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 o ...
, 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 has worked in
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 sha ...
(NJPW),
Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
(Noah) and
Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1).
Professional wrestling career
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1992–2000)
After being trained by
Animal Hamaguchi, Omori debuted in
All Japan Pro Wrestling, initially languishing in the mid-card and only able to get some recognition in 1995, when he and
Jun Akiyama captured the
All Asia Tag Team Championship. In 1998, he and newcomer
Yoshihiro Takayama formed the
NO FEAR
No Fear is an American lifestyle clothing brand that was created in 1989 by Mark Simo, Brian Simo, Boris Said, and Marty Moates. No Fear Inc. products are sold at various retail stores ancompany owned stores It also offers No Fear energy dri ...
tag team. The team soon won both the All Asia Tag Team Championship and the
World Tag Team Championship, becoming the first team to win both titles at the same time. When
Mitsuharu Misawa formed
Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
, they followed him and dyed their hair blond to match the change of environment.
Omori's first American venture was in the
World Wrestling Federation, where he competed in the
1996 Royal Rumble. He was eliminated by the returning
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is ...
.
Pro Wrestling Noah and other promotions (2000–2004)
For an undisclosed reason, Omori called for an early ending to his singles bout with
Shinya Hashimoto in the middle of their singles match at Noah's Great Voyage 2000 event, which was the company's most important event up to that point. Because of this, Omori was immediately in Misawa's doghouse, and after the NO FEAR team broke up (so Takayama could pursue
mixed martial arts
Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incor ...
matches) Omori was sent abroad to
Harley Race's
World League Wrestling promotion in the American Midwest, where he won the company's heavyweight title. During his excursion, Misawa continued to deny that Omori had been sent abroad by Noah, and Omori was not welcomed back to Noah when he returned from the excursion. As a result, Omori joined
Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling, where he
feuded with
Riki Choshu,
Genichiro Tenryu and
Kensuke Sasaki.
Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (2004–2008)
In 2004, he joined
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. I ...
, where he was one of the strong native competitors along with (fellow Hamaguchi Dojo classmate)
Shinjiro Otani. He has feuded with old team mate Yoshihiro Takayama, resulting in many bloody battles and
disqualifications. On March 8, 2007, he and
Manabu Nakanishi lost the
ZERO1-MAX Intercontinental Tag Team Championship to Yoshihiro Takayama and Kohei Sato. On March 31, 2007, he defeated
Steve Corino for the
AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship, becoming a
three-time champion. Nearly seven months to the day Omori won the AWA World Heavyweight championship, he would lose the title to
Masato Tanaka. On August 16, 2008 Omori announced that he was leaving ZERO1-MAX and taking a break from pro wrestling.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2009–2010)
This break would not last long, as Omori appeared at a
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 sha ...
show on March 15, 2009 to revive his team with Manabu Nakanishi. He also participated in the
2009 G1 Climax, pulling off two impressive victories in his first two matches by defeating both
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and eventual tournament winner
Togi Makabe. In January 2010 Omori announced his semi-retirement.
Freelancing (2010–2011)
Since semi-retiring, Omori had been wrestling select shows in various promotions, both mainstream and independent. In 2011, he has been wrestling semi-regularly with All Japan Pro Wrestling. Following the 2011 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, Omori appealed to Keiji Mutoh to officially join All Japan and Mutoh granted the request, officially rejoining All Japan.
Return to AJPW (2011–present)
Omori's first match back as an official member of the AJPW roster took place on December 25, 2011, teaming up with
Manabu Soya and
Seiya Sanada in a loss to
Akebono,
Keiji Mutoh, and
Super Delfin. On March 20, 2012, Omori and Soya defeated
Dark Cuervo and
Dark Ozz for the World Tag Team Championship. After losing the title to
Joe Doering and Seiya Sanada on May 20, Omori and Soya, known collectively as "Get Wild", regained the title on June 17. They vacated the title on October 30, in time for the
2012 World's Strongest Tag Determination League. On November 30, Get Wild won the tournament to regain the title. On December 11, Soya unsuccessfully challenged
Masakatsu Funaki
is a Japanese actor, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler known professionally as , who has previously wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi (PWFG), Newborn UWF (U ...
for the
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. As a result, Get Wild was forced to disband, despite still holding the World Tag Team Championship. Get Wild went on to lose the title to
Burning
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combustion ...
(
Go Shiozaki and Jun Akiyama) on March 17, 2013. Following Soya's resignation from AJPW, Omori revived his team with Akiyama, naming it "
Wild Burning" in January 2014. On February 8, Wild Burning unsuccessfully challenged
Evolution
Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
(Joe Doering and
Suwama
is a Japanese professional wrestler better known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he is a former record eight-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also ...
) for the World Tag Team Championship. On April 27, Omori won his first
Champion Carnival, defeating Jun Akiyama in the finals.
On June 15, Omori defeated Akiyama in a rematch to win the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time.
On June 28, Omori became only the sixth "Quintuple Crown Champion" in All Japan history, when he and Akiyama defeated Joe Doering and Suwama to win the World Tag Team Championship. However, the next day, Omori lost the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship to Suwama, ending his reign at just 14 days. After successfully defending the World Tag Team Championship against Akebono and
Yutaka Yoshie on October 22, Omori and Akiyama vacated the title the following day in time for the
2014 World's Strongest Tag Determination League. They regained the title by winning the tournament on December 6, defeating Go Shiozaki and
Kento Miyahara in the finals.
Wild Burning's second reign ended on March 22, 2015, when they were defeated by Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie. On January 1, 2016, Omori was appointed to the All Japan Board of Directors. On December 18, the reunited Get Wild defeated
Jake Lee and Kento Miyahara in the finals to win the
2016 World's Strongest Tag Determination League.
Championships and accomplishments
*
All Japan Pro Wrestling
:*
AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling six-man tag team championship owned by the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion. The championship was introduced on December 13, 2020, when Black Menso-re, Carbell Ito and Takao Omori defeated Daimonji So, ...
(
1 time) – with
Black Menso~re and
Carbell Ito
:*
All Asia Tag Team Championship (
3 times, current) – with
Jun Akiyama (1),
Yoshihiro Takayama (1) and
Masao Inoue (1)
:*
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship (
1 time)
[
:* World Tag Team Championship ( 7 times) – with Yoshihiro Takayama (1), Manabu Soya (3) and Jun Akiyama (3)
:* F-1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with ]Kannazuki
Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor. The written form starts with ...
1
:* Asunaro Tag Team Cup (1998) – with Jun Akiyama
:* Champion Carnival (2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
)[
:* January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (1997, 2014, 2017)]
:* World's Strongest Tag Determination League ( 2012, 2016) – with Manabu Soya
:* World's Strongest Tag Determination League (2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
) – with Jun Akiyama[
* DDT Pro-Wrestling
:* GAY World Anal Championship ( 1 time)
* European Wrestling Association
:* EWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
* ]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 sha ...
:* IWGP Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Manabu Nakanishi
:* Interim IWGP Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Manabu Nakanishi
* '' Nikkan Sports''
:* Best Tag Team Award (2012) with Manabu Soya
* '' Pro Wrestling Illustrated''
:* Ranked No. 66 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the '' PWI 500'' in 2000
* Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left th ...
:* GHC Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Yoshihiro Takayama
* 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. I ...
:* AWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times)
:* NWA Intercontinental Tag Team Championship ( 3 times)2 – with Shiro Koshinaka (1), Shinjiro Otani (1), and Manabu Nakanishi (1)
:* NWA United National Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)3
* '' Tokyo Sports''
:* Best Tag Team Award (2012) – with Manabu Soya
* World League Wrestling
:* WLW Heavyweight Championship
The World League Wrestling (WLW) Heavyweight Championship, is a professional wrestling championship in independent professional wrestling promotion World League Wrestling. It is the promotion's primary championship.
The championship is generally ...
( 1 time)
1Championship not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.
2Although the title still uses the NWA initials, it is not recognized or sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance since the promotion withdrew from the NWA in 2004.
3This title shouldn't be confused with the NWA United National Championship, a defunct NWA singles championship that is currently one of the three championships used to comprise the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Omori, Takao
Living people
Japanese male professional wrestlers
1969 births
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
GHC Tag Team Champions
All Asia Tag Team Champions
World Tag Team Champions (AJPW)
Triple Crown Heavyweight Champions
F-1 Tag Team Champions
20th-century professional wrestlers
21st-century professional wrestlers