is a Japanese wrestler. He is known for his work in
Dragon Gate. He previously went under the
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 ...
.
Professional wrestling career
Toryumon Mexico / Toryumon X / Toryumon / Dragon Gate (2002–2006)
Originally from the
Toryumon X promotion, Naoki Tanizaki debuted in a Toryumon Mexico show in December 2002. When Toryumon X made their Japanese landing in August 2003, Naoki debuted as a surfer (similar to
Genki Horiguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is currently a full-time wrestler for Dragon Gate. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor.
When Horiguchi's hairline began receding, the fans began t ...
) defeating Kenichi Hanai. After losing to Horiguchi, he partnered with Horiguchi as the Surfing Brothers for his final two appearances in Toryumon X.
The next month, Tanizaki made the jump to
Toryumon Japan as a part of El Numero Uno 2004. When Toryumon Japan became, Dragon Gate in July 2005, Tanizaki was the only Toryumon X graduate to fully integrate into Dragon Gate (prior to KAGETORA in 2009.) Due to his relationship with Horiguchi, appealed to join
Magnum TOKYO's Do FIXER stable. Magnum agreed provided that Tanizaki won one match out of a 10 match trial series. Tanizaki lost all 10 matches and was given a five match re-trial series. He lost all of his five matches. Despite losing all of his matches during his trial series, he joined Do FIXER stable and became
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 ...
's rival. He was soon overshadowed by
Shingo Shingo can refer to:
Religion
*Shingon Buddhism
Locations
*Shingō, Okayama (神郷町), a town located in Atetsu District, Okayama Prefecture, Japan
*Shingō, Aomori
is a village located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the village has an estima ...
and
BxB Hulk
, better known by his ring name BxB Hulk stylized as ( ), is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate. He was also known for his longstanding rivalry with Shingo Takagi.
Professional wrestling career
He was the seco ...
and showed signs of breaking into singles competition. He was recruited for
CIMA's Blood Generation stable and after showing
heelish
In professional wrestling, a heel (also known as a ''rudo'' in '' lucha libre'') is a wrestler who portrays a villain, "bad guy", or "rulebreaker", and acts as an antagonist to the faces, who are the heroic protagonist or "good guy" character ...
mannerisms, he eventually turned on his Do FIXER stablemates and joined up with CIMA in 2006. The night that he joined, Blood Generation split into two separate factions known as the
Muscle Outlaw'z
Muscle Outlaw'z, or MO'z for short, was a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, formed on April 23, 2006. It was founded by former Blood Generation members Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki, and Gamma, int ...
and CIMA's new version of the Blood Generation. Tanizaki joined up with Muscle Outlaw'z but soon had a losing streak against
Jack Evans and any other gaijin wrestler CIMA brought in. His contract was then terminated in July and he officially left in December.
Independent circuit (2006–2008)
Tanizaki quickly joined the El Dorado Wrestling roster, even though he continued to remain a freelance wrestler. He was out injured after his second match with the company, however. He joined up with
Shuji Kondo
is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweigh ...
upon returning. Parts of his freelancing included forays into
Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX
(stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. ...
,
Big Japan Pro Wrestling
(BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests.
History
Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasak ...
and
Kaientai Dojo
Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of puroresu that combines high-flying, technical wr ...
. In the latter, he joined the heel stable Omega. In 2008, he resigned from El Dorado.
Return to Dragon Gate (2008–2017)
Tanizaki once again signed with Dragon Gate six days after announcing he was becoming freelance again, as a result of being sacrificed to the newly arriving Magnitude Kishiwada just like in 2005. He signed an open contract, in which he competes on all Dragon Gate shows but is also free to compete elsewhere. Tozawa-juku offered him membership into their stable, but he ended up joining
Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
,
Masato Yoshino
is a retired Japanese professional wrestler, best known for working in Dragon Gate, where he was known as ''Speed Star''. Dragon Gate's second Grand Slam champion, having been a record six-time Open the Brave Gate Champion, four-time Open the ...
,
BxB Hulk
, better known by his ring name BxB Hulk stylized as ( ), is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate. He was also known for his longstanding rivalry with Shingo Takagi.
Professional wrestling career
He was the seco ...
and
m.c.KZ
KZY was a radio station located in Oakland, California, that was licensed to the Atlantic-Pacific Radio Supplies Company from December 9, 1921, until its deletion on January 24, 1923. It, and the Preston D. Allen station, KZM, were the first bro ...
in Doi & Yoshino's new faction WORLD-1.
On December 21, he fought
Cyber Kong
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He currently wrestles for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate under his real name.
