, better known as Mr. Sakurada, The Dragonmaster, and as the Japanese version of , 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 or ...

. He was best known for his work in

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 pr ...

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

, and

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 Natio ...

. Sakurada was also highly regarded by

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...

as one of his most significant trainers alongside Katsui Adachi or Mr. Hito, with whom he taught extensively in Hart Dungeon.

Sumo wrestling career

Kazuo Sakurada was born on September 26, 1948, in

Abashiri, Hokkaido is a city located in Okhotsk Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. Abashiri is known as the site of the Abashiri Prison, a Meiji-era facility used for the incarceration of political prisoners. The old prison has been turned into a museum, but the c ...

. After graduating from junior high school, he joined the Tatsunami stable to pursue

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 ...

. While there, he first met future professional wrestler Genichiro Tenryu. He made his sumo debut in January 1964 under his last name (櫻田). In September 1966, he changed his

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'' ...

to '' Hiroshi Abashiri'' (網走洋　一男). In May 1969, he changed his shikona again to ''Midorimine'' (翠巒). Throughout his seven-year career in sumo, his highest rank was Makushita 13, and his only tournament championship win was in September 1966, with an undefeated record of seven wins. In March 1971, Sakurada retired from sumo wrestling.

Career record

Professional wrestling career

Early years (1971–1976)

Kazuo Sakurada debuted on June 21, 1971, in the old Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance against Kim Duk. On March 8, 1973, he became involved in a

shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the sp ...

when his mid-card match against rookie Tsutomu Oshiro went horribly wrong and Sakurada began beating Oshiro severely, knocking him out of the ring. Oshiro was going to jump 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 share ...

along with his mentor Seiji Sakaguchi and friend Kengo Kimura, and Sakurada took actions into his own hands, blaming them for jumping ship. When the JPWA closed in April 1973 Sakurada joined

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 Bab ...

Stampede Wrestling (1976–1981)

Now as Mr. Sakurada, he found his earliest success in

. He defeated two-time champion Leo Burke to win his first and only Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship on May 20, 1978, in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

. He held the title for a little over three months before losing to Paddy Ryan on September 1. He then became highly regarded in Stampede's tag team division, defeating

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

and Bret Hart in early 1979 to win his first Stampede International Tag Team Championship with Mr. Hito. Their second win came later on the same year after the defeat of Dory Funk Jr. and Larry Lane, only to be toppled once again by the Hart brothers. By 1980, Hito had moved on to singles competition, leaving Sakurada to form a team with Kasavudu. They, too, defeated the Harts, marking Sakurada's third and final tag team championship reign in Stampede. This reign would be ended at the hands of the Harts' brother-in-law Jim Neidhart and Hercules Ayala that same year.

Continental Wrestling Association (1981–1982)

In the early 1980s, Sakurada had started working in various southern American promotions, starting with the

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually re ...

in Memphis. During this time, he began using the " Kendo Nagasaki'"

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...

, a Japanese

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of History of Japan#Medieval Japan (1185–1573/1600), medieval and Edo period, early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retai ...

character previously made famous by British wrestler Peter Thornley dating back to 1964. This incarnation was vastly different however; rather than wearing a mask, Sakurada wore face paint and a highly alternate style altogether. His fierce character also made famous the Asian mist and frequently employed the

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 ...

as his signature weapon. As Nagasaki, he found a most prominent win in his victory over

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Ap ...

for the NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title in 1982. He would lose the title back to Lawler before pursuing new territory.

National Wrestling Alliance (1982–1990)

After the Memphis territory, Nagasaki worked for

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgen ...

territories

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

, Florida Championship Wrestling and Southeastern Championship Wrestling. He faced some of the top competition in the Florida territory throughout 1983 and 1984, and on January 22, 1984, he captured the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Mike Rotunda. This kicked off a rivalry with the reputable Billy Jack Haynes, resulting in his title victory over Nagasaki in March of the same year. During his time with CWF, Nagasaki would also tag team with White Ninja. Following his departure from CWF, Nagasaki briefly worked for

Von Erich The Von Erich family is an American professional wrestling family. Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fri ...

