Yuto Nakashima’s thoughts on excursion

While YOH and SHO, or Yujiro Takahashi and Tetsuya Naito might be notable exceptions in the past, it’s relatively rare for two Young Lions to go on excursion together as a team, and it’s rarer still for that team to have the kind of relationship that Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima share. The Japanese and German connection forged in New Zealand and moulded in Japan is a strong one however, and YOUNGBLOOD are now set to take Europe by storm as they leave Japan behind for now. We caught up with both Yuto and Oskar about their journeys, starting with Nakashima. 

‘Crap, OK , guess I’ve got to beat up Tanahashi then’

–So from your debut on Valentine’s Day 2021 to now, can you look back at the last three years a little?

Nakashima: I felt like crap for three years.

–Wow.

Nakashima: I hurt my elbow on my debut, then while I was away people came through the system and cleared it faster than me, and every time I faced someone above me I got beat up.

 –I can see how frustrated you would get.

Nakashima: I never lost when I was doing MMA. So I’d get into a cycle of thinking what my life would be like now if I didn’t get into this. Friends of mine back home were saying the same sort of thing…

–A vicious cycle. 

Nakashima: Fighters I knew from back then are now big names in the biggest MMA promotion, the same company I turned down the chance to fight for so I could go to the Fale Dojo. 

–So why did you make that decision? 

Nakashima: Because I believe pro-wrestlers are strongest.

–So why NJPW in particular?

Nakashima: The guys I want to wrestle are all here, so that’s why I set my sights on NJPW.

–You’ve said on social media that you became a pro-wrestler so that you could face Tanahashi, was that a big part of it?

Nakashima: Yeah. This sounds lame, but I really did never lose a fight when I was a kid. Everyone around me said I could fight for a living, but when I laid eyes on pro-wrestling for the first time, I really felt like wrestlers were the toughest, like ‘that’s who I want to be like’.

–And Tanahashi was the one you most aspired to?

Nakashima: I struck up a conversation about wrestling at school, like if anyone watched it or whatever. And my friends were like ‘one guy graduated from this school and went on to be a champion’. When I found out it was Tanahashi, I asked round ‘who would win in a fight? Me or this Tanahashi guy?’. Usually everyone would always say ‘you’d crush ’em Yuto’ but this time people started saying ‘Tanahashi!’. So I was like ‘Crap, OK, guess I’ve gotta beat up Tanahashi then’.

–So what went through your mind when you first saw Tanahashi?

Nakashima: I started looking him up while I was in class. I had this image of a scary dude in dreads and then when I saw him he looked like some sort of cabaret host. I figured, he came through the same junior high school in Gifu, let’s see if he’s in town. Me and a friend snuck out of school and started riding out bikes around, I was cussing out Tanahashi under my breath the whole time.

The day I read the Tanahashi interview, I dropped out of college

–So you brought that image of riding your bike around Gifu as a teenager, looking to find and beat up Hiroshi Tanahashi all the way to the Dojo… and how many times did you have to take the tryout?

Nakashima: Four.

–So was the first time while you were still in junior high?

Nakashima: Yeah. A friend of mine said that they had these tryouts, so I sent in a profile, like a resume or whatever. I cold called them from a payphone a bunch of times to follow up but they’d rejected me on the application.

–You were a junior high school student mailing out resumes?

Nakashima: I had no idea how to write one or how to send it out. I asked this girl sitting next to me in class to do it for me. In the end, I figured I didn’t get picked because I needed results in some sort of martial art. I figured judo and amateur wrestling didn’t have strikes so that was no good, and boxing, there was no grappling. So I started going to an MMA gym.

–So you thought you’d go from MMA into pro-wrestling.

Nakashima: Right. I started in on MMA during high school and this gym put me in underground fights. Won a belt, too. I didn’t study in high school and there was no way I was going to pass any university entrance exams, but the gym introduced me to a school as well. I’m really grateful to them.

–So then, when did you apply for the tryout next?

