"Follow me you bastards!" Kenoh's Weekly Pro column - Tuesday 1st February 2022

Weekly Pro

Tuesday 1st February 2022

Q: Before we get into the main subject, Fujita Jnr Hayato said in last weeks issue "Do it with the guy in the bright red costume," what did you think? 

KENOH: I felt Hayato's feelings. I am waiting for him to return. 

Q: Intense! 

KENOH: But, I will go deeper into Hayato at the next opportunity. This time I have no choice but to talk about Masakatsu Funaki who entered Kongoh. 

Q: Thank you.

KENOH: To be honest, I never thought that Funaki would enter Kongoh

Q: That's right. First, you lost to Funaki on the 22nd January in Osaka and you were robbed of the GHC National title. You beat him last time at the Nippon Budokan, but what was different from that time? 

KENOH: Keiji Mutoh used to say "aerobic wrestling" or "deflation", but he is finally immersed in Noah's wrestling and completely accepts it. However, Funaki is different, even in Noah he did an "instant defeat". 

Q: Or rather, was it Kenoh who was "killed in seconds..."

KENOH: That is the biggest point, it felt different from when we fought in Osaka than when we fought at the Nippon Budokan in February last year. I couldn't think about it on the day of the match so much, but when I became a little more composed, that day Funaki had a strong sense of confidence before the match. 

Q: Please tell me in detail

KENOH: Speaking of the main title match in today's wrestling, a fierce fight of 20 to 30 minutes is commonplace. Meanwhile, Funaki defeated me in 3 minutes and 56 seconds without being bound by what is normal in that world and Noah. I feel there is a tremendous meaning in that.

Q: Does this mean that because Kenoh was the opponent, it was taken seriously?

KENOH: You know what I mean. Funaki may have had something to tell me throughout that to me.

Q: How do you mean?

KENOH: It's the soul of the fight of pro wrestling. At the Nippon Budokan event in February last year, Funaki felt that his pro wrestling values had something in common with mine because he had the chance to fight for the GHC National Championship. 

Q: So that's it

KENOH: That's why Funaki was aware he went one step further in the title match in Osaka on the 22nd January. I was fighting because I thought I had the best chance of attack, and I regret that I was completely overwhelmed. There is one strategy in each match and even if you make a mistake in your momentary judgement, it will directly lead to victory or defeat. I regret losing and losing my belt, but I am wondering if that fight was a big win for me. 

Q: You lost the GHC National Championship, but Funaki, who took that belt from you, came into Kongoh.

KENOH: I daresay I learned from Funaki throughout the match, but I wonder if perhaps whether Funaki won or lost if he had the intention of joining Kongoh. If not, he wouldn't have had empathy with Kongoh that much.

Q: I don't think he would have taken action at once. 

KENOH: Funaki's true character is interesting. He is someone who just looks forward and goes for it. In fact, New Japan, UWF, Fujiwara Gun, Pancrase, MMA...he has always fought in the ring pursuing his ideals.

Q: It's just like "The Last Samurai", right? 

KENOH: However, those guys in the M's alliance seem only to see Keiji Mutoh and Naomichi Marufuji only at the top, but actually I am looking at them from another angle, I'm watching from askew, and I'm looking behind them. Those guys are world class, and can adapt well to things that are different from their beliefs. 

Q: It is your true worth to mix good stories with bad words.

KENOH: Funaki might have been stifling in a successful unit like M's alliance, so he wanted to join Kongoh who are similar. There are many people who follow those who are stronger than them, but Kongoh are just guys who are trying to go forward with their strong beliefs. No one knows everything about the world. For example, everyone is stubborn and sticks to their principles. I analyze that the atmosphere of this unit attracted Funaki.

Q: Until fairly recently, you refused to make Noah a home for the elderly, right? 

KENOH: As far as Funaki as both a wrestler and a person is concerned, being 52 is just a number. 

Q: Hey, it's a statement. Recently, there were comments on someone unreasonable. 

KENOH: Haoh?

Q:...

KENOH: Well, the issue of Haoh leaving is left to Tadasuke. He will take the GHC Junior Championship from Daisuke Harada at Korakuen Hall on the 9th February, and prove that Haoh's actions were wrong. 

Translated from Weekly Pro

Picture credit: Weekly Pro

Many thanks to JenJ for sending me the article