The Japanese train in such a different style. They call it “strong style,” and you can see that with Momo- and all the Japanese girls, really. Their kicks and strikes are just impressive! They really treat wrestling like a sport! For them, it’s not just a side job and not just entertainment. So, they train like legit athletes! They train every day – even multiple times a day. And fighting Momo really felt like that. It felt like fighting a legit MMA fighter! She put up such a strong battle. Her holds, her kicks – all of it was awesome, and I’m definitely not complaining. I’ve been a fan of the Japanese style since I was 12 years old. It’s always been a style that I love and respect – along with the country. Am I open for more New Japan Style matches? You bet! I just need a little bit of time to recover in between.
After my match at All In against Britt Baker, I definitely felt sore. Brit pulled out a lot of innovative moves. But Momo, she had SO many lethal kicks and lethal forearms, not to mention knees to the face! She was really deadly out there. As proof, I have multiple bruises on my arm, not to mention my leg, after she hit me with a baseball bat.
At All Out in Chicago, I’ll be facing my rival, Hikaru Shida. She won a fatal four AEW Collison match, beating Thunder Rosa, Serena Deeb, and Queen Aminata, pinning Aminata to secure her opportunity to face me again. This will be a rematch between us, but I really liked my first battle with her back at AEW Dynamite in August. She is another Japanese wrestler, a martial artist, and a three-time AEW Women’s World Champion. For reasons I already said, she is going to be tough competition. However, facing someone for the second time makes the match even more interesting. The first time you face someone, you kind of feel them out. But the second time, you’re able to counter a lot of your opponent’s moves.
I know that Shida’s slogan is that she is THE ACE of AEW, but I’m the CEO, and I’m going to show her that ‘I’ am now the face of TBS. Chicago, here I come!
The truth is that ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved Asian culture and always wanted to wrestle there. One time on a WWE Japan tour, I remember going to a Hedgehog café with Bailey and being in awe as I stood in Shibuya- Japan’s Time Square. I also remember how good the food was – save one time.
Karl Anderson took a bunch of us out to a restaurant that they would always go to when they were there. We were with Chris Jericho and The Good Brothers, too. We had a feast of the best food I’ve ever had except for one item: a Sea Urchin. It was nasty. No sooner did I bite into it than I spit it out into my napkin. But the story didn’t end there. One of the Good Brothers opened my napkin, plopped the half-chewed sea urchin in his mouth, and ate it. Then I really wanted to vomit.
