(日本語版はこちら)
Legacy, especially within families, is a vital part of pro wrestling. From the Rhodes brothers to HOOK, many popular wrestlers walk in the footsteps of their fathers. But few ever have the chance to walk right alongside them. This is what makes the career of DRAGONGATE super rookie Mochizuki Junior so exceptional. Ever since his debut, he has been competing side by side with his father, the legendary Masaaki Mochizuki, in the same promotion, the same faction, the same tag teams.
These circumstances have strongly shaped the young wrestler’s trajectory. Mochizuki Sr. openly describes himself as a stage parent and as such spares no effort to make his child succeed, not just behind the scenes, but in the ring. With the help of his famous old faction M2K, now rechristened to M3K, he elevated Junior to his first championship, the Triangle Gate, only two months after his debut.
Such a blatant advantage has brought the young star into conflict with several of his colleagues, particularly fellow second generation wrestler ISHIN, who considers Junior’s reliance on his father to be a sign of weakness and hounded him all throughout August and September of 2022. After several intense matches, though, it seemed like ISHIN was finally ready to bury his grudge. On his own father’s behest, he joined M3K as a trial member, to see if he and Junior would be able to work together. However, ISHIN himself had other plans from the very beginning. With the help of heel faction Z-Brats, he planned out a betrayal that would hurt Junior as much as possible. At Gate of Destiny 2022, just after seemingly accepting his rival’s friendship and becoming a full member of M3K, ISHIN finally revealed his true intentions and turned his back on the group.
It would take almost a year before Junior found an opportunity to pay him back for this. But thanks to his father once again interfering on his behalf, he was finally granted a shot at ISHIN’s Open the Brave Gate championship at Dangerous Gate 2023. Regardless of the circumstances, he was determined to make it count. By surpassing ISHIN in a singles championship match, Junior hoped to prove him wrong once and for all. Despite his valiant efforts, however, he still wasn’t able to defeat his rival with his own strength. Once ISHIN locked in his submission finisher, Junior lost consciousness and the match had to be stopped.
After this grueling battle, Five Star Network’s Kay Quinn had the opportunity to interview Mochizuki Junior about his history with ISHIN, his role as a second generation wrestler and his purpose going forward.
Here is what he had to say:
It has been a year and a half since your debut now. How would you say that you’ve changed as a wrestler in that time?
I haven’t achieved anything by myself yet, and it doesn’t feel to me like I have improved.
Which wrestlers outside of DRAGONGATE, whether in Japan or international, would you most like to face?
Katsuhiko Nakajima and Mike Bailey.
I want to face them because they are both esteemed for their kicks! Or it would probably be more accurate to say that I look up to them.
Mike Bailey is so good with his kicks and his high-flying moves.
And his kicks are fast and on point, too.
Even though I also use kicks, mine are a completely different type, and the first time I watched a match of his it got me so excited.
Your dojo classmate Takuma Nishikawa [now known as T.N. Revolución] is having his first match on Japanese soil at the September 7th Korakuen Hall show. Based on your experience, what can DRAGONGATE viewers expect from him?
He said that the level of competition in DRAGONGATE is low.
There’s no doubt he had an incredible match that exceeded expectations.
Since he’s bragged this much, I want him to revolutionise [the promotion].
You occasionally reference JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure in your gear, move names and poses. If you had a Stand, what would it be?
I’d want a Stand that can stop time or return things to how they were, but it feels like I’d have a Stand power that’d be difficult to use.
Like making your opponent’s nose grow bigger or something like that.
If, like your father, you could use a cover of an anime opening theme as your entrance music, which one would you choose?
Of course I want to use the main themes from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, but there are many anime themes I love, so it’s hard to choose.
But if I had to choose, I’d want to make my entrance to “TESTAMENT” from Symphogear!
You’ve been wrestling side by side with your father for almost your entire career so far. What has that been like for you?
In the beginning, of course, there were times when it was reassuring. But these days it’s more depressing for me than not.
But some things we accomplish precisely because it’s all four of us working together in M3K.
How do you see your father as a wrestler and what does being a 2nd Generation wrestler mean to you?
I respect him as a wrestler, of course.
