The Aggression

The Aggression (Masa Kitamiya (left) and (Katsuhiko Nakajima) (left) in December 2020

## Tag team

### Members

Katsuhiko Nakajima
Masa Kitamiya

### Billed heights

5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) – Nakajima
5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) – Kitamiya

### Years active

2016-2018
2020-2021

### Promotion(s)

NOAH
NJPW

**The Aggression** (ジ•アフレーション, *Ji Agureshon*) was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya, that is known for their work in Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH), where they were former three-times GHC Tag Team Champions.

The team was formed in April 2016, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya. The team was marked by Nakajima intial success as GHC Heavyweight Champion, followed by various unsuccessfull attempts of becoming the GHC Tag Team Championship. The Aggression managed to win titles in March 2018, holding them for a month, only to regain it on May 29, reaching the record for most reigns as the GHC Tag Team Champions. After losing the titles in July 2018, The Aggression foccused on their singles career, which culminated in the team being disbanded in November 2018.

After Nakajima turned heel in August 2020, after joining the KONGOH stable. The Aggresion reunited with Nakajima and Kitamiya teaming with each other in December, before winning the GHC Tag Team Championship for third time, tying the record for most reigns as the GHC Tag Team Champions. The team disbanded in May 2021, after Kitamiya turned on Nakajima.

## History

### Formation (2016)

On April 21, 2016, Mitsuhiro 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. After the match, Kitamiya and Nakajima decided to form a team latter dubbed as "The Aggression". Shorlty after, Kitamiya renamed himself to Masa Kitamiya to honour his mentor and childhood hero, Masa Saito.

### Championship pursuits and Nakajima's individual success (2016–2017)

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. 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. However on the following month, Nakajima defeated Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time. In November, Kitamiya and Nakajima took part in the 2016 Global League wrestling in separate blocks. Both finished the tournament, with a record of five wins and two losses. However, Kitamiya advance to the finals, while Nakajima finished third after losing to Minoru Suzuki on the final day. On November 23, Kitamiya was defeated in the finals by Suzuki. On December 3, Kitamiya challenged Nakajima to a title match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which Nakajima accepted. On December 24, Kitamiya unsuccessfully challenged Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

In April 2017, Kitamiya and Nakajima took part of the 2017 Global Tag League. They started the tournament with a four-match winning streak even, including a victory over the reigning GHC Tag Team Champions Maybach Taniguchi and Naomichi Marufuji. However, follwing a poor run of form, which included a loss against Akitoshi Saito andMuhammad Yone at the final day, prevented them from reaching the finals. On August 26, Nakajima lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Eddie Edwards.

### Record tying reign as GHC Tag Team Champions and Disbanding (2018)

On March 11, 2018 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Nakajima and Kitamiya defeated Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. From March 18 until April 9, The Aggression took part in the 2018 Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins, two losses and two draws, failling to advance to the finals, after losing to Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura on the final day of the tournament. They lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Go Shiozaki and Kaito Kiyomiya on April 29 in their first title defense at the Great Voyage in Niigata, before regained it on May 29. They lost the titles to Naomichi Marufuji and Akitoshi Saito on July 28. On November 24, Nakajima and Kitamiya decided to disband, the team, following Nakajima's frustration of losing to Kitamiya during the 2018 Global League.

### KONGOH and Reunion (2020–2021)

On August 2020, Nakajima turned on Go Shiozaki to join the villainous stable KONGOH. As part of his addition to the stable, Nakajima reformed The Aggression with Kitamiya, leading on December 26 at KONGOH self-produced event Diamond 3, Nakajima and Kitamiya facing Kinya Okada and Yoshiki Inamura in a winning effort. Following KONGOH's feud with Sugiura-gun, on January 31, Nakajima and Kitamiya 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 team. On March 7, 2021 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Kitamiya and Nakajima defeated 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 Nakajima, effectivelly ending their partnership.

## In Wrestling

* **Kitamiya's Finishing moves**
	+ Saito suplex
	+ *Prison Lock* (Kneeling figure four leglock)
* **Nakajima's Finishing moves**
	+ Vertical Spike
* **Double team finishing moves**
	+ Double Running Bulldog

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Pro Wrestling NOAH**
	+ GHC Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Nakajima
	+ GHC Tag Team Championship (3 times)
	+ N-1 Victory (2020) – Nakajima
* **Tokyo Sports**
	+ Fighting Spirit Award (2016) – Nakajima

## References

1. ↑ *ja:グローバル・リーグ戦2016* (in Japanese). *Pro Wrestling Noah*. Retrieved on 2016-11-23.
2. ↑ http://puroresuspirit.net/2016/12/noah-results-for-december-23-2016-2/
3. ↑ プロレスリング・ノア公式サイト | PRO-WRESTLING NOAH OFFICIAL SITE .
4. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. Masa Kitamiya « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database .