KENTA joins Bullet Club, attacks Katsuyori Shibata

In a shocking turn of events, the former ace of Pro Wrestling NOAH has turned his back on New Japan and joined the villainous stable Bullet Club.

KENTA’s G1 performance was stellar, featuring incredible matches with the likes of Kazuchika Okada, Will Ospreay and Hiroshi Tanahashi. His debut tour with New Japan was only marred by one thing — the reactions from the fans.

The NJPW fans have been less than enthusiastic about the former ace of rival promotion NOAH joining the ranks of their beloved company. The man formerly known as Hideo Itami has been treated to booing stadiums in quite a few cities so far in his short run with NJPW. KENTA looked like he wasn’t letting the negative reactions get to him, but that apparently was all a farce.

On the night of the G1 Climax final, KENTA was in action teaming with Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI against Bullet Club. KENTA, after not participating in the majority of the match, refused to be tagged in by Ishii and attacked him when Ishii looked to be gaining the upper hand on the BC.

Tama Tonga, one of the leaders of Bullet Club, had announced on Twitter that the group had added a new member and that man has now been confirmed to be KENTA.

KENTA and the Bullet Club then proceeded to beat down YOSHI-HASHI and the ringside young lions.

Enter Katsuyori Shibata.

KENTA’s best friend, tag partner and the man who brought him into NJPW hit the ring and blasted KENTA to the delight of the Budokan crowd. Shibata threw KENTA into the corner and delivered his signature delayed dropkick for the first time since his retirement.

Shibata looked to deliver even more punishment to his former friend and went for his other signature maneuver, the Penalty Kick, but was cut off by a kendo stick shot from Jado. KENTA pounced on the distracted Shibata and held him while Jado struck him once again. KENTA delivered his own Penalty Kick to Shibata and watched on as the other Bullet Club members beat down on The Wrestler.

KENTA then, to rub salt in the wound, did his Takeover pose while sitting on top of Shibata’s prone body as he held up the Two Sweet hand sign.

In what was quite possibly one of the most despicable heel turns in NJPW history, KENTA has now joined the BC and established himself as one of the biggest heels in Japan. Where KENTA goes from here remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: the New Japan fans may never forgive KENTA for what he did to their beloved favorite, Katsuyori Shibata.