New Japan Cup winner looks ahead to Sakura Genesis
The New Japan Cup was a transformative tournament for SANADA. Starting this year in the midst of a slump, he needed to turn himself around or risk first round elimination. SANADA chose the former, and changed his factional allegiance along the way, joining friend and rival Taichi in the renamed Just Five Guys. Then it would be the recently named Dead Fall that captured him his first NJC trophy on March 21, and sets him up to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship April 8 at Sakura Genesis.
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I felt like people thought it had to be me
–First of all, congratulations on your win!
SANADA: Thank you very much.
–What was the reaction like? Was your phone blowing up?
SANADA: Hmm, I don’t know, I really don’t check my social media all that much.
–But you must have gotten a lot of texts, right?
SANADA: No, not one… maybe people hate me.
–Not a single text?
SANADA: No, I’m kidding (laughs). I got a lot of ‘I’ve been waiting for this!’, that kind of thing.
–It feels as if the fans were thinking the same way.
SANADA: I think this year people were thinking ‘it’s gotta be SANADA this time’. That’s the vibe I got… Is that a bit rich?
–Not at all, the anticipation was certainly there. And it’s been a long time coming, the result of seven years of work.
SANADA: When you’re in it, it doesn’t feel that way, but it has been a long time to be honest.
–You’ve been in that top mix for that entire time, but…
SANADA: I kind of want to say ‘sorry it took so long’. Definitely to the fans that have stuck with me all this time, I want to apologise for the wait.
Muto was definitely a part of it…
–Let’s talk about the final with David Finlay a little bit. On March 6, Finlay joined BULLET CLUB and really changed his approach. You both had that in common coming into this match.
SANADA: I’ve said this in a few places now, but wrestling him really made me realise how good Finlay is.
–Oh really.
SANADA: To be completely honest, I think I had underestimated him. Once we got in there, I really felt like he was in that top class of foreign wrestlers. I think he’ll only keep growing from here.
–You think he still has more to show.
SANADA: He’s only just joined BULLET CLUB, so give him time, I think. And he’s still pretty young.
–He’s still 29, right. And he’s deceptively strong for his size.
SANADA: He’s much more powerful than you’d think by looking at him. It took me aback to be honest.
–You get the sense that it wasn’t the last time you’ll face off with him. I did want to ask you about using the Shining Wizard at the end of the match…
SANADA: Right.
–It was a transition move into your finish, but it had a lot of emotional impact.
SANADA: Ahh, you think there’s something to SANADA using a Shining Wizard?
–Well, it is a famous Keiji Muto move, obviously. You said after the match that you had held off on using it, but that changed for this match?
SANADA: Well, I wanted to completely change people’s ideas of who SANADA is with this tournament, and that match. The new finish is part of that as well.
–So was it more about doing something different, would you say, or was Muto on your mind?
SANADA: More the former, I’d say.
–Oh really?
SANADA: I mean, Muto was definitely a part of it, I’d be lying if I said he wasn’t, but in the end, I am who I am, and it’s more about me than him.
–But at the same time, fans would obviously be talking about that choice, especially with the history you have with Muto.
SANADA: Sure, I get how it looks. But to me, it was using a move for me. It wasn’t anything I was too cute about.
–So it was just something you pulled out of your back pocket.
SANADA: Right. Sorry for the confusion, heheh.
That’s why I wasn’t a top guy until now
–Talking of that new finish of yours…
SANADA: Actually that has a name now.
–Ah, you’ve settled on a name.
SANADA: The Deadfall. Taking something heavy and dropping it. I actually decided on it today. I’m a big fan of the band Hi-Standard, and their singer Akihiro Namba was at the Cup final. He came up with the name,
–Very rock and roll.
SANADA: It’s a kind of hunting trap, setting something heavy up to fall on a target’s head.
–A fitting name. But it’s uncharacteristic of you to have a head drop move, after you railed against them a little bit in recent years.
SANADA: Well, like I said, I wanted to really rethink everything, all those conceptions people had of me. Going to Just 5 Guys, using the Shining Wizard, coming up with the Deadfall. I think being hung up on a certain image of myself was why I haven’t been a top guy up to now. I wanted to have a complete clean slate.
–But at the same time, you’ve had that classical style up to now. Did you not feel like you wanted to get to the top spot staying true to that style?
SANADA: …But that didn’t work for me, did it?
–Well, you made the finals of both the New Japan Cup and G1 and challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship twice in 2019.
SANADA: Sure.
–So did you feel that those times you were close but no cigar was a wall you had to break down?
SANADA: I think so. I think I was in this fixed mindset, and without changing it, I couldn’t move forward.
–Do you feel that you had more of a set, established idea of your style in the ring than most other wrestlers?
SANADA: I think that set idea is what stopped me from getting to the top. I think that if I stayed as I was I never would be a top guy.
I could never be a true top guy in LIJ
–So what made you decide to put your foot down and change all these ideas?
SANADA: I won the IWGP US title last year and then had to vacate it almost right away. After that, I could never get back on track.
–It felt like you’d finally arrived, only to break your orbital bone. Did taking that time off give you a lot to think on?
SANADA: Yeah, and the more I thought, the less I knew what it was I should be doing. That led directly to my results slipping, and then this year started really bad. I knew I had to make a change.
–After you left LIJ, Tetsuya Naito said that ‘people who shine, shine everywhere, and people who can’t, won’t shine anywhere’. Your thoughts on that comment?
