(born January 1, 1985) is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

and martial artist, better known by the ring name . He currently wrestles in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a 3-time

GHC Heavyweight Champion The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, which was merged with DDT Pro-Wrestling to form CyberFight in 2020. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world ...

. He is also a former GHC National Champion. Kenoh began his career in

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rathe ...

after being scouted by

Jinsei Shinzaki Kensuke Shinzaki (新崎健介 ''Shinzaki Kensuke'', born December 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive, better known by his ring name, Jinsei Shinzaki (新崎人生 ''Shinzaki Jinsei''). He is sign ...

. There, he would eventually go on to win the

Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship contested in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where it is the primary singles title, and is strictly for Cruiserweight (professional wrestling), junior heavyweights. It w ...

three times, before leaving Michinoku Pro and signing with Pro Wrestling Noah in 2015. Initially competing as a junior heavyweight, he formed a popular tag team with

Hajime Ohara is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Ohara worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) in Mexico for several years as part of his training, mixing the ''lucha libre'' style of Mexico with the Japanese Puroresu style ...

, and the two went on to hold the

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among Cruiserweight (professional wrestling), junior heavywei ...

two times. He graduated to the heavyweight division in 2017, and would go on to win the

Global League The N-1 Victory is an annual professional wrestling Round-robin tournament, round-robin professional wrestling tournament, tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah, established in 2010 as the Global League. In 2019, the tournament was rebranded as t ...

and the

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, which was merged with DDT Pro-Wrestling to form CyberFight in 2020. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world ...

in the same year.

Early life

Nakae started training

nippon kempo is a Japanese martial art founded and created by Muneomi Sawayama in 1932. Ivica was a judoka who had studied under Kenwa Mabuni, a karateka who would establish the Shitō school of Karate. There are multiple schools and groups based on the N ...

at the age of 3, and while in highschool won the championship of his category. Later, in 2003, he was crowned as the youngest All Japan kenpo champion ever, and went to win the contest again in 2006 and 2007.

Professional wrestling career

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (2007–2013)

Nakae signed with

in 2007 after being scouted by

, wrestling several exhibition bouts before officially debuting against

Alexander Otsuka , better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka and Otoko Sakari, is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. Having competed for multiple pro wrestling organizations in his career, most recently with Antonio Inoki's In ...

. He went under the name of , a reference to the character Raoh from popular

manga are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...

and

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

Fist of the North Star is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially collected in 27 volumes ...

''. He spent the year in low-profile matches against fellow trainees

Rui Hiugaji is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Michinoku Pro Wrestling where he is a former Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion and a Tohoku Tag Team Champion. He is also known for stint tenures with various promotions from the Japanese indepe ...

and Takayuki Aizawa, and in late 2008 he was sent to hone his skills in Okinawa Pro Wrestling, where he adopted a parodic gimmick named "Kanmuriwashi Yoko" patterned after famous

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: *Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing * Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

Yoko "Kanmuriwashi" Gushiken. Under this character, Nakae sported an afro hairstyle similar to Gushiken's, although complete with a

lucha libre ''Lucha libre'' (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term for the style of professional wrestling originating in Mexico. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has develope ...

mask and

kickboxing Kickboxing ( ) is a full-contact hybrid Martial arts, martial art and Boxing (disambiguation), boxing type based on punch (combat), punching and kicking. Kickboxing originated in the 1950s to 1970s. The fight takes place in a boxing ring, norma ...

attire. In September 2009, Kenoh made his return to Michinoku Pro, being introduced by Jinsei Shinzaki as a special ally to counter fellow

shoot-style Shoot wrestling is a Japanese hybrid grappling style and combat sport. Shoot wrestling incorporates techniques from various wrestling, submission grappling, kickboxing and karate styles. It was particularly inspired and influenced by catch wrest ...

wrestler Fujita "Jr." Hayato and his

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

Kowloon. Kenoh declined an offer by Great Sasuke of having his redebut match against him and instead demanded a match against Hayato for the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion, which the champion accepted. Shockingly, Kenoh won and captured the title, and went to enter in a heated

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with Fujita and his stablemates. He slowly became the next

ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...

of the promotion, a place vacated after Yoshitsune's departure. The same year, Kenoh and Rui Hiugaji took part in the Michinoku Tag League, beating the teams of Munenori Sawa and Yuta Yoshikawa and Kowloon's Fujita Hayato and Rasse, but they were defeated at the finals by another Kowloon team,

Takeshi Minamino , (born December 24, 1985) better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He wrestles in Michinoku Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Toryumon (2002-2004) Yamamoto made his pro wrestlin ...

and Maguro Ooma. On the individual field, Kenoh retained the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight title before Hayato, Minamino and Taro Nohashi, until he lost it to Great Sasuke. In 2011, Kenoh and Kenbai were sent to compete in Pro Wrestling Noah's NTV G Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League, where they got a big victory over heavy favourite team No Mercy (

Kenta Kenta (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name. (written: , , , or in katakana). Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japane ...

and

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He also works as a backstage producer for NJPW. Professional wrestling career ...

