, better known as and later , is a Japanese retired
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 ...
and
mixed martial artist
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, incorpo ...
, currently signed 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 ...
(NJPW).
He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since his debut in 1984 until his retirement in January 2020. Throughout his career, which spanned three-and-a-half decades, he wrestled over 4,000 matches and performed in major events for various promotions across the globe.
Debuting under his real name for NJPW in 1984, he was given the gimmick of Jushin Liger in 1989, based on the
anime series of the same name. Becoming Jushin "Thunder" Liger the following year, he saw unprecedented success in the
junior heavyweight division when he won the
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...
a record 11 times and set the record for its longest reign during his second reign, which lasted for 628 days. Liger was the first three-time
Best of the Super Juniors
The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...
tournament winner (a record eventually tied by
Koji Kanemoto
(born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer.
Professional wres ...
and
Hiromu Takahashi
(born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a member of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable.
Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked ...
), is a former six-time
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...
, won the
Super J Cup twice (in 1995 and 2000), and was inducted into the
Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
in 1999. Liger also wrestled the opening match for the first
January 4 Tokyo Dome Show
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is a professional wrestling event produced annually on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), a Japan-based professional wrestling promotion. NJPW has promoted events in the venue every Janu ...
in 1992, as well as the first ever match on
WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
. He is frequently cited as one of the greatest junior heavyweight wrestlers of all time. He was also inducted into the
WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2020.
[
Liger had his retirement match at ]Wrestle Kingdom 14
Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January ...
on January 5, 2020, 35 years after his career began.
Professional wrestling career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1984–1986)
Keiichi Yamada was born in Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
on November 30, 1964.[ He was an amateur wrestler during his high school years.][ In his senior year, he lost to ]Toshiaki Kawada
(born December 8, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), whom he worked for from his debut in 1982 up until 2008. In All Japan, he was a 5 time Triple Crown Heavyweight ...
in the finals of a national championship tournament. After graduating high school in the early 1980s, he would apply 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 ...
's (NJPW) dojo in the hope of becoming a 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 not accepted because he did not meet the height requirements the dojo had at that time.][ Yamada, determined not to give up his dream of becoming a professional wrestler, left for ]Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and began his training there.[ By his own account, he was almost starving while studying in Mexico, due to this NJPW officials who were visiting took pity on him and asked him to come back to Japan to train in their dojo.][ In the NJPW dojo, he trained alongside the likes of ]Keiji Mutoh
is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...
, 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 ...
and Shinya Hashimoto
was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and actor. Along with Masahiro Chono and Keiji Mutoh, Hashimoto was dubbed one of the "Three Musketeers" that began competing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in the mid-1980s and dominated the pr ...
.[ While continuing his training, he had his debut match in March 1984 at the age of 19, wrestling against Shunji Kosugi.][ He began studying various ]martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
styles because he wanted to add something new and different to his wrestling style, which is how he learned his '' Abisegeri'' kick. In 1985, Yamada participated in the Young Lion Cup
__NOTOC__
The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in t ...
and got to the final of the tournament before being defeated by Shunji Kosugi. In the beginning of 1986, Yamada participated in the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...
League but lost to Black Tiger
A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.
Description
There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...
. Yamada won the 1986 Young Lion Cup by defeating Tatsutoshi Goto
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He competed primarily in WAR and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and briefly used the name "T2000 Machine". He also briefly competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as part of the nWo Japan.
Professio ...
in the tournament final on March 26. On July 19, 1986, Yamada faced Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...
in a losing effort in his first of many IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship matches.
All Star Wrestling (1986–1987, 1989, 2014)
After winning the Young Lion Cup
__NOTOC__
The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in t ...
in March 1986,[ he went on an excursion of Europe, where he wrestled for ]All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...
in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, under the name "Flying" Fuji Yamada. He won the World Heavy Middleweight Championship twice, once in September 1986 and once in March 1987, both times defeating "Rollerball" Mark Rocco
Mark Hussey (11 May 1951 – 30 July 2020) was an English professional wrestler who competed for Joint Promotions, All Star Wrestling and the second BWF as Mark "Rollerball" Rocco and as the original masked Black Tiger in New Japan Pro-Wrestlin ...
and both times losing it back to him, the last of these title changes being televised on ITV
ITV or iTV may refer to:
ITV
*Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of:
** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
.[ Yamada would later visit All Star again in 1989, with tag partner Flying Funaki. He returned to Britain in 2014 to work once again for All Star Wrestling, this time under his masked Jushin Liger identity.
]
Stampede Wrestling (1987, 1989)
Yamada went on an excursion in Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, around May 1987, where he wrestled in Stu Hart
Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...
's Stampede Wrestling
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 prom ...
in Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
under his real name.[ He also trained under Hart in the legendary "]Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...
".[ His experiences there led him to refer to Hart as a "very, very tough man."
]
Return to NJPW
Return and character change (1987–1989)
Yamada returned to NJPW on August 19, 1987 against Nobuhiko Takada
Nobuhiko Takada ( ja, 高田伸彦, ring name: ) (born April 12, 1962) is a Japanese former mixed martial artist, retired professional wrestler, actor, and writer. He competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UW ...
in a losing effort. Yamada debuted his Shooting Star Press in a match against Masakatsu Funaki, for which he had gotten the idea from reading the manga
Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
''Fist of the North Star
is a Japanese manga series written by Buronson and illustrated by Tetsuo Hara. It was serialized in Shueisha's Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' for 245 issues published from 1983 to 1988 and initially colle ...
''. Throughout 1987 and 1988, Yamada improved with each match, occasionally getting shots at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, most notably against Owen Hart
Owen James Hart (May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and the World Wres ...
on June 10, 1988, and against Shiro Koshinaka
is a Japanese professional wrestler who has competed in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Wrestle Association "R" (WAR) during the 1980s and 1990s. He was also the first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
Career ...
on December 9, 1988. He would also take part in the first ever Top of the Super Juniors tournament where he earned 31 points, not enough to progress to the final. Within months of his second Canadian excursion, NJPW called him back, as they needed him for a gimmick based on an extremely popular anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
, ''Jushin 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 ...
'', created by manga artist
A is a comic artist who writes and/or illustrates manga. As of 2006, about 3,000 professional manga artists were working in Japan.
Most manga artists study at an art college or manga school or take on an apprenticeship with another artist be ...
Go Nagai
, better known by the pen name , is a Japanese manga artist and a prolific author of science fiction, fantasy, horror and erotica. He made his professional debut in 1967 with ''Meakashi Polikichi'', but is best known for creating popular 1970s ...
.[ NJPW had done this previously with ]Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
, which had become a huge success. Yamada was given a superhero-like full body costume, resembling the superhero type featured in tokusatsu
is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...
and anime programs.
Yamada as "Jushin Liger" returned to NJPW on April 24, 1989, at the Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium. Construction on the stadium began on May 16, 1985, and it opened on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of th ...