But if I don’t add something to my current wrestling style, then I will never be able to overcome my father.
So going forward I want to express more of who I myself am, while staying conscious of my dad.
Your faction M3K (formerly M2K) has had many previous iterations over the course of DRAGONGATE and Toryumon history. What makes this version special?
We’re the only ones out there in embroidered satin baseball jackets and kick scooters.
I think it’s wonderful that we four have established ourselves so well with that kind of style.
And I like how we neither feel like [pure] heels nor like [pure] babyfaces.
How would you describe your current relationship to the other members of M3K?
It’s good!
Well, father and son are going to be father and son, and it’s always interesting to talk to Susumu and Kanda!
Susumu often comes to talk to me, and it makes me very happy! The two of them are often making fun of my dad in an [affectionately] humorous way!
When ISHIN briefly joined M3K, what did you think about that? Did the way you saw him change over the course of his trial membership?
I can’t say we had a good relationship at first, but ISHIN got closer to me over time. We eventually got our double teams down too.
I felt like we had an understanding of each other, us both being second generation wrestlers and everything.
What was teaming with him like? Under different circumstances, could you have been a good tag team?
Yes. I was under the impression that we understood each other.
We had good teamwork, and I thought I would be able to wrestle alongside him if we communicated more.
That’s how I felt.
Besides, the [other] members of M3K aren’t that young. So I was just a little bit glad that ISHIN, who’s closer to me in age, joined us.
There were times when I thought we could’ve become [tag team] partners.
When he revealed himself as Masked Z, what did that feel like for you?
I was mostly angry, but beyond that I was also somewhat sad.
He duped us. It all went according to his calculations.
What do you think of his development since then?
ISHIN has improved a lot.
I was forced to recognize that.
Everything changed when he joined Z Brats.
He’s so strong right now.
In our previous interview with ISHIN, he stated that all of your achievements were entirely thanks to your father. What would you say to that?
I fought ISHIN fair and square, and I lost.
So it’s probably like ISHIN is saying. There’s nothing I can say to contradict that statement until I beat him.
What do you see as the central difference between you and ISHIN?
Strong Machine J has said said this before, but:
There’s Strong Machine J, who has inherited [his father’s] mask and will
There’s ISHIN, who is very different from his father Ishinriki, in wrestling style and everything, and who’s putting himself out there wherever he can.
And then there’s me, who shares the same wrestling style [as my father] and who wrestles together [with him], too.
It’s our approach to being second generation wrestlers that’s different.
How did you feel when losing to him in your Brave Gate title challenge at Dangerous Gate?
It was the most humiliating [thing] I’ve ever experienced.
It sucked that I couldn’t win the belt, but more than anything it sucked that I lost to ISHIN.
I was in good shape and I put everything I had [into the match], but I couldn’t get the win.
I have no excuses.
He proved to me that he’s stronger.
It was devastating.
What do you think was the reason you lost?
The reason is simple.
ISHIN was better.
What are your goals going forward?
To be honest I haven’t decided on a concrete goal yet.
I’m unsure what I should do.
Either way, one day I want to run it back with ISHIN.
Also I’ll make sure to make Fuji and YAMATO eat dirt.
How would you say “make them eat dirt” [in English]?
Either way, I’ll make them eat dirt.
Unlike ISHIN, these two aren’t the youngest. I want to beat them before they become old and senile.
And I have no doubt that my feud with ISHIN is going to go on for as long as we live.
I have a long road ahead of me.
I just lost to ISHIN.
I’d lose if I fought him right now.
Maybe that’s discouraging me.
I can’t win right now. That’s been proven.
So I want to get better, and get back at ISHIN one day.
Our deepest gratitude to Mochizuki Junior (@ryoto_420), for taking the time to answer our questions, and to Ho Ho Lun (@hoholun719), for his help in arranging this interview.
All translation for this interview was handled by Joe (@thefeelite). Our thanks to him for his excellent work and his patience.
Anyone interested in seeing Mochizuki Junior’s match against ISHIN can do so on DRAGONGATE Network.
For additional DRAGONGATE content, check out the Five Star Network’s Dramatic Dream Dragons podcast