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Taka Michinoku

February 12, 2023

Takao Yoshida (吉田 貴男, Yoshida Takao) (born October 26, 1973),[1][2] better known by his ring name Taka Michinoku (Taka みちのく) (with his first name usually stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler[7] and former mixed martial artist. Michinoku is known in North America for his work for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) where he had the first ever WWF Light Heavyweight Championship reign recognized by the promotion. Michinoku is the founder and former promoter of Kaientai Dojo (now Active Advance Pro Wrestling), where he also primarily wrestled until 2019. In 2019, Michinoku started another promotion, Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out (JTO).[9] Michinoku has also appeared for New Japan Pro-Wrestling since 2011 where he was a member of Suzuki-gun.

Taka Michinoku
Michinoku in February 2017
Birth nameTakao Yoshida
Born (1973-10-26) October 26, 1973 (age 49)[1][2][3]
Morioka, Iwate, Japan[4]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Pepe Michinoku
Piza Michinoku
Taka
Taka Michinoku
Takako Michinoku[5]
Billed height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[6]
Billed weight201 lb (91 kg)[6]
Trained byThe Great Sasuke[7]
Gran Hamada[8]
DebutSeptember 4, 1992[1][2][3]

Having held championship titles in Japan, North America, Mexico and Europe, Yoshida is known for his long title reigns. He held the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Title for a combined duration of more than 15 months, the WWF Light Heavyweight Title for a then record-setting 10 months and the WEW Six-Man Tag Team Title for almost a year. Yoshida has held the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, Michinoku Pro Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship and Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) Strongest-K Championship simultaneously for almost 10 months. During his reign, he has defended his titles against both AJPW and independent circuit talent to increase his base of opponents, and thus has increased the reach of the World Junior Heavyweight Championship, which was closed off to outside competition in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Taka Michinoku took his name as a sign of respect for his mentor The Great Sasuke, who was the owner of Michinoku Pro Wrestling and had been the first to use Michinoku as part of his ring name. He debuted Wrestling International New Generations and Michinoku Pro Wrestling joint event by teaming up with Great Sasuke, they lost to Super Delfin & Terry Boy. He would later move to Federacion Universal De Lucha Libre and debuted by beating the team of Mongolian Yuga & Shiryu with Buffalo Chohe. Then he debuted for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in a six-man tag team match at Summer Spectacular in 1993. Michinoku would primary compete at MPW, UWF and FMW in his early career.[10]

His debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling came during Super J-Cup 1994 and was eliminated from the competition in the first round by Black Tiger. He competed in Best of the Super Juniors 1994 and only gained two points therefore losing the tournament. He also went up against Super Delfin for the CMLL World Welterweight Championship and had a J-Crown Title #1 Contendership match with Koji Kanemoto, both of which he lost.[11]

Michinoku's first title reign came in the form of the FMW Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he won by defeating Koji Nakagawa on May 5, 1996. He would lose the title to El Satanico after holding the title for one year and one month and defeating fellow young wrestlers Minoru Tanaka, Naohiro Hoshikawa and Hayato Nanjyo, he would later regain the championship two months later. He would vacate the championship to focus on the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.[11]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (1997, 1999)

Michinoku made his ECW and American debut on February 14, 1997, in a match where he teamed with Dick Togo & Terry Boy to defeat Gran Hamada, Gran Naniwa & The Great Sasuke. This three on three feud lasted until ECW Barely Legal 1997 Gran Hamada, Masato Yakushiji & The Great Sasuke would defeat the trio. This was also Michinoku's first pay per view appearance. After this Michinoku left the company to join the World Wrestling Federation.[12]

In 1999 Michinoku would return at ECW Cyberslam 1999 defeating Papi Chulo. He also wrestled Super Crazy at Hardcore Heaven 1999. Other matches include two tag matches teaming with Yoshihiro Tajiri, a Hardcore Heaven rematch with Super Crazy ending In another victory for Super Crazy, a loss against Jerry Lynn & his last two matches for ECW was in the form of two wins against Mosco de la Merced.[12]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (1997)

While competing in ECW and then in WWF, Michinoku also had a spell in CMLL in 1997, competing as a tecnico. In that period, two other Japanese wrestlers wrestled in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, namely Ultimo Dragon and Yoshihiro Tajiri. Michinoku fought between the others The Headhunters and Val Venis, at the time using the mask of Steele. In the summer of 1997, both Taka Michinoku and Yoshihiro Tajiri moved to World Wrestling Federation.

World Wrestling Federation (1997–2001)

Light Heavyweight Champion (1997–1998)

He made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on July 6, 1997, at the WWF pay-per-view Canadian Stampede losing to The Great Sasuke but getting a huge reaction from the crowd. He lost a rematch to Sasuke the following night on Raw. He was entered in the WWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament where the winner would become the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion, he beat Devon Storm in the quarterfinal, Aguila in the semifinal. On December 7, 1997, Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher at D-Generation X: In Your House to become the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion recognized by the WWF.[12][13] Taka successfully defended the WWF Light Heavyweight Title at No Way Out of Texas: In Your House against Pantera, at WrestleMania XIV against Aguila and against multiple different opponents on Raw is War and Shotgun Saturday Night.[14] After holding the title for more than 10 months, Michinoku lost the title to Christian at Judgment Day: In Your House on October 18.[12]

Kaientai (1998–2001)

Main article: Kai En Tai

Taka started to become "Americanised" and on Raw, he teamed with Bradshaw and segments where shown of Taka and Bradshaw doing generalised and stereotyped American activities. He was attacked by Kai En Tai for unknown reasons, and their alliance with Taka in Japan was not mentioned. Taka began feuding with Kai En Tai. Michinoku would team up with Bradshaw to take on Dick Togo, Mens Teioh & Shoichi Funaki at Over the Edge: In Your House only to be defeated.[12] He would then also team up with The Headbangers to defeat Togo, Teioh & Funaki at King of the Ring.[12] With Kai En Tai also feuding with Val Venis the pair teamed up to take on Togo and Funaki in a tag team match, Taka made a swerve, however, by turning against Venis, proclaiming that Mrs. Yamaguchi-San was his sister. Venis was dragged backstage by Kaientai to be castrated, though the audience did not see what happened next. A few weeks later Michinoku was involved in a gauntlet match with Togo, Teioh and Funaki to defeat Venis. Michinoku once again teamed up with Togo, Teioh and Funaki to go against The Oddities (Giant Silva, Golga & Kurrgan) at SummerSlam 1998 only to lose the match. With Kai En Tai in 1998 he had multiple chances to become a champion, going up against Christian and Duane Gill for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship and X-Pac for the WWF European Championship.[12]

After Togo, Teioh and both Yamaguchis left the WWF, Michinoku and Funaki began wrestling as a tag team using the name Kaientai. They were primarily comedy jobbers, best known for their "Indeed!" skits in which voices in English were dubbed by Bruce Prichard into their promos while they badly lip-synced. Their first tag team match together came in the form of a loss to the Hardy Boyz. At WrestleMania 2000 the pair were part of a hardcore battle royal for the WWF Hardcore Championship, Funaki even became the Hardcore champion for a small amount of time however Michinoku never held the title.[12] Taka's biggest venture in WWF came when he challenged Triple H for the WWF Championship on the April 10, 2000 edition of Raw, coming up short despite interference on his behalf from Funaki and the Acolytes Protection Agency. In 2000 they had a chance to become the number one contenders for the WWF World Tag Team Championship in a number one contendership battle royal in which The APA won. In 2001 KaiEnTai took on the Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship but failed to capture them. In 2000 and 2001 Michinoku had multiple opportunities to become the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion taking on Dean Malenko, Jeff Hardy and others. In their last match together as KaiEnTai, due to Michinoku leaving the WWF, they defeated Justin Credible and Raven on the October 20, 2001 edition of WWF Jakked.[12]

Kaientai Dojo (2002–2019)

After departing from the WWF in early 2002, Michinoku returned to Japan to rehabilitate a serious shoulder injury.

