Ankur Baliyan, better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Baliyan Akki, is an Indian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

currently working for the Japanese

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling , lead=yes, often referred to simply as Gatoh Move is a Japanese ''Joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion established in 2012, by Emi Sakura. The promotion is most known for hosting shows in Tokyo at ''Ichigaya Chocolate Squar ...

. He is also known for his appearances in various other promotions from the Japanese independent circuit such as

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

and

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

Professional wrestling career

Indian circuit (2015–2017)

Baliyan made his

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

debut in Wrestle Square, a promotion from the Indian independent scene. He succeeded in holding the Intercontinental championship of the promotion on three different occasions. He spent roughly two years in various promotions from the circuit before going to Japan at the beginning of 2017.

Gatoh Move (2017–present)

Baliyan is mainly known for his tenure with

. He made his debut at ''Gatoh Move Japan Tour #325'' on December 2, 2017, where he teamed up with

Choun Shiryu is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his time in the Japanese promotions DDT Pro-Wrestling and Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. His ring name is based on the Chinese military general Zhao Yun ...

to defeat

Emi Sakura , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler performing for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). After starting her career in International Wrestling Association of Japan in August 1995, Sa ...

and

Masahiro Takanashi is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . Takanashi was trained by Dramatic Dream Team (DDT) and has worked for the promotion since his debut in September 2003, becoming a one-time KO-D Openweight Champion, a two-time ...

. During his time in the promotion, he formed the tag team of "Best Bros" with Mei Suruga, alongside whom he would chase for the

Asia Dream Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the ''Joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) promotion Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. Though Gatoh Move is a ''joshi puroresu'' promotion, this title has no gender restriction. ...

, titles which they first won at ''ChocoPro 76'' on December 31, 2020, by defeating Reset (

and

Kaori Yoneyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer on the Japanese independent circuit. Yoneyama started her career in 1999, working with the JWP Joshi Puroresu promotion. During the following years, she became a one-time J ...

). He is also a former Super Asia Champion, title which he first won in an interim phase by defeating Choun Shiryu at ''ChocoPro 197'' on January 29, 2022, and then lineal champion

Minoru Fujita (born September 5, 1977) is a Japanese professional wrestler who works as a freelancer. He is known for working at Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. He is the current Super Asia Champion in his first reign. Career Fujita started in Big Japan Pro Wrest ...

to became the undisputed titleholder at ''ChocoPro 200'' on February 13, 2022. Baliyan competed in

Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling , often abbreviated to GanPro, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2013 as a sister promotion of DDT Pro-Wrestling. Although it originated as a special event by the parent company DDT, it has since become its own promotion. ...

's 2021 edition of the

Ganbare Climax __NOTOC__ The is a single elimination professional wrestling tournament held by CyberFight in their Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro) brand. The first two editions in 2017 and 2018 had no stakes other than bragging rights. In 2021, the tournament ...

tournament where he fell short to

Yumehito Imanari is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently working for CyberFight. He appears on the Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro) brand under his real name, and on the DDT Pro-Wrestling brand as part of the Pheromo ...

in the first rounds, competition which was also disputed for the inaugural

Spirit of Ganbare World Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship in Ganbare☆Pro-Wrestling (GanPro), a sub-brand of the Japanese promotion CyberFight. The title is the first to be created specifically for GanPro. , there have been four reigns shared among four d ...

. He competed at

NJPW Strong ''NJPW Strong'' is a professional wrestling television series produced by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) which debuted on August 7, 2020. It currently airs Saturday at 8pm ET on NJPW World and FITE TV. H ...

Fighting Spirit Unleashed Fighting Spirit Unleashed is a series of professional wrestling events produced annually in September by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, in the United States. NJPW first produced the event in 2018 and ha ...

on October 28, 2023, where he teamed up with Titus Alexander and Jakob Austin Young, losing to

Team Filthy ''Team Filthy'' is a professional wrestling stable, performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and previously Major League Wrestling (MLW) . The group was formed on October 5, 2017 during One Shot by "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. History Major League ...

( Jorel Nelson,

Royce Isaacs Isaac Hull (born February 8, 1989) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Royce Isaacs. He is currently appearing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of Team Filthy. From 2019 until 2020, Hull worked with ...

and Danny Limelight).

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2020–2022)

Baliyan made his first appearance in

(AJPW) on the second night of the ''AJPW Summer Action Series II 2020'' from August 23, where he fell short to

Francesco Akira Francesco Begnini (born November 12, 1999), better known by his ring name Francesco Akira is an Italian professional wrestler, working for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable and ...

. He continued to make sporadic appearances, especially in signature events. One of them was the

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

, in which he competed in the 2020 edition, but not as part of the big tournament, only by tagging up with Yusuke Okada on the third night of the event from September 13, where they fell short to Jin (

Fuminori Abe is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his tenure with the Japanese promotions Pro Wrestling Basara (Basara) and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). Professional wrestling career Independent ci ...

and Jake Lee). On the first night of the ''AJPW New Year Wars 2022'' from January 2, he competed in the traditional

battle royal Battle royal (; also royale) traditionally refers to a fight involving many combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing, usually conducted under either boxing or wrestling rules. In recent times, the term has been used in a ...

won by Rising Hayato and also involving various other notable opponents such as

Menso-re Oyaji , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working under the name for All Japan Pro Wrestling where he is a former four-time Gaora TV Champion. He was previously known as the similar masked character , under which he performed for several ...

