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 Omori in November 2012 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1969-10-16)October 16, 1969 (age 56) Tokyo, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Takao Omori |
| Billed height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) |
| Billed weight | 110 kg (243 lb) |
| Trained by | Animal Hamaguchi |
| Debut | October 16, 1992 |
Takao Omori (大森隆男,Ōmori Takao; born October 16, 1969) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler, working forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-timeTriple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-timeWorld Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He has worked inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW),Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) andPro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1).
After being trained byAnimal Hamaguchi, Omori debuted inAll Japan Pro Wrestling, initially languishing in the mid-card as most rookies in the company do when they debut, Omori would get his first big break in 1995, when he andJun Akiyama captured theAll Asia Tag Team Championship.[1] Omori and Akiyama would hold the Championships for 1,076 days with 12 successful defenses, before losing the Championships toJohnny Smith andWolf Hawkfield.[2] In 1998, he and newcomerYoshihiro Takayama formed theNO FEARtag team. The team soon won both the All Asia Tag Team Championship and theWorld Tag Team Championship, becoming the first team to win both titles at the same time. In late 1999, former Super Generation Army memberSatoru Asako would join the group and would often compete alongside them in Six Man Tag matches.Hiroshi Hase,Masanobu Fuchi,Takeshi Morishima andGary Albright would also support the team at times but weren't full fledged members. In 2000, Omori would make it to the finals of that year'sChampion Carnival after beating Jun Akiyama,Mike Barton andSteve Williams in the first 3 rounds. In the finals he'd be defeated byKenta Kobashi in 25 minutes and 12 seconds.[3] Later on in 2000, AJPW's top star and former presidentMitsuharu Misawa would formPro Wrestling Noah. Omori, Takayama and Asako followed him and dyed their hair blond to match the change of environment.
Omori's first American venture was in theWorld Wrestling Federation, where he competed in the1996 Royal Rumble. He was eliminated by the returningJake Roberts.
Omori would begin his career in Pro Wrestling NOAH largely competing in Tag Team and Six Man Tag Team matches alongside fellow NO FEAR stablemates Yoshihiro Takayama and Satoru Asako. However he would still compete in singles matches, often winning. However, for an undisclosed reason, Omori called for an early ending to his singles bout withShinya Hashimoto in the middle of their singles match at Noah's Great Voyage 2000 event, which was the company's most important event up to that point. Because of this, Omori was immediately in Misawa's doghouse for a time. However, after this he and Takayama would defeat Mitsuharu Misawa andYoshinari Ogawa to capture the GHC Tag Team Championships at Pro Wrestling NOAH's Navigation In Raging Ocean tour in 2001.[4] They would hold the titles for 70 days before losing them toTakeshi Rikio andTakeshi Morishima.[5] The members of NO FEAR would still continue to have success in NOAH, winning a majority of their Tag Team and Six Man Tag matches as a stable. In 2002 the NO FEAR team broke up following a betrayal from Omori over Takayama as well as Asako's premature retirement due to a career ending neck injury. Omori was then sent abroad toHarley Race'sWorld League Wrestlingpromotion in the American Midwest, where he won the company's heavyweight title. During his excursion, Misawa continued to deny that Omori had been sent abroad by Noah, and Omori was not welcomed back to Noah when he returned from the excursion. As a result, Omori joinedFighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling, where hefeuded withRiki Choshu,Genichiro Tenryu andKensuke Sasaki.
In 2011, Omori would compete at a Pro Wrestling NOAH related event again for the first time in 9 years when he and NO FEAR stablemate Yoshihiro Takayama would wrestle at AJPW/NJPW/NOAH All Together There they would face Kensuke Sasaki and Omori's longtime rival and partner Jun Akiyama in a losing effort.[6] He would return for the next year's All Together event when he would team with Jun Akiyama against Kenta Kobashi andKeiji Muto in a losing effort.[7] In 2013 Omori would compete at his first solo NOAH event in 11 years when he and Yoshihiro Takayama defeatedNaomichi Marufuji andMinoru Suzuki at Pro Wrestling NOAH'sFinal Burning in Budokan[8] event, which commemorated the retirement of Kenta Kobashi. In 2018 Omori would return to NOAH again, teaming withCody Hall in a winning effort againstQuiet Storm andTadasuke. This match took place at NOAH Naomichi Marufuji 20th Anniversary Show ~ Flight ~[9] which was an event commemorating the 20th anniversary of Naomichi Marufuji's Professional Wrestling career.
In 2004, he joinedPro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX, where he was one of the strong native competitors along with (fellow Hamaguchi Dojo classmate)Shinjiro Otani. He has feuded with old team mate Yoshihiro Takayama, resulting in many bloody battles anddisqualifications. On March 8, 2007, he andManabu Nakanishi lost theZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag Team Championship to Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato. On March 31, 2007, he defeatedSteve Corino for theAWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship, becoming athree-time champion. Nearly seven months to the day Omori won the AWA World Heavyweight championship, he would lose the title toMasato Tanaka. On August 16, 2008 Omori announced that he was leaving ZERO1-MAX and taking a break from pro wrestling.
