(NOAH/NEW JAPAN) "If I refused here..." 24 year old Ryohei Oiwa's reason for choosing domestic training with Noah.

Tokyo Sports

30th August 2023

New Japan Pro Wrestling's Ryohei Oiwa (24) revealed his decision behind his unusual domestic training in Noah. 

Oiwa, who is in his third year since his debut, decided to move his main battlefield to Noah after receiving an invitation from Kaito Kiyomiya at New Japan's Ryogoku event on the 13th. After losing to his junior, Oleg Boltin, at the Ryogoku event the previous day, he was looking for a change of environment. He recalls, "I thought that I had to change something, so when when I was invited the next day, so I thought if I turned down the invitation, I wouldn't get the chance."

There has never been a pattern in the past of gaining experience in other promotions with Japan, other than the traditional training overseas. Oiwa said, "We live in an age where social media is so advanced, even when you go overseas, your growth process can be seen by your fans. So I chose the path of having matches in front of domestic audiences, and have them watch them. I also wanted to take a step forward that had never been done before."

The experience of teaming up with Kiyomiya during the G1 Climax tournament was also great. He said with sparkling eyes, "I want to learn from Kiyomiya-san, and go as far as I can. I want us to get the belts. I want to fight against all of Noah's wrestlers and return to New Japan with the confidence that I've become stronger".

His first Noah show will be held in Osaka on September 3rd, where he will team up with Kiyomiya and compete against Zack Sabre Jnr and Yoshinari Ogawa. Oiwa boasted, "I will do my best with the goal of standing out from the N-1 VICTORY finals, and becoming the main character of the event".

What kind of chemical reaction will occur between Noah's ring and the young warrior who graduated from a Young Lion, and the Noah ring?

Translated from Tokyo Sports

Picture credit: Tokyo Sports