Kenta Kobayashi

Kenta Kobayashi
KENTA on February 20, 2023
Born (1981-03-12) March 12, 1981 (age 45)
Sōka, Saitama, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Hideo Itami
KENTA
Kenta Kobayashi
Billed height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Billed weight84 kg (185 lb)
Trained byAJPW Dojo
Kenta Kobashi
Yoshihiro Takayama
DebutMay 24, 2000

Kenta Kobayashi (小林健太, Kobayashi Kenta; born March 12, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah where he wrestles under the ring name KENTA. He previously wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and has also wrestled in WWE under the ring name Hideo Itami.

He is best known for his 14-year tenure with Pro Wrestling Noah. During his time in Pro Wrestling Noah, Kobayashi is a former one-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight and one-time GHC Tag Team Champion. He also won the 2012 Global League and the 2013 Global Tag League tournaments. He was also one half of the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions twice; his first reign was the inaugural reign with his longtime tag partner and rival, Naomichi Marufuji, which saw the two hold the title for almost two years. His second reign was with his protégé, Taiji Ishimori. He first wrestled under his real name, but because of potential confusion with his mentor, Kenta Kobashi (in both English and Japanese), he decided to drop his surname and only use his given name. He also spells his ring name with Roman letters in all capitals.

WWE (2014-2019)

On January 27, 2014, he did a tryout at WWE's Performance Center in Orlando, Florida with Noah's blessing. In a press release, he said that he was not looking for a WWE contract but he only wanted to fulfill a dream that he had to take part in a WWE workout. On June 27, 2014, it was reported by Tokyo Sports that Kenta had signed with the WWE. During WWE's July 12, 2014 event in Osaka, they announced that they had signed Kenta during an in-ring segment with Hulk Hogan. He then started training at the Performance Center and working for WWE's developmental territory NXT.

He debuted at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4-Way on September 11, 2014. He was introduced by William Regal. During his debut, he announced that his new ring name would be Hideo Itami, meaning "Hero of Pain". He would then fend off The Ascension (Konnor and Viktor) after they interrupted the segment to confront Regal. Itami made his in-ring debut on the September 18 episode of NXT, defeating Justin Gabriel. After his match, he was attacked by The Ascension. He continued to fight The Ascension in brawls but ended up on the losing side because of the numbers advantage. On the November 6 episode, Itami revealed his tag partner as the debuting Finn Bálor.

On February 22, 2019, Kenta was released from the WWE. He called his time in WWE "the most frustrating days of my life".

Championships and accomlpishments

References

  1. ↑ "International Star at the WWE Performance Center". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  2. ↑ "KENTA Discusses Why He Was at the WWE Performance Center". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  3. ↑ "WWE signs Japanese star Kenta to NXT". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-12.
  4. ↑ "From gratitude to the griddle: Hideo Itami on NXT, IHOP and adjusting to life in America". WWE. Archived from the original on 2015-11-08. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  5. ↑ "Neville shocks, defies odds at NXT Takeover: Fatal 4 Way". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on 2015-01-11. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  6. ↑ "WWE NXT results - Sept. 18, 2014: Hideo Itami debuts, Titus O'Neil invades NXT". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  7. ↑ "WWE NXT results - Nov. 6, 2014: Finn Bálor debuts to help Hideo Itami demolish The Ascension". WWE. Archived from the original on 2014-11-14. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
  8. ↑ "Hideo Itami Released". WWE. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  9. ↑ "Q&A: NJPW's Kenta Reflects on 'Humiliation' of His Time in WWE". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2013". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  11. ↑ "2013年1月27日(日)". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-10-17. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  12. ↑ "GHC Junior Heavyweight Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  13. ↑ "GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  14. ↑ "GHC Tag Team Title history". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  15. ↑ "「グローバル・リーグ戦2012 最終戦」11月23日(祝・金)後楽園ホール大会 試合後コメント". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  16. ↑ "2013年4月28日(日)". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-10-11. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  17. ↑ "「グローバル・タッグリーグ戦2014」各賞発表". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  18. 1 2 "東京スポーツ プロレス大賞". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  19. ↑ "オカダが2年連続でプロレス大賞MVPを受賞！史上4人目の快挙だが、本人は「当たり前の結果」". Battle News (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  20. ↑ "東京スポーツ プロレス大賞". Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-07-10.

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