.[ In the character's debut match, he defeated ]Kuniaki Kobayashi
Kuniaki Kobayashi (小林邦昭) (born January 11, 1956) is a retired Japanese Junior Heavyweight professional wrestler most notable for being the generational rival of the famous Tiger Mask character in Japanese pro wrestling. He wrestled nume ...
at Battle Satellite in Tokyo Dome
was a major professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on April 24, 1989 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. It was the first major professional wrestling event held in the Tokyo Dome, with wrestl ...
.[ He has also wrestled all the Black Tigers to date (from Mark Rocco in 1989 to ]Tatsuhito Takaiwa
(born Go Yong-Il (Hangul: 고 용일), July 5, 1972) is a Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler. Takaiwa is one of the more well-traveled junior heavyweights in Japan, having wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and Pro Wrestling Zero1, ...
in 2009). The Liger character underwent changes in conjunction with the Go Nagai anime progressing and its hero powering up. In January 1990, Liger was renamed "Jushin Thunder Liger", a name he continues to use to this day.[ Early in his career, Yamada's style mostly consisted of high flying. Years later, he started adapting more power moves and started focusing more on grappling and telling a story in the ring; part of this change was due to the fact that Liger had to reduce the stress he was putting on his body after undergoing brain tumor surgery in August 1996, which explained why he lost his match to ]Último Dragón
(born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " A ...
in the first round of the J-Crown
The J-Crown (also known as J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship) was formed originally by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a way of unifying eight junior heavyweight and cruiserweight titles from several different organizations. The J-Crown tournament ...
tournament.[
]
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion (1989–2000)
Upon debuting the Liger character, Yamada quickly became one of NJPW's top junior heavyweights, eventually capturing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...
from Hiroshi Hase
is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also ser ...
on May 25, 1989 at Battle Satellite in Osaka. Liger successfully defended the title against Marc Rocco
Marc Rocco (June 19, 1962 – May 1, 2009) was an American film director, film producer and screenwriter.
Rocco was born Marc Daniel King in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, to Harvey King and Sandra Elaine Garrett (1942–2002). Garrett married ...
in his first title defense in the fifth round of a European Rounds match on July 12. He retained the title against Naoki Sano
(born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...
in his second title defense on July 13, which ended in a double knockout. This set up a rematch between the two on August 10, where Liger lost the title. At Super Power Battle in Osaka, Liger unsuccessfully challenged Sano for the title in a rematch.
In January 1990, Liger participated in a tournament to determine the #1 contender for the Junior Heavyweight Championship, which he won by defeating Owen Hart in the final on January 30. Liger received his title shot the following day against Naoki Sano, which Liger won to gain his second Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against Pegasus Kid
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling ...
on March 19 before losing the title to Pegasus Kid in a rematch on August 19. At the ''Antonio Inoki 30th Anniversary Memorial Festival in Yokohama Arena'' event, Liger defeated Villano V
Raymundo Díaz Mendoza Jr. (born March 22, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler, who has performed under the name Villano V (Villano Quinto, which means "Fifth Villain") until he was unmasked on March 20, 2009, after which he became known a ...
to earn a Junior Heavyweight Championship shot against Pegasus Kid on November 1, which Liger won, thus winning his third Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process. During this time, Liger formed a faction called "Dragon Bombers" along with Tatsumi Fujinami
(born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. ...
, Shiro Koshinaka, Takayuki Iizuka
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling No ...
and Black Cat
A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...
and feuded with the Blond Outlaws group. Liger successfully defended the title against Negro Casas
José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a '' Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler tur ...
at King of Kings and Akira at Starrcade in Tokyo Dome before vacating the title in order for new champion to be crowned in the 1991 Top of the Super Juniors. He advanced to the semifinals by scoring eight points and defeated Negro Casas in the semifinals but lost to Norio Honaga
(born August 11, 1955) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and referee.
Career
New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1980–1984)
Norio Honaga debuted for New Japan Pro-Wrestling on April 25, 1980, against Hiro Saito. In November 1982, after over ...
in the final. Liger unsuccessfully challenged Honaga for the title at ''Tatsumi Fujinami's 20th Anniversary'' event, before defeating Honaga in a rematch to win his record-breaking fourth Junior Heavyweight Championship at ''Fighting Connection – Ultra-High And Mighty Declaration II''. On July 4, Liger defeated Pegasus Kid in a mask versus mask match forcing the latter to unmask. Liger lost the title to Akira Nogami on August 9.
At Super Warriors in Tokyo Dome, Liger teamed with Masashi Aoyagi and Akira Nogami to defeat the team of Hiro Saito, Super Strong Machine
(born December 20, 1956) is a retired Japanese people, Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a trainer for the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, known primarily by his ring name .
Career
Hirata applied and was approved to ...
and Norio Honaga in a six-man tag team match. On February 8, 1992, Liger defeated Norio Honaga in a title versus title match with Liger's WCW Light Heavyweight Championship
The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimi ...
and Honaga's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on the line. Liger claimed his record-setting fifth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the process and successfully defended both titles against Pegasus Kid on February 10. Liger continued his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign with a successful title defense against Mad Bull Rex on March 9. He followed the success by winning the 1992 Top of the Super Juniors tournament in April, thus becoming the first competitor to win the tournament while holding the Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against El Samurai
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 202 ...
at Over Heat Night before losing the title to Samurai on June 26. Liger failed to win the title in a rematch against Samurai on October 21.
At Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome
Fantastic Story in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) promotions. The show took place on January 4, 1993 in Tokyo's Tokyo Dome. Officially, the sho ...
, Liger defeated Último Dragón
(born December 12, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler and actor, better known as . In addition to having trained in Japan, Asai learned to wrestle in the lucha libre style while working in Mexico. He is credited with popularizing the " A ...
to capture his record setting sixth Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the title against Dean Malenko
Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme ...
on March 21. He participated in the 1993 Top of the Super Juniors in June, in which he scored twelve points but failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Liger successfully defended the title against Wild Pegasus
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling ...
, Masao Orihara and Black Tiger
A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies.
Description
There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...
throughout the remainder of the year. Liger formed a partnership with Wild Pegasus to participate in the 1993 Super Grade Tag League but scored only four points in the tournament.
Liger defeated Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
in a mask versus mask match at Battlefield
A battlefield, battleground, or field of battle is the location of a present or historic battle involving ground warfare. It is commonly understood to be limited to the point of contact between opposing forces, though battles may involve troops ...
on January 4, thus forcing Tiger Mask to unmask and reveal his identity as Koji Kanemoto. On March 21, Liger made his fifth successful title defense of the Junior Heavyweight Championship against Black Tiger. He would conceptualize the Super J-Cup tournament specifically designed for junior heavyweights from all over the world and participated in the inaugural tournament on April 14, in which he defeated 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 ...
in the first round 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"
...
in the quarterfinal but lost to The Great Sasuke
, born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly l ...
in the semifinal. However, Liger rebounded with his participation in the 1994 Best of the Super Juniors, in which he scored twelve points to advance to the final where he defeated Super Delfin to win the tournament for the second time. Liger's sixth reign ended after he was forced to vacate the title due to fracturing his left ankle in a tag team match on September 24, where he teamed with Riki Choshu
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestle ...
in a loss to Keiji Mutoh
is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...
and Wild Pegasus in a losing effort. His title reign ended at 628 days, marking it the longest IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign in history.
