菊地毅
After training in the NJPW Dojo for almost a year Mikami made his debut on March 7, 2010, losing to Ryusuke Taguchi. NJPW traditionally requires their rookies (referred to as "Young Lions" in NJPW) to wear simple, generic black trunks and boots and pay their dues by helping to set up the ring etc. while they gain in-ring experience. Mikami would lose at least 31 matches in a row, not uncommon for NJPW dojo graduates, until he was able to beat fellow dojo trainee Hiromu Takahashi in Takahashi's debut match on August 24, 2010 at "NEVER.1". He competed in the 2011 "" on April 7, but was eliminated in the first round by Ryuichi Sekine. He would later team up with fellow "Young Lions" Hiromu Takahashi &amp; Takaaki Watanabe to compete in NJPW's "J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament". The team lost to Madoka, Shinobu and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in their first match. Mikami's last match to date came on January 4, 2012 as he appeared in a dark match before NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome show, the biggest show in NJPW. The match saw Mikami and Tomoaki Honma lose to Tama Tonga and Captain New Japan. It was later announced that Mikami was injured to take some time off, a storyline to cover for his long term absence from NJPW.