Toyonobori, Isao Yoshiwara, Kimura, Antonio Inoki, Hiro Matsuda, Masa Saito and others formed Tokyo Pro Wrestling.
His opponents in cage matches included Ox Baker, Angelo Poffo, Gilles Poisson, King Curtis Iaukea, Baron Mikel Scicluna, Killer Buddy Austin, Lars Anderson, Ole Anderson, Skandor Akbar, The Brute, Rene Goulet, Baron von Raschke, Ray Stevens, Killer Tor Kamata, Butcher Brannigan, Ripper Collins and a rookie Ric Flair.
[7] He would go on to defeat the Undertaker (Hans Schroeder, not Mark Calaway), Super Assassin (Roger Smith), Umanosuke Ueda, Alexis Smirnoff and Verne Gagne for his other titles.
Prominent challengers during his six years at the top of IWE included Baker, Kamata, Big John Quinn, Gypsy Joe, Pierre Martin, Crazy Sailor White, Wild Angus Campbell, Gil Hayes, Rip Tyler, Mighty Inoue, Cowboy Bob Ellis, Killer Tim Brooks, Superstar Billy Graham, John Tolos, André the Giant, Jos LeDuc, The Mongolian Stomper, Killer Karl Krupp, Johnny Powers, Mike George, Randy Tyler, Ron Bass, Ray Candy and Steve Olsonoski.
[9] On October 25, 1979, Kimura challenged Nick Bockwinkel to a double title match for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship with Lou Thesz as the special referee.
Kimura, Animal Hamaguchi and Isamu Teranishi joined New Japan as an IWE "invading" stable and immediately targeted Inoki, who had given up his NWF Heavyweight Championship earlier in the year.
In the same year, Hamaguchi and Teranishi left him to join New Japan renegade Riki Choshu in the Ishin Gundan stable.
In between stints in New Japan he and former IWE wrestler Ryuma Go showed up in the dying days of the Los Angeles circuit to win his last major title, the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship.
Initially he aligned himself with other IWE wrestlers such as Mighty Inoue, Ashura Hara and Goro Tsurumi in feuding with the factions led by Giant Baba, Genichiro Tenryu, Stan Hansen and Riki Choshu.
This tournament marked Kimura's last serious attempt at a title (the vacant AJPW World Tag Team Championship, eventually won by Hansen & Tenryu).
When Mitsuharu Misawa broke away from All Japan to form Pro Wrestling Noah, Kimura jumped to a new Japanese promotion for the seventh and final time.