(NOAH) Shock tag for the first time in eight years! Getting to know Naomichi Marufuji, the man behind the revival of the MaruKen tag team.
13th December 2022
Noah.co.jp
We spoke with Naomichi Marufuji, who announced his challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championship at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium on November 23rd, and made the surprising announcement that his partner is KENTA, who is currently fighting in New Japan. What is the intention of the surprise revival of the "MaruKen" tag team that dominated the era, and what does Naomichi Marufuji have in mind?
ABOUT KENTA
Q: Please tell us why you chose KENTA as your partner
MARUFUJI: Well, KENTA'S name came out in Yoyogi, but I had Tanaka and Mochizuki as partners. If they are going for the belt, then Tanaka and Mochizuki may have a higher chance of getting it. However, 2023 is a milestone year for me*, so I wanted to do something a little interesting. Sugiura, Kojima, no...Taka & Satoshi...those two have tag belts. Well, I have been interested in them since they won, and I dared take the step forward because I wanted to show it at the Nippon Budokan, so I thought it would be him (KENTA)
Q: 2023 will be the 25th anniversary of your debut?
MARUFUJI: It's a personal affair, but it's my 25th anniversary. Maybe there will be something like a memorial, but not only that, it would be nice if I could express my 25th anniversary throughout the year. Being able to do that from the start, would be a good beginning, wouldn't it?
Q: You have been involved with KENTA at the milestones of your 20th and 25th anniversaries
MARUFUJI: Of course, there are a lot of wrestlers who I have had a strong attachment to during my time as a pro wrestler, but most of them are seniors, including Misawa and Kobashi. There are many such people, and even though we are far apart, we are still connected somehow. I wondered if he was the image that the fans imagined?
Q: What is your impression of KENTA these days?
MARUFUJI: To be honest, I have only seen what is happening on Twitter or something like that. I have never seen a whole match of his in New Japan. Rather than the match, the image of autobiographical publicity is stronger. That's how it goes. As one more wrestler with a strong personality, I think it's amazing he's showing his presence in such a dense New Japan.
Q: Did you get in touch with him?
MARUFUJI: Well, I was thinking of doing something, but because a lot of things were written in "Footsteps" (KENTA'S autobiography), it doesn't make sense to have written something like that and then say "hello" in DM...I thought I should leave it to the company. You see, he has had a lot of experiences and makes full use of social media, so he will convey it there. I also tweeted "please" to him on Twitter, so I think that's enough. That's why we haven't even had a conversation. If KENTA writes his next autobiography, it won't be worth it, so I won't touch on it too much because I will be providing material for the second volume.
Q: Does that mean you have read "Footprints?"
MARUFUJI: Read...I have it just in case.
Q: It's been about eight years since the MaruKen tag, do you have any problems or concerns about the collaboration?
MARUFUJI: Rather than having no problems, we didn't talk much about collaboration when we were working together. We probably held the tag belts for about two years when we were juniors, and I think that the clash of existence as wrestlers gave birth to such things as a result. It was we are gonna do this, and not let's do that. We were fighting with our opponents, but I think we were probably also fighting with each other. Under such circumstances, I think that things like co-operation happened by accident, so this time there is no part that says there is a problem or not.
ABOUT OPPONENTS TAKASHI SUGIURA & SATOSHI KOJIMA
Q: What is your impression of your opponents? (Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima)
MARUFUJI: Bright, strong, fierce, what would you say about those two old guys...Rather than just the feelings of fans, I think they are the two who show something like hope to people of the same in the world.
Q: With both tags it will be a Noah and a New Japan Pro Wrestling team
MARUFUJI: I haven't really been aware of it that much. As for Kojima, for better or worse, since he joined Noah he hasn't felt like an outsider. I wonder if it's okay to dare to bring that out like that at this time. I think the match will be more intense if I see him as New Japan's Kojima instead of the Kojima colored by Noah. Kojima is a wrestler who responds well to that. Sugiura of course, when it comes to the match, it is as usual. In my mind of course, Sugiura doesn't want to lose to "New Japan's Kojima".
Q: If you win the belt, does this mean that KENTA will continue to participate in matches?
MARUFUJI: Well, I think there are many possibilities. Rather than saying that there is no such thing, I think there are a lot of wrestlers that he has never fought in Noah, so I think it will be fun for him to defend against them. If anything, I can join KENTA in New Japan. I think it's a big dream, so it would be better to catch the belts.
ABOUT THE NIPPON BUDOKAN EVENT
Q: The Nippon Budokan event on New Year's Day is attracting attention from people, who don't usually watch it. What kind of matches do you want to show in that?
MARUFUJI: Like I said earlier, I am in my twenty-fifth year, and there have been quite a lot of situations like that. For example, it goes without saying that different fans will come to see Noah, but I also participate in various promotions and it's very difficult part to say how much people will be attracted to you. It goes without saying that I am conscious of that, but it might be a little off topic, but I am more excited about seeing how much the generation below can do...with MaruKen, rather than attracting other fans and people who have never seen it before, it's like Kiyomiya vs Kenoh. I know that the younger generation will have great matches in the ones before ours, but for some reason although I have been doing this for years, it doesn't lead to attracting customers. I am more interested in how aware they are of that. I think there are people who have left pro wrestling, but if there are people who have heard about the revival of "MaruKen" somewhere and come to see it, I don't know if I can show you the memories of the past, but I want them to feel fresh when looking back on those memories and seeing the current Marufuji and KENTA. It would be nice of they could feel that, "Ah, the current pro wrestling is interesting now".
Q: Lastly, please tell us about your enthusiasm for the Nippon Budokan event on January 1st.
MARUFUJI: In 2023, the first Nippon Budokan and the my 25th anniversary year, I have already put together a memorable match for myself, so I want to take the belt strongly from the get go. I really want the people who are watching now, and the people who haven't seen wrestling before, and the people who have left pro wrestling to come and see it.
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