 Nakajima in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1988-03-11)March 11, 1988 (age 37)[2] Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan[2] |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Christmas Tree[1] Katsuhiko Nakajima |
| Billed height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 87 kg (192 lb)[2][3] |
| Trained by | Riki Choshu Kensuke Sasaki Masa Saito |
| Debut | January 5, 2004[2] |
Katsuhiko Nakajima (中嶋 勝彦,Nakajima Katsuhiko; born March 11, 1988) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler. He is primarily working forGleat, where he is the currentLidet UWF World Champion. He is a formerTriple Crown Heavyweight Champion inAll Japan Pro Wrestling and a two-timeGHC Heavyweight Champion inPro Wrestling Noah.
Known as "The Mad Wolf" and "The Dark Assassin" (among other nicknames), he is best known for his time inPro Wrestling Noah. He started his career inRiki Choshu'sFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ) promotion before heading toKensuke Sasaki'sKensuke Office/Diamond Ring dojo and promotion. In AJPW, he is a formerWorld Junior Heavyweight Champion. An accomplishedkarateka, his style is based upon strong, fast kicks and strikes; his style has been dubbed by Nakajima as"Toukon Style" (闘魂 STYLE,Tōkon sutairu), which was later changed to"XX Style" following a copyright dispute withIGF.
Nakajima made his professional debut aged 15 in amixed martial arts contest,[4] and immediately made a name for himself inpuroresu, earning the nickname"Supernova" and facingHall of Famers,[5] such asKenta Kobashi,[6]Satoru Sayama,[7]Jushin Thunder Liger,[8] andTatsumi Fujinami.[9] He has competed in several notable Japanese promotions, includingNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),Inoki Genome Federation,Pro Wrestling Zero1,Michinoku Pro,Dragon Gate, and Pro Wrestling Noah.
He set several age records throughout the first few years into his professional wrestling career, including being the youngest wrestler to compete in AJPW'sChampion Carnival tournament,[10] as well as the youngest to hold the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He won theTokyo Sports "Rookie of the Year" award in 2004 and the "Fighting Spirit" award in 2005.[11] Having worked for Noah for most of his career, both as a representative of Diamond Ring and as a freelancer, he officially signed with the promotion in December 2015. He is atwo-timeGHC Heavyweight Champion,three-timeGHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and asix-timeGHC Tag Team Champion.
An accomplishedkarateka, Nakajima was hired byRiki Choshu'sWorld Japan promotion in December 2002 at the age of 14. He debuted for World Japan (WJ) in September 2003, facing American fighter Jason Leigh in anMMA fight, winning via knockout in one minute and thirty-five seconds.[4] His true professional wrestling debut came on the main event of World Japan's "Resolution" card on January 5, 2004, losing via submission toTomohiro Ishii.[7]
Nakajima continued to wrestle for WJ for a short time, even wrestling the originalTiger MaskSatoru Sayama[7] before signing withKensuke Office in April.[12] This led to his debut withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, facing legendary junior heavyweightJushin Thunder Liger in theTokyo Dome on May 3, 2004.[8] He made his debut with All Japan Pro Wrestling the next day, successfully teaming withToshiaki Kawada in a six-man tag team match.[13] He continued to wrestle for both promotions extensively throughout 2004, even competing in Block B of NJPW'sBest of the Super Juniors tournament, finishing with two points by defeatingCurry Man[14] and reaching the finals of the Young LionToukon (fighting spirit) tournament, losing toRyusuke Taguchi.[8]
On June 12, 2004, in AJPW, Nakajima received the first championship match of his career, teaming withKensuke Sasaki to unsuccessfully challengeMasanobu Fuchi andGenichiro Tenryu for theAll Asia Tag Team Championship.[15] On September 17, 2004, Nakajima made his debut inDragon Gate on theirpay-per-viewGate of Sanctuary, losing toMasaaki Mochizuki.[16] The following month, Nakajima entered theOsaka Pro Tenno-zansingle-elimination tournament, losing to eventual winnerBig Boss MA-G-MA in the first round.[17] Nakajima and Sasaki teamed up in theWorld's Strongest Tag Determination League in November and December 2004, finishing with four points in Block B.[18]
Nakajima received his first opportunity at a singles championship on April 20, 2005, losing toWorld Junior Heavyweight ChampionTaka Michinoku.[19] His appearances in NJPW became much more sporadic around this time, with his final match to date taking place on April 24, 2005, a loss to 6-timeIWGP Heavyweight ChampionTatsumi Fujinami.[9]
On May 7, 2005, Katsuhiko participated in the 2005Differ Cup, a biennial cross-promotional junior heavyweight tag team tournament, teaming withOsaka Pro's Takehiro Murahama; the two lost to Super Shisa andTiger Emperor in the first round.[20] He also teamed withTomoaki Honma in a tournament throughout June 2005 to decide the vacant All Asia Tag Team Championship, making it to the finals before losing toShuji Kondo and"brother" Yasshi.[21] Just over one month later on July 26, 2005, Nakajima and Kensuke Sasaki defeated Kondo and Yasshi for the titles in their second defense, giving Nakajima his first championship.[22] They would continue to defend the titles through 2005, against such teams asArashi and Ryuji Hijikata[23] andBuchanan andD'Lo Brown.[24]
On July 18, 2005, Nakajima made his debut inPro Wrestling Noah, wrestling in a six-man tag team match in the Tokyo Dome. He would continue by teaming with Kensuke Sasaki againstKenta Kobashi and his own protégéGo Shiozaki in an inter-generation tag team match on November 5, 2005, with Sasaki pinning Shiozaki after alariat.[6] This match was rated 43⁄4 out of 5 stars by wrestling journalistDave Meltzer, one of only eight Noah matches to receive that or a higher rating.[25]
Nakajima made his debut forPro Wrestling Zero1-Max on July 9, 2005, winning a six-man junior tag team match.[26] He went on to defeat Osamu Namiguchi on August 31 for his first singles title, theWWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship, though whether this can be considered part of the title's official lineage is disputed.[27] He held it until June 24, 2006, losing the title to premier Zero1-Max juniorTatsuhito Takaiwa.[28] This is to date Nakajima's last appearance with the promotion.
On February 11, 2006, at a Kensuke Office show celebrating Kensuke Sasaki's 20th career anniversary, Nakajima teamed with Genichiro Tenryu against the "dream team" of Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki, falling to a Sasaki lariat.[29] On March 21, 2006, Nakajima won a three-way elimination match in AJPW, defeating both Tomoaki Honma andNosawa Rongai to earn a spot in Block B of the prestigious 2006 Champion Carnival,[30] becoming the youngest man to participate in the tournament.[10] Nakajima finished in last place in the block with two points by defeatingD'Lo Brown. On April 19, 2006, Nakajima entered Big Mouth Loud (BML), losing to companyaceKatsuyori Shibata.[31] The following month, Nakajima and Kensuke Sasaki battled inBig Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), defeating Big Japan'sDaisuke Sekimoto andDDT Pro-Wrestling's Daichi Kakimoto in a tag team match when Nakajima pinned Kakimoto.[32]
Nakajima then participated in the 2006Junior League tournament from June 25, 2006, to July 3, 2006, to decide a challenger for the Junior Heavyweight Championship; Katsuhiko won his block with five points, before losing in the final toKaz Hayashi.[33] On July 2, 2006, Nakajima's partner Kensuke Sasaki suffered a left eye fracture in a match against Katsuyori Shibata in BML, taking him out of action for the foreseeable future and forcing the team to vacate the All Asia Tag Team Championship on October 29, 2006, after holding the titles since July 2005.[34]
