Atsushi Aoki

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Atsushi Aoki
Aoki in 2017
Born(1977-09-25)September 25, 1977[1]
Tokyo, Japan[1]
DiedJune 3, 2019(2019-06-03) (aged 41)
Tokyo, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Atsushi Aoki
Strong Jūsō[2]
Billed height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)[1]
Billed weight82 kg (181 lb)[1]
Trained byJun Akiyama[1]
Pro Wrestling Noah[1]
DebutDecember 24, 2005[1]

Atsushi Aoki (青木 篤志, Aoki Atsushi, September 25, 1977 – June 3, 2019) was a Japanese professional wrestler who worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) as a wrestler, president of talent relations and head trainer at their dojo.

Aoki began his career in

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship four times and the All Asia Tag Team Championship
3 times.

Aoki was killed in a motorcycle accident on June 3, 2019, at the age of 41. At the time of his death, he was the reigning World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Amateur wrestling

Aoki began wrestling in high school, winning the 69 kg (152 lb) weight division in 2000.[1] He joined the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force as part of the Aomori 5th General Division Regiment in 2000 where he continued to wrestle, and won the National Open Wrestling Championship in the 69 kg weight class. In 2005, he applied to join the Pro Wrestling Noah dojo and was accepted.

Professional wrestling career

Pro Wrestling Noah

Early career (2005–2009)

Aoki began training under

Real Fuerza Aerea (Laredo Kid and Super Fly) in 08:15.[6] In November, 2007 Aoki took part in NOAH's Mauritius Cup tournament, earning 8 points in total by defeating Ippei Ota, Tsutomu Hirayanagi and Akihiko Ito while wrestling to a draw against Shuhei Taniguchi and Taiji Ishimori. Despite not losing a single match in the tournament Shuhei Taniguchi managed to score 9 points to take the Mauritius Cup.[7]

Aoki teamed up with Akihiko Ito to participate in the

Kikutaro and the team of Bryan Danielson and Roderick Strong. In the semi-final match they defeated Eddie Edwards and Ricky Marvin but lost to Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in the finals of the tournament.[10] In December, 2009 NJPW invited Aoki back, this time to compete in the 2009 Super J-Cup. Aoki did not make it past the first round as he was defeated by Prince Devitt.[11]

Shining Magic 10 Match Series (2007–2010)

On December 23, 2007, Aoki took on a "10 match challenge" designed to push him to the limit and earn experience against very experienced wrestlers. The first match was against his mentor Jun Akiyama which he lost. The match series was called the "Shining Magic 10 Match Series" and would stretch out over the next two and a half years.

Jyushin Thunder Liger.[13] In his penultimate Sining Magic match Atsushi Aoki lost to Naomich Marufuji on December 6, 2009, almost two years after the 10 Match series begun.[14] His tenth and final match in the Shining Magic 10 Match series took place on February 28, 2010, which saw Aoki lose to Minoru Suzuki ending the series with one victory and nine defeats.[15]

Tag team division (2010–2012)

On October 30, 2010, Aoki and Kenta defeated Roderick Strong and Eddie Edwards in the finals of a tournament to win the

2011 NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League, making both of them two-time winners of the tournament. On October 16, 2011, Aoki and Suzuki defeated Kenta and Kanemaru to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. They lost the title to Ricky Marvin and Super Crazy on July 22, 2012. On December 19, Noah announced that Aoki would be leaving the promotion, after refusing to re-sign following the firing of Kenta Kobashi.[19][20][21] In his final match for the promotion on December 24, Aoki was defeated by Mr. Christmas, portrayed by his trainer Jun Akiyama.[22][23]

AAA (2010)

On May 23, 2010, Aoki teamed up with

Robert Roode and James Storm), La Hermandad 187 (Nicho el Millonario and Joe Líder) and Los Maniacos (Silver King and Último Gladiador) in a four-way elimination match; they were the first team eliminated when Líder pinned Shiozaki, which meant that they lost the AAA Tag Team championship 14 days after winning it. Los Maniacos (Silver Cain and Último Gladiador) won the match and the championship.[25]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2013–2019)

Main articles:
Evolution (AJPW)

