Masayoshi Motegi (茂木正淑) (born November 24, 1962) is a retired

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 ...

ese

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 is known for his background in

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

and the innovation of the Rolling German suplex. He also has been a staple of

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 ...

, IWA Japan and W*ING as well as Japanese independent promotions such as the Social Progressive Wrestling Federation (SPWF).

Career

Motegi made his debut in 1991 and within two years he defeated

Ray Gonzalez Ray may refer to: Fish * Ray (fish), any cartilaginous fish of the superorder Batoidea * Ray (fish fin anatomy), a bony or horny spine on a fin Science and mathematics * Ray (geometry), half of a line proceeding from an initial point * Ray (gra ...

for the W*ING Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 7, 1993. During early August 1993, Motegi toured the United States with W*ING Tag Team Champions

The Headhunters The Headhunters are an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music. History (and name) Hancock had grown dissatisfied with his prior band, Mwandishi, and wanted to make a band with a st ...

defending his (WWC version) W*ING Junior Heavyweight title in

Eastern Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

defeating Don E. Allen at the

ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on August 7, 1993. The following night, he fought J.T. Smith to a time limit draw. He would win the title three more times from Hiroshi Itakura,

El Texano Juan Conrado Aguilar Jáuregui (November 26, 1958 – January 15, 2006), better known by his ring name El Texano, was a Mexican ''Lucha libre, Luchador'', or Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, ...

and Shinichi Nakano respectively and remained champion until the promotions close on March 13, 1994. The following year, Motegi entered the 1995 Super J-Cup, losing to

Gedo Gedo ( so, Gedo, Maay: ''Gethy'', ar, جيذو, it, Ghedo or ''Ghedu'') is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in Jubaland, southern Somalia. Its regional capital is Garbahaarreey. It was created in 1974 and is bordered by the Ogaden in E ...

in the opening rounds. In June 1996, during a match against

Héctor Garza Héctor Solano Segura (June 12, 1969 – May 26, 2013) was a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Héctor Garza. During his career he worked for various major Mexican professional wrestling promotions such as Consejo ...

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, ...

, Motegi won the

UWA World Middleweight Championship The UWA World Middleweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial de Peso Medio UWA'' in Spanish) is a professional wrestling championship originally created and sanctioned by the Mexican lucha libre promotion Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) fro ...

after knocking out Garza however he immediately vacated the title soon after. The following month, he participated in the first J-Crown Tournament held by

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 ...

to unify the eight existing World Junior Heavyweight Championship titles defended in Japan. Representing Wrestle Dream Factory, he defended his NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship and lost to

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion The is a professional wrestling world junior heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . Only wrestlers under the junior heavyweight weight-limit may ho ...

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 ...

in the opening rounds at

Sumo Hall 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 ...

in Tokyo on August 2. Two years later, he defeated Abdullah Kobayashi, Jr in a 7-man round robin championship tournament to win the

BJW World Junior Heavyweight Championship BJW may refer to: * the IATA code for Bajawa Soa Airport, Indonesia * 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 Pr ...

Numazu is a city located in eastern Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 189,486 in 91,986 households, and a population density of 1,014 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Numazu is at the nor ...

on June 30, 1999. Eventually losing the title to Fantastik in

Hakodate is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 279,851 with 143,221 households, and a population density of 412.8 ...

on November 6, he regained the title from Fantastik the following month as Chabinger before losing the title to Men's Teoh in

Fukushima, Japan Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miyagi ...

on June 21, 2000. He later defeated Toshiyuki Moriya for the IWA (Kakuto Shijuku) World Middleweight Championship in

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

on December 2, 2001. Although the title was vacated the following day, Motegi regained the title a week later after winning a one-day 4-man championship tournament defeating Koji Isinriki in the finals on December 16. The following year in

Sapporo, Japan ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, he defeated The Great Takeru and Yukihide Ueno in a 3-way match to become the first IWA (Japan) World Junior Heavyweight Champion on August 3, 2002. Motegi retired on August 7, 2018.

Championships and accomplishments

(

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 ...

) * IWA Japan :*IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * IWA Kakutou Shijuku :*IWA World Middleweight Championship (2 times) *

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

NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world championship in the National Wrestling Alliance. Created in 1945, the title is competed for by junior heavyweight wrestlers. History The first NWA World Junior ...

( 1 time) *

Universal Wrestling Association The Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) was a Mexican ''Lucha Libre'' or professional wrestling promotion based in Naucalpan, Mexico State that operated from 1975 until 1995. The name of the actual promotion was Lucha Libre Internacional (LLI) ...

( 1 time) *Wrestling International New Generations :* W*ING/WWC Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 4 times)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Motegi, Masayoshi 1962 births Living people Japanese male professional wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers UWA World Middleweight Champions BJW Junior Heavyweight Champions (original version)