Nakashima: When I was 21. I’d seen Tanahashi interviewed in this magazine, and he talked about being told by Riki Choshu to graduate college before he came into the Dojo. I didn’t want Tanahashi to tell me to wait a year, so I decided then and there to drop out of college.

–You dropped out because of a magazine article? And then you didn’t pass the tryout. So when did you take it for the third time?

Nakashima: At 22. That time I got through the whole thing, but I still didn’t get picked. I really didn’t know what to so. I waited outside the Tokyo Dome on January 4 hoping I could talk to someone, then the next say I stood out at the Dojo at 7AM. Nobody came, so I figured the only thing to do was to go and wrestle abroad.

–You must have been in quite the state at the time.

Nakashima: But I was still getting on the microphone after my fights and saying I would be a big star in NJPW, saying the same on social media. Then one time I got a DM on Instagram from a Fale Dojo trainee that said I should get in touch with Fale if I was serious about becoming a wrestler. That got me into the Fale Dojo, and then when I came back I was able to pass the tryout. 

Fale made me feel like I made the right choice

–So what did you do in the NZ Dojo?

Nakashima: I was there for about six months, but it was basically exactly the same as Japan, training wise. 

–What was Fale like?

Nakashima: We didn’t talk for the first two, three weeks. Then one time- at the Fale Dojo, the first floor is where you train, and there’s a toilet there, then on the second floor is a place to sleep. I’d headed downstairs to use the bathroom and Fale was there drinking with a friend of his. He introduced me like ‘this kid failed the tryout time and again, but now he’s doing his best here in New Zealand.’. He said ‘if you don’t give up, you can make your dreams a reality’ and that stuck with me so much. I felt in the moment like I’d made the right choice. 

–And that’s where you met Oskar as well.

Nakashima: When I came into the Dojo, Fale was sitting in this massive chair drinking wine. I made my introductions in as loud a voice as I could and he just gestured over with his head where I should go. That was to Oskar, who I guess was explaining what the life was like there, a bunch of English I didn’t understand. That was my first time meeting Oskar.

–And you and he became rivals…

Nakashima: Right from that first day I felt I couldn’t fall behind him. We were both able to do all the drills, but I always wanted to do more than him- I figured if I could beat him then I would finally pass the tryout. 

–So after your time training under Fale you finally get accepted into the Dojo in Japan, but then on Valentine’s Day 2021, your debut match sees you injure your left shoulder a few seconds in against Yuya Uemura. How did it feel yo be on the shelf for eight months right after your debut?

Nakashima: I mean, the second I got hurt I thought ‘oh that’s it, I’m fired’. 

–Your head went right to your contract- how was it rehabbing the injury?

Nakashima: The toughest part to me, mentally, was getting into the Dojo. Lots of people say that that’s where the tough times start, but I see it like you’ve got a roof over your head, you’ve got food to eat and you’re able to train where you always wanted to be. That’s a blessing in my book. I felt blessed I wasn’t fired, but at the same time, I felt like I’d let Fale down, and that I needed to get revenge on Uemura. 

–Not having a timetable to return, was that a tough struggle, mentally?

Nakashima: I definitely felt like shit, but I wasn’t fired, and as long as I was still here I wanted a second chance. I tried to turn it into a positive. 

I’d like to think people can see me and HENARE and feel they can make something of themselves

–So after all the twists and turns, what matches stand out the most to you from your Young Lion days?

Nakashima: My debut definitely, but I also came in wanting to face Tanahashi, Fale and HENARE, so being in there with them was a huge deal for me. When I faced Tanahashi for the first time, it assured me that even though all the kids at school might have laughed at me wanting to be a pro-wrestler, I’d made the right choice, you know? With Fale, I felt like I could finally repay him if I could beat him… It’s hard to find the words, but it was all pretty emotional. 

–It’s all connected.

Nakashima: It sounds goofy but I grew up thinking I wanted to live a life that could be turned into a manga. I think that’s happening- it’ll be a better story when I can beat these guys one on one. 

–What’s your connection to HENARE?

Nakashima: HENARE is special, I think. I think he and I have had similar lives, and when I get in there with him, it’s almost like deja vu. I feel like wrestling saved people like us, and I feel I have to repay that debt.

