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Q&A w/ Kazusada Higuchi on DDT Wrestle Peter Pan, King of DDT 2025, Life + More!

3 weeks ago Vertical Bison | MP

Vertical Bison | MP

Q&A w/ Kazusada Higuchi on DDT Wrestle Peter Pan, King of DDT 2025, Life + More!

By: Pep S. Caro

DDT Pro Wrestling has been running its summer programming in Japan and will host a new edition of WRESTLE PETER PAN in August. The 2025 edition of the event will take place over two days: August 30 at Higashin Arena and August 31 at Korakuen Hall. One of the matches confirmed for the first night is a showdown between Kazusada Higuchi (c) and Jun Akiyama for the KO-D Openweight Championship. There’s extra pressure because the winner of this match will have to defend the belt against Yuki Ueno on the second night of WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025.

I had the opportunity to interview Higuchi, DDT’s KO-D Openweight Champion, before this important show. Higuchi currently holds the top DDT Championship. The topics covered include his beginnings in wrestling, winning the King of DDT 2025 tournament, WRESTLE PETER PAN 2025, Jun Akiyama, HARASHIMA, Chris Brookes, Harimao, his personal life, and much more.

Monthly Puroresu: This year you will celebrate your 11th anniversary as a professional wrestler. Why did you decide to become a professional wrestler?

Higuchi: I’ve always loved wrestling, so I decided to give it a try. And here we are.

Monthly Puroresu: What currently motivates you to compete at the highest level?

Higuchi: I think being active in DDT for 10 years gives me a sense of pride as a wrestler, and I want to give the best match possible to the crowd. That only increases as a Champion.

Monthly Puroresu: You have experience in Sumo, another highly respected sport in Japan. What do you think your Sumo experience contributed to your wrestling career?

Higuchi: Discipline and dealing with pressure are key aspects I could highlight.

Monthly Puroresu: Do you have any wrestlers you consider to be role models or important for you in getting into wrestling?

Higuchi: Of course, the pillars of All Japan Pro Wrestling, but I also think Stan Hansen was an important figure. I was really impressed by his strength. I think he was an incredible competitor.

Monthly Puroresu: You were sidelined due to injury for a couple of months between 2024 and 2025. How did you experience this time away from the ring and the recovery process?

Higuchi: During my time as a Sumo Rikishi and a pro wrestler, this is actually the longest span of time that I haven’t been doing anything at all in any kind of sports. So, I really thought about what should I be doing about my life during those nine months. Whether like, should I quit wrestling? Should I continue wrestling? And I didn’t even post much on social media as well during that time. So, in the end, my desire to continue wrestling was strong and now you see me back in the ring.

Monthly Puroresu: You returned to competing in March 2025, and your momentum hasn’t slowed down. What was it like returning to the ring after nine months?

Higuchi: I was actually very nervous. It was the first match in nine months. So, I felt very nervous.

Monthly Puroresu: In April, you competed on the DPW tour in Japan. What was the experience like competing for a foreign organization after more than a year? Do you have any interest in competing with them in America if they invited you?

Higuchi: So, of course, you know, wrestling in DPW, it’s a little different from wrestling in a Japanese organization, even if it’s in Japan. So it was very refreshing in a sense. And when it comes to getting offers from organizations overseas like DPW or other promotions, I have received many offers. I actually took one last year, I think it was with Chris Hero’s promotion. And the thing was like, I can’t speak the language and the flight is very, very long. So, you know, it’s like what? 10 plus hours? So, it’s a bit difficult. It can be hard. But if I have the opportunity, I definitely would love to go to America again.

Monthly Puroresu: In May, DDT held the King of DDT 2025 tournament. You won the 2022 edition, so the hype was in your favor. The first two bouts were victories over Shinya Aoki and Takeshi Masada. How did you feel about these bouts? What are your impressions of both of them as competitors?

