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Oji Shiiba

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Oji Shiiba
Shiiba in November 2022
Born (1996-07-14) July 14, 1996 (age 28)[1][2][3]
Aso, Japan[1][2][3]
RelativesKotoka [ja] (brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring names
  • Oji Shiiba
  • Suzaku
Billed height166 cm (5 ft 5 in)[1][2][3]
Billed weight70 kg (154 lb)[1][2][3]
DebutDecember 8, 2017

Oji Shiiba (椎葉 旺詩, Shība Ōji, ring name: 椎葉 おうじ)[1][2][3] (born July 14, 1996) is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his tenure in Dragon Gate. He currently competes as a freelancer and has worked for various promotions, including Dove Pro Wrestling, where he is a former two-time Independent World Junior Heavyweight Champion; Tenryu Project, where he held the International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship; All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW); Gleat; and Osaka Pro Wrestling, where he is believed to be performing under a mask as Suzaku (stylized in all capital letters).

Professional wrestling career

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Dragon Gate (2017–2020)

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Shiiba made his professional wrestling debut for Dragon Gate at NEX Sanctuary.160 on December 8, 2017, in a singles match against Shun Skywalker, which he lost.[4] He appeared at Gate of Destiny 2019, one of Dragon Gate's signature events, where he competed in a ten-man battle royal won by Dragon Dia and also featuring Ho Ho Lun, Jimmy, Kagetora, Kanjyuro Matsuyama, Mondai Ryu, Punch Tominaga, Stalker Ichikawa and Shachihoko Boy.[5] His final appearance for the promotion took place on June 13, 2020, during the first night of the Rainbow Gate 2020 series, where he teamed with Jason Lee and U-T in a losing effort against Ho Ho Lun, Kota Minoura and Yosuke♡Santa Maria in a six-man tag team match.[6]

Freelancing (2021–present)

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Dove Pro Wrestling (2021–2023)

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After taking a year-and-a-half hiatus from professional wrestling, Shiiba returned to in-ring competition at Dove Pro's Bump Bump Revolution 17 on December 18, 2021, where he was defeated by Kohei Kinoshita.[7] On February 18, 2023, at a Dove Pro house show, he defeated Naoki Tanizaki to win the Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship, bringing the title under the Dove Pro banner.[8] On May 31, 2023, at Indie Junior Festival: We Are All Alive 2, an independent event produced by Hikaru Sato, Shiiba lost the title to Yasu Urano, but regained it later that same night.[9] He vacated the title on August 30 after announcing another hiatus from competition in order to recover from a knee injury.[10]

Tenryu Project (2022–present)

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Shiiba made his debut for Tenryu Project at Osaka Crush Night 2022 on April 2, where he teamed with Kazumasa Yoshida in a losing effort against Leona and Kengo.[11] He continued to appear in the promotion’s Crush Night series, including a show on June 4, 2022, where he teamed with Tsubasa and "brother" Yasshi in a six-man tag team match, losing to Naoki Tanizaki, Toru, and Yusuke Kodama.[12] On November 12, 2022, at Wrestle and Romance Vol. 8, Shiiba won a battle royal featuring opponents such as Drew Parker, Tomato Kaji, Kohei Sato, Masayuki Kono, Kouki Iwasaki, Sushi, and Mizuki Watase.[13] At Wrestle and Romance Vol. 11 on March 26, 2023, he teamed with Takuro Niki to defeat Kenichiro Arai and Rey Paloma, winning the International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[14]

Gleat (2022–2023)

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Shiiba made his debut for Gleat at Face-Off: Access 2 TDCH 2022 on June 5, where he was defeated by El Lindaman.[15] He continued to make occasional appearances for the promotion, including at G Prowrestling Ver. 33 on September 10, 2022, where he teamed with The Rule (Ayato Yoshida and Shigehiro Irie) in a losing effort against Bulk Orchestra (Kazma Sakamoto, Quiet Storm, and Ryuichi Kawakami).[16] Toward the end of 2022, Shiiba joined the 60 Seconds stable. At Ver. EX Face-Off: Access 2 TDCH 2023 on June 7, 2023, he teamed with stablemates Jun Tonsho and Keiichi Sato in a six-man tag team match, losing to Black Generation International (Kotaro Suzuki and Yutani) and Emperador Azteca.[17]

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2022–2023)

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Shiiba began competing for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 2022. He made his first appearance at Champions Night 4: 50th Anniversary Tour on June 19, 2022, where he defeated Ryo Inoue.[18] In 2023, he took part in the Junior Tag League, teaming with Inoue and earning two points in total. During the tournament, they faced 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.[19]

Osaka Pro Wrestling (2024–present)

