| Voodoo-Murders | |
|---|---|
 Voodoo Murders in 2010 | |
| Stable | |
| Members | See below |
| Debut | January 2, 2005 |
| Disbanded | March 30, 2024 |
| Years active | 2005–2011 2013–2024 |
Voodoo Murders (stylised in all capital letters, also stylised asVDM) were aprofessional wrestlingstable who were best known as the mainheel group inAll Japan Pro Wrestling between 2005 and 2011, and 2022 to 2023. In 2013, the group was reformed inDiamond Ring and later performed primarily forPro Wrestling ZERO1 in the stable's final years. The group, famously led by formerToryumon wrestlerTaru, performed violent actions in their matches and displayed a lack of respect for their opponents.
After competing inAll Japan Pro Wrestling briefly in the early 2000s,Taru returned to All Japan on January 3, 2005, teaming withJohnny Stamboli to defeatDavid Flair andKeiji Mutoh. The duo was later joined byChuck Palumbo,Shuji Kondo,"brother" Yasshi and brieflyGiant Bernard; proclaiming themselves asVoodoo Murders with Taru as their leader. Although the phrase Voodoo Murders is thought to beEngrish by some fans, it seems to be a tribute to apulp magazine called "The Voodoo Murders." Taru drastically changed his yakuza inspired gimmick fromToryumon into a more bizarre, sinister cult leader of Voodoo-Murders. VDM would regularly employ illegal tactics and weapons into their matches, and often opted to lose via disqualification in order to beat down their opponents.[1]
VDM quickly began feuding with the former top heel stable of All JapanRO&D which lasted for over a year.[2] On June 19, Kondo and Yasshi won the vacantAll Asia Tag Team Champions by defeatingTomoaki Honma andKatsuhiko Nakajima.[3] Their title reign would be brief however, as they lost the titles to Nakajima andKensuke Sasaki on July 26.[4] Kondo bounced back quickly, winning theWorld Junior Heavyweight Championship from RO&D leaderTaka Michinoku on October 22.[5] On January 8, 2006, Taru unsuccessfully challengedSatoshi Kojima for theTriple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Following the match,Kohei Suwama aligned himself with VDM, changing his name to Suwama. Later in the year,RO'Z defected from RO&D to VDM. On September 17, VDM finally destroyed RO&D when Taru, Suwama, RO'Z and Yasshi defeatedBuchanan,D'Lo Brown,Taiyō Kea and Michinoku after Buchanan and D'Lo Brown turned on RO&D and joined VDM.
AtNew Japan Pro-Wrestling'sWrestle Kingdom I, Taru, Suwama, RO'Z and former VDM member Giant Bernard defeatedManabu Nakanishi,Naofumi Yamamoto,Riki Choshu andTakashi Iizuka.[6] On February 17, 2007, Kondo lost his World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Katsuhiko Nakajima.[7] On June 24, after months of Taru attempting to recruit him,Satoshi Kojima finally joined the Voodoo Murders; following the main event match pitting Kondo against Nakajima, the group attacked Nakajima and Sasaki, but were aided when Kojima jumped off the turnbuckle and attacked Sasaki. The group continued to beat down Sasaki and everyone that attempted to help him, includingKeiji Mutoh. On August 26, Suwama teamed up withTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling starScott Steiner in a losing effort toThe Great Muta andTajiri. At the same event, Taru and Kojima won theWorld Tag Team Championships fromTaiyo Kea andToshiaki Kawada.[8] By the end of the yearZodiac had joined VDM,[9] whilst Suwama was experiencing problems with the rest of the group.
On January 3, 2008, Taru and Kojima lost the World Tag Team Championships toKeiji Mutoh andJoe Doering.[10] At the same show, Suwama finally broke away from Voodoo Murders and returned the All Japan Seikigun. On March 1, Taru lost to Suwama whilst Kojima unsuccessfully challenged Kensuke Sasaki for the Triple Crown Championship.[11] In the immediate aftermath, the group entered a slump as Kojima took time off due to injuries. The group also addAl Daivari and World Junior Heavyweight ChampionSilver King. On April 29, Silver King lost his title toRyuji Hijikata,[12] and both new members leaving by the summer.
