Shuji Ishikawa

###

Iwata, Shizuoka, Japan

**Shuji Ishikawa** (石川 修司, *Ishikawa Shūji*, born September 25, 1975) is a Japanese professional wrestler in Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH), as a freelancer.

He is best known for his time with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) where he is a former five-times World Tag Team Champion and a former one-time Gaora TV Champion and a former one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the 2017 Champion Carnival and World's Strongest Tag Determination League.

Ishikawa previously worked for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). In DDT, Ishikawa is a former four-times KO-D Openweight Champion, former DDT Extreme Division Champion a former KO-D Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2016 King of DDT and the 2018 D-Oh Grand Prix. Ishikawa in Big Japan Pro Wrestling his a former three-times BJW Tag Team Champion and a former BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight and World Strong Heavyweight Champion, being the first wrestler to hold both titles and being on the Deathmatch BJ division and the Strong BJ division, also Ishikawa is the winner of the 2014 and 2016 Ikkitosen Strong Climb Tournament.

Ishikawa also worked for the DDT's sister promotion Union Pro Wrestling where he is a former UWA World Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2013 and inaugural Get The Glory Tournament and even became one of Union Pro's top wrestlers and has challenged for the Union Max Championship on two different occasions.

## Early life

Ishikawa is friends with fellow professional wrestler Takashi Sasaki as a teenager, whom he met through judo.

## Professional wrestling career

### Dramatic Dream Team (2003–2019)

After meeting Sanshiro Takagi, Ishikawa began training at the DDT Dojo, and soon after made his debut at the age of 27 in May 2003 in a loss to Seiya Morohashi. After achieving little success in his early career, Ishikawa began competing more sporadically in DDT, instead becoming a regular in DDT's sister promotion Union Pro Wrestling, where he gained considerable popularity, mainly due to his size. In 2007, Ishikawa officially became recognized as the ace of UPW after former stablemate Poison Sawada Julie left the promotion. Ishikawa competed in high-profile feuds with Style-E's Kyosuke Sasaki and Pro Wrestling Zero1's Yoshihito Sasaki, as well as regularly competing in DDT once again under a mask as Koo in the Hawaii Army stable. On June 3, 2007, Ishikawa defeated Harashima to capture the KO-D Openweight Championship for the first time. He held on to the belt until October, where he was defeated by HARASHIMA in a rematch. Ishikawa began his second reign in late 2009, defeating Kota Ibushi on November 29, holding it until February 2010, when he was defeated by Daisuke Sekimoto at a Union Pro event. On March 27, 2011, at DDT's 14 Anniversary Show, Ishikawa won a battle royal, giving him the right to a KO-D Openweight Championship match in the future. Ishikawa captured the championship for a third time on May 4, 2011, defeating Dick Togo. Ishikawa held the championship until July, when he was defeated by Kudo at Ryogoku Peter Pan. Ishikawa won the KO-D Tag Team Championship got the first time in his career, teaming with Daisuke Sasaki to defeat Konosuke Takeshita and Tetsuya Endo on March 21.

On July 3, Ishikawa and Sasaki lost the title to Ken Ohka and KAI. Ishikawa formed the Damnation stable along with Sasaki, Mad Paulie and later Tetsuya Endo. Ishikawa captured the KO-D Openweight Championship for a third time in August 2016, defeating Konosuke Takeshita at Peter Pan. Ishikawa held on to the belt until December, when he was defeated by Harashima at Osaka Octopus. Ishikawa was then last seen on July 23, 2017 when he and Damnation stablemate Mad Paulie unsuccessfully challenged Kazusada Higuchi and Shigehiro Irie for the KO-D Tag Team Championship.

Ishikawa returned to DDT on November 2 taking part of a decision match for the vacant KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Damnation stablemates Mad Paulie and Daisuke Sasaki losing to All Out (Konosuke Takeshita, Akito and Diego. In January 2018, Ishikawa took part of the D-Oh Grand Prix, finishing his block with a record of five wins and one loss, advancing to the finals. Ishikawa avenged his loss against Harashima defeating him at the finals of the tournament. Due to the tournament win, Ishikawa received a chance to the KO-D Openweight Championship against Konosuke Takeshita at DDT's anniversary show Judgement 2018. In months, leading to the event Ishikawa's Damnation stablemate and leader Daisuke Sasaki prohibited him to sing until he defeated Takeshita. This led Ishikawa repeatedly attacked Takeshita and tried to injure to win the title by forfeit. This led on March 25, at Judgement Ishikawa unsuccessfuly challenging Takeshita for the KO-D Openweight Championship.

### Big Japan Pro Wrestling (2009–2018)

Ishikawa competed in his first ever deathmatch on January 2, 2009, teaming with Ryuji Ito to take on childhood friend Takashi Sasaki and Yuko Miyamoto. Ishikawa would go on to become a mainstay in BJW, capturing his first championship in the company on May 4, 2012, teaming with Shigehiro Irie to defeat Shinobu and Yoshihito Sasaki to win the BJW World Tag Team Championship. Irie and Ishikawa held the title until July of that year, when they were defeated by Shinobu and Yuji Okabayashi. Ishikawa defeated longtime rival Abdullah Kobayashi to become the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion on January 2, 2013 four years after competing in his first ever deathmatch. Ishikawa would go on to hold the championship for 11 months, until he was defeated by Isami Kodaka. After the loss to Kodaka, Ishikawa announced that he would no longer be competing in deathmatches, and would instead be focusing on the strong division. In 2014, Ishikawa achieved his first major success in BJW's strong division, defeating Daisuke Sekimoto to win the Ikkitosen Strong Climb Tournament. Later that year, Ishikawa began teaming with Kohei Sato as the "Twin Towers" with much success, defeating the team of Yuko Miyamoto and Isami Kodaka on May 31, 2014, to win the BJW Tag Team Championships. Ishikawa and Sato successfully retained the championships for 516 days, until they were defeated by Yuji Okabayashi and Daisuke Sekimoto on October 29, 2015. In 2016, Ishikawa won the Ikkitosen Strong Climb Tournament for a second time, defeating Daichi Hashimoto and Hideyoshi Kamitani in the semi-final and final respectively on the same night to win. Ishikawa and Sato once again captured the BJW World Tag Team Championships on May 30, 2016, defeating Hideyoshi Kamitani and Ryota Hama. They lost titles to Daisuke Seikimoto and Yuji Okabayashi on January 2, 2017. After that the Twin Towers reunited for one time only in January 2018.

### All Japan Pro Wrestling (2015–2024)

Ishikawa debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 2015, and in September of that year, took part in the Ōdō Tournament, making it to the semi-final where he was eliminated by Akebono. In December, he teamed with Hoshitango in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing with six points but failing to advance past the group stages. On March 27, 2016, Ishikawa and Hoshitango unsuccessfully challenged Zeus and The Bodyguard for the World Tag Team Championship. In April 2017, Ishikawa took part in his first Champion Carnival, finishing first in his block and highest of anybody in the tournament with 9 points. On April 30, 2017, he defeated Joe Doering to win the tournament. On May 21, he defeated Miyahara to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. He lost the title back to Miyahara on August 27. In December Ishikawa took part of the 2017 World's Strongest Tag Determination League alongside Suwama, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, advancing to the finals. On December 12, Ishikawa and Suwama defeated Hideoyoshi Kamitani and Daichi Hashimoto in the finals to win the tournament. On January 3, 2018, Ishikawa and Suwama defeated Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori to win World Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Kento Miyahara and Yoshitatsu on February 3, they would regain it on June 30, after defeating Dylan James and Ryoji Sai. From November 13 to December 11, Ishikawa and Suwama took part in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and three losses, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On December 11, Ishikawa and Suwama were defeated by Dylan James and Joe Doering in the finals. On January 2, 2019, Ishikawa officially announced that he had signed with the promotion, ending his days as a freelancer. On January 13, Ishikawa and Suwama lost the World Tag Team Championship to Daisuke Sekimoto and Yuji Okabayashi, before regaining it March 19, 2019. They lost the titles to Zeus and Ryoji Sai on September 3, they regained the titles on January 2. In September, Ishikawa took part of the 2020 Champion Carnival, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and two losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 22 until December 7, Ishikawa and Suwama took part in the 2020 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the tournament, with a record of four wins and three losses, failling to win the tournament. On January 2, 2021, Ishikawa and Suwama lost the World Tag Team Championship to Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi. Afterwards, Ishikawa and Suwama decided to disband the Violent Giants, as a result of their title loss. On March 18, Ishikawa defeated Jun Kasai to win the Gaora TV Championship. From April 9 to May 3, Ishikawa took part in the 2021 Champion Carnival finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and four losses, failling to win the tournament. On October 31, Ishikawa lost the Gaora TV Championship to Shigehiro Irie. In April 2022, Ishikawa took part in the 2022 Champion Carnival, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and two losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. On Apirl 29, Ishikawa announced that he and Sato would challenge for the World Tag Team Championship on May 14. At the event, Twin Towers defeated Suwama and Shotaro Ashino to win the World Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Ashino and Ryuki Honda on June 19.