Liger returned to NJPW after recovering from his injury on August 11 after missing nearly a year. In his return match, Liger teamed with El Samurai in a loss to Koji Kanemoto
(born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer.
Professional wres ...
and Shinjiro Otani
is a semi-retired Japanese professional wrestler and the current acting president of Pro Wrestling Zero1 (Zero1). He is currently inactive from pro-wrestling competition due to a cervical spine injury substained in April 2022. A product of the ...
. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1995 Super J-Cup on December 13, in which he defeated Gran Naniwa
(February 15, 1977 – October 6, 2010) was a Japanese professional wrestler, 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 hi ...
in the quarterfinals, Último Dragón in the semifinals and Gedo
Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region (''States and regions of Somalia, gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in ...
in the finals to win the tournament. Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto to capture his record setting seventh IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling World on January 4, 1996. Liger successfully defended the title against Black Tiger on February 3. At Battle Formation in Tokyo Dome, Liger lost the title to The Great Sasuke. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1996 Best of the Super Juniors, in which he qualified for the semifinals and defeated El Samurai in the semifinal but lost to Black Tiger in the final.
At Sky Diving J, Liger defeated Dick Togo
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler. Togo is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Bullet Club stable, and its sub-group House of Torture.
Togo has spent the majority of ...
to capture the British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship The British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that although being created in England, it gained its biggest notoriety in Japan. Not long after its creation the title made its way to Michinoku Pro ...
. Liger would later conceptualize the J-Crown
The J-Crown (also known as J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship) was formed originally by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a way of unifying eight junior heavyweight and cruiserweight titles from several different organizations. The J-Crown tournament ...
tournament in which eight junior heavyweight titles were unified to create a singular crown. He participated in the tournament on August 2, where he defended his British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship against Último Dragón, with the latter's WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in 1995 in Wrestle Association R (WAR).
There have been a total of 24 reigns shared between 17 ...
simultaneously being defended. Liger went on to lose the match. On November 3, Liger teamed with The Great Muta
is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...
in the One Night Tournament by defeating El Samurai and Tatsumi Fujinami in the opening round but lost to Akira Nogami and Michiyoshi Ohara
(born November 15, 1967) is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he wrestled from 1990 to 2004, winning the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Tatsutoshi Got ...
in the semifinals.
At Wrestling World on January 4, 1997, Liger defeated Último Dragón to win the J-Crown, thus winning all the championships of the J-Crown including his record-setting eighth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Liger successfully defended the J-Crown against Shinjiro Otani, Koji Kanemoto, Masayoshi Motegi and The Great Sasuke. In May, Liger participated in the 1997 Best of the Super Juniors but failed to advance from the round robin stage. On June 6, Liger lost the WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship to Yuji Yasuraoka
Yuji Yasuraoka (安良岡裕二 ''Yasuraoka Yuji'') (born January 28, 1971) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Wrestle Association R, where he became a one-time International Junior Heavyweight Champion ...
, thus leaving J-Crown with seven championships. Liger lost the J-Crown to El Samurai on July 6.
At Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome
Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on January 4, 1998 in the Tokyo Dome. Final Power Hall in Tokyo Dome was the seventh January 4 Tokyo Dome Show held by NJPW. ...
, Liger lost to Riki Choshu. On February 7, 1998, Liger defeated Shinjiro Otani to win his record-setting ninth IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He successfully defended the title against Kendo Kashin
Tokimitsu Ishizawa (''Ishizawa Tokimitsu'', born August 5, 1968), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, ''Kendō Kashin''), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his time in New Japan P ...
in his first title defense at Antonio Inoki's retirement event. He participated in the 1998 Best of the Super Juniors tournament but failed to advance to the semifinals. Liger successfully defended the title against Koji Kanemoto, The Great Sasuke, Kaz Hayashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweigh ...
, El Samurai, Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Dr. Wagner Jr.
Juan Manuel González Barrón (born August 12, 1965) is a Mexican ''luchador'' (Spanish for "professional wrestler") who is best known under the ring name Dr. Wagner Jr., having used that name since 1987. He is the son of Manuel González Rivera ...
before losing the title to Kanemoto on March 17, 1999, ending a year-long reign.
At Strong Style Symphony - New Japan Spirit, Liger teamed with The Great Sasuke to defeat Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Kendo Kashin to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Juni ...
. After failing to advance in the 1999 Best of the Super Juniors, Liger and Sasuke lost the tag team titles to Shinjiro Otani and Tatsuhito Takaiwa on July 13. At Jingu Climax, Liger and El Samurai unsuccessfully challenged Otani and Takaiwa for the titles. At Final Dome, Liger defeated Kendo Kashin to win his record-setting tenth Junior Heavyweight Championship. After exchanging the title with Juventud Guerrera in WCW, Liger returned to NJPW to retain the title against Koji Kanemoto and Minoru Tanaka before entering the 2000 Super J-Cup. Liger defeated Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
, Men's Teioh
(born December 16, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Men's Teioh (also written MEN's Teioh). The English translation of his ring name, Terry Boy, is a homage to American professional wrestler Terry Funk.
...
, 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 ...
and Cima to win his second consecutive Super J-Cup. After successfully defending the Junior Heavyweight Championship against El Samurai, Liger lost the title to Tatsuhito Takaiwa on July 20, 2000.
Kishin Liger (1996, 2006, 2012, 2019)
On October 20, 1996, The Great Muta faced off in a match with Liger. As the match progressed, Muta resorted to his underhand tactics that had become his style over the years. He tore at Liger's mask and eventually ripped it off, but Liger kept his face down on the mat. After grabbing a chair outside the ring, Muta entered the ring but before he could hit Liger with it, Liger stood up and revealed his face to be painted pale white with red writings and spit mist into Muta's face (another Muta trademark). He tore off his bodysuit and revealed a painted chest, then proceeded to fight more aggressively the rest of the match, despite losing the match to Muta. The character debuted in the match against Muta was dubbed "Kishin Liger" by NJPW.
