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 ...
currently signed to
Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a record-holding five time former
GHC Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah in July 2004 and initially remained with Pro Wrestling Noah until the end of 2012 when he jumped to
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 ...
(AJPW). In AJPW, he became a one-time
Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a two-time
World Tag Team Champion, before resigning from the promotion in September 2015. Afterwards, he returned to Noah, where, in May 2016, he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the third time. He has also worked for
American promotions
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH) and
Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
(FIP), winning the latter's
World Heavyweight Championship. In August 2016, Shiozaki was appointed the chairman of Noah's wrestlers' association.
Early life
Go was born as the third and youngest child in the family, with one older brother and sister. Due to the influence of his older brother who was a professional wrestling fan, he began to watch professional wrestling, especially
All Japan Pro-Wrestling on TV from the second grade of elementary school, and became a fan of the Super Generation Army.
In youth he would play baseball, which he started in the third grade of elementary school, he served as a catcher who was assigned the 4th and 5th batters and won the eastern district of
Kumamoto
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. , the city has an estimated population of 738,907 and a population density of 1,893 people per km2. The total area is 390.32 km2.
had a populat ...
, his hometown. Similarly, in elementary school, he played against Miho Koga, a female professional golfer who was the fourth baseball player in Ace and later became a junior in the first grade of
Tokai University
is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae.
It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Uni ...
, in a youth baseball game . At Kumamoto City Nishihara Junior High School, he joined the basketball club, served as a center forward in the position, and was appointed captain in the third year. Even after going on to high school, he continued to play basketball, becoming a regular player from the second year and achieving the best four in
Kumamoto Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture t ...
.
After graduating from high school, he failed to take the police recruitment exam and lived a
freeter
In Japan, a is a person aged 18 to 34 who is unemployed, underemployed, or otherwise lacks full-time paid employment. The term excludes housewives and students.
Freeters do not start a career after high school or university, but instead e ...
life while attending a civil servant prep school. One day, he heard on TV that
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 ...
, the founder of
Pro Wrestling Noah said, "Anyone can be a professional wrestler if he has the guts." One day while reading the back of the "Weekly Wrestling" magazine, he saw an article about
Kenta Kobayashi
, known mononymously as Kenta (stylised in all caps), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. A former amateur kickboxer, Kobayashi's wrestling style is based upon strong kicks and strikes. Kobayashi pioneere ...
(later KENTA). The article would mention that Kobayashi had passed the AJPW rookie test, without having any background in martial arts, something Shiozaki was lacking as well. Go would later mention that this article would inspire him, and this was when he began thinking of becoming a professional wrestler.
Professional wrestling career
Pro Wrestling Noah (2003–2012)
Shiozaki entered the
Pro Wrestling Noah dojo in 2003
[The profile at Noah Navi](_blank)
/ref> and according to the commentators from the event Universal Uproar, was the only man to graduate in his class as well as being the youngest wrestler on the roster. Following his debut, Shiozaki became a protégé of the legendary 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 ...
. Shiozaki and Kobashi formed a very successful tag team
Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establis ...
and the biggest match the two had as a team was a losing effort against Kensuke Sasaki
is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his numerous runs in the top three Japanese wrestling promotions; New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah. He was the founder and o ...
and his own protégé, Katsuhiko Nakajima. The match reached critical acclaim, being given a near-perfect rating from the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
''.
In the beginning of 2006, Shiozaki fractured his jaw against Kenta
Kenta (廉侍) is a masculine Japanese given name. (written: , , , or in katakana).
Notable people with the name include:
*, Japanese baseball player
*, Japanese film director
*, Japanese kickboxer
*, Japanese professional wrestler
*, Japane ...
. Following his recovery, he began wrestling matches against the biggest names of the company and despite losing to them, he would put forth a valiant effort against them, similar to how Kobashi competed in 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 ...
. After Kobashi was forced out of action due to cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...
, Shiozaki teamed briefly with Tamon Honda but was again defeated by Noah's top wrestlers until he finally broke his losing streak by pinning Ricky Marvin
Ricardo Fuentes Romero (born January 8, 1980) is a second-generation Mexican professional wrestler, known by his ring name Ricky Marvin, and is most known for his work in the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Between 2005 and 2007, he al ...
