 Kanemaru in September 2023 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1976-09-23)September 23, 1976 (age 49)[2][3] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Masked Burning #2[1] Yoshinobu Kanemaru |
| Billed height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2][3] |
| Billed weight | 85 kg (187 lb)[2][3] |
| Trained by | All Japan Pro Wrestling dojo |
| Debut | July 6, 1996[2][3] |
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (金丸義信,Kanemaru Yoshinobu; born September 23, 1976) is a Japaneseprofessional wrestler andbackstage producer. He is signed toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member ofHouse of Torture.
Trained at theAll Japan Pro Wrestling dojo, Kanemaru left the promotion to joinPro Wrestling Noah. Across two stints with Noah, he is a seven-timeGHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, a four-timeGHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and won the 2009Global Junior Heavyweight League and the 2009Nippon TV Cup Jr. Heavyweight Tag League. In NJPW, he is a six-timeJunior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and won the 2021Super Junior Tag League. In AJPW, he is a one-timeWorld Junior Heavyweight Champion and a two-timeAll Asia Tag Team Champion.
Stable wise, Kanemaru was a member of the first and third incarnations of AJPW'sBurning. He later joined NJPW'sSuzuki-gun during a invasion storyline, and remained with the stable until its disbandment in 2022. He was then a member ofJust 5 Guys, before turning on the stable to join House of Torture, which was a sub-group ofBullet Club at the time.
Kanemaru debuted in 1996 forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), in the last years of ownerGiant Baba's regime, which had isolated the promotion from outsider wrestlers at the expense of the younger, lighter-weight talent. His first high-profile match in 1997 saw him team withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sKoji Kanemoto (Tiger Mask III) to battle freelancerSatoru Sayama, the originalTiger Mask, and his disciple,Michinoku Pro Wrestling'sYoshihiro Yamazaki (who would go on to become Tiger Mask IV), in a battle of Tiger Masks (asMitsuharu Misawa, who once portrayed Tiger Mask II, was now a heavyweight and fully focused on theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Kanemaru had to substitute for him in this interpromotional bout.)
Despite Baba's death in 1999, Kanemaru rarely had further opportunities to go into other promotions. It was only in 2000, after Misawa broke with AJPW to create Noah that his experience began widening. In a brief promotional alliance withFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Kanemaru was able to win his first championship, theWEW Tag Team Championship, with heavyweightMasao Inoue.
In 2001, Kanemaru underwent a transformation. His simpleBermuda shorts and boots were changed for tights and shinguards, and he began executing more high-risk maneuvers proper for ajunior heavyweight. This paid off well for Kanemaru, as he plowed through a field of unlikely but talented competitors to win a tournament for the first-everGHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would go on to win the title twice more, including a win over NJPW's long time junior ace,Jyushin Thunder Liger. In tag teams his experience widened as well, teaming withTsuyoshi Kikuchi to win theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, and withTakashi Sugiura to win theGHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice.[4] His win of the NJPW title served as a catalyst for the creation of the equivalent Noah title.
In 2008, Kanemaru showed a serious shift in his attitude after the "SugiKane" team of himself andTakashi Sugiura went their separate ways after Sugiura moved to the heavyweight division. Kanemaru began using heel tactics in his matches. In the summer, he convincedKotaro Suzuki to betray his friend and tag team partnerRicky Marvin and attacked the reigning Jr. Heavyweight tag championsKenta andTaiji Ishimori. The new team would defeat the champions for their titles two weeks later after Kanemaru pinned Kenta after using hisTouch-Outbrainbuster.
On October 31, 2009, he defeated Liger in the finals of theJunior Heavyweight League to win the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship for a fifth time. On March 28, 2010, he defeated Ishimori. On 25 April, he defeatedDelirious. On 10 July, he defeatedNaomichi Marufuji. On December 5, Kanemaru lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship to Kotaro Suzuki, ending his reign at 400 days, the longest in the title's history.