On July 30, 2006, Liger revived the Kishin Liger gimmick and faced off with rival Bad Boy Hido in NJPW.[ The story was that Hido had cut a piece of Liger's hair and Liger vowed revenge, so he transformed into Kishin Liger. Liger won the match with a ]brainbuster
A brainbuster is a professional wrestling professional wrestling throws, throw in which a wrestler puts the opponent in a Professional wrestling holds#Front facelock, front facelock, hooks their pants or thigh, and lifts them up as if they were e ...
onto a steel chair. Liger's next appearance as Kishin Liger took place in June 2012 and was brought on by Taichi
Tai chi (), short for Tai chi ch'üan ( zh, s=太极拳, t=太極拳, first=t, p=Tàijíquán, labels=no), sometimes called " shadowboxing", is an internal Chinese martial art practiced for defense training, health benefits and meditation. T ...
tearing his mask to pieces.
Kishin Liger returned again on September 22, 2019 at Destruction in Kobe, when Minoru Suzuki
(born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
removed Liger's mask. Kishin would spit mist into Suzuki's face and attempt to stab him with a spike, before giving chase to Suzuki while attacking officials, young lions, and Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
in his pursuit.
The gimmick is a variation of The Great Muta gimmick which relies on bloody and evil tactics in a match, using mannerisms and imagery that differ from the person's normal ways. This gimmick also uses many wrestling moves that are regulars in The Great Muta's move set, such as the Asian mist
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
.
Heavyweight division (2000)
During 2000, as booker Riki Choshu
, better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestle ...
decided to de-emphasize the junior heavyweight division (a costly decision that diminished its credibility), Liger wrestled heavyweights without wearing the upper part of his bodysuit or his mask horns (the first time he wore that attire was on February 24, 1994, against Shinya Hashimoto in a non-title match between the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and the IWGP Heavyweight Champion
The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...
).
Junior heavyweight veteran and retirement (2001–2020)
From 2004 to 2007, Liger was the leader of the NJPW 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 ...
stable Control Terrorism Unit (CTU) along with Hirooki Goto
is a Japanese professional wrestler. Since his debut, he has wrestled primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He is also known for being the longest reigning NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with his Chaos stablemates, Tomohiro Ishii ...
, Minoru Tanaka, Black Tiger IV, Gedo
Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay Maay, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region (''States and regions of Somalia, gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in ...
, Jado
(born September 28, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . He is best known for his work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as part of a tag team with his partner Gedo. Jado and Gedo's careers have largely para ...
, Prince Devitt
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
and briefly James Gibson.
CTU was disbanded in August 2007, when Liger decided CTU would disband while at the top of NJPW, Liger would then join Masahiro Chono's Legend stable.[ The Legend stable would disband in February 2010, after Chono, Choshu and Akira's departures.
Since then, Liger has mainly teamed with fellow veteran Tiger Mask, remaining outside of championship contention for the most part. Liger and Tiger won the vacant ]IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Juni ...
on June 16, 2012, at Dominion 6.16
Dominion 6.16 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 16, 2012, in Osaka, Osaka, at the newly renamed Bodymaker Colosseum. The event featured ten matches, four o ...
, losing it to Forever Hooligans
Forever Hooligans was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Alex Koslov and Rocky Romero. They are best known for working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where they are former two-time IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. They have al ...
(Alex Koslov
Alex Sherman (born January 21, 1984) is a Moldovan-born retired professional wrestler and color commentator, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling under the ring name Alex Koslov.
Koslov has mainly worked in Mexico from 2005 until 2008 ...
and Rocky Romero
John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッ ...
) on July 22. Liger's next shot at the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship took place on May 3, 2016, when he unsuccessfully challenged Kushida
is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestling.
He is best known for his tenure in NJP ...
for the title at Wrestling Dontaku 2016. In May 2017, Liger announced that the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors would be his last BOSJ tournament. He finished the tournament with a record of six losses and one win, which came in his last match against Taichi.
At New Japan's 47th Anniversary Event, Liger was awarded a Junior Heavyweight title match against Taiji Ishimori after scoring a non-title victory over him the previous evening, however he failed to win the title losing via submission. The next day on March 7, 2019, it was announced that Liger will retire on January 5, 2020, at Wrestle Kingdom 14
Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome was a two-night professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 and 5, 2020, at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan. It was the 29th January ...
. Liger retired on January 5, 2020, after he and Naoki Sano
(born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...
were defeated by Hiromu Takahashi
(born December 4, 1989) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a member of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' stable.
Takahashi made his debut for NJPW on August 28, 2010, and worked ...
and Ryu Lee.
Post-retirement (2020–present)
Following his retirement, Liger remains in NJPW, serving as a trainer in the promotion's dojo and as a Japanese-language
is spoken natively by about 128 million people, primarily by Japanese people and primarily in Japan, the only country where it is the national language. Japanese belongs to the Japonic or Japanese- Ryukyuan language family. There have been m ...
commentator for events on New Japan Pro-Wrestling World
, also referred to as NJPW World and New Japan World, is a subscription-based video streaming service owned by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). On December 1, 2014, NJPW and its minority owner TV Asahi a ...
.[
]
World Wrestling Federation/WWE (1990, 2015, 2021)
Liger first worked with 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 ...
(WWF, now WWE) on April 13, 1990, defeating Akira Nogami at the Wrestling Summit, an event co-produced by NJPW, WWF, and 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, ...
(AJPW). He returned to the company in 2015, defeating Tyler Breeze
Matthew Clement (born January 19, 1988) is a Canadian professional wrestler and professional wrestling trainer. He is currently signed to WWE under the ring name Tyler Breeze as a trainer at the WWE Performance Center.
From 2010 to 2012, he per ...
at the NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn event on August 22. According to NJPW, WWE had approached them about bringing Liger in for the event as a special guest for the show. On March 16, 2020, it was announced that Liger would be inducted into that year's WWE Hall of Fame class. The 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremony occurred in March 2021, with Liger sending in a video to accept the honor.
World Championship Wrestling
1991–1992
Liger made appearances with 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 ...
(WCW) during the 1990s. He made his debut in December 1991. He feuded with Brian Pillman
Brian William Pillman (May 22, 1962 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional wrestler and professional football player best known for his appearances in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Ch ...
over the WCW World Light Heavyweight Championship
The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimi ...
. He defeated Pillman on December 25 for the title at a house show in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
.[ He would hold onto the title for over two months, before losing it back to Pillman at ]SuperBrawl II
SuperBrawl II was the second SuperBrawl professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW). The event took place on February 29, 1992, from the Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Nine ma ...
. Liger left WCW in December 1992 after Starrcade
Starrcade was a recurring professional wrestling event, originally broadcast via closed-circuit television and eventually broadcast via pay-per-view. It was originally held from 1983 to 2000, first by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) from 1 ...
, teaming with Erik Watts
Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the son of wrestler Bill Watts.
...
in a losing effort to "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Sting in a Lethal Lottery match.
1995–1999
Upon his return to WCW in 1995, Liger had the distinction of appearing in the first ever match on the inaugural ''WCW Monday Nitro
''WCW Monday Nitro'', also known as ''WCW Nitro'' or simply ''Nitro'', is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and broadcast weekly every Monday night on TNT in the Unite ...
