Taichi

Real Name: Taichiro Maki
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 209 lbs.
Date of Birth: March 19, 1980
Hometown: Ishikari, Hokkaido (Japan)
Pro Debut: December 2, 2002
Trained By: All Japan Pro Wrestling
Finishing Move: Black Mephisto

Biography

– Maki has a background in amateur wrestling, having competed at high school level
– Maki joined the All Japan dojo in early 2002, working under the name ‘Taichi Ishikari’
– Ishikari made his official debut on December 2, 2002, losing to Ryuji Hijikata
– Ishikari won his first match in May 2004, defeating Masayuki Kono
– Ishikari competed for Team Japan in the 2004 TNA World X Cup
– In February 2005, Ishikari followed his mentor Toshiaki Kawada out of All Japan and became a freelancer, though would continue working for the company through to the end of the year
– In May 2006, Ishikari debuted for New Japan under the name ‘Hokkaido’, but would be back under the Taichi Ishikari moniker a month later
– In a dark match prior to Wrestle Kingdom III, Ishikari, Milano Collection AT & Minoru defeated Kazuchika Okada, Mitsuhide Hirasawa, Nobuo Yoshihashi
– Later that month, Ishikari was confirmed as a full time member of the New Japan roster, having previously been competing on a freelance basis
– At NJPW’s 37th Anniversary Show, Unione (Ishikari & Milano Collection AT) defeated Kazuchika Okada & Nobuo Yoshihashi
– In April 2009, Ishikari shortened his ringname, becoming simply ‘Taichi’
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2009, Unione (Taichi & Milano Collection AT) defeated Apollo 55 (Ryusuke Taguchi & Prince Devitt)
– In February 2010, Taichi was sent to Mexico’s CMLL on a learning excursion
– On May 7, La Ola Amarilla (Taichi, Okumura & Hiroshi Tanahashi) defeated Hector Garza, La Mascara & El Hijo del Fantasma to win the CMLL Trios Titles
– Taichi returned to New Japan in June 2010, to CMLL in October, then back to NJPW for good in December, at which time, he aligned with Satoshi Kojima
– At The New Beginning 2011, Kojima Army (Taichi & MVP) defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma)
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2011, Kojima Army (Taichi & TAKA Michonoku) defeated Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA. The two would turn on Kojima following the match and join up with Minoru Suzuki’s ‘Suzuki-gun’ group
– At Power Struggle 2011, Taichi & Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Togi Makabe & Ryusuke Taguchi
– At The New Beginning 2012, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku, Lance Archer & Yoshihiro Takayama) defeated Wataru Inoue, Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, Tiger Mask & KUSHIDA
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2012, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA
– In September 2012, Taichi returned for a third stint in Mexico
– At Power Struggle 2012, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata
– At Dominion 2013, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) defeated Jushin Liger & Tiger Mask
– At King Of Pro Wrestling 2013, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) defeated Forever Hooligans (Alex Koslov & Rocky Romero) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– On November 1, 2013, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) defeated World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) in a Best Of 3 Falls Match to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– In 2015, Taichi, along with the remainder of Suzuki-gun was sent to Pro Wrestling NOAH in a storyline invasion
– On March 15, 2015, Taichi defeated Atsushi Kotoge to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
– On April 11, Taichi defeated Taiji Ishimori to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
– On May 10, Taichi defeated Atsushi Kotoge to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
– On June 13, Taichi defeated Daisuke Harada to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
– On September 19, Taichi again defeated Daisuke Harada to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title
– In January 2017, Suzuki-gun returned to New Japan, following the conclusion of the NOAH invasion angle
– At NJPW’s 45th Anniversary Show, Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Roppongi Vice (Rocky Romero & Beretta) to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– At Sakura Genesis 2017, Suzuki-gun defeated World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles
– At All Japan’s 45th Anniversary Show, Taichi defeated Yuma Aoyagi
– At New Year Dash 2018, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michonoku, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Takashi Iizuka & El Desperado) defeated Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Toa Henare & Hirai Kawato
– At Wrestling Hinokuni 2018, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku, Zack Sabre Jr & Takashi Iizuka) defeated Kenny Omega, Kota Ibushi, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi
– At Destruction in Beppu 2018, Taichi defeated Hirooki Goto to win the NEVER Openweight Title, but would lose it back to Goto at Power Struggle a couple of months later
– At New Year Dash 2019, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA)
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2019, Taichi defeated Jeff Cobb to win the NEVER Openweight Title, but would lose it to Tomohiro Ishii in his first defence a month later
– At Wrestle Kingdom 14, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr & El Desperado) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA)
– At Dominion 2020, Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr) defeated Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi) to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles
– On August 29, 2020, Dangerous Tekkers defeated Golden Ace to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles
– On November 2, Dangerous Tekkers defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles
– At Sakura Genesis 2021, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr & DOUKI) defeated BULLET CLUB (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado)
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2021, Taichi defeated Tama Tonga in a Ladder Match
– On June 1, 2021, Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr) defeated The Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) to win the IWGP Tag Team Titles, lost them to Tetsuya Naito & SANADA a month later, before regaining them at the Wrestle Grand Slam event in late-July
– On September 5, Dangerous Tekkers defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) and Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles
– On April 9, 2022, Taichi defeated Toru Yano in a No Rope Ring Out Match to win the NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling Title, but would lose it to Shingo Takagi before the month was out
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2022, Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr & TAKA Michinoku) defeated Shingo Takagi, Shiro Koshinaka & BUSHI
– At the NJPW/Stardom X-Over event, Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Tam Nakano & Natsupoi defeated El Desperado, Starlight Kid, Momo Watanabe & DOUKI
– Suzuki-gun went their separate ways at the end of 2022, though Taichi, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and TAKA Michinoku would continue working together as ‘Just 4 Guys’
– At New Year Dash, Taichi, Kanemaru & DOUKI defeated The United Empire (Will Ospreay, Francesco Akira & TJP)
– In late-March 2023, Just 4 Guys added SANADA to their ranks, becoming Just 5 Guys
– At Sakura Genesis 2023, Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
– On April 29, Taichi defeated Shingo Takagi to win the NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling Title
– At Wrestling Dontaku 2023, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, DOUKI & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI)
– At Destruction in Ryogoku 2023, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Yuya Uemura & DOUKI) defeated House Of Torture (Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO)
– On November 17, Taichi defeated SHO to regain the NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling Title
– On December 21, Taichi defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a Whiskey Bottle Ladder Match to retain the NJPW King Of Pro Wrestling Title
– At New Year Dash 2024, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, SANADA, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji & BUSHI)
– At The New Beginning In Sapporo 2024, Taichi defeated Shingo Takagi
– At NJPW’s 52nd Anniversary Show, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, SANADA, DOUKI & Yuya Uemura) defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, Dick Togo, Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
– At Satsuma No Kuni 2024, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tiger Mask
– At the 2024 All Together Sapporo event, Just 5 Guys (Taichi, Yuya Uemura & SANADA) defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Naomichi Marufuji & Kento Miyahara