Craig Cohn (born May 1, 1983) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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 ...

, better known 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 ...

Craig Classic. Cohn was initially trained at the

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagas ...

(BJW) dojo by

Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Hea ...

and has spent most of his career working in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, signing a contract with

Pro Wrestling Zero1 , often referred to simply as Zero1 and sometimes referred to as Pro Wrestling Zero1 Catch as Catch Can (stylized as ZERO1 and PRO WRESTLING ZERO1 CATCH AS CATCH CAN, respectively), is a Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wre ...

in January 2012. He quit Zero1 in October 2013, after which he renamed himself Classic Kid. He has also achieved some success in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, most notably winning the

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Created in 1943, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World J ...

in November 2010.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

In 2004, Cohn was invited to train under

at the dojo of the

(BJW) promotion, becoming the first ''

gaijin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: a ...

'' (non-Japanese) wrestler trained by the dojo. While Sekimoto worked as the head trainer of the dojo, Cohn also trained under other BJW wrestlers such as

Men's Teioh (born December 16, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, (also written MEN's Teioh). Another of his ring names, Terry Boy, is a homage to American professional wrestler Terry Funk. Men's Teioh is a longtime ...

Tatsuhito Takaiwa is a Koreans in Japan, Zainichi-Korean professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1, as well as makin ...

and Yoshihito Sasaki. Upon his return to the

, Cohn continued his training seven days a week under Soulman Alex G, eventually making his debut under the ring name Ryan Billington on June 18, 2005, facing Chasyn Rance at a Four Star Championship Wrestling event in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

. Afterwards, Cohn began working on the Floridian

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...

under a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment, and often employed for rituals and rites. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes, ...

and the ring name Dragon Warrior. Meanwhile, he also continued his training under the likes of Antonio Banks, Big Tilly, Bruno Sassi,

Masada Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising ov ...

Norman Smiley Norman Anthony Smiley (born 28 February 1965) is an English-American retired professional wrestler who is signed to WWE in a Legends deal and as a trainer for NXT. He is best known for his appearances with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mund ...

, Pablo Marquez, Rusty Brooks and

Ryan O'Reilly Ryan O'Reilly (born February 7, 1991) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Centre (ice hockey), centre and Captain (ice hockey)#Alternate captains, alternate captain for the Nashville Predators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has prev ...

. In 2005 and 2006, Cohn made several non-wrestling appearances for

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...

(TNA), portraying a security guard. In early 2006, Cohn returned to Japan and on April 2 made his in-ring debut for BJW. Unmasked, but deciding not to use his real last name, Cohn began working just as "Craig", teaming with Katsumasa Inoue in a tag team match, where they were defeated by Jaki Numazawa and Saburo Inematsu. During the tour, which lasted until May 5, Cohn worked against top BJW workers such as Abdullah Kobayashi and Men's Teioh, but was unable to pick up a win. Cohn returned to BJW the following August and, on August 18, picked up his first win in the promotion, when he pinned Shinobu in a six-man tag team match, where he, Men's Teioh and Onryo faced Shinobu, Hiroyuki Kondo and

Yuko Miyamoto is a Japanese professional wrestler. He originally started his career in Wrestling Marvelous Future in August 2003, but later left the promotion and in 2004, signed with Wrestling of Darkness 666 (Triple Six). Miyamoto has since appeared in Big ...

. After his second tour concluded in October, Cohn returned for his third tour of the promotion in December 2006. Cohn continued making regular tours of BJW throughout 2007 and the first half of 2008. On April 27, 2007, Cohn also made his debut for women's wrestling promotion

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

, losing to Hisakatsu Oya in a singles match. When not working in Japan, Cohn worked for various independent promotions in

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also known as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical List of regions in the United States, region of the United States located in the eastern portion of the Southern United States and t ...

, having now abandoned the Dragon Warrior persona and adopted the ring name Craig Classic, which he had taken from his trainer Daisuke Sekimoto, who had called him a "classic wrestler". On July 28, 2007, Classic won his first professional wrestling title, the Division-1 Pro Wrestling (D1PW) Cruiserweight Championship. On September 26, 2008, Classic entered the 2008 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, but was defeated in his opening round match by

Gran Akuma Gran Akuma (born December 20, 1974) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in Chikara. He has also worked for Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Dragon Gate USA and Full Impact Pro (FIP). In Chikara, he was a member of ...

. On October 23, 2009, Classic defeated Chris Jones for the NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship. He followed that up by defeating

Mike Quackenbush Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976) is an American podcaster, author, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, Promoter (entertainment), professional wrestling promoter, and semi-retired professional wre ...

on November 6, 2010, for the

, ending Quackenbush's three-and-a-half-year reign. As a result of winning NWA's top junior heavyweight title, Classic relinquished the lower-ranked NWA Florida title. On December 3, Classic took part in the 2010 Jeff Peterson Memorial Cup, where, after a win over

Lince Dorado José Rafael Cordero (born May 11, 1987), better known by the ring name Lince Dorado (Spanish for Golden Lynx), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a wrestler and a trainer at the WWE Performance Center. Cordero began h ...

, he was eliminated in the following day's quarterfinals by

Arik Cannon Arik Cannon (born December 23, 1981) is an American professional wrestler known for competing in companies such as Chikara, Dragon Gate USA, IWA Mid-South, All American Wrestling and Wrestling Society X. He owns and operates the Minneapolis-bas ...

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (2011–2013)

On March 6, 2011, Classic made his debut for the Japanese

promotion, successfully defending the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship against

Munenori Sawa is a Japanese professional wrestler. Sawa was trained by and spent his entire career in the Battlarts promotion, adopting the promotion's "Bati Bati" wrestling style, known for its stiff strikes and submission-based shoot wrestling, but would o ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Ryōgoku Kokugikan , also known as Ryōgoku Sumo Hall or Kokugikan Arena, is the name bestowed to two different indoor sporting arenas located in Tokyo. The first ''Ryōgoku Kokugikan'' opened its doors in 1909 and was located on the premises of the Ekōin temple i ...

. On July 11, Classic announced that he was relinquishing the title in protest over the NWA stripping The Sheik of the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...

. Despite the announcement and NWA going on to crown a new champion, when Classic returned to Zero1 on October 2, 2011, he was still billed by the promotion as the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion as he successfully defended the title in a rematch with Munenori Sawa. After a successful title defense against Takafumi Ito on November 6, Classic lost the Zero1 version of the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship to

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 ...

on January 1, 2012. Five days later, Zero1 announced that Classic had signed a contract to become a regular member of the promotion's roster. During the press conference announcing the signing, Zero1 president

Shinjiro Otani is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury sustained in April 2022. A product of the Ne ...

compared Classic to his former in-ring opponents and top ''gaijin'' wrestlers

Eddie Guerrero Eduardo Gory Guerrero Llanes (October 9, 1967 – November 13, 2005) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures in WWE, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and World Championship Wrestling ...

and Pegasus Kid. On March 2, Classic represented his new home promotion against his former home promotion in a special six-man tag team match, where he,

Kohei Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler contracted with Pro Wrestling Zero1. Sato is also a former mixed martial artist. Career A former judoka and amateur wrestler, Sato made his transition to mixed martial arts after meeting Kazunari Murakami and ...

and Shito Ueda defeated Big Japan Pro Wrestling representatives Kazuki Hashimoto, Takumi Tsukamoto and

Yuji Okabayashi is a Japanese people, Japanese Retirement, semi-retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, but is on an indefinite absence. Known as "The Golem", he h ...

. In early 2012, Classic began teaming regularly with

Ikuto Hidaka (born August 5, 1972) is a Japanese professional wrestling, professional wrestler, currently performing for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Hidaka was the regular partner of Minoru Fujita, with whom he has held the NWA International Lightweight Tag Te ...

with the two also developing a double-team finishing maneuver together. The partnership built to a three-way match to determine the new NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Champions on April 24. The match, which also included the team of

Mineo Fujita Mineo Fujita (born November 28, 1979) is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, where he is a former International Junior Heavyweight Championship (Zero1), International Junior Heavy ...

and

Takuya Sugawara is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently wrestling for Pro Wrestling Zero1. Career Toryumon/Dragon Gate (2001–2004) He debuted in the 9th term of Toryumon 2000 Project as Henry III Sugawara, an English prince character. He joined wit ...

