Tomohiro Ishii

For much of his career, Ishii was viewed as a hard-hitting undercard mainstay rather than a title threat, but his relentless style earned him a devoted cult following and praise from critics, including Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, who famously called him one of the most underrated wrestlers in the business in 2013. That same year marked a turning point, as Ishii’s standing in NJPW steadily rose, leading to his first championship win with the NEVER Openweight Championship in 2014—a title he would go on to claim a record six times. He later added the IWGP Tag Team Championship once and the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship three times to his résumé.

Thanks to NJPW’s partnerships with international promotions, Ishii also found success abroad, capturing the ROH World Television Championship once and becoming a two-time Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion in Revolution Pro Wrestling, further cementing his reputation as one of the most respected bruisers of his generation.