Asataro Sano

[KinchStalker]

Asataro Sano (佐野浅太郎)

Profession: Wrestler
Real name: Minoru Sano (佐野実)
Professional names: Minoru Sano, Asataro Sano, Tohachi Sano, Senpu Sano
Life: 3/30/1948-
Born: Kurita, Shiga, Japan
Career: 1968-1971
Height/Weight: 186cm/90kg (6’1”/198lbs.)
Signature moves: unknown
Promotions: International Wrestling Enterprise
Titles: none

Asataro Sano was an early sumo transfer in the IWE.

Asataro Sano joined the Asahiyama sumo stable after graduating from Seta Technical High School and debuted in May 1965. He would not truly enter until the last tournament of the year that November, and despite adopting the shikona of Hiyoshiyama in spring 1966, Sano was simply unable to gain enough weight to effectively compete, and he only made mediocre showings before he retired in early 1967. In February 1968, Sano joined the International Wrestling Enterprise, during their brief rebrand as TBS Pro Wrestling. Assigned as a valet to Toyonobori (and later, to Thunder Sugiyama), Sano trained and debuted in May with a loss to Takeshi Oiso. Sano was a good jumper with a great dropkick, and several people saw potential in him. IWE booker Umeyuki Kiyomigawa considered him a candidate at one point for a French excursion, and foreign ace Billy Robinson regarded him as a potential star. Sadly, a serious injury forced Sano into retirement in the early 1970s. On June 27, 1970, a kick from Isamu Teranishi not only broke one of his ribs but caused it to rupture a lung. He made two attempts to return in 1971. In January, a match against Devil Murasaki aggravated his lung and he was put on the shelf. His final dates for the company came that July, when a match against Gerard Etifier (Jiro Inazuma/Gerry Morrow) in Miyagi went to a doctor stoppage. Despite an alleged offer from Giant Baba to join AJPW, Sano would never wrestle again.