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WHO IS SATOSHI KOJIMA? A PRIMER FOR IMPACT WRESTLING FANS

New Japan Pro Wrestling legend Satoshi Kojima will debut in Impact Wrestling next week, Impact announced tonight.

Kojima is one of New Japan's biggest stars of the last 30 years. He is best known for his tag team work with Hiroyoshi Tenzan as TenKoji, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championships six times.

In 2002, Kojima defected to All Japan Pro Wrestling alongside Keiji Mutoh and Kendo Kashin. He became the first person to hold the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship simultaneously in 2005 when he defeated Tenzan.

He has sparsely wrestled in America throughout his career, although he did notably make appearances for Major League Wrestling (where he was one of the first MLW Champions) and Ring of Honor in the early 2000s and teamed with Diamond Dallas Page against Great Muta and Sting at a show in Hawaii in 2004. He also wrestled on New Japan's The New Beginning In USA tour last year.

Kojima returned to New Japan in 2010 and defeated Togi Makabe to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the second time in his career. He later lost the title to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom V on January 4, 2011.

More recently, Kojima has feuded with KENTA and Will Ospreay in New Japan in 2021. He unsuccessfully challenged KENTA for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate at the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 on January 4 and later lost to Ospreay in a no disqualifications match at The New Beginning In Nagoya on January 30.

Kojima is the latest New Japan star to appear in Impact. New Japan junior heavyweight star El Phantasmo unsuccessfully challenged Josh Alexander for the X-Division Championship at the Under Siege PPV on May 15th.

Tommy Dreamer recently announced more New Japan talent will continue to appear in Impact on the Busted Open podcast. Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito have been shown in promotional material for Impact’s Slammiversary pay-per-view on July 17.

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