Michael Elgin

Elgin in May 2022

###

Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

**Aaron Frobel** (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name **Michael Elgin**.

He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time NEVER Openweight, IWGP Intercontinental and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion and for his work in Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) where he is a former one-time GHC Tag Team Champion. He is also known for his work in Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former one-time ROH World Champion. In 2015, Elgin made his debut for NJPW, signing a contract with the promotion the following year, since then he won two of NJPW's most important titles as well as a trios champion with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu.

Elgin also worked for Pro-Wrestling NOAH (NOAH), where is a former GHC Tag Team Champion alongside Masa Kitamiya.

## Professional wrestling career

### Training and early career

Frobel had begun training at a wrestling school at the age of 14. He later moved to training at Squared Circle Training in Toronto, Ontario, Canada under Rob Fuego in early 2004. In late 2004, Frobel made his professional wrestling debut in Hamtramck, Michigan using the ring name Michael Elgin. By the age of 16, Frobel, as Elgin, was a regular competitor on the independent circuit. The Ontario Athletic Commission did not allow people under the age of 18 to wrestle professionally in the area, so Frobel travelled to Montreal, as well as to the United States to wrestle in the states of Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2015–2019)

Through ROH's working relationship with NJPW, Elgin made his debut for the Japanese promotion by taking part in the 2015 G1 Climax between July 23 and August 15. He finished his tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance from his block. Elgin quickly became popular among Japanese crowds and his performance in the tournament was called a "career resurgence". In November, it was announced he would team with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the 2015 World Tag League. They finished the tournament with a record of four wins and two losses, narrowly missing the finals due to losing to block winners Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma in the head-to-head match. On January 4, 2016, at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome, Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Jay Lethal for the ROH World Championship. On February 20, it was reported that Elgin had signed a two-year deal with NJPW. This was confirmed by NJPW on March 3. In his first tour under a NJPW contract, Elgin made it to the semifinals of the 2016 New Japan Cup, before losing to Hirooki Goto. On March 20, Elgin received his first title shot in NJPW, when he, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson unsuccessfully challenged The Elite (Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks) for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On April 10 at Invasion Attack 2016, Elgin won his first title in NJPW, when he, Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu defeated The Elite to become the new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions. They made their first successful defense on April 23 against Bad Luck Fale, Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi. Four days later, Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Omega for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016, Elgin, Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu lost the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship back to The Elite.

On June 19 at Dominion 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. From July 22 to August 13, Elgin took part in the 2016 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of five wins and four losses. Elgin failed to advance to the finals due to losing to Katsuhiko Nakajima on the final day. On September 25 at Destruction in Kobe, Elgin lost the IWGP Intercontinental Championship to Tetsuya Naito. On October 10 at King of Pro-Wrestling, Elgin suffered a broken left eye socket taking a dropkick from Naito. The injury would require surgery and forced Elgin to pull out of all future events, including a scheduled IWGP Intercontinental Championship rematch with Naito at Power Struggle. Elgin returned to NJPW on January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, winning the pre-show New Japan Rumble after entering as the first man in. On February 11 at The New Beginning in Osaka, Elgin unsuccessfully challenged Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. After being sidelined from NJPW due to the size of the promotion's roster, Elgin returned on June 11 at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall, losing to Cody. On July 1 at G1 Special in USA, Elgin took part in a tournament to determine the inaugural IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, but was eliminated in his first round match by Kenny Omega. Later that month, Elgin entered the 2017 G1 Climax. Despite a win over 2016 G1 Climax winner and the reigning IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Kenny Omega, Elgin finished second to last in his block with a record of four wins and five losses. Due to his win over Minoru Suzuki in the tournament, Elgin was granted a shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship on September 10 at Destruction in Fukushima, but was defeated by Suzuki in a lumberjack deathmatch. At the end of the year, Elgin teamed with the debuting Jeff Cobb in the 2017 World Tag League. The two did not get along behind the scenes with Elgin making disparaging remarks about his tag team partner in private messages that were made public while the tournament was still in progress. They finished the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals. On June 9, 2018 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Elgin won the NEVER Openweight Championship defeating Hirooki Goto and Taichi in a three-way match. He lost the title to Goto on June 17 at Kizuna Road. From July 14 until August 10, Elgin took part in the 2018 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of three wins and seven losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. Elgin participated in the 2019 New Japan Cup, losing in the first round to Okada. The tour surrounding the tournament featured Elgin's final match with the promotion on March 24, 2019, teaming with Colt Cabana and Toa Henare to defeat Tencozy and Shota Umino. On April 1, Elgin officially parted ways with NJPW.

### Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2019)

On June 23, 2019, Elgin made is debut in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in a pre-taped vignette, challenging Daisuke Sekimoto to a match. On August 24, Elgin defeated Sekimoto in their match, that was later nominated as Best Bout Award in the Japan Indie Awards. On August 25, at Death Mania VII, Elgin and Masaaki Mochizuki faced Sekimoto and Takuya Nomura in a winning effort, in what it was Elgin's last appearance for the promotion.

### Pro Wrestling Noah (2019–2020; 2022)

On October 3, 2019, Riki Choshu announced that Elgin would face Takashi Sugiura on November 2 at Noah the Best 2019 in a match to crown the inaugural GHC National Champion. At the event on November 2, Elgin was defeated by Sugiura. Elgin returned on January 4, 2020 at New Sunrise, facing Katsuhiko Nakajima and facing Masao Inoue in a winning effort in the following day at Reboot.

On April 8, it was announced that Elgin would be returning to Noah on April 30 at Majestic. Minutes later after the announcement, the decision book him for the event was met by various criticisms due to Elgin's previous allegations against him. At Majestic, Elgin made his in-ring return to the promotion defeating Masa Kitamiya. Alongside the same opponent on May 21, Elgin and Kitamiya defeated El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They were forced to vacated the titles on July 13, after Elgin was unable to work at Destination, three days later. This however, marked Elgin's last apperance for the promotion after he was arrested on July 16 for stealing protein powder with him being deported to his native home country Canada with his profile being removed on September 16, as a result of the situation.

## Personal life

Frobel lived in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada, but has since moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Frobel previously worked in construction, but required too many days off for his wrestling appearances, forcing him to quit.

In June 2013, Frobel announced his engagement to fellow professional wrestler Rachel Collins, better known under her ring name as MsChif. They wed the following month on July 4. On September 4, 2015, Collins gave birth to her and Frobel's first child, a boy named Jax. The couple divorced in 2020.

On October 1, 2020 Frobel announced that he was going to enter on rehab, after suffering from painkiller adiction that he suffered prior to his run in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in July 2015.

### Speaking Out movement and further allegations

#### Speaking Out movment and Impact Wrestling lawsuit

In July 2020, Frobel was accused of misconduct. Impact Wrestling's parent company, Anthem Sports & Entertainment, released a statement saying they were reviewing the allegations, which later led to Frobel being suspended from the company. On June 26, Impact Wrestling announced Frobel would be removed from all future programing.

In June 22, 2021 a woman named Maria James posted on Facebook mutiple photos of Frobel, asking for help to locate him, due to him being missing. Which, the last time he was seen was on Monday afternoon, with his friend Eric revealed that he sent a worrying message on Facebook, where he arrived with his ex-wife because they had a copy of the key of their house, but only to found his phone and his car were missing. On July 14, 2021, Frobel was arrested for violating a protective order made by his ex-fiance, who identified by her first name Alex, filed an order of protection on May 21 after leaving her home in April due to safety concerns, mentioning that Frobel had abused her and previously violated the order.

In February 2022, Frobel filed a breach of a contract lawsuit against Impact Wrestling after being removed from Impact programming in June 2020 following allegations made against him during the #SpeakingOut movement. Frobel also claimed that Impact prevented him from working for Pro Wrestling NOAH in December 2020, damaging his reputation in Japan. Frobel was kept under contract with Impact despite not being used. The contract was set to expire in that month, but became a free agent earlier than expected, after not being paid by Impact, since February, due to the lawsuit.

#### Pro Wrestling NOAH controversy

On April 8, 2022, it was announced that Frobel would be returning to Pro Wrestling NOAH on April 30 at Majestic. Minutes later after the announcement, the decision to book him for the event was met by various criticisms due to Frobel's previous allegations against him.