, was eventually won by Jimmy Kagetora and

Jimmy Susumu , better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Dragon Gate. He is not related to fellow Dragon Gate wrestler and long-term ally/rival Masaaki Mochizuki, who debuted much earlier for WAR. Professional wr ...

. On May 13, Classic attempted to regain the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship as well as win the International Junior Heavyweight Championship for the first time, but was defeated by the defending double champion, Takuya Sugawara. On October 16, Classic received another shot at the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship with new partner Jason New, but the two were defeated in the title match by the defending champions, Frank David and Shawn Guinness. Classic ended his 2012 with a big six-man tag team Street Fight on December 15, where he,

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 ...

and

Masato Tanaka is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship#Title History, one-time FMW Brass Knuckle ...

defeated Akebono, Mineo Fujita and Rion Mizuki. On April 15, 2013, Classic came together with Jack Anthony,

James Raideen Dylan James (born 25 May 1991) is a New Zealand Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Land's End. He is best known for w ...

, Jason New, Maybach β, Sebastian Concrete, Steven Walters and Tama Williams to form a ''gaijin''

stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...

named "New Age Wrestling Future" (NWF) under the guidance of Akebono. The stable was shortly afterwards also joined by

Jonathan Gresham Jonathan Gresham (born March 20, 1988) is an American professional wrestler. He performs on the independent circuit. He has previously wrestled for All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Champion, ROH Pure ...

and Mark Coffey. Classic remained affiliated with Zero1 until quitting the promotion in October 2013.

Freelancing (2013–present)

After becoming a

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, Cohn adopted a new persona named "Classic Kid", based on the Pegasus Kid. He made his first appearance as the character on November 5, 2013, at a

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 ...

event, where he and Buki were defeated by Kogata Steiners (Ryuichi Kawakami and Tank Nagai). Classic has since started working regularly for the

Inoki Genome Federation The (IGF), also known in China as International Glory Fighting, was a Japanese professional wrestling and mixed martial arts promotion founded by Antonio Inoki in 2007. History Antonio Inoki founded the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) after se ...

(IGF). On December 2, 2014, Classic, Buki and Ryuichi Kawakami defeated

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 199 ...

Nosawa Rongai , better known by his ring names Nosawa and , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions. Career Early career (19952004) Nosawa spent most of his ea ...

and

Ricky Fuji (born September 27, 1965) better known under his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Action Advance Pro Wrestling, where he also runs the day-to-day operations. He is perhaps best known for his time with Frontier M ...

to win the vacant Tenryu Project 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On March 14, 2015, Classic suffered a neck injury in Florida, which led to Tenryu Project filling his spot in the 6-Man Tag Team Championship team with one-off replacements Heddi French and

Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five t ...

. Despite being injured, Classic was officially one third of the champions until August 29, 2015, when Kawakami was also injured, which led to the title being vacated.

Championships and accomplishments

*Championship Wrestling Entertainment **CWE National Championship (1 time) *Pro Wrestling TURBO **TURBO Championship (1 time, inaugural) **TURBO Grand Prix Tournament (2018) *Division-1 Pro Wrestling **D1PW Cruiserweight Championship (1 time) *Future of Wrestling **FOW International Championship (1 time) *Independent Championship Wrestling ** ICW Pure X Crown Championship (1 time) *

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

( 1 time) * NWA Pro Wrestling Fusion ** NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **Fusion Clash 8 Three Round Gauntlet First Round Battle Royal (2009) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **PWI ranked him #305 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 2012 *Pro Wrestling Wallabee **Copa De Luchas (2014) *

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ''(Zero1 version)'' ( 1 time) *Underground Wrestling Exit **WUW Japan Underground Aun Championship (1 time) – with BUKI *Puerto Rico Wrestling Association **PRWA Puerto Rico Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** Tenryu Project 6-Man Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Buki and Ryuichi Kawakami * Other titles **IPW Hardcore/PWW International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

*
Inoki Genome Federation profile

Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Classic, Craig 1983 births Living people American male professional wrestlers People from Manhasset, New York Masked wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers Tenryu Project World 6-Man Tag Team Champions NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champions (Zero1)