), with Kenoh personally pinning Kenta. They also challenged ANMU (

Atsushi Aoki was a Japanese professional wrestler who worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as a wrestler, president of talent relations and head trainer at their dojo. Aoki began his career in Pro Wrestling Noah in 2005, where he went on to become a tw ...

and

Kotaro Suzuki , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Gleat. He is best known for working for the Pro Wrestling Noah and All Japan Pro Wrestling promotions, where he was a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Cha ...

) for the

, but they were defeated. Kenoh recaptured the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship from Rui Hiugaji in September 2011. Started 2012, he claimed to have the goal to "change Michinoku Pro," which few understood, but it was all revealed when Taro Nohashi betrayed Fujita Hayato and expelled him from Kowloon, instead bringing Kenoh as the new leader. This made Kenoh turn

, adopting a more arrogant persona for himself, and they renamed the stable as Asura, replacing with Hiugaji the members that had followed Hayato. They feuded with Hayato and his remnant group, called Bad Boy. Kenoh and Fujita clashed again, and this time Kenoh lost the match and the title, but he retaliated eliminating Bad Boy from the Michinoku Tag League 2012 to win it with stablemate Hiugaji. In 2013, Kenoh pinned Hayato to gain the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship back, but on December 13, he vacated it, announcing his intention of joining Pro Wrestling Noah.

Pro Wrestling Noah (2014–present)

Teaming with Hajime Ohara (2014-2016)

Kenoh returned to Noah as a freelancer, joining the new

Choukibou-gun was a professional wrestling stable in Pro Wrestling Noah. It was led by Takeshi Morishima. History 2014 Choukibou-gun officially formed on January 5, 2014 at New Years Navigation following the main event where Takeshi Morishima defeated ...

stable in 2014 and forming a tag team with stablemate

. On August 2, 2014, Kenoh and Ohara won the 2014 NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League by defeating

Daisuke Harada (born November 13, 1986) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He’s a five-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and a six-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Harada is also known fo ...

and Quiet Storm in the finals. On October 12, Kenoh and Ohara defeated Atsushi Kotoge and

Taiji Ishimori is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its List of Bullet Club members#War Dogs, War Dogs sub-group. Ishimori is a three-time IWGP Junio ...

to win the

. They lost the title to El Desperado and

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (stylized as TAKA Michinoku), is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He primarily appears for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a me ...

on March 15, 2015. On March 28, Kenoh signed a contract with Noah, officially ending his affiliation with Michinoku Pro. On March 19, 2016, Kenoh and Ohara won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the second time by defeating Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada. They lost the title back to Kotoge and Harada on April 5. On July 5, Kenoh defeated

Genba Hirayanagi , better known by his ring name , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for working for Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Hirayanagi was a competitor in amateur wrestling in high school. In June 2004 he entered the Pro Wrestling ...

in a four-man tournament final to win one of Noah's three spots in

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

's 2016 Super J-Cup. On July 20, Kenoh defeated Gurukun Mask in his first round match in the tournament. On August 21, he was eliminated from the tournament in the second round by reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kushida.

Move to heavyweight (2016-present)

On December 23, 2016, after losing to

Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestl ...

and Alejandro Saez, Kenoh officially announced the break up of Kenohara. Kenoh and Ohara wrestled their last match as a team on December 24, defeating Taiji Ishimori and Hitoshi Kumano. Kenoh's heavyweight debut was on January 7, 2017, in a tag team match where he and partner

Masa Kitamiya is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute. Early life Kitamiya was an amateur ...

defeated Akitoshi Saito and

Muhammad Yone , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a multi-time GHC Tag Team Champion, a one time GHC Openweight Hardcore Champion and winner of the Global Tag League in ...

