KONGOH (金剛 Kongō, translated to "Diamonds") was a professional wrestling stable primarily appearing in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH).
The group was formed by Atsushi Kotoge, Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, and Yoshiki Inamura on May 4, 2019, which they subsequently named KONGOH, with Kenoh being appointed the leader of the stable. The formation of the group came as a protest against NOAH's owner LIDET Entertainment. KONGOH also adopted its red color for the stable. Within two months, Kotoge left stable in July to return to NOAH's junior heavyweight division. Kenoh as the leader of the stable, established himself as one of NOAH's top wrestlers, winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship, the 2019 N-1 Victory and the GHC National Championship, while also headlining multiple NOAH pay-per-view events.
In December 2019, KONGOH produced its own event at the Shinkiba 1stRing as part of a storyline, where if the event could not achieve good attendance numbers, the stable would be forced to disband. At their own event, which sold out, the stable added two new members; Haoh and Nioh, representing the stable in NOAH's junior heavyweight division. Shortly after, KONGOH started a rivalry with the Sugiura-gun stable, during which KONGOH was joined by several new members; Manabu Soya, Tadasuke, and Katsuhiko Nakajima, who quickly won the 2020 N-1 Victory and brought the GHC Tag Team Championship to the stable alongside Kitamiya, before the latter left KONGOH in May 2021. Other accomplishments attained by the stable include Nakajima winning the 2021 N-1 Victory and holding the GHC Heavyweight Championship. At the end of 2021, KONGOH held all of NOAH's Heavyweight championships; the GHC National and GHC Heavyweight Championships simultaneously and the GHC Tag Team Championship. They disbanded on June 24, 2023, at Kenoh 15th Anniversary Show, after Kenoh decided to disband the stable.
History[]
Formation and feud with Kaito Kiyomiya (2019)[]
On March 10 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Kaito Kiyomiya asked Kenoh to be his partner for the upcoming Global Tag League, which he accepted, declaring a united front to create a new scene for Noah, dubbing their team "KAIOH". In April, Kiyomiya and Kenoh took part in the 2019 Global Tag League, failing to win the tournament, after losing to Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue in their last round-robin match on April 30. Afterwards, Kenoh who was jealous of Kiyomiya disbanded their team, accusing his partner of being a company-made star whose strings were pulled by then NOAH-owner, LIDET Entertainment. On May 2, Kenoh and Masao Inoue defeated The Tough (Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura). After the match, Kenoh stared at both Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura saying that they "had hungry eyes". On May 4, Kenoh and Kitamiya lost to Kiyomiya and Maybach Taniguchi to end their short feud. Following the match, Atsushi Kotoge and Inamura joined Kenoh and Kitamiya and formed "KONGOH" (translated to "Diamonds") as a protest against NOAH's owner LIDET Entertainment. The stable made his debut match on May 11 losing to Kiyomiya, Minoru Tanaka and Hi69. On July 27, Kotoge announced he was leaving the stable, in order to make his return to Noah's junior heavyweight division.
From August 18 until September 10, Kenoh and Kitamiya took part in the 2019 N-1 Victory, wrestling in separate blocks. Kitamiya finished third in his block, while Kenoh won his block with a record of three wins and one loss, advancing to the finals of the tournament. During the tournament, Kenoh began feuding with Takashi Sugiura and his Sugiura-gun stable, with Kenoh later accusing Sugiura to be a "company dog", which also escalated to a Twitter feud, leading Sugiura to make a t-shirt of a dog to mock him. On September 16, Kenoh defeated Takashi Sugiura in the finals to win the 2019 N-1 Victory. On October 3, it was announced that KONGOH would promote their first event on December 24 at Shinkiba 1stRing. NOAH's owner LIDET Entertainment warned that if the event did not sell out, KONGOH would be forced to disband and Kenoh would have to leave the promotion. Fortunately, for KONGOH the tickets for the event were sold out by November 18, with Kenoh accusing LIDET of "power harassment". On November 2 at Noah the Best 2019, Kenoh unsucessfully challenged Kaito Kiyomiya for the GHC Heavyweight Championship in the main event of the show.
