(born March 9, 1964) is a Japanese retired

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 ...

better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Career

Kitahara trained in

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

during high school, particularly the latter due to his penchant for

street fighting Street fighting is hand-to-hand combat in public places, between individuals or groups of people. The venue is usually a public place (e.g. a street) and the fight sometimes results in serious injury or occasionally even death. Some street fi ...

. After graduating and moving to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

, he started training

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

Satoru Sayama (born November 27, 1957) is a Japanese professional wrestling, Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, MMA and wrestling promoter and writer, best known as the original Tiger Mask (professional wrestling), Tige ...

's Super Tiger Gym and eventually became an instructor. Three years later, he developed an interest in

professional wrestling 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 o ...

and decided to become a wrestler.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1990)

Kitahara began as a trainee for

Japan Pro-Wrestling Japan Puroresu (ジャパンプロレス) or Japan Pro-Wrestling was the first renegade professional wrestling promotion in Japan. It was formed by Riki Choshu and his Ishingun after leaving New Japan Pro-Wrestling in 1984. The promotion co-pro ...

in 1987. After the promotion dissolved, he transferred to

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

and trained under

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ...

. He made his debut on April 8, 1988, against

Mitsuo Momota (born September 21, 1948) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and executive, known for his work in the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and later in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is the son of wrestler Rikidōzan. Career Japan Wres ...

. He was part of Tenryu's

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

stable. After spending nearly a year floundering in the opening and mid-card matches, Kitahara left for Canada in March 1989. When he arrived in Canada, he joined

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

in Calgary, where he used the

Sumo Hara. On July 4, Kitahara was involved in a car accident near Jasper, Alberta, which he escaped uninjured. In August 1989, Kitahara won his first championship, the

Stampede International Tag Team Championship The Stampede International Tag Team Championship was the main tag team title in the Canadian professional wrestling promotion Stampede Wrestling. It was created in 1958 as the NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version). When promote ...

with fellow Japanese wrestler

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

. The two held the championship for more than a month before losing them to

The Blackhearts Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

. After Stampede shut down in December 1989, he returned to Japan in February 1990. Upon returning to AJPW, Kitahara was finally finding his niche, but was cut short the summer of 1990, when Kitahara joined his mentor Tenryu and

Megane Super is the Japanese word for eyeglasses. It may refer to: * ''Megane'' (film), a film by Naoko Ogigami *Megane (Urusei Yatsura), an anime character *Megane Bridge, a bridge in Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Japan *Meganebashi, a bridge in Isahaya Park, Japan * ...

. After leaving AJPW, Kitahara would make a brief return to Canada to wrestle for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance as Sumo Hara, before returning to Japan for the new promotion.

Super World Sports (1990–1992)

Kitahara wrestled for

Super World of Sports Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wr ...

in 1990. As expected, he was part of Tenryu's group, Revolution. In December 1990, Kitahara took part in the original four-man tournament for the SWS Light Heavyweight Championship, but lost to

Naoki Sano (born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...

in the semi-finals when a doctor called a stop to the match. After a year in mid-card tag team matches, Kitahara teamed with

Shinichi Nakano Shin'ichi or Shinichi (しんいち, シンイチ) is a masculine Japanese given name. ''Shin'' and ''ichi'' are separated and it is pronounced . Possible writings Different kanji that are pronounced are combined with the kanji for " to give dif ...

for a tournament to determine the SWS Tag Team Champions, but lost to his Revolution stablemates, Tenryu and

Ashura Hara (January 8, 1947April 28, 2015) was a Japanese rugby player and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . Rugby career Susumu Hara began his rugby career in high school, playing for the Agricultural High School in the Isahaya regi ...

. In June 1992, SWS folded.

WAR (1992–2000)

Upon SWS's folding, Kitahara joined Tenryu in forming

WAR War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Now known as Koki Kitahara, in the early years of WAR, Kitahara would be Tenryu's main tag team partner in battles against

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 ...

, but in later years, he teamed with

Koji Kitao Koji, Kōji, Kohji or Kouji may refer to: *Kōji (given name), a masculine Japanese given name *Kōji (Heian period) (康治), Japanese era, 1142–1144 *Kōji (Muromachi period) (弘治), Japanese era, 1555–1558 *Koji orange, a Japanese citrus ...

. In September 1994, Kitahara toured Mexico for

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

. In April 1995, Kitahara won his first championship in Japan, the

WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The is a six-man tag team title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in Wrestle Association R (WAR) in 1994. There have been a total of twenty reigns shared among sixteen team ...

, with Tenryu and

Animal Hamaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . During his career he was recognized as a talented tag team wrestler despite his relatively small size for a heavyweight, and today he is recognized as a trainer in bot ...

. He won two more, with

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 1999 ...

, Nobutaka Araya, and Lance Storm as his partners. In 1999, WAR folded.

Freelance (1999–2018)

In 1997, still as a WAR member, Kitahara formed his own mixed martial arts

dojo A is a hall or place for immersive learning or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts, but has been seen increasingly in other fields, such as meditation and software development. The term literally means "place of the ...

, Capture International. It initially developed into a

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 ...

professional wrestling promotion, which held its first card in 1998. He later expanded it into a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

private security company A private security company (PSC) is a business entity which provides armed or unarmed security services and expertise to clients in the private or public sectors. Overview Private security companies are defined by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Stat ...

named Japan Blue Blazer. After WAR folded, Kitahara focused primarily on Capture International, while taking select shows and tours of various promotions, including a brief return to AJPW in 2001, where he won the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

with Arashi, and also with

Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...

. On April 2, 2018, Kitahara announced his retirement to take place at a June 11 card promoted by AJPW dojo classmate

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champ ...

, which will also be his 30th anniversary. In a tag team match, Kitahara and

Mitsuya Nagai , better known as , is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. He is known for his work in Fighting Network RINGS and later in professional wrestling companies like Battlarts and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJ ...

lost to

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 Super Tiger II.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) - with

( 1 time) - with Benkei Sasaki * Wrestle And Romance / Wrestle Association "R" **

( 3 times) - with

and

(1), Nobutaka Araya and Arashi (1) and Nobutaka Araya and Lance Storm (1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitahara, Koki 1964 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Fukuoka (city) Stampede Wrestling alumni Tenryu Project World 6-Man Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions