|
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] |
Hanakago Stable
, formerly known as Shibatayama stable from September 1952 to May 1953, was a stable of sumo wrestlers, one of the Nishonoseki ''ichimon'' or group of stables. Founded by former ''maegashira'' Ōnoumi Hisamitsu. It closed in 1985 with all wrestlers and personnel moving to Hanaregoma stable. History A previous incarnation of the stable existed from 1929 to 1947, run by former ''sekiwake'' Misugiiso. This version had produced a couple of ''sekitori'', the highest ranking of which being Tominoyama. Upon Ōnoumi's retirement in May 1952 he branched off from Nishonoseki stable and created his own Shibatayama stable taking with him along with others the future ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana Kanji I. In May 1953 he received the Hanakago elder stock and changed the name of the stable to match. he had quick success coaching Wakanohana to ''ōzeki'' in 1956 and then ''yokozuna'' in 1958. 1958 was a good year for the stable as it saw the promotion of the first two homegrown ''sekitori'' (those who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
Super World Sports
Super World of Sports, more commonly known as SWS, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion from 1990 to 1992. Its motto was "Straight and Strong". History Formation In April 1990, Genichiro Tenryu, one of the top stars of All Japan Pro Wrestling, left the company to become a spokesmodel for Megane Super, whom were one of the best-known makers of eyeglasses in Japan at the time. However, the company decided to instead used him as the launching pad for a new pro-wrestling circuit, which Megane Super executive Hachiro Tanaka named Super World of Sports. With his backing, Megane Super began throwing money offers around to build up their roster. Yoshiaki Yatsu, Ashura Hara, Shunji Takano, The Great Kabuki, Hiromichi Fuyuki, Tatsumi "Koki" Kitahara, Masao Orihara, Isao Takagi (the future Arashi), and referee Hiroyuki Umino joined in from All-Japan. But SWS would attract New Japan Pro-Wrestling talent as well, including George Takano (the former Cobra), Naoki Sano, Hisakatsu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruka Eigen
(January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit sumo in May 1965, after nearly four years. His highest rank was Makushita 71st. Professional wrestling career Tokyo Pro Wrestling (1966–1967) Trained by former sumos Toyonobori and Mr. Hito at the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance Dojo, Eigen followed Antonio Inoki to form Tokyo Pro Wrestling, where he debuted on October 12, 1966, against future rival Masao Kimura. After a brief interpromotional feud with International Wrestling Enterprise, however, Tokyo Pro folded and he followed Inoki to JWA. Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (1967–1973) Eigen joined JWA in 1967 and was further trained by former judoka Seiji Sakaguchi. After spending six years struggling on the undercard, he finally left JWA in 1973, and the promotion soon folded. New Japan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mighty Inoue
Sueo Inoue (born April 12, 1949), better known by the ring names Mighty Inoue () and All Mighty Inoue, is a Japanese professional wrestler and referee (professional wrestling), referee. He is best known for his appearances with International Wrestling Enterprise from 1967 to 1981, with All Japan Pro-Wrestling from 1981 to 2000 and from 2015 to present, and with Pro Wrestling Noah from 2000 to 2010. Early life While attending high school, Inoue competed in judo. Professional wrestling career International Wrestling Enterprise (1967–1981) Inoue was trained to wrestle by Billy Robinson and Hiro Matsuda. He debuted on July 21, 1967 for the International Wrestling Enterprise promotion. From May to October 1972, Inoue wrestled in Montreal, Canada where he teamed with Mitsu Arakawa. In October 1974, Inoue defeated Superstar Billy Graham in an upset victory to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship (International Wrestling Enterprise), IWA World Heavyweight Championship. He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashura Hara
(January 8, 1947April 28, 2015) was a Japanese rugby player and professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . Rugby career Susumu Hara began his rugby career in high school, playing for the Agricultural High School in the Isahaya region of Nagasaki. Upon graduating high school, he continued his rugby career in college for Toyo University. After college, he was drafted by the Kintetsu Liners. In 1976, he was elected to represent Japan. Wrestling career International Wrestling Enterprise (1978–1981) After he finished his rugby career, Susumu Hara was scouted by International Wrestling Enterprise in 1976. After a couple years of training, he finally made his debut on June 23, 1978, against Isamu Teranishi. Shortly after his debut, he went to Stampede Wrestling in Canada, under the name Fighting Hara, where he won his first championship, the Stampede British Commonwealth Mid-Heavyweight Championship, defeating Norman Frederick Charles III in July 1978. He would lose the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akio Sato (wrestler)
