From the first time I watched him in an Osaka Pro ring, Yuuto Kikuchi demanded attention. It was not only his impossibly shiny pants and shock of red hair but also the confidence of his movements and how in sync he seemed to be with everything else going on. There was a completeness to him and his wrestling that seemed at odds with his apparent youth. There was also a sense of vulnerability too, not as a weakness but rather an openness and sincerity that shone through his brash proclamations of success for him and his tag partner. 

That Kikuchi, the ‘Red Eagle’ Kikuchi, was the one seen by many NOAH fans for the first time in March 2024, as he and then tag partner Harutoki faced Mohammed Yone and HI69 in the second LIMIT BREAK show in Yokohama. Kikuchi was the flashy underdog, leaping around the NOAH ring like he had claimed it. He stole the crowd’s attention, exactly as he was also doing in shopping malls, bars, and whatever venue he was invited to in and around Osaka. 

Six months later, it was a very different Yuuto Kikuchi who entered the ring at Edion Arena Osaka and left it a member of one of NOAH’s most historically popular factions, Ratel’s. Now entirely clothed in shades of black and silver, in the place of his bright red hair were bleached blonde lengths that kept falling in his eyes. Though smiling, it was not only his clothing that lacked the lightness of before. The Black Eagle had arrived. 

Ratel's members posing in the ring on the day of Kikuchi's introduction
Ratel’s members posing in the ring on the day of Kikuchi’s introduction (Photo Credit: @noah_ghc)

The story of those six months between Kikuchi’s first foray into the NOAH ring and the confirmation of his place within it is one of friendship, betrayal, jealousy, and ambition. This is the story of how Yuuto Kikuchi became the Black Eagle. 

Osaka Eaglet

To understand what drove our protagonist from red to black, we have to start way back at the beginning. Kikuchi shares an origin story with many Kansai wrestlers of his generation; he fell in love with the idea of being a wrestler in a tiny venue off the streets of Dotonbori where masked heroes and villains were both idols and teachers to the children of Osaka. Like Shigehiro Irie, TORU, and Konosuke Takeshita, as well as several others who play key roles in his career now, Kikuchi was an Osaka Pro Wrestling fan and wrestling class trainee. 

Wrestling was part of Kikuchi’s life for almost as long as he can remember, with his family being regulars at Osaka Pro shows throughout his childhood. He was a fan of Goa (later HUB/Zero) and of Masamune and Asian Couger (later Kuuga). He didn’t have an interest in other sports, nor was he, by his own admission, particularly athletic. He joined Osaka Pro’s childrens wrestling classes for fun, making close friends with fellow classmates Ryuya Matsufusa, Harutoki, and Kohei Kinoshita. At the time the teachers at Osaka Pro were Ebbessan, Takoyakida and Kotoge, sometimes joined by Harada and Tadasuke, and the sessions were a mix of fitness games and in-ring training. It was only at the final graduation from the children’s class, when Kikuchi was the victor of a handicap match against Takoyakida, that Kikuchi stood up in front of the audience and declared his intent to become a professional wrestler. His path was decided. 

Hirano Young Guns

In April 2013, several wrestlers did not renew their contracts with Osaka Pro Wrestling. The company would continue on for another year but it became increasingly clear that Osaka Pro was past its glory days and could not sustain itself, its venue, or wrestlers. In the summer of 2013, Kuuga and other former Osaka Pro wrestlers held the first of several shows that would formally become Dotonbori Pro Wrestling that autumn. Dotonbori Pro offered a home to many former Osaka Pro wrestlers and, in time, a home to its former students, Kikuchi among them. 

As Osaka Pro faltered, Kikuchi’s desire to become a wrestler did not and he joined Kohei Kinoshita in continuing his training in Tigre Gym in Hirano, Osaka. There he trained alongside and with the support of TORU, HAYATA, and home-grown Dotonbori talent Rapid. His fellow Osaka Pro classmates Harutoki, Matsufusa, and future Dotonbori referee Yuhi also made their way to Tigre, which was used by both Dove and Dotonbori Pro Wrestling. This small group of wrestling trainees, along with Dove trainee Yuki Aoki, came to dub themselves the ‘Hirano Young Guns’, determined to succeed individually and together to shake up Kansai wrestling. 

Photo of the 'hirano young guns' posing in a Tigre Gym ring.
Hirano Young Guns (Photo Credit: @tigregym_hirano)

Kikuchi was the first to spread his wings.