.
In late April 2007, Shiozaki represented Noah in the prestigious King of Europe Cup. He defeated Real Quality Wrestling representative Martin Stone in the first round before falling to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. As of 2024, it is on an extended hiatus. It was created by pro wrestlers Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...
representative Davey Richards
Wesley David Richards (born March 1, 1983), best known under the ring name Davey Richards, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, TNA Wrestling and Ring of Honor, and for ...
in the quarterfinals.
Shiozaki returned to Noah in mid-2009 and gained a significant push as 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 ...
's new tag team partner. They soon won the Global Tag League
The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008.
The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...
in May and thus became the top contenders to the GHC Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
. During their title match on June 13 against champions Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith, Misawa suffered a cervical spinal cord trauma during the match after receiving a belly to back suplex from Saito. After Misawa remained motionless following the suplex, officials quickly tended to him before he was taken to a hospital, where he died later on.
On June 14, reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama was forced to vacate the title due to herniated discs in his back. As a result, Shiozaki was nominated by Akiyama to wrestle for the title against the number one contender Takeshi Rikio. After a hard-fought twenty-minute match, Shiozaki managed to defeat Rikio to become the new GHC Heavyweight Champion. He then went on to successfully defend his title for the first time on September 27 against Akitoshi Saito. However his second title defense was unsuccessful as on December 6, Shiozaki lost the World Heavyweight title to Takashi Sugiura on the last date of the 2009 Winter Navigation tour. On May 23, 2010 Shiozaki teamed up with Atsushi Aoki to defeat Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its List of Bullet Club members#War Dogs, War Dogs sub-group. Ishimori is a three-time IWGP Junio ...
to win the AAA World Tag Team Championship
The AAA World Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato en Parejas AAA'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is the main tag team championship (professional wrestling), title contested for in the Mexico, Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling promotion, p ...
during Pro Wrestling Noah's Navigation with Breeze show in Niigata, Niigata
is a city located in the northern part of Niigata Prefecture (). It is the capital and the most populous city of Niigata Prefecture, and one of the cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, located in the Chūbu region of Japan. It is ...
, 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 ...
. As a result of the victory, Shiozaki and Aoki were scheduled to defend the title during AAA's Triplemania XVIII show. At TripleMania, Shiozaki and Aoki were the first team eliminated when Joe Lider pinned Shiozaki. The match and the title were ultimately won by Los Maniacos (Silver Cain and Último Gladiador). In August 2010 Shiozaki took part 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 ...
's 2010 G1 Climax tournament, where he won four out of his seven-round robin stage matches, only to narrowly miss the finals of the tournament after wrestling Shinsuke Nakamura
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand.
Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, with his first rei ...
to a 30-minute time limit draw on the final day of the tournament. The draw with Nakamura led to a No Time Limit match at a Pro Wrestling Noah show on August 22, where Shiozaki was victorious. Shiozaki and Nakamura had their third match on January 4, 2011, at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where Nakamura was victorious. Shiozaki regained the GHC Heavyweight Title by defeating Takashi Sugiura on July 10, 2011. On January 4, 2012, Shiozaki returned to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, where he and Naomichi Marufuji defeated CHAOS Top Team (Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2021. He is one of the ...
) in a tag team match. On January 22, Shiozaki lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Takeshi Morishima. On October 26, Shiozaki and Akitoshi Saito defeated Kenta and Maybach Taniguchi to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. On December 3, 2012, it was reported that Shiozaki had threatened to not re-sign with Noah after his contract expires in January 2013, when the promotion decided to release Kenta Kobashi from his contract. Six days later, Shiozaki and Saito lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura. On December 19, Noah confirmed that Shiozaki would be leaving the promotion following December 24. On December 24, Shiozaki defeated Taiji Ishimori in his final Noah match.
Foreign excursions (2006–2009)
Shiozaki made his Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011; the promotion was subs ...
(ROH) debut during ROH's August 2006 tour of England. In July 2007, he wrestled Bryan Danielson
Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs on a part time basis. He is also known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under t ...
in ROH's debut show in Tokyo, Japan. He unsuccessfully wrestled ROH World Champion Nigel McGuinness
Steven Haworth (born 23 January 1972), better known by his ring name Nigel McGuinness, is an English professional wrestling, professional wrestler and commentator. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he serves as a color commentato ...
in a title match on a Noah show in January 2008 before joining the ROH roster as a regular during February's event Eye of the Storm.
On June 6, 2008, Shiozaki participated in a one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions
The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. The championship was created and debuted on September 21, 2 ...
. He and partner World Champion Nigel McGuiness were eliminated in the first round by Kevin Steen and El Generico when Steen forced McGuiness to submit to the sharpshooter
A sharpshooter is one who is highly proficient at firing firearms or other projectile weapons accurately. Military units composed of sharpshooters were important factors in 19th-century combat. Along with " marksman" and "expert", "sharpshooter" ...
. The following day, Shiozaki received a title shot against McGuiness but lost when McGuiness forced him to submit to the London Dungeon
The London Dungeon is a tourist attraction/ haunted attraction along London's South Bank, England, which recreates various gory and macabre historical events in a gallows humour style. It uses a mixture of live actors, special effects and ...
. On June 28, Shiozaki revealed himself to be the newest member of Sweet 'n' Sour Inc., Larry Sweeney's heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...
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 ...
.
In the summer of 2008, Shiozaki began performing for ROH's sister promotion, Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
(FIP), based in Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. He defeated Erick Stevens for the World Heavyweight Championship at FIP's event Heatstroke on August 23. He would hold the belt for four months, defending it on both FIP and ROH, before losing it to Tyler Black on December 20.
Soon after having a tryout match with World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
on September 5, Shiozaki began wrestling in Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AW ...
's World League Wrestling
NWA World League Wrestling is a Troy, Missouri-based professional wrestling promotion affiliated with Harley Race's Wrestling Academy school. It was established in 1999 by former World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. The promotion is part of ...
, where he also underwent further training under Race. On October 4, he won the WLW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in a nine-man Battle Royal for the vacant title. He later lost title to four-time WLW World Heavyweight Champion Luminous Warrior on May 19, 2009.
All Japan Pro Wrestling (2013–2015)
On January 26, 2013, Shiozaki, Atsushi Aoki, Jun Akiyama, 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 ...
and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he is a member of House of Torture and a former member of Bullet Club. He also works as a backstage producer for NJPW.
Professional wrestling career ...
, all of whom had quit Noah at the same time, announced that they had joined 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 ...
(AJPW), forming the "Burning
Combustion, or burning, is a high-temperature exothermic redox chemical reaction between a fuel (the reductant) and an oxidant, usually atmospheric oxygen, that produces oxidized, often gaseous products, in a mixture termed as smoke. Combust ...
" stable. On March 17, Shiozaki and Akiyama defeated Get Wild (Manabu Soya
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and he previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working ...
and 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 ( ...
) to win 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 ...
. On May 11, Shiozaki made a one-night return to Noah to take part in Kenta Kobashi's retirement match at Final Burning in Budokan, where he, Kenta, Maybach Taniguchi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru were defeated by Kobashi, Jun Akiyama, 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 Kensuke Sasaki. On July 5, following a mass exodus led by Keiji Mutoh, it was announced that Shiozaki, along with the rest of Burning, had signed an exclusive contract with All Japan. Afterwards, Shiozaki set his sights on the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
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 unifica ...
, defeating reigning champion Suwama in a non-title Two Out of Three Falls match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
on July 14, the launching day of the post-Mutoh All Japan. Shiozaki received his shot at the title on August 25, but was defeated by Suwama. In September, Shiozaki made it to the finals of the 2013 Ōdō Tournament, after wins over Burning stablemates Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru as well as top World Tag Team Championship contender Joe Doering
Joseph Doering (born April 16, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member of Violent By Design. He is currently inactive due to cancer surgery. He is a former two- ...