On January 26, 2013, Aoki, Go Shiozaki, Jun Akiyama,

Black Tiger VII and Taka Michinoku on August 27.[50] In early 2018, still using his birth name, Aoki began working under a mask and regained the World Junior Heavyweight Championship from Tajiri on February 3 in Yokohama.[51] Aoki held the title until August, when he dropped it to Koji Iwamoto.[51] In April 2019, Aoki competed in the Champion Carnival once again as a last minute replacement for Kengo Mashimo. Aoki competed in A Block and managed to finish with 8 points, but was unable to advance to the final.[52]
Aoki regained the World Junior Heavyweight Championship for the fourth time on May 20, 2019, defeating Iwamoto. His last match took place on June 2, teaming with Hikaru Sato and Yusuke Okada in a loss to Jake Lee, Koji Iwamoto, and Nobe Bryant. At the time of his death, Aoki was scheduled to defend his title against Hikaru Sato on June 18. Despite his death, AJPW announced he would be recognized as champion until November 2019, allowing his 6 month defence clause to expire before crowning a new champion.

Death

On June 3, 2019, Aoki was killed in a motorcycle accident when he collided with the side wall around the expressway of Kitanomaru Park in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo. He was 41 years old.[53]

In a press conference in the days after the accident, All Japan Pro Wrestling president at the time, Jun Akiyama announced that the World Junior Heavyweight Championship was to be vacated at the end of the title's mandatory defence period, allowing Aoki to reign as de facto champion in honor of his contributions until late 2019, when the title would have been vacated for lack of defences.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Professional wrestling