Yuuto Kikuchi made his unofficial debut against the founder of Dotonbori Pro Wrestling, Kuuga, on the promotion’s second anniversary show in late September 2015. He had been a trainee for one year, eight months. His performance was enough to lead to an official debut match on 4th October at Kuuga’s 20th Anniversary show. His opponent was the current WDW Champion in Dotonbori Pro and someone Kikuchi knew well, Rapid. In his corner was a wrestler he had been a fan of as a child, HUB, and handing him flowers before the match was fellow trainee, Harutoki. The match finished under 10 minutes with Rapid’s diving double knee drop, but it was still a promising debut. 

At the time of his debut, Kikuchi was just 16. He had to wait several years before his Osaka Pro class peers officially joined him in the ring. Unofficially though, the Hirano Young Guns kept progressing. Tigre Gym held several events showcasing their trainees and younger wrestlers, with the Young Master series and Dove Pro’s ‘Gym Wars’. Kikuchi had the opportunity to pit himself against former fellow Osaka Pro trainees in the form of (not yet debuted) long-time friend Ryuya Matsufusa in Sept 2016, then Dove Pro Wrestling’s Kohei Kinoshita in 2017. As the senior, he won both matches, but they still made an impression. Although they practiced together regularly, he did not yet officially face Harutoki, who decided, much like his hero Tsubasa, to advance his study of wrestling in Mexico. 

Kikuchi’s career progressed like many a young wrestler with more losses than wins, including several to the wrestlers he had looked up to as a young fan of Osaka Pro. He graduated from school in 2017, beginning to take on teaching responsibilities at Tigre Gym and attending as many Osaka shows as he could, whether or not he was on the card. In 2017, in a glimpse of what was to come, he was the opening match for future boss Zeus’s, ‘Zeus Festival’ in All Japan. His commitment to wrestling was clear, and the wins slowly started to accumulate, but still he had no big mark of his achievements. 

Then Harutoki returned. 

Harutoki’s debut in Japan was an echo of Osaka Pro’s wrestling classes. Kikuchi was his opponent, Yuhi the referee. Kikuchi won, but it was clear the victory was a friendly one and within the month they were working together. Considered a rookie tag team, despite Kikuchi’s more than three years in the ring, it took a while before they solidified their team and saw results, but in December of 2020, they became WDW Tag Team champions for the first time. The Young Guns had made their mark.

The (handsome) future of Kansai wrestling

As well as being a reliable tag partner, Harutoki quickly developed into a friendly rival. A year after Harutoki’s debut, they faced each other again in singles competition. Kikuchi still won, but this time it took him over 20 minutes. By September, Harutoki was able to beat him, claiming victory in the Young Master tournament. In 2022, Harutoki was the first of the pair to get a shot at Dotonbori’s highest belt, the WDW Championship. He lost on his first attempt, as did Kikuchi four months later, but Harutoki came back from the loss, winning Dotonbori’s Strongest Man tournament and claiming a second successful attempt in February 2023. Just four years into his time at Dotonbori, Harutoki was its Champion and Kikuchi, despite nearly twice the experience, was repeatedly in Harutoki’s shadow. Nonetheless, Kikuchi was supportive of him and of his other peers, carrying cheer towels, wearing their t-shirts, and saying positive things at seemingly every opportunity. It appeared clear that his rivalry with Harutoki was one born out of their history and circumstance – a natural consequence of being in the same generation – rather than any resentment or dislike.

Kikuchi also had other things to focus on, including developing other rivals. In July 2020, another former Hirano Young Gun made their debut – Kikuchi’s school friend and Osaka Pro classmate, Ryuya Matsufusa. Kikuchi was Matsufusa’s opponent for an exhibition match in February 2020, welcoming Matsufusa back to life as a wrestling trainee. Although not regularly either tag partners or opponents the two were often together, both working as personal trainers at King Gym, where former Osaka Pro wrestler, Zeus, is the main representative. It was Zeus who brought the two together more formally in 2022 with the relaunch of Osaka Pro Wrestling. Both Matsufusa and Kikuchi, though still members of Dotonbori, were now also at the very start of new Osaka Pro. At the pre-launch press conference, both expressed their thanks to President Zeus in bringing them back to the company they grew up with. 

Increasingly, Kikuchi was everywhere in Osaka – at Dotonbori, Osaka Pro, MeriKen, Heat Up – wrestling alongside and against the other wrestlers of his generation. Harutoki, Matsufusa and Kikuchi teamed up to try to win the newly formed WDW six-man belts, only falling at the last hurdle. Harutoki and Kikuchi started a second reign as WDW tag champions that would last over a year and Matsufusa and Kikuchi teamed up as ‘Kikumatsu’ (both admit they lack creativity with names) in Osaka Pro, making it to the final of the 2023 Osaka Pro Tag Festival. Over at MeriKen, Kikuchi teamed up with fellow Tigre gym leader Kohei Kinoshita, and with fellow Young Gun Mataro Aoki. He started to regularly surpass the wrestlers who trained him, and offered a real challenge to the generation ahead. Notably, he wore both gratitude and ambition well, never doubting his ability nor failing to credit that of his opponents. He was bright and determined, growing increasingly certain in the ‘red eagle’ moniker he had adopted from age 20. 

