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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 Wrestling Association (1970–1972) Momota debuted on May 27, 1970 for the JWA, the promotion that was founded by his father Rikidozan, the father of Puroresu. His first match was a six man battle royal which he lost to Ushinosuke Hayashi. After competing here and there over the next few months, he scored his first win on December 4 when he won a ten man battle royal last defeating Hayashi. Momota would continue to work for the JWA throughout 1971 mostly low on the card and paying his dues during which time he faced the likes of Akio Sato and future legends Osamu Kido and Tatsumi Fujinami. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 million residents ; the city proper has a population of 13.99 million people. Located at the head of Tokyo Bay, the prefecture forms part of the Kantō region on the central coast of Honshu, Japan's largest island. Tokyo serves as Economy of Japan, Japan's economic center and is the seat of both the Government of Japan, Japanese government and the Emperor of Japan. Originally a fishing village named Edo, the city became politically prominent in 1603, when it became the seat of the Tokugawa shogunate. By the mid-18th century, Edo was one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over one million people. Following the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the imperial capital in Kyoto was mov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, 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 of the company. Naoki Sugabayashi has served as the promotion's Chairman since September 2013, while Takami Ohbari has served as the president of the promotion since October 2020. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, NJPW is the largest and longest-running professional wrestling promotion in Japan. It was affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance at various points in its history. NJPW has had agreements with various Mixed martial arts, MMA and professional wrestling promotions around the world, including WWE, World Championship Wrestling, American Wrestling Association, World Class Championship Wrestling, Impact Wrestling, WAR (wrestling promotion), WAR,Jersey All Pro Wrestling, UWFi, R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jyushin Thunder Liger
, better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since his debut in 1984 until his retirement in January 2020. Throughout his career, which spanned three-and-a-half decades, he wrestled over 4,000 matches and performed in major events for various promotions across the globe. Debuting under his real name for NJPW in 1984, he was given the gimmick of Jushin Liger in 1989, based on the anime series of the same name. Becoming Jushin "Thunder" Liger the following year, he saw unprecedented success in the junior heavyweight division when he won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship a record 11 times and set the record for its longest reign during his second reign, which lasted for 628 days. Liger was the first three-time Best of the Super Juniors tournament winner (a record eventually tied by Ko ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenta Kobayashi
is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he performs under the mononymous ring name Kenta (stylised in all capital letters), and is a member of the Bullet Club stable. He also makes occasional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is known for his time in Pro Wrestling Noah where he was a one-time Global Honored Crown (GHC) Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion, three-time GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, and one-time GHC Tag Team Champion; once was the inaugural reign with longtime partner and rival, Naomichi Marufuji, which saw the two hold the title for almost two years, as well as a reign with protégé Taiji Ishimori. He was also the winner of the 2012 Global League and the 2013 Global Tag League tournaments. Kobayashi started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), before moving to Pro Wrestling Noah; through Noah's involvement in the Global Professional Wrestling Alliance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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), Ring of Honor (ROH), and Impact Wrestling. Marufuji is a four-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, as well as the first of two men to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions ( Minoru Tanaka is the other). In 2009, he was appointed to the position of Vice President of Pro Wrestling Noah, and has retained the position since, being reappointed in September 2011. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1998–1999) Marufuji pursued amateur wrestling and basketball during his high school days before joining All Japan Pro Wrestling, and trained in Satoru Sayama's Super Tiger Gym. His debut match came on August 28, 1998 against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. For the first two years of his career, under Gian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