Feud with Sugiura-gun (2019–2021)[]
Later that month, Kitamitya began feuding with Sugiura-gun's leader Takashi Sugiura, after Kitamiya challenged Sugiura to a match for the GHC National Championship. On December 3, KONGOH faced Sugiura-gun members Kazuyuki Fujita, Hideki Suzuki, and Takashi Sugiura in a losing effort. Afterwards, Sugiura mocked them, calling them "weak". Leading to KONGOH's produced event, Kenoh teased that the stable would be joined by two new members. On December 14, KONGOH produced its own event at Shinkiba 1stRing, which was sold out. During the event, KONGOH was joined by Hi69 and Yuki Sato, who had previously been teased by Kenoh. The duo would rename themselves to Nioh and Haoh, respectively as part of their addition to the stable. On December 27, during Sugiura-gun's produced event, KONGOH established themselves heels attacking and bloodying Takashi Sugiura, as well as the rest of the members of Sugiura-gun. Afterwards, Kenoh challenged Sugiura-gun to a match, leading KONGOH to lose the match against Sugiura-gun in their produced event. On January 4, 2020, at New Sunrise, Kenoh and Inamura faced the Sugiura-gun duo of Hideki Suzuki and Kinya Okada in a winning effort. Afterwards, Suzuki attacked Kenoh. Later that night, Kitamiya unsuccessfully challenged Takashi Sugiura for the GHC National Championship. The following day at Reboot, Haoh and Nioh faced the Sugiura-gun duo of Okada and Hajime Ohara in a winning effort. Afterwards, Haoh and Nioh were attacked by two masked wrestlers, who revealed themselves to be Nosawa Rongai and Sugiura-gun newest member Dick Togo. On March 29, Kenoh teased in a pre-tapped vignette that a new member would join the stable on April 19. Later that month, both Haoh and Nioh took part in the 2020 Global Junior League wrestling in separate round-robin blocks. Both Haoh and Nioh failed to advance from their respective blocks, with Haoh finishing last in his block of four and Nioh finishing in third in his block of four. In April, Kenoh, and Kitamiya took part in the 2020 Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and one loss, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament, due to losing to El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree in their head-to-head match. On April 19, Manabu Soya was revealed as the newest member, which had previously been teased by Kenoh. On May 3, the members of KONGOH and Sugiura-gun faced each other in various matches between them, before facing each other in a twelve-man elimination tag team match, which KONGOH won, ending their feud with Sugiura-gun.
As part of CyberAgent's acquisition of Noah, KONGOH made their debut for DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT) on May 30, at DDT TV Show, with Kenoh calling out DDT's and Noah's President Sanshiro Takagi, due to his resentment towards him for also being the President of Pro Wrestling Noah. This led to Takagi challenging Kenoh to a match, between KONGOH and DDT. On June 6, on the first night of the Wrestle Peter Pan, Kenoh, Kitamiya, and Hao defeated Takagi, Kazusada Higuchi, and Tomomitsu Matsunaga. Later that month, all members of KONGOH, except for Kenoh, took part in the All Four Sides, a tournament to determine the next challenger to the GHC National Championship. In the finals, on June 20, Soya defeated Kitamiya, to become the number one contender to the GHC National Championship. The following day, Soya unsuccessfully challenged Katsuhiko Nakajima for the GHC National Championship. On July 24, KONGOH produced its second event, Diamond 2 at Korakuen Hall, with Kenoh facing Haoh in a winning effort at the main event. In the buit-up to Diamond 2, Kenoh and LIDET Entertainment settled their rivalry, with Kenoh acknowledging their kindness to NOAH, after saving them from collapse, due to the financial losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 4, on the first night of Departure, Kenoh defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima to win GHC National Championship. The following day, on the second night of Departure, after Go Shiozaki successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship, Kenoh challenged Shiozaki to a double-title match for the GHC National and Heavyweight Championships, stating that there could only be one strong champion in Noah. On August 10 at NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 3, Kenoh faced Go Shiozaki in a 60-minute time limit draw to retain the GHC National Championship and unsuccessfully challenging Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On August 22, Tadasuke faced his former RATEL'S stablemate Daisuke Harada in a losing effort, after Nioh and Haoh attacked Harada, joining KONGOH in the process. Eight days later, Kenoh on behalf of Kitamiya and Soya challenged Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura) to a title match for GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Katsuhiko Nakajima turned on Go Shiozaki to disband AXIS and defect to KONGOH. From September 18 and October 11, five members of KONGOH took part in the 2020 N-1 Victory with Kitamiya and Soya wrestling in block A and Inamura, Kenoh and Nakajima in block B. Kitamiya and Soya finished tied sixth in their block of six and Kenoh finishing third, and Inamura sixth in their block. Kenoh entered the final day with a chance to reach the finals, but a loss against Takashi Sugiura eliminated him from the tournament. Meanwhile, Nakajima won his block with a record of four wins, and one loss, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On October 11, Nakajima defeated Kaito Kiyomiya in the finals to win the 2020 N-1 Victory. On October 22, Kenoh, Nakajima and Inamura were defeated by Kaito Kiyomiya, Shuhei Taniguchi, and Go Shiozaki in a six-man tag team match. Afterwards, Inamura decided to leave KONGOH in order to join Kioymiya's team. On November 23 at NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 4, Kenoh successfully defended the GHC National Championship against Kaito Kiyomiya. In the main event, Nakajima unsuccessfully challenged Go Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On December 26, KONGOH produced its second event, Diamond 3 at Korakuen Hall, with Kenoh and his mentor Jinsei Shinzaki facing Daiki Inaba and Kaito Kiyomiya in a winning effort at the main event.
