Is Kenta (or KENTA as he seems to be addressed as) on his way to WWE?

The rumour mill has fired itself into overdrive for weeks on end about KENTA being announced as a WWE signing. Its being said his deal will be announced tomorrow (10th July) as WWE begin their tour of Japan.

What I think it will be interesting to find out is what those who are more familiar with the man think he will bring to the WWE. Strengths, weaknesses, what WWE will likely help thrive, what he can learn and what WWE will inevitably get wrong with him?

House and a few others, as well as those not so interested in New Japan and the like but who have taken the time to look at KEN, take the floor...

I literally know nothing about him other than he has had multiple 5 star matches over many, many years and that CM Punk and Bryan nicked his finishers. Never seen any ofhis matches, don't even know what he looks like. Can't see anything but him being given a stupid gimmick and never getting over.

The reason KENTA's name is the way it is, is that it was felt his given name (Kenta Kobayashi) was too similar to that of his legendary mentor Kenta Kobashi, and he changed it to avoid confusion.

His main strengths are his fantastic wrestling ability, probably not as good as he was mid-late 00's pre knee injuries where he was an easy contender for best in the world but still top class, combining the speed and agility of a crusierweight with a style more based around strikes and techincal holds, he also has an aura around him of a real legit killer, much like the way Taz and later Samoa Joe used to hold themselves, obviously though that lives and dies on the way he is presented.

Weaknesses are, well he's a bit on the small side, though WWE have moved away from the size is everything mantra in recent years, at 5.8 and around 180lbs he's still smaller than Daniel Bryan and falls in about a halfway point between him and Rey Mysterio, the nature of his styles means he is easily capable of have crediblie matches with bigger opponents but it's still not ideal looking at the tradition of the company he's entering, another problem is obviously he dosn't speak English as a first language, I believe there are instances in ROH of him uttering phrases and such but I highly doubt his grasp of the language is good enough he's be able to carry feuds on the mic.

I think the main thing that could hold him back though is obviously WWE's record of how it has treated it's Japanese workers in the past, though KENTA would probably be the biggest name Japanese signing they've ever made, and has an aura of credibility lacked by the likes of Taka, Jimmy Yang and Tatsu, he'd still be fighting an upward battle not to be bogged down in the sterotypes that have plauged his culture for decades, reasons I could see him maybe overcoming these problems are, I'm guessing, based on his status in Japan, that he will not come by the WWE cheaply, and much like Mistico/Sin Cara they will give him every chance to succeed in order to recoup there investment, also given the relatively disappointing initial numbers of network subscribers within the US, WWE may look to move away from it's traditional North American stars and bring a certain international flavour to it's roster in order to capitalise on international subscribers when the network is (officially) rolled out worldwide, despite NOAH being on it's deathbed KENTA still has huge stock in japan so could be ideal for this, again though that's just speculation on my part.

Ideally for me KENTA could go one of two ways, either he is paired with a manager (probably Heyman) and pushed as a star, or he is slotted into a high profile role either in a tag team or in the upper-midcard where he isn't required to speak to much, in ring I feel he can excel, it's just the stumbling block of the language barrier that they need to get around.

I have absolutely no faith WWE will do anything worthwhile with him. Their track record of bringing in big names from Japan or the Indys is shocking.

He'll be there 3 months before he starts waiving a japanese flag and being referred to as a 'buzzsaw'

Samo wrote:I have absolutely no faith WWE will do anything worthwhile with him. Their track record of bringing in big names from Japan or the Indys is shocking.

Tbf in recent years they've made decent fists of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castaginoli

Dr Gregory House MD wrote:

Tbf in recent years they've made decent fists of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castaginoli

For every Punk and Bryan and Ambrose there is a Colt Cabana, a Low Ki and a Chris Hero.

I don't think Cabana was good enough and I don't think Hero helped himself

Dolphin Ziggler wrote:I don't think Cabana was good enough and I don't think Hero helped himself

Colt Cobana is a d---

Dr Gregory House MD wrote:

Samo wrote:I have absolutely no faith WWE will do anything worthwhile with him. Their track record of bringing in big names from Japan or the Indys is shocking.

Tbf in recent years they've made decent fists of CM Punk, Bryan Danielson, Tyler Black, Jon Moxley and Claudio Castaginoli

I think the difference is they can speak English Dr   He'll have time to learn it in nxt though doubt they will risk a mistico situation again    I really do fear he will end up like Kenzo Suzuki/Funaki. If going to push him to main roster straight away he'll need a mouth piece and someone that could work with his style like Cesaro.

I just hope they name him Cesaro but differentiate really well by making it CESARO

Why do you say that Adam?

I got drunk one evening on a podcast and decided to berate colt with that comment. The next morning I had even started a Facebook page dedicated to colt as well (being a dick!)

I just really don't like him.

Yeah i see what you do in Colt, Adam. He seems like he can be a nice guy but then he gets all pretentious and can come of sounding like a real dick. He tried to wage a war against video piracy because people were illegally downloading his 'wrestling road diaries'. They weren't very good, just self indulgent nonsense. Get over yourself.

Is this guy the next Yoshi Tastu/Funaki?

The fact they've made such a huge deal about it and the whole live signing makes me think he'll keep KENTA and be put over as a huge deal.

Statement from WWE:

TAMFORD, Conn. — WWE today announced it has signed Kenta, one of Japan’s biggest stars, to its NXT division. The announcement took place during a signing ceremony at a WWE Live Event in Osaka, Japan with WWE icon and Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan presiding.

Kenta’s intense and straightforward in-ring style has led to his success in Japan, as well as during visits to the U.S. He is expected to reach new heights of global success with WWE.

“Kenta is an incredible performer who brings the crowd to its feet when he steps into the ring,” said Paul Levesque, Executive Vice President, Talent, Creative and Live Events, WWE. “WWE’s signing of Kenta reflects our continued dedication to creating a diverse roster that appeals to our global fan base.”

“I am humbled to join WWE’s NXT division and look forward to honing my craft with the global leader in sports-entertainment,” said Kenta.

Kenta will relocate to Orlando, Florida, where he will train at WWE’s state-of-the-art Performance Center to enhance his talents both athletically and creatively.

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Interesting points:
- Announced him as Kenta - will he use this as his gimmick in NXT/WWE?
- I would imagine that the WWE will give him every opportunity to at least become a solid mid card talent, with the network not meeting expectations it is really brining home the point that they need to try to capitalise on the International market even if that doesn't rely on those guys making it to the main event
- Going to NXT is a good thing, Mistico was put straight into the main roster and was screwed because of it. I would guess at a post WM debut unless they had a specific plan to bring him through at Rumble and make a special match for the Mania card
- I hope they pair him with a decent manager...

NXT is the best place for him right now, gives him a chance to learn how to work a WWE style.

What will he use as a finisher if Bryan has the running knee and Punk the GTS? I'd let him use the Falcon Arrow. Its fairly simple to pull off but can be adapted to a variety of situations which helps make a good finisher great in my book.

Not exactly done it quietly. Hogan on show.

Can see WWE letting him keep his GTS as two fingers to Punk.

Now onto questions of whether someone who doesnt speak the language to near fluent levels can main event in WWE?

Wait a second, Batista

Kenta is the next Paul Heyman guy