At the end of 2022, AJPW will be losing three top talents – Tajiri, Izanagi and one of their biggest stars Jake Lee as their contracts are expiring and they have chosen not to return to the company.
Jake Lee spoke to Tokyo Sports about his decision to leave All Japan Pro-Wrestling.
Lee indicated that he began thinking about leaving AJPW in early 2022.
“I made up my mind at the beginning of this year. At the end of last year, I was injured (fractured nose and left medial orbital wall) and was sidelined for about three months, and I thought about how I could recover from that and show something more. At that time, I wanted to create a feeling of, this is the year to win, so I started thinking about it. I knew that if I didn’t do it with that kind of feeling, I wouldn’t be able to make any impact on the organization’s 50th anniversary, and I knew I would regret it.”
Jake Lee also stated he has only one shot in life and wants new challenges.
“I only have one shot at this life, so I want to take on new challenges. To put it very simply, this is what I want to do.”
Lee explained that he is trying to obtain a passport so he could travel overseas to experience the types of wrestlers outside of Japan.
“On the 13th of this month, I finally have an interview for my naturalization application. I’m Korean, and even if I wanted to get a passport, I couldn’t because I didn’t have an address in Korea, and I couldn’t even go abroad. That’s why I have a desire to go abroad. If things go well this time around, we’ll be able to clearly see overseas from spring to summer next year.”
“Because I want to see and experience what kind of wrestlers are there [abroad]. This kind of work is not usually possible. So I want to experience things that are unique to this job. Also, if I go abroad, I would like to participate in jiu-jitsu matches. There are a lot of guys my size overseas. I wouldn’t mind getting beat up there. Anyway, I would like to be able to try out for that kind of competition. There are many other foreign countries besides the U.S.”
Lee, who is currently 33 years of age, will have his last AJPW match on December 25th in an 8 man tag team in which he will team with Yuma Aoyagi and NJPW stars SANADA and BUSHI as they face Kento Miyahara, Ryosei Aoyagi, and NJPW stars TAICHI and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The match is being billed as the All Japan Pro Wrestling 50th Anniversary Final Special 8 Man Tag Match.
(H/T goes to Post Wrestling for the transcription)
