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After his surprise appearance on AEW Dynamite, KENTA is the most talked-about pro wrestler at the moment. The Bullet Club star stunned the world when he attacked Jon Moxley and closed the show with a Go 2 Sleep on the reigning IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
Earlier in the week, KENTA took to Twitter and asked how far Jacksonville is from Orlando. Fans responded to this by claiming that the Bullet Club star is trying to work them and not being serious about appearing on Dynamite after teasing for several weeks.
However, that wasn't the case, and KENTA finally made his presence known in AEW this week. The #1 contender for the IWGP US Championship finally got back at Moxley after The Death Rider attacked his challenger and the rest of the Bullet Club on a recent episode of NJPW Strong.
With KENTA being the hot topic of the pro wrestling world right now, here are five things that you didn't know about the former WWE Superstar.
#5. KENTA is good friends with WWE's Peyton Royce and Billie Kay
During his tenure in WWE, KENTA made quite a few friends and had a healthy relationship with most of his colleagues. However, it was his friendship off-screen with The IIconics that stood out the most. The former WWE Women's Tag Team Champions were seen accompanying KENTA while traveling, and the trio had some incredible, humorous chemistry together.
Both Peyton and Billie have also been known for purposely annoying KENTA, and here is one of those instances:
After his WWE departure in 2019, KENTA has also used his underrated humor to mock both Peyton Royce and Billie Kay. And this is just another recent example of it.
Following KENTA's WWE departure, he signed with NJPW and has been dominant for the promotion since then. The former WWE Superstar is already a one-time NEVER Openweight Champion and could be on course to winning the IWGP United States Champion from Jon Moxley later this month.
#4. KENTA has competed against some of the most notable faces WWE Superstars but outside of the company
Along with his work in Pro Wrestling NOAH, KENTA was also eligible to work in the United States of America. During one of his initial runs in the US, KENTA had a huge influence in Ring of Honor. The former GHC Heavyweight Champion shared the squared circle with some of the best wrestlers from the business, a few of whom are currently in WWE.
One of the most iconic KENTA matches from ROH is his three-way showdown with Samoa Joe and Bryan Danielson, AKA Daniel Bryan. The current Bullet Club star initially teamed up with Naomichi Marufuji to beat the duo of Joe and Danielson when KENTA hit the Go 2 Sleep on the former ROH World Champion. This led to the three-way match, and eventually, the match between KENTA, Danielson, and Joe ended in a similar fashion.
KENTA also had a match with current WWE commentator and former ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness. The former went on to team up with Tyler Black, AKA Seth Rollins, and had a tag team showdown with Katsuhiko Nakajima and Austin Aries.
#3. KENTA is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion
During the early stages of his career, KENTA started competing under the Pro Wrestling NOAH banner, shortly after his run with All Japan Pro Wrestling. KENTA found a massive amount of success in NOAH.
He started as a junior heavyweight in the company and competed in the division for almost eight years. During his time as a junior, KENTA won the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship on three different occasions and the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships three different times.
His tag title reigns were against different tag team partners in the form of Naomichi Marufuji, his current Bullet Club stablemate Taiji Ishimori, and Suzuki Gun rival Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
After a very successful run as a junior heavyweight, KENTA finally decided to move up to the heavyweight division. His run at heavyweight was completed with a near-perfect GHC Heavyweight Title reign. In 2013, at Great Voyage, KENTA won his one and only GHC Heavyweight Title by defeating Takeshi Morishima.
He held the title for almost a year and lost the belt back to Morishima in what would be KENTA's 10th defense of the GHC Heavyweight Title.
#2. KENTA was not always a Bullet Club member in NJPW
When KENTA first arrived in New Japan Pro Wrestling from WWE, he was accompanied by his long-term tag team partner Katsuyori Shibata. Starting as a babyface, KENTA got off to a good start in his new promotion, only to turn his back on Shibata and the fans.
On the final night of the G1 Climax 2019, KENTA betrayed his tag team partners Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI and joined the Bullet Club. Competing in a six-man tag team match, KENTA was welcomed to the Bullet Club with open arms by faction OGs Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale, and the third member in Tanga Loa.
As part of the Bullet Club, KENTA established himself as one of the primary heels in NJPW. The former WWE Superstar won his first title with the promotion, in the form of the NEVER Openweight Championship, which KENTA captured in the UK with help from The Guerrillas of Destiny.
He also made his mark post-Wrestle Kingdom 14 when Tetsuya Naito won the double gold at the Tokyo Dome.
#1. KENTA never won a championship in WWE
KENTA first came into the WWE with all the hype in the world behind him. The former GHC Heavyweight Champion joined the NXT brand, and much like his start in NJPW, KENTA got off to a red hot start.
Working as Hideo Itami in WWE, KENTA had a formidable run in NXT. However, the former Pro Wrestling NOAH sensation could've done a lot more if it wasn't for his constant injury issues. In 2015, KENTA was scheduled to face Finn Balor and Tyler Breeze at NXT TakeOver: Unstoppable but was ruled out due to a shoulder injury.
With the former Hideo Itami being nowhere near returning to in-ring action, KENTA was forced to take a step back, as he sat on the sidelines for over a year. Shortly afterward, KENTA suffered yet another injury, this time to his neck after a botched power slam from Riddick Moss. The former GHC Heavyweight Champion did end up challenging Bobby Roode for the NXT Championship in 2017 but never got his hands on the title.
As he moved up to the main roster, KENTA started working on 205 Live as a Cruiserweight. The former Hideo Itami never won the WWE Cruiserweight Championship either and eventually left the company in February 2019.
