(born November 29, 1973) is a

Japanese 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 ...

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 retired

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, incorp ...

currently working 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 ...

. Murakami is best known for his work in

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) during the late 1990s and early 2000s, where he primarily competed as a member of the villainous Makai Club stable. Aside from pro wrestling, Murakami was also part of the first fight in

PRIDE Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

history, defeating John Dixson by submission in 1997. After leaving NJPW in the fall of 2004, Murakami subsequently competed for

Pro Wrestling ZERO1-MAX (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. ...

(ZERO1-MAX) and Big Mouth LOUD, of which he was a founding member. Murakami has also made sporadic appearances in

Dramatic Dream Team 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),

(Noah) and Chō Sentō Puroresu FMW (FMW).

Mixed martial arts career

Trained in

Judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

and

Sumo is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

since high school, Kazunari became a member of the judo team in

Takushoku University Takushoku University (拓殖大学; ''Takushoku Daigaku'', abbreviated as 拓大 ''Takudai'') is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Duke Taro Katsura (1848–1913).

. He met Wajyutsu Keishukai founder Yoshinori Nishi, who convinced him to join his team, and Murakami started his career in

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 ...

. Murakami began his career fighting for ''the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '95'' on October 13, 1995 where he lost his first fight to

Akihiro Gono (born October 7, 1974) is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. A professional competitor since 1994, he is best known for his clever and deceptive fighting style, and for his flashy ring entrances. Gon ...

by knockout. A few months later, on March 30, 1996, Murakami fought at ''the Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '96''. He fared better, defeating Isamu Osugi by submission and avenging his loss to Gono by decision, but lost to

Masanori Suda Masanori Suda (born July 7, 1973) is a Japanese people, Japanese mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He competed in the Welterweight (MMA), Welterweight, Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight and Heavyweight (MMA), Heavyweight divisions. Suda is ...

by submission. In late 1996, Murakami then began fighting for Extreme Fighting where he defeated

Bart Vale Bart Vale (born May 4, 1957) is an American former kickboxer, mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is known for his "old school" American martial arts look, consisting of a mustache, mullet and American flag trunks. Career Bart V ...

At ''EF3: Extreme Fighting 3'' on October 18, 1996 by TKO. A few months later, at ''EF4: Extreme Fighting 4'' on March 28, 1997, Murakami lost to future

UFC Heavyweight Champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Maurice Smith by KO. On October 11, 1997, Murakami made history by joining the newly formed

PRIDE Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...

and won in the company's first fight by defeating John Dixson at

PRIDE 1 The year 1997 is the 1st year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 1997 had only 1 event, ''Pride 1''. Debut Pride FC fighters Given that this is Pride FC's debut year, all fighter ...

. He returned to PRIDE three years later at PRIDE 10 on August 27, 2000, where he lost to

Masaaki Satake is a Japanese former heavyweight karateka, kickboxer, professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, having been a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seidokaikan school. ...

by TKO. He returned to fighting two years later at UFO: Legend in a losing effort to

Wallid Ismail Wallid Farid Ismail ( ar, وليد فريد إسماعيل, born February 23, 1968) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and promoter. Ismail holds a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under Carlson Gracie, and is an IVC mixed martial arts ...

by TKO. He last fight was at Jungle Fight 1 on September 13, 2003, where he defeated Lee Young Gun by verbal submission ending his MMA career at 5-5.

Professional wrestling career

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1999–2004)

Murakami entered

professional wrestling 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 ...

in 1998 when he joined

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 ...

's Universal Fighting-Arts Organization alongside fellow judoka Naoya Ogawa. They were sent to

, where Murakami initially gained fame for attacking wrestlers while sporting a white mask, becoming known as "The Terrorist of Heisei". During his early career, Murakami split his time between NJPW and shoot-style promotion

Battlarts , more commonly referred to as simply Battlarts was a professional wrestling promotion based in Koshigaya, Saitama, Japan. The promotion was formed in 1996 by Japanese wrestler Yuki Ishikawa and featured all of the wrestlers from the Fujiwara Gum ...

to hone his skills as a wrestler. One of his first matches was at Wrestling World 2000, teaming with Ogawa in a losing effort to

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 prom ...

and

Takashi 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 Noa ...

when he submitted to Iizuka. On April 7, Murakami took on Iizuka in an attempt to avenge his loss but he once again fell to Iizuka by submission. On May 5 at Wrestling Dontaku 2000, Murakami teamed with Ogawa to challenge Fighting Club G-Eggs (

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 professional ...

and

Manabu Nakanishi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, who was primarily associated with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, one-time G1 Climax winner and three-time IWGP Tag Team Champi ...

) for the

IWGP Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling world tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of the NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on December 12, 1985 at an NJPW live event. The ...

but lost when Murakami was pinned by Nagata. In early 2001, Murakami would also wrestle several times for the newborn

Pro Wrestling ZERO1 (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 ...

, main eventing the promotion's second ever show where he and Ogawa lost to

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 ...

and

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 leaving ...

. Murakami became known for his wild, seemingly uncontrollable style of wrestling, predominately made up of punches, kicks, and legitimate judo/MMA throws and submissions, with very little actual wrestling moves in his moveset. In August 2001, Murakami entered the 2001

G1 Climax The is a professional wrestling tournament held each August by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. Though it has sometimes been held as a single-elimination tournament, it is usually (and currently) held as a round-robin, with winners ...

, his first time ever competing in the tournament. He finished fourth in his block with 5 points scoring victories over Nakanishi and

Tadao Yasuda is a Japanese retired sumo wrestler (''rikishi''), professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. He competed in sumo from 1979 to 1992 under the ''shikona'' of Takanofuji Tadao, achieving the rank of ''komusubi'', and afterwards turned to prof ...

while going to a double countout with eventual winner, Yuji Nagata. In early 2002, Murakami joined NJPW full time, and in the summer, Murakami joined 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 Makai Club, where he was considered one of the highest ranking members behind only

. On December 10, 2002, Murakami challenged Yuji Nagata for the

IWGP Heavyweight Championship 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 ...

. Despite making Nagata bleed and trapping him in his own finishing move, the Nagata Lock II, Murakami was defeated by Nagata. At

Wrestling World 2003 Wrestling World 2003 was a professional wrestling event held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome. Wrestling World 2003 was the twelfth January 4 Tokyo Dome Show promoted by NJPW. The show drew 30,0 ...

, Murakami and Yasuda lost to

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 ...

and

Shinsuke Nakamura is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown WWE brand extension, brand. Nakamura is known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where ...

. The following month, Murakami teamed with Yasuda in a #1 Contenders Tournament for the

, making it to the finals before losing to

Mike Barton and Jim Steele The tag team of Mike Barton and Jim Steele was a professional wrestling tag team that competed in several puroresu promotions including All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History All Japan Pro Wrestling (2000-2002) Barton and ...

. However, an injury to Steele would give the title shot to Murakami and Yasuda who unsuccessfully challenged

Cho-Ten Cho-Ten was a professional wrestling team that competed in New Japan Pro-Wrestling on and off from February 1995 - September 2006. The team consisted of Masahiro Chono and Hiroyoshi Tenzan. Cho-Ten is one of the most decorated and successful tag ...

on February 16. Throughout much of 2003, Murakami and the rest of the Makai Club feuded with

's Crazy Dogs faction, and in March 2003,

MMA 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

fighter

Enson Inoue Enson Shoji Inoue (; born April 15, 1967) is a Japanese-American jiu-jitsu practitioner and retired professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 1995 until 2010, he fought for the PRIDE Fighting Championships, the UFC, Shoot ...

was bought into New Japan to feud with Murakami. On May 2 at

NJPW Ultimate Crush Ultimate Crush was a major professional wrestling and mixed martial arts event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on May 2, 2003, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The card contained a mixture of pro wrestling matche ...

2003, Murakami lost to Inoue in an extremely bloody match that ended in just 6 minutes. In the fall of 2003, Murakami began competing in a series of three "bounty" matches, where the winner would receive a cash prize from Makai Club leader

Kantaro Hoshino (born Yeo Geon-bu (여건부) on October 9, 1943 – November 25, 2010) was a Japanese born, Korean professional wrestler, manager, and promoter best known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling. As a wrestler, he was half of The Yamaha Brother ...

