Junji Izumida (泉田純; Izumida Jun; October 28, 1965 – January 25, 2017) was a Japanese

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

who worked for

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 ...

Career

Sumo wrestling

Before being a professional wrestler, Izumida was a sumo wrestler, making his debut in March 1986. He reached a highest rank of

Makushita Professional sumo as administered by the Japan Sumo Association is divided into six ranked divisions. Wrestlers are promoted and demoted within and between these divisions based on the merit of their win–loss records in official tournaments. Fo ...

37. He trained at

Azumazeki stable was a stable of sumo wrestlers, part of the Takasago group of stables. It was founded in February 1986 by the Hawaiian born Takamiyama of the Takasago stable in Higashi–Komagata, Sumida, Tokyo. It was the first stable ever to be run by a fo ...

and was known under three different

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' ...

: Takamisho, Seiunryu, and finally Musashiumi. He retired from sumo in September 1991.

Professional wrestling

He debuted for

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 ...

at the age of twenty-six after being scouted by the company. On May 25, 1992, he wrestled his first match with Giant Baba and

Rusher Kimura was a Japanese professional wrestler, best known by his ring name . He was a five-time IWA World Heavyweight Champion, making him a five-time world champion. Sumo wrestling career He was a sumo wrestler under the ''shikona'' Kinomura, a dir ...

against

Masanobu Fuchi is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is also a director and the co-head booker. Fuchi has exclusively worked for All Japan since his debut in 1974, and holds the record for the longest ...

Haruka Eigen (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit s ...

, and Motoshi Okuma. He then formed a team with

Tamon Honda (born August 15, 1963) is a Japanese semi-retired professional wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler who is currently a freelancer. He most recently worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is a former tag team champion, winning the All Asia Ta ...

, and the two enjoyed a reign as

All Asia Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder ...

. When

Mitsuharu Misawa was a Japanese amateur and professional wrestler and promoter. He is primarily known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and also for forming the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion in 2000. In the early 1990s, Misawa gained fame alongside ...

left AJPW in mid-2000 and formed

, Izumida followed. In Noah, Izumida formed the Violence Bulldogs faction with his close friend,

Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is also a former All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and has had fourteen 5 Star Matches as awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. ...

. A hilarious comedy match on June 10, 2005 saw him team with fellow sumo

Takeshi Rikio Takeshi Inoue (born December 20, 1972) known by his stage name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler. Sumo career He made his sumo debut in March 1988, after leav ...

to defeat

Jun Akiyama is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, representative director, c ...

and (at the time) rookie

Go Shiozaki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to the Pro Wrestling Noah promotion where he is the former GHC Heavyweight Champion in a record breaking fifth reign. He made his debut for the promotion in July 2004 and remained with it unti ...

in a tag team match, with the stipulation that Izumida would propose to female wrestler

Mima Shimoda is a Japanese female professional wrestler, who is working for the Mexican professional wrestling promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and Japanese promotion World Woman Pro-Wrestling Diana. She is most well known for being half of Las ...

if he won. Shimoda proceeded to reject a kiss attempt from him. Beginning in early 2010 Izumida declared free agency to wrestle in other promotions. He made a return to All Japan on June 24, 2010, teaming with

Yoshinobu Kanemaru is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he also works as a backstage producer. Kanemaru is best known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he holds the records for the most reigns with the GHC ...

to beat

Hiroshi Yamato , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works as a freelancer. Trained by the All Japan Pro Wrestling promotion, he started his career in February 2007 working in Mexico for the International Wrestling ...

and

Yasufumi Nakanoue is a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by the ring name , currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division, where he is the current BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion. He started his career in All Japan P ...

in a tag team match. In his last match, on March 18, 2012, he teamed with

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...

and

Manabu Soya is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He previously lived in Canada training at the Can-Am Wrestling School under Scott D'Amore, working regularly for the Maximum Pro Wrestling promotion. He is c ...

to defeat

Dark Cuervo Jaime Ignacio Tirado Correa (born January 4, 1974) is a Mexican Luchador (wrestler) who is best known as Cuervo or Dark Cuervo. He works for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA) and has been part of The Black Family since it was formed in 2001 by Ch ...

Dark Ozz Marcos Tinajero (born January 30, 1975) is a Mexican Luchador (wrestler) who is known under the names Ozz / Dark Ozz, a Face character (referred to as a "Tecnico" in Lucha Libre) that works for Lucha Libre Elite. Best known for his work in Lucha L ...

and RONIN.

Death

Izumida was found dead on January 31, 2017 in his home in

Kanagawa is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...

. It was determined he had died on January 25 of a

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

Championships and accomplishments

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA fou ...

( 1 time) – with

**January 2 Korakuen Hall Heavyweight Battle Royal Winner (1998) *

International Wrestling Association of Japan The International Wrestling Association of Japan, more commonly known as IWA Japan, was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 1994 to 2004 and again from 2010 to 2014. It was formed by Víctor Quiñones as a successor to the ...

**IWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Shoichi Ichimiya **IWA Tag Team Title Tournament (2002) – with Shoichi Ichimiya

References

External links

Profile at Green Destiny
{{DEFAULTSORT:Izumida, Jun 1965 births 2017 deaths Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers Sportspeople from Miyagi Prefecture All Asia Tag Team Champions