(NOAH) "I'm grateful... It's frustrating, but fighting him brings out something in me"...Kaito Kiyomiya reveals his thoughts on his "arch-rival" OZAWA
Hochi News
Pro Wrestling Noah will hold "WRESTLE ODYSSEY" at Ryogoku Kokugikan on the 11th. In the seventh match, a special tag match, New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Hiroshi Tanahashi, who will retire at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th next year, will take part, teaming up for the first time with "ALL REBELLION"'s Kaito Kiyomiya. They will face off against Naomichi Marufuji and Kenoh.
Sports Hochi interviewed Kiyomiya directly. In the previous interview, which was published on the 7th, he revealed his true intentions for teaming up with Tanahashi. This time, we asked him about his thoughts on his arch rival, T2000X's OZAWA.
OZAWA was forced to withdraw from his N-1 opening match at Korakuen Hall on September 8th due to a Lisfranc ligament injury sustained in his left leg, during his match against Naomichi Marufuji. On September 15th, the anniversary of his debut, he posted on his X account, "Today, exactly three years after my debut, I underwent ligament reconstruction surgery in my leg. I apologize for the inconvenience and concern I have caused to Marufuji, Kiyomiya, KENTA, Kenoh, all the other wrestlers, and all the fans. Perhaps what goes around comes around, or perhaps this is the fate of those who speak ill of others. I am reflecting on my actions." However, Kenoh has stated on his YouTube channel, "The Kenoh Channel," that he was "faking an illness."
The man at the center of the controversy will be seconding T2000X's Takashi Sugiura and Dragon Gate's Shun Skywalker, who will face Tetsuya Endo and HAYATA in the fourth match at Ryogoku.
How does Kiyomiya view Kenoh's suspicion that OZAWA is "faking" his illness?
"As for that injury, it was after Ozawa's injury (in the main event against KENTA), so I saw it with my own eyes, so I believe it was an injury. However, the things he's been posting about on X since then seem completely untrue."
Last year, shortly after his triumphant return to Japan, he was diagnosed with a "fractured cuboid" during practice and was forced to miss time. However, at the November 17th Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium event, he attacked Kiyomiya with crutches.
"Regarding OZAWA, t's best not to think about whether it's true or not, because something like last year happened. But for me, I always feel like he could show up at any moment."
On New Year's Day this year, Kiyomiya lost to OZAWA at the Nippon Budokan, and lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Since then, the scenes at Noah's venues, which had been empty until last year, has changed dramatically. Korakuen Hall is currently undergoing a significant recovery, with almost every event being sold out. However, how does Kiyomiya himself feel about this boom, having been used as a stepping stone by OZAWA, so to speak?
He gave an unexpected answer, "I'm grateful to OZAWA". He explained the meaning as "gratitude".
"As an opponent, he constantly told lies about my personal life, and people can't tell if they're true or false, and I'm like, ""What the hell! You bastard!" Of course, I definitely want to get revenge, but fighting him made me hear voices around me that I couldn't hear before. That included the booing, and fighting him made me pay attention to things I hadn't noticed before." He continued, "Every time I fight him, I feel frustrated, but I feel like something inside me is being brought out. When I fight him, I feel like something rises up inside me that I don't feel when fighting other people. The fight with him is a never-ending one, so I think that new parts of me will continue to emerge as I fight him."
He then declared his determination.
"I want to be at the top so much that when he returns to the ring, he'll be bitter about it. Right now, I'm facing sideways, so I can't say anything great while turned sideways"
Despite being the defending champion, this year's N-1 poster featured a sideways photo. His latest T-shirt also features a profile image.
Isn't that strange?
He was the previous year's champion, but he was facing sideways on the poster. So, heading into the N-1 he declared, "I'm going to take center stage!". However, he lost, and the sideways profile continued, and the t-shirt faces sideways too. So right now, he's not being pushed, and new stars are emerging. I can really feel the mood that says, "Enough with Kaito Kiyomiya."
Kiyomiya vented his frustration at the profile T-shirt.
"You wouldn't come up with a profile design, would you? That's the work of merchandising. I can't believe it! But right now, I'm not producing results, so I can't really say anything about the profile. So I have no choice but to climb my own ladder, and to do that I have to grab what's in front of me, one match at a time!"
The pinnacle that lies beyond that is recapturing the GHC.
"I will definitely make it back to the top! When that happens, I will release a t-shirt with my face facing forward!"
I would like to watch from the shadows for that day to come.
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