(February 15, 1977 – October 6, 2010) 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 o ...

, better known by the ring name . Naniwa was known for his comedic gimmick, in which he performed mannerisms of crabs. This was also reflected upon in the design of his

wrestling mask A wrestling mask is a fabric-based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha ...

Professional wrestling career

Naniwa debuted professionally in 1993 in

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...

as a

face The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...

. He participated in the 1995 Super J-Cup, managing to get to the quarterfinals, but he was later eliminated by eventual winner

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

. In the late 1990s, Naniwa competed in the United States for

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

(ECW). He wrestled

Gran Hamada , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...

in January 1998 at the ''ECW House Party'' event. After this, Naniwa took a brief hiatus for a few years but made his return in 2006, again under his Gran Naniwa ring name, competing in a match for New Japan Pro-Wrestling's now defunct WRESTLE LAND "brand".

Death

Kimura died on October 6, 2010 due to a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the age of 33.

Championships and accomplishments

:*Central American Middleweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Cagematch profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naniwa, Gran 1977 births 2010 deaths Japanese male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers