Yoshi-Hashi

Nobuo Yoshihashi (吉橋 伸雄, Yoshihashi Nobuo, born May 25, 1982) is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Yoshi-Hashi (stylized in all capital letters).[3] In NJPW, he is currently in his first reign as a NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii.

Yoshi-Hashi
Yoshi-Hashi in March 2017
Birth nameNobuo Yoshihashi
Born (1982-05-25) May 25, 1982[1]
Togo, Aichi[1]
Spouse(s)Ayumi Kurihara
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Nobuo Yoshihashi
Yoshi-Hashi[1]
Yoshihashi[2]
Billed height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Billed weight102 kg (225 lb)[1]
Trained byAnimal Hamaguchi[1]
NJPW Dojo[3]
DebutJuly 6, 2008[1]

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2008–2010)

In 2005, Yoshihashi tried to earn a training spot in the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) dojo, but failed to pass an introductory test. He was eventually accepted into the dojo, after passing the test on his third attempt,[4] and made his professional wrestling debut on July 6, 2008, losing to Tetsuya Naito. Although not competing in the 2008 G1 Climax, he did wrestle on many of the G1 Climax shows. Yoshihashi did not pick up any wins in NJPW in 2008. This is normal for rookies in the promotion. However, on making his Riki Pro debut on November 3 he teamed up with Kazuchika Okada to beat the team of Kuniyoshi Wada and Yusaku Obata.[5] On February 12, 2009, Yoshihashi won his first match in NJPW by teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yuji Nagata and defeating Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto and Shinsuke Nakamura. After this however, he lost almost all of his matches in 2009. On November 4 Yoshihashi teamed up with Koji Kanemoto in a losing effort against then-IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Apollo 55.[6] In 2010, Yoshihashi began winning many more matches for NJPW. He teamed up with Jyushin Thunder Liger to participate in the first Super J Tag Tournament, however, the pair lost in the first round and were eliminated. He also participated in the 2010 Best of the Super Juniors tournament.[6] Though Yoshihashi picked up his first ever singles victory in NJPW against junior legend Akira, he lost all of his other matches in the tournament and thus failed to progress to the semifinals. His last match for NJPW before leaving was a loss with Liger against Davey Richards and La Sombra.[6]

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (2010–2011)

Yoshihashi joined Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in 2010 as a way to gain more experience and be exposed to a variety of wrestling syles. His first match was a six-man two out of three falls match with La Ola Amarilla ("The Yellow Wave"; Okumura and Taichi) losing to El Hijo del Fantasma, La Mascara, and Máximo.[7] For the rest of 2010 and the entire year of 2011 Yoshihashi wrestled in six-man two out of three falls matches and rarely participated in anything else. He lost most of his matches for CMLL in both 2010 and 2011.[6][7] Near the end of his stay in Mexico Yoshihashi started a storyline with CMLL mainstay Rush that started in six-man tag team matches and soon escalated to the point where the two agreed to both bet their hair in a Lucha de Apuestas ("Bet Match"), which in Mexico is more important than Championship matches.[8] On August 1, 2011, Rush defeated Yoshihashi and then forced him to have his hair shaved off as per the stipulation.[2][9]

Return to NJPW (2012–present)

In late 2011, it was announced that Yoshihashi would be returning to NJPW on January 4, 2012, at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, now working under the ring name "Yoshi-Hashi" (stylized in all capital letters). Prior to his return, Yoshi-Hashi announced that he had joined the Chaos stable due to becoming accustomed to portraying a rudo (a villain) in Mexico.[10] On January 4, 2012, Yoshi-Hashi was defeated in his return match by his old nemesis from his early career, Kazuchika Okada, who won the match in under five minutes.[7] Yoshi-Hashi appeared at The New Beginning and NJPW 40th Anniversary Show teaming with members of Chaos and won both matches. On April 1, he was defeated by La Sombra in the first round of the New Japan Cup.[11] At Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Yoshi-Hashi along with Jado and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Captain New Japan, Strong Man and Tama Tonga.[7] At Dominion 6.16, Yoshi-Hashi teamed with Tomohiro Ishii and Rocky Romero defeated Captain New Japan and Seigigun members Wataru Inoue and Yuji Nagata.[7] From November 20 to December 1, Yoshi-Hashi took part in the round-robin portion of the 2012 World Tag League, alongside stablemate Kazuchika Okada under the team name "Chaos Ride the Lightning".[12] The team finished with a record of three wins and three losses, with a loss to "Sword & Guns" (Karl Anderson and Hirooki Goto) on the final day, costing them a spot in the semifinals of the tournament.[13][14] Yoshi-Hashi and Okada reunited a year later for the 2013 World Tag League, this time finishing second to last in their block with a record of two wins and four losses.[15] On September 5, 2014, Yoshi-Hashi picked up a major win, when he led Chaos to a ten-man elimination tag team match win over their rival Bullet Club stable.[16] Following the win, Yoshi-Hashi was granted a shot at two different championships held by Bullet Club; the NEVER Openweight Championship and the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[17] On September 21 at Destruction in Kobe, Yoshi-Hashi and Kazuchika Okada unsuccessfully challenged Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[18][19] Two days later at Destruction in Okayama, Yoshi-Hashi also failed to capture the NEVER Openweight Championship from Yujiro Takahashi.[20] In November, Yoshi-Hashi once again teamed up with Okada for the 2014 World Tag League.[21] The team finished their block with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.[22]

Yoshi-Hashi in March 2015

In mid-2016, through Chaos' rivalry with the Los Ingobernables de Japon (L.I.J.) stable, Yoshi-Hashi found himself a rival in NJPW newcomer Sanada. The two had a history dating back to 2005, when they took part in NJPW's introductory test together.[23] While both failed to pass the test, Yoshi-Hashi felt that Sanada was a quitter for seeking employment in another promotion (All Japan Pro Wrestling), while he himself repeated the test until passing it in his third attempt.[4] On June 19 at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, Yoshi-Hashi scored arguably the biggest win of his career at that point by submitting Sanada in a tag team match, where he teamed with Chaos stablemate Tomohiro Ishii and Sanada with L.I.J. stablemate Bushi.[24] Following the win, Yoshi-Hashi was granted entry into the 2016 G1 Climax, his first G1 Climax tournament.[25] In his opening match in the tournament on July 22, Yoshi-Hashi scored another big win over Kenny Omega.[26] On August 13, he finished the tournament last in his block with a record of three wins and six losses.[27] Despite this, Yoshi-Hashi's opening match win resulted in Omega, after winning the entire tournament, nominating him as his first challenger for the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship match contract.[28] On September 22 at Destruction in Hiroshima, Yoshi-Hashi unsuccessfully challenged Omega for the contract.[29] On November 5 at Power Struggle, Yoshi-Hashi teamed with Tomohiro Ishii to unsuccessfully challenge Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[30] At the end of the year, Yoshi-Hashi and Okada took part in the 2016 World Tag League, finishing third in their block with a record of four wins and three losses.[31]

On January 4, 2017, at Wrestle Kingdom 11 in Tokyo Dome, Yoshi-Hashi, Jado and Will Ospreay, participated in the first NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship gauntlet match representing Chaos, however, the team was unsuccessful in winning the title after Jado was pinned by Yujiro Takahashi.[32] On January 5, 2017, Yoshi-Hashi pinned Bullet Club member and reigning Ring of Honor (ROH) World Champion Adam Cole in a six-man tag team match, seemingly putting himself in line for a shot at the title.[33] Through NJPW's relationship with Revolution Pro Wrestling, Yoshi-Hashi made his debut for the British promotion on January 21, defeating Pete Dunne.[34] On February 27, during the second of the Honor Rising: Japan 2017 events, Yoshi-Hashi unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole for the ROH World Championship.[35] On June 26, Yoshi-Hashi unsuccessfully challenged Minoru Suzuki for the NEVER Openweight Championship.[36] From July 17 to August 11, Yoshi-Hashi took part in the 2017 G1 Climax, where he finished second to last in block A with the record of two wins and seven losses.[37] On October 15 at the NJPW and ROH co-produced Global Wars: Chicago event, Yoshi-Hashi unsuccessfully challenged Kenny Omega for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.[38] At the end of the year, Yoshi-Hashi teamed with Hirooki Goto in the 2017 World Tag League. Finishing with a record of four wins and three losses, the team failed to qualify for the finals, after losing to Evil and Sanada in their final round-robin match.[39]

On August 9, 2020, Yoshi-Hashi, along with fellow Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii and Hirooki Goto, won the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship in a tournament final at Summer Struggle in Korakuen Hall. This marked the first-ever title win in his wrestling career, 12 years after his debut in NJPW.[40]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record
See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Rush (hair)Yoshihashi (hair)Puebla, PueblaCMLL Lunes Arena PueblaAugust 1, 2011[2][9]

