Lio Rush feels awoken by his latest stint in NJPW.
The Man of the Hour spoke with the NJPW press about winning the Super Junior Tag League with YOH, which has earned the duo an IWGP Junior tag title match at WrestleKingdom 17. Rush discusses his pairing with YOH, as well as how he feels to win such a prestigious tournament, in the highlights below.
How he feels after winning the Super Junior Tag League with YOH:
I’m feeling a lot of emotions. I feel like this is a moment in my career that I’m very proud of. A real high point for me professionally. I worked so hard for this through injuries and surgeries, and I’m really overwhelmed by emotion. I’m trying to live in the moment, and soak it in because I know in a few weeks, we have the biggest match that the both of us have had in our careers together. So it’s enjoying the moment but also preparing for Wrestle Kingdom. YOH then noted that it was a long tour, and while he had won the tournament three times in the past, he didn’t know how he and Rush would work together as a team. However, he stated that he found this aspect of their partnership exciting.
Says teaming with YOH and competing in NJPW has awakened something in him:
I have experience with different tag partners through my career, but I’ve never experienced a bond like I have with YOH. My other teams didn’t last very long, but I think that comes down to me not really knowing who I was fully. Coming into NJPW has awakened something in me that I’ve been looking for for a long time.