The Big Puroresu Profile Index

[KinchStalker]

I have recently begun to post puroresu profiles on the underused Wrestlers & Other Personalities section of the Pro Wrestling Only database. I believe that this section of the board has massive potential as a component of my research efforts, as it provides a perfect space to collect information on various personnel without the burden of any narrative expectations that a puroresu history post might have.

This thread will contain an index of those I have made, as well as an extensive itinerary of possible future subjects. In addition to my general focus on mens’ puroresu in the Showa period, my emphasis for the foreseeable future will be lesser stars for whom information is scarce in English. All threads I create will be tagged with promotions in which each performer did major work, although obviously I can only do this in cases where I was the one who created the thread.

[NOTE: I believe that in cases where a gimmick was a relatively small portion of one’s career, that stage name should not be given precedence. If/when I write a Satoru Sayama profile, for example, I will post a link in a Tiger Mask thread to a Sayama profile which encompasses his Tiger Mask run. However, if I were to write a profile on Tiger Mask IV, I would either place him in that thread after placing redirects to Sayama, Misawa, and Kanemoto threads for TMs I-III, or give “Tiger Mask (IV)” its own thread.]

 

TOTAL PROFILES BY AUTHOR

KinchStalker: 59
Noah's Savior: 7

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EXPLANATION OF CATEGORIES

Spoiler

Performers: Mostly wrestlers, but the verbiage is expanded to include managers as well. A wrestler will be sorted with a company if they were ever under contract to them, or if they did noted freelance work. (This is to accommodate cases like Goro Tsurumi, who stayed freelance in his near-decade of bookings for AJPW, or US-based Japanese wrestlers like Hiro Matsuda and post-JWA Umanosuke Ueda. Korean wrestlers will also be categorized in this way.)

Referees: Self-explanatory.

Announcers: The guy with the microphone.

Broadcasters: The people at the commentary table.

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel: The people behind the curtain. This category is deliberately flexible to accommodate important persons that did not perform themselves. Obvious candidates include Hisashi Shinma, Mitsuo Matsune, Motoko Baba, and Naoki Otsuka. I am conscious about the potential clutter that such a category could bring about, and am aware that it may not be totally justifiable under the Wrestlers & Other Personalities banner. It is true that this category could be expanded to include significant shareholders and benefactors such as:

1. Shinzaku Nitta: former patron of Rikidōzan, who provided early financial support to begin the JWA
2. Sadao Nagata: entertainment industry don who, decades after bringing the yakuza into the industry through talent management, provided the JWA with crucial support as a touring enterprise
3. Yoshio Kodama, Kazuo Taoka, and Hizayuki Machii: underworld figures with executive positions in the JWA’s shareholders association, who steered the promotion in accordance to their own interests (see: the aborted plan to have Oki inherit Rikidōzan’s stage name to tie into a South Korean expansion)

However, for everyone’s sake, I will stick to a conservative interpretation of the category, and I will exercise discretion in who I select to profile.

Finally, if I can gather enough information to justify it, I will write profiles for wrestlers in early non-JWA promotions, such as Toshio Yamaguchi’s mid-1950s All Japan Pro Wrestling Association.

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MENS PURORESU

Japan Wrestling Association (日本プロレス)

Spoiler

Performers

1. Azumafuji
2. Donald Takeshi
3. Fujitayama
4. Gantetsu Matsuoka
5. Great Kojika
6. Kanji Higuchi (aka Joe Higuchi)
7. Haruka Eigen
8. Hideyuki Nagasawa
9. Junzo Yoshinosato
10. Katsuhisa Shibata
11. Kiyotaka Otsubo
12. Kokichi Endo 
13. Mammoth Suzuki
14. Masatake Kusatsu (aka Great Kusatsu)
15. Masao Kimura (aka Rusher Kimura)
16. Masio Koma 
17. Masao Ito 
18. Michiaki Yoshimura
19. Mitsu Hirai
20. Mr. Chin
21. Motoshi Okuma
22. Motoyuki Kitazawa
23. Mitsuo Hata (aka Rocky Hata)
24. Osamu Abe
25. Rashomon Tsunegoro
26. Surugaumi 
27. Tadaharu Tanaka
28. Takao Kaneko
29. Tamio Takeshita
30. Toyonobori
31. Tsuneharu Sugiyama (aka Thunder Sugiyama)
32. Umanosuke Ueda
33. Ushinosuke Hayashi (aka Mr. Hayashi)
34. Yusuf Turk

