"The resurrection of "I am Noah" and surpassing New Japan" Strong Arm Go Shiozaki's lifelong duty
28th January 2022
Can he shout "I am Noah" again? Noah's Go Shiozaki (40), who won the Best Bout award in the "2021 Pro Wrestling Awards" as established by Tokyo Sports, gave us his thoughts on a complete revival. Shiozaki received the award for the first time for the GHC Heavyweight match against Keiji Mutoh at the Nippon Budokan on February 12th last year. After losing the match, he underwent surgery for "dislocation of the right biceps tendon", so what is the aim of the strong arm, who was forced to leave the ring for nine months?
Q: What is your impression of winning Best Bout?
SHIOZAKI: To be honest, it comes to mind that it was a match that I lost, so thank you for rating it. It is a shame that I lost it, but I also came to know the scale of Keiji Mutoh.
Q: After this match you missed time from March to December last year.
SHIOZAKI: While defending the belt, I experienced a sense of discomfort, pain and weakness in my right shoulder. In the match with Keiji Mutoh, I couldn't support him when I aimed for the avalanche brainbuster, and he fell half way. At that time I thought it would be okay as it was, bit I felt the possibility of severely injuring my opponents.
Q: It was a tough rehabilitation.
SHIOZAKI: At first, I was worried because it didn't work at all and I was worrying "I wonder if I can return?" Did I think about the end of my career? I was thinking about retiring because I couldn't move my arm as expected, but there are some wrestlers who are far more injured than that. Some people are wrestling matches with bodies made to never lose to injuries. When I thought about it, I thought "I am thinking of trivial things."
Q: Overcoming injuries
SHIOZAKI: If I don't run through to the end, then it is rude to all the fans who where inconvenienced by my absence and who waited for me. I will be active all my life!
Q: After returning, you lost the GHC match against Katsuhiko Nakajima at the Nippon Budokan on the 1st?
SHIOZAKI: I wonder if it was a good start to have a title match which was made for New Year's Day. I lost.
Q: So based on that battle, your goal for 2022 is...
SHIOZAKI: Right now, I am banned from saying it, and so I won't say it in the ring but it is about reviving "I am Noah". Not just in my words, but in my own way of life.
Q: In that sense the current situation is that Keiji Mutoh, Masakatsu Funaki, Kazuyuki Fujita and others in their 50s from New Japan, stand out?
SHIOZAKI: "Stop those people", I mean, I can't say "I am Noah" without defeating them.
Q: What did you feel in the fight against New Japan on the 8th?
SHIOZAKI: New Japan is great at New Japan, and Noah is great at Noah. However, New Japan's popularity as a promotion is a fact that cannot be overturned. I think that Noah has to go beyond that somehow.
Q: What is needed for that?
SHIOZAKI: That is the resurrection of "I am Noah". If I can't do that, then I can't show Noah to the outside world. I will lead Noah, and this year in the winning match I will get best bout!
Go Shiozaki's award ceremony was held before the Korakuen Hall event on the 27th, with the trophy and certificate being presented by the Director and Editor-in-Chief of Tokyo Sports Newspaper, Koji Hiranabe. "The Showa Heisei wrestling, which he created as a 19 year old legend*, resonated with the hearts of old fans and Shiozaki who was praised for caused reverberations in the high speed wrestling of modern times that has become the mainstream says "Next I will aim for the highest pro wrestling award". He vowed to take his first MVP following outstanding performance and best bout.
*This part doesn't translate well, it's basically saying that in a nineteen year old career which combines the Showa and Heisei era wrestling.
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