(born January 1, 1985) is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

and martial artist, better known by the ring name . He currently wrestles in

Pro Wrestling Noah (stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...

, where he is a former GHC National Champion and a former two-time

GHC Heavyweight Champion The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alon ...

. 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 rather ...

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 curre ...

. There, he would eventually go on to win the

Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship contested in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where it is the primary singles title, and is strictly for junior heavyweights. It was created on August 25, 2002, when Dick Togo defeated Tiger Mask in a round ...

three times, before leaving Michinoku Pro and signing with

in 2015. Initially competing as a junior heavyweight, he formed a popular tag team with

Hajime Ohara is a Japanese 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 of wrestling. In Japan, ...

, and the two went on to hold the

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003 when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger an ...

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

Global League The Global League is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah, established in 2010. In 2019, the Global League was rebranded as the N-1 Victory. The Global League adopts a points system, with two points f ...

and the

GHC Heavyweight Championship The is the professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion CyberFight currently defended in the Pro Wrestling Noah brand division. It is one of CyberFight's two top men's world titles, alon ...

in the same year.

Early life

Nakae started training

nippon kempo Nippon Kempo (日本拳法) is a Japanese martial art, practised wearing protective gear (face, body, crotch, etc.) and gloves and allows full use of stand-up striking, throwing, and ground fighting. It was founded and created by Muneomi Sawaya ...

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 ...

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

Raoh is a fictional character in the ''Fist of the North Star'' manga franchise by Buronson and Tetsuo Hara. He is the eldest of four honorary brothers (including the protagonist Kenshiro) who trained in the ancient assassination art of Hokuto Shink ...

from popular

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) 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 prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and

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

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

''. He spent the year in low-profile matches against fellow trainees Rui Hiugaji and Takayuki Aizawa, and in late 2008 he was sent to hone his skills in Okinawa Pro Wrestling, where he adopted a

parodic A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...

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 used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...

mask and

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

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 combat sport that originated in Japan's professional wrestling circuit of the 1970s. Professional wrestlers of that era attempted to use more realistic or even "full contact" moves in their matches to increase their exciteme ...

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 Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

Kowloon. Kenoh declined an offer by

Great Sasuke , born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly ...

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 , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...

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 club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

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 is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Sawa was trained by and spent his entire career in the Battlarts promotion, adopting the promotion's "Bati Bati" wrestling style, known for its stiff strikes and submission-based shoot wrestling, but ...

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 wrestling ...

and Maguro Ooma. On the individual field, Kenoh retained the Tohoku Junior Heavyweight title before Hayato, Minamino and

Taro Nohashi (born August 10, 1982) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently wrestles in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where he is the reigning Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champion in his first reign. He is also a former two-time Tohoku Tag Team Champion ...

, until he lost it to Great Sasuke. In 2011, Kenoh and Kenbai were sent to compete in

's NTV G Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League, where they got a big victory over heavy favourite team No Mercy (

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

and

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he also works as a backstage producer. Kanemaru is best known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he holds the records for the most reigns with the GHC ...

), 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 two ...

and

Kotaro Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . He is currently working as a freelancer, mainly for promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Pro Wrestling Noah (2001-2013) Suzuki was the last person remaining of a grueling th ...

) 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

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 A vacated judgment (also known as vacatur relief) makes a previous legal judgment legally void. A vacated judgment is usually the result of the judgment of an appellate court, which overturns, reverses, or sets aside the judgment of a lower court. ...

it, announcing his intention of joining

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 K ...

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 professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He’s a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and a six-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. Harada is also known for his time ...

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

Atsushi Kotoge (born October 18, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former one-time GHC Tag Team Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and record eleven-time GHC Junior Heavyweigh ...

and

Taiji Ishimori is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestles as part of the Bullet Club. He is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in his third reign, and is also a one-time NEVER Openweight ...

to win the

. They lost the title to El Desperado and

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (with his first name usually stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Michinoku is known in North America for his work for the ...

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 N ...

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

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

'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 The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...

Kushida is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...

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 wrestler ...

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 is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Early life Kumano first became interested in professional wrestling while still in elementary school after playing ''King of Colloseum 2'' on the PlayStation 2. ...

. Kenoh's heavyweight debut was on January 7, 2017, in a tag team match where he and partner Masa Kitamiya defeated

Akitoshi Saito is a Japanese professional wrestler who is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Early life Before pro wrestling, Akitoshi Saito was trained in karate by Masashi Aoyagi. Saito seconded Aoyagi i ...

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 2 ...

. Following this match, the pairing made a challenge to

GHC Tag Team Championship The Global Honored Crown (GHC) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Scorpio & Vader defeated Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito in a tourname ...

holders

Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion where he is the former GHC Heavyweight Champion in a record breaking fifth reign. He made his debut for the promotion in July 2004 and remained with it unti ...

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 backgr ...

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, 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.

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), R ...

and

vacated the

on November 28, a tournament to determine new champions happened on December 7. Kenoh tagged with former partner Masa Kitamiya, and together, they would defeat 50 Funky Powers (Muhammed Yone and Quiet Storm), but would fail to capture the titles on the finals against

Katsuhiko Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He started his career in Riki Choshu's Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ) promotion before heading to Kensuke Sasaki's Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring dojo and promotion. He ...

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, 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 no ...

, and Kiyomiya accepted. Kenoh said that, together, they're going to take NOAH back to

Nippon Budokan The , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena located in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. It was originally built for the inaugural Olympic judo competition in the 1964 Summer Olympics. While its primary purpose is to host martial arts con ...

Championships and accomplishments

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

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

**Ranked No. 174 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

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

in 2021 *

(

2 times "2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...

) **

GHC National Championship The is a professional wrestling championship in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 3, 2019 and inaugurated on November 2 when Takashi Sugiura defeated Michael Elgin. The title is scheduled to be defended exclusivel ...

(

) **

(

) – with

(

) – with Masa Kitamiya (1) and

(1) ** Global League/N-1 Victory (

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

) **

NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League NTV may refer to: Television * NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh * NTV (India), Telugu regional channel * NTV (Kenya) * NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia * NTV (Newport Televi ...

(

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenoh 1985 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Tokushima Prefecture People from Tokushima (city) GHC Heavyweight Champions GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions GHC National Champions GHC Tag Team Champions Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Champions