(NOAH) Katsuhiko Nakajima's shock exit from Pro Wrestling Noah, he confesses in an exclusive interview that the reason for leaving was, "I wanted to change my environment" and from now on, "the best part of professional wrestling is not knowing what's going to happen".

29th March 2023

Hochi News

(Note, some fans thought that Nakajima sounded somewhat angry)

Katsuhiko Nakajima (35) who will be leaving Pro Wrestling Noah at the end of the month, gave an exclusive interview to Hochi Sports by telephone on the 29th September, and revealed his decision to leave, and his thoughts on the future. 

Q: Why did you decide to leave?

NAKAJIMA: Thirty five years old, twenty years of career, it's a milestone for me. I decided to do it because I had reached that double turning point. That's all. 

Q: Were you unable to reach that milestone at Noah?

NAKAJIMA: It's been about fifteen years since I went to Noah, so the first thing in my mind was that I wanted to change my environment. 

Q: Were you dissatisfied with Noah? 

NAKAJIMA: That's not true. I have nothing but gratitude for Noah, and I can't thank them enough for supporting me for the past fifteen years since my time at Kensuke Office

Q: When did you make your decision? 

NAKAJIMA: I've been thinking about it since last year. 

Q: Have you consulted with your family and friends? 

NAKAJIMA: Basically, I didn't tell anyone, but I did tell my family. They don't know much about pro wrestling, but they understood.

Q: When did you tell Noah about leaving? 

NAKAJIMA: About two months ago

Q: Then why did you decide to leave at this time?

NAKAJIMA: It was time to discuss the contract renewal

Q: Did management try and dissuade you?

NAKAJIMA: They stopped me because they were worried about me

Q: When did you tell Go Shiozaki, your partner in AXIZ? 

NAKAJIMA: After the N-1. Go-San also supported me. Although we reformed, we formed four years ago since then I have been part of AXIZ, and for a few years, I was in Kongoh, but even though Go-San was injured, he was both the person closest to me and my rival.

Q: Kenoh questioned on YouTube as to whether, "there is anything better than being the best?"

NAKAJIMA: I don't think it's necessary to touch on anything there.

Q: The person who proclaimed "I'm Noah" is leaving Noah.

NAKAJIMA: That's my selfishness. I've been working at Noah for fifteen years since my time at Kensuke Office, and I have been with Noah for seven years now. Noah is my second hometown, so I can't help but be grateful. From now on, I hope to be able to grow in a way that I couldn't at Noah, and I hope that will be a way of repaying the favor.

Q: Which ring will you be in next? 

NAKAJIMA: I haven't decided anything

Q: Will you go abroad?

NAKAJIMA: I wasn't thinking about anything

Q: Who do you want to fight and what promotion do you want to join?

NAKAJIMA: I haven't reached that stage yet, but the first thing I am doing now is taking this turning point, and changing my environment. 

Q: Do you have a strong desire to work as a freelancer instead of belonging to a promotion? 

NAKAJIMA: That's the case for now, it's time to take action.

Q: On social media there are rumors that you will be participating in New Japan. There has been a lot of speculation posted, but will you participate there? 

NAKAJIMA: Is that so? I'm in pro wrestling, and the fun thing about pro wrestling is that you never know what's going to happen.

Q: What kind of wrestler do you see yourself becoming in ten years?

NAKAJIMA: Ten years from now?...I can't imagine.

Q: What about a year from now? 

NAKAJIMA: I'm sure I'll be a completely different person. I've leaving Noah, where I've been for fifteen years, and so I am sure that will change. What has always been protected up until now is going to be erased and I'm going to move forward as wrestler Katsuhiko Nakajima.

Q: Finally, give a message to your fans.

NAKAJIMA: My first match after becoming a free agent will be at Noah at Korakuen Hall on October 20th and Fukuoka on the 28th. Finally, I will do my best in the ring to express my gratitude to Noah and graduate. 

Nakajima is thirty-five years old, and was born in Fukuoka City on March 11th 1988. He joined WJ Pro Wrestling, founded by Riki Choshu, in 2003. On January 5th 2004, he made his debut at Korakuen Hall against Tomohiro Ishii at fifteen years and nine months old, making him the youngest wrestler in history. After that, and working at Kensuke Office (DIAMOND RING), he joined Noah on 1st January 2016, and won his first title by challenging Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on October 23rd 2016. Since then, he has supported Noah as a top wrestler, but on the 26th of this month, Noah announced that his contract will end at the end of September. Noah announced that Nakajima will participate at the Korakuen Hall event on October 20th, and will have his last Noah match at the Fukuoka International Centre show on October 28th. At Korakuen, Nakajima will team up with Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya to take on Masaaki Mochizuki, Manabu Soya and Daiki Inaba. In Fukuoka, he will team up with Go Shiozaki to face Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura. 

Regarding his shock departure, Nakajima said on social media, "I'm sorry for surprising everyone with my sudden announcement. Nothing has been decided yet, but I hope you understand the decision I made at this turning point. During the last two matches, I will graduate by expressing my thoughts to Noah, who I have been indebted to for a long time". In addition he wrote, "I apologize for surprising you with this sudden announcement. After much consideration, in order to improve myself and level up, I decided to graduate from beloved Noah at the end of September, with the support of the company. I made my debut when I was fifteen years old, and I turned 35 this year, so I want to compete on my 20th year as a wrestler. Keep an eye on Katsuhiko Nakajima as he moves forward in search of spectacular views. KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME".

Until now, X has been the only time that Nakajima has revealed his feelings about leaving Noah.

Translated from Hochi News

Picture credit: Hochi News