On March 7, 2021, at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Kitamiya and Nakajima defeated Sugiura-gun's Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. On March 21, Kenoh lost the GHC National Championship to Kazuyuki Fujita, ending his reign at 229 days and six successful title defenses. On April 18, Noah announced that Kenoh, Haoh, Tadasuke and Soya had tested positive for COVID-19, but only Kenoh recovered on May 2.
Championship pursuits and various departures (2021–2023)[]
On May 31, following a GHC Tag Team Championship title defense, Kitamiya turned on Nakajima, leaving KONGOH due to his hatred towards Nakajima. This led to Noah announcing a steel cage Lucha de Apuestas, hair vs. hair match on June 26. At Cage War, Nakajima would lose to Kitamiya, forcing Nakajima to shave his hair as per the stipulation. Despite their breakup, Nakajima and Kitamiya were recognized as GHC Tag Team Champions, until on June 30, Nakajima and Kitamiya decided to face each other for the vacant, with Nakajima teaming with Soya and Kitamiya with Kaito Kiyomiya. On July 11, Tadasuke announced that a new member would be joining the stable. On July 22, Nakajima and Soya were defeated by Kitamiya and Kaito Kiyomiya for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. The following day, Aleja was revealed to be the stable's newest member.
Later that month, KONGOH took part in the NOAH Jr. Team Game, with Aleja, Haoh, Nioh and Tadasuke defeating Los Perros del Mal de Japón (Ikuto Hidaka, Kotaro Suzuki, Nosawa Rongai and YO-HEY) in the semifinals, and Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, and Junta Miyawaki in the finals to win the tournament. In September, three members of KONGOH took part in the 2021 N-1 Victory, with Kenoh, Nakajima and Soya wrestling in separate round-robin blocks. Soya finished last in his block, losing all of his qualifying matches. Meanwhile, Kenoh and Nakajima won their respective block with a record of two wins and one loss, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On October 3, Kenoh and Nakajima won their semifinal matches, defeating Kaito Kiyomiya and Masakatsu Funaki, respectively. Later that night, Nakajima defeated Kenoh in the finals to win the 2021 N-1 Victory for the second consecutive year, earning a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On October 7, KONGOH made their debut for Dragon Gate (DG), with Kenoh and Haoh challenging Natural Vibes' (King Shimizu and Susumu Yokosuka) into a title match for the Open The Twin Gate Championship. Afterwards, Haoh was attacked by Yokosuka, before Natural Vibes accepted their challenge. Three days later, Nakajima defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On November 3 at Dragon Gate's Gate of Destiny, Kenoh and Haoh unsuccessfully challenged King Shimizu and Susumu Yokosuka for the Open The Twin Gate Championship. On November 13, Kenoh defeated Masaaki Mochizuki to win the GHC National Championship, meaning that KONGOH held both Noah's singles championships. Following the match, Kenoh challenged Nakajima to a double title-match for the GHC Heavyweight and GHC National Championships on November 28 at Noah the Best. At the event, Kenoh faced Nakajima in a 60-minute time limit draw to retain the GHC National Championship and unsuccessfully challenging Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.