Things continued to get worse as Kojima returned from injury and decided to form his own stable withKAI andHiroshi Yamato[13] Later, Shuji Kondo also decided to leave the group and return to the All Japan Seikigun.[14] Despite these setbacks, Taru would rebuild and in the fall, recruited top gaijinJoe Doering and veteran wrestlerNobukazu Hirai. Doering would team up with Zodiac as the Voodoo Towers,[15] whilst Hirai was renamed to Hate.[16]
In February 2009, "brother" Yasshi left All Japan whilst Lance Hoyt, Michael Faith and former New Japan wrestlerMinoru joined VDM.[17] On March 1,Ryuji Hijikata turned on his partnerKaz Hayashi, joining VDM and returning to his masked persona Toshizo. In the spring, Minoru and Toshizo won the2009 Junior Tag League and would go on and win the tournament, both also received shots at the Jr. Title againstKaz Hayashi but both failed to win the title.[18] Throughout the year, there was dissension in the group as Zodiac was having issues with Taru. In September, Zodiac defected to Satoshi Kojima's F4 stable.
After Zodiac's departure, the group would have a slump for the rest of the year as they lost to F4 in a Captain's Fall Elimination Match on September 23, 2009,[19] Taru and Doering then failed to win the All Asia Tag Team Championship on October 24, Hate failed to win the Jr. Heavyweight Title on October 25,[20] and Taru and Doering placed last at the World's Strongest Tag Determination League due to Doering suffering from the flu.[21]
VDM's issues continued in 2010, with Doering leaving for theWWE. Despite the loss, VDM would go on to have one of its most successful years. They quickly replaced Doering withRené Duprée and, on February 7, forced F4 to disband after defeating them in a Captain's Fall Elimination match.[22] Continuing the success, VDM would recruitBig Daddy Voodoo and, on April 29, Taru teamed up with him to win the All Asia Tag Team Championships fromAkebono andRyota Hama. In the coming months, VDM also recruitedLance Cade,Mazada andKenso. On August 13, tragedy struck when Lance Cade died at the age of 29 of apparent heart failure inSan Antonio, Texas.[23][24][25] Toshizo left All Japan in the same month. On August 29 Taru and Big Daddy Voodoo lost the All-Asia Tag Team Championship toManabu Soya and Seiya Sanada.[26] On October 10, 2010, Hate lost a match to Shuji Kondo and as a result he must retire. Later in the show,Charlie Haas debuted for All Japan and joined the Voodoo Murders. In his debut match, Haas teamed with Taru and Big Daddy Voodoo to defeatMinoru Suzuki,Akebono, &Taiyo Kea. Afterwards,Masayuki Kono joined the Voodoo Murders after Kenso helped him defeat Ryota Hama, changing his name to simply Kono[27] On December 7 Kenso and Kono defeated Hama and Suwama in the finals to win the2010 World's Strongest Tag Determination League.
On January 2, 2011, Minoru defeatedKaz Hayashi to win the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, ending Hayashi's 23-month reign.[28] At the same show, Hate returned to the group now known as Super Hate. The following day, Kenso and Kono challengedAkebono andTaiyo Kea for the World Tag Team Championship but lost.[28] Following the January 3rd Korakuen Hall show, Taru fired Kenso from the group. On May 29, 2011, Nobukazu Hirai (Super Hate) suffered a stroke after a backstage fight with Taru. In the aftermath of the event, All Japan suspended not only Taru, but also Kono, Minoru and Mazada for not attempting to stop the assault, disbanded Voodoo Murders and vacated the titles the stable held.[29]
After a nineteen-month break from professional wrestling, Taru returned to the ring on February 11, 2013, at aDiamond Ring event. His return match, where he andKazunari Murakami facedKento Miyahara andTaishi Takizawa, ended in a no contest, following run-ins from "brother" Yasshi and Kengo Nishimura. Afterwards, Taru, Murakami, Yasshi and Nishimura, reforming the Voodoo Murders, were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by Miyahara, Takizawa, Satoshi Kajiwara andMitsuhiro Kitamiya. After the match, Miyahara and Takizawa turned on their partners and joined the new Voodoo Murders, with "brother" Yasshi positioned as the leader.[30] Miyahara and the rest of Voodoo Murders announced an amicable split on November 14, 2013.[31] Three days later, Yasshi, Nishimura and Taru made their debuts forPro Wrestling Zero1, announcing that the Voodoo Murders were taking over the promotion.[32] On February 11, 2014, Zero1 Vice President KAMIKAZE turned on the promotion and aligned his Daemon-gun stable, which also included Daemon Ueda andTakuya Sugawara, with the Voodoo Murders.[33] On February 19 "brother" Yasshi formally announced that he is withdrawing from Voodoo Murders that he is more concentrated on wrestlingDragon Gate.
