Masa Kitamiya

Kitamiya in 2021

###

Tonami, Toyama, Japan

**Mitsuhiro Kitamiya** (北宮 光洋, *Kitamiya Mitsuhiro*, born in November 27, 1988) is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former seven-time GHC Tag Team Champion.

He previously worked in Diamond Ring and he was part of the stable on Diamond Ring, formerly Kensuke Office. In 2016 Kitamiya renamed himself **Masa Kitamiya** (マサ北宮) in tribute to former professional wrestler and one of his trainers Masa Saito, as well as adopting part of Saito's moveset and similar attire.

## Early life

Kitamiya was an amateur wrestler throughout high school and went on to be the captain of his college amateur team.

## Professional wrestling career

### Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring (2011–2014)

Kitamiya joined Kensuke Office in early 2011 and made his debut later that year on September 25, losing to Satoshi Kajiwara. In May 2012 at International Wrestling Revolution Group Shadow Phoenix ,Tony River,a and Trauma I faced La Familia de Tijuana (Headhunter A, Super Nova & X-Fly). After the match, Shadow was attacked by Trauma due to a failure during the fight, which caused Kitamiya, Katsuhiko Nakajima Kento Miyahara, NOSAWA, Satoshi Kajiwara and other guests Japanese stormed to defend and produce a brawl. In Diamond Rin,g Kitamiya was one of the persons feuding with the Voodoo Murders due to his partners Taishi Takizawa and Kento Miyahara turned on him and his partner Satoshi Kajiwara. Later in 2014 he left Diamond Ring and moved to Pro Wrestling NOAH.

### Pro Wrestling NOAH (2012–Present)

Kitamiya made his debut for Pro Wrestling NOAH alongside Diamond Ring representative and NOAH regular Katsuhiko Nakajima in a losing effort to Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori. For the next year, Kitamiya regularly competed in NOAH undercard matches against fellow Diamond Ring wrestlers, losing all of them. On September 18, 2013, Kitamiya earned the first win of his career, defeating Hitoshi Kumano. Kitamiya participated in the 2014 NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League alongside Kumano, with the two finishing last in their block with just one win and two points after they defeated Jinzo and Rocky Lobo. In late 2014, Kitamiya graduated from junior heavyweight to heavyweight.

On January 10, 2015, Kitamiya began a five match series, with the fifth match being against NOAH veteran and former GHC Heavyweight Champion Takeshi Morishima, in a losing effort. Following the match, Kitamiya surprised many and joined the Choukibou-gun stable.

In the 2015 Global Tag League, Kitamiya was scheduled to team with Morishima until the latter announced his retirement. Morishima was replaced with Super Crazy, with the team finishing last in their block with zero points. On August 19, Kitamiya teamed up with his fellow Choukibou-gun stablemates, Hajime Ohara and Kenoh to participate in the Arukas Cup Six Man Tag Tournament, but they were eliminated in the first round after failing to defeat Brave (Naomichi Marufuji, Katsuhiko Nakajima) and Hitoshi Kumano). Kitamiya participated in the 2015 Global League Tournament. He finished the tournament last with 2 points, with his only win coming against Takashi Iizuka by DQ. Kitamiya left Choukibou-Gun on December 24, when Naomichi Marufuji disbanded all stables in NOAH in order to unite the roster against the invading Suzuki-Gun stable.

On February 25, Kitamiya made his debut for NJPW at Lion's Gate Project 1, losing to Yuji Nagata in the main event. Kitamiya teamed with Katsuhiko Nakajima and Maybach Taniguchi at We Are Suzuki-Gun 2, losing to NJPW's Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima and Juice Robinson.

On April 10, Kitamiya defeated Hitoshi Kumano, announcing afterwards that he would now be going under the ring name "Masa Kitamiya", as a tribute to a former professional wrestler and Kitamiya's childhood hero, Masa Saito, soon after adopting aspects of Saito's moveset and similar attire. From April 24 to May 3, Kitamiya and Nakajima participated in the 2016 Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with 6 points and second in their block after a loss to Suzuki-gun (Shelton Benjamin and Takashi Sugiura) cost them a place in the finals. On July 16, Kitamiya and Nakajima unsuccessfully challenged Naomichi Marufuji and Toru Yano for the GHC Tag Team Championships. Kitamiya again competed for NJPW on August 14 at the G1 Climax 26 final show, teaming with fellow NOAH representatives Go Shiozaki, Maybach Taniguchi, and Katsuhiko Nakajima to defeat Katsuyori Shibata, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Manabu Nakanishi. On August 25, Kitamiya scored the biggest win of his career, pinning former GHC Heavyweight Champion Go Shiozaki. Later on in that night, Kitamiya attacked Takashi Sugiura and delivered a Saito Suplex before challenging him to a match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On September 4, Kitamiya pinned Sugiura in a tag team match. Kitamiya failed to defeat Sugiura on September 23, with Sugiura pinning him after an Olympic Qualifying Slam from the top rope to retain. From November 3 to November 23, Kitamiya participated in the 2016 2016 Global League Tournament, defeating Takashi Sugiura, Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Kaito Kiyomiya, and Alejandro Saez, but losing to Go Shiozaki and Muhammad Yone. Despite that, Kitamiya remained at the top of his block and defeated Naomichi Marufuji to advance to finals, finishing the tournament with five wins and two losses. Kitamiya faced A Block winner Minoru Suzuki in the finals, losing after outside interference from Suzuki-Gun. On December 3, Kitamiya challenged tag team partner Katsuhiko Nakajima to a match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which Nakajima accepted. On December 24 Kitamiya unsuccessfully challenged Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

On January 7, 2017, Kitamiya and Kenoh defeated Akitoshi Saito and Muhammad Yone. Following this match, the pairing made a challenge to GHC Tag Team Championship holders Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi to a title match. he and Kenoh defeated Go Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi to win GHC Tag Team Champions. Kitamiya would then enter a feud with Kenoh turned on him during a match against Takashi Sugiura and Kaito Kiyomiya to form an alliance with Sugiura and, in the process, vacating the GHC Tag Team Champions. The two attacked Kitamiya until Muhammad Yone made the save. It was later announced that Kitamiya and Yone would wrestle against Kenoh and Sugiura for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championships on March 12 at the Great Voyage in Yokohama show. On March 12 Kitamiya and Yone failed to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions losing to Kenoh and Sugiura with Kitamiya getting pinned, but the feud would not be over with a match being announced between the two where Kitamiya won. In April The Aggression (Kitamiya and Katsuhiko Nakajima) took part in the Global Tag League. They would start the tournament with a winning streak even defeating the GHC Tag Team Champions Maybach Taniguchi and Naomichi Marufuji. However, they would lose to Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura to end their winning streak. The two would lose to Akitoshi Saito and Muhammad Yone on the final day costing them a spot in the finals and finishing up the tournament with 8 points. On March 11, 2018, Kitamiya and Nakajima defeated Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Go Shiozaki and Kaito Kiyomiya on April 29 in their first title defense at the Great Voyage in Niigata, then regained it on May 29 but lost it to Naomichi Marufuji and Akitoshi Saito on July 28. In November, Kitamiya took part in the 2018 Global League, where he finished the tournament with three wins and four losses. On November 25, Kitamiya decided to leave The Aggression, effectively disbanding the team. On December 7, Kitamiya along with Kenoh were defeated by Nakajima and Go Shiozaki in a tournament final for the GHC Tag Team Championship. In April 2019, Kitamiya started to take rookie Yoshiki Inamura under his wing and the two formed a team named "The Tough". On May 4, Kitamiya, Inamura, Kenoh, and Atsushi Kotoge formed a stable named "KONGOH" (translated to "Diamonds") as a protest against NOAH's owner LIDET Entertainment. From August 18 until September 10, Kitamiya took part in the 2019 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and two losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament

In June 2020, Kitamiya took part in the All Four Sides, a tournament to determine the next challenger to the GHC National Championship. In the finals, on May 20, Kitamiya was defeated by KONGOH stablemate Manabu Soya. From September 18 and October 11, Kitamiya took part in the N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins, and three losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. Following KONGOH's feud with Sugiura-gun, on January 31, Kitamiya and Katsuhiko Nakajima faced Sugiura-gun members Takashi Sugiura and Kendo Kashin in a winning effort. After the match, Kitamiya and Nakajima challenged Sugiura and his partner Kazushi Sakuraba to a title match for the GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Nakajima confirmed the reunion of the The Aggression. On March 7, 2021, at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Kitamiya and Nakajima defeated Sugiura-gun's Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the third time.

