(born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese

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 signed to

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) where he is a member of the ''

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Spanish for "The Ungovernables of Japan" and often spelled without the accent as ''Los Ingobernables de Japon'' in English-speaking countries), also shortened to ''L.I.J.'', is a Japanese professional wrestling stable, based in the New Japan ...

'' stable. Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked as a "Young Lion" over the following three years. In January 2014, Takahashi, renamed , was sent to the Mexican

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre 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 ...

(CMLL) promotion to further his wrestling training and gain international experience, a tradition with NJPW "Young Lions". In January 2016, he won his first professional wrestling championship, the

CMLL World Lightweight Championship The CMLL World Lightweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Ligero del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' wrestling promotion (franch ...

. After leaving CMLL he worked for the American

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

(ROH) until the fall of 2016, with Takahashi returning to NJPW in November 2016, once again working under his real name. Since his return, Takahashi has become a four-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a record four-time

Best of the Super Juniors The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...

tournament winner (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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Early life

Takahashi was born on December 4, 1989, in

Hachiōji is a Cities of Japan, city located in the Western Tokyo, western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 561,344, and a population density of 3000 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography ...

, a city in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

. At the age of 12 he became a fan of professional wrestling, especially

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for m ...

, who inspired Takahashi to work hard in school to become a member of the

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...

team.

Professional wrestling career

Takahashi attended

's (NJPW) annual open tryout test in May 2009. He passed the test and was accepted into the

NJPW Dojo (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares o ...

, where he trained in the same class as

King Fale Simi Taitoko Fale (born 8 January 1982) is a Tongan-New Zealand Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former rugby union player. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as . In NJPW, he is a List of NEVER Openweight 6-M ...

and

Kyosuke Mikami is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working under the ring name . He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a four time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion w ...

, who all made their in-ring debut around the same time.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2010–2013)

Takahashi was the last of the three

class of 2010 to debut for NJPW on August 24, 2010, at the '' NEVER.1'' show. He was defeated by Mikami in a short opening match. Takahashi followed the traditions of NJPW's "Young Lions" (their term for rookies), wrestling in all black trunks and boots, usually losing the majority of their matches as part of their ongoing training regiment. Takahashi would lose every match he competed in until February 6, 2011, when he teamed up with

Tomoaki Honma is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a two-time World Tag League winner with Togi Makabe. Professional wrestling career Big Japa ...

to finally win a match, defeating Fale and Mikami. Three weeks later, exactly six months after his debut, Takahashi finally won his first ever singles match as he defeated Kazuki Hirata of the

Dramatic Dream Team 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 ...

(DDT) promotion at '' NEVER.5''. A few months later Takahashi was given an opportunity to compete for a spot in NJPW's annual

tournament as he participated in the 2011 " Road to the Super Juniors" tournament, but was defeated in the first round by another DDT representative,

Keisuke Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT). Ishii also competes for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Professional wrestling career DDT (2008–pr ...

. On October 10, 2011, Takahashi and Mikami teamed up to defeat King Fale and

Takaaki Watanabe , better known by his ring name Evil (stylized as EVIL), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). After debuting in NJPW in 2011, Evil competed in the United States on excursion, working for ...

in the

dark match Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence ...

of the

Destruction '11 Destruction '11 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on October 10, 2011, in Tokyo, at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured eleven matches (including one dark match ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

event. In 2012

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

had originally qualified for the 2012 Best of Super Juniors, but was forced to withdraw from the tournament with Takahashi being named as his replacement. During the tournament Takahashi lost to

Alex Koslov Alex Sherman (born January 21, 1984) is a Moldovans, Moldovan-born retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and color commentator, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling under the ring name Alex Koslov. Koslov has mainly worke ...

Daisuke Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where is a former two-time DDT Universal Champion. In addition to that, in DDT, he is also a former three-time KO-D Openweight Champion, one-time DDT Extreme Champion ...

Brian Kendrick Brian David Kendrick (born May 29, 1979) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE. Kendrick is also known for his appearances with Ring of Honor (ROH), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), New Japan Pro-Wrestli ...

Jado (born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's careers have largely para ...

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestlin ...

