Tatsuhito Takaiwa (高岩竜一) is a Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler. Takaiwa is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan, and Zero1, as well as making special appearances in All Japan and NOAH.
He formed a successful tag team with Shinjiro Otani during the 1990s and won the IWGP Jujior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in 1998 and 1999. He's a former holder of the Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight Championship, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship and a former holder of the Pro Wrestling Noah GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, and the AWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship a former two-times NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship, his second and third reign was with Otani.
On February 15, 2009, Takaiwa debuted as the fifth Black Tiger, breaking the Black Tiger tradition of foreigners under the mask, by attacking Tiger Mask. On June 20, 2009, at Dominion 6.20 Tiger Mask defeated him in a mask vs. mask match and afterwards Takaiwa revealed his identity by removing his mask. Takaiwa lost his mask as Black Tiger V for the second time on May 14, 2011, when he was defeated at a Toryumon Mexico event by Ultimo Dragon. Despite losing his mask twice, Takaiwa continues to make appearances as Black Tiger V.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Death Valley bomb, sometimes from the top rope or preceded by a double powerbomb
- Fireman's carry dropped into either a reverse piledriver or a cradle pin
- Lariat
- Takaiwa Driller (Over the shoulder reverse piledriver)
- Signature moves
- Flapjack lifted and dropped into a powerslam, powerbomb or death valley driver
- Mochizuki Bomb (Multiple powerbombs)
- Powerslam
- Samoan driver
- Sitout scoop slam piledriver
- Sitout suplex slam
- Superbomb
- Takaiwa Driver (Vertical suplex piledriver, sometimes from the top rope)
- Entrance themes
Championships and accomplishments
- Apache Pro Wrestling Army/Pro Wrestling A-TEAM
- WEW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tetsuhiro Kuroda
- Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW
- FMW World Street Fight 8-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Black Tiger VII, Great Tiger and Tiger Mask III Tigre en Mascarado[1]
- DDT Pro-Wrestling
- Ganbare☆Kakutougi Open Tournament (2014)
- Top of the Dramatic Cruiser (2013)
- New Japan Pro Wrestling
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Shinjiro Otani
- Best of the Super Juniors (2000)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #52 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000
- PWI ranked him #42 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Shinjiro Otani in 2003
- Pro Wrestling Noah
- GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Pro Wrestling Zero1
- AWA/Zero1-Max/UPW/WORLD-1 International Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA International Lightweight Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Tomohiro Ishii (1) and Shinjiro Otani (2)
- NWA/UPW/Zero-One International Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (Disputed Branch) (1 time)
- World-1 Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Tenkaichi Jr. (2004, 2008)
- Tenryu Project
- Wrestle Association "R"
- WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shinjiro Otani
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Most Improved (1997)
- Tag Team of the Year (1998) with Shinjiro Otani
Luchas de Apuestas record
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tiger Mask (mask) | Black Tiger (mask) | Osaka, Japan | Dominion 6.20 | June 20, 2009 | |
| Ultimo Dragon (mask) | Black Tiger (mask) | Mexico City, Mexico | Dragonmania VI | May 14, 2011 |
- ↑ 11月24日（木）東京・後楽園ホール (in Japanese). Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW. Archived from the original on 2016-11-25. Retrieved on 2016-11-25.