Former NJPW Star Debuts In WWE, New Ring Name Revealed

WWE/NJPW

A former NJPW star has officially debut in WWE, with his new ring name and tag team name being revealed on tonight’s show.

Back in February, it was reported that both EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi were set to depart New Japan Pro Wrestling, with both reportedly set to join WWE.

EVIL would go on to make his debut in NXT as Naraku, as fans continued to await the arrival of Hiromu Takahashi in WWE.

Last week, that wait finally came to an end, when a digital exclusive aired following SmackDown, which featured Shinsuke Nakamura sending a message to the MFTs after their WWE Tag Team Championship victory on the show.

Shinsuke had teased a tag team partner the prior week, with last week’s vignette showing us a glimpse of the partner, who was undeniably the instantly recognisable Takahashi.

Hiromu Takahashi Debuts In WWE As Kyoki

On tonight’s episode of SmackDown, the latest vignette would air with Shinsuke calling out the MFTs, finally revealing Takahashi to the WWE fans for the first time.

Takahashi would reveal that his new ring name is ‘Kyoki’, and that he and Nakamura were coming for the MFTs.

At the end of the segment, Kyoki would shout the word ‘Bakusai’, which was a recent trademark filed by the company as what appeared to be a ring name.

While not Takahashi’s ring name, it seems as though Bakusai will be the name of the new team between Nakamura and Kyoki on SmackDown.

Will Kyoki Be A Hit In WWE?

With a number of recent signings and call ups failing to make an impact on the WWE main roster, questions will emerge about whether or not Kyoki will be a hit in WWE.

While the Ticking Time Bomb undeniably has the charisma and in-ring capability to succeed, it is up to the company to feature he and Shinsuke prominently to allow him to get over.

One ‘person’ that didn’t appear during the vignette was Daryl, Hiromu’s plush cat, who would likely become an instant hit on SmackDown much like Mr Iguana’s La Yezca if WWE lets Kyoki bring him along for the ride.

Pairing him up with an established name like Nakamura will ease Kyoki onto the show, with fans being able to see what he’s capable of in short bursts as they get to know the latest international star.

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• Smackdown
• Shinsuke Nakamura
• Hiromu Takahashi
• Bakusai
• Kyoki
• wwe

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