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Kaito Kiyomiya (清宮海斗, Kiyomiya Kaito, born July 17, 1996) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Pro Wrestling NOAH[1], where he is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion in his first reign, while also being a former one-time GHC Tag Team Champion and the winner of 2018 Global Tag League alongside Go Shiozaki. He is the youngest GHC Heavyweight and Tag Team Champion in history, having won both titles at 22 years.

Kiyomiya was trained by Noah dojo and made his debut in December 2015. Kiyomiya worked as a rookie on the mid-card. He then went on an excursion to Canada being trained by Scott D' Amore and returned to the promotion in December 2017. Kiyomiya then receives an opportunity for NOAH's premier title, the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but failed to win it in January. After that, he would receive a significant push as Go Shiozaki's new tag team partner. The two would later in the 2018 Global Tag League and the GHC Tag Team Championship in April but lost it at end of May. In November, Kiyomiya won NOAH's premier tournament, the Global League. At the end of the year, the Tokyo Sports magazine awarded Kiyomiya the 2018 Fighting Spirit in all of Japanese professional wrestling. Shortly after, Kiyomiya would win the GHC Heavyweight Championship in December. Kiyomiya became the youngest GHC Heavyweight and Tag Team Champion in history, at 22 years old.

Early life

Kiyomiya grew up a lifelong fan of professional wrestling, citing Mitsuharu Misawa as his biggest inspiration. Kiyomiya wears green trunks as a tribute to Misawa.[2]

Professional wrestling career

Pro Wrestling NOAH (2015–2017)

Kiyomiya began training at the Pro Wrestling NOAH Dojo in March 2015[1] and made his debut on December 9, losing to Hitoshi Kumano at Winter Navigation.[3] Kiyomiya faced Kumano again the next day, losing once again.[4] Kiyomiya would go winless throughout the rest of 2015, losing to Taiji Ishimori,[5] Quiet Storm,[6] Genba Hirayanagi[7] and Yoshinari Ogawa.[8][9] He teamed with Yoshihiro Takayama at Destiny 2015 in a losing effort against Ogawa and Kumano.[10]

Kiyomiya would remain winless until March 17, when he teamed with Mitsuhiro Kitamiya and Hitoshi Kumano to defeat Kyu Mogami, Ayato Yoshida and GO Asakawa at a TAKA and Taichi Produce show for his first professional win. On that same show, Kiyomiya participated in a battle royal, which was eventually won by Takashi Iizuka.[11] On March 27 at We Are Suzuki-Gun 2, Kiyomiya teamed with Hitoshi Kumano to defeat NJPW's Teruaki Kanemitsu and Hirai Kawato.[12] On May 19, Kiyomiya debuted for NJPW at Lion's Gate Project 2, defeating Kawato once again, this time in a singles match.[13] The first big win of Kiyomiya's career would come at We Are Suzuki-Gun 3 on June 18, where he outlasted Taiji Ishimori, Quiet Storm, Akitoshi Saito, Muhammad Yone, Andy Dalton, Eclipse, Hiroyo Matsumoto, Hitoshi Kumano, Ryo Kawamura, Shiro Tomoyose and Yoshinari Ogawa to win Minoru Suzuki's 48th Birthday Anniversary Royal Rumble Match, awarding him the right to a match against Suzuki.[14] The two wrestled to a no-contest on July 16.[15] Kiyomiya debuted for the Kaientai Dojo promotion on July 23, teaming with GO Asakawa in a loss to Taishi Takizawa and Kotaro Yoshino.[16] Kiyomiya teamed with the ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH, Naomichi Marufuji on August 24, defeating Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Sugiura.[17] Kiyomiya wrestled again for NJPW on September 1 at Lion's Gate Project 3, representing NOAH alongside Masa Kitamiya, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Maybach Taniguchi, and Go Shiozaki in a ten-man tag team match where they were defeated by NJPW's Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi and Katsuyori Shibata.[18] Kiyomiya again competed for K-DOJO on October 1, teaming with GO Asakawa and Dinosaur Takuma in a loss to Saburo Inematsu, Daigoro Kashiwa and Kotaro Nasu.[19] Kiyomiya was defeated in a rematch against Minoru Suzuki on October 23.[20] Kiyomiya entered the 2016 Global League Tournament, finishing last in his block with zero wins and zero points.[21]

On January 9, 2017, Coming of Age Day in Japan, Kiyomiya unsuccessfully faced Takashi Sugiura in a singles match, however, afterwards, Sugiura, impressed with Kiyomiya, offered him a handshake and the chance to form an alliance. Kiyomiya accepted, stating that he is ready to take the next step in his career, aligning himself with Sugiura and turning heel in the process.[22] The following day, Kiyomiya debuted a new all black ring attire along with a more vicious ring style and ruthless attitude in a loss to Hi69.[23] Kiyomiya, now a fully fledged heel teamed with Sugiura on February 24 to defeat GHC Tag Team Champions Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya after Kenoh turned on Kitamiya to align himself with Sugiura and Kiyomiya.[24] Kiyomiya teamed up with Takuya Nomura in the 2017 Global Tag League spanning from April 22 to May 4. Kiyomiya and Nomura finished with four points defeating Robbie E and Bram by forfeit as well as getting a pin on Cody Hall and Randy Reign on the final day of the league to prevent Hall and Reign from entering a three-way tie for first place.[25] On May 4, the day of the final, Kiyomiya was pinned by Nomura and refused a handshake following the match.[26] On June 5 it was announced by Noah that Kiyomiya would be going to Canada on a learning excursion where he will train under Scott D'Amore. His final match in Noah before exiting for his excursion was set for the Great Voyage In Fukushima show on June 25 where he would face Kenoh.[27] which he lost.

