(NOAH) "Become a wrestler who leads the promotion! Have a rebellious spirit" - Kenoh makes an exclusive confession about "rising star" Yu Owada's "big transformation plan"

29th March 2024

Hochi News

On the 29th, Pro Wrestling Noah's Kenoh revealed the "big plan" for Yu Owada, the "New Star of The Ark", who he will be teaming up with in an interview with Sports Hochi. 

Kenoh will team up with Yu Owada and face Kaito Kiyomiya and Ryohei Oiwa at Korakuen Hall on the 31st. The team of Kiyomiya and Oiwa participated in the new tag league, "Victory Challenge" held from February to March. At the VC Tag league match held at Shinjuku FACE on February 28th, the time limit of 20 minutes expired, and they won the league. It was decided that they would take on the GHC Tag Team Champion Tag Team, Jack Morris and Anthony Green, but Kiyomiya had to withdraw from the match at the Yokohama Budokan on March 17th due to a "spinal cord concussion" sustained during practice. For Kenoh and Owada, as well as winning, this will be an important match that will immediately lead to a GHC tag team challenge. Kenoh had a fierce war of words with Kiyomiya at the press conference held in Tokyo on the 28th, but when Kiyomiya was absent from the Yokohama Budokan and was on guest commentary for the ABEMA Live Broadcast on the 28th, Kenoh said sweepingly "I can't help but feel angry that he gave a useless explanation for his absence. But if he really was absent, he wouldn't have appeared."

On the other hand, in the "VC Tag", Owada had volunteered to team with Kenoh in the VC and became his partner, and achieved dramatic growth in the league. Kenoh evaluated this as, "Unlike Kiyomiya, I think a talent like Owada would be a wrestler who wouldn't get a chance if he didn't get it on his own. Since Kiyomiya is on the star road, opportunities always come his way, and he took advantage of them." Regarding his growth in just seven months since his debut last July, Kenoh revealed his response that gave simulation to Noah as whole, "Until now, there have been fewer opportunities for young people. I'm glad I was able to show them that if you give them a chance, they can seize it."

Furthermore, he revealed that Owada is currently in a "nurturing situation." "I'm not even thinking of adding anything here. If you add it at this point, it will only make a smaller change, not a bigger one. He should follow his own path, and I want him to become a great wrestler. What I am looking for is not to be the top wrestler, but to be one who can lead the promotion, and I won't let him be a small wrestler in a place like this. He is currently at the stage where I am trying to make him understand that he should feel that way. If he stays like this, it's no good. I want him to have a rebellious spirit". To that end, defeating Kiyomiya and Oiwa at Korakuen, and challenging for the GHC tag is essential. "No wrestler has challenged for GHC in his first year of debut. Seeing such a sight is the first step towards the future". 

On the other hand, it has been ten months since Kenoh himself disbanded the rebel group, "Kongoh" in June last year, but he has taken no action at all to form a new unit. The reason for this was, "It was best to see Noah's current situation."

And, what is that situation? 

"I was trying to figure out how to find a solution after Keiji Mutoh was gone (February of last year)." Hinting at the next step he said, "Young people are not growing. If I can improve that, I feel like I want to move on to the next step."

Noah will be attending Ryogoku Kokugikan on May 4th, Yokohama BUNTAI on June 16th and a big event at the Nippon Budokan awaits on July 13th. In the decisive battle that will decide the fate of the promotion, Kenoh fearlessly predicted, "If I don't do it, there will be no excitement. We will do various attacks."

Translated from Hochi News

Picture credit: Hochi News