On July 9, 2022, Pro Wrestling NOAH announced that Frobel, who was scheduled to participate in a live event in Shizuoka on July 10 and Destination 2022 on July 16 in Tokyo, would be absent from those events. It was later revealed that Frobel's absence was due to him being arrested for stealing protein powder at NOAH's dojo. Following the result of a trial, to which he could have faced five years in prision, he was instead deported and banned from entering Japan for the next five years. However, following the viralization of the news report, Frobel went on his *Twitter* account refuting the claims, citing that he was going back to Canada on a family reunion and was not being deported but was rather on a first class flight.

It was reported by *Wrestling Observer* journalist Dave Meltzer, that he had confirmed the news that there was indeed an incident that led to Elgin's arrest, ban and deportation from Japan. However, according to Meltzer, he was not guaranteed "100 percent" that he stole protein powder. Although Meltzer, insisted that whatever took place inside the dojo, was something that nobody wanted to go outside to the public. Soon after, his NOAH profile was quietly removed from the Pro Wrestling NOAH roster page, signalling his departure from the promotion, with further references related to him being censored.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Big Mike Fly Flow* (Frog splash) – 2016–2019; adopted from Hiroshi Tanahashi
	+ *Burning Hammer* (Inverted Death Valley driver) – 2015–2019
	+ *BT Bomb* (Sitout crucifix powerbomb, sometimes from the top rope)
	+ *Elgin Bomb* (Spinning sitout powerbomb, usually preceded by a turnbuckle powerbomb)
* **Signature moves**
	+ Body slam, sometimes from the top rope
	+ Crossface
	+ Over the shoulder back-to-belly piledriver
	+ Over the shoulder single leg Boston crab
	+ Running Death Valley driver into the turnbuckles
	+ Multiple powerbomb variations
		- Buckle
		- Power
		- Tornado (One-handed)
	+ Multiple strike variations
		- Backhand blow
		- Backhand chop
		- Big Boot
		- Elbow, sometimes sliding
		- Elbow stamp
		- Enzuigiri
		- Hammer blow
		- Jumping front high kick
		- Lariat
		- Rolling elbow
		- Spinning backfist
	+ Multiple suplex variations
		- Delayed vertical
		- Dragon
		- Deadlift German
		- *Falcon Arrow* (Sitout suplex slam, sometimes from the second rope to a opponent on the apron)
		- Release german, sometimes preceded by a waist-lock backwards roll
		- Snap
		- Superplex
		- Swinging avalanche press slam/Samoan drop combination, usually done on two or more opponents
		- Swinging sidewalk slam, as a counter to a move
		- Vertical suplex side slam
	+ *Valkyrie Splash* (Corkscrew senton bomb)
* **With Hiroshi Tanahashi**
	+ *High Fly Flow from Elgin Part 1* (Swinging avalanche press drop (Elgin) into a *High Fly Flow* (Tanahashi))
	+ *High Fly Flow from Elgin Part 2* (Step-over-shoulder *High Fly Flow*)
	+ *Combined Avalanche Elgin Bomb* (Assisted avalanche spinning sitout powerbomb)
* **Nicknames**
	+ "Big Mike"
	+ "Unbreakable"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Unbreakable" by Yonosuke Kitamura (Used in NJPW)
	+ "Now More Than Ever" by Noise Refinery (Used in NOAH)

## Championships and accomplishments

* **Japan Indie Awards**
	+ Best Bout Award (2019) vs. Daisuke Sekimoto on August 24
* **Lucha Libre Elite**
	+ Elite World Championship Tournament (2016)
* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Intercontinental Championship (1 time)
	+ NEVER Openweight Championship (1 time)
	+ NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshitatsu
	+ New Japan Rumble (2017)
* ***Pro Wrestling Illustrated***
	+ PWI ranked him #**14** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014
	+ PWI ranked him #**18** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him #**76** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
* **Pro Wrestling Noah**
	+ GHC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Masa Kitamiya
	+ Best Bout Award (2019) vs. Takashi Sugiura on November 2
* **Ring of Honor**
	+ ROH World Championship (1 time)
* ***Wrestling Observer Newsletter***
	+ 5 Star Match (2012) vs. Davey Richards on March 31