Second night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 it didn’t end with a big post-main event splash (sorry SANADA), but a lot of intrigue came from the press conferences that followed the show.
For his first act as “god”, Kota Ibushi wants to address an issue that many New Japan fans raised last year – the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles being essentially united. Instead of abandoning one or defending them separately, Ibushi has a different idea:
“The IWGP Intercontinental Championship is the biggest belt there is. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship is the strongest belt in existence. I want to unify these titles. I want it to be the biggest and the strongest. No one contested just one of those titles. So what does a double championship mean? I want to unify them. So, I will fulfill my most important dreams. “
Watch! I said there was intrigue! And while Kota’s dreams depend entirely on Gedo and the bookers, the man he defeated on Tuesday at the Tokyo Dome is engaging us in a game of work or shooting. Jay White is fed up and threatening to return home in New Zealand after Wednesday New Year’s Dash !!
“I feel that I am physically closer to death than I have ever been and, hopefully, I will be. You all just saw what I put on the line. I put myself at risk, not for your entertainment or for myself. A by-product of me being in the ring is your entertainment. So, by proxy, I went through this for your entertainment. I can barely walk and you just stand and stare at me. Have you ever thought of helping someone in need? You liked me trying to walk there ALONE! For what? I go through all of this and you have no respect or empathy for where you would think of helping someone. If you can’t do something as simple as that, I will never be appreciated as it should be. Everything I did. Sacrifices. In the following years. I haven’t seen my family or my parents in three and a half years because I dedicated myself to it. I put everything in it! I believe in me as you would not believe. I know what I can do. At least I thought I knew. I believed that I was about to become God. I was wrong. Do you like me to say that? I was wrong. It was not my new era. Doesn’t that make you all happy?
“I’m here in Japan, wasting my life during a global pandemic, and for what? I could be home. If I can’t do this after so much time and sacrifice, why am I here? I will not do this anymore. Not for any of you. If I can’t do this anymore, I won’t do it anymore. There is no point in being here. Perhaps my time would be better spent elsewhere. I don’t want to do this anymore. I will not do this anymore. Tomorrow, contractually, if they want me. If they want to make me fight again after what I’ve been through, and I don’t mean just tonight, I mean the last one – in eight days, it will be eight years until the day I started training. I will not do this anymore. If they want to make me show up tomorrow, that’s fine. I’m sure you do, because you love nothing more than seeing me in anguish. Well. I’ll show up tomorrow, but after that, that’s it. “
These are two very bright parts to accompany the great narrative we got Wrestle Kingdom 15. Check out Rev. Claire’s reactions on Ibushi vs. White and all night two actions on here, and we will see you tomorrow with news and consequences of New Year’s Dash !!
H / T Fight for transcription