Ikuto Hidaka

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Ikuto Hidaka (日高郁人, Hidaka Ikuto^?) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently performing for Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Hidaka is the regular partner of Minoru Fujita, with whom he has held the ZERO1-MAX International Lightweight Tag Team and Intercontinental Tag Team Titles, making them the only team to do so. He has also worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling

[edit] Career

Hidaka debuted for the Battlarts promotion. He first teamed with Fujita, who had debuted the same year for Big Japan Pro Wrestling, at a Michinoku Pro Wrestling event in 1998, in which they and Naohiro Hoshikawa took on also future stars Minoru Tanaka, Yoshihiro Tajiri and veteran Gran Naniwa. Hidaka and Fujita teamed several times after this, but conflicting schedules from competing for separate promotions limited their future as a team. On his own, Hidaka made an appearance in the shoot style Universal Fighting Organization promotion by Antonio Inoki, in 1999. He lost a match to Tiger Mask IV,in 2000 Hidaka went to America for a learning excursion in Extreme Championship Wrestling, He was not very successful as he constantly botched moves and lost every match during his tenure there, obviously being still unaccustomed to highspots. Commentator Joel Gertner constantly made racist remarks about Hidaka during his matches and nicknamed him "Pokemon" after the popular children's animated series.

In late 2001, when Battlarts collapsed, Hidaka wandered in the Japanese independent circuit. He entered Michinoku Pro Wrestling and won a tournament for the vacant FMW Independent World Junior Heavyweight Championship, upsetting New Japan Pro Wrestling star El Samurai in the final - his first great solo victory. He made an alliance with Dick Togo, styling himself as Togo's disciple and joining him in the Far East Connection stable. As Togo and Michinoku Pro owner The Great Sasuke bickered over problems that had once caused Togo to leave the promotion before, they entered Pro Wrestling ZERO-ONE and began to battle the active junior heavyweight roster. For a while they were successful, winning the NWA International Lightweight Tag Team title once, but as Togo wanted to keep on wrestling other independents, their team broke up just in time as Fujita was returning from an overseas excursion, which freed him to do independent dates.

The combination, known as Skull and Bones, became prominent in the ZERO-1MAX/independent scene, and they have even won Pro Wrestling NOAH's GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

Hidaka once appeared with Togo and Christopher Daniels in a Major League Wrestling match in the United States in 2002, one of his rare appearances abroad.

Following a crucial loss to Minoru Tanaka and Masaaki Mochizuki, another team long "defunct before it even started" due to scheduling conflicts, Hidaka and Fujita turned on each other. On January 19, Hidaka beat Fujita to win the AWA World Junior Heavyweight title for a second time.