(NOAH) GHC Heavyweight Signing Ceremony: "I'll give you my arm, but I'll take that belt", champion Jake's "keyword for return" is Shiozaki.

18th September 2023

Pro Wrestling DX

Note: Title does not translate well as this refers to someone leaving a company only to return to it and be rehired. This is sometimes viewed negatively in some areas of society.

SHIOZAKI: This is Shiozaki. It has been decided that I will challenge Jake Lee for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the upcoming Nagoya International Conference Centre event. However, as the N-1 VICTORY 2023 champion, I vow to win on equal terms with Jake, and even better. I don't think that winning the N-1 VICTORY is my ticket to challenging for the GHC, so I want to face Jake Lee on equal footing.

JAKE: The theme for me this time was "reunion", but that word just didn't sit well with me. That is because when we use the word "reunion", the meaning of the word becomes very strong because we were friends who had teamed up or fought, but we haven't fought that much, and we hadn't teamed up. I was one of the youngest wrestlers at that time, and he (Shiozaki), was the star, so that's why I always thought that the "reunion" would be different. So, what is the theme this time? Between myself and Go Shiozaki, there is one thing in common; we both returned. Well, in my case I retired from pro wrestling once, so the meaning is a little different, but Shiozaki, the challenger next to me, quit Noah once and now he is back again. There are some things that I think about because I returned, I believe that I have things I carry on my shoulders, things I have built, and because of that, there are things that I have to show. Because I am someone who has returned, in a sense it's a very strange fate for the two of us to be competing for this belt. Don't you not think so? The people watching see us go back and forth as I am saying, "I will take the helm" and Go Shiozaki is saying, "I AM NOAH", but the people who are saying these things, are the people who have just returned to work. That is why I believe there is something to be conveyed, and I hope to show a match that incorporates those feelings. Naturally, I will defend.

Q: Jake said the keyword was "returning"

SHIOZAKI: Yes. "Returning", it's been a long time since I heard it. I think it's because of that that I've been able to continue shouting, "I AM NOAH". I think the word "returning" was necessary for me, and I hope it will be a source of strength for me to win the GHC in the future.

Q: Shiozaki told you he would fight as an equal?

JAKE: If we're facing each other in the ring, we're already equals, right? There is no top or bottom, no holding back or shit. That's why I feel like I am stating the obvious.

Q: You said that Shiozaki is "a man with a long history", but have you wanted to fight since his days at All Japan?

JAKE: At first I didn't have any desire to fight, I wanted, it was, "I want you to do your best", I wanted the promotion (All Japan) to be more excited, and I knew from the bottom of my heart that this person would be fine. However, he decided to leave soon after I made my re-debut, and moved back to Noah. At that moment I was in despair wondering what to do from now on. Who would lead the promotion? But at that moment, I realized how much I had been spoiled by Go Shiozaki...no matter how much I respect him as a wrestler, I don't have any respect for him, I'm just being spoiled. The bottom line is that, "as long as he is here, then everything will be fine." He is the person who made me realize that. That is why I didn't want to fight at the time. However, because of that opportunity, I realized that as a wrestler, I couldn't continue on like this. Now I'm the champion and he's the challenger. I wish I could have told myself back then that it was going to be interesting, because something that no one could have imagined will happen in a few years. 

Q: Immediately, after Jake made his re-debut, you rejoined Noah, but what did you think of Jake, your junior, standing as the GHC Champion after a long absence?

SHIOZAKI: Well, in 2015 he made his re-debut and returned. I remember that time, and I also remember myself going*. Even so, I believe that time moves forward, and right now, Jake Lee is standing before me, holding Noah's top GHC belt. Without worrying about that, as the N-1 VICTORY 2023 Champion, I will crush Jake Lee with one arm, two arms, and even my jaw. I have no doubts about that. 

Q: The night before, Jake gave you a preview of an arm attack?

SHIOZAKI: If you want to come, then come! Like I said before, I'll give you my arm, but I'll take that belt. 

Q: What do you think after listening to what has been said so far?

JAKE: Listening to him talk, I realized that it's not me he's interested in, its the belt. There were some conversations when we looked back on chats from back then, but I don't remember most of them because Go Shiozaki isn't interested in me. It's this belt that he's interested in, which means he is really desperate. That's how I see it, but I don't have that kind of impatience, because I don't have time and I only have now, and I am at a loss for words. However, strangely enough, it doesn't really convey the feelings I put into it. Is it because of confidence, or is there something else going on? It's not clear to me. What is the current situation, I don't know about that as of now.

Q: Is there anything you are thinking of after hearing what he has just said? 

SHIOZAKI: Well, to be honest, what I am looking at may be the belt, but you are the one wearing it, right? I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed to after watching Jake Lee win the belt and defend it. I have no choice but to face Jake Lee in the title match and win.

Notes

Go Shiozaki leaving All Japan: Shiozaki did not immediately go back to Noah, he did for a while consider quitting wrestling. His decision to return came when he found a DVD box set of a monster SFX movie that Mitsuharu Misawa had given him and he took it as a sign he should return to Noah. What Misawa would have thought about his leaving was something that had always bothered him. 

Translated from Pro Wrestling DX

Picture credit: Pro Wrestling DX