NJPW News: Tetsuya Naito says he once considered retiring as a wrestler
New Japan Pro Wrestling star Tetsuya Naito recently gave an interview to NJPW1972.com in which he talked about the time when he was going through an emotionally turbulent phase. The leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon revealed that during those dark days he thought about hanging up his wrestling boots for good.
Naito on why he wanted to end his wrestling career
Naito revealed that for six months he suffered from a lack of confidence and considered retiring from professional wrestling. However, he did not want to go into detail while discussing the subject but said that he felt like he was having a crisis of confidence.
No, not really. I don't want to go into specifics, but for a while, I thought I couldn't wrestle anymore. Truth is for about six months, maybe since May, I had this kind of crisis of confidence. From about May, I'd felt something was up, and I couldn't put my finger on it. I thought I could cover it up, but I think the result was that it did come through. I was constantly wrestling in that state of unease. I hate going to the hospital, but I really wasn't myself for a time.
At the upcoming Wrestle Kingdom 14, Naito will face IWGP Intercontinental Champion Jay White in a championship match. The winner of that match will then challenge the winner of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi, the next night, on January 5.
The match is being billed as a Double Gold Dash match and the winner will leave the building as both the IWGP Intercontinental and Heavyweight Champion.