Yoshinori Sasaki
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is a Japanese professional wrestler and retired
sumo wrestler A , or, more colloquially, , is a professional sumo wrestler. follow and live by the centuries-old rules of the sumo profession, with most coming from Japan, the only country where sumo is practiced professionally. Participation in official ...
and mixed martial artist, currently working for Pro Wrestling Freedoms under the ring name , where he is a former King of Freedom Tag Team Champion, becoming the longest reigning champion during his second reign with the title. He is best known for his time with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), where he competed between 1997 until the promotion's closure in 2002. After training at the FMW Dojo, Sasaki made his debut in December 1997 under his given name and competed as an
enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
through the early years of his career. His first
push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
came when he became a member of Atsushi Onita's
faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...
Team Zero WildStorm started publishing comics in 1992. Since then, they have published an increasing number of titles, both in the Wildstorm fictional universe and in various creator-owned titles. Under the most recent sub-imprint structure, all Cliffhang ...
in 1998. After years on the low-card, Sasaki won his first title, the
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same ...
with Hideki Hosaka in 2000 and changed his ring name to Mammoth Sasaki in the fall of the year and became a main eventer during the fall of 2001.


Sumo career

Sasaki was a third-rank junior champion of sumo wrestling in his high school and began training to compete for a professional sumo career in 1990. He made his sumo debut in January 1993 and rose to the rank of '' sandanme'' in 1995. Later that year, he injured his right ligament and retired from sumo in November 1996 to train for a professional wrestling career. His overall career record of sumo was 57-52-31.


Professional wrestling career


Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling


Training and debut (1997–1998)

Sasaki began training for a professional wrestling career at the Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) dojo in April 1997, where he was trained by Katsutoshi Niiyama. Sasaki earned the nickname of "Mammoth" by his peers due to his size and strength. Sasaki made his wrestling debut by defeating Nobuyaso Anesaki in an exhibition match on November 15, 1997. Sasaki debuted in FMW on December 8 by losing to Koji Nakagawa. Sasaki began teaming with his dojo teammate Naohiko Yamazaki by losing to Mr. Pogo #2 and Flying Kid Ichihara on February 6, 1998 and got the first win of his FMW career against Yamazaki on February 9. Sasaki was used as an
enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
, being used to put over the established stars of FMW during the early matches of his career. On May 19, Sasaki made his
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
debut by teaming with Yamazaki in a loss to Ichihara and Pogo.


Team Zero and low-card (1998–1999)

On July 10, Sasaki and Pogo #2 were present with FMW President
Shoichi Arai Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 ''Arai Shōichi'') (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002. Career Arai started with FMW as a ...
when Arai made the decision to move FMW to sports entertainment. Team No Respect leader Kodo Fuyuki attacked the trio to begin Sasaki's first
program Program, programme, programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program management, the process of managing several related projects * Time management * Program, a part of planning Arts and entertainment Audio * Progra ...
in FMW. At ''Atsushi Onita Presents Liar, Liar'', Sasaki competed in the first main event of his career by teaming with Atsushi Onita, Pogo #2 and Arai against Fuyuki, Yukihiro Kanemura, Koji Nakagawa and Go Ito in a weapon deathmatch in a winning effort to retain Arai's presidency and release Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hideki Hosaka from TNR's slavery. On August 21, Sasaki became a founding member of Onita's Team Zero
faction Faction or factionalism may refer to: Politics * Political faction, a group of people with a common political purpose * Free and Independent Faction, a Romanian political party * Faction (''Planescape''), a political faction in the game ''Planes ...
, with Pogo #2, Kuroda and Hosaka. Team Zero feuded with TNR during the fall of 1998 before the group disbanded when Onita quit FMW on November 20. On January 5, 1999, Hideki Hosaka
turn Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...
ed on Sasaki and Gosaku Goshogawara during a match against Nanjyo Hayato, Flying Kid Ichihara, and Naohiko Yamazaki, causing Sasaki to lose the match. Sasaki faced Hosaka to gain revenge on March 29, but lost the match. Sasaki resumed teaming with Yamazaki and continued to compete as a
jobber to the stars In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect information related to kayfabe from being revealed. The term can be used a numbe ...
throughout 1999. He received his first championship match at Goodbye Hayabusa II: Last Match, by teaming with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Hisakatsu Oya against Kodo Fuyuki, Koji Nakagawa and Gedo for the
WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship The WEW 6-Man Tag Team Championship was a championship in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling and later in World Entertainment Wrestling. It was active from July 1999 until February 2002 as a substitute for the FMW World Street Fight 6-Man Tag Team C ...
in a losing effort. On September 24, Sasaki participated in his first pay-per-view main event by teaming with H, Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Flying Kid Ichihara to defeat "Hayabusa", Koji Nakagawa, Gedo and Chocoball Mukai. Sasaki and Yamazaki would lose to Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr. at the 10th Anniversary Show in their first high-profile match.