On May 9, 2012, Kanemaru defeatedKatsuhiko Nakajima to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship for the sixth time. He lost the title toAll Japan Pro Wrestling'sShuji Kondo on September 29. On December 19, Noah announced that Kanemaru would be leaving the promotion, after refusing to re-sign following the firing ofKenta Kobashi.[5][6][7] Kanemaru wrestled his final Noah match on December 24, teaming withAkitoshi Saito in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura.[8][9]
On January 26, 2013, Kanemaru,Atsushi Aoki,Go Shiozaki,Jun Akiyama andKotaro Suzuki, all of whom had quit Noah at the same time, announced that they had joinedAll Japan Pro Wrestling, forming the "Burning" stable.[10] On February 23, Kanemaru brought Burning its first title, when he defeated Shuji Kondo for theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he was denied in his first AJPW stint.[11] On May 11, Kanemaru made a one-night return to Noah to take part in Kenta Kobashi's retirement match atFinal Burning in Budokan, where he, Go Shiozaki, Kenta andMaybach Taniguchi were defeated by Kobashi, Jun Akiyama,Keiji Muto andKensuke Sasaki, with Kobashi pinning Kanemaru for the win.[12] On July 5, following a mass exodus led by Muto, it was announced that Kanemaru, along with the rest of Burning, had signed an exclusive contract with All Japan.[13] On December 15, Kanemaru lost the World Junior Heavyweight Championship toÚltimo Dragón.[14] On January 26, 2014, Kanemaru and Akiyama defeated former Burning stablemates Atsushi Aoki and Kotaro Suzuki to win theAll Asia Tag Team Championship.[15] They lost the title toKeisuke Ishii andShigehiro Irie at aDramatic Dream Team (DDT) event on April 29.[16] Kanemaru regained the title fromMitsuya Nagai andTakeshi Minamino on March 22, 2015, now teaming with Último Dragón.[17] They vacated the title on October 14.[18] On November 20, Kanemaru announced he would be leaving All Japan and becoming a freelancer following December 15.[19]
In January 2016, Kanemaru returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, initially forming a partnership with Go Shiozaki, before turning on him on January 31 and joiningSuzuki-gun.[20] On February 24, Kanemaru defeatedTaiji Ishimori to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship for the seventh time.[21] On June 24 at a show produced by Kanemaru's Suzuki-gun stablematesTaichi andTaka Michinoku, Kanemaru was one of two winners of a four-man round-robin tournament to earn a spot in the2016 Super J-Cup.[22] On July 20, Kanemaru defeatedBushi in his first round match in the tournament.[23] On August 21, Kanemaru defeatedRyusuke Taguchi in the second round andMatt Sydal in the semifinals, before losing to reigningIWGP Junior Heavyweight ChampionKushida in the finals of the tournament.[24] On September 23, Kanemaru lost the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship toAtsushi Kotoge.[25] Kanemaru had a chance to regain the GHC Junior title when he faced Kotoge at Great Voyage in Yokohama vol. 2 on October 23, but failed. Suzuki-gun's Noah invasion storyline concluded in December 2016.[26]
On January 5, 2017, Suzuki-gun, Kanemaru included, returned toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).[27] On March 6, Kanemaru and Taichi defeatedRoppongi Vice to become the newIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[28] They lost the title back to Roppongi Vice in their second defense on April 27.[29] Kanemaru then entered theBest of the Super Juniors tournament, where he finished with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.[30] On NJPW's 46th Anniversary Show on March 6, 2018, Kanemaru, along withEl Desperado won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships in a three-way tag team match that involvedRoppongi 3K andBushi andHiromu Takahashi. In May, he entered the 2018Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished the tournament with three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the finals. Between October and November, he and Desperado took part in theSuper Junior Tag League, advancing to the finals thanks to a record of five wins and two losses. After months of reigning, they fought against Roppongi 3K and the team of Bushi andShingo Takagi, a match won by the latter on January 4, 2019, atWrestle Kingdom 13, in a triple threat tag team match, ending their reign at 304 days. Kanemaru would enter the 2019Best of the Super Juniors tournament, ending with a record of three wins and six losses, including wins overSho and long time rivalTaiji Ishimori, however failing to advance from the block.
