(born September 21, 1948) is a retired 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 ...

and executive, known for his work in the

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 promotions

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 later in

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 ...

. He is the son of wrestler

Rikidōzan (born Kim Sin-rak; ; November 14, 1924 – December 15, 1963), better known as Rikidōzan (), was a Korean-born Japanese wrestler who competed in sumo and professional wrestling. He was known as The Father of Puroresu, and one of the most inf ...

Career

Japan Wrestling Association (1970–1972)

Momota debuted on May 27, 1970 for the JWA, the promotion that was founded by his father Rikidozan, the father of

Puroresu is the predominant style of professional wrestling that has developed in Japan. The term comes from the Japanese pronunciation of , which is shortened to puroresu. The term became popular among English-speaking fans due to Hisaharu Tanabe's act ...

. His first match was a six man battle royal which he lost to Ushinosuke Hayashi. After competing here and there over the next few months, he scored his first win on December 4 when he won a ten man battle royal last defeating Hayashi. Momota would continue to work for the JWA throughout 1971 mostly low on the card and paying his dues during which time he faced the likes of Akio Sato and future legends

Osamu Kido (born February 2, 1950) is a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He participated in the foundation of New Japan of 1972 and the foundation of Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1984. In 2005, aft ...

and

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...

.Mitsuo Momota
Cagematch.net retrieved on February 24, 2019 His last match would be on December 12 scoring a win over Masashi Ozawa (the future Killer Khan).

Mexico and North America (1974–1975)

In 1974 he showed up in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

as ''Rikidozan Jr.'', and learned the ''Tope Suicida'' maneuver, putting it into practice in Japan long before

Gran Hamada , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese professional wrestler, the first to adopt the high-flying Mexican lucha libre style. He has wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, Michinoku Pro and All Japan Pro ...

from the rival

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 ...

became the first Japanese wrestler to use Lucha-inspired aerial maneuvers regularly in his matches. A year later, he briefly wrestled for the Funks

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its ...

promotion.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1972–2000)

In 1972, Momota helped establish

Despite this and being the son of Rikidozan, Momota never enjoyed much success as a wrestler as he spent the majority of his career in opening matches and working with young talent. His debut would be the second match in All Japan history defeating Goro Tsurumi at All Japan's debut show on October 21, 1972. On January 2, 1976, Momota won his first honor when he won the yearly January 2 Korakuen Hall Battle Royal. In 1983, Momota then took part in the

Lou Thesz Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 ...

Cup tournament placing fourth place His first title victory came on April 20, 1989 where he won the World Junior Heavyweight Championship defeating Shinichi Nakano. He would hold the title for over 2 months successfully defended it 2 times against

Johnny Smith Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great D ...

and Isamu Teranishi before losing it to

Joe Malenko Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American pharmacist and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe Malenko. He is the son of Boris Malenko and the older brother of Dean Malenko. Professional wrestling career Japan ...

on July 1, 1989. After losing the title, Momota returned to opening matches and by the 1990s, his role began to change as he began wrestling mostly in comedic tag matches with fellow aging wrestlers mostly

Haruka Eigen (January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit s ...

. Behind the scenes, Momota made a bigger impact behind the scenes as a co-Vice President and member of the All Japan directory. After numerous years on the All Japan Pro Wrestling roster, he left in 2000 to join

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 ...

Pro Wrestling Noah (2000–2009)

In June 2000, Momota, along with the majority of the All Japan roster resigned and joined

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 ...

's new promotion: Pro Wrestling Noah, in Noah, Momota was appointed vice president of the company. Despite being in a new promotion, his spot on the card was the same. Like All Japan, Momota spent his time in NOAH in opening matches or low on the card wrestling against young up and comers and fellow aging wrestlers. Despite this Momota was given several title shots at various titles. His first title shot was for the

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003 when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger an ...

on December 11, 2003 when he teamed with

Tsuyoshi Kikuchi (born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All Jap ...

to challenge

Naomichi Marufuji (born September 26, 1979) is a Japanese professional wrestler who competes for Pro Wrestling Noah, with occasional appearances in other professional wrestling promotions including New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), R ...

and

Kenta Kenta (written: , , , or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese film director *, Japanese kickboxer *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese profession ...

but failed to win the titles. His next title shot was on February 15, 2004 when he challenged New Japan legend

Jyushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

for the

GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<100 kg) wrestlers. It was created ...

hoping to bring the title back to NOAH but he came up short. His last title shot was exactly 4 years later on February 15, 2008, when he challenged Kishin Kawabata for the

GHC Openweight Hardcore Championship The Global Honored Crown Openweight Hardcore Championship was a semi-official professional wrestling championship contested in Pro Wrestling Noah. It was originally created in 2004 as a singles title known as the GHC Openweight Hardcore Champions ...

but despite another good effort, he would come short again. Following the death of Mitsuharu Misawa on June 13, 2009, Momota would finish the tour and resigned from NOAH as both wrestler and vice president in June 2009.

