(NOAH) "Put clearly, this is a personal battle", Masa Kitamiya reveals his hidden fighting spirit in his first match with New Japan's Tomohiro Ishii at the 2nd January Ariake Arena

24th December 2023

Hochi News

Pro Wrestling Noah's Masa Kitamiya undertook an interview with Hochi Sports on the 24th, and revealed his thoughts on his match against New Japan Pro Wrestling's Tomohiro Ishii at the Ariake Arena on January 2nd next year.

On January 21st of this year, Kitamiya competed in a match between New Japan and Noah at the Yokohama Arena. Teaming with Daiki Inaba, it was his first confrontation with Ishii, who teamed up with Oskar Leube. Kitamiya defeated Leube with the Prison Lock, but after the match there was a huge brawl with Ishii in the ring, and even backstage. He revealed that Ishi's words that provoked him, "I'll do it anytime! It's not over, you asshole!", have "stuck with me for the past year". 

"The first time we ran into each other was in a match at the Yokohama Arena, but iver the past year, something has stuck with me. It's true that I won, but I only defeated his partner. We haven't lost to each other, much less won directly, so we'll have no choice but to fight a singles." 

It was after the 2nd December match at the Yokohama Budokan that he revealed the depth of his feelings, "I want to do a single with Ishii". Those around him took it as a sudden request for a one-on-one fight, but for Kitamiya it was an irresistible urge.

"I expressed this completely out of my own selfishness. I don't have a fancy idea that I can have an intense match with Ishii or go head-to-head with him. I have only fought him once, and I already didn't like him. If he is also saying, "I won't lose", then lets put it clearly here." 

Ishii accepted his request, and the match was set for the 2nd January at Ariake. It was only one match at the Yokohama Arena, but it left a strong impression, "As expected, he was exactly as I imagined."

Both Kitamiya and Ishii believe in fighting head-on and never shy away from their styles, so we can expect a fierce hand to hand combat, and what's more, this match is also titled "Noah vs New Japan" and so is a promotional match. 

"People around me may see it in different ways, but for me, this is a personal struggle. Yeah...personal." 

Kitamiya emphasizes that this match is about putting the pride of professional wrestlers on the line, rather than promoting promotions, so he expects to break the status quo and make a leap forward in his match against Ishii.

"This year was business as usual, in a bad way. I won the tag belts, but what I'm most thinking about is winning my first singles title. I haven't even reached that point, and I never even made it to the championship this year, so this year was less than usual." Then he continued, "It's not like I'm in a hurry, but I'll just go ahead and break through! I'm asking myself that. And the first match of next year, will be against Ishii. They say the plan for the year is set on New Year's Day, and the match is on January 2nd, but seriously, my year will be decided there."

After beating Ishii, his goal is to win a singles title. "Noah has opened up so much, good foreign wrestlers are coming from all over the world, and young guys are showing up, so it's survival in the ring. That's why you can't survive if you have a mindset that's just about survival, you'll only survive if you become smarter. I will use this as a catalyst to defeat Ishii, and take great strides by winning the GHC in both the Heavyweight and the National."

The fight between Kitamiya's bloodlust and Ishii's fighting spirit will become a reality in the ring at New Year.

Translated from Hochi News

Picture credit: Hochi News