Tomohiro Ishii Tomohiro Ishii ( December 10 , 1975 ) is a Japan ese professional wrestler , currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) , where he is the reigning NEVER Openweight Champion . He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( Riki Pro ) promotion , where he also worked backstage as the chairman . Though pushed most of his career as an undercarder without any major championship wins , Ishii gathered a cult following , and has been called " probably [ one of the ] most underrated guys in the business " by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Ishii ' s status finally began rising in NJPW in early 2013 , culminating in him winning his first title in the promotion , the NEVER Openweight Championship , in February 2014 . Professional wrestling career . Early career ( 1996 – 2004 ) . Ishii made his professional wrestling debut at the age of twenty on November 2 , 1996 , facing Choden Senshi Battle Ranger Z at an event held by Genichiro Tenryu ' s Wrestle Association - R ( WAR ) promotion in Kushiro , Hokkaido . For the next years , Ishii remained affiliated with WAR , winning his first title on October 12 , 1997 , when he and Yuji Yasuraoka defeated Gokuaku Umibouzu and Masashi Aoyagi for the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship . Ishii and Yasuraoka won the title once more on March 1 , 1999 , eventually becoming the final champions in the title ' s initial history due to Yasuraoka ' s retirement in June 1999 and WAR going out of business in 2000 . Being forced to become a freelancer , Ishii went on to work for several promotions during the following years , including Toruymon Japan , World Entertainment Wrestling ( WEW ) , and Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( Riki Pro ) , which he entered as the promotion ' s founder Riki Chōshū ' s apprentice , later being appointed the chairman of the promotion . In August 2003 , Ishii won Riki Pro ' s Young Magma Tournament . In 2004 , Ishii also made appearances for Pro Wrestling Zero1 - Max , where he and Tatsuhito Takaiwa won the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship . New Japan Pro Wrestling ( 2004 – present ) . Ishii made sporadic appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling ( NJPW ) in 2004 and 2005 , but only began working regularly for the promotion in 2006 . In June of that year , Ishii formed the Heisei no Gokudo Combi tag team with Toru Yano and together the two took part in the 2006 G1 Tag League . On October 16 , Ishii and Yano joined Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Togi Makabe and Shiro Koshinaka as the newest members of the villainous Great Bash Heel ( GBH ) stable . From 2006 onwards , several GBH members , including Ishii , Makabe and Yano , also made sporadic appearances for the Apache Pro - Wrestling Army promotion , where Ishii won the WEW Heavyweight Championship on July 12 , 2008 . Back in NJPW , Ishii worked as one of the lowest - ranked members of GHB until April 2009 , when he , along with Yano , Gedo , Giant Bernard , Jado , Karl Anderson and Takashi Iizuka turned on then - GBH leader Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma and went on to form the new Chaos stable under the leadership of Shinsuke Nakamura . While Chaos as a unit was involved in a feud with Makabe , Honma and Hiroyoshi Tenzan , Ishii mainly remained outside of the top matches in the rivalry , continuing to work undercard matches , starting his own rivalry with Wataru Inoue . In October 2009 , Ishii received some exposure in North America , when he was featured in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ' s ( TNA ) " Global Impact 2 " program on Spike TV , working in an eight - man tag team main event , where he , Giant Bernard , Karl Anderson and Takashi Iizuka were defeated by Kevin Nash , Kurt Angle , Masahiro Chono and Riki Chōshū . The match had been taped during NJPW ' s Wrestle Kingdom III in Tokyo Dome show the previous January . On January 4 , 2010 , Ishii was involved in another big eight - man tag team match at Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome , where he , Takashi Iizuka , Toru Yano and Abdullah the Butcher were defeated by Manabu Nakanishi , Masahiro Chono , Riki Chōshū and Terry Funk . In late 2010 , Ishii started a storyline rivalry with masked wrestler Tiger Mask , going after his mask on several occasions . This built to a match during the first " Fantasticamania " weekend on January 23 , 2011 , where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in a " Lucha 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 . During the next NJPW event three days later , Ishii continued his rivalry with Tiger Mask , but was now wearing the mask of Black Tiger , a longtime nemesis of the various Tiger Masks that have appeared in NJPW throughout the years . The rivalry culminated on February 20 at The New Beginning , where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in a Mask vs . Mask match , taking away his mask and ending the rivalry . Though Ishii worked the entire rivalry under his real name , he was officially recognized by NJPW as the sixth generation Black Tiger , when Kazushige Nosawa debuted in 2012 , billed as the seventh generation Black Tiger . 