Alex Koslov

###

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Soviet Union

**Alex Sherman** (born January 21, 1984) is a Moldovan-born retired professional wrestler and and color commentator, better known by the ring name **Alex Koslov** currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)

Koslov after his release from WWE made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling. Sherman formed a tag team with Rocky Romero known as Forever Hooligans and would go on to win IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship twice and the ROH World Tag Team Championship once.

## Professional wrestling career

### Early career

Koslov was trained by Jesse Hernandez and made his professional wrestling debut in Covina, California on May 23, 2003, against Kid Karnage working as "Alex Pincheck". From 2003 until 2006 Koslov worked exclusively on the west coast of the United States, making appearances for promotions such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), Empire Wrestling Federation (EWF) and local National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliated groups. From 2005 and forward Koslov began working in Mexico and later on started making appearances all over the United States. On June 11, 2006 Koslov won the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship in Santa Monica, California from Karl Anderson, less than a month later he lost the title to Justin White.

In 2008 Koslov participated in the annual ECWA Super 8 tournament working with other young "high flyers". In the first round he defeated Shannon Moore in what was considered an upset, then he defeated Chase del Monte in the second round before losing to Aden Chambers in the finals. Koslov's performance earned him positive reviews. Koslov did not win the tournament but he stole the show, working as a villain he riled up the crowd enough for one audience member to threaten him with a chair.

### New Japan Pro Wrestling (2012–2015)

On April 16, Koslov was announced as a participant in New Japan Pro Wrestling's (NJPW) 2012 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. In the round-robin stage of the tournament, which ran from May 27 to June 9, Koslov won five out of his eight matches, but a loss to Low Ki in his final round-robin match caused him to narrowly miss advancing to the semifinals of the tournament. Koslov returned to New Japan on July 7, now representing the promotion's top villainous stable, Chaos, as a member of which he also reunited with former AAA partner Rocky Romero, with the two dubbing their tag team "Forever Hooligans". On July 22, Koslov and Romero defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. Koslov and Romero made their first successful title defense on August 26 at a Sacramento Wrestling Federation (SWF) event in Gridley, California, defeating the team of A.J. Kirsch and Alex Shelley. Forever Hooligans made their second successful title defense on October 8 at King of Pro-Wrestling, defeating the Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida). On October 21, Forever Hooligans entered the 2012 Super Jr. Tag Tournament, defeating Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask in their first round match. On November 2, Koslov and Romero were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi). On November 11 at Power Struggle, Forever Hooligans lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to the winners of the Super Jr. Tag Tournament, the Time Splitters, ending their reign at 112 days. Koslov returned to New Japan in early 2013, and on February 10 at The New Beginning, he and Romero unsuccessfully challenged the Time Splitters for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2013, Koslov and Romero regained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from the Time Splitters. From late May to early June, Koslov took part in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors, where he won four of his eight matches with a loss to Brian Kendrick in his final round-robin match on June 6 costing him a spot in the semifinals. Koslov and Romero made their first successful defense of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on June 22 at Dominion 6.22 in a rematch with the Time Splitters. Koslov and Romero then got involved in Chaos' rivalry with the Suzuki-gun stable, which led to their second successful title defense on July 20 against Taichi and Taka Michinoku. Koslov and Romero lost the title to Taichi and Michinoku in a rematch on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling. For the first half of 2014, Forever Hooligans received several new shots at the title, now held by The Young Bucks (Matt and Nick Jackson), but were defeated each time, including in a three-way match, also involving the Time Splitters, on May 10 at Global Wars, a special event co-produced by NJPW and ROH in Toronto. Later in the month, Koslov was scheduled to take part in the 2014 Best of the Super Juniors, but after dislocating his left shoulder in his first match, he was forced to pull out of the tournament.

On January 4, 2015, at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, Forever Hooligans challenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the defending champions, reDRagon, in a four-way match, also involving Time Splitters and The Young Bucks. After he and Romero lost to reDRagon in a non-title match the following day, Koslov took a victory lap around the ring and thanked Romero for sharing his career with for the past decade. On January 9, Koslov announced he was taking an "indefinite sabbatical" from professional wrestling.

