DOUKI wants fourth tournament to be his biggest yet

DOUKI made his NJPW debut in the 2019 Best of the Super Jr., and has gradually increased his footprint within the tournament ever since. From one win in 2019, he grew to two in 2020 and three after that. Now he heads into his fourth tournament, fighting to make it his biggest campaign yet. 

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Having that match before the tournament lit a fire in the biggest way

–How are you feeling going into your fourth consecutive tournament here?

DOUKI: Well, like you said this is my fourth entry. My first was in my NJPW debut, and that was in a two block tournament. The last two years we were all in one block, and that was much tougher. 

–It was a lot of matches, for a start.

DOUKI: Last year it was 12 entrants, so that’s 11 matches right away. 

–How did you feel about last year’s tournament?

DOUKI: Well, I only got three wins. I’m not going to be all fake humble here, but I definitely felt first hand how high level everybody is in NJPW.

 –So you really want a positive win:loss record this year.

DOUKI: Right. I think I’m finally used to this, used to pacing myself through the league. And having gone through a 12 man league last year, 10 this year should be a piece of cake, heh.

–That experience is really important.

DOUKI: Compared to the guys just coming in, I’ve got a huge advantage.

–Do you think you’ve gotten mroe used to wrestling in NJPW in general over the last three years?

DOUKI: Yeah. I think that happens when you’re around for three years. I’m more accustomed to a New Japan style, but more important I think I’ve gotten more of a sense of using what I had before, but using it at the right time and place.

–Your repertoire of moves has gotten you quite the reputation.

DOUKI: Meh, Hiromu likes to call me, what a ‘wrestling move superstore,’ ‘a fantastic COSTCO’ or whatever, but I’m confident in my own stuff, and I’ve been able to use that originality more of late.

–Can we expect any new moves from you in this tournament?

DOUKI: I don’t know. It depends on the opponent and the situation. Everything I do will be for a reason and at the right time. 

–How do you feel about the tournament back in the May spot on the calendar?

DOUKI: I think physically after having BOSJ in December, a part of me feels this is really soon, but I’m happy it’s back where it should be.

–And in an exclusive tour rather than shared with World Tag League.

DOUKI: These last two years, G1 got its own tour but we had to share with the tag league. It’s important for the junior division to have its own tour, so I’m glad that’s what we have here.

–With a big final in the Nippon Budokan as well.

DOUKI: I don’t really care about what venue I’m in when I wrestle, but I do think we need to be on the same stage that the G1 gets. Having the juniors be on a smaller stage makes no sense. So I think this is the way things should be.

–Right before the tournament started, you had a hardcore match main event, teamign with El Desperado against Jun Kasai and Tomoaki Honma. 

DOUKI: I hadn’t expected to be in a big match situation like that right before the tournament. But then, before I made my NJPW debut, I wrestled Kasai in Shin Kiba. 

–Three years ago, right before BOSJ 26.

DOUKI: That match was a major part of why I could get into New Japan. So I think to show three years of growth to Kasai… Well, however the match itself went, I did still lose. 

–The best way to have shown that growth would have been with a win.

DOUKI: After the match I got in my own head a bit, thinking that I hadn’t advanced any these last three years. Then again, what other wrestlers on the planet could have done the match we had right before BOSJ? It’s me and mi hermano (Desperado) and that’s pretty much it.

–So it got you ready for BOSJ.

DOUKI: I was a bit shellshocked after I lost, but now I’ve had time to reflect on it, that match lit a fire in me unlike anything else could have. 

He defends that title right after he wrestles me right? If I beat him I should have a shot. 

–Let’s talk about each of your opponents in the tournament, starting with El Lindaman on May 17. 

DOUKI: I haven’t wrestled him in a singles match before, but there’s unfinished business I have with him from our trios match on March 1 that I want to take care of. I think I’m pretty damn lucky to have him first. 

–What were your thoughts on Lindaman from that first match?

DOUKI: He was more interested in going after mi hermano rather than me in that match, but the one thing that really struck me is how much power he has considering how short he is. 

–I see.