On October 15, 2006, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kaz Hayashi were announced as one of seven teams in the 2006 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, to take place in December 2006. They had a strong showing in the tournament, defeating such teams as Nosawa Rongai andTriple Crown Heavyweight ChampionMinoru Suzuki andRO'Z andSuwama and drawing withTaiyō Kea and Taka Michinoku, finishing with 5 points overall.[35] On November 14, 2006, Nakajima wrestled in the main event of the debut show of theGlobal Professional Wrestling Alliance, a cooperation of several different promotions, teaming with Noah's Go Shiozaki and El Dorado'sTakuya Sugawara to defeat Zero1-Max'sRyouji Sai,Dramatic Dream Team'sHarashima andKaientai Dojo'sKazma.[36]
Kensuke Sasaki made his return from injury on January 2, 2007, teaming with Nakajima to defeatTaru and "brother" Yasshi. The following day Nakajima faced Yasshi in a match to determine Shuji Kondo's next challenger for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, winning via disqualification when Kondo himself interfered.[35] He made his challenge on February 17, 2007, defeating Kondo to end his 16-month reign, and becoming the youngest junior heavyweight champion in history.[37] Nakajima made his first defense of the title on April 30, 2007, defeating Kondo'sVoodoo Murders partner "brother" Yasshi,[38] as well as Ryuji Hijikata on May 27, 2007.[39]
Nakajima once again participated in the Junior League in June 2007, finishing in third place for his block with four points, behind Hijikata and Kondo.[40] The league was won by American wrestlerChris Sabin,[41] setting up a title match between Sabin and Nakajima on August 26, 2007, in which Nakajima was victorious.[42] On September 1, 2007, Nakajima challenged Pro Wrestling Noah'sTakeshi Morishima for hisROH World Championship in the main event of a Kensuke Office show, putting up a good fight but losing in the end.[43] On September 19, 2007, Nakajima was pinned in a tag team match by visiting luchadorSilver King,[44] who then challenged Nakajima to a future junior heavyweight title match. The match was made official for October 18, 2007, at All Japan's 35th anniversary show; on October 8, 2007, Nakajima suffered a fracturednavicular bone in his right hand, forcing him off of several shows on the tour, though he defended the title as scheduled. When the match came, Nakajima and Silver King fought to a no contest, forcing PWF commissionerHiroshi Hase to hold up the title belt, although Nakajima remained the official champion.[45] Katsuhiko then took time off to nurse his injured hand.
Nakajima returned from injury on February 11, 2008, at Kensuke Office's first anniversary show, defeating fellow Kensuke Sasaki protégé Ryuji Yamaguchi; he would follow this up with victories over two more Kensuke trainees inKento Miyahara and Takashi Okita on February 16, 2008, and March 9, 2008, respectively, held in the Kensuke Office exercise hall.[46] On March 1, 2008, in a rematch from their October encounter, Nakajima lost to Silver King in a match to decide the vacant junior heavyweight title.[47] Later that month, Nakajima teamed with Ryuji Hijikata to participate in the six-teamJunior Tag League, winning the tournament with six points by defeating the teams of Silver King and Shuji Kondo,MAZADA and Nosawa Rongai, andT28 and KUSHIDA, as well as Kaz Hayashi andEl Samurai in the final, who had defeated them in the group stage.[48] On March 28, 2008, Nakajima faced and defeatedOsaka Pro and Dragon Gate wrestlerMagnitude Kishiwada on Kensuke Office's first event in the Fukuoka region.[46]
In March and April 2008, Nakajima and Sasaki participated in Pro Wrestling Noah's Global Tag League, a 9-team round-robin tag team tournament. The two finished tied in 5th place with 8 points, defeating the teams ofJun Akiyama andTakeshi Rikio, D'Lo Brown and Buchanan, and Go Shiozaki andAkira Taue, and drawing with Takeshi Morishima andMuhammad Yone, andGHC Tag Team ChampionsNaomichi Marufuji andTakashi Sugiura.[49] On May 25, 2008, in AJPW, Nakajima and Sasaki lost to Taiyō Kea and Minoru Suzuki in a match to determine the #1 contenders to theWorld Tag Team Championship.[50] On June 13, 2008, at Kensuke Office's "Take the Dream Vol. 5", Nakajima faced Noah'sKenta, losing the contest after 27 minutes.[46] The following night in Noah, Sasaki and Nakajima faced Kenta Kobashi and Kenta, wrestling to a 30-minute time limit draw.[51] On June 29, 2008, Nakajima wrestled what would be his last match in AJPW for the time being, teaming with Kaz Hayashi to defeat Ryuji Hijikata and T28.[52] Nakajima began to wrestle consistently with Noah starting July 2, 2008, and it was announced the following week that he and the rest of Kensuke Office would be lending their support to Noah instead of All Japan for the foreseeable future. Among Nakajima's first matches in Noah were singles contests against formerGHC Heavyweight Champions Jun Akiyama andMitsuharu Misawa on July 5, 2008, and July 13, 2008, respectively, losing both matches.[53]
In August and September 2008, Nakajima entered Noah's annual NTV Cup junior heavyweight tag team league, teaming with DDT'sKota Ibushi in the 8-team tournament. The two finished in fifth place with eight points, including a victory over 2007 winners, as well as the eventual 2008 winners, Kenta andTaiji Ishimori.[54] Nakajima and Ibushi would team once more on September 8, 2008, on a co-production between DDT and Sem, Noah's offshoot promotion for younger wrestlers, against DDT's Harashima and Antonio Honda. The match originally went to a 20-minute time limit draw, but was restarted and Nakajima pinned Honda shortly thereafter. On September 14, 2008, Nakajima participated in American promotionRing of Honor's second tour of Japan, teaming with Naomichi Marufuji against Kenta and Kota Ibushi in a special tag match. The two teams went to a 30-minute time limit draw; the match was restarted, but ended once more in a draw after an additional five minutes expired.[55] The following week on September 20, Nakajima wrestled his first match in the United States, challengingGHC Junior Heavyweight ChampionBryan Danielson at ROH'sGlory by Honor VII. Danielson would retain his title, making Nakajima submit to theCattle Mutilation.
Nakajima went to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship from Kenta using his Death Roll at the February 11th Kensuke Office event. A notable fact is that this was the second time Nakajima and Sasaki held the Jr. Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles of the same promotion at the same time, the first being All Japan.
He would then lose the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship back to Kenta via aGo 2 Sleep at the March 1st Pro Wrestling Noah event; coincidentally, Sasaki would lose the GHC Heavyweight Title later that night.
On November 13 Nakajima made his return toRing of Honor inNovi, Michigan, in a losing effort againstKenny Omega. The next night inMississaugaOntario he was victorious againstEl Generico in a match that was hard hitting and fast paced. The fans in turn gave Nakajima the "please come back" chant.
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On September 23, 2011, Nakajima defeatedKotaro Suzuki to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship for the second time. However, he was forced to vacate the title just nine days later, after undergoing surgery for acuteappendicitis. Nakajima returned on November 27 and defeatedRicky Marvin in a decision match to regain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. On May 9, 2012, Nakajima lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship toYoshinobu Kanemaru, ending his third reign at 164 days. Nakajima along with his mentor Kensuke Sasaki reached thePro Wrestling Noah Global Tag League final in 2013, but lost to the team of Kenta and Yoshihiro Takayama. Nakajima then took part in a brief feud with Maybach Taniguchi which culminated at the Noah "Great Voyage 2013 in Tokyo" event. Also at the event Naomichi Marufuji recruited Nakajima into his faction "Brave". On February 11, 2014, Nakajima earned his first win over his mentor Kensuke Sasaki in the main event of a show celebrating his tenth anniversary in professional wrestling.[56] The match turned out to be Sasaki's retirement match.[57] On July 31, 2015, Nakajima left Diamond Ring.
