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Taichiro Maki (牧 太一郎, Maki Taichirō) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Taichi Ishikari (石狩太一, Ishikari Taichi) or simply Taichi (タイチ, Taichi). He is signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former three-times NEVER Openweight Champion, a former two-times IWGP Tag Team Champion, a former two-times IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and the KOPW 2023 Champion, while also being a provisional holder.

Taichi also worked for Pro Wrestling Noah as part of an interpromotional invasion storyline involving the Suzuki-gun stable, where he is a former one-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. Throughout his career, he has competed in various promotions including All Japan Pro Wrestling, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, Hustle, and Ultimate Pro Wrestling.

Taichi initially debuted in AJPW in 2002 and began being on the low-card before following his mentor, Toshiaki Kawada, and leaving AJPW in February 2005. Taichi became a freelancer, briefly joining Hustle before joining NJPW full-time in 2009. Taichi was sent to the Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotion to further his wrestling training and gain international experience, a tradition with NJPW "Young Lions". He returned to NJPW in December and formed Kojima-gun (later Suzuki-gun) in May 2011, and formed a partnership with Taka Michinoku. In January 2015, Suzuki-gun, through a partnership between NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah, took part in a storyline, where the stable invaded Noah, making it their primary promotion. Within two months, Taichi had captured the GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, holding it until the end of the year of 2015. The invasion storyline continued until in December 2016, resulting in the stable's return to NJPW in January 2017.

Since his return to NJPW, Taichi stayed in the junior heavyweight division for a brief year before moving to the heavyweight division. During his time in the junior heavyweight division Taichi had stagnant career. However, since his move to the heavyweight divison, Taichi had a much more success in the division, with Taichi becoming synonymous with the audience. Following the end of Suzuki-gun, Taichi formed the Just 5 Guys in January 2023. During this time, Taichi won the NEVER Openweight Championship three-times, the IWGP Tag Team Championships two-times and won the KOPW Championship three times and defended it in the remaining year until becoming the official KOPW Champion at the end of the year of 2023.

Professional wrestling career[]

Early life[]

Wanting to be a pro-wrestler since high school he competed in Amateur Wrestling while in high school, and was ranked second in the 63 kg class in the 1997 Hokkaido high school championship conference.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2002–2005)[]

In December 2002 Ishikari made his debut for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He would pick up his first singles victory over heavyweight prospect Masayuki Kono about six months into his career on May 12, 2003. He got a huge opportunity by representing AJPW in the 4th Stage Super J-Cup hosted by Osaka Pro Wrestling in 2004, but came up short after losing to Osaka Pro ace Takehiro Murahama in the first round. Teaming with Toshiaki Kawada in the Autumn Festival Tag Tournament, he earned both victories in their finals matches to win his first tournament. He was AJPW's first junior heavyweight prospect in a long while, being a very quick and fiery youngster who was coming along well. Ishikari began 2005 by challenging for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship against champion TAKA Michinoku in a losing effort, then continued wrestling in the lower mid-card.

Freelance and New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005–2010)[]

In early February 2005, Ishikari followed his mentor, Toshiaki Kawada, and ended his affiliation with AJPW to become a freelance wrestler. Ishikari bounced around trying to find a new permanent home, competing for Hustle and the short-lived Kings Road promotion. In mid 2006, Ishikari started to appear on New Japan Pro Wrestling shows and his activity with the company then increased in 2006 and 2007, and finally in 2009 he became an official member of the NJPW roster. He would find himself a tag team partner in Milano Collection A.T. and together they would challenge for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, held by Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi, but were unable to win the title.

Return to NJPW (2010–2015)[]

On December 11, 2010, Taichi returned from his latest stint in CMLL and aligned himself with IWGP Heavyweight Champion Satoshi Kojima as part of Kojima-gun, which would later also come to include MVP, Nosawa Rongai and Taka Michinoku. On April 8, 2011, Taichi defeated Madoka in the finals of a two-day tournament to earn a spot in 2011 Best of the Super Juniors tournament. On May 3, Taichi and Taka Michinoku turned on Kojima and revealed the returning Minoru Suzuki as their new leader. After losing his first six round-robin stage matches in the 2011 Best of the Super Juniors, Taichi came back to win his last two matches and finish eighth out of the nine wrestlers in his block. Since then, Taichi has formed a regular partnership with Taka Michinoku, with the two unsuccessfully challenging Prince Devitt and Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on September 11, 2011.