Professional wrestling career
Cyber Kong's career started in 2006. He competed as an arm wre ...
in a Mask vs. Hair match, which he initially won after interference from
Cyber Kongcito backfired. Real Hazard (Kong's stable) came out to protest the result, but Cyber Kong said he would own up to the mask stipulation - except that it would be Kongcito's mask, not his. Kongcito was unmasked, beaten up, and kicked out of Real Hazard. Cyber Kong then demanded a restart, due to Kongcito's intrusion, and
CIMA came out, appointed the special referee, and agreed to let the match restart, since both Real Hazard and WORLD-1 had intruded in the match. Cyber Kong won, and Tanizaki lost his hair.
On August 30, 2009, he won his first title in his career when he defeated
KAGETORA in a tournament final to win the vacant
Open the Brave Gate Championship
The Open the Brave Gate Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate; it has a weight limit of , though it has been defended against heavier wrestlers in the past. It can be considered the secondary singles t ...
. He successfully defended the title six times before dropping it to
K-ness on January 11, 2010.
On June 13, 2010 he started showing some heel tendencies during his match against
Super Shisa
Yoshiyuki Saito (born April 9, 1970) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his ring name Super Shisa, currently wrestling for Dragon Gate. His gimmick is inspired by the Ryukyuan Shisa. He claimed to be a student of Toryumon alumni ...
where he used a low blow to set up for his Implant finisher. Later during the main event he almost cost his fellow World-1 teammate Masato Yoshino a chance at becoming the number one contender for
YAMATO
was originally the area around today's Sakurai City in Nara Prefecture of Japan, which became Yamato Province and by extension a name for the whole of Japan.
Yamato is also the dynastic name of the ruling Imperial House of Japan.
Japanese his ...
's Open The Dream Gate title by mistakenly hitting him with the Deep Drunkers signature Blue Box nearly costing him the match to Deep Drunkers leader
Takuya Sugawara
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero1.
Career
Toryumon/Dragon Gate (2001–2004)
He debuted in the 9th term of Toryumon 2000 Project as Henry III Sugawara, an English prince character. He joined with a ...
. On June 20, 2010 he teamed up with
Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
and
PAC to defeat the Warriors team of
Genki Horiguchi
is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is currently a full-time wrestler for Dragon Gate. He has also competed in Wrestling Society X and Ring of Honor.
When Horiguchi's hairline began receding, the fans began t ...
,
CIMA,
Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
to win the
Open the Triangle Gate Championship
The Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a professional wrestling trios title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It was created on November 7, 2004 when The Italian Connection faction of Milano Collection A.T., Anthony W. Mori and Yossino ...
for the first time. During the final moments of the match he once again used a low blow as a set up for his Implant finisher further teasing a heel turn. However, only 4 days later they were beaten in a rematch and lost the titles back to the former champions.
On August 5, 2010 he interfered in a match pitting his World-1 teammates Naruki Doi and Masato Yoshino against the Warriors team of CIMA and Gamma assisting them in gaining the victory without there consent and expressed anger towards them since no one from World-1 was in his corner for his dark match. On August 24, 2010 he accidentally cost his team the win against Deep Drunkers after a misfired Protein Powder attack struck
PAC leading to their loss, he quickly apologized to his partners after they questioned what was wrong with him lately and told them everything was fine. On August 29, 2010 he competed in a tournament to crown a new Open The Brave Gate Champion after Masato Yoshino vacated the title but fell to his Deep Drunkers rival Kzy in the first round. On September 3, 2010 he along with Naruki Doi and BxB Hulk challenged for the Open The Triangle Gate Championship but fell short after he was pinned following Genki Horiguchi's Backslide From Heaven. The team then argued with one another and agreed to face off in a Three Way Match on October 3.
On September 17, 2010 following another loss, Tanizaki finally snapped as he and his partner BxB Hulk argued over the loss and was stopped by Dr. Muscle who then attacked BxB Hulk and gave him an Implant, he offered a handshake to Tanizaki and was refused. Later on in the main event pitting his World-1 teammates Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi against K-ness and
Susumu Yokosuka
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate. He is not related to fellow Dragon Gate wrestler and long term ally/rival Masaaki Mochizuki, who debuted much earlier for WAR.
