is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

retired

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

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).

Professional wrestling career

Inoue made his debut on

in 1999. He aligned himself with New Japan Junior Seikigun, a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

created in order to counteract

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 ...

's Control Terrorism Unit in the latter half of 2005. Within this feud against the CTU, Inoue became known for his physical toughness after surviving a brutal

Brainbuster A brainbuster is a professional wrestling professional wrestling throws, throw in which a wrestler puts the opponent in a Professional wrestling holds#Front facelock, front facelock, hooks their pants or thigh, and lifts them up as if they were e ...

from

Fergal Devitt Fergal or Feargal are Irish, male given names. They are anglicized forms of the name Fearghal.Mairéad Byrne, Irish Baby Names – 25 Apr 2005 The arts * Fergal Keane, OBE (born 1961), Irish writer and broadcaster *Feargal Sharkey (born 1958), f ...

in a tag match with

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 Minoru as their respective partners. And another tag team match against

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...

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 ...

where he bled profusely from his eyebrow but still picked up for the submission victory for himself & his mentor Kanemoto. Along with making a name for himself in singles competition, he has also had success in tag team competition with

Koji Kanemoto (born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer. Professional wrestl ...

to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles in 2005. Inoue was injured February 2007 and did not return until July of the same year where he & his mentor Koji Kanemoto lost an IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title Match against

Kai En Tai Kai En Tai (also spelled Kaientai) was a professional wrestling stable made up of Japanese wrestlers Shiryu, Dick Togo and Men’s Teioh, later joined by Sho Funaki and Taka Michinoku. The group was managed by Yamaguchi-San when they were in t ...

. Inoue was pinned after a Michinoku Driver and was visibly disappointed with his effort, as he realized he had lived up to the "underachieving loser" label he had been given. He left New Japan for a learning excursion in Mexico and added strength (going from 185 to 208 pounds) and more of a lucharesu or technical style similar to that of

Dean Malenko Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme ...

, who Inoue admired growing up. He returned in November with his sights set on Ryusuke Taguchi and the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title with upgraded versions of his finishing moves at his disposal. The Staggerin' Blow was now a driver called the "Oracion Flame" & switched the roll that started the Triangle Lancer for a leg grapevine that would make it harder for his opponent to reach the ropes. On December 8, 2007, Inoue defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to capture his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight title, he defeated Taguchi in a rematch for the title on January 27, 2008. He vacated the title on June 16, 2008 after graduating to the heavyweight division and one day after winning the

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. Since turn heavyweight, Inoue struggled in the division to find some success. In the fall of 2009 Inoue joined

Yuji Nagata is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professional ...

Mitsuhide Hirasawa is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He is best known for his two stints with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and a brief stint with World Wrestling Council (WWC). Hirasawa wrestled as a fall guy, under the mask superhero, .Super Strong Machine (born December 20, 1956) is a retired Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a trainer for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, known primarily by his ring name . Career Hirata applied and was approved to ...

to form the stable

Seigigun was a professional wrestling stable in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, led by Yuji Nagata. History 2009 Seigigun was first formed in September 2009 as a branch of New Japan Seikigun ("regular army") that seeks justice. Upon the formation of the gr ...

("Blue Justice Army"). On May 3, 2010, at

Wrestling Dontaku 2010 Wrestling Dontaku 2010 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2010, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. The event featured nine matches (inclu ...

Inoue and Yuji Nagata defeated

No Limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

(

Yujiro Takahashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its sub-group House of Torture. Takahashi entered New Japan in November 2003 with an extensive amateur backgr ...

and

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 ...

) and Bad Intentions (

Giant Bernard Matthew Jason Bloom (born November 14, 1972) is an American retired professional wrestler and professional football player. He is currently signed to WWE, where he is the head trainer at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Bloom ...

and

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...

) in a three-way match to win the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

. On June 19 at

Dominion 6.19 Dominion 6.19 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 19, 2010, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. The event featured nine matches, three of w ...

, Inoue and Nagata lost the Tag Team Championship to Bernard and Anderson in a

three-way elimination 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 ...

, which also included No Limit. In September Mitsushide Hirasawa left for a learning excursion to Puerto Rico and his spot in Seigigun was given to newcomer

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 ...

. On October 22, 2010, Inoue and Nagata entered the 2010 G1 Tag League. After four wins and a loss, Inoue and Nagata won their block and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament, where, on November 7, they defeated the IWGP Tag Team Champions, Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson. In the finals of the tournament Inoue and Nagata defeated Tetsuya Naito and Yujiro Takahashi to win the 2010 G1 Tag League. As a result of their victory, Inoue and Nagata received a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship on December 11, 2010, but were defeated by the defending champions, Bad Intentions. On March 4, 2013, Inoue suffered a neck injury, which led to his announcement of his retirement from professional wrestling on February 2, 2014. He will remain with New Japan in a backstage role. On April 2, New Japan held an event commemorating Inoue's career, concluding with his retirement ceremony.

Championships and accomplishments

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 ...

( 1 time) **

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...

( 1 time) – with

(

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

) **

G1 Tag League __NOTOC__ The is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a spin-off of the popular singles tournament, the G1 Climax. It was created in 1991 as the Super Grade Tag League, as a continuation of ...

(

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

) – with Yuji Nagata *''

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. 118 of the top 500 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 2008

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Wataru 1973 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Sportspeople from Tokyo IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions