| Daisuke Harada | |
|---|---|
Harada in April 2010. |
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| Ring name(s) | Daisuke Araki[1] Daisuke Harada |
| Billed height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[2] |
| Billed weight | 90 kg (200 lb)[2] |
| Born | November 13, 1986 [3][4] Suita, Osaka[3][4] |
| Trained by | Osaka Pro Wrestling dojo[5] |
| Debut | August 5, 2006[3][4] |
Daisuke Harada (原田大輔 Harada Daisuke) (born November 13, 1986)[3] is a Japanese professional wrestler, who mainly works for Osaka Pro Wrestling, where he is part of the tag team Momo no Seishun Tag (桃の青春タッグ) with Atsushi Kotoge.[2] Harada and Kotoge and former three-time OPW Tag Team Champions and have also worked together for various other promotions across Japan and for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania–based Chikara in the United States.
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Harada reportedly first got interested in professional wrestling through the video game Toukon Ratsuden, after which his first in–person professional wrestling experience was attending the January 4, 1998, Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome show, witnessing the conclusion of Riki Chōshū's retirement tour.[5] Harada began competing in amateur wrestling in his high school and ended up winning Osaka Prefecture's amateur wrestling championship at 90 kg (200 lb).[2][5] Afterwards, he began training in professional wrestling at Osaka Pro Wrestling's (OPW) school.[5]
Harada made his debut for Osaka Pro Wrestling on August 5, 2006, facing Atsushi Kotoge in a losing effort.[6] He would spend his first months in the promotion feuding with Kotoge, before forming a tag team with him in November.[6] During the partnership, in May 2007, Harada defeated Kotoge in a tournament final to win the Kamigata Pro–Wrestling Newcomer Grand Prix.[7] After working as a tag team for over a year, Harada and Kotoge were finally granted a shot at the OPW Tag Team Championship on January 5, 2008, but were unsuccessful in their attempt at dethroning the defending champions, Bad Force (GAINA and Zero).[8] Just a month later on February 11, the team came to an abrupt end, when Kotoge turned heel and joined Bad Force.[9] Meanwhile, Harada formed a new partnership with Zeus, creating rival stable Blood & Guts, which was intended to highlight the promotion's younger performers.[5] In March, Harada and Zeus accepted Tadasuke as the third member of the group.[10] In May, Bad Force was dissolved, when the majority of its members jumped to splinter promotion Okinawa Pro Wrestling, after which Harada's former partner Atsushi Kotoge jumped to Blood & Guts.[5][11] In June, Blood & Guts sent two teams into the 2008 Osaka Tag Festival, with Harada teaming with Zeus and Kotoge with Tadasuke.[8] Both teams made it to the finals, where Harada and Zeus were victorious, after Harada pinned Kotoge with the Katayama German Suplex Hold.[5][8] As a result, Harada and Zeus were granted a shot at the OPW Tag Team Championship on September 6, but were defeated by the defending champions, GAINA and Zero.[8] The rest of the year, Harada spent mostly tagging with Kotoge and on November 15 the two received a shot at the OPW Tag Team Championship, but were once again unsuccessful in defeating the defending champions, Black Buffalo and Tigers Mask.[8]
In March 2009, Harada, Kotoge and Tadasuke were entered in the Indie Junior Challenger Determination round robin tournament, and after each of them finished with a record of 1–1, the winner was decided in a three–way final match on April 4.[12] In the end Harada pinned Tadasuke to win the tournament.[5][12] As a result, Harada was granted a shot at the Independent Junior Heavyweight Championship, but was defeated by Makoto Oishi on April 29.[5][12] On June 6, 2009, Tadasuke, considered the lowest ranking member of Blood & Guts, turned on the stable and joined rival group LOV (Legion of Violence).[13] Shortly afterwards, Zeus left Osaka Pro, after which Harada and Kotoge disbanded the Blood & Guts stable, renamed their tag team Momo no Seishun Tag and concentrated on chasing the OPW Tag Team Championship. On January 16, 2010, Harada and Kotoge defeated Tadasuke and Orochi to become the number one contenders to the OPW Tag Team Championship and finally, on February 11, defeated Hideyoshi and Masamune to win the Tag Team Championship for the first time.[14][15] On April 17, Harada defeated Tadasuke in a tournament final to become the number one contender to the OPW Championship.[14] He would, however, fail in his attempt to win the title from Billy Ken Kid on April 29 at Osaka Pro's eleventh anniversary show.[5][14] On May 9, Harada and Kotoge teamed with Takoyakida to defeat Tokyo Gurentai (FUJITA, MAZADA and NOSAWA Rongai) for the UWA World Trios Championship.[4][14][16] They would hold the Trios Championship for a month, before losing it to Ebessan, Kanjyouro Matsuyama and Kuishinbo Kamen.[4][14][16] On July 17, Momo no Seishun Tag lost the OPW Tag Team Championship to Don Fujii and Masaaki Mochizuki, representing rival promotion Dragon Gate.[14][15]