'' held at the Mall of America on September 4 where he lost to Brian Pillman. He returned to WCW in September 1995; he would go on to face many other opponents such as Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
, Pillman, Dean Malenko
Dean Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time with Extreme ...
, Rey Mysterio Jr.
Óscar Gutiérrez (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand. Widely regarded as one of the greatest profe ...
, and Juventud Guerrera, as well as unsuccessfully challenging Konnan
Charles Ashenoff (born Carlos Santiago Espada Moises; January 6, 1964),''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', Dave Meltzer, ed., May 10, 2010, issue.Sims, Steve"Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame/Founded by Dave Meltzer - Konnan". Accessed August 1, 2016. O ...
for the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship
The WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship promoted by the American promotion WWE, currently defended on the Raw brand division. It is one of two secondary championships for WWE's main roster, along with the WWE ...
at Slamboree '96.[
Liger was met with controversy around late-November/early-December 1999 while wrestling a short tour in WCW as the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion when he lost the championship on an episode of ''Monday Nitro'' to Juventud Guerrera via a blow to the head from a ]tequila
Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the Agave tequilana, blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands ...
bottle.[ Liger regained his title the following week from ]Psicosis
Dionicio Castellanos Torres (born May 19, 1971) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Psicosis (sometimes Anglicised as Psychosis) and Nicho el Millonario. He is best known for his appearances with the promotions Luc ...
, who was substituting for Guerrera because he broke his arm. However, the scripting of these title changes was viewed as embarrassing for NJPW and the company chose not to acknowledge or release any information about the title changes. In turn, none of the Japanese sports media outlets reported the two title changes as well. New Japan did not recognize Guerrera's reign until 2007. Liger was also referred to as a 10-time champion until this time.
Ring of Honor (2004–2010, 2014–2017)
On November 5, 2004, Liger debuted in Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...
(ROH), headlining their back-to-back "Weekend of Thunder" shows. ROH selected Bryan Danielson
Bryan Lloyd Danielson (born May 22, 1981) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Blackpool Combat Club. He is also known for his time in WWE, where he worked fro ...
as Liger's special opponent for that weekend. For Night 1, the two faced each other in a singles match, with Liger winning the highly competitive bout after a super brainbuster. On November 6, 2004 Night 2 would see a "dream tag-team" match in the main event. Liger chose then-ROH Champion Samoa Joe
Nuufolau Joel Seanoa (born March 17, 1979), is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Samoa Joe who is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Joe is currently a double champion - in his first reign both as AEW ...
as his partner, and Danielson selected Low Ki
Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestlin ...
for his side. Liger again came out on top, pinning Danielson with a Liger Bomb to win the match. On January 29, 2010 at ROH's debut show in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
as part of WrestleReunion 4, Liger lost a non-title match to ROH World Champion
The ROH World Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by Ring of Honor (ROH). It is considered the most prestigious title in the promotion. The current champion is Claudio Castagnoli, who is in his second ...
Austin Aries
Daniel Healy Solwold Jr. (born April 15, 1978), better known by his ring name Austin Aries, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to the Control Your Narrative wrestling promotion. He is best known for his ...
via pinfall after a brainbuster.
In May 2014, Liger returned to ROH as part of a tour co-produced by NJPW and ROH. On May 17 at War of the Worlds
''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...
, Liger unsuccessfully challenged Adam Cole
Austin Kirk Jenkins (born July 5, 1989) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Adam Cole. He is also known for his tenures with WWE and Ring of Honor (ROH).
C ...
for the ROH World Championship. On March 27, 2015, Liger returned to ROH at the Supercard of Honor IX event, unsuccessfully challenging Jay Lethal
Jamar Shipman (born April 29, 1985), better known by the ring name Jay Lethal, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW).
Dubbed "The Franchise" of Ring of Honor, Lethal is a two-time ROH World Champio ...
for the ROH World Television Championship
The ROH World Television Championship is a professional wrestling world television championship in the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. With the introduction of the ROH World Television Championship, the television type championship returned to n ...
. Liger returned to ROH the following May to take part in the ROH/NJPW co-produced War of the Worlds '15 and Global Wars '15
Global Wars '15 was a two-day professional wrestling supershow co-produced by the American Ring of Honor (ROH) and Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. The events took place on May 15 and 16, 2015, at the Ted Reeve Arena in Toron ...
events.
Liger returned to ROH on December 2, 2016, at Final Battle
Final Battle is a professional wrestling event, held annually by the Ring of Honor promotion. The event was initially held in 2002, and is traditionally ROH's last show in the calendar year. The 2009 edition of the show was ROH's first internet ...
, where he was defeated by Silas Young
Caleb DeWall (born August 9, 1979) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Silas Young. He was last contracted for Ring of Honor, where he is a two-time ROH World Television Champion, although he has not appeared on R ...
. Liger returned to ROH on August 18, 2017, during their UK tour stop in London, which was co-promoted with NJPW, CMLL and the UK's Revolution Pro Wrestling
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom.
Revolution Pro Wrestling currently has partnershi ...
(RPW). Liger teamed with Delirious
Delirious may refer to:
* A state of delirium
Film and television
* Delirious (1991 film), ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy
* Delirious (2006 film), ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an Americ ...
and Místico
Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha ...
to unsuccessfully challenge Dalton Castle Dalton Castle may refer to:
*Dalton Castle, Cumbria
*Dalton Castle (wrestler)
Brett Giehl (born March 4, 1986), better known by the ring name Dalton Castle, is an American professional wrestler who is best known for his tenure in Ring of Honor ...
and The Boys for the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship
The ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned by the Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion. Like most professional wrestling championships, the title is won as a result of a match with a predetermined outcome. ...
.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2005–2006)
Liger made his debut for the U.S.-based Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment.
Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...
(TNA) promotion on October 23, 2005, as part of their Bound for Glory pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
, losing to Samoa Joe. TNA advertised a match between Liger and Christopher Daniels for the 2006 Lockdown
A lockdown is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks (such as COVID-19) that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely.
The term is used for a prison ...
show, a show where all matches took place inside a steel cage
Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant t ...
. Liger was unaware of this when first accepting the booking, backing out of the show when he heard about the steel cage, something in which he had never participated before, fearing it would have hampered his performance. TNA made Liger the captain of the NJPW team for the TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament
The TNA 2006 World X Cup Tournament was a professional wrestling X Cup Tournament staged by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in April and May 2006. The tournament pits stables of X Division-style wrestlers from around the world against one another ...
. As such he defeated Team Canada's Captain Petey Williams
Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion. He is also ...
at Sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...
on May 14, 2006. Liger was eliminated in the X-Cup Gauntlet later that night and Team Japan
Team Japan is a professional wrestling group that was brought together as a part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's World X Cup Tournament.
History 2004
Team Japan started as six-man team as team captain Nosawa from All Japan Pro Wrestling tea ...
was unable to gain any points in the match. This has led to Team Canada winning the tournament, with Team Mexico
Team Mexico is a professional wrestling stable that was first formed in 2004 to compete in TNA Wrestling's America's X-Cup Tournament and has since returned to compete in other TNA X Cup Tournaments.
