Takuro Niki

Takuro Niki
Born (2000-10-29) 29 October 2000 (age 24)[1]
Tsubame, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)
  • Takuro Niki
Billed height170 cm (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Billed weight84 kg (185 lb)
Trained byShuji Kondo
Kaz Hayashi
Debut2019

Takuro Niki (仁木琢郎, Niki Takuro) is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Active Advance Pro Wrestling where he is a former 2AW Openweight Champion. He is also known for competing in Tenryu Project and Wrestle-1.[3]

Professional wrestling career

Wrestle-1 (2019–2020)

Niki made his professional wrestling in Wrestle-1 at Wrestle Soul, an event promoted on September 28, 2019, where he fell short to one of his coaches Shuji Kondo in a dark exhibition match.[4] On April 1, 2020, at W-1 WRESTLE-1 Tour 2020 Trans Magic, Wrestle-1 has held its last event before closure. Niki competed two times. First in a winning effort against Takanori Ito, and secondly, in a battle royal won by Manabu Soya and featuring various other members of the roster such as Cima, El Lindaman, Hiroshi Yamato, Jiro Kuroshio, Ryota Hama, Yasufumi Nakanoue and many others.[5]

Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2020–present)

Niki made his debut in Active Advance Pro Wrestling at 2AW Launching Business 1st Anniversary on July 5, 2020, where he defeated Chicharito Shoki in singles competition.[6] Niki won the 2021 edition of the Advance Cup by overcoming Naka Shuma, Genta Hiriki and Chicharito Shoki in the group stage and by defeating Shuma in the finals on May 5, 2021.[7] During his tenure with the promotion, Niki joined the "Koen" stable in 2022. He won his first title, the 2AW Tag Team Championship, at 2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall on September 11, 2022 alongside stablemate Tatsuya Hanami by defeating The Rule (Ayato Yoshida and Excilio).[8] Niki won the 2AW Openweight Championship at 2AW Grand Slam In TKP Garden City Chiba on October 29, 2023, by defeating Kohei Sato.[9]

Niki competed in Pro Wrestling Zero1's Tenkaichi Junior tournament as a developmental talent sent by 2AW. He made his first appearance in the 2022 edition of the tournament in which he placed himself in the A block of the competition wheer he scored a total of 10 points after going against Tatsuhito Takaiwa, Takumi Baba, Andy Wu and Yasu Kubota, failing to qualify for the finals.[10]

Tenryu Project (2021–present)

Niki has frequently competed in Tenryu Project since 2021. During his tenure with the promotion, he has won the Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship alongside Oji Shiiba at Wrestle And Romance Vol. 11 on March 26, 2023, by defeating Kenichiro Arai and Rey Paloma.[11] Niki competed in one of the promotion's singature events, the Ryūkon Cup in which he made his first appearance in the 2022 edition of the tournament where he defeated Masayuki Kono in the first rounds, Mizuki Watase in the second ones, then fell short to Keita Yano in the semifinals.[12] At the 2024 edition, he fell short to Yusuke Kodama in the second rounds.[13]

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2024)

Niki participated at the 2024 edition of New Japan Pro Wrestling's Sakura Genesis from April 6, where he teamed up with Ayato Yoshida and Chicharito Shoki in a losing effort against Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) and Oleg Boltin.[14]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Takuro Niki • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Takuro Niki/Career Data". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  3. ^ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "Takuro Niki Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  4. ^ WRESTLE-1道場マッチ「WRESTLE SOUL」開催のお知らせ. w-1.co.jp (in Japanese). Wrestle-1. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  5. ^ Dark Angel (16 April 2020). "W-1: "Tour 2020 Trans Magic - Last Match" The End of an era". superluchas.com. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  6. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (5 July 2020). "2AW Launching Business 1st Anniversary ~ GRAND SLAM In TKP Garden City Chiba". cagematch.net. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  7. ^ Dark Angel (10 May 2021). "2AW:«Chiba Festival 2021» Takizawa defiende su cinturon". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (11 September 2022). "2AW Grand Slam In Korakuen Hall - LIVE RESULTS". cagematch.net (in German). Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  9. ^ Dark Angel (15 November 2023). "2AW: Takuro Niki es nuevo campeon". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  10. ^ Dark Angelita (28 October 2022). "Zero1: "Tenka Ichi Jr. Tournament" Final, Shoki Kitamura es el ganador". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  11. ^ Daly, Wayne (26 March 2023). "Tenryu Project Results: Wrestle And Romance Vol. 11 – Tokyo, Japan (3/26)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
  12. ^ 11/2【天龍プロジェクト】第2回『龍魂杯』11・12&13新木場2連戦で開催 全16選手出場. Professional Wrestling Martial Arts DX (in Japanese). 2 November 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2023.
  13. ^ 2024年11月15日 東京・王子大会 [November 15, 2024 Tokyo, Ōji Show]. Tenryu Project (in Japanese). 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
  14. ^ Vetter, Chris (6 April 2024). "NJPW "Sakura Genesis" results (4/6): Vetter's review of Tetsuya Naito vs. Yota Tsuji for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, Jon Moxley and Shota Umino vs. Jack Perry and Ren Narita". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved 7 April 2024.