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King Tonga
Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita (born 10 February 1959) is a Tongan professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Haku. He is also known for his time in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wrestled under the name Meng. In the WWF, he also wrestled under the names King Tonga and King Haku. Fifita appeared on multiple pay-per-view events for the WWF and WCW and is a former WWF World Tag Team Champion. Sumo wrestling career Growing up on the main island of the South Pacific island-kingdom of Tonga, Fifita attended Tonga College, where he played rugby union. At the age of 15, he was part of a group of six teenagers and young men sent by the king of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo. Sione Vailahi, who would later become better known as pro-wrestler " The Barbarian", was also a part of this group. After moving to Japan in 1974, he competed under the shikona (sumo name) of . He made his debut in Novem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanga Loa
Tevita Tu'amoeloa Fetaiakimoeata Fifita (born May 7, 1983) is an American professional wrestler, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), under the ring name Tanga Loa (タンガ・ロア ''Tanga Roa'') (originally Tanga Roa). Fifita started his wrestling career in WWE's farm territory Florida Championship Wrestling in 2009. He was promoted to the main roster in 2011, where he worked as Camacho in a tag team with Hunico. They worked on the undercard on SmackDown and NXT (WWE brand), NXT for a few years. After he left WWE in 2014, he worked for two years in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) under the name Micah, where he won the 2015's Gut Check. Later, he left the promotion and joined NJPW as Tanga Loa, joining his brother Tama Tonga as Guerrillas of Destiny, a subgroup of the Heel (professional wrestling), heel faction Bullet Club. In NJPW, he and Tonga are seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champions and former three-time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions with B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sumo
is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by throwing, shoving or pushing him down). Sumo originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally and where it is considered the national sport. It is considered a ''gendai budō'', which refers to modern Japanese martial arts, but the sport has a history spanning many centuries. Many ancient traditions have been preserved in sumo, and even today the sport includes many ritual elements, such as the use of salt purification, from Shinto. Life as a wrestler is highly regimented, with rules regulated by the Japan Sumo Association. Most sumo wrestlers are required to live in communal sumo training stables, known in Japanese as ''heya'', where all aspects of their daily lives—from meals to their manner of dress—are dic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camille Tourville
Camille Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985) was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Tarzan Tyler. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, along with Luke Graham. Professional wrestling career Tarzan Tyler began competing in the United States during the 1960s after having spent nearly 10 years wrestling in Canada. Tyler competed for World Championships against such stars as Verne Gagne, Lou Thesz, and Dory Funk Jr. His greatest success came as a tag team competitor, as he and Crazy Luke Graham defeated the team of Dick the Bruiser and The Shiek in 1971 to become the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions. Tyler also challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Championship in 1966. In 1980 he fought Angelo Mosca Sr. for the Canadian Heavyweight title in Toronto. While working as a heel manager for Gino Brito's Lutte Internationale, Tarzan Tyler died, along with fellow wrestler Pierre 'Mad Dog' Lefébvre an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as ''Fort Ville-Marie, Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-peaked hill around which the early city of Ville-Marie is built. The city is centred on the Island of Montreal, which obtained its name from the same origin as the city, and a few much smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which is Île Bizard. The city is east of the national capital Ottawa, and southwest of the provincial capital, Quebec City. As of 2021, the city had a population of 1,762,949, and a Census Metropolitan Area#Census metropolitan areas, metropolitan population of 4,291,732, making it the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest city, and List of cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lutte Internationale
Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSimoff, and ACcocella Promotions). Lutte Internationale succeeded All-Star Wrestling and Grand Prix Wrestling as Quebec's top wrestling promotion for most of the 1980s. It was the second of Canada's three major wrestling promotions, along with Maple Leaf Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling, to be put out of business by the World Wrestling Federation (now known as WWE). Many French Canadian professional wrestlers of the 1980s wrestling boom came to the U.S. from Lutte Internationale including, most notably, Dino Bravo, Rick Martel, Ronnie Garvin and The Rougeaus. The promotion's close in 1987 marked the end of the fifty-year "Golden Age of Wrestling" in Quebec. History Early history (1980–84) The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo ( ; Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the seat of Potter County. It is the 14th-most populous city in Texas and the largest city in the Texas Panhandle. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The estimated population of Amarillo was 200,393 as of April 1, 2020. The Amarillo- Pampa-Borger combined statistical area had an estimated population of 308,297 as of 2020. The city of Amarillo, originally named Oneida, is situated in the Llano Estacado region.Rathjen, Fredrick W. ''The Texas Panhandle Frontier'' (1973). pg. 11. The University of Texas Press. . The availability of the railroad and freight service provided by the Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad contributed to the city's growth as a cattle-marketing center in the late 19th century.. Retrieved on January 25, 2007. Amarillo was once the self-proclaimed "Helium Capital of the World" for having one of the country's most productive helium fields. The city is also known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, with many more joining the following year when JWA folded. From the mid-1970s, All Japan was firmly established as the largest promotion in Japan. As the 1990s began, aging stars gave way to a younger generation including Mitsuharu Misawa, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, Kenta Kobashi, Gary Albright, Toshiaki Kawada, Mike Barton (Bart Gunn), Akira Taue and Jun Akiyama, leading to perhaps AJPW's most profitable period in the 1990s. In 1999, Giant Baba died and the promotion was run by Motoko Baba. Misawa was named President but left in 2000 after disagreements with Motoko. Misawa created Pro Wrestling NOAH and every single native wrestler besides Masanobu Fuchi and Toshiaki Kawada left All Japan. This led to a loss of All Japan's TV deal and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Takashi Ishikawa
is a former professional wrestler and sumo wrestler from Fujishima, Higashitagawa District, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Sumo wrestling career He played baseball up to junior high school, but at Sakata Minami High School he switched to sumo and won the high school section of the National Sports Festival. He was an amateur sumo champion while at Nihon University, winning the All Japan Sumo Championships and the amateur ''yokozuna'' title. From 1975 to 1977 he was a sumo wrestler with the Hanakago stable and used the fighting name of Ōnoumi, which had also been his stablemaster's fighting name. He reached a highest rank of maegashira 4, but was forced to retire at the age of 24 after complications with diabetes. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1977–1988) After retiring from sumo, Ishikawa decided to become a professional wrestler and joined All Japan Pro Wrestling. Giant Baba sent him to Pat O'Connor for training. After training, he was sent to the F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genichiro Tenryu
, better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ''shikona''. He had two stints with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he spent the majority of his career while also promoting Super World of Sports (SWS), Wrestle Association R (WAR) and Tenryu Project. At the time of his retirement, professional wrestling journalist and historian Dave Meltzer wrote that "one could make a strong case hat Tenryu wasbetween the fourth and sixth biggest native star" in the history of Japanese professional wrestling. Sumo wrestling career As a sumo wrestler, Tenryu was ranked as a ''sekitori'' for 27 tournaments, 16 of them in the top ''makuuchi'' division. His highest rank was ''maegashira'' 1. Upon the death of his stablemaster at Nishonoseki stable he wanted to join former stablemate Daikirin's n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Professional Wrestling In Japan
Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before and after World War II to popularize the sport in Japan, but these generally failed until the advent of its first big star, Rikidōzan, in 1951, who became known as the "father" of the sport. Rikidōzan brought the sport to tremendous popularity with his Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA) until his murder in 1963. Following his death, professional wrestling thrived, creating a variety of personalities, promotions and styles. It has also created a mass of other cultural icons in Japan including: Antonio Inoki, Giant Baba, Jyushin "Thunder" Liger, Tiger Mask, Keiji Mutoh/The Great Muta, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Kenta Kobashi among others. Throughout the years, a number of promotions have opened and closed, but a few have persisted to re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Asahiyama Stable
was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Isegahama ''ichimon'' or group of stables. It had a long history. It closed its doors in January 2015, and its staff and wrestlers transferred to other stables. History In its active period, Asahiyama stable was one of the oldest continually-running stables in sumo, dating back to 1896. At the time of its closing it was the only stable still in existence that could trace its lineage back directly to the days of the once-rival Osaka sumo organization where it had a strong base, producing the 28th ''yokozuna'' Ōnishiki Daigorō in 1918. During the 1970s the stable was home to six Tongan wrestlers (including Sione Vailahi and Tonga Fifita) recruited by former ''maegashira'' , but when he died in 1975 they were caught up in a succession dispute between former ''maegashira'' and the man who eventually became the new head, former ''komusubi'' Wakafutase. They sided with Futaseyama's widow, who preferred Ryūō to take over, and were ultim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japan Sumo Association
The is the body that operates and controls professional sumo wrestling (called ''Ōzumō'', 大相撲) in Japan under the jurisdiction of the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). ''Rikishi'' (active wrestlers), ''gyōji'' (referees), ''tokoyama'' (hairdressers), and ''yobidashi'' (ushers/handymen), are all on the Association's payroll, but the organisation is run entirely by ''toshiyori'' (elders). The organization has its headquarters in Yokoami, Sumida, Tokyo. History The precursor to a full-fledged organization began in the Edo period with sumo bouts that were often held to raise funds for new construction or repair of bridges, temples, shrines and other public buildings. ''Shōgun'' Tokugawa Ieyasu specifically, wanted "street" sumo prohibited and determined sumo should only be held for charitable purposes, and it was known as ''kanjin'' sumo. The wrestlers were also paid with extra revenue from these events. This is when the fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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