On January 1, 2022, at NOAH The New Year, Kenoh successfully defended the GHC National Champioship against Kaito Kiyomiya. In the main event, Nakajima's successful defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Go Shiozaki marked a clean sweep for KONGOH, who left NOAH The New Year holding both NOAH's singles championships. Later that month, Aleja, Haoh, Nioh and Tadasuke represented KONGOH on NOAH's junior heavyweight's sub-brand N Innovation's U-Cup tournament, finishing with a record of two wins, one draw and two losses, advancing to finals of the tournament. On Janaury 7, Aleja, Haoh, Nioh and Tadasuke were defeated by Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara and Junta Miyawaki in the finals of the U-Cup. The following day, as part of an "inter-promotional" rivalry between NOAH and NJPW, KONGOH made their debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), losing to Los Ingobernables de Japón in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 16. On January 16 at Bumper Crop In Sendai, following a loss in a six-man tag team match, Haoh began distancing him from the other members of KONGOH. Later that night, Haoh quit the stable and defected to the NOAH juniors. Afterwards, in an interview, Kenoh had stated that anyone asking for help in KONGOH would get the response "please quit". On January 22, Kenoh lost the GHC National Championship to Masakatsu Funaki. Afterwards, Funaki asked Kenoh to join the stable, which he accepted, becoming KONGOH's newest member. On February 17, after disliking YO-HEY addition's to NOAH Juniors, Hajime Ohara decided to defect to KONGOH, replacing Haoh as the newest member of the stable. On February 23 at Gain Control In Nagoya, Nakajima lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Kazuyuki Fujita. Two days later, Aleja, who had recently shown compassion towards Kai Fujimura, decided to turn on Tadasuke, before becoming KONGOH's second member to defect to NOAH Juniors. On April 8, Shuji Kondo was announced as the newest member of the stable. On April 29 at Majestic, Nioh was by Haoh in a Lucha de Apuestas, hair and name vs. hair and name match, and as a result, he was forced to shave his hair and revert to his previous ring name Hi69. However, KONGOH got their revenge on June 23, when Tadasuke defeated Haoh in a match, where the loser would be forced to leave NOAH.
On July 16 at Destination, Kenoh defeated Satoshi Kojima to win the GHC Heavywight Championship. In August, three members of the KONGOH took part in the 2022 N-1 Victory with Kenoh wrestling in block A and Funaki and Nakajima in block B. All three failed to advance from their blocks with Funaki being victorious over Nakajima in their head-to-head match. On September 25 at Grand Ship In Nagoya, Kenoh lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Kaito Kiyomiya. On November 10 at Global Honored Crown, Kondo and Ohara defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Seiki Yoshioka to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Later that night, Funaki lost the GHC National Championship to El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. On November 23 at Noah the Best, Kondo and Ohara lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship back to Kotoge and Yoshioka.
On January 4, 2023, at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Tokyo Dome, KONGOH made their return to NJPW, reigniting their feud with Los Ingobernables de Japón, with Kenoh challenging them to a singles matches series to determine which unit was the strongest. On January 21 at Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena, KONGOH were defeated by L.I.J. in the match series, losing to an aggregate score of 3–2, with Kenoh losing in the main event to Tetsuya Naito. On March 17 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, after a eight-man tag team match, Kondo confronted Tadasuke, after he had accidentally attacked during the match. Afterwards, YO-HEY came into the ring and attacked Kondo, Ohara and Hi69, before extending his to Tadasuke, who took it, leaving KONGOH. Later that night, KONGOH began feuding with Good Looking Guys (GLG), withom Tadasuke deffected alongside YO-HEY, after Nakajima challenged new GHC Heavyweight Champion Jake Lee to a title match. On March 21, at a AJPW event, Kenoh and Soya defeated Naoya Nomura and Yuma Aoyagi to win All Japan Pro Wrestling's World Tag Team Championships. On March 25, KONGOH defeated Good Looking Guys in a Two-out-of-three falls six man tag team match, with Kenoh securring the win over former stable member Tadasuke. Afterwards, Kenoh demanded that their match on March 27, to be changed to a Captain's Fall match, where Hi69 would be KONGOH's captain and GLG's captain would be Tadasuke. On March 27, KONGOH was defeated by GLG in the Captain's Fall match. On April 4 at Dragon Gate's Buyuden Zero, Kenoh and Kondo defeated Big Time (Kzy and Big Boss Shimizu) to win the Open The Twin Gate Championship. On April 16 at Green Journey in Sendai, Nakajima unsuccessfully challenged Jake Lee for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, ending KONGOH's feud with GLG. On April 29, Kenoh was attacked by AJPW's Voodoo Murders leader Suwama, before challenging him and Soya to a title match for the World Tag Team Championship.
