 Tetsuhiro Kuroda in 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1971-11-23)November 23, 1971 (age 53) Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tetsuhiro Kuroda Kurodaman |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 100 kg (220 lb) |
| Trained by | Pro Wrestling Crusaders Dojo FMW Dojo |
| Debut | March 18, 1993 |
Tetsuhiro Kuroda (黒田 哲広,Kuroda Tetsuhiro; born 23 November 1971) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler, currently competing as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. He is best known for his time withFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he primarily competed from 1993 until the promotion's closure in 2002.
He started his FMW career after being trained at the FMW Dojo in 1993 and initially worked in low-card matches as anenhancement talent during his initial years with the company until he joinedAtsushi Onita'sZENfaction in 1997, earning his first title shot at theFMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and theFMW Independent Heavyweight Championship that December. He would remain a part of many factions throughout the late 1990s and began rising to themain event status, winning his firstWEW Heavyweight Championship in 2000. By the end of the year, the underdog Kuroda established himself as the company's topvillain and formed his own group Team Kuroda tofeud with the company's topfan favoriteHayabusa. He headlined the company's flagship eventFMW Anniversary Show in2001.
Kuroda won severalchampionships in his career including being afour-time WEW Heavyweight Champion. He was a highly decoratedtag team champion, winning theFMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championshiponce, theWEW World Tag Team Championshipten times, theFMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championshipthree times, theWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championshipfour times, theAll Asia Tag Team Championshiptwo times and theWMG Tag Team Championship once.[1]
Kuroda began hisprofessional wrestling career in January 1993, when he was trained by Pro Wrestling Crusaders (PWC) at theirdojo and made his debut on March 18, 1993, againstHideki Hosaka. PWC closed after a few months and Kuroda resumed his training at theFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) dojo.[2] He made his FMW debut as afan favorite withMasato Tanaka by losing to Dark Ranger and Masaru Toi in atag team match on October 15.[3] Kuroda remained in the low card for many years in the company and was usually utilized in opening matches on thecard and served as anenhancement talent against higher level opponents, winning against only lesser known talent. He was often paired with fellow newcomer Tanaka in mid-card matches during the early years of his career and often wrestled Tanaka,Koji Nakagawa and Gosaku Goshogawara.[2] Kuroda's firstmain event match took place on November 26, 1994, when he teamed withAtsushi Onita, Katsutoshi Niiyama and Masato Tanaka to defeatMr. Pogo,The Gladiator, Hideki Hosaka andHisakatsu Oya in ano ropes barbed wire street fight deathmatch.[4] Kuroda would team with Onita, Niiyama and Tanaka in several street fights during late 1994 and early 1995.[5] In the summer of 1995, Kuroda was entered into the Young Spirit Tournament, around robin tournament consisting of rising rookies of the company. He would lose all of his matches in the tournament againstW*ING Kanemura,[6] Hideki Hosaka,[7] Koji Nakagawa[8] andHido,[9] while wrestling Masato Tanaka to a double knockout to gain one point in the tournament.[10]
