Oji Shiiba (椎葉 おうじ, Shiiba Ouji) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer and is best known for his time with the promotion Dragon Gate. He currently performs under the Dove Pro Wrestling banner where he is a former, two time, Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion.[3]

Oji Shiiba
Shiiba in November 2022
Born (1996-07-14) July 14, 1996 (age 28)[1]
Aso, Japan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Oji Shiiba
Billed height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[2]
Billed weight70 kg (154 lb)
Debut2017

Professional wrestling career

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Dragon Gate (2017–2020)

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Shiiba made his professional wrestling debut in Dragon Gate at Dragon Gate NEX Sanctuary.160 on December 8, 2017, where he fell short to Shun Skywalker in singles competition.[4] During his tenure with the company, he competed in one of its signature events, the Gate of Destiny series in which he made his only appearance at the 2019 edition where he competed in a ten-man battle royal won by Dragon Dia and also involving Ho Ho Lun, Jimmy, Kagetora, Kanjyuro Matsuyama, Mondai Ryu, Punch Tominaga, Stalker Ichikawa and Shachihoko Boy.[5] Shiiba wrestled his last match in the company on the first night of the Dragon Gate Rainbow Gate 2020 from June 13, where he teamed up with Jason Lee and U-T in a losing effort against Ho Ho Lun, Kota Minoura and Yosuke Santa Maria as a result of a six-man tag team match.[6]

Dove Pro Wrestling (2021–present)

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Shiiba took a year and a half hiatus from professional wrestling and mad his return at Dove Pro Bump Bump Revolution 17 on December 18, 2021, where he fell short to Kohei Kinoshita.[7] At a house show from February 18, 2023, he defeated Naoki Tanizaki to capture the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship, bringing the title under the jurisdiction of Dove Pro.[8] At Indie Junior Festival ~ We Are All Alive 2, an independent event organized by the Japanese independent circuit on May 31, 2023, Shiiba dropped the title to Yasu Urano only to win it back the same night.[9]

Tenryu Project (2022–present)

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Another promotion in which Shiiba appears is Tenryu Project. He made his debut in the promotion at Tenryu Project Osaka Crush Night 2022 on April 2, where he teamed up with Kazumasa Yoshida in a losing effort against Leona and Kengo.[10] He continued to make appearances in the "Crush Night" series of events and appeared again at a house show from June 4, 2022, where he teamed up with Tsubasa and Yasshi in a losing effort against Naoki Tanizaki, Toru and Yusuke Kodama.[11] He saw himself competing in other kinds of match gimmicks such as a battle royal from Tenryu Project Wrestle And Romance Vol. 8 on November 12, 2022, bout which he won, toppling various notable opponents such as Drew Parker, Tomato Kaji, Kohei Sato, Masayuki Kono, Kouki Iwasaki, Sushi, Mizuki Watase and many others.[12] At Tenryu Project Wrestle And Romance Vol. 11 on March 26, 2023, Shiiba teamed up with Takuro Niki and defeated Kenichiro Arai and Rey Paloma to capture the International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[13]

Gleat (2022–present)

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Another promotion in which Shiiba appears is Gleat. He made his debut in the promotion at GLEAT Face-Off ~ Access 2 TDCH 2022 on June 5, where he fell short to El Lindaman.[14] He continued to seldomly make appearances at various shows. At GLEAT G PROWRESTLING Ver. 33 on September 10, 2022, he teamed up with The Rule (Ayato Yoshida and Shigehiro Irie) in a losing effort against Bulk Orchestra (Kazma Sakamoto, Quiet Storm and Ryuichi Kawakami).[15] Shiiba joined the "60 Seconds" stable at the end of 2022. At GLEAT Ver. EX Face-Off ~ Access 2 TDCH 2023 on June 7, 2023, he teamed up with stablemates Jun Tonsho and Keiichi Sato in a losing effort against Black Generation International (Kotaro Suzuki, Yutani) and Emperador Azteca.[16]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2022–present)

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Shiiba started competing regularly in All Japan Pro Wrestling since 2022. He made his first appearance in the promotion at AJPW Champions Night 4 ~ 50th Anniversary Tour on June 19, 2022, where he picked up a win over Ryo Inoue.[17] He competed in one of the promotion's signature events, the AJPW Junior Tag League, making his first appearance at the 2023 edition, where he teamed up with Ryo Inoue and scored a total of two points after going against the teams of Black Generation International (Kaito Ishida and Kotaro Suzuki), Zennichi Shin Jidai (Atsuki Aoyagi and Rising Hayato), Naoki Tanizaki and Naruki Doi, and Dan Tamura and Hikaru Sato.[18]

Personal life

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His real life brother is Kotoka Shiiba (琴香 コトカ, Shiiba Kotoka) who was also a Dragon Gate wrestler until 2018.[19]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Oji Shiiba • General Information". wrestlingdata.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  2. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Oji Shiiba/Career Data". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  3. ^ Internet Wrestling Database (IWD). "Oji Shiiba Profile & Match Listing". profightdb.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  4. ^ Puroresu Today (December 9, 2017). 【DRAGON GATE】〈試合結果〉2017.12.8(金)大会名:Sanctuary.160 会 場:神戸・ドラゴンゲートアリーナ. proresu-today.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  5. ^ Lowe, Case (November 6, 2019). "DRAGON GATE GATE OF DESTINY 2019 (NOVEMBER 4) RESULTS & REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
  6. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (June 22, 2020). "Dragon Gate Rainbow Gate 2020". 411mania.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  7. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 18, 2021). "Dove Pro Bump Bump Revolution 17". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  8. ^ Kreikenbohm, Philip (February 18, 2023). "Events Database » Dove Pro". cagematch.de (in German). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  9. ^ Saalbach, Axel. "Indy Junior Festival ~ We Are All Alive 2 (31. Mai 2023)". genickbruch.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  10. ^ Tenryu Project (April 2, 2022). 2022年4月2日 大阪大会. tenryuproject2010.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  11. ^ Tenryu Project (June 4, 2022). 2022年6月4日(土)『Osaka Crush Night 2022』大阪・176BOX大会. tenryuproject.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Dark Angelita (December 22, 2022). "Tenryu Project: "Wrestle and Romance Vol. 8"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  13. ^ Dark Angelita (April 7, 2023). "Tenryu Project: "Wrestle And Romance Vol. 11"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Lidet Entertainment (June 5, 2022). ACCESS 2 TDCH "FACE-OFF". lidet.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  15. ^ BBM Mobile (September 10, 2022). 9/10 GLEAT稔&歳三がGLEATでアジアタッグ防衛戦G PROWRESTLING Ver.33神奈川・ラジアントホール観衆189人(札止め). bbm-mobile.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  16. ^ Daly, Wayne (June 7, 2023). "GLEAT Results: Ver. EX ~ Face-Off: Access 2 TDCH – Tokyo, Japan (6/7)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Dark Angelita (June 19, 2022). "AJPW: Cartel "Champions Night 4 ~ 50th Anniversary Tour"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  18. ^ Daly, Wayne (May 5, 2023). "AJPW Results: Champion Carnival 2023 Day 9 – Tokyo, Japan (5/4)". wrestling-news.net. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  19. ^ Wrestling Culture (January 27, 2018). "Kotoka Announces his Retirement from Dragon Gate". wrestlingculture.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  20. ^ ""Independent World" World Junior Heavyweight Title [FMW] (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
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