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 ...

, better known 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 projecti ...

. 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 name was inspired by samurai warrior and

Shinsengumi The was a special police force organized by the (military government) during Japan's Bakumatsu period (late Tokugawa shogunate) in 1863. It was active until 1869. It was founded to protect the shogunate representatives in Kyoto at a time wh ...

member Umanosuke Ueda.

Professional wrestling career

After debuting in the old

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance The was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963) Rikidōzan, a former ''rikishi'' ( sumo wrestling practitioner) who had debuted as a Western-s ...

in 1961, he started the circuit in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

in 1966. In 1974, he joined

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 ...

's International Pro Wrestling where he held the IWA World Heavyweight Championship from June 11, 1976, till July 28, 1976. Ueda was considered one of the first "traitor heels" in Japan, as he broke societal mores by dyeing his hair and using a brawling style, and teaming with a hated

gaikokujin is a Japanese word for foreigners and non-Japanese citizens in Japan, specifically being applied to foreigners of non-Japanese ethnicity and those from the Japanese diaspora who are not Japanese citizens. The word is composed of two kanji: an ...

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 leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

Tiger Jeet Singh Jagjeet Singh Hans (born April 3, 1944) is an Indo-Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He was known for his elaborate ring entrances, and generally performed as a heel. He wrestled in Japa ...

. The two men were the first team to win tag team titles in both

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 shar ...

(the NWA North American Tag Team Championship) and

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, ...

(the NWA International Tag Team Championship). Mr. Gannosuke, Tatsutoshi Goto and

Toru Yano , is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the KOPW 2020 and the provisional KOPW 2021. He is a four time NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion. He is also a three- ...

later based their "dye job brawler" ring personas on Ueda's style. More recently,

Takaaki Watanabe , better known by his ring name Evil (stylized as EVIL), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently working for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). After debuting in NJPW in 2011, Evil competed in the United States on excursion, working for ...

has based his "Evil" persona on Ueda. He later went on to appear as a

henchman A henchman (''vernacular:'' "hencher"), is a loyal employee, supporter, or aide to some powerful figure engaged in nefarious or criminal enterprises. Henchmen are typically relatively unimportant in the organization: minions whose value lies prim ...

in the Japanese

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...

Takeshi's Castle is a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1990 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS). It features the Japanese comedian Takeshi Kitano (also known as Beat Takeshi) as a count who owns a castle and sets up difficult physical challen ...

'' up until the end of the show in the late '80s and also appeared in the movie '' Burst City''. In 1996, he was in a car accident, which left him paralyzed and eventually forced him to retire two years later. Ueda died on December 21, 2011, from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a ri ...

; he was 71 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ( 2 times) - with

Kintaro Ohki Kim Il (Korean: 김일; Hanja: 金一; February 24, 1929 – October 26, 2006), also known as his ring name Kintarō Ōki ( Japanese: 大木金太郎), was a South Korean professional wrestler, and Ssireum (Korean wrestling) player. He spent h ...

(1) and

(1) *

International Wrestling Enterprise International Wrestling Enterprise (国際プロレス興行;, ''Kokusai Puroresu Kogyō'') was a professional wrestling promotion in Japan from 1966 to 1981. Founded by Isao Yoshihara, it was affiliated with the American Wrestling Association ...

** IWA World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) * Mid-South Sports **

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...

( 1 time) - with Chati Yokouchi *

** Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tiger Jeet Singh ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Los Angeles/Japan version)'' ( 1 time) - with Tiger Jeet Singh * NWA Big Time Wrestling **

NWA World Tag Team Championship The NWA World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship created by the National Wrestling Alliance. From 1948 to 1982, the NWA allowed member promotions to create their own territorial version of the "NWA World ...

( 1 time) - with Chati Yokouchi *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by N ...

** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' ( 1 time) - with

Tojo Yamamoto Harold Watanabe (January 6, 1927 – February 19, 1992) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. Early life Watanabe was born in Hawaii in 1927 to a Japanese father and an American mother. He served ...

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riva ...

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) *''

Tokyo Sports is a Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1960. See also * Tokyo Sports Film Award The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the ''Tokyo Sports''. Categories There are following categories: *Best Film *Best Actor *Best Actres ...

'' ** Popularity Award (1978) *

Western States Sports Western States Sports (also known as the Amarillo Territory) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Amarillo, Texas in the United States. Founded by Dory Detton in 1946, the promotion enjoyed its greatest success in the 1960s and ...

NWA Western States Tag Team Championship The NWA International Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling title, originally created as the NWA Western States Tag Team Championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, Western States Sports. The title wa ...

( 1 time) - with Chati Yokouchi ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Amarillo version)'' ( 1 time) - with Chati Yokouchi *World Wrestling Organization **WWO Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

External links

Umanosuke Ueda at PuroresuCentral.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ueda, Umanosuke Japanese male professional wrestlers People from Yatomi Sportspeople from Aichi Prefecture Deaths from respiratory failure 2011 deaths 1940 births Professional wrestling promoters 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA North American Tag Team Champions (Los Angeles/Japan version) NWA International Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions