(NOAH/NEW JAPAN) May 6th Nippon Budokan, "I want to be the leading character, and I'll do my best to make people think "I want to go to a Noah show" after watching my match"

April 30, 2024

(NOAH/NEW JAPAN) May 6th Nippon Budokan, "I want to be the leading character, and I'll do my best to make people think "I want to go to a Noah show" after watching my match" - Interview with Noah's Kaito Kiyomiya!

30th April 2024

Njpw.co.jp

When I fought Umino I thought, "You're carrying something", and I felt so excited.

Q: Could you tell me your honest thoughts when you heard the match card for "ALL TOGETHER?"

KIYOMIYA: I thought that the same generation was all together. Last year, there was a six man tag in the main event of "ALL TOGETHER" last year, and I felt that the professional wrestling world was progressing, and I felt that this generation has to liven things up.

Q: Now, I will ask you about the wrestlers on both sides. First of all, there is Shota Umino from New Japan, who is on the same team, competed in New Japan's "G1 CLIMAX" last year, and also fought in the big match between Noah and New Japan at the beginning of the year. What impression do you have?

KIYOMIYA: Firstly, he is a very talented wrestler. He also has great physical ability, so I am sure that today's New Japan fans have high expectations for him. When I fought Umino I thought, "You're carrying something", and I felt so excited.

Q: And you will be fighting with DDT's Yuki Ueno in a tag match, who you fought with at "CyberFight Festival" on June 6th 2021 (Ueno & Konosuke Takeshita vs Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura*)

KIYOMIYA: I think Ueno is a wrestler who has a strong will, and he has a lot of goals and a strong core. He's the current DDT champion, and it's reassuring to have him next to me.

"I'm really interested in Uemura, because I think he has a similar fighting style to mine."

Q: Now lets talk about your opponents. First of all, what is your impression of New Japan's Yuya Uemura?

KIYOMIYA: This is the first time that we've met each other in the ring, but from watching his matches, I get the impression that he wrestles in a very classic style, with an emphasis on the basics. I think there is some similarities with my fighting style, so I am really interested in him.

Q: And you have experience in competing against DDT's TAKESHITA?

KIYOMIYA: His body his big, and I think he is a wrestler with a sense of scale. He is currently competing in AEW in the United States, and I would like to get a feel for how things have changed compared to when we fought three years ago. I think it takes a lot of grit to go overseas and compete on your own, and while I have a lot of respect for that, I also participated in other promotions last year, and absorbed a lot of things.

Q: Another wrestler, Shun Skywalker from DragonGate, is the only masked man among the six.

KIYOMIYA: It's odd...in my own personal image, masked people are like heroes. However, Shun doesn't feel like that, I feel like he's someone I have to be on guard against at all times.

Q: I think fans from various promotions will come to "ALL TOGETHER", but do you have a strong desire to show Noah's pro wrestling?

KIYOMIYA: Rather than Noah's professional wrestling, I want to show Kaito Kiyomiya's professional wrestling, and to that end I want to be the main character. I'll do my best to make people think, "I want to go to a Noah show" after watching my match.

Notes

*Yoshiki Inamura is currently competing overseas as "Yoichi"