Professional w ...
for the Open The Twin Gate Championship he attacked both Yoshino and Susumu giving both men an Implant but then laying Yokosuka over Yoshino costing them the titles. He further cemented his betrayal of World-1 by joining up with The Deep Drunkers Stable thus completing his heel turn. On October 3, 2010 he went on to win the Three Way Match between himself, Hulk, and Doi following interference from his new Deep Drunkers teammates as he eliminated both men and went so far as to mock them by saying their diamonds were probably made of glass, a knock on the World-1 logo. On October 13, 2010, the Deep Drunkers were forced to split up, after losing a match against World–1 (BxB Hulk, Masato Yoshino and Naruki Doi), but after the match Doi turned on his partners to form a new stable with Tanizaki,
Yasushi Kanda
is a Japanese wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion in Japan. He is considered one of Toryumon's greatest heel characters, and was a founding member of the M2K stable. In his pre-injury days, he was famous for h ...
, Kzy and Takuya Sugawara. On October 25 Tanizaki, Kanda and Sugawara defeated
CIMA,
Gamma
Gamma (uppercase , lowercase ; ''gámma'') is the third letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals it has a value of 3. In Ancient Greek, the letter gamma represented a voiced velar stop . In Modern Greek, this letter re ...
and Genki Horiguchi to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship.
They would lose the title to CIMA,
Dragon Kid
is a Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate as .
Nakamura initially broke into the wrestling business with Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW), but was not allowed to be a wre ...
and
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 ...
on December 26, 2010. On January 14, 2011, Team Doi aligned themselves with the Warriors stable, who turned heel in the process.
On January 18 the new group was named Blood Warriors.
[ On July 17, Tanizaki attacked Open the Brave Gate Champion and member of rival group Junction Three, PAC, and stole his championship belt. Tanizaki then announced that since PAC was heading home to England for the next month, he would defend the championship in his place. Blood Warriors named the title the "Blood Warriors Authorized Open the Brave Gate Championship" with Tanizaki defending it in matches, where he only needed to score two counts to win them. On September 2, Tanizaki, Kzy and Naruki Doi defeated Gamma, Masato Yoshino and YAMATO to win the Open the Triangle Gate Championship. On September 16, the returning PAC defeated Tanizaki to regain possession of the Open the Brave Gate Championship. On January 8, 2012, Tanizaki was sidelined with a shoulder injury. The injury also led to Dragon Gate stripping Blood Warriors of their Open the Triangle Gate Championship on January 19.
Very shortly after Tanizaki was injured, his Blood Warriors stablemate ]Tomahawk T.T.
is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Gleat. He also previously worked for Oriental Wrestling Entertainment promotion under the ring name T-Hawk. He is also known for his work with Mexican promotion International Wrestlin ...
adapted Tanzaki's moveset, attire, and obtained fake tattoos that were copies of Tanizaki's. Blood Warriors claimed he was the real Naoki returning early from injury, but the slight change in spelling of his name (written as "谷崎なおき" instead of "谷嵜直樹", romanized with an "s" instead of a "z" in the last name) was used to indicate that Tanisaki was an imposter.
On March 1, the new leader of Blood Warriors, Akira Tozawa
Akira Tozawa (戸澤 陽, ''Tozawa Akira'', born July 22, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. He is a former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and WWE 24/7 Champion, winning the ...
, changed the stable's name to Mad Blankey
Mad Blankey, or MB for short, was a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, formed on March 1, 2012. It was founded by former Blood Warriors members Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk, Cyber Kong, Tomahawk T.T., and Kzy. On Augus ...
. Tanizaki returned on June 30, saving CIMA from Mad Blankey. The following day, he joined the Jimmyz stable. On September 23, Tanizaki lost the right to use his name, when he, Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito unsuccessfully challenged the Mad Blankey trio of Akira Tozawa, BxB Hulk and Naoki Tanisaki for the Open the Triangle Championship. As a result, Tanizaki lost the rights to his name. He attempted to rename himself to Naoki Jimmy, but Tanisaki claimed the right to choose Tanizaki's new name. Saying that Tanizaki's whining and crying reminded him of the "kyu kyu" noise a dolphin makes, he renamed Tanizaki to Mr. Kyu Kyu Toyonaka Dolphin.
Dolphin continued to team with the Jimmyz. On December 16, 2012, Dolphin won his first pinfall over Tanisaki, after Cyber Kong
is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He currently wrestles for Dragon Gate (wrestling), Dragon Gate under his real name.
Professional wrestling career
Cyber Kong's career started in 2006. He competed as an arm wre ...
