He then touched on his excursion to England.
This past May at Wrestling Dontaku, Yota Tsuji made his return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling and took out members of Just 5 Guys, including the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA.
Tsuji came up short in his attempt to become IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at Dominion, but his sights are still set on winning the belt. He told Monthly Puroresu that he’s not the biggest fan of the belt so when he wins it, he’ll split it up and bring back the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.
If there’s one person outside of NJPW he’d like to face, he’d pick Shinsuke Nakamura and would want to defend the Intercontinental Title against him. Tsuji stated that within NJPW, he wants to clash with fellow L.I.J. member Tetsuya Naito and wants to beat him to prove he’s on the same level or above Naito. Tsuji believes if he can’t do that, the future of NJPW is bleak.
In New Japan, the person I’d like to wrestle most is Tetsuya Naito.
I am a member of Los Ingobernables de Japón but I think the influence and image of Naito within our group is such a strong one that I feel I need to beat him and prove that I’m on his level, or even above him. If I’m unable to do that then the future of New Japan will look bleak.
Outside of New Japan, if I had to name someone I’d like to face, I would say Shinsuke Nakamura. As it stands, I don’t like the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. When I win the title, I’ll split it up and bring back the Intercontinental Championship then defend it against Nakamura – the man who defined the belt in the first place.
Looking back on his excursion, Tsuji found it difficult because he struggled to adjust to the British style. He explained why he feels he wasted his time there.
Switching gears, he was asked about NJPW expansion and feels the company lacks the promotional power that a WWE or AEW has, so it’s up to both staff and wrestlers and to come together and do their best in that department.
I found my excursion to England difficult because I found it hard to adjust to the British style. If I’m honest, I feel I wasted my time there. Will Ospreay had said the same thing previously. My experience in England made me realize that I should make the most of what I’ve learned in the NJPW Dojo.
Whether I’m in England or Mexico, I have New Japan DNA in me. That’s where ‘Gene Blast’ comes from. It’s taking that core DNA and making it explode.
New Japan have the potential to expand into South Asia, the Middle East and Europe. But I also feel New Japan lacks the promotional power of WWE and AEW, so like I said before, it’ll take cooperation between wrestlers and staff to make any expansion successful.
As of this writing, Tsuji is not scheduled to be in action at Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4th. He will be in L.I.J. tag matches on the Road to Tokyo Dome shows.
