Sho Tanaka

Sho Tanaka
Tanaka in November 2017
Born (1989-08-27) August 27, 1989[1]
Uwajima, Ehime, Japan[1]
Alma mater Tokuyama University[1]
Website Twitter
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Raijin
Sho[2]
Sho Tanaka
Billed height 173 cm (5 ft 8 in)[1]
Billed weight 93 kg (205 lb)[1]
Trained by NJPW Dojo
Junji Hirata
Debut November 15, 2012[1]

Sho Tanaka (田中 翔, Tanaka Shō) (born August 27, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he currently performs under the ring name Sho (stylized in all capital letters). As the tag team Roppongi 3K, he and Yoh are former 2 times IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. He has previously worked for the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), where he was known under the ring name Raijin (雷神, Raijin), named after the Japanese God of thunder, and was part of La Ola Amarilla ("the Yellow Wave") alongside Okumura, Kamaitachi and Fujin.

Early life

Sho Tanaka was born on August 27, 1989, in Uwajima, Ehime, Japan. While in high school he became involved with Greco-Roman wrestling, something he continued to practice as he attended Tokuyama University. At Tokuyama he was the vice-captain of the wrestling team, competing in the 7th All-Japan University Championship for Greco-Roman wrestling, where he came in third over all.[1]

Professional wrestling career

Inspired by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) wrestler Hiroshi Tanahashi Tanaka attended the NJPW Dojo in February, 2012 training for his professional wrestling career.[1][3]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2012–2016)

Tanaka in September 2015

On November 11, 2012 Tanaka made his pro wrestling debut in the opening match of the NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament 1st round show where he lost to Takaaki Watanabe.[4][5] Tanaka competed as one of NJPW's "Young Lions" a class of rookie wrestlers who work mostly against each other early on, wearing all black gear and with no particular ring character, all part of the structured learning process in NJPW.[3] Throughout 2013 and 2014 Tanaka often faced off against fellow Young Lion Yohei Komatsu, with both men trading victories in both singles and tag team competition.[6] By 2015 Tanaka and Komatsu had begun teaming together on a regular basis, including working together in the New Japan Rumble as part of Wrestle Kingdom 9 on January 5, 2015. The two teamed up to eliminate Tiger Mask and Taichi but were both eliminated by Tama Tonga[7] Tanaka was called upon to replace an injured Rey Cometa on a NJPW/Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre co-promoted Fantastica Mania 2015 show on January 14. Tanaka and Stigma lost to La Peste Negra ("The Black Plague"; Bárbaro Cavernario and Mr. Niebla)[8][9] On February 11, 2015 Tanaka defeated rival and occasional tag team partner Yohei Komatsu in the opening match of NJPW's 2015 The New Beginning in Osaka show.[10] In June and July 2015 Tanaka represented NJPW in Pro Wrestling Noah's Global Junior Heavyweight League. During the tournament he earned two points by defeating Hitoshi Kumano but lost to Daisuke Harada, Zack Sabre Jr. El Desperado, Kenoh and Yoshinari Ogawa to be eliminated from the tournament.[3] At the 2015 Destruction in Kobe show Tanaka and Komatsu defeated fellow Young Lions David Finlay and Jay White.[11]

In early 2016 it was announced that Tanaka and Komatsu would compete in the 2016 Fantastica Mania series of shows, competing in what NJPW called the "Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka send-off game", announcing that the two would travel to Mexico and work for CMLL as part of their continued in-ring skill development.[12] The team worked the opening match for each of the six Fantastica Mania events, losing each time.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

Overseas learning excursion (2016–2017)

Tanaka and Komatsu became be the latest in a long line of young Japanese wrestlers to travel to Mexico to learn the lucha libre style. In Mexico, Tanaka was given the ring name Raijin, named after the Japanese God of Thunder, teaming with Komatsu who would be known as Fujin, named after the Japanese God of Wind.[19] The duo made their Mexican debut on January 31, 2016, teaming up with Okumura, forming the most recent version of La Ola Amarilla ("The Yellow Wave").[20] The group was joined by Kamaitachi, a previous NJPW trainee who has worked for CMLL since 2014.[21]

In October 2016, Tanaka and Komatsu, now billed as "Sho" and "Yohey", The Tempura Boyz, began working regularly for American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), with whom NJPW also had a working relationship.[22]