Ryusuke Taguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, seven-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and three-time NEVER Op ...

, and

Tiger Mask is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...

and only defeated

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (with his first name usually stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Michinoku is known in North America for his work for the ...

. He would later team up with fellow "Young Lions" Mikami & Takaaki Watanabe to compete in the "J Sports Crown Openweight 6 Man Tag Tournament". The team lost to Madoka, Shinobu &

Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All Jap ...

in their first round match. On January 4, 2013, Takahashi competed in his first ever

January 4 Dome Show The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every Janua ...

, when he wrestled in a dark match of Wrestle Kingdom 7, teaming up with

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

& Tiger Mask, losing to the team of Bushi,

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 ...

& Ryusuke Taguchi. During the summer of 2013 he was once again allowed to compete in the annual Best of Super Juniors, but lost all matches, taking pinfalls against Jyushin Thunder Liger,

Prince Devitt A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

, Titán,

Taichi Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called "shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. Ta ...

Ricochet A ricochet ( ; ) is a rebound, bounce, or skip off a surface, particularly in the case of a projectile. Most ricochets are caused by accident and while the force of the deflection decelerates the projectile, it can still be energetic and almost ...

Beretta Fabbrica d'Armi Pietro Beretta (; "Pietro Beretta Weapon Factory") is a privately held Italian firearms manufacturing company operating in several countries. Its firearms are used worldwide for a variety of civilian, law enforcement, and militar ...

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 ...

, and

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...

. NJPW often sends their "Young Lions" on a learning excursion outside Japan, be it the United States of America, Europe or Mexico, and in the summer of 2013 it was Takahashi's turn. Initially he traveled to the United Kingdom where he worked regularly for a number of local British independent wrestling promotions.

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2014–2016)

Like his former wrestling school partner Mikami before him, Takahashi then traveled to Mexico to work with NJPW's partner promotion,

(CMLL) for an extended stay. During his stay in Mexico, he was given a new wrestling persona, a masked "

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

" or ''rudo'' character called

Kamaitachi is a Japanese yōkai often told about in the Kōshin'etsu region and can also refer to the strange events that this creature causes. They appear riding on dust devils and they cut people using the nails on both their hands that are like sick ...

, named after a Japanese supernatural monster, which his mask resembled. Much like Mikami before him, Takahashi was teamed up with CMLL's resident Japanese worker Okumura as part of '' La Fiebre Amarilla'' ("The Yellow Fever"). ''La Fiebre Amarilla'' primarily worked on the lower half of the show and often in six-man tag team matches. On July 13, 2014, Kamaitachi & Okumura challenged for the

CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship The CMLL Arena Coliseo Tag Team Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato de Parejas de la Arena Coliseo del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling Tag team championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion Consejo Mundial de Lu ...

, but were defeated by champions

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...

Guerrero Maya Jr. Guerrero Maya Jr. (Spanish for "Maya Warrior Junior", born August 8, 1985) is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), currently working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre ...

In early 2015, Kamaitachi started a storyline rivalry with Dragon Lee. The rivalry culminated on March 20 at ''

Homenaje a Dos Leyendas ''Homenaje a Dos Leyendas'' (Spanish for "Homage to Two Legends") is the collective name of a series of annual ''lucha libre'', or professional wrestling major show promoted by Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libr ...

'', where Kamaitachi was defeated by Lee in a Mask vs. Mask ''Lucha de Apuestas''. As per stipulation, Kamaitachi unmasked following the loss, revealing himself as Hiromu Takahashi. On May 1, Kamaitachi participated in the 2015 Reyes del Aire, where he and Dragon Lee eliminated each other via a double pin. On May 15, Kamaitachi was eliminated by

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 ...

in the first round ''

torneo cibernetico A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...

'' of the 2015 ''

Leyenda de Plata The ''Leyenda de Plata'' (Spanish for "the Silver Legend") is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1998. The tournament honors El Santo, ''Enmáscarado de ...

'' ("Silver Legend") tournament. On July 13, Kamaitachi unsuccessfully challenged Dragon Lee for the

. On January 23, 2016, Takahashi, billed as Kamaitachi, made a surprise return to NJPW during a CMLL and NJPW co-produced ''

Fantastica Mania 2016 ''Fantastica Mania'' 2016 was a series of six professional wrestling events in Japan, co-produced by the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), which took place between J ...

