HYAN reflects on getting the opportunity to wrestle Giulia for the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed on October 28.
HYAN gets the opportunity to live her dream and compete under the New Japan Pro Wrestling banner, potentially winning their NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship when she takes on Giulia at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed. In a new interview with Fightful's Scott Edwards, HYAN recalled learning that she would be competing for NJPW while she was competing for RevPro in England.
"I was in England. RevPro has a very good relationship with New Japan," she said. "It was one or two nights before the Copper Box show. Andy Q texted me, sent me a screenshot of Rocky [Rocky Romero] asking him, ‘Tell me about HYAN.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ Andy was like, ‘I would expect you to get a message from Rocky soon.’ ‘Thank you so much.’ ‘You don’t even know what I told him. I could have buried you.’ ‘I’m pretty sure you didn’t. Thank you.’ After, he told me, ‘I put you over so hard. I said all these great things about you.’ I said, ‘Cool, Andy. You should say them to my face.’ The day of the Cooper Box, I was getting ready, and I get a message from Rocky, ‘Are you available for this date?’ ‘Yes, I am. I will be available for that date.’"
Furthermore, HYAN spoke about how much of a dream it is for her to compete for NJPW. For her, the wrestling comes easy, but she says that grinding to the point where she can compete on this stage was the hard part. However, once the bell rings, she will be ready to show the world what she can do as she finds herself at peace inside the squared circle.
"This has been a dream of mine to be at New Japan. This shirt [wearing a NJPW shirt], I got it at the New Japan shop in Tokyo. This is what I wanted for a really long time. Surprisingly enough, the wrestling part is the easy part. Getting here was the hard part. The wrestling part, when we’re in the ring, that’s where I’m going to be at peace and I can show the world what I can do," said HYAN.
Regarding her opponent for the evening on October 28, HYAN says she's been studying Giulia, one of the best in the world. The Texas native is confident going into the bout, as she believes the current NJPW STRONG Women's Champion isn't used to wrestling women of her stature and with her level of strength.
"I’ve definitely been studying Giulia. There is not a single move of hers that I do not know. I’m very prepared for this upcoming match. She is one of the best. I can’t take that away from her. The Japanese women are used to working women of a similar stature, and they tend to be a little smaller. I don’t think she’s prepared for the power and what I bring to the ring. I’ve been studying her, I hope she’s been studying me. Everything that she brings to me, I’ll have an answer for," she said.
Fans can watch NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2023 in English on FITE and in Japanese on NJPW World.
Fightful will have coverage of the event on October 28. Check out the full card at this link.
Fans can check out the full interview with HYAN embedded above.
