YOH issues challenge to former partner
During a run of losses in Super Junior Tag League, YOH struggled with self doubt and a crisis of confidence. His partner of four years, and comrade of nine, SHO stood by him through his struggles, before a shocking Korakuen betrayal broke up both a team and a brotherhood. We spoke to YOH about the turn of events over the last several weeks.
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I’m not sure when the cracks formed, but they did
–Full disclosure, we did actually plan to interview SHO as well, but he declined comment.
YOH: Hmm. I don’t know what’s going on in his head, but I guess it’s like him to turn down an invitation to comment. I’d like him to say what’s really on his mind, but whatever.
–Let’s start by watching what happened at the end of your match with El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru on August 16. Your friend of nearly a decade, your Roppongi 3K partner since October 2017 betraying you- how did that feel, honestly?
YOH: I always felt that 3K would go on forever. At some point the cracks appeared, I just don’t know or understand when or how.
–Were you expecting SHO to come in for the save?
YOH: Tag wrestling is always about trust in your partner. A situation like that, SHO would normally have my back. So yeah, I was confused.
–And SHO had quite a disturbing look on his face as you took the fall.
YOH: I’d never seen that expression on his face before…
I couldn’t focus on what I was doing out there
–It was certainly not something we’d expect out of SHO. But it came after a rough spell for you. After losing the IWGP Junior Tag Championships to Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo on June 23, you couldn’t seem to get things going in the ring. What would you say was the cause of that?
YOH: Things just didn’t feel right. I started feeling that way when I came back from injury, and that sensation seemed to get stronger and stronger. Before Super Jr. tag League started was when something really felt wrong. We were Roppongi 3K like usual, but we weren’t, you know? I think it was something only I was picking up on, that something had changed with us; or that something had changed with SHO. I just couldn’t put it into words, and that was really tough.
–You couldn’t put a finger on it.
YOH: This probably is a bad look to say as a professional, but I couldn’t focus on what I was doing out there. I was thinking the whole time ‘what’s up, what’s going on?’ and then before I knew it, I’d lost again. I kept saying that I didn’t know what it was, but now, I guess I didn’t want to know, I didn’t want to face the writing on the wall.
–So that ‘something wrong’ was SHO.
YOH: I think it was.
–It’s really quite a shock to close the book on Roppongi 3K.
YOH: Even before we were Roppongi 3K, SHO would say that we would always be together no matter what. Whatever we might face or what people might say about it, we would weather the storm together. We supported one another all that time, and then what? Maybe I didn’t hold my end up as a partner. But I spent all my time, all my energy on trying to make things better for us as a team…
This isn’t going to be like any of those matches we’ve had before
–Where do you think this change in SHO came about?
YOH: Maybe it was while I was out hurt. He wrestled as a singles guy for that period, and I think maybe where he had a change of heart, or a change of thought process.
–It seemed as if SHO was lending words of encouragement even as the losses stacked up in the tag league. Did you feel those words rang hollow a bit?
YOH: I think his mind was made up before the league started.
–You think this was in the works from the start. After that turn on August 16, SHO took to the mic and yelled that ‘you’re finished! Quit! Retire!’
YOH: I really don’t have much recollection of that point. I just felt this hollow emptiness in me. That he would go that far…
–And now you’ve had time to reflect on those words?
YOH: Now I’m just angry.
–There’s no fixing this team?
YOH: Well, he decided that with the Shock Arrow. After all that talk of let’s end on a high, let’s get back in the hunt, and then he did that. That was his resolve, his determination.
–And what are your thoughts now on a man who was your best friend?
YOH: I can’t honestly say I can flip the switch that easy. I’ve still got a lot of thoughts going on. I’m still trying to figure out why, when, how.
–You’re still confused by it.
YOH: But I’m a pro-wrestler. It’s my job to fight, and I want to fight him. Really fight him for the first time. Forget about the past and let’s move on.
–You wrestled him a lot as a Young Lion.
YOH: This won’t be anything like that. We beat each other up when we were younger, but that was still with us being about advancing the two of us, together. This isn’t going to be about building one another up. This is going to be about tearing him apart.
–What do you think of SHO as a singles wrestler of late?
YOH: No doubt he’s strong as hell. His power, speed, it’s all off the charts. But I have my own technique to rely on, and I want to face him head on. I won’t lose.
I’m CHAOS for life. I’ve never thought of anywhere else
–Immediately after you injured your knee, SHO took advantage of beating Shingo Takagi in the New Japan Cup and went on to challenge for the NEVER Openweight title. How did you react to that turn of events?
YOH: I was honestly thrilled for him. I’d hurt my left ACL, knew I was out for a year. So I sat and watched him and Shingo, and I was behind him 100%.
–He was a bit of an inspiration.
YOH: You know- and this is something I actually said to him at the time- when I was out he was saying things like ‘I’m fighting not just for me but YOH,’ or ‘I’m doing all I can until YOH gets back’, and I told him ‘hey, all you have to do is focus on what you’re doing. You do you for me, and that’s good enough for me’. Of course I had my share of jealousy watching him wrestle, but it fired me up, and gave me the energy I needed to recover.
–The Best of the Super Jr. saw him get his first win over Hiromu Takahashi.
YOH: He did something I hadn’t been able to do. At that point it really did feel that he’d created some separation, and I did wonder whether things could get back to the way they were. Then again, I knew there was no sense in looking back to the past the whole time. I just had to do what I could to the best of my ability. But definitely watching him wrestle as a singles guy made me sweat some.
–It seems as if SHO could well leave CHAOS as a result of all this.
YOH: Whatever happens, I’m CHAOS for life. I’ve never once thought about going to a different faction. We’ve always been together, me SHO and Rocky
–It certainly looks as if there are shockwaves running through CHAOS. Toru Yano expressed his surprise on his YouTube channel.
YOH: I haven’t been in touch with the other guys, haven’t seen Yano’s video. To be honest, up until this interview when you showed me, I hadn’t watched this match back. Haven’t wanted to. Right now, I have to do all I can do to get through this situation and move on. I don’t want to hear from anyone else.
–You feel you need to settle this.
YOH: Right. It has to be a fight. You know, right from the outset we were an odd combination. I always thought that the contrast between us made a good team.
–SHO had the power, you had the technique.
YOH: So we built each other up. Now it’s about smashing him apart. SHO, I’m going to fight you.
