KENTA comes to WWE having distinguished himself as being - similar to Michaels in WWE - the only man in Pro Wrestling NOAH's 14-year history to reach "Grand Slam" champion status. He's held the company's top title, the Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Champion, and has also been a three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight and one-time GHC Tag Team Champion and two-time GHC Junior-Tag Team Champion. He also won the 2012 Global League and the 2013 Global Tag League tournaments. A cruiserweight-sized performer, similar to Shawn Michaels, it took KENTA 13 years to become a World Heavyweight Champion. Comparatively too, KENTA's rise involved having to develop a hybrid style of pro wrestling that significantly involved his youth. Unlike Michaels who grew up an admirer of lucha libre, KENTA's background in kickboxing is a heavy influence in his wrestling persona. However, it's not so much used in the traditional-to-pro wrestling kung-fu/Bruce Lee sense, but rather in a more legitimate concept of kick-boxing that gives KENTA's in-ring style a very intriguing swagger. Just as Shawn Michaels is "Mr. Wrestlemania" and responsible for some of the most incredible moments in WWE history, KENTA has always been dependable for awe-inspiring matches that have displayed incredible "fighting spirit" that has endeared him to Japanese fans and American indy fans, alike.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
