who goes by the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

, is a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

from Moriguchi,

Osaka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Osaka Prefecture has a population of 8,778,035 () and has a geographic area of . Osaka Prefecture borders Hyōgo Prefecture to the northwest, Kyoto Prefecture to the north, Nara ...

, who works for

Dradition is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion that, until 2008, was known as . The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Tatsumi Fujinami, who has owned and operated it since its creation in August 2006. The nam ...

. He has previously worked for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

Career

Takagi was initially a

sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by th ...

wrestler under the

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A person ...

of Takuetsuyama (previously Maenohikari). He joined Takadagawa stable, run by former '' ozeki'' Maenoyama, in 1977. He reached elite ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and '' jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fr ...

'' status upon promotion to the second highest ''

jūryō Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division in July 1985, but was demoted back to the unsalaried ''

makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

'' division after only four tournaments. In 1986, at the age of 24, he decided to quit sumo and joined

(AJPW) upon an offer from owner

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

. He made his debut in 1987. The same year he accompanied Baba to an excursion into

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

, where they competed in the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament. They made it into the semifinals before being defeated by eventual runners-up

Lex Luger Lawrence Wendell Pfohl (born June 2, 1958), better known by the ring name Lex Luger, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, bodybuilder, and gridiron football player. He is best known for his work with Jim Crocke ...

and

Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of ...

. Takagi remained a strong member of the undercard, feuding with dojo classmates

Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his runs in All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he worked for all of his career in both promotions. A former sumo wrestler who went under the name , he retire ...

Kenta Kobashi (born, March 27, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestling promoter and retired wrestler. Broadly referred to by the nickname , he is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. He is best known for his two run ...

Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All ...

and Tatsumi Kitahara. In 1990, however, he decided to follow former sumo wrestler

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...

out of AJPW and into a new promotion,

Super World of Sports Super World of Sports, also known as Super World Sports or simply SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top sta ...

(SWS). Takagi was fired from SWS in early 1991, with the company claiming he missed too many training sessions due to claimed injuries and he spent too much time gambling. Afterwards, Takagi wandered in the independents until settling down in the successor promotion,

WAR War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

. In WAR he adopted the name Arashi (storm), originally a masked gimmick used by also former rikishi

Daikokubō Benkei better known by the ring name is a former Japanese sumo wrestler and professional wrestler best known for his time in the Japanese promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). Sumo career Kotani practiced judo in junior high school before switchi ...

. His first success came teaming with Koki Kitahara (formerly known as Tatsumi), and with

Nobutaka Araya Nobutaka (written: 信孝, 信教, 信隆, 延孝 or 伸貴) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese volleyball player *, Japanese neuroscientist and cell biologist *, Japanese politician *, Japanese s ...

, formerly of

International Wrestling Association of Japan The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2014. History Early years It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the W*ING ...

, to win the WAR 6-Man Tag Team Championship. In 1998, as WAR went into decline due to Tenryu making a comeback in

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

, Arashi went to

Yoshiaki Yatsu Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 ''Yatsu Yoshiaki'', born July 19, 1956) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is known for being one-half of the first-ever All Japan Pro Wrestling ...

's SPWF promotion. He stayed there until Tenryu called him back to AJPW in 2001. Initially he supported Tenryu's WAR faction, but after Tenryu left yet again, aligned himself with

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestling executive, actor and retired professional wrestler. He is known for his work under his real name and as his alter ego in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and duri ...

, and won the

World Tag Team Championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling matches, in which competitors are involved in predetermined rival ...

with him in 2003. On December 27, he and Muto (under his Great Muta persona) defeated

Christopher Daniels Christopher Daniel Covell (born March 24, 1970), better known by the ring name Christopher Daniels, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he works as the Head of Ta ...

and

Dan Maff Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American professional wrestler, known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH). Professional wrestling career Da Hit Squad Lopez attended Jersey All Pro Wrestling ...

to retain the title at an ROH vs. All Japan card. Arashi made the finals of the

Champion Carnival The is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The tournament is also known by the nickname and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since ...

the same year, where he fell to

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to both New Japan Pro-Wrestling and Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former two-time MLW World Heavyweight Championship, MLW World Heavyweight Champion and former one half of the MLW W ...

