New Japan Pro-Wrestling's junior heavyweight league tournament, "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. 33," will kick off on May 14th at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. A total of 20 wrestlers will be divided into A and B blocks and will play a round-robin tournament, with the final match taking place on June 7th at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo. We spoke with YOH, who was the runner-up last year and is aiming for his first championship this year.
◇"We've entered a different phase than before" - Capturing fans with original ideas
YOH has been attracting attention with his original ideas, such as dressing up as a pamphlet vendor with full makeup including false eyelashes and bright red lipstick, or performing attacks that pay homage to his rivals. At last year's "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. 32," he captured the hearts of many fans with an emotional match in which he successively used moves from the wrestlers of his unit, which was disbanded in a haphazard manner.
It's been 15 years since his debut. After a period where he didn't get results in singles competitions, he says that in the last few years he has "entered a different phase than before."
"Right now, I have three firm beliefs: 'Don't be afraid of loneliness,' 'Love freedom,' and 'When you do it, enjoy it to the fullest.' I play according to these principles. The reason I seem to be enjoying pro wrestling now is because my style is truly coming into its own."
◇2022 was a turning point: "I was able to move on" with my answer to Hiromu Takahashi.
The foundation for his current style was established after the popular tag team "ROPPONGI 3K," which had won numerous titles, disbanded in 2021, and he became a singles wrestler. The turning point was 2022. "It was a year of many realizations for me," he reflects.
In 2022, at "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr. 29," YOH achieved his first singles victory against Hiromu Takahashi in the main event at Korakuen Hall. After the match, he asked the audience on the microphone, "Are you happy that I won?" The audience responded with loud applause, but YOH quietly revealed his true feelings, urging them, "Actually, it's okay to be more free."
"At the time, Hiromu-san was telling me things like, 'You need to love pro wrestling more,' and that was my answer to him. I was still searching for my own style, and to begin with, if I didn't love it, I wouldn't be a pro wrestler. I was doing my best and working hard in my own way, but it was a period when I wasn't getting results."
I had been hearing all sorts of things from my peers, and I also sensed that my customers didn't have very high expectations of me, so on that day, I honestly expressed my true feelings.
Up until then, I generally had a style of not speaking my true feelings, but when I spoke my mind then, I felt relieved and like I had let go of something. I think it was a turning point that led me to where I am today."
Later that same year, he won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI as the tag team Bishamon. He also won the "SUPER Jr. TAG LEAGUE" for the fourth time, teaming with Lio Rush.
"My answer to Hiromu-san, winning the belt with Bishamon, winning the belt with Rio—that was huge. When I teamed up with Bishamon in the dog cage match against HOUSE OF TORTURE, I was reminded of how fun pro wrestling is, and when I saw Rio moving around so freely, I thought, 'This is what pro wrestling is all about.' I started to really put that into practice in 2023."
He then reflected on the approximately 10 months between the disbandment of 3K and his collaboration with Bishamon.
"I knew myself that my character was weak, and others had told me the same thing, so I was trying to figure things out. I tried various things for two or three months, like not speaking much during matches. So I think from the outside it might have looked like I was just spinning my wheels, and people were wondering what I was trying to do."
When asked how he got through that period, he laughed it off and said, "I just thought, 'Just you wait and see.'"
"I'm the type of person who takes a lot of time. People say I'm skillful because I have a lot of hobbies and things to do, but that's not really the case. I'm not really a multitasker, I'm a single-tasker. And I like to delve deeply into one thing, so it really takes a lot of time. Taking my time is one of my answers, and it's my way of doing things. Back then, I must have thought somewhere that it was 'your' fault if you didn't understand what was good about me."
◇In 2023, the costumes were completely revamped, creating a "reconstructed new style."
With that feeling in mind, in 2023, he revamped his costume, saying, "The moment I put on patchwork denim, I felt like it might be time to make a move, and that was the signal." He then took to "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr.30" with the determination to "create a new style that reconstructs everything up until now."
"I started to provoke my opponents, make fun of them, and even try out their moves. I refined my style through trial and error."
I wanted to break the concept of a baby face. Up until then, I had been the epitome of a baby face, but I realized that wasn't the real me. I decided to break free from that constraint and do things the way I wanted to.
"But since no one else was doing it, I figured no one would agree with me, so I thought I had no choice but to forge my own path and push forward. I pushed myself to the point where I thought, 'If this doesn't work, I'll quit pro wrestling,' and I seriously considered it."
This led to one of my current beliefs: "Don't be afraid of loneliness."
"At first, I was definitely scared. But I had no choice but to do it. Once I started, I stopped caring about what other people thought. Even the challenge of involving the audience became irrelevant. Now, all that matters is that I enjoy it. And if the fans enjoy it too, that would be the best."
◇"We'll win the final by a landslide" - We'll get revenge for last year's defeat.
In recent years, "BEST OF THE SUPER Jr." has been a turning point for YOH. This year, he will be competing in Block B.
"Block B is full of technically skilled wrestlers. But I'm really looking forward to facing wrestlers I haven't competed against before," said Daisuke Sasaki from DDT, and Hyo from Dragon Gate, and also mentioned Jacob Austin Young, saying, "This will probably be the first time we've faced each other in a singles match."
KUSHIDA also mentioned that he hasn't had a singles match since his younger days, and that he's looking forward to a match against his former tag team partner, SHO, saying, "I think it's going to be a crazy, wild match, as you'd expect."
He then confidently declared, "Well, I'm going to the finals by a landslide."
Meanwhile, when asked about Block A, he mentioned Jun Kasai, a wrestler from Pro Wrestling FREEDOMS known as the "Deathmatch Charisma," but added, "To be honest, I want to get revenge for last year's defeat. I hope Kosei Fujita (who I lost to in last year's final) makes it to the finals. Last year he dodged my Rainmaker, so this year I'm going to land it on him and we'll face each other in the finals again."