On December 24, 2015, Noah held a press conference announcing that Nakajima would be ending his days as a freelancer and officially joining the promotion on January 1, 2016.[58] On February 24, 2016, Nakajima picked up the biggest win of his career by defeating Minoru Suzuki in the main event of Noah's show inKorakuen Hall.[59] As a result, Nakajima was granted a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Takashi Sugiura on March 19.[60]
From July 22 to August 13, 2016, Nakajima took part in NJPW's2016 G1 Climax, where he finished tied third in his block with a record of five wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals.[61] On October 23, Nakajima defeatedTakashi Sugiura to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[62] Nakajima made his first title defense in a match against the 2016Global League winner,Minoru Suzuki, at One Night Cruise in Korakuen on December 2.[63] Nakajima's second title defense was on December 24 as a part the Winter Navigation tour where he defended his title against his ally and occasional tag team partner,Masa Kitamiya. Following the match, Sugiura challenged Nakajima to a rematch for the title.[64] This rematch would take place on January 7, 2017, which was the first show of Noah's first tour of 2017 "The First Navigation." Nakajima ultimately defeated Sugiura thus marking his third title defense.[65] Nakajima defeatedGo Shiozaki at "Great Voyage in Yokohama" on March 12, 2017, marking his fourth title defense.[66] On June 4, 2017, at "Navigation with Breeze", Nakajima made his fifth title defense againstMuhammad Yone.[67] He followed it up with his sixth successful defense againstAtsushi Kotoge on June 25, 2017. On July 20, he defeated Brian Cage to make his seventh successful defense. On August 26, Nakajima lost the title to Eddie Edwards in his eighth defense. On March 11, 2018, Nakajima and Kitamiya defeated 50 Funky Powers (Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the first time together, thus marking Nakajima's first reign with the title. However on April 29, they lost the titles to Go Shiozaki and Kaito Kiyomiya in their first defense. After the match, Nakajima and Kitamiya attacked Shiozaki and Kiyomiya, with Nakajima showing a new, more sadistic personality in the following months. They regained the titles one month later only to again lose them in their first defense on July 28 to Naomichi Marufuji and Akitoshi Saito. After Kitamiya unsuccessfully challenged Takashi Sugiura for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, he was challenged to a title match by the champion, which he accepted. Nakajima would also unsuccessfully challenge Sugiura for the title on October 4. Nakajima participated on the 2018 Global League, winning 4 matches and losing 2, failing to advance to the finals. However, after Naomichi Marufuji suffered an injury on his shoulder, a three way match to determine the new finalist betweenKenoh,Kohei Sato and Katsuhiko Nakajima happened on November 25, which Nakajima won. On the finals, Nakajima would lose to Kaito Kiyomiya. Naomichi Marufuji andAkitoshi Saito vacated theGHC Tag Team Championship on November 28, a tournament to decide the new champions happened on December 7. Nakajima teamed withGo Shiozaki, and together they would defeat Cody Hall and Maybach Taniguchi at the first round, and Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya at the finals. They would lose the titles 9 days later to Maybach Taniguchi and a debuting Yuji Hino. They got their rematch on January 6, but failed again. However, after Muhammed Yone and Quiet Storm defeated Taniguchi and Hino, Nakajima and Shiozaki challenged the new champions. This led to a match on February 24, which Nakajima and Shiozaki won. Backstage, Nakajima said that his Tag Team with Go Shiozaki has a name, and it is Axiz. Axiz made their first successful defense on March 10, against the team ofEddie Edwards and Masa Kitamiya. From April 7 until April 30, Axiz took part in the2019 Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins, one loss, and one draw, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On May 4, Axiz was defeated in the finals by Sugiura-gun (Takashi Sugiura andKazma Sakamoto). On June 13, Axiz lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Sugiura-gun, before defeating them in rematch on June 27 to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the record-breaking third time. Afterwards, Axiz were challenged by Kaito Kiyomiya andShuhei Taniguchi to match for their titles. Nakajima accepted Kiyomiya and Taniguchi's challenge for their titles on the condition that Kiyomiya would defend theGHC Heavyweight Championship against him. On July 21, Axiz defeated Kiyomiya and Taniguchi to make their first successful of the GHC Tag Team Championship. Six days later, Nakajima unsuccessfully challenged Kaito Kiyomiya for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.
On January 5, 2020, at January New Sunrise and Reboot Koruaken Hall Show, Axiz lost the GHC Tag Team Championship toMasaaki Mochizuki andNaomichi Marufuji. Afterwards, Axiz began focusing on their singles careers, after Nakajima defeatedDaiki Inaba to win theWrestle-1 Championship on January 12 as part of a working relationship between Noah andWrestle-1. Nakajima lost the title toKaz Hayashi on March 15. The following month, Axiz took part in the2020 Global Tag League, making to their second consecutive Global Tag League final by winning their block in the 2020 tournament with a record of two wins and one loss. On April 18, they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Sugiura-gun International (Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. andRene Dupree). On May 9, Nakajima defeated Takashi Sugiura to win theGHC National Championship, meaning that Axiz held both Noah's singles championships. On August 4, on the first night of Departure, Nakajima lost the GHC National Championship to Kenoh.
On August 20, Axiz faced Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura) in a losing effort for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Nakajima turned on Shiozaki in order to join Kongo, effectively disbanding Axiz. From September 18 and October 11, Nakajima took part in the2020 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, and one loss to advance to the finals of the tournament. On October 11, Nakajima defeated Kaito Kiyomiya in the finals to win the 2020 N-1 Victory. This led on November 23 atNoah The Chronicle Vol. 4, Nakajima unsuccessfully challenging Go Shiozaki for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Following Kongo's feud withSugiura-gun, on January 31, Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya faced Sugiura-gun members Takashi Sugiura andKendo Kashin in a winning effort. After the match, Nakajima and Kitamiya challenged Sugiura and his partnerKazushi Sakuraba to a title match for the GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Nakajima confirmed the reunion of The Aggression. On March 7, 2021, atGreat Voyage in Yokohama, Nakajima and Kitamiya defeated Sugiura-gun's Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the third time. On May 31, following a GHC Tag Team Championship title defense, Kitamiya turned on Nakajima, leaving Kongo due to his hatred towards Nakajima, effectively ending their partnership. This led to Noah announcing a steel cagelucha de apuestas, hair vs. hair match on June 26. At the event Cage War, Nakajima was forced to shave his hair after being defeated by his former partner Kitamiya and would instruct his Kongo stablemate Kenoh to fully shave his head. Despite their breakup, Nakajima and Kitamiya were recognized as GHC Tag Team Champions, until on June 30, Nakajima and Kitamiya decided to face each other for the vacant titles, with Nakajima teaming with Soya and Kitamiya with Kaito Kiyomiya. On July 22, Nakajima and Soya were defeated by Kitamiya and Kaito Kiyomiya for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship.
In September, Nakajima took part in the2021 N-1 Victory, winning his block with a record of two wins and one loss, advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. On October 3, Nakajima defeatedMasakatsu Funaki and then fellow Kongo stablemate Kenoh, in the semifinals and finals, respectively, to win the N-1 Victory for the second year, earning a shot at the GHC Heavyweight Championship.[68] On October 10, Nakajima defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the second time. On November 13, Nakajima was challenged by stablemate Kenoh to a double title-match for the GHC Heavyweight and GHC National Championships on November 28 atNoah the Best. At the event, Nakajima faced Kenoh in a 60-minute time limit draw to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship and unsuccessfully challenging Kenoh for the GHC National Championship. Afterwards, Go Shiozaki made his return from injury challenging his former Axiz teammate Katsuhiko Nakajima to a title match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on January 1, at Noah The New Year. On December 27, following a victory in a ten-man tag team match, where Nakajima pinned Shiozaki, he stated that if lost to him at Noah The New Year, Shiozaki should never repeat his catchphrase "I am Noah" again. At a press conference the following day, Shiozaki agreed to Nakajima's condition of never using his catchphrase "I am Noah" again, on the condition that if he won, Nakajima would be forced to reunite Axiz with him. At the event, Nakajima successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Shiozaki, forcing him to abandon his "I am Noah" catchphrase. On January 16, Nakajima made his fourth successful title defense against Masa Kitamiya. On February 23, Nakajima lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship toKazuyuki Fujita in his fifth title defense.
