In late 2010, Ishii started a storyline rivalry withmasked wrestlerTiger Mask, going after his mask on several occasions.[32][33][34] This built to a match during the firstFantastica Mania weekend on January 23, 2011, where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in aLucha de Apuestas Mask vs. Hair match; as a result, Ishii was forced to have his head shaved. After the shaving, Ishii once again attacked his rival and unmasked him.[35] During the next NJPW event three days later, Ishii continued his rivalry with Tiger Mask, but was now wearing the mask ofBlack Tiger, a longtime nemesis of the variousTiger Masks that have appeared in NJPW throughout the years.[36][37] The rivalry culminated on February 20 atThe New Beginning, where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in a Mask vs. Mask match, taking away his mask and ending the rivalry.[38] Though Ishii worked the entire rivalry under his real name, he was officially recognized by NJPW as thesixth generation Black Tiger, whenKazushige Nosawa debuted in 2012, billed as theseventh generation Black Tiger.[39] In June 2011, Ishii took part in the J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament, where he and Chaos stablemates Takashi Iizuka and Toru Yano made it to the semifinals, before losing to Giant Bernard,Jyushin Thunder Liger and Karl Anderson.[40]
NEVER Openweight Champion and critical acclaim (2012–2016)
After having worked for NJPW for eight years, Ishii received his first title shot in the promotion on May 20, 2012, when he unsuccessfully challengedHirooki Goto for theIWGP Intercontinental Championship in the main event of a show inOsaka.[41] The following November, Ishii took part in a tournament to determine the inauguralNEVER Openweight Champion. After wins overDaisuke Sasaki andYoshi-Hashi, Ishii was defeated in the semifinals of the tournament by Chaos stablemateMasato Tanaka, who went on to win the entire tournament.[42][43] The following month, Ishii teamed with Chaos leader Shinsuke Nakamura in the2012 World Tag League, where they picked up three wins out of their six matches, failing to advance from theirround-robin block.[44] In January 2013, Ishii took part in the thirdFantastica Mania weekend, winning a twelve-mantorneo cibernetico on January 20.[45] Following the win, Ishii challenged Masato Tanaka to a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship.[45] The rematch between the two stablemates took place on February 3 in a main event atKorakuen Hall. Despite having the audience noticeably behind him,[5][6] Ishii was again defeated by Tanaka, who, as a result, retained his title.[46] The match was later praised bysports journalistDave Meltzer, though he also expressed concern for the healths of both Ishii and Tanaka following the hard-hitting match.[47] For his fan following, Ishii earned himself the nickname "New Mr. Korakuen".[48] On March 11, Ishii picked up his biggest singles win in his NJPW career, when he defeated multi-timeIWGP Heavyweight andIWGP Tag Team ChampionSatoshi Kojima in the first round of the2013 New Japan Cup.[49][50] Six days later, Ishii was defeated in his second round match in the tournament by Hirooki Goto.[51] In early 2013, Ishii also became involved in Chaos' rivalry withSuzuki-gun, NJPW's other major villainous stable, leading to Chaos and Ishii being positioned in a more sympathetic role than usual.[52][53][54] On March 23, Ishii teamed with Jado and Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Suzuki-gun representativesMinoru Suzuki,Lance Archer andTaka Michinoku in a six-man tag team match by pinning Michinoku for the win. After the match, Nakamura challenged Archer and hisKiller Elite Squad (K.E.S.) tag team partnerDavey Boy Smith Jr. to a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, nominating Ishii as his partner for the match.[55][56][57] Ishii and Nakamura received their title shot on April 5, but were defeated by K.E.S.[58][59][60] Ishii then got involved in a heated rivalry with Suzuki-gun leader Minoru Suzuki,[61][62] which built to a singles match between the two on July 20 at the Kizuna Road 2013pay-per-view, where Suzuki was victorious.[63][64][65]
"Ishii is the ultimate example of a guy who was destined to just be a decent worker on the undercard, who garnered a cult following in Tokyo, which spread to the rest of the country and resulted in him getting a push."
