Tetsuya Naito Wants Revenge on Jon Moxley, Okada & Ospreay Leaving NJPW

– Sports Illustrated spoke to IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito ahead of this weekend’s NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo. Naito is scheduled to defend his title later this weekend against Sanada in a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 18. If he remains champion, he’ll be defending his title against AEW star Jon Moxley on April 12 at NJPW’s Windy City Riot show in Chicago, Illinois. Below are some highlights:

Naito on being opposed to unifying the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles: “I was opposed to unifying the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental titles right to the bitter end. When I fought for the IWGP world heavyweight title at Wrestle Kingdom, I went in with no interest in the world title itself. Why challenge, then? I challenged because that title was in the main event. More than anything, I wanted to win and have my roll call in the main event of the Tokyo Dome. That’s the reward I was fighting for, not the title.”

On his upcoming matchup against Jon Moxley: “We wrestled once in Japan years ago and I lost, so I know first-hand that he’s tough. I will get revenge on him this time, and getting revenge on Moxley in the United States is definitely an exciting prospect.”

Tetsuya Naito on Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay leaving NJPW: “Okada and Ospreay are taking on new challenges. Good for them, and I wish them well. But my job is to make sure they regret leaving New Japan, and I need to keep defending this title in main events to do that. There are fans who might be worried about the future of New Japan. But anyone watching will be able to see that with Tetsuya Naito and Los Ingobernables De Japon around, there’s no cause for concern.”

Naito vs. Sanada will go down on Saturday, February 24 at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo, Japan. The event will stream live on NJPW WOrld.