On June 12, 2022, atCyberFight Festival 2022, Nakajima teamed withAtsushi Kotoge andYoshiki Inamura, facing off againstBurning (Jun Akiyama andTetsuya Endo) andKazusada Higuchi in a six-man tag team match, where in the match, Nakajima delivered a slap to Endo that knocked Endo out, causing the match to be called off.[69]
On April 16, 2023, atGreen Journey in Sendai, he failed to capture the GHC Heavyweight Championship fromJake Lee. He competed in the2023 N-1 Victory in the B Block, ending the tournament with 8 points and thus failing to advance to the finals. He departed Pro Wrestling Noah in October 2023, citing that he "wanted to challenge himself", as well as believing that 35 is a major crossroads in many peoples' lives. In his final match, he and Go Shiozaki were defeated by Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura.
On November 5, 2023, in his first AJPW match since 2012, Nakajima defeatedYuma Aoyagi to win theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time. Then, he entered theReal World Tag League alongsideHokuto Omori, winning the tournament at the #1 spot with 12 points. The duo failed in their subsequent title shot, losing to theSaito Brothers on January 14, 2024.
On March 30, 2024, he lost the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship toYuma Anzai after 146 days. He departed AJPW shortly after.
On July 1, 2024, he debuted forGleat, defeatingTakanori Ito in 11 minutes to win theLidet UWF World Championship. On July 1, 2025, Nakajima defeatedKaito Ishida for theG-Rex Championship.[70] He lost the G-Rex Championship toEl Lindaman on October 9, ending his reign at 100 days.[71]
His pro debut came in September, 2003, but not in a pro wrestling match; instead, in a steel cage and under vale tudo rules against Jason Rey, (sic) an American fighter, who 15-year-old Nakajima KO'd in 95 seconds!
Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kenta Kobashi & Go Shiosaki (24:58) when Sasaki used a lariat on Shiosaki.
Tomohiro Ishii beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (debut) (12:11) with a single-leg crab hold"; "Original Tiger Mask beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (11:44) with a Japanese leg roll clutch hold.
Jushin Thunder Liger beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (7:27) with a crab hold"; "Young Lion Toukon Tournament - Final: Ryusuke Taguchi beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (9:41) with a crab hold.
Tatsumi Fujinami beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (3:59) with a Dragon sleeper.
Katsuhiko Nakajima became the youngest person to wrestle in the Champion Carnival at the age of 18.
Toshiaki Kawada, Ryuji Hijikata & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat TAKA Michinoku, Takehiro Murahama & Miracle Man (14:10) when Kawada used a single-leg crab hold on Miracle.
Katsuhiko Nakajima [2] beat Curry Man [1] (8:20) by referee stop.
All Asia Tag Team Title: Genichiro Tenryu & Masanobu Fuchi (c) beat Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (14:04) when Fuchi used an inside cradle on Nakajima (1st defense).
AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: TAKA Michinoku (c) beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (17:04) with the Michinoku Driver II (5th defense).
Shuji Kondo & "brother YASSHI" (sic) beat Tomoaki Honma & Katsuhiko Nakajima (16:30) when YASSHI pinned Nakajima after Kondo used a King Kong lariat to become the 79th champions.
Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Shuji Kondo & "brother" YASSHI (c) (12:23) when Nakajima used a German suplex hold on YASSHI to become the 80th champions.
All Asia Tag Team Title: Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) beat Arashi & Ryuji Hijikata (20:30) when Sasaki used a lariat on Hijikata (1st defense).
All Asia Tag Team Title: Kensuke Sasaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) beat Buchanan & D-Lo Brown (21:24) when Sasaki used a Northern Light bomb on Buchanan (2nd defense).
11/5/05 Kenta Kobashi/Go Shiozaki vs. Kensuke Sasaki/Katsuhiko Nakajima ****3/4
Kensuke Sasaki 20th Anniversary: Kensuke Sasaki & Kenta Kobashi beat Genichiro Tenryu & Katsuhiko Nakajima (26:36) when Sasaki used a lariat on Nakajima.
Final: Kaz Hayashi beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (20:58) with the Final Cut
During Kensuke's talk show, it seems that he and Nakajima returned the All-Asia Tag Titles after one year and 3 months of holding them since Kensuke will not make his return in December.
AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Shuji Kondo (c) (24:25) with a German Suplex hold (Nakajima becomes the 24th champion).
6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) besiegt Ryuji Hijikata (19:21) mit einem German Suplex Hold (2nd defense).
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