This break would not last long, as Omori appeared at aNew Japan Pro-Wrestling show on March 15, 2009 to revive his team with Manabu Nakanishi. He also participated in the2009 G1 Climax, pulling off two impressive victories in his first two matches by defeating bothIWGP Heavyweight ChampionHiroshi Tanahashi and eventual tournament winnerTogi Makabe. In January 2010 Omori announced his semi-retirement.[10]
Since semi-retiring, Omori had been wrestling select shows in various promotions, both mainstream and independent. In 2011, he has been wrestling semi-regularly with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Following the 2011 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, Omori appealed to Keiji Mutoh to officially join All Japan and Mutoh granted the request, officially rejoining All Japan.
In 2024, Omori would begin wrestling on a freelance basis more frequently. This would include matches in Japanese Independent promotions like Extreme Fighting Stage COMBO, Asian Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling KAGEKI. In 2025 after a 10 month hiatus he returned at New York based independent promotion Wrestling Is Now, where he was brought in as the main attraction for Wrestling Is Now: NO FEAR DAY. On the event he teamed up withBull James and PJ Savage in a winning effort againstJoel Maximo, Adrian Santos and Carlos Billetes of La Casa, the promotion's top heel stable. This was his first match in the United States since 2006.
Omori's first match back as an official member of the AJPW roster took place on December 25, 2011, teaming up withManabu Soya andSeiya Sanada in a loss toAkebono,Keiji Mutoh, andSuper Delfin. On March 20, 2012, Omori and Soya defeatedDark Cuervo andDark Ozz for the World Tag Team Championship. After losing the title toJoe Doering and Seiya Sanada on May 20, Omori and Soya, known collectively as "Get Wild", regained the title on June 17. They vacated the title on October 30, in time for the2012 World's Strongest Tag Determination League. On November 30, Get Wild won the tournament to regain the title. On December 11, Soya unsuccessfully challengedMasakatsu Funaki for theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship. As a result, Get Wild was forced to disband, despite still holding the World Tag Team Championship. Get Wild went on to lose the title toBurning (Go Shiozaki and Jun Akiyama) on March 17, 2013.[11] Following Soya's resignation from AJPW, Omori revived his team with Akiyama, naming it "Wild Burning" in January 2014.[12] On February 8, Wild Burning unsuccessfully challengedEvolution (Joe Doering andSuwama) for the World Tag Team Championship.[13] On April 27, Omori won his firstChampion Carnival, defeating Jun Akiyama in the finals.[14] On June 15, Omori defeated Akiyama in a rematch to win the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time.[15] On June 28, Omori became only the sixth "Quintuple Crown Champion" in All Japan history,[16] when he and Akiyama defeated Joe Doering and Suwama to win the World Tag Team Championship.[17] However, the next day, Omori lost the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship to Suwama, ending his reign at just 14 days.[18] After successfully defending the World Tag Team Championship against Akebono andYutaka Yoshie on October 22, Omori and Akiyama vacated the title the following day in time for the2014 World's Strongest Tag Determination League.[19] They regained the title by winning the tournament on December 6, defeating Go Shiozaki andKento Miyahara in the finals.[20] Wild Burning's second reign ended on March 22, 2015, when they were defeated by Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie.[21] On January 1, 2016, Omori was appointed to the All Japan Board of Directors.[22] On December 18, the reunited Get Wild defeatedJake Lee and Kento Miyahara in the finals to win the2016 World's Strongest Tag Determination League.[23] Omori would continue to be a major presence in All Japan, winning several more Championships. In 2017, on a show dedicated to both his and Jun Akiyama's 25th anniversary as Professional Wrestlers, Omori and Akiyama would defeatDaisuke Sekimoto andRyuji Ito for the vacant AJPW World Tag Team Championships, winning them one final time.[24] In 2020 he would team withBlack Menso-re andCarbell Ito to win theAJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Championship.[25] In 2022 he and fellow 1990s All Japan veteranMasao Inoue would capture theAJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship in a Four Way Tag Team Match also involving defending championsSeigo Tachibana andYusuke Kodama,TAJIRI andYoshi Tatsu, and Black Mensore and Carbell Ito.[26] They'd hold the Championships for the rest of the year until the team ofNOSAWA Rongai andKendo Kashin defeated them for the titles at the following year's New Year Giant Series tour.[27] In 2023 Omori would win his final championship to date when he, Black Mensore and Carbell Ito would win the AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Championship again.[28] In 2024 Omori would appear for All Japan less frequently and would freelance on a more regular basis.
1Championship not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.
2Although the title still uses the NWA initials, it is not recognized or sanctioned by theNational Wrestling Alliance since the promotion withdrew from the NWA in 2004.
3This title shouldn't be confused with theNWA United National Championship, a defunct NWA singles championship that is currently one of the three championships used to comprise theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
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,Internet Wrestling Database
Media related toTakao Omori at Wikimedia Commons
