, better known as Mr. Sakurada, The Dragonmaster, and as the Japanese version of , was a Japanese

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. He was best known for his work in Stampede Wrestling,

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 ...

, and

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

. Sakurada was also highly regarded by

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling backgr ...

as one of his most significant trainers alongside Katsui Adachi or Mr. Hito, with whom he taught extensively in

Hart Dungeon The Hart Dungeon or Hart Family Dungeon, otherwise known simply as The Dungeon, was the gym and wrestling school located in the basement of the Hart mansion. The school was created by Stu Hart, patriarch of the Hart wrestling family and is known f ...

Sumo wrestling career

Kazuo Sakurada was born on September 26, 1948, in Abashiri, Hokkaido. After graduating from junior high school, he joined the Tatsunami stable to pursue

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 thr ...

. While there, he first met future professional wrestler

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 ...

. He made his sumo debut in January 1964 under his last name (櫻田). In September 1966, he changed his shikona to '' Hiroshi Abashiri'' (網走洋　一男). In May 1969, he changed his shikona again to ''Midorimine'' (翠巒). Throughout his seven-year career in sumo, his highest rank was Makushita 13, and his only tournament championship win was in September 1966, with an undefeated record of seven wins. In March 1971, Sakurada retired from sumo wrestling.

Career record

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1971–1976)

Kazuo Sakurada debuted on June 21, 1971, in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance against

Kim Duk or Kim Duk ( ko, 김 덕/金徳) (born February 7, 1948) is a retired Koreans in Japan, Zainichi-Korean Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known under his ring name . He was also known by the name Tiger Chung Lee in the World ...

. On March 8, 1973, he became involved in a shoot when his mid-card match against rookie Tsutomu Oshiro went horribly wrong and Sakurada began beating Oshiro severely, knocking him out of the ring. Oshiro was going to jump to

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

along with his mentor Seiji Sakaguchi and friend Kengo Kimura, and Sakurada took actions into his own hands, blaming them for jumping ship. When the JPWA closed in April 1973 Sakurada joined

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, ...

Stampede Wrestling (1976–1981)

Now as Mr. Sakurada, he found his earliest success in Stampede Wrestling. He defeated two-time champion Leo Burke to win his first and only Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship on May 20, 1978, in Edmonton, Alberta. He held the title for a little over three months before losing to

Paddy Ryan Patrick Ryan (15 March 1851 – 14 December 1900) was an Irish American boxer, and became the bare-knuckle American heavyweight champion on May 30, 1880, after he won the title from Joe Goss. He retained the title until losing it to the except ...

on September 1. He then became highly regarded in Stampede's tag team division, defeating

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

and Bret Hart in early 1979 to win his first Stampede International Tag Team Championship with

Mr. Hito (April 25, 1942 – April 21, 2010), better known as Mr. Hito, was a Japanese professional wrestler who competed in North American and Japanese regional promotions from the 1950s until the mid-1980s. Most notably, he was the tag team partne ...

. Their second win came later on the same year after the defeat of

Dory Funk Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter ...

and Larry Lane, only to be toppled once again by the Hart brothers. By 1980, Hito had moved on to singles competition, leaving Sakurada to form a team with Kasavudu. They, too, defeated the Harts, marking Sakurada's third and final tag team championship reign in Stampede. This reign would be ended at the hands of the Harts' brother-in-law Jim Neidhart and Hercules Ayala that same year.

Continental Wrestling Association (1981–1982)

In the early 1980s, Sakurada had started working in various southern American promotions, starting with the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...

in Memphis. During this time, he began using the "

Kendo Nagasaki Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from the modern martial art of Japanese fencing ( K ...

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

, a Japanese

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

character previously made famous by British wrestler Peter Thornley dating back to 1964. This incarnation was vastly different however; rather than wearing a mask, Sakurada wore face paint and a highly alternate style altogether. His fierce character also made famous the Asian mist and frequently employed the Kendo stick as his signature weapon. As Nagasaki, he found a most prominent win in his victory over

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Apr ...

for the NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in 1982. He would lose the title back to Lawler before pursuing new territory.

