(NOAH) "I'll turn everything upside down", Manabu Soya reveals his ambition to challenge the GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenoh at the Ariake Arena on January 2nd next year

24th November 2023

Hochi News

Pro Wrestling Noah's Manabu Soya recently gave an interview to Sports Hochi, and he revealed his determination to challenge the GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kenoh, on January 2nd at the Ariake Arena on January 2nd next year. 

After joining the Judo club at the International Budo University (Katsuura City, Chiba), he made his debut in 2007 by entering "Muga World Pro Wrestling", a promotion run by Tatsumi Fujinami. Following that, he joined Noah in April 2020, after working for All Japan and WRESTLE-1. Since then, he has joined Kenoh's "Kongoh", completely sealing off the "wild" character and image that he cultivated during his All Japan and W-1 days, practicing more than anyone else, and silently engaging in fierce fights in the ring.

This year marks the 16th year since his debut, and his efforts have blossomed. 

On February 5th, he made his first challenge for the GHC National, held by El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr. Although he lost, it was a great match that had the venue, Korakuen Hall, buzzing. On March 21st, he teamed up with Kenoh to capture the All Japan World Tag Team Championship, and achieved great results. In August, he defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima in the midsummer tournament to decide the strongest, "The N-1 VICTORY", and fought with Go Shiozaki in the finals to advance to the championship match. Although he unfortunately lost, his earnest fight touched the hearts of the fans. 

Then, on October 28th, came the Fukuoka International Center. He entered the ring, where Kenoh who had just defeated Jake Lee and regained the GHC Heavyweight, and filled with joy announced his challenge. This is how the thirty-eight year old revealed his actions to take on the highest peak of the GHC for the first time.

"The moment Kenoh won the GHC Heavyweight in Fukuoka, my body moved. Some may say, "It's still too early for Soya", but nothing will happen unless you take action. This may be just my opinion, but I think that my growth will be a big factor in making Pro Wrestling Noah even better. I am sure that all the wrestlers in Noah have that feeling of "Me! Me!", but I didn't just have that feeling, I actually took action. Now that I have acted and spoken out, I am determined to take responsibility and raise the bar for myself". 

Noah's "highest peak" is the GHC Heavyweight, which was established in 2001 by founder, Mitsuharu Misawa, with the meaning of "a sublime championship on a global scale". For Soya, the GHC is "a longing".

"When I was a fan, I saw the GHC Heavyweight title match between Misawa and Kobashi (Kenta), and it was so intense that it broke all of my previous concepts of professional wrestling. Many of our seniors have fought hard in GHC Heavyweight matches. That's why I feel that admiration, a belt of noble status and honor". 

Soya joined Noah in April 2020. For Soya, who had been active at the top of All Japan and W-1, three years must have been a long time to take before challenging at the highest level. Soya denied this, but revealed what he had hidden in his heart; 

"Noah's professional wrestling has high hurdles and a high level. That's why when I entered, I thought I had to sacrifice something to gain something. I decided to eliminate my character, and focus only on the results of the match, winning or losing."

He focused on his performance, and comments outside the ring were completely suppressed. He charmed the fans just by being in the ring. This determination also erased the "wild" character who had attracted attention since his All Japan days. Soya says;

"For me, "Wild" is not just a character, it's also my essence. However, there is no point in focusing too much on that, and now that I think about it, "Wild" may have become an escape". 

The unit he chose in Noah was "Kongoh" led by Kenoh. 

"I found Kongoh attractive, so I volunteered and asked Kenoh to "please let me join", and he let me in. I came here with Kenoh, with the same goals of "making Noah the top of the industry", and I have watched him take the lead in making statements. Kenoh was strong and had firm beliefs, and because of that, I followed him until the end". 

However, at the Tokushima event on June 24th of this year, Kenoh suddenly announced that he would be disbanding Kongoh. Soya shed tears in the ring, but when he was asked what the "tears" meant at that time, he immediately answered, "I wasn't crying. It was sweat".

"I wasn't crying, but if to the people watching it looked like I was crying, then maybe it was because I couldn't make a solid track record with Kongoh, and there may have been some frustration wondering why we were disbanding. I've been a member of Kongoh for many years, and I spent a lot of time with Kenoh in my private life as well. I came here with the strong will of, "Let's excite Noah with just us", but I haven't left any results. Come to think of it, I may have felt sad thinking, "I don't have anything". 

Kenoh's battles, his words, his deeds and actions...he saw him set an example when he was in Kongoh, and he respects all of them saying, "He's amazing". The walls are high, and that is why Soya feels the urge to defeat Kenoh. 

"Since Kenoh became the champion, I wanted to challenge him, and I thought that defeating him would turn everything upside down". 

He has been clashing with Kenoh in pre-matches since the November shows;

"The Ariake fight has already begun. Until the 2nd of January, we are not only in the ring with each other, but also on "YouTube", and so I think I have to expose everything about my life outside the ring to compete. I will do everything I can to defeat Kenoh."

As mentioned by Soya, his own channel, "Soya Soya TV-kun" has also started. In the first broadcast, Soya announced that he was getting married to his girlfriend, female professional wrestler Koharu Hinata, and that they were expecting their first child. 

"I think announcing the marriage was a good thing, because I want to show off my private life as well. In order for people to get to know Manabu Soya, I need to expose everything. I want people to know the kind of person that Manabu Soya is, not only in the ring, but also in everything else." 

Although he has expressed his determination to expose his private life, Kenoh's YouTube channel, ("The Kenoh Channel"), has 71,600 subscribers as of November 21st. Soya's, on the other hand, has a large difference of 7,620 people, about one tenth. 

"I think that's the key to success. It's not fulfilled yet, but I'll turn everything over by Ariake. I will expose everything, defeat Kenoh, and show you the spectacular view."

Translated from Hochi News

Picture credit: Hochi News