Masayuki Kono Masayuki Kono is a Japan ese Professional wrestler . Career . All Japan Pro Wrestling ( 2003 – 2005 ) . Kono trained in the All Japan Dojo and made his debut on March 28 , 2003 in a losing effort to Nobutaka Araya . For the next two years , Kono largely was in opening matches where he worked with fellow newcomers and aging wrestlers as he paid his dues . During this time , Kono had no title matches or took part in any tournaments . In 2005 , Kono left All Japan and professional wrestling to focus on Mixed Martial Arts . Mixed martial arts ( 2005 – 2008 ) . In early 2005 , Kono began a MMA career fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling . He won his first fight at Pancrase – Spiral 5 on July 10 , 2005 defeating Yukio Kawabe by Technical Submission . He then lost to Aslan Dzeboev by Knockout at Pancrase – Spiral 8 on October 2 . He then went on a two fight win streak defeating Teymur Aliyev at Pancrase – Blow 4 and Daniel Lyons at Pancrase – Blow 7 both by TKO . Kono then lost his last four fights , losing to Mu Bae Choi by Technical Submission at Pancrase – Blow 10 , then to Tetsuya Mizuno at Pancrase – Rising 9 by TKO . His next appearance was at Warrior Realm 12 where he lost to Brad Morris by Submission . His most recent fight was a loss to Stanislav Nedkov at Pancrase – Shining 10 by TKO . Return to All Japan ( 2009 – 2013 ) . By early 2009 , Kono ended his MMA career and returned to professional wrestling . He spent the first few months of 2009 in Canada , wrestling on the independents before finally returning to All Japan in May 2009 . Upon his return , Kono had an immediate impact as he teamed Keiji Mutoh to defeat Satoshi Kojima and Suwama with Kono submitting Kojima . Throughout the spring and summer , Kono fought for the All Japan army and occasionally team with Mutoh . On July 5 , 2009 , Kono received his first title shot when he teamed with Mutoh to challenge Minoru Suzuki and Taiyo Kea for the World Tag Team Championship but they came up short . In the fall of 2009 , Kono teamed with Suwama in the 2009 World ' s Strongest Tag Determination League . The two were able to make it to the finals but lost to Mutoh and Masakatsu Funaki . In his first big victory of 2010 , Kono defeated Suwama at Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol . 9 on March 21 , 2010 . In the spring , Kono entered the 2010 Champion Carnival . He finished secon in his block with 5 points which allowed him to advance in the semi - finals where he fell to Funaki . Following the Champion Carnival , Kono joined the New Generation Force stable with Suwama , Ryota Hama , Seiya Sanada , and Manabu Soya and from there began a feud with the Partisan Force stable ( Minoru Suzuki , Masakatsu Funaki , Akebono , and Taiyo Kea ) . On July 4 , 2010 , Kono challenged Suzuki for the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship but lost . At Pro Wrestling Love in Ryogoku Vol . 10 on August 29 , Kono faced Masakatsu Funaki and lost by Knockout . In September 2010 , The New Generation Force broke up , and shortly afterward , Kono joined the Voodoo Murders and began using the ring name KONO . On November 5 , 2010 , KONO teamed with Minoru to win a Number 1 Contenders tournament for the All Asia Tag Team Championship , but lost the following the day in the title match against Seiya Sanada and Manabu Soya . In late November , KONO entered the 2010 World ' s Strongest Tag Determination League teaming with KENSO . The two emerged victorious , defeating Suwama and Ryota Hama in the finals . On January 3 , 2011 , KONO and KENSO challenged Taiyo Kea and Akebono for the World Tag Team Championship but lost . On February 6 , Kono and Joe Doering defeated Taiyo Kea and Akebono to win the World Tag Team Championship . On June 3 , 2011 , in the aftermath of a backstage fight between Yoshikazu Taru and Nobukazu Hirai , which resulted in Hirai suffering a stroke , All Japan Pro Wrestling disbanded Voodoo Murders , suspended all of its Japanese members , including Kono , and vacated the Unified World Tag Team Championship . Kono was suspended specifically for not attempting to stop Taru ' s assault on Hirai . Kono ' s suspension was lifted on June 30 . At the press conference Kono announced that he would be returning to performing under his real name . Kono made his return to All Japan on October 10 , 2011 , teaming with Joe Doering and Osamu Nishimura in a six - man tag team match , where they were defeated by Akebono , Masakatsu Funaki and Ryota Hama . On January 4 , 2012 , Kono made a special appearance for New Japan Pro Wrestling at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome , where he teamed with Masakatsu Funaki to defeat the Seigigun of Yuji Nagata and Wataru Inoue . On June 20 , 2013 , Kono , following Funaki , announced his resignation from All Japan out of loyalty to Keiji Mutoh , who had left the promotion when Nobuo Shiraishi took over as its new president at the beginning of the month . Kono ' s final match for the promotion took place on June 30 and saw him , Funaki and Koji Kanemoto lose to Akebono , Osamu Nishimura and Ryota Hama in a six - man tag team match . Wrestle - 1 ( 2013 – present ) . On July 10 , 2013 , Kono was announced as part of Keiji Mutoh ' s new Wrestle - 1 promotion . During the promotion ' s inaugural event on September 8 , Kono teamed with Masakatsu Funaki in a tag team match , where they were defeated by Katsuyori Shibata and Kazushi Sakuraba . Following the match , Kono turned on Funaki , hitting his mentor with a steel chair and beating him down with help from Kohei Sato and Ryoji Sai . Kono and Funaki faced off in a singles match at Wrestle 1 ' s second show on September 15 , where Kono was victorious with help from Sai and Kazma Sakamoto . Kono , Sai and Sakamoto , replacing an injured Kohei Sato , formed a stable named Desperado , which was in October also joined by René Duprée . In early 2014 , after Desperado had failed in their attempt to recruit Kai to the stable , Kono entered a new feud with the self - proclaimed ace of Wrestle - 1 . The feud culminated on July 6 in a grudge match , where Kono put the future of Desperado on the line . Kono , however , was victorious over Kai , forcing him to have his head shaved . On September 21 , Kono entered the Wrestle - 1 Championship tournament , defeating Jiro Kuroshio in his first round match . The following day , Kono handed Wrestle - 1 founder Keiji Mutoh his first loss since March 2012 by submitting him in a three - on - four handicap match , where he , Kazma Sakamoto and Ryoji Sai faced Mutoh and the Novus stable ( Jiro Kuroshio , Koji Doi and Rionne Fujiwara ) . On September 23 , Kono defeated Yusuke Kodama to advance to the semifinals of the Wrestle - 1 Championship tournament . On October 8 , Kono defeated Masakatsu Funaki in their semifinal match , after Funaki ' s training partner Tajiri turned on him and joined Desperado . Later that same day , Kono defeated Kai to win the tournament and become the inaugural Wrestle - 1 Champion . Following his win , Kono nominated Keiji Mutoh as his first challenger for the title , claiming that he was going to retire Mutoh at his 30th anniversary event on November 1 . External links . Profile at CAGEMATCH . net