Higuchi: So, for Shinya Aoki, he is, of course, you know, he’s a world-class competitor. Practically everyone knows who Shinya Aoki is. I had this fear inside of me that, like, maybe I can’t surpass this giant in a sense. Whereas for Masada, he has a good momentum, you know, because, recently he did his best in the previous tournament, reaching the finals of the D Generations Cup. And he’s really been building his body. He’s really big recently as well, right? And I thought that he was not just a young boy anymore, he is like a fully fledged wrestler by himself. So when it comes to the matches, since I just recently came back from injury, I really had to put everything in just to get the matches. So I had to basically scratch and claw just to get those two in. It was a bit tough for me.

Monthly Puroresu: Then, we held the semifinals and finals of the tournament on the same day. You defeated Yuki Ueno and then KANON. How did you feel about these bouts? What are your impressions of both of them as competitors?

Higuchi: So as for Yuki Ueno, I had fought Ueno many, many times in my career, probably like, I can’t even count how many times already. And, you know, as always, he’s amazing. You can see from how, even if he lost, he had the prettiest, amazing match. Whereas against KANON, you know, he just recently left DAMNATION T.A at that point of time. He was on his own. He teamed with MAO. And you could see how he was very free in his terms of in-ring style. And in a sense, he was unleashed from his previous chains that were from being from DAMNATION T.A. So he was pretty amazing opponent as well.

Monthly Puroresu: At the King of Kings 2025 event in June, you defeated Chris Brookes to win the KO-D Openweight Championship for the second time. You once again achieved your “Dramatic Dream”. How did you feel about this bout? What are your impressions of Brookes as a competitor?

Higuchi: So, of course, Brookes he came all the way to Japan from England. He was a lot skinnier back then when he first came. Now he’s much bigger, he’s much stronger and, you know, I really respect Brookes in the sense that he came from a different country to build his foundation of Japanese wrestling here. And he became champion not once, but twice. I thought that might be difficult for me to fight the current Brookes in this situation, where I could become champion again if I manage to defeat him. But in that sense, practically all the competitors in DDT, they’re all amazing. They have this ability to be able to surpass their limits if they want to in the situation. But for me, I think might be because of my tenure, you know. I’ve been working in DDT for 10 years, there’s a pride for being a DDT wrestler for 10 years. And my will to not be surpassed led me becoming champion again in that bout.

Monthly Puroresu: Your first defense was against HARASHIMA at Rock in Ring in July. It was an emotional match because of what you both represent for DDT. What were your feelings about this match? What are your impressions of HARASHIMA as a competitor?

Higuchi: So, of course, HARASHIMA-san, you know, he’s really something else. We all know how great HARASHIMA-san is. And I believe I said this during a preview interview ahead of that title match, that my very first challenge for the KO-D Openweight Belt was against HARASHIMA-san. And the strength he had back then, compared to the strength he had two weeks ago is exactly the same. And you see, as HARASHIMA-san gets older, he just gets more and more amazing. So I thought about my 10 years in DDT, you know, it’s been a long time. But my 10 years in DDT is absolutely nothing compared to HARASHIMA-san’s 20 over years. But in there, inside the ring, I still put all my 10 years of pride against him in the match. And I managed to get a very big win on that. And it’s one of this special matches that I will really look back to.

Monthly Puroresu: Summer continues to heat up, and DDT has two nights of WRESTLE PETER PAN scheduled for August 30 and 31. On the first night, you will defend the KO-D Openweight Championship against Jun Akiyama, another legendary figure in pro wrestling. What are your expectations for this match? What are your impressions of Akiyama as a competitor?

Higuchi: Of course Jun Akiyama-san has a big history. We don’t really need to say the legacy of Akiyama-san and pro wrestling in Japan. And similar to HARASHIMA-san, nothing really has changed after all these years. He’s still very insanely strong. But it’s also very scary because we have history as well. The last time I defended my championship, Akiyama-san said that he wanted a shot. And if you remember the promo after I defended the belt at Korakuen Hall, when Akiyama-san came into the ring, he’s like, I want to challenge you. I accepted and he just gave me a lariat to the face. And I wasn’t happy at all when I received that lariat in the face. If you’re going to hit me like that, you know, let’s get it on. We’re going to fight.

Monthly Puroresu: What would you say to the fans to encourage them to attend the event?

