Joe Doering
On November 30, 2012, Kea announced that he was putting his wrestling career on hold to attend business school in his native Hawaii. His farewell match, a ten-man tag team match, took place on January 3, 2013 where he, Keiji Mutoh, Masakatsu Funaki, Masanobu Fuchi and Taka Michinoku defeated Hiroshi Yamato, Manabu Soya, Ryota Hama, Suwama and Takao Omori. Kea announced his return to All Japan in a press conference on June 11, 2013. Kea wrestled his return match on June 30, where he and Takao Omori defeated Joe Doering and Yasufumi Nakanoue.