, is a Japanese retired
professional wrestler, manager, promoter and actor. He is best known for his tenures in
International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE),
New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW),
Super World of Sports (SWS) and
Stampede Wrestling in Canada. Wakamatsu managed many wrestlers during his career including, most notably, the
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
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
The Machine Gun Army (
Giant Machine,
Strong Machine and
Super Machine).
According to
Dave Meltzer, Wakamatsu was the most famous manager in
Japanese professional wrestling
Professional wrestling in Japan has existed for many years. The first Japanese to involve himself in catch wrestling, the basis of traditional professional wrestling, was former sumo wrestler Sorakichi Matsuda. There were subsequent attempts before ...
during the
1980s wrestling boom
The 1980s professional wrestling boom (more commonly referred to as the Golden Era and the Rock 'n' Wrestling Era) was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s. The expansion of ...
.
Although retiring as a full-time pro wrestler in 1984, Wakamatsu continued to make occasional in-ring appearances well into the late-2010s. He was a regular fixture on the
Japanese independent circuit with brief stints in
Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling,
Michinoku Pro Wrestling and
WRESTLE-1. On September 2, 2023, Wakamatsu wrestled a
three-way match and a
battle royal in what would be his retirement match. He is the
oldest male wrestler to ever wrestle at 81 years.
Career
Wakamatsu began his pro wrestling career at 31 years old in 1973 for
International Wrestling Enterprise where he worked there until the promotion folded in 1981.
In 1982, he made his debut in North America for
Stampede Wrestling in
Calgary, Alberta where he mainly managed
Bad News Allen
Allen James Coage (October 22, 1943 – March 6, 2007) was an American judoka and professional wrestler. He won medals for the United States at several international judo competitions, including the heavyweight bronze medal at the 1976 S ...
. He was known for hitting his opponents with his
kendo stick
A is a Japanese sword typically made of bamboo used for practice and competition in ''kendo''. ''Shinai'' are also used in other martial arts, but may be styled differently from ''kendo shinai'', and represented with different characters. T ...
. In 1985, he began managing
Andre the Giant, later Giant Machine, for
New Japan Pro Wrestling. He subsequently formed The Machine Gun Army with Giant Machine,
Strong Machine and
Super Machine.
One of the group's high points occurred when Giant Machine won a pinfall victory over
Antonio Inoki
Muhammad Hussain Inoki (born ; February 20, 1943 – October 1, 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, martial artist, politician, and promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. He was best known by the ring name , a homag ...
under Wakamatsu's management, reportedly Inoki's first loss via pinfall in almost seven years. In 1987, Wakamatsu was fourth runner-up for
WON Manager of the Year, losing out to
Jim Cornette,
and was considered the most famous manager in
Japanese pro wrestling
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
during the 1980s according to
Dave Meltzer of the
Wrestling Observer.
From 1990 to 1992 he worked for
Super World of Sports as manager of the
Geki Dojo stable. Wakamatsu and
The Great Kabuki appeared in the 1991 Japanese comedy-science fiction film ''Kunoichi senshi ninja'' (''Kunoichi Soldiers: The Ninja Warriors'') with
Tetsuro Tamba.
Throughout the decades he managed, refereed and promoted on the
Japanese independent circuit.
On February 15, 2019 Wakamatsu teamed with
Great Kojika and
Kim Duk
or Kim Duk ( ko, 김 덕/金 徳) (born February 7, 1948) is a retired Koreans in Japan, Zainichi-Korean Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known under his ring name . He was also known by the name Tiger Chung Lee in the World ...
in a losing effort against
Heisei Ishingun (
Shiro Koshinaka,
Masashi Aoyagi and
Akitoshi Saito) at
Keiji Muto Produce Pro-Wrestling Masters, a
WRESTLE-1 television special held at
Korakuen Hall
is a famous sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted many notable boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches.
History
On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with ...
.
On September 2, 2023, Wakamatsu became
the oldest male wrestler to fight at 81 years old, 244 days; he wrestled in two events that day for Asian Pro Wrestling in
Yubetsu, Japan. In the first match, he defeated Animal Warrior and Agu in a
three-way bout, and the second match was for a battle royal won by Agu.
Filmography
See also
*
Professional wrestling in Japan
References
General
*
*
*
*
Specific
External links
*
* on
YouTube
KY Wakamatsu at Cagematch.netKY Wakamatsu at Wrestlingdata.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wakamatsu, KY
1942 births
Living people
20th-century male professional wrestlers
21st-century male professional wrestlers
Japanese male professional wrestlers
People from Hakodate