, before losing to Akebono. On October 22, Shiozaki and Akiyama lost the World Tag Team Championship to Evolution
Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...
(Joe Doering
Joseph Doering (born April 16, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he was a member of Violent By Design. He is currently inactive due to cancer surgery. He is a former two- ...
and Suwama). The following day, Shiozaki announced that he wanted to leave Burning in order to win the Triple Crown. On November 18, Shiozaki announced that he was forming a new stable named " Xceed", revealing Kenso as the first member of the group. However, in the stable's first match three days later, Kenso turned on Shiozaki and aligned himself with Bambi Killer and D'Lo Brown. Shiozaki was then saved by Atsushi Aoki, Kento Miyahara and Kotaro Suzuki, who became the newest members of Xceed. In December, Shiozaki and Miyahara made it to the finals of the 2013 World's Strongest Tag Determination League, before losing to Evolution (Joe Doering and Suwama). On February 23, 2014, Shiozaki received another shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by the defending champion, Akebono. In April, Shiozaki participated in the 2014 Champion Carnival, where he was leading his block before suffering a broken thumb, which forced him to pull out of the tournament and forfeit his final round-robin match with Jun Akiyama.
On September 28, Shiozaki defeated Suwama in the finals to win the 2014 Ōdō Tournament and earn another shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Shiozaki received his title shot on October 29, but was defeated by Joe Doering. Shiozaki received a rematch with Doering on January 3, 2015, and defeated him to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He made his first successful title defense on February 7 against Zeus
Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus.
Zeus is the child ...
. His second successful defense took place on March 27 against Xceed stablemate Kento Miyahara. On May 6, Shiozaki and Miyahara defeated Yutaka Yoshie and Shiozaki's next Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship challenger Akebono to become the new World Tag Team Champions. By simultaneously holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and the World Tag Team Championship, Shiozaki became the seventh "Quintuple Crown Champion". On May 21, Shiozaki lost the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship to Akebono in his third defense. On September 28, it was announced that Shiozaki was leaving AJPW the following month and 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 ...
. The announcement also led to Shiozaki and Miyahara vacating the World Tag Team Championship. Shiozaki's final AJPW match took place on October 4, when he and Miyahara defeated Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a tag team match.
Return to Noah (2015–present)
GHC Heavyweight Championship reign (2015–2016)
On November 20, 2015, Shiozaki returned to Noah, announcing he wanted to again wrestle in his original home promotion. His interview segment was interrupted by Minoru Suzuki
(born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, known for his tenure in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Intercontinental Ch ...
, who offered him a spot in his Suzuki-gun stable. On November 26, Shiozaki defeated Mitsuhiro Kitamiya in his Noah return match. When Takashi Sugiura turned on Noah and joined Suzuki-gun on December 23, Shiozaki announced that he wanted to join the promotion in its battle with Suzuki-gun. Naomichi Marufuji, however, turned his offer down. On January 31, 2016, Shiozaki's tag team partner Yoshinobu Kanemaru turned on him and joined Suzuki-gun. At the end of the show, Marufuji, after losing the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Sugiura, finally accepted Shiozaki's help in the war between Noah and Suzuki-gun. On May 28, Shiozaki defeated Sugiura to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the third time. Shiozaki made his first successful title defense on June 12 against Suzuki-gun member Shelton X Benjamin. The following day, Shiozaki officially re-signed with Noah, ending his days as a freelancer. On July 30, Shiozaki lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship back to Sugiura.
GHC Tag Team Championship pursuits (2016–2018)
On December 2, Shiozaki and Maybach Taniguchi defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Lance Archer to win GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute.
Early life
Kitamiya was an amateur ...
on January 21, 2017. On August 26 Shiozaki and Atsushi Kotoge defeated Maybach Taniguchi and Naomichi Marufuji to win GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles to Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm on October 1. In November, Shiozaki won his block in the 2017 Global League Tournament with a record of five wins and one loss and one draw, advancing to the finals. On November 19, Shiozaki was defeated in the final by Kenoh.
