical power" in pro wrestling. If it is a sport other than martial arts, isn't it the age at which you aren't actively playing, let alone retiring? There are wrestlers who can do that. In that sense, Mutoh and his colleagues, are not the same as they used to be, and that is why it is attractive now. They can only be seen in Noah currently." Although Marufuji himself has said, "I don't think I will go too far", he also seems to be equipped with that "magical power". He has suffered injuries, and it has not been possible to make the same movements as to when he was young. Still, he is showing his strength as a veteran.
"Wrestlers have a turning point. In my case, I had a major injury. Do you give up, or do you find out what you can do and extend it? I was the latter. There is also the idea that there is only professional wrestling. How do you live if you stopped wrestling? I can't imagine myself not doing it, so I have had to wrestle with particular care. If there was any other guarantee, then there might have been no choice".
Recently, he is showing off the Tiger King (a knee kick), which is a counter move that is done when the opponent is dragged down from the top corner. This is an arranged version of his specialty.
"In this era, it's difficult to bring out a new move when there are so many techniques. So, depending on the situation, I will give it some originality. Moreover, I am small, so it is difficult to lift the opponent. I haven't done a body slam in about ten years, so I started having matches with a focus on how to control my opponent."
On the 12th February at the Budokan, Marufuji will team up with Jun Akiyama to wrestle Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura. It was Marufuji who appealed to Akiyama, who had left Noah to serve as All Japan's President and now was working in DDT, to form a tag.
"Fighting with Akiyama was done at a turning point, so even if we were to have a single match, I can almost imagine what would happen. But more than just tagging, I feel that something will be born by having fun wrestling. Tag teams are better when it comes to, "What will be born", including the atmosphere when standing side by side, in that way, a tag is better. Even when Akiyama was in Noah, we had hardly tagged. It might be awkward, but that is what makes it interesting. Even if we don't speak, then the timing may be perfect. I think it's good that nothing can be predicted".
By teaming up with Akiyama, he has the strong desire to show the "now" of Noah's history while teaming. This is why the opponents are Kiyomiya and Inamura, both in their twenties.
"It's not fun just to be immersed in memories. I want to show Noah properly, and I think the match between the younger wrestlers and Akiyama is fresh. It will be a very valuable experience for them. If the two of them who are on the rise, will come across Akiyama and feel the depth of pro wrestling. It feels like growing at the moment of the match. I also fought against Akiyama and grew. Giant Baba is the one who taught him the pace of a talented wrestler, so he not only has the techniques, he knows how to take his time, create an atmosphere, and has other various "treasures of pro wrestling". I don't want to raise it too much, but that is how it is (laughs)".
Not to mention the wins, the losses, the content, and what Kiyomiya and Inamura feel in this match and how to make use of it will be naturally big points, but in other words, what is important is "after The Budokan".
"It's not a commemorative event, and it's not a Budokan to reflect on the past. I want to show Noah as it is now, and connect that to the future. That is the start".
Marufuji says that the younger wrestlers will be able to grow both as wrestlers and as people by regularly experiencing the Budokan event, "If all the gears mesh, then Noah can be bigger. Right now we are still at the beginning, but I think all the gears are aligned". On that pivot is Go Shiozaki, the GHC Heavyweight Champion. "Noah is Go Shiozaki now, the position is "Noah", isn't it?"
Marufuji says that in "the current Noah", there is an absolute champion, a veteran and rising stars. Noah's future is illuminated by the shining of all of them.
Link
"Four Days in April: All Japan, Noah and their troubled history" (this will explain why the tag with Akiyama was so significant)
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