Yuma Anzai's "Promise To Me", part 11 (English)

English translation


Yuma Anzai's "Promise to Me" (part 11)


Weekly Pro-Wrestling

No.2338, 2025/1/29 issue, p.33


How Do Pro-Wrestlers Welcome the New Year?


☆How did you see in the New Year after the Yoyogi show on New Year's Eve?


Anzai: 

After every match, I take a rest. I don't get that sluggish new year feeling at all, but after the match, I think about giving my body a rest. I didn't watch Kohaku or anything. But, I did  all kinds of things with my friend from university...


☆All kinds of things.


Anzai:

Yeah (laughs). He said he didn't want to spend the new year by himself, so I rushed back to Gunma and we saw in the new year together. I did the first shrine visit of the new year, too, and I'm sure prayed to have an exciting time with pro-wrestling with no injuries, but... (wry smile)


☆You suddenly started bleeding a lot at Korakuen Hall on January 3rd. Was that the first time you bled that much?


Anzai:

I looked at the footage again, and Ashino-san and I were throwing elbows, and we were really laying into each other. Then, I lowered my face, and when I did that, I think Ashino-san accidentally hit me with his elbow. 


☆How did it feel to be fighting while you were bleeding like that for the first time?


Anzai:

I was shaking for a little while. I thought my forehead felt warm, then I realised I was bleeding. But, I didn't know how big the cut was or how much I was bleeding, and I had a rush of adrenaline, so it didn't hurt or anything. So, I didn't realise how much blood was coming  out, but when it got into my eyes, it felt like I was under water, in a daze. It was difficult to see.


☆How was the cut?


Anzai:

At the hospital, I said I didn't want a scar, and they told me staples would be good for that, and I got five staples.


☆You're aiming to become an actor/pro-wrestler, so you can't have a scar on your face, right?


Anzai:

Hahaha, I think it's best to think about the future. It'll be fine whether I have a scar or not. I'm fighting every day, so I'm not holding anything against Ashino-san. If anything, I feel bad that my bleeding so much became such a big part of that match...


☆How long did you have to keep the staples in?


Anzai:

They were scheduled to be taken out on the 10th, but I had a feeling they'd leave a scar...


☆It won't interfere with your next match, will it?


Anzai:

I should be able to fight with no problems from the Fan Appreciation Day (January 18th in Shinjuku)!


☆At the moment, you have to hide it with your fringe.


Anzai:

Yeah. It's like this (*lifts fringe*).


☆Aahh, what a handsome cut...


Anzai:

Hahahaha! But, I was able to win and leave the ring by myself, so my injury wasn't that big of a deal. It was like that before with my knee, too, so if I'm able to go back by myself, I don't count it as an injury. I'm appreciative of the people who worry about me, and I feel bad about it, but don't worry about it, I want to have another singles match with Ashino-san someday.


☆Maybe you won't bleed so much next time.


Anzai:

If bleeding helps me win, I'll bleed as much as I need to!


☆But, when you came out later on to make your challenge for the Triple Crown, everyone was worried because you had all those bandages wrapped around you.


Anzai:

Hahahaha! Now that I think about it, I'd had so many bandages wrapped around me, I didn't really know what kind of condition I was in. When I saw the photos afterwards on social media, I had so many bandages it looked like I couldn't see.


☆Anyway, the main thing is that you're OK, but that was an unexpected start to 2025 for you.


Anzai:

I didn't see that coming, either. It's going to be a thorny path again this year, it's definitely going to be rough (wry smile).




Translated into English by Michelle @puroresueikaiwa


Please do not use without permission and credit.

Wrestlers to Watch in 2025... Yuya Koroku (DDT)

週刊プロレス Weekly Pro-Wrestling, 

2025/1/29 No. 2338, p.53


DDT's Wrestler to Watch in 2025 is... Yuya Koroku


Standing alone following the dissolution of Burning, Koroku aims to win the DGC and make his mark


☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆


Yuya Koroku starts 2025 at a crossroads in his life as a pro-wrestler, standing on his own two feet after Burning's dissolution. Because of this, he has strengthened his resolve to make 2025 his year. It's not a case of "all's well that ends well", but for Koroku, 2024 is a year in which he made a lot of improvement. At the start of the year, he was out of action due to an injury to his left arm. When he returned in March, his fighting spirit was invigorated, and with this energy, in the Ryogoku he teamed up with Tetsuya Endo to challenge for the KO-D Tag Championship.

"After everything that had happened, in the end, at Ryogoku, I had a big opportunity on such a stage, and when we didn't win the belts, it was really frustrating because I felt like I didn't do well enough. But, considering I'd come back from an injury, I did really well to go through all that".

He was happy to have an unparalleled opportunity to be in a match on a grand stage like Ryogoku, but at the same time, he felt a huge amount of pressure, especially because he only had two or three hours sleep the night before the show. Nevertheless, he gave us an intense battle, which he only just lost. Seeing this side of Koroku, his partner Endo declared that Koroku no longer needed his support, and Burning would split up. 

The unit Koroku had belonged to for three years, since December 2021, was splitting up. Koroku joined Burning around eight months after his debut, and it was where  he had spent the majority of his career. Even before his debut, he learned a lot from Jun Akiyama and Tetsuya Endo.

It wasn't just that he was losing a unit he'd formed such a deep connection with, but Endo had also made the decision to take part in NOAH in the long term. Koroku ended up, at least temporarily, on a different path from the senior who trained him so well. If it's true that 2024 saw the culmination of Koroku's life as a pro-wrestler up until that point, then 2025 will see the making of a new Yuya Koroku. So, his feelings of having to having to make his mark are growing.

"As of April, I'll already be entering the fifth year of my career. Before long, I'll have to graduate from saying, "I'll try my best, I'll give it my all and fight with passion". That's already something I always do anyway, and on top of that, I think about how I'm going to make the audience happy, and I have to be aware of how to use my skills to do that".

Up until now, he has always compared himself to the other young wrestlers, but going forward, he's going to concentrate on himself and how he can use his skills to win. These feelings are shown through the words he has written on his  shikishi (square board used for autographs), 「自己中に！」 (lit. "Be self-absorbed!", or "Be selfish!")

Now, Koroku's main aim is to win the DGC (D GENERATIONS CUP) being held in February. Koroku has taken part in the DGC twice before, but he has never made it to the top, and he has even been surpassed by Takeshi Masada, his junior.

"I have to put in the effort and rise up quickly, so I can win the DGC, and send Endo a LINE message to tell him that I won. I think that's the kind of thing baseball players often do".

He laughs when he talks about his dreams, but his heart is aflame. With this enthusiasm, Koroku, fighting with a resolve to make his mark, is sure to stand out.


☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆


The thing he did in 2024 that left the biggest impression was... His intense battle against To-y in the run-up to the KO-D Tag Championship Match


Koroku would take part in the Semifinal at the Ryogoku show, facing off against To-y and MAO in a match to determine the new KO-D Tag Champions. However, prior to that, Koroku had lost to To-y in consecutive matches. During that time, on December 11th at Shinjuku, Koroku fought To-y one-on-one in an intense showdown. Although he lost by a narrow margin, Koroku used his frustration as an explosive driving force in the title match at Ryogoku.


☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆


Written by Kenji Takao for Weekly Pro-Wrestling magazine (Japanese).


Translated into English by Michelle @puroresueikaiwa


Please do not use without permission and credit.