(born September 9, 1974) is a Japanese

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

, primarily competing for Pro Wrestling Freedoms. Dubbed the for his violent and often self-harmful style of

hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...

, Kasai is considered a breakthrough talent in Japanese wrestling, able to work both hardcore and technical styles. Outside Freedoms, Kasai has worked for the original

Pro Wrestling Zero-One (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

, Hustle,

Ice Ribbon is a ''joshi puroresu'' (women's professional wrestling) professional wrestling promotion, promotion established in 2006 by Emi Sakura, after her split with Gatokunyan. History Ice Ribbon was founded by Emi Sakura, a professional wrestler wh ...

Combat Zone Wrestling Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) is an American independent wrestling promotion. In 1998, John Zandig and five of his students, Ric Blade, T.C.K, Lobo, Nick Gage and Justice Pain, along with trainer Jon Dahmer, began to run professional wrestling sh ...

(CZW) and

Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1995. It is most famous for its deathmatch style contests. History Big Japan Pro Wrestling was founded in March 1995 by former AJPW wrestlers Shinya Kojika and Kendo Nagasaki, ...

(BJW).

Professional wrestling career

In 1998, Kasai made his debut in a

(BJW) event 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. ...

during the Deathmatch Wrestling boom of the late 90s. As BJW established a working relationship with American promotion

(CZW) at the turn of the millennium, Kasai joined the stable "CZW Warriors" (CZW Army) and feuded against the "BJW Warriors". Kasai formed the stable "Big Dealz" in 2001, with

John Zandig John Corson (born April 4, 1971), better known by the ring name John Zandig, is an American professional wrestler and promoter. He is the founder and former owner of the promotion Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW). Early life Corson was born in Se ...

Nick Mondo Matthew Timothy Burns (born March 28, 1980), better known by his ring name "Sick" Nick Mondo, is a retired American professional wrestler. Since his in-ring retirement in 2003, he has become a filmmaker, actor and stuntman and, at one point, worke ...

Wifebeater Wife-beater, wifebeater, or wife beater is a slang term for a man who commits domestic violence, particularly against his spouse or long term female partner. It can also refer to: Items stereotypically associated with perpetrators of domestic ...

, Z-Barr and

Trent Acid Michael Verdi (November 12, 1980 – June 18, 2010), best known by his ring name Trent Acid, was an American professional wrestler. He worked as a tag team wrestler for most of his career, primarily as part of The Backseat Boyz with Johnny Kashm ...

. Since then Kasai has wrestled mainly for BJW and occasionally for other promotions such as

, K-Dojo and

Apache Pro-Wrestling Army was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion operating from 2004 to 2009 and from 2010 to 2016. History Following the closure of Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in 2002, Hiromichi Fuyuki formed his own promotion, which ran under the names F ...

. Kasai's body is covered in scars, from all the

he has done. This includes a

Fans Bring the Weapons Match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. So ...

from the CZW show "Un F'n Believable", in which he took a bump onto a

light tube Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

board which ripped open his left elbow, exposing bone. In 2006 he won the first-ever IWA East Coast Masters of Pain after defeating Toby Klein,

Mad Man Pondo Kevin Canady (born June 24, 1969) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Mad Man Pondo. Best known for his hardcore wrestling style, Canady has wrestled for various wrestling promotions, including Independent Wrestling ...

and J. C. Bailey. Kasai has participated five times in an extremely bloody "Razor Deathmatch"; a hardcore match where boards are fitted with many

razor blades A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before t ...

. The first of these deathmatches was held in 2005 with

Jaki Numazawa is a Japanese professional wrestler best known by his stage name . He currently wrestles for Big Japan Pro Wrestling in the Deathmatch division, where he has held the BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Championship on one occasion. Personal life Numazaw ...