Voodoo Murders were officially disbanded on March 30, 2024. as a result of the departure ofthe Saito Brothers,Toshizo andKono.
| * | Founding member |
|---|---|
| I–III | Leader(s) |
| Member | Joined | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taru | *I | January 2, 2005–May 29, 2011 February 11, 2013–March 30, 2024 | [34] | |
| Toshizo | January 31, 2009–August 31, 2010 March 21, 2022–March 30, 2024 | |||
| Kono | October 10, 2010–May 29, 2011 March 21, 2022–March 30, 2024 | |||
| Jun Saito | October 2, 2022–March 30, 2024 | |||
| Rei Saito | October 2, 2022–March 30, 2024 | |||
| Member | Left | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| "brother" Yasshi | *II | January 2, 2005–February 11, 2013 February 15, 2009–February 19, 2016 | [35] |
| Kenso | August 15, 2010–January 3, 2011 | ||
| Giant Bernard | March 20, 2005–December 5, 2005 | ||
| Johnny Stamboli | * | January 2, 2005–September 30, 2005 | |
| Chuck Palumbo | February 8, 2005–February 8, 2006 | ||
| Buchanan | September 17, 2005–January 7, 2007 | ||
| D-Lo Brown | September 17, 2005–January 7, 2007 | ||
| RO'Z | September 3, 2005–March 30, 2007 | ||
| Satoshi Kojima | July 1, 2007–August 3, 2008 | ||
| Zodiac | October 18, 2007–September 13, 2009 | ||
| Silver King | October 18, 2007–June 13, 2008 | ||
| Al Daivari | April 20, 2008–May 25, 2008 | ||
| Super Hate | October 11, 2008–May 29, 2011 | ||
| Lance Hoyt | February 6, 2009–February 15, 2009 | ||
| Michael Faith | February 6, 2009–February 15, 2009 | ||
| Lance Cade | May 16, 2010–July 4, 2010 | ||
| René Duprée | August 7, 2010–May 29, 2011 | ||
| Charlie Haas | October 10, 2010–October 24, 2010 | ||
| Big Daddy Voodoo | July 4, 2010–May 29, 2011 | ||
| Mazada | June 14, 2010–May 29, 2011 | ||
| Kento Miyahara | February 11, 2013–November 14, 2013 | ||
| Taishi Takizawa | February 11, 2013–June 20, 2013 | ||
| Kengo | December 23, 2012–September 20, 2016 | ||
| Kamikaze | March 15, 2015–June 8, 2018 | ||
| James Raideen | April 30, 2017–August 13, 2017 | [36] | |
| Bob Sapp | May 12, 2017–May 12, 2017 | ||
| Takuya Sugawara | April 9, 2014–October 26, 2018 | ||
| Hartley Jackson | December 10, 2016–September 30, 2018 | ||
| Masato Tanaka | March 2, 2017–February 16, 2019 | [37] | |
| Yuji Hino | December 12, 2017–February 16, 2019 | ||
| Asuka | January 12, 2018–January 19, 2019 | ||
| Shogun Okamoto | September 1, 2018–November 23, 2020 | ||
| Chris Vice | March 4, 2018–January 1, 2023 | ||
| Yoshikazu Yokoyama | October 1, 2018–January 1, 2023 | ||
| Shuji Kondo | * | January 2, 2005–September 29, 2008 March 21, 2022–April 8, 2022 | |
| Minoru | February 6, 2009–May 29, 2011 March 21, 2022–October 23, 2022 | ||
| Suwama | III | January 8, 2006–January 3, 2008 March 21, 2022–May 29, 2023 | |
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