On May 19, 2002, Michinoku debuted for Kaientai Dojo at K-Dojo New Talent Presentation where Michinoku had several matches with four new K-Dojo talents and won all four matches.[15] In June, Michinoku took part in CLUB-K Super Take tournament and would be knocked out by Daigoro Kashiwa. In March 2003, Michinoku teamed up with Mr. X5 to take part in UWA/UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship number one contendership tournament and were eliminated in the second round by MIYAWAKI and Ofune.[16]

On January 10, 2005, Michinoku defeated Kaz Hayashi for the Strongest-K Championship, the highest honor one can achieve in Kaientai Dojo. Michinoku started a feud with Kazma, which led to several championship matches between the two where Michinoku would come out on top. He would go on to beat Bambi in the finals of Strongest-K 2005.[16] The beginning of 2006 proved to be a problem for Michinoku as on January 6, 2006, he would lose the Strongest-K Championship to JOE, holding the championship for almost one year and making him the longest Strongest-K Champion up to that point.[16]

However, after losing the championship, a few months later on June 4, 2006, Michinoku teamed up with TOMO Michinoku to beat Shiori Asahi and Makoto Oishi to win the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship and would lose the championship to Apple Miyuki and YOSHIYA almost a month later on July 8.[16] K-DOJO was separated into two distinct sides, GET and RAVE, which ran separate shows but often joined during large shows and tours and GET was led by Taka Michinoku while RAVE's leader was Hi69. Michinoku participated in the GET block of Strongest-K 2006, Michinoku gained four points and therefore did not progress forward. Michinoku teamed up with TAKU Michinoku to take part in a four-way match for the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship and lost.[16]

2007 kicked of for Michinoku in the form of a New Year battle royal, which was won by Boso Boy Raito.[16] Michinoku teamed up with Kazma to take part in the GET block part of K-DOJO Tag League 2007, the pair reached the final before being eliminated by Makoto Oishi and Shiori Asahi. After Hi69's departure, Taka Michinoku became commissioner of RAVE and 296 became commissioner of GET. On April 22, 2007, RAVE ran its last show; the two brands merged and now run joint shows. Michinoku would go on to win Strongest-K 2007 after defeating Yuji Hino in the final. With this win, he went on to take on Strongest-K champion Kengo Mashimo in September and lost.[17]

Michinoku would bounce back from this defeat by teaming up with JOE and defeated Kengo Mashimo and Madoka to become the Strongest-K Tag Team Champions in November.[17] Michinoku and JOE would begin calling themselves Handsome. At the same time Michinoku and Dick Togo became the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions for New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Handsome and Strongest-K Tag Team Championship was put on the back burner somewhat. In the beginning of 2008 Handsome took part in K-DOJO Tag Tag League 2008 and were eliminated in the first round by Kazma and Yuji Hino. During this time, Michinoku and Togo lost their championship and Handsome would compete a lot more because of it.[17] They would defend their championship against other factions such as Omega and Gekirin. However, on June 20, 2008, Handsome would lose the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship to Omega's Kazma and Miyawaki.[17] Handsome would regain the championship a few months later on August 31.[17] They would lose it to Omega once again with Makoto Oishi & Shiori Asahi defeating them on December 14.[18] Handsome would take part in K-DOJO Tag Team League 2009 but didn't progress further. Michinoku won Strongest-K next challenger tournament and went on to beat Kengo Mashimo to become a two time Strongest-K Champion. Michinoku finally lost the championship to his longtime rival Kazma on October 10, 2009.[18] In late 2009, Handsome went separate ways.[18]

Michinoku teamed up with Taishi Takizawa in K-DOJO Tag League 2010 and reached the final before being eliminated by Daigoro Kashiwa and Kengo Mashimo and would lose to Kengo Mashimo again in Strongest-K 2010.[18] Michinoku would be part of multiple number one contendorship matches for the Strongest-K Championship and also participated in Strongest-K tournament 2011 but lost all.[19] Michinoku and Quiet Storm took on Ryuichi Sekine & Saburo Inematsu in a match for the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship and lost.[19] Michinoku teamed with Kengo Mashimo to become the Strongest-K Tag Team Champions and would go on to win the K-DOJO Tag League 2012.[19] Michinoku and Kengo teamed with Isami Kodaka to become the Chiba 6 Man Tag Team Champions.[20] They would lose the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship to Saburo Inematsu and Yuji Hino. He would lose to Taishi Takizawa in the semifinal of Kaio Tournament.[19] On October 14, 2012, Michinoku celebrated his twentieth anniversary in professional wrestling with a six-man tag team match, where he, Cima and Funaki were defeated by Minoru Suzuki, Nosawa Rongai and Taichi.[21] On April 14, 2013, Michinoku defeated Yuki Sato to win the UWA World Middleweight Championship for the first time.[22] On May 11, he defeated Nanjyo Hayato in a title vs. title match to also win the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship for the third time.[23] Michinoku lost the UWA title to Ryuichi Sekine on August 11.[24] On November 10, he once again became a double champion, when he and Kaji Tomato defeated Kazma Sakamoto and Kengo Mashimo for the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship.[25] They, however, lost the title to Hiroshi Fukuda and Shiori Asahi just six days later.[26] Michinoku and Tomato regained the title from Fukuda and Asahi on January 26, 2014.[27] On March 2, Michinoku and Tomato lost the title to Hiroki and Yuji Hino.[28] On September 6, Michinoku lost the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Teppei in his seventeenth title defense.[29] On July 12, 2015, Michinoku won the Strongest-K Tag Team Championship alongside Men's Teioh.[30]

In November 2018, it was revealed Michinoku had an extra-marital relationship of 8 years with a woman. After this scandal, K-Dojo fired Michinoku from the administration and a one-year payment suspension.[31] On January 22, 2019, Michinoku also left the promotion, working as a freelancer.[32]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2003–2010, 2017)

