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Japanese Veteran Kendo Kashin Guest Coach at WWE Performance Center

WWE revealed on the Instagram for NXT that former 2x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kendo Kashin was at the WWE Performance Center in a guest coach capacity.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Btjk9A4A4YO/

Kendo Kashin Guest Coach at WWE Performance Center

Kendo Kashin is a graduate from the New Japan Pro Wrestling Dojo in 1992, initially competing under his real name Tokimitsu Ishizawa, and was a breakout star with NJPW’s Junior Heavyweight division in the mid-1990s. In 1996, he went on his excursion, heading to Austria’s prestigious Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), where he won the CWA Junior Heavyweight title. He returned to NJPW as the now masked Kendo Kashin, winning the Young Lions Cup in 1996 in a final against Yuji Nagata. In 1999, he won NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors, en route to two reigns as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. He also won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Dr. Wagner Jr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtgH9WM-rno

In 2002, he departed NJPW for rival All Japan while still IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, in a shocking defection, where he quickly won the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He held the title for nearly two years (669 days) as the company’s Ace of the junior heavyweights, as well as capturing the AJPW World Tag Team titles with his New Japan rival Nagata. In 2005, he made his US debut, competing in the Ring of Honor Best of American Super Juniors (as Dragon Soldier B) as well as with Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG). Shortly after his US debut, he took a hiatus from pro wrestling.

He returned in 2007, joining Antonio Inoki’s new Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), and in 2014, returned to All Japan and made his debut with DDT Pro, both of which he still performs for. It’s strange timing of Kashin arriving at the Performance Center, following reports that the WWE had representatives in Japan last week scouting potential business partners for a potential NXT Japan.

Jamie Greer

Jamie Greer

Jamie Greer joined LWOPW in 2015 and was the site's Managing Editor from 2016 through 2020. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. He's also written for Pro Wrestling Illustrated, WrestleZone, The Windsor Star, and other publications. He lives in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, with his wife and son.

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