. Following this match, the pairing made a challenge to

GHC Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...

holders

Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a record-holding five time former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah in July 2004 and initially remained with Pro Wrestling No ...

and

Maybach Taniguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler who has worked for Pro Wrestling Noah since his debut in December 2005. He is also known by the ring name , under which he portrays a villainous masked character. Professional wrestling career Amateur backg ...

to a title match. On January 21, Kenoh and Kitamiya defeated Shiozaki and Taniguchi to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions. On February 24, Kenoh turned on Kitamiya, forming an alliance with Takashi Sugiura, which led to the two being stripped of the tag team title. This led to a match on March 12, where Kenoh and Sugiura defeated Kitamiya and Muhammad Yone to win the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Maybach Taniguchi and Naomichi Marufuji on April 14. On November 19, Kenoh defeated Go Shiozaki in the finals to win the 2017 Global League. On December 22, Kenoh defeated Eddie Edwards to win the

for the first time and was afterwards confronted by the returning Kaito Kiyomiya, who challenged him to a title match. This led to a match on January 6, where Kenoh defeated Kiyomiya for his first successful defense and along with Sugiura turned on Kiyomiya after the match. On February 6, 2018, he defeated Yuko Miyamoto for his second successful defense and afterwards accepted a challenge from his ally Takashi Sugiura. This led to a match on March 11, where he lost the title to Sugiura in his third defense. The two then made it to the finals of the 2018 Global Tag League where they lost to former ally Kaito Kiyomiya and Go Shiozaki. He gained a measure of revenge on Kiyomiya by defeating him on June 10 to earn a chance to regain the GHC Heavyweight Championship, leading to a match on June 26, where he failed to regain the title from Takashi Sugiura. As

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese ...

and Akitoshi Saito vacated the

on November 28, a tournament to determine new champions happened on December 7. Kenoh tagged with former partner

, but would fail to capture the titles on the finals against Katsuhiko Nakajima and Go Shiozaki. After Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Takashi Sugiura at the Great Voyage in Yokohama, Kenoh came to the ring and challenged the new champion. This led to a title match on January 6, where he was defeated by Kiyomiya. On March 10, 2019, Kiyomiya defended the GHC Heavyweight Title against Naomichi Marufuji, after the match, Kenoh came to the ring and invited the champion to be his partner for

Global Tag League The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008. The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...

, and Kiyomiya accepted. On May 4, 2019, at a NOAH event held in Korakuen Hall, Kenoh established the faction known as Kongo. On January 8, 2022, at Wrestle Kingdom 16 held in

Yokohama Arena is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...

, Kongo, led by Kenoh, was defeated by Los Ingobernables de Japon in a 10-man tag team match. On January 21, 2023, in the main event of ''WRESTLE KINGDOM 17 in Yokohama Arena'', Kenoh faced Los Ingobernables de Japon leader

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his 20-year run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he served as the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' stable, and was a multi-time world champion. ...

but was defeated. During his 15th-anniversary show, Kenoh announced the dissolution of "Kongo" and stated, "Pursuing stability means forsaking evolution."

Championships and accomplishments

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

( 1 time) - with

Manabu Soya is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and he previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working ...

* Dragon Gate **

Open the Twin Gate Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Dragongate. The title was introduced on August 26, 2007, as an interim title for the winners of the first Summer Adventure Tag League tournament. It ...

( 1 time) - with

Shuji Kondo is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played Rugby union, rugby. After starting his career in Dragon Gate (wrestling), Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where h ...

( 3 times) **Futaritabi Tag Team Tournament (2010) – with Rui Hiugaji *

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**Ranked No. 35 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 2024 * Pro Wrestling Noah **

( 3 times) **

GHC National Championship The is a professional wrestling Championship (professional wrestling), championship in the Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 3, 2019 and inaugurated on November 2 when Takashi Sugi ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) **

(

) – with

( 3 times) – with

(1),

(1) and Ulka Sasaki (1) ** Global League/N-1 Victory (

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

) ** NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League (

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

) – with Hajime Ohara **Super J-Cup Qualifying Tournament B (2016) *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards References External links

* http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp Official website 1960 establishments in Japan Da ...

'' ** Fighting Spirit Award

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kenoh 1985 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Tokushima Prefecture People from Tokushima (city) 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers GHC Heavyweight Champions GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions GHC National Champions GHC Tag Team Champions Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champions World Tag Team Champions (AJPW) Global League/N-1 Victory winners Global Junior Heavyweight Tag League winners