Takeshi Rikio
In 2001, top AJPW wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa and a number of other AJPW wrestlers, including Yone, left the promotion to start their own wrestling promotion called Pro Wrestling Noah. On March 5, 2005, Yone defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win the GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship, a championship he would hold for 231 days until Scorpio won it on October 22, 2005. During that time Yone began teaming regularly with Takeshi Morishima in the tag team division. On October 28, 2005 the duo defeated Marufuji and Minoru Suzuki to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They later lost the championship to Tamon Honda and Kenta Kobashi. In 2006, Yone and Morishima won the vacant tag team championship once more and held it until April 1, 2007, when they lost to Jun Akiyama and Takeshi Rikio. In 2009, Yone helped create a group known as "Disobey" that included himself, Kenta, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Genba Hirayanagi, Takeshi Rikio and Kotaro Suzuki. Yone and Rikio defeated Morishima and Kensuke Sasaki to with the GHC Tag Team Championship on December 6, 2009, as part of the 2009 "Winter Navigation Tour". Their reign lasted until April 14, 2010, when they lost to Bison Smith and Keith Walker. In 2012, Yone became part of a stable known as "Brave" that also included Naomichi Marufuji, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Taiji Ishimori, Atsushi Kotoge, Takeshi Morishima, Takashi Sugiura and Ricky Marvin. Marufuji and Yone went on to win the 2012 version of the Global Tag League, defeating Morishima and Katsuhiko Nakajima in the finals. Yone unsuccessfully challenged Katsuhiko Nakajima for the GHC title in Korakuen Hall on June 4, 2017.