As a sign of his rising status in NJPW, on August 1, Ishii entered the2013 G1 Climax, his first ever entry into the promotion's premier tournament.[67] Ishii main evented the second night of the tournament in Korakuen Hall, where he picked up a major win over six-time IWGP Heavyweight ChampionHiroshi Tanahashi.[68][69][70] On the fourth night of the tournament, Ishii defeatedKatsuyori Shibata.[71][72] Ishii's only other win in the tournament came via forfeit over the injured Hirooki Goto, a result that left him at the bottom of block A.[73][74] Following the tournament, NJPW announced that Ishii would embark on his first tour withMexican promotionConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) starting September 8.[75][76][77] Ishii made his CMLL debut on September 13 at the80th Anniversary Show inMexico City, teaming with compatriotsNamajague andOkumura to defeatFuego,Rey Cometa andStuka Jr. in a six-man tag team match.[1][78][79] Ishii remained in CMLL until October 1, working undercard six-man tag team matches.[80][81][82] Ishii wrestled his NJPW return match on October 14 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, when he was defeated by Katsuyori Shibata in a rematch of their highly acclaimed G1 Climax match.[83] From November 23 to December 7, Ishii and Shinsuke Nakamura took part in the2013 World Tag League, where they finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss against Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma on the final day costing them a spot in the semifinals.[84][85]
Ishii in September 2014
On January 5, 2014, Ishii started a new storyline rivalry withTetsuya Naito, announcing his intention of becoming the next NEVER Openweight Champion.[86] The title match between the two took place on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka and saw Ishii become the third NEVER Openweight Champion, winning his first title in NJPW.[87][88][89] After Naito eliminated Ishii from the2014 New Japan Cup in their first round match,[90] a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship between the two was set for the April 6Invasion Attack 2014 event, where Ishii made his first successful title defense.[91][92][93] Ishii's second successful title defense took place just six days later during NJPW's trip toTaiwan, when he defeatedKushida.[94] On May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2014, Ishii made his third successful title defense against Tomoaki Honma and was afterwards challenged byIWGP Junior Heavyweight ChampionKota Ibushi,[95][96] with whom he had had sporadic heated encounters since the past year's G1 Climax.[97][98] The match between the two took place on May 25 atBack to the Yokohama Arena and saw Ishii make his fourth successful title defense. After the match, Ishii was pulled into the rivalry between Chaos andBullet Club, when he was attacked by former stablemateYujiro Takahashi, who appointed himself as his next challenger.[99][100][101] On June 29, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Takahashi in his fifth defense, following outside interference from Bullet Club.[102][103][104] From July 21 to August 8, Ishii took part in the2014 G1 Climax, where he finished tied fifth in his block with a record of five wins and five losses,[105][106] working his two final matches with a separated shoulder.[107] Ishii's performance in the tournament was praised, with Mike Sempervive ofWrestling Observer Newsletter stating that the quality of his matches, his fortitude, popularity and charisma secured him as a "legitimate New Japan star".[108]
On October 13 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Ishii regained the NEVER Openweight Championship from Yujiro Takahashi, becoming the first two-time holder of the title.[109][110][111] Ishii made his first successful title defense on November 8 atPower Struggle against Hirooki Goto.[112][113] From November 23 to December 5, Ishii took part in the2014 World Tag League, alongside Shinsuke Nakamura.[114] The team finished second in their block with a record of four wins and three losses, narrowly missing the finals of the tournament due to losing to Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata on the final day.[115] On January 4, 2015, atWrestle Kingdom, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Togi Makabe in his second defense.[116][117][118] On February 14 atThe New Beginning in Sendai, Ishii defeated Tomoaki Honma, a late replacement for an ill Togi Makabe, to win the nowvacant NEVER Openweight Championship for the third time.[119][120][121] Ishii once again lost the title to Makabe in his first defense on April 29 atWrestling Hinokuni.[122][123][124] The two faced off in another title match on July 5 atDominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Makabe was once again victorious.[125][126][127] From July 23 to August 15, Ishii took part in the2015 G1 Climax,[108] where he finished in the middle of his block with a record of five wins and four losses.[128] On October 12 atKing of Pro-Wrestling, Ishii defeated Makabe to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fourth time.[129][130][131] Ishii made his first successful title defense on November 7 atPower Struggle against Tomoaki Honma.[132][133] Ishii's reign ended in his next defense, when he was defeated by Katsuyori Shibata on January 4, 2016, atWrestle Kingdom.[134][135] Ishii received a rematch for the title on February 11 atThe New Beginning in Osaka, but was again defeated by Shibata.[136][137]
