By Thom Fain
Simon Gotch doesn’t care about WWE, and doesn’t want to talk about it. When you hear his unfiltered thoughts, you might conclude he was a fish out of water in the sports entertainment epicenter – Gotch is a purist and a no-bullshit craftsman. He’s a perfect western fit in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s modern landscape, where he’s able to cut past all the gimmicks and get to what he does best: pro wrestling. On April 30 at the Majestic 2022 at Ryogoku Kokugikan, Gotch fought his first bout in the emerald ring against Masakatsu Funaki for the GHC National Title. He looked every bit at home, and pushed the veteran to his limits. At 39, Gotch doesn’t consider he’s even in his prime yet. An initial tour through Japan looks to have reinvigorated the former Vaudevillain, and Monthly Puroresu was lucky enough to get some insight into why he’s slotted in so seamlessly with NOAH.
Currently watching Noah's Kobe show on #wrestleUNIVERSE I think it was Simon Gotch himself, not the fans, who enjoyed the match with the legendary man Kazushi Sakuraba the most. #noah_ghc pic.twitter.com/2SOIEvzECO
— Metal-Noah (@metal0515) June 23, 2022
Monthly Puroresu: You trained under the likes of Bryan Danielson and Harley Race, one is a legend in the making and the other is a monolithic figure. When you look at wrestling schools nowadays, what do you wish they could teach that you learned back then?
Simon Gotch: Focusing on how to actually wrestle. The majority of schools focus on teaching the bare minimum to get their money.
Monthly Puroresu: You think of a recipe that makes a great wrestler as a crock pot, tossing in things here and there and letting it simmer over time – what do you think the key ingredients are to be a great performer? Many wrestlers today peak in their mid-late 30s.
Simon Gotch: That hasn’t been true in at least 30 years. Cena, Balor, Tanahashi, Minoru Suzuki, Masato Tanaka, Mochizuki, Marufuji, Sugiura, etc. Many don’t hit their peak until they’re 40 or older.
Monthly Puroresu: Tell us some interesting inflection points from your recent time in Japan. How long were you originally supposed to be there and what were your expectations for yourself flying over?
Simon Gotch: I was always supposed to stay for 3 months. The only change was that I was initially supposed to debut at the February ’21 Budokan event, but was repeatedly delayed due to travel restrictions. My expectation was to face strong wrestlers, and I did.
Monthly Puroresu: When we watch New Japan, it’s clearly Strong Style Evolved. Meanwhile NOAH is on a separate evolutionary path, coming from King’s Road – a distinction Eddie Kingston recently made while fighting at All Out. What is it about this style that you gravitate towards, and how do you see it evolving?
Simon Gotch: While “Strong Style” and “King’s Road” had meaning in describing Inoki and Baba’s respective styles, beyond that, it’s just marketing. Everyone has their own style, regardless of their lineage.
This is more obvious when you consider how many high level players in Japan didn’t go through the traditional dojo system for the company they work for. Shingo was Dragon Gate, now he’s NJPW. Okada was trained directly by Ultimo Dragon, also now NJPW. Miyahara, Kitamiya, and Nakajima were personal students of Kensuke, now two are in NOAH and one in AJPW. These are just a few of the examples.
Monthly Puroresu: There are a lot of conspiracy theories floating around on the Internet, and the internet wrestling community feeds off a lot of this. What’s one thing you think people ought to be paying more attention to?
Simon Gotch: They aren’t conspiracy theories, that’s giving them too much credit. They’re rumors and gossip, that exist purely to drive traffic to the websites that post them. Attention is best paid to the wrestling, as the in ring action is what makes this unique.
Monthly Puroresu: What’s been your experience wrestling with, and learning from the veterans in NOAH?
Simon Gotch: This misconstrues my experience, ability and use. While I am glad to have challenged people like Funaki, Sakuraba, Sugiura, Nosawa, and teamed with Ogawa, I’ve been doing this for 21 years. I was asked to do more in the way of helping the younger wrestlers grow. This meant often wrestling, for upwards of an hour at a time in the dojo, with people like Kiyomiya, Okada, Miyawaki, Harada, Alejandro, etc.
Monthly Puroresu: Our extremely talented friend Garrett, over at Total Debacle, told me about your DIY Punk roots. I know from talking with Thekla in STARDOM there’s a strong scene in Japan, have you been able to explore it?
Simon Gotch: I despise the term “DIY Punk”, as it’s been co-opted and used to describe the exact opposite of what it should mean. As Iggy Pop said “Punk rock is a word used by dilettantes and heartless manipulators about music that takes up the energies, the bodies, the hearts, the souls, the time and the minds of young men who give everything they have to it.” As I’m not a generally social person, you have to drag me out of my dwelling to get me to do anything other than work or the gym.
Simon Gotch has grown out his hair, right? That's the tweet. #cffes2022 #noah_ghc pic.twitter.com/D2oOEzR5vS
— Metal-Noah (@metal0515) June 12, 2022
Monthly Puroresu: Who are your dream opponents in Japan?
Simon Gotch: Within NOAH, I’d like to face Nakajima and Shiozaki in singles, as well as rematches with Okada, Kiyomiya, Funaki and KENOH. Outside of NOAH, Takonari Ito, Minoru Tanaka, Minoru Suzuki and Kento Miyahara all come to mind.
Monthly Puroresu: The intensity and raw emotion on display in NOAH is really something special. Do you sense a crossover appeal with Western MMA fans who have yet to discover the promotion
Simon Gotch: NOAH has many MMA veterans on its roster, so the crossover appeal is present.
Monthly Puroresu: What other parts of art and culture inspire you, motivate you to keep going as a performer?
Simon Gotch: I’m not a performer, I’m a professional wrestler. This question has no meaning to me.
Monthly Puroresu: How has the NOAH front office been like to work with as they expand the Wrestle Universe offerings? We all enjoy the new accessibility and streaming to be first class. As a talent, do you enjoy being a part of this expansion and what are your experiences with that?
Simon Gotch: Both the direct NOAH staff, as well as the CyberAgent team are great to work with. The Wrestle Universe app is both phenomenal and a great value for its price.
Monthly Puroresu: Did anything out of the ordinary happen during your stay in Japan, or can you share some travel anecdotes with our readers? I saw you got to visit the memorial for Karl Gotch.
Simon Gotch: I went bar hopping with a friend, ending up in a small (6 seat) bar, with a wrestling theme. A little while after we arrived, Don Fuji and his friends showed up to celebrate his birthday. We were invited to join the celebration and afterwards, Fuji palmed me ¥10,000 on a handshake. When I went to question it, he smiled and said “Sumo style, you keep”
Monthly Puroresu: Have online perceptions and opinions impacted your work, or does any of that sink in?
Simon Gotch: No. Anyone that is committed to being great knows you never play to the gallery. You commit to yourself and give your all.
Monthly Puroresu: In an era of .gifs, sound bites and backstage bullshit dominating the so-called internet wrestling community, what do you think it takes to create a true spectacle when that bell sounds?
Simon Gotch: Spectacle is the job of the promoter. My job is to wrestle, so I don’t concern myself with it.
Monthly Puroresu: It’s an extremely crowded independent wrestling scene, and even the top American wrestling companies have robust rosters. What do you sense in terms of competition among younger talent wanting to come to Japan and make a name for themselves?
Simon Gotch: It’s only crowded if you don’t separate those with skill from those without it. When doing so, you realize how lean most American indie rosters are.
Monthly Puroresu: What do you think American professional wrestling gets right or wrong, compared to where you’re at now?
Simon Gotch: I don’t care about American wrestling.
Monthly Puroresu: Are you interested in moving into other roles within wrestling in future? For example, commentary. You did some commentary alongside Stewart Fulton in NOAH.
Simon Gotch: Aside from teaching, not really. I am a wrestler, and that is what I will always be.
Date:
September 9, 2022
