Wednesday, April 22, 1970

YOSHIHIRO SHIMODA (霜田佳寛)

Real Name: Yoshihiro Shimoda (霜田佳寛)
Nickname: "Torokeru Prince"
Birthplace: Sapporo, Hokkaido
Birthdate: August 10, 1986
Theme Music: "Do JUSTICE!!"
Weight: 83kg (184lbs)
Height: 175cm (5'9")
Debut: December 10, 2002 (w/ Ryuji Yamashita vs. Matsuya Sekamoto & Akahito Yamada)

Physical Appearance: Shimoda's body is athletic and tone in appearance, with a light tan. His dark brown hair is short, albeit slightly spikey.

Ring Costume: Shimoda wears short spats with a black and silver design, largely inspired by his mentors: KANJI Sakaigama and Jin Hiroto. He wears black knee pads and mixed black/silver pull-on boots.

Title History:

* F-MAX Jr. Heavyweight Title (2)
- Kyoto Okazaki (10/25/2003) / ATSUKA (10/25/2004)
- Jet Jaguar (10/25/2009) / Jet Jaguar (11/25/2009)

* F-MAX Tag Team Titles (2)
- (w/ Hiroaki Nakata) Masafuji Yoshida & Chikao Kessin (5/18/2005) / Vacated (5/25/2006)
- (w/ Jin Hiroto) Otsuo Kayusa & Kenichiro Hujikawa (10/15/2007) / TAKU & Mastodon Fukuda (12/14/2007)

* Sapporo City Tag Team Titles
- (w/ Jin Hiroto) Yusuke Yuhara & Yuichi Hida (09/15/07) /

Tournament History:

* One Night FURY Jr. Heavyweight Title Tournament (10/25/2003): Yoshihiro Shimoda beat Kyoto Okazaki (17:35) with the Sapporo Lancer.
* J*TOP (2004): Yoshihiro Shimoda beat Hello Kitty! Mask III (15:27) with a Springboard Torokeru Knee Kick.
* J1-WORLD League 2005: Yoshihiro Shimoda beat KEIJI (16:28) with a Chickenwing Armlock.
* Sapporo City Tag Titles Tournament (2007 - Hokkaido Puroresu): Jin Hiroto & Yoshihiro Shimoda beat Tsuyoshi Yamamura & Satoru Watanabe (13:59) when Hiroto used the Amatsukami Guillotine on Yamamura.

Trademark Moves:

* German Suplex hold
* Jujigatame
* Chickenwing Armlock
* Sapporo Lancer
* Torokeru Knee (High-Impact Running Knee)
* Torokeru Flash (Torokeru Knee to a seated opponent.)

Biography: Yoshihiro Shimoda graduated as part of the 3rd term class of Kazuma Fujita's FURY dojo. Shimoda debuted for the dojo's namesake promotion in late 2002, where he showed immediate potential. Due to having a background in various martial arts during his youth, Shimoda found himself taken in by former vale tudo fighter, turned FURY wrestler Kenji Tanamura. Shimoda first gained an identity as part of Tanamura's stable/brand Fighting Union Revolt "y".(FUR"y" for short.) While excelling in the pure-fighting style Tanamura's tutelage provided, Shimoda broke out from Tanamura's shadow the following year by winning FURY's Jr. Heavyweight Title in a one-night tournament. Shimoda would hold the championship until dropping it exactly one-year later to his senpai, ATSUKA. 2004 would be a big year for Shimoda as well after winning the highly prestigious interpromotional tournament, J*TOP. The victory was not just a keystone moment for Shimoda, but for Pro-Wrestling FURY itself after being thrust into the national stage for the first time. The following year, Shimoda returned to the top of FURY's Junior rankings by winning the J1-WORLD League tournament. Shimoda eventually found himself branching outside of FURY in a series of local events in Hokkaido co-produced by he and mentor Jin Hiroto. Feeling his generation was in danger of being surpassed by new stars coming up, Shimoda shockingly turned heel to align with generational comrades ATSUKA and Kyoto Okazaki. Since then, Shimoda has remained close with ATSUKA. The two comprise the powerful "Jr. KINGS" team that stands as gatekeepers to the new generation of junior stars. Like many of the FURY juniors, Shimoda found himself signed by KJPW in 2013 to bolster its newly established Jr. Heavyweight division. Without question, Shimoda is a one-of-a-kind talent who has achieved immense success. He has become a celebrity-like figure in his native Hokkaido and speaks out for many local causes.

No comments:

Post a Comment