(March 15, 1946 – November 22, 2000) was a

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 o ...

and a former

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bou ...

, known for his tenure in

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 ...

. He was the son of wrestler Rikidozan and the older brother of

Mitsuo Momota (born September 21, 1948) is a retired Japanese professional wrestler and executive, known for his work in the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling and later in Pro Wrestling NOAH. He is the son of wrestler Rikidōzan. Career Japan Wres ...

Career

On October 21, 1972, Momota, along with Shohei "Giant" Baba and younger brother

, founded

where he started out as a ring announcer for the promotion. Around the mid-1970s, Momota decided to become a wrestler just like his father and his brother. He started training with

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – ...

and Dory Funk Jr. and began wrestling in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

before wrestling full-time for All Japan. His wrestling career didn't take off as well as planned although he did find a little success. In 1987 he retired from in-ring competition and decided to become a backstage helper and a member of the All Japan board of directors until he resigned from his position after

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 ...

had disagreements with widow Motoko Baba. He joined

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 th ...

as a backstage helper and a member of the board of directors, but in September 2000, his health was beginning to deteriorate due to liver failure.

Family

Momota was the son of Rikidozan, a wrestling legend who is known as the "Father of Puroresu". He also had a younger brother

. His nephew is named Chikara and made his professional wrestling debut in 2013.

Death

On November 22, 2000, Momota died of liver failure. He was 54 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

:*11-Man Battle Royal winner (1979) *

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'' ma ...

Service Award A Service award was awarded by a country to a soldier or civilian for long service. It is comparable to a service medal but can be awarded to civilians as well as soldiers. Germany Kingdom of Bavaria * Königliches Ludwigsorden for 50 years' ser ...

(2001)

References

External links

Yoshihiro Momota's profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Momota, Yoshihiro 1946 births 2000 deaths Sportspeople from Kyoto Professional wrestling announcers Japanese male professional wrestlers Japanese people of Korean descent