Higuchi: When it comes for what you should look forward on the match, I think you won’t regret watching this match because it’s going to be an amazing match. But also, there’s going to be lots of great matches happening (in WRESTLE PETER PAN). So please look forward to it. Please watch the show if you can. Whether it’s on Wrestle Universe on stream or physically in Higashin Arena.

Monthly Puroresu: If you successfully defend it, you will defend it again on August 31, but this time against Yuki Ueno. What are your expectations for this match?

Higuchi: I honestly haven’t thought about the match with Ueno at all. Because, you know, I’m going to have to defeat Jun Akiyama first. And that before I get to even think about Ueno, right? So, perhaps maybe the main event could be Jun Akiyama versus Yuki Ueno. I might not even be in the match at all. So honestly, I haven’t think about, not even a bit about a match with Ueno. I’m only focused on beating Akiyama-san first. And once I beat Akiyama-san, then maybe, for like one night, maybe 10 hours, I’ll be thinking about how I can beat Ueno at Korakuen Hall.

Monthly Puroresu: We’ve seen that UJPW has unlocked many possibilities for Dream Matches. Wrestlers like Konosuke Takeshita, who are signed to various organizations, can also compete with wrestlers from all over the world. If you could choose an opponent you haven’t faced yet, from anywhere in the world, who would you choose?

Higuchi: I haven’t thought about this one guy that I want to face because as a wrestler, my mission is to live in the wrestling ring and to please the fans and send them home happy. So whether it’s maybe a young boy from DDT, maybe it’s the top guy from DDT or maybe some top guy from other promotion, my goal is regardless of who I’m facing, I want to show the fans a great time in wrestling and send them home happy.

Monthly Puroresu: Since your return, you’ve been teaming occasionally with Yuki Ishida. What’s Harimao’s current status? Do you intend to challenge for the KO-D Tag Team Championship in the coming months?

Higuchi: Harimao is perfectly fine. Yoshimura just came back recently. Nakatsu became the president of Pro Wrestling BASARA, and he’s the top champion as well. So there’s not many units around in Japan or even the world where two guys are top champions of two different companies. There’s nothing like Higuchi in DDT, and Nakatsu in Basara, right? And we are both from the same generation as well because we debuted around the same time. So as for Ishida, you know, he’s still, in a sense, fondling around the ring, trying to find himself, what he really wants to do in DDT as a wrestler. I would love to help him, give him a push from the back to help him find himself. And if he decides to challenge for the tag titles, I mean, sure, but right now, he still needs to work on building himself out a little bit more.

Monthly Puroresu: Moving away from wrestling, could you tell us about your hobbies? What do you like to do in your free time when you’re not in a match?

Higuchi: I keep a lot of pets at home. Really. A lot of pets at home. So I spend the whole day taking care of my pets.

Monthly Puroresu: Do you mind telling us how many pets do you have?

Higuchi: So, I have a bird, a cat, other cat, a dog. I have so many animals but like, ever since I got married, I have even more animals so I just cannot stop. I just cannot count them because there are too many. I even have a snake.

Monthly Puroresu: Many indeed! Do you have some of them before getting married?

Higuchi: Actually, after I got married.

Monthly Puroresu: We know you’re married to an actress and that work schedules, both yours and hers, can make it difficult to maintain a family life. How difficult is it to balance your personal life with your work life?

Higuchi: Of course, we just got married. It’s been maybe less than a year, like seven or eight months, so everything’s basically new to me. There’s a lot of things both of us are just trying to figure out as we go along. I feel like I have a pretty good work life balance right now. For now at least. So, I guess we’re still working and learning together. Right now it’s all pretty good.

Monthly Puroresu: Thank you for participating in this interview. Finally, do you have any message for your fans and the DDT fans around the world reading this?

Higuchi: I love pro wrestling. The fans love wrestling. I just hope the fans can continue to appreciate what the wrestlers do in the ring. I’m satisfied with my work and with what I do. Thanks for the support! And thank you for doing this interview with me all the way from like halfway across the world. I’m very thankful! And please, all of you people from the world, keep supporting DDT Pro Wrestling!

We would like to thank Vertical Bison for the Art Direction, Ash Mann for the live interpretation and the DDT Pro Wrestling team for all the facilities provided to conduct this interview.

Date:

August 2, 2025

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