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The story
Hiromu Takahashi, who recently left New Japan Pro-Wrestling, made a surprise debut on WWE SmackDown under the new ring name “KYOKI,” and it was announced that he’s forming a new unit called “BAKUSAI” with Shinsuke Nakamura. On 5ch’s Geinou/Sports Sokuhou+ board, users had fun with the running joke that Japanese wrestlers always get saddled with weird names once they join WWE, as well as with the Japanese message-board site the unit’s name brings to mind.
Several posts also pointed out that Nakamura is one of the rare exceptions who has kept his own name throughout his run, and noted how the former LIJ members who left New Japan have since split between WWE and NOAH.
<WWE SmackDown> ◇August 21 (August 22 JST) ◇Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The “King of Strong Style,” Shinsuke Nakamura, finally introduced his new partner.
Just before the main event, Nakamura appeared via video package with a message for the rival Tongan heel unit MFT (My Family Tree). Addressing the current WWE Tag Team Champions (Tama Tonga and Tara Tonga), he said: “MFT, I warned you, didn’t I? Guess you weren’t listening. It’s finally come from the darkness — the time has finally come, out from under the lights.” Then, emerging from behind him, was Hiromu Takahashi, who left New Japan Pro-Wrestling for good this past February.
Source: nikkansports.com / Original article here
What people said
Big paycheck, so everybody's happy
Undertaker → Funeral Director
The Rock → Rock
They're probably making him do this kind of shtick in Japanese too
Kenzo was smart to turn down 'Hirohito' (a proposed ring name referencing Emperor Hirohito)
When you think about it, Nakamura really is the exception among exceptions. He might be the only one who kept his real name
I can't see him being successful enough there to end his career in WWE
Or it could be 博才 (Hakusai), meaning 'instinct'
I loved that one
They do this because otherwise nobody remembers the name
He's King Haku's son, but in New Japan he was pretty weak and got made fun of
HHH probably wants to recreate New Japan's feuds straight in WWE — they'd click well together
Hiromu and Watanabe are in WWE, while Naito and Bushi are holding belts in NOAH
The ones who stayed behind are SANADA, Takagi, and Yota-sama… well, good luck lol
Does a NOAH belt even have any value?
Somehow Naito and BUSHI just give off this 'exiled to the sticks' vibe
Bakusai will probably end up getting changed to 'Bakusan'
His wife's an intellectual
Though honestly, he probably would've turned it down regardless of that
Because Nakamura is from Kyoto Prefecture
Apparently every Japanese wrestler who goes to WWE, men and women alike, gets looked after by the Nakamura family
That's what Kuroshio Japan said — in that sense he might be a pretty valuable guy to have around too
Apparently he looks out for people at the gym too, regardless of race
Guess that's what you'd expect from a former captain of the Aoyama Gakuin wrestling club
He's got that captain's leadership quality
If you mean Naito, he's the current GHC champion in NOAH, wrestling as a babyface
It's just endless conflict between rivals forever — does the story ever actually wrap up?
Same as American TV dramas
Once the popularity starts fading
they suddenly start losing and their contract ends after that season
Keeping the same name would've been fine
But contractually, once you leave WWE you can't use that name anymore
Ikemen Jiro had no choice but to become 'Kuroshio TOKYO Japan' too
So if Nakamura ever leaves, he won't be able to use 'Nakamura' anymore either?
Background and Key Points
Hiromu Takahashi was one of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s top junior heavyweights and a member of Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ), the villainous stable built around Tetsuya Naito. He left NJPW for good in February 2026, and his WWE arrival fits a decades-long pattern: Japanese wrestlers signing with WWE almost always lose their original ring name — Funaki, KENSO, Yoshi Tatsu, and KENTA (rebranded Hideo Itami) are earlier examples. This isn’t just creative whim; WWE owns the trademarks on names used under its contracts, which is why a wrestler who departs, like former WWE performer Ikemen Jiro, has to reinvent himself (he became “Kuroshio TOKYO Japan”). Shinsuke Nakamura, who debuted in WWE in 2016 and kept his real name throughout, is the rare exception the thread keeps circling back to.
The thread’s actual disagreement isn’t really about whether renaming is embarrassing — most posters accept that as inevitable, joking that “nobody remembers a Japanese name otherwise.” The sharper split is over where the real spotlight now sits among the scattered ex-LIJ members: some argue WWE (where Hiromu and fellow LIJ alum Yota Watanabe landed) is the bigger stage, while others note that Naito and BUSHI, who moved to NOAH instead, currently hold that promotion’s top titles (GHC), making their move look more successful by results even if NOAH’s overall prestige is debated.
What the thread never resolves, despite raising it, is what happens to “Nakamura” as a WWE trademark if he ever leaves the company — an open question given the naming-rights precedent, since even a wrestler’s real name can become entangled in WWE’s contractual ownership once used as a ring name.
*This article is an excerpt and summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports Sokuhou+) thread ‘[Pro Wrestling] Hiromu Takahashi Debuts in WWE: “My Name is KYOKI” — Forming New Unit “BAKUSAI” with Shinsuke Nakamura‘.
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