 Kuroshio in 2017 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Sōjirō Higuchi (1992-09-19)September 19, 1992 (age 33) Adachi, Tokyo, Japan |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names | |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 176 lb (80 kg) |
| Billed from | Japan |
| Trained by | Yoshihiro Tajiri[3] |
| Debut | December 30, 2011 |
Sōjirō Higuchi (Japanese:樋口 壮士朗,Hepburn:Higuchi Sōjirō; born September 19, 1992),[4] best known asJiro "Ikemen" Kuroshio (黒潮"イケメン"二郎,Kuroshio "Ikemen" Jirō) and currently performing asKuroshio Tokyo Japan (黒潮TOKYOジャパン,Kuroshio Tōkyō Japan), is a Japanese professional wrestler and Internet personality.
Higuchi is known for his work in theWrestle-1 promotion, where he was a formerWrestle-1 Result Champion andWrestle-1 Tag Team Champion before leaving the promotion in January 2019. He worked forWWE from 2020 until his release in 2023, performing for theNXTbrand under the ring nameIkemen Jiro, where he notably formed a tag team withKushida known asJacket Time.
Higuchi portrays anikemen character, reflected in his aliases, ring attire and mannerisms. Since his release from WWE in 2023, he has gone under the ring nameKuroshio Tokyo Japan, retaining hisikemen character in the process.
Higuchi was born inAdachi, Tokyo.[4] When he was young, he often attended professional wrestling events with his father, who was a fan. His father became friends with the elder brother ofYoshihiro Tajiri, which in turn led to a friendship with Tajiri himself. He started training with Tajiri'sHustle promotion when he was 14. However, without a definite plan towards making a professional debut plus other commitments beyond wrestling such as school, Higuchi's interest in wrestling waned and at one time he moved away from the sport. He eventually returned to wrestling by joining theSmash promotion's training camp.
Using the ring name Jiro Kuroshio, Higuchi made his professional wrestling debut on December 30, 2011, against fellow camp attendeeKoji Doi at the "Smash 24" event. He adopted the name "Kuroshio" from the name of thenabemono restaurant operated by his parents,"Nabeya Kuroshio". The Smash promotion folded in March 2012 and on April 5, 2012, Kuroshio, along with Tajiri and all other wrestlers, referees and trainees, moved to the spin-offWrestling New Classic promotion.
At WNC Before the Dawn, Kuroshio wrestled the very first match for Wrestling New Classic, losing to Josh O'Brien. At an event atKorakuen Hall on August 30, 2012, after defeating Koji Doi, Kuroshio announced he had become an apprentice ofHajime Ohara and joined Ohara's unit "DQN". On July 16, Kuroshio,Lin Byron andTsubasa defeatedThe Bodyguard,Mio Shirai and Takuya Kito in the finals of a one night six person tournament to win the 2012 Kito Cup, with Byron pinning the tournament's creator Kito for the win.[5] He also participated in 2012's Dave Finlay Cup, losing to Koji Doi in the semi-final. In 2013 he changed his ring name to"Jiro Ikemen Kuroshiro" and adopted an "ikemen" character. Like the year before, he participated in theDave Finlay Cup, losing toKaji Tomato. On July 1, 2014, Kuroshio moved to theWrestle-1.
Making his Wrestle-1 debut in April 2014, Kuroshio became an official member of the roster on July 1, when Kuroshio along with Tajiri,Akira,Yusuke Kodama, Koji Doi and Rionne Fujiwara left WNC.[6] Kuroshio quickly formed the stable Novus with fellow WNC alumni Kodama, Doi and Fujiwara. In August, he defeatedAndy Wu in a qualification bout, earning the right to enter the inauguralWrestle-1 Championshiptournament, he would go on to lose toMasayuki Kono in the first round. In November, he formed the "Ikemen Samurai" tag-team partnership withMasakatsu Funaki and competed in the inauguralWrestle-1 Tag-Team Championshiptournament. With Kuroshio teaming with Funaki and Doi joining Desperado, Novus quietly disbanded. On May 30, 2015, Kuroshio would win the "Road toKeiji Mutoh Tournament" earning the right to face Keiji Mutoh in a one-on-one match, he would lose to Mutoh on June 18. Also in June, Ikemen Samurai would come to an end with Funaki leaving the promotion. Kuroshio would make it to the semi-finals of the2015 Wrestle-1 Grand Prix before losing to the eventual winnerManabu Soya but gained impressive wins over his former mentor Tajiri and formerWrestle-1 ChampionKai.
Following the tournament, Kuroshio formed the stable Jackets withYasufumi Nakanoue andSeiki Yoshioka. On October 9, the trio defeated New Wild Order (Akira,Jun Kasai andKumagoro) to win the vacantUWA World Trios Championship.[7] On November 3, they lost the titles to Real Desperado (Kazma Sakamoto, Koji Doi andNosawa Rongai) but would regain the belts on November 27.[8][9] On January 7, 2016, Jackets would vacate the titles due to Yoshioka being sidelined following cecum surgery and being unable to attend a title defense set for January 10.[10] On January 31, Jackets lost toKaz Hayashi,Minoru Tanaka and Tajiri for the vacant title.[11] In mid 2016 Jackets disbanded when Nakanoue left Wrestle-1.
On November 27, 2016, Kuroshio defeatedYohei Nakajima for theGaora TV Championship, his first singles title reign. On December 7 Kuroshio, Andy Wu,Daiki Inaba, Yusuke Kodama, Seiki Yoshioka, Koji Doi, Kumagoro and Kohei Fujimura formed a stable named New Era.[citation needed] Kuroshio suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury during a match againstShotaro Ashino on January 8, 2017,[12] forcing him to vacate the Gaora TV Championship in February as he was unable to make the mandatory title defense.[13]
On March 23, 2019, Kuroshio announced his departure from Wrestle-1, with his last match under contract scheduled to take place on April 3 in Korakuen Hall. Kuroshio made his American debut a month later on April 5, at an independent event inNew York City, defeatingRich Swann. Kuroshio periodically returned to Wrestle-1 as afreelancer and participated in a battle royal on the promotion's last card on April 1, 2020.
In December 2020, WWE announced Kuroshiro as a recruit to theWWE Performance Center.[14] On May 7, 2021, Kuroshio debuted on205 Live under the nameIkemen Jiro, teaming with August Grey to defeatTony Nese andAriya Daivari. Jiro would then continue to team with Grey on 205 Live until June when Grey was released from WWE. On July 6, Jiro was announced to be a part of the 2021 NXT Breakout Tournament. On the July 13 episode ofNXT, Jiro was eliminated in the first round byDuke Hudson. Soon after, Jiro would form a tag team called Jacket Time withKushida and the pair would feud withThe Diamond Mine. In January 2022, Jacket Time would compete in the 2022Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic but were eliminated in the first round by 2021 winnersMSK (Nash Carter andWes Lee), on the January 25 episode ofNXT 2.0. On April 18, Kushida would depart WWE thus disbanding Jacket Time. He was released on September 21, 2023.
On October 21, 2023, in theAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) 51st Anniversary Tour, Kuroshio was revealed as an entrant in theWorld's Strongest Tag League under the ring nameKuroshio Tokyo Japan (黒潮TOKYOジャパン), in a team withSeigo Tachibana.[15]
On October 22, 2023, Kuroshio appeared inDDT Pro-Wrestling at God Bless DDT 2023, making his return to the promotion since his last match in 2020. He challenged rookieTakeshi Masada to a singles bout atUltimate Party 2023 after he had been recommended byKonosuke Takeshita over in America.[16] Kuroshio went on to win the match.[17]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
