(NOAH) "Switch off Kotoge", Champion Yoshioka to build a new landscape, 14th March GHC Junior match signing ceremony

Pro Wrestling DX

8th March 2021

Q: What is your enthusiasm for the title match? 

KOTOGE: I am Kotoge, the challenger. I think the ability to have taken the belt from Daisuke Harada, the champion is "the real deal", so especially in terms of speed and sharpness, he is outstanding compared to other wrestlers. I want to be on guard. With the will and the guts, which I have never lost to anyone in my career, if I say that I can beat the champion then I want to win. I will take the belt, and because I am holding back from trying for the junior tag, with Harada and Miyawaki, I would like to create a good atmosphere as a team, pass the baton, and with the three of us wearing belts, create a new era. 

YOSHIOKA: I wrestled pre-matches with Kotoge, and finished with 1 win and 2 losses. I know that Kotoge is a strong wrestler, has a long reach, and I know it well that he is a wrestler to be afraid of for one shot. However, by repeating the pre-matches, I was able to stimulate the championship, so I want to return the humiliation that I have received so far, the humiliation I received in the main event of the first FULL THROTTLE produce on Saturday. And above all, I want to return the humiliation that FULL THROTTLE was made, which I want to return in the title match. I want to switch off Atsushi Kotoge, without taking his Kill Switch. 

Q: This will be an important stage for Seiki Yoshioka to be shown as a champion, but what kind of quality do you want to show in Fukuoka? 

YOSHIOKA: I think when I was able to win the GHC Junior belt for the first time at the Nippon Budokan, I showed proof that I was a member of Noah there, and in the title match in Fukuoka, it will be as Noah's GHC Junior champion! I want to create an image as a champion that is a bit different from previous champions. 

Q: Kotoge, what are your thoughts on the GHC Junior? 

KOTOGE: I think it's been about five years since I wore it. I think Noah is working really well both in and outside of the ring, and of course the fans are watching us and the staff. It's different now, it's not the past, but the present, and I want to show the current fans that once again there is a strong wrestler named Atsushi Kotoge, this is not a repayment for those who have been supporting me for a long time, I want to make you feel good supporting me. 

Q: With Mutoh the GHC Heavyweight champion, it seems that the topic of the juniors has been pushed down, but how do you see that as the champion? 

YOSHIOKA: I think that attention will increase when outsiders, wrestlers from other promotions or new wrestlers enter, but I am of the Noah juniors. I have been watching them before I came to Noah, and I have always thought there were a lot of high-level wrestlers, so I want to show the content of a match that will attract attention. The fight of the Noah Juniors is amazing, and I want to have a match that brings attention to that.

Q: Keiji Mutoh, who will have a heavyweight title match is a benefactor, but will you be in indirect competition? 

YOSHIOKA: I try to maintain the feeling that at any event, I want to have the best match. I have a lot of thoughts, but when I go to the ring, I think everyone is a rival.

   

Translated from Pro Wrestling DX

Picture credit: Pro Wrestling DX