SANADA: Thing is about LIJ is that Naito brought it back from Mexico right? And ever since then, it’s been his thing. Even if I was the top guy in the company, LIJ would still be Naito’s thing. Like, (Shingo) Takagi was IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, and he won the MVP award. But even then, LIJ was still seen as Naito’s faction. I thought that at best, the same thing would happen to me.
–No matter how great Shingo was in 2021, he didn’t change the face of what LIJ was as a group.
SANADA: Right, so I could never be a true top guy if I was in LIJ.
–You don’t think that Shingo was the top guy?
SANADA: He was definitely *a* top guy. But even he admitted that the Naito image in LIJ was too strong.
–So what did your seven years in LIJ mean to you personally?
SANADA: I wrote this on my Instagram, but it was the place I grew up. I definitely feel it made me the man I am today.
–Some might say that you’ve taken a roundabout path to get to where you are now.
SANADA: I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that per se. Sometimes you have to take the roundabout way to find those little side streets and places nobody knows about, right? I think I benefitted from it if anything; it’s a positive to me.
–Looking back, how did you feel about EVIL leaving LIJ in 2020?
SANADA: In a way I admired it at the time. I liked that he took action for himself.
–You can understand how he felt?
SANADA: He wanted to move himself up. I can understand that much, sure.
It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend
–When you joined Just Five Guys, the other members of LIJ hit the ring, and you showed quite a bit of anger toward Hiromu Takahashi, saying ‘I have no more need for you, just leave’.
SANADA: Well, it was a breakup, you know? If I was all nice about it, nothing would be any different. It’s like breaking up with a girlfriend, you have to rip the bandage off.
–I see. Are your breakups usually pretty harsh?
SANADA: I don’t know, maybe? I haven’t had all that many, honest…(laughs). But I’d made that decision to break away, and I didn’t want it to be half-assed.
–But if you breakup with LIJ, you’ve broken up with LIJ fans to an extent. How do you feel about not being a part of the most popular faction?
SANADA: But on the other hand, now I’m in a position to really grow a faction that hasn’t had any results, that’s a clean slate.
–You haven’t gotten underway with the group properly as yet, but how do you feel about Just 5 Guys so far?
SANADA: I’ve only had singles matches and we haven’t tagged yet. But it’s exciting, definitely.
–Who would you say the lead figure is?
SANADA: There isn’t a leader. I think if there’s a leader it becomes like Naito with LIJ, so I really feel it’s better off without one.
–Even before you joined J5G, you and Taichi have been calling one another “SANA-bro” and “Taichi-bro”. So there’s a sense of trust there already.
SANADA: Right. Taichi has always had that big bro status with me, I think. Part of it is having that similar background as well.
–And you felt that Taichi would be the best person to bring about the change you needed?
SANADA: Well, I think that he understood my potential the most if that makes sense.
–In the end though, it was you that chose to make the move rather than waiting for an invitation.
SANADA: Well, like I said, I think taking the initiative and making a move is what’s important.
–You alluded to this in the press conference as well, but we have seen Ren Narita and Shota Umino come back from excursion, and there is this sense of a new generation coming into effect. Was that another motivating factor to you?
SANADA: I mean, I’ve lost to them. Lost to Narita in a singles match.
–During the NJPW World TV Championship tournament.
SANADA: That was a real moment for me, in making me feel I was in danger of being lapped.
–And do you think that it’s harder still for you as someone who came into NJPW from outside as opposed to coming through the system here?
SANADA: Hmm, but I think that goes back to what we were saying about taking the long way round. There are experiences I’ve had and things I earned from going through a different system. Just because I’ve made this change for myself doesn’t mean I regret the actions I’ve taken. I’m proud of them.
Ryogoku will show whether I can do it or not
–And now it’s onto April 8 and Sakura Genesis. There are a lot of people over the years that have changed factions, or changed up their look- Ryogoku is the real test.
SANADA: Right. Ryogoku is what will show whether I can do this or not. There are a lot of people who climb right up to near the top of the mountain, but it’s only the very summit that has the best view.
–You’ve wanted to see that view since you got into the business.
SANADA: Until I do, it’s all just talk; that’s why it’s so important.
–So it’s win at all costs?
SANADA: Oh yeah. I really feel that if I don’t win this, there’s no point- it’s only me taking that belt that will really change the face of NJPW. Okada and I had those matches in 2019, but I think that an IWGP World Heavyweight title match means more to me now than it did then.
–I see.
SANADA: Before it was like I had this momentum, I was able to challenge and see what happened. This time, there is no seeing what happens. I have to win. Before I had a bit more tunnel vision, I wasn’t thinking of my place within the whole landscape. Now the stakes are so much higher, because I don’t want things to just end half assed.
–The fate of your faction hangs on this match as well in a real sense. As we’re heading to the start of this next tour then, are you excited, or more nervous?
SANADA: It’s more exciting to me, yeah. It’s exciting to have something new.
–And you’re putting seven years of effort into this.
SANADA: And it’s my first challenge.
–Your two challenges to Okada in the past were for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, but yes this is your first IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match.
SANADA: That shows how I’ve been out of the top picture for the last two years.
–How do you feel about how Kazuchika Okada has stayed at the forefront, really worldwide over that time?
SANADA: Success breeds success right? There’s a power of persuasiveness that you only get when you’re at the top, and there’s a difference in perception that comes out purely because of that status. I think that’s a big part of how well Okada has done.
–And you feel that difference now?
SANADA: Oh yeah. But I’m not stopping, and I think things are going to change very soon. I have a confidence I’ve never had before.