Hardcore Tag Team Champion and Team Kuroda (2000–2001)

Sasaki and Yamazaki teamed with Hideki Hosaka against Team No Respect's Koji Nakagawa, Jado and Gedo in a losing effort on January 5, 2000. As a result, Sasaki began teaming with Hosaka as the duo competed against Nakagawa and Gedo, Jado and Kintaro Kanemura and Hisakatsu Oya and Naohiko Yamazaki in a #1 contender's four corners elimination match for the WEW World Tag Team Championship. On March 27, Sasaki, Yamazaki and H unsuccessfully challenged Team No Respect for the 6-Man Tag Team Championship. At ''Night in Shibuya Backdraft Eve'', Sasaki won the first title of his career as he and Hosaka defeated Kintaro Kanemura and Hido to become the inaugural
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champions WEW (770 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station licensed to serve St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri. Owned by Birach Broadcasting Corporation, the station features a brokered ethnic format, except for a midday show which features a mix of easy ...
. They successfully defended the title against The Samoans ( Matty Smalls and Fatu) in their first title defense at 11th Anniversary Show. After retaining the title in their second title defense against Michael Shane and Reuben Cruise on May 28, Sasaki and Hosaka became
villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...
by
turn Turn may refer to: Arts and entertainment Dance and sports * Turn (dance and gymnastics), rotation of the body * Turn (swimming), reversing direction at the end of a pool * Turn (professional wrestling), a transition between face and heel * Turn, ...
ing on H and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to join Kodo Fuyuki in his new Shin Fuyuki-gun group. On June 21, Sasaki and Hosaka lost the Hardcore Tag Team Championship to Samoans. After failing in a rematch on July 14, Hosaka and Sasaki regained the title by defeating Samoans on July 28. They successfully defended the title against
Jado and Gedo were a professional wrestling tag team that currently work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where they are also the head bookers. One of the most accomplished tag teams in puroresu, the team has won numerous tag team titles and six-man tag tea ...
on August 28. On September 15, Sasaki's ring name was changed to his former FMW dojo name "Mammoth Sasaki" to avoid confusion with newcomer Yoshihito Sasaki. Sasaki competed in a series of three matches titled ''Mammoth Sasaki Renaming Commemoration Trial Series'', losing all of the matches against
Masato Tanaka is a Japanese professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) in Japan where he was a one-time FMW Brass Knuckles Heavyweight Champion and a one-time WEW World Heavyweight Champion and in Ext ...
, Hayabusa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda. On September 21, Sasaki and Hosaka lost the Hardcore Tag Team Championship to Jado and Gedo in a three-way match, also involving Kintaro Kanemura and Ryuji Yamakawa. At Deep Throat, Sasaki and Hosaka defeated Xtreme Pro Wrestling's Supreme and Homeless Jimmy to win their third Hardcore Tag Team Championship. Sasaki unsuccessfully challenged Kintaro Kanemura for the WEW Hardcore Championship on November 19 in his first singles championship match. They successfully defended the title against Pogo the Clown and Supreme on November 28, before
drop Drop, DROP, drops or DROPS may refer to: * Drop (liquid) or droplet, a small volume of liquid ** Eye drops, saline (sometimes mydriatic) drops used as medication for the eyes * Drop (unit), a unit of measure of volume * Falling (physics), allowi ...
ping the title to GOEMON and Onryo on January 7, 2001 after Hosaka turned on Sasaki by performing a Powerbomb. Hosaka left FMW before a rivalry could develop between Hosaka and Sasaki. Sasaki soon joined Tetsuhiro Kuroda's Team Kuroda with Shinjuku Shark, Naohiko Yamazaki and Azusa Kudo. Sasaki played a pivotal role in Kuroda's feud with Kodo Fuyuki. On February 6, the trio of Kuroda, Sasaki and Kyoko Inoue lost to the team of Fuyuki, GOEMON and Onryo, which stipulated that Kuroda must marry Inoue if he lost. On February 23, Sasaki and Kuroda lost to Fuyuki and The Great Sasuke with help from the returning Hayabusa. On April 1, Sasaki defeated Kintaro Kanemura in an upset to win the Hardcore Championship, the first singles championship of his career. Sasaki lost the title to Kanemura in a rematch at 12th Anniversary Show.


Various feuds and alliances (2001–2002)

On June 8, Kodo Fuyuki announced that he was going to sell FMW to Stuart Levy's Tokyopop as he owned the majority of the shares and offered the wrestlers to leave
Shoichi Arai Shoichi Arai (荒井 昌一 ''Arai Shōichi'') (December 19, 1965 – May 16, 2002) was a Japanese professional wrestling promoter. Arai ran Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from 1995 until its closure in 2002. Career Arai started with FMW as a ...
and side with him. Sasaki chose to join Fuyuki and defeated GOEMON later at the event. Sasaki began rising as a main event competitor and defeated Onryo on July 20, to earn his very first opportunity for the WEW World Heavyweight Championship against Hayabusa on the August 1 airing on ''Samurai! TV'', but failed to win the title. On August 11, Sasaki and Chocoball Mukai unsuccessfully challenged GOEMON and Onryo in an octagon cage match for the WEW Tag Team Championship. On the September 17 airing on ''Samurai! TV'', Sasaki teamed with
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
to defeat GOEMON and Onryo for the title. A month later, they lost the title to Hayabusa and Tetsuhiro Kuroda on October 9. After the match, Senmu Yoshida announced that Shoichi Arai would be reinstated as FMW President if Hayabusa would be able to beat Sasaki on October 22, which ended in a no contest after Hayabusa slipped from the middle rope while attempting to perform a
springboard moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...
on Sasaki and suffering an injury which ended Hayabusa's career. Hayabusa's injury caused the World Tag Team Championship to be vacated. On November 23, Gannosuke and Sasaki defeated Biomonster DNA and
Dr. Luther Len Olson (born October 30, 1968), better known by the ring names Dr. Luther or simply Luther, is a Canadian professional wrestling, professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling, where he is also a producer. He is also known for his appeara ...
to win their second World Tag Team Championship. Later that night, the duo vacated the title to feud with Kodo Fuyuki, who had joined forces with
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 WAR group. Sasaki turned fan favorite by joining Gannosuke, Kintaro Kanemura and Tetsuhiro Kuroda to defend FMW against WAR. On December 9, Gannosuke, Sasaki, Kanemura and Kuroda defeated the WAR team of Tenryu, Fuyuki, Arashi and
Koki Kitahara (born March 9, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name . Career Kitahara trained in soccer and karate during high school, particularly the latter due to his penchant for street fighting. After graduating a ...
to gain revenge for FMW. After the match, Sasaki raised Hayabusa's mask to pay tribute to the injured Hayabusa. On December 21, Sasaki and Kanemura participated in a tournament for the vacated WEW World Tag Team Championship, defeating
Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances f ...
and Crazy Boy in the quarter-final and Balls Mahoney and
Horace Boulder Michael Allan Bollea (born October 21, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. The nephew of fellow wrestler Hulk Hogan, he is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the late 1990s under the ring name Hora ...
in the semi-final but lost to Mr. Gannosuke and Tetsuhiro Kuroda in the final. On January 6, 2002, the team of Gannosuke, Kuroda and Sasaki lost to Balls Mahoney,
The Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...
and Vic Grimes. At FMW's last show on February 4, Sasaki teamed with GOEMON and Kintaro Kanemura to beat Grimes, Paul DeLuc and Mitsunobu Kikuzawa. On February 25, Shoichi Arai declared FMW bankrupt and closed the promotion. A few days later, Sasaki and GOEMON closed the FMW Dojo.


Wrestlings Marvelous Future (2002–2005)

After the closure of FMW and failed mixed martial arts venture, Sasaki worked a few shows for Kodo Fuyuki but fell out with him after Fuyuki brought out Atsushi Onita. Sasaki and a few former FMW wrestlers aligned with Hayabusa to establish Wrestlings Marvelous Future (WMF) promotion. Sasaki headlined WMF's debut show ''The Independence Day'' by defeating Garuda. On September 16,
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga is a Japanese retired professional wrestler best known for his deathmatch wrestling style, having competed in memorable deathmatches in Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and Wrestling International New Generati ...
cost Sasaki, a match against Hisakatsu Oya and Sasaki defeated Matsunaga in a match on September 29 to rid WMF of him. Sasaki suffered an injury and returned to WMF at ''Marvelous Days'' on December 12 by wrestling Tetsuhiro Kuroda to a double count-out. Sasaki was
push Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...
ed as the promotion's top fan favorite, feuding with the Brand Double Cross group and was eventually groomed to become the company's ace. Sasaki defeated
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
, with the help of Atsushi Onita on May 24. On July 25, Sasaki teamed with Tetsuhiro Kuroda and Kintaro Kanemura to defeat Gannosuke, Mr. Iwaonosuke and Mr. Rocknosuke in a street fight by debuting his new finishing move, ''29 Years Old'' to prevent WMF from ending. At WMF's ''1st Anniversary Show'', Sasaki teamed with Ideka-kun and Tetsuhiro Kuroda against Hido, Mr. Gannosuke and Tetsuhiro Kuroda in a losing effort. Sasaki faced and defeated Ikeda-kun in a friendly match on September 23. On October 19, Sasaki lost a Caribbean Barbed Wire Board Ladder Deathmatch to Hido due to interference by Gannosuke, and then teamed with Hayabusa (Genichiro Tenryu) to defeat Gannosuke and Hido in a street fight on November 20. Following the match, Sasaki challenged Tenryu to a match on December 27, which Sasaki lost. After the match, Sasaki was embraced by Tenryu, his peers and rival Mr. Gannosuke as the two put away their differences by hugging each other. WMF took a hiatus in February 2004 and the promotion resumed on July 18. At WMF's ''2nd Anniversary Show'', Sasaki teamed with Seiya Morohashi and Tomohiko Hashimoto to defeat GOEMON, Junji Tanaka and Onryo. In late 2004, Sasaki participated in a round robin tournament, where he qualified for the finals by defeating Mr. Gannosuke in a playoff and then lost to Soldier in the tournament final on February 20, 2005. Sasaki began appearing at Apache Army shows in early 2005 to distance himself from WMF as he was irate at Gannosuke booking himself as the focus of the promotion. Sasaki lost to Gannosuke in a barbed wire deathmatch on July 31. His last match for the promotion was a loss to Tetsuhiro Kuroda on August 5.


Independent circuit (2003–2009)

During his stay in WMF, Sasaki began competing in the Japanese
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...
. He debuted for Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling on July 31, 2003 and competed a few matches for the promotion in 2003 and 2004. He debuted for Pro Wrestling Zero-One on December 24 by teaming with Tetsuhiro Kuroda to defeat Kohei Sato and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. After years of resistance for working with Apache Army, Sasaki finally joined the promotion on June 9 by defeating YOSHIYA. After debuting for Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) on March 28, Sasaki teamed with Shadow WX to defeat Abdullah Kobayashi and Daisuke Sekimoto to win the BJW Tag Team Championship on February 27, 2006. After a lengthy reign, Sasaki and Shadow WX lost the title to Sekimoto and Yoshihito Sasaki on December 3. Sasaki would participate in Apache Army's round robin tournament for the vacated WEW World Tag Team Championship by teaming with GENTARO and they scored four points in the tournament before being eliminated. On February 4, 2007, Sasaki received a title shot against Togi Makabe for the WEW Heavyweight Championship in a steel cage match, with Makabe retaining the title. Sasaki failed in another title shot against Makabe on April 15. On September 23, Sasaki finally won his first world championship by defeating Toru Yano for the WEW Heavyweight Championship. Sasaki successfully defended the title against Jun Kasai in a four corners of glass deathmatch on October 22. Sasaki held the title for nearly ten months, retaining it against Tetsuhiro Kuroda, Daisuke Sekimoto, Tomohiro Ishii and Takashi Sasaki, before losing the title to Ishii on July 12. On July 13, Sasaki and Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Kengo Mashimo and Madoka to win his second BJW Tag Team Championship. They were forced to vacate the title on March 7, 2009, when Sasaki was injured in an automobile accident, which put him out of action for more than a year.


Pro Wrestling Freedoms (2010–present)