On January 6, 2018 Shiozaki saved Kaito Kiyomiya from an assault by Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura, the two would form a partnership, later dubbed as "GO-KAI". From March until April, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki took part of the Global Tag League
The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008.
The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...
, finishing the tournament with three wins, one loss and three draws, advancing to the finals. In the finals, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated Kenoh and Sugiura to win the tournament. On April 29 at Great Voyage in Niigata, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated The Aggression (Masa Kitamiya
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute.
Early life
Kitamiya was an amateur ...
and Katsuhiko Nakajima) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
. They lost the titles back to The Aggression on May 29. In November, Shiozaki took part in the 2018 Global League, where he finished the tournament with four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.
AXIZ (2018–2020)
In December 2018, Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima formed a team, and the duo took part in a tournament for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. On December 7, Shiozaki and Nakajima defeated Kenoh and Masa Kitamiya
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. Kitamiya's ring name is a tribute to former professional wrestler Masa Saito. Kitamiya also wears a similar ring attire to Saito as tribute.
Early life
Kitamiya was an amateur ...
in a tournament final to win the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Shiozaki and Nakajima were challenged by Hooligans ( Maybach Taniguchi and Yuji Hino
, better known by the ring name , 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 p ...
) to a match for their titles. On December 16 at The Great Voyage 2018 in Yokohama vol.2, Shiozaki and Nakajima lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Hooligans. On January 6, 2019, Shiozaki and Nakajima received their rematch for GHC Tag Team Championship losing to Taniguchi and Hino, after their Hooligans stablemates interfered in the match. Later in January, Shiozaki and Nakajima named their team "AXIZ". Afterwards, on February 12, AXIZ faced GHC Tag Team Champions 50 Funky Powers ( Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm) in a non-title match. Nakajima would scored the victory for AXIZ, after Nakajima pinned Storm. After Atsushi Kotoge and Eddie Edwards couldn't challenge for the GHC Tag Team Championship, due to Kotoge's shoulder injury, Noah announced AXIZ as the next challengers to the GHC Tag Team Championship. On February 24, 2019, AXIZ defeated 50 Funky Powers (Muhammad Yone and Quiet Storm) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the second time. From April 7 until April 30, AXIZ took part in the 2019 Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of five wins, one loss, and one draw, advancing to the finals of the tournament. On May 4, AXIZ was defeated in the finals by Sugiura-gun ( Takashi Sugiura and Kazma Sakamoto). On June 13, AXIZ lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Sugiura-gun, before defeating them in rematch on June 27, to win the GHC Tag Team Championship for the record-breaking third time.
In December, Shiozaki and Nakajima celebrated their 15th-anniversary debut match, leading on December 3, Shiozaki defeating Nakajima in their anniversary debut match. Afterwards, Shiozaki challenged Kaito Kiyomiya to a match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2020. Things started civilly between the champion and the challenger. However, Kiyomiya began showing an egotistical attitude leading to the match, stating that would take the "leading role" at Noah's 20th anniversary year in 2020. Shiozaki didn't appreciate his attitude, leading the two to be separated twice after their match on December 7. On December 12, AXIZ teamed with Hitoshi Kumano in a winning effort against Kiyomiya, Shuhei Taniguchi, and Masao Inoue, after Shiozaki scored the win for his team, after pinning Kiyomiya. Afterwards, Kiyomiya found the loss regrettable and his arrogance began growing. In their final confrontation, AXIZ defeated Kiyomiya and Taniguchi, with Shiozaki scoring the win for his team, pinning Kiyomiya for the second time. After the match, Shiozaki loomed over Kiyomiya and placed a finger very firmly on his chest before leaving the ring. On January 4, 2020, at New Sunrise, Shiozaki defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship. The following day at Reboot, AXIZ lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Masaaki Mochizuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. Mochizuki is a former FIP World Champion and three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion.
Professional wrestling career
Early years
A former karat ...
and Naomichi Marufuji. In March, AXIZ took part in the 2020 Global Tag League, making to their second consecutive Global Tag League final by winning their block in the 2020 tournament with a record of two wins and one loss. On April 18, they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Sugiura-gun International (Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree). On August 6, on the second night of Departure, after Shiozaki successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Naomichi Marufuji, Kenoh challenged Shiozaki to a double-title match for the GHC National and Heavyweight Championships, stating that there could only be one strong champion in Noah. On August 10 at NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 3, Shiozaki faced Kenoh in a 60-minute time limit draw to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship and unsuccessfully challenging Kenoh for the GHC National Championship. On August 20, AXIZ faced Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba
is a Japanese professional wrestler, submission wrestling, submission wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH, Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Championship, G ...
and Takashi Sugiura) in a losing effort for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Nakajima turned on Shiozaki in order to join KONGOH, effectively disbanding AXIZ. From September 18 and October 11, Shiozaki took part in the 2020 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins, and three losses, failing to advance to the finals, losing to Kaito Kiyomiya in their head-to-head match.
On December 6 at Noah the Best 2020, after Shiozaki successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Takashi Sugiura, 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 ...
challenged to him to a title match at Destination, which Shiozaki accepted. On February 12, 2021 at Destination, Shiozaki lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Keiji Mutoh, in his sixth title defense, ending his reign at 405 days. Their match was named the Match of the Year by ''Tokyo Sports'', marking the first time in ten years, that a match from NOAH received the award.
Record-breaking GHC Heavyweight Champion (2021–present)
Shortly after losing the title, on March 15, it was announced that Shiozaki would undergo surgery, after dislocating his right biceps tendon, forcing him to be sidelined for eight months. He made his return on November 28 at Noah the Best 2021, challenging his former AXIZ teammate Katsuhiko Nakajima to a title match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on January 1, at Noah The New Year. On December 27, following a victory in a ten-man tag team match, where Nakajima pinned Shiozaki, he stated that if lost to him at NOAH The New Year, Shiozaki should never repeat his catchphrase "I am Noah" again. At a press conference the following day, Shiozaki agreed to Nakajima's condition of never using his catchphrase "I am Noah" again, on the condition that if he won, Nakajima would be forced to reunite AXIZ with him. At the event, Shiozaki unsuccessfully challenged Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, forcing Shiozaki to abandon his "I am Noah" catchfrase.
After failed to regain the GHC Heavyweight Championship, Shiozaki underwent a 4 match trial series to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but lost all 4 matches. After defeating Manabu Soya
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling, and he previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working ...
on March 13 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Shiozaki began his true road to the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On March 23, after avenging his loss to Nakajima, Shiozaki called out Kazuyuki Fujita
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestling, freestyle wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a one-time GHC Heavyweight Championship ...
, challenging him to a title match for GHC Heavyweight Championship at Majestic, which he accepted after mocking Shiozaki's catchphrase. The title match would be turned to a match for the vacant championship, after Fujita contracted COVID-19. At the event, on April 30, Shiozaki defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the record-breaking fifth time. He lost the title 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 ...
on June 12 at CyberFight Festival. In August, Shiozaki took part in the 2022 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament, with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.
The following month, Shiozaki was sidelined with an shoulder injury, which led to him return on April 16 at Green Journey in Sendai, announcing the would make his in-ring return on May 4 at Majestic. At Majestic, Shiozaki teamed with Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura
is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also making appearances for WWE on their NXT (WWE brand), NXT WWE brand extension, brand.
Professional wrestling career Independent circuit (2 ...
in a losing effort to KONGOH (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Manabu Soya). Afterwards, Nakajima decided to leave KONGOH to reform AXIZ with Shiozaki, which he accepted. AXIZ made their return match on May 14, losing to Kenoh and Soya. After a draw between Nakajima and Kenoh on May 31, Shiozaki challenged Kenoh to a match, which he lost on June 22. In August, Shiozaki took part in the 2023 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, two losses, and a draw against Manabu Soya in their head-to-head match, meaning that both finished leveled on points in their block. This led to NOAH setting up a rematch between them to decide, who would advance to the finals, which Shiozaki won on August 27. On September 3, Shiozaki defeated Kenoh in the finals to win the N-1 Victory. On September 24 at Grand Ship In Nagoya, Shiozaki unsuccessfully challenged Jake Lee for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. AXIZ temporarily disbanded when Nakajima left Pro Wrestling Noah in October 2023, but it was later announced that AXIZ would compete in that years AJPW World's Strongest Tag Determination League; AXIZ were announced as participants on November 7, two days after Nakajima won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
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 unifica ...
against Yuma Aoyagi
is a Japanese professional wrestler working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. A member of the Zennichi Shin Jidai stable, he is a former AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a two-time All Asia Tag Team Champion ...