North America excursion (2017)

Kiyomiya would go on a excursion and began training under Scott D'Amore even debuted in Canadian promotions such as Border City Wrestling, Pure Association Wrestling and most notably Canadian Wrestling's Elite and Smash Wrestling. He also debuted in Impact Wrestling in during their tapings as part of the working relationship between Impact and Pro Wrestling NOAH. In Impact Wrestling Kiyomiya was used as a jobber losing to the lights of Eddie Edwards, Kongo Kong and KM, but the footage of that taping was never published. He stayed in Canada for five months until December 2, working for a Pure Association Wrestling show, which turned out to be his last match in Canada.

Return to Pro Wrestling NOAH (2017–Present)

Teaming with Go Shiozaki (2017–2018)

Kiyomiya returned from his excursion on December 22, confronting and challenging Kenoh after he had defeated Eddie Edwards to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship.[28] Afterwards, it was announced that Kiyomiya would receive a title shot against Kenoh on January 6, 2018. Where he to win the title, Kiyomiya would become the youngest GHC Heavyweight Champion in history.[29] Before the title match, NOAH announced that Kiyomiya had gained 15 kg (33 lb) of muscle to increase his overall weight from 85 kg (187 lb) to 100 kg (220 lb). On January 6 Kiyomiya was defeated by Kenoh in the title match after the referee stopped the match. Afterwards, after regaining consciousness Kiyomiya went after Kenoh. However, Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura turned on Kiyomiya ending their alliance, turning face in the process. Kiyomiya then walked out with Go Shiozaki and the two formed a new partnership, later dubbed as "GO-KAI". Kiyomiya claimed his first win after his return on January 15 defeating Andrew Everett. After that, he would receive a significant push as Shiozaki's new tag team partner. From March until April, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki took part of the Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with three wins, one loss and three draws, advancing to the finals. In the finals, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated Kenoh and Sugiura to win the tournament.

On April 29 at Great Voyage in Niigata, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated The Aggression (Masa Kitamiya and Katsuhiko Nakajima) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles back to The Aggression on May 29. Shortly after, Kiyomiya would later be involved in a short feud between the younger generation dubbed as the "Super New Generation Army" against the older generation, which led to Kiyomiya and Kenoh unsuccessfully challenging Akitoshi Saito and Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Tag Team Championship on September 9.

GHC Heavyweight Champion (2018-Present)

In November, Kiyomiya took part of the Global League, where he won his block with a record of four wins and three losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. During the tournament, Kiyomiya picked up a major win over reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Takashi Sugiura. On November 25, Kiyomiya defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima in the finals to win the 2018 Global League and earn a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Kiyomiya received his title shot on December 16 at Great Voyage in Yokohama vol.2, defeating Takashi Sugiura to become the youngest GHC Heavyweight Champion in history at 22 years old. Afterwards, Kioymiya was challenged by Kenoh to a title match, which was settled to be on January 6, 2019, marking one year since Kiyomiya return to NOAH from his excursion, leading Kiyomiya defeating Kenoh to make his first successful title. Afterwards Kiyomiya was challenged by Atsushi Kotoge and Masa Kitamya to a title match. He would make his second successfull title defense against Kitamiya who had previously defeated Kotoge. Naomichi Marufuji would challenge Kiomiya for a match for his title.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
    • King's Road (Bridging Tiger Suplex)
    • Japanese Leg Roll Hold
    • Inverted facelock backbreaker followed by a inverted snap DDT
  • Signature moves
    • Bridging German Suplex
    • Boston Crab
    • Cobra twist
    • Double underhook facebuster
    • Lifting inverted DDT form the top rope
    • Lariat
    • Multiple dropkick variations
      • Missle
      • Standing
    • Powerslam
    • Snap scoop powerslam
    • Standing elbow drop
    • Uppercut
    • Running elbow strike
  • Nicknames
    • "Next Generation Ace"
    • "Nova"
  • Entrance themes
    • "KAITO" (2016–2018)
    • "Explosion Soul" (2018–Present)

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named noah.co.jp
  2. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named puroresuspirit.net
  3. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  4. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  5. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  6. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  7. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  8. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  9. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  10. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  11. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  12. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  13. Kreikenbohm, Philip. NJPW Lion's Gate Project2 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database .
  14. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  15. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  16. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  17. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  18. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  19. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  20. Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
  21. Kreikenbohm, Philip. Global League 2016 « Tournaments Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database .
  22. http://puroresuspirit.net/2017/01/noah-results-for-january-9-2017/
  23. http://puroresuspirit.net/2017/01/noah-results-for-january-11-2017/
  24. https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=169676
  25. プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE (in ja).
  26. プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE (in ja).
  27. すべての壁をブチ壊す(清宮) 海外遠征決定!清宮海斗選手記者会見の模様【遠征期間中は欠場となります。ご理解賜りたく重ねてお願い申し上げます。】 (in ja).
  28. ノア・拳王がGHC初戴冠!サプライズ凱旋の清宮が挑戦名乗り (in Japanese). Daily Sports Online (2017-12-23).
  29. 【ノア】新星・清宮がGHC王座挑戦 最年少戴冠だ (in Japanese). Tokyo Sports (2017-12-26).
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