(NOAH) "We give our customers more than they pay for" GHC Heavyweight Champion Jake Lee's Stoic Attitude

27th July 2023

NewsCrunch.com

Pro Wrestling Noah's annual event, "N-1 VICTORY 2023", the "Midsummer Noah Strongest Decisive Battle", will begin on August 6th at the Yokohama Budokan. 

16 wrestlers have been divided into A and B blocks, and will have league matches until Kultz Kawasaki on August 27th. The 1st place in each block will fight the championship match at Edion Arena Osaka 1st Stadium on September 3rd. For the wrestlers, if they make it to the championship, they will have eight singles matches, and the conditions will be difficult to build in the scorching environment. Under these circumstances, Jake Lee was the first to declare victory saying, "With this belt, I will win all matches. The reason why I can say such a silly thing, is because I am at the helm of Noah's ark right now." 

Jake left All Japan Pro Wrestling ay the end of December last year, and since January this year, he has sought Noah as his battlefield. For Jake, after defeating Kaito Kiyomiya at the Yokohama Budokan on March 19th in only his eleventh match and became the 42nd GHC Heavyweight Champion, are these words full of confidence, or is he putting pressure on himself? 

"I wasn't a very athletic child"

Jake says softly, "Both are correct. I have the confidence, but I have to put pressure on myself, so I came out with the phrase "I won't take action unless I beat my own ass." When I was a student, I often didn't do my summer vacation homework until the last minute (laughs). So, when I became a member of society, I realized that when that happened, I wouldn't be able to trust people who didn't have an ability to plan, and that efficiency would be lost. That's why from an early stage, I blast myself. I train every day so that I won't be overwhelmed by the pressure I have put on myself. Repeatedly asking myself this question and answering it, and building up my self-confidence, has formed who I am today, so it's a repetition of that.

Jake has experience of winning league formats, in 2021 he won All Japan's spring festival "Champion Carnival". However, since the N-1 will be held in August in the middle of summer, it seems difficult to adjust to those conditions, but he said smoothly, "I'm not worried at all". 

Jake practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu every morning from 7am to 9am, even though Tokyo is being hit by a heat wave with temperatures in the mid 36 degrees. In addition to that, he sometimes wears a sauna suit inside of his uniform and does six rounds of sparring for five minutes. From there, he does one hour of physical fitness training. After taking a nap and having lunch, he does an hour of weight training, and if he has time in the evening, he does an hour of jiu-jitsu training. Furthermore, he stretches carefully, as "I'm not naturally flexible, but a lack of flexibility can lead to injury, and restrict my range of motion". In other words, as long as he can form a match in his own rhythm, he is not worried about stamina at all. 

What sets Jake apart from other wrestlers, is that he incorporates various martial arts and exercises, such as jiu-jitsu and parkour, as well as professional wrestling training, and since he started Parkour, he's been able to the moonsault press. Regarding these efforts he says, "I wasn't a very athletic child. I couldn't do an kickover, I couldn't jump the vault, I was unable to do a handstand, I couldn't do a forward roll with my legs apart...there were countless episodes of things I couldn't do. It wasn't until I became an adult that I was able to do many things, and there are so many things that I was able to do after becoming a professional wrestler. That's why I think that the joy and sense of fulfilment of "I can do it!" is more important than other people's. So, I started doing martial arts such as parkour and jiu-jitsu, thinking "What would happen if I did more like this?" I learned a lot about how to use my body through research and understanding, so I haven't had any serious injuries".

"I will also use my private life for my performance"

Jake spends his days immersed in practice, but what does he do when he's relaxing? 

"I read aloud as a hobby. I read aloud only the lines of my favorite novels or my favorite characters. So, if I think that a word or a phrase is good, I will use it in the ring. That's why I think my way of speaking is very unique, even the way I pause. I also hope to do voice work in the future. Whether it's a movie, an anime, or the radio, I try to listen like I'm watching. And then when it comes to the pro wrestling mic, I'm like, "Oh, I can use this". Jake laughs that even though this is his relaxation time, he is always thinking about work. 

Fighting with a uniqueness which is different to Noah wrestlers, and his flair in speaking also being accepted by Noah fans, he is no longer an outsider, and literally has the personality of a helmsman. 

"I want you to see pro wrestling from different perspectives"  

"I was surprised like, "Are you okay with me?". I don't really know, but I want you to see it from various perspectives, imagine various things, and fantasize...I remember Kyohei Wada, the referee for All Japan saying, "It's fun to talk on the way home from watching professional wrestling, saying, "What will happen to that?", I remember the words, "It's fun to say, "Oh, that was amazing". In today's world when you can get answers with just one click, pro wrestling can provide you with something to think about." Jake appealed to his fans that, "That's why I want you to expand your imagination and see professional wrestling and Jake Lee from different perspectives."

Jake said about the N-1, "I wanted to wrestle with various guys, so I left All Japan, created a situation I couldn't back out of, and took a step forward, and now I can do what I want. However, it doesn't mean that everything has been fulfilled yet, the N-1 is a stage that gives me a lot of chances. Why? The reason is that I am provided with so many one-on-one opportunities, so I am really looking forward to it...or rather, I want to taste it. We offer more than what we charge to our customers who come to see us. We guarantee quality".

Translated from Wanibooks-Newscrunch

Picture credits: Wanibooks-Newscrunch