.
Personal life
Shiozaki is a supporter of his local football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
club, Roasso Kumamoto, which compete in J2 League
The or simply J2 is the second division of the and the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The top tier is represented by the J1 League. It (along with the rest of the J.League) is currently sponsored by Meiji Yasud ...
. He also a fan of Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, people from the Korean peninsula or of Korean descent
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Korean
**Korean dialects
**See also: North–South differences in t ...
music group, BTS
BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
* 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 ...
** Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship
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 unifica ...
( 1 time)[
** ]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 ...
( 2 times) – with Jun Akiyama (1)[ and Kento Miyahara (1)][
** Ōdō Tournament (]2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
)[
* ]Full Impact Pro
Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the president, while Trevin Adams is the ...
** FIP World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
* Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide
Promociones Antonio Peña, S.A. de C.V. doing business as, d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (commonly referred to as simply AAA, pronounced "Triple A" – an abbreviation of its original name Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración de Espectáculos ...
** AAA World Tag Team Championship
The AAA World Tag Team Championship (''Campeonato en Parejas AAA'' in Spanish language, Spanish) is the main tag team championship (professional wrestling), title contested for in the Mexico, Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling promotion, p ...
( 1 time) – with Atsushi Aoki
*''Nikkan Sports
is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background ...
''
**Outstanding Performance Award (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 ...
''
** Ranked No. 31 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 2015
* Pro Wrestling Noah
** GHC Heavyweight Championship ( 5 times)
** GHC Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team Championship (professional wrestling), title in Japanese Professional wrestling promotion, promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Big Van Vader, Vader and 2 Cold Scorpio, Sc ...
( 7 times) – with Akitoshi Saito (1),[ Maybach Taniguchi (1),] Atsushi Kotoge (1), Kaito Kiyomiya (1), and Katsuhiko Nakajima (3)
** N-1 Victory
The N-1 Victory is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah, established in 2010 as the Global League. In 2019, the tournament was rebranded as the N-1 Victory.
The N-1 Victory adopts a points system, ...
(2023
Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...
)
** Global Tag League
The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008.
The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...
(2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
) – with 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 ...
** Global Tag League
The Global Tag League is a professional wrestling round-robin tag team tournament held by Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created in 2008.
The Global Tag League is held under a points system, with two points for a win, one for a time limit draw and n ...
(2018
Events January
* January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency.
* January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
) – with Kaito Kiyomiya
** One Night Six-Man Tag Team Tournament (2007) – with Naomichi Marufuji and Ippei Ota
* 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 ...
** World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time, current)
* ''Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
References
External links
* http://www.tokyo-sports.co.jp Official website
1960 establishments in Japan
Da ...
''
** Best Bout Award (2021)
** Outstanding Performance Award (2020)
* World League Wrestling
NWA World League Wrestling is a Troy, Missouri-based professional wrestling promotion affiliated with Harley Race's Wrestling Academy school. It was established in 1999 by former World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. The promotion is part of ...
** WLW Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
References
External links
All Japan Pro Wrestling profile
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shiozaki, Go
Japanese male professional wrestlers
Living people
People from Kumamoto
1982 births
21st-century male professional wrestlers
21st-century Japanese professional wrestlers
FIP World Heavyweight Champions
GHC Heavyweight Champions
GHC Tag Team Champions
AAA World Tag Team Champions
World Tag Team Champions (AJPW)
Triple Crown Heavyweight Champions
Global Tag League winners
Global League/N-1 Victory winners
Zero1 World Heavyweight Champions
Odo Tournament winners