KENTA, formerly known as Hideo Itami during his turbulent time in WWE, opened upon his decision to switch to NJPW and commented on his style not suiting the WWE during his interview with NJPW.
KENTA claimed that he decided to sign for the Japan-based organization as he felt that his strong style did not suit the WWE and moreover, he felt that his own vision was crumbling away. He elaborated:
“I don’t want to end it like this. I want to try once more to bring my vision of pro wrestling to the world. It’s hard to put into words but… it was a very tough five years,” he said. “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.”
Finally, he commented on his style and noted why it did not suit the WWE and expects his style to be a success in NJPW. He stated:
“My style isn’t really like the WWE style. There’s an aggression there that’s closer to Strong Style, my matches evolve in a more thrilling way. I think if I can fit in here, I’ll be able to awaken something that’s been dormant for a long time.”
