Jimmy Yang is gearing up for one more tour of Japan.
Former WWE star and producer Jimmy Yang is heading overseas alongside his daughter Jazzy Yang as the two prepare for what is likely his last tour. During a recent interview with Rick Ucchino of Cageside Seats, Yang discussed this chapter of his career.
“Everything I did [in Japan] prepared me for my runs in WWE. Like, that’s the first time I had that confidence of being the man, really. Like, being like Becky Lynch or [whomever] you wanna say, the man in that company and have that confidence,” Yang said. “Yeah, put me up against the Great Muta or, you know, Kojima… I can go toe-to-toe with these guys. And that really [came from] doing those repetitions and building my confidence and tearing it up over there.”
All these years later, Yang is questioning if he can still go like he used to.
“I just turned 42… and I try to tell myself I can still do it. You know, I wanna do it. And my body’s telling me you need to slow down. I’ve been wrestling 25 plus years and, really, I think this is my last run… it’s not my last match, but like, I don’t think I can do this for another year or years.”
Needless to say, Yang has missed Japan.
“Everything about [Japan] was awesome, and at the time, I guess I didn’t really appreciate it as much because I was just on the move nonstop, you know? But then you get taken away from that and you appreciate it so much more. Like, oh man, I missed that. I missed this,” Yang said. “I thought Jasmine’s debut for Tokyo Dream five years ago was gonna be my last trip. I was like, there’s no way they… I don’t think people are going to keep on bringing me back.”
Yang’s only had 13 matches in the last decade, but he’s still happy to hear that fans remember him.
“I’m really satisfied [with] what I’ve done in wrestling. I’m glad people still remember me and that’s super, super cool.” Yang said. “I haven’t really wrestled in years, like I’ve wrestled once or twice a year, and people still [come up to me], you know, like at the WrestleCon’s and everything, ‘Man, you were my favorite wrestler when I was eight years old!’ You know, like, oh no… I’m old (laughs), but whatever. You know, I appreciate it and I’m [happy I’ve] made an impact on the wrestling business.”
When asked about a potential Royal Rumble appearance, Yang simply said, “We’ll see.”
The interview is available here:
Fans will have to wait and see what the future holds for Yang.
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