(NOAH) Pro Wrestling Noah's Yoshiki Inamura went to America with a very honored role as attendant at the Great Muta's HOF Award Ceremony

9th April 2023

Note.Noah.Co.Jp

I went to America for the first time in my life. I went with the great honor of being an attendant at The Great Muta's HOF Award Ceremony. I had never spent so long with Mutoh-san before, so I was nervous when I left for the United States. Upon arrival I went to Santa Monica Beach, and when I took a picture with Mutoh-san, I felt again that, "this journey has just begun". 

I went to see the WWE tryouts with Mutoh-san. When I saw the four rings for the tryouts lined up on the university field, I was amazed at the scale of the competition. At the tryouts, the examinees were talking to and encouraging each other, the atmosphere was very lively. To begin with, the process of undertaking the tryout, Noah's introductory exam and the content of the four exams are different, but I learned a lot from this tryout about how to create an atmosphere for practice during the exam, and after entering the dojo. The day I saw the tryout, there were about forty candidates, but I heard that originally there had been hundreds. I thought it was wonderful that so many people wanted to take the test to become pro wrestlers. I wanted to create a situation in Japan where many young people aspire to become professional wrestlers, just like in America. 

On the day of the HOF award ceremony, I saw many wrestlers, from current to former, congratulating Mutoh-san at the venue and in the waiting room, and once again I felt that greatness. 

I also watched WrestleMania. 

Firstly, I was surprised by the size of the stadium. When I went inside and looked up from what I thought was the top floor, I was surprised to find that there were about three more floors. As I sat down, I was amazed at the size of the entryway. Whether it's a match, a live performance or an event, this may be the first time that I've been so excited and surprised even before the event began. During the matches, I was excited to see the wrestlers that I was obsessed with when I was in Junior High and High School, and it was great to be able to experience WrestleMania in real life, seeing wrestlers my age, who are doing amazingly well. On the second day of WrestleMania, after watching a few matches from my seat, I went backstage to watch a match with Mutoh-san. While watching, Mutoh gave his impressions and opinions, and told me stories about when he was competing overseas. It was a very good experience to have a completely different perspective from the first day. 

What I felt when I went to America at this time, was the scale of everything. Not only HOF and WrestleMania, but also the scale of the store at different venue were ridiculously large. And there were huge numbers of fans everywhere. SmackDown, WrestleMania, RAW, all four days were packed to capacity. I felt a tremendous heat at the venues, and my motivation increased tremendously. The city had the atmosphere of WrestleMania week. Everything I saw in America was on a scale that seemed impossible, but it was all happening in reality. I want to see this scale in Japan, and as a wrestler, I had a strong desire to stand in the center of it all. 

One day I had dinner with Mutoh-san, Nakamura (Shinsuke) and Ikemen (Jiro), I ate with people who had many knew the world and hear various stories. I was able to listen directly to Japanese wrestlers, who were competing in a world that felt like a different one. I had new realizations that I hadn't thought of before, such as what kind of awareness I should have when facing professional wrestling, and how I should cherish my youth. I was able to hear stories and meet people because I was with Mutoh-san, and a world I could only see because I was with Mutoh-san. 

Instead of keeping this experience to myself, I will use my big thoughts and consciousness in Noah's fight to create an event bigger scale, and a tremendous amount of heat. 

Thank you very much for this valuable experience. 

Pro Wrestling Noah's Yoshiki Inamura.  

Translated from Noah.Note.Co.Jp

Picture credit: Noah.Note.Co.Jp