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Since October 2024, a masked wrestler known as Suzaku—whose name is inspired by the Vermilion Bird from Chinese mythology—has competed regularly in Osaka Pro Wrestling.[20] While his identity has not been officially confirmed, it is widely speculated to be Oji Shiiba, due to similarities in in-ring style, physique and the of timing of his appearances.[21] On December 29, at Excalibur 2024, Suzaku unsuccessfully challenged Ryuya Matsufusa for the Osaka Light Heavyweight Championship.[22] He entered the Osaka Tag Festival on February 23, 2025, teaming with Hub; the duo advanced to the semi-finals, where they were eliminated by Aran Sano and Tigers Mask.[23] On May 24, Suzaku entered the fourth edition of the Osaka Light Heavyweight Tournament, defeating Ultimate Spider Jr. in the first round.[24] After advancing past Tiiida in the semi-finals, he defeated Ryuya Matsufusa in the final on May 25 to win the tournament.[25]

Personal life

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His real life brother is Kotoka [ja] who wrestled for Dragon Gate from 2009 to 2018.[26]

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Shība Ōji" 椎葉おうじ [Oji Shiiba]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Shība Ōji" 椎葉おうじ [Oji Shiiba]. Dragongate (in Japanese). Gaora. January 1, 2020. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Shība Ōji" 椎葉おうじ [Oji Shiiba]. Tenryu Project (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 18, 2025.
  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. ^ "Dove Hyōgo, Kobe Motomachi Ringusouru" DOVE 兵庫・神戸元町リングソウル [Dove Hyogo, Kobe Motomachi Ringsoul]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  9. ^ "Satō Hikaru purodyūse kōgyō Indī Junia no Saiten: Bokura wa Minna Ikiteiru 2" 佐藤光留プロデュース興行 インディージュニアの祭典～ぼくらはみんないきている2 [Hikaru Sato Produce Indie Junior Festival: We Are All Alive 2]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  10. ^ Shiiba, Oji [@ojishiiba0714] (August 30, 2023). "I have decided to vacate the Independent World Junior belt as previously discussed" 協議中でしたインディペンデントワールド世界ジュニアのベルトですが返上するかたちになりました。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved August 31, 2023 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ Tenryu Project (April 2, 2022). 2022年4月2日 大阪大会. tenryuproject2010.com (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  12. ^ Tenryu Project (June 4, 2022). 2022年6月4日 大阪大会. tenryuproject2010.com (in Japanese). Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  13. ^ Dark Angelita (December 22, 2022). "Tenryu Project: "Wrestle and Romance Vol. 8"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  14. ^ Dark Angelita (April 7, 2023). "Tenryu Project: "Wrestle And Romance Vol. 11"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  15. ^ Lidet Entertainment (June 5, 2022). ACCESS 2 TDCH "FACE-OFF". lidet.co.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  16. ^ 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）. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). September 10, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  17. ^ Daly, Wayne (June 7, 2023). "GLEAT Results: Ver. EX ~ Face-Off: Access 2 TDCH – Tokyo, Japan (6/7)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on August 11, 2024.
  18. ^ Dark Angelita (June 19, 2022). "AJPW: Cartel "Champions Night 4 ~ 50th Anniversary Tour"". superluchas.com (in Spanish). Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  19. ^ "Jr. Tag Battle of Glory 2023 (08.04.2023 bis 04.05.2023)". Purolove (in German). Archived from the original on February 13, 2025.
  20. ^ Ruth (February 17, 2025). "Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Festival 2025 Preview". Five Star Network. Archived from the original on February 17, 2025.
  21. ^ "Ōsaka Puroresu no Suzaku. Dare nandeshō?" 大阪プロレスのsuzaku。誰なんでしょう？ [Osaka Pro Wrestling's Suzaku. Who is he?]. Yahoo! Japan (in Japanese).
  22. ^ "Kabushiki-gaisha Uemachi Tatemono Kanri Presents Ekusukaribā 2024" 株式会社上町建物管理Presents エクスカリバー2024 [Uemachi Tatemono Kanri Co., Ltd. presents Excalibur 2024]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. December 29, 2024. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  23. ^ "Ōsaka Taggu Fesutibaru 2025 junkesshō, yūshō ketteisen" 大阪タッグフェスティバル2025 準決勝・優勝決定戦 [Osaka Tag Festival 2025 Semi-finals & Final]. Weekly Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Baseball Magazine Sha. February 24, 2025. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  24. ^ 【大阪プロレス】ライトヘビー級トーナメント開幕！TiiiDA、SUZAKU、大瀬良らが準決勝進出 [[Osaka Pro Wrestling]Light heavyweight tournament begins! TiiiDA, SUZAKU, Oosera, and others advance to semifinals!]. Proresu Today (in Japanese). RealCross Co., Ltd. May 26, 2025. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  25. ^ 【大阪プロレス】『ライトヘビー級トーナメント』が開幕！トーナメント準決勝はタコヤキーダーvsビリーケン・キッド、大瀬良泰貴vsUスパイダーJr. [[Osaka Pro Wrestling] "Light Heavyweight Tournament" begins! Tournament semi-finals are Takoyakida vs. Billyken Kid & Yasutaka Osera vs. Ultimate Spider Jr.]. Proresu Today (in Japanese). RealCross Co., Ltd. May 26, 2025. Archived from the original on May 30, 2025.
  26. ^ Wrestling Culture (January 27, 2018). "Kotoka Announces his Retirement from Dragon Gate". wrestlingculture.com. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
  27. ^ ""Independent World" World Junior Heavyweight Title [FMW] (Japan)". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
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