Michinoku debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling in August 2003.[33] `He would quickly join the stable called Roughly Obsess and Destroy (RO&D). He would regularly team up with The Gladiator and Gigantes, which led to Michinoku and Gigantes gaining a shot at the World Tag Team Champions Arashi and Keiji Muto on September 6 at AJPW Summer Action Series II.[33] Michinoku would go on to team up with D'Lo Brown to take part in World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2003 and gained a total of six points, not enough to progress to the next stage.[33] At AJPW Excite Series 2004, Michinoku took on Kaz Hayashi in a match for the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship, which Hayashi won.[33] On January 10, 2005, Michinoku took on Hayashi in an all or nothing match where the Strongest-K Championship and World Junior Heavyweight Championship were on the line and Michinoku won.[34] With this win and many more successes, RO&D would dominate AJPW, which led to an AJPW vs RO&D best of three falls match, which RO&D won.[34] Michinoku teamed up with RO&D honorary member PSYCHO to take part in All Asia Tag Team Championship tournament and reached the second round before being eliminated by Katsuhiko Nakajima and Tomoaki Honma.[34] On October 22, 2005, Michinoku would lose the World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Shuji Kondo.[34] Michinoku would team up with RO&D enemy Kaz Hayashi to take part in World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2006 but with only five points the pair didn't progress to the next stage.[35] Michinoku gained only four points in the AJPW Junior League 2006 and therefore didn't progress.[35] In late 2006, RO&D disbanded. After RO&D Michinoku participated in World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2006 and teamed up with former RO&D member Taiyo Kea and gained only five points and didn't progress further.[35]

Pepe Michinoku (Taka Michinoku), El Nosawa Mendoza, and Miguel Hayashi Jr formed a team during the AJPW Champion Carnival called Mexico Amigos.[36] El Hijo del Araya Segundo (Nobutaka Araya) joined the team after Six-Man Action between Mexico Amigos and Araya/Fuchi/Hirai at the Carnival's final show. After multiple bouts against Minoru Suzuki, Nosawa (NOSAWA Rongai) offered Suzuki an invitation into Mexico Amigos, to which he declined. This resulted in the group changing multiple assets. Their name was changed to Mexico Amigos Black, the previous worn Mexican Flag attire became Black and Gold attire, and Nobutaka Araya was kicked out of the group.[36] At the AJPW's December 16, 2007 "Fan Appreciation Day" show, The Mexico Amigos teamed with "Ray Suzuki" and defeated Ryuji Hijikata, Kikutaro, T28 and Ryuji Yamaguchi. After the match, Ray Suzuki revealed himself as Minoru Suzuki and stated the starting next year he would throw his Amigos tights away and return to Nosawa Rongai, then kidnapped him to start early training. This led to Pepe and Miguel stating they would return to Mexico, but Kaz and Taka would return come the new year.[36] After one last "Viva Mexico" Mexico Amigos disbanded.[36]

Between 2008 and 2009, Michinoku would sporadically compete at All Japan, which included Nobutaka Araya retirement show.[36] In 2010, he lost to Kaz Hayashi in a match for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship and would also participate in AJPW Junior League 2010.[36] At AJPW Summer Explosion 2017, Michinoku made his return to AJPW and won the All Asia Tag Team Championship with Black Tiger VII.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2007–present)

In the beginning of 2007, Michinoku would team up sporadically at New Japan events with Kaientai Dojo wrestler Dick Togo.[37] On May 2, 2007, Michinoku and Togo would beat tag team legends Gedo and Jado to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. The pairing would defend the championships on both New Japan events but also Kaientai events too.[37] Although holding the championships for several months, Michinoku and Togo would rarely compete for New Japan and only wrestled in matches for the championships, however, the pair would still regularly compete for Kaientai Dojo. After several defences against the likes of Koji Kanemoto and Wataru Inoue, the pair finally lost the championships to Control Terrorism Unit members Prince Devitt and Minoru.[37]

 
Michinoku with Suzuki-gun in February 2012

In late 2010, Michinoku returned to New Japan and began teaming up with Satoshi Kojima, Nosawa Rongai and Taichi to form Kojima-gun in early 2011.[38] On February 20, 2011, at The New Beginning, Michinoku took on Prince Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, which Devitt retained. Michinoku teamed up with Taichi to take on Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and lost. After Satoshi Kojima lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom V, Kojima suffered another big loss against longtime rival Togi Makabe on May 3 and following the match, Michinoku and Taichi entered the ring and attacked Kojima, who quickly took care of both of them. This led to the surprise return of freelancer Minoru Suzuki, who appeared behind Kojima and locked him in a sleeper hold, before leaving the ringside area with Michinoku and Taichi, who proclaimed Suzuki as their new leader and renamed the stable "Suzuki-gun".[39] Michinoku participated in Best Of The Super Juniors XVIII and gained eight points but not enough to progress to the semifinal. Michinoku and Taichi became a tag team in New Japan's junior heavyweight tag team division. On September 11, 2011, the pair would take on Apollo 55 for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and for the second time running lost. At Power Struggle, Michinoku for the second time took on Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and for the second time lost.[40] At Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, Michinoku and Taichi teamed up with Atlantis and Valiente to lose to Jyushin Thunder Liger, Kushida, Máscara Dorada and Tiger Mask.[41]

 
Michinoku in September 2014

Both Michinoku and Taichi participated in Best of the Super Juniors XIX, however, neither progressed to the semifinal. After their elimination from the tournament, Michinoku and Taichi had set their sights on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were, on June 16 at Dominion 6.16, defeated by Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask in a match for the vacant championship.[42] In August, Michinoku and Taichi began blaming each other for their recent losses, which led to the two agreeing to a match, where the loser would be expelled from Suzuki-gun.[43] The match took place on August 22 at Michinoku's Kaientai Dojo promotion, but ended without a winner as Minoru Suzuki interrupted the match and got the two men to make peace with each other.[44] Taka and Taichi participated in Super Junior Tag Tournament 2012 and made it to the semifinal before losing to the Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and Kushida). From late May to early June 2013, Michinoku took part in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors. After originally failing to advance from his block, Michinoku was given a spot in the semifinals, after original block winner Ryusuke Taguchi suffered a hip injury. He was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on June 9 by Alex Shelley.[45] On July 20, Michinoku and Taichi received another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the defending champions, the Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero).[46] On September 29 at Destruction, Michinoku and Taichi failed to earn another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, when they were defeated in a number one contender's match by Time Splitters.[47] However, when Alex Shelley was sidelined with an injury,[48] Michinoku and Taichi were given the title shot and, on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling, defeated the Forever Hooligans to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[49] Michinoku and Taichi made their first successful title defense on November 1, defeating Gedo and Jado at their self-produced independent event.[50] After a reign of 26 days, Michinoku and Taichi lost the title to The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on November 9 at Power Struggle.[51]

In January 2015, Suzuki-gun entered a storyline, where the entire stable invaded the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion.[52] Michinoku and El Desperado won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on March 15 by defeating Choukibou-gun (Hajime Ohara and Kenoh) and No Mercy (Daisuke Harada and Genba Hirayanagi) in a three-way match.[53] They lost the title to Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada in their fifth defense on October 4.[54] Suzuki-gun's Noah invasion storyline concluded in December 2016,[55] which led to the stable's return to NJPW on January 5, 2017.[56] In May, Michinoku took part in the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors, where he finished second to last in his block with a record of two wins and five losses.[57] From March 2018 until May 2019, he was the manager and occasional tag team partner of Zack Sabre Jr.

