Yujiro Kushida (櫛田 雄二郎, Kushida Yūjirō, born May 12, 1983) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name KUSHIDA and is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
He is best known for his tenure in NJPW, where he is a former six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion (with Time Splitters teammate Alex Shelley). He was the winner of the 2015 and 2017 Best of the Super Juniors tournaments, the 2016 Super J-Cup, and the 2017 Pro Wrestling World Cup, a tournament co-promoted by NJPW with What Culture Pro Wrestling (WCPW) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro). KUSHIDA previously made appearances for NJPW's American partner Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH World Television Champion. In 2019, KUSHIDA signed with WWE, who assigned him to perform on the 205 Live and NXT brands. In WWE, he is a former one-time NXT Cruiserweight Champion.
KUSHIDA began training for a mixed martial arts (MMA) career at Nobuhiko Takada's Takada Dojo while in junior high school. He made his professional MMA debut in 2003 for the ZST promotion, winning the following year's ZST Genesis Lightweight Tournament. In 2005, he retired from MMA, ending his career with an undefeated record.
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- 9469 / Kushida Lock (Crossface with a knee to the opponent's back)
- Back to the Future (Small package driver)
- Hoverboard Lock (Kimura lock)
- Midnight Express (Corkscrew moonsault)
- Supernova Press (Moonsault onto a standing opponent)
- Supernova Rana (Hurricanrana, sometimes from the top rope)
- Signature moves
- Buzzsaw Kick (High-speed roundhouse kick to the head of a seated, kneeling or rising opponent) – adopted from Tajiri
- Cross armbreaker – adopted from Nobuhiko Takada
- Diving crossbody
- Double knee backbreaker
- Enzuigiri
- Handspring back elbow – adopted from Tajiri
- Jumping double knee strike
- Masahiro Tanaka (Wind-up punch)
- Moonsault, sometimes while standing
- Rolling Elbow (Discus elbow smash)
- Somersault topé through the second and top ropes
- Springboard overhead chop
- Standing corkscrew moonsault
- Standing shiranui
- Tanaka Punch (Right hand punch)
- Nicknames
- "Hustle Supernova"
- "New Japan (Junior) Supernova"
- "Time Splitter"
- "The Ace of the Jrs"
- Managers
- Banzai Chie
- Tajiri
- Entrance themes
- Independent circuit
- "Jump" by Van Halen
- "KUSHIDA Makes You Rock" by GEEKS
- "New Moon" by def rebel
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- "KEEP ON BURNING" by Yonosuke Kitamura
- "KUSHIDA Makes You Rock" by GEEKS
- Ring of Honor
- "KUSHIDA Makes You Rock" by GEEKS
- NXT
- "Red Star" (Underscore) by Chris Goulstone
- "New Moon" by def rebel
- “Ganbare! (a)” by Tomoyuki Ushida (used as a member of Jacket Time)
- IMPACT Wrestling / Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- "KUSHIDA Makes You Rock" by GEEKS
- "Motor City" (w/ "KUSHIDA Makes You Rock" Intro) by AD/AM (used as a member of Time Machine)
- Independent circuit
Championships and accomplishments[]
Mixed martial arts[]
- ZST
- ZST Genesis Lightweight Tournament (2004)
Professional wrestling[]
- All Japan Pro Wrestling
- AJPW U-30 Tag Team Tournament (2008) – with T28
- Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
- Cuadrangular de Parejas (2016) – with Marco Corleone
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Alex Shelley
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2018)
- Super Jr. Tag Tournament (2012) – with Alex Shelley
- Best of the Super Juniors (2015, 2017)
- Super J-Cup (2016)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked #20 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2017
- Ring of Honor
- ROH World Television Championship (1 time)
- What Culture Pro Wrestling
- Pro Wrestling World Cup (2017)
- Pro Wrestling World Cup Japanese Qualifiers (2017)
- World Wrestling Entertainment / NXT
- NXT Cruiserweight Championship (1 time)
Mixed martial arts record[]
| Professional record breakdown | hide | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 matches | 6 wins | 0 losses |
| By knockout | 0 | 0 |
| By submission | 2 | 0 |
| By decision | 3 | 0 |
| By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
| Draws | 2 | |
| Res. | Record | Opponent | Method | Event | Date | Round | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Draw | 6–0–2 | Shinya Sato | Draw | ZST: Grand Prix 2 Final Round | January 23, 2005 | 3 | 3:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 6–0–1 | Takahiro Uchiyama | Submission (armbar) | ZST: Battle Hazard 1 | July 4, 2004 | 2 | 3:10 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 5–0–1 | Takahiro Uchiyama | Decision (unanimous) | ZST: Grand Prix Final Round | January 11, 2004 | 1 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 4–0–1 | Norimasa Isozaki | Submission (rear-naked choke) | ZST: Grand Prix Final Round | January 11, 2004 | 1 | 1:37 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 3–0–1 | Tomohiko Hori | Decision (unanimous) | ZST: Grand Prix Final Round | January 11, 2004 | 1 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 2–0–1 | Chikara Uehara | Decision (unanimous) | ZST: Grand Prix Opening Round | November 23, 2003 | 1 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Draw | 1–0–1 | Tomohiko Hori | Draw | ZST: The Battlefield 4 | July 7, 2003 | 1 | 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan |
| Win | 1–0 | Kenji Mizuno | DQ (rope grabbing) | ZST: The Battlefield 3 | June 1, 2003 | 1 | 3:13 | Tokyo, Japan |