NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League
On May 1, 2012, Kotoge appeared at a press conference, where he was officially presented as Pro Wrestling Noah's newest signee. Kotoge wrestled his first match under a Noah contract on May 6, when he was defeated by Go Shiozaki. On May 13, Kotoge pinned GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a tag team main event, where he teamed with GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima and Kanemaru with Maybach Taniguchi. The following day, Kotoge was named the number one contender to Kanemaru's title. Kotoge received his title shot on June 3, but was defeated by Kanemaru. On July 22, Kotoge wrestled one of the biggest matches of his career, when he was defeated by DDT Pro-Wrestling representative Kota Ibushi in a singles match. After losing to Muhammad Yone on July 29, Kotoge was accepted into the Brave stable, which in addition to Yone also included leader Naomichi Marufuji, Ricky Marvin, Takashi Sugiura, Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori, who agreed to team with Kotoge in the upcoming 2012 NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League. On August 9, Kotoge wrestled another big match, where he was defeated by the recently returned Kenta. At the end of the two-week-long NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League, Kotoge and Ishimori won their round-robin block with three wins and one loss, advancing to the finals, where, on September 22, they defeated Daichi Hashimoto and Ikuto Hidaka to win the tournament and become the number one contenders to the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Kotoge and Ishimori received their title shot on October 8, but were defeated by the defending champions, Ricky Marvin and Super Crazy. On December 16, Kotoge made a special return to Osaka Pro, teaming with Ishimori, Billyken Kid, Tigers Mask and Tsubasa in a ten-man tag team match, where they defeated the Joker team of Hideyoshi, Masamune, Orochi, Quiet Storm and Spider J, with Kotoge pinning Spider J for the win. On January 27, 2013, Kotoge represented Noah in an interpromotional match with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), teaming with Yoshinari Ogawa in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask. On March 10, Kotoge received another shot at the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Taiji Ishimori. In April, Kotoge got to take part in his first Global Tag League, when he replaced an injured Naomichi Marufuji and became Takashi Sugiura's new partner for the tournament. While the tournament was still ongoing, Kotoge and Ishimori received another shot at the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on April 21, but were defeated by the defending champions, Genba Hirayanagi and Suwa. Kotoge and Sugiura finished the Global Tag League on April 28 with a record of two wins and two losses. Despite failing to make the finals, they were awarded the Technique award.