Return to NJPW (2017–present)

On October 9, 2017, at King of Pro-Wrestling, Tanaka and Komatsu, billed as "Sho" and "Yoh", returned to NJPW, when they were revealed as Rocky Romero's new tag team Roppongi 3K. The two defeated Funky Future (Ricochet and Ryusuke Taguchi) in their return match to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.[23] Through their affiliation with Romero, Sho and Yoh also became part of the Chaos stable.[24] On November 5 at Power Struggle, Roppongi 3K defeated Super 69 (ACH and Ryusuke Taguchi) in the finals to win the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament.[25] On January 4, 2018, Roppongi 3K lost the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship to The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in Tokyo Dome,[26] but won it back on January 28 at the New Beginning in Sapporo. In May 2018, he entered the Best of the Super Juniors tournament. He finished the tournament with 3 win and 4 loses, failing to advance to the finals.

Mixed martial arts career

Tanaka was scheduled to make his mixed martial arts debut on May 27, 2017, fighting Nicholas Trochez in Queens, New York for Golden MMA Championships.[27] Trochez first failed to make weight for the fight, which Tanaka was reportedly willing to overlook, but the fight ended up being canceled when Trochez's medical information also did not come in on time.[28]

Roppongi 3K performing the 3K on Ryusuke Taguchi

Championships and accomplishments

Roppongi 3K as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and the winners of the 2017 Super Jr. Tag Tournament

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Database > 田中 翔" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  2. ↑ "10/15/16 Glory By Honor - Dearborn, MI". Ring of Honor. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 "Komatsu y Tanaka". Box y Lucha magazine (in Spanish) (3218). January 24, 2016.
  4. ↑ "NEVER". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  5. ↑ "新生NEVERで新設された無差別級王座を争うトーナメント！田中や田口らが順当に勝ち上がる中、内藤が注目した選手は..." Battle News (in Japanese). November 15, 2012. Retrieved September 10, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Yohei Komatsu matches against Sho Tanaka". Cagematch.net. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  7. ↑ Johnson, Mike; Trionfo, Richard. "Complete New Japan WrestleKingdom PPV coverage (page 2)". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  8. ↑ "NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2015". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ Zellner, Kris (January 16, 2015). "The Lucha Report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  10. ↑ "新日本プロレス「The New Beginning in Osaka」". Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. February 11, 2015. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  11. ↑ Macklin, Matthew (September 27, 2015). "New Japan Destruction in Kobe results". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved September 27, 2015.
  12. ↑ "小松洋平、田中翔の"無期限海外遠征"が決定！ 『FANTASTICA MANIA』全6大会で"壮行試合"が実現！" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. January 7, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Arrancó Fantasticamanía 2016". MedioTiempo (in Spanish). January 17, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ Zellner, Kris (January 20, 2016). "The Lucha Report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  15. ↑ "NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 20, 2016.
  16. ↑ Zellner, Kris (January 25, 2016). "Mario Meija Jimenez aka the original Espectrito & WWF's Mini Vader passes away: The Lucha Report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 29, 2016.
  17. ↑ "NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  18. ↑ "NJPW Presents CMLL Fantastica Mania 2016". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved January 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ "CMLL vs NJPW, en puerta". Esto Enlinea (in Spanish). Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Negro Casas contra Volador; la rivalidad continúa". Esto Enlinea (in Spanish). Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  21. ↑ Carrera, Pep. "La Ola Amarilla busca conquistar la Arena México" (in Spanish). Plantilla Deportivo. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Card finalized for Dearborn on October 15". Ring of Honor. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  23. 1 2 Rose, Bryan (October 8, 2017). "NJPW King of Pro Wrestling live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Evil". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  24. ↑ "King of Pro-Wrestling". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  25. 1 2 Currier, Joseph (November 5, 2017). "NJPW Power Struggle live results: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kota Ibushi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
  26. ↑ Renner, Ethan (January 3, 2018). "NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 live results: Okada-Naito, Omega-Jericho". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 4, 2018.
  27. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (May 29, 2017). "May 29, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE weekend show reviews, CMLL drama, plus tons of news". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 46–47. ISSN 1083-9593.
  28. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (June 5, 2017). "June 5, 2017 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Record low Raw ratings, death of Frank Deford, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California: 48. ISSN 1083-9593.
  29. ↑ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
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