New Japan Cup 2023 winner SANADA stated in a new interview conducted by NJPW that had he remained in Los Ingobernables de Japon, he never would have become a top guy.
SANADA left the LIJ faction where he was a long time member and joined Just 5 Guys after defeating Tetsuya Naito in a semi final New Japan Cup 2023 match.
During the interview, SANADA pointed out that he would have never been a top guy had he remained with LIJ as it’s Tetsuya Naito’s faction.
“Thing is about LIJ is that Naito brought it back from Mexico right? And ever since then, it’s been his thing. Even if I was the top guy in the company, LIJ would still be Naito’s thing. Like, (Shingo) Takagi was IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, and he won the MVP award. But even then, LIJ was still seen as Naito’s faction. I thought that at best, the same thing would happen to me.”
When asked if he thought former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and LIJ faction member Shingo Takagi was a top guy, SANADA responded, “He was definitely *a* top guy. But even he admitted that the Naito image in LIJ was too strong.”
Also during the interview, SANADA revealed the name for his new modified DDT finisher:
“The Deadfall. Taking something heavy and dropping it. I actually decided on it today. I’m a big fan of the band Hi-Standard, and their singer Akihiro Namba was at the Cup final. He came up with the name”
SANADA is scheduled to challenge IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis 2023 on April 8th.