–How so?

Like I think there are a lot of kids out there not unlike how I was, just full of anger and going nowhere. I’d like to think they can see me and HENARE’s matches and feel like they can make something of themselves. If we can do it in a singles match at the Tokyo Dome, then we can spread that message to as many people as possible.

–It always feels like you’re more confident than other Young Lions when it comes to talking about your future goals, and not being afraid to talk above your station as it were. Is that something you’re conscious of?

Nakashima: To be honest before I came in here, I thought that it would be full of people like me. I really feel like wrestling is the strongest combat sport there is, so I figured it would be full of people thinking nobody could take them in a fight.

–And you have more confidence than any of them?

Nakashima: Nobody has the history that I do.  There’s a lot of Young Lions that have had a good upbringing, luxuries in life. They weren’t street kids like me, weren’t fighting underground like me. I’ve seen a darker side of life, you know? And I feel more than anyone like I need to rise up. 

I spend so much of my energy hating Oiwa, I don’t think of Fujita

–What do you think of the other former Young Lions, Kosei Fujita and Ryohei Oiwa?

Nakashima: I hate Oiwa.

–Why’s that?

Nakashima: I don’t like crowd pleasers. I know society likes people like him, I know people like him are successful. But he came from a nice home, went to a good school. He hasd the opposite life to me growing up and I hate that. 

–You certainly wear your heart on your sleeve.

Nakashima: I say what I think, that’s something I don’t compromise on. But if I’m being honest and breaking it down, maybe I only hate Oiwa because I never had the life he did. 

–How about Fujita?

Nakashima: If I’m honest, I spend so much of my energy hating Oiwa, I never think about Fujita (laughs).

–Fujita joined TNMDK early, and had a title shot against the NEVER 6 Man Champions January 24.

Nakashima: It’s annoying to see him get ahead, but if you ask me if I want to be like him then the answer’s no. There’s nothing to be proud of when you’re on the fast track. Struggle is what makes life worthwhile, and with him it all seems a little shallow. 

–And Oskar?

Nakashima: We spent a lot of time in New Zealand talking about our goals for the future.

–Such as?

Nakashima: Wrestling in New Japan, which of course we’ve managed to do, but we’ve never had a singles match. Someday I want that in the Tokyo Dome, and I want us to win World Tag League, win the tag titles… Win all the titles, heh. 

–So you want to face one another one on one?

Nakashima: I faced him in that yakkiniku match (the Young Lion gauntlet) for a little bit, but we haven’t had a proper singles match.

–What’s your relationship like personally?

Nakashima: I can’t really put it into words, but he’s not just a friend, not just a rival. He’s kind of like a brother to me.

–Like family?

Nakashima: Like, say, if something happened to his parents, I would feel I had to help them out. That’s the kind of relationship we have. Still, he’s a rival to me all the same. I think we’ll be connected for life.

I want some danger on excursion

–In your blog, you said there’s so many things you want to do when you come back. Can you give an example?

Nakashima: I want to get revenge on everyone who beat me up as a Young Lion for sure. And I came into this business because I want to fight strong guys, and I want a belt to be able to do that

–You have some scores to settle.

Nakashima: Exactly. I definitely want some revenge on Uemura for the injury in my debut match. And I want Tanahashi on our home turf in Gifu.

–That would certainly be something. 

Nakashima: I have a lot of home town pride, and it would definitely be a big deal.

–And you’ve worked as Tanahashi’s attendant- how was that?

Nakashima: When I got into the Dojo, he came to me and said he was glad I didn’t give up. But he doesn’t know the real reason I dropped out of college- he might have kept me out of a good job (laughs)

–What do you want to learn from the world on this excursion?

Nakashima: I want to face as many guys as possible, and I want to experience as much as possible. I want a bit of danger.

–Danger?

Nakashima: I don’t want to go out in the world and just train and wrestle. But yeah, I want to fight as many people as I can. I’m not just limited to pro-wrestling, MMA as well. I want to experience things I can’t in Japan.