Yota Tsuji expresses his interest in facing Shinsuke Nakamura.
Yota Tsuji returned to NJPW at NJPW Wrestling Dontaku 2023, and he joined Los Ingobernables de Japon. Since then, Tsuji has faced a number of top stars, including Will Ospreay. Moving forward, Tsuji has his sights set on some major names.
Speaking with Lyric Swinton for Monthly Puroresu, Tsuji was asked to name competitors he has yet to face that he wants to share the ring with.
"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," Tsuji said.
Tsuji went on to state that, outside of NJPW, he would be interested in facing Shinsuke Nakamura. He noted that he does not like the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. With that in mind, Tsuji stated that he would want to bring back the IWGP International Championship and defend it against Shinsuke Nakamura.
"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," Tsuji said.
NJPW unified the IWGP Intercontinental Championship with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to form the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in 2021. Nakamura is a five-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
On December 11, NJPW announced that the IWGP Global Championship will replace the IWGP United States Championship. The announcement noted that bringing the Intercontinental Championship back was considered. More information is available here.
Tony Khan has said he is open to having the IWGP Global Championship defended on AEW programming. Check out his comments here.