In May 2019, Michinoku participated in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors. Going winless in his first 5 matches, he injured his ankle during his 6th match against Shingo Takagi. He would then forfeit his remaining matches, finishing the tournament with 0 wins and 9 losses.[58] Michinoku would disappear shortly after to focus on starting his new promotion, Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out.[59]

In November 2021, through the NJPW website, it was announced that Michinoku would return after 2 years and 6 months away to participate into the World Tag League tournament, with his partner being his "boss" and teammate Minoru Suzuki.[60] The duo finished their Tag League campaign at the bottom of the block with 0 points, failing to win a single match.[61] On January 4 2022 at night one of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Michinoku competed in the New Japan Rambo but failed to last till the final 4.[62]

In March, Michinoku competed in the New Japan Cup, losing to Cima in the first round.[63] Michinoku continued to team with his Suzuki-gun stablemates for the remainder of the year in mainly tag-team matches. In December 2022, at the World Tag League & Best of the Super Juniors finals, Minoru Suzuki announced the disbandment of Suzuki-gun by the end of the year.[64] The final match between the faction took place on December 23, where the team of Taichi, Sabre Jr, Kanemaru and Douki defeated Suzuki, Archer, Desperado and Michinoku. After the match, each of the Suzuki-gun members spoke about their memories as a part of the group and thanked leader Suzuki. The night ended with all members posing with the Suzuki-gun flag, only to be interrupted by former member Takashi Iizuka, causing all 9 men to pose in the ring, behind the Suzuki-gun flag, which was raised by Michinoku.[65]

Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out (2019-present)

On April 12, 2019, Yoshida announced that he would be creating a new promotion, called Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out (JTO).[59] They held their first show on July 8, 2019, in Korakuen Hall, where Yoshida (still wrestling as Taka Michinoku) was defeated by Minoru Suzuki.[66] Although the second and later rounds were delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic, on August 14, 2020, Michinoku won the 'Only Give Up Tournament' by defeating Hayato Tamura.[67]

 
Michinoku holding the Suzuki-gun banner in March 2014

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown
1 match 0 wins 1 loss
By knockout 0 0
By submission 0 1
By decision 0 0
By disqualification 0 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 0-1 Keiichiro Yamamiya Submission (keylock) Pancrase: Alive 4 April 27, 1997 1 7:36 Tokyo, Japan

References

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External links

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taka Michinoku.
  • Kaientai Dojo profile
  • TAKA Michinoku's New Japan Pro-Wrestling profile
  • Taka Michinoku's profile at Cagematch.net, Internet Wrestling Database

