| Taguchi Japan | |
|---|---|
 Founding members (clockwise from top left)Hiroshi Tanahashi,Manabu Nakanishi and leaderRyusuke Taguchi in February 2017 | |
| Stable | |
| Members | Ryusuke Taguchi[1] (leader) David Finlay[1] Togi Makabe[1] Hiroshi Tanahashi[1] Kushida[1] Sami Callihan[1] A. C. H.[1] Master Wato[1] |
| Debut | January 5, 2017 |
| Years active | 2017–present |
Taguchi Japan (タグチジャパン,Taguchi Japan) is aprofessional wrestlingstable in the JapanesepromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The group was formed the night afterWrestle Kingdom 11 on January 5, 2017. Starting out as a trio formed byHiroshi Tanahashi,Manabu Nakanishi andRyusuke Taguchi, the stable appointed Taguchi as their namesake and leader,[2] and have gone on to primarily feud withLos Ingobernables de Japón over theIWGP Intercontinental,IWGP Junior Heavyweight, andNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships. Later members includedJuice Robinson,Michael Elgin andRicochet.
The stable initially found its roots within the tag team of Tanahashi and Elgin, as well as their occasional team-ups with Robinson. After an eye injury suffered by Elgin, Tanahashi teamed with Nakanishi and Taguchi to capture the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship fromLos Ingobernables de Japón, leading to the official foundation of the stable. Once Elgin was healed, he was invited into the stable, along with Robinson and Ricochet, the latter of whom had recently lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship to L.I.J. Their membership was certified when Ricochet teamed with Taguchi and Tanahashi to win the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship on April 4.
Due to Taguchi Japan open door policy, several wrestlers such asYoshitatsu,Katsuya Kitamura andWar Machine (Hanson andRaymond Rowe) have made one-off appearances representing the stable.[3][4] However, the regular members were Tanahashi, Makabe, Kojima, Nakanishi, Kushida, Ricochet and Finlay.[5]
Through ROH's working relationship with NJPW,Ring of Honor mainstayMichael Elgin made his debut for NJPW by taking part in the2015 G1 Climax between July 23 and August 15.[6] Elgin quickly became popular among Japanese crowds and his performance in the tournament was called a "career resurgence".[7][8]
On February 20, it was reported that Elgin had signed a two-year deal with NJPW.[9] This was confirmed by NJPW on March 3[10] and on March 20, he andHiroshi Tanahashi teamed withJuice Robinson to unsuccessfully challengeBullet Club (Kenny Omega andThe Young Bucks) for theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[11]
On April 10, Elgin and Tanahashi teamed withYoshitatsu atInvasion Attack 2016, to win the titles from Bullet Club.[12] They made their first successful defense on April 23 againstBad Luck Fale, Kenny Omega andYujiro Takahashi.[13] before losing the championships back to The Elite atWrestling Dontaku 2016.[14]
On June 19 atDominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, Elgin replaced an injured Hiroshi Tanahashi and defeated Kenny Omega in NJPW's first ever ladder match to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.[15] On September 25 atDestruction in Kobe, Elgin lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship toTetsuya Naito, beginning a feud between Elgin, Tanahashi and several others with Naito'sLos Ingobernables de Japón stable.[16] AtWrestle Kingdom 11, Tanahashi unsuccessfully challenged Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[17][18]
On January 5, 2017, the day afterWrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Tanahashi teamed withRyusuke Taguchi andManabu Nakanishi to defeatLos Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi,Evil andSanada to win theNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[19] Shortly afterwards, the group became known as "Taguchi Japan", while adding Elgin,David Finlay,Dragon Lee andKushida as members.[1][20] They lost the title back to L.I.J. on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, while Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[21][22] On March 6 at NJPW's 45th anniversary event, Taguchi unsuccessfully challengedHiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship.[23] Over the following month, Taguchi Japan expanded to also includeJuice Robinson and Ricochet.[24] On April 4, Taguchi, Ricochet and Tanahashi defeated L.I.J. to bring the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship back to Taguchi Japan.[25] On April 29 at Wrestling Toyonokuni 2017, members of Taguchi Japan and L.I.J. faced off two title matches, which were both won by L.I.J. with Hiromu Takahashi retaining the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Ricochet and Tetsuya Naito retaining the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Juice Robinson.[26] On May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2017, Taguchi Japan lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship back to L.I.J.[27] Also in May,Satoshi Kojima joined Taguchi Japan as a replacement for an injured Hiroshi Tanahashi.[28] On June 3, Kushida defeatedWill Ospreay in the final to win his secondBest of the Super Juniors. On June 11 atDominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, Kushida defeatedHiromu Takahashi to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time. Later that same event, Tanahashi defeated Tetsuya Naito to win theIWGP Intercontinental Championship.[29] As part of Taguchi Japan, Taguchi and Ricochet formed a tag team named "Funky Future",[30] defeating The Young Bucks for theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on August 13.[31] On October 9 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Funky Future lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship toRoppongi 3K (Sho andYoh), while Kushida lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to Will Ospreay. Ricochet blamed himself for Funky Future's loss and resigned not only from Taguchi Japan, but NJPW altogether immediately following the match.[32]
| * | Founding member |
|---|---|
| I | First leader |
| Member | Duration | |
|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Tanahashi | * | January 5, 2017 – present |
| Ryusuke Taguchi (leader) | I * | January 5, 2017 – present |
| Master Wato | August 7, 2021 – present | |
| Member | Duration | |
|---|---|---|
| Juice Robinson | February 21, 2017 –May 1, 2022 | |
| Kushida | March 21, 2017 –January 29, 2019 | |
| Hanson | August 11, 2017 –January 5, 2018 | |
| Manabu Nakanishi | * | January 5, 2017 –January 7, 2020 |
| Raymond Rowe | August 11, 2017 –January 5, 2018 | |
| Ricochet | March 24, 2017 –October 9, 2017 | |
| Yoshitatsu | April 14, 2017 -May 4, 2017 | |
| Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type | Promotion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FinJuice | David Finlay Juice Robinson | 2017–2022 | Tag team | NJPW Impact Wrestling |
| War Machine | Hanson Raymond Rowe | 2017–2018 | Tag team | NJPW |
| 6 Or 9 | Master Wato Ryusuke Taguchi | 2021–present | Tag team | NJPW |