Kuroda received the first championship match of his career on May 19, 1996, by teaming with Masato Tanaka and Katsutoshi Niiyama againstSuper Leather andThe Headhunters for theWorld Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship but were defeated.[11] The following month, on June 28, Kuroda and Tanaka won the title with Koji Nakagawa by defeating Super Leather and The Headhunters to give Kuroda, his first championship of his career.[12] They successfully defended the title against Hisakatsu Oya,Ricky Fuji and The Gladiator[13] andTerry Funk,Horace Boulder and The Gladiator on September 20.[14] On November 16, Nakagawa, Tanaka and Kuroda werebooked todrop the title to Hisakatsu Oya and The Headhunters.[15] Kuroda headlined theYear End Spectacular event on December 11 by teaming with Atsushi Onita, Mr. Pogo and Masato Tanaka to defeat Funk Masters of Wrestling members Terry Funk, Hisakatsu Oya and The Headhunters.[16]
On September 23, 1997, Kuroda began receiving his first majorpush by last eliminating Mr. Pogo #2 to win abattle royal featuring major FMW wrestlers.[17] Five days later, atKawasaki Legend: Fall Spectacular, Kuroda won aroyal rumble match by last eliminating Ricky Fuji to win acheque of 10,000,000yens.[2][18] On September 30, Kurodaturned into avillain by joining Atsushi Onita'sfactionZEN to feud with FMW. On October 14, Kuroda won his second World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship by teaming with Onita andHido to defeatHayabusa, Koji Nakagawa and Masato Tanaka.[19] On October 21, Kuroda pinned his friend Tanaka for the first time in his career in an eight-man tag team match,[20] thus earning his very first title shot at the Double Championship (theunifiedBrass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship and theIndependent Heavyweight Championship) held by Tanaka on December 5, where he lost.[21] On December 20, Onita, Hido and Kuroda lost the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya and Masato Tanaka during theSuper Extreme Wrestling War tour.[22]
In 1998, ZEN turned into a fan favorite group afterMr. Gannosuke,Yukihiro Kanemura and Hido turned on Onita and quit ZEN to form their new groupTeam No Respect. On January 7, 1998, Onita, Nakagawa and Kuroda competed at ZEN's first promoted show and scored a win against Gannosuke, Kanemura and Hido to gain revenge.[23] On February 13, Onita, Nakagawa and Kuroda defeated Gannosuke, Kanemura andJado to win the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[24] Kuroda played an important role in ZEN's rivalry with TNR. In March, Kuroda participated in a #1 contender's tournament for the Double Championship, where he ended up losing to Jado in the opening round.[25] Kuroda and The Gladiator lost to TNR members Horace Boulder and Super Leather at the company's first pay-per-view event9th Anniversary Show.[26] The following night, Kuroda debuted forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) at the company's twenty-fifth anniversary show Showdown at the Egg by teaming with Gladiator and Hideki Hosaka againstAkira Taue,Takao Omori andMasao Inoue in a losing effort.[27] On May 5, Onita, Nakagawa and Kuroda lost the World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to TNR members Hido,Kodo Fuyuki and Yukihiro Kanemura.[28] After the title loss, Onita disbanded ZEN.[2] Kuroda and Nakagawa lost to Fuyuki and Kanemura on May 19.[29]
Hideki Hosaka and Kuroda were forced to become TNR's slaves after losing matches to TNR on May 25 and May 26 respectively.[30][31] On June 13, Kuroda was forced to wrestle Hosaka in a match by TNR, which Kuroda won.[32] On June 19, Kuroda lost to Masato Tanaka in Tanaka's farewell match as he was departing the promotion forExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).[33] TNR forced Kuroda and Hosaka to wrestle one another again on July 10 and Kuroda once again emerged victorious.[34] On August 11, Kuroda lost to Hosaka in a rematch. Later in the night, Atsushi Onita,Shoichi Arai, Mr. Pogo and Yoshinori Sasaki defeated Go Ito, Kodo Fuyuki, Yukihiro Kanemura and Koji Nakagawa in a match to restore Arai's presidency over FMW and free Hosaka and Kuroda from TNR.[35]