Referees

1. Hideyuki Nagasawa
2. Kanji Higuchi (aka Joe Higuchi)
3. Toshio Komatsu
4. Yusuf Turk

Announcers

1. Fujitayama
2. Toshio Komatsu

Broadcasters

1. Kokichi Endo
2. Takashi Yamada
3. Michiaki Yoshimura

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Hideyuki Nagasawa
2. Junzo Yoshinosato
3. Kiyotaka Otsubo
4. Kokichi Endo
5. Michiaki Yoshimura
6. Toshio Komatsu
7. Toyonobori  

1950s Regional Promotions (All Japan Pro Wrestling Association, Asia Pro Wrestling, etc.)

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Hideyuki Nagasawa [AJPW Association/Yamaguchi Dojo]
2. Kanji Higuchi (aka Joe Higuchi) [AJPW Association/Yamaguchi Dojo]
3. Kiyotaka Otsubo [Asia Pro Wrestling]
4. Michiaki Yoshimura [AJPW Association/Yamaguchi Dojo]
5. Toshio Yamaguchi [AJPW Association/Yamaguchi Dojo]
6. Yuichi Deguchi (aka Mr. Chin) [AJPW Association/Yamaguchi Dojo]

Tokyo Pro Wrestling (東京プロレス)

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Haruka Eigen (as Masaru Eigen)
2. Isamu Teranishi
3. Iwao Takeshita
4. Katsuhisa Shibata
5. Sankichi Takasakiyama (aka Motoyuki Kitazawa)
6. Masao Kimura (aka Rusher Kimura)
7. Tadaharu Tanaka
8. Takeshi Ōiso 
9. Tsuyoshi Sendai (aka Tetsunosuke Daigo)
10. Toyonobori

Referees

1. Osamu Abe

Announcers

1. Toshio Komatsu

International Wrestling Enterprise/Kokusai Puroresu (国際プロレス)

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Animal Hamaguchi
2. Asataro Sano
3. Atsushi Hongo (aka Munenori Higo)
4. Daigoro Ogiyama
5. Devil Murasaki 
6. Goro Tsurumi
7. Great Kusatsu
8. Hideyuki Nagasawa
9. Ichimasa Wakamatsu
10. Isamu Teranishi
11. Katsuzo Ōiyama
12. Mammoth Suzuki
13. Masahiko Takasugi
14. Mighty Inoue
15. Mr. Chin
16. Nobuyoshi Sugawara (aka Apollo Sugawara)
17. Rusher Kimura
18. Ryuma Go
19. Snake Amami
20. Strong Kobayashi
21. Tadaharu Tanaka
22. Takeshi Ōiso
23. Tamio Takeshita
24. Tenshin Yonemura
25. Tetsunosuke Daigo
26. Thunder Sugiyama
27. Toyonobori
28. Umanosuke Ueda

Referees

1. Mammoth Suzuki
2. Osamu Abe
3. Takao Kaneko
4. Takao Maemizo
5. Tamio Takeshita

Announcers

1. Tamio Takeshita

Broadcasters

1. Junzo Yoshinosato
2. Kosuke Takeuchi

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Great Kusatsu
2. Hideyuki Nagasawa
3. Tamio Takeshita

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (新日本プロレス)

Spoiler

Performers

1. Animal Hamaguchi
2. Donald Takeshi
3. Haruka Eigen
4. Isamu Teranishi
5. Katsuhisa Shibata
6. Shoji Kai (aka Motoyuki Kitazawa)
7. Rusher Kimura
8. Ryuma Go
9. Shogun KY Wakamatsu
10. Strong Kobayashi
11. Toyonobori
12. Umanosuke Ueda

Referees

1. Katsuhisa Shibata
2. Yusuf Turk

Broadcasters

1. Kokichi Endo

All Japan Pro Wrestling (全日本プロレス) [also includes Japan Pro Wrestling (ジャパンプロレス) (1984-1987)]

Spoiler

Performers

1. Apollo Sugawara
2. Gantetsu Matsuoka
3. Goro Tsurumi [freelance]
4. Great Kojika
5. Haruka Eigen
6. Isamu Teranishi
7. Masahiko Takasugi (AKA Ultraseven)
8. Masao Ito
9. Masio Koma
10. Mighty Inoue
11. Mr. Hayashi
12. Mitsu Hirai
13. Motoshi Okuma
14. Munenori Higo
15. Rocky Hata
16. Rusher Kimura
17. Ryuma Go
18. Thunder Sugiyama
19. Umanosuke Ueda

Referees

1. Joe Higuchi
2. Mighty Inoue
3. Mr. Hayashi

Broadcasters

1. Kosuke Takeuchi
2. Takao Kuramochi
3. Takashi Yamada

Universal Wrestling Federation (ユニバーサル・レスリング・フェデレーション) [1984-1985]

Spoiler

Performers

1. Masami Soranaka
2. Rusher Kimura
3. Ryuma Go

Referees

1. Motoyuki Kitazawa

JOSHI PURORESU

All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling [全日本女子プロレス] (profiles by Noah's Savior unless otherwise noted)

Spoiler

Performers

1. Haruko Ogawa
2. Jenne Yukari
3. Kyoko Okada
4. Maki Ueda
5. Oscar Ichijou
6. Peggy Kuroda

Executives

1. Hitoshi Yoshida
2. Toshio Komatsu (profile by KinchStalker)

MISCELLANEOUS

Spoiler

Major Journalists

1. Kosuke Takeuchi

[KinchStalker]

List of Future Candidates (MENS)

JWA = 40

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Akio Sato
2. Akihisa Takachiho (aka The Great Kabuki)
3. Antonio Inoki
4. Giant Baba
5. Hiro Matsuda
6. Isao Yoshiwara
7. Iwakichi Hirano
8. Kantaro Hoshino
9. Katsuji Adachi (aka Mr. Hito)
10. Kazuo Sakurada
11. Kintaro Oki
12. Kotetsu Yamamoto
13. Masanori Saito (aka Masa Saito)
14. Masanori Toguchi (aka Kim Duk)
15. Masaaki Takemura
16. Masashi Ozawa (aka Killer Khan)
17. Matimichi Daidozan
18. Matty Suzuki
19. Mitsuo Momota
20. Osamu Kido
21. Rikidozan
22. Seiei Kimura (aka Kengo Kimura)
23. Seishiro Yoshidagawa
24. Seiji Sakaguchi
25. Tamanokawa
26. Tokio Kido
27. Tomio Miyajima
28. Tomotsugu Kutsuwada (aka Samson Kutsuwada)
29. Toshikazu Higa
30. Yonetaro Tanaka

Referees

1. Yoshio Kyushuyama
2. Jerry Murdock
3. Oki Shikina
4. Yonetaro Tanaka

Announcers

1. Naoyoshi Akutsu
2. Mr. Sakai (given name unknown)
3. Nagaaki Sarashina

Broadcasters

1. Hiroshi Ijuin
2. Ichiro Shimizu
3. Hiroshi Tazuhama
4. Kazuo Tokumitsu

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Hiroshi Iwata
2. Shigeo Kado
3. Michiaki Yoshimura
4. Isao Yoshiwara