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter E ...

in the mid '80s as "White Ninja", frequently partnering with "Super Black Ninja". During the 1980s, Nagasaki teamed with Mr. Pogo as "the Ninja Express". The Ninja Express briefly returned to Japan to participate in

's Japan Cup tag team tournament in late 1987, finishing in second-to-last place. In 1989, he performed on WCW television, using the ring name "The Dragonmaster". While there, he joined

Gary Hart Gary Warren Hart ('' né'' Hartpence; born November 28, 1936) is an American politician, diplomat, and lawyer. He was the front-runner for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination until he dropped out amid revelations of extramarital affairs ...

J-Tex Corporation The J-Tex Corporation, also known as Gary Hart International, was a heel professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling. The group was managed by Gary Hart and consisted of several popular wrestlers including Terry Funk, Dick Slater ...

stable consisting of

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

, Dick Slater, Buzz Sawyer, and The Great Muta. This heel group, conceived in July 1989, feuded with the Four Horsemen until ultimately disbanding in February 1990 after a final

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 ...

at the Clash of the Champions X: Texas Shootout, a match largely overshadowed by the other Horsemen turning heel on Sting.

Return to Japan (1990–2000)

In 1990, after so many years competing in North America, he returned to Japan as Kendo Nagasaki. He first joined

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held thei ...

, but later joined Super World of Sports. Following SWS's collapse in 1992, he formed his own promotion, NOW (Network of Wrestling). In 1995, he closed NOW, and with a new business partner Shinya Kojika, formed

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 Nagasak ...

. After leaving BJW in 1999, Nagasaki wrestled semi-actively until 2000 where he had his last match on July 7, 2000, teaming with Ichiro Yaguchi, Shoji Nakamaki, and Yase Yaguchi in a loss to

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

, Exciting Yoshida, Mitsunobu Kikuzawa, and

Naoshi Sano Naoshi (written: 直 or 直志) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese physicist *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese poet *, Japanese video game composer and musician *, Jap ...

on an Onita Pro show.

Mixed martial arts

On September 26, 1995, in

Setagaya is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. It is also the name of a neighborhood and administrative district within the ward. The ward calls itself Setagaya City in English. Its official bird is the azure-winged magpie, its flower is the fringed orc ...

, Tokyo, Sakurada lost 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 strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

match to American kickboxer Zane Frazier via

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, muay thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, a ...

punch at '' Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception''. At the time, Sakurada had the reputation by pro wrestling insiders as being one of the toughest wrestlers in a street fight, as well as a shooter. This was possibly one of the reasons why he was chosen to take this fight, despite being 47 years old at the time.

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Loss , align=center, 0-1 , Zane Frazier , KO (punch) , Shooto: Vale Tudo Perception , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:36 ,

Tokyo 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, ...

, Japan , , -

Death

On January 12, 2020, Sakurada died at age 71 due to arrythmia.

Championships and accomplishments

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to a ...

** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Mr. Hito *

AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweig ...

( 1 time) * NWA Big Time Wrestling ** NWA American Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Mr. Hito (1 time) with Chan Chang *

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Colonel DeBeers *''

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 Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him #250 of the 500 best wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994 **PWI ranked him #307 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003 *

** NWA International Tag Team Championship/Stampede International Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with Mr. Hito (2) and Kasavudu (1) ** Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame 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 ...

*Texas Wrestling Federation **TWF Asian Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

** WWC World Tag Team Championship (

4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...

) – with Mr. Pogo

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

Wrestling Information ArchiveBret Hart’s Calgary Sun column for February 20, 2004CW Archives - Mr. Sakurada
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sakurada, Kazuo 1948 births Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Japanese male professional wrestlers 2020 deaths The First Family (professional wrestling) members Japanese sumo wrestlers Stampede Wrestling alumni NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions