(NOAH) Follow Me You Bastards! (Kenoh's column)

Weekly Pro

22nd January 2025

Q: An incredible talent has emerged!

KENOH: Huh? Who are you talking about?

Q: OZAWA. He became the GHC Heavyweight Champion in the shortest time in history, just 2 years and 4 months after his debut.

KENOH: I'm going to finish that guy off at Korakuen Hall on January 11th.

Q: OZAWA's TEAM2000X and All Rebellion are in a fierce rivalry, and you have a non-title match scheduled against OZAWA at Korakuen Hall on January 11th. So, looking at it neutrally, what do you think?

KENOH: Huh? You want me to talk about this without any personal feelings?

Q: Yes, thank you!

KENOH: I get it. To be honest, he's a pro wrestler unlike any we've ever seen before. Starting with his revelations, he's a figure that really sparks the imagination. After his betrayal in Nagoya on November 17th, he kept hyping things up even though he wasn't competing, and occasionally he'd flash glimpses of his incredible physical abilities. I think those bastards couldn't stop thinking about OZAWA until January 1st.

Q: You're absolutely right.

KENOH: To perform like that just two years and four months after his debut, he's a real prodigy... but don't let me make such a judgment about him. That guy is OZAWA of TEAM2000X, the hateful guy who betrayed All Rebellion.

Q: At the end of last year, he also revealed that his left leg fracture was self-inflicted. 

KENOH: Exposing things and lying isn't something that can be done easily. I think a considerable amount of resentment and bitterness towards Kiyomiya must have motivated OZAWA. A normal pro wrestler would return from overseas training, have a triumphant return match as All Rebellion, and then betray them. But OZAWA deliberately injured his own left leg and decided to rebel while injured after being sidelined. It's true that he had that kind of self-promotion ability that ordinary people wouldn't even think of, and I think that's why it generated this much excitement.

Q: He hyped things up all the way to the January 1st Nippon Budokan show with words and actions that far exceeded our expectations.

KENOH: When it comes to talking, he's already top class in Noah. And his physical abilities are outstanding too. He's on par with Ricochet, Kota Ibushi, and Hayabusa. He just didn't achieve great results in gymnastics during high school, but he might have been on the same level as Kohei Uchimura or Shinnosuke Oka, who were on the Japanese national gymnastics team.

Q: Are you really going that far?

KENOH: It was amazing how he perfectly adapted his high level of physical ability to professional wrestling. The Phoenix Splash and aerial manoeuvres he'd shown in the ring before were always isolated incidents. The question was how he could execute them in the midst of a match, like being in a raging torrent, and how he could maintain precision in the crucial final stages when his own stamina was being depleted. Those were the things that were put to the test at the Nippon Budokan on January 1st.

Q: It was perfect.

KENOH: I saw his strength of heart. A massive crowd of 5088, the final match at the Nippon Budokan, his first challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Championship... despite all these being first-time experiences, he wasn't fazed at all. Before the match, he made several provocative revelations on social media, and there was quite a bit of criticism. But OZAWA wasn't shaken by any of that. Many young pro wrestlers these days have mental health issues, but OZAWA has the strongest mental fortitude. He has the perfect personality for pro wrestling. 

Q: Kenoh, you have incredible mental strength. So, how do you analyze the reversal of fortunes at the Nippon Budokan, where the audience cheered for OZAWA and booed Kaito Kiyomiya.

KENOH: That’s the main issue, isn't it? Noah has placed excessive expectations on Kiyomiya all this time. I bet the backlash from those assholes just kept building up little by little until it finally exploded all at once. 

Q: Up until last May, Kenoh, you were constantly verbally attacking Kiyomiya, but now that you’ve both joined "All Rebellion" and are standing in the same corner, the dynamic has shifted significantly. No one else has really stepped up to fill that role since then.

KENOH: Kiyomiya has the looks, amazing in-ring skills, and a track record of real results. He’s that dazzling, classic "prince" type. On the other hand, you get a strong sense that Ozawa clawed his way up from the bottom. Japanese fans have a soft spot for the underdog—they love rooting for the little guy. Plus, Ozawa’s character is just so easy to understand. In those big matches with huge crowds, Ozawa might have actually connected with the audience better than Kiyomiya did.

Q: I see.

KENOH: I’ve focused a lot on OZAWA so far, but there’s something else I want to say.

Q: What is it?

KENOH: I want to express my gratitude to the throngs of bastards who turned out—5,088 at the Nippon Budokan on January 1st and 480 in Shinjuku on the 2nd. The energy of the live crowd created the ultimate atmosphere.

Q: Indeed. We're running low on space, so please wrap things up!

KENOH: So, what I really want to say at the end is...

Q: Don't tell me...

KENOH: ...KENTA, thank you! That's it.