(NOAH) "FOLLOW ME YOU BASTARDS" - Kenoh talks Stardom & Tokyo Joshi

29th March 2022

Weekly Pro

KENOH: Last week was a big match rush. Our Noah was 21st March in Fukoka, New Japan are midway in their "New Japan Cup" battle on the 15th in Okayama and then the 21st in Nagaoka, and All Japan was on the 21st too, right?      

Q: Also, do not leave out DDT'S fierce battle at Ryogoku on the 20th March.

KENOH (taking no notice): All three promotions have title matches, a big showcase for the events. 

Q: Which match interested you? 

KENOH: I didn't really care about All Japan as the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship was before Champion Carnival. Other than Noah, it's Kazuchika Okada vs CIMA. When both wrestlers won the tournament and this card was realized, I thought there was no absolutely no such thing in pro wrestling. Considering the history from Toryumon & DRAGONGATE, I didn't think these two would be involved. Pro wrestling is interesting because there is such a drama. Well, Kazuyuki Fujita vs Masato Tanaka's GHC Heavyweight Championship also encountered another dimension, because a single was realized at the end of last year. 

Q: It was a great match this time, but...

KENOH: Unfortunately it didn't get the cover. The week before last in Yokohama on the 13th, there was the GHC Tag Team championship tournament and Eita was crowned GHC Junior for the first time, but Stardom had the cover. 

Q: Well, yes

KENOH: So, in last week's Big Match Rush, tell me which group was the one who had the cover of Weekly Pro. 

Q: It was Tokyo Joshi

KENOH: While there are so many other candidates for the cover, it became Tokyo Joshi. I'm surprised at myself that I am really convinced. I would have been in complete denial until last year. 

Q: Why are you convinced? 

KENOH: As I touched on previously, it is the momentum of women's professional wrestling. This has definitely become a must-see since last year, with the decisive factor being the "Pro Wrestling Grand Prix 2021" female pro wrestler. Following Hiroshi Tanahashi in 1st place and Tetsuya Naito in 2nd place, Yuki Arai was in 3rd place. In addition, Tokyo Joshi was ranked in the top 50. The result of the voting was a big hit, and I think that the popularity of Tokyo Girls has been greatly influenced by the popularity of Yuki Arai. Truly, I was made to realize it. Well, it's a natural result of this vote.

Q: There is a lot of popularity as SKE48.

KENOH: Yuki Arai has a strong belief in pro wrestling. You can see just by looking at her entrance gown, that she is she definitely aware of Kongoh's Tadasuke.       

Q: I don't think so...

KENOH: That's why I thought about the fact that TOKYO JOSHI was on the cover of Weekly Pro in the Big Match Rush last week, and I came up with one answer.

Q: Please tell me!

KENOH: Speaking from the wrestlers point of view, when it comes to Noah, New Japan and All Japan, no matter how you look at it, the other is always stronger and the quality of pro wrestling is hard to beat. The level of Tokyo Joshi is much higher than last year, but I think it is a little better than Stardom. Nevertheless, it has become commonplace to be on the cover of a pro wrestling magazine. I think that this is pretty big to talk about in current pro wrestling. 

Q: What does that mean? 

KENOH: You can't see a match like AZM vs Starlight Kid in a match at Tokyo Joshi.

Q: Are you being insulting again? If so, Tokyo Joshi should improve the quality of matches...

KENOH: Wrong. It's the exact opposite. It's fine the way it is, from now on Tokyo Joshi doesn't have to target pro wrestling fans. I think it would be better to open up new markets more and more by going on an idol route without competing with Stardom for match quality. To put it to the extreme, it would be good if they could create about ten more people like Maki Ito and Yuki Arai. 

Q: Ah, so that's it.

KENOH: Stardom sells that beautiful and strong women wrestle with the principle with supreme victory, and so it's better that Tokyo Joshi does not go there from now on. I think it would be a mistake to turn to that, and I think Tetsuya Koda probably knows it. I want them to go through a pure idol route, as if Tonjo Junshin where on the cover of Weekly Pro. By the way, at the last Sumo Hall event on March 19th, there was only one impure single match that was completely unsuitable for "innocence". That is the only concern. 

Q:...

KENOH: Okay, well the big match rush of each promotion will continue in the future, and Noah cannot lose to that either. On the 30th April at Sumo Hall, Katsuhiko Nakajima and I will challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championship, and Kongoh will lead NOAH! 

    

Translated from Weekly Pro

Picture credit: Weekly Pro

Many thanks to JenJ for sending me the article