On June 16, 2012, at Dominion 6.16, Taichi and Michinoku received another opportunity to wrestle for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but were defeated by Jushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask, after Taichi unmasked Liger and unintentionally turned him into "Kishin Liger", a more violent version of himself. In August, Taichi began blaming Michinoku for his recent losses, which led to the two agreeing to a match, where the loser would be expelled from Suzuki-gun. The match took place on August 22 at Michinoku's Kaientai Dojo promotion, but ended without a winner as Minoru Suzuki interrupted the match and got the two men to make peace with each other.

On September 5, Taichi returned to Mexico for another tour with CMLL and instantly turned down an offer to rejoin La Ola Amarilla, pledging his loyalty to Minoru Suzuki and Suzuki-gun. In his first match back in CMLL on September 7, Taichi teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi, Namajague and Okumura in a Japan vs. Mexico torneo cibernetico, where they faced Black Warrior, La Máscara, Negro Casas and Valiente. After being eliminated by La Máscara, Taichi interfered in the match and helped Tanahashi pick up the win for the Japanese. Taichi returned to Japan on October 14.

In January 2013, Taichi was sidelined with a knee injury, suffered in a traffic accident. When he returned in April, he was wearing a knee brace, which he began using as an offensive weapon behind the referees' backs, dubbing his new knee strike finisher, "Jage Koroshi". On May 24, Taichi entered the 2013 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, where he got off to a flying start, winning his first four matches, albeit through cheating, including interference from Taka Michinoku and locking Jushin Thunder Liger out of the building for a countout victory. His win streak ended in his fifth match on June 1, when he was defeated by CMLL representative Titán. Taichi also ended up losing his three remaining matches in the tournament, narrowly missing advancement to the semifinals. On July 20, Taichi and Michinoku received another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but were defeated by the defending champions, the Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero). On July 26, Taichi began another tour with Mexican promotion CMLL, once again reigniting his rivalry with Máximo. Back in New Japan on September 29 at Destruction, Taichi and Michinoku failed to earn another shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, when they were defeated in a number one contender's match by Time Splitters (Alex Shelley and KUSHIDA). However, when Shelley was sidelined with an injury, Taichi and Michinoku were given the title shot and, on October 14 at King of Pro-Wrestling, defeated the Forever Hooligans to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Taichi's first title in New Japan. Taichi and Michinoku made their first successful title defense on November 1, defeating Gedo and Jado at their self-produced independent event. After a reign of only 26 days, Taichi and Michinoku lost the title to The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) on November 9 at Power Struggle.

In May 2014, Maki was caught cheating on his wife, which resulted in him announcing he wanted to retire from professional wrestling. New Japan, however, announced on May 28 that, for the time being, he was still under contract with the promotion. According to New Japan's chairman, Naoki Sugabayashi, the promotion was launching an investigation into Maki's actions and hinted at a possible pay cut and suspension. Despite his issues outside the ring, Taichi did well in the 2014 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, finishing with a record of four wins and three losses. Despite finishing tied with the leader and runner-up of the block, Taichi failed to advance to the semifinals due to head-to-head match results. Taichi was, however, later granted entry into the semifinals, after the block's winner, Alex Shelley, was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a shoulder injury. On June 8, Taichi was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by Kushida. The following day, New Japan suspended Maki for two months with a 30% pay cut. Taichi returned from his suspension on August 10 and wrestled his return match on September 5, forming a new tag team with Suzuki-gun's newest member, El Desperado. At that time, Taichi would take up a mic and would sing his way to the ring. Taichi and El Desperado received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on September 23 at Destruction in Okayama, but were defeated by the Time Splitters. On November 8 at Power Struggle, Taichi received a shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Ryusuke Taguchi.

Pro Wrestling NOAH (2015-2016)[]

In January 2015, Suzuki-gun entered a storyline, where the entire stable invaded the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. As part of the storyline, Taichi won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship on March 15 by defeating Atsushi Kotoge. Taichi held the title for the rest of the year, successfully defending it four times, before losing it to Taiji Ishimori on December 23. On June 24, 2016, at a show produced by Taichi and Taka Michinoku, Taichi was one of two winners of a four-man round-robin tournament to earn a spot in the 2016 Super J-Cup. On July 20, Taichi returned to NJPW to take part in the Super J-Cup, defeating AJPW's Yuma Aoyagi in his first round match. On August 21, Taichi defeated Jushin Thunder Liger in the second round of the tournament, before being eliminated in the semifinals by reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion KUSHIDA. On December 2 Taichi unsuccessfully challenged Atsushi Kotoge for GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Three days later, it was announced that Suzuki-gun was out of Noah, concluding the invasion storyline.

