(NOAH) Shiozaki ahead of the LIMIT BREAK launch match, "Drawing out the Jun Akiyama from those days" and Noah's fight is to "break through the limits"

8th February 2024

Noah.co.jp

Ahead of the launch of Noah's new brand show "LIMIT BREAK" (February 15th, Korakuen Hall), which has mainly been started by himself, Go Shiozaki will team up with Atsushi Kotoge and face off against Jun Akiyama and Yuji Nagata. Earlier this year, he formed a new unit, TEAM NOAH, with the aim of "evoking Noah's fight". A new brand show has been launched which is centered around the unit, with the main feature being a reunion showdown with Akiyama for the first time in about eight years. We asked Shiozaki about his thoughts on TEAM NOAH, the launch of the new brand, his thoughts in Akiyama, and his other expectations for the card as he competes in his 20th anniversary year, about how feels about Korakuen on February 15th. 

Q: What emotions are you feeling as you prepare for the LIMIT BREAK launch event? 

SHIOZAKI: TEAM NOAH...Akitoshi Saito, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge, Hi69 and Go Shiozaki, have started to work together, but with this event, I want to find out more about "What is TEAM NOAH?", and I want people to understand that this is what TEAM NOAH is all about. 

Q: What was your intention in starting up TEAM NOAH? 

SHIOZAKI: Lately, I've been having and watching matches, and I have been thinking more an more "is this the right thing to do?" But was was the source of that discomfort? When I thought about it, I felt that today's Noah lacks the strength to fight like it used to have. I think Noah's fights must have been so awesome, that it made you tremble to watch. In the past, customers were also looking for this too, and we were able to show it, so I wanted to bring back that Noah fight to the current Noah ring, so I called out to the wrestlers who can fight, and formed this. 

Q: I think the definition of Noah's fight is different depending on the person, but what do you think of as Noah's fight? 

SHIOZAKI: It's true that the Noah of today has intense fights, but when I debuted, Noah's fights were so intense that they shocked me to watch them. There was strength and fear, and I want to preserve that in the current Noah, and revive it. 

Q: The name of the show that has started with that intention is "LIMIT BREAK"

SHIOZAKI: "LIMIT BREAK" is the name of a technique of mine, which means to break the limit. The fights that I have seen from Noah are a repetition of going beyond the limits over and over again, so the fight that TEAM NOAH is looking for is LIMIT BREAK...a fight to break through the limits.

Q: At "LIMIT BREAK", you will face off against Jun Akiyama for the first time in a while in the main event. 

SHIOZAKI: I don't have any particular hatred for him, but Akiyama-san is already in his mid-50s and may be physically inferior compared to his heyday, but he's still smart and skillful. The last time I fought Akiyama san was in All Japan, and I lost. I want to pay him back in that respect, and the kind of fight I want from Noah is the way Akiyama-san showed me, so I said "I want to fight someone, who was fighting the way Noah fought back then", and that means Jun Akiyama. 

Q: Akiyama has said, "I hope that by appearing, I can leave behind something of what Noah's fight is all about"

SHIOZAKI: That's the kind of thing I started saying...The Jun Akiyama I knew was a wrestler, who had a real desire to win, and he scary each time he wrestled and knew how to do that well. So in many ways, I wanted to set fire to Jun Akiyama in a match. 

Q: What is your impression of Akiyama in DDT?  

SHIOZAKI: I think it would be very difficult to put on a Jun Akiyama match in a DDT ring, but I think it's amazing that he's doing it, and this is a fight between myself and Kotoge that you can't experience in DDT. I don't think it's because I'm getting older, but I want to have Noah from that time, and Jun Akiyama from that time appear again, and take the pin. 

Q: Jun Akiyama's partner is Yuji Nagata. What are your feelings about him? 

SHIOZAKI: It's true that I lost to Nagata in New Japan's G1, but when I think about Jun Akiyama and his partner, who came to mind? Yuji Nagata. Of course I thought of Akitoshi Saito, but Saito is now on this side (TEAM NOAH), and I would like to thank Nagata-san for responding to my wish. When the card "Misawa & Kobashi vs Akiyama and Nagata" was announced for Kobashi-san's return match (February 2002), the reaction from the audience was amazing, and I was excited to face them in a tag team match. It's not just your strength you have to use, but your brains as well, so I think this will be a fight when you can see how you can go beyond your limits in every sense of the word. 

Q: Not only Jun Akiyama, but Hiroshi Nagata too, is also a former GHC Heavyweight Champion? 

SHIOZAKI: Yeah, I've personally thought for a long time that his fighting style is more suited to Noah than New Japan, that's why I remember being so horrified when the Akiyama and Nagata team was born. I want to fight while considering the significance of being able to fight against that team. 

Q: And you have chosen Atsushi Kotoge as your partner, why? 

SHIOZAKI: I teamed up with him, and we also held the GHC tag. He is currently fighting as a junior, but I know that the explosive power he naturally has when he's pushed into a corner, is amazing. So by competing against Akiyama and Nagata, he is able to show off what he naturally has. I decided to team up with him in the hope hope that it would bring out some kind of that explosive power.

Q: Has Atsushi Kotoge not been able to show his true potential lately? 

SHIOZAKI: I guess that's true...right now, I feel like he's being held down. Originally, he was a more animated and energetic character, so I want Atsushi Kotoge to come out and express that without hesitation.

Q: I definitely feel like the real thrill of Kotoge was the "explosive power" when he gets beaten and pushed into a corner.

SHIOZAKI: True, but I don't remember seeing that kind of characteristic in him recently, so I would like to have high hopes for that. 

Q: Will Atsushi Kotoge's ability to "LIMIT BREAK" be the key to this match? 

SHIOZAKI: Yes, I am teaming up with expectations for that, and I want to do my part to make that happen. 

Q: As for the other cards, "Akitoshi Saito & Kazuyuki Fujita vs Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma" is also likely to attract attention. 

SHIOZAKI: For real, man!? That is my first impression of this card. 

Q: It is said that Togi Makabe's continued pursuit of a reunion with his colleague, Kazuyuki Fujita, will be realized in the LIMIT BREAK ring. Fujita also belongs to Noah, so this composition is Noah vs New Japan. 

SHIOZAKI: Yeah, if Saito-san doesn't do something about it, then I think that things will get out of control. I am sure that Saito-san will get fired up as all sorts of emotions overflow, but I would also like to see him take control of the match. At TEAM NOAH'S first match, Saito-san came out wearing his black costume from his early days in Noah. I felt that spirit and thought, this person also has strong feelings for Noah, so I hope he can show us the strength and the depth of his feelings. 

Q: It is also significant that the two men who were in the same ring during Misawa's final match, are part of a unit named "NOAH". 

SHIOZAKI: Yes, that's why I don't think that it's just a matter of simply teaming up. I think it's okay to fight while being in the same unit, in the sense that someday we will show Noah's fight there. 

Q: HI69 vs TAKA MICHINOKU is another card that has also been created. 

SHIOZAKI: Is it okay to do it here? I mean, TAKA is HI69's mentor. Although he competes as a junior, I think the path he has taken and the way he thinks, are better than those of a heavyweight. 

Q: What do you expect from HI69 as TEAM NOAH? 

SHIOZAKI: I like HI69's matches, and I like the way he fights, but I feel like he should be able to attack more and more. He's more of a waiting type, so I would like to see HI60 continue to attack more and more. 

Q: There will also be a singles match between Mohammed Yone and Masato Tanaka?

SHIOZAKI: Regarding this, there was also once the "Sano strongest theory" in Noah, right? 

Q: Takuma Sano has retired. Misawa fought him for the GHC and said after the match, "He was the strongest challenger". 

SHIOZAKI: Yeah, it used to be Sano-san, but in my mind, I'm starting to think that Yone is the strongest. You tend to only notice his cheerfulness, but I really want to see the strength and the aggression in that elbow attack...I'm really looking forward to seeing how scary Yone-san is when that drawer is opened. Furthermore, his opponent is Masato Tanaka, so when he breaks through his limits and opens that drawer, I think it's going to be something amazing...

Q: In the past, there was also the keyword of "Killer Yone"

SHIOZAKI: I agree...if it becomes a fight to revive that scary side...

Q: Masato Tanaka should also return double the amount, and if Yone too tries to return double the amount...

SHIOZAKI: Yeah, I think the LIMIT BREAK will come naturally, and the intensity and emotion will build up, and it will be a great match. I'm looking forward to it. 

Q: The overall impression of the card is that the wrestlers with careers stand out, but what is the intention behind this? 

SHIOZAKI: In order to revitalize the promotion, we need a new power. There is no doubt that this is the case for anyone watching, but in order to truly revitalize it, we need to think that there is more than just that, and that there is a present and a future beyond history, and we need to reconsider that history. I think this will also lead to the future. 

Q: The development of things requires to "learn new things (from the past) and "Understanding the past, and learning the new" 

SHIOZAKI: Yes, it's because of the many battles that I fought in the past that I was able to become what I am today. Also, I am forty-two years old and twenty yeas into my career, but I still have a long way to go. Some of the wrestlers participating have had careers of over thirty years, and I am sure that they think that they can go even further. I'd like to see their various determinations in order to inspire the new generation. 

Q: Okay, finally, please tell me of your enthusiasm for LIMIT BREAK. 

SHIOZAKI: I would like the people who are watching Noah now, as well as the people who used to watch Noah in the past, but don't come and see it anymore, to come and watch. I want to make a match that will make you think "This is what Noah was like". We want you to have a great time, so please come to the venue. Thank you! 

Translated from Noah.co.jp

Picture credit: Noah.co.jp