On February 4, 2023, Ishikawa, alongside former Nextream members Rising HAYATO, Yuma Aoyagi, Kento Miyahara, Atsuki Aoyagi and rookies Yuma Anzai and Ryo Inoue formed a stable dubbed "Zennichi Shin Jidai" (New Age of All Japan in English), as a reaction against the influence of wrestlers from other promotions, who appeared or held titles in AJPW making them an anti-invader stable. From April 8 and May 7, Ishikawa took part in the 2023 Champion Carnival, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 12 until December 6, Ishikawa and Just Tap Out Pro-Wrestling's Ren Ayabe took part in the 2023 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, finishing the tournament with a record of three wins and six losses, failing to win the tournament.

On January 15, 2024, it was announced that Ishikawa would be leaving the promotion at the end of the month, following the expiration of his contract.

### Pro Wrestling NOAH (2024–Present)

On January 22, Ishikawa was announced as the newest member of Team NOAH, with his debut for Pro Wrestling NOAH being on February 15 at Team NOAH's self produce event.

## Personal life

On July 7, 2021, Ishikawa tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Japan.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing Moves**
	+ *Giant Slam* (Leg hook wrist clutch release belly to back suplex)
	+ Lou Thesz press – 2020
	+ *Splash Mountain* (Crucifix sitout powerbomb)
	+ Cross-Arm sitout powerbomb-2009-2014
* **Signature Moves**
	+ *32 Nimon Rocket Ho* (Dropkick)
	+ *Giant Driver/Fire Thunder* (Suplex lifted and dropped into a reverse piledriver)
	+ Arm-trapped headbutts
	+ Anaconda vice
	+ Backdrop
	+ Big boot
	+ Brainbuster
	+ Brain claw
	+ Chokeslam
	+ Release dragon suplex
	+ *Giant Clutch* (Gannosuke clutch)
	+ *Ore ga Shuji da* (Atomic drop lift transitioned into a chokeslam)
	+ Running neckbreaker drop
	+ *TSUNAMI* (Running knee lift)
	+ Vertical suplex
* **With Suwama**
	+ *Last Mountain* (Double elevated crucifix powerbomb)
* **Nicknames**
	+ "Indie Wrestling Big Dog"
	+ "The Giant Of The World In The 21st Century"
* **Theme songs**
	+ **"Battery"** by Metallica

## Championships and accomplishments

* **All Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ Gaora TV Championship (1 time)
	+ World Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Suwama (4) and Kohei Sato (1)
	+ Champion Carnival (2017)
	+ World's Strongest Tag Determination League (2017, 2019) – with Suwama
* **Big Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
	+ BJW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Shigehiro Irie (1) and Kohei Sato (2)
	+ Ikkitosen Strong Climb Tournament (2014, 2016)
* **DDT Pro-Wrestling**
	+ KO-D Openweight Championship (4 times)
	+ DDT Extreme Division Championship (1 time)
	+ KO-D Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Daisuke Sasaki
	+ King of DDT (2016)
	+ D-Oh Grand Prix (2017)
* **Japan Indie Awards**
	+ Best Unit Award (2016, 2017) Damnation with Daisuke Sasaki, Mad Paulie and Tetsuya Endo
	+ MVP Award (2016)
* **Tokyo Sports**
	+ Tag Team of the Year (2017, 2018, 2019)  with Suwama
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him **303** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2013
	+ PWI ranked him **225** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2015
	+ PWI ranked him **110** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2016
	+ PWI ranked him **112** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
	+ PWI ranked him **162** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2021
* **Union Pro Wrestling**
	+ UWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Masato Shibata
	+ Get The Glory Tournament (2013)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Shuji Ishikawa  (2012-03-06).
3. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Shuji Ishikawa  (2012-03-06).
5. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
6. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
7. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
8. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
9. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
10. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
11. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
12. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
13. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
14. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database .
15. ↑ DDT “RYOGOKU PETER PAN 2016 ~MOST HOT SUMMER IN THE WORLD~” Results  (2016-08-28).
16. ↑ DDT “OSAKA OCTOPUS 2016 ~IT’S NANIWABUSHI WRESTLING~” Results  (2016-12-04).
17. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=51143
18. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=209164
19. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=209159
20. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=217903
21. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=114322
22. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&sort=datum&jahr=2014&monat=5
23. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=shows&show=318623
24. ↑ http://wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bios&wrestler=3363&details=&bild=2
25. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=137546
26. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=142614
27. ↑ https://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=149787
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 *ja:「年越しプロレス2016～年忘れ！五団体シャッフル・タッグトーナメント～」* (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2016-12-31). Retrieved on 2017-01-01.