, a stablemate of Tanisaki's, interfered in the match but inadvertently cost Tanisaki the match while trying to help him. On January 27, 2013, Dolphin defeated Naoki Tanisaki to regain the right to use his real name, while also earning the right to rename Tanisaki "Mr. Pii Pii Tomakomai Penguin". The rivalry culminated on February 11, when the Jimmyz defeated Mad Blankey in a five-on-five elimination tag team match, as a result of which Penguin was exiled from Dragon Gate. After the match, Tanizaki shook hands with Penguin and offered to team with him in the future. Tanizaki then also fought off Mad Blankey, when they turned on Penguin. Tanizaki then began working as "Mr. Kyu Kyu Naoki Tanizaki Toyonaka Dolphin" and formed a partnership with Penguin, with the two losing to Akira Tozawa and BxB Hulk in their first match together on February 15.
On October 8, 2015, Tanizaki betrayed the Jimmyz after his match with Jimmy K-Ness J.K.S. and joined VerserK, in the process ending the Mr. Kyu Kyu Toyonaka Dolphin gimmick and reverting to his real name. Over the course of 2017, Tanizaki was quietly removed from Dragon Gates official website before announcing his contract with the promotion expired in October.
Factions
*Do Fixer (2004–2006)
*Blood Generation (2006)[
*]Muscle Outlaw'z
Muscle Outlaw'z, or MO'z for short, was a professional wrestling stable in the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate, formed on April 23, 2006. It was founded by former Blood Generation members Naruki Doi, Masato Yoshino, Naoki Tanisaki, and Gamma, int ...
(2006)[
*Sukiyaki (El Dorado) (2007–2008)][
*World-1 (2008–2010)][
*Deep Drunkers (2010)][
*Blood Warriors (2011–2012)][
*Jimmyz (2012–2015)][
*VerserK (2015–2017)
]
Championships and accomplishments
*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 ...
**UWA World Trios Championship
The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...
(1 time) – with Ryota Nakatsu and Akiyori Takizawa (1)
*Dove Pro Wrestling
**Dove Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* Dragon Gate
:*Open the Brave Gate Championship
The Open the Brave Gate Championship is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate; it has a weight limit of , though it has been defended against heavier wrestlers in the past. It can be considered the secondary singles t ...
(1 time)
:*Open the Triangle Gate Championship
The Open the Triangle Gate Championship is a professional wrestling trios title in Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. It was created on November 7, 2004 when The Italian Connection faction of Milano Collection A.T., Anthony W. Mori and Yossino ...
(6 times) – with Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
and PAC (1), Yasushi Kanda
is a Japanese wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion in Japan. He is considered one of Toryumon's greatest heel characters, and was a founding member of the M2K stable. In his pre-injury days, he was famous for h ...
and Takuya Sugawara
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero1.
Career
Toryumon/Dragon Gate (2001–2004)
He debuted in the 9th term of Toryumon 2000 Project as Henry III Sugawara, an English prince character. He joined with a ...
(1), Kzy
KZY was a radio station located in Oakland, California, that was licensed to the Atlantic-Pacific Radio Supplies Company from December 9, 1921, until its deletion on January 24, 1923. It, and the Preston D. Allen station, KZM, were the first bro ...
and Naruki Doi
is a Japanese wrestler for Dragon Gate. He also wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA); in the former promotion, he was a one-time World Tag Team Champion with Shingo Takagi.
Career
Toryumon
Doi debuted in ...
(1), Genki Horiguchi H.A.Gee.Mee!! and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito (1), Jimmy Susumu
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate. He is not related to fellow Dragon Gate wrestler and long term ally/rival Masaaki Mochizuki, who debuted much earlier for WAR.
Professional ...
and Ryo "Jimmy" Saito (1), and Jimmy Kanda
is a Japanese wrestler currently performing for the Dragon Gate wrestling promotion in Japan. He is considered one of Toryumon's greatest heel characters, and was a founding member of the M2K stable. In his pre-injury days, he was famous for h ...
and Jimmy Susumu (1)
:* Blood Warriors Authorized Open the Brave Gate Championship (1 time)1
*Pro Wrestling BASARA
**Union Pro MAX Championship (1 time)
*Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out
Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out (JTO) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of puroresu that combines high-flying, submission wrestlin ...
**Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship that is being defended in various independent promotions in Japan. The title was originally created in 1993 by Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling.
There have been a total of forty-four reigns spread over ...
( 1 time)
1Championship not recognized by Dragon Gate.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tanizaki, Naoki
1978 births
Japanese male professional wrestlers
People from Toyonaka, Osaka
Living people
21st-century professional wrestlers
UWA World Trios Champions
Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champions
Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions
Union Max Champions
Open the Brave Gate Champions
Open the Triangle Gate Champions
International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions