Kenichi Oya (大矢健一) (born July 2, 1964) is a semi-retired 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 ...

, better known by his

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 ...

Hisakatsu Oya (大矢剛功). Although he started out for

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 ...

, he is well known for his stint in

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 ...

Career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1986–1989)

Kenichi Oya trained at the

NJPW Dojo (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 o ...

. He made his wrestling debut in April 1986, against

Masahiro Chono is an American-born Japanese-American retired professional wrestler and actor best known for his 26 year stint with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). As the leader of nWo Japan, Team 2000 and Black New Japan, he was the promotion's top heel for ...

. During his tenure in New Japan, Oya also teamed with the likes of

Kensuke Sasaki is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and founder of the now-defunct wrestling promotion Diamond Ring. Sasaki is the first of four men ever to hold all three of '' puroresus major heavyweight titles (the IWGP Heav ...

and

Osamu Matsuda Satyam Kumar (born 06 August 1997), known professionally as Technical Satyam, is an Indian YouTube personality based in the UAE. Chaudhary is notable for producing YouTube videos concerning graphics and technology in English and Hindi. In 2020, ...

. However, due to injuries, he retired in 1989.

Super World of Sports (1990–1992)

After a hiatus, Oya joined

Super World of 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 Wr ...

in July 1990. Oya would not only wrestle his fellow SWS comrades, he would also wrestle against stars from the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

as well. In January 1992, he teamed up with

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 (Kendo) ...

for a tournament to determine the first SWS Tag Team Champions, which was won by

Yoshiaki Yatsu Yoshiaki Yatsu (谷津嘉章 ''Yatsu Yoshiaki'', born July 19, 1956) is a Japanese professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is known for being one-half of the first-ever All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Champi ...

and Haku. In June 1992, SWS shut down.

Network Of Wrestling (1992–1993)

After SWS shut down, Oya joined

's Network Of Wrestling. He didn't make much of an impact there, so he left in November 1993.

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1993–2002)

Oya made his debut in

in November 1993, under the name Hisakatsu Oya. Unlike his previous stints in NJPW, SWS, and NOW, Oya found his niche. Over the course of a year, Oya proved his worth in FMW, battling the likes of Battle Ranger, Masato Tanaka,

Mitsuhiro Matsunaga is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for his deathmatch wrestling style, having competed in memorable deathmatches in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and Wrestling International New Generati ...

, and

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

. In April 1995, he formed

Lethal Weapon ''Lethal Weapon'' is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed and co-produced by Richard Donner, written by Shane Black, and co-produced by Joel Silver. It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, D ...

with

Tarzan Goto , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled on the independent circuit most of his career. He is best known for his exploding steel cage matches against Atsushi Onita in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ( ...

and

Ricky Fuji Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic *Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...

, but Goto would leave FMW shortly thereafter. He and Fuji formed a tag team known as The Love Guns, and together they held the

FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship The FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, b ...

once between May 1995 and September 1995. Oya and Fuji would also increase the numbers in Lethal Weapon by recruiting

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 ...

The Gladiator ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

, and Horace Boulder. In August 1995, during a round-robin tournament for the vacant

FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship The FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was a premiere championship in the wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, ...

, Oya fought

Hayabusa was a robotic spacecraft developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) to return a sample of material from a small near-Earth asteroid named 25143 Itokawa to Earth for further analysis. ''Hayabusa'', formerly known as MUSES-C ...

to an epic 30-minute time-limit draw. In September 1996, Lethal Weapon disbanded and Oya joined Funk Masters of Wrestling, where he formed a trio with

The Headhunters The Headhunters are an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music. History (and name) Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a s ...

and won the

FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship The FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). T ...

. After the Funk Masters disbanded, Oya decided to turn face for the first time in his career and join forces with Hayabusa. Up until the demise of FMW in February 2002, he fought alongside Hayabusa in his wars against

Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...

and

Kodo Fuyuki (May 11, 1960 – March 19, 2003) was a Japanese professional wrestler and promoter better known by his ring name best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), W ...

Freelance and semi-retirement (2002–present)

After FMW shut down, Oya occasionally wrestles from time to time, as many considered him semi-retired. When he did wrestle, he wrestled for many promotions, such as Wrestling Marvelous Future,

Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling Fighting of World Japan Pro-Wrestling, frequently shortened to World Japan or WJ was a professional wrestling promotion formed in Japan in 2002 by former New Japan Pro-Wrestling employees Riki Choshu and Katsuji Nagashima, who also served as chairm ...

, and

Osaka Pro Wrestling Osaka Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1998 by Super Delfin. The promotion held a major flagship event called the Osaka Hurricane each year from 2003 to 2012 and also hosted the fourth edition of the Sup ...

. During his stint in WMF, he developed a Puerto Rican assassin gimmick named HISAKATSU. Oya runs his own promotion called Hokuto Pro Wrestling.

Personal life and reputation

During his retirement in the late 1980s, he was a sports instructor before coming out of retirement in 1990. Oya has been one of the most underrated wrestlers in Japan, as well as one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. His ring psychology and submission wrestling is second-to-none, similar to

Jake Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...

. As a sneaky heel, he chose not to taunt the crowd and to remain unpredictable to his opponents.

Championships and accomplishments

( 4 times) – with

(1),

(1), Horace Boulder (1), and

(1) :*

( 3 times) – with

(1),

and

(1), and

and Masato Tanaka (1) :*

WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship The WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and later in World Entertainment Wrestling. It was active from July 1999 until February 2002 as a substitute for the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team C ...

( 3 times) – with Masato Tanaka and Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1), Hayabusa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda (1), and

and Flying Kid Ichihara (1) :*

WEW Tag Team Championship The WEW (World Entertainment Wrestling) World Tag Team Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship formerly contested in the Japanese promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and World Entertainment Wrestling and currently co ...

( 1 time) - with Tetsuhiro Kuroda :* FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Tournament (1997) – with The Gladiator and Mr. Gannosuke

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oya, Hisakatsu 1964 births Living people Japanese male professional wrestlers People from Kanazawa, Ishikawa 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers FMW Brass Knuckles Tag Team Champions FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team Champions WEW 6-Man Tag Team Champions WEW World Tag Team Champions