Kendo Kashin

Tokimitsu Ishizawa (August 5, 1968), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (Kendō Kashin), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his time in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, a one time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and the winner of the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors. He is also known for his forays into mixed martial arts, most notably for Pride Fighting Championship (Pride), where he defeated Gracie Jiu Jitsu fighter Ryan Gracie at PRIDE 15.
==Career==
Ishizawa was an outstanding Amateur wrestling star of Waseda University before being scouted and initiated into the New Japan Pro Wrestling promotion on September 21, 1992, wrestling against Tiger Mask III. During the NJPW vs. UWFi feud, he was taught the shoot style by Kazuo Yamazaki. After defeating Yuji Nagata to win the 1996 Young Lion Cup, he left on a learning excursion to Austria's CWA promotion, where he disguised himself under a mask and called himself Kendo Kashin.
He returned to New Japan as Kashin in May 1997 at the Osaka Dome, facing his mentor, Kazuo Yamazaki. Kendo Kashin quickly rose up the ranks of the Junior Heavyweight division, utilizing a cross armbreaker and other armbar techniques to quickly submit opponents. After defeating Koji Kanemoto to win the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors Tournament, he defeated Kanemoto again in August of that year to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
In August 2000 Ishizawa ventured into the mixed martial arts world and fought under his real name and without the mask in PRIDE 10. He lost his match with Ryan Gracie by TKO in little more than two minutes. However, it is said that he was forced to fight in the PRIDE's ring by Antonio Inoki, the owner of NJPW at the time, without enough time to train for mixed martial arts fighting. Continuing to suffer many losses, Kashin took several months off from New Japan to train. In July 2001 Ishizawa challenged Ryan for a rematch at PRIDE 15. This time he TKO'd Ryan in under 5 minutes, which would advance his wrestling career more than ever. That same month he returned to New Japan as Kendo Kashin and won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title for the second time by defeating Masayuki Naruse in just 26 seconds.
Kashin would make a shocking move in January 2002 when, while he was still champion, he followed fellow New Japan stars Keiji Mutoh and Satoshi Kojima to rival promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling. In All Japan, Kashin quickly established himself as the Junior ace, submitting Masanobu Fuchi to win the vacant AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. He also won the AJPW World Tag Team Championships with Yuji Nagata.
In 2004 Kashin split from All Japan to become a freelancer, taking one of the two AJPW World Tag Team Championship belts with him, with Nagata taking the other. The championship was later declared vacant by AJPW six months later. However, he kept the actual physical belt for himself, something which AJPW sued him in August, 2005. Kashin's tag partner, Yuji Nagata, gave one of those belts back to AJPW soon after it was declared vacant, when they requested it.
In 2005 he returned to New Japan as a regular for a few months, working through the Inoki Office agency. The agency's and New Japan's association ended in late 2005 due to disputes. Kashin returned the AJPW belts back to them in May 2006.
On April 2, 2005, Kashin competed under a mask as Dragon Soldier B in Ring of Honor's Best of the American Super Juniors Tournament. Despite not being American, he was booked to win and wrestled three matches, prompting a "Don't come back" chant from the ROH fans. Kashin never returned to ROH.
Lately, he has been interested in joining MUGA.
After a long hiatus from wrestling, Kashin returned on December 20, 2007 at the Inoki Genome Federation's show in Tokyo and faced off against Kurt Angle for IGF's version of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort.
Kendo returned to the ring for IGF in 2012. In March 2014, Kashin returned to All Japan Pro Wrestling, announcing his participation in the 2014 Champion Carnival. Kashin faced 2 Cold Scorpio for the WPW title in a losing effort at Cheltenham Town Hall on February 18th 2018 at SuperClash.
On 14th August 2019, it was announced that Kashin has joined the WWE Performance Center as a coach. He was released on April 15, 2020.
==In wrestling==
*Finishing moves
**Crucifix armbar, sometimes preceded by a victory roll or a standing / super frankensteiner
*Signature moves
**Double wristlock
**European uppercut
**Frankensteiner, sometimes from the top rope
**Fujiwara armbar
**Various illegal attacks
**Vertical suplex
**Victory roll
*Tag teams and stables
**Sugiura-gun
*Nicknames
**"Devil Mask"
*Entrance themes
**Sky Walk
**Sky Walk (Problem Remix)
*Wrestlers trained
**American Balloon
**Hartley Jackson
**Jose The Assistant
==Championships and accomplishments==
*All Japan Pro Wrestling
**AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) with NOSAWA Rongai (1)
**AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Yuji Nagata (1)
**AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
**January 3 Korakuen Hall Junior Heavyweight Battle Royal Winner (2003) 
*Catch Wrestling Association
**CWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
*DDT Pro Wrestling
**DDT Extreme Division Championship (1 time)
*European Wrestling Promotion
**EWP Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
**EWP Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Toru Yano (1)
*New Japan Pro Wrestling
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Dr. Wagner, Jr. (1)
**Best of the Super Juniors (1999)
**Young Lion Cup (1996)
*Ring of Honor
**Best of the American Super Juniors (2005)
==External links==
* Profile
* Profile
* Profile
Category:Japanese wrestlers
Category:1968 births
Category:1992 debuts
Category:All Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Alternative Wrestling Show alumni
Category:Catch Wrestling Association alumni
Category:Combat Zone Wrestling alumni
Category:European Wrestling Promotion alumni
Category:Fighting Of World Japan alumni
Category:Frontier Wrestling Alliance alumni
Category:German Stampede Wrestling alumni
Category:Hawaii Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:Inoki Genome Federation alumni
Category:New Japan Pro Wrestling alumni
Category:Premier Promotions alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling Guerrilla alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling NOAH alumni
Category:Pro Wrestling ZERO1 alumni
Category:Riki Pro alumni
Category:Ring of Honor alumni
Category:Union of Wrestling Forces International alumni
Category:World Championship Wrestling alumni
Category:World Wrestling Entertainment alumni
Category:Living people
Category:Male wrestlers
Category:IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions
Category:IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
Category:Masked Wrestlers