. He received a shot at

Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion The is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Japanese All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion. The current champion is Jun Saito, who is in his first reign. Title history The championship was established after the unificat ...

Shinya Hashimoto was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the " Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the p ...

, but was defeated. After he and Mutoh lost the World Tag Team Championship to Kojima and

Kaz Hayashi , best known by the ring name , is a Japanese business executive and retired professional wrestler who last competed in Gleat and serves as the company's chief technical officer (CTO). He is best known for his work in World Championship Wrestlin ...

, Arashi was relegated back to the mid-card. In September 2006, after a trial on drug charges, Takagi was sentenced to three years in prison. Freed after serving a portion of his sentence, Takagi returned to professional wrestling, working in Tatsumi Fujinami's Muga World (now Dradition) promotion. In 2007, Takagi appeared during a match under his real name for the first time since 1993, but reverted to the Arashi name in early 2008. After

Tenryu Project is an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion. The promotion was founded by and is owned by puroresu legend Genichiro Tenryu, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 2010. The Tenryu project is the successor to Tenryu's ...

had its final card where Tenryu retired in November 2015, Arashi also went into inactivity, only coming back for a charity card on February 4, 2021 when where he teamed with

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Championship ( ...

and Tiger Mask II (

Kotaro Suzuki , better known by the ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Gleat. He is best known for working for the Pro Wrestling Noah and All Japan Pro Wrestling promotions, where he was a four-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Cha ...

substituting for the late

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for spending 18 years with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and subsequently leading the 2000 All Japan Pro Wrestling mass exodus, which culminated in him forming Pro W ...

) and lost to

Masanobu Fuchi is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi has exclusively worked for All Japan since his debut in 1974, and holds the record for the longest World Ju ...

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing the hardcore wrestling, deathmatch style of professional wrestling t ...

Shiro Koshinaka is a Japanese professional wrestler who has competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Wrestle Association "R" (WAR) during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also the first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Car ...

and

Great Kojika , known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He co-founded the promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). Kojika is the oldest active Japanese wrestler as well as the one with the longest career, having debuted in 1963. He is al ...

in a "

Anniversary Memorial" card promoted by referee Kyohei Wada and announcer Fumihito Kihara.

Championships and accomplishments

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Originally, it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brou ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) – with

Koki Kitahara (born March 9, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name . Career Kitahara trained in soccer and karate during high school, particularly the latter due to his penchant for street fighting. After graduating ...

(1) and Nobutaka Araya (1) :*

( 1 time) – with

:*January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal (2006) * Apache Army :*

WEW Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling championship, originally created in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) as the , later being renamed as the WEW World Heavyweight Championship. After FMW closed in 2002, the title became the WEW Heavyweight Cha ...

( 1 time) *

:* Tenryu Project 6-Man Tag Team Championship (

) – with

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 als ...

and

Tomohiro Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is currently a double champion: being the Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign, and one-half of the current IWGP Tag Team Champions with Ta ...

(1) and

and

(1) * Wrestle Association "R" :*

WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship The is a six-man tag team title contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in Wrestle Association R (WAR) in 1994, the first title of its kind in Japan. Since it was reestablishe ...

( 1 time) – with Koki Kitahara and Nobutaka Araya

Sumo career record

References

External links

Article of him caught with cannabis.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Takagi, Isao Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers 1961 births People from Moriguchi, Osaka Living people 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Japanese professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions World Tag Team Champions (AJPW) Tenryu Project World 6-Man Tag Team Champions WEW Heavyweight Champions 1987 professional wrestling debuts 20th-century Japanese sportsmen