is a retired professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation as Sato, a member of The Orient Express. Career Early career (19701979) Akio Sato made his professional wrestling debut in 1970 in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, but left that promotion in 1972 to co-found (with Giant Baba) All Japan Pro Wrestling. During the middle of the 70s Sato went to the US and competed in various territories. He first attracted the attention of the US fans when he competed for the NWA Central States territory run by Bob Geigel as a face teaming with people like Jerry Oates and the Viking. On February 19, 1976 Sato teamed up with promoter Bob Geigel to win the "Central States" version of the NWA World Tag-Team Titles. The team vacated the titles by July, most likely so that Geigel could focus on booking the territory. Sato and new partner Pat O’Connor were unable to win the vacant titles. Sato next attracted the spotlight in the NWA Western State ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
AJPW All Asia Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder Rikidōzan and Harold Sakata in a tournament final. Originally it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brought from the United States. It was abandoned in 1973 when the JWA closed, but was later revived in 1976 by AJPW in response to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announcing the creation of its own version of the title. It is currently one of two tag team titles in AJPW, along with the World Tag Team Championship. It is also the current oldest active title in Japan. There have been a total of 117 official reigns and 34 vacancies, with the first 27 reigns from the JWA also being recognized by AJPW. There have been a total of 85 teams consisting of 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hugo Savinovich
Hugo Savinovich (born February 15, 1959) is an Ecuadorian sports commentator and retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and manager (professional wrestling), professional wrestling manager. He is currently signed to Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Lucha Libre AAA as a Spanish commentator. He is best known as part of the Spanish language commentary team for the professional wrestling promotion WWE from 1994 to 2011. Early life Savinovich moved from Ecuador with his family to the Bronx, New York. Has wrestled for many years, performing in many Caribbean countries like Puerto Rico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. He claims that becoming a professional wrestler literally saved his life, as he was originally a gang member in the streets of New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He joined the sport under the guidance of Angel "El Toro" Maldonado. Mexican wrestling promoter Arturo Mendoza took him to Puerto Rico to work in his Wrestling company based in the west par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
NWA Western States Tag Team Championship
The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title was in use from 1969, when it replaced Amarillo's version of the NWA North American Tag Team Championship, through the promotion's 1981 closure. The title was revived on July 15, 2014, by Vendetta Pro Wrestling when they joined the NWA. The Vendetta Pro Wrestling Tag Team Champions at the time, Shane and Shannon Ballard, were recognized as the NWA Western States Tag Team Champions, and since then, the Vendetta Pro Wrestling Tag Team title belts have represented the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. On September 30, 2016, The Twisted Sisterz (the team of Holidead and Thunder Rosa) defeated Alexander G. Bernard and Jimi Mayhem for the title to become the first team of women to win the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship. On Octob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haru Sonoda
also known under the ring names and , was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was a former NWA Western States Tag Team Champion, NWA/WWC North American Tag Team Champion with Mitsu Ishikawa and the WCCW All Asia Tag Team Championship with the Great Kabuki in 1982. Professional wrestling career Sonada trained with the All Japan Pro Wrestling dojo for his wrestling debut, but actually made his in ring debut as a referee in late 1974 when one of the regular AJPW referees was sick and needed a replacement. On January 15, 1975 he finally made his professional wrestling debut, working under his real name early on in his career. In 1979 Sonada and Mitsu Ishikawa traveled to North America to further their training and experience different styles of wrestling. The two worked for the Puerto Rico based World Wrestling Council (WWC) in 1979, winning the WWC North American Tag Team Championship in a tournament. The duo held the championship for 35 days, before losing the championship to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |