 Lee in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Lee Jae-kyung (1989-01-19)January 19, 1989 (age 36)[2] Kitami, Hokkaido, Japan[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 1.92 m (6 ft3+1⁄2 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 110 kg (240 lb) |
| Trained by | Keiji Mutoh Atsushi Aoki[3] Kenichi Yamamoto[3] |
| Debut | August 17, 2011[3] |
Lee Jae-kyung (Korean: 이체경;Hanja: 李在炅;[4]Japanese:リ・チェギョン,romanized: Ri Chegyon; born January 19, 1989), better known by his ring nameJake Lee (ジェイク・リー,Jeiku Rī), is aZainichi-Korean professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. As of July 2024, he is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member ofBullet Club and itsWar Dogs subgroup.
Known as the"Smart Bastard" and previously the"Good Looking Emperor", Lee is best known for his stints inAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) andPro Wrestling Noah. In AJPW, within two runs between 2011 and 2022, Lee became a two-timeTriple Crown Heavyweight Champion andChampion Carnival winner in2021. In Noah, he was the leader of theGood Looking Guysstable from 2023 to 2024, and became a one-timeGHC Heavyweight Champion by defeatingKaito Kiyomiya at theGreat Voyage in Yokohama event in March 2023.
Lee was acclaimed for his matches against the likes ofKento Miyahara,Kenoh,Yuma Aoyagi andNaomichi Marufuji, and is the second Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion ofKorean descent (the other beingZeus) and the only GHC Heavyweight Champion of Korean descent.
Lee joined the All Japan Pro Wrestling dojo in January 2011, initially training underKeiji Mutoh. He debuted on August 17 of that year using his real name in a loss toTaiyo Kea,[1] and lost again the following day, this time toRyota Hama,[5] but on August 20, Lee picked up his first victory with a win overYasufumi Nakanoue, and was once again victorious on August 24, teaming withAkebono andMasakatsu Funaki to defeatJoe Doering,Mazada andRené Dupree.[6] Lee represented AJPW inThe Destroyer Cup Battle Royal atAll Together 2011, eventually won byKentaro Shiga.[7]
Lee teamed with Takumi Soya on September 11 to defeat Soshun and Yasufumi Nakanoue, but was defeated by Soya andTakao Omori on September 17 when he teamed withManabu Soya.[8] After sustaining an injury, Lee announced his retirement from professional wrestling in October 2011 after just ten professional matches. Lee said in a 2016 interview that leaving professional wrestling "broke his heart".[9] After leaving professional wrestling, he began to pursue a career in mixed martial arts. Soon after leaving All Japan, Lee joined Power Of Dreams, where he trained underKenichi Yamamoto and competed in MMA for the next several years.[10]
Lee announced his return to professional wrestling and AJPW on May 21, 2015, now going under the ring nameJake Lee. His first match back took place on June 4, when he teamed withJun Akiyama to defeat Takao Omori andNaoya Nomura. In December, afterKento Miyahara tried to joinEvolution but was rejected bySuwama, Miyahara announced the formation of a new unit known as Nextream, consisting initially of Miyahara and Lee. On January 21, Nextream defeated Jun Akiyama andYuma Aoyagi,[11] and on February 13 defeated Akiyama and Takao Omori to become the new #1 contenders to theWorld Tag Team Championship.[12] Lee and Miyahara unsuccessfully challenged championsZeus andThe Bodyguard on February 21.[13] In April, Lee participated in the 2016Champion Carnival, finishing with 2 points.[14] On August 6, Miyahara and Lee received another opportunity at the World Tag Team Championships, this time losing toDaisuke Sekimoto andYuji Okabayashi.[15]
Lee took part in the 2016 Royal Road Tournament, but was eliminated in the first round byRyoji Sai.[16] In October, Miyahara and Lee were joined in Nextream by Yuma Aoyagi, and eventually Naoya Nomura. On October 31, Lee represented AJPW in an 8-man tag team match for Heat-Up Pro Wrestling, teaming with Takao Omori, Yuma Aoyagi and Yohei Nakajima to defeat Daisuke Kanehira, Koji Iwamoto, Shinya Ishida andTatsumi Fujinami.[17]
Lee and Miyahara participated in the 2016 Real World Tag League, winning their block with 8 points, but losing to Get Wild (Takao Omori and Manabu Soya) in the final.[18] On February 17, 2017, Lee teamed with Miyahara to once again challenge Big Guns for the World Tag Team Championship but again came up short.[19]
In April, Lee participated in the 2017Champion Carnival but finished last in Block A with 2 points only scoring a win overZeus.[20] Following the Champion Carnival, Lee began teaming with Nextream memberNaoya Nomura and the two challenged The Big Guns for the World Tag Titles on May 12 but lost.[19]
On June 11, Lee got his first shot at theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship againstShuji Ishikawa but came up short.[21] On July 17, Lee and Nomura got another title shot against The Big Guns for the World Tag Team Championship but this time emerged victorious with both Lee and Nomura winning their first championship.[22] On July 28, Lee and Nomura retained the titles in a rematch against The Big Guns but Lee suffered a knee injury during the match. On August 1, AJPW announced Lee and Nomura were stripped of the titles due to Lee's injury.