Shigehiro Irie is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist best known for his work in DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Irie has also competed for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), and a number of North American indep ...

Shuji Ishikawa is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, World Tag Team Champion and the winner of the 2017 Champion Carnival. Ishikawa is also known fo ...

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...

Yoshi Tatsu Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who appears in video games published by Nintendo. Yoshi debuted in ''Super Mario World'' (1990) on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi's sidekick. Yoshi is the title character of the List of Y ...

, Jun Saito, Rei Saito and many others.

North American independent circuit (2022–present)

Baliyan briefly competed in several promotions from the American independent scene as a talent sent overseas by Gatoh Move. In

All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. It is considered the second largest wrestling promotion in the United States behind WWE. AEW is owned by Shahid Khan and his son Tony, w ...

, he started in

AEW Dark AEW or aew may refer to: * Airborne early warning, airborne radar system for detecting aircraft * Aerosvit Airlines, an airline based in Kyiv, Ukraine (ICAO airline designator: AEW) * AEW Capital Management, a property investment management company ...

, making his first appearance at '' AEW Dark #157'' taped July 16, 2022 and released on August 16, where he fell short against

Angélico Adam Bridle (born 7 May 1987), better known by the ring name Angélico (), is a South African professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work in Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide ...

in singles competition. At '' AEW Dark #180'' on December 17, 2022, he teamed up with Marcus Kross and Vary Morales in a losing effort against

The Dark Order The Dark Order is a professional wrestling stable, currently performing in All Elite Wrestling (AEW). The stable consists of Evil Uno, John Silver, Alex Reynolds, and Brodie Lee Jr. The group debuted on the inaugural Double or Nothing pay-per- ...

(

Alex Reynolds Alex Reynolds and John Silver (wrestler), John Silver, formerly known as the Beaver Boys, are an American professional wrestling tag team currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as members of The Dark Order. They are also known for their app ...

and John Silver) in a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

. In

Game Changer Wrestling Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), formerly known as Jersey Championship Wrestling (JCW), is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Jersey. The promotion was originally founded by Ricky Otazu in 1999, it was rebranded un ...

, Baliyan made his first appearance at ''GCW Jimmy Lloyd's D-Generation F'' on March 31, 2023, where he teamed up with Mei Suruga and fell short to Wasted Youth (Dyln McKay and Marcus Mathers), CPF (Danny Black and Joe Lando) and The Bang Bros (August Matthews and Davey Bang) in a four-way tag team match. In

CMLL Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

, Baliyan participated in the Grand Prix Internacional 2023 Torneo Cibernetico, bout in which he teamed up with Adrian Quest,

Hiromu Takahashi (born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a member of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable. Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked ...

Kushida is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestl ...

Rocky Romero John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッ ...

Samuray del Sol Emanuel Alejandro Rodriguez (born November 14, 1986) is an American professional wrestler, currently performing under the ring names Octagón Jr. and Samuray Del Sol. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Ka ...

and TJP as "Team International" in a losing effort to Team Mexico (

Ángel de Oro Miguel Ángel Chávez Velasco (born August 18, 1988), better known by his ring name Ángel de Oro (Spanish for "Angel of Gold" or "Golden Angel"), is a Mexican professional wrestler who works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundia ...

, Averno, Dragón Rojo Jr.,

Mascara Dorada Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he performe ...

Místico Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...

Templario Templario (real name not revealed; born February 27, 1992) is a Mexican ''lucha libre, luchador wrestling mask, enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), currently working for Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CM ...

Ultimo Guerrero Ultimo may refer to: * Ultimo, New South Wales * Ulten, comune in Italy, Italian name ''Ultimo'' * Ultimo (Marvel Comics), comic books character * Ultimo (brand), Scottish designer lingerie brand * ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', a Japanese manga * Ul ...

and

Volador Jr. Ramón Ibarra Rivera (born January 26, 1981), better known by his ring name Volador Jr., is a Mexican ''Lucha libre, luchador'' (or professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''Face (professional ...

). At ''TRP The Spindle City Rumble'', an event promoted by

Top Rope Promotions Top Rope Promotions (formerly known as Yankee Pro Wrestling and South Coast Championship Wrestling) is a North Eastern independent professional wrestling promotion based in New Bedford, Massachusetts and is the largest promotion in the Southern N ...

on December 30, 2022, Baliyan competed in the Spindle City rumble won by Jora Johl and also involving notable opponents such as Elia Markopoulos, Bob Evans and many others.

Championships and accomplishments

Super Asia Championship The is a title defended in the ''joshi puroresu'' (Japanese women's professional wrestling) promotion Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. There have been a total of three recognized reigns and two interim reigns shared between four different wrestlers. The ...

( 1 time) **Interim

( 1 time) **

( 2 times, current) – with

Mei Suruga is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for the Japanese professional wrestling promotions Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling (TJPW) and Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Gatoh Move Pro Wrestling (2018–present) Sur ...

*''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...

'' **Ranked No. 378 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the ''

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

'' of 2023 *Wrestle Square **Wrestle Square Intercontinental Championship (3 times)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Akki, Baliyan 1995 births Living people Indian male professional wrestlers Sport wrestlers from Uttar Pradesh Sportspeople from Uttar Pradesh 21st-century professional wrestlers Super Asia Champions Asia Dream Tag Team Champions