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 , Jushin Liger and Karl Anderson . After having worked for NJPW for eight years , Ishii received his first title shot in the promotion on May 20 , 2012 , when he unsuccessfully challenged Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the main event of a show in Osaka . The following November , Ishii took part in a tournament to determine the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion . After wins over Daisuke Sasaki and Yoshi - Hashi , Ishii was defeated in the semifinals of the tournament by Chaos stablemate Masato Tanaka , who went on to win the entire tournament . The following month , Ishii teamed with Chaos leader Shinsuke Nakamura in the 2012 World Tag League , where they picked up three wins out of their six matches , failing to advance from their round - robin block . In January 2013 , Ishii took part in the third " Fantasticamania " weekend , winning a twelve - man " torneo cibernetico " on January 20 . Following the win , Ishii challenged Masato Tanaka to a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship . The rematch between the two stablemates took place on February 3 in a main event at Korakuen Hall . Despite having the audience noticeably behind him , Ishii was again defeated by Tanaka , who , as a result , retained his title . The match was later praised by sports journalist Dave Meltzer , though he also expressed concern for the healths of both Ishii and Tanaka following the hard - hitting match . For his fan following , Ishii earned himself the nickname " New Mr . Korakuen " . On March 11 , Ishii picked up his biggest singles win in his NJPW career , when he defeated multi - time IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Tag Team Champion Satoshi Kojima in the first round of the 2013 New Japan Cup . Six days later , Ishii was defeated in his second round match in the tournament by Hirooki Goto . In early 2013 , Ishii also became involved in Chaos ' rivalry with Suzukigun , NJPW ' s other major villainous stable , leading to Chaos and Ishii being positioned in a more sympathetic role than usual . On March 23 , Ishii teamed with Jado and Shinsuke Nakamura to defeat Suzukigun representatives Minoru Suzuki , Lance Archer and Taka Michinoku in a six - man tag team match by pinning Michinoku for the win . After the match , Nakamura challenged Archer and his tag team partner Davey Boy Smith , Jr . to a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship , nominating Ishii as his partner for the match . Ishii and Nakamura received their title shot on April 5 , but were defeated by Archer and Smith . Ishii then got involved in a heated rivalry with Suzukigun leader Minoru Suzuki , which built to a singles match between the two on July 20 at the Kizuna Road 2013 pay - per - view , where Suzuki was victorious . As a sign of his rising status in NJPW , on August 1 , Ishii entered the 2013 G1 Climax , his first ever entry into the promotion ' s premier tournament . Ishii main evented the second night of the tournament in Korakuen Hall , where he picked up a major win over six - time IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi . On the fourth night of the tournament , Ishii defeated Katsuyori Shibata in a match that received widespread acclaim , including a five - star rating from Dave Meltzer . 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 . Following the tournament , NJPW announced that Ishii would embark on his first tour with Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ( CMLL ) starting September 8 . Ishii made his CMLL debut on September 13 at the 80th Anniversary Show in Mexico City , teaming with compatriots Namajague and Okumura to defeat Fuego , Rey Cometa and Stuka , Jr . in a six - man tag team match . Ishii remained in CMLL until October 1 , working undercard six - man tag team matches . Ishii wrestled his NJPW return match on October 14 at King of Pro - Wrestling , when he was defeated by Katsuyori Shibata in a rematch of their highly acclaimed G1 Climax match . From November 23 to December 7 , Ishii and Shinsuke Nakamura took part in the 2013 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 . On January 5 , 2014 , Ishii started a new storyline rivalry with Tetsuya Naito , announcing his intention of becoming the next NEVER Openweight Champion . The title match between the two took place on February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka and saw Ishii become the third NEVER Openweight Champion , winning his first title in NJPW . After Naito eliminated Ishii from the 2014 New Japan Cup in their first round match , a rematch for the NEVER Openweight Championship between the two was set for the April 6 Invasion Attack 2014 event , where Ishii made his first successful title defense . Ishii ' s second successful title defense took place just six days later during NJPW ' s trip to Taiwan , when he defeated Kushida . On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2014 , Ishii made his third successful title defense against Tomoaki Honma and was afterwards challenged by IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi , with whom he had had sporadic heated encounters since the past year ' s G1 Climax . The match between the two took place on May 25 at Back to the Yokohama Arena and saw Ishii make his fourth successful title defense . After the match , Ishii was pulled into the rivalry between Chaos and Bullet Club , when he was attacked by former stablemate Yujiro Takahashi , who appointed himself as his next challenger .