On May 31, following a GHC Tag Team Championship title defense, Kitamiya turned on Nakajima, leaving KONGOH due to his hatred towards him. This led to Noah announcing a steel cage *Lucha de Apuestas*, hair vs. hair match on June 26. At Cage War, Kitamiya defeated Nakajima, forcing him to shave his hair as per the stipulation. Despite their breakup, Kitamiya and Nakajima were recognized as GHC Tag Team Champions, until on June 30, Kitamiya and Nakajima decided to face each other for the vacant, with Kitamiya teaming with Kaito Kiyomiya and Nakajima with Manabu Soya. On July 22, Kitamiya and Kiyomiya defeated Nakajima and Soya for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. In September, Kitamiya took part in the 2021 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of one win and two losses, failling to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. On November 13, Kitamiya and Kiyomiya lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Keiji Mutoh and Naomichi Marufuji.

On May 21, 2022, Kitamiya and Michael Elgin defeated El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They were forced to vacated the titles on July 13, after Elgin was unable to work at Destination, three days later. At the event, Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura were defeated by Sugiura-gun (Hideki Suzuki and Timothy Thatcher) for the vacant titles. In August, Kitamiya took part in the 2022 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament, with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals.

On January 8, 2023 at New Sunrise and Reboot, after Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba faced Sugiura-gun (Takashi Sugiura and Timothy Thatcher) in a winning effort, with Kitamiya submitting Sugiura, Kitamiya called out for a title match the GHC Tag Team Championship, with Inaba being his partner. On February 12 at Great Voyage in Osaka, Kitamiya and Inaba defeated Sugiura and Thatcher to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Shuhei Taniguchi and Takashi Sugiura on Apri 16 at Green Journey in Sendai. In August, Kitamiya took part in the 2023 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins, two losses and a draw, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. On September 24 at Grand Ship In Nagoya, Kitamiya formed a stable with Manabu Soya and Daiki Inaba.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Prison Lock* (Kneeling figure four leglock) – adopted from Masa Saito
	+ Saito suplex – adopted from Masa Saito
	+ *Sasorigatame* (Sharpshooter)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Backslide
	+ Boston crab
	+ Camel clutch
	+ Cloverleaf
	+ Dragon screw
	+ Drop suplex
	+ German suplex
	+ Lariat
	+ Muffler hold
	+ Octopus stretch
	+ Piledriver
	+ Samoan drop
	+ Shoulder block
	+ Spear, sometimes into a corner
* **With Katsuhiko Nakajima**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- Double Running Bulldog

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Pro Wrestling NOAH**
	+ GHC Tag Team Championship (7 times) – with Kenoh (1), Katsuhiko Nakajima (3) Kaito Kiyomiya (1), Michael Elgin (1) and Daiki Inaba (1)
	+ NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League Fighting Spirit Prize (2014) – with Hitoshi Kumano
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**255** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017

## References

1. ↑ Noahful Gift 2017 ～ファン感謝祭～  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2017-12-26.
2. ↑ Puroresu Spirit ~ Keeping the Spirit Alive : Noah [GHC: Marufuji vs Kojima + Tag: Dangan . Keepingthespiritalive.tumblr.com. Retrieved on 2015-01-19.
3. ↑ *ja:「グローバル・リーグ戦2016」最新得点状況！優勝決定戦は鈴木みのるvsマサ北宮！【11/22終了時点】* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah* (2016-11-22). Retrieved on 2016-11-22.
4. ↑ *ja:グローバル・リーグ戦2016* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-11-22.
5. ↑ *ja:グローバル・リーグ戦2016* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-11-23.
6. ↑ http://puroresuspirit.net/2016/12/noah-results-for-december-23-2016-2/
7. ↑ 【GHCタッグ&GHCジュニア選手権開催!】1.21エディオンアリーナ大阪第2競技場大会対戦カード決定! .
8. ↑ The First Navig.2017  (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2017-01-21.
9. ↑ 拳王まさかの裏切りで杉浦と結託! タッグベルトはく奪! 2月24日(金)後楽園ホール大会 試合後コメント  (in ja).
10. ↑ 【2.25(土)12時～】【気になる武藤&丸藤の対戦相手は？】3.12横浜文化体育館大会GHC Jr.ヘビー級タッグ選手権試合(選手権者)石森太二&Hi69vs原田大輔&タダスケ(挑戦者)調印式及び同大会全対戦カード発表記者会見の模様をLIVE配信いたします！  (in ja).
11. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. Masa Kitamiya « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database .
12. ↑ プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE .
13. ↑ プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE .
14. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. Masa Kitamiya « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database .
15. ↑ プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE .
16. ↑ http://www.purolove.com/noah/history/ntvcup14.php