Kazakhstan’s first pro-wrestling champion speaks
April 14 saw history made in Taiwan with the crowning of new NEVER Openweight 6 man Champions, and while Toru Yano and Hiroshi Tanahashi have experience in holding gold, their partner Boltin Oleg was a huge surprise. Barely one year into his career, a Young Lion champion is the rarest of rare occurrences, but one Boltin says marks his graduation. We talked to the big man himself.
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I wanted to make the most of the chance i had with the partners I had
–So this is your first official interview with us!
Boltin: I’m a little nervous, haha. Same with my amateur career, I’m not great when it comes to talking.
–Well, the fans want to hear from the new champ.
Boltin: I’ll do what I can!
–So you won that tournament in Taiwan for the NEVER 6 Man Championships. Can you reflect on that tournament a bit?
Boltin: Well, I took it as a chance to come away with my first championship, and being alongside Yano and Tanahashi I knew I couldn’t let them down. So I put all I had into it and I came in confident.
–It was quite a unique set of circumstances, coming into the tournament.
Boltin: I was able to challenge Zack Sabre Jr. for the NJPW World TV Championship last year but didn’t win, and in the New Japan Cup I lost to Hikuleo in the first round. I really felt I couldn’t let a third chance go to waste. When they announced the tournament brackets I saw a lot of supportive messages from the fans and that really motivated me.
–You had the United Empire side in that first round, how was that match?
Boltin: All of those guys on United Empire, great-O-Khan, Akira and Newman are all great, but I think it was Tanahashi and Yano’s veteran instincts and my younger approach that saw us through.
–Yur big tackle on Newman got a lot of traction on social media.
Boltin: I love shoulder tackles. I think it’s just a really simple, cool pro-wrestling move. I always work on it when I train, and that paid off.
There’s a lot to learn about how to move as a heavyweight
–You faced HOUSE OF TORTURE in the finals…
Boltin: House of cheating… they like to use a lot of outside interference, but this time we were able to have even sides, three on three.
–How do you think you were able to pull off the win?
Boltin: That’s definitely full credit to Yano and Tanahashi. Yano hit his move, and then Tanahashi called the play for me to hit Kamikaze, and then Tanahashi cam off the top to finish. It was just their instinct to put together that combination, I think. But that said I know that I can’t let those two carry the team. I definitely felt the pressure with this tournament to make sure I kept up and made the most of what was in front of me.
–Did Yano and Tanahashi give you any advice before the tournament?
Boltin: I’ve teamed a lot with Yano before, and he’s always giving me advice after my matches. After the first round in Taiwan I was feeling pretty nervous about the finals, but he was encouraging me to focus and everything.
–Is there any advice he’s given you that sticks with you?
Boltin: He’s often talked about me putting everything out there and not holding back. Showing more power because of my size.
–What have you learned in the ring from he and Tanahashi?
Boltin: Really how to move as a heavyweight, how to improve my timing. And Yano is always full of energy, his voice is incredible.
–It was quite something to see them give you your own school blazer for that group shot.
Boltin: It surprised me too! The jacket definitely didn’t fit, but I was happy to receive it.
The Young Lion system is something NJPW can be proud of
–So with Tanahashi and Yano at your backs or not, you still won a title as a Young Lion. How does that feel.
Boltin: Really great. You know, I came to Japan, started my pro career here, learned wrestling here. That shows that the Young Lion system is something that NJPW can be proud of on a worldwide level.
–And you represent that system, that branding.
Boltin: I do, or I did. I’m not a Young Lion anymore! I plan to move forward as a real monster from here on out.
–So you’ve graduated!
Boltin: I’ll be working to keep this belt and get more. I want to be in the G1, and I’ll plan on winning it.
–Well, as a main eventer, you’ll have to talk more on the mic…
Boltin: I’ll work harder on my Japanese and make sure the fans know exactly how I feel.
–We’re conducting this interview in Japanese, and you always speak Japanese backstage.
Boltin: Well, I don’t think there’s anyone around to translate my Russian or Kazakh! So I have to do my best in Japanese, and this way the fans understand me better. I’ll keep working at it!
You’ll see a different kind of power from me
–You’ll face the challenge of H.O.T. again on April 23 in Korakuen.