On October 15, 2010, Harada and Kotoge made their debuts for Pro Wrestling Noah to take part in the 2010 Nippon TV Jr. Heavyweight Tag League.[17] After one victory and three losses, Momo no Seishun Tag finished last in their block.[18][19][20] Upon their return to Osaka Pro, Momo no Seishun Tag defeated Fujii and Mochizuki on October 31 to regain the OPW Tag Team Championship.[14][15] Their second reign would last less than two months as they lost the title to JOKER (Kuuga and Orochi) on November 28.[14][15] On January 15, 2011, Harada and Kotoge returned to Noah to unsuccessfully challenge Atsushi Aoki and Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[21] On March 6, Harada and Kotoge wrestled JOKER representatives Orochi and Tadasuke to a draw in an OPW Tag Team Championship number one contenders' match and afterwards agreed to a three–way match for the title.[22] The title match took place on March 19, when Orochi and Tadasuke defeated Momo no Seishun Tag and previous champions, Big Guns (Zeus and The Bodyguard) to become the new OPW Tag Team Champions.[15][23] On April 21 Momo no Seishun Tag returned to Noah, where they defeated GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Kotaro Suzuki and Shane Haste in a tag team match.[24] On July 18 Momo no Seishun Tag defeated the teams of JOKER (Orochi and Tadasuke) and Takoyakida and Ultimate Spider Jr. in a three–way match to win the OPW Tag Team Championship for the third time.[25] Four days later Harada and Kotoge returned to Pro Wrestling Noah to take part in the 2011 Nippon TV Jr. Heavyweight Tag League. After two victories and two losses, Harada and Kotoge finished third in their block, missing the finals of the tournament.[26] On October 30, Momo no Seishun Tag lost the OPW Tag Team Championship to the JOKER team of HAYATA and Kuuga.[27] On November 27, Harada entered Osaka Pro's annual Tennozan tournament, defeating tag team partner Atsushi Kotoge in his first round match.[28] On December 18, Harada defeated Kuuga to win the 2011 Tennozan, avenging his loss in the previous year's finals in the process.[29] Later that same day, Momo no Seishun Tag returned to Pro Wrestling Noah, where they teamed with Shane Haste to defeat Atsushi Aoki, Kotaro Suzuki and Taiji Ishimori in a six man tag team match, afterwards challenging Aoki and Suzuki to a match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.[29]
In April 2010, Harada along with Kotoge and their former Blood & Guts partner Tadasuke traveled to the United States to represent Osaka Pro in Chikara's 2010 King of Trios tournament. In their first round match in the tournament on April 23, Team Osaka Pro defeated The UnStable (Colin Delaney, STIGMA and Vin Gerard), when Harada pinned Delaney with the Katayama German Suplex Hold.[30] While Harada and Kotoge worked the tour as faces, Tadasuke worked as a heel, and in the following day's quarterfinal match, used his heel antics to eliminate the reigning King of Trios, F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor, Gran Akuma and Icarus), from the tournament by pinning Taylor, while holding his tights, thus sending Team Osaka Pro to the semifinals of the tournament.[31] On April 25, Team Osaka Pro was eliminated from the tournament in the semifinals by The Colony (Fire Ant, Green Ant and Soldier Ant).[32] Despite failing to win the tournament, Team Osaka Pro's strong showing had made them instant crowd favorites in Chikara.[31]
On March 1, 2011, Chikara announced that Harada and Kotoge would be returning to the promotion for the 2011 King of Trios, this time teaming with the reigning OPW Battle Royal Champion Ultimate Spider Jr.[33] On April 15, Team Osaka Pro defeated the Throwbacks (Dasher Hatfield, Matt Classic and Sugar Dunkerton) in their first round match.[34] However, the following day, Team Osaka Pro was eliminated from the tournament by F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor, Icarus and Johnny Gargano), when Taylor pinned Spider Jr., while grabbing a hold of his tights, much like how Tadasuke had pinned him in the tournament the previous year.[35] On April 17, the final day of the tournament, Harada and Kotoge entered a ten tag team gauntlet match. They entered the match as the eighth team, facing the Roughnecks (Brodie Lee and Grizzly Redwood), whom they eliminated when Kotoge pinned Redwood. After also eliminating team number nine, 3.0 (Scott Parker and Shane Matthews), Harada and Kotoge faced off with representatives from rival promotion Dragon Gate, KAGETORA and Super Shisa. In the end, Kotoge was able to score the deciding pinfall, earning Momo no Seishun Tag the victory and their third point, which guaranteed them a shot at the Campeonatos de Parejas, which was at the time held by Jigsaw and Mike Quackenbush.[36] On August 25, Chikara announced that Momo no Seishun Tag would return to cash their points on October 7, challenging brand new Campeones de Parejas, F.I.S.T. (Chuck Taylor and Johnny Gargano), in a rubber match.[37][38] On October 7 in Burlington, North Carolina, Momo no Seishun Tag failed to capture the Campeonatos de Parejas as they were defeated by Taylor and Gargano two falls to one, following interference from Icarus.[39] The following day, Harada and Kotoge were defeated by Fire Ant and Soldier Ant at a show in Kingsport, Tennessee.[40]