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born January 21, 1982 is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a record-holding five time former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He made his debut for the Pro Wrestling Noah in July 2004 and initially remained with Pro Wrestling Noah until the end of 2012 when he jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). In AJPW, he became a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and a two-time World Tag Team Champion, before resigning from the promotion in September 2015. Afterwards, he returned to Noah, where, in May 2016, he won the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the third time. He has also worked for United States promotions Ring of Honor (ROH) and Full Impact Pro (FIP), winning the latter's World Heavyweight Championship. In August 2016, Shiozaki was appointed the chairman of Noah's wrestlers' association.
In youth he would play baseball, which he started in the third grade of elementary school, he served as a catcher who was assigned the 4th and 5th batters and won the eastern district of Kumamoto, his hometown. Similarly, in elementary school, he played against Miho Koga, a female professional golfer who was the fourth baseball player in Ace and later became a junior in the first grade of Tokai University, in a youth baseball game . At Kumamoto City Nishihara Junior High School, he joined the basketball club, served as a center forward in the position, and was appointed captain in the third year. Even after going on to high school, he continued to play basketball, becoming a regular player from the second year and achieving the best four in Kumamoto Prefecture.
After graduating from high school, he failed to take the police recruitment exam and lived a freeter life while attending a civil servant prep school. One day, he heard on TV that Mitsuharu Misawa, the founder of Pro Wrestling Noah said, "Anyone can be a professional wrestler if he has the guts." One day while reading the back of the "Weekly Wrestling" magazine, he saw an article about Kenta Kobayashi (later KENTA). The article would mention that Kobayashi had passed the AJPW rookie test, without having any background in martial arts, something Shiozaki was lacking as well. Go would later mention that this article would inspire him, and this was when he began thinking of becoming a professional wrestler.
In the beginning of 2006, Shiozaki fractured his jaw against Kenta Kobayashi. Following his recovery, he began wrestling matches against the biggest names of the company and despite losing to them, he would put forth a valiant effort against them, similar to how Kobashi competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling. After Kobashi was forced out of action due to cancer, Shiozaki teamed briefly with Tamon Honda but was again defeated by Noah's top wrestlers until he finally broke his losing streak by pinning Ricky Marvin.
In late April 2007, Shiozaki represented Noah in the prestigious King of Europe Cup. He defeated Real Quality Wrestling representative Danny Burch in the first round before falling to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla representative Davey Richards in the quarterfinals.
Shiozaki returned to Noah in mid-2009 and gained a significant push as Mitsuharu Misawa's new tag team partner. They soon won the Global Tag League in May and thus became the top contenders to the GHC Tag Team Championship. During their title match on June 13 against champions Akitoshi Saito and Bison Smith, Misawa suffered a cervical spinal cord trauma during the match after receiving a belly to back suplex from Saito. After Misawa remained motionless following the suplex, officials quickly tended to him before he was taken to a hospital, where he died later on.
On June 14, reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion Jun Akiyama was forced to vacate the title due to herniated discs in his back. As a result, Shiozaki was nominated by Akiyama to wrestle for the title against the number one contender Takeshi Rikio. After a hard-fought twenty-minute match, Shiozaki managed to defeat Rikio to become the new GHC Heavyweight Champion. He then went on to successfully defend his title for the first time on September 27 against Akitoshi Saito. However his second title defense was unsuccessful as on December 6, Shiozaki lost the World Heavyweight title to Takashi Sugiura on the last date of the 2009 Winter Navigation tour. On May 23, 2010 Shiozaki teamed up with Atsushi Aoki to defeat Takeshi Morishima and Taiji Ishimori to win the AAA World Tag Team Championship during Pro Wrestling Noah's Navigation with Breeze show in Niigata, Niigata, Japan. As a result of the victory, Shiozaki and Aoki were scheduled to defend the title during AAA's Triplemania XVIII show. At TripleMania, Shiozaki and Aoki were the first team eliminated when Joe Lider pinned Shiozaki. The match and the title were ultimately won by Los Maniacos (Silver Cain and Último Gladiador). In August 2010 Shiozaki took part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's 2010 G1 Climax tournament, where he won four out of his seven-round robin stage matches, only to narrowly miss the finals of the tournament after wrestling Shinsuke Nakamura to a 30-minute time limit draw on the final day of the tournament. The draw with Nakamura led to a No Time Limit match at a Pro Wrestling Noah show on August 22, where Shiozaki was victorious. Shiozaki and Nakamura had their third match on January 4, 2011, at New Japan's Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome, where Nakamura was victorious. Shiozaki regained the GHC Heavyweight Title by defeating Takashi Sugiura on July 10, 2011. On January 4, 2012, Shiozaki returned to New Japan at Wrestle Kingdom VI in Tokyo Dome, where he and Naomichi Marufuji defeated CHAOS Top Team (Shinsuke Nakamura and Toru Yano) in a tag team match. On January 22, Shiozaki lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Takeshi Morishima. On October 26, Shiozaki and Akitoshi Saito defeated Kenta and Shuhei Taniguchi to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. On December 3, 2012, it was reported that Shiozaki had threatened to not re-sign with Noah after his contract expires in January 2013, when the promotion decided to release Kenta Kobashi from his contract. Six days later, Shiozaki and Saito lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura. On December 19, Noah confirmed that Shiozaki would be leaving the promotion following December 24. On December 24, Shiozaki defeated Taiji Ishimori in his final Noah match.
On June 6, 2008, Shiozaki participated in a one night tournament to crown new ROH World Tag Team Champions. He and partner World Champion Nigel McGuiness were eliminated in the first round by Kevin Steen and El Generico when Steen forced McGuiness to submit to the sharpshooter. The following day, Shiozaki received a title shot against McGuiness but lost when McGuiness forced him to submit to the London Dungeon. On June 28, Shiozaki revealed himself to be the newest member of Sweet 'n' Sour Inc., Larry Sweeney's heel stable.
In the summer of 2008, Shiozaki began performing for ROH's sister promotion, Full Impact Pro (FIP), based in Florida. He defeated Erick Stevens for the World Heavyweight Championship at FIP's event Heatstroke on August 23. He would hold the belt for four months, defending it on both FIP and ROH, before losing it to Seth Rollins on December 20.
Soon after having a tryout match with WWE on September 5, Shiozaki began wrestling in Harley Race's World League Wrestling, where he also underwent further training under Race. On October 4, he won the WLW World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in a nine-man Battle Royal for the vacant title. He later lost title to four-time WLW World Heavyweight Champion Luminous Warrior on May 19, 2009.
On September 28, Shiozaki defeated Suwama in the finals to win the 2014 Ōdō Tournament and earn another shot at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Shiozaki received his title shot on October 29, but was defeated by Joe Doering. Shiozaki received a rematch with Doering on January 3, 2015, and defeated him to win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the first time. He made his first successful title defense on February 7 against Zeus. His second successful defense took place on March 27 against Xceed stablemate Kento Miyahara. On May 6, Shiozaki and Miyahara defeated Yutaka Yoshie and Shiozaki's next Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship challenger Akebono to become the new World Tag Team Champions. By simultaneously holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and the World Tag Team Championship, Shiozaki became the seventh "Quintuple Crown Champion". On May 21, Shiozaki lost the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship to Akebono in his third defense. On September 28, it was announced that Shiozaki was leaving AJPW the following month and becoming a freelancer. The announcement also led to Shiozaki and Miyahara vacating the World Tag Team Championship. Shiozaki's final AJPW match took place on October 4, when he and Miyahara defeated Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a tag team match.
On January 6, 2018 Shiozaki saved Kaito Kiyomiya from an assault by Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura, the two would form a partnership, later dubbed as "GO-KAI". From March until April, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki took part of the Global Tag League, finishing the tournament with three wins, one loss and three draws, advancing to the finals. In the finals, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated Kenoh and Sugiura to win the tournament. On April 29 at Great Voyage in Niigata, Kiyomiya and Shiozaki defeated The Aggression (Masa Kitamiya and Katsuhiko Nakajima) to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. They lost the titles back to The Aggression on May 29. In November, Shiozaki took part in the 2018 Global League, where he finished the tournament with four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals of the tournament.
In December, Shiozaki and Nakajima celebrated their 15th-anniversary debut match, leading on December 3, Shiozaki defeating Nakajima in their anniversary debut match. Afterwards, Shiozaki challenged Kaito Kiyomiya to a match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on January 4, 2020. Things started civilly between the champion and the challenger. However, Kiyomiya began showing an egotistical attitude leading to the match, stating that would take the "leading role" at Noah's 20th anniversary year in 2020. Shiozaki didn't appreciate his attitude, leading the two to be separated twice after their match on December 7. On December 12, AXIZ teamed with Hitoshi Kumano in a winning effort against Kiyomiya, Shuhei Taniguchi, and Masao Inoue, after Shiozaki scored the win for his team, after pinning Kiyomiya. Afterwards, Kiyomiya found the loss regrettable and his arrogance began growing. In their final confrontation, AXIZ defeated Kiyomiya and Taniguchi, with Shiozaki scoring the win for his team, pinning Kiyomiya for the second time. After the match, Shiozaki loomed over Kiyomiya and placed a finger very firmly on his chest before leaving the ring. On January 4, 2020, at New Sunrise, Shiozaki defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship. The following day at Reboot, AXIZ lost the GHC Tag Team Championship to Masaaki Mochizuki and Naomichi Marufuji. In March, AXIZ took part in the 2020 Global Tag League, making to their second consecutive Global Tag League final by winning their block in the 2020 tournament with a record of two wins and one loss. On April 18, they were defeated in the finals of the tournament by Sugiura-gun (Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. and Rene Dupree). On August 6, on the second night of Departure, after Shiozaki successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Naomichi Marufuji, Kenoh challenged Shiozaki to a double-title match for the GHC National and Heavyweight Championships, stating that there could only be one strong champion in Noah. On August 10 at NOAH The Chronicle Vol. 3, Shiozaki faced Kenoh in a 60-minute time limit draw to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship and unsuccessfully challenging Kenoh for the GHC National Championship. On August 20, AXIZ faced Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura) in a losing effort for the vacant GHC Tag Team Championship. Afterwards, Nakajima turned on Shiozaki in order to join KONGOH, effectively disbanding AXIZ. From September 18 and October 11, Shiozaki took part in the 2020 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of two wins, and three losses, failing to advance to the finals, losing to Kaito Kiyomiya in their head-to-head match.
On December 6 at Noah the Best 2020, after Shiozaki successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Takashi Sugiura, Keiji Mutoh challenged to him to a title match at Destination, which Shiozaki accepted. On February 12, 2021 at Destination, Shiozaki lost the GHC Heavyweight Championship to Keiji Mutoh, in his sixth title defense, ending his reign at 405 days. Their match was named the Match of the Year by Tokyo Sports, marking the first time in ten years, that a match from NOAH received the award.
After failed to regain the GHC Heavyweight Championship, Shiozaki underwent a 4 match trial series to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, but lost all 4 matches. After defeating Manabu Soya on March 13 at Great Voyage in Yokohama, Shiozaki began his true road to the GHC Heavyweight Championship. On March 23, after avenging his loss to Nakajima, Shiozaki called out Kazuyuki Fujita, challenging him to a title match for GHC Heavyweight Championship at Majestic, which he accepted after mocking Shiozaki's catchphrase. The title match would be turned to a match for the vacant championship, after Fujita contracted COVID-19. At the event, on April 30, Shiozaki defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the record-breaking fifth time. He lost the title to Satoshi Kojima on June 12 at CyberFight Festival. In August, Shiozaki took part in the 2022 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament, with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.
The following month, Shiozaki was sidelined with an shoulder injury, which led to him return on April 16 at Green Journey in Sendai, announcing the would make his in-ring return on May 4 at Majestic. At Majestic, Shiozaki teamed with Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura in a losing effort to KONGOH (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Manabu Soya). Afterwards, Nakajima decided to leave KONGOH to reform AXIZ with Shiozaki, which he accepted. AXIZ made their return match on May 14, losing to Kenoh and Soya. After a draw between Nakajima and Kenoh on May 31, Shiozaki challenged Kenoh to a match, which he lost on June 22. In August, Shiozaki took part in the 2023 N-1 Victory, finishing the tournament with a record of four wins, two losses, and a draw against Manabu Soya in their head-to-head match, meaning that both finished leveled on points in their block. This led to NOAH setting up a rematch between them to decide, who would advance to the finals, which Shiozaki won on August 27. On September 3, Shiozaki defeated Kenoh in the finals to win the N-1 Victory. On September 24 at Grand Ship In Nagoya, Shiozaki unsuccessfully challenged Jake Lee for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. AXIZ temporarily disbanded when Nakajima left Pro Wrestling Noah in October 2023, but it was later announced that AXIZ would compete in that years AJPW World's Strongest Tag Determination League; AXIZ were announced as participants on November 7, two days after Nakajima won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship against Yuma Aoyagi.
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