Boltin: I’ve got full confidence going into that. They’ll try a bunch of bad stuff, but I’m ready for that. I think they’ll see, everyone will see I’m even stronger now I’m not a Young Lion anymore.
–There wasn’t a numbers avdcantage for them in Taiwan. Do you expect interference this time?
Boltin: Of course (laughs). But I’ll take care of it.
–The Korakuen crowd will help.
Boltin: My debut match was there, my first title match was there- I love Korakuen, and I want to make the people there to leave happy in return.
–Last thoughts for HOUSE OF TORTURE?
Boltin: You’ll see an unchained monster in there. A different kind of power to the one I showed as a Young Lion.
I want to make pro-wrestling a thing in Kazakhstan
–To go back to before you joined the pro ranks, can you talk a little about your amateur career?
Boltin: I wrestled between the ages of 12 and 30. When I was 15, I went into high school in Kazakhstan on the Olympic track for wrestling and continued that into university. That got me into the Yamanashi Gakuin university team at 23. Before I graduated there, Yuji Nagata scouted me.
–For what was then Bushiroad Club, what’s now Team New Japan.
Boltin: The plan was to try and get into the Olympics and then transition to prom, but with COVID it delayed me until 2022.
–But the amateur to pro transition was always the plan?
Boltin: I thought if I went back home, my only choices were to continue with amateur wrestling, or maybe MMA, perhaps bodyguard work. But I love training, I love sports, and in pro-wrestling there’s an avenue to stay in this role until I’m 50, 55.
–Are you the first Kazakh born pro-wrestler?
Boltin: I’m pretty sure I am. The first wrestler, and the first champion, too!
–That’s an incredible achievement. Is pro-wrestling not much of a thing in Kazakhstan?
Boltin: Right. It’s a big culture of amateur wrestling, boxing, MMA. Pro-wrestling, not so much, but if I can bring popularity to pro-wrestling in Kazakshtan, that would be pretty great.
–Who’s the wrestler you most aspire to be like?
Boltin: Yuji Nagata. I respect him a ton as a wrestler and as a human being. He’s 55 and still in the Dojo training all the time, and moving like someone half his age. So I aspire to be like that and be super active at 55 and beyond.
Me and Oiwa have a real rivalry
–You made your debut last April. How has the last year been for you?
Boltin: A lot of work, a lot of training. It hasn’t been easy. But from here on out i’ll have a little more free time to apply how I want, so I think I’ll be studying more grappling and implementing that.
–Now you’ve graduated, you’ve got a lot more time to focus on yourself.
Boltin: Right. So I want to do more of my own training. Grappling stuff, MMA, bring some of that into my wrestling.
–Are there any specific moves or techniques you want to implement?
Boltin: After I lost to Zack last year I watched a lot of his matches, especially with Bryan Danielson. I’d love to use some of that submission work.
–How is life on the road as a pro-wrestler?
Boltin: The travel and the wrestling is tough, but I’ve been able to see so much of Japan. I love the countryside, and it’s great to travel through there.
–Anywhere in particular?
Boltin: I really love so much of Japan, but Hokkaido leaves the biggest impression on me.
–Why’s that?
Boltin: Where I grew up we got a lot of snow, so being there in winter time takes me back to when I was a little kid, really nostalgic.
–Last year, you were involved in the Young Lion hat Trick Challenge matches with Ryohei Oiwa, Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima. Now all of you have graduated- what are your thoughts on those other members?
Boltin: Oiwa won in the NOAH Tag league, which is really impressive. He loves working out, I’d like to train with him again some time. And then Oskar and Nakashima are off overseas, when they get back I’d love to have a big heavyweight clash with Oskar.
–Do you have a sense of rivalry with any of them?
Boltin: Oiwa is a real rival of mine. He was my pre-debut opponent, my first singles match, and even though we get along, there’s a real sense of competitiveness with him. I’m looking forward to fighting Oskar and Nakashima too.
–So, any final thoughts?
Boltin: I know it isn’t easy, so I’ll be training and studying hard, but I’ll be working to win the G1, and then take the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Then, 20 years from now when it’s all said and done, I’ll set up a wrestling dojo in Kazakhstan!