Second return to New Japan Pro Wrestling (2017-present)[]

Suzuki-gun (2017-2022)[]

On January 5, 2017, Suzuki-gun, Taichi included, returned to New Japan Pro Wrestling. On March 6, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Roppongi Vice to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. They lost the title back to Roppongi Vice in their second defense on April 27. At TakaTaichiMania for his 15th anniversary show, Taichi announced he was moving up to the Heavyweight Division. Taichi's heavyweight debut took place on March 6, 2018, at NJPW's 46th anniversary show, losing to Tetsuya Naito. Later that month, Taichi took part in the New Japan Cup losing to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the first round. On June 9 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Taichi took part in a three-way match for the NEVER Openweight Championship, which he failed to win the title. Taichi continued feuding with Hirooki Goto, which led to him receiving another title shot on September 17 at Destruction in Beppu, which Taichi defeated Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Championship, following the interference from his Suzuki-gun stablemates. He lost the title back to Goto on November 3 at Power Struggle. From November 17 until December 7, Taichi and Sabre took part in the 2018 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of seven wins and six losses, failing to advance to the finals.

On May 4, 2019, on the first night of Wrestling Dontaku, Taichi defeated Jeff Cobb to regain the NEVER Openweight Championship. After the match, in a post-match interview, Taichi announced he would choose his first challenger of the title. The following day, on the second night of Wrestling Dontaku, Taichi interrupted Tomohiro Ishii's post-match interview, challenging to a match for his title, due to losing to him in the second round of the 2019 New Japan Cup. On June 9 at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Taichi lost the NEVER Openweight Championship to Tomohiro Ishii. From July 13 until August 11, Taichi took part in the 2019 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. During the 2019 G1 Climax, Taichi picked up a major win over reigning NEVER Openweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii in a rematch. From November 16 until December 8, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. took part in the 2019 World Tag League, failing to win the tournament with a record of ten wins and five losses.

From June 16 until July 2, Taichi took part in the 2020 New Japan Cup, being eliminated from the tournament by SANADA in the quarterfinals on July 2. During the tournament, Taichi defeated former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi. Afterwards, Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. began feuding with Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi over the IWGP Tag Team Championship. On July 12 at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall, Taichi and Sabre defeated Golden☆Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship. From September 19 until October 16, Taichi took part in the 2020 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins and five losses, failling to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 15 until December 6, Taichi and Sabre took part in the 2020 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of six wins and three losses, failling advance to the finals of the tournament, due to losing to FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) and the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) in their head-to-head match. On January 4, 2021, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 15 in Tokyo Dome, Taichi and Sabre lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa), after Tonga used Taichi's Iron Fingers From Hell, that he inherited from the retired Suzuki-gun stablemate Takashi Iizuka. After working exclusively against each other in multi-man tag team matches for the last part of January, Tonga would steal the Iron Fingers From Hell from Taichi and usually use against him, which infuriated Taichi. On Febraury 10, at The New Beginning in Hiroshima, Dangerous Tekkers faced the Guerrillas of Destiny in a rematch for the IWGP Tag Team Championship, which ended by disqualification, after Taichi, who furious at Tonga’s control of the prized fingers, hit Tonga for the loss. However, Taichi regained control of fingers. At Sakura Genesis on April 4, during a match involving both teams, when the fingers seemed to be a distraction for Taichi and Tonga, referee Kenta Sato took the fingers away and passed them to NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi, who announced a ladder match for the fingers in order to settle the issue. On May 3 on the first night of Wrestling Dontaku, Taichi defeated Tonga in the ladder match to regain the Iron Fingers From Hell. On June 1, Taichi and Sabre regained the IWGP Tag Team Championship from the Guerrillas of Destiny. They lost the titles to Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito and SANADA) on July 11, only to regain them on July 24. From September 19 to October 20, Taichi took part in the 2021 G1 Climax, where he finished with a record of three wins and six losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament. From November 14 until December 12, Taichi and Sabre took part in the 2021 World Tag League. After eight wins and three losses, Taichi and Sabre were defeated in the final day of the tournament by Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi and thus were eliminated from the finals. On January 4, 2022, on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 16, Taichi and Sabre lost the IWGP Tag Team Championship to Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi. In March, Taichi took part in the 2022 New Japan Cup, losing in the third round to Kazuchika Okada.

In March, Taichi began feuding with Yano over the provisional KOPW trophy, after Taichi defeated him in the first round of the New Japan Cup. During the feud Taichi began pushing Yano with Sumo throws leading to a fan vote deciding the sipulation between a Alcohol Fueled Cherry Blossom Viewing Party match or a Sumo-style No rope Ring out match. Later, it was announced that Taichi and Yano would face each other in a Sumo-style No rope Ring out match, following the result of a fan poll. Yano eventually lost the provisional trophy to Taichi in a No Rope Ringout match on April 9 at Hyper Battle.

In the aftermath of Taichi winning the KOPW trohpy, Taichi promise to raise the KOPW 2022 trophy to ‘the main event level’ and afterwards nominated Takagi to be his first challenger, in the backstage area, Takagi accepted his challenge wondering whether Taichi would regret his words, stating that he would pick the hardest rules possible, with him a deserted island Ganryujima death match as a half joking example, with Taichi then leaving. On April 20, a fan vote was held by each men proposing each stipulation, Takagi proposed a Takagi-style 3 falls match, with Takagi promising to "fly to the top" with the trophy, Taichi, on the other hand, Taichi deemed Takagi's stipulation not understandable and proposed a 30 Count match. Three days later, it was announced that Taichi and Takagi would face each other in a 30 Count match, following the result of a fan poll. Two days later, Taichi was defeated by Takagi in a 30 Count match to become the provisional KOPW 2022 champion. On April 25, Takagi defeated Taichi in a 30 Count match to become the provisional KOPW 2022 champion. From July 17 to August 16, Taichi took part in the 2022 G1 Climax, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins and four losses, failing to advance to the semifinals. On December 14, Minoru Suzuki announced that Suzuki-gun would disband by the end of the year. On December 23, Suzuki-gun had their final match, with every Suzuki-gun member hoisting the Suzuki-gun banner and posing one last time.

Just 5 Guys (2023-Present)[]

On January 5, 2023, at New Year Dash!, Taichi alongside former Suzuki-gun members DOUKI, Taka Michinoku, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru announced the formation of "Just Four Guys", with its namesake referring to the four of them. Shortly after, Taichi embarked on a short feud with United Empire's leader Will Ospreay, which culminated in a match between the two at The New Beginning in Sapporo, where Taichi was defeated. In March, Taichi took part in the 2023 New Japan Cup, losing in the first round to SANADA. Following the match, Taichi recommended to SANADA to leave Los Ingobernables de Japón; this was partly due to the respect that Taichi and SANADA had shared with their days in All Japan Pro-Wrestling and in the past few months, SANADA had gotten the best of his heavyweight stablemates in most matches. On March 17, Taichi approached SANADA, accompanied by the rest of Just 4 Guys. As Taichi extended his hand over to SANADA, he shook it; immediately following his embrace with Just 4 Guys, it was announced that he would be leaving Los Ingobernables de Japón and joining Just 4 Guys, effectively renaming it to Just 5 Guys.

On April 8 at Sakura Genesis, following a match between Just 5 Guys and Los Ingobernables de Japón, Taichi confronted Shingo Takagi following their match. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, having previously been defeated by Takagi three times for the Provisional 2022 KOPW Trophy in the previous year, Tachi issued Takagi a challenge for a rematch for his title, in order to move on from his past. Afterwards, he confronted Takagi repeating his challenge, which Takagi accepted. Two days later, NJPW made the title match official. While the rules for KOPW title matches are traditionally decided by fan vote, Taichi did not propose a rule set for the match, adding that since he lost to Takagi three times, he did not deserve to choose the rules. He instead allowed Takagi to pick the stipulation for the match, which led him to decide for a Takagi-Style Triad match. On April 29 at Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni, Taichi defeated Shingo Takagi in a Takagi-style triad match to win the Provisional KOPW 2023 Championship.

From July 15 to August 6, Taichi took part in the 2023 G1 Climax, where he finished the tournament with a record of three wins and four losses, failing to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament. Following the tournament, on August 13, Just 5 Guys embarked on a feud with House of Torture. After a match between the two sides, Taichi was attacked by Sho with the provisional KOPW Championship, declaring that he would take it from its rightful holder, after he was pinned by him in a eight-man tag team match, setting up a title match at Destruction in Kobe. At the event, Taichi lost the title to Sho, in a seconds handcuffed match, after Yoshinobu Kanemaru turned on him and Just 5 Guys and joined House of Torture. Afterwards, Taichi, who was hurt by Kanemaru's betrayal, decided to take a leave of absence, before returning on September 30, demanding that he be added to the night’s action alongside his stablemates against House of Torture. On October 1, after facing House of Torture in a winning effort, SANADA announced the stable would continue forwards as "Just 5 Guys" again, while teasing a potential new member to the stable. On October 9 at Destruction in Ryogoku, the stable's newest member was revealed to be Yuya Uemura, who made his return from excursion, teaming with Taichi and DOUKI in a winning effort against House of Torture's (Yujiro Takahashi, Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru). On November 4, Sho blamed Taichi for "infusing the belt with a weird energy", leading to a rematch on November 17, where Taichi defeated Sho to regain the KOPW Championship, where Yoshinbu Kanemaru served as the Special Guest referee. From November 25 until December 6, Tachi and Uemura took part in the 2023 World Tag League, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, and three losses, failing to advance to the semifinals of the tournament. Following the tournament, Taichi was attacked by Yoshinobu Kanemaru, before being challenged by him to a match for the KOPW Championship. This led to a fan vote deciding the sipulation between a Whiskey Bottle Ladder match or a Corner pad removal, low blows legal match. Later, it was announced that Taichi and Kanemaru would face each other in a Whiskey Bottle Ladder Match match, following the result of a fan poll. On December 21, Taichi defeated Kanemaru in a Whiskey Bottle Ladder match to become the official KOPW 2023 champion.

Personal life[]

On May 24, 2021, Taichi revealed that he had tested positive for COVID-19 amid its pandemic in Japan.

In wrestling[]

  • Finishing moves
    • Black Mephisto (Over the shoulder back-to-belly piledriver)
    • Jage Koroshi / Jado and Gedo Killer (Knee strike to the face with a knee brace) – 2013
    • Taichi-Style Gedo Clutch (Double leg nelson)
    • Taichi-Style Last Ride (Elevated powerbomb into a high-angle prawn hold)
    • Tensho Jujihou / Heavenly Flying Cross Phoenix (Superkick) – 2017–present
    • Seitei Jujiro / Holy Emperor's Tomb  (Stretch Plum) – 2019–present
    • Spike brainbuster - adopted from Toshiaki Kawada
    • Yokozuna Elbow (Charging elbow smash to the head of a standing opponent) - 2022-present; used previously as a signature move
  • Signature moves
    • Axe Bomber (Crooked arm lariat)[1][2][3][4]
    • Bridging German suplex[5]
    • Dangerous Backdrop (High-angle backdrop suplex, sometimes off the top rope) – adopted from Toshiaki Kawada
    • Dangerous Backdrop Hold (Bridging High-angle backdrop suplex)
    • Multiple kick variations
      • Big boot[6]
      • Buzzsaw
      • Drop
      • Enzuigiri
      • Front high[6]
      • Missile drop[5]
      • Roundhouse
      • Spinning Middle
      • Step (Multiple to the face of a doubled-over opponent) - adopted from Toshiaki Kawada
      • Triple soccer to the back of a seated opponent[7][8]
      • Wrist-clutch hook
    • Low blow
    • RainAxe Bomber (Ripcord Lariat) - Parodied from Kazuchika Okada
    • SANKAN Powerbomb (Ganso bomb) – adopted from Toshiaki Kawada, used sparingly
    • Taichi-Style Liger Bomb (Sitout powerbomb)
  • Nicknames
    • "Sekaiichi Ko Zurui Otoko"[6] / "The World's Sliest Wrestler"[9]
    • "Ai o Suteta Seitei " (Japanese for "The Holy Emperor Who Renounced Love")
  • Managers
    • Miho Abe
  • Entrance themes
    • "Pageant (Instrumental)" by Moi dix Mois[6]

Championships and accomplishments[]

Luchas de Apuestas record[]

Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Máximo (hair) Taichi (hair) Mexico City, Mexico 2010 Sin Salida June 6, 2010
Taiji Ishimori (hair and name) Taichi (title) Tokyo, Japan Destiny 2015 December 23, 2015
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