In early 2016, Chaos entered a rivalry with theLos Ingobernables de Japón (L.I.J.) stable.[142] During March'sNew Japan Cup, Ishii faced two L.I.J. members, defeatingEvil in the first round and then losing to the stable's leader Tetsuya Naito in the quarterfinals, after which he was attacked by Evil.[143][144][145] This led to a match on March 20, where Ishii made his third successful defense of the ROH World Television Championship against Evil.[146][147] When Naito, after winning the 2016 New Japan Cup, defeated Ishii's Chaos stablemateKazuchika Okada to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Ishii confronted the new champion, which led to NJPW granting him his first-ever shot at the promotion's top title.[148] Ishii received his title shot on May 3 atWrestling Dontaku 2016, but was defeated by Naito.[149][150] Five days later, Ishii lost the ROH World Television Championship to Bobby Fish at the NJPW and ROH co-producedGlobal Wars show.[151] From July 18 to August 12, Ishii took part in the2016 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of four wins and five losses.[152] One of Ishii's wins was over Chaos stablemate and reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada.[152] At the end of the year, Ishii took part in the2016 World Tag League, teaming with Chaos stablemateHirooki Goto.[153] The two finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals due to losing to block winnersGreat Bash Heel (Togi Makabe andTomoaki Honma) in their final round-robin match.[154]
On January 4, 2018, at Wrestle Kingdom 12, Ishii,Beretta and Toru Yano won a five-teamgauntlet match to become the newNEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.[167] In March, Ishii participated in the New Japan Cup, but was defeated by Michael Elgin in the first round.[168] On April 6, 2018, at WrestleCon, Ishii defeatedZack Sabre Jr. to win theRevPro British Heavyweight Championship. On July 1, 2018, during theStrong Style Evolved UK tour, he would lose the title toMinoru Suzuki.[169] Later that July, Ishii entered the2018 G1 Climax, where he was sorted into the B block. Ishii placed fifth in the block, with a record of five wins and four losses,[170] and scored victories over NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto,[171] IWGP United States ChampionJuice Robinson,[172] and IWGP Heavyweight ChampionKenny Omega.[173] The last of these victories set up Ishii to challenge Omega for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship atDestruction in Hiroshima in September,[174] which Ishii lost.[175] On October 14, Ishii won back the RPW British Heavyweight Championship in a rematch with Suzuki.[176] Ishii also won a rematch with Suzuki the following month atPower Struggle.[177] For the2018 World Tag League, Ishii teamed with Yano for the second straight year, and they tied for third place with nine wins and four losses.[178]
On January 4, 2019, atWrestle Kingdom 13, Ishii lost the British Heavyweight Championship to Zack Sabre Jr.[179] In March, Ishii once again entered the New Japan Cup and made it to the semifinals before losing to eventual tournament winner Kazuchika Okada.[180] At theG1 Supercard the following month, Ishii entered the pre-show Honor Rumble, a 30-man battle royale for aROH World Championship title match, which was ultimately won byKenny King.[181] On the second night ofWrestling Dontaku 2019, Ishii defeated Evil in a headlining singles match.[182] After the victory, Taichi, who had won the NEVER Openweight Championship the previous night, handpicked Ishii as his first challenger for the title.[183] On June 9, atDominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Ishii defeated Taichi to win the NEVER Openweight Championship for a record fifth time.[184] In the2019 G1 Climax, Ishii competed in the B block, where he finished with a record of eight points (four wins and five losses).[185] On August 31, atRoyal Quest, Ishii lost the NEVER Openweight Championship toKenta.[186] A month later, atDestruction in Beppu, Ishii teamed with fellow Chaos stablemateYoshi-Hashi to unsuccessfully face the Guerrillas of Destiny for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[187] In the2019 World Tag League, Ishii and Yoshi-Hashi finished with twenty-two points in the block, behind Guerrillas of Destiny (who they defeated on the final day),Los Ingobernables de Japón (Evil andSanada) andFinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson).[188]
On January 5, 2020, during the second night ofWrestle Kingdom 14, Ishii unsuccessfully competed in a four-team gauntlet match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Yoshi-Hashi andRobbie Eagles.[189] In June 2020, Ishii competed in the2020 New Japan Cup, but was eliminated byHiromu Takahashi in the quarter-finals.[190] On August 9, on the Summer Struggle tour, Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi won a tournament for the vacant NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship over Kazuchika Okada,Sho and Toru Yano in the finals, marking Ishii's second reign with the championship.[191] On September 11, during the New Japan Road tour, their first defense of the title came in a rematch between both Chaos teams, with Ishii hitting the finish on Sho.[192] In the long-delayed2020 G1 Climax, Ishii competed in the A block, where he finished with a record of eight points (four wins and five losses).[193] In the2020 World Tag League, Ishii was partnered with Toru Yano, where they finished with ten points in the block, failing to advance to the finals.[194]
