(NOAH) Masa Kitamiya reveals that the origin of the "T2000X" is "Masa Saito" and that "it may have been fate" as he challenges "GHC Champion" KENTA at Ryogoku on October 11th
Hochi News
5th October 2025
The main event will see the GHC Heavyweight Champion KENTA, challenged by Masa Kitamiya, The Chairman of the "T2000X" group, who won the "N-1 VICTORY," who won the autumn championship to determine the strongest wrestler.
Kitamiya made a surprise appearance at the August 3rd Kobe Sanbo Hall event, joining the black army "T2000X" and taking on the role of "Chairman."
Sports Hochi interviewed Kitamiya, who is attempting to claim his first top spot in his fourteenth year since his debut, and eleventh year with Noah. He revealed the true reason behind his heel turn ahead of the showdown.
"Even if you do whatever your company tells you to do, and work like a horse, you won't get any results! Just ignore that kind of thing."
These words were more of a personal message to himself, rather than a message to the audience:
"I'm the perfect example of someone who works themselves to the bone and does what the company tells them to do, but doesn't get results. I was told to be the chairman of the Wrestlers' Association and the head of the scouting department, and even on days when there weren't any matches, I held seminars and worked toward those goals...all for free. Doing things like that won't get you results. So I decided to stick to my own sense of justice."
He transferred from Kensuke Office to Noah in April 2014. Since then, he has won the GHC Tag Team Championship eight times, which he still holds, but he has attempted to win the top GHC Heavyweight title eight times since his first challenge against Takashi Sugiura on September 23, 2016, but has failed every time. Behind the scenes, he was ordered by Noah to serve as "Chairman of the Wrestlers Association" and and "Head of Scouting." He "worked his heart out" for Noah both in and out of the ring, but was unable to win a singles title, let alone the GHC Heavyweight title, or even the National Championship. Of course, this was due to his own lack of ability, but more than that, working for the company essentially interfered with his matches, and he did not get results.
"Until then, I had been devoting myself to Noah by holding back on what I wanted to do. But I realized that holding back was not good. I joined T2000X to rule Noah as chairman and to uphold what I believe is justice."
There was another reason: Masa Saito.
"If you trace the origins of the T2000X, you'll find that it was originally Masa-san."
Kitamiya made his debut in 2011, where Saito was serving as a wrestler advisor. After graduating from Meiji University, where he competed as a member of the Japanese wrestling team at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Saito joined Japan Pro Wresting*. The following year, in 1966, he transferred to Tokyo Pro Wrestling, founded by Toyonobori and Antonio Inoki, but the company collapsed after just over six months. He then traveled alone to the United States, where his skill and strength on the professional wrestling circuit made him a top heel. Away from the ring, he was a legend, trusted by many wrestlers for his gentle personality. Immediately after joining, Kitamiya received mentorship from Masa, who instilled in him the spirit of a wrestler.
"The thing Masa-san would often say to me was, "Pro wrestling is a fight." What we do is fight. There are fights with your opponent, fights with the audience, and fights with a world you don't know. He would say, "Everything is a fight." He would always say that pro wrestling is "People call it entertainment, but don't forget the fight that lies at its core."
In order to carry on Masa's spirit, he obtained permission and changed his ring name from his real name, Mitsuhiro Kitamiya, to "Masa Kitamiya" in April 2016. He also wears the same costume as Masa, long tights with "JAPAN" written on them. He has named Masa's signature move, the "Prison Lock," and his twisting back drop the "Saito Suplex," and has paid tribute to him in his matches.
And as Kitamiya revealed, the origins of "T2000X" lie with Masa Saito.
"T2000X" was launched in October of last year as an homage to "T2000," which Masahiro Chono formed in New Japan in 1999. "T2000" originates from nWo Japan, which was founded after Chono joined the nWo led by Hulk Hogan, who dominated who dominated WCW in 1997. It was Masa Saito who brought Chono and the nWo together. Chono has openly stated, "Without Masa's influence, the nWo would not have existed," demonstrating Masa's immense credibility on the American wrestling scene. It was also his strong ties with Hogan that made Chono's joining the nWo a reality. In other words, without Masa Saito, there would be no "nWo Japan," and there would be no "T2000" afterward. The "T2000X" would eventually lead to Masa Saito.
Kitamiya decided to use the "T2000X" to become that one in a million chance. At the same time, he unleashed the deep homage to his mentor he had hidden in his heart, turning heel and using Kensuke Sasaki's signature move, "Strangle Hold Gamma," as his finishing move. In his "N-1" championship match against Morris, he unleashed Kensuke's signature move, the "Face Crusher," for the victory.
"There may have been a time when I thought it was presumptuous of me to use the techniques of my highly respected master, but I'm the only one in this industry who can use them. I'm proud of how much I treasure Kensuke Sasaki's techniques. That's why I use them as my finishing move. It's not just an imitation."
Ryogoku, October 11th.
His ninth time challenging for the GHC.
It goes without saying that champion KENTA regards Kenta Kobashi as his mentor. On July 2018, the two mentors shook the ceiling of the Tokyo Dome with 200 chops.
"KENTA vs Masa Kitamiya" became a reality twenty years after the legendary match that is still talked about today. While each man secretly has feelings for his master, it is also a challenge to surpass the history of his predecessors. There is no more fitting main event to tell the story of Pro Wrestling Noah's past, present and future in its twenty-fifth year since its founding.
Notes
Japan Pro: Rikidozan's promotion. Don't be fooled, with audiences about to riot with the police called in, angry mobs who didn't like the referees decision, and shoot fights, Puro in the 50s was wild.
Toyonobori: Michiharu Toyonobori, a former sumo wrestler, he had wanted to join the Imperial Japanese Navy, but being born in 1931 meant that by 1947 when he was old enough, the war was over an Japan's army was disbanded. He joined Japan Pro, but fell into the murky world of gambling. Appointed a director after Rikidozan's death, and after spending a period of time as the ace, he left the running of the company (which he had no interest in) to others. He was finally fired, and given the 20 million yen he had gambled away as a severance pay, which means he didn't receive it, it was just used as it. Out of revenge, he persuaded Antonio Inoki not to return to Japan Pro, where he would be second to Baba, but to join his Tokyo Pro Wrestling, but the company collapsed within three months due to a lack of television coverage, weak marketing, and of course, his compulsive gambling with all the proceeds at the Bicycle track, which he basically snatched. His gambling debts grew, he was fired from International Pro Wrestling too, and while Rikidozan might have protected his gambling problem in the 1950s, this was now the 1970s and his creditors were after him, and he had to take jobs in manual labor just to escape them. After leaving wrestling in 1974 (seemingly following a reconciliation with Inoki) he vanished and no one knew what had become of him, saying that he was either a Yakuza bodyguard or was homeless. The sad truth was that he had developed diabetes, and was being cared for by monks at a temple. He died in 1988 of myocardial infarction at the age of 67. The funeral was private, and the general public did not know of his death until a couple of months later.
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