Current TNA X Division Champion Senshi (Low Ki) was on the August 3rd edition of The Wrestling Crossfire for an in-depth interview which was then transcribed. Below are the highlights of the interview:
Douglas Nunnally: Is there anyone left in the promotion, Pro Wrestling NOAH that is; that you’d love to go one-on-one with still that you might not have gotten the chance to?
Senshi: Actually it was my idea when I first got there that I wanted to go through the trial series only because I wasn’t a student of Pro Wrestling NOAH, I was the smallest guy on the roster, and I felt that would have been a great benefit to me to gain the experience of singles competition amongst all the higher ranking wrestlers in the promotion. I mean, I’ve seen what it did for [Yoshinobu] Kanemaru, for [Naomichi] Marufuji, for KENTA, and also most recently Go Shiozaki. I felt that kind of elevated them to show their worth on being part of that roster and being able to handle themselves well against the more dominant and more experienced wrestlers such like [Mitsuhara] Misawa, [Kenta] Kobashi, [Jun] Akiyama, and [Akira] Taue. Being that I was a foreigner, I always had the idea that I wanted to go through the trial series to prove myself for the pro wrestling fans and Pro Wrestling NOAH, but I just never got the chance. I know that I still want to fight one-on-one Marufuji. I never fought KENTA one-on-one in Japan. I would still love to go one-on-one with Kobashi even though that might sound a little ill-advised considering the size difference, but that’s not a concern to me. As well as Misawa and Akiyama, those are the guys that I would definitely look forward to seeing them one-on-one in the ring.
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Douglas Nunnally: You left Ring Of Honor earlier this year due to what was said as I think a “disagreement in business arrangements” and at the time, you were scheduled for many main events to come specifically the main event for the 100th show which would have been you and Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson in a triple threat in the rematch from the first ever show. Is there anything more you can tell us about what led to you leaving Ring Of Honor?
Senshi: It was simply put as I said before: it was just business disagreement and there’s no sense in trying to force anything so clearly we just separated and moved on.
Douglas Nunnally: Would you say a return is likely in your future for Ring Of Honor?
Senshi: I don’t believe that’s up to me.
Douglas Nunnally: You think it’s up to people in the offices at Ring Of Honor like Gabe [Sapolsky]?
Senshi: Yeah, that’s all on them. You know, I’ve never been a negative person just to close myself off from anything so that’s up to them. Plus, I think that depends on them, on their feeling about the situation itself. Over the course of a few years, you can see that Gabe has proven himself temperamental so that’s up to what he feels. It’s not up to me. I just wrestle.
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Douglas Nunnally: Why exactly did you change your ring name from Low Ki to Senshi?
Senshi: Well, they figured they wanted to take a new approach on things and I was up for it. It didn’t bother me any, I just was concerned about how the fans would receive me because I know I’ve been known as Low Ki for such a long time. I didn’t know if they would be receptive to the change or if they would really fight it. Right now, it just seems to be in a transition stage. It seems like there are some people who accept it, but there still some people who don’t and still rely on the old name. But to me, it’s not the big of a deal because the only thing that’s changed is the name. I’m still fighting hard when I’m in there.
Douglas Nunnally: Now, why did you leave TNA in 2004 exactly and what changed between then and now to prompt you to come back?
Senshi: Well that’s the thing; I never really left TNA in 2004. I’ve been hearing that over the past few years and it just bugs me out. I never had any problems with anyone in the past. I know that they wanted me to sign a contract with them in the past and I just wanted to gain my experience in Japan which they were very well aware of. There were never confrontations or problems with anybody. I guess that was not going with what they wanted so they just said I got up and left which I never did. They wanted me to be a contracted wrestler, but I chose not to be. There weren’t any bad problems after that. I didn’t go on the internet or be interviewed and bash them saying that they were a bad company or nothing, but I’ve heard that’s what I did. To me, that was very surprising.
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Douglas Nunnally: You mentioned back in Nashville and you mentioned earlier that you were there in the beginning. You were one of the first X Division wrestlers in TNA and you really put the division on the map with Jerry Lynn and AJ Styles especially in that triple ladder match that older TNA fans will remember and love. What do you think about the division right now compared to when it was that you were creating it with AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn and when you left in 2004?
Senshi: I’m probably going to get some feedback on this, but I think it’s weak. Think of it this way, I just came into the company a few months ago and I’m already the champion. What does that say about their wrestlers? These guys, they’re very gifted athletes and I think there’s certain aspects about them that they really need to work on to become a champion. I take pride in what I do as a profession, as a career. I dedicated my life to doing this. Learning and trying to get better and such. I think that some of the wrestlers have become complacent in their current roles in being a part of the X Division and I don’t think it’s necessarily to become a better wrestler, to become a better athlete. I think it’s just, “Ok, I’m comfortable at this level. Let me stay here.” I’ve just never been that way. I think I’ve proven that over the years by the matches that I’ve done and been a part of and the way I fight against every competitor.
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Douglas Nunnally: Do you think that once they get the two hours, which everyone thinks that they’re on the cusp of getting on Spike TV, that you’re going to start maybe defending the title more, having more regular matches on iMPACT!?
Senshi: I wouldn’t doubt it. I think that’s probably a big goal for them right now just because it seems to fall on the same format of WCW. There seem to be a lot of familiar faces involved so I would think that if that’s going to be the case in the future, they’ll have more time to advertise more wrestlers so I think that will probably end up happening.
Douglas Nunnally: Has management told you or any of the guys in the locker room how close they are to getting the two hours or if they’re close at all?
Senshi: No, that’s management stuff. I’m just here to wrestle so I don’t get involved with all that.
Douglas Nunnally: All right, do you have any plans to defend the belt anywhere else besides in TNA?
Senshi: I’ve been thinking about that. I don’t know the rules involved in defending that thing because I’ve been involved in other companies where they’ll book TNA wrestlers and all of a sudden, it’s a championship match and I don’t know if that can happen with this belt or any of the other ones without notification from the management team. In my personal opinion, I would love to take it to Japan and defend it against some of the guys in Pro Wrestling NOAH just because I think they have the top wrestlers in the world as far as conditioning and skill. I would love nothing more to go over there and prove myself over there, so hopefully that will give me a free pass to some GHC Junior Championship in the future some time. In Japan, possibly Mexico; I don’t know. I would rather just prove myself as champion by fighting as much as possible against everyone that they want to throw at me.
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Douglas Nunnally: What are your thoughts on Kevin Nash competing in the X Division or rather against X Division stars?
Senshi: Eh, I don’t know. I have mixed feelings about that. In a sense I guess it’s a slight benefit for the more experience. He has so much more experience over those wrestlers and that can be a benefit to them. But also, it seems like he’s trying to make himself look big by putting himself against guys who are so small and at a physical disadvantage. I’m not really too big on that. I find it funny how there’s a big contrast between me and him. He has that whole “Size Matters” thing then I’ve always preached about it’s not the size of the fighter, but the size of the fight he will bring. I just find that curious. I don’t know; I have mixed feelings about that. It’s like a double edged sword. It’s a benefit to him being there, but also there seems like there might not be a benefit.
Douglas Nunnally: Is there any desire to maybe step in the ring and teach him a lesson about the X Division?
Senshi: Oh, I’d love to. I would love nothing more than to just kick him and chop him down. I think that’d be interesting.