History 2004
The original team consisted of ...
as runners up.
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
2007–2010
In 2007 Liger made a short visit to Mexico, working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
(CMLL), NJPW's Mexican associate. He took part in the 2007 CMLL International Gran Prix as the captain of a team of non-Mexican wrestlers. Liger was the last man eliminated from the match by winner Último Guerrero
José Gutiérrez Hernández (born March 1, 1972), better known by his ring name Último Guerrero (Spanish for ''Last Warrior''), is a Mexico, Mexican (or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler), who works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Li ...
. Liger returned to CMLL in September 2009 for a longer tour, teaming with Okumura, Naito and Yujiro as ''La Ola Amarilla
''La Ola Amarilla'' (Spanish for "The Yellow Wave") was a professional wrestling group, also known as a stable in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The group was founded in 2005 for Japanese-born wrestlers, often wrestlers touring CMLL thro ...
'' ("The Yellow Wave" in Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
). At the CMLL 76th Anniversary Show
The CMLL 76th Anniversary Show ( es, 76. Aniversario de CMLL) was a professional wrestling major show event produced by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) that took place on September 18, 2009, in Arena Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico. The show ...
''La Ola Amarilla'' defeated Team Mexico (Último Guerrero, Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas (mythology), Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works ''Timaeus (dialogue), Timaeus'' and ''Critias (dialogue), Critias'' ...
, Black Warrior and Héctor Garza
Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Héctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexican professional wrestling promotions such as Consejo Mu ...
) in one of the featured matches on the show. The following week, at the 2009 ''Gran Alternativa'' show Liger unsuccessfully challenged for Último Guerrero's CMLL World Heavyweight Championship
The CMLL World Heavyweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial de Peso Completo del CMLL) is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship established in 1991 and promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). CMLL introduced the ...
. He also failed to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from Místico
Luis Ignacio Urive Alvirde (born December 22, 1982), better known by his ring name Místico (Spanish for "Mystic"), is a Mexican ''luchador enmascarado'' (or masked professional wrestler), who currently works for Consejo Mundial de Lucha ...
before returning to Japan in October 2009. On May 3, 2010, at Wrestling Dontaku 2010
Wrestling Dontaku 2010 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2010, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. The event featured nine matches (inclu ...
, Liger defeated Negro Casas
José Casas Ruiz (born January 10, 1960) is a Mexican professional wrestler (called a '' Luchador'' in Spanish) and trainer working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler tur ...
at a New Japan show in Fukuoka, Japan, to win the CMLL World Middleweight Championship
The CMLL World Middleweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). While lighter wei ...
.[
]
2010–2011
Liger returned to CMLL in June 2010 for a long tour of the company. As the CMLL World Middleweight Championship he earned entry into the 2010 Universal Championship. On the August 6, 2010 Super Viernes show Liger won Block B by defeating Negro Casas, Héctor Garza and La Máscara to earn a spot in the finals. On the August 13, 2010 Super Viernes Liger defeated La Sombra
La Sombra de Chicago or La Sombra de Tony Guerrero or even the Windy City Boys is a Tejano band founded by Tony Guerrero. Originally from the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois, the group gained national acclaim and success after moving to Corp ...
to win the 2010 Universal Championship.[ On August 16, 2010 it was announced that Liger was one of 14 men putting their mask on the line in a '']Luchas de Apuestas
Lucha libre (, meaning "freestyle wrestling" or literally translated as "free fight") is the term used in Latin America for professional wrestling. Since its introduction to Mexico in the early 20th century, it has developed into a unique form ...
'' steel cage match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, the main event of the CMLL 77th Anniversary Show. Liger was the seventh man to leave the steel cage, keeping his mask safe. The match came down to La Sombra pinning Olímpico
Joel Bernal Galicia (born December 6, 1965) is a Mexican ''Luchador'', or professional wrestler retired, better known under the ring name Olímpico. Olímpico is sometimes Anglicised as "Olympico", and means "Olympian" in Spanish. From his debut ...
to unmask him. During the same tour, Liger also made his first successful defense of the CMLL World Middleweight Championship, defeating La Sombra on September 27. On January 4, 2011, at New Japan's '' Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome'' event, Liger wrestled in a CMLL showcase match, where he and Héctor Garza were defeated by La Sombra and Máscara Dorada
Máscara Dorada (born August 24, 1988) is the ring name of a Mexican ''luchador'' '' enmascarado'' (masked professional wrestler) currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He is best known for his time in WWE where he perform ...
, when Sombra pinned Liger, setting up a CMLL World Middleweight Championship match for CMLL's ''Fantastica Mania 2011
''Fantastica Mania'' 2011 was the name of two professional wrestling major shows produced that took place on January 22 and January 23, 2011 in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The event was the first ever co-promoted events between Japanese New Ja ...
'' show on January 22 in Tokyo, Japan
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
. At ''Fantastica Mania'' Liger defeated La Sombra to retain the CMLL World Middleweight Championship. On May 3, Liger made his third successful defense of the title, defeating Máscara Dorada at New Japan's Wrestling Dontaku 2011
Wrestling Dontaku 2011 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 3, 2011, in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, at the Fukuoka Kokusai Center. The event featured 10 matches, 4 of ...
show. Liger returned to Mexico on September 15, 2011, announcing his intention of working as a '' technico'' for the first time during his run with CMLL. On September 30 at CMLL's 78th Anniversary Show, Liger defeated eleven other men in a ''torneo cibernetico
A ''torneo cibernetico'' is a multi-man professional wrestling elimination match that was created and primarily used in Mexican ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotions, especially in Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). The match format ...
'' to advance to the finals of the 2011 Leyenda de Plata. On October 7, Liger was defeated in the finals of the tournament by Volador Jr. On October 24, Liger made his fourth successful defense of the CMLL World Middleweight Championship, defeating El Texano Jr. On November 18, Liger lost the title to Dragón Rojo Jr., ending his reign at 564 days. Liger's three-month stint in CMLL ended on December 9, with a loss against Último Guerrero.
2013
On July 5, 2013, during a New Japan event, Liger teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi to defeat Tama Tonga
Alipate Aloisio Leone (born October 15, 1982) is a Tongan-American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Tama Tonga (タマ・トンガ ''Tama Tonga''). He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known a ...
and El Terrible
Damián Gutiérrez Hernández (born April 12, 1976), better known by his ring name El Terrible, is a Mexican professional wrestler who currently works for the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). He portrays a ''ru ...
for the CMLL World Tag Team Championship
The CMLL World Tag Team Championship (''CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") in Mexico ...
. They lost the title to Tonga and Rey Bucanero
Arturo García Ortiz (born July 19, 1974) is a Mexican '' luchador'' or professional wrestler best known under the ring name Rey Bucanero. Ortiz, as Rey Bucanero, has worked for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 1996. His ring name is ...
on September 14.
