Taku Iwasa

Infobox Wrestler
name=Taku Iwasa


names=Taku Iwasa
Takamichi Iwasa
Michael Iwasa
height=177 cm (5 ft 10 in)
weight=94 kg (207 lbs)
birth_date =birth date|1977|11|15|mf=y
death_date =
birth_place =Sendai-shi, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan
resides=
billed=
trainer=Último Dragón
debut=September 2, 2000
retired=|

Taku Iwasa is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently wrestles for Dragon Gate. He is presently a member of the Tozawa-juku stable.

Career

Early

Iwasa graduated as part of the Toryumon T2P class. He initially portrayed "Takamichi Iwasa", a Satanic character. Injuries derailed his career, and he soon ended up as a jobber to the stars. He was briefly scouted by the famous Crazy MAX stable, and they gave him a ten match trial series. CMAX was never truly interested in Iwasa, though, and he lost all 10 matches.

Following this, he joined forces with Raimu Mishima, who had been exiled from M2K for losing too many matches and general weakness. They petitioned to form their own unit, but were unable to do so. They then left for America to undergo "Warrior Training".

The Florida Brothers

Upon returning to Toryumon, Iwasa and Mishima proclaimed themselves to be Americans. They changed their first names to Michael and Daniel respectively.

The Florida Brothers were a comedy team. Their routine involved spoofing American southern style wrestling, and winning matches by DQ. Iwasa carried a folding chair painted in a stars and stripes pattern to the ring, and the Floridas would throw the chair to their opponents, then fake having been hit with it. The referee would then DQ their opponents, and the Floridas would leap to their feet and put their hands over their hearts as The USA Nation Anthem played. Later, they would add Takayuki Yagi to their shtick. Yagi portrayed a partial referee, dressing in an American Flag motif shirt and wearing oversized sunglasses that he required to see.

Kensuke Sasaki joined the Floridas as a part time member after losing to them via DQ, and called himself Kenskee whenever he teamed with them.

The Florida Brothers gimmick had run its course in 2006, and Iwasa and Mishima put the gimmick on the line in a match against Stalker Ichikawa. Ichikawa won the match. Iwasa and Mishima went their separate ways. Mishima would leave the company very shortly after, while Iwasa joined the cram school stable Tozawa-juku.

Tozawa-juku

Akira Tozawa had earlier announced his intention to open a cram school based stable, Tozawa-juku, for wrestlers to get polish and become men. Iwasa was one of his first recruits.

The character change greatly improved Iwasa's rank within Dragon Gate. Instead of returning to the submission style he used as Takamichi Iwasa, he became a power wrestler and renamed himself Taku Iwasa. Later, when Keni'chiro Arai joined Tozawa-juku, he and Iwasa began teaming regularly. The two managed to win the WAR I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Titles on September 22, 2007 from Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka, but lost them on October 12 to Naruki Doi & Masato Yoshino in a match that was also to determine the inaugural Open the Twin Gate Champions. On February 8, 2008, Iwasa & Arai would beat Doi & Yoshino for the Open the Twin Gate Titles, and they successfully defended them twice before losing them to Ryo Saito & Susumu Yokosuka on May 5. He would find championship success again the following month, when he, Arai, and newest member Shinobu defeated Shingo Takagi, YAMATO and Gamma on June 28 to capture the latter trio's Open the Triangle Gate Titles. Unfortunately, they lost the titles in their first defense the month after that, to Yasushi Kanda, YAMATO and Gamma.

In wrestling

*Finishing and signature moves
**"Tozawa-juku Hiden: Gouwan" (Crooked arm lariat)
**"Tozawa-juku Hiden: Jigoku no Ichoume" (Running double knee strike to the opponent's chest)
**"Tozawa-juku Hiden: Kuroneko" (Leg hook backslide)
**"Tozawa-juku Hiden: Jigokuguruma" (Hammerlock implant DDT)
**"Tozawa-juku Hiden: Ganjigarame Choufukuzatsu Facelock" (Arm trap headlock)
**"Tozawa-juku Saishuu Ougi: Kegon" (Modified fisherman buster with the opponent's free leg wrapped around Isawa's neck)
**"Tozawa-juku Saishuu Ougi So no ni: Noshigami" (Back to back facebuster, sometimes from the top rope)
**"Tozawa-juku Saishuu Ougi So no San: Maikeru O Shichi" (Piledriver followed by a figure four leglock)

Championships and accomplishments

*Dragon Gate
**Dragon Gate I-J Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Keni'chiro Arai
**Dragon Gate Open the Triangle Gate Championship (1 time) - with Keni'chiro Arai and Shinobu
**Dragon Gate Open the Twin Gate Championship (1 time) - with Keni'chiro Arai

External links

* [http://dgusa.puroresufan.com/iwasa.html Dragon Gate USA fansite profile]