NJPW: KENTA’s debut is bittersweet

Sunday, KENTA made a surprise appearance at NJPW Dominion, where he announced he will enter the G1 Climax. It has been a long journey to this stage, but he deserves a fresh start.

KENTA, formerly known as Hideo Itami, made his triumphant—yet bittersweet—return to Japan last weekend, but he didn’t go back to the promotion most fans expected. The 38-year-old Japanese legend made his NJPW debut at their second biggest pay-per-view event of the year, Dominion. Introduced by Katsuyori Shibata, he immediately expressed his intentions to enter the G1 Climax, NJPW’s prestigious round-robin tournament.

It’s not much of a surprise that KENTA headed back to his homeland after he left WWE. However, it is shocking to see him in a New Japan ring. He made a name for himself as one of the original Pro Wrestling Noah stalwarts. For mainstream fans, this is sort of the equivalent of a big-name superstar making the jump from WCW to WWE in the 90s.

KENTA trained at All Japan Pro Wrestling’s dojo and made his debut for the promotion in 2000. He followed the acting president, Mitsuharu Misawa, when he notoriously left AJPW after disputes over control to start his own company, which would become Pro Wrestling Noah. The Japanese star spent the next 14 years with for the promotion, wrestling in both its junior and heavyweight division.

His time there, as well as his matches against Bryan Danielson for Ring of Honor, defined his career. He is so synonymous with the company that he made a one-off return to Noah in 2018 for Naomichi Marufuji’s 20th Anniversary show.

To put this in perspective, Japanese wrestlers are usually loyal to the promotion they started with. It’s rare to see someone jump from AJPW to NJPW, or in this case from Noah to NJPW. Not to mention, he debuted on the same day as Misawa’s memorial show.

In January of 2014, KENTA tried out for WWE at the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. He signed a contract with them that summer, and the rest is history. He debuted at NXT TakeOver: Fatal 4-Way, where he revealed his new ring name: Hideo Itami. At the time, this was considered a huge deal based on his work in Japan, his innovative moveset and his appearances for ROH.

Unfortunately, as Itami, he never truly reached the same heights that he did as KENTA. He was initially positioned in the NXT Title picture along with Finn Balor, but he suffered a serious shoulder injury that required surgery. Even more, complications with the injury kept him out a lot longer than expected. When he finally returned in 2016, he fell victim to a neck injury, which kept him out of action until April of 2017.

He made an impressive return to challenge Robert Roode – then Bobby – for the NXT Championship, but it seemed like he lost all the momentum he came to the developmental brand with. All of his peers, who signed around the same time as he did, had moved on to the main roster. It appeared as though Itami was spinning his wheel.

He had a standout match against Aleister Black at TakeOver: Brooklyn III, but his time with NXT ended with more thoughts of what could’ve been than anything else.

In December of 2017, Itami finally debuted on Raw. Then, he moved to 205 Live. The next year was kind of a blur. On one hand, he put on some of his best matches with the company with the likes of Akira Tozawa, Roderick Strong, The Lucha House Party, Ali, Cedric Alexander and Buddy Murphy. On the other, he still never became a champion or gained a significant win on a big stage such as WrestleMania.

In January, he requested his released and WWE granted it at the end of February. Judging by his heartfelt goodbye, he was still respected by his new peers, but his five year run with WWE was a massive disappointment. He clearly still has the in-ring ability and creativity that made him famous, but he never lived up to the hype he came to the US with.

His inevitable return to Japan felt almost tragic, even though it offered him the opportunity to end his career on a high note. That is until he shocked the wrestling as he entered Osaka-jo Hall flanked by his former tag team partner and best friend, Shibata. It felt symbolic and a little emotional, in a lot of ways.

Yes, it looked good for KENTA to receive a rub from a NJPW legend, but it felt like more than that given both men’s paths. It seemed more like Shibata understandably wished he could get back in the ring, but instead he offered his close friend something he needed; a new lease on life.

Moreover, the fact that KENTA wore a shirt with his friend’s old Takeover logo, emblazoned in a familiar black and yellow color scheme and ended the promo with Shibata’s trademark seated pose says it all. It reads as “please accept my good friend as my predecessor.”

As a result, KENTA looked more motivated and comfortable than he has in a long time. No matter how his run with New Japan goes from here, it’s great to see his commitment to sharing his unique style of wrestling with the world has been reignited.