On August 21, Kuroda and Hosaka became the founding members of the new groupTeam Zero with Onita, Mr. Pogo andYoshinori Sasaki and the group worekilts.[2] The duo would lose to Hayabusa and Hisakatsu Oya in their first match as members of Team Zero.[36] On September 1, Team Zero fought TNR in a match with Team Zero's kilts and TNR'sbriefs on the line. Team Zero won to retain their kilts and rip off TNR's briefs.[37] On September 4, Team Zero defeated TNR in a street fight.[38] Kuroda lost to TNR member Koji Nakagawa in a singles match on September 8.[39] Kuroda began rising as a singles star as he issued a challenge to the returning Mr. Gannosuke and defeated Gannosuke's TNR teammate Yukihiro Kanemura to get an upset victory on October 6.[40] Kuroda lost to the returning Gannosuke in a hard-fought match on November 20.[41] In December, Kuroda participated in an Over the Top Tournament to determine the #1 contender for the Double Championship by defeating Super Leather in the first round andMuhammad Yone in the quarter-final before losing to Hisakatsu Oya in the semi-final.[42][43]
Kuroda began 1999 by competing in high-profile matches with Hayabusa[44] and the returning Masato Tanaka.[45] Kuroda formed a tag team with Tanaka as the two unsuccessfully challenged Hayabusa andJinsei Shinzaki for theAll Asia Tag Team Championship on March 19.[46] Tanaka and Kuroda participated in a round robin tournament for the vacantBrass Knuckles Tag Team Championship, in which they defeated Hido and Yukihiro Kanemura,[47] Hideki Hosaka and Super Leather,[48] Hisakatsu Oya and Mr. Gannosuke,[49] and Armageddon.[50] while fighting Hayabusa and Kodo Fuyuki[51] andDaisuke Ikeda and Muhammad Yone to thirty-minute time limit draws[52] and suffered their only loss against Gedo and Koji Nakagawa.[53] On May 3, Tanaka and Kuroda defeated Gedo and Nakagawa in the playoff match and Hayabusa and Fuyuki in the final round to win the tournament and the tag team titles.[54] On May 5, Tanaka and Kuroda defeated Darkside Hayabusa and Jinsei Shinzaki in a non-title match after Kuroda pinned Hayabusa for the first time in his career to become the #1 contender for the Double Championship. He received his title match in the main event against Kodo Fuyuki and was defeated.[2][55] Tanaka and Kuroda successfully defended the Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship against Hido and Yukihiro Kanemura[56] before losing the title to Gedo and Nakagawa in their second title defense on June 13.[57]
Tanaka and Kuroda joined Hayabusa and FMW in their war with Team No Respect as the FMW team defeated TNR in aten-man elimination tag team match on May 31.[58] On June 15, the FMW team of Hayabusa, Tanaka and Kuroda defeated TNR members Hido, Mr. Gannosuke and Yukihiro Kanemura in aladder match with the stipulation that Kodo Fuyuki would be forced to eatdog food if TNR lost.[59] On June 20, Team FMW defeated TNR in athree out of five falls match.[60] Tanaka and Kuroda teamed with Hayabusa to participate in a round robin tournament for the newWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship, where the team lost to Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa and Gedo in the final on July 31.[61]
Kuroda teamed with new partner Hisakatsu Oya to defeat Gedo and Koji Nakagawa to win theWEW Tag Team Championship on August 23.[62] On August 25, Kuroda, Oya and Yoshinori Sasaki unsuccessfully challenged Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa and Gedo for the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[63] Kuroda continued to side with Hayabusa, who had transformed into H to battle Fuyuki and his allies. On September 23, Kuroda, Oya and Masato Tanaka defeated Fuyuki, Nakagawa and Gedo to capture the six-man tag team title.[64] Kuroda and Oya successfully defended the WEW Tag Team Championship againstRaven andTommy Dreamer at the10th Anniversary Show.[65][66] On December 1, Kuroda and Oya lost the title to H and Mr. Gannosuke and lost in a rematch for the title.[67][68] On December 12, Kuroda and Masato Tanaka were defeated by H and Gannosuke in a tag team match.[69][70] After the match, Kuroda shook hands with his opponents while Tanaka refused to do so as he was angry at H for forgiving Gannosuke so easily.[2]
Kuroda defeated Masato Tanaka in singles competition for the first time in his career to win his firstWEW Heavyweight Championship on January 5, 2000.[71] He retained the title in his first title defense against Willie Takayama on February 25.[72]Kodo Fuyuki returned to FMW and formed the ECW Japan group and became the contender to Kuroda's title. Kuroda retained the title against Fuyuki on March 27 via a no contest after ECW Japan interrupted the match and FMW wrestlers came to Kuroda's rescue.[2][73] Kuroda lost the title to Fuyuki in a rematch at the11th Anniversary Show on May 5.[74][75] Kuroda competed against H and Mr. Gannosuke in a #1 contender'sthree-way dance for the WEW Heavyweight Championship with Fuyuki as the special guest referee and was eliminated by H after a fast count by Fuyuki.[76][77] Kuroda would remain out of the title picture for the next few months and competed with H against Fuyuki and his allies. On June 26, Kuroda, H andHisakatsu Oya defeated Fuyuki,Kyoko Inoue andChocoball Mukai to win theWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[78] During this time, Kuroda had a brief feud with Kyoko Inoue, who he defeated in acooking death match on July 28.[79] On July 30, H, Kuroda and Oya made a successful title defense againstHideki Hosaka,Kintaro Kanemura andYoshinori Sasaki.[80]
Kuroda received his rematch against Kodo Fuyuki for the WEW Heavyweight Championship on August 26, with Fuyuki retaining the title.[81] Kuroda, Hayabusa and Hisakatsu Oya lost the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship to Fuyuki, Mr. Gannosuke and Shinjuku Shark on September 15.[82] Kuroda began a rivalry with Gannosuke after the two began brawling with each other in a six-man tag team match on September 21.[83] On September 26, Kuroda teamed withOnryo against Gannosuke andGoemon in a losing effort after Kuroda tapped out to anarmbar by Gannosuke to Kuroda's injured shoulder.[84] Gannosuke went crazy and attacked Kuroda during his matches, costing him wins against Chocoball Mukai[85] andGedo.[86] AtDeep Throat, Kuroda forced Gannosuke toretire by defeating him in a match by debuting his new finishing moveTechnan Buster DDT, which stipulated that Gannosuke would have to retire on losing due to his insane behaviour. Later that night, Kuroda beganturning into avillain by attacking Hayabusa, who was taking a hiatus due to injury. Kuroda then proclaimed that he would become the new ace of FMW.[87]
On November 28, Kuroda teamed with Masato Tanaka againstJado and Gedo and the team of Kodo Fuyuki and Kintaro Kanemura in athree-way tag team match, during which he completed his villainous turn by attacking first Jado and Gedo and then his partner Tanaka with alariat and sided with Fuyuki and Kanemura, making it asix-man tag team match, in which Kuroda, Fuyuki and Kanemura defeated Tanaka, Jado and Gedo.[88] The two teams met in abarbed wire street fight on December 20, where Kuroda's team won again after he pinned Jado to get the victory.[89] On December 24, Kuroda and Fuyuki defeatedTamon Honda andNaomichi Marufuji to win theWEW Tag Team Championship atPro Wrestling NOAH's Great Voyage pay-per-view.[90] They lost the title to Tanaka and Gedo on January 7, 2001, after Kuroda turned on Fuyuki and formed Team Kuroda with Azusa Kudo, Shinjuku Shark and Naohiko Yamazaki. After the match, Kuroda humiliated Fuyuki by puttingmakeup and Kyoko Inoue'sbra on him until Inoue made the rescue, thus becoming the top villain of the company.[91] On January 16, Fuyuki defeated Kuroda in a match, which stipulated that Kuroda must marry Inoue if Fuyuki won.[92] On February 6, Kuroda teamed with Inoue and Team Kuroda's newest member Mammoth Sasaki against Fuyuki, Goemon and Onryo in anintergender tag team match, which stipulated that Kuroda must marry Inoue if Inoue pinned Fuyuki. Kuroda hit a lariat on Inoue, costing her the match against Fuyuki. Following the match, Kuroda mocked Hayabusa provoking him to come and fight him but he was attacked by Team Kuroda untilThe Great Sasuke made the save.[93]
On February 23, Kuroda and Mammoth Sasaki lost to Fuyuki and Sasuke in a tag team match after Sasuke pinned Kuroda,[94] setting up anaked man death match between the two on March 5, which stipulated that one needed to tear off others' clothes and pin his opponent. Kuroda won the match.[95] Kuroda defeated Kintaro Kanemura to become the #1 contender for Fuyuki's WEW Heavyweight Championship on March 13,[96] and defeated Fuyuki, with the help of the reinstated Mr. Gannosuke to win the title for a second time on April 1.[2][97] Gannosuke joined Team Kuroda and then the two attacked Hayabusa, who was watching the match from ringside until The Great Sasuke made the save but got beaten as well. Kuroda and Gannosuke lost to Hayabusa and Sasuke in anexploding octagon cage electric bomb death match at the12th Anniversary Show on May 5.[98] Team Kuroda began to split after they lost a six-man tag team match to Hayabusa, Hisakatsu Oya andRicky Fuji due to a miscommunication between Kuroda and Gannosuke on May 11.[2][99] On May 22, Kuroda lost the WEW Heavyweight Championship to Hayabusa in a barbed wire double hell match, with Kodo Fuyuki as the special guest referee.[100]
On June 8, Kuroda turned into afan favorite by siding with Hayabusa andShoichi Arai after Kodo Fuyuki announced that he had bought 48% of the shares in FMW. This marked the end of Team Kuroda and Kuroda made peace with rival Hayabusa and formed an alliance and faced Mr. Gannosuke and Kintaro Kanemura in themain event and lost their match.[2][101] On August 11, Kuroda was defeated by Gannosuke via submission in abest of three match series between FMW and Fuyuki's team with Hayabusa's 5% stock in the company on the line. Hayabusa lost the third match in the series, thus losing his stock to Fuyuki.[76][102] On September 9, Kuroda teamed with Hayabusa and Goemon to defeat Gannosuke, Fuyuki and Kintaro Kanemura to win the WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[103] The following month, on October 9, Kuroda and Hayabusa defeated Mr. Gannosuke and Mammoth Sasaki to win the WEW Tag Team Championship.[104] On October 22, Hayabusa suffered an injury in a match against Mammoth Sasaki and Kuroda was stripped of both titles on November 5.[2]
Fuyuki introduced Garuda to FMW to replaced Hayabusa as the company's new ace but Garuda turned on Fuyuki and sided with Kuroda and the fan favorites. On November 23, Kuroda and Garuda lost to Fuyuki andGenichiro Tenryu and then Kuroda formed an alliance with Mr. Gannosuke, Kintaro Kanemura and Mammoth Sasaki to feud with Fuyuki, who had turned on FMW to become a loyalist of Tenryu and hisWAR group.[105] Garuda left FMW and Kuroda became the new ace of FMW. On December 9, FMW's team of Kuroda, Gannosuke, Kanemura and Sasaki defeated WAR's team of Fuyuki, Tenryu,Arashi andKoki Kitahara.[106] On December 21, Kuroda and Gannosuke defeated Goemon and Onryo,Sabu and Yoshito Sasaki and Kintaro Kanemura and Mammoth Sasaki to win a one-night eight-man tag team tournament for the vacant WEW Tag Team Championship.[107][108] On January 6, 2002, Gannosuke broke his ankles during a six-man tag team match between the team of Gannosuke, Kuroda and Sasaki against Fuyuki's foreigner team ofBalls Mahoney,The Sandman andVic Grimes, which would cost Kuroda's team the match.[109] The following month, on February 4, Kuroda was stripped of the WEW Tag Team Championship due to Gannosuke's injury and he teamed with Sabu to take on Fuyuki and Sandman for the vacant title in the main event and ended up losing the match.[2][110] This would turn out to be the last ever match in FMW history as Shoichi Arai closed FMW due tobankruptcy on February 15.[76]