2019
Liger returned to CMLL on July 19, 2019 to participate on the Jushin "Thunder" Liger Mexican Retirement Show. At the event, Liger defeated Carístico, Negro Casas, and Último Guerrero in a ''Relevo CMLL'' match.
North American independent promotions (2007–2016)
Liger made his Canadian return after 18 years on May 25 and 26, 2007, in Mississauga, Ontario and competed in UWA Hardcore Wrestling. On night one he teamed with Puma and defeated the team of Último Dragón and Kazuchika Okada
(born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Okada is a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion where his fourth reign with the championship is the longest in history at 720 days. He also h ...
, after Liger hit the Liger Bomb on Okada.[ On night two, Liger teamed with Último Dragón and defeated The Murder City Machine Guns ( Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) after a Liger Bomb / Dragon Sleeper combo.][
Liger made his ]Pro Wrestling Guerrilla
Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by wrestlers themselves, having been created by Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super Drago ...
(PWG) debut in Los Angeles, California on January 30, 2010, as part of WrestleReunion 4. He defeated El Generico
Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline.
Prior to joi ...
via pinfall after a brainbuster. On May 22, 2010, Liger made his debut for American promotion Jersey All Pro Wrestling (JAPW), losing to Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
in the main event of the evening. He would return to the promotion seven months later on December 10, when he defeated Azrieal, Bandido Jr., B-Boy, El Generico and Kenny Omega
Tyson Smith (born October 16, 1983), better known by the ring name Kenny Omega, is a Canadian-born professional wrestler. Omega is an executive vice president of All Elite Wrestling (AEW), in which he also performs. Omega is a former one-ti ...
in a six-way elimination match to win the JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship
The JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion in the United States.It became official title on December 5, 1997 when Rik Rachet defeated Chino Martinez in a tournament final to crown the first ...
. The following day he would successfully defend the title against Mike Quackenbush
Michael Spillane (born March 18, 1976), is an American podcaster, author, professional wrestling trainer, professional wrestling promoter, and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Mike Quackenbush.
He has hosted several ...
.[ Liger would lose the title to Kenny Omega in his second defense on May 15, 2011, in ]Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, during the Invasion Tour 2011, New Japan's first ever tour of the United States.
Liger returned to the United States, making his debut for Extreme Rising
Extreme Rising (formerly Extreme Reunion) was an American independent professional wrestling promotion founded in 2012. Meant to fill the void of hardcore wrestling left behind by the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Extreme Rising ...
on April 4, Pro Wrestling Syndicate (PWS) on April 5 and Chikara on April 6, 2013, all during the WrestleCon weekend in New Jersey. After the cancellation of the Extreme Rising event, Liger ended up taking part in another PWS event on April 4, during which he defeated Davey Richards and Tony Nese
Anthony Nese (born August 6, 1985) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he is a former one-time WWE Cruiserweight Champion.
Professional wrestling career
Ind ...
in a three-way match.[ The following day, Liger was defeated by former ]WWE
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 ...
wrestler John Morrison in what was billed as an "International Dream Match". Liger finished his American tour by teaming with Mike Quackenbush to defeat Jigsaw
Jigsaw may refer to:
* Jigsaw (tool), a tool used for cutting arbitrary curves
* Jigsaw puzzle, a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of interlocking pieces
Arts and media Comics
* Jigsaw (Marvel Comics), a supervillain and arch-enemy of ...
and The Shard in the main event of the Chikara show.[ Liger returned to California in 2016, taking part in the 2016 Battle of Los Angeles. He was eliminated from the tournament in the first round by Chris Hero.
]
Mixed martial arts career
On November 30, 2002, Liger was booked as a replacement for 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 in the Pancrase
Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by professional wrestlers Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki.
The name was based on pankration, a fighting sport in the Ancient Olympic Games. Suzuki and Funaki pr ...
organization against Minoru Suzuki
(born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
due to his planned opponent, 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 ...
, being forced to pull out due to injury. In what would be Liger's only MMA match, he was beaten by Suzuki via rear-naked choke
The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikog ...
at 1:48 into the first round. Liger wore a modified version of his mask during the bout, one that did not have the pronounced horns attached or his hair flowing free from the top.
Personal life
Yamada resides in Fukuoka
is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...
.
Championships and accomplishments
*All Star Wrestling
All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...
**World Heavy Middleweight Championship (2 times)
*Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...
**CMLL Universal Championship
The CMLL Universal Championship (''Campeonato Universal'' in Spanish) is an annual lucha libre tournament held by the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) since 2009. The tournament format is a "tournament ...
(2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
)
**CMLL World Middleweight Championship
The CMLL World Middleweight Championship (Spanish: ''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio del CMLL'') is a professional wrestling world championship promoted by the Mexican wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). While lighter wei ...
( 1 time)
**CMLL World Tag Team Championship
The CMLL World Tag Team Championship (''CMLL Campeonato Mundial de Parejas'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling World Tag Team Championship promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL; Spanish for "World Wrestling Council") in Mexico ...
( 1 time) – with Hiroshi Tanahashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler. He works primarily for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, his accolades in NJPW include a record setting eight reigns as IWGP Heavywei ...
[
* Dragon Gate
**]Open the Dream Gate Championship
The Open the Dream Gate Championship is a professional wrestling world championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. The wrestler who holds it is considered the top singles wrestler in Dragon Gate. It was created on Ju ...
( 1 time)[
* Jersey All Pro Wrestling
**]JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship
The JAPW Light Heavyweight Championship is a championship in the Jersey All Pro Wrestling promotion in the United States.It became official title on December 5, 1997 when Rik Rachet defeated Chino Martinez in a tournament final to crown the first ...
( 1 time)[
*]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 ...
**British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship The British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that although being created in England, it gained its biggest notoriety in Japan. Not long after its creation the title made its way to Michinoku Pro ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)[
** Super J-Cup (]2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...
)[
*]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 ...
**NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers.
History
The first NWA World Junior ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
*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 ...
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...
( 11 times)
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Juni ...
( 6 times) – with The Great Sasuke
, born July 18, 1969), is a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter and politician, currently wrestling for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW) under the ring name . Aside from professional wrestling, he is also a former Iwate Prefectural Assembly l ...
(1), El Samurai
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 202 ...
(1), Minoru Tanaka (1), Koji Kanemoto
(born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer.
Professional wres ...
(1), Akira (1) and Tiger Mask
is a Japanese manga series written by Ikki Kajiwara and illustrated by Naoki Tsuji. The series was first published in Kodansha's ''Bokura Magazine'' from 1968 to 1970 and was later published in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from 1970 to ...
(1)
**J-Crown
The J-Crown (also known as J-Crown Octuple Unified Championship) was formed originally by New Japan Pro-Wrestling as a way of unifying eight junior heavyweight and cruiserweight titles from several different organizations. The J-Crown tournament ...