### Return to New Japan Pro Wrestling (2020-present)

After a 5 year hiatus, Koslov made his return to New Japan Pro Wrestling on August 7, 2020 as a color commentator on New Japan Cup USA alongside Kevin Kelly. Koslov would then become a regular commentator for New Japan Pro Wrestling alongside Kelley on the NJPW weekly series NJPW Strong.

## In wrestling

* **Finishing moves**
	+ *Red Scare* (Russian legsweep floated over into a bridging cobra clutch)
	+ *Red Scare II* (Fisherman buster floated over into a guillotine choke)
	+ *Russian Elbow* (Frog splash transitioned into an elbow drop)
	+ *Russian Star Press* (Shooting star press)
	+ *Russian Strike* (Discus elbow smash)
	+ *Soviet Strike* (Superkick)
	+ Springboard splash
* **Signature moves**
	+ Multiple kicks to the back and head of a seated opponent, with theatrics
	+ Fisherman buster
	+ Fisherman suplex
	+ *Perestroika* (Rope hung surfboard)
	+ Russian legsweep
* **With Rocky Romero**
	+ **Double team finishing moves**
		- *Contract Killer* (Inverted Death Valley driver (Koslov) / Springboard knee drop (Romero) combination)
* **Nicknames**
	+ "Russian Hooligan"
* **Entrance themes**
	+ "Russia is Coming" by Yonosuke Kitamura
	+ "Russian Strike" by New Japan Pro Wrestling

## Championships and accomplishments

* **New Japan Pro Wrestling**
	+ IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Rocky Romero
* **Pro Wrestling Illustrated**
	+ PWI ranked him #**114** of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2014
* **Ring of Honor**
	+ ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rocky Romero

