Kenji Shibuya
Robert "Kinji" Shibuya (May 16, 1921 – May 3, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and actor. Professional wrestling career In 1952, promoter Al Karasick suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling. He was originally given a villainous gimmick of a Japanese bad guy after World War II. He wrestled in the United States and Canada's Stampede Wrestling and All-Star Wrestling. Shibuya credited Verne Gagne for first making him popular as a villain in 1955. Shibuya was the frequent tag team partner of Mitsu Arakawa, who was billed as his cousin. In 1957, they held the Minneapolis version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship. Personal life Shibuya was born in Utah and raised in California with his four brothers. He attended Belmont High School in Los Angeles. He played football for the Los Angeles City football team, and he also played football at the University of Hawaii. After college, Shibuya played semi-professionally for the Honolulu Polar Bears and Honolulu Warriors. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hayward, California
Hayward () is a city located in Alameda County, California in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area and the third largest in Alameda County. Hayward was ranked as the 34th most populous List of municipalities in California, municipality in California. It is included in the San Francisco Bay Area Combined Statistical Area, San Francisco–Oakland–San Jose Metropolitan Statistical Area by the US Census. It is located primarily between Castro Valley, California, Castro Valley, San Leandro, California, San Leandro and Union City, California, Union City, and lies at the eastern terminus of the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge, San Mateo–Hayward Bridge. The city was devastated early in its history by the 1868 Hayward earthquake. From the early 20th century until the beginning of the 1980s, Hayward's economy was dominated by its now defunct food canning and salt production industries. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kung Fu (TV Series)
''Kung Fu'' is an American action-adventure martial arts Western drama television series starring David Carradine. The series follows the adventures of Kwai Chang Caine, a Shaolin monk who travels through the American Old West, armed only with his spiritual training and his skill in martial arts, as he seeks Danny Caine, his half-brother. Many of the aphorisms used in the series are adapted from or derived directly from the ''Tao Te Ching'', a book of ancient Taoist philosophy attributed to the sage Lao-tzu. Plot Kwai Chang Caine (David Carradine) is the orphaned son of an American man, Thomas Henry Caine (Bill Fletcher), and a Chinese woman, Kwai Lin, born in mid-19th-century China. After his maternal grandfather's death he is accepted for training at a Shaolin Monastery, where he grows up to become a Shaolin priest and martial arts expert. In the pilot episode, Caine's beloved mentor and elder, Master Po, is murdered by the Emperor's nephew; outraged, Caine retaliates ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the AWA World Tag Team Championship in the American Wrestling Association. He was a classic heel, reviled for dirty tricks in the ring, included rubbing salt in his opponent's eyes. Professional wrestling career After returning to Hawaii after leaving the United States Air Force, 50th State Big Time Wrestling promoter Ed Francis convinced Kamaka to try professional wrestling. He was given the name Tor Kamata in reference to Tomas De Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition. He also worked as Mr. Moto, holding the American Wrestling Association's AWA World Tag Team Championship with Mitsu Arakawa. One of his signature moves, the "judo chop" became a popular phrase for all types of martial arts strikes in the 1960s, e ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic Version)
The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship. It is one of the earliest titles to be defended in the Carolinas, most often in Lenoir, Greensboro and Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo .... Title history References {{reflist National Wrestling Alliance championships Tag team wrestling championships Regional professional wrestling championships ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promotion emerged as a cornerstone of the National Wrestling Alliance. By the 1980s, Jim Crockett Promotions was, along with the World Wrestling Federation, one of the two largest promotions in the United States. The Crockett family sold a majority interest in the promotion to Turner Broadcasting System, which was acquired by Time Warner (later became WarnerMedia from 2018–2022, now known as Warner Bros. Discovery) in 1996, resulting in the creation of World Championship Wrestling from 1988. History Early history (1935–1952) Jim Crockett (1909–1973) was a promoter of live events including professional wrestling, music concerts, plays, minor league baseball, and ice hockey. In 1935, he founded his own professional wrestling promotion, Jim ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that served as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Central-States Championship Wrestling. For most of its existence, however, the title was defended in the NWA affiliate Central States Wrestling from 1950 to 1989. Title history See also *List of National Wrestling Alliance championships National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion operating via its parent company Lightning One, Inc. The following is a list of its active and inactive/unofficial/defunct championships. The professional wrestling ... Footnotes References ;General sources for the original Central States Championship * (through 2000) * ;Specific {{Central States Wrestling championships Heart of America Sports Attractions championships National Wrestling Alliance championships Heavyweight wrestling championships Regional professional wrestling champi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Central States Wrestling