In the spring of 2018, Lee announced his return to the ring as well as his departure from Nextream. He had his return match on May 24 teaming withKoji Iwamoto to defeat Nomura andYoshitatsu.[23] On June 13, Lee announced the formation of his own stable called "Sweeper" due to their desire to clean sweep All Japan by controlling their titles with the stable consisting of Iwamoto, Keiichi Sato,Ryoji Sai, andDylan James.[24]
In September, Lee entered theŌdō Tournament defeatingJun Akiyama in the first round on September 17 but fell to Kento Miyahara in the second round on September 22.[25]
On September 24, James turned on Lee during a tag team match, forming a tag team with Joe Doering.[26] From November to December, Lee entered the 2018 World's Strongest Tag Determination League teaming with Sai but finished 9th place with 8 points scoring wins overTajiri &Gianni Valletta, Violence Giants (Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa), Jun Akiyama &Daisuke Sekimoto, andKai &Kengo Mashimo.[27]
On January 2, 2019, Lee won the January 2nd Openweight Korakuen Hall Battle Royal.[28] On February 24, Lee teamed with Sai to challenge Strong BJ (Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi) for the World Tag Team Championship but lost.[29] On March 21, Lee teamed with Iwamoto to compete in a four team tournament for the vacantAll Asia Tag Team Championships which they ended up winning by defeatingBig Japan Pro Wrestling'sMasaya Takahashi and Takayuki Ueki in the semifinals andDaichi Hashimoto and Hideyoshi Kamitani in the finals.[30]
In April, Lee entered the 2019 Champion Carnival and tied for first place in Block B with Naoya Nomura with 10 points. Due to this, Lee defeated Nomura in a finalist decision match to advance to the finals where he lost to Triple Crown Champion Kento Miyahara.[31] On May 5, at BJW Endless Survivor, Lee and Iwamoto lost the All Asia Tag Team Championships to Ryuichi Kawakami andKazumi Kikuta,[32] before regaining the titles on June 18.[33] On September 23, Lee won his first major single accolade when he defeated Kento Miyahara to win the2019 Ōdō Tournament.[34] Lee would go on to lose his rematch with Miyahara on October 24 for the Triple Crown Championship.[35] On October 10, Lee and Naoya Nomura announced their entry into the 2019World Strongest Tag Determination League, to which Iwamoto questioned the reason for Sweepers existence.[36] During the tournament, Lee would announce the dissolution of Sweeper[37] and finished the tournament as runner up to Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa.[38]
On December 21, Lee, Iwamoto and Nomura officially formed the stable Jin (stylised in all caps).[39] On January 3, 2020, Lee once again unsuccessfully challenged Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown Championship.[40] In March, Lee entered BJW'sIkkitousen Strong Climb and won three of his four matches. On March 23, Lee and Iwamoto lost the All Asia Tag Team Championships to Yankee Two Kenju (Isami Kodaka andYuko Miyamoto).[41] Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, several events scheduled to showcase the Ikkitousen Strong Climb were cancelled and all remaining matches were adjudged as draws, allowing Lee to progress to the semi-finals. On April 26, Lee lost toQuiet Storm via count-out.[42] He participated in 2020'sChampion Carnival andReal World Tag League with Iwamoto but was unsuccessful in both tournaments. On February 23, 2021, during a six-man tag team match against Enfants Terribles, the members of the stable turned onShotaro Ashino. In the post match beatdown, Lee also attacked Ashino and turned on stablemate Iwamoto with the five men leaving together.[43]
On March 6, Lee, alongside,Hokuto Omori,Koji Doi,Kuma Arashi, Yusuke Kodama and Tajiri, debuted as Total Eclipse.[44] They defeated Ashino, Iwamoto,Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato andSuwama in a ten-man tag team elimination match which didn't include Arashi.[45] Lee left AJPW after not extending his contract in December 2022.
Lee made his debut inPro Wrestling Noah on January 1, 2023, atThe New Year, congratulatingJack Morris after his match withTimothy Thatcher, with the two forming a team.[46] On January 17, Lee and Morris announced the creation of the "Good Looking Guys" stable alongsideAnthony Greene. The three underwent their first official match as a unit on January 22, 2023, atThe Great Muta Final "Bye-Bye" where they defeatedMasa Kitamiya,Daiki Inaba andYoshiki Inamura in asix-man tag team match.[47] On February 12, following a post-match interview, Lee challengedKaito Kiyomiya to a title match for theGHC Heavyweight Championship.[48] This led to a title match, on March 17, where Lee defeated Kiyomiya to win GHC Heavyweight Championship, becoming the first Korean descent person to hold the title.[49] AtGreen Journey in Sendai on April 16, Lee successfully defended the title againstKatsuhiko Nakajima.[50] Lee then retained his title againstNaomichi Marufuji atMajestic on May 4.[51] On June 17 atGreat Journey in Nagoya, Lee successfully defended the title for the third time againstTakashi Sugiura.[52] Following the match, Lee declared that he would become the first wrestler to enter to win all of his match in the 2023N-1 Victory, as GHC Heavyweight Champion.[53]
However, in August, Lee finished the tournament with a record of four wins, two draws and one loss, with a loss againstKenoh on the final day costing him a spot in the finals of the tournament. On September 24 atGrand Ship In Nagoya, Lee successfully defended the title for the fourth time against 2023 N-1 Victory winnerGo Shiozaki. After the match, Lee challenged Kenoh to a rematch for his title, after he was the one of ended his undefeated streak in Noah.[54] On October 28 atDemolition Stage In Fukuoka, Lee lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Kenoh, ending his reign at 223 days.[55]
On January 2, 2024, atNoah The New Year, afterKota Ibushi defeated Naomichi Marufuji in the main event, Lee and Kaito Kiyomiya confronted him, telling him to leave the promotion, before coming to a mutual agreement to continue pushing Noah forward in 2024.[56] In interview, Lee stated that he couldn't feel that Kiyomiya was a good looking guy, as even his microphone was lacking. After Good Looking Guys defeated Kiyomiya's team on January 23, Lee stated that he wasn't interested in fighting Kiyomiya anymore, unless of course it was for their common goal, the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which was what he was interested in.
The following day atGrand Ship In Yokohama, Lee announced that Good Looking Guys would disband on July 13 atDestination.[57] At the event, Lee, YO-HEY and Tadasuke faced Morris, Greene andLJ Cleary in a winning effort. Afterwards, Gedo came to the ring and announced that Lee would joinBullet Club War Dogs and his departure from Pro Wrestling Noah. He was subsequently confronted by Morris, before attacking him.[58]
On April 23, 2024, Lee made hisNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) debut, assistingDrilla Moloney in defeatingTetsuya Naito. Afterwards,Bullet Club leaderDavid Finlay, announced that Lee would associate with Bullet Club War Dogs against Naito's factionLos Ingobernables de Japon in afive-on-five tag team elimination match. On April 26, Lee and Bullet Club War Dogs were defeated by Los Ignobernables de Japon.[59] After their match at Destination 2024, Lee concluded GLG's dissolution. As he was leaving the ring, he was received byGedo on the ramp, who was bringing with himself a Bullet Club War Dogs shirt for Lee to wear it as an invitation to become an official member of the War Dogs. After a short pause, Lee immediately wears the shirt to confirm his entry into the War Dogs to the shock of the crowd and his former teammates, and also drawing the ire of Jack Morris, who received a Chokeslam for trying to question Lee's decision. After this, Lee took a microphone and sarcastically bid Noah goodbye.[60] After leaving Noah, Lee participated in his first G1 Climax tournament, where he was placed in Block A. Lee finished his block with 8 points and failed to advance to the playoff stage. On September 11, Lee suffered a right foot injury, putting him out of action indefinitely.[61]
| 4 matches | 1 win | 2 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 1 |
| By submission | 1 | 1 |
| By decision | 0 | 0 |
| Draws | 1 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–2–1 | Kenichi Okino | Submission (keylock) | PFC.7 | August 31, 2014 | 1 | N/A | Sapporo, Japan | Openweight bout.[62] |
| Loss | 0–2–1 | Takami Ono | TKO (retirement) | PFC.4 | February 23, 2014 | 2 | 5:00 | Sapporo, Japan | Openweight bout.[63] |
| Loss | 0–1–1 | Toshihiro Taniguchi | Submission (guillotine choke) | PFC.3 | November 3, 2013 | 1 | 0:43 | Sapporo, Japan | Openweight bout.[64] |
| Draw | 0–0–1 | Hiroshi Kozakai | Draw (time limit) | PFC.1 | April 20, 2013 | 3 | 5:00 | Sapporo, Japan | Openweight bout.[65] |
Lee became avegan while training forMMA and obtained a teacher's licence in college. He also is an activepersonal fitness trainer, and has trained the Japanese musicianMaki Ohguro.
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