forcing the referee to stop the match for Hall's win. Koji later was invited to PRIDE 1, where he faced future WWE employee Nathan Jones. The Australian fighter caught Kitao in a standing guillotine choke and hit some knee strikes to the gut, but Koji trapped his leg and took him down, landing in side control. Kitao then worked an americana and Jones immediately tapped. Sumo coaching role In the summer of 2003 he made a surprise return to the world of sumo when he was invited to oversee some practice sessions at his former Tatsunami stable. His return was possible thanks to the retirement of Kitao's old stablemaster Haguroyama Sojō, who had been accused of illegally pocketing money from the stable fundings. Kitao was invited by the new stablemaster thanks to the makushita Haguroumi, who had served as a tsukebito to Kitao in the past. Though Kitao and Haguroumi were on bad terms, Haguroumi asked for a reappraisal of Kitao's case, and it was clear that most of what was alleged to have taken place between Kitao and Sojō was made up by the latter. Kitao was keen to continue his work at Tatsunami, but was prevented from doing so by ill health. Other media In 1996, he had an appearance in the Jean-Claude Van Damme movie The Quest as the fighting representative of Japan, a sumo champion. Kitao appears unofficially in the games WCW vs. nWo: World Tour, and WCW/nWo Revenge, as Kim Chee. Personal life and death In 2013, Kitao was diagnosed with kidney disease. On March 29, 2019, his wife announced that Kitao had died on February 10 from chronic renal failure at the age of 55. She said in a television interview in June 2019 that her husband had also suffered from diabetes and she refused doctor's advice that he have a double leg amputation, instead nursing him at home with their daughter. Championships and accomplishments Kitao Dojo Bukō Dojo Tournament (1995) Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No. 113 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1996 Super World of Sports One Night Tag Team Tournament (1990) – with Genichiro Tenryu Tokyo Sports Topic Award (1990) Wrestle Association R WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nobukazu Hirai and Masaaki Mochizuki Mixed martial arts record |- |Win |align=center|1–2 |Nathan Jones |Submission (keylock) |PRIDE 1 | |align=center|1 |align=center|2:14 |Tokyo, Japan