Other 1950s promotions = 6

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Genji Umeda
2. Masahiko Kimura
3. Matimichi Daidozan
4. Michiaki Yoshimura
5. Shiro Tsugikage
6. Umeyuki Kiyomigawa
7. Takeo Toda

Tokyo Pro Wrestling =3

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Antonio Inoki
2. Masanori Saito (aka Masa Saito)

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Hisashi Shinma

IWE = 22

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Ashura Hara
2. Chati Yokouchi [freelance]
3. Hiro Matsuda
4. Yasu Fujii
5. Hiromichi Fuyuki (aka Kodo Fuyuki)
6. Jiro Inazuma (aka Gerry Morrow) ["exchange student"]
7. Kim Duk [freelance]
8. Kintaro Oki
9. Mach Hayato
10. Matty Suzuki
11. Mr. Hito [freelance]
12. Mr. Seki (aka Mr. Pogo) [freelance]
13. Taro Kuroshio (aka Ted Herbert) ["exchange student"]
14. Umeyuki Kiyomigawa [freelance]
15. Yang Seung-Hi ["exchange student"]

Referees

1. Mitsuo Endo

Announcers

1. Kazutoshi Iibashi
2. Toshio Suzuki

Broadcasters

1. Tadao Monma
2. Takashi Kikuchi

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Isao Yoshiwara
2. Toshio Suzuki

NJPW = 50

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Akira Katayama
2. Akira Maeda
3. Akira Nogami
4. Antonio Inoki
5. Don Arakawa
6. El Samurai
7. George Takano
8. Gran Hamada
9. Hiroshi Hase
10. Hisakatsu Oya
11. Jushin Thunder Liger
12. Kantaro Hoshino
13. Kazuo Sakurada
14. Kazuo Yamazaki
15. Keiji Mutoh
16. Kengo Kimura
17. Kensuke Sasaki
18. Killer Khan
19. Kotetsu Yamamoto
20. Kuniaki Kobayashi
21. Masaharu Ito
22. Masahiro Chono
23. Masanobu Kurisu
24. Naoki Sano
25. Nobuhiko Takada
26. Norio Honaga
27. Osamu Kido
28. Riki Choshu
29. Satoru Sayama
30. Shinichi Nakano
31. Shinji Sasazaki
32. Shinya Hashimoto
33. Shiro Koshinaka
34. Shunji Kosugi
35. Shunji Takano
36. Super Strong Machine
37. Takashi Iizuka
38. Tatsumi Fujinami
39. Tatsutoshi Goto
40. Yoshiaki Fujiwara

Referees

1. Kotetsu Yamamoto
2. Mr. Takahashi
3. Yonetaro Tanaka

Announcers

1. Kero Tanaka
2. Naoki Otsuka
3. Tetsuo Baisho

Broadcasters

1. Ichiro Furutachi
2. Keiichi Funabashi
3. Kotetsu Yamamoto
4. Yasuo Sakurai

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Fumihiko Uwai
2. Hisashi Shinma
3. Naoki Otsuka
4. Tetsuo Baisho

AJPW = 31

Spoiler

Wrestlers

1. Akio Sato
2. Akira Taue
3. Anton Geesink
4. Atsushi Onita
5. Genichiro Tenryu
6. Giant Baba
7. Hiroshi Wajima
8. Isao Takagi
9. Jumbo Tsuruta
10. Kenta Kobashi
11. Kim Duk/Tiger Toguchi
12. Kintaro Oki
13. Mitsuharu Misawa
14. Mitsuo Momota
15. Naoki Takano
16. Samson Fuyuki (aka Kodo Fuyuki)
17. Shinichi Nakano
18. Tarzan Goto
19. Toshiaki Kawada
20. Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
21. Yoshihiro Momota

Referees

1. Akihiko Fukuda
2. Kyohei Wada

Announcers

1. Gunji Hara
2. Ryu Nakata
3. Yoshihiro Momota

Broadcasters

1. Giant Baba
2. Akira Fukuzawa
3. Fumio Matsunaga
4. Kenji Wakabayashi

Executives and Miscellaneous Personnel

1. Giant Baba
2. Motoko Baba
3. Kazuo Iiyama (Tokyo Sports reporter turned planning department head)
4. Mitsuo Matsune
5. Akio Sato
6. Ryozo Yonezawa

MISCELLANEOUS

Spoiler

Major Journalists

1. Hiroshi Tazuhama: pioneering puroresu journalist, and codifier of the fictionalized approach that subsequent journalists would use to mythologize Japanese wrestlers
2. Shigeo Kado: early puroresu journalist turned JWA commissioner
3. Tarzan Yamamoto: the maverick editor of Weekly Pro Wrestling's prime period and an important creative consultant behind AJPW's resurgence in the late 80s and early 90s
4. Yoshihiro Inoue: editor of Osaka tabloid Weekly Fight Magazine, and originator of the katsuji puroresu style that changed puroresu journalism forever

Industry supporters

1. Ichiro Hatta: Japan's "father of amateur wrestling", who directly supported puroresu in order to promote his sport, and whose influence on wrestling and martial arts was massive

 

[KinchStalker]

Starting with June, I will update this thread with monthly lists of new additions (and potentially, major revisions) to the index.

UPDATES, JUNE 2022

New Profiles

1. Azumafuji (Wrestler, JWA)
2. Devil Murasaki (Wrestler, IWE)
3. Great Kojika (Wrestler/Promoter, JWA/AJPW/BJW)
4. Joe Higuchi (Wrestler/Referee, AJPWA/JWA/AJPW)
5. Kosuke Takeuchi (Commentator/Journalist, IWE/AJPW)
6. Mammoth Suzuki (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/Tokyo Pro (Toyonobori)/IWE)
7. Mr. Chin (Wrestler, AJPWA/JWA/IWE/FMW)
8. Mitsu Hirai (Wrestler, JWA/AJPW)
9. Munenori Higo (Wrestler, IWE/AJPW)
10. Snake Amami (Wrestler, IWE)
11. Surugaumi (Wrestler, JWA)
12. Tadaharu Tanaka (Wrestler, JWA/Tokyo Pro (Toyonobori)/IWE)
13. Takeshi Oiso (Wrestler/Promoter, IWE)
14. Tenshin Yonemura (Wrestler, IWE)

[SPS]

Apologies if I'm cluttering the thread, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for all the great content and information in your posts. I can only imagine how much time and work it takes to share all these translations and stories.

I've learned so much about things I knew bits and pieces of but not in any sort of detail, as well as about some people I've never heard of with these profiles.

I find myself revisiting these posts and reading them over and over and look forward to the updates when they come. 

Again a huge thank you for all your effort. 

[KinchStalker]

UPDATES, JULY 2022

I spent this month writing profiles for the International Wrestling Enterprise. I made progress on a Rusher Kimura profile that I intend to be the most detailed that I have yet written (as a warmup for the heavy hitters), but it might not be done until fall, as I am waiting to receive and transcribe a resource that I want to cite in it.

New Profiles

1. Animal Hamaguchi (Wrestler/Trainer, IWE/NJPW/Japan Pro)
2. Goro Tsurumi (Wrestler/Promoter, IWE/AJPW/SWS/NOW/Kokusai Pro Wrestling Promotion)
3. Great Kusatsu (Wrestler/Executive/Booker (show), JWA/IWE)
4. Isamu Teranishi (Wrestler, Tokyo Pro/IWE/NJPW/Japan Pro/AJPW)
5. Katsuzo Oiyama (Wrestler, IWE)
6. Mighty Inoue (Wrestler/Referee/Broadcaster, IWE/AJPW/NOAH) 
7. Ryuma Go (Wrestler/Promoter/Trainer, IWE/NJPW/UWF/AJPW/Pioneer Senshi/Oriental Pro/Samurai Pro Wrestling)
8. Strong Kobayashi (Wrestler, IWE/NJPW)
9. Tetsunosuke Daigo (Wrestler/Booker (talent)/Trainer, Tokyo Pro/IWE)
10. Thunder Sugiyama (Wrestler, JWA/IWE/AJPW)