On January 6, 2021, at New Year Dash!!, Chaos defeated Bullet Club in a six-man tag team match, with Ishii pinningJay White, who had failed to win theIWGP Heavyweight Championship andIWGP Intercontinental Championship the previous night.[195] On the Road to the New Beginning tour, Chaos and Bullet Club would be involved in six-man tag team matches, and on February 1, White returned to the company, attacking Ishii.[196] The next day, Bullet Club defeated Chaos in a ten-man elimination match, resulting in White and the Guerrillas of Destiny challenging Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[197] On February 10, atThe New Beginning in Hiroshima, Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi retained the title over White and the Guerrillas of Destiny.[198] However, the feud between Ishii and White continued,[199][200] and culminated atCastle Attack, with White defeating Ishii.[201] In March, Ishii participated in the New Japan Cup, but was defeated by Sanada in the first round.[202] Afterwards, Ishii returned to the six-man title picture during the spring and summer tours, where Chaos retained over trios representing Bullet Club,[203][204]Los Ingobernables de Japón[205][206] and Suzuki-gun,[207] as well as the veteran pairing of Tencozy andYuji Nagata.[208] In the2021 G1 Climax, Ishii competed in the A block for the second successive year, and finished with a record of ten points (four wins and four losses).[209] On October 21, at the G1 Climax finals, Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi were defeated in a trios match by Bullet Club sub-group House of Torture (which also included former Chaos member Sho).[210] On November 6, atPower Struggle, Evil, Sho and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Ishii, Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, ending their reign at 454 days.[211] On November 13, at Battle in the Valley, Ishii defeated White for the NEVER Openweight Championship, with the stipulation being that if Ishii lost he would be unable to challenge for the title.[212][213]
On January 4, 2022, during the first night ofWrestle Kingdom 16, Ishii was defeated by Evil, ending his reign at 52 days.[214] On February 13, during the New Years Golden Series tour, he was defeated by Evil in the rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship, with members of Chaos and House of Torture acting aslumberjacks.[215] In March, Ishii participated in the New Japan Cup, but was defeated byShingo Takagi in the first round.[216] Ishii was announced as a part of the NJPW bracket to qualify for a chance to advance toForbidden Door to compete in afour-way match for the inauguralAEW All-Atlantic Championship. He defeatedYoshinobu Kanemaru in the first qualifier andClark Connors in the final qualifier, to qualify for the match at the PPV.[217] However, it was later reported that Ishii had suffered a left knee injury and was not medically cleared to compete at Forbidden Door, therefore Connors took his place in the four-way match, but failed to win.[218]
On June 12 duringDominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Ishii was announced as a participant in theG1 Climax 32 tournament starting in July, as a part of the B block.[219] Ishii finished the tournament with 4 points and failed to advance to the semi-finals.[220] In October, Ishii participated in a tournament to crown the first everNJPW World Television Champion. In the first round, however, Ishii was defeated by returning young lionRen Narita in an upset loss.[221] On January 4 atWrestle Kingdom 17, Ishii entered theNew Japan Rambo, but failed to last till the final 4.[222]
In February atThe New Beginning in Sapporo, Ishii faced Zack Sabre Jr for the NJPW World Television Championship but was defeated.[223] The following month, Ishii entered theNew Japan Cup, but lost to David Finlay in the first round.[224] On April 15 atCapital Collision, Ishii defeatedEl Desperado.[225] The following day, Ishii teamed withLio Rush to challengeAussie Open (Mark Davis andKyle Fletcher) for theStrong Openweight Tag Team Championships, but the duo were defeated.[226] In May atWrestling Dontaku, Ishii teamed with Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi, to defeat Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado and Ren Narita for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.[227] The following month atDominion 6.4 in Osaka-jo Hall, the trio defeatedAEW'sBlackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley andClaudio Castagnoli) andShota Umino, therefore retaining their titles.[228] From July 16 to August 9, Ishii took part in the2023 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of two wins and five losses, failing to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. From November 25 until December 6, Ishii and Toru Yano took part in the 2023 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament On January 24, 2024, after successfully defending the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship against TMDK (Kosei Fujita,Mikey Nicholls,Shane Haste), Okada decided to vacate the titles, due to him leaving NJPW, ending their reign at 266 days.[229]
Since November, 2021, Ishii had made appearances on All Elite Wrestling.[232] He made his debut On the November 17 episode ofDynamite, where he andOrange Cassidy, defeatedThe Butcher and the Blade.[233] During the following years, he also lost in anOwen Hart Cup qualifying match againstAdam Cole,[234] against Chris Jericho for theROH World Championship,[235] and a rematch against Jon Moxley.[236] On 2024, it was announced on social media by AEW presidentTony Khan that Ishii would work with AEW for the rest of the summer, becoming part of The Conglomeration stable.[237][238] he wrestled Jericho again for the ROH World Title, but was defeated again.[239]
^Meltzer, Dave (11 February 2013). "Feb. 11, 2013 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Sammartino into the WWE Hall of Fame, UFC 156 fallout, TNA moving out of the Impact Zone, next New Japan iPPV, tons more".Wrestling Observer Newsletter.Campbell, California. p. 30.ISSN1083-9593.The 2/3 main event saw Masato Tanaka retained the Never Open Weight title pinning Tomohiro Ishii in 23:27 with the Sliding D. That match was said to be as good if not better than any match at the Tokyo Dome. There were reports it was the best match so far this year. It was so good that many of the wrestlers came out of the dressing room to watch it. These are probably the two most underrated guys in the business.
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