. He defeated

Shinya Makabe , better known by his ring name is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a former one-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion, two-time N ...

at Road to Ultimate Crush on September 21 in a 1,000,000 Yen Bounty match, then fellow Makai Club member

Katsuyori Shibata is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and professional wrestling trainer. In professional wrestling, he is known for his hard hitting offense. He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). In NJPW, he is a fo ...

at Ultimate Crush II on October 13 in a 2,000,000 Yen Bounty match, and finally

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 ...

at Yokohama Dead Out on November 3 in a 4,000,000 Bounty match. In early 2004, Murakami began feuding 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 ...

for the

IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship The IWGP U-30 Openweight Championship was a professional wrestling openweight championship in New Japan Pro-Wrestling for younger wrestlers who were under the age of 30. It was proposed as part of a tournament called the G2 U-30 Climax by Hiroshi ...

, which eventually led to an empty arena steel cage match on March 28 at King of Sports, won by Tanahashi. On May 3, 2004 at Nexxess in 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 ...

, Murakami teamed with

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 m ...

to unsuccessfully challenge

Yoshihiro Takayama is a former Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. In 2000, he joined Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), and ...

and

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 ...

for the IWGP Tag Team Championship. Makai Club broke up in the summer of 2004 and Murakami would briefly join

's Black New Japan stable before leaving New Japan shortly after. His last match under contract to the promotion took place on July 7, where he, Katsuyori Shibata,

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 ...

Mitsuya Nagai , better known as , is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former kickboxer. He is known for his work in Fighting Network RINGS and later in professional wrestling companies like Battlarts and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJ ...

and Masahiro Chono defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan,

Osamu Nishimura is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working as a freelancer. Nishimura formerly worked for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and MUGA World Pro Wrestling (MUGA). Professional wrestling career Early years (1991–1998) Nishimura debuted ...

, Shinya Makabe, Yuji Nagata and

Yutaka Yoshie , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working as a freelancer in Japan, performing most notably for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a former World Tag Team Champion. He has previously worked for promotions such as New Japan ...

. Murakami would return to New Japan for a one off match at the 2006 Tokyo Dome show, losing to Yuji Nagata.

Big Mouth Loud (2005–2006)

Having both left New Japan, Murakami and

announced the formation of a new promotion, Big Mouth Loud in January 2005. Backed by Fumihiko Uwai, the promotion was set to focus largely on shoot-style, and would use talent from other promotions as well as their own contracted wrestlers. At Big Mouth Loud's first show in September 2005, Murakami defeated Shibata in the main event. Murakami reignited his feud with

at the next show in December 2005, defeating him in a singles match. Murakami continued to compete for BML until the promotion's closure in mid-2006.

Freelance (2006–2007)

After Big Mouth Loud folded, Murakami went freelance and began working for

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (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 ...

in the summer of 2006. Murakami took part in ZERO1's 2006 Fire Festival tournament, making it to the semi finals before losing to

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 ...

. He also debuted for

, taking part in a tournament for the

GHC Tag Team Championship The Global Honored Crown (GHC) Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. It was created on October 19, 2001, when Scorpio & Vader defeated Jun Akiyama & Akitoshi Saito in a tourname ...

alongside Shinjiro Otani. They reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual winners

Takeshi Morishima (born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the Uni ...

and

Muhammad Yone , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a multi-time GHC Tag Team Champion, a one time GHC Openweight Hardcore Champion and winner of the Global Tag League in 2 ...

. Murakami was also pinned by Mitsuharu Misawa in their only singles match in October.https://www.cagematch.net//?id=1&nr=8525 In the first match of the 2007 Fire Festival, Murakami suffered a severe brain injury against Shinjiro Otani, which forced him to leave professional wrestling effective immediately to undergo brain surgery.

Return (2010–2014)

In February 2010 Murakami returned to pro wrestling, as Big Murakami, losing to Kensuke Sasaki in a match for Sasaki's

Kensuke Office Diamond Ring was an independent Japanese professional wrestling promotion that, until 2012, was known as Kensuke Office. The promotion was founded and owned by puroresu legend Kensuke Sasaki, who has owned and operated it since its creation in 20 ...

promotion. He also returned to

, and on March 26 teamed with Katsumi Usuda to challenge

and Muhammad Yone for the GHC Tag Team Titles but they came up short. Murakami later announced it as his home promotion, and continued to compete with the promotion until its closure in 2014.

