NJPW Star Makes AEW Debut On Tonight's Dynamite
"The Forbidden Door" was opened again on tonight's AEW Dynamite when New Japan Pro Wrestling star Tomohiro Ishii made his debut.
As announced at AEW's Full Gear, Ishii teamed up with Orange Cassidy in a tag team match against The Butcher and The Blade.
The match proved to be a hard-hitting, back and forth contest that saw Tomohiro get the win by hitting a short-arm lariat followed by a delayed brainbuster. Ishii allowed the offense to feature plenty of their own moves while still showcasing exactly what makes him a standout wrestler.
Last week, it was made official by Kazuchika Okada that the members of Best Friends were now officially in the NJPW stable, CHAOS. Orange Cassidy showed his allegiance by being in the corner of fellow CHAOS stable member, Rocky Romero, in his loss to Bryan Danielson during last week's AEW Dynamite.
Cassidy first teased Tomohiro Ishii's arrival in AEW by saying he was bringing in "one of his dogs" from CHAOS. As NJPW fans know, Tomohiro Ishii is also known as the "Stone Pitbull." Late during the Full Gear PPV, it was made official that Ishii was indeed coming to AEW for tonight's tag match in Norfolk, Virginia.
Tomohiro Ishii has been with NJPW for nearly two decades now, first debuting in 1994. He is currently in a record sixth reign as the NEVER Openweight Champion and has also won the IWGP Tag Team Championships and NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships.
Through NJPW's working relationship with companies like Ring of Honor and Revolution Pro Wrestling, Ishii became the ROH Television Champion and the British Heavyweight Champion respectively.
There have been no announcements regarding future matches in AEW for Tomohiro Ishii, but we will keep you updated on any further developments.
You can see highlights from tonight's match below:
The Stone Pitbull Tomohiro Ishii & @orangecassidy teaming together on #AEWDynamite right now...Wild!
Watch LIVE NATIONWIDE on @tntdrama NOW! pic.twitter.com/kjxSLHoUqP
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 18, 2021
.@BladeofBuffalo tries to go blow for blow with Ishii and gets dropped! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE NATIONWIDE on @tntdrama NOW! pic.twitter.com/ydElSqDMoL
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 18, 2021
Big on Big! #TheButcher and Ishii face to face! Watch #AEWDynamite LIVE NATIONWIDE on @tntdrama NOW! pic.twitter.com/Nd2a16yN3x
— All Elite Wrestling (@AEW) November 18, 2021
🎨 #AEWDynamite pic.twitter.com/95D7gaDeBT
— AEW on TV (@AEWonTV) November 18, 2021