NJPW Star Advances To AEW All-Atlantic Championship Match

The Stone Pitbull is headed to Chicago.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling held a mini-tournament over the course of Monday and Tuesday to determine who would represent the company in the four way match to crown the first AEW All-Atlantic Champion. Tomoaki Honma, Clark Connors, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Tomohiro Ishii all competed for a chance at the slot, and now Tomohiro Ishii stands at the top of the heap.

Ishii defeated Connors in a blistering, hard-hitting match on Tuesday. Ishii defeated Kanemaru on Monday to earn his place in the match, while Connors defeated Honma.

Intended to "create more opportunities" for international talent, All Elite Wrestling will crown the first All-Atlantic Champion on June 26th at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door in Chicago, IL. Miro and PAC have already advanced to the four way match, and now Ishii joins them. Miro defeated Ethan Page to earn his spot, while PAC bested Buddy Matthews. Malakai Black will face Penta Oscuro on this Wednesday's "AEW Dynamite" for the final spot in the match.

Ishii has been developing something of a presence in North America as of late. A recent tour of the states included a stint in IMPACT Wrestling, where Ishii unsuccessfully challenged Josh Alexander for the world title, and also in AEW, where Ishii has tagged with Orange Cassidy in a tag victory against The Butcher & The Blade. More recently, Ishii was eliminated from the qualifying round of the Owen Hart Invitational by eventual winner Adam Cole.

Ishii has also been a constant presence on NJPW Strong, the American wing of NJPW programming, and recently wrestled Hiroshi Tanahashi for the vacant IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The six-time NEVER Openweight Champion has wrestled for NJPW since 2004.