Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an

Indo-Canadian Indian Canadians are Canadians who have ancestry from India. The terms ''Indo-Canadian'' or ''East Indian'' are sometimes used to avoid confusion with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Categorically, Indian Canadians comprise a subgroup of ...

semi-retired

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 ...

, known better by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a

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 ...

. He wrestled in Japan for 22 years and was the first professional wrestler in Japan to defeat sumo wrestler

Wajima Hiroshi was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nanao, Ishikawa. He was the sport's 54th ''yokozuna'' and remains the only wrestler with a collegiate background to reach its highest rank. Entering professional sumo in 1970, he won a total of 14 ...

. He held

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 their ...

's World Martial Arts Heavyweight Championship and headlined the company's flagship event Anniversary Show in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1965-1972)

In the 1960s, Hans began wrestling and emigrated from his hometown in

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

to Canada, arriving with $6 in his pocket. Hans trained in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

under Fred Atkins and eventually signed with

Frank Tunney Francis Martin Tunney (November 12, 1912 - May 10, 1983) was a Canadian professional boxing and wrestling promoter, based in Toronto. Biography Early life He was educated in Markham, Ontario, and went to a business college after high school. Hi ...

, a Toronto wrestling promoter. Atkins dubbed Hans "Tiger" after witnessing his ferocious style of fighting. Tiger made his

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

debut in 1965, wrestling as a heel. His first main event in Toronto was a

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

match late that year, teaming with Professor Hiro to take on the team of Johnny Powers and

Sweet Daddy Siki Reginald Siki (born June 16, 1940) is an American-Canadian retired professional wrestler and singer, best known as Sweet Daddy Siki. He is believed to be the first African-American to challenge for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professi ...

. He began teaming with Fred Atkins in 1966. They became the top team in Toronto by defeating Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Brower for the international tag title in July 1966. Singh and Atkins wrestled at or near the top of the card through 1966 and 1967. Singh also competed on the US wrestling circuits, grappling with opponents like Sweet Daddy Siki,

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...

, Hans Schmidt, Whipper Billy Watson and "Bulldog" Dick Brower. He defeated

Johnny Valentine John Theodore Wisniski (September 22, 1928 – April 24, 2001), better known by his ring name Johnny Valentine, was an American professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame fo ...

for the Toronto version of the US title and wrestled

Gene Kiniski Eugene Nicholas Kiniski (November 23, 1928 – April 14, 2010) was a Canadian athlete who played football for the Edmonton Eskimos and then became a three-time professional wrestling world heavyweight champion. "Canada's Greatest Athlete", as he b ...

for the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is i ...

in the summer of 1967 and, in the fall, twice challenged

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-born American professional wrestler, best known for his work with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, now WWE). There, he held the WWWF World Heavywei ...

for the WWWF Championship. With

Wild Bull Curry Fred Thomas Koury Sr. (May 2, 1913 – March 8, 1985) was an American of Lebanese descent who was best known as a professional wrestler under the name ”Wild Bull” Curry. He is recognized as the originator of the hardcore style predating leg ...

, again defeated Watson and Brower to win the international tag title in 1968. In February 1971, Singh wrestled The Sheik in the main event of the first wrestling show in Maple Leaf Gardens history to attract a sell-out crowd of over 18,000.

Japan (1973-2009)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1973-1981)

While visiting Japan in 1972, Singh got into a brawl with

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 ...

in a shopping center. He immediately began wrestling 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 ...

in 1973 and would feud with Inoki as a result of the incident. Inoki broke Singh's arm in a 1974 match, but Tiger defeated Inoki to win the NWF world title in 1975 only to lose it to Inoki three months later.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (1981-1990)

He defeated

Seiji Sakaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and judoka, Sakaguchi holds a 7th dan red and white belt in Judo. Sakaguchi was a mainstay of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and also competed for the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the Nati ...

in 1976 to win the NWF Asian title and remained champion until making a jump to All-Japan Pro Wrestling in 1981. Singh wrestled in the main event of the joint New Japan-All Japan card in Tokyo in 1978 with

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling ma ...

to take on the Japanese dream team of Inoki and

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

. Singh would later team with Abdullah frequently. Singh defeated

El Canek Felipe Estrada (born June 19, 1952), known as El Canek or simply Canek, is a Mexican '' luchador enmascarado'' or masked professional wrestler best known for the 20 years he worked for the Universal Wrestling Association where he held the UWA Wo ...

to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship in Mexico in 1980 and lost the title to Inoki months later. Singh regained it but then dropped it back to Canek in 1981. In Toronto Singh had one final match for

against Sheik in 1977, when he subbed for no-show

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

. Singh defeated

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

in Toronto in 1979, and unsuccessfully challenging

Nick Bockwinkel Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel (December 6, 1934 – November 14, 2015) was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the 1970s and 1980s. Bockwinkel ...

for the AWA title at the Gardens. Singh continued to wrestle in Japan into the 1990s and make occasional appearances on indie shows in Toronto. In 1990, he teamed with Inoki to defeat Big Van Vader and

Animal Hamaguchi is a Japanese retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name . During his career he was recognized as a talented tag team wrestler despite his relatively small size for a heavyweight, and today he is recognized as a trainer in both ...

in the main event of Inoki's 30th anniversary show in Yokohama.

Return to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1991-1995)

In the early 1990s, Singh wrestled for New Japan Pro-Wrestling. On December 18, 1991, Singh lost to

Hiroshi Hase is a Japanese politician who is currently the governor of Ishikawa Prefecture. He served as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology under Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. Prior to his appointment in the Cabinet, he also ser ...

in match held in the island of Ganryū-jima.

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (1992-1994)

He ventured to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in 1992, and had a bloody feud with Atsushi Onita. Whilst in FMW Singh teamed with a young Sabu, who also accompanied him to the ring. Singh also wrestled in the main event of the first Heisei Ishingun card in Tokyo in 1994, losing to Shiro Koshinaka in a bout refereed by Inoki.

IWA Japan (1995-2003)

Singh was a prominent participant in the IWA-Japan 1995 King of the Death Matches Tournament. In the opening contest of the quarter-finals round, he forced Mr. Gannosuke into submission while Gannosuke was inside a bed of barbed wire. Singh advanced to the semi-finals where he lost to Terry Funk. Even after dominating the match and throwing Funk into broken glass, Cactus Jack came out of nowhere and miscalculated an attack with Singh's signature sword on Funk and hit Singh instead. In the finals Singh interfered briefly and joined Cactus Jack in attacking Terry Funk.

Hustle (2004, 2007-2009)

Singh occasionally wrestled for Japanese promotion Hustle during the 2000s. In July 2008 Singh participated in Hustle's Grand Prix tournament. He represented India and faced Bob Sapp who represented the USA.

World Wrestling Federation (1997)

In 1997, Singh's son

Tiger Ali Singh Gurjit Singh Hans (born March 9, 1971) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2002 under the ring name Tiger Ali Singh. He is the son of professional wrestler ...

was signed by the WWF and would managed Tiger Ali. He appeared at ringside at WWF's United Kingdom-exclusive pay-per-view event One Night Only on September 20, 1997. Singh left WWF that November when his son was taken off WWF TV.

Later career (2009-2012)

After leaving Hustle, Singh returned to IWA Japan. Singh wrestled his last match on

Canada Day Canada Day (french: Fête du Canada), formerly known as Dominion Day (french: Fête du Dominion), is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 18 ...

2012 for SCW TigerFest 2012 in Brampton, Ontario where he teamed with

Tatanka (wrestler) Chris Chavis (born June 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a legends contract. He is part of the Lumbee tribe. He is best known for his work with the World Wrestling Federation (later known as Wor ...

and

Sonjay Dutt Retesh Bhalla (born April 7, 1982) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a producer and manager. He is best known for his time with Total Nonstop ActionImpact Wrestling under the ring name Sonja ...

defeating

Viscera (wrestler) Nelson Frazier Jr. (February 14, 1971 – February 18, 2014) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE) in the 1990s and 2000s under the ring ...

, Darkko, and

Steve Corino Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino (born May 29, 1973) is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler currently signed with WWE as a trainer and producer for their developmental territory NXT. He is best known for his tenure with Extreme Championship ...

Personal life

Singh and his wife have three sons. One of his sons is former

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(WWE) wrestler

. A documentary entitled ''Tiger!'' chronicles his life story from his life in India to his work as a wrestler. A public elementary school in

Milton, Ontario Milton (Canada 2016 Census, 2016 census population 110,128) is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Regional Municipality of Halton, Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Between 2001 and 2011, Milton was the fastest growing mun ...

, opened in September 2010, has been named after Singh despite some community concerns about the appropriateness of naming a public school after a professional wrestler. Local author and historian John Challinor II made a presentation to the Halton Board of Education and stressed that the honour should be made based on Tiger Jeet Singh's philanthropy and humanitarian works. Area Trustee Donna Danielli addressed the decision, which has been met with some controversy given the violent content of professional wrestling, stating: "He definitely makes a difference in the community and I believe that he will be a very positive role model and mentor at that school -- he plans to be very involved." In 2012, Singh was one of the recipients of the

Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards is an annual campaign by ''Canadian Immigrant'' magazine that recognizes outstanding work by immigrants who "have come to Canada and have made a positive difference living in the country." Overview First ...

presented by

Canadian Immigrant Magazine ''Canadian Immigrant'' is a free monthly magazine and daily website for recent arrivals to Canada. The properties are owned by Torstar, and are currently published by Metroland Media Group, with print distribution throughout British Columbia, Alber ...

Championships and accomplishments

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, ...

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

( 1 time) - with

Umanosuke Ueda was a Japanese professional wrestler, better known by his ring name . During his wrestling career, Ueda primarily stood out for wrestling with bleached blonde hair, a practice which was rare in his day but later became more common. His ring ...

FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship The FMW World Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Championship was a premiere championship in the wrestling promotion Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, ...

( 1 time) * International Wrestling Association **

IWA International Heavyweight Championship The MAC World / International Heavyweight Championship was a Canadian professional wrestling championship created and sanctioned by the Montreal Athletic Commission (MAC). While the Commission sanctioned the title, it did not promote the events in ...

(1 time) *

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Toronto version)'' (

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 ...

) - with Fred Atkins (1) and Bull Curry (1) ** NWA United States Heavyweight Championship ''(Toronto version)'' ( 1 time) *

** Asia Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Umanosuke Ueda ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Los Angeles/Japan version)'' ( 1 time) - with Umanosuke Ueda **

NWF Heavyweight Championship The NWF Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling World championship used as part of the National Wrestling Federation and later New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History The NWF (National Wrestling Federation) Heavyweight Championship was ...

( 1 time) **

NWF North American Heavyweight Championship The NWF North American Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles title in the American professional wrestling promotion, the National Wrestling Federation. The title started in 1968 as a National Wrestling Alliance title, named the NWA ...

( 1 time) **Greatest Gaijin Heel Section (2002) *

NWA All-Star Wrestling NWA All Star Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Vancouver) is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion, based in Vancouver, British Columbia. All-Star Wrestling folded in 1989 but returned in 2007 no longer affiliated with the National Wr ...

** NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (''Vancouver version'') (1 time) - with

Dennis Stamp Dennis Stamp (December 6, 1946 – March 13, 2017) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He was best known for wrestling extensively during the 1970s and 1980s for the American Wrestling Association, and for the National Wrestling Al ...

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 Publish ...

**Ranked No. 274 of the top 500 singles in the "

PWI 500 ''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 Publishi ...

" in 1992 **Ranked No. 383 of the top 500 singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003 *

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award * Tokyo Sports Puroresu Awards The are Japanese professional wrestling, or ''puroresu'', awards that have been handed out by the ''Tokyo Sports'' mag ...

** Match of the Year Award (1979) with

vs.

and

on August 26 *

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) ...

UWA World Heavyweight Championship The UWA World Heavyweight Championship (''Campeonato Mundial peso Completo de UWA'' in Spanish) was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally promoted by Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) until it closed in 1995. Aft ...

(

) *

World Championship Wrestling (Australia) World Championship Wrestling was an Australian professional wrestling promotion that ran from 1964 until 1978. History The promotion gained publicity through television programs on the Nine Network, which were presented at noon on Saturdays and ...

IWA World Tag Team Championship IWA World Tag Team Championship is a Tag Team Championship defended in Puerto Rico.The titles were first introduced in the first incarnation of the International Wrestling Association, where they are defended. They also made a brief appearance i ...

( 1 time) – with

Mr. Fuji Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara (May 4, 1934 – August 28, 2016) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the ey ...

World Wrestling Association The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ''luchadores'' a ...

**WWA World Martial Arts Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Tiger Jeet Singh Foundation’s Japan Relief Campaign
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Tiger Jeet 1944 births Canadian male actors of Indian descent Canadian male professional wrestlers Indian emigrants to Canada Indian male professional wrestlers Expatriate professional wrestlers in Japan Living people Sportspeople from Ludhiana People from Milton, Ontario Professional wrestlers from Ontario Punjabi people Sportspeople from Milton, Ontario Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champions UWA World Heavyweight Champions NWF Heavyweight Champions NWF North American Heavyweight Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version) NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (Toronto version) NWA North American Tag Team Champions (Los Angeles/Japan version) IWA World Tag Team Champions (Australia) NWA International Tag Team Champions