References
  1. "Yoshi-Hashi". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 19, 2017.
  2. "Quiere Rush más retos". Récord (in Spanish). August 4, 2011. Archived from the original on June 15, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  3. "Nobuo Yoshihashi". Puroresu Central. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  4. "Best of the Super Jr.XXIII". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-05-22.
  5. "Matches « YOSHI-HASHI « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  6. "Matches « YOSHI-HASHI « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  7. "Matches « YOSHI-HASHI « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  8. Madigan, Dan (2007). "Okay... what is Lucha Libre?". Mondo Lucha A Go-Go: the bizarre & honorable world of wild Mexican wrestling. HarperColins Publisher. pp. 29–40. ISBN 978-0-06-085583-3.
  9. Lozada, Miriam (August 2, 2011). "Rush Despoja de su Cabellera a Youshihashi". Cinco Radio (in Spanish). Retrieved August 2, 2011.
  10. "【1.4東京ドームまで7日!】Yoshi-Hashiが"Chaos"入り宣言! オカダはふてぶてしく"頂上獲り"断言!! ダブル凱旋帰国インタビュー". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2016-12-12.
  11. "Matches « YOSHI-HASHI « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  12. "11月20日（火)開幕!! 『World Tag League 2012』の対戦カード決定!! TDC大会、愛知大会には桜庭＆柴田が特別参戦！" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  13. "NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour World Tag League 2012" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  14. "NJPW 40ｔｈ anniversary Tour World Tag League 2012" (in Japanese). New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved 2012-12-01.
  15. "World Tag League 2013". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  16. "【カード変更】9.23岡山でYoshi-HashiがNever初挑戦! 永田＆中西がNWAタッグ戦! 9.21神戸はIWGPタッグに変更!!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2014-09-08. Retrieved 2014-09-08.
  17. "オカダ下半期は団体戦重視 Chaosでベルト総取りへ". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2014-09-06. Retrieved 2014-09-08.
  18. "Destruction in Kobe". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  19. Caldwell, James (2014-09-21). "Caldwell's New Japan PPV results 9/21: Complete live coverage of "Destruction in Kobe" - Nakamura regains IC Title, Tanahashi vs. Shibata, A.J. Styles, new Jr. Hvt. champion, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  20. "Destruction in Okayama". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  21. "『World Tag League 2014』出場チーム＆公式戦が決定！ 棚橋はヨシタツとタッグ結成！ 桜庭、AJ、柴田、ROH、NWAも参戦!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  22. "World Tag League 2014". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-12-05.
  23. "6.19大阪城ホールでタッグ激突！「Sanadaに何度負けても、ボクには諦める気持ちがまったくないんです」Yoshi-Hashiに直撃インタビュー！【DM16】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  24. "Big day for the Briscoes, Elgin vs. Omega ladder classic, Okada vs. Naito headlines & more:New Japan Pro Wrestling Dominion 2016 report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  25. "New Japan's G1 Climax field & huge top matches announced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-06-27.
  26. "New Japan Pro Wrestling 2016 G1 Climax day 2 report". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved 2016-06-30.
  27. "2016 New Japan G1 Climax Results". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved 2016-08-13.
  28. "Kenny Omega G1 Climax Victory Press Conference – challenges New Japan star, talks G1 Climax win, using Styles & Balor finishers, disses Ibushi, more". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2016-08-14. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  29. "Destruction in Hiroshima". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  30. Rose, Bryan (2016-11-04). "NJPW Power Struggle live results: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jay Lethal". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2016-11-05.
  31. 戦国炎舞 -Kizna- Presents World Tag League 2016. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2016-12-08.
  32. "WRESTLE KINGDOM 11 in 東京ドーム – 東京・東京ドーム – 第3試合" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-06-12.
  33. Rose, Bryan (2017-01-05). "NJPW New Year's Dash results: The return of Suzuki-gun". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2017-01-10.
  34. Boon, Alan (2017-01-26). "The Week In British Wrestling: Shibata defends against Riddle". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
  35. "Honor Rising:Japan 2017". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-02-27.
  36. Rose, Bryan (2017-06-26). "NJPW Kizuna Road results: NEVER title on the line". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2017-06-26.
  37. ローソンチケット Presents G1 Climax 27. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  38. Meltzer, Dave; Currier, Joseph (2017-10-15). "ROH Global Wars Chicago live results: Kenny Omega vs. Yoshi-Hashi". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2017-10-15.
  39. "鉄拳Presents World Tag League 2017". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved 2017-12-08.
  40. NJPW. "New NEVER 6-Man Tag Champions crowned in Korakuen final | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  41. NJPW. "2020.08.09 SUMMER STRUGGLE 2020 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  42. "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2018". cagematch.net. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
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