February 12, 2023
taka, michinoku, takao, yoshida, 吉田, 貴男, yoshida, takao, born, october, 1973, better, known, ring, name, taka, みちのく, with, first, name, usually, stylized, capital, letters, japanese, professional, wrestler, former, mixed, martial, artist, michinoku, known, nor. Takao Yoshida 吉田 貴男 Yoshida Takao born October 26 1973 1 2 better known by his ring name Taka Michinoku Taka みちのく with his first name usually stylized in all capital letters is a Japanese professional wrestler 7 and former mixed martial artist Michinoku is known in North America for his work for the World Wrestling Federation WWF now WWE where he had the first ever WWF Light Heavyweight Championship reign recognized by the promotion Michinoku is the founder and former promoter of Kaientai Dojo now Active Advance Pro Wrestling where he also primarily wrestled until 2019 In 2019 Michinoku started another promotion Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out JTO 9 Michinoku has also appeared for New Japan Pro Wrestling since 2011 where he was a member of Suzuki gun Taka MichinokuMichinoku in February 2017Birth nameTakao YoshidaBorn 1973 10 26 October 26 1973 age 49 1 2 3 Morioka Iwate Japan 4 Professional wrestling careerRing name s Pepe MichinokuPiza MichinokuTakaTaka MichinokuTakako Michinoku 5 Billed height5 ft 8 in 173 cm 6 Billed weight201 lb 91 kg 6 Trained byThe Great Sasuke 7 Gran Hamada 8 DebutSeptember 4 1992 1 2 3 Having held championship titles in Japan North America Mexico and Europe Yoshida is known for his long title reigns He held the FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Title for a combined duration of more than 15 months the WWF Light Heavyweight Title for a then record setting 10 months and the WEW Six Man Tag Team Title for almost a year Yoshida has held the World Junior Heavyweight Championship Michinoku Pro Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship and Kaientai Dojo K Dojo Strongest K Championship simultaneously for almost 10 months During his reign he has defended his titles against both AJPW and independent circuit talent to increase his base of opponents and thus has increased the reach of the World Junior Heavyweight Championship which was closed off to outside competition in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s Contents 1 Professional wrestling career 1 1 Early career 1 2 Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 1999 1 3 Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre 1997 1 4 World Wrestling Federation 1997 2001 1 4 1 Light Heavyweight Champion 1997 1998 1 4 2 Kaientai 1998 2001 1 5 Kaientai Dojo 2002 2019 1 6 All Japan Pro Wrestling 2003 2010 2017 1 7 New Japan Pro Wrestling 2007 present 1 8 Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out 2019 present 2 Championships and accomplishments 3 Mixed martial arts record 4 References 5 External linksProfessional wrestling career EditEarly career Edit Taka Michinoku took his name as a sign of respect for his mentor The Great Sasuke who was the owner of Michinoku Pro Wrestling and had been the first to use Michinoku as part of his ring name He debuted Wrestling International New Generations and Michinoku Pro Wrestling joint event by teaming up with Great Sasuke they lost to Super Delfin amp Terry Boy He would later move to Federacion Universal De Lucha Libre and debuted by beating the team of Mongolian Yuga amp Shiryu with Buffalo Chohe Then he debuted for Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in a six man tag team match at Summer Spectacular in 1993 Michinoku would primary compete at MPW UWF and FMW in his early career 10 His debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling came during Super J Cup 1994 and was eliminated from the competition in the first round by Black Tiger He competed in Best of the Super Juniors 1994 and only gained two points therefore losing the tournament He also went up against Super Delfin for the CMLL World Welterweight Championship and had a J Crown Title 1 Contendership match with Koji Kanemoto both of which he lost 11 Michinoku s first title reign came in the form of the FMW Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship which he won by defeating Koji Nakagawa on May 5 1996 He would lose the title to El Satanico after holding the title for one year and one month and defeating fellow young wrestlers Minoru Tanaka Naohiro Hoshikawa and Hayato Nanjyo he would later regain the championship two months later He would vacate the championship to focus on the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship 11 Extreme Championship Wrestling 1997 1999 Edit Michinoku made his ECW and American debut on February 14 1997 in a match where he teamed with Dick Togo amp Terry Boy to defeat Gran Hamada Gran Naniwa amp The Great Sasuke This three on three feud lasted until ECW Barely Legal 1997 Gran Hamada Masato Yakushiji amp The Great Sasuke would defeat the trio This was also Michinoku s first pay per view appearance After this Michinoku left the company to join the World Wrestling Federation 12 In 1999 Michinoku would return at ECW Cyberslam 1999 defeating Papi Chulo He also wrestled Super Crazy at Hardcore Heaven 1999 Other matches include two tag matches teaming with Yoshihiro Tajiri a Hardcore Heaven rematch with Super Crazy ending In another victory for Super Crazy a loss against Jerry Lynn amp his last two matches for ECW was in the form of two wins against Mosco de la Merced 12 Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre 1997 Edit While competing in ECW and then in WWF Michinoku also had a spell in CMLL in 1997 competing as a tecnico In that period two other Japanese wrestlers wrestled in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre namely Ultimo Dragon and Yoshihiro Tajiri Michinoku fought between the others The Headhunters and Val Venis at the time using the mask of Steele In the summer of 1997 both Taka Michinoku and Yoshihiro Tajiri moved to World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Federation 1997 2001 Edit Light Heavyweight Champion 1997 1998 Edit He made his World Wrestling Federation WWF debut on July 6 1997 at the WWF pay per view Canadian Stampede losing to The Great Sasuke but getting a huge reaction from the crowd He lost a rematch to Sasuke the following night on Raw He was entered in the WWF Light Heavyweight Title Tournament where the winner would become the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion he beat Devon Storm in the quarterfinal Aguila in the semifinal On December 7 1997 Michinoku defeated Brian Christopher at D Generation X In Your House to become the first WWF Light Heavyweight Champion recognized by the WWF 12 13 Taka successfully defended the WWF Light Heavyweight Title at No Way Out of Texas In Your House against Pantera at WrestleMania XIV against Aguila and against multiple different opponents on Raw is War and Shotgun Saturday Night 14 After holding the title for more than 10 months Michinoku lost the title to Christian at Judgment Day In Your House on October 18 12 Kaientai 1998 2001 Edit Main article Kai En Tai Taka started to become Americanised and on Raw he teamed with Bradshaw and segments where shown of Taka and Bradshaw doing generalised and stereotyped American activities He was attacked by Kai En Tai for unknown reasons and their alliance with Taka in Japan was not mentioned Taka began feuding with Kai En Tai Michinoku would team up with Bradshaw to take on Dick Togo Mens Teioh amp Shoichi Funaki at Over the Edge In Your House only to be defeated 12 He would then also team up with The Headbangers to defeat Togo Teioh amp Funaki at King of the Ring 12 With Kai En Tai also feuding with Val Venis the pair teamed up to take on Togo and Funaki in a tag team match Taka made a swerve however by turning against Venis proclaiming that Mrs Yamaguchi San was his sister Venis was dragged backstage by Kaientai to be castrated though the audience did not see what happened next A few weeks later Michinoku was involved in a gauntlet match with Togo Teioh and Funaki to defeat Venis Michinoku once again teamed up with Togo Teioh and Funaki to go against The Oddities Giant Silva Golga amp Kurrgan at SummerSlam 1998 only to lose the match With Kai En Tai in 1998 he had multiple chances to become a champion going up against Christian and Duane Gill for the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship and X Pac for the WWF European Championship 12 After Togo Teioh and both Yamaguchis left the WWF Michinoku and Funaki began wrestling as a tag team using the name Kaientai They were primarily comedy jobbers best known for their Indeed skits in which voices in English were dubbed by Bruce Prichard into their promos while they badly lip synced Their first tag team match together came in the form of a loss to the Hardy Boyz At WrestleMania 2000 the pair were part of a hardcore battle royal for the WWF Hardcore Championship Funaki even became the Hardcore champion for a small amount of time however Michinoku never held the title 12 Taka s biggest venture in WWF came when he challenged Triple H for the WWF Championship on the April 10 2000 edition of Raw coming up short despite interference on his behalf from Funaki