Image Credit: Manuel Ish
By: Lewis Carlan
Ninja Mack has been a familiar face within the pro-wrestling scene in Japan since 2022. He has been electrifying fans with his incredible athleticism which enables him to make complex maneuvers look very easy.
Ninja Mack’s talent was on display at this year’s New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best of Super Juniors 32 tournament. He created a viral moment during BOSJ 32 that gained over 150 million views which included being shown on ESPN and Bar Stool Sports. As for the tournament, Mack finished with 8 points and one of his victories was over the winner of the tournament, Kosei Fujita.
Monthly Puroresu was able to catch up with Ninja Mack after the conclusion of BOSJ 32 for an interview in which the talented star opened up on a number of topics.
Here is the Monthly Puroresu interview with Ninja Mack:
Monthly Puroresu:
Let’s start with that viral moment. 11 backflips, chasing Robbie X down the aisle, 150 million views with ESPN Sports Center, Barstool Sports covering it. What possessed you to keep chasing Robbie X down the aisle?
Ninja Mack:
You know, I got great inspiration from the Great Sasuke, so that’s where the Sasuke dive comes from. And the War Dogs, they’re pretty mean and they’re pretty heelish in what they do. And I think he just tried to escape in a little snotty way. And then as I noticed he escaped, and I happened to have good timing and just landed right on my feet and just continued my attack on until I was able to get to my opponent. I mean, taking a big dive that I do consistently and just using it to my advantage, I try to do it just to get the advantage in the match.
Monthly Puroresu:
Now I was thinking, how far would you have chased Robbie X? If he ran to the back and ran out, would you just keep backflipping until you finally caught up with him? How far were you going to take that?
Ninja Mack:
You know that, I think that’s when your true test of cardio and your in-ring training pays off. At that point I’m going to go as far as I can go or until he can stop. So, the world will never know at this point, but maybe in the future we can try.
Monthly Puroresu:
So 150 million views, as I mentioned, did you have any idea that was going to blow up like that?
Ninja Mack:
No, sir. You know, it was, motivational to keep going. It’s very humbling that I have lots of fans that spread the word. I’m very honored I was able to get to New Japan Pro Wrestling on ESPN, get them on the Pat McAfee show, get them on Sports Center, let alone myself, but also get the rest of the talent that was on that show. Just, I mean, everyone gets recognition. Everyone’s going to go check out that New Japan show, that opening night of A block.
Monthly Puroresu:
You’re an incredible athlete. You make complex maneuvers look so easy. I have a problem bending down and picking up my shoe. My question is how do you do that? How do you make everything look so easy?
Ninja Mack:
You know, it really comes down to training. I got my start at Booker T so I had a very good guidance going into Booker T’s school. So I had a great foundation. As I kind of evolved as you do as pro wrestlers throughout the years, I really adopted the Tom Pritchard training style. So taking the Booker T training style, I learned and really picking up the Tom Pritchard training style. And I’ve preached everyone I train with all the new wrestlers I get to see coming through the schools. I preach Tom Pritchard. If you haven’t got a chance to go watch any of his seminars, even if you don’t know who Tom Pritchard is, he’s a very good man and a very good teacher, sensei to go study and learn from, and you can get it all on YouTube or I believe he has a school and you can always go check out Tom Pritchard.
Monthly Puroresu:
You participated in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling Best of Super Junior 32 tournament. You finished with eight points. Last year, you finished with eight points as well. Were you satisfied with this year’s performance? Were you hoping to get more points this year?
Ninja Mack:
Oh, of course. I’m always looking to improve. I can’t say satisfied because like I said, I was looking to improve. The goal going into the tournament was to finish with a positive record. I think when you have 20 people in a tournament, it’s very easy to say my goal is to go win the tournament, but I’m always looking for constant improvement. And last year going four and five, I really felt like if I could have finished with a positive record, it was a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do this year, but I was able to match last year. And it could have been stronger opponents, maybe I didn’t train as hard, but the goal next year, if I’m in super juniors again is to get to that positive record and every year just keep showing improvement.
Monthly Puroresu:
Well, you do hold a victory over the winner of this year’s tournament, Kosei Fujita. Should he become the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, do you feel you deserve a shot at the title because you hold a victory over him during the tournament?
