(born , February 5, 1972 in the city of Nishi-Tokyo,

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, ...

) is a Japanese comedian. He is most famous for his act in which he mocks a famous 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 ...

Riki Choshu , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestle ...

due to his resemblance. ''Koriki'' is a wordplay on Riki's name, meaning something like "little Riki". Unlike many Japanese comedians, he is not associated with any entertainment agency, though he belongs to a comedian "pro-wrestling" organization, . On television, he is always seen wearing the same outfit, short bicycle shorts and a far too short

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

showing off his protruding belly. He speaks with a very strong lisp (much less so when not in character) and is prone to treating mundane objects (such as his

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

) as wrestling opponents. As an acting pro wrestler, he uses appropriately strong language, though it is never taken seriously due to his strong lisp. More recently, he has added

Para Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most club dancing and rave dancing, there are specific synchronized movements for each song much like line dancing. Para Para has existed since the early 1980s when European countries starte ...

(a Japanese dancing style) to his comedy routine, always to the tune of "Night of Fire", a popular

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurore ...

track by

Bratt Sinclaire Bratt Sinclaire (born Andrea Leonardi, 26 April 1967) is an Italian Eurobeat/Italo disco producer.DiscogsBratt Sinclaire/ref> He has produced a countless number of tracks for the ''Super Eurobeat'' series, the world's longest running series of ...

. In 2005, riding the popularity of his act, Koriki was featured in a cover version of Niko's track with Para Para oriented

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements ...

group

Hinoi Team was a Japanese female pop group formed around Asuka Hinoi with supporting members Keika Matsuoka, Hikaru Koyama, and Rina Takenaka. Most of their releases are covers of Eurobeat songs. Discography Ike Ike The Hinoi team's debut "Ike Ike" ( ...

, accompanying a video and CD release. He also tried to add a partner that looked similar to Antonio Inoki, aptly named Antonio Koinoki, but the gimmick failed and his partner faded into obscurity. He is said to enjoy surfing and

billiards Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as . There are three major subdivisions ...

, and is known to have sent a resume to

Johnny & Associates is a Japanese talent agency, formed by Johnny Kitagawa in 1962, which trains and promotes groups of male entertainers known as . History 1962–1989 In 1962, Kitagawa launched his first group, Johnnys. In its early days, Kitagawa's agency re ...

. He has also performed as a competitor on '' Sasuke'', having entered five tournaments (15th, 18th, 19th, 20th, 24th), but has never made it past the First Stage. Only in the 18th tournament did he ever manage to clear the first obstacle. In the anime ''

School Rumble is a Japanese ''shōnen'' manga series written and illustrated by Jin Kobayashi. First serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from October 22, 2002 to July 23, 2008, all 345 chapters were later collected in 22 ''tankōbon'' volumes b ...

'', Choshu makes a cameo appearance in episode 17 doing the Para Para dance with Tsukamoto Tenma who is trying to scare away Harima Kenji. On December 12, 2010, Choshu made an appearance 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 ...

and teamed with

Ryota Hama (born November 21, 1979) is a retired Japanese sumo wrestler and current professional wrestler, signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. Sumo career Hama joined sumo in July 1995, and he fought for the Hakkaku stable ...

in a match, where they defeated

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and N ...

and comedian Kannazuki to win the F–1 (Fake–1 Gran Prix) Tag Team Championship. The title is a comedy title and is not officially recognized by the promotion. They lost the title to

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 ...

and RG on December 11, 2011.

Championships and accomplishments

** F-1 Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

¹ ¹Championship not officially recognized by All Japan Pro Wrestling.

References

External links

West Gate Wrestling Federation's profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Choshu, Koriki 1972 births Japanese impressionists (entertainers) Living people Comedians from Tokyo People from Nishitōkyō, Tokyo Sasuke (TV series) contestants F-1 Tag Team Champions