Ren Ayabe:
“This is my first challenge for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in about two years. It’s also been about two years since I last faced Kento Miyahara one-on-one. In Kobe—including the preliminary bouts that follow—I’ll make Kento Miyahara remember just how strong Ren Ayabe is, and I’ll prove that ‘bigger is better.’ It’s going to be a summer of despair.”
“It’s true that at that time, I was trying to make it on my own as a free agent, but I wasn’t getting any results at all. I was at a loss, so to speak—spending my days wrestling with my own doubts. It was after fighting Kento Miyahara in the ring and finding my own answer that I ended up personally appealing to All Japan Pro Wrestling to join the company. Looking back now, I think it’s a huge factor that I was able to join All Japan Pro Wrestling and become who I am today precisely because Kento Miyahara—not that he literally reached out to me—but because he faced me head-on. Frankly, the prospect of fighting Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, the crown jewel of All Japan Pro Wrestling, is exciting. However, I want to use my body to drive home to Kento Miyahara that I am a completely different person from the Ren Ayabe who was lost and adrift back then.”
“The two Kento Miyahara just mentioned: Death Roulette and Iron Maiden. People are free to think I only have two, but I think that perception will be overturned through our matches in Kobe and the preliminary bouts. I think that will become clear on its own once people watch the fights.”
Kento Miyahara:
“The man who brings energy to all of Japan—that’s Kento Miyahara. There are so many people all over Japan who want to see Kento Miyahara’s Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match. That’s why the Triple Crown match will take place on July 25 in Kobe, Kansai. Tickets are already sold out. This time, the challenger is Ren Ayabe. He is currently the only Japanese wrestler in the Japanese pro-wrestling world who stands over 2 meters tall. Ren Ayabe’s finishing moves, delivered from that 2-meter frame and making full use of his long limbs: first, the Death Roulette; second, the Iron Maiden. I’ve already taken both of those moves. His finishing moves are completely etched into my mind, and I’ve been devising countermeasures. That means on July 25 in Kobe, Kansai, those two moves won’t work on me. Ren Ayabe has a proven track record in tag team matches, but as a singles wrestler, he’s still an unknown quantity. If there’s one thing that makes Ren Ayabe scary, it’s that I’ve never faced him with this Triple Crown belt on the line. The fact that Ren Ayabe is an unknown quantity in this Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match, with the Triple Crown belt on the line, is what makes him scary. And Ren Ayabe is always saying this: that he’ll bring despair. I’ve never felt despair from him in the ring. Why is that? It’s because I’m always searching for hope right here in this pro wrestling ring. On July 25th in Kobe, Kansai, it won’t be despair—I’ll be the one giving people energy.”
“There’s absolutely no sense of deep emotion. Looking back on Kento Miyahara’s wrestling career, there have been plenty of matches that inspired someone, and this is just one of them. Well, I think Ren Ayabe only sees Kento Miyahara as a stepping stone deep down. He’s a man who keeps expressing gratitude to the pro wrestler who gave him that opportunity, and I’ve never seen a wrestler rise to the top. That’s how I see the world. I think it’s a survival of the fittest. I think Ren Ayabe has zero gratitude toward me.”
“The move that sparked this Triple Crown series—and made it official—was the ‘Iron Maiden.’ He’s 2 meters tall with long limbs. His arms and legs are thick, so taking a submission hold under those conditions is really tough. ‘Death Roulette’ involves dropping an opponent from a brainbuster with a twist. Since I have little experience being dropped from a simple 2-meter height, it’s hard to break the fall. Being dropped from that size and scale is dangerous. But I’ve been working on countermeasures, so they won’t work on the day of the match.”
