 In 2000, Yone joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) working low card matches.In 2001, top AJPW wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa and a number of other AJPW wrestlers, including Yone, left the promotion to start their own wrestling promotion called Pro Wrestling Noah.On March 5, 2005, Yone defeated Naomichi Marufuji to win the GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship, a championship he would hold for 231 days until Scorpio won it on October 22, 2005.