Tomohiro Ishii

Tomohiro Ishii
Ishii in 2016
Born (1975-12-10) December 10, 1975 (age 48)[1][2]
Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Japan[1][2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Ishii[3]
Tomohiro Ishii[1]
Billed height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Billed weight100 kg (220 lb)[1][2]
Trained byGenichiro Tenryu[4]
Riki Choshu[1][2]
DebutNovember 2, 1996[1][2]

Tomohiro Ishii (石井 智宏, Ishii Tomohiro, born December 10, 1975)[1][2] is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He also makes additional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The Conglomeration stable. He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (Riki Pro) promotion, where he worked backstage as the chairman.[2]

Though pushed for most of his career as an undercarder without any major championship wins, Ishii gathered a cult following,[5][6][7] and in February 2013 was called "probably [one of the] most underrated guys in the business" by Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.[8] Ishii's status in NJPW finally began rising in early 2013, culminating in him winning his first title in the promotion, the NEVER Openweight Championship, in February 2014, a title he would later win a record six times. He went on to capture the IWGP Tag Team Championship on one occasion, and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship three times.

Through NJPW's working relationship with the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and the British Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW) promotions, he has also won the ROH World Television Championship once and is a two-time Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion.

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h 石井 智宏. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Wrestler". Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 14 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2013.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference CMLL80 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ 今晩放送!! 4月4日(木) 23時～、サムライTVにて、石井智宏があの天龍源一郎と師弟対談!!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 4 April 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2013.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference NJPW020313TokyoSports was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference NJPW020313SportsNavi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ 人気急上昇!! 石井智宏選手"初の単独イベント"に石井ファンが大集結!!（報告）. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 15 April 2013. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
  8. ^ Meltzer, Dave (11 February 2013). "Feb. 11, 2013 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Sammartino into the WWE Hall of Fame, UFC 156 fallout, TNA moving out of the Impact Zone, next New Japan iPPV, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 30. ISSN 1083-9593. The 2/3 main event saw Masato Tanaka retained the Never Open Weight title pinning Tomohiro Ishii in 23:27 with the Sliding D. That match was said to be as good if not better than any match at the Tokyo Dome. There were reports it was the best match so far this year. It was so good that many of the wrestlers came out of the dressing room to watch it. These are probably the two most underrated guys in the business.