(NOAH) Kaito Kiyomiya's determination to open up the future of professional wrestling with Ryohei Oiwa, Yuma Anzai and others.
22nd December 2023
Wanibooks
The bond with Ryohei Oiwa that goes beyond the boundaries of promotions
In the summer, Kaito Kiyomiya took a break from Noah to compete in New Japan's midsummer tournament, the G1 CLIMAX. Unfortunately, he did not advance to the finals, but in addition to his experience in official league matches, he gained something important: a tag partner named Ryohei Oiwa. He continued to participate in the G1 until the finals, even though all of his official matches had ended. He teamed up with twenty-four year old Ryohei Oiwa, who had debuted in August 2021, four times. On August 6th in Osaka = Just 5 Guys SANADA & DOUKI, August 8th Yokohama = UNITED EMPIRE'S Jeff Cobb & Great O-Khan, August 9th Hamamatsu = TMDK'S Mikey Nichols & Kosei Fujita. Despite suffering three consecutive losses, in the final match against Toru Yano and Oskar Leube in Ryogoku on August 13th, they used a combination of a double tackle and a double dropkick, and in 
the end, Kiyomiya defeated Leube with a modified Shining Wizard. After the match Kiyomiya said, "Oiwa-san, why not give Noah a try with me?" In response to the invitation, Oiwa said, "Thank you for giving me the chance. I feel the same way as you. Thank you". After discussions between New Japan and Noah, it was decided that Oiwa would participate in internal training in Noah. Kiyomiya reflects;
"At first, even though we couldn't win and get any results, there was always "I will definitely try the next match". I felt Ryohei's strong feelings about this, and I felt like when I returned to Noah, I wanted to do it with the two of us, regardless of promotion".
Kiyomiya and Oiwa's first match was the semi-finals at the Edion Arena Osaka on September 3rd, where the championship match of the N-1 VICTORY (Go Shiozaki vs Kenoh) was held. Their opponents were the craftsman duo of Yoshinari Ogawa and Zack Sabre Jnr, reunited for the first time in seven years and nine months. Ogawa, is Kiyomiya's mentor, while Zack, who is tagging with Ogawa, came to Japan in 2011 as an exchange student. After that, he became a regular foreign wrestler for Noah, and teamed up with Ogawa to hold the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice. Zack competed in Noah until November 30th 2015, nine days before Kiyomiya's debut, and has been in New Japan since March 2017.
In this match it was not only Kiyomiya and Oiwa's first battle that attracted attention, but also it was Ogawa and Kiyomiya's student-teacher showdown. Ogawa criticized Kiyomiya harshly saying, "He came back as a really good wrestler, didn't he? Impersonation, plagarism, copying, it made him really good didn't it? But, as you can see from the G1 results, he wasn't good at all. That was because the matches are repetitive and dull."
In the match, Ogawa and Zack were able to toy with Kiyomiya and Oiwa. Oiwa, who was experiencing Noah and Kiyomiya for the first time, was at the mercy of Ogawa and Zack's varied arm attacks. The match was completely dominated by Ogawa and Zack, but it was the young explosive power of Kiyomiya and Oiwa, that turned the match around. Kiyomiya, who was on the defensive, countered Ogawa with a standing Shining Wizard, then a regular Shining Wizard. Zack went to break the pin, but was blown away with a double dropkick, and Kiyomiya used the transformed Shining Wizard to defeat Ogawa! Although they were pressed content-wise, it was important to win this match.
"Ogawa-san's words? Ogawa-san is the person who taught me about pro wrestling from the beginning, and I'm sure there are many different opinions, but I'm determined to stick with it even if people say I'm one-sided. I want to do it to the point where people say that it is something that only I can do. I think if I add what I'm going to acquire from now on as my own color, then I can spread Kaito Kiyomiya and Noah. There's no point in trying to imitate someone else, and I'm most confident in what I can do if I've experienced it myself. Of course, I think it's necessary to listen to what those around you have to say, but I want to positively lead Noah."
At the time of the G1, Kiyomiya had called Oiwa, his junior, addressed him as "Oiwa Senshu*", and spoke in honorific language, but when Oiwa was attacked by Ogawa and Zack, he addressed him by his first name, shouting out "Ryohei!", while Oiwa also changed from "Kiyomiya-san" to "Kaito-san".
"This was the first time that we had brought young athletes from other promotions to Noah, so at first we spoke politely (wry smile), and I think there were some obstacles, but we were both aiming for the same thing. We have decided to go as far as we can without setting any goals. I don't know what people around me will say, but I think working with Ryohei will help spread Noah."
Kiyomiya does not want his collaboration with Oiwa to be temporary, but is looking for endless possibilities.
"I want the younger generation to play a central role and liven up professional wrestling."
After surviving the first match against Ogawa and Zack, they won five consecutive matches and challenged Jack Morris & Anthony Green of Good Looking Guys, for the GHC Tag Team Championship on November 4th at the Niigata City Gymnasium. Oiwa lost to Green's M-83 (screw type back DDT), and so they did not take the titles, but with the technical combinations of the double arm drag, the double arm lock, Kiyomiya's elbow drop, Oiwa's body press, the double dropkick and the combined crossbody, the attacks came out smoothly.
Oiwa's adaptability is also noteworthy.
In order to compete in Noah, Oiwa changed from the short black tights that symbolize the Young Lion, to long tights with a silver tone. Oiwa had gone from an NWA style armdrag, to the armlock inherited by Noah from Giant Baba's All Japan. From there, he carefully executes the match by concentrating his attack on the arm. His attitude has gained the sympathy of Noah fans.
Oiwa himself said, "I feel like Kaito-san has taught me a lot about arm drags and other technical things. In Noah, there are many wrestlers who use basic techniques to build up their matches, so I would like to improve on the basics."
Looking at Oiwa, who is enthusiastically engaged in training in Noah, Kiyomiya says;
"I don't know whether it is good for him to get used to Noah, but I think he is enthusiastic and focused on his fight. Combination moves? As we practice together every day, we ask each other "How about this?" The two of us started brainstorming ideas and came up with something, tried it once and said, "That was a little difficult, so lets start with something easy". The combination moves we are currently using can be performed naturally in a match".
Kiyomiya is looking toward the future not only for Noah, but for the entire professional wrestling world.
Notes
Senshu: "Player", honorific given to an athlete
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