Kodo Fuyuki quickly picked up the venues and dates that FMW had originally planned after February 2002 and beganbooking his own shows on the same dates under the "Fuyuki Army" banner. Kuroda competed at Fuyuki Army shows in April and then signed a contract with Fuyuki's newpromotion World Entertainment Wrestling (WEW), the successor to FMW. Kuroda competed at WEW's debut show on May 5, losing toAkira Taue.[111] Kuroda would soon begin competing in theJapanese independent circuit along with WEW, most notably his friendEiji Ezaki's Wrestlings Marvelous Future (WMF). The WEW titles of FMW were restored in the company as Kuroda took onKintaro Kanemura for theWEW Heavyweight Championship on August 23 and lost the match after Fuyuki ordered Garuda to attack Kuroda for competing in WMF.[2][112] On October 23, Kuroda won theWEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Gosaku Goshogawara andTAKA Michinoku by defeatingMasato Tanaka,Shinjiro Otani and Kuroge Wagyuta.[113] Kuroda also won theWEW Tag Team Championship with Kintaro Kanemura by defeatingGENTARO and Takeshi Sasaki on March 11, 2003.[114] Kuroda lost to Masato Tanaka at WEW's last show, which aired on May 18 on Samurai TV.[115] The Tag Team Championship was vacated after WEW's closure and Kuroda, Goshogawara and Michinoku lost the 6-Man Tag Team Championship to2 Tuff Tony, Kintaro Kanemura andMad Man Pondo at a Fuyuki Army show on October 2.[116] They were the longest reigning 6-Man Tag Team Champions, with their reign lasting at 344 days.[117][118]
During his time in WEW, Kuroda debuted forDramatic Dream Team on April 25 as a WEW representative and began touring the Japanese independent circuit.[119] He debuted forPro Wrestling Zero-One alongsideKintaro Kanemura on June 29 as challengers forMasato Tanaka andShinjiro Otani'sNWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship, which Tanaka and Otani retained.[120] He represented WEW in the company's prestigious2002 Fire Festival, where he reached the finals by topping his Block B with six points and lost to Shinjiro Otani in the final round.[121][122][123][124] He primarily competed forHayabusa's WMF, debuting for the company atThe Independence Day by teaming withHisakatsu Oya to defeatMr. Gannosuke andJinsei Shinzaki with the show airing on September 5.[125] Kuroda formed astable with Goemon, Hisakatsu Oya and Soldier called Brand Double Cross and the group became the top villainous group of the company.[2]
In early 2003, Kuroda teamed withChocoball Mukai to participate inPro Wrestling NOAH'sfirst Differ Cup tournament, in which they lost toKudo andMikami in the quarter-final.[126] In the summer of 2003, Kuroda and Kanemura participated in a round robin tournament for the vacantAll Asia Tag Team Championship, in which they scored four points.[127] Kuroda next participated in the2003 Fire Festival, in which he scored four points and failed to qualify for the final.[128] Kuroda and Kanemura unsuccessfully challengedHirotaka Yokoi andKohei Sato for the All Asia Tag Team Championship on August 18[129] but defeated Yokoi and Sato in a rematch to win the title on October 10.[130] They vacated the title at the Infinity pay-per-view after Kanemura suffered an injury. On the same event, Kuroda unsuccessfully challengedWataru Sakata for theInternational Junior Heavyweight Championship.[131][132] Kuroda recaptured the All Asia Tag Team Championship by teaming with Mr. Gannosuke to defeatJun Kasai and Tengu Kaiser on December 25.[133] Gannosuke and Kuroda lost the title toThe Great Kosuke andShiryu on January 2, 2004, at an AJPW event.[134]
Kintaro Kanemura formed a freelancer stable of former FMW wrestlers called Apache Army and Kuroda was a part of the group. They would compete at several promotions most notably Pro-Wrestling Zero1. They worked many Zero-One shows and pay-per-views for the newHustle promotion. Kuroda participated in his third straightFire Festival in the summer of 2004, in which he scored only three points.[135] At Hustle-2, Kuroda, Kanemura and Masato Tanaka defeatedJustin Credible,Sabu andThe Gladiator in a match between former FMW champions and formerECW champions.[136][137] In the summer of 2004, the group founded their own promotionApache Army and Kuroda lost toTakao Omori at the promotion's first show on August 30.[138] On November 28, Kuroda promoted his own show for the first time ever titledTetsuhiro Kuroda Festival, which he headlined by teaming with Hido to get a tag team victory overRyuji Ito and The Winger in ahardcore rules match.[136][139]
