Black Tiger (ブラック・タイガー,Burakku Taigā) has been thepersona used by seven differentprofessional wrestlers inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as opponents of the four incarnations ofTiger Mask. The character is drawn from the originalJapaneseTiger Maskanime. The trademark of the character is to always wear a mask and tights in an almost identical design to that of his perennial rival only with entirely black and silver coloring.
According to the storyline set forth by the original anime, Black Tiger is a wrestler trained and sent by ayakuza-like organisation called the Tiger's Cave. The Tiger's Cave desire vengeance upon the wrestler Tiger Mask, a former trainee of theirs, for publicly turning his back on them and no longer paying them monetary tributes. With the anime's protagonist translated byAntonio Inoki to actual NJPW wrestling events (in the form ofSatoru Sayama) it was perhaps inevitable that his arch-enemy would also appear in the promotion.
The wrestlers portraying Black Tiger have traditionally beengaijin, somewhat of a throwback to the days in which non-Japanese were portrayed as heels to fight against national heroes such asRikidōzan to promote national pride afterWorld War II, paralleling the way American promotions would often portray wrestlers depicted as, or indeed actually being from, foreign countries as villains pitted against American-born heroes. In other countries this has varied. Black Tiger IV was a member ofTeam Japan during theTNA 2006 World X-Cup Tournament and during hisCMLL career Black Tiger III was overtly portrayed as being Japanese.Black Tiger V was the first time Black Tiger was played by a Japanese wrestler.
Mark "Rollerball" Rocco, an established British wrestler, was the first to assume the persona in 1982 to oppose the original Tiger Mask,Satoru Sayama.[1][2] His pinnacle of success was defeatingGran Hamada in a tournament final for the vacantWWF Junior Heavyweight Championship on May 6, 1982, and was defeated twenty days later by Tiger Mask for the belt. Sayama left NJPW in 1983 and the rights to Tiger Mask were purchased byAll Japan Pro Wrestling the following year for the use ofMitsuharu Misawa. AJPW were not to create a Black Tiger counterpart. Rocco continued to portray Black Tiger in NJPW until 1990.
In August 1993 Black Tiger made a return, this time portrayed byEddie Guerrero.[2] His Tiger Mask rival at this time wasKoji Kanemoto. Kanemoto unmasked in January 1994, while Guerrero was a finalist in the 1994 Super Grade Junior Heavyweight Tag League withThe Great Sasuke, came third in the 1994 and 1995Best of the Super Juniors tournaments and was victorious in 1996.
Following the fall of WCW, alumnusCésar Cuauhtémoc González, better known as Mexican star Silver King began wrestling for NJPW through their working relationship with his home promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.Tiger Mask IV would not sign with NJPW until early 2003 and the highlight of Black Tiger III's Japanese run would be a failed attempt at theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship alongside his real-life brotherDr. Wagner, Jr. before he devoted himself full-time to his CMLL career. González continued to use the Black Tiger name in Mexican independent companies even after CMLL repackaged him as "El Bronco" following NJPW unveiling Black Tiger IV in 2005. His final match under the persona came when he lost aMask versus Mask match toL.A. Park on February 4, 2006.[3] He briefly wrestled under the persona again in 2017, teaming with Black Tiger VII to take on Dr Wagner Jr. andEl Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
In 2005Rocky Romero debuted as Black Tiger IV by NJPW and immediately thrust into a feud withTiger Mask IV, facing him for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on May 14. He made his debut forRing of Honor in America, making him the first Black Tiger to wrestle as Black Tiger in America since Mark Rocco. After winning theNWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 25 he defeated Tiger Mask for his title on October 8, defending them until losing both to Tiger Mask on February 19, 2006. Black Tiger would joinJyushin Thunder Liger's CTU faction and represent NJPW as a member of Team Japan inTNA Wrestling's World X-Cup. Black Tiger IV returned to New Japan in February 2009, joiningGBH and restarting his feud with Tiger Mask IV. On April 5, 2009, atResolution '09 Tiger Mask IV defeated Black Tiger IV in a title vs. mask match. After the match Romero removed his mask and then raised the arm of Tiger Mask thus ending his run as Black Tiger.
Black Tiger's fifth Generation (V) arrived in NJPW at Tokyo Dome February 15, 2009, attacking Tiger Mask IV. For the next couple of months, the new Black Tiger disappeared and was replaced at shows by Black Tiger IV. On April 5, 2009, atResolution '09 after Tiger Mask had defeated Black Tiger IV for the last time, he was once again attacked by the fifth Black Tiger, who gave him aDeath Valley Driver and then unmasked him. On June 20, 2009, atDominion 6.20, Tiger Mask defeated Black Tiger V in a mask vs. mask match. After the match Black Tiger removed his mask revealing himself asTatsuhito Takaiwa, breaking the Black Tiger tradition of foreigners under the mask. Takaiwa reprised his role as Black Tiger V in 2011 inToryumon Mexico, where he lost the mask for the second time on May 14, 2011, toÚltimo Dragón.[4] Despite losing his mask twice, Takaiwa continues to make appearances as Black Tiger V.[5]
Black Tiger's sixth generation (VI),Tomohiro Ishii, had the shortest run under the mask. In early 2011, Ishii began feuding with Tiger Mask IV and, after losing his hair on January 23,[6] began wearing a Black Tiger mask, despite still going by his real name, which he then lost to Tiger Mask IV on February 20 atThe New Beginning.[7]
Black Tiger's seventh generation (VII),[8] referred to simply as "Black Tiger", debuted during New Japan'sRoad to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament, which took place on April 14 and 15, 2012, and which he went on to win.[9][10] FollowingKazushige Nosawa's May 23 arrest for smuggling cannabis, it was confirmed that he had been portraying Black Tiger.[11] Two days later, New Japan officially pulled Tiger from the Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[12] Nosawa has continued working as Black Tiger VII, most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Black Tiger's eighth generation (VIII) debuted with Team Filthy on NJPW Strong on episode 68 (November 28, 2021), where he attacked former Black Tiger Rocky Romero causing a DQ finish to a 5 vs 5 tag match, before being revealed to be Romero's former Havana Pitbulls team mate,Ricky Reyes. He used this gimmick untilNJPW Windy City Riot 2022.