My first six months were in Japan; then I went to Mexico and then went back to Japan. I had the opportunity to wrestle all the wrestlers from the United States, Europe, and Japan when I was there.
You can't patent a move. It's challenging enough to come up with a move that nobody else does... I try and do things that I would want to see done that I haven't seen other people do. Most wrestlers obviously don't think that way, and instead they steal somebody's move as soon as they've gone on to the next company.
Which new wrestlers do I think will be the franchise wrestlers? Erm, well Batista and Randy Orton will I think, for sure.
The cool thing is, when we first did our joint Ring Of Honour-New Japanies Wrestlers, I think that definitely existed. I think the ROH guys were like, "we can't let these New Japan guys outshine us" the new japan guys were ready to make a statement as it was this really big event in America. But the cool thing about this relationship is we've literally become a family now. A lot of us are friends with each. We obviously respect each other.
There are only so many wrestlers that can actually look and act the part, and do whatever they have to do in WWE, and that's a lesson to be learnt for a lot of wrestlers, you need to look the part. If you don't, there is very little chance of you making it here.
I think the retirement crisis globally is a major problem. I think it's especially prevalant in countries such as Japan, where immigration is an issue. I think the US is more shielded from it than most countries in the world. It has a higher birth rate than Japan, immigration is tolerated here unlike probably it is in Japan. I don't think it's as big an issue in the US as it is elsewhere in the world.
People at WWE would say, 'It doesn't matter if you're the best wrestler,' but I would think about Dean Malenko and Chris Benoit and Rey Mysterio. They weren't necessarily the greatest talkers, but they were great wrestlers. I wanted to be that person.
I think it is the responsibility of anyone involved in politics to always think of what Japan can do to contribute more to the peace and stability not just of Japan and the region but of the entire world.
People may think that because I have illustrated and written all these books it must be easy for me, but it's not really easy for me. The drawing part is easy - I love doing it. But continuing to move forward is hard.
Is it supposed to be a championship for a certain style of wrestlers? For wrestlers under a certain weight limit? I think over the years the one thing that has held the X-Division from being in a certain spot is that it doesn't have a definition.
Wrestlers from Japan and Canada are very tough.
I think our choreography, which is easy to follow, played a huge role in achieving fame in Japan.
I think that those wrestlers, those women and men that go in the ring are not protected. I don't think anybody is ever looking out for them and I think that they are used badly.
When you think about a WWE Diva, you think of us girls in WWE, not, like, the girls that are in the indies, the girls in TNA or in other different companies. So yeah, the word 'Diva' means a lot to me.
The day after I retire I will move back to Japan. That's how much I love Japan. I feel more comfortable there, all my friends are there, my sponsors are mostly Japanese and I feel more fun in Japan.
Wrestling in Japan, obviously, the fans are a little bit different - very quiet, very respectful in New Japan - but here in the WWE, these fans are going nuts.