KENTA Says He’s Done If His NJPW Run Doesn’t Pan Out

– KENTA spoke with NJPW for a new interview before his participation in the G1 Climax 29, discussing his goals for his run in the company and more. Highlights from part two of the interview are below:

On being in his first G1 tournament: “If you look at wrestling all over the world of late, there isn’t another tournament that’s as tough, as rigorous as this one. To come out on top of it all, that’s a tremendous, tremendous achievement. Incredibly difficult, but if I were able to make my mark and get results there, then that will instantly put me on the global map. It’s a huge opportunity.”

On having been in the ring with Kota Ibushi in NOAH: “I have. Not in a singles match, but in tags. Then again, he’s a different person now to the man he was then. I mean, I saw the match he had at Dominion with Naito. That was unreal. No doubt, he’s one of the top guys in Japan right now. He’s exactly the kind of guy I want to face. I want to test myself against the best.”

On all the matches being fresh for him now: “Like I said before, I’ve been away from Japan for five years now. Everything is different now. The wrestlers themselves are different, and this whole business is different. I’m really not equipped to talk about a lot of the scene now. As an example, in Japan, there’s been this term ‘pu-joshi’ to talk about all the female fans who love pro wrestling lately. That word didn’t exist when I was here last … even though I’ve only been away from Japanese wrestling for five years. It’s like, I see my kids every day, so I’m not so aware of how much they’re growing, but when other people see them for the first time in a while, they go ‘Woah! Look at how much you’ve grown!.'”

On his mindset coming into NJPW: “It took a lot of thought for me to decide to come here. Quite frankly, if this doesn’t pan out, I’m done. That’s the resolve I have going into this. I’ve deliberately chosen a situation for myself where I have no excuses, and that’s my mindset. That said, I want to enjoy wrestling. Plain and simple.”

On his goals: “Honestly, these past five years, I really don’t recall any moment that I enjoyed the process of wrestling. So here, if I can enjoy it, in my heart, I’m happy with however many points I get.”