Jun Saito and Rei Saito, interview translation

Sports Graphic Number

2024/7/25

1100 Anniversary Special Issue

p.101

Score Card Interview

Pro-Wrestling

Jun Saito & Rei Saito

Will the huge tag team who can also do food reports become a symbol of All Japan's revival?

Text by Gantz Horie

"Now, AJPW is interesting". Many fans are saying this recently. 

Since the corona era, many pro-wrestling organizations are struggling to draw audiences. However, AJPW, now entering their 52nd year, have been able to sell out consecutive Korakuen Hall on weekdays, when it's usually difficult to attract an audience. They are once again recovering their spirit. One of the driving forces behind this is older brother Jun Saito and younger brother Rei Saito, the Saito Brothers.

They are huge, half-American twins who did sumo together. Making the most of their distinctive characters, their physical prowess and their rough style of fighting, although they debuted late at the age of 34, within just two years they became the World Tag Champions. Last year, they won the Newcomer Award in Tokyo Sports' Pro-Wrestling Awards, and they have quickly become two of the top wrestlers in AJPW. 

One thing that became a jumpstart for the Saito Brothers was their regret at not being able to make it in professional sumo wrestling.

"We did sumo for eight years, and we felt like even if we continued, it'd be difficult for us to make it to juryo (the second highest division in sumo), so we retired. But, for a while, our feelings were slowly burning. So, we kept training aimlessly, but I ended up watching a documentary about a rookie wrestler on YouTube, and I thought, "That's it!", and I called Jun over." (Rei)

"I'd always been against it. I knew pro-wrestling is a really hard world, and I thought it would be impossible to start pro-wrestling from scratch after the age of 30. But, I thought I was being too stubborn, so I gave in, and I said, "OK, let's do it. But, in return, however tough it gets, don't say you're gonna give up". So, we decided we would start pro-wrestling." (Jun)

Rei, who had enthusiastically invited his older brother Jun to start wrestling, said that, from the beginning, he was confident that they would be successful.

"We're ex-sumo wrestlers, and half-Japanese twins, and those things make us stand out, and I thought if we debuted together, we'd get a lot of attention. Also, a lot of wrestlers recently are on the small side, but we're over 190cm tall, so I knew we'd definitely be popular if we went wild".

Rei's aim was correct. Since Giant Baba's era, intense matches featuring big wrestlers helped to develop AJPW's business. The Saito Brothers, being so big and strong, were reminiscent of the wild foreign wrestlers popular in the Showa era in AJPW, and it earned them a lot of support from fans.

"When we were kids, we'd watch these big foreign wrestlers on TV, and we thought they were so cool. The Road Warriors, Terry Gordy and Steve Williams... right from the start, we aimed to be like these strong, rough wrestlers, so I'm happy we've been accepted as these kinds of wrestlers". (Jun)

However, the appeal of the Saito Brothers lies not only in their ferocious intensity in the ring. In fact, there is a gap between their in-ring selves and their true faces. Since last year, they have been appearing regularly on the TV channel of their hometown, Miyagi Television, on the "Taxi Meshi Returns" segment of the programme, "OH! Ban desu". During their food reports, we can see a hidden "good" side to them, such as cool Jun's unrivaled love for sweets. Through this "gap moe" (the feeling of someone being cute because their "true selves" are so different from what is usually seen) led to a rapid increase in the number of their female fans. They are already gaining popularity in Miyagi Prefecture, beyond their ties to pro-wrestling. 

"We love eating anyway, so even before we started, we often talked about how good it would be if we could do that kind of job. Then, out of nowhere, the project of our dreams came along, and it's even more popular than we thought it would be". (Rei)

"We have so many opportunities to talk to people in Miyagi who aren't pro-wrestling fans. Also, our mother, who lives in our hometown, is really happy". (Jun)

The popularity they have gained through "Taxi Meshi Returns" is also present in their pro-wrestling. "When we started that segment, without a doubt it helped us improve our mic performance in the ring, and our backstage comments. There are lots of people who became interested in pro-wrestling after seeing us on "Taxi Meshi Returns", so that's a real plus". (Rei)

Their first photo book will be released in August, so it seems like their popularity is soaring, but the Saito Brothers don't seem to be in such high spirits. 

"We still aren't the wrestlers we want to be yet, so we have to keep putting in the work even more". (Rei)

"Now, in Japan, there aren't many tag teams who have worked together for a long time. We want to be a tag team that goes down in history, so I want us to always team up together. But, if he eats the sweets I've been keeping in the fridge without asking me, we might fall out". (Jun)

This summer, whether it's in the ring, in a taxi, or in a restaurant, it looks like the Saito Brothers will be doing impressive work.

Translated into English by Michelle @puroresueikaiwa

Please do not use without permission and credit.

Champ Talk: Jun Saito and Rei Saito (English)

English translation

週刊プロレス Weekly Pro-Wrestling, 

No. 2305, 2024/6/26, p.66

Champ Talk

World Tag Champions (99th), 

Jun Saito and Rei Saito

Their first World Tag Championship defence was an intense battle against The End. The Saito Brothers once again showed that they are both skillful and popular. After the match, the Saito Brothers became a unit with the unexpected addition of Naruki Doi, with the possibility that they may add more members in the future. However, there seem to be three conditions that must be met in order to join the team...

More members will join and the team will grow, but what are the three big conditions for joining the Saito Brothers?

Rei: We defended our titles against the end, but in terms of pure power, they were probably the strongest tag opponents we've had so far. They could even throw me around, and frankly, there were parts of that match that looked like we were going to get our asses kicked.

Jun: I guess if you looked throughout Japan, no, throughout the world, it'd be hard to find a team of power fighters as strong as they are. But, thinking about it, I feel like they're still hiding some of their power, so I want to have another match with The End where we don't hold anything back. I'm looking forward to the next time we have a match. Come to think of it, how many months had it been since we last won with DOOM (Double Impact)? We hadn't done that for a while.  

Rei: Maybe it was the first time since I got injured (at Korakuen Hall on February 9th, dislocated right shoulder). Even before my injury, we hadn't used it for a while. I don't remember using it in the Strongest Tag League last year, either, so it really had been a long time, right?

Jun: Sounds about right. If we can use a move like that on The End, then it should work on any heavyweight. I'm more confident  now. I was confident before, but I'm even more confident now because of our match against The End. Maybe my pent-up hatred because of the sweets ban helped. I also used the power of that hatred in the final DOOM, and I think our opponents felt that. I was so happy when we won and I could eat sweet things.

Rei: It looked like you were gonna choke, though (*laughs*)

Jun: Just between us, my mouth was so dry, it was difficult to taste the manjuu and daifuku I hadn't eaten in so long (*strained laugh*)

Rei: I gave you some tea!

Jun: But, they were delicious, without a doubt.

Rei: If you'd gone without sweets for much longer, your anger would have been focused on me.

Jun: I think, as twins, our tag team would have broken down. It's really good that the ban was lifted when it was.

Rei: (About Naruki Doi joining the Saito Brothers after the match) There are belts that Jun and I can't challenge for with just the two of us, so we've been thinking for a while about adding more members. So, that's why we agreed to let "Mr. Saito", Naruki Doi, join us. In particular, neither of us can challenge for the World Junior  Heavyweight Championship. I'm just a little bit over 105kg, heheheh.

Jun: It would be interesting if I lost weight and got under 105kg so I could challenge, but then I'd have to be banned from eating sweet things again, so that would be difficult.

Rei: We can ask "Mr. Saito" Doi to get the Junior championship, then as a tag team, we can go after all the tag belts. The two of us as the Saito Brothers won't change at all, so what can we say...?

Jun: "Unit" is fine, isn't it?

Rei: Yeah. We'll probably get more members in the future. Maybe the Saito Brothers will become five people, or ten people.

Jun: There are probably other guys who think they wanna be a Saito Brother, and it'll probably be interesting if we get even more members. But, there are conditions you have to meet to join the Saito Brothers. First, you have to be able to eat a lot. Second, you have to be kind to animals. Third, you have to like sweets and beer and stuff. Y'know, that kind of thing.

Rei: Heheh, that's the first I've heard of this. Well, people who like food and are kind to animals are good. We really love animals.

Written by Kenshi Miyao.

Translated into English by Michelle @puroresueikaiwa

Please do not use without permission and credit.

"Barrier-Free Pro-Wrestling HERO" (English)

English translation of this article about Barrier-Free Pro-Wrestling HERO from October 2018!

世界唯一と言われているバリアフリープロレス団体「HERO」

"The world's only barrier-free pro-wrestling organization, HERO"

Do you know the pro-wrestling organization "HERO"?

It was originally created to hold events that Deaf or hard of hearing fans could enjoy, but since 2016, it also caters to fans with visual impairments, wheelchair users, and fans without disabilities. HERO creates a space where everyone can enjoy wrestling.

At present, HERO has two Deaf wrestlers on their roster; Tomoryu and Momotaro. They form tag teams with wrestlers without disabilities, they make enemies and they battle it out, ensuring that the action in the ring is barrier-free.

As the venue is also barrier-free, there are sign language interpreters for Deaf and hard of hearing fans at the ringside, ticket counter, and merch tables, and subtitles are shown on the big screen in the venue. 

For fans with visual impairments, there are radios available to borrow for free, so they can listen to the commentary. The venue doesn't have steps, which gives support to wheelchair users.

Also, before the matches, fans can interact with the wrestlers in the ring, where they can touch the wrestlers' muscles, and the masks of the masked wrestlers.

The sounds of wrestlers clashing, the sweat flying, the intense breathing. With such proximity, people can see, hear, and feel the appeal of pro-wrestling... even if fans have aural, visual or physical impairments, they can have an exciting time experiencing wrestling, getting up from their seats, and cheering for their favourite wrestlers.

Barrier-Free Pro-Wrestling HERO, said to be the only pro-wrestling organization of its kind in the world, is led by Mr. Takeyoshi Sato, age 40. Mr. Sato is tall, at 186cm, and he is a slim and handsome man. Takeyoshi's parents were both Deaf, so before he started elementary school, he could already use sign language naturally, and he grew up listening and speaking for his parents.

"When my father was young, he wanted to join the first class of NJPW trainees. At the time, he was told, "Deaf people can't have a public-facing role, and what will you do if you get injured?". That kind of attitude was typical at the time, so he wasn't allowed to enter at first, but Mr. Inoki said, "It would be good to have this kind of guy around, so he should come to practice!". Because of him, my father was able to become a trainee".

However, due to the harsh training and because he was Deaf, his father was injured, and he wasn't able to make his debut.

Despite this, he continued to dream of becoming a pro-wrestler and, in 2010, at the age of 60, he finally made his debut. His ring name was Yamiki... As "The Dark Demon", he was a heel who waged war on Tomoryu. His special moves were the Spinning Toe Hold, and a headbutt which made a sound that reverberated around the venue.

One day, he hurt his neck during a match, so he went into hospital... However, after a checkup, he was diagnosed with various illnesses, and he passed away two years ago at the age of 65.

"My father was a draw, and he was tremendously popular with our Deaf fans, so after he passed away, it was difficult for our organization to continue, and I thought we would have no choice but to disband. My father's memorial show was intended to be our final show. But, Atsushi Onita, who supported the aims of our organization, took part in the show, and it was a huge success".

Atsushi Onita teamed up with Tomoryu and Momotaro, and gave it everything he had! Then, clutching the microphone, he gathered his strength and yelled emotionally, "Just because of your impairments, does that mean you can't do the things you love? Of course not! People who give it their all to do the things they love, regardless of physical impairments or whatever, I, I, I... think they're wonderful!"

Takeyoshi Sato has set himself the mission to spread the word about the world's only barrier-free pro-wrestling! His strenuous efforts continue on the road to HERO's next pro-wrestling show.

English translation by Michelle @puroresueikaiwa

Please do not use without permission or credit.