(NOAH) Mark An Epoch: Interview with Naomichi Marufuji & KENTA (July 2003)
Weekly Pro/Noah.co.jp
*Bittersweet interview with 23 year old Naomichi Marufuji and 22 year old KENTA, who are the current GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions. On reading this interview the current Noah fan will realize that no matter how things have changed, some things remain the same, especially the comments at the end of the interview about the younger generation changing things and Marufuji's comments about his seniors. The irony (and the tragedy) was is that Noah's seniors had no intention of letting the younger ones take centre stage as heavyweights when it came to it, and it would be Marufuji who made the comment "We have lived too long on the account of our seniors, and now there is nothing left".
Q: It's been a week since you won the belts
MARUFUJI: When I am off the ring, I tend to return to my normal self, so I think I feel it the most when I am there.
KENTA: More than when I won it, I came back to Tokyo and met my friends and they were happy, and I felt that I was able to do something good.
Q: Immediately after winning the belt you said, "I want to immerse myself in joy now", but as time passes, do you feel that you are being chased?
KENTA: That's true right now, I think there will be more matches like that in the future, so we have to put more effort into it than ever before.
Q: Did you two have a toast on the day you won the belt?
MARUFUJI: There was a dinner party where the people who participated in the tournament were split in half, so there would be no conflicts.
Q: Were Liger and Takaiwa also there?
MARUFUJI: Liger wasn't. Takaiwa sat somewhere else. There were foreign wrestlers, but for some reason Scorpio was there too.
Q: Were you aware that you were being targeted from then on?
MARUFUJI: Even though the foreign wrestlers said "Congratulations", I felt that in their hearts they were aiming for us.
KENTA: They were looking at us as if to say that they were next
Q: There was no head to head confrontation with Modest & Morgan*
MARUFUJI: I have never beaten those two in singles or tag. So, I have to beat them, right?
Q: Looking back at the tournament, I think all three matches were excellent in content. What is your evaluation?
MARUFUJI: KENTA and I didn't hold back, wasn't that the best thing to do? There are some wrestlers who feel reserved when teaming up with a superior*, but this time there was no such thing, and I think the two of us were able to get along well and leave behind good content and results.
KENTA: There was no hesitation. I went in the feeling that I had won all three matches, in the end it was only one, but I am satisfied with the content of the finals.
Q: Of the three matches, was the most difficult the final?
MARUFUJI: No, it was all of them. Each one of them was a victory.
KENTA: However, the final was the most stressful, it was the main event.
Q: On the day of the finals it was Akiyama vs Nagata, a GHC tag match and other amazing cards were lined up before. Of course, there was pressure.
MARUFUJI: However, I wasn't pressured. It lit a fire inside of me.
KENTA: It was a lot of pressure (laughs)
MARUFUJI: KENTA was relaxing by shadow boxing
KENTA: Waking up in the morning feels different than usual
Q: Was the tension different from past title matches?
KENTA: It was. There was a final in the singles tournament before (the match with Kanemaru at Sapporo in last May). It felt the same as it did back then. As expected, Marufuji was the same as usual.
Q: Did you talk to each other to relieve tension?
KENTA: He talked to me about all kinds of things, but I was so nervous I ignored him (laughs)
MARUFUJI: It wasn't just me. Riki and Inoue* were trying hard to talk to you, but you almost ignored them.
KENTA: That's not true (strained laugh)
MARUFUJI: Riki and I are fine, but don't ignore Inoue
KENTA: Inoue told me that, "If you talk about things that are unrelated, you will be less nervous"
MARUFUJI: You can see the kindness of the chairman of the wrestlers. Absolutely write that down (laughs)
Q: To be honest, the semi-finals were a blast, didn't you think they were really crazy and exciting?
MARUFUJI: It felt like I couldn't lose
KENTA: I'm crazy (strained laugh)
MARUFUJI: It was head on. Usually Kobashi's tag would be the main, and Akiyama the semi.
Q: But there must have been a part of you that felt motivated as you were appointed as the main event.
MARUFUJI: I wonder if it's been recognized that we've been working hard. I think it's both the part of the acknowledgement and the scolding that you guys should do your best.
Q: "There won't be a top wrestler forever", which is what Marufuji said in January. It is that part that is connected to what you said.
MARUFUJI: That's right, because what I said can always happen in the future. If we don't experience that kind of situation and keep going, then we wouldn't be aware of ourselves. I think everyone has to become a wrestler who can't lose to such things.
KENTA: I didn't have time to think about it (nervous laugh)
MARUFUJI: Ha ha ha ha
Q: Your partner is humble
MARUFUJI: He's not humble at all. He's the kind of guy who drinks before a match.
Q: To relieve tension?
KENTA: I don't drink (forced laugh)
MARUFUJI: There is also the idea of getting drunk in order not to get carsick. It's the same. Get drunk on the match, get drunk before it.
Q: I hope that relieves your tension
KENTA: That's why I don't drink (forced laugh) It's okay now.
Q: Understood. When KENTA did the IWGP Junior Tag in October last year, you had an unintentional match after Kobashi
KENTA: That's why the more excited the semi got, the more I remembered that time
MARUFUJI: What happened?
KENTA: When you were resting*, Sugiura* and I challenged for the Junior Tag, but it didn't work out, but this time it's a trusted senior.
MARUFUJI: I trust you too
Q: You two are the closest in age in Noah*, so Marufuji are you the leader?
MARUFUJI: It's not that big of a deal to be a leader, but I'm just egocentric
Q: It was only in the final match that this team did what they wanted with all their might, or that co-operation was seen in the match.
MARUFUJI: We are both egocentric, aren't we? It just so happened that there was no choice but to co-operate in the final.
