KENTA just finished a brutal tour of NJPW in the World Tag League, where he teamed with fellow Bullet Club member Yujiro Takahashi, where they waged war in 15 tag matches over the course a month. They picked up 8 victories, ending the tournament in the middle of the pack at 16 points.
But while they didn’t gain victory and earn a tag team title shot at Wrestle Kingdom 14, current NEVER Openweight Champion KENTA couldn’t be happier with how his life is going.
KENTA and His Message On Twitter
Following the final night of the tournament, KENTA would post a video on Instagram speaking to his fans and detractors alike. ‘..Last year I had a match once a month, twice a month, a year later I had 17 matches in just 1 month in the last tour, this is huge for me, I realized I’m living my life. At WK I’m gonna prove what I can do, who the fuck I am, where I belong in this world” is what KENTA had to say.
In 2018, he only wrestled 31 matches. The lowest amount in his 19 years as a wrestler, and this was mostly in WWE as part of their cruiserweight divison. He had one match in Pro Wrestling NOAH where he wrestled old partner and rival Naomichi Marufuji on his 20th anniversary show in a 34 minute classic. That match showed us exactly what KENTA could still do, despite still being billed as Hideo Itami.
Following his release from WWE earlier in 2019, KENTA would shock the wrestling world and sign with NOAH’s rival promotion NJPW. Most figured he would go home and help raise Pro Wrestling NOAH’s stock again, but instead he has become a fixture in the current biggest wrestling company in all of Japan.
Since July, KENTA has wrestled 61 matches for New Japan Pro Wrestling, over double what he wrestled in 2018 for WWE. KENTA is reminding everyone exactly what made him one of the hottest free agents back in 2015 when he was a much hyped signing for WWE, and he couldn’t be happier to be back on track.
What Is Next For KENTA?
As confirmed at the Wrestle Kingdom press conference, KENTA will face Hirooki Goto as he defends his NEVER Openweight Championship in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. This will be his first time in the Tokyo Dome since NOAH Destiny 2005, where he defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. He is not the type to crack under pressure, but it has been a very long time since he will have wrestled a high stakes match infront of 35,000+ excited fans.
The feud with Hirooki Goto has been brewing since KENTA turned his back on his Katsuyori Shibata and joined Bullet Club at the final day of action for the G1 Climax. Shibata helped both KENTA & Goto train for the G1 at the LA Dojo, and KENTA was a former tag partner of Shibata. With Shibata being retired since 2017 after he experineced heavy interal bleeding in his skull during an absolutely classic match with Kazuchika Okada, Goto is fighting for his honor.
They should be set to tear the house down at Wrestle Kingdom, in what will surely be one of the hardest hitting matches on the entire card. While KENTA will likely be battered and bruised by the end, he will be happy. Happy because he is living his best life again, and doing what he does best.
Have you been enjoying KENTA and his return to action in Japan, or do you miss him in WWE as Hideo Itami? Let us know in the comments down below and stay tuned to The Overtimer as we ride the highway to Wrestle Kingdom 14.
