Takeshi Inoue (born December 20, 1972) known by his stage name , is a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

retired professional wrestler, who worked for Pro Wrestling Noah. He is also a former sumo wrestler.

Sumo career

He made his sumo debut in March 1988, after leaving junior high school. He joined at the same time as future ''

yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...

'' Takanohana and Wakanohana. He initially trained at the same stable as these two, Futagoyama-beya, but when former ''yokozuna''

Takanosato , real name , was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Namioka, Aomori. He was the sport's 59th ''yokozuna'' from 1983 to 1986 and won four top division tournament championships. After retirement he established Naruto stable which he ran fr ...

branched off to set up Naruto-beya in March 1989, Inoue was one of the young recruits to follow him to the new stable. He also changed his ''

shikona A is a sumo wrestler's ring name. The tradition of ring names in sumo dates back to the Edo period, where they were used as a means to attract customers and hide the identities of the '' rikishi''. Like standard Japanese names, a ''shikona'' ...

'', or fighting name, from Futagozakura to Rikio. In July 1993 he was promoted to the second highest '' jūryō'' division, becoming the first wrestler from Naruto stable to reach elite ''

sekitori A ''sekitori'' (関取) is a '' rikishi'' (力士, sumo wrestler) who is ranked in one of the top two professional divisions: '' makuuchi'' and ''jūryō''. The name literally translates to having taken the barrier, as only a relatively small fra ...

'' status. He was demoted from that division after just one tournament, but returned to ''jūryō'' in May 1994 and was promoted to the top ''

makuuchi , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

'' division in July 1996 after winning his second ''jūryō'' ''

yūshō is the term for a championship in Japanese. This article focuses on championships in the sport of professional sumo. It is awarded in each of the six annual '' honbasho'' or official tournaments, to the wrestler who wins the most bouts. ''Y� ...

'', or tournament championship. In September 1997 he was promoted to his highest rank of ''

maegashira , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers ('' rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the o ...

'' 4, but he did not take part in the tournament. This was initially said to be due to a liver disorder, but it was later revealed that relations with his stablemaster had broken down, and Rikio was forced to retire from sumo. Due to the dispute he was unable to have a formal retirement ceremony, but some of his friends in the sumo world organised an informal one for him in early 1998, with Akebono and Konishiki among the attendees.

Professional wrestling career

After leaving sumo he was soon scouted by All Japan Pro Wrestling. After training in their dojo, he made his debut in 2000 in a tag team match in which he partnered Masao Inoue against

Takeshi Morishima (born October 15, 1978) is a Japanese former professional wrestler. Morishima is best known for his work with Pro Wrestling Noah, where he is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. He has also performed for Ring of Honor (ROH) in the Un ...

and

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, c ...

. However, before he could build any momentum,

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 ...

left AJPW and in the process, took most of the native talent with Rikio being among these talents. In Pro Wrestling Noah, he has seen much success. He dethroned the legendary

Kenta Kobashi is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Cham ...

for the GHC Heavyweight Championship (at the end of this match Rikio can be seen sobbing as he accepts the title from Kobashi), ending his two-year reign, before losing the title to

Akira Taue is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is also a former All Japan Pro Wrestling Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, a former GHC Heavyweight Champion and has had fourteen 5 Star Matches as awarded by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. ...

some time later. On June 4, 2006, he captured his second GHC Tag Team Championship with

when he pinned Muhammad Yone after a Musou. However, Rikio and Akiyama were forced to vacate their title on September 25, 2006 after Rikio suffered a neck injury. On November 27, 2011, Rikio announced his retirement from professional wrestling due to serious neck injuries.

Championships and accomplishments

*''

Nikkan Sports is the first-launched Japanese daily sports newspaper founded in 1946. It has a circulation of 1,661,000, and is an affiliate newspaper of the ''Asahi Shimbun''. Companies and regions ;Nikkan Sports News (Tokyo) :Tokyo HQ: 5-10, Tsukiji Sanc ...

'' **Outstanding Performance Award (2005) *''

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 Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him #82 of the top 500 singles wrestlers 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 Publi ...

in 2010 * Pro Wrestling Noah ** GHC Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** GHC Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) – with

(1),

(1) and Muhammad Yone (1) **Two Day Tag Team Tournament (2004) – with

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), ...

**Global Tag League Outstanding Performance Prize (2008) – with Jun Akiyama *

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 ...

** Outstanding Performance Award (2005) ** Rookie of the Year (2000)

Sumo career record

References

External links

*
Profile at Green Destiny
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rikio, Takeshi Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Japanese sumo wrestlers 1972 births Sumo people from Nara Prefecture GHC Heavyweight Champions GHC Tag Team Champions