Q: The two of you have never had an official partner. Whar kind of presence do you think the other has?
MARUFUJI: Reliable
KENTA: No, no, no
MARUFUJI: He has things that I don't have, both in style and personality. I'm a quiet person, so I can't be brutal like him.
KENTA: No, no, no
MARUFUJI: I want to shake hands after the match is over, but KENTA keeps punching me in the waiting room until after the match is over.
KENTA: I've never done that.
Q: Then KENTA, what kind of partner are you from a wrestlers perspective?
KENTA: Really reliable
MARUFUJI: No, no, no, no
KENTA: Without Marufuji this wouldn't be possible. Marufuji gave me detailed instructions, and I just act according to them.
Q: On the other hand, is there anything you would like your partner to fix?
MARUFUJI: Shouldn't we just keep running like this? He sticks to his style. People say all kinds of things about style, but I like it though. I'm not teaming up with KENTA in orange pants. That is not appealing at all.
KENTA: Wasn't Kenta in orange pants rude to Kobashi?
Q: You mean KENTA?
MARUFUJI: KENTA in orange pants was like looking at myself a few years ago. Am I looking for something glamorous in terms of style? 'Cause I ain't asking for that.
Q: The request for KENTA is that he wants to take the finish a little more.
KENTA: That's not what I said
MARUFUJI: But without him, my finish wouldn't be possible.
Q: Isn't it unusual for Marufuji to put other wrestlers in this position?
MARUFUJI: I like to think about people, so it's not just taking trouble over them. I just imagine my ideal KENTA. Not in a strange way (strained laugh), I think about how KENTA can do this kind of attack, while I am doing this kind of movement. I teamed up with him because he's a wrestler with that kind of imagination.
Q: I think that Kanemaru is the number one closest partner to the belt, but that is why it was KENTA.
MARUFUJU: Because I see Yoshinobu Kanemaru as an opponent to fight. We may team up someday, but I grew up fighting him, and so I am not at the stage of teaming up just yet.
Q: On the other hand, KENTA, do you want to fight Marufuji?
KENTA: I think we will have to fight one day, but for now we're trying to absorb everything that we can absorb together as a team. Well, looking at the members before the tournament we thought that if we asked who would look best in a belt, it would be us. This team is Naomichi Marufuji.
MARUFUJI: Would you like to see the belt worn by this team, or KENTA'S chiseled body? It figures that a younger wrestler rather than a foreigner with an old body should wear it.
Q: Last January Marufuji said "Noah's Juniors are the strongest". On reflection, do you think that the tournament was one that showed that to the wrestlers and fans of other promotions?
MARUFUJI: There are wrestlers who have responded to those words, and I always have confidence in myself and Noah. Well, if I had lost this time, I would have earned the title of "being all talk". KENTA told me to say that at that time.
KENTA: I didn't say that. After that, Marufuji was absent, but as we felt the same way I thought it would be good if we could show it.
MARUFUJI: I was the one who said that on the microphone, but other wrestlers have said the same things, haven't they?
KENTA: Well, I can't be that astringent
MARUFUJI: This is not the end, KENTA and I will take them down one after another. Koji Kanemoto, who lost last time, is also included, and I'd like to see how he interacts with KENTA.
KENTA: Not you (forced laugh) What the hell is that?
Q: The IWGP Junior Tag Champions have a proven track record
MARUFUJI: Liger & Kanemoto are the generation above us and have left behind an amazing track record. And I didn't take the pin directly from Jushin Thunder Liger.
Q: It was noted in writing in the match report after you won the belt, "incomplete champion". It means you can go higher.
MARUFUJI: Yes, otherwise it's no good because I think I can show you more and more amazing things. It would be a problem if both the opponent and the audience were satisfied with that match.
KENTA: I'm full (strained laugh) but I had a sense of fulfillment after the match was over, and as I want to continue feeling that, I want to keep defending. There are many wrestlers who I have lost to in other promotions and in Noah, and I want to wear the belt against them. Among them, I lost to Sugiura and Kanemaru at The Budokan, and so I have to do it.
Q: What are your big goals for the future?
MARUFUJI: I would like to appeal not only to other groups, but also to various media, that we can do this because we are two young people. It's true that wrestling is the most important thing, but I would like to spread the fact that two young people have become pro wrestling champions in other genres as well.
KENTA: It's the same for me. After all, I became champion.
Q: Expectations are high for the start of a new era of pro wrestling.
KENTA: My generation is what professional baseball refers to as the "Matsuzaka generation*", and as a member, I want to make sure that I don't lose.
MARUFUJI: It figures that most people know about Daisuke Matsuzaka, but even if we say that we are champions, no one knows.
Q: In terms of pro wrestling, the Marufuji and KENTA generation wrestlers need to take center stage as soon as possible.
MARUFUJI: After all, if we don't grow quickly, then the industry will have no future. We have to do it.
KENTA: I feel the same way. I will follow Marufuji (laughs)
Notes
*Modest & Morgan: Michael Modest and Donavan Morgan
*Marufuji is KENTA'S senior
*Takeshi Rikio and Masao Inoue
*Probably due to a knee injury, which plagued a lot of young Marufuji's career
*Sugiura: Takashi
*Marufuji was born in September 1979, and KENTA in March 1981, so there is only a year and six months between them. The majority of Noah during this era were born in 1978 or before, so it made them two of the youngest. Which is hard to imagine now.
Matsuzaka Generation: A term used generically for Japanese baseball players born between April 2nd 1980 and April 1st 1981, any sports person born during this time (from high school to pro sports) is termed as this, the phrase is not used much now 19 or 20 years later. Daisuke Matsuzaka was the ace of Baseball.
Picture credit: Weekly Pro
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