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Due to the promotion's main office and base of operations being in Kansas City, Missouri the territory was often referred to simply as "Kansas City". The promotion existed from July 1948 until it closed in 1988. The territory was one of the original territories of the National Wrestling Alliance with two of the six "founding fathers" of the NWA ( Paul "Pinkie" George and Orville Brown) promoting in it. History Midwest Wrestling Association Originally known as the "Midwest Wrestling Association" before the formation of the National Wrestling Alliance it controlled and booked shows territories in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa and was seen as a cornerstone of the NWA. It joined the NWA in October 1948. The territory was promo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abrams, the organization hosts an annual reunion dinner which has traditionally been attended by celebrities and other professional athletes. Several historical Hollywood locations have been home to the reunion banquets such as the Masquer's Club, the Roosevelt Hotel and the Old Spaghetti Factory as well as The Riviera and the . History The Cauliflower Alley Club was founded in 1965 by Mike Mazurki as a fraternal organization of professional wrestlers, boxers, and actors. The first annual reunion dinner was held at the Baron's Castle Buffet Restaurant in Los Angeles, California. The Club also presents numerous awards annually at the reunion dinner. Several prominent former professional wrestlers have been president of the club, including R ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Masa Saito
was a Japanese professional wrestler better known as Mr. Saito or , who wrestled for 33 years around the world. He had success as a singles wrestler, winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1990, and as a tag team wrestler with multiple partners in various National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories. Saito joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1981, where he teamed with Mr. Fuji to hold the World Tag Team Championship twice and would claim the nickname "Chopstick Charlie". In Japan, he wrestled for both top leagues, All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He wrestled Antonio Inoki across Ganryujima island for over two hours. Saito was imprisoned for two years in the mid-1980s for physically assaulting police officers in Waukesha, Wisconsin, following an accusation of vandalism against his friend Ken Patera. Amateur wrestling career Saito competed in freestyle wrestling for Japan in the 1964 Summer Olympics, placing seventh. Pr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco Version)
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) member NWA San Francisco promoted a professional wrestling tag team championship under the name NWA World Tag Team Championship from 1950 until 1961 in and around their local territory until it closed. When San Francisco based Big Time Wrestling became a member of the NWA in 1968 they began promoting their version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship as part of their shows until the championship was abandoned in 1979. The NWA rules allowed each individual member to promote a championship under that name, which meant there were several NWA World Tag Team Championships promoted across North America at some point between 1950 and 1982, with two different versions being promoted in San Francisco, although not at the same time. At one point in 1957 no less than 13 different versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship were recognized across the United States. At least 21 different regional branches of the NWA World Tag Team Championship have id ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco Version)
The NWA San Francisco United States Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in NWA San Francisco and, later, Big Time Wrestling. The title, which originated as the American Wrestling Alliance United States Championship and was renamed in 1968, existed from 1960 until 1981. Title history See also {{Portal, United States *National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ... References Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco) championships National Wrestling Alliance championships NWA United States Heavyweight Championships ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
Big Time Wrestling – also known as the American Wrestling Alliance (AWA) or National All-Star Wrestling – was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in San Francisco, California in the United States. Founded by "Professor" Roy Shire (1921–1992) in 1960, the promotion emerged as one of the most profitable in the United States thanks to its "red hot angles" and "good TV". The promotion's heartland was the San Francisco Bay Area, with the Cow Palace as its core venue, but it also ran regular shows in cities including Fresno, Las Vegas, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento. Shire folded the promotion in 1981. History From November 1935, professional wrestling in San Francisco was dominated by Joe Malcewicz's NWA San Francisco promotion, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance. After sustaining a severe knee injury, NWA San Francisco wrestler "Professor" Roy Shire decided to move into promoting in direct competition with Malcewicz. In October 1960, he registered the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |