In every profession, you come across individuals that excel without ever really getting the plaudits they deserve. They are steady hands, usually, the first person into work and the last one to go home. Solid, dependable and Ernest in their efforts. Every company needs a Tomohiro Ishii.

Tomohiro Ishii made his professional wrestling debut in 1996 for Genichiro Tenryu’s ill-fated WAR promotion. The 20-year-old Ishii spent the next few years honing his skills in Tag Team contests alongside partner Yuji Yasuraoka. The team would prove a successful pairing leading to two reigns as WAR International Junior Tag Team Champions.

When WAR went out of business at the dawn of the new millennium, Ishii became a freelance worker visiting several Japanese indie promotions. Ishii’s next big break came with Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (Riki Pro) where he became the legendary Riki Choshu’s apprentice, it was then that Choshu recognised that despite his short stature Ishii was not cut out to be a junior his heavy hitting style was that of a heavyweight.

In 2004 Ishii’s profile and reputation was increasing leading to a handful of appearances for NJPW (New Japan Pro Wrestling).

Impressed by his work by 2006 NJPW management had made Ishii a regular fixture in the promotion. Ishii was subsequently teamed with with Toru Yano performing in the 2006 G1 Tag League. The team would go on to join the G.B.H faction in NJPW’s ongoing faction wars.

Under the G.B.H banner, Ishii would occasionally compete in the short-lived Apache Pro Wrestling Army promotion, where he became their longest reigning heavyweight champion. Despite this success his position in NJPW remained in the lower card and his prospects looked limited.

As G.B.H imploded Ishii would join up with longtime partner Yano in Shinsuke Nakamura’s new Chaos faction, despite the high profile of Chaos and Ishii’s ability he was still struggling to gain recognition as a great singles performer. Ishii’s first real chance to shine in a main event came at as part of TNA’s Global Impact event in 2009 which was pre-taped at the Tokyo Dome. He teamed with Chaos partners Giant Bernard, Karl Anderson and Takashi Iizuka in a losing effort against Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Masahiro Chono and Riki Choshu.

The next couple of years would see Ishii continue to shine, In late 2010, Ishii feuded with Tiger Mask, culminating in a match at the first Fantastica Mania where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in a Mask vs Hair match; as a result, Ishii was forced to have his head shaved. After the shaving Ishii attacked his rival and unmasked him. During the next NJPW event, Ishii donned the mask of Black Tiger, a longtime nemesis of the various Tiger Masks. This new rivalry ended in February at The New Beginning, where Tiger Mask defeated Ishii in a Mask vs. Mask match.

By 2013 Ishii had been with New Japan for the best part of a decade. He had put his body on the line in several matches, no more so than in a brutal series for the NEVER Open Championship against hardcore icon Masato Tanaka. Despite his excellent work ethic and selflessness, Ishii’s biggest profile match to date had come in 2012; when he unsuccessfully challenged Hirooki Goto for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship in the main event of a show in Osaka.

Ishii had, however, won the respect of the New Japan faithful, being christened “New Mr Korakuen” in the coming months he would team with Chaos leader Nakamura and take on the role he still holds to this day as the Chaos gatekeeper/enforcer.

Ishii’s loyalty in NJPW was recognised when he was finally entered into the G1 Climax Tournament in 2013, where he picked up the two biggest wins of his career. Firstly Ishii got a win over NJPW’s ace Hiroshi Tanahashi. Then on the fourth night of the tournament, Ishii downed Katsuyori Shibata in a modern day classic.

to be continued…..

In Part II, we will look at Ishii’s continued contributions to wrestling, during the current rise in popularity of New Japan and Rev Pro. 🇯🇵