Kinoshita, Harutoki, Matsufusa and Kikuchi smiling together at Tsubasa's 50th birthday show.
The future of Kansai wrestling. From left: Kohei Kinoshita, Ryuya Matsufusa, Harutoki, Yuuto Kikuchi. (Photo credit: @KOUHEI00715)

In August 2023, Tsubasa held a 50th birthday show with a main event featuring four wrestlers who he considered to be the future of wrestling in Kansai, pitted against the older generation. Yuuto Kikuchi, Harutoki, Kohei Kinoshita and Ryuya Matsufusa faced Kaz Hayashi, TAKA Michinoku, Billy Ken Kid and Tsubasa. Matsufusa, the only one of the four young prospects without a title, took the victory. It was not only Tsubasa who named the four as the future, as Kikuchi also frequently referenced himself and his tag partners as the future of Kansai wrestling. Others would soon start to follow suit. 

The following month, after having followed Harutoki’s path of winning Dotonbori’s Strongest Man Tournament to claim his challenge, Kikuchi finally became WDW Champion and reached the top of Dotonbori Pro. Finally it seemed the eagle had taken flight.

From Red to Black

At the start of 2024, it appeared that Youto Kikuchi had it all. He held the WDW Tag Team titles with long-time friend Harutoki and also the WDW Championship he had won from Harutoki the previous year. He had defended that title against childhood hero Masumune. He was preparing to compete for a second time in Osaka Pro’s Tag Festival alongside Matsufusa and was also now a regular on MeriKen’s Friday Night Fight.

On March 12th 2024 he held a produce show that had by then become an annual event: Yuuto Kikuchi’s Self-Indulgent Show. The show was a showcase of Kikuchi’s character and connections, with warmth, affection, and more than a little ridiculous humour. The main event, as had become tradition, involved a costume change between Kikuchi, Harutoki, Matsufusa and Pro Wrestling Shien’s Taniguchi and Tetsuya Goto. Kikuchi was played by Matsufusa. The previous year he had been played by one of Kikuchi’s favourite teachers and the man he debuted against, Rapid. The event was full of laughter, with hints of the deep connections that ran between him and his invited guests. It was the last time they would come together in such happy circumstances.

In theory, Kikuchi was draped in success that came alongside many of his oldest friends and mentors. But something was about to crack.

There were already signs of strain. In February, KikuMatsu had failed to match their 2023 position as finalists in Osaka Pro’s Tag Festival. Matsufusa had taken a surprise pin from Tigers Mask, cutting short their success. Then, in Dotonbori on 4th March, a misfire between Harutoki and Kikuchi had led to Harutoki being pinned in a build up match to their tag title defence. In both cases, Kikuchi only emphasised that things were fine, good even. When Harutoki was pinned in their debut at LIMIT BREAK, Kikuchi seemed only supportive. 

However, something was bubbling under the surface. For years now he had watched his less experienced peers move ahead of him, often directly claiming the things he had worked for – Harutoki with the WDW Championship and now Matsufusa with the Light Heavyweight title. Their victories directly cost him what he wanted, and now their losses were too. Kikuchi was aiming for more than being WDW Champion – he wanted to be Dotonbori’s Ace. He wanted to be in a position to shape the future. Despite holding the Championship for over 6 months, he didn’t feel like he was there yet, so what was holding him back?

On April 7th, Harutoki and Kikuchi faced Magnitude Kishiwada and Takashi Tachibana for the WDW Tag Team Championships. The match was hard fought, going over 20 minutes before the same misfire from Harutoki that had happened in March took Kikuchi out of the match and again left Harutoki vulnerable to Tachibana’s attack. Harutoki was pinned and new Champions crowned. Kikuchi stood over the sprawled out Harutoki, looking down at his friend and tag partner. Then he turned around and left the ring. He did not return for the traditional end of show photos. His later comments consisted of a black and white photo of Harutoki’s accidental hit, and an assertion that he no longer needed such a partner.