, in which Jun took a

powerbomb A powerbomb is a professional wrestling throw in which an opponent is lifted (usually so that they are sitting on the wrestler's shoulders) and then slammed back-first down to the mat. The standard powerbomb sees an opponent first placed in a sta ...

onto the razor bladed board. In the second one, held in 2008, Kasai's match was against the American wrestler

Masada Masada ( he, מְצָדָה ', "fortress") is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau, akin to a mesa. It is located on the eastern edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dea ...

. On November 20, 2009, he defeated

Ryuji Ito (born April 8, 1976) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently competing in Big Japan Pro Wrestling in the Deathmatch division. He is well known for his death match style of wrestling. Career Big Japan Pro Wrestling (1999–present) I ...

in another razor match after a double underhook facebuster on a

cactus A cactus (, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae, a family comprising about 127 genera with some 1750 known species of the order Caryophyllales. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, from the Ancient Greek ...

. The fourth time was on April 5, 2010 where Kasai competed in a Barbwire Treaty Death Match that pitted Team CZW (Kasai, D. J. Hyde and

Nick Gage Nicholas William Wilson (born September 22, 1980), better known by his ring name Nick Gage, is an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), where he is the current GCW World Champion i ...

) against Team BJW (Jaki Numazawa,

Isami Kodaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro-Wrestling Basara (Basara). He originally started his career in the Kaientai Dojo (K-Dojo) promotion in July 2002, but later left the promotion to become a freelancer, before signing wi ...

and

Masashi Takeda is a Japanese people, Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Mixed Martial Arts, mixed martial artist, primarily working for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Deathmatch division. Takeda also competes as a freelancer for ...

) in which a razor blade board was used in several bumps. On June 21, 2010 Kasai competed against the

Necro Butcher Dylan Keith Summers (born July 13, 1973), better known by the ring name Necro Butcher, is an American professional wrestler. Throughout the years he has worked for various promotions, including Ring of Honor, Full Impact Pro, IWA Mid-South, Pro W ...

in a Hardcore match for the Freedoms promotion; the razor blade board came into play mid way through the match. In 2012, Kasai teamed regularly with American pro-wrestler/rapper One Man Kru. Together, they defeated the team of

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 ...

and

Kesen Numajiro is a Japanese professional wrestler and singer, better known for his ring name . He has had a long career in Michinoku Pro Wrestling, where he currently wrestles, being a three-time Tohoku Tag Team champion and a one-time Tohoku Junior Heavyweigh ...

in a fluorescent light tubes death match at the September 9, 2012 Freedoms event in Iwate, Japan. On January 3, 2021, Kasai defeated Yoshitatsu to win the

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, ...

Gaora TV Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned by the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) promotion. On August 28, 2012, AJPW and Gaora TV announced that AJPW would introduce a new championship called the Gaora TV Championship. A tournament for t ...

Personal life

Kasai is married to his wife Michiyo; the couple have a daughter together. Kasai also has a son from a previous relationship. He was born in

Hokkaido is Japan's second largest island and comprises the largest and northernmost prefecture, making up its own region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō from Honshu; the two islands are connected by the undersea railway Seikan Tunnel. The la ...

and now lives in the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

, but claims on his official website that he is from " Hiladelhia,

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

" as a joke; he has described Philadelphia as his second homeland. While Kasai wrestled in the United States, he was a lodger in Matthew Prince, better known as the wrestler Wifebeater's house. He has described Prince as a real madman, unlike many deathmatch wrestlers who are in fact gentlemen outside the ring.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) *

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

(

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 ...

) – with

(1) and

Tomoaki Honma is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a former one-time IWGP Tag Team Champion and a two-time World Tag League winner with Togi Makabe. Professional wrestling career Big Jap ...

(1) *

WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same ...

( 1 time) – with The W*NGer **

BJW Tag Team Championship The is the top tag team title defended in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The championship has been the leading tag team championship in the promotion since 1997. There have been a total of 57 reigns shared ...

( 3 times) – with

CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship The CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship was a professional hardcore wrestling championship owned by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion. The title was introduced on February 5, 2005 at CZW's Only the Strong event. It has since been re ...

( 1 time) **

CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship The CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling junior heavyweight championship owned by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion. The championship was created and debuted on February 19, 1999 at CZW's Opening Night e ...

( 1 time) **

CZW World Tag Team Championship The CZW World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned and copyrighted by the Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) promotion; it is contested for in their tag team division. It was created and debuted on Februar ...

( 1 time) – with

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. ...

CZW Tournament of Death The Tournament of Death is an annual professional wrestling tournament organized by Combat Zone Wrestling since 2002, during which a number of wrestlers compete in various deathmatches in what are mostly single-elimination tournaments similar to Wor ...

(

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

) *

DDT Pro-Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Its name stands for Dramatic Dream Team, which was the promotion's official name from 1997 to 2004. Founded in March 1997 by Shintaro Muto, the promotion was eventually bo ...

DDT Extreme Championship The is a singles title in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion DDT Pro-Wrestling. The title was established in 2006 and it is mostly defended in stipulation matches, with the defending champion being given the right to choose the stip ...

( 1 time) *Dove Pro Wrestling **Dove Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Gunso * ''

Japan Indie Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out annually since 2007 by the program '' Indie no Oshigoto'', broadcast on the Fighting TV Samurai TV channel. Unlike the more widely publicized and recognized ...

'' ** Best Bout Award (2009) vs.

on November 20 *

International Ribbon Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Ice Ribbon promotion. The championship was introduced on April 4, 2007, at an Ice Ribbon and Neo Japan Ladies Pro Wrestling co-promoted event, where the Neo Machineguns (Tanny Mo ...

( 1 time) – with

Miyako Matsumoto is a Japanese professional wrestler and actress. She is best known for her work in the Ice Ribbon promotion, where she is a former two-time ICE×60, three-time Triangle Ribbon Champion and a two-time International Ribbon Tag Team Champion, ma ...

*IWA East Coast **Masters of Pain (2006) *

Pro Wrestling Freedoms often stylized in capital letters as FREEDOMS is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Chigasaki, Kanagawa. Founded by Takashi Sasaki in 2009, the promotion lets wrestlers choose their own fighting style, having the "freedom" of ch ...

King of Freedom World Championship The King of Freedom World Championship, also referred to as the , is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Freedoms. It is the top title of the company and is usually disputed in death ...

( 5 times) **King of Freedom World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

*''

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. 248 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 Publishi ...

'' in 2022 *''

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 ...

'' ** Match of the Year Award (2009) vs. Ryuji Ito on November 20 *

Wrestle-1 was a Japanese ''puroresu'' or professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion, founded in July 2013 by Keiji Mutoh following his resignation from All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). The core of the promotion's roster was formed by ...

UWA World Trios Championship The UWA World Trios Championship is a tag team professional wrestling championship created by the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association and defended there until the UWA closed in 1995. Since then, the championship has been defended in various p ...

( 1 time) – with

Nosawa Rongai , better known by his ring names Nosawa and , (born December 17, 1976) is a Japanese freelance professional wrestler, best known for his appearances in All Japan Pro Wrestling and various independent promotions. Career Early career (19952004) Nos ...

and

Shuji Kondo is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweig ...

Wrestle-1 Tag Team Championship The was a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the Wrestle-1 (W-1) promotion. The title was announced on September 22, 2014, in conjunction with the start of a tournament to crown the first Wrestle-1 Champion. In Japanese the t ...

(

) – with

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 ...

References

External links

Jun Kasai at Cagematch.net

Jun Kasai at Wrestlingzone.ru

Jun Kasai's Blog
(Japanese) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasai, Jun 1974 births 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Living people People from Obihiro, Hokkaido Japanese male professional wrestlers Gaora TV Champions UWA World Trios Champions DDT Extreme Champions Wrestle-1 Tag Team Champions WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champions WEW World Tag Team Champions BJW Tag Team Champions CZW Ultraviolent Underground Champions