Recently Talesfromtheturnbuckle.com caught up with Japanese wrestling legend Taka Michinoku and was able to score an exclusive interview. This is what the former WWE superstar had to say:
Hello Taka and welcome to Gruemonkey. Its a honor to be interviewing you today. Thank you for your time. So you were born in Japan right? What made you want to become a pro wrestler?
*Yeah, I was born in Japan. I’ve loved pro-wrestling since elementary school, and it was my dream to become a pro-wrestler.
Who were some of your heroes in wrestling growing up as a kid watching it?
I had a few including Macho Man Randy Savage, Ricky Steamboat, Ric
Flair, and Antonio Inoki.
*I was a big fan of Riki Chōshū.
From what I understand, you were in the world of mixed martial arts before you entered the world of pro wrestling? How many mma fights did you compete in?
*I didn’t do much MMA, but I did amateur wrestling until my third year of high school.
With all the wrestling schools around to train to be a pro wrestler, what made you decide to get trained by the Great Sasuke?
*He’s really well-respected in my hometown.
When you debuted in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, was it the Great Sasuke that decided to give you the last name of Michinoku?
*No, not Sasuke.
Were you excited when you found out that you would be doing a tag match, teaming with your mentor, the Great Sasuke?
*I was really happy and excited about it!
In FMW, you won the FMW Junior Heavyweight championship for a very
impressive 15 months, was the longest reigning champ in fmw history. Who
was your favorite opponent to work with in FMW?
*I liked working with Ricky Fuji and Koji Nakagawa, but everybody in FMW was amazing to work with.
Are you excited for the announcement of the return of FMW and do you think they will contact you to work some matches for them?
*If they ask me, I’d be happy to work with them again.
Did you hold the world junior heavyweight championship, Michinoku pro
junior heavyweight championship and Kaientai Dojo strongest K
championship all at once or was it different periods of your career?
*At the same time. I held all three titles simultaneously for 10 months.
In 1994 you debuted with New Japan Pro Wrestling in the famous J-Cup
tournament, how did you feel competing in your first j-cup tournament?
and how many j-cups where you involved in?
*I was really happy to be working with NJPW. I was really excited!
What are your thoughts on Two wrestling legends: Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask IV? Both of whom you worked in new japan pro wrestling.
*I have a lot of respect for Liger-san.
In New Japan, you where a 2 time IWGP Junior heavyweight tag team champion,
who where your partners and what teams did you defeat both times to win
the championships?
*First time, my partner was Dick Togo, and we fought Gedo and Jado.
Second time, I was with Taichi, and we defeated Rocky Romero and Alex Koslov.
1997 was a big year for you, you worked for ECW and CMLL in the same year and debuted for WWE. How was your time with ECW and CMLL?
*ECW’s fans were really great, they were so excited all the time! It was a lot of fun. CMLL could have been better, I was pretty confused.
How did it feel to work your wwe debut match on ppv against your mentor the Great Sasuke?
*I had a really great time! I was so happy to be working on such a big event.
In WWE, you defeated Brian Christopher to become the first WWE light
heavyweight champion and held the championship for 10 months. What are
your thoughts of being the first wwe light heavyweight champion and who
did you like to work with when you defended your title in wwe?
*Being the champion was fine, but I had some trouble getting used to the American style of wrestling.
You feuded with Kai En Tai at first, then joined them, in wwe. Kai en Tai
had a shocking moment in WWE history by taking Val Venis backstage and
castrating him. What are you thoughts on working with Kai En Tai and Val
Venis in wwe and the whole castrating val venis storyline?
*That storyline was pretty terrible.
Did you enjoy your time working for WWE?
*It was tough sometimes, but thinking back, I have a lot of good memories.
In All japan pro wrestling you joined a stable called Roughly Obsess and
destroy(RO&D) and went on to defeat Kaz Hayashi for the junior
heavyweight championship. Did you enjoy working with Kaz in all japan
and who was your favorite person to work with in all japan?
ROD was great fun! I really enjoyed working with Kaz. We entered the company at the same time, and we’re the same age, too. A really good friend and rival.
You’re the founder and promoter of Kaientai Dojo. What year did you open up
Kaientai Dojo and what are some of your classic matches in Kaientai
Dojo?
*Kaientai Dojo recently celebrated its 13th anniversary. I think my match with Kengo Mashimo was one of the best matches we’ve had so far.
At Kaientai you won the strongest k championship and to
that point you where the longest reigning champion. Who was your
favorite opponent you defended the strongest k championship against?
*It’s gotta be Mashimo.
Im going to name a few wrestling legends and I would like your personal feelings towards the legends named:
Great Muta:
Ricky Steamboat
Hayabusa
Antonio Inoki
Masa Chono
Great Kabuki
Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
Vader
Randy Savage
Giant Baba
Andre the Giant
HHH
*They’re all great inspirations to me. I have a lot of respect for all of them.
You wrestled all over the world, won numerous championships, you where the
longest reigning champion a couple times, 1st wwe light heavyweight
champion, founder and promoter of Kaientai Dojo, wrestled for WWE and
New Japan. You have done it all in the wrestling world. You are a legend
in the his business and all the wrestling fans around the world
including me respect you. Is there anything left Taka Michinoku wants to
do?
*I’m gonna do whatever I want to do!
Thank you sir for your time. Had a great time interviewing you. Thank you to all the fans for reading this exclusive interview with Taka Michinoku on Talesfromtheturnbuckle.com
Keep up with the latest taka news and more over at his Twitter @takamichinoku1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6SifvTecs-I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIPBnV5UO_k