National Wrestling Alliance (1982–1990)

After the Memphis territory, Nagasaki worked for NWA territories World Wrestling Council,

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

and Southeastern Championship Wrestling. He faced some of the top competition in the Florida territory throughout 1983 and 1984, and on January 22, 1984, he captured the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Mike Rotunda. This kicked off a rivalry with the reputable

Billy Jack Haynes William Albert Haynes III (born July 10, 1953) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Billy Jack Haynes. Professional wrestling career Early career (1982–1984) Haynes started wrestling in 1982 at the ag ...

, resulting in his title victory over Nagasaki in March of the same year. During his time with CWF, Nagasaki would also tag team with White Ninja. Following his departure from CWF, Nagasaki briefly worked for Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling in the mid '80s as "White Ninja", frequently partnering with "Super Black Ninja". During the 1980s, Nagasaki teamed with

Mr. Pogo was a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his work under the ring name . He helped popularize hardcore wrestling in the 1990s with "death matches" in promotions such as Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling, W*ING and Big Japan Pro Wrestlin ...

as "the Ninja Express". The Ninja Express briefly returned to Japan to participate in

's Japan Cup tag team tournament in late 1987, finishing in second-to-last place. In 1989, he performed on

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

television, using the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

"The Dragonmaster". While there, he joined

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart (''né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs. ...

J-Tex Corporation The J-Tex Corporation, also known as Gary Hart International, was a Heel (professional wrestling), heel professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable in World Championship Wrestling. The group was managed by Gary H ...

stable A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...

consisting of

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champion ...

, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta. This

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

group, conceived in July 1989, feuded with the Four Horsemen until ultimately disbanding in February 1990 after a final steel cage match at the Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout, a match largely overshadowed by the other Horsemen turning

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Return to Japan (1990–2000)

In 1990, after so many years competing in North America, he returned to Japan as Kendo Nagasaki. He first joined

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their ...

, but later joined Super World of Sports. Following SWS's collapse in 1992, he formed his own promotion, NOW (Network of Wrestling). In 1995, he closed NOW, and with a new business partner

Shinya Kojika , known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He co-founded the promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). Kojika is the oldest active Japanese wrestler as well as the one with the longest career, having debuted in 1963. He is als ...

, formed Big Japan Pro Wrestling. After leaving BJW in 1999, Nagasaki wrestled semi-actively until 2000 where he had his last match on July 7, 2000, teaming with Ichiro Yaguchi, Shoji Nakamaki, and Yase Yaguchi in a loss to Atsushi Onita, Exciting Yoshida, Mitsunobu Kikuzawa, and Naoshi Sano on an Onita Pro show.

Mixed martial arts

On September 26, 1995, in

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orch ...

, Tokyo, Sakurada lost a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

match to American kickboxer

Zane Frazier Zane Troy Frazier (born July 16, 1966) is an American former karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist who competed in the heavyweight division. After a successful career in karate during the 1980s in which he won numerous international accol ...

via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

punch at '' Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception''. At the time, Sakurada had the reputation by pro wrestling insiders as being one of the toughest wrestlers in a street fight, as well as a shooter. This was possibly one of the reasons why he was chosen to take this fight, despite being 47 years old at the time.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0-1 ,

, KO (punch) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , -

Death

On January 12, 2020, Sakurada died at age 71 due to

arrythmia Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, heart arrhythmias, or dysrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats per minute in adults ...

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...

** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...

( 1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling **

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally introduced as ...

( 3 times) – with

(1 time) with Chan Chang *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Colonel DeBeers *'' Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' **PWI ranked him #250 of the 500 best wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994 **PWI ranked him #307 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the

PWI Years ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishi ...

in 2003 * Stampede Wrestling ** NWA International Tag Team Championship/Stampede International Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Mr. Hito (2) and Kasavudu (1) ** Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pro ...

*Texas Wrestling Federation **TWF Asian Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * World Wrestling Council ** WWC World Tag Team Championship ( 4 times) – with

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

Wrestling Information ArchiveBret Hart’s Calgary Sun column for February 20, 2004CW Archives - Mr. Sakurada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurada, Kazuo 1948 births Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Japanese male professional wrestlers 2020 deaths The First Family (professional wrestling) members Japanese sumo wrestlers Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions