Before Kenta made his way into WWE and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the former NEVER Openweight Champion had been making waves in Pro Wrestling Noah and Ring of Honor.
Labeled as one of the best professional wrestlers in the world, the 39-year-old was tearing it up as the GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion before making his return to ROH at the 7th Anniversary show. By this point, Kenta had defeated names such as Davey Richards, Low Ki, Samoa Joe, and Bryan Danielson.
His past wins ultimately got him the chance to challenge Night McGuinness for the ROH World Championship at one of the company's biggest events of the year. However, before Kenta and McGuinness could battle for the prestigious world title, the two men got to choose their own partners to square off in a tag team match the night before.
In Kenta’s corner, the one-and-only El Generico stepped up and teamed with the Pro Wrestling Noah star. Generico has vast experience as a tag team competitor as the ROH star regularly fought alongside Kevin Steen. Both men have held the ROH World Tag Team titles together.
On the other hand, McGuinness chose a tag team specialist himself, as Davey Richards- who is a former three-time ROH World Tag Team Champion – was in the ROH World Champion’s corner. Not surprisingly, the match-up was a pure clinic of professional wrestling, which was filled with tremendous action and suspenseful nearfalls.
Check out the unforgettable tag team match between Nigel McGuinness and Davey Richards vs. KENTA and El Generico: