About
Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling. He has 100,000 followers on Instagram.
Before Fame
He started training as a mixed martial arts at Nobuhiko Takada's Takada Dojo while in junior high school. He made his professional MMA debut in 2003. In 2004, he won the ZST Genesis Lightweight Tournament. In 2005, he retired from the MMA, ending his career with an undefeated record. At the same time, he was working part-time with the Tokyo Sports magazine and had been attending Senshu University.
Trivia
Around 2005, Senshu University granted him a one-year temporary absence so he could go to Mexico. Using money borrowed from his mother, he learned the style of lucha libre under Oriental in his Aztec Budokan wrestling school. He made his professional debut in September 2005 as the masked wrestler Yujiro. He returned to Japan and was mentored by Yoshihiro Tajiri.
Family Life
He lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife and daughter.
Associated With
He is good friends with fellow wrestler Alex Shelley, his former tag team partner. In April of 2021, he won his first title in WWE NXT career, and later defended it against Chris Girard and Carmelo Hayes. He lost it to Roderick Strong in June 2021.