Disbanding (2023)[]
On May 4 at Majestic, Nakajima decided to leave KONGOH, to reform AXIZ with Go Shiozaki. On May 21, Kenoh and Soya successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Suwama and KONO. Afterwards, Suwama demanded a rematch in AJPW. On May 29, at a AJPW event, Kenoh and Soya successfully defended the World Tag Team Championship against Suwama and Rei Saito. Two days later, Hi69 announced that he was leaving KONGOH, reducing the stable down to five members. On June 2, Kenoh and Kondo lost the Open The Twin Gate Champions to M3K (Susumu Mochizuki and Yasushi Kanda). On June 15, Kenoh and Soya lost the World Tag Team Championship to Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi. On June 24, at Kenoh 15th Anniversary Show, KONGOH faced Naomichi Marufuji, Masato Tanaka, Kazushi Sakuraba, AMAKUSA and Alejandro in a winning effort. Afterwards, Kenoh decided to disband the stable, having informed the members of the stable of the decision beforehand.
Reception[]
Ever since its creation, the stable has been well received among fans and critics, with Kenoh's paranoia with NOAH's owner LIDER Entertainment, being remarked as of "one the brightest memories of NOAH's recent history". KONGOH has self-produced four events, with the first being held on the December 14, 2019 at Shinkiba 1stRing, and the second and third events on July 24 and December 26, 2020, a space of six months, which far outstriped any other stable in NOAH, serving as a testament to KONGOH's popularity.
Members[]
| * | Founding member |
|---|---|
| I | Leader |
| Member | Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Aleja | July 23, 2021–February 25, 2022 | |
| Atsushi Kotoge | * | May 4, 2019–July 27, 2019 |
| Hajime Ohara | February 17, 2022–June 24, 2023 | |
| Haoh | December 14, 2019–January 16, 2022 | |
| Kenoh | *I | May 4, 2019–June 24, 2023 |
| Katsuhiko Nakajima | August 30, 2020–May 4, 2023 | |
| Manabu Soya | April 19, 2020–June 24, 2023 | |
| Masa Kitamiya | * | May 4, 2019–May 31, 2021 |
| Masakatsu Funaki | January 22, 2022–June 24, 2023 | |
| Nioh / Hi69 | December 14, 2019–May 31, 2023 | |
| Shuji Kondo | April 8, 2022–June 24, 2023 | |
| Tadasuke | August 22, 2020–March 17, 2023 | |
| Yoshiki Inamura | * | May 4, 2019–October 28, 2020 |
Sub-groups[]
| Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type | Promotion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KenOhara | Kenoh Hajime Ohara |
2022–2023 | Tag team | Noah |
| The Tough | Masa Kitamiya Yoshiki Inamura |
2019–2020 | Tag team | Noah |
| The Aggression | Katsuhiko Nakajima Masa Kitamiya |
2020-2021 | Tag team | Noah |
- Associates
| Member | First appearance | Last appearance | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jinsei Shinzaki | December 26, 2020 | ||
Timeline[]
Championships and accomplishments[]
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Kenoh and Soya
- Dragon Gate
- Open The Twin Gate Championship (1 time) – Kenoh and Kondo
- Pro Wrestling Noah
- GHC Heavyweight Championship (2 times) – Nakajima (1) and Kenoh (1)
- GHC National Championship (3 times) – Kenoh (2) and Funaki (1)
- GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Kitamiya and Nakajima
- GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – Ohara and Kondo
- All Four Sides (2020) – Soya
- N-1 Victory (2019) – Kenoh
- N-1 Victory (2020, 2021) – Nakajima
- NOAH Jr. Team Game (2021) – Aleja, Haoh, Nioh and Tadasuke
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- 4½ Star Match (2022) KONGOH vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón on January 8
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