Quoted By:
[Interview] Shinsuke Nakamura player (42): "The match with Muta player (???) was something that would never have happened under Vince (77)". (Reporting and writing by Keisuke Kakuno)
>--How did you feel when the fight against Muta was decided?
I couldn't believe it. I never thought it would happen.
>--Fans couldn't believe it either.
It was something that would never have happened under the previous structure of the WWE. NOAH came to me with the idea, and we talked about it, but my answer was no. Vince McMahon, Chairman and CEO of WWE at the time stepped down in the summer, and I was advised by people within the company that it might be possible now. I still thought it would be difficult, but I talked directly to Triple H (vice president of WWE). When the decision was actually made, I was shaken.
>--Please tell us why you insisted on the match, even going so far as to ask directly to the WWE.
There was a big change in the WWE between when Mutoh announced his retirement and when the match was decided. Vince, who was the symbol of everything, was retiring, and that was something that no one could believe. Everything changes in America when the top changes. At that time, there was a feeling that many things would change in the future. One of the changes that occurred to me was this. The fact that "never" became "yes" gave me a boost.