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `FCW`
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 *ja:アレックス・コズロフ* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-16.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Alex Koslov . *Ring of Honor*. Retrieved on 2013-10-13.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Estrellas  (in Spanish). *Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre*. Archived from the original on 2008-09-13. Retrieved on 2012-08-11.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Oliver, Greg 2013-07-31. Forever Hooligans basking in championship glory . *Slam! Sports*. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved on 2013-08-03.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 – 2008: 269 Alex Koslov". *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United Statesid=October 2008: Sports and Entertainment publications LLC. August 2008. p. 106.
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Alex Koslov . Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
8. ↑ Martin, Adam 2010-12-02. Alex Koslov update regarding WWE developmental . *Wrestleview*. Retrieved on 2010-12-03.
9. ↑ Alex Koslov liberado  (in Spanish). Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (2010-10-07). Archived from the original on 2010-10-10. Retrieved on 2010-10-11.
10. ↑ N.W.A. British Commonwealth Heavyweight Title . wrestling-titles.com (2007-10-26). Retrieved on 2009-04-27.
11. ↑ Hicks, Brady; Murphy, Dan (February 2009). "ECWA Super 8 tournament: Aden Chambers wins one for the home team!". *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment Publications LLC. pp. 46–49. February 2009.
12. ↑ Murphy, Dan (February 2009). "the Straight Shooter". *Pro Wrestling Illustrated*. Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, United States: Sports and Entertainment Publications LLC. pp. 118–119. February 2009.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 『Super Jr.』参戦選手! 全日本から "レンタル移籍"のBushi、ロウ・キー、アレックス・コズロフ、アンヘル・デ・オロ、そしてドラゲーのPacが初参戦!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-04-16). Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
14. ↑ Caldwell, James 2012-04-16. NJPW: Top names for Super Juniors tournament announced . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2012-04-16.
15. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Best of the Super Jr. XIX ～The door to the glory～  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-06-09.
16. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Best of the Super Jr. XIX ～The door to the glory～  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-06-09.
17. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Kizuna Road  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
18. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Kizuna Road  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
19. ↑ 「ライガーとタイガーのブサイクな顔を公開してやる！」/IWGP Jr.タッグ王座次期挑戦者・ロメロ＆コズロフスペシャルインタビュー  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-07-17). Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Kizuna Road  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-07-22.
21. ↑ Gee Schoon Tong, Chris 2012-08-27. 8/26 SWF results Northern California: Alex Shelley & A.J. Kirsch challenge for IWGP Jr. Tag Titles, New Japan's IC Title defended, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2012-08-27.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 【アメリカ遠征速報!!】中邑がIC王座初防衛!! 新ベルトも披露!! Ａ・シェリーをKushidaが救出!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-08-28). Retrieved on 2012-08-28.
23. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-08.
24. ↑ Namako, Jason 2012-10-08. 10/8 NJPW iPPV Results: Tokyo, Japan . *Wrestleview*. Retrieved on 2012-10-08.
25. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-10-21.
26. ↑ NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour Road to Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-11-02.
27. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Power Struggle  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2012-11-11.
28. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2012-11-11. Sun. update: Turning Point preview, PPV title change, Mania tickets, Big Show, Cena, Linda McMahon campaign, New WWE announcer debuts, Major wrestling historical anniversary . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2012-11-11.
29. ↑ The New Beginning  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-02-10.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 *ja:レスリングどんたく 2013* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-05-03.
31. ↑ Show results – 5/3 NJPW Dontaku PPV: U.S. stars lose titles or title matches, Okada's first IWGP Title defense, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2013-05-04). Retrieved on 2013-05-04.
32. ↑ Best of the Super Jr. XX  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-06-06.
33. ↑ Dominion 6.22  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-06-22.
34. ↑ Show results – 6/22 NJPW Dominion iPPV: Devitt vs. Tanahashi, NWA Title defended, Benjamin, Hoyt, Shelley, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2013-06-22). Retrieved on 2013-06-22.
35. ↑ 吉野家Presents Kizuna Road 2013  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-07-20.
36. ↑ Namako, Jason 2013-07-20. 7/20 NJPW iPPV Results: Akita, Japan (Devitt vs. Okada) . *Wrestleview*. Retrieved on 2013-07-20.
37. ↑ King of Pro-Wrestling  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-10-14.
38. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-01-04. Caldwell's NJPW Tokyo Dome results 1/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of New Japan's biggest show of the year – four title changes, former WWE/TNA stars featured, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
39. ↑ Show results – 5/3 New Japan "Wrestling Dontaku" PPV: A.J. Styles captures IWGP World Title, plus NWA & more title matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2014-05-03). Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
40. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-05-10. Caldwell's ROH vs. New Japan iPPV report 5/10: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of iPPV from Toronto – ROH Title match, IWGP Jr. Tag Titles, Styles, Tanahashi, Okada, top NJPW stars . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-05-11.
41. ↑ コズロフ選手が左肩関節脱臼で『Super Jr.』を全戦欠場。  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-05-31). Retrieved on 2013-05-31.
42. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-01-04. Caldwell's NJPW Tokyo Dome show results 1/4: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of live Wrestle Kingdom PPV – Tanahashi vs. Okada, Bullet Club, Nakamura, Jim Ross, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-01-09.
43. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-01-09. NJPW news: "Forever Hooligan" announces semi-retirement . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-01-09.
44. ↑ NJPW Strong (8/7) Results: New Japan Cup USA Begins With Four First-Round Matches .
45. ↑ Best of the Super Jr. XX  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-05-24.
46. ↑ Best of the Super Jr. XX  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2013-05-26.
47. ↑ 新日本プロレス「Best of the Super Jr.XIX」  (in Japanese). *Sports Navi*. Yahoo! (2012-05-27). Retrieved on 2012-05-27.
48. ↑ NJPW 40th anniversary Tour Best of the Super Jr. XIX ～The door to the glory～  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-05-28). Retrieved on 2012-05-28.
49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Hamlin, Jeff. Hamlin's TNA Impact TV report for June 12 . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2009-10-13.
50. ↑ Hess, Jason. More from ROH house show 4-3 Houston . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2009-10-13.
51. ↑ Hamlin, Jeff. TNA Impact report . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2009-10-13.
52. ↑ Kitamura, Yonosuke. Prowrestle theme music list  (in Japanese). *RMLabel*. Retrieved on 2015-07-07.
53. ↑ 好評を博したテーマ曲CD第2弾「NJPWグレイテストミュージックII」が10月9日発売！闘魂Shopで予約受付中!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2013-09-18). Retrieved on 2013-09-19.
54. ↑ Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2014 . *The Internet Wrestling Database*. Retrieved on 2014-12-02.
55. ↑ Caldwell, James 2013-07-28. ROH News: New ROH tag champions, Results from Night 1 of ROH Title tournament . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2013-07-28.