(NOAH) Title match removal of Supernova, champion Kaito Kiyomiya declaration of change and resolution!

8th November 2022

Noah.co.jp

We interviewed Kaito Kiyomiya, the GHC Heavyweight Champion, who defended the title against Kazuyuki Fujita at the Ariake Arena event on October 30th, and took on Timothy Thatcher as challenger at the Korakuen Hall event on November 10th. I wonder what Kiyomiya thinks of the future following the Ariake Arena event, and the image of the champion in the future. 

Q: The 30th October Ariake Arena event was a title match in the main event, in front of a packed audience. Looking back on that time, please tell us how you felt. 

KIYOMIYA: Ariake is a special place for me. Moreover, with the opening of a pro wrestling event at such a large venue, old fans returned and new fans also came. The atmosphere of the venue made me feel like it was a new Noah. 

Q: Were you able to feel what is the called "home feeling" at Ariake Arena? 

KIYOMIYA: There was a great feeling of coming home. Just by coming to Ariake, I felt like I had returned, and even before I went, I was heading towards the venue with that feeling. 

Q: Meanwhile, you fought against Fujita in the main and defended brilliantly, but looking at the comments after the match, I could feel that it was a very tough match. 

KIYOMIYA: Yes. I really had to exert myself

Q: Was the Frankensteiner the finish you were aiming for? 

KIYOMIYA: I had the idea, but whether or not I could bring it out or not depended on the match

Q: In your post match comments, you said "I don't think everyone agrees". Does that mean that the result was somehow different from what you imagined? 

KIYOMIYA: The atmosphere of the venue during the match, was different from what I had imagined. So, after the match was over, those words came to me. I was reminded once again of Kazuyuki Fujita's strengths, to the point where I thought during the match I wouldn't really be able to stand up. It wasn't just the finisher, but it was the entire match that made me think, "This isn't good enough", and that is probably why I came out with those words. Even though I wasn't diagnosed with a concussion that day, I don't remember anything. 

Q: From today, your costume and theme song has changed, but what did you have in mind? 

KIYOMIYA: This year, I have changed my costume quite a bit, but in my mind I wanted to attack aggressively in this event, and I also had a strong desire to lead Noah. I always have that feeling when I change costumes, but this time, I also changed my theme song. I was using that theme when I was champion last time, and I have a lot of memories. It was a big event like this, and it was a big title match. 

Q: After the championship match with Fujita, it seems that there were more pros and cons than before. 

KIYOMIYA: It is very important to hear those kind of opinions, so I read them all (social media etc). Even so, I am not going to waver from what I do. I believe that while valuing opinion, I must not change my goals. But as far as the pros and cons...I knew they would come. That is what I felt when I was having the match, and above all, I said it myself in the comments. But, in a way it's a chance to change someone's tough opinion because they gave me that opinion. It's the same with the entrance theme and the costume, if it's going to change, then I think it's going to be now. 

Q: You won the title match despite the pros and cons, and the next challenger was Timothy Thatcher. How did you feel when he announced his challenge? 

KIYOMIYA: When I saw them coming (to the ring*), I thought one of them had come to present a challenge. So, at first, I didn't know which one was coming, and then Thatcher was the one. Except for a small tag match, I have never had a match with Timothy Thatcher too much. He was an unexpected challenger for me, because I have had little to do with him until now. Of course I felt that he is a dangerous person, but I have really only come into contact with him a little.

Q: At the Numazu event the other day, Thatcher won with the Fujiwara Armbar, and moreover with a smile. 

KIYOMIYA: That match in Numazu, in which I really fought hard for the first time, I was unable to break Timothy Thatcher's stronghold, or rather I felt like it was a match in Thatcher's field. The current Noah doesn't have just one strength, it has many strengths, and as the champion it's a scary place. I think it's the strength as a promotion. I have no choice but to prove my strength by defeating such a strong champion. In the end, what I want to do is prove myself that "Noah's ring is amazing", and I will show and send out that Noah is amazing in my own fight and so in that sense, I am happy to be able to fight against a strong wrestler in a match in Noah, against Timothy Thatcher. Well, in a real fight, I don't have time to think about such things (laughs). 

Q: What kind of match do you expect that it will be?

KIYOMIYA: There are many parts that I haven't shown, and I don't know if I will be able to bring them out, but what I do have is the most equipped I have ever been. I don't have much time, and I want to bring out what I am preparing and turn it into something, but in reality I have never had a match against the wrestler of that height with such long limbs. He has a bone structure peculiar to foreign wrestlers, or rather, a body type that I have never seen before, and there is a momentary fear. During the match I was keenly aware that if he put that into place, even for a moment, I would not be able to escape. Thatcher looks thin doesn't he? But, he's actually very heavy, and the weight when he gets on is amazing. His weight is so great, you can't tell by looking, and I was glad that I was able to experience it in the pre match. But, when you have the GHC, you can't avoid strong people. Moreover, he has fought all over the world, and has a great reputation. A fight with a wrestler like that is inevitable. 

Q: For you, title matches will continue.

KIYOMIYA: It's true that it's win or lose, isn't it? It's win or lose each time, so I am spending my days thinking that this is the match in which I have to change, because of the previous match against Fujita. Then it's about what needs to be changed, and I don't think it's something that can be said in words. I want you to feel me in the matches, appearances and remarks from now on. I think that is what has changed. 

Q: Finally, please comment on the title match. 

KIYOMIYA: I'm not looking back, I am really only looking forward rather than thinking about the Fujita match. Please come and see Kaito Kiyomiya in the title match on the 10th. 

Kaito Kiyomiya, the champion, fought against strong wrestlers in Noah, and said clearly that the fight made him think "Noah's ring is amazing", which may be the unconscious awareness of the young champion who is trying to transform the position of a young hope to the ace that supports Noah, from Super Nova to Galaxy View. Kaito Kiyomiya evolves so that Noah's professional wrestling can be heard throughout the world and the universe. 

Notes

*Timothy Thatcher came accompanied by Hideki Suzuki

Translated from Noah.co.jp

Picture credit: Noah.co.jp