'' event, attacking Dragon Lee and challenging him to a title match. This marked his first NJPW appearance since May 2013. At the following day's ''Fantastica Mania 2016'' event, Kamaitachi defeated Dragon Lee to win his first professional wrestling title, the CMLL World Lightweight Championship. Following the match, Kamaitachi stated that he was not yet returning to NJPW, but would travel back to CMLL. On March 4, back in Mexico City, Kamaitachi lost the title back to Dragon Lee. The following month, it was reported that Takahashi was done with CMLL and had moved to the United States.

Ring of Honor (2016)

On April 30, 2016, Kamaitachi made his debut for

(ROH), losing to

A. C. H. Albert Christian Hardie Jr. (born December 7, 1987), is an American professional wrestler, currently known by his ring name A. C. H. He has wrestled for several American promotions, like Ring of Honor Wrestling (ROH), AAW: Professional Wrestli ...

On May 20, Kamaitachi made his debut for

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by wrestlers themselves, having been created by Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super Drago ...

(PWG), losing to

Michael Elgin Aaron Frobel (born December 13, 1986) is a Canadian professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Michael Elgin. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was a one-time GHC Tag Team Champion with Masa Kitami ...

. On September 3, Kamaitachi entered PWG's 2016 Battle of Los Angeles tournament, but was eliminated in his first round match by

Trevor Lee :not to be confused with actress Camryn Grimes who voices Mrs. Claus in Mickey Saves Christmas Trevor Lee Caddell (born September 30, 1993) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the NXT brand under the ...

. On June 24, 2016, Kamaitachi made his pay-per-view debut with Ring of Honor at Best In The World, losing to

Kyle O'Reilly Kyle Edward Greenwood (born March 1, 1987) is a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs under the ring name Kyle O'Reilly. He is also known for his time in Ring of Hono ...

by submission. On September 30, 2016, at ROH's

All Star Extravaganza VIII All Star Extravaganza VIII was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by Ring of Honor (ROH). It took place on September 30, 2016 at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell, Massachusetts. Wrestlers from Mexico's Consejo Mundial de L ...

, Kamaitachi lost to his old rival in CMLL, the debuting Dragon Lee.

Return to NJPW (2016–present)

In August 2016, a cryptic video started appearing on NJPW programming featuring a time bomb counting down to November 5, 2016. On November 5, 2016, at

Power Struggle In political science and political history, the term power vacuum, also known as a power void, is an analogy between a physical vacuum to the political condition "when someone in a place of power, has lost control of something and no one has repla ...

, Takahashi, once again working under his real name, made a surprise appearance after

had defeated Bushi to regain the

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...

, challenging the new champion to a match at

Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2017, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 26th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's ...

. On December 10, at the World Tag League finals, Takahashi accepted

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...

's offer to join the ''

'' (L.I.J.) stable. Takahashi wrestled his NJPW return match on December 16, pinning Kushida in a tag team main event, where he and Naito defeated Kushida &

Hiroshi Tanahashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...

. On January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Takahashi defeated Kushida to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He made his first successful title defense on February 11 at

The New Beginning in Osaka The New Beginning is an annual professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event has been held since 2011 as a pay-per-view (PPV). From 2013 to 2014, the event also aired outside Japan as an internet pay-per-view ...

against Dragon Lee. His next defense took place on March 6 at NJPW's 45th anniversary event, where he defeated Ryusuke Taguchi. Takahashi made his third defense on April 9 at

Sakura Genesis 2017 Sakura Genesis 2017 was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), which took place on April 9, 2017, in Tokyo at Ryōgoku Kokugikan. The event featured nine matches (in addition to one match on the pre-show), main ...

, defeating Kushida in just one minute and 56 seconds. His fourth successful defense took place against Ricochet on April 29. Takahashi suffered his first loss since his return to Japan on May 17, when he was defeated by longtime rival Dragon Lee in his opening match in the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Takahashi suffered further losses in the tournament against Ricochet and

Will Ospreay William Peter Charles Ospreay (born 7 May 1993) is an English professional wrestler who is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion in his first reign and leader of the ...

and failed to advance to the finals with a record of four wins and three losses. On June 11 at

Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 11, 2017, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall and was the ninth event under the Dominion name and third i ...