DOUKI: He’s got a big mouth on him as well. He has this stance of him being part of a big team taking on a huge opponent in NJPW, and me being the individual I am, it doesn’t sit with me. So I’m looking forward to getting some revenge from March. 

 –Come to mention it, Lindaman is GLEAT’s G-Rex Champion. Is that something that you’re keeping in mind?

DOUKI: He’s defending that title the day after my match with him, right? If I beat him I should get a shot next.

He has that Seatbelt, I use the Skayde Special, I think we’re going to see a battle of the roll-ups

 

–May 19, you face Wheeler Yuta.

DOUKI: I’m not quite sure what he’ll bring to the table, but I do know that he’s having this sudden rise since he joined Blackpool Combat Club. I think he could be a bit of a Cinderella story in this one.

–What are your thoughts on him in the ring?

DOUKI: I saw him on AEW Dark pinning Aaron Slow with that Seatbelt hold of his lately. It looks a lot like the Jorge Rivera/Skayde Special that I use. Maybe overseas people use that hold a lot, but I’m confident mine is superior.

Robbie Eagles is damn near perfect when it comes to taking your leg

 –On May 22 in Akita you wrestle Robbie Eagles. 

DOUKI: I’ve wrestled Robbie three times before, and lost all of them. The results are what they are, but I think he’s a bit high and mighty when it comes to me, and I don’t like that one bit. 

–How do you feel about him as a wrestler?

DOUKI: He’s a former champion, and when it comes to going for your leg, he’s pretty much perfect. He moves well, hits hard, he’s pretty damn great.

–Despite his size, a real all rounder.

DOUKI: Right. He’s strong too; he can get you with that Turbo Backpack easily.

–Is it hard knowing he’ll go for your knee so aggressively?

DOUKI: Everything he does is hard to deal with. Every wrestler worth their salt will have a gameplan in mind to go for their finish, but nobody is as absolute and so tough in putting his offence together as he is. That’s why he won the belt, after all. But, I don’t think he’s unbeatable. And by now I have a good read on him. 

–Another one you want revenge on.

DOUKI: Right. This is a big chance for me, and I don’t want to lose again.

You just can’t predict what Phantasmo will do 

–Next is El Phantasmo on May 24 in Korakuen. 

DOUKI: He’s a real A-hole. Where does he get off acting all arrogant? I don’t know whether that’s his game, to piss people off and pressure them into mistakes, but he really gets to me. 

–Attitude aside, he’s certainly a formidable wrestler. 

DOUKI: You just can’t prepare for him. His moves, his pacing. He can draw you in by wrestling slow, and then suddenly bring the pace, and you really can’t rpedict what he’ll do next. 

–He’s good at dictating the pace?

DOUKI: I don’t know whether you’d say he’s good at it so much as he’s different to everyone else. Like, if Robbie gives an easy pace to wrestle at, Phantasmo is completely opposite. 

–How were your two matches with him before?

DOUKI: I lost both, but the first in 2019, I should have won. He hit me low, took my mask, and the referee never saw it. That should have been a DQ win for me. Just like Robbie, I need revenge. 

BUSHI? I’m sick of that lucha hipster

–After that is BUSHI on May 25.

DOUKI: Ah, the Lucha Hipster.

–You still feel that way about him? 

DOUKI: Oh yeah. He’s the very definition.

–He really gets to you as someone with a lucha background.

DOUKI: Of course. It’s all appropriation with him. ‘Oh this is cool, very lucha-esque’. Screw that. Maybe the Japanese fans don’t figure him out, but if he was in Mexico, he’d be torn to shreds for posing like that.

 

–Objections to his style aside, what do you think of BUSHI as a wrestler?

DOUKI: Maybe people don’t remember, but he beat KUSHIDA back in the day to win the junior title. He can go. Those strikes of his hit heavy. Even little things like his elbows and stomps add up really quick. And I remember really being knocked for a loop when he dropkicked me up in the jaw. 

–That is a stiff dropkick. 

DOUKI: The timing on it makes it impossible to guard against, or even brace for impact. En serio- for real that’s a rough one to take. But anyways, right now I’m 2-1 against him. In a lucha libre setting that means I’ve won one match, so this will be the start of our second.