Aoki in 2018, as AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The AAA Tag team championship is primarily promoted in Mexico but Morishima and Ishimori won the titles during a tour of Mexico and were allowed to defend them in NOAH as well.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Aoki Atsushi". Pro Wrestling Noah. Archived from the original on August 31, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  2. ^ 全日本プロレス チャリティー十三大会 ～すわまちおこしVol.5～. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). January 12, 2015. Archived from チャリティー十三大会%E3%80%80～すわ/ the original on January 17, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  3. ^ "ZERO1-MAX MAX Satisfaction – Tag 1: Ex-Impact" (in German). CageMatch.net. March 8, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  4. ^ "Dragon Gate Memorial Gate 2007" (in German). CageMatch.net. March 25, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  5. ^ "NTV Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League 2007". Pro Wrestling History. July 1–27, 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  6. ^ Yoav (September 3, 2007). "Super Luchas desde Japón: Resultados TripleSEM en el Differ Ariake de Tokio (3 SEP 07)". SuperLuchas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  7. ^ "Mauritius Cup" (in German). CageMatch.net. November 15–28, 2007. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  8. ^ "NTV Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League 2008". Pro Wrestling History. August 23 – September 6, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  9. ^ "Best of the Super Juniors 2009". Pro Wrestling History. May 30 – June 14, 2009. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved April 16, 2012.
  10. ^ "NTV Junior Heavyweight Tag Team League 2009". Pro Wrestling History. July 12–25, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  11. ^ "Super J Cup: 5th Stage". Pro Wrestling History. December 22–23, 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2010.
  12. ^ "NOAH Winter Navigation '08 – Tag 1" (in German). CageMatch.net. November 14, 2008. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  13. ^ "NOAH Southern Navigation '09 – Tag 11" (in German). CageMatch.net. June 22, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  14. ^ "NOAH Winter Navigation '09 – Tag 10" (in German). CageMatch.net. December 6, 2009. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  15. ^ "NOAH The Second Navigation 2010 – Tag 9" (in German). CageMatch.net. February 28, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  16. ^ a b "Results from 10/30 Korakuen Hall Show!". Noah-USA. Archived from the original on 2010-11-03. Retrieved 2010-10-31.
  17. ^ "(Results) New Japan, 11/23/10 & Kanemoto and Tiger retain GHC Jr. Tag Title". Strong Style Spirit. 2010-11-23. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  18. ^ a b "Kanemoto & Tiger Mask lose GHC Jr. Tag Title". Strong Style Spirit. December 24, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
  19. ^ ノア激震！小橋解雇、秋山ら退団. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2012-12-04. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
  20. ^ "ノ小橋、９日両国大会でフリー宣言へ！秋山ら５選手もノア退団申し入れ". Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. 2012-12-05. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
  21. ^ 秋山らノア退団正式決定. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2012-12-19.
  22. ^ "～Noahful Gift in Differ 2012 vol.2～". Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2012-11-07. Retrieved 2012-12-24.
  23. ^ Meltzer, Dave (2012-12-24). "Mon. update: Raw tonight, wrestlers bid farewell to Noah, Leben talks his issues". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  24. ^
    Super Luchas
    Magazine. May 23, 2010. Retrieved May 24, 2010.
  25. ^ "Triplemania XVIII: Fiesta de Fiestas" (in Spanish). AAA. June 7, 2010. Archived from the original on August 15, 2010. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  26. ^ 秋山、潮崎らノア退団5選手が全日本プロレスに参戦. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. 2013-01-27. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  27. ^ "2013 プロレスLove in 両国～Basic&Dynamic～". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  28. ^ a b "2013 Junior Hyper Tag League". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-04-07.
  29. ^ a b "Gaora Special 2013 チャンピオン・カーニバル". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-04-25.
  30. ^ 2013年5月11日(土). Pro Wrestling Noah (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-04-20. Retrieved 2013-05-11.
  31. ^ 秋山13年ぶり！電撃"王道"復帰「全日本の名前の下に頑張りたい」. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. 2013-07-06. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  32. ^ 鼓太郎がバーニング正式脱退で金丸に挑戦. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). 2013-10-29. Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  33. ^ "潮﨑選手が新ユニット「Xceed」結成を宣言！！". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). 2013-11-18. Archived from the original on 2013-12-24. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
  34. ^ "Xcced初陣でKensoがいきなり潮崎を裏切り、全日本に反旗！前哨戦で三冠王者と世界ジュニア王者が揃って挑戦者に完敗！". Battle News (in Japanese). 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2013-11-21.
  35. ^ "ニューイヤープレゼント in 神戸". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-01-26.
  36. ^ Takagi, Hiromi (2014-02-06). ドラゲー望月が金丸撃破で全勝優勝宣言 潮崎が曙の巨体を持ち上げ前哨戦制す. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2014-02-07.
  37. ^ a b "2014 スーパーパワーシリーズ 東京･後楽園ホール【最終戦】". All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2014-05-29. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  38. ^ "【全日本プロレス】諏訪魔vsドーリングの三冠戦、青木vs光留の世界Jr戦". Battle News (in Japanese). 2014-07-28. Retrieved 2014-07-27.
  39. ^ a b 【10.22】復活！2014 ジャイアント・シリーズ 【最終戦】 ～全日本プロレス旗揚げ記念大会～. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
  40. ^ 【3.27】 2015 ドリームパワーシリーズ 最終戦・後楽園大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). March 27, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-04-10. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  41. ^ a b 優勝決定戦・後楽/ 【10.23】 2015 ジャイアントシリーズ 優勝決定戦・後楽園大会. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.[permanent dead link]
  42. ^ 全日本10.23後楽園大会 Jr.Tag Battle of Glory／青木＆光留vs.ヤンキー二丁拳銃、鼓太郎＆中島vs.舎人一家、諏訪魔vs.宮原vs.ゼウス. Battle News (in Japanese). October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
  43. ^ 大森隆男選手取締役就任及び選手会会長に青木篤志選手就任のお知らせ. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.[permanent dead link]
  44. ^ a b c 【全日】Ｊｒリーグは青木篤志が制覇. Tokyo Sports (in Japanese). February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  45. ^ 【2016 ダイナマイトシリーズ】 北海道・東京ドームホテル札幌 ピアリッジホール ［観衆］631人(超満員). All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  46. ^ a b 大日本プロレス「両極譚～Ryogokutan～」. Sports Navi (in Japanese). Yahoo!. July 24, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  47. ^ a b 11.17愛知・日進市民会館ホール(小ホール)［観衆］322人(満員). All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). November 17, 2016. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  48. ^ 11.27東京・両国国技館大会試合結果②. All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). November 27, 2016. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  49. ^ a b 6.20帯広大会[観衆]703人(満員). All Japan Pro Wrestling (in Japanese). June 20, 2017. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  50. ^ ブラック・タイガー7、Takaみちのく組が新王者. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). August 28, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2017.
  51. ^ a b "Reference at www.cagematch.net".
  52. ^ "Reference at www.cagematch.net".
  53. ^ "All Japan Pro Wrestling Star Atsushi Aoki Passes Away After Motorcycle Accident". Wrestlezone. 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  54. Dramatic Dream Team
    (in Japanese). Retrieved 2014-02-28.
  55. ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 2016". The Internet Wrestling Database. Retrieved 2016-09-01.
  56. ^ "Untitled Document". Archived from the original on 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-05-27.
  57. ^ "Reference at www.cagematch.net".
  58. ISSN 1083-9593

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atsushi Aoki.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atsushi_Aoki&oldid=1209735705"