【SANADAドキュメンタリー】フェイク-Fake
Thinking about SANADA while dealing with a pinched nerve in my left shoulder. I can't imagine having to go through what he did the last couple of years.
Fake is a dirty word in wrestling. And NJPW know this more than anyone. NJPW is not sports entertainment. Look at their logo, above the lion mark: King of Sports.
So it's always interesting when a wrestling company themselves titles something "fake", like NJPW has done with a Youtube documentary about SANADA.
this is an interesting documentary because SANADA is clearly playing a villain in NJPW right now, and hasn't necessarily changed that now that he's returned. But the documentary paints him as a very nice guy who went through a rough injury.
It begins with SANADA addressing the fact that he turned heel three times in 2 years. Fun fact, I was in the crowd for the one in November 2024.
He doesn't apologize for any of this. He is living in the moment.
SANADA then talks about the injury that immediately recontextualizes the last two and a half years. It's a pretty serious one. In retrospect, it's a classic injured wrestler story: keep going, and do what you can. But it's also sad, and you end up really sympathizing.
SANADA then talks getting into suits, which leads back to the official show, where he returns after a long time away. Except it isn't obvious that it's him. He's in a mask. And he enjoys creating the mystery. He enjoys the fake part of pro wrestling.
SANADA then has lunch with his brother, and explains how he got into wrestling. Turns out, video games! This is interesting, and another layer of "fake" to this story. Wrestling games generally treat wrestling as if it's real, despite itself being a simulation.
It then cuts to Sakagamike House, a shelter for dogs and cats (https://sakagamike.com/), where SANADA volunteers. This is like, the most babyfaced thing someone can do, you know? He's a heel wrestler in every cell of this video, but how is anyone going to boo him after seeing this?
Shinobu Sakagami is not someone I'd heard of before this video. He's a TV personality in Japan who does a number of variety shows. He'd also never seen wrestling before SANADA invited him to a show. Seeing wrestling through his eyes is illuminating stuff.
SANADA mentions that Sakagami has a bit of heel in him on TV, he suggests that pushing people's buttons can seem contrived. In other words, people don't always buy it. It can seem fake.
Sakagami then suggests that there's no right answer on how to portray yourself. But that it's important to keep searching for it. It's as if there's a giant cartoon arrow pointing at SANADA, and his search to find something real about himself in this fake world.
The interview ends with Sakagami suggesting something that NJPW might not approve.
And that's kind of the video. It cuts to SANADA returning to the ring, and unmasking. He attacks his opponent Takeshita, but the video seems so uninterested in that point it just cuts off. Like it's half a story told.