( 1 time)
**NWA World Welterweight Championship
The NWA World Welterweight Championship ( es, Campeonato Mundial Welter de NWA) is an inactive professional wrestling championship governed by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and most recently promoted by NWA Mexico. The championship was ori ...
( 1 time)
**UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
The UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundia de Peso Semicompleto Junior UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship that was originally promoted by the Mexican lucha libre professional wrestling) promot ...
( 1 time)
**WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship
The WWA World Light Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial Semi Completo de WWA'' in Spanish) is a singles professional wrestling championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion World Wrestling Association (WWA) ...
( 1 time)1
**WAR International Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling championship contested for in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Tenryu Project. The title was established in 1995 in Wrestle Association R (WAR).
There have been a total of 24 reigns shared between 17 ...
( 1 time)
** Top/Best of the Super Juniors (1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
, 1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
, 2001)
**G1 Climax Junior Heavyweight Tag League (2001) – with El Samurai
**Naeba Prince Hotel Cup Tag Tournament (2001) – with Yuji Nagata
is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW).
A two-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, World Heavyweight Champion and a GHC Heavyweight Champion, making him a four-time world champion in major professio ...
**Young Lion Cup
__NOTOC__
The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in t ...
(1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
)
**Outstanding Performance Award (2000)
**Tag Team Best Bout (2003) with Koji Kanemoto
(born Kim Il-Sung (김일성); October 31, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler of Zainichi Korean descent. He has previously worked with New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. He is currently a freelancer.
Professional wres ...
vs. Kotaro Suzuki
is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . He is currently working as a freelancer, mainly for promotion Pro Wrestling Noah.
Career
Pro Wrestling Noah (2001-2013)
Suzuki was the last person remaining of a grueling th ...
and Naomichi Marufuji
(born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), ...
on June 10
**IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title #1 Contendership Tournament (1990)
*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 ...
**Osaka Pro Wrestling Tag Team Championship
The is the top tag team title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Osaka Pro Wrestling. The title was established in 2001 when Daio Quallt and Gamma won a seven-team round-robin tournament to win the inaugural titles.
Being a prof ...
( 1 time) – with Takehiro Murahama[
*'']Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''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 Publish ...
''
**Ranked No. 8 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500
''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 Publi ...
in 2000
**Ranked No. 12 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003
**Ranked No. 47 of the top 100 tag teams of the "PWI Years" with El Samurai in 2003
*Pro Wrestling Noah
(stylised as Pro Wrestling NOAH) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2000 by former All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) ace Mitsuharu Misawa after he had led a mass exodus in which 24 of AJPW's 26 contracted wrestlers left the ...
**GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
The is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<100 kg) wrestlers. It was created ...
( 1 time)[
**]GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003 when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger ...
( 1 time) – Tiger Mask
**NTV G+ Cup Junior Heavyweight Tag League NTV may refer to:
Television
* NTV (Bangladesh), a Bengali-language satellite television channel in Bangladesh
* NTV (India), Telugu regional channel
* NTV (Kenya)
* NTV (Mongolia), a television channel based in Mongolia
* NTV (Newport Televi ...
(2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
) – Tiger Mask[
*]Revolution Pro Wrestling
Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom.
Revolution Pro Wrestling currently has partnershi ...
**British J Cup (2017)
*''Tokyo Sports
is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960.
See also
* Tokyo Sports Film Award
* Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards
The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...
''
** Newcomer Award (1985)
** Outstanding Performance Award (1994)
*Vendetta Pro Wrestling
**Vendetty Award: Special Guest Star of the Year (2015)
*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 ...
**WCW Light Heavyweight Championship
The WCW Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was contested in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) between 1991 and 1992. Conceived in 1991, the championship was first awarded as the result of a single-elimi ...
( 1 time)[
*]WWE
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 ...
**WWE Hall of Fame
The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...
(Class of 2020
''Class of 2020'' is a 2020 Hindi web series created and produced by Vikas Gupta for Ekta Kapoor's video on demand platform ALTBalaji. It stars Rohan Mehra and Joyita Chatterjee in lead roles. The web series revolves around the lives of a few t ...
)
*Wrestle Association R
Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 200 ...
**WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team championship contested for in the Japanese promotion Wrestle Association R, and later Dragon Gate and Tenryu Project. This title was the first tag team championship in Japan dedicated to junior heavyw ...
( 1 time) – with El Samurai[
** Super J-Cup (]1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
)
*''Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.
Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...
''
** Best Gimmick (1989)
**Best Flying Wrestler
This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll between ...
(1989–1993)[
** Best Technical Wrestler (1989–1992)][
** Best Wrestling Maneuver (1987, 1988) ]Shooting star press
Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...
[
** Match of the Year (1990) vs. ]Naoki Sano
(born February 2, 1965) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist most notable for being the generational rival of legendary Japanese pro wrestler Jushin Liger. During the last years of his career he went by the ...
on January 31 in Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...
, Japan[
** Most Outstanding Wrestler (1990–1992)][
** Rookie of the Year (1984) tied with ]Tom Zenk
Thomas Erwin Zenk (November 30, 1958 – December 9, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1987, American Wrestling Association (AWA) 198 ...
[
**]Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
(Class of 1999
''Class of 1999'' is a 1990 American science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Mark L. Lester. It is the director's follow-up to his 1982 film ''Class of 1984''.
Plot
in an alternate 1990s, violence in American high schoo ...
)
Luchas de Apuestas record
Mixed martial arts record
, -
, Loss
, align=center, 0–1
, Minoru Suzuki
(born June 17, 1968) is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist, currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a freelancer. In NJPW, Suzuki has held the IWGP Intercontinental Championship as well as twice hol ...
, Submission (rear-naked choke
The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keikog ...
)
, Pancrase: Spirit 8
, November 30, 2002
, align=center, 1
, align=center, 1:48
, Yokohama, Kanagawa
is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...
,
See also
*''Jushin Liger (anime)
is an anime superhero TV series created by Go Nagai. Produced by Sunrise Inc. with cooperation of Dynamic Planning (Nagai's own company), the series was originally broadcast on Nagoya Broadcasting Network (NBN)/TV Asahi from to with a tot ...
'', the 1989 anime series that inspired Yamada's wrestling character
*'' Jushin Thunder Liger: Fist of Thunder'', the 1995 OVT
An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of cu ...
tokusatsu movie starring Yamada
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Liger, Jushin Thunder
1964 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Hiroshima
Masked wrestlers
WWE Hall of Fame inductees
Stampede Wrestling alumni
Japanese male YouTubers
Japanese YouTubers
IWGP Junior Heavyweight champions
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champions
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
CMLL World Middleweight Champions
CMLL World Tag Team Champions
NWA World Welterweight Champions
British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight Champions
Open the Dream Gate Champions
International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions
Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Champions