, Takahashi lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to the winner of the tournament, Kushida. In late 2017, Takahashi started teaming regularly with L.I.J. stablemate Bushi in NJPW's junior tag team division. On October 23, the two defeated Dragon Lee & Titán in the first round of the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. They were eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on October 30 by eventual winners

Roppongi 3K Roppongi 3K was a professional wrestling tag team made up of Japanese wrestlers Sho Tanaka, Sho and Yohei Komatsu, Yoh, active from 2013 to 2021 in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team division. They were managed by R ...

(

Sho Sho, Shō or SHO may refer to: Music * ''Shō'' (instrument) (笙), a Japanese wind instrument * ''Kane'' (instrument) (鉦), a Japanese percussion instrument * Sho?, a Dubai rock band People * Shō (given name), including ''Sho'' * Shō (su ...

& Yoh). At

Wrestle Kingdom 12 Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2018, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 27th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's ...

, he competed in a fatal-four-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was unsuccessful. Alongside Bushi, he was challenged for the Jr. Tag Team Championships but was unfortunately unsuccessful in the process. He then competed in the Best of the Super Juniors 2018, winning his block with five wins and two losses, defeating rival Kushida, and advancing to the finals. On June 4, Takahashi defeated

Taiji Ishimori is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestles as part of the Bullet Club. He is the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion in his third reign, and is also a one-time NEVER Openweight 6 ...

in the finals to win the 2018 Best Of The Super Juniors. The match received a 5 1/2 Star rating from Dave Meltzer. At Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo-Hall, Takahashi defeated

to win the

for a second time. On July 7, 2018 at the

G1 Special in San Francisco G1 Special in San Francisco was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 7, 2018, at the Cow Palace in the San Francisco suburb of Daly City, California. The event was broadcast on AXS ...

, Takahashi successfully defended his title against Dragon Lee, but it was reported after the match that Takahashi had suffered a broken neck because of a botched ''Phoenix-Plex''. It was reported that Takahashi would miss up 9 to 12 months of action due to the severity of the injury, and as a result, the title was declared vacant on August 20. 201911高橋ヒロム

On November 3, 2019 at

, Takahashi returned to NJPW to challenge Will Ospreay to a match at

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January ...

for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, which Ospreay accepted. His return match took place on December 19, 2019, during the Road to Tokyo Dome event, 530 days after his last match, with he and Bushi losing to Ospreay &

Robbie Eagles Robbie Eagles (ロビー・イーグルス　''Robī Īgurusu'', born 13 February 1990) is an Australian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, who currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Chaos (prof ...

. On January 4, 2020 at

, Takahashi defeated Ospreay to capture the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the third time in his career. On the second night of the event, he teamed up with Ryu Lee to defeat

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

Naoki Sano (born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...

, in what was Liger's

retirement match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or " gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

; after pinning Liger to win the match, Takahashi vowed to him that he would continue the legacy of the junior heavyweight division that Liger had started. At

Summer Struggle in Jingu Summer Struggle in Jingu was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on August 29, 2020, in Tokyo, Japan at Meiji Jingu Stadium. Background On March 1, 2020, NJPW suspended all future live ev ...

, he lost the title to Ishimori after holding the title for 238 days. In June, Takahashi entered the

New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax wh ...

for the first time. Despite being a Junior Heavyweight, Takahashi established heavyweight stars, such as

Toru Yano , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the provisional KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2 ...

and

Tomohiro Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He also makes additional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( ...

to advance to the semifinals. In the semi-finals, Takahashi was defeated by

Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese 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 dramati ...

. Takahashi would be announced as a participant in the Best of the Super Jr. tournament, which he won after defeating El Desperado in the finals. Immediately after, he called out the winner of the

Super J-Cup The Super J-Cup is a periodically held professional wrestling tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual Best of the Super Junio ...

