(NOAH) 150 people at debut?! Praise from Kobashi! Winning Global League! Kaito Kiyomiya special feature!

Boku Pro
3rd December 2018

Debuted 3 years and 1 month, 2nd GHC Heavyweight Challenge!

I wonder how stars vary?
As readers will know, there is already gossip about famous professional wrestlers and martial arts fighters before their debut. Kenoh was featured in the previous column where it was reported to the local newspaper that at the age of two he was already watching the karate in the dojo, Atsushi Onita, at fifteen, was aiming to walk Japan on foot according to "Sports Nippon" (although in the case of Onita, he seems to have told this to the paper himself, so the circumstances may be different. Even so, no matter the details, this is Onita's story).
Well, recently too, I had the opportunity to touch on that strong impression. The following is an article from "Asahi Shimbun" (Saitama) from February 27th 2005.

"Saitama City's Museum of Space and Science in Urawa Ward has opened. The "Fish below the Equator" exhibition is crowded with many children. The Experience Classes where they can actually touch the live crabs, has been a great success. Kaito Kiyomiya (8) of Minami Urawa 2-chome, Minami-ku, Shinagawa-ku said, "I touched one for the first time, I was surprised as although the shell was stiff, the limbs were soft".

If you are a fan of Noah, you will know that Kaito Kiyomiya did not attract much attention at the time of his debut. When this article was written thirteen years ago, there were many other children, but nevertheless, it was him. It feels like a lucky birth.

On the 25th November, Kiyomiya conquered "Global League 2018", his debut only being two years and eleven months ago. In addition, at Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on Sunday December 16th, he will challenge Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. The brilliance is growing.

In this column, I want to greatly dissect the Noah born Kaito Kiyomiya.

NEW STUDENT MAKES DEBUT IN A NEW ERA

His place of birth is given above. He had been a professional wrestler from a young age, belonging to the soccer club until Junior High, and then from High School he planned to train in the sports club. However, the school he went to did not have anything of that type, and he was forced to exercise by himself.
The introduction to Noah came at the same time as High School graduation, and approximately eight months later on December 9th 2015, he made his debut against Hitoshi Kumano.
There was another person in the same class, he was an amateur and who was tougher, so he thought the attention would go to him and he felt discouraged at the start of the first month. This was the theme of Kiyomiya's kind of lonely debut.
However, the debut at Differ Ariake was exciting, and his friends and relatives came to the event. One hundred and fifty people attended, and it became a crowd that Kiyomiya looked back on as "all the people I knew, were facing all four sides of the ring" (incidentally, it seems that the western side of Differ Ariake, was where I saw this from).
Of course, Kiyomiya didn't notice.

There is a second reason as to why his debut was so remarkable; Kiyomiya's age. He was a trainee who made his debut in his teens (19 years and 4 months), and is the first person to do it since Noah's launch.

Beyond the IWGP and the Triple Crown, youngest single major championship update to the record?

Fellow Noah born, Hitoshi Kumano, debuted at 21 years old and 3 months. Not only that, his winning star rose early. He won first against Hirai Kawato in May 2016 in New Japan#s "LION GATE", which was a real achievement for the fifth month after debut. It was a remarkable achievement, even surpassing that of Naomichi Marufuji, who took a year and four months (87 matches) from his debut to his first victory, it was a remarkable achievement.
Naturally, the "youngest" or "shortest" record will go to Kiyomiya.

With less than a year from his debut, he participated in "Global League 2016". As mentioned earlier, he won the same league this year, and he holds the record for the youngest and the shortest debut, and he will step up to the next expectation on December 16th. Yes, he will be the youngest in history if he takes the GHC Heavyweight Championship.
The record so far belongs to Naomichi Marufuji at twenty-six years and eleven months old. Kiyomiya will be a big update if he can take it at only 22 years old and 5 months. Because there is a possibility of updating the record at a younger age than Shinsuke Nakamura (23 years and 8 months old) and Kento Miyahara (26 years and 11 months), I will not stop hoping.

With youth, he has been increasing in female popularity. 
He had been overseas training from June 2017, and he returned in December of the same year.
His appearance had changed significantly, and he looked to be a different person. Of course there had been changes in physicality and discipline after doing many matches (overseas he did twenty-one and was in ten or more groups in Canada). However, the most impressive thing was his hairstyle. Kenta Kobashi says, "the hairstyle has changed, and I compared the photo before he went and the other after returning and uploaded them to Twitter. I think its better, and I think the women fans have also increased" (Nikkan Spa, April 14th 2018).
However, Kiyomiya's hobby at the age of 22 is somewhat subdued, he listens to Jazz, and adores saxophonist John Coltrane.
In addition, recently he has also broadened his horizons to classical music, listening to Fujiko Hemming.
If female fans can broach the subject, they might be able to get close.
As Noah fans know, another reason for attention is obvious. It is the color of the trunks. Green. The same as the late Mitsuharu Misawa.

Finisher is Tiger Suplex!

His encounter with professional wrestling came from a video rental. He saw Misawa vs Takayama (April 15th 2001) in the match to decide the first GHC Heavyweight Champion. With this Kiyomiya was fascinated by Misawa and aimed to be a professional wrestler. Of course his death in 2009 was a shock.
However, he says he had regrouped this emotion and said, "I was excited to enter Noah".
"Connection with Misawa"
It is a sentimental unspoken word.

In the new trainee era, there is of course no Misawa, but he has certainly learned his soul and his skill. Kiyomiya's trainer was Yoshinari Ogawa, who was Misawa's matchless tag partner.
In his debut, he exploded just like Misawa's second generation Tiger Mask, and burst into a drop kick, reminiscent of himself. He had been advised by Naomichi Marufuji during practice that, "you have a good dropkick, so cherish it".
Just like Kiyomiya, Marufuji, when he debuted in 1998, debuted in green short tights. Kiyomiya got consent from Marufuji to do the same.

The theme of Noah this year is "NOAH the LIVE". The phrase means that the battle plan is reflecting a life unfolding anew, and the intensity of the venues are rising.

It was on January 6th this year, was Kiyomiya's very first GHC challenge to the champion at the time, Kenoh. Pretending to a top rope to the outside, and the Feint, he exhibited a technique (TFC) and a twisting cobra face-lock.
He used the Tiger Suplex as a finish for the first time since returning home, and it is a move that reminds me exactly of Misawa, but on doing the TFC, Kiyomiya said he wasn't aware of it being Misawa's. However, once switched on to it he said, "Really? I didn't know that! My natural technique is similar to Misawa? I want to treasure that".

I want to anticipate the birth of the young leader, who will lead the Ark.

Link to original article from Boku Pro (in Japanese)