Sasaki debuted for Takashi Sasaki's Pro Wrestling Freedoms as a fan favorite on March 10, 2010, making his return to wrestling after the accident and joining the promotion full-time. On June 21, Sasaki made his in-ring debut for Freedoms in a loss to Daisuke Sekimoto. In 2011, Sasaki participated in the Death Match Tournament by defeating Kenji Fukimoto in a scramble bunkhouse deathmatch quarter-final and lost to Masada in a barbed wire board alpha deathmatch semi-final. On October 27, Sasaki and Kamui defeated Kengo Mashimo and Ryuichi Sekine to win the
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same ...
. They lost the title to
The Brahman Brothers and (both born on 5 July 1977) are identical twins and professional wrestlers better known by the ring names and and the team name . They are freelancers, currently working most notably for the Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW) and Michinoku Pro ...
on January 9, 2012, but regained the title from Brahman Brothers in a rematch on February 11. Sasaki represented Freedoms against the Unchain group. On June 28, Sasaki suffered a neck injury during a hardcore match with Takashi Sasaki against Unchain's Tomoaki Honma and Masashi Takeda, which the former won but the injury forced Sasaki to vacate the Hardcore Tag Team Championship. Sasaki returned from his injury on December 4 where he saved Susumu from an assault by Captain Abnormal. On January 15, 2013 airing of ''Samurai TV!'', the team of
Hiroki is a common masculine Japanese given name. It can be written in many ways. In the following lists, the kanji in parentheses are the individual's way of writing the name Hiroki. Possible writings Hiroki can be written using different kanji charac ...
, Sasaki, Ryuchi Sekine and The Winger defeated Badboy Hido, Kenji Fukimoto, One Man Kru and Captain Abnormal in a scramble bunkhouse deathmatch. Sasaki participated in a tournament for the inaugural King of Freedom World Championship, losing to Minoru Fujita in the opening round on February 27. He entered the 2013 Death Match Tournament, losing to Jun Kasai in the opening round. In January 2014, Sasaki was paired with Toru Suguira to participate in a tournament for the inaugural King of Freedom World Tag Team Championship. They topped their Block B to advance to the semi-final where they lost to Takashi Sasaki and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. In early 2015, Sasaki and Kamui began pursuing the King of Freedom World Tag Team Championship. On January 3, the duo challenged Jun Kasai and Masashi Takeda, Brahman Brothers, Takashi Sasaki and Tatsuhito Takaiwa and Kenichiro Arai and The Winger in a five-way match. On May 1, Sasaki and Kamui defeated Buffalo and Yuya Susumu to win the title. They successfully defended the title against fellow FMW alumni
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
and Gosaku Goshogawara to celebrate Kamui's tenth anniversary of his career on May 17. They lost the title to Gentaro and Takashi Sasaki on July 26. Sasaki received his next title shot at the tag team title with Toru Suguira against Hayata and Yuya Susumu on November 17, 2016, but failed to win the title. Hayata and Susumu lost the titles to Brahman Brothers in early 2017 and Sasaki and Suguira defeated Hayata and Susumu to become the #1 contenders for the titles on March 2. On March 23, Sasaki and Suguira defeat Brahman Brothers to win the King of Freedom World Tag Team Championship. They became the longest reigning champions as they lost the title to Daisuke Masaoka and Violento Jack at ''F Spirit'' on May 24, 2018, ending their reign at 427 days.


Mixed martial arts career

Following the closure of FMW, Sasaki decided to pursue a career in mixed martial arts and made his MMA debut at
Pride Fighting Championships PRIDE Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC, founded as KRS-Pride) was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts even ...
's Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1 on February 22, 2002, losing to Jong Wang Kim by submission in twenty-five seconds and then retired from MMA after only one fight.


Championships and accomplishments

* Big Japan Pro Wrestling **
BJW World Tag Team Championship The is the top tag team title defended in the Japanese professional wrestling promotion Big Japan Pro Wrestling. The championship has been the leading tag team championship in the promotion since 1997. There have been a total of 57 reigns shared ...
(
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 Shadow WX (1), Daisuke Sekimoto (1) * Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling / World Entertainment Wrestling / Apache Pro-Wrestling Army ** WEW Hardcore Championship ( 1 time) **
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same ...
( 3 times, inaugural) – with Hideki Hosaka ** WEW World Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** WEW World Tag Team Championship (
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
Mr. Gannosuke is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) under the ring name . Honda was quickly pushed as "Mr. Gannosuke" due to his resemblance to the actor Ashiya Gannosuke and he beg ...
*
Pro Wrestling Freedoms often stylized in capital letters as FREEDOMS is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Chigasaki, Kanagawa. Founded by Takashi Sasaki in 2009, the promotion lets wrestlers choose their own fighting style, having the "freedom" of ch ...
**
WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship The FMW/WEW Hardcore Tag Team Championship was a tag team hardcore wrestling championship contested in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling from April 2000 until FMW closed in February 2002. The title was picked up by Big Japan Pro Wrestling that same ...
(
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 Kamui **King of Freedom World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Kamui (1), Toru Sugiura (1) and Violento Jack (1 time, current)


Mixed martial arts record

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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 ...
,


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sasaki, Mammoth 1974 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese sumo wrestlers Japanese male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Sumo Mixed martial artists utilizing wrestling Living people Sportspeople from Osaka 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers WEW Hardcore Tag Team Champions WEW Heavyweight Champions WEW World Tag Team Champions BJW Tag Team Champions