Kikuchi moved on. He had another Dotonbori title defence to concern himself with, this one against the man who played a significant role in his training and could be called the initial Ace of Dotonbori Pro, Rapid. This was a match Kikuchi had specifically requested, even stating that a victory over Rapid now was exactly what he needed to confirm his position and move himself and Dotonbori Pro forward. Both men appeared excited at the prospect of their clash. For many years, Kikuchi had spoken highly of Rapid and their connection, referring to Rapid as his ‘favourite’.  Everything seemed set for an emotional title match that would see Kikuchi either solidify his position as new ace of the company, or see him fall to a senior he respected. The outcome was neither. 

Instead, on 12th May, Yuuto Kikuchi decided he was done being a good kid. 

KRAMPUS

Up until even the day before, Kikuchi’s posts and comments about the title match were sweet and respectful, full of enthusiasm for what Rapid had taught him. Only with hindsight do they also seem to carry an air of desperation, of someone frustrated that those around them do not seem to share their ambitions to push still further. Kikuchi wanted to excel, to shake things up, but he did not truly want to do it alone. 

So, he didn’t. 

Kikuchi beat Rapid in under 20 minutes, in no small part due to the interference of Orochi and Kinron, who held Rapid between them for Kikuchi’s attacks and fended off support from Captain Amemura. Kikuchi finished with ‘Red Eagle’, his diving foot stomp, making a statement of dominance over the former champion. The crowd was stunned. Kikuchi referred to the match as disappointing, expressing his concern over the boring and weak wrestling at Dotonbori and vowing to bring strength to a new, more exciting, Dotonbori Pro. 

Kikuchi with the first two members of KRAMPUS
KRAMPUS, prior to being joined by Grimm. (Photo credit: @doutonbori_pw)

So began a rapid series of changes in Yuuto Kikuchi. Over the course of two months, he turned on former friends, called out the weaknesses of his teammates and opponents, and picked fights just about everywhere. He revelled in mocking his opponents and their supporters. In Osaka Pro, he ignored and dismissed Matsufusa and held out a hand to the heel unit, Rogue Nation. In MeriKen, he picked fights with Brother YASSHI and former ally Kinoshita. At LIMIT BREAK, he was darker, surly, but no less interested in showing off. In Dotonbori, he and his new allies brought violence and disruption, using weapons, distraction and unmasking in their arsenal. This new Kikuchi was ruthless and he was having fun. 

Kikuchi slowly shed the red that had been his trademark, declaring that both he and his similarly named diving foot stomp were no longer ‘Red Eagle’ but ‘Black Eagle’ instead. White contact lenses, wet bleached hair and an unimpressed smirk solidified the impression that this Yuuto Kikuchi was here for his own amusement, not anyone else’s. On June 2nd, Kikuchi, Orochi and the newly named ‘Violence Dragon’ announced their unit name, KRAMPUS, and the arrival of a fourth member to participate in the Dotonbori Strongest Man league in July and August. Kikuchi was now leading a new agenda for Dotonbori Pro, finally at the forefront of the company as he had longed to be. 

Black Eagle

Of course, people are complicated. We are not just one thing. The Kikuchi that walked into Ratel’s at Harada’s invitation seemed much softer than the greasy haired, cocky leader of KRAMPUS we had seen in the early summer. Kikuchi has stated that he will always be KRAMPUS in his heart, but that he wants to see what he can be as NOAH’s Yuuto Kikuchi. Recognising the value of adaptation and growth were part of the impetus for starting KRAMPUS in the first place, so perhaps this is not surprising. 

His frustration in Dotonbori Pro has also had time to mellow. In August he defeated Harutoki to win the Strongest Man Tournament for the second year in a row, and in October he and fellow KRAMPUS members Orochi and Violence Dragon secured the WDW six-man titles. He has now held every major title in the company. In NOAH, he is also amongst mentors whose ambitions he recognises and respects, and who can help support his own. He has no need to posture or create conflict where he feels he can be successful. Still, neither is he the bright and cheerful red eagle of before. He still refers to his previous friendships like he has outgrown them and doesn’t seek to justify his actions. His ambitions now are stated plainly, and he means to back them up. Although perhaps that is not so different from the Yuuto Kikuchi who stood in front of his classmates and parents and declared his intent to become a pro wrestler.

Unfinished business

Whether Kikuchi likes it or not, his name is inextricably linked to his Osaka Pro classmates – Harutoki, Kinoshita, and Matsufusa. It seems he cannot escape his past. Even in NOAH, Kinoshita and Harutoki are making their own mark. Harutoki in particular has already had opportunities there that Kikuchi has not. Perhaps even his resentments will follow him. For Kikuchi’s part, there are also suggestions that he hasn’t quite let those connections go, as he can’t help commenting on their activities. NOAH is not his only home, and if he wants the tag titles in Dotonbori, or the Light Heavyweight title in Osaka, he must know that avoiding those connections permanently is not an option. 

This is the end we start from.