Return in Noah (2020–)

On December 26 at Kongoh Produce ~ Diamond 3 Murakami made his return in

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 ...

announced his return to the company. On December 29 at

Takashi Sugiura is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). Sugiura, an accomplished amateur wrestler, joined Noah's dojo in 2000, making his professional debut on December 23, 2000, and thus becoming the first wrestler ...

20th Anniversary Show he fought in a 7 vs 7 match and his team,

Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. ...

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 Pr ...

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 heavyweight ...

, Daisuke Nakamura won by defeating the whole Kongoh lead by

Kenoh (born January 1, 1985) is a Japanese professional wrestler and martial artist, better known by the ring name . He currently wrestles in Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former GHC National Champion and a former two-time GHC Heavyweight Champio ...

. On January 4, 2021 at Noah New Sunrise 2021 Sugiura-gun (Kazunari Murakami,

) defeat Kongoh (

Katsuhiko Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He started his career in Riki Choshu's Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ) promotion before heading to Kensuke Sasaki's Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring dojo and promotion. He ...

, Kenou & Masa Kitamiya) by referee's decision. On January 16, 2021, at Noah Higher Ground 2021 - Day 2 in another six-men tag team match Sugiura-gun (

& Kazunari Murakami) defeat Kongo ( Kenou,

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 ...

Tadasuke , known mononymously as is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He is best known for his work in Osaka Pro Wrestling, where he is a former one-time Osaka Pro Wrestling Champion, three-time Osaka Pro Wrestl ...

). By defeating three times in a row the Kongoh stable Murakami earned a title match against Kenou for the GHC National Title. On January 23, 2021 at the Noah Higher Ground 2021 - Day 3 show held at the

EDION Arena Osaka is an indoor sporting arena located in Namba, Osaka, Japan. It first opened in 1952 and the current building was constructed in 1987. It is the venue of a professional sumo tournament (honbasho) held in March every year. The capacity of the a ...

Kenou retained the title.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 5–5 , Lee Young Gun , Submission (armbar) , Jungle Fight 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

Amazonas, Brazil Amazonas () is a state of Brazil, located in the North Region in the northwestern corner of the country. It is the largest Brazilian state by area and the 9th largest country subdivision in the world, and the largest in South America, being g ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 4–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , UFO: Legend , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:03 ,

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, ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 4–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , PRIDE 10 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 6:58 ,

Tokorozawa, Saitama is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 344,194 in 163,675 households and a population density of 4800 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Tokorozawa is located in the ce ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 4–3 , John Dixson , Submission (armbar) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:34 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 3–3 , Maurice Smith , KO (punch) , Extreme Fighting 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:23 ,

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

United States 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 ...

, , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 ,

, TKO (punches) , Extreme Fighting 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:37 ,

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

, , - , Loss , align=center, 2–2 ,

, Submission (armbar) , Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '96 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:38 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 2–1 ,

, Decision , Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '96 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, , - , Win , align=center, 1–1 , Isamu Osugi , Submission (armlock) , Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '96 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:10 ,

, , - , Loss , align=center, 0–1 ,

, KO (head kick) , Lumax Cup: Tournament of J '95 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:25 ,

Kickboxing record

, - , , Loss ,

Stefan Leko Stefan Leko (born June 3, 1974) is a German heavyweight kickboxer. He is the current WKA Super-Heavyweight world champion in kickboxing, and former Muay Thai world heavyweight champion and Kickboxing world super-heavyweight champion, WMTA, WKN, ...

, Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2003 ,

Kobe, Japan Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, which ...

, KO (right high kick) , style="text-align:center;", 1 , style="text-align:center;", 1:08 , 0–1 , - , colspan=9 , ''Legend'':

References

External links

*
Kazunari Murakami at CagematchKazunari Murakami Noah profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murakami, Kazunari 1973 births Living people Japanese male mixed martial artists Heavyweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing judo Japanese male judoka Japanese male kickboxers Heavyweight kickboxers Japanese male professional wrestlers People from Toyama Prefecture Professional wrestling trainers