In June 2020, Kanemaru would enter theNew Japan Cup tournament for the first time in his career, defeatingYuya Uemura in the first round, before losing to Ishimori in the second. On September 11, 2020, Kanemaru and Desperado won a tournament to win the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship by last defeating the team of Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi.[31] Kanemaru signed a full-time contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, that would see him continue to perform as a wrestler, as well as becoming a producer for the company. On January 4, 2021, atWrestle Kingdom 15, Desperado and Kanemaru successfully defended the titles againstRyusuke Taguchi andMaster Wato.[32]
In January, Kanemaru and Desperado lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships to Ishimori andEl Phantasmo, ending their second reign at 134 days.[33] The duo regained their titles 33 days later during the Road to Castle Attack tour.[34] In April atSakura Genesis, Kanemaru and Desperado lost the titles once again to Roppongi 3K.[35] In July atWrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Kanemaru competed in theNew Japan Ranbo for theProvisional KOPW 2021 trophy, but the match was won byChase Owens.[36] The following month in August, Kanemaru and Desperado competed in theSuper Junior Tag League, where they finished joint top of the block with eight points. In the finals, they defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Ishimori and Phantasmo to win their first Super Junior Tag League tournament.[37] They had their title shot atWrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome in September, where they defeated Ishimori and Phantasmo and once again to win their fourth IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship.[38] The duo lost the titles the following month to Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles andTiger Mask). In November, Kanemaru competed in theBest of the Super Juniors,[39] finishing with eight points, failing to advance to the finals. On December 24, Kanemaru lost toToru Yano, in a KOPW 2021 Championship match.[40] On January 4, 2022, at night one ofWrestle Kingdom 16, Kanemaru competed in the New Japan Ranbo match, but failed to last until the final four.[41] On Night 2, Suzuki-gun lost toMaster Wato,Hiroyoshi Tenzan andSatoshi Kojima.[42] On Night 3, Kanemaru and Suzuki-gun stablemateZack Sabre Jr. lost to Pro Wrestling Noah'sNaomichi Marufuji andYoshinari Ogawa.[43]
On February 19 during the NJPW New Years Golden Series, Kanemaru and Desperado competed in a four-way tag-team match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, but the match was won by Six or Nine (Master Wato andRyusuke Taguchi), whilst also involving champions Flying Tiger, and Ishimori and Phantasmo.[44] In March, Kanemaru entered theNew Japan Cup, receiving abye to the second round, but lost toCima.[45] On May 1 atWrestling Dontaku, Kanemaru and Desperado faced Six or Nine for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag team championships, but were defeated.[46] In the same month, Kanemaru competed in theBest of the Super Juniors, competing in the A Block. Kanemaru finished with eight points, failing to advance to the finals.[47] In June atDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Kanemaru teamed with Desperado and Sabre to faceHouse of Torture (Evil,Yujiro Takahashi and Sho) for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, but lost.[48] Later in the month, Kanemaru competed in a tournament to advance toForbidden Door for a chance to be crowned the inauguralAEW All-Atlantic Championship, however Kanemaru was defeated byTomohiro Ishii in the qualifying round.[49] Six days later, Kanemaru and Desperado teamed on the buy-in of Forbidden Door, against Swerve in our Glory (Keith Lee andSwerve Strickland), in a losing effort.[50] In October, Kanemaru competed in another tournament to crown the inauguralNJPW World Television Championship, but lost toDavid Finlay in the first round.[51] In November, Kanemaru competed in theSuper Junior Tag League, this time teaming withDouki. The duo ended the tournament campaign with eight points failing to advance to the finals.[52] At theWorld Tag League and Best of the Super Juniors finals, Minoru Suzuki announced the disbandment of Suzuki-gun by the end of the year.[53] The final match between the stable took place on December 23, where the team of Kanemaru, Taichi, Sabre and Douki defeated Suzuki,Lance Archer, Desperado andTaka Michinoku. After the match, each of the Suzuki-gun members spoke about their memories as a part of the group and thanked leader Suzuki. The night ended with all members posing with the Suzuki-gun flag, only to be interrupted by former memberTakashi Iizuka, causing all nine men to pose in the ring, behind the Suzuki-gun flag.[54]
On January 4 atWrestle Kingdom 17, Kanemaru competed in theNew Japan Ranbo, but failed to last until the final four.[55] The following day atNew Year Dash!!, Kanemaru reunited with former Suzuki-gun stablemates, Taka Michinoku, Douki and Taichi to form a stable known asJust 4 Guys.[56][57] In February atThe New Beginning in Sapporo, Kanemaru and Douki, challengedCatch 2/2 (Francesco Akira andTJP) for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, but were defeated.[58] During theNew Japan Cup, the stable added cup winnerSanada, thus changing their name toJust 5 Guys.[59] Following Sanada winning theIWGP World Heavyweight Championship atSakura Genesis, he was confronted by former stablemate Hiromu Takahashi, who sought a shot at the world title. Sanada accepted, however only on the basis that Kanemaru was granted a title shot at Takahashi'sIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, which Takahashi accepted. On April 27, Kanemaru was unsuccessful in defeating Takahashi.[60] In May, Kanemaru competed in theBest of the Super Juniors, competing in the B Block.[61] Kanemaru finished the tournament with a score of six points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.[62]
Following the 2023G1 Climax, Kanemaru suffered a supposed knee injury while fighting theHouse of Torture and went on a small hiatus for the remainder of the month of August. A month later, during Taichi's defense match againstSho for theKOPW Championship, Kanemaru returned seemingly to help Taichi defend himself. But, as soon as Kanemaru would put whiskey on his mouth and perform his whiskey spit, he spat it on Taichi's face instead and hit him with hisTouch-Outbrainbuster. Afterwards,Evil announced Kanemaru was leaving Just 5 Guys to join House of Torture.
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