Bakusai have arrived in WWE’s tag team division with a victory, a clear identity, and a potential championship confrontation already looming.
Shinsuke Nakamura and Kyoki defeated The Miz and Kit Wilson on the September 4 edition of WWE SmackDown, marking Kyoki’s first televised WWE match alongside Nakamura. The win was followed by an in-ring confrontation with reigning WWE Tag Team Champions Talla and Tama Tonga, who were accompanied by their father, Haku.
The post-match scene immediately put Bakusai in the orbit of the champions. WWE did not formally announce a title match during the segment, but the visual was direct: the newly established tandem stood face-to-face with Talla and Tama Tonga after making a successful first impression in the ring.
For Nakamura, the match represented the beginning of a new chapter as a tag team competitor. For Kyoki, it was the latest step in a WWE arrival that began only weeks earlier, after he was introduced as Nakamura’s new partner. Kyoki, formerly known as Hiromu Takahashi, had previously worked a dark match against Kit Wilson on the Monday following his debut appearance. Friday’s bout was his first opportunity to compete before the television audience as part of Bakusai.
A victorious first televised outing
The match with The Miz and Wilson was relatively brief, but it was structured to establish the personalities and chemistry of the new team. Nakamura started for Bakusai and spent the opening portion of the contest under pressure from both opponents. Miz and Wilson isolated him effectively, forcing Nakamura to absorb the majority of the punishment before he was able to create the opening for a tag.
Once Kyoki entered, the momentum changed quickly. The fresh partner brought urgency to the match, and Bakusai were able to take control of the action. The team worked together to put Miz and Wilson away, with Kyoki scoring the deciding pinfall over Wilson.
The result matters beyond a simple debut win. WWE’s tag ranks are built around teams attempting to establish momentum quickly, especially when champions are visibly watching. Kyoki pinning Wilson gave Bakusai a definitive finish rather than a protected draw, disqualification, or angle-driven non-finish. The presentation made clear that Nakamura and Kyoki are entering the division to compete rather than simply appearing together as an occasional attraction.
Miz and Wilson also provided useful opposition for the debut. Their work against Nakamura created a straightforward obstacle for the new team to overcome, while the eventual comeback allowed Kyoki to be presented as the difference-maker after the hot tag. By the end, the audience had seen Nakamura’s established presence paired with Kyoki’s first major WWE showcase.
Kyoki receives a distinct presentation
One of the notable details of the televised debut was Kyoki’s entrance presentation. In his earlier dark match against Wilson, he entered using Nakamura’s individual theme. On SmackDown, however, Bakusai arrived with a new and different entrance theme.
That change may appear small on its own, but it is significant in the context of a new team being introduced on television. A shared or otherwise distinct presentation helps separate Bakusai from the idea of Nakamura simply taking on a supporting partner. The name, the entrance, and the first victory all worked toward defining the duo as its own act.
Kyoki’s WWE introduction comes after a lengthy career in Japan. He ended his 16-year tenure there in February, making him the most recent of the four wrestlers involved in the post-match confrontation to depart from that scene. His arrival in WWE also reunites him, in a broad professional sense, with figures whose careers overlap with his own history in NJPW.
That history is particularly relevant with Tama Tonga now holding championship gold. Kyoki and Tama share a past stretching back to their time in NJPW, as does Nakamura’s connection to that world. The confrontation on SmackDown therefore carried more context than a standard champions-versus-newcomers stare down. It brought together performers with longstanding familiarity, but now under very different circumstances in WWE.
MFTs answer Bakusai’s statement
Bakusai did not have long to celebrate before the WWE Tag Team Champions made their presence felt. Talla and Tama Tonga entered with Haku following the match, creating a tense moment between the champions and the new challengers.
Talla and Tama Tonga won the WWE Tag Team Titles in August. Their first defense came on the same episode of SmackDown in which Bakusai initially debuted through a vignette. The champions have therefore been connected to the new team’s WWE story from the beginning, even before Nakamura and Kyoki competed together on television.
Haku’s presence added another layer to the champions’ side of the confrontation. With Talla and Tama Tonga standing together and their father accompanying them, the scene presented a united champion group opposite a newly formed partnership that is still defining itself. It was a simple but effective contrast: an established titleholding family presence against a team just beginning to make its case.
No physical altercation followed the stare down, leaving the moment focused on anticipation rather than chaos. That restraint keeps several possibilities open. WWE could move directly toward a championship program, continue building Bakusai through additional matches, or use the confrontation as the start of a longer path toward the titles. What is already clear is that the champions have noticed Nakamura and Kyoki.
Nakamura’s experience and Kyoki’s arrival create an intriguing mix
The pairing gives WWE a combination of a highly recognizable veteran presence and a newly introduced performer with major experience outside the company. Nakamura was initially placed in the difficult position of being isolated by Miz and Wilson, but the match also allowed him to show the value of a trusted partner waiting for the tag. Kyoki’s arrival then turned the contest around and positioned the two wrestlers as complementary rather than redundant.
That dynamic can be important as Bakusai develop. Nakamura’s WWE experience gives the team an immediate level of credibility, while Kyoki’s televised debut gives audiences a reason to watch how the new partner evolves in this setting. The name change and altered entrance presentation also underline that WWE is introducing Kyoki as a fresh act for its own audience, even as many viewers will recognize the background he brings.
The team’s first match did not attempt to reveal every dimension of their act. Instead, it delivered a focused introduction. Nakamura endured the early trouble, Kyoki received the decisive tag, and the finish gave the new arrival a pinfall win. The champions then arrived to ensure that the larger story was impossible to miss.
What comes next for Bakusai
The immediate question is whether the confrontation with Talla and Tama Tonga will produce a title match. Bakusai have only one televised match together, and WWE has not yet confirmed their next in-ring assignment or announced a championship bout. Still, their positioning at the conclusion of the match strongly suggests that the tag title picture is where the team is headed.
A direct move to the champions would test Bakusai quickly. Talla and Tama Tonga are reigning titleholders, and their alliance with Haku gives them a formidable presence around the division. On the other hand, Nakamura and Kyoki already have the kind of shared history with Tama that can make a matchup feel personal without requiring a lengthy introduction.
There is also the question of how Kyoki will be presented as he settles into WWE television. His dark-match appearance gave him an initial in-ring outing, but the win over Wilson was the real public launch. The new entrance theme and Bakusai branding indicate that the company is investing in the partnership as an act rather than treating Kyoki’s arrival as a one-night surprise.
For now, Bakusai have accomplished the essentials. They debuted on television, won decisively, and ended the night directly across from the WWE Tag Team Champions. In one short segment of in-ring action and one charged post-match encounter, Nakamura and Kyoki moved from a newly announced pairing to a team with a clear place in the division.
Whether that momentum leads immediately to Talla and Tama Tonga’s titles remains to be seen. But after the events on SmackDown, Bakusai have made their intentions unmistakable, and the champions have made it equally clear that they are paying attention.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.