Freelancer (2009–2020)

After leaving NOAH, Momota began wrestling in the independents specifically for

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was his ...

's new Tenryu Project. On June 9, 2010, Momota teamed with Tenryu and Koki Kitahara to face

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 ...

Tatsutoshi Goto is a Japanese professional wrestler. He competed primarily in WAR and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), and briefly used the name "T2000 Machine". He also briefly competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as part of the nWo Japan. Profession ...

, &

Daisuke Sekimoto (born February 9, 1981) is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) in the Strong BJ division. He is also known for his appearances in Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max. He is a three-time BJW World Strong Heavyw ...

in a decision match for the Tenryu Project Six Man Tag Team Championship but lost. On July 15, 2015, Momota and his son Chikara defeated

Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five time ...

and

Masaaki Mochizuki is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for Dragon Gate and Pro Wrestling Noah. Mochizuki is a former FIP World Champion and three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion. Professional wrestling career Early years A former karateka ...

to win the

Tokyo Intercontinental Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Stable, stable, currently made up of Minoru Fujita, Fujita, Mitsunobu Kikuzawa, Kikuzawa, Kazuhiko Masada, Mazada, and Kazushige Nosawa, Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in ...

, his first title in 26 years. They lost the title to

Kikutaro (born November 17, 1976), better known as his wrestling persona and formerly , is a freelance Japanese professional wrestler. Though best known for wrestling under a mask, he also regularly works unmasked under the ring name Kikuzawa (stylized ...

and Stalker Ichikawa on December 1. On January 3, 2016, Momota won Freedoms' Lottery One Day Six Man Tag Team Tournament teaming with Takashi Sasaki and Toru Suguira. On August 11, 2018, Momota entered DDT's Ganbare Climax 2018 tournament but lost in the first round to Shota.Mitsuo Momota
retrieved on February 24, 2019 On September 1, Momota returned to Noah for the first time in nine years participating at Naomichi Marufuji's 20th Anniversary show where he teamed with Tsuyoshi Kikuchi against

Mohammed 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 ...

and Junta Miyawaki but lost. On January 3, 2019, Momota teamed with Chikara in Freedoms' King of Freedoms Tag Team Title One Day Tournament but lost in the first round to Gentaro and Takashi Sasaki. On February 7, Momota returned to All Japan for the first time in nineteen years for Masanobu Fuchi's 45th Memorial Match Vol. 1 Special match teaming with

Jun Akiyama is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling, where he is a former KO-D Openweight Champion. He is best known for his time working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he was the president, representative director, co-he ...

and

Ultimo Dragon Ultimo may refer to: * Ultimo, New South Wales * Ulten, comune in Italy, Italian name ''Ultimo'' * Ultimo (Marvel Comics), comic books character * Ultimo (brand), Scottish designer lingerie brand * ''Karakuridôji Ultimo'', a Japanese manga * Ul ...

to defeat Fuchi,

Takao Omori is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently working for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he is a one-time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and seven-time World Tag Team Champion. He is also part of the All Japan Board of Directors. He ...

, and

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 ...

. On February 19, 2019, Momota won a battle royal at the Giant Baba Death 20th Memorial Box Office ~ Abdullah the Butcher Retirement Memorial.

Personal life

Momota is the son of Wrestling legend and the Father of Puroresu: Rikidozan. He also had an older brother:

Yoshihiro Momota (March 15, 1946 – November 22, 2000) was a professional wrestler and a former ring announcer, known for his tenure in All Japan Pro Wrestling. He was the son of wrestler Rikidozan and the older brother of Mitsuo Momota. Career On October 21, ...

. Like his brother, Yoshihiro also was a wrestler but found little success. He found bigger success behind the scenes as served on

and later

's board of directors. Yoshihiro died in 2000 at age 54. Momota has a son named Chikara, who made his professional wrestling debut on December 16, 2013.

Championships and accomplishments

** World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **January 2 Korakuen Hall Battle Royal Winner (1976) **Giant Baba Memorial Battle Royal (2019) *Pro Wrestling Freedoms **One Day 6-Man Tag Tournament (2016) – with Takashi Sasaki and Toru Sugiura *

Tokyo Gurentai is a professional wrestling stable, currently made up of Fujita, Kikuzawa, Mazada, and Nosawa Rongai. The group was formed in 2000 by Kikuzawa, Mazada and Nosawa and has since appeared for Japan's four biggest promotions; All Japan Pro Wrestli ...

**Tokyo Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chikara

References

External links

Mitsuo Momota
at Cagematch.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Momota, Mitsuo 1948 births Living people Sportspeople from Tokyo Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese people of Korean descent 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers World Junior Heavyweight Champions (AJPW)