Introduction
Shotaro Ashino (芦野 祥太郎, Ashino Shōtarō, born January 4, 1990) is a Japanese professional wrestler trained by and signed to Wrestle-1, where he is the current Wrestle-1 Champion in his first reign.
Early life
Ashino was an amateur wrestler throughout his youth, competing in the sport throughout high school and university. Ashino graduated from Nippon Sport Science University and after being recommended by Hiroshi Hase, joined the Wrestle-1 dojo in August 2014, where he trained under Keiji Mutoh and Kaz Hayashi.
Professional wrestling career
After being trained in the dojo for 6 months, Ashino made his debut for Wrestle-1 on February 13, 2015, defeating Kumagoro. In August, Ashino took part in the 2015 Wrestle-1 Grand Prix, defeating Nosawa Rongai in the first round but losing to Manabu Soya in the quarter-finals. In late 2015, Ashino formed the TriggeR stable alongside Masayuki Kono, Shuji Kondo and Hiroki Murase after Kondo turned on longtime partner Kaz Hayashi during a match against Ashino and Murase. On November 3, Murase and Ashino unsuccessfully challenged Manabu Soya and Jun Kasai for the Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship. On June 8, 2016, Ashino received his first shot at the Wrestle-1 Championship, unsuccessfully challenging Kai. In July, Ashino once again participated in the Wrestle-1 Grand Prix, making it to the semi-finals where he faced Manabu Soya, however, the match was quickly brought to an end after Ashino suffered a legitimate injury to his right leg. Ashino took 3 months to recover, and returned in November. In January 2017, after TriggeR stablemate Masayuki Kono had successfully defended the Wrestle-1 Championship against Shuji Kondo, Ashino challenged him to a match for the championship. On March 20, Ashino defeated Kono to win the championship for the first time in his career. After successfully defending the championship against Shuji Kondo on April 19, Ashino left TriggeR.
Personal life
Ashino is a fan of the rock band Metallica, and his favourite sports team is Arsenal F.C.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Ankle lock
- Reverse cross armbar
- Signature moves
- Boston crab
- Multiple suplex variations
- Belly-to-belly
- German
- Exploder
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
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- PWI ranked him #299 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
- Wrestle-1
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- Wrestle-1 Championship (one time, current)