When it comes to KENTA, many fans were excited to see what the Japanese pro wrestler could do once he stepped inside a WWE ring. Unfortunately, the New Japan star wasn't able to make a lasting impression inside the company due to being restricted by officials backstage.
Despite a disappointing run with the company, KENTA doesn’t regret signing with WWE even though he knows that his run didn’t turn out the way he wanted:
“If I didn’t [learn from it], the whole thing would have been meaningless. Of course, you want to succeed in everything first time and keep moving forward, but life isn’t like that. You take your knocks, and then have to learn from that, otherwise your experience is pointless. In the end, I have zero regrets about any of my decisions.”
The 38-year-old goes into deeper detail over what frustrated him the most about the WWE process, mostly noting that the company wouldn’t let him wrestle his style:
“It’s hard to put into words but… it was a very tough five years. I got hurt, and beyond that I was really grasping for something during that whole time. It’s like, I came into the company to bring my style of wrestling worldwide, but what that actually became was bending and adapting to what the company wanted. That’s important in a sense, but the strength and aggression that I bring to the table got lost. That’s a real shame.
One person there might tell you ‘do it this way,’ and then another would be ‘no, no, do it like this.’ That meant my own personal vision just crumbled away. There are people who can do very well in that environment, but I just couldn’t.
So when that ‘what next?’ question came up, I didn’t ask anybody else what they thought. I just decided to focus on what I wanted to do. Otherwise there’s no point. So that said, business is booming for NJPW, and if there’s anywhere that I can bring that vision worldwide, it’s in New Japan.”
The former GHC Heavyweight Champion also speaks about being banned from using the Go To Sleep, the move that he originally created:
“It’s not like I invented the dropkick or anything. But when it comes to a move that I did make, that was another thing that got to me about WWE. A move I invented, I thought up, and I’m not allowed to use it? It’s crazy. Over here, well, nobody can say anything to stop me hitting it.”
Check out the full interview
here.