[KinchStalker]

UPDATES, AUGUST 2022

I began my first Deluxe Profile for Rusher Kimura. I have released three of the four parts I plan to write for him. Part Four will be worked on in September, although I intend to shift my focus back to transcribing resources for personal research rather than writing these profiles, at least for the time being.

New Profiles

1. Rusher Kimura (Wrestler, JWA/Tokyo Pro/IWE/NJPW/AJPW/NOAH)

[KinchStalker]

UPDATES, FEBRUARY 2023

Generally, I have only made minor adjustments and additions to profiles in the six months since I posted my last proper update. The exception was a major expansion of Mammoth Suzuki's profile. But it was only in February that I added any new profiles.

Also, this month saw the debut of joshi profiles, courtesy of the Sensational, Intelligent @Noah's_Savior!

New Profiles

1. Donald Takeshi (Wrestler, JWA/NJPW)
2. Haruka Eigen (Wrestler/Executive, Tokyo Pro/JWA/NJPW/JPW/AJPW/NOAH)
3. Haruko Ogawa (Wrestler, AJW)
4. Hitoshi Yoshida (Executive, AJW)
5. Junzo Yoshinosato (Wrestler/Broadcaster/Executive, JWA/IWE)
6. Katsuhisa Shibata (Wrestler/Referee, Tokyo Pro/JWA/NJPW)
7. Kyoko Okada (Wrestler, AJW)
8. Maki Ueda (Wrestler, AJW)
9. Motoyuki Kitazawa (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/Tokyo Pro/NJPW/UWF)
10. Oscar Ichijou (Wrestler, AJW)
11. Peggy Kuroda (Wrestler, AJW)
12. Yusuf Turk (Wrestler/Referee/Executive, AJPWA/JWA/NJPW)
    

[KinchStalker]

UPDATES, SEPTEMBER 2023

Many of the profiles I wrote this month were smaller ones, but I also produced my first Deluxe Profile since Rusher Kimura.

1. Asataro Sano (Wrestler, IWE)
2. Daigoro Ogiyama (Wrestler, IWE)
3. Fujitayama (Wrestler, JWA)
4. Gantetsu Matsuoka (Wrestler, JWA/AJPW)
5. Mr. Hayashi (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/AJPW/JWP)
6. Osamu Abe (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/Tokyo Pro/IWE)
7. Shogun KY Wakamatsu (Wrestler/Manager, IWE/NJPW/SWS/PWC)
8. Takao Kaneko (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/IWE)
9. Takao Maemizo (Referee, IWE)
10. Tamio Takeshita (Wrestler/Referee, JWA/IWE)
11. Umanosuke Ueda (Wrestler, JWA/IWE/NJPW/AJPW/NOW/IWA Japan) [DELUXE PROFILE #2]

[KinchStalker]

UPDATES, DECEMBER 2023

My last profile of the year was the longest I have yet written: a 16,000-word behemoth on puroresu's first great worker.

1. Michiaki Yoshimura (Wrestler/Executive/Booker, AJPWA/JWA) [DELUXE PROFILE #3]

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For 2024, I plan to write a profile for the recently departed Killer Khan, with his autobiography as a primary source. I also have the autobiography of the Great Kabuki and would like to give him similar treatment. Another profile I have planned is for Umeyuki Kiyomigawa. Excluding Rikidozan, who I am far from ready to write a profile for, and Masahiko Kimura, who I am arguably unqualified to write about, Kiyomigawa is the most notable figure of early mens' puroresu that I have not yet written about.