Hiromu Takahashi didn’t have to wait long after showing up on SmackDown to actually wrestle for WWE. Just days after revealing himself as Shinsuke Nakamura’s mystery partner, the former NJPW star quietly made his WWE in-ring debut before RAW.
On August 24, Takahashi competed in a dark match ahead of Monday Night RAW in Ottawa, stepping into the ring against Kit Wilson. The match marked Takahashi’s first time actually competing inside a WWE ring. His first appearance for the company came on the August 21 episode of SmackDown, where he was introduced under the name KYOKI alongside Nakamura.
WWE had been teasing Nakamura’s mystery partner for the previous week. After Tama Tonga and Talla Tonga captured the WWE Tag Team Championship, Nakamura appeared in an off-air promo and warned the MFTs that somebody experienced, vicious and deadly was coming.
That person turned out to be Takahashi. The former New Japan Pro Wrestling star officially debuted on SmackDown and introduced himself as someone who has fought around the world before making it clear he was ready to take on anyone WWE put in front of him.
Dark matches are regularly used to get talent experience in front of WWE crowds without putting everything directly on television, and Takahashi’s first assignment came against an established star before RAW even went on the air.
SmackDown introduced KYOKI. Ottawa got to see what he could actually do. With Takahashi already getting his first WWE match only days after his arrival, it doesn’t look like the company plans on wasting much time getting Nakamura’s new partner into the ring.
What do you want to see from Hiromu Takahashi following his WWE in-ring debut? Let us know in the comments.
