(born November 17, 1976), better known as his wrestling persona and formerly , is a freelance 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 ...

. Though best known for wrestling under a

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

, he also regularly works unmasked under the ring name Kikuzawa (stylized in all capital letters), representing Tokyo Gurentai. Kikuzawa has also made appearances in North America, competing in promotions such as Chikara,

Pro Wrestling Guerrilla Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Los Angeles, California. It is owned and operated by wrestlers themselves, having been created by Disco Machine, Excalibur, Scott Lost, Joey Ryan, Super ...

(PWG),

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was s ...

(ROH) and

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the pro ...

Career

Kikuzawa started his wrestling career in 1994, wrestling under his birth name for Japanese hardcore wrestling promotions including FMW and W*ING, he eventually signed with Osaka Pro Wrestling and Dramatic Dream Team (DDT), where he continued to use his real name while competing for DDT. While wrestling for Osaka Pro, he began wearing a mask as a character named Ebessan based on Ebisu, the Japanese god of good fortune. Using comedic spots to get over with the crowd, Ebessan was immediately accepted by the Osaka Pro crowd. He moved up the ranks quickly and soon made Osaka Pro his full-time home in 2001. Ebessan became particularly well known for his rivalry with

Kuishinbo Kamen is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler better known as , a wrestling mask, masked clown character. Kuishinbo Kamen is Japanese for "Gluttonous Mask". For a while he was forced to give up the Kuishinbo Kamen character, instead ...

, the two having many fun and comedic matches. They even worked as a tag team from time to time. As Ebessan was OPW's registered trademark, Kikuzawa was forced to give away his Ebessan character to before leaving the company in 2005. Kikuzawa modified his character and used the name Ebetaro, but he would end up settling down for a new, original gimmick. He became Kikutaro, a masked, exaggerated self-parodic

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", "doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differe ...

who behaved both goofy and self-important, wearing always colored tracksuits and baseball caps. He kept most of his comedic spots and impersonations, however, as well as his feud with Kuishinbo Kamen, adding now the new Ebessan to the enmity. In 2006, he began competing for

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 Bab ...

, where he continued to work through the years. He often wrestled in the opening match, but also offered himself as an ally to

Keiji Mutoh is a Japanese professional wrestler and professional wrestling executive currently signed to Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah), where he is a former GHC Heavyweight Champion. He is best known for his work as in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

in his feud against Voodoo Murders and other factions. In December 2016, Kikutaro moved from Japan to the United States. He currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tributes

Kikuzawa has been known to do tributes to many wrestlers throughout his career, either through subtle imitations or by doing full imitations of their gimmick. He typically includes a tribute to

in his matches by performing Mutoh's signature elbow drop and Shining Wizard, as well as using Mutoh's "love" pose. Kikuzawa has also done many tributes to wrestlers in "borrowing" their gimmicks by dressing in similar attire and performing their signature moves. Kikuzawa has famously imitated

Stan Hansen John Stanley Hansen II (born August 29, 1949) is an American retired professional wrestler. Hansen is known for his stiff wrestling style, which he attributes to his poor eyesight. He is also known for his gimmick as a loud, violent cowboy who ...

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling mat ...

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 ...

, Keiji Mutoh,

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as ...

Bret Hart Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...

Cactus Jack Cactus Jack may refer to: People with the nickname * Mick Foley (born 1965), American actor, writer, professional wrestler, and color commentator * John Nance Garner (1868–1967), American politician * Jack Wells (sportscaster) (1911–1999), Ca ...

, Bill Goldberg,

Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler, Olympic gold medalist in American freestyle wrestling, and former collegiate wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in WWE and Total Nonstop Actio ...

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

and Yuji Nagata.

Championships and accomplishments

*Compound Pro Wrestling :*Oklahoma X Division Championship (1 time) * Dragon Gate :* Open the Owarai Gate Championship (2 times) :*Open the Owarai Twin Gate Championship (1 time) – with Don Fujii * Dramatic Dream Team :* Ironman Heavymetalweight Championship ( 8 times) *

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held thei ...

:*Barbed Wire Street Fight Six Man Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with

Atsushi Onita is a Japanese actor, politician, and semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and is credited with introducing Japan to the deathmatch style of professional wrestling. He founded ...

and Okumura (1), and Atsushi Onita and Exciting Yoshida (1) *

:* Gravy Train Turkey Trot (

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

) – with KM, Alisha Edwards, Fallah Bahh, Dezmond Xavier *Mobius :*El Mejor de Máscara Championship (1 time) * Nosawa Bom-Ba-Ye :*NGF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Osaka Pro Wrestling :* Osaka Meibutsu Sekaiichi Championship (3 times) :* Osaka Pro Wrestling Battle Royal Championship (6 times) :* Osaka Pro Wrestling Owarai Championship (1 time) *''

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 #185 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 * Tokyo Gurentai :* Tokyo Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Stalker Ichikawa *Ultimate Superstars Action :*USA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hulk Puchihogan

References

External links

*
Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kikutaro 1977 births Japanese male professional wrestlers Living people Masked wrestlers 20th-century professional wrestlers 21st-century professional wrestlers Ironman Heavymetalweight Champions Open the Owarai Gate Champions