and the Acolytes Protection Agency In 2000 they had a chance to become the number one contenders for the WWF World Tag Team Championship in a number one contendership battle royal in which The APA won In 2001 KaiEnTai took on the Dudley Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship but failed to capture them In 2000 and 2001 Michinoku had multiple opportunities to become the WWF Light Heavyweight Champion taking on Dean Malenko Jeff Hardy and others In their last match together as KaiEnTai due to Michinoku leaving the WWF they defeated Justin Credible and Raven on the October 20 2001 edition of WWF Jakked 12 Kaientai Dojo 2002 2019 Edit After departing from the WWF in early 2002 Michinoku returned to Japan to rehabilitate a serious shoulder injury On May 19 2002 Michinoku debuted for Kaientai Dojo at K Dojo New Talent Presentation where Michinoku had several matches with four new K Dojo talents and won all four matches 15 In June Michinoku took part in CLUB K Super Take tournament and would be knocked out by Daigoro Kashiwa In March 2003 Michinoku teamed up with Mr X5 to take part in UWA UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship number one contendership tournament and were eliminated in the second round by MIYAWAKI and Ofune 16 On January 10 2005 Michinoku defeated Kaz Hayashi for the Strongest K Championship the highest honor one can achieve in Kaientai Dojo Michinoku started a feud with Kazma which led to several championship matches between the two where Michinoku would come out on top He would go on to beat Bambi in the finals of Strongest K 2005 16 The beginning of 2006 proved to be a problem for Michinoku as on January 6 2006 he would lose the Strongest K Championship to JOE holding the championship for almost one year and making him the longest Strongest K Champion up to that point 16 However after losing the championship a few months later on June 4 2006 Michinoku teamed up with TOMO Michinoku to beat Shiori Asahi and Makoto Oishi to win the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship and would lose the championship to Apple Miyuki and YOSHIYA almost a month later on July 8 16 K DOJO was separated into two distinct sides GET and RAVE which ran separate shows but often joined during large shows and tours and GET was led by Taka Michinoku while RAVE s leader was Hi69 Michinoku participated in the GET block of Strongest K 2006 Michinoku gained four points and therefore did not progress forward Michinoku teamed up with TAKU Michinoku to take part in a four way match for the WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship and lost 16 2007 kicked of for Michinoku in the form of a New Year battle royal which was won by Boso Boy Raito 16 Michinoku teamed up with Kazma to take part in the GET block part of K DOJO Tag League 2007 the pair reached the final before being eliminated by Makoto Oishi and Shiori Asahi After Hi69 s departure Taka Michinoku became commissioner of RAVE and 296 became commissioner of GET On April 22 2007 RAVE ran its last show the two brands merged and now run joint shows Michinoku would go on to win Strongest K 2007 after defeating Yuji Hino in the final With this win he went on to take on Strongest K champion Kengo Mashimo in September and lost 17 Michinoku would bounce back from this defeat by teaming up with JOE and defeated Kengo Mashimo and Madoka to become the Strongest K Tag Team Champions in November 17 Michinoku and JOE would begin calling themselves Handsome At the same time Michinoku and Dick Togo became the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions for New Japan Pro Wrestling and Handsome and Strongest K Tag Team Championship was put on the back burner somewhat In the beginning of 2008 Handsome took part in K DOJO Tag Tag League 2008 and were eliminated in the first round by Kazma and Yuji Hino During this time Michinoku and Togo lost their championship and Handsome would compete a lot more because of it 17 They would defend their championship against other factions such as Omega and Gekirin However on June 20 2008 Handsome would lose the Strongest K Tag Team Championship to Omega s Kazma and Miyawaki 17 Handsome would regain the championship a few months later on August 31 17 They would lose it to Omega once again with Makoto Oishi amp Shiori Asahi defeating them on December 14 18 Handsome would take part in K DOJO Tag Team League 2009 but didn t progress further Michinoku won Strongest K next challenger tournament and went on to beat Kengo Mashimo to become a two time Strongest K Champion Michinoku finally lost the championship to his longtime rival Kazma on October 10 2009 18 In late 2009 Handsome went separate ways 18 Michinoku teamed up with Taishi Takizawa in K DOJO Tag League 2010 and reached the final before being eliminated by Daigoro Kashiwa and Kengo Mashimo and would lose to Kengo Mashimo again in Strongest K 2010 18 Michinoku would be part of multiple number one contendorship matches for the Strongest K Championship and also participated in Strongest K tournament 2011 but lost all 19 Michinoku and Quiet Storm took on Ryuichi Sekine amp Saburo Inematsu in a match for the Strongest K Tag Team Championship and lost 19 Michinoku teamed with Kengo Mashimo to become the Strongest K Tag Team Champions and would go on to win the K DOJO Tag League 2012 19 Michinoku and Kengo teamed with Isami Kodaka to become the Chiba 6 Man Tag Team Champions 20 They would lose the Strongest K Tag Team Championship to Saburo Inematsu and Yuji Hino He would lose to Taishi Takizawa in the semifinal of Kaio Tournament 19 On October 14 2012 Michinoku celebrated his twentieth anniversary in professional wrestling with a six man tag team match where he Cima and Funaki were defeated by Minoru Suzuki Nosawa Rongai and Taichi 21 On April 14 2013 Michinoku defeated Yuki Sato to win the UWA World Middleweight Championship for the first time 22 On May 11 he defeated Nanjyo Hayato in a title vs title match to also win the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship for the third time 23 Michinoku lost the UWA title to Ryuichi Sekine on August 11 24 On November 10 he once again became a double champion when he and Kaji Tomato defeated Kazma Sakamoto and Kengo Mashimo for the Strongest K Tag Team Championship 25 They however lost the title to Hiroshi Fukuda and Shiori Asahi just six days later 26 Michinoku and Tomato regained the title from Fukuda and Asahi on January 26 2014 27 On March 2 Michinoku and Tomato lost the title to Hiroki and Yuji Hino 28 On September 6 Michinoku lost the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Teppei in his seventeenth title defense 29 On July 12 2015 Michinoku won the Strongest K Tag Team Championship alongside Men s Teioh 30 In November 2018 it was revealed Michinoku had an extra marital relationship of 8 years with a woman After this scandal K Dojo fired Michinoku from the administration and a one year payment suspension 31 On January 22 2019 Michinoku also left the promotion working as a freelancer 32 All Japan Pro Wrestling 2003 2010 2017 Edit Michinoku debuted for All Japan Pro Wrestling in August 2003 33 He would quickly join the stable called Roughly Obsess and Destroy RO amp D He would regularly team up with The Gladiator and Gigantes which led to Michinoku and Gigantes gaining a shot at the World Tag Team Champions Arashi and Keiji Muto on September 6 at AJPW Summer Action Series II 33 Michinoku would go on to team up with D Lo Brown to take part in World s Strongest Tag Determination League 2003 and gained a total of six points not enough to progress to the next stage 33 At AJPW Excite Series 2004 Michinoku took on Kaz Hayashi in a match for the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship which Hayashi won 33 On January 10 2005 Michinoku took on Hayashi in an all or nothing match where the Strongest K Championship and World Junior Heavyweight Championship were on the line and Michinoku won 34 With this win and many more successes RO amp D would dominate AJPW which led to an AJPW vs RO amp D best of three falls match which RO amp D won 34 Michinoku teamed up with RO amp D honorary member PSYCHO to take part in All Asia Tag Team Championship tournament and reached the second round before being eliminated by Katsuhiko Nakajima and Tomoaki Honma 34 On October 22 2005 Michinoku would lose the World Junior Heavyweight Championship to Shuji Kondo 34 Michinoku would team up with RO amp D enemy Kaz Hayashi to take part in World s Strongest Tag Determination League 2006 but with only five points the pair didn t progress to the next stage 35 Michinoku gained only four points in the AJPW Junior League 2006 and therefore didn t progress 35 In late 2006 RO amp D disbanded After RO amp D Michinoku participated in World s Strongest Tag Determination League 2006 and teamed up with former RO amp D member Taiyo Kea and gained only five points and didn t progress further 35 Pepe Michinoku Taka Michinoku El Nosawa Mendoza and Miguel Hayashi Jr formed a team during the AJPW Champion Carnival called Mexico Amigos 36 El Hijo del Araya Segundo Nobutaka Araya joined the team after Six Man Action between Mexico Amigos and Araya Fuchi Hirai at the Carnival s final