On March 12, 2005, Kuroda andOnryo defeated Takeshi Sasaki and GENTARO to revive theWEW World Tag Team Championship in Apache Army.[140] The title would be vacated later in the year.[141] At Hustle-8, Kuroda participated in abattle royal to determine the promotion's inauguralHardcore Hero Champion. Masato Tanaka won the battle royal.[142] On April 16, 2005, Kuroda and Hido defeated Kintaro Kanemura andTomohiro Ishii to winRiki Pro'sWorld Magma the Greatest (WMG) Tag Team Championship.[143] On September 10, Kuroda participated in a battle royal for the Hardcore Hero Championship at Hustle-12, which was won byTadao Yasuda.[144] The title was vacated in 2006 after the promotion closed. On January 28, 2006, Kuroda debuted forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) by teaming with Kintaro Kanemura and Hido against Control Terrorism Unit (Jyushin Thunder Liger,Jado andGedo), with the match ending in a no contest after Apache Army and CTU began brawling with each other.[136][145] A rematch took place between the two teams on February 19, which CTU won. On January 8, 2007, Kuroda unsuccessfully challengedTogi Makabe for theWEW Heavyweight Championship.[146] On March 17, Kuroda debuted a newmaskedcharacter namedKurodaman as he teamed with Kintaro Kanemura, who competed as Kintaman in a tag team match against Kohei Sato and Giant Sabo at theHUSTLE House Vol. 23 pay-per-view.[147] He worked many shows for Hustle as Kurodaman while teaming with Kintaman from 2007 to 2009.
He received subsequent title shots for the WEW Heavyweight Championship in 2008 against Mammoth Sasaki[148] and Tomohiro Ishii[149] but failed to win the title. In 2009, Kuroda participated in his fourthFire Festival, where he lost three out of four matches in his block, winning only againstDaisuke Sekimoto.[150] On July 25, 2011, Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura defeatedHIROKI and Yusaku Obata at an Apache Army show to earn a title shot at theWEW World Tag Team Championship,[151] which they won by defeating tag team champions Kohei Sato and KAMIKAZE on August 18.[152] They lost the title to HIROKI and Yusaku Obata on September 28.[153] Kuroda unsuccessfully challengedArashi for the WEW Heavyweight Championship on February 29, 2012,[154] but defeated Arashi in a rematch to win the title for the third time on April 26.[155] He made a successful title defense against Shoichi Ichimiya on June 25[156] and then vacated the title to put it for grabs in Takeover the Independent Tournament. He defeated Kintaro Kanemura,[157]Manjimaru,[158] Arashi andTakeshi Minamino to win the tournament and his fourth WEW Heavyweight Championship.[159][160] He lost the title to Kintaro Kanemura in a street fight on September 1, 2013.[161][162]
On September 7, 2014, Kuroda and Ryoji Sai defeatedTadasuke andTomohiko Hashimoto to win the WEW Tag Team Championship.[163] They lost the title toKazushi Miyamoto and Tomohiko Hashimoto on May 31, 2015.[141][164] On August 28, 2016, Kuroda and Kanemura defeated Hi69 and Hasegawa during Kanemura's retirement tour to win the tag team championship for the second time as a team and marked Kuroda's fifth reign with the title.[165] They lost the title to Keisuke Okuda and Tomohiko Hashimoto on October 2.[166] Kuroda then teamed withTatsuhito Takaiwa to beat Okuda and Hashimoto for the title at Apache Army's last showFinal Gong on December 25.[167][168] Apache closed down but Kuroda and Takaiwa kept the titles. On January 5, 2017, Kuroda debuted for the resurrected FMW under theChō Sentō Puroresu FMW name by competing with Masato Tanaka andNOSAWA Rongai againstAtsushi Onita,Hideki Hosaka andRicky Fuji in a losing effort.[169] On April 16, Kuroda and Takaiwa lost the titles toMasashi Takeda and Tomohiko Hashimoto on A-Team'sTake Off event.[170]
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