Kongo, which is the the top faction of Pro Wrestling NOAH, is no more.
At the conclusion of today’s Pro Wrestling NOAH event “Kenoh Debut 15th Anniversary Match”, Kenoh addressed the crowd and made the surprise announcement that Kongo has been dissolved.
Hajime Ohara, Shuji Kondo, Manabu Soya, Masakatsu Funaki and Manabu Soya, who make up the current Kongo faction were all in the ring with Kenoh for the announcement as they had just defeated AMAKUSA, Alejandro, Kazushi Sakuraba, Masato Tanaka and Naomichi Marufuji in the main event of the show.
Kenoh stated as he addressed the crowd:
“How was my 15 years of growth as a professional wrestler?” How was Kongo, who is now at the forefront of the professional wrestling world, not just Noah? If you want stability, there is no evolution! Kongo will be dissolved today. This is a dissolution for us to evolve as professional wrestlers. Me too, and the members here have a strong belief in bringing this Noah to the top of the industry. So even if we break up today, follow us with our strong beliefs!”
Manabu Soya broke down and cried in the ring following the announcement.
Kongo began as a faction back in May 2019. The faction was formed by original members Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, Atsushi Kotoge and Yoshiki Inamura. Over it’s four year existence, many wrestlers have joined or left Kongo but Kenoh has been it’s leader from the start.
During a backstage interview, Kenoh said that his first ten years were spent thinking of himself, the fifteenth was spent thinking of NOAH but his sixteenth will see him going to the top of the world of pro wrestling.
(H/T goes to Tokyo Sports for the transcription)
You can follow Lewis Carlan on Twitter @ShootingUpNorth
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