(NOAH) "It figures, I have to do it with him..." Jake Lee's feelings about appointing Takashi Sugiura as the next challenger

15th May 2023

Tokyo Sports

Noah's GHC Heavyweight Champion, Jake Lee (34), has revealed his true intentions in appointing Takashi Sugiura (52) as his next challenger. 

On the 14th, at the Korakuen Hall event, an eight man tag match was fought fiercely, in which Jake demanded a championship match saying, "To put it simply, I want to do this with you". The third defense march has been arranged for the Nagoya International Conference Centre Event Hall on June 17th.

Jake, who felt "Noah's History" in his second title defense with Naomichi Marufuji (Ryogoku) on the 4th, said, "There must be many others, such as readiness". Sugiura was the person who best fit that criteria. 

"I think he best embodies the word "Readiness". Maintaining his body at his age, and in the midst of many things, he has always been a wrestler belonging to Noah. The feeling is extremely professional, and it figures that I have to do it with him...even when I took the rudder, I thought to myself, "You haven't done this with Sugiura yet."

On the 6th May Osu Premium Show (Takadanobaba), he reunited with Zero One's Shinjiro Otani, who is undergoing rehabilitation for cervical spinal cord injury, and vowed to fight again. The situation has also made an impression on Jake's mind and he said respectfully, "If he was just an ordinary person, I'm sure that his mental state wouldn't recover, but he's overcome this as well. Including that aspect, I feel a sense of readiness". 

Of course, if you look at it from another angle, there is a big reward in overcoming a title match with Sugiura. In towing Noah, he will meet the inevitable opponent.

Translated from Tokyo Sports

Picture credit: Tokyo Sports