Tetsuya Naito Responds to Critics Who Say He Goes Too Hard in the Ring, Wants to Focus on the Present, His Thoughts on Jon Moxley in NJPW

– NJPW1972.com released the second part of its recent interview with IWGP Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito that was conducted earlier this month. He discussed his thoughts on Jon Moxley in New Japan, facing Shingo Takagi in the G1 Climax, and more. Below are some highlights.

Naito on Jon Moxley: How’s he doing? Popular, huh? Well, sad to say, I don’t really know much about to him. I’ve heard he wrestled in WWE. Who was he there? Ambo-? Umbre-? [Dean Ambrose] Yeah, yeah. I heard that name. Is he as famous as Chris Jericho?

On Moxley’s debut against Juice Robinsin in NJPW: “I saw it. But that Moxley match didn’t really move me. I know it was a hot crowd in Ryogoku, that came through on the TV even, but I was left thinking ‘why are the people making that kind of noise?’ I couldn’t put my finger on it, myself.”

Naito on preferring technical wrestlers to Moxley’s style: “Maybe that’s part of it, I prefer technical wrestlers. Plus, with his new gear, he seems more subdued, less showy than how I imagine a WWE wrestler is. Then again, that’s just going off one match. Maybe he has something I haven’t seen just yet. … You don’t hold all the championships he has, or get as popular as he’s got purely on luck. Maybe I’ll see something in him after we actually meet in the ring, but for now, he’s an unknown quantity.”

Naito on facing Juice Robinson: “He cut his hair short, too. That surprised me. It’s like he’s gotten accustomed to NJPW and now he wants to show a different side of himself. I think he’ll be a different Juice to the guy I’ve faced before. … He’s really grown since he first came to Japan. Since he was teaming with me and I kept beating him up (grins). … Maybe he lost the dreads to stop me from pulling them all the time? Quite the anti-Naito strategy, heheh. … At the end of the day, though, while he’s grown a lot, I can’t see him beating me.”

Naito on facing Shingo Takagi in the G1: “Well, no doubt, this is the match I’m most looking forward to this G1.
… Hmm. Well, I took my lumps last year, but there’s no way I’m losing two years in a row to someone the same age as me.”

Naito on his history with Takagi: “Right, we first met in Animal Hamaguchi’s gym 20 years ago. But from when we first shared the same ring to facing each other now, it’s been less than a year. … Obviously I wouldn’t have brought Takagi in if I didn’t think he would make a big impact, but I never thought we’d be facing each other in a singles match so fast.”

Naito on how well Takagi has done: “He’s gone above and beyond. After the Best of the Super Juniors final I was just looking at the guy. Heart, technique, physique, he has it all, and after that match he had in Ryogoku he wasn’t worn down any. The guy is tough as they come. … He takes much better care of himself than I do. He takes a lot of massages, too. That and he’s always talking to himself in the locker room (laughs).”

Naito on getting called punch drunkard and beaten up and how he’s feeling physically right now: “I’ve been called a ‘punch drunkard’, ‘beaten up’. To be honest, none of that’s anybody else’s business. If I’m honest, the best shape I’ve ever been in was for my debut. But if I were to really look out for myself, perhaps I should take a tour off and rest up.”

Naito on rather going all out for three years than being a part-time for 10: “But I want to go to every arena in the country and show every fan the Tetsuya Naito that’s around right now. You can only see this Tetsuya Naito at this point in time. For the rest of my career, if it’s a choice of being a part timer for 10 years or going all out for three, I’m choosing the latter.”

Naito on how he wants to wrestle and focus on the present: “Damn right. I want to focus on the present. In fact I think anybody who doesn’t doesn’t have a future in this business. Tough as it may be physically, I want everybody to know this Tetsuya Naito.”