(born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–2000) Kikuchi turned pro on February 26, 1988, his debut was against veteran wrestler Mitsuo Momota. Like many, Kikuchi spent his early years wrestling in opening and low midcard matches, paying his dues. By late 1990, Kikuchi began moving up the card and before long was becoming a Jr. Title contender. His first title shot was on July 12, 1990, when he challenged Masanobu Fuchi for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship but he came up short. He challenged for the title four more times between January 26, 1991, to February 28, 1993, coming up short each time. By 1991, Kikuchi also began teaming with future legend: Kenta Kobashi. The two first received a shot at the vacated All Asia Tag Team Championship on Apr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling Noah, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight wrestlers. It was created on July 16, 2003 when Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji defeated Jushin Thunder Liger and Takehiro Murahama in a tournament final. It is currently one of two tag team titles in Noah, along with the typically heavyweight GHC Tag Team Championship. Although the weight limit is (), The Briscoe Brothers won the titles weighing slightly more than this on January 7, 2007. Title history , there have been a total of 54 reigns shared between 41 different teams, consisting of 45 different individual champions. Momo no Seishun Tag ( Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada) have the most reigns as a team at 4. Kotoge also has the most reigns as an individual at 9. Inaugural champions Kenta and Naomichi Marufuji have the longest reign as a team, both individual and combined, at 690 days. They also have the most defenses as a team, both i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi, and Akira Taue, who came to be nicknamed AJPW's " Four Pillars of Heaven", and whose matches developed the '' ōdō'' (, "King's Road") style of puroresu and received significant critical acclaim. Despite never working in the United States during the 1990s, Misawa had significant stylistic influence upon American independent wrestling, through the popularity of his work among tape-traders in the country. Misawa is regarded by some as the greatest professional wrestler of all time. However, the physical demands and consequences of the style in which he worked and the circumstances of his death have made his legacy, or at least that of ''ōdō'', somewhat problematic. Debuting in 1981, Misawa became the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 the promotion to form Noah. Noah held its first shows in August 2000, and established the Global Honored Crown as the in-house governing body for its collection of championships. Throughout its -year history, Noah has had working relationships with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Ring of Honor (ROH), Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA), Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). In January 2020, the company was purchased by CyberAgent, parent company of DDT Pro Wrestling, with DDT's executives taking over Noah's operations and Noah's content appearing on DDT's streaming service Wrestle Universe. History Noah under Misawa (2000–2009) In January 1999, AJPW fou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haruka Eigen
(January 11, 1946 – November 28, 2016) was a Japanese professional wrestler. He was an executive director of Pro Wrestling Noah. Sumo career In July 1961, Haruka Eigen began wrestling as a sumo. He was part of the Tatsunami stable. He quit sumo in May 1965, after nearly four years. His highest rank was Makushita 71st. Professional wrestling career Tokyo Pro Wrestling (1966–1967) Trained by former sumos Toyonobori and Mr. Hito at the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance Dojo, Eigen followed Antonio Inoki to form Tokyo Pro Wrestling, where he debuted on October 12, 1966, against future rival Masao Kimura. After a brief interpromotional feud with International Wrestling Enterprise, however, Tokyo Pro folded and he followed Inoki to JWA. Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (1967–1973) Eigen joined JWA in 1967 and was further trained by former judoka Seiji Sakaguchi. After spending six years struggling on the undercard, he finally left JWA in 1973, and the promotion soon folded. New J ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Malenko
Jody Simon (born June 4, 1956) is an American pharmacist and retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Joe Malenko. He is the son of Boris Malenko and the older brother of Dean Malenko. Professional wrestling career Japan Malenko is most known for his stints wrestling in Japan. Malenko began in the Universal Wrestling Federation (Japan) in May 1985 for 13 days. One of his most well known matches in the UWF was his tag match with Super Tiger where they faced the team of Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Osamu Kido. Malenko would then team up with his brother, Dean, in All Japan Pro Wrestling to form "The Malenko Brothers". Malenko would tour regularly with All Japan from February 1988 until May 1992. Malenko had two reigns as World Junior Heavyweight Champion. From late 1989 to early 1990, he teamed with Kenta Kobashi against the Can-Am Express ( Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas) for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. Joe's most memorable matches came in his match versus h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Smith
Johnny Henry Smith II (June 25, 1922 – June 11, 2013) was an American cool jazz and mainstream jazz guitarist. He wrote "Walk, Don't Run" in 1954. In 1984, Smith was inducted into the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame. Early life During the Great Depression, Smith's family moved from Birmingham, Alabama, where Smith was born, through several cities, ending up in Portland, Maine. Smith taught himself to play guitar in pawnshops, which let him play in exchange for keeping the guitars in tune. At thirteen years of age he was teaching others to play the guitar. One of Smith's students bought a new guitar and gave him his old guitar, which became the first guitar Smith owned. Smith joined Uncle Lem and the Mountain Boys, a local hillbilly band that travelled around Maine, performing at dances, fairs, and similar venues. Smith earned four dollars a night. He dropped out of high school to accommodate this enterprise. Having become increasingly interested in the jazz bands that he heard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