(won by

El Phantasmo Riley Vigier (born October 24, 1986), otherwise known as El Phantasmo (ELP), is a Canadian professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is currently performing in the Junior Heavyweight division as part of Bu ...

), to a match at

Wrestle Kingdom 15 Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place over two nights, on January 4 and 5, 2021 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 30th Ja ...

, where the winner would go on to face Taiji Ishimori for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the second night. On night one of Wrestle Kingdom, Takahashi defeated Phantasmo, and on night two, he defeated Ishimori, beginning his fourth reign with the Junior Heavyweight Championship. However, Takahashi would suffer a torn pectoral muscle, vacating the title on February 25, 2021. On July 25 at

Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on July 25, 2021, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The event was originally scheduled to take ...

, Takahashi made his return from injury, announcing that he was medically cleared to return to in-ring competition, before challenging the winner of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between El Desperado and Robbie Eagles. Later that night, Eagles defeated Desperado to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, setting up his match against Takahashi. On August 27, Takahashi made his in-ring return from injury defeating

DOUKI , better known by his ring name Douki (stylised in ''all caps''), is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the '' Just 5 Guys'' stable. Douki was a part of the '' Suzuki-gun'' ...

. On September 5 at Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome Night 2, Takahashi unsuccessfully challenged Robbie Eagles for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. From November 13 until December 11, Takahashi took part in the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors, finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins, three losses, and a draw, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On December 15, Takahashi defeated Yoh in the finals to win the 2021 Best of the Super Juniors for the third time in the longest match of the tournament's history, while also becoming the second wrestler in the tournament's history to win back-to-back finals after

Tiger Mask IV is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for being the fourth man to portray . He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a former 6-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and 2-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team C ...

in 2004 and 2005. Takahashi received his title shot on Night 1 of

Wrestle Kingdom 16 Wrestle Kingdom 16 was a three-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2022, at the Tokyo Dome, in To ...

, where he lost to Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado. On Night 2, Los Ingobernables de Japon defeated Suzuki-Gun in a 6-man tag-team match. Takahashi once again entered the

in March, once again having an impressive showing against heavyweight stars, defeating

Minoru Suzuki (born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...

and the

NEVER Openweight Champion The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. NEVER is an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal", and "Radical" and was an NJPW-promoted series of events, which ...

Evil. In the quarterfinals, Takahashi lost to stablemate,

Shingo Takagi , known by his ring name Shingo Takagi (鷹木信悟, ''Takagi Shingo''), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former bodybuilder, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the provisional KOPW 2022 champion in his first ...

. Due to his win over Evil, Takahashi received a NEVER Openweight Championship match at Hyper Battle, but was defeated. In May, Takahashi entered the

, topping the A Block with 12 points. He once again met El Desperado in the finals, where he was victorious, therefore becoming the record winner of the tournament with four victories and breaking the record for the most amount of consecutive tournament wins at 3. Takahashi received his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at NJPW Road, but failed to win the championship from Taiji Ishimori. In June Takahashi and Takagi were scheduled to team with

Darby Allin Samuel Ratsch (born January 7, 1993), better known by the ring name Darby Allin, is an American professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a former and longest-reigning AEW TNT Champion. He is also known for his app ...

and

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

at AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, however Takahashi was pulled from the card after suffering from a fever. Instead in July, Takahashi made his

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 ...

debut in the USA, losing in a three-way match to El Desperado and Blake Christian. Takahashi defeated Christian once again at Music City Mayhem, a few days later.

Championships and accomplishments

Hiromu Takahashi IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion

( 1 time) *

( 4 times) **

(

) *''

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. 27 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 ...

'' in 2018 *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

'' **

Fighting Spirit Award The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

(2020) *WhatCulture Pro Wrestling **Pro Wrestling World Cup Japanese Qualifying (2017) - with

*''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four We ...

'' ** Best Gimmick (2017) as part of

** Non-Heavyweight MVP (2020)

''Luchas de Apuestas'' record

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Takahashi, Hiromu 1989 births Expatriate professional wrestlers in Mexico Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Masked wrestlers People from Hachiōji, Tokyo Sportspeople from Tokyo IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions CMLL World Lightweight Champions 21st-century professional wrestlers