Ninja Mack:
You know as a competitor, I think the easy answer would be to say yes, but also as a competitor of growing up my whole life, I would like to say no, because even though I beat him in a tournament setting, that timeframe when you become champion, or if he does become champion, I feel like the bracket starts over and I’m going to start from the bottom and go through the grind to get back up to the top and work my way up. And I do have the win, so if I am able to ever get that chance as a match, maybe I got the advantage of going into a championship match. Who knows?
Monthly Puroresu;
What was the experience like as you stepped into the ring with Hiromu Takahashi, one of the greatest junior heavyweights of all time but you lost to him this year and you lost to him last year as well. How important is it for you to gain a victory over him one day?
Ninja Mack:
That’s looking for Best of Super Juniors 33 next year. I hope we’re in the same block again. That was a match I had circled this year because I lost to him last year, it was a match I focused on, it was a match I prepped for. I feel like our match got more intense compared to last year. I felt like there was more of a battle, so I did feel there was a growth compared to last year, but in the end, I still wasn’t able to capture that victory. So going into Best of Super Juniors 33, if we’re in the same block, that’s another match I’m going to circle and look forward to. The guy is one of the greatest junior wrestlers, if not one of the greatest pro wrestlers in the world right now.
Monthly Puroresu:
What’s your status with New Japan Pro Wrestling? Are you signed or hoping to get signed with New Japan?
Ninja Mack:
I started with Booker T and then learned what I could from him. I’ve really taken pro wrestling into a business mindset. At the moment, I am an independent contractor. I do work with companies that are aligned with New Japan, that’s necessary. And I will ask out of respect of New Japan, what I can work with and who I can work with for the foreseeable future if something like that, they want to address as business, and it works into their timeframe that’s something I’m not against. But at the same time, I also am an independent contractor and I’m here to do business, it’s pro wrestling.
Monthly Puroresu:
What was your favorite match of this year’s tournament that you participated in or watched?
Ninja Mack:
I have to say my personal favorite match that I watched was Kushida vs. Fujita. I watched that match from curtain side. It was a match I was looking forward to let alone Fujita was able to pull out the win this year. Kushida is someone that defeated me this year. He got his redemption because I got him last year, but to see those two go at it the way they did, to me, that felt like what New Japan Pro Wrestling should be. That match to me was the highlight of the tournament.
Monthly Puroresu:
You were with Pro Wrestling NOAH last year. What are the main differences working with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah that you’ve discovered?
Ninja Mack:
I think it’s a little hard to describe at the moment because my entries into New Japan right now have been the Best of Super Juniors as I represented Pro Wrestling NOAH last year, the tag league when I was independent this most recent time, Fantastica Mania, Sakura Genesis and then obviously this years Best of Super Juniors. So I’ve only been able to experience New Japan in burst moments of a couple of weeks or a month at a time where with Pro Wrestling NOAH I was committed, I spent a lot of time over there. The second year I was there, I was there for close to 10 months straight. It’s hard to compare the two only having short burst with a company and then having a long stay. Both companies trained all their wrestlers very hard at the dojo. So that’s very similar comparisons. The biggest difference if I had to state one was NOAH has a very aggressive lucha style feel. Maybe that’s because the wrestlers I was working with consistently, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Alejandro, Super Crazy the legend himself. I think at the time just working that style and working those kinds of athletes, I was working a more fast paced tempo. With New Japan, there’s so many different talents from around the world that come to these tournaments like Best of Super Juniors. We have Australia, UK, you got AEW coming in, guys from CMLL. You get a very diverse style. So, I felt like it was a little more faster pace at NOAH and with New Japan Pro Wrestling, you’re able to get that more diverse match out of the program.
Monthly Puroresu:
How come you didn’t re-sign with Pro Wrestling NOAH, I thought you were having a great run, former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. What was the reason why you didn’t re-sign with a Pro Wrestling NOAH
Ninja Mack:
I want to grow. I wanted to become better. At the time when I didn’t re-sign, I felt that I was stagnant. There was a flat rate in my growth. I wasn’t getting better. I wasn’t getting worse. I was being consistent. The matches were there. I was winning here. I was losing here, but I’m always looking to grow as a pro wrestler. I’m looking to grow as a professional business. And as I explore my horizons and find new opponents, better opponents and different opponents, it’s only going to make me better as a pro wrestler. So that’s something that really weighed into my decision on really just kind of going back and being independent at the moment.
Monthly Puroresu:
Could we ever see you back in a Pro Wrestling NOAH ring?
Ninja Mack:
Of course, we did not leave on bad terms. I love Pro Wrestling NOAH. They gave me my start in Japan. I mean, Pro Wrestling NOAH was one of my first loves of pro wrestling. So there’s always a great chance to come back to that.
Monthly Puroresu:
Well, right now Pro Wrestling NOAH needs someone to shut OZAWA up and Ninja Mack just might be the man to do it.
Ninja Mack:
I think I saw that young man [OZAWA] wearing tabi shoes. I don’t know if he’s trying to steal my Ninja gimmick, but he wasn’t wearing tabi shoes when I was there. He just happened to start wearing them after I left. So we might have to recall that one day.
Monthly Puroresu:
Any word when we might see you back in New Japan Pro-Wrestling or when are you hoping to be back?
Ninja Mack:
At the moment there’s visa work, we’ve got to go through paperwork. So there’s no exact timeframe, but I would say I’m very interested in coming back to work for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I think there’s some talks and going forwards in the future, but at the moment there’s no set or confirmed date.
Monthly Puroresu:
So what would you like to accomplish first in New Japan Pro Wrestling, win the Best of Super Juniors Tournament or win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship?
Ninja Mack:
IWGP Championship. Of course, I’m a championship wrestler. Anytime I get a chance to get into a championship match or get into that main event, that’s something I’ll take advantage of. I think having that gold around your waist, over your shoulder and to be able to represent the company for all the junior pro wrestlers in the world that’s something you got to take advantage of and if I had the opportunity to do that, I would take that.
Monthly Puroresu:
Let’s say if you do win that title, you’ve also held the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Would you consider the trifecta and go after the All Japan Pro Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship?
Ninja Mack:
Like I said, I am a championship wrestler. I’m out for gold. And if the situation ever occurred and the opportunity was ever there, I would never not seize the moment. And I’m always looking to grow and get better like I said before. All Japan is a whole new roster. All Japan Pro-Wrestling, while I was at NOAH and New Japan this last year, I have had my eyes open on every promotion happening in Japan and around the world and congratulations because you all have been doing a phenomenal job the last couple of years and just keep growing and getting better.
Monthly Puroresu:
Tell me your thoughts on El Desperado.
Ninja Mack:
One of the best junior champions right now. One of the best junior wrestlers of all time and one of the best pro wrestlers of all time. The guy can fly, he can grapple, he does death match style. He’s an interesting character. I think that’s something I am very interested in having if it’s for a title match or if it’s for a singles match outside the title match realm. That is something I have expressed to him often when I see him. Like I said, I’m trying to grow and get better and he’s one of the best. And if I can wrestle him, it’s only going to make myself better.
Monthly Puroresu:
Are there any factions within New Japan Pro Wrestling that you could see yourself joining in the future? Have you thought about joining any NJPW factions?
Ninja Mack:
No, never crossed my mind. If something lined up and it worked in my best interest to get me into the championship position, it would be something I would consider but the route I’ve taken my whole career is to really kind of follow my own solo path and do the best I can on my own. But you’ll never know what happens until the situation arises and comes around.
Monthly Puroresu:
What does the future hold for Ninja Mack?
Ninja Mack:
Max bets. Max bets are being held for Ninja Mack. We’re going to be max betting over here. We’re going to be max betting over here, max betting on the table. Just taking a gamble. I do a lot of gambling terms. I like to play a little bit of cards here and there, but I really take that into my pro wrestling career. As a highflyer, you’re taking a lot of risk as one of the smallest guys in the ring. everyone’s going to be taller than me, everyone’s going to be bigger than me. It’s always going to be a risk to get in that ring. The bigger you bet, the bigger the reward. I think I just got to take my chances and swing for the fences.
All of Ninja Mack’s BOSJ 32 matches can be seen on NJPW World subscription streaming service.
Date:
June 17, 2025
