KENTA Questioned If He Could Return To NOAH After Not Succeeding In WWE, Felt Guilty About Going To NJPW
There was a part of KENTA that felt embarrassed to return to NOAH.
An extensive piece on KENTA was rolled out by Sports Graphic Number. He spoke candidly about his time with the WWE.
He left the company in 2019. After his exit, KENTA opted to head to New Japan Pro-Wrestling instead of returning to Pro Wrestling NOAH. He questioned if it would be okay to go back to NOAH, considering he did not find the success he was hoping for in WWE.
“Before I left NOAH, I had spoken about rebuilding the company, and I was working hard towards that goal. However, I also had my own dreams, so at that time, considering my age, I decided to take a break and go to America. So, I knew that if I were to return to Japan, it would be proper to go back to NOAH. But since I couldn’t achieve the kind of success I had envisioned in America, I wondered if it was really okay to just go back to NOAH without any achievements.
Ideally, I wanted to be like Hiroki Kuroda of the Hiroshima Carp, who made a big impact in the American majors before returning to his old team. But at that time, I felt that even if I returned, I wouldn’t have anything to offer NOAH. I worried that if I was sent off selfishly, I might end up relying on them again after a few years, so I chose New Japan and continued my own challenges there.”
Continuing on that subject, KENTA shared that he felt guilty about choosing NJPW over NOAH. He was given freedom in NJPW and overall, he feels the experience in NJPW led him back to NOAH, where he is working present day.
“New Japan gave me a fair amount of freedom. When I was in NOAH, I was young and still in that phase where I wanted to look cool. But things didn’t go well in WWE, so I realized, ‘This is no time to look cool,’ and in New Japan I was able to just be myself and be natural. So when I left WWE and chose New Japan, I felt guilty, but when I think about how my experience in New Japan has brought me to where I am today, I’ve come to think that it wasn’t so bad.”
For the second time in his career, KENTA is GHC Heavyweight Champion. He won the belt on day two of NOAH’s New Departure show. He ended Kenoh’s one-day reign to become champion.