show After multiple bouts against Minoru Suzuki Nosawa NOSAWA Rongai offered Suzuki an invitation into Mexico Amigos to which he declined This resulted in the group changing multiple assets Their name was changed to Mexico Amigos Black the previous worn Mexican Flag attire became Black and Gold attire and Nobutaka Araya was kicked out of the group 36 At the AJPW s December 16 2007 Fan Appreciation Day show The Mexico Amigos teamed with Ray Suzuki and defeated Ryuji Hijikata Kikutaro T28 and Ryuji Yamaguchi After the match Ray Suzuki revealed himself as Minoru Suzuki and stated the starting next year he would throw his Amigos tights away and return to Nosawa Rongai then kidnapped him to start early training This led to Pepe and Miguel stating they would return to Mexico but Kaz and Taka would return come the new year 36 After one last Viva Mexico Mexico Amigos disbanded 36 Between 2008 and 2009 Michinoku would sporadically compete at All Japan which included Nobutaka Araya retirement show 36 In 2010 he lost to Kaz Hayashi in a match for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship and would also participate in AJPW Junior League 2010 36 At AJPW Summer Explosion 2017 Michinoku made his return to AJPW and won the All Asia Tag Team Championship with Black Tiger VII New Japan Pro Wrestling 2007 present Edit In the beginning of 2007 Michinoku would team up sporadically at New Japan events with Kaientai Dojo wrestler Dick Togo 37 On May 2 2007 Michinoku and Togo would beat tag team legends Gedo and Jado to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The pairing would defend the championships on both New Japan events but also Kaientai events too 37 Although holding the championships for several months Michinoku and Togo would rarely compete for New Japan and only wrestled in matches for the championships however the pair would still regularly compete for Kaientai Dojo After several defences against the likes of Koji Kanemoto and Wataru Inoue the pair finally lost the championships to Control Terrorism Unit members Prince Devitt and Minoru 37 Michinoku with Suzuki gun in February 2012 In late 2010 Michinoku returned to New Japan and began teaming up with Satoshi Kojima Nosawa Rongai and Taichi to form Kojima gun in early 2011 38 On February 20 2011 at The New Beginning Michinoku took on Prince Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship which Devitt retained Michinoku teamed up with Taichi to take on Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship and lost After Satoshi Kojima lost the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom V Kojima suffered another big loss against longtime rival Togi Makabe on May 3 and following the match Michinoku and Taichi entered the ring and attacked Kojima who quickly took care of both of them This led to the surprise return of freelancer Minoru Suzuki who appeared behind Kojima and locked him in a sleeper hold before leaving the ringside area with Michinoku and Taichi who proclaimed Suzuki as their new leader and renamed the stable Suzuki gun 39 Michinoku participated in Best Of The Super Juniors XVIII and gained eight points but not enough to progress to the semifinal Michinoku and Taichi became a tag team in New Japan s junior heavyweight tag team division On September 11 2011 the pair would take on Apollo 55 for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and for the second time running lost At Power Struggle Michinoku for the second time took on Devitt for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and for the second time lost 40 At Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome Michinoku and Taichi teamed up with Atlantis and Valiente to lose to Jyushin Thunder Liger Kushida Mascara Dorada and Tiger Mask 41 Michinoku in September 2014 Both Michinoku and Taichi participated in Best of the Super Juniors XIX however neither progressed to the semifinal After their elimination from the tournament Michinoku and Taichi had set their sights on the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship but were on June 16 at Dominion 6 16 defeated by Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask in a match for the vacant championship 42 In August Michinoku and Taichi began blaming each other for their recent losses which led to the two agreeing to a match where the loser would be expelled from Suzuki gun 43 The match took place on August 22 at Michinoku s Kaientai Dojo promotion but ended without a winner as Minoru Suzuki interrupted the match and got the two men to make peace with each other 44 Taka and Taichi participated in Super Junior Tag Tournament 2012 and made it to the semifinal before losing to the Time Splitters Alex Shelley and Kushida From late May to early June 2013 Michinoku took part in the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors After originally failing to advance from his block Michinoku was given a spot in the semifinals after original block winner Ryusuke Taguchi suffered a hip injury He was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals on June 9 by Alex Shelley 45 On July 20 Michinoku and Taichi received another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship but were defeated by the defending champions the Forever Hooligans Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero 46 On September 29 at Destruction Michinoku and Taichi failed to earn another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship when they were defeated in a number one contender s match by Time Splitters 47 However when Alex Shelley was sidelined with an injury 48 Michinoku and Taichi were given the title shot and on October 14 at King of Pro Wrestling defeated the Forever Hooligans to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions 49 Michinoku and Taichi made their first successful title defense on November 1 defeating Gedo and Jado at their self produced independent event 50 After a reign of 26 days Michinoku and Taichi lost the title to The Young Bucks Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson on November 9 at Power Struggle 51 In January 2015 Suzuki gun entered a storyline where the entire stable invaded the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion 52 Michinoku and El Desperado won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on March 15 by defeating Choukibou gun Hajime Ohara and Kenoh and No Mercy Daisuke Harada and Genba Hirayanagi in a three way match 53 They lost the title to Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada in their fifth defense on October 4 54 Suzuki gun s Noah invasion storyline concluded in December 2016 55 which led to the stable s return to NJPW on January 5 2017 56 In May Michinoku took part in the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors where he finished second to last in his block with a record of two wins and five losses 57 From March 2018 until May 2019 he was the manager and occasional tag team partner of Zack Sabre Jr In May 2019 Michinoku participated in the 2019 Best of the Super Juniors Going winless in his first 5 matches he injured his ankle during his 6th match against Shingo Takagi He would then forfeit his remaining matches finishing the tournament with 0 wins and 9 losses 58 Michinoku would disappear shortly after to focus on starting his new promotion Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out 59 In November 2021 through the NJPW website it was announced that Michinoku would return after 2 years and 6 months away to participate into the World Tag League tournament with his partner being his boss and teammate Minoru Suzuki 60 The duo finished their Tag League campaign at the bottom of the block with 0 points failing to win a single match 61 On January 4 2022 at night one of Wrestle Kingdom 16 Michinoku competed in the New Japan Rambo but failed to last till the final 4 62 In March Michinoku competed in the New Japan Cup losing to Cima in the first round 63 Michinoku continued to team with his Suzuki gun stablemates for the remainder of the year in mainly tag team matches In December 2022 at the World Tag League amp Best of the Super Juniors finals Minoru Suzuki announced the disbandment of Suzuki gun by the end of the year 64 The final match between the faction took place on December 23 where the team of Taichi Sabre Jr Kanemaru and Douki defeated Suzuki Archer Desperado and Michinoku After the match each of the Suzuki gun members spoke about their memories as a part of the group and thanked leader Suzuki The night ended with all members posing with the Suzuki gun flag only to be interrupted by former member Takashi Iizuka causing all 9 men to pose in the ring behind the Suzuki gun flag which was raised by Michinoku 65 Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out 2019 present EditOn April 12 2019 Yoshida announced that he would be creating a new promotion called Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out JTO 59 They held their first show on July 8 2019 in Korakuen Hall where Yoshida still wrestling as Taka Michinoku was defeated by Minoru Suzuki 66 Although the second and later rounds were delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic on August 14 2020 Michinoku won the Only Give Up Tournament by defeating Hayato Tamura 67 Michinoku holding the Suzuki gun banner in March 2014Championships and accomplishments EditAll Japan Pro Wrestling All Asia Tag Team Championship 1 time with Black Tiger VII 68 World Junior Heavyweight Championship 1 time 2 7 DDT Pro Wrestling KO D Tag Team Championship 1 time with Francesco Togo El Dorado Wrestling UWA World Trios Championship 1 time with Antonio Honda and Francesco Togo UWA World Trios Championship Determination Tournament 2008 with Antonio Honda and Francesco Togo Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship 2 times 2 7 Professional Wrestling Just Tap Out Only Give Up Tournament 2020 King of JTO 1 time inaugural current Kaientai Dojo Chiba Six Man Tag Team Championship 1 time with Isami Kodaka and Kengo Mashimo 20 FMW WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship 1 time with TOMO Michinoku 2 7 Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship 3 times 2 23 Strongest K Championship 2 times 2 7 Strongest K Tag Team Championship 6 times with Handsome Joe 2 Kengo Mashimo 1 Kaji Tomato 2 and Men s Teioh 1 2 UWA UWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship 1 time with Ryota Chikuzen 2 7 UWA World Middleweight Championship 2 times 2 22 Strongest K Number 1 Contenders Tournament 2004 Strongest K Tournament 2007 2 Strongest K Next Challenger Tournament 2009 Tank Nagai Tag Team Tournament 2017 with MEN s Teioh Tag Team Match of the Year 2013 with Kaji Tomato vs Kazma Sakamoto and Kengo Mashimo on November 10 69 Michinoku Pro Wrestling Tohoku Junior Heavyweight Championship 1 time 2 7 New Japan Pro Wrestling IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 2 times with Dick Togo 1 and Taichi 1 2 7 Pro Wrestling Illustrated Ranked No 22 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1998 70 Ranked him 191 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003 Pro Wrestling Noah GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship 1 time with El Desperado 53 Tokyo Sports Technique Award 2005 71 World Entertainment Wrestling WEW Six Man Tag Team Championship 1 time with Gosaku Goshogawara and Tetsuhiro Kuroda 2 7 World Wrestling Federation WWF Light Heavyweight Championship 1 time 2 12 WWF Light Heavyweight Championship Tournament 1997 Mixed martial arts record EditProfessional record breakdown 1 match 0 wins 1 lossBy knockout 0 0By submission 0 1By decision 0 0By disqualification 0 0Res Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location NotesLoss 0 1 Keiichiro Yamamiya Submission keylock Pancrase Alive 4 April 27 1997 1 7 36 Tokyo JapanReferences Edit a b c Takaみちのく New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved June 1 2013 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Takaみちのく Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Retrieved June 1 2013 a b TAKAみちのく JUST TAP OUT 公式サイト pwjto com in Japanese Retrieved April 12 2021 PANCRASE Official Site PANCRASE Fighters MICHINOKU Taka www pancrase co jp Retrieved April 12 2021 海王トーナメント 夜の部 Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Retrieved August 9 2015 a b Shields Brian Sullivan Kevin 2009 WWE Encyclopedia DK p 298 ISBN 978 0 7566 4190 0 a b c d e f g h i j TAKA Michinoku profile OWOW Retrieved September 11 2009 Guure October 4 2017 Medium Medium Retrieved April 12 2021 TAKA Michinoku lanza nueva empresa Just Tap Out superluchas com July 5 2019 Retrieved March 18 2022 Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d e f g h i j Taka Michinoku s reign World Wrestling Entertainment Retrieved September 22 2009 Powell John December 8 1997 A Hart s Revenge SLAM Wrestling Retrieved September 22 2009 Powell John March 30 1998 Austin wins WWF World Title at WrestleMania SLAM Wrestling Retrieved September 22 2009 Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d e f Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d e Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b 2012年3月24日 土 Club K 3000 千葉 Reinaアリーナ Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on August 27 2012 Retrieved February 18 2014 2012年10月14日 日 TAKAみちのくデビュー20周年記念大会 東京 後楽園ホール Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on September 25 2013 Retrieved October 14 2012 a b 2013年4月14日 日 Kaientai Dojo11周年記念大会 Club K Super evolution11 東京 後楽園ホール Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on September 25 2013 Retrieved April 14 2013 a b 2013年5月11日 土 Club K Tour in Osaka 大阪 ナスキーホール梅田 Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on November 10 2013 Retrieved May 12 2013 2013年8月11日 日 Club K Super in Blue Field 千葉 Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on November 11 2013 Retrieved November 10 2013 2013年11月10日 日 Club K Tour in Osaka 大阪 道頓堀アリーナ Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on November 10 2013 Retrieved November 10 2013 2013年11月16日 土 Club K Super in Blue Field 千葉 Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on February 4 2014 Retrieved January 26 2014 2014年1月26日 日 Club K Super in Blue Field 千葉 Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on February 4 2014 Retrieved January 26 2014 2014年3月2日 日 Club K Super in Blue Field 千葉 Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on April 17 2014 Retrieved March 2 2014 2014年9月6日 土 CLUB K 3000 千葉 Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on September 6 2014 Retrieved September 6 2014 Club K Super in Blue Field Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Retrieved July 12 2015 K Dojo despide de su administracion a su fundador TAKA Michinoku November 9 2018 TAKA Michinoku abandona Kaientai Dojo tras una polemica por infidelidad January 21 2019 a b c d Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c d e f Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database a b c Matches TAKA Michinoku Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH the Internet Wrestling Database Road to Kingdom Battle X mas New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved August 25 2012 試合結果 www njpw co jp Retrieved December 24 2019 試合結果 ニュース 第3試合 06 16 土 18 00 大阪 大阪府立体育会館 BODY MAKER コロシアム DOMINION 6 16 大会結果一覧 Match Information 新日本プロレスリング Archived from the original on June 19 2012 Retrieved June 16 2012 ニュース ニュース Best of the Super Jr XX New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Archived from the original on June 15 2013 Retrieved June 9 2013 吉野家Presents Kizuna Road 2013 New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved July 20 2013 Destruction New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved October 14 2013 アレックス シェリーが負傷欠場 10月14日両国大会のIWGPジュニアタッグはTaka amp タイチが挑戦へ New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese October 7 2013 Retrieved October 14 2013 King of Pro Wrestling New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved October 14 2013 Taka amp タイチが自主興行でジュニアタッグ王座防衛 次の防衛戦の場所はなんと会場規模200人の北千住 相手はヤングライオンを指名 New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese November 1 2013 Retrieved November 1 2013 Power Struggle New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved November 9 2013 衝撃 なんと鈴木軍フルメンバーがノアのリングを占拠 みのるが宣戦布告 小島はGHCに手が届かず 丸藤の前に轟沈 1 10ノア結果 New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese January 11 2015 Retrieved March 15 2015 a b Great Voyage 2015 in Tokyo Pro Wrestling Noah in Japanese Retrieved March 15 2015 Great Voyage 2015 in Nagoya 青柳政司引退セレモニー Pro Wrestling Noah in Japanese Retrieved October 4 2015 ノア 鈴木軍撤退で方舟マットどうなる Tokyo Sports in Japanese December 5 2016 Retrieved December 5 2016 戦国炎舞 Kizna Presents New Year Dash New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved January 5 2017 鉄拳7 Presents Best of the Super Jr 24 New Japan Pro Wrestling in Japanese Retrieved May 31 2017 NJPW TAKA Michinoku to miss remainder of Best of the Super Juniors NEW JAPAN PRO WRESTLING NJPW Retrieved January 4 2021 a b 昨日のニコプロで武蔵と舞華がポロっと言ってしまったので発表します April 12 2019 https www njpw1972 com 108282 https www wrestlinginc com news 2021 12 njpw world tag league results 12 12 finalists revealed https www f4wonline com news new japan results njpw wrestle kingdom 16 night one live results shingo vs okada 364406 https www tpww net 2022 03 njpw new japan cup 2022 night 1 results night 2 card https www f4wonline com news new japan njpws suzuki gun stable to disband at the end of 2022 https www postwrestling com 2022 12 23 suzuki gun bids farewell on new japans final event of the year JTO Hajime lt lt Events Database lt lt CAGEMATCH The Internet Wrestling Database Only Give Up Tournament CAGEMATCH ブラック タイガー7 Takaみちのく組が新王者 Nikkan Sports in Japanese August 28 2017 Retrieved August 27 2017 K Dojo News Kaientai Dojo in Japanese Archived from the original on April 6 2014 Retrieved January 6 2014 Pro Wrestling Illustrated PWI 500 for 1998 the Internet Wrestling Database 東京スポーツ プロレス大賞 Tokyo Sports in Japanese Retrieved January 20 2014 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Taka Michinoku Kaientai Dojo profile TAKA Michinoku s New Japan Pro Wrestling profile Taka Michinoku s profile at Cagematch net Internet Wrestling Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Taka Michinoku amp oldid 1132305562, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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