On January 27, 2014, Kenta, with Noah's blessing, entered WWE's Performance Center in Orlando, Florida for a tryout. In a press release, Kenta claimed that he was not after a WWE contract, but only wanted to fulfill a dream and take part in a WWE workout. On June 27, Tokyo Sports reported that Kenta had signed with WWE. His signing was officially announced during an in-ring segment on July 12 in Osaka. Kobayashi relocated to Orlando to resume training at the Performance Center, while also working for WWE's developmental territory NXT.