KUSHIDA, fresh off his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling, sat down to talk about what his future plans are.
Speaking in a recent interview with NJPW, the former WWE NXT 2.0 Superstar talked about some ideas that have occurred to him, and what he’d like to see come true in the years ahead.
You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On how he sees things for the future: “I have an idea in my head for a kind of ‘bonus track’ for my career. I don’t know whether it would be 3, 5, 10 years from now, but I want to produce an all-junior card. One thing that still sticks in my mind was Super J-Cup in 2016. I won, as the IWGP Junior Champion, but I don’t think that I was able to live up to my position at that point. It was a case where the tournament was put together by the company without the thought given to the place the (Super J-Cup) has in the hearts of wrestlers and fans. I really want another chance at doing something like that and doing it right before I retire.”
On what he thinks the concept would look like: “I’m not saying I want ‘KUSHIDA Presents: Super J-Cup 2022’ or anything. It could be a different concept entirely. You know, I’ve held a lot of titles, and been in a lot of rings. Just this month I’m on STRONG and IMPACT. I’ve been meeting a lot of other wrestlers again over the last few weeks alone. It’s nice to reminisce, but having been in all of these places and having had all of these contacts, and then watching the old J-Cups really made me think that there’s still a few dreams and ambitions I want to achieve.”
On utilizing future talent and how he’s achieved what he has: “And [I have] HHH’s phone number (laughs). I wouldn’t completely rule out being able to get a few good guys on loan from over there- don’t ask, don’t get. And you know, that’s the attitude I’ve always had. I’ve never been anything but honest and straightforward all the way through my career, from Mexico to the US, to Hokkaido down to Okinawa in Japan. I’m 39, and I’ve been doing this 17 years. I’ve survived in a big man’s world as a small guy, and it’s all because I’ve had dreams in mind and worked to achieve them. That’s what I want to show everyone. What I want to show kids who aren’t destined to be more than 170cm and are getting set